Random
Good to know: “[T]he best way to survive in a falling elevator is to lie down on your back. Sitting is bad but better than standing, because buttocks are nature's safety foam. Muscle and fat are compressible: they help absorb the G forces of the impact.” Link. * * * * * * * Some goofy comedy out there this week. Craig Ferguson: "Research shows that the No. 1 place you can pick up infections from is a doorknob. That's why I always lick doorknobs clean before using them. . . . The best way to prevent a cold is to cover your mouth when you sneeze. I think that's why the Tyrannosaurus Rex went extinct. Because its arms were very short." Jimmy Fallon: The White House has issued an alert for American tourists traveling in Europe over fears of a terror attack. But the joke's on you, terrorists. We can't afford to go to Europe. . . . A new study found that almost 1 out of 10 Americans is depressed. Which, of course, just means 9 out of 10 Americans are annoying." * * * * * * * Who's the most important econ journalist out there? Apparently, James Grant, according to this Top 15 list assembled by Tunku Varadarajan. About Grant:
Grant, who has a massive institutional following, is a contrarian with a profound knowledge of financial history. He writes with an enviable, almost courtly, elegance, and has a capacity to simplify complexity unmatched in his field. Also he writes with humility, aware of his (and everyone else's) inability to make foolproof forecasts. A gentlemanly, intellectually adroit conservative, he is at his best when addressing the many follies of the Federal Reserve.
Quote-Unquote: “The trouble with Wall Street isn't that too many bankers get rich in the booms. The trouble, rather, is that too few get poor–really, suitably poor–in the busts.”
I've been toying with subscribing to Grant's newsletter, but it's almost $1,000 annually, and it's a short publication that comes out only 24 times a year. You can get the daily Wall Street Journal (print and online access) for 1/5th the cost.
