UM, IS IT REALLY A “JOB”?

‘Obama said she loved her job and found it liberating in some respects, but confining in others.’

Also, apparently you can complain: ““You can’t complain,” Michelle Obama admitted. “But there is definitely elements that are confining.”

But I don’t blame her. I don’t know why anyone would want to be president, or first lady.

IT’S GOOD STUFF: Ancient Chilean nicotine habits.

WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ABOUT HONG KONG.

I thought I’d link it since this whole Snowden episode has shown that some people seem to have little understanding of its relationship to China.

CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN HOW PRISM IS NOT A VIOLATION OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT?

IS THIS FOR REAL?

AGAIN, THE ANSWER IS YES. Is the economy creating a lost generation?

DUDE.

ORGANIC FOOD MAKES YOU A JERK. Or something like that.

LEARNING FROM HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE.

COLUMBUS – JEWISH? This is an old rumor, and I’m not sure why it’s coming up in the news all of a sudden.

46% OF AMERICANS THINK FACEBOOK IS A FAD.

43% disagree. I am not sure about this one – it certainly could be greatly improved, and it definitely encourages a more shallow type of person to participate, while feeling hostile to any real discussion or meaningful interaction. Still, it is such a massive part of our culture that it will be extremely difficult for any potential competitor to break into the game (think Google+).

CHINESE GHOST CITIES: This is astonishing. 

DOOM AND GLOOM: Just look at these charts. God help us.

GLENN REYNOLDS on the higher education bubble.

He discusses online education, but not as his main point. I think online education is going to overtake brick and mortar colleges in the not too distant future. For many areas of study, online classes could be even better than in person, and would be much, much cheaper.

JAILBREAKING COLLEGE: “By bundling education into its most popular format, the four-year degree, we are inevitably adding low-utility courses that the consumer should be enabled to avoid.”

This is so obvious to me and really needs to be repeated. Many degrees require only 36 credits for the major, yet the entire degree requires 120 credits or more. It is lunacy.