fish are cool

From a recent trip to Monterey. I could watch the fish for hours. It's a wonder I've never owned a fish tank. Click the image for more -- we got to see the first white shark to last more than a couple days in captivity. She was as menacing as you might imagine (not that you can tell from the pictures), except for the fact that half the tuna in the talk outweighed her (one recently took a nibble out of her)

The Confusion

It ocurred to me yesterday that the study of the inner workings and decisions of cell phone companies would be immensely fascinating. Liz and I were purchasing new phones--a replacement for one lost, and one failing--and trying to figure out which plan made the most sense to us (Liz did most of the work on that).

The woman setting up our new choices was rapidly going through a bewildering array of options (in a pretty crappy interface no less), and I had to wonder -- are there teams of accountants and actuarians devising these ever more complex plans to eek out a few extra cents here and there? laying traps for the unwary consumer? is it just bored cubicle farm workers seeking a little entertainment? or is it just a ploy to frustrate competition?

The answer fascinates me, partly because it bears on a conversation I've been having with a friend on the free market, which is somewhat related to the book I'm reading right now, Neal Stephenson's The Confusion - the middle (and overall much more fun) portion of his Baroque Cycle.

got their head on backwards

If you walk or bike down market street you have probably seen this ad. I have the occassion to stop by the ad every day several times on my commute to and from work, and it bugs the hell out of me. No doubt do to the wonders of air brushing the woman's skin has no particular features, so it is hard to tell if that is her front or backside. Given the position of the orange skin, it looks like her front side -- consequently, it looks like her head is on backwards. What were they thinking?! If anyone mentions Cointreau from now, I will immediately have this image pop into my head.