| Think of it as money? |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|08:48 am] |
Since February or so, I've been carrying a 20 billion dollar "Special Agro-Cheque" issued in 2008 by the bank of Zimbabwe as a conversation piece. It is, of course, chump change -- I wouldn't risk carrying a 50-trillion or 100-trillion dollar note on the mean streets of Metro Boston. But that's only because they are crisp new bills -- the 100 trillion is worth about 0.23 USD.
Behind the amusement is, of course, a tragedy. Hyperinflation is only a joke when it's happening someplace far away. Knowing this, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) debgeisler pointed me to this story from the Guardian. There's also a Flickr Photostream showing other parts of the campaign. Each brings the point home better than I ever could. |
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| Congratulations Team USA |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|09:20 am] |
After making the semifinals of the Confederations Cup under improbable circumstances, the 14th ranked U.S. team beat #1 Spain 2-nil.
In the realm of international sports, this was a huge upset. People more knowledgeable than I can argue about where it fits in the all-time rankings, but I think it's the biggest upset of this year so far.
And of course, since it was a professional soccer football game, by tomorrow it will disappear from the U.S. consciousness. |
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