Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

At 1/29/10 10:27 PM, SevenSeize wrote: Think about how much better the radio would sound if we didn't pay them millions of dollars to rap about being a cheap bastard and giving their girlfriends nothing but sex for their birthdays.

But what about THIS???
DON'T YOU EVER THINK OF THE CHILD ECONOMISTS?!?!?!?!?
*runs away crying*

At 1/29/10 10:34 PM, BrianEtrius wrote: you think that's confusing, you should see my computer manual.

You have trilingual to read it.

Well,.... I am.
*Puts shades on*.

At 1/29/10 09:38 PM, Malachy wrote: I loves me some beef stew or chili with my crock pot.

At 1/29/10 09:26 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: Why is it in Spanish?

because them hispanics are jumping our borders stealing our jerbs

a lot of packaging has spanish on them in the US

But English too, right?

At 1/29/10 10:19 PM, SevenSeize wrote:

At 1/29/10 09:26 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: Why is it in Spanish?

because them hispanics are jumping our borders stealing our jerbs

a lot of packaging has spanish on them in the US

I'm gonna make chili tomorrow, it's cold as heck down here.

All you people in here I mail to, I'm gonna get valentines/mardi gras packages and cards out tomorrow.

Late =(
But in all honesty, I haven't got around getting you a card either. Holidays=laziness. I think I'll go on Monday, since I have to go downtown to change my course of studies.

or "major"

Oh! I saw a jumping spider! We were at the Spanish meadow (a place with a pool, seats and grills that the Spanish Hospital has) and there was this spider on my sandals. Then it jumped on the back of a kid, so I told him "You've got a spider in your back, jump in the pool" so he jumped and his friends were like "You have a mosquito/spider/bug here" and slapped him.

Why is it in Spanish?

At 1/29/10 08:06 PM, mikailus wrote: Can't you lazy people tax your rich and re-introduce tariffs?

This isn't the 1900s. There's a WTO now, that is the organism that approves tariff increases. Even if the US would ignore what an international organism says (which is the rule rather than the exception), other countries would surely retaliate with similar moves, leaving the tariffs completely inefficient (like it did happen in the 1900s).

And find the $700 billion bailout money? It's so simple yet so many lazy people aren't even trying.

More like politically (and some say, economically) incorrect.

At 1/29/10 05:11 PM, wtflolnoob wrote: Once my plans come into fruition, money shall not be necessary. There will only be death.

Talking of dismal sciences....

At 1/29/10 06:11 PM, lemonsourkid wrote: The next generation of the world is sadly going to have to live in poverty and pay it off.

Oh, please. Firstly, 1.9 trillion dollars sure sounds like a big thing now (if it is 1.9 trillion, which I doubt it, given that there is no source for the claim), but in the future, as inflation affects it, it won't sound as much. Remember Austin Power's Dr Evil saying "One MILLION Dollars!"? Well, something like that.

Secondly, the question of debt burden is disputed. Your stance is now as the "naive" stance (no offense). You see, as long as debt is internal, why would the next generation carry the burden? I mean, sure, you have a government that has to collect more taxes to pay off the debt, that means that some people will have to pay for it, but you also have people cashing in the bonds. The Ricardo-Pigou stance (also stated by Voltaire, I believe) is that the burden of debt is actually in the hands of the current generation. Because when the government spend it is using resources (For example, paper used in the DMV is not used by businesses), the one that has the burden is the current generation.

However, the most important effect of debt lies not in the financial effort to pay it off, but in its effects on taxation and capital. As you may know, taxes introduce distortions. Since in the future debt+interest will have to be paid, taxes will have to be higher than they are now, creating higher distortions. Finally, as the government borrows money, it is taking away funds that could have been invested in private businesses, creating factories, buying machinery, etc, that would have allowed us to have a bigger pie of goods in the future. This effect is of course made worse if the government sustains constant high levels of debt, since it basically dries up all the capital.
And let us not consider the ultimate shock, bankruptcy.

So yeah, I ended up giving a crush course on the effect of debt.
Is it too late to charge you for it?

Link?

At 1/27/10 11:24 PM, SevenSeize wrote:

At 1/27/10 11:22 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: We're in orange alert, moderate-high risk of dying of a heat stroke...
And there's a giant cockroach somewhere near my bed, and it FLIES.
I am waiting for it to come out.... with my flip flop in my hand. So far it has proved elusive.

It was snowing here 2 weeks ago, then it got up into the 80s for a few days, now we're heading back into the 30s and such.

We'll have 25 min 33-35 max till sunday, then it'll rain and we'll be 19 min 28 max.
Not kewl.

