Happy End of the World Day

Posted on by in Current Events

I haven’t bothered to read up much on all of rapture discussions, but I’m going to take a leap and say we’re talking midnight Israeli time? So 5:00PM EST? I’ll be on a train. Here’s an amusing list of failed apocalypse predictions. I like how Pat Robertson and Issac Newton are on a list together. Via Barry Ritholtz: There is an Evangelist named Harold Camping, who claims the world will end tomorrow. He has violated the first rule of forecasting: You can give a price target ($0) or a date (tomorrow) but never both at once. Besides, the end of world forecast carries additional risks. People have been making Armageddon forecasts for, like, forever. So far, not one has paid off. And Elvis

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Road Trip Plans

Posted on by in General

I’m heading out to the Bay area to work for the Summer, which makes for the perfect opportunity for me to finally take a cross country road trip. I’m planning on taking the Northern route out, with stops to see some friends in a few cities along the way, and the Southern route back. Here’s my current plan for the drive out: 1. Toronto, Ontario (1 Day) 2. Chicago, IL (1 Day) 3. Badlands National Park, SD (2 Days) 4. Yellowstone National Park, MT (2 Days) 5. Glacier National Park, MT (2 Days) 6. Portland, OR (2 Days) 7. San Francisco, CA View Larger Map Anyone have any thoughts? Other recommendations?

Religion, Hemp, Milk, and Charts

Posted on by in Links

More Links: 1. David Leonhardt on Religion, Income, and Education. But where are the Atheists? 2. An Interesting Video of the U.S. Government Supporting Hemp Crops During WWII. 3. A Love Story…In Milk. 4. Crazy Interactive Charts on All Kinds of Stuff.  

Sloan Follies

Posted on by in Current Events

Here are some clips from last week’s Sloan follies: Opening Dance: Alfred the Robot: Grading at Sloan, with a guest appearance from Simon Johnson: Action Learning: The European Story: The Koreans actually do this:  

Some Reading

Posted on by in Links

Here are a few articles and posts I found interesting: 1. Uh-Oh: Gold on the Cover of NYT Magazine? 2. Why Does Groupon Work? 3. Tyler Cowen asks how a “true economist” should react to today’s news about Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest. Kid Dynamite’s response: “Dominique Strauss-Kahn Renders Economic Theory Moot.” 4. I like this economic dashboard. I’d love to see a company or website create something similar, and update it daily. 5. Breaking Bin Laden: Visualizing The Power of a Single Tweet

MIT C-Bonds!

Posted on by in Markets

MIT Issues Rare 100-Year Bond: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology came to market Wednesday with a $750 million taxable bond offering maturing in 100 years, according to people familiar with the deal. Bonds of that length are extremely rare, although universities–including Yale and Boston University–have issued so-called ‘century bonds’ in the past. With interest rates near all-time lows, ultra-long-term debt is a favorable option for issuers; and with risk premiums between 10-year and longer-dated debt narrowing, borrowers, especially AAA-rated ones like MIT, can fund themselves cheaply over extended periods. Pricing offered on the MIT deal as of its launch Wednesday was 1.30 percentage points over 30-year government bonds, according to the people familiar with it. That was lower than initial

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