links for 2008-02-03

markets in everything

According to early estimates, 25% would be unaffected by the bill, while 35% would be charged a fee and 40% would receive rebates (paid for by the fees).

…My long-standing proposal is to tax vehicles based on weight, to recover the costs of road damage caused by larger vehicles.

[There is ] a California proposal to hit up hummers with a $2,500 registration fee and give rebates to purchasers of super-efficient cars. According to early estimates, 25% would be unaffected by the bill, while 35% would be charged a fee and 40% would receive rebates (paid for by the fees).

[From Survey: Should You Pay More to Drive a Gas Guzzler? : TreeHugger]

My long-standing proposal is to tax vehicles based on weight, to recover the costs of road damage caused by larger vehicles. I don’t know if passing the fees on to Prius owners makes sense, given how many deferred maintenance projects are on the books.

question of the day

The problem of evil–why does God make a world in which bad things happen to good people?–is a hard one. But the problem of supernatural evil–why does God make a world in which good people do bad things in the name of God?–is a much harder one.

The problem of evil–why does God make a world in which bad things happen to good people?–is a hard one. But the problem of supernatural evil–why does God make a world in which good people do bad things in the name of God?–is a much harder one. [From The Problem of Supernatural Evil]

For the second part, assume God to be whatever moral code or ethical framework you believe it.

so what else do they get?

has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.’s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets….In a statement Friday, Yahoo said it will “carefully and promptly” study Microsoft’s bid.

I suppose this would make Flickr (or what’s left of it) an MSFT subsidiary.

Michael Liedtke, AP:

Microsoft Corp. has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.’s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets. […]

In a statement Friday, Yahoo said it will “carefully and promptly” study Microsoft’s bid.

My guess: Sold.

★ [From Microsoft Offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo]

I don’t think I’m all that comfortable with that outcome.

fun while it lasted

The current Strongspace will be replaced by a new service (not named Strongspace) that will not have the economic model of the current service…. If you just feel like saying “screw it, I don’t want to have anything to do with these guys”, please file a ticket and we will refund you for two weeks of down time.

The end of StrongSpace.

The current Strongspace will be replaced by a new service (not named Strongspace) that will not have the economic model of the current service. It will be expensive, distributed and bullet-proof. The replacement service will likely be introduced before October, 2008. We will retire the current Strongspace on 1 October 2008. There is Strongspace functionality in Joyent Connector today, and that will remain. Customers currently on Strongspace will be allowed to continue to use the service for the next 9 months for free.[ . . .] If you just feel like saying “screw it, I don’t want to have anything to do with these guys”, please file a ticket and we will refund you for two weeks of down time.

[From Joyeur: Bingodisk and Strongspace: What Happened?]

Not sure if I move to the new service or what. It has all been confusing, with the name and service plan changes. I think my money is better spent on Time Capsule or some home-rolled equivalent.