I've been sick for 3 freakin weeks now. ugh

=(
*Hugs*.
Wait, because of the weather or just because?

I hate those roaches, it's probably not a cockroach, its probably a woodroach. We have some down here, the ones that fly. ugh

Nah, wiki says they're only in North America and Asia. It was just a super roach.
BUT I KILLED IT >=D
It went to my bookshelf first, then paper bin, then it flew to the top of my bookshelf, I shook it, so it went under my bed, I waited, it appeared below my computer desk, I hit it, it ran through the floor and hid under some pants I had left in the middle of my room, I threw them against the door, it remained there, I started stomping the pants, it tried to climb the white wall (big mistake) I hit it and fell to the floor, but it wouldn't DIE, so I stepped on it and spread its intestines all over the floor.

It was really ewww, that super roach.

and spiders. I hate spiders that jump. and follow me.

O_o
You're like, in that Avatar film. But wait, since you're the Indian, you'd be one of the big blue people! Kewl. Teach me to ride that big flying thingies.

At 1/27/10 02:45 PM, morefngdbs wrote:

At 1/27/10 01:04 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: It's too hot. Srsly, it's been 33-35 every day. And I don't have AC

;;;
I hate you !
Today for the first time in 2+ weeks the temperature went to 1 degree above freezing. it's been damn cold lately

33 degrees :'( I am so freaking jealous right now...you have no idea !

=\
We're in orange alert, moderate-high risk of dying of a heat stroke...
And there's a giant cockroach somewhere near my bed, and it FLIES.
I am waiting for it to come out.... with my flip flop in my hand. So far it has proved elusive.

At 1/21/10 03:43 PM, Duran2 wrote:

At 1/11/10 12:00 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: Original post

What? I thought you were socialist. Whats up with your criticizing of Venezuelan govt. now?

Because his government is awful?

At 1/21/10 04:54 PM, Duran2 wrote:

At 1/13/10 12:55 PM, Der-Lowe wrote:
He's not a dictator, and he has been democratically elected, several times, in clean elections.

Can you actually prove this claim without any doubt at all? You seem pretty sure of what you say, after all.

There was international supervision, and they found nothing. Moreover, Chavez DID lose by a small margin the first "Hey, reelect me forever, guys! :D", which could have easily been "reevaluated" to make him win.

Actually, there WAS a coup, AGAINST him, which was US-supported.

Can you prove that the coup was indeed 100% US-supported and not just some wannabes looking to become the next big guys? I mean, sometimes people have ideas of their own too, you know...

Well, if you see the president of the United States congratulating the dictators on TV, then you can, you know, might conclude that the US supported the coup.

At 1/21/10 11:37 PM, ChrisPitbull wrote:

Said the American.

Said the Argentinian.

LOL
You sir, win 1(one) internetz.

At 1/22/10 02:00 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: What are the implications of your acceptance into MERCOSUR then?

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a really good idea now.
That's why Chile wins, with its "You're my friend, but I don't really want you to come over, or visit you."
FTA with everyone, smile, and mind its own business.

At 1/19/10 08:02 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: As I read up on this more and more, Chavez and Venezuela are beginning to remind me of Bulgaria in the 1970s. He's got support now, but the velvet will be pulled out from under him eventually. Don't be surprised to find splinter groups of rebels.

Enlighten us on the Bulgarian situation in the 1970s, please.

At 1/25/10 10:07 PM, Proteas wrote: THEY TOOK THEM ALL!!! They took all my good farm missions. I can't power level characters on my own, I can't farm for cash. WHY ME?!

I've been playing Civ 4 and I was able to get a cultural victory.
And I've been playing at the harder levels. Difficult :(

At 1/26/10 10:03 PM, SkunkyFluffy wrote: I should have some other good news soon, but I don't want to jinx it by posting it too soon.

=D
---------
It's too hot. Srsly, it's been 33-35 every day. And I don't have AC =(. Oh, and since the government has FINALLY (after 8 years) adjusted electricity prices, now Wal-Mart and Careffour have turned off their ACs. Not kewl.
The early mornings are beautiful, though. 22ºC ^_________^

Of course you can make a direct correlation; it's even an Economic Law. Wagner's Law, to be more precise.

At 1/16/10 03:23 AM, SadisticMonkey wrote: because historically the more government a nation has the less freedom it has and the less prosperous it is

Not at all, most dictatorships have really small government; generally the elite takes over to pay less taxes and strip the less favored classes from its social services.
And government size and economic prosperity are directly correlated.

It's the second time someone has showed me the finger while driving.
What's with that?

