nVerse

No More Big Macs in Iceland

The multitudes of readers of this blog will recall from my prior ramblings about McDonalds that McDs is an economic index of sorts - a bell-weather of global financial bust and booms.  Yesterday, the Golden Arches announced that they are shuttering all of their Icelandic restaurants with no plans to ever come back.  Yikes!  Now, recall that prior to the collapse of their banking sector last year, Iceland was one of the wealthiest nations per capita.  Reykjavik was an international financial hub providing support for all sorts of European assets…now their economy is at crisis levels.  And McDs is saying that the global economy that the Icelandic business model relies on is too precarious to ever come back to, even after people start spending more Kronas on Big Macs. 

See, the closings aren’t just about shifts in the demand curves - not just about people jonesing for that oh-so sweet-and-fatty taste of the McChicken Sandwich.  It’s also about the challenges of operating within the Icelandic economic profile - an economy that relies heavily on the Global Economy. Mainly, the sensitivity to import costs.  Most ‘ingredients’ come in from Germany; hence, die bestandteile prices have nearly doubled their costs due to the recent currency shifts (Krona way down, Euro up).  This cost function shift pushes the prices of menu items far above what consumers would pay in a sensible economy, let alone in a down economy.

Ok, ok, so what’s the punchline?  McDonalds is showing us that the underpinnings of harnessing your nation (esp if you are a small island of 300,000 people in the middle of the Atlantic) to the Global Economy spigot is not quite mature enough a system to bet the farm on…especially when currency rates are variables in your operating cost function…no insulation from the effects of macro-economic shocks to the global markets.

So There I was Making Coffee…

So some dude was making coffee in his own home and happened to not be wearing anything.  aaand he got busted for it.

Hi roomies weren’t home and he needed some coffee.

…it just so happens that someone saw him and got offended…enough to call the cops.
Perpetrator claims, “Yes, I wasn’t wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me.”

Ya know…using the curtains could help avoid the situation.

SFPD Harasses Saketboarders - Caught on Video

For the most part, I am very supportive of law enforcement. The only exception - and it is a big exception - is the san francisco police department. They are awful. This is based on a sample size of 4 run ins with them over the past 6 years. 3 of which were for ‘traffic violations’ - none of them were severe enough to warrant a citation/ticket - but all of them involved the cop yelling at me and trying to belittle me around other people…and would not leave until they finished a frothy angry rant. If there is an attractive girl around, the situation worsens. Anyways, this post isn’t about me and my issues with the SFPD. Check out this video…it’s petty and banal, but keep in mind that this sort of thing is common and frequent in our dear city. So whether you agree with my opinion or not re: the SFPD and this video, you have got to admit that it is a bit severe that you can get arrested for skateboarding without any identification…did you know that it is illegal to skateboard in San Francisco??? I hope Officer Schwab (2099) gets fired ASAP…i dont want any more of my taxes going to paying this abusive freak with a badge. Best quote, “resist again and i will break your arm like a twig.” oh, and apparently he also kicks the kid who is handcuffed.

Spanish Prime Minister’s Kids are Goths

The White House is techie-cool now that Obama is in the House.   They have a Flickr page…which sounds awesome, but is actually about as exciting as watching c-span.

ahem.

A few days ago, they posted some pics of the Obamas posing with the Zapateros - the Prime Minister of Spain and his family.

Apparently the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s kids are goths.  Go figure.  Makes me wonder is Angela Merkel’s spawn are hipsters…?

Mental Note, “don’t pick nose when standing behind POTUS, someone might take a picture”

This picture is pure awesomeness in so many ways…the nose picking is just slightly cooler than the kid who is unimpressed by the President wielding a Toys R Us lightsaber.