Book Of Norm

Used to be there was no such thing as a prepaid MVNO on the Verizon Network. Now big red is acting as a gracious host to one and all, with every network Walmart loves carrying CDMA phones and labels making it clear they are riding on Verizon's big and usually damned pricey shoulders. ZTE Sexy So what gives? Basically, all of the "real" Verizon customers are over on 4G LTE, because Verizon rolled out coverage for that... um... everywhere. So, their not-that-fast-but-honestly-perfectly-fine-most-of-the-time-you-are-using-a-phone 3G network is going unused. What's a heavily capital intensive business with a fully depreciated but still cash generating asset with extra capacity to do? Rent it out! And so it has. You can now get all kinds of different plans with verizon 3G - all of them about $99 for a decent phone (pretty meh specs - single core, 3.5' screen etc) or about $70 for this tiny little thing (only $20 actually on verizon prepaid - but then you have...

I think Obama needs to re-takes some basic econ classes. Like most liberals he seems to have completely missed the theory of capitalism as an understanding of the economy and instead is completely stuck in mercantilism. To him, it's all about the pie, and if someone has more, someone else has less. The jury is still out on whether not he believes the earth is flat, bleeding cures all ills, and smoking is good for you. Oh wait... WSJ Article - numbers to back me up =) Obama's Misguided Obsession With Inequality He uses statistics that ignore taxes and transfer payments. Faster growth is what the poor really need. Email   Print   Save ↓ More   1034  Comments   Facebook   Twitter   Google+   LinkedIn smaller   Larger By   ROBERT E. GRADY Dec. 22, 2013 6:07 p.m. ET In his widely noted speech, President Obama said that "a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility"...

I love the idea of a small off the grid cabin. Not to live in full time. But to escape to for a weekend of skiing, hiking or just relaxing with my dog? Perfect. These are some pretty great examples of the breed. Sunset Cabin by Taylor Smyth Architects, exterior, 274 square feet, Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Stunning, simple, ingenious, semi-invisible and yes, bird-safe despite its dangerous mirror-camouflaged exteiror (thanks to a thin infrared film on the outer walls visible only to birds). When you last read about it  here , it was just a design in the making. Now it is a real-life, three-story micro-hotel just north of nowhere, Sweden. Nestled near the Arctic Circle, this is one of a series of boutique stand-alone structures in a unique system of nature-oriented hotels. Inside, amazingly enough, one finds a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room space split between two interior stories (with a rooftop deck above). Also on the construction ...

Burning the Gävle Goat: Sweden's Holiday Tradition of Animal Arson 14 1 0 By  Ella Morton Photo: Johan Hansson Atlas Obscura on  Slate  is a blog about the world's hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook ,  Tumblr , or follow us on Twitter  @atlasobscura . At this time of year, the residents of Gävle, Sweden have one big question on their minds: Will the goat burn? In 1966, advertising consultant Stig Gavlén decided to create a giant yule goat — a traditional Christmas ornament made of straw — and put it in the town square. Gavlén's brother Jesper, the chief of the fire department, took responsibility for the design. On December 1, 1966, the 43-foot-tall goat was erected in the square. A few minutes into New Year's Day, 1967,  the Gävle Goat  was on fire. It was the first act of arson in what would become a holiday tradition of violence against the animal. Built annually since 1966, the Gävle Goat has been torched 26 ti...

438 AMAZING SHADOW SCULPTURES BY TIM NOBLE AND SUE WEBSTER From discarded wood, welded scrap metal, broken tools, cigarette packets, soda cans and piles of trash, Tim Noble and Sue Webster make assemblages and then point light to create projected shadows of people standing, sitting, smoking, drinking or anything easily recognizable. Every debris is precisely set in place, taking into consideration its distance from the wall, and its angle with the spotlight.  The result is surprising and powerful as it redefines how abstract forms can transform into figurative ones.   YOUNGMAN, 2012 1 wooden stepladder, and discarded wood THE INDIVIDUAL, 2012 1 wooden stepladder, and discarded wood THE GAMEKEEPER'S GIBBET, 2011 Solid sterling silver gilded in pure gold, and metal stand SELF IMPOSED MISERY, 2010 1 wooden stepladder, and discarded wood DEAD THINGS, 2010 1 black cat, 19 crow heads, 4 rook heads, 5 jackdaw heads, 13 crow legs/feet, a pair of cro...

First off - the funny thing is that I am not an Apple fan. Just read this blog. I am actually totally against Apple in terms of it's products. But I respect the business, and I respect capitalism.  Obama? Not so much. It seems there are no holds barred when an Obama political ally wants to go after a major corporation. Then again, after the GM debt shakedown, the financial crises fines and using the IRS against your political enemies, I suppose special investigators with extra-constitutional powers is no big deal.  And for anyone who things that Obama is not involved in this - obviously he is not directly. And equally as obviously, the only reason this is happening is because of his administration and his implicit ok to go after the company.  http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304355104579236261045331876

The latest numbers show that Americans are watching "less TV" because.... they are watching more streaming and internet TV. All in - Americans are spending close to 5 hours a day watching TV. ON AVERAGE. That's crazy.  FX Yes, it’s really happening: Americans are watching less television. And not just the young people. It’s across the board. The amount of time that Americans spent watching live television plus DVR playback shrank in the third quarter of this year, after growing steadily in the preceding four years, according to the  Nielsen Cross-Platform Report that came out today . Don’t worry, we’re still a couch potato nation, in which the average person watches more than four hours a day. But the trend is in a downward direction. Americans watched an average of 4 hours and 18 minutes of live TV and 25 minutes of DVR playback in the third quarter of 2013, down from 4 hours and 24 minutes and 22 minutes of DVR playback in the third quarter of 2012. Th...

Christ of the Abyss at San Fruttuoso, Italy Kolmanskop in the Namib Desert Abandoned dome houses in Southwest Florida The remains of the SS Ayrfield in Homebush Bay, Australia The abandoned Wonderland Amusement Park outside Beijing, China Fishing hut on a lake in Germany Holland Island in the Chesapeake Bay The Kerry Way walking path between Sneem and Kenmare in Ireland Pripyat, Ukraine 15th century monastery in the Black Forest in Germany Kalavantin Durg near Panvel, India The remains of the Pegasus in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica Angkor Wat in Cambodia The Maunsell Sea Forts in England Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England Częstochowa, Poland's abandoned train depot Sunken yacht in Antarctica Abandoned distillery in Barbados Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw, North Wales 1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Sarajevo Craco, Italy Russian military rocket factor...