At 1/16/10 01:01 AM, Proteas wrote:

At 1/15/10 05:14 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: There's a new drink I want to try. Gancia one; it was usually mixed with lemonade, but the manufacturers decided to sell it with lemon already, and bottle it in convenient sizes.
Win.

What exactly is Gancia 1? I can find pages about it online, but nothing in English. Is like a malt liquor beverage?

Hm, turns out Gancia is as Argentinian as a beverage can be (created by Italian immigrants).
Gancia one is Gancia with Lemon.
Now, Gancia is a mix of white wine, aromatic herbs and sugar. It was originally drank as an aperitive, ie, before meals, but it now people generally drink Gancia batido (shaken), ice, Gancia, lemon juice, and sugar. You shake it and voila!

I will say that I had two odd experiences today, though. The first was at the mall; I bought a throwing knife from this import store there that had nothing but knives/swords/nunchucks, that sort of thing, for $14. Turns out, for about $10 more I can buy a set of three of these same knives online clicky.

How many weapons do you have already?

At 1/16/10 12:59 PM, morefngdbs wrote: Are you kidding me !
The girls who work at my local liquor store know me by my first name, & last spring when i was having stomach problems & couldn't drink...there was talk of laying off staff !

LOL. And I thought I was hardcore because I bought 4 bottles of Dr Lemon (small ones, though).
My grandfather gets stared at when he goes to the supermarket; he buys 50 bottles of wine(75 cl ones).

At 1/16/10 11:26 AM, SkunkyFluffy wrote: Now if only I could get him to stop waking my up early in the morning because he wants his breakfast...

;;;
Don't complain Skunky...my little dog died over christmas :''(

Aw. *Hugs more*.

At 1/16/10 09:17 AM, morefngdbs wrote: The sun came out today...or should I say more correctly, after all this time the clouds have finally gone away so we can see the sun ...YAAAAY.
Heavy overcast day after day, for me anyway, gets me bummed out & gloomy, just like the sky !

I thought of this:

At 1/15/10 04:55 PM, Proteas wrote: *dances*

You know how you always hear rumors about people finding something out really really cool to do in a game, but they won't tell you how they did it? Well, I just found a way to power-level my characters in City of Heroes/Villains playing solo. Yeah. It's taken me the better part of a year and a half of straight playing to get 2 characters up to 50 and another to 39, but last night I found a way to knock one out fairly quick. :-D

Darkwizard1992 said he's playing pokemon crystal, and I suddenly feel like playing sum pokemon. It'll be a nice way to spend the summer.

Plus; my town opened up a Liquor Store, which is nice because now if I want to get myself a bottle of something I don't have drive 20 miles to get it. And contrary to what my dad I joked about (like them being a cheap drunk's store and only having Thunderbird and Mad Dog 20/20) they actually had some good stuff there. I got myself a couple small bottles of Absolut, Creme De Menthe (to make a Vodka Stinger with), and a small bottle Jagermeister... which I might finally be able to try now that my brother doesn't live here.

that fucker could INHALE some Jager.

There's a new drink I want to try. Gancia one; it was usually mixed with lemonade, but the manufacturers decided to sell it with lemon already, and bottle it in convenient sizes.
Win.

At 1/15/10 01:40 AM, BrianEtrius wrote: I can't believe it.

After 4 years of doing bad David Caurso impressions, I can actually make money off of it?

Holy shit.

I bought shades!
Don't you worry, I would never dare compete with you.

Shades can be seriously expensive. Some of them were $1500! D:

At 1/14/10 04:37 PM, adrshepard wrote:

At 1/14/10 03:53 PM, Usernamemyarse wrote: Why do people keep thinking that beeing un-American is a bad thing?
all it means is that you disagree whit the ordinary "American" way of thinking, therefore it means that you think for yourself, and here in Norway, that's considered a good thing.

The "American" way of thinking is all about thinking for oneself. Self-determination and succeeding through one's own merits and hard work, in a nutshell.

That's your opinion, you cannot force the definition of "American" on other people.
For all the US cares, an American is a person born in the US, or born abroad to two Americans, or a foreign citizen that has legal permanent residency and applies for citizenship.

Of course, I have no idea what the "Norwegian" way is, or if anyone ever thought Norway so exceptional as to coin the term.

Every country is exceptional to its neighbors, there's a Brazilian way, an Uruguayan way, a Chilean way, and Argentinian way.
You know, other countries have cultures too.

At 1/15/10 01:36 AM, SadisticMonkey wrote:

At 1/13/10 12:55 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: Yeah, that's why 99% of the world prefers Anarchy.

yeah, that's why 99% of the world is free and prosperous

I'd say 10% of the world, but no prosperous nation has chosen anarchy.
Anarchy is only a transitional state, until the agents can decide in a form of political organization. It generally brings stagnation, or declines in economic prosperity.

