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Thomas B › Comments
Go: new open source programming language from Google - Ars Technica - http://arstechnica.com/open-so...
Go is a new programming language from Google that aims for performance that is nearly comparable to C, but with more expressive syntax and faster compilation. What it won't do, however, is liberate the coding masses from bracist tyranny. Google's Go is yet another take on C.
- Thomas B
Little, big, and green: a biography of the solid-state disk - Ars Technica - http://arstechnica.com/hardwar...
With flash prices dropping and power efficiency becoming ever more prized in segments as far apart as mobiles and the datacenter, solid-state disk is a technology whose time has come. And what a long time coming, it was. In this in-depth report, Ars takes you through the past, present, and future of the SSD.
- Thomas B
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: YouTube Comment or e. e. cummings? - http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links...
Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency
- Thomas B
Crowdsourcing "Coraline" - Salon.com - http://www.salon.com/books...
Can a hundred Neil Gaiman-imitating twitterers produce anything worth reading?
- Thomas B
But If We Started Dating It Would Ruin Our Friendship Where I Ask You To Do Things And You Do Them | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - http://www.theonion.com/content...
I really like you. I do. You're so nice, and sweet, and you listen to all my problems and respond with the appropriate compliments. But, well, I...
- Thomas B
iPhone Development: 12 Tips To Get You Started [HTML & XHTML Tutorials] - http://www.sitepoint.com/article...
Itching to get started with iPhone development? In this tutorial, Stoyan Stefanov introduces us to some tips and tricks you can use to kickstart your journey to building iPhone applications.
- Thomas B
40+ Adobe After Effects Best of Tutorials & Resources | Noupe - http://www.noupe.com/adobe...
For months, we have been bookmarking interesting, useful and creative Adobe After Effects tutorials and Resources, so you can now rest assured that you will
- Thomas B
Guide to Building a HD HTPC - Page 85 - AVS Forum - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...
Page 85- Guide to Building a HD HTPC Home Theater Computers
- Thomas B
How to Talk to Strangers - wikiHow - http://www.wikihow.com/Talk-to...
wikiHow article about How to Talk to Strangers.
- Thomas B
How to Stop Being an Over-Thinker - Stepcase Lifehack - http://www.lifehack.org/article...
As a rule, thinking is a good thing and while some people don't do it enough, some over-think everything. Both genders can fall into either category - today
- Thomas B
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - http://www.theonion.com/content...
The MacBook Wheel lets consumers accomplish everyday tasks like typing with just a few dozen spins and clicks of a wheel.
- Thomas B
24 ways - web design and development articles and tutorials for advent - http://24ways.org/
The advent calendar for web geeks. Each day throughout December we publish a daily dose of web design and development goodness to bring you all a little Christmas cheer.
- Thomas B
24 ways: Using Google App Engine as Your Own Content Delivery Network - http://24ways.org/2008...
The advent calendar for web geeks. Each day throughout December we publish a daily dose of web design and development goodness to bring you all a little Christmas cheer.
- Thomas B
austrian raspberry shortbread | smitten kitchen - http://smittenkitchen.com/2007...
A home cooking weblog from a tiny kitchen in New York City, with a focus on simplifying daunting recipes and being fearless in the kitchen.
- Thomas B
raspberry breakfast bars | smitten kitchen - http://smittenkitchen.com/2008...
A home cooking weblog from a tiny kitchen in New York City, with a focus on simplifying daunting recipes and being fearless in the kitchen.
- Thomas B
A List Apart: Articles: The Trouble With EM ’n EN (and Other Shady Characters) - http://www.alistapart.com/article...
Beating typographic correctness out of (X)HTML: more than you ever wanted to know about dashes, spaces, curly quotes, and other vagaries of online typography.
- Thomas B
10 Tips for More Effective PowerPoint Presentations - Stepcase Lifehack - http://www.lifehack.org/article...
“Oh no! Not another boring PowerPoint presentation! My eyes, my eyes…!!!” How much does it suck to be in the audience for yet another drawn-out,
- Thomas B
Do people not realize that if you have a million dollars in the bank that you make (at least when the economy isn't having real problems) $40k a year doing nothing? How is that accumulation of wealth without adding to productivity into the system good for society?
y0u, Mike, Bob M. Montgomery and 15 other people liked this
This is exactly why we have a progressive tax system.
- Alex Scoble
It's good for society only if you're spending that money.
- Internet's Tad
Do you understand the reason why interest is paid? Time value of money?
- Morton Fox
Do you understand the point of my statement, Morton? That earning money for nothing isn't good for society?
