Lockjaws Lair http://www.lockjawslair.com Dave "Lockjaw" Walker's Home on the Web Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:32:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Economics Fallacy – The Broken Window http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/06/08/economics-fallacy-the-broken-window/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/06/08/economics-fallacy-the-broken-window/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:32:57 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=420 Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt. The text of this book is available online, and well worth a read for anyone who wants to learn more about economics. I highly suggest reading this book if you have any interest in understanding how economics works, without having to dig too deep into mathematics. For a taste, read the chapter on "The Broken Window." "A young hoodlum, say, heaves a brick through the window of a baker’s shop. The shopkeeper runs out furious, but the boy is gone. A crowd gathers, and begins to stare with quiet satisfaction at the gaping hole in the window and the shattered glass over the bread and pies. After a while the crowd feels the need for philosophic reflection. And several of its members are almost certain to remind each other or the baker that, after all, the misfortune has its bright side. It will make business for some glazier. As they begin to think of this they elaborate upon it. How much does a new plate glass window cost? Two hundred and fifty dollars? That will be quite a sum. After all, if windows were never broken, what would happen to the glass business? Then, of course, the thing is endless. The glazier will have $250 more to spend with other merchants, and these in turn will have $250 more to spend with still other merchants, and so ad infinitum. The smashed window will go on providing money and employment in ever-widening circles. The logical conclusion from all this would be, if the crowd drew it, that the little hoodlum who threw the brick, far from being a public menace, was a public benefactor." The rest of the chapter is at this link.]]> Listening to Walter Williams in my morning commute speak about the “Broken Window Fallacy” reminded me of one of my favorite books on economics, “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt. The text of this book is available online, and well worth a read for anyone who wants to learn more about economics. I highly suggest reading this book if you have any interest in understanding how economics works, without having to dig too deep into mathematics. For a taste, read the chapter on “The Broken Window.”

“A young hoodlum, say, heaves a brick through the window of a baker’s shop. The shopkeeper runs out furious, but the boy is gone. A crowd gathers, and begins to stare with quiet satisfaction at the gaping hole in the window and the shattered glass over the bread and pies. After a while the crowd feels the need for philosophic reflection. And several of its members are almost certain to remind each other or the baker that, after all, the misfortune has its bright side. It will make business for some glazier. As they begin to think of this they elaborate upon it. How much does a new plate glass window cost? Two hundred and fifty dollars? That will be quite a sum. After all, if windows were never broken, what would happen to the glass business? Then, of course, the thing is endless. The glazier will have $250 more to spend with other merchants, and these in turn will have $250 more to spend with still other merchants, and so ad infinitum. The smashed window will go on providing money and employment in ever-widening circles. The logical conclusion from all this would be, if the crowd drew it, that the little hoodlum who threw the brick, far from being a public menace, was a public benefactor.”

The rest of the chapter is at this link.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/06/08/economics-fallacy-the-broken-window/feed/ 1 Muppets – Beaker sings Dust in the Wind http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/10/muppets-beaker-sings-dust-in-the-wind/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/10/muppets-beaker-sings-dust-in-the-wind/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:55:45 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=417 Click here to view the embedded video.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/10/muppets-beaker-sings-dust-in-the-wind/feed/ 1 Buckle Up http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/08/buckle-up/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/08/buckle-up/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:06:00 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=414

