Thursday, February 25, 2010

This "Unexpectedly" Thing Really Is a Big Joke

Instapundit for a while has been tracking press reports about the economy that keep using the word "unexpectedly" over and over and over again on bad econommic reports. The latest one is this morning:

New claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, mostly because state agencies processed a backlog of claims caused by snowstorms the previous week

If every piece of bad economic news is "unexpected" then perhaps the press (and the government they are cheerleading for) need to look at their expectations. Maybe the economy is not improving as well or as fast as they think. Maybe house declines will continue, unemployment will keep increasing, tax revenues will keep decreasing, and consumer sentiment will keep tanking.

Maybe if everyone starts thinking this we can stop seeing "unexpected" until the economy improves? Just an input here.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bare Feet and Advertising


I think most people are unaware how much in advertising is about manipulating feelings. I ran across this entry on a real estate blog and found this little example both funny and insightful:


If you never noticed all the bare feet in new home ads, you will now (sorry). Some marketing consultant long ago noticed that bare feet suggests the comforts and coziness of home. Doesn't the couple in the picture look like they have the life all of us want?


Bingo. And now you will notice it consciously, where before you noticed it only at gut level.


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Being an Early Adopter Has a Price

The article is trying to be provocative by saying early adopters are "screwed", but that is the definition of an early adopter - you are willing to pay the price, whether monetary, being obsoleted quickly, or buying from a company that goes out of business or changes its business model. Don't whine about it.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Gödel Thought for the Day

First principles cannot be proven within their own system.