Wherein I get all nerdy with greeting card pricing data. It's more interesting than it sounds.

Wherein I get all nerdy with greeting card pricing data. It's more interesting than it sounds.

https://medium.com/@CRA1G/the-secrets-of-shutterflys-card-pricing-1bcd6c0cbfc7
https://medium.com/@CRA1G/the-secrets-of-shutterflys-card-pricing-1bcd6c0cbfc7

Lead is an extreme danger, yet corporations have routinely sought to minimize public oversight of it in their...

Lead is an extreme danger, yet corporations have routinely sought to minimize public oversight of it in their products.
https://www.wired.com/2013/01/looney-gas-and-lead-poisoning-a-short-sad-history/

It's been exactly zero minutes since a corporation acted like a sociopath.

It's been exactly zero minutes since a corporation acted like a sociopath.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/11/property-tax-dark-store-theory-retail-apocalypse-walmart/574123/?fbclid=IwAR3k1UhwDYw06NoHh_ikWtB2m7Ixz50WHbKxNYl2meywtVjhyADxQLmMRNA
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/11/property-tax-dark-store-theory-retail-apocalypse-walmart/574123/?fbclid=IwAR3k1UhwDYw06NoHh_ikWtB2m7Ixz50WHbKxNYl2meywtVjhyADxQLmMRNA

This guy is playing life-size Monopoly with an American icon.

This guy is playing life-size Monopoly with an American icon. He loans his own company money, then charges it interest, and when it can't pay back the interest, he collects its real estate assets. Makes me wish there was a Hell, just for people like this.

http://prospect.org/article/how-sears-was-gutted-its-own-ceo

Yet another reason to not trust a company that makes gas burners.

Yet another reason to not trust a company that makes gas burners.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/02/daimler-included-emissions-cheating-software-on-diesels-german-magazine-says/

Both companies' stocks fell after the announcement.

Both companies' stocks fell after the announcement. Investors know this is a net loser for everyone. Disney's just being greedy, and Netflix (and consumers) suffer for it. And, apparently, shareholders.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/08/media/disney-netflix/index.html

FTA: "That legal assessment of the defeat device scandal seems to have held up as the researchers analyzed the cars’...

FTA: "That legal assessment of the defeat device scandal seems to have held up as the researchers analyzed the cars’ code. The VWs and Audis in question checked for a number of parameters at startup, and if a lab test was a possibility, the car would start with that assumption, enabling full emissions controls. The code permitted the car “to operate... as if two distinct personalities took turns controlling the vehicle,” the paper’s authors wrote."
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/05/volkswagen-bosch-fiat-diesel-emissions-cheats-cracked-open-in-new-research/

OK, I'll admit it...I want McDonald's to succeed.

OK, I'll admit it...I want McDonald's to succeed. I want McDonald's to not suck, to offer good service, to make yummy, good-quality food, and to be a great company. If this totally off-the-wall ad campaign is a sign of things to come, I'm heartened, because it's McDonald's not taking itself so seriously that it can't poke a little fun at itself. And if fast food needs to be anything (besides compliant with health regulations, that is), it's fun. Otherwise, it really doesn't offer anything other than speed, and fast casual has covered that base pretty squarely now. Go, McD's...go for the slightly absurd...it can only help.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/01/mcdonalds-invents-the-frork-to-pitch-its-new-burgers.html

Think about how the crab's story might sound to its comrades below the waves, and then realize how similar it is to...

Think about how the crab's story might sound to its comrades below the waves, and then realize how similar it is to the stories humans tell about being abducted onto spaceships, had weird medical procedures done, and then returned back to Earth.

Also, that image is rather unsettling. Industrial bleeding has to give many people the willies.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a26038/the-blood-of-the-crab/

I hope he sues the ever-loving hell out of United and wins enough to buy his own 737.

I hope he sues the ever-loving hell out of United and wins enough to buy his own 737.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/04/10/a-man-wouldnt-leave-an-overbooked-united-flight-so-he-was-dragged-off-battered-and-limp/?utm_term=.16d8af3d3e91

It's official: Every image on the Internet now has a stock photo watermark.

It's official: Every image on the Internet now has a stock photo watermark.

We, the public, should reject outright all stories with link-bait headlines.

We, the public, should reject outright all stories with link-bait headlines.

Compare the two headlines from Huffington Post and The Chive below to the one from The Verge. Notice a difference? The first two rely on that abominable technique of leaving out a key piece of information to make the reader curious. On the HuffPo article, you're forced to think "What was the mistake??" On The Chive one, it wants us all to wonder what was the idea about?

The Verge's headline, in contrast, offers up the key facts as a proper journalistic headline should.

If we wanted to rewrite the Verge headline to use the same awful technique as the first two, it'd probably turn out something like: "Google makes Photos better with this one weird trick."

The purposeful obfuscation of headlines in order to drive traffic is an appalling trend and one we should all reject by never clicking on them. The same should be said for overtly hyperbolic headlines (e.g., 'Trump campaign devastated by new leaks' -- the word "devastated" shouldn't be used in headlines unless a massive earthquake took out a significant city...then it's appropriate).

Seriously, until we hold "news" sources to a higher standard, we're never going to have better news sources. And until we start drawing a clearer line between news sources and entertainment/opinion outlets, we will continue to have people confusing/conflating the two.

I think it may be time to divest my $AAPL holdings.

I think it may be time to divest my $AAPL holdings.

Apple, I am disappoint.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/apple-vaporizer-patent/

The sooner we (the US) do away with privately run health insurance companies, or at least GREATLY reduce the scope...

The sooner we (the US) do away with privately run health insurance companies, or at least GREATLY reduce the scope of their role in our healthcare system, the better off we'll be. A profit-seeking health insurance company's core mission (making profits for its shareholders) is at odds with its social function, which is maximizing the health and wellness of the people who need healthcare. Capitalism has a role in healthcare, but it is likely to be far more limited than what we currently permit.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-aetna-obamacare-20170123-story.html

If only this kind of prosecution happened more regularly, especially in the energy industry...

If only this kind of prosecution happened more regularly, especially in the energy industry...
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/business/volkswagen-diesel-emissions-investigation-settlement.html?smid=go-share

This is not just bad from an ecological point-of-view, it's terrifying from a public health point-of-view.

This is not just bad from an ecological point-of-view, it's terrifying from a public health point-of-view.

A mix of big business, ineffective and inadequate regulation, and consumers' lack of giving a damn about where their food comes from has created a situation where virtually all shrimp you might consider eating could contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. That. Could. Kill. You.

Seriously...this is bad.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-12-15/how-antibiotic-tainted-seafood-from-china-ends-up-on-your-table