Einstein's Puzzle

You know I love good puzzles (not the kind that is a trick question or has multiple answers). Someone at work sent me this puzzle and I solved it in less than 30 minutes. Give it a try...

FACTS OF THE PUZZLE
1. There are five houses in five different colours.
2. In each house lives a person of a different nationality.
3. These five owners drink a certain beverage, smoke a certain brand ofcigarette and keep a certain pet.
4. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of smoke or drinkthe same drink.

HINTS
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The green house owner drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The man who smokes Blend lives next to the one who keeps cats.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
12. The owner who smokes Blue Master drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blend has a neighbour who drinks water.

The question is: WHO OWNS FISH?

Books of the Month

It was a bookful month for me.

In Search of Stupidity: Over Twenty Years of High Tech Marketing Disasters, Second Edition by Merrill R. (Rick) Chapman
It was an excellent, fun to read book. This book is also a good guide to understanding a bit of tech/computer industry and its evolution. What makes this book a must read is due to the fact that the author had worked for the companies he talks about in the book during those times.

The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World for the Next 5, 10, and 20 Years by James Canton
Either this book is way out of my league or not that great. The writing style and/or the way it was laid out was part of the issue. Some of the areas/ideas presented in the book was obvious and has been talked about quite extensively. For example, sites like http://www.futureforall.org/ talk about most of the areas that the author talks about. One of the things I found it interesting in the book was the author's predictions about the future. But then if you know about sites like http://www.longbets.org/, then it isn't that unique. If you some time to burn, pick this and read.

Ticking timebomb, a Red herring?

It is and you better believe it. If you don't watch the interview with Jack Cloonan at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4193 and tell me if you still think it happens in real world!

Here is one more reason to Hate Hillary more

Since day 1, I liked Obama and wanted him to be the next president. There are many reasons behind and I arrived at the candidate logically. One of the main critisism against Obama is that he does not have any experience. So what has Hillary's "experience" accomplished? Hit the following link and read for yourself
In 2 years as a Senator, Obama authored 152 bills - Hillary: 20 in 6 years

The main reason I dislike Hillary is because she is not for change. She is the same old stuff you will get from any Democrat or republican. She is very divisive as well.

Vote for Obama and change America's reputation. As a bonus, America would have proven to the World that it is the land of opportunities with Sky as the limit and the land of the free.

Can any other presential candidate come any closer to Dr.Paul on the understanding of the economy?

I think not. We only have economic dummies running for Presidents who have no clue except saying tax cuts are good. My only problem is that I don't agree with Paul on social issues. Otherwise he would have been my favorite

I chose column A long time ago. Which one are you?

This argument makes perfect sense to me. I had come to a similar conclusion a long time ago. I asked similar question when I had to pick. What was the worst thing that could happen if we were wrong about global climate change? To me the answer was clear. It was cleaner air, investments