Now I can pretend to be on Wall Street, seizing untold riches with my filthy, Ponzi-scheme stained paws!
…or does this hyperinflationary currency from Zimbabwe’s crumbling economy portend the future of our own currency?
By the way… uh… is it just me, or is the typeface on the 10 trillion dollar banknote the same as the one used for Rock Band?
They really know how to party in Zimbabwe.
My del.icio.us auto-posting doodad no longer works. Automation has failed me. *Cry*.
So, here are some hand-cranked, slow-cooked links for today.
X-rays detected from Scotch tape. Incredible. Maybe somebody will exploit this to take a peek inside of Christmas presents.
How the Weird Mars Science Laboratory Floating Sky Crane Works. Very cool video showing the landing procedure of an upcoming Mars mission. GET YOUR ASS TO MARS!
ALIPR – Automatic Photo Tagging and Visual Image Search. Free photo auto-tagging service. I had very mixed results on the few tests I attempted.
Cockroach inspired robot from CWRU’s biorobotics lab. More roachbots are coming. And your sprays will not help you.
The bursting housing bubble is painfully clear in this graph. I’ve heard some projections that the retraction in housing prices won’t bottom out until 2011.
I’ve seen this many other places, but I cannot help reposting it here. It is a great statement on the current economic crisis:
DEAR AMERICAN:
I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.
I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY. AS A SENATOR, YOU MAY KNOW HIM AS THE LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S. THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE.
THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.
PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.
YOURS FAITHFULLY MINISTER OF TREASURY PAULSON
