The Daily Dozen

1. Iranians are the friendliest people in the world? Maybe so.
2. Will Apple release a MacBook Mini to fight Kindle 2 and Netbooks at the same time? I don't know, but it sure seems like they should.
3. Allan Meltzer talks to Russ Roberts about the current state of monetary policy and the potential for inflation.
   
4. More unemployment, less stimulus? "The money in the stimulus bill slated for transportation and infrastructure — a touch under $100 billion — –is likely to be one of the stimulus’s biggest job-generators. But we crunched the numbers and found that the higher a state’s unemployment, the less money it gets."
   
5. Ritz Camera files for bankruptcy. I can't say I'm at all surprised. Ritz tends to have some of the worst shopping experiences I've had in mall stores. Often I have had to wait for long periods of time before even being acknowledged by a sales rep. On more than one occasion, I've left a Ritz shop because I could not get a 10-second question answered after a significant time waiting. I'm also not impressed by most of the layouts of their stores or the incentives their commission sales make for their salesmen. On the other hand, I have bought a lot of camera gear from them, they had a generous return policy, and a great selection of photography gear. They've equipped me for more than one of my adventures. I hate to see them go out of business.
   
6. U.S. broadband might not be so bad after all.
   
7. A closer look at the Asus Eee T91 Netbook tablet. Reviews say it's smaller than my Eee 901. That means it's awesome for carrying around and a bit tight for typing. At just over 2 pounds, this is a computer (like my 901) that you could carry almost anywhere.
8. Facebook research? I may actually try to use Facebook at some point in my dissertation. Stay tuned.
9. The Canon Powershot A590IS. An 8-megapixel, image stabilized camera for just over $100.
   
10. What to pack? Traveling light doesn't mean going without. Here are my tips for traveling the world with only carry-on luggage.
11. Layoffs everywhere in the legal profession. "...that was the deal we all signed up for; we'd put our noses to the books for three long years, incurring piles of debt, but we'd still have jobs in an economic downturn. Wouldn't we? While job losses may be more severe outside the legal profession, a law degree is certainly no panacea, and some may begin to wonder exactly what is the value added from three years of expensive education. At the moment, I'm not sure I have an answer for my talented and hardworking students struggling to find permanent employment after graduation." It's a bad time to be in law school and a worse time to graduate from law school. That also means it's a bad time to start law school too.
12. On-chip cooling using thermoelectrics. Cool! (Pun intended.)