- Alex Scoble
Interest is NOT earning money for nothing. Savings provides capital, which is an important factor of production.
- Morton Fox
uh, first, someone gives the money to the bank, and the money is used by the bank - thus the bank pays him.
- mjc
What Morton said.
- Kamath (नमः)
Aren't banks paying interest on accounts because they are borrowing against/loaning out their patrons monies? Also as an incentive to keep people from burying greenbacks in the yard or in a mattress, safety deposit box etc?
- J. Abdul-Qahhar
Alex, that's called interest and capital gains. WTF. You're saying nobody deserves a return on investment or interest for letting the bank use your money to reinvest which helps the economy?
- David Ward
Sorry Alex, have to agree with Morton. That money provides capital for borrowing. The idea that it's not productive is false, it's the lack of savings that has contributed to America's foreign debt crisis
- Duncan Riley
Well, we all know who to get loans from now...
- Thomas B
What's wrong with "living off the interest"? Always been a dream of mine. And not because i don't like to work. I would go crazy if I didn't work. Just maybe the type of work could be different.
- Josh Haley
Yes, of course, Alex, I see it clearly now: if we penalize those people who have been successful, then maybe we can stop others from being successful in the future, and oh! what a happy world it will be!
- Glen Mistletoe
Morton & MJ Cohen are correct. Money in the bank gets used. But also, there's inflation, which generally causes your savings to lose value, despite interest.
- Tanath
Seriously, Alex, you have a logical fallacy there where you imply that it's "doing nothing." Your $1 million is not just sitting in a vault somewhere, it's helping construction companies purchase lumber, paying the salaries of consultants, and otherwise providing capital for businesses and individuals to do things with. Money doesn't just grow on trees, you know; it actually has to come from somewhere. And taking something from someone who's earned it to give to someone who hasn't is morally reprehensible.
- Glen Mistletoe
The fallacy to all thee arguments is that the more money you have the *easier* it becomes to make more money. Of course it's never guaranteed, but having greater capital at your disposal gives you power for higher interest rates and the ability to risk-manage investments for even greater returns (what the whole VC game is based on). "earned" evokes the mental image of linear returns for effort, but once you exceed a tipping point great wealth is a huge multiplier in "earned" returns
- mikepk
The basic wealth distribution of the United States bears out this argument, from wikipedia: "at the end of 2001, 10% of the population owned 71% of the wealth, and the top 1% controlled 38%. On the other hand, the bottom 40% owned less than 1% of the nation's wealth" Do you think human potential in "earned" results follows this sharp an exponential?
- mikepk
One example: Bill Gates has created jobs for far more people that I expect to in my lifetime, and vastly improved those people's standards of living. Your argument, Michael, also has its fallacy: that $1 million in the bank is available to others, making it *easier* for them to make money. It's not just sitting there doing nothing.
- Glen Mistletoe
I'm going to guess that Alex means *literally* productive. Asin, adding actual value to the economy as opposed to just being shifted around. Interest paid to a savings account is just money taken fron another savings account or from interest taken on a loan. Just guessing, of course. It's not like they taught this stuff in high school.
- thepete
I'm not arguing that it's doing nothing, I'm arguing that success creates a wealth multiplier that is non linear in nature. It takes money to make money, as the old adage goes. Getting 10x the return for the same amount of effort and skill makes "earned" mean something slightly different.
- mikepk
I guess I was discussing the rationale for progressive taxation, rather than the "money in the bank is doing nothing" point. I think we're talking past each other a bit.
- mikepk
His argument was that wealth without adding to productivity is not good for society. My argument is that weath IS adding to productivity by taking the same financial multiplier that you specified, Michael, and making it available to others.
- Glen Mistletoe
Having a lot of family members who are immigrants, their experience of poverty isn't really that remote to me. I guess there's just something that feels wrong when you realize some people are earning way more money doing absolutely nothing while your relatives are out there busting their asses 16 hours a day working two jobs, sometimes literally wiping people's asses and cleaning up shit. I'm not saying that it's necessarily unjust, but it certainly gives you a different perspective on things.
- Victor Ganata
Of course wealth (in a bank or invested) is adding productivity to society, I thought that point had been clearly made by others already. :) I was reacting more to the notion that progressive taxation is a penalty for hard work or earned success, where I view it more as drag on the exponential multiplication of wealth that can occur. I think radical wealth inequality is *very* unhealthy for a society, and that's what occurs unless there's some amount of 'braking' applied to this multiplier.
