soapbox

Here’s a cool graphic that I stole from marketwatch.com.

Here’s a funny quote from the same article, commenting on the (probable) upcoming rate increase. Scientists tell us that one sign of intellegence is a capacity to step back and reassess your surroundings after you’re hit in the head with a stick.
So it is with Wall Street economists, who, after entertaining the notion that the Fed might pause at the end of the month, have abandoned the notion after several well-placed whacks in the form of hawkish rhetoric from Fed officials.

Basically, the Fed is playing whack-a-mole with everybody’s retirement funds because inflation signs keep on popping up.  Now, it could be argued that high energy prices are an accurate assessment of the overall price index, but I wonder if somewhere along the line we have to just recognize that energy is inevitably going to cost more than it used to, so deal?  (Or, maybe they’re just worried about the real estate bubble, and rate increases will/have served to slow it enough to avoid implosion?)  If you’ve made it through this whole paragraph, I (a) question your judgement and (b) offer you a little nugget of atonement. [cute soccer girl] [brian mcbride topless].

(1) This assessment of Paris Hilton’s fashion “taste” is pure genius.

She’s an innovator. Like Thomas Edison, but instead of inventing revolutionary devices that change the face of society she invents new ways of getting naked faster.

(2) Cristal is racist, apparently. The discovery of this just saved me $3K, since I was planning to go out and pick up a case for this weekend’s World Cup party. actually, it probably saved me $3,004.95, since this way I don’t have to spring for postage on the invites to y’all.