Tyler Cowen on Black Friday Economics

From 2011, but still relevant: In fact it seems that early December has in general the cheapest prices of the year, not Black Friday. Dare I suggest that some people like waiting in those lines with their thermos cups and stale bagels. You could try to argue they are “forced to do so,” to get the bargains, but in a reasonably competitive world each outlet will (roughly) try to maximize the consumer surplus from visiting the store, including the experience of waiting in line.

Trendy on a Budget

My good friend Linda Nguyen was featured and interviewed in today’s Boston Globe for her ‘Trendy on a Budget’ blog and Instagram feed. “At first glance, 32-year-old South Boston resident Linda Nguyen appears to be your average compliance specialist at a financial services company. She’s engaged, dotes on her precious Yorkshire terrier, and has an obsession with fried chicken and travel. But take a closer look at her fashion choices and it’s clear we’re not dealing with just any financial services employee. Nguyen loves to hunt down bargains and then share (OK, brag about) them on her blog. Which could only mean one thing: She’s our Instagram style star of the week.” A few good lines from Linda: “Over the years, Bentley (my

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Southie Development Time Lapse

I have three good friends who all live in this building, a few blocks up the street from my place. A year ago it was in pretty rough shape, likely abandoned and condemned. This time lapse below, covering the gutting and development of the building, is pretty great. Especially since my friends get to have a professional video of their homes being built. It seems like every fifth lot in the neighborhood is undergoing something similar.

How to Make People Float

I read Ender’s Game when I was 12 years old — it was on a summer reading list, and as a young kid, I loved the book. It was among the most unique stories I read in grade school. And given that it was written in the 80’s, many of its ideas were certainly ahead of the times. I’ve never been into sci-fi, but it was thought provoking and it grabbed my attention. I haven’t closely followed all of the Orson Scott Card controversy, but once I heard there was a movie in the works, I knew I had to see it. Last weekend I did, and thought it was thoroughly entertaining, and it at least did the book some justice.

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(Blackberry) Stout Recipe

Last week I brewed my first batch of beer in quite some time. I didn’t brew this past spring as I was moving in the summer, and didn’t want to worry about moving a bunch of extra bottles and/or full carboys. And It took some time to get settled in my new place. But now I’ve finally got my homebrew setup running. So let there be fresh beer again. Last weekend my plan was to brew a blackberry stout. I came up with a new recipe inspired by some previous stouts I had made, and brewed it last Sunday afternoon. I had picked up some blackberry flavoring with the intention of adding it at bottling. But I just transferred it

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