1/176,000,000 x 176,000,000 = 1, was my simple calculation, implying that I am "justified" in wagering one dollar. I have seen the comparison made that you make, but I am not interested in an assured win, just in a rational bet.

I've been wondering about this. If you are a bona fide mathematician, please tell me where I'm wrong. (If you're not, I'll write you off as another wisecracking troll.) If my chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 176 million, it is not illogical for me to spend $1 on a Powerball ticket every time the jack...more

Why don't the historic movie houses just continue to show the many films of the pre-digital era that are  vastly superior to the ever-louder, ever more eye-straining, ever more soulless commercial junk being churned out by the majors nowadays? Recalling Max Orphuls: "Today we call film an industry.  And it could have b...more

Think miracles don't happen?

Good -- probably intended -- timing as the Administration and Congress square off over whether to maintain lucrative tax breaks for oil companies, hedge fund managers, and other major private interests that are collectively doing quite well in the slowly recovering economy, to the tune of tens of billions per year. Or ...more

If I knew a really friendly town, why would I tell outsiders about it?

My uncle out in Texas Can't even write his name. He signs his checks with X's, But they cash them just the same!   (Irving Berlin, "Doin' What Comes Naturally")   Surprised Shiller didn't mention the oil and gas exploration boom, which has led to fortunes being made by some owners of farmland who own their miner...more

Is that a haiku, or just a found peom?

Only the latest in a long line of CEO's to prove their pay is grossly out of keeping with their company's performance or their own contribution to it (even in those cases of successful performance, which this is not).  Chesapeake Energy's resigning CEO can be glad another CEO Behaving Badly took the spotlight off him a...more