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2010/02/08/buckle-up/feed/ 1 Video – Daddy’s Home from Iraq http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/11/06/video-daddys-home-from-iraq/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/11/06/video-daddys-home-from-iraq/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:15:33 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=407 Click here to view the embedded video.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/11/06/video-daddys-home-from-iraq/feed/ 0 Mike Baker on Homeless Soccer, aka The Clip That Hooked Me on Red Eye http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/mike-baker-on-homeless-soccer-aka-the-clip-that-hooked-me-on-red-eye/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/mike-baker-on-homeless-soccer-aka-the-clip-that-hooked-me-on-red-eye/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:13:09 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=403 I discovered Red Eye, late night on Fox News and watched it now and then, but it was this clip that made Red Eye a daily watch for the wife and I. When you see it, you’ll understand why.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/mike-baker-on-homeless-soccer-aka-the-clip-that-hooked-me-on-red-eye/feed/ 0 Multi-Camera Office Lip-Sync Brilliance http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/multi-camera-office-lip-sync-brilliance/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/multi-camera-office-lip-sync-brilliance/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:47:57 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=400 Click here to view the embedded video.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/30/multi-camera-office-lip-sync-brilliance/feed/ 0 Contest for Google Wave Invite http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/16/contest-for-google-wave-invite/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/16/contest-for-google-wave-invite/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:15:30 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=391 I’ve had a few days to work with Google Wave, and it really is a fantastic new tool. Currently, it is in preview mode, so access is invite-only. Those who received their invites directly from Google have been granted invites that they can pass out to others. I’ve decided to offer one of mine up in a contest. The rules are simple.

  1. Follow @LockjawTheOgre on Twitter. It’s not just a good idea, it also allows me to DM the winner.
  2. Write a comment on this post saying why you think receiving an invite would be the coolest thing ever.
  3. Sent a tweet with the following text “From @LockjawTheOgre: I’m giving away one invite for Google Wave. http://bit.ly/44wK54 Please RT”

I will select a winner Tuesday night, sometime after 6pm Eastern Time. It will likely be while I’m watching Hell’s Kitchen or Shark Tank. That gives around five days for this contest to run. I will announce the winner, and DM for the email address to which I will send the invite. The invite will probably take at least a couple days to arrive, but that’s up to Google to decide.

We have a WINNER
Due to the overwhelming success of this contest, I had a grand total of six qualified entries. One failed to send the proper tweet, and one is a good friend and therefore disqualified from the contest (on the spot ruling) but qualified for an invite anyway. Hi Brad!

The winner is @SimpsonsParadox. Once I have your email address, the invite will go out. Previously invited folks have gotten the invite in a couple days, so I expect yours will take about the same amount of time.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/16/contest-for-google-wave-invite/feed/ 11 Barack Obama’s Promises – Advice Taken http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/12/barack-obamas-promises-advice-taken/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/12/barack-obamas-promises-advice-taken/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:33:57 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=388 Back in November, I wrote a post advising then President-Elect Barack Obama how to make lots of promises, but not necessarily keep them. Whether he was aware of it or not, he has been following my advice perfectly. The man has made plenty of promises, but failed to follow through on very much at all.

Polifact analyzed Obama’s first 100 days in broken promises. Ideapalooza has a downloadable spreadsheet of Obama’s 895 campaign promises. Recently, he called for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, considered a paragon of Democrat wishy-washiness. Of course, this has been on the White House website for a while, and nothing has been done.

Way to go Mr. President. You’ve learned well. Your supporters really don’t pay close enough attention to what you do to realize the truth. Keep making promises. Don’t worry about keeping them. It’s the liberal way. After all, you can earn the Nobel Prize for just saying you’ll do something now. I’d say this plan has already been a success.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/12/barack-obamas-promises-advice-taken/feed/ 0 One Reason I Love Fox News “Red Eye” at 3am http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/08/one-reason-i-love-fox-news-red-eye-at-3am/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/08/one-reason-i-love-fox-news-red-eye-at-3am/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:11:42 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=383
This is making the rounds because “Attack of the Show” featured it. I’ve been wanting exactly this clip, plus the “Homeless soccer fat chicks” comment for some time. I’ll have to settle for just the one, for now.

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]]> http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/08/one-reason-i-love-fox-news-red-eye-at-3am/feed/ 0 Order for me. I’ll order for that guy. http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/07/order-for-me-ill-order-for-that-guy/ http://www.lockjawslair.com/2009/10/07/order-for-me-ill-order-for-that-guy/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:07:06 +0000 lockjaw http://www.lockjawslair.com/?p=378 Would you eat at a restaurant in which each person ordered the meal for the next person to order? Offsetting Behaviour tells of a japanese restaurant where each person orders, and pays for, the meal of the person to follow.Yes, when you visit, you eat what the person before you ordered, and the next person eats what you ordered.  Something tells me, if you tried this in the US, somebody would try to sue.

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