- mikepk
Victor, that's the other "fairness" argument that can be made. People often decry progressive taxation as not being fair, but if viewed through the lens of amount of earnings per amount of effort, education and skill, often times the primary difference is starting from a higher wealth base, acting as an earnings multiplier. We like to think of ourselves as purely a meritocracy.
- mikepk
progressive is not you deciding what I do with my money
- Noah David Simon
Noah: I'm curious, what would you envision as a perfect government and/or tax system?
- mikepk
Well if I work my ass off to earn that million and then park it in the bank - what's wrong with that? It's *my* money - I earned it.
- Matt Craven
And if you have 100 million in the bank? What about a billion? A billion dollars sitting in banks or money market funds will get you about 40 MILLION dollars a year. At some point your "right" to accumulate wealth is superseded by the dangers that your wealth can wreak on the system. I'm not saying that people shouldn't allowed to be wealthy...I'm saying that the system needs to make it harder for people to make more money the more money they make. That's progressive taxation.
- Alex Scoble
This is why Alex has a special place in my heart.
- Rev. Dr. W!cKeD Rock
Hehe, thanks Wicked.
- Alex Scoble
Oh and I should point out that there is no guaranteed right in the constitution for making money or having money. Wealth is a privilege, not a right.
- Alex Scoble
Darn right it's a privilege, Alex. That's why I wouldn't want you deciding what happens to my money or the interest derived from it. I grew up in a communist country, and let me tell you, you're veering awfully close to those disgusting principles of wealth re-distribution. Why the heck does it bother you if someone's got a fat bank account?! If they earned it ethically, let them enjoy it in peace. Go work for your money.
- Raoul Pop
Alex there is such thing as Risk. You could lose all your money if a bank goes under! Are you advocating communism and redistribution of assets?
- Igor The Troll יִצְחָק
Alex, I think this is one argument you can't win. Money in the bank IS put to work for society's benefit, and the Constitution DOES certainly provide for strong property rights (with money being recognized as one of many forms of property). You raise several issues with your comment, each of which is a complex debate... * progressive taxation va. alternatives... * earned income vs. capital gains... * moral/ethical obligations of the wealthy... * relative importance of various rights in our society... etc.
- LogEx
It kind of amazes me that the same people who despise mythical "welfare queens" and oppose any form of a social safety net as "redistribution" will nevertheless defend to the hilt the right of a billionaire to get a check for millions of dollars for doing nothing.
- Eric P
Originally I read this post as a subtle dig at those that suggest all money by the wealthy is "hard earned" And with that point I agree. Money earned by interest is not hard earned, but I agree with Morton on this one. Earning interest off of savings and investments is a fundamental principle and definitely adds to our society. It *is* income though and should be taxed appropriately though.
- Lindsey is Fierce!
It's not helpful to talk in extremes though (e.g., "socialism" vs. "capitalist pigs"), the answer is almost always in the middle somewhere. Few would disagree that the wealthier have a higher burden to support the commons, it's a matter of degree. Tweaking tax rates and thresholds within our progressive structure is a minor thing in the big scheme of things.
- LogEx
While I agree morally you should be doing more with 100 million dollars than accumulating wealth and living poshly, in this country you have every right to do so. It's nobody's business what you decide to do with your money as long as you're living within the law.
- Lindsey is Fierce!
forget about a million in the bank, what about one billion that transfers from one generation to another. Why only tax this at 50%? Tax any estate over $50 million at 90% and you could give working people everywhere a nice income tax reduction. At a certain point, say north of $50 million, taxing estates aggressively makes enormous sense.
- Thomas Hawk
I have a million dollars. I buy a farm. A farmer comes along, does back breaking labor for a year to grow and sell crops for a profit. I sit on my ass the whole time. How big a check do I deserve?
- Eric P
@Eric: Isn't that between you and the farmer? Why should anyone else have a say?
- Brian Newman
This whole concept of "get what you deserve" is getting out of hand. We live in America, or has everyone forgotten that?
- Lindsey is Fierce!
Lindsay, it is in society's interest to point people in a desired direction. This is why we have laws, regulations, taxes and specific tax breaks for specific things (like tax breaks for solar panels, hybrid cars, more efficient appliances, etc.). Again, I'm not saying that interest or any capital gains is a bad thing. What I am saying is that the unfettered accumulation of wealth is a bad thing and that's why we have progressive taxation.
- Alex Scoble
Thomas, estate taxes are an interesting debate. Let's say you have your entire wealth tied up in private heirloom (e.g., a Picaso). Is it right for your heirs to have to sell it to pay the taxes? How about if you spend your whole life building up a private company, and your kids work there and helped build it too. When you die, should they have to sell it to pay the taxes?