At 1/13/10 02:19 PM, Memorize wrote:

At 1/13/10 12:55 PM, Der-Lowe wrote:

He's not a dictator, and he has been democratically elected, several times, in clean elections.

LOL!

Say whatever you like about him, but you cannot deny that he became president of his nation democratiacally, by winning fair elections, supervised not only by the other independent organisms in the Venezuelean state, but also by foreign organizations.
I might also add that he has also won them by a pretty big margin; if I'm not mistaken, he has won with 50-60% of the votes, whereas the runner-up had like 30%.

At 1/13/10 09:11 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: How is buying a bunch of TVs before prices go up going to help things?

You get'em before they get expensive. Same what my parents used to say in times of inflation, only that with food and erh, pretty much everything.

At 1/13/10 08:42 PM, TokingFire wrote: Guess who else was U.S.A. approved?

We'd need a whole thread, or even forum to start mentioning all the dictatorships the US has made friends with.

At 1/12/10 09:42 PM, animehater wrote: How they have to deal with rationing?

Yeah, their energetic policy is one big FAIL too.

At 1/13/10 12:37 AM, TokingFire wrote:

At 1/11/10 10:59 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote:

Hmmmmm.......

Haughty, socialist dictator, who acquired his position via coup d'etat, berates the United States from a hemisphere away in a country whose prime export is oil.

Sound familiar?

He's not a dictator, and he has been democratically elected, several times, in clean elections.
Actually, there WAS a coup, AGAINST him, which was US-supported.
So you're basically waaaaaaaaaaay off.

At 1/13/10 11:58 AM, Korriken wrote: not to mention its proof that governments are incapable of running anything, including themselves.

Yeah, that's why 99% of the world prefers Anarchy.

At 1/11/10 12:13 PM, gumOnShoe wrote: Its not really imploding, but yeah, it sucks to be them :/

Here's my question though. Does this mean that they now have two separate currencies? Or is it one currency that has different values depending on what you buy with it?

No, it is a currency that has two prices, depending on the origin of the other currency you have.

If you got your dollars/euros/yens from the selling of oil, you get the 4.3 to 1 price (cheap)
If you got your dollars/euros/yens from the selling of pretty much everything else, you get the expensive one.

Now if you want to buy foreign currency with the Venezuelan currency, it depends what you're buying.
If you're selling the bolivares to buy dollars to buy first necessity goods or if you're the government, a dollar costs you 2.3 bolívares (cheap).
If you're importing anything else, you buy expensive.

So if you're the government you buy cheap and sell expensive, and if you're an individual, you buy expensive and sell cheap.

It seems to me fracturing a currency like that would make people want to trade with you less, devalue the money further when its applied to different sectors, etc...

Nah, it just creates some corruption in the sense that some influential people will start buying some money in the cheap market and sell it in the expensive market.
It also basically screws the individual, because the government gets to buy everything cheap and sell its oil expensively.

At 1/11/10 11:45 PM, MrCrawford wrote: Modern money markets and mercantilist leftovers trying to compete with established industries just doesn't work. The developing world, excepting China and possibly India, along with the Third World are going to hell in a handbasket and staying there.

Quite on the contrary, emerging markets are doing rather well, mainly because China and India are pulling all the commodity prices up with their demand.

At 1/11/10 03:15 PM, ReiperX wrote: This is what happens when you have a nut job as President.

Said the American.

FINALLY.
Linky

With the collapsing oil prices, Chavez has run out of money. What does he do? He devaluates the currency. He had pegged the Bolivar 2.15 to 1 dollar (it cost 2.15 bolívares to buy an american dollar) and now created TWO different values for the Dollar (the bolívar): 2.6 and 4.3. Why? Well, the 4.3 value is for oil exports, and the Venezuelean government is the prime exporter of oil through its company, PDVESA. The 2.6 value is for Government's imports and first necessity goods, that means that the State can import cheapely. The imports that are left are bought through the 4.6 value.

Venezuela dedicates itself majorly to oil production, almost every other good is imported. That means that the already galloping inflation that is facing (it was 30% in 2009, while the rest of the world faced deflation) will have an ugly jump. The Venezuelean military is overseeing transactions, to prevent prices to rise (which will, of course happen no matter what).

So yeah, fun. Unless if you're in Venezuela. Sucks to be you.

At 1/8/10 02:49 PM, Elfer wrote: The hit that investor confidence would take from contractionary policy is nowhere near the hit it's going to take if people lose confidence in US currency, which will happen if the government keeps running at a wild deficit with no savings and no added production.

