The simple and powerful 4-Block World view of Cancer in Politics.

From Fark I spotted this story about some Mormon's being upset over a coffee shop using an image of the the angel Moroni with java being poured down its trumpet.

They're fighting the use on the grounds that images of the angel Moroni are trademarked by their church.

Good thing that they didn't claim copyright, because that would be moroni©.

Some great used car buying advice in a reader comment by Cliff over at TTAC.

From a lifetime of buying and selling (including at dealerships) vehicles:
1. The average domestic dealership is AWFUL. Run away from any dealership that uses “greeters” and closers, and any place that has an extra markup on the sticker. It takes 45 seconds to figure that out, if the above applies hop in your car and leave immediately.
2. Within literally 10 miles of each other in my neighborhood is a fabulous Toyota dealer, and one that, um, isn’t. Same thing with VW. Again, the extra sticker and the greeter are keys.
3. NEVER walk in the showroom unless you are planning to buy. Stay outside.
4. You will get took on your trade-in, sorry, you will be lucky to get Kelly Blue Book trade-in even on the cleanest low mileage cars.
5. If you are looking for high end used cars and aren’t using Ebay you are nuts. Make the market be national not local….
6. If you are looking for cheap used cars and aren’t using Craigslist, um, see above.
7. If you got crappy credit, you are going to get hosed, sorry. But you might get a chance to rebuild your credit, so how much is that worth to you?
8. Never go alone, and one of you gets to be the asshole (the person that says “We aren’t buying today” and means it). Chances are someone on your “team” is good at that.
9. At some point in your life you will walk on a lot and fall in love with something. (And every salesman on earth can tell in a heartbeat). Don’t bitch about the price you paid the next day

Highlighting mine, otherwise as in original

When I saw the following scroll by at the bottom of the news this evening on BBC American I had to look it up on BBC.com to see if it was a real story or a very early April fools day joke.

An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea.

The article goes on to get even more surreal, but the highlighted parts below suggest this isn't just a South Korean idea.

The new guidelines could reflect the three laws of robotics put forward by author Isaac Asimov in his short story Runaround in 1942, she said.

Key considerations would include ensuring human control over robots, protecting data acquired by robots and preventing illegal use.

Other bodies are also thinking about the robotic future. Last year a UK government study predicted that in the next 50 years robots could demand the same rights as human beings.

The European Robotics Research Network is also drawing up a set of guidelines on the use of robots.

I wonder if North Korea is working on robot ethics.

Given its current situation, I suppose it is more likely to be working on a grass code of ethics.

"People should not eat grass and vice versa."

A Wired article on stock option backdating has the most concise explanation of why backdating is theft that I've seen.

This is really sleazy. If a badass programmer deserves a signing bonus, pay it and don’t try to hide it. Back­dating screws existing shareholders who don’t realize they are paying for this perk — issuing more shares dilutes their stake. CEOs and other employees aren’t crooks by nature, but if you leave the keys to a tax-free Ferrari lying around, more than a few will take a joyride. Boards of directors with audit and compen­sation committees are supposed to prevent this by representing our interests. We rely on them to keep those keys locked up. They failed.

A very funny quiz.



[Via, of all places, the Tax Prof Blog.]

Boston - We put the ERROR in Terror.



Though available on t-shirts, stickers, mugs, hats and buttons, I reccommend the hooded sweatshirt since you can use it to cover your eyes to avoid all the scary and potentially dangerous traffic counters and LED signs strewn about the city.

IN OTHER BOSTON BOMB NEWS, if you place a real bomb in Boston that kills a police officer, there's a good chance the U.S. Attorney will screw up your paperwork and you'll get to go free.