- LogEx
I finally have $1 million. I buy into a hedge fund which deals in highly leveraged hedges which bet *against* the entire economy (the uncapitalized hedges are worth more than 30 times the entire value of the stock market) -- the economy tanks due to other uncapitalized hedges, my fund position makes me close to $1 billion -- how much of that "should" I be able to keep?
- Aaron the Librarian
I think giving incentives to point them in that direction is more effective than punishing the "wrong" direction. I uphold anyone's right as an American to accumulate wealth even to extremes. They should pay an appropriate tax but in the case of 90% inheritance as Thomas suggested that's just wrong.
- Lindsey is Fierce!
The answer to that question depends entirely on your moral/ethical constitution. Are you for burying everyone and living the high life off your gains or are you for lifting as many others as you can so there will be more money available for earning/spending/acquiring in the future?
- Aaron the Librarian
You have to have both carrots and sticks.
- Alex Scoble
Alex, we have progressive taxation not because accumulation of wealth is considered evil, but because it's a relatively efficient way to fund the commons.
- LogEx
BTW the notion that this is a discussion that needs to be won is also what's wrong with politics these days...This isn't about winning. This is about learning and showing respect to those with other viewpoints.
- Alex Scoble
Sticks are for lawbreakers and evildoers. Carrots are the way to go to create incentives for desirable behavior.
- LogEx
And is someone who gains wealth only for the sake of gaining wealth not an evildoer? When Microsoft did that sort of thing, they eventually got targeted by the US and EU governments for abusing their monopoly status.
- Alex Scoble
Alex -- Your statement implies that people who are millionaires spend most of their time "doing nothing", and are not "adding to productivity". Do you have statistics to back that up? Knowing a few millionaires, my experience is that they are extremely active, both in non-profit sectors (foundation/endowment founders) and in entrepreneurial sectors (angel investors). And even that million in the bank is doing something -- it's bolstering and stabilizing the stock market.
- Robert Fischer
Who's saying this is a discussion that needs to be won? We're hashing things out and if anyone can be swayed by a viewpoint, it is me. You seem to be hanging in the extremes whereas Logical and I are hanging toward the middle both agreeing in progressive taxation but also an individual's right to accumulate wealth. In order to respect someone's stance you need to understand it and concede points.
- Lindsey is Fierce!
But Alex, Microsoft broke the law. They abused their power. Every individual and every company has a right to maximize their wealth (if that's what they choose to do), WITHIN the law.
- LogEx
My statement implies nothing of the sort. You are reading into it. The implication is simply that the wealthy have a lot more ability to accumulate wealth than the middle class or the poor do. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, I'm sure, work their asses off as they are both driven men. This isn't about laziness.
- Alex Scoble
And for the record Logical Extremes said that this was an argument that I cannot win.
- Alex Scoble
Yeah, the first million is the hardest ;-)
- LogEx
Guilty as charged, and I stand corrected Alex. Your post asked questions, and I responded as if you were putting up a concrete wall.
- LogEx
Unless you already have a million.
- Alex Scoble
And there's the point that we are going to have to agree to disagree...the accumulation of wealth is not a right in this country...It is a privilege.
- Alex Scoble
Alex, just a final note. I'll set the individual right vs. privilege issue aside for the moment. But realize that public corporations have a duty, not just a right, to maximize shareholder value (legally, of course). There are legal consequences if executives act contrary to this objective.
- LogEx
They also have a duty to obey all applicable laws and regulations.
- Alex Scoble
How you can tell youve peeved off an engineer - http://www.lewr.com/engineer/
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So many things wrong with it
- Thomas B
How you can tell youve peeved off an engineer - http://www.stumbleupon.com/demo...
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So many things wrong with it
- Thomas B
College Students Are Poor!: Donate Plasma For Money - http://www.collegestudentsarepoor.com/2008...
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That's a really creepy thing to submit to SU
- Thomas B
College Students Are Poor!: Donate Plasma For Money - http://www.stumbleupon.com/demo...
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That's a really creepy thing to submit to SU
- Thomas B
Javascript performance test - http://wd-testnet.world-direct.at/mozilla...
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There are much better javascript performance testing suites. This page does not take into account many important aspects. Read ejohn.org/blog/javascript-benchmark-quality/[ejohn.org/blog/javascript-benchmark-quality/]
- Thomas B
Javascript performance test - http://www.stumbleupon.com/demo...
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There are much better javascript performance testing suites. This page does not take into account many important aspects. Read ejohn.org/blog/javascript-benchmark-quality/[ejohn.org/blog/javascript-benchmark-quality/]
- Thomas B
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