A run on the dollar would be expansionary, not contractionary. If it does not generate inflation, it increases the US' net exports, because the real exchange rate improves. If it does generate inflation, then the current zero interest policy starts working, because it brings negative real interest rates.

In reality, contractionary policy should have been used for years now when you guys were running that big inflationary gap, but the fed kept acting expansionary. The solution, however, is not to continue making the same mistakes until the market collapses in on itself. The solution is to do the hard thing that will fix your problems in the long run.

The US hasn't experienced inflation, in 30 years, and is definitely not experiencing any of the sort right now. I don't know what you are talking about.

At 1/6/10 10:09 PM, Elfer wrote: The only way to get around this is to cut spending and increase taxes to stop debt from piling up. Unfortunately for you, this is the least popular political move possible, and any politician that makes it will get slammed by the opposition.

The fiscal contraction will spoil what the bail outs are trying to reduce: the impact of the crisis on the Economy. It would be an especially poor public policy decision to do this now, because there is nothing to mitigate the impact of the fiscal contraction, because you are in a liquidity trap. Moreover, the worse prospects for the Economy will surely affect Investor confidence, reducing autonomous Investment, and further increasing the fall in GDP, and increase in Unemployment.

At 1/7/10 08:58 PM, Proteas wrote: Okay, I've got what I would think are two very reasonable questions with regards to the House tv show.

There's a blog dedicated on analyzing House, written by an MD.
Linky.
Not that it has any answers, just more questions.

At 1/5/10 01:31 PM, morefngdbs wrote: Hey...its January 5th.
Its my birthday...I know this because Mom just phoned to wish me a happy B'day.

HAPPY BDAY MOAR.
Here is ur caik:

The three wise men brought me nuthin, my dad sucks =(

At 1/3/10 01:18 PM, morefngdbs wrote:

At 1/3/10 12:13 PM, Der-Lowe wrote: It was 30ºC in Buenos Aires at 10am, I woke up early and went to the beach.

;;;;

'''(

I am soo jealous right now...I know that if I go to a local beach the only part that won't be covered by a foot of snow is where the tide line has melted it .

It's now freezing rain mixed with snow...just another lovely day in the Maritime Provinces of Canada .

Well, it got cloudy and the sea water did not warm enough. Temperature went down to 25ºC
=(

At 1/3/10 01:46 PM, SkunkyFluffy wrote:

At 1/2/10 11:58 PM, SevenSeize wrote: Can she walk at all?

I think they were all c-section babies, so she walks just fine. But I'm sure that scar is ridiculous.

I was one. So was my brother; our position inside my mother was identical.

At 1/3/10 03:31 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: We're getting pounded here. Snow is up to my shins. Of course, I'm only 5'1", so it's easy for me to be buried in a drift. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so windy. You can barely see. I realize at some point, not only will I need to take out the trash, but I will also need to scrape off my car. Also need to finish some assignments tonight. Oh goody.

Aw. TAKE CARE, LISTEN TO MOREFNGDBS HERE >=(

At 1/3/10 05:57 PM, SkunkyFluffy wrote: I am getting WAY too excited about ordering my spring seeds.

We prepped a nice big bed in front of the family room windows, and I want to plant it as a butterfly garden. A lot of butterfly-attractant plants are annuals, but I'm lazy, so I'm sticking to the varieties that come back every year. We've also been talking about our long-term plans for upgrading to a nicer house in 5-10 years, and I think a garden with a lot of low-maintenance plants would be a selling point.

My grandmother's garden is full of butterlflies. And hummingbirds. My cousin's cat caught one once. Cats are some mean hunters.
But anyway, the advantages of living in the subtropics.

At 1/4/10 03:44 AM, fli wrote: Anyways...
Garlic... meds... for several days... lysol everywhere... handwashing...

I like Garlic... but that disease does sound awful. Hope you get better!

The weather's just perfect. We even dodged a storm that hit Mar del Plata, with hail and all. It was 30ºC in Buenos Aires at 10am, I woke up early and went to the beach. Now it must be even hotter, I'm going again in a few hours (so as to avoid my usual heat stroke D:). Not a cloud in the sky.
There's a red and black flag; that means dangerous sea! That means big sea waves!

But that lake effect thing looks interesting.
We had a blue moon for new year, the Moon looks enourmous and beautiful over the sea. I wish we had some tropical currents instead of this halfbreeds of polar and river currents, that are both freezing and brown. But the coldness is appreciated on hot days like these.

I was born in March, conceived in July, Winter.
COINCIDENCE? ME THINKS NOT.

I went buy gas, long queues. Ew. And the car gets all dusty with the sand and wind. But well.