Category Archives: Economics

Free-Market Meat

Some thoughts on the tradeoffs with animal cruelty. I would love to get pork in a cruelty-free way, and I’d vastly prefer factory-manufactured steak and bacon, if it was indistinguishable in every way from that obtained by killing cattle and pigs.

[Update a while later]

This seems related, somehow: Vegan “pork” rinds.

I disagree with this, though:

Apparently, the gourmands have discovered pork rinds. Yes, the deep-fried, not at all good for you, salt-laden, very high fat, treat found rarely if ever outside the US South or (as chicharones) where there is a sizeable Mexican consumer pool.

They’re actually quite keto, because low carb (close to zero). There’s nothing wrong with high fat, as long as it’s not seed oils.

Venezuela

The collapse is near.

Via Stephen Green, who writes: “We’re watching the last chapter of Atlas Shrugged play out in Venezuela in realtime.”

Yes, it was supposed to be a cautionary tale, not a how-to manual.

[Update a few minutes later]

Aaaaand the water plants have shut down.

[Update mid-afternoon]

Trump’s biggest challenge: Educating the kids on socialism. We shouldn’t have to do this, but the schools clearly haven’t. And unfortunately, that’s no accident.

Keep Cars, But Don’t Make People Drive Them

An alternate, and more realistic version of the Green Leap Forward.

Two points: I fear the day that we won’t be allowed to drive, except in special circumstances (like amusement parks).

Point Two: I suspect that a lot of current auto traffic will move to the air, with the advent of Urban Air Mobility, particularly if the vehicles can be powered from the ground (e.g., Jeff Greason’s and Dan DeLong’s Electric Sky is working on such a concept). Airbus has an interesting concept of moving passengers via passenger modules that are moved from one vehicle type to another, like cargo containers, in which you’d share a pod with people from your door to an aircraft, to a long-range aircraft, to another aircraft, to the other door. That’s a lot more interesting and flexible concept than high-speed rail.

The Real Pucker Factor

For Dragon, it will be early tomorrow morning, when it enters and is recovered.

[Friday-morning update]

Mission success.

[Noon update]

What SpaceX’s success means for America.

Eating Healthy

Yes, it’s possible to do it on a budget. The problem with this is that the USDA guidelines are terrible:

The menus offered a variety of food, didn’t have processed foods, were affordable and didn’t require always require cooking to prepare. Each menu also had manageable portions of food without high fat or salt content.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with high fat or salt content, as long as the fat isn’t seed oils.

Roscosmos

is acting left behind.

It’s not really acting. They have been left behind.

But, while I like Sandy, this kind of thing continues to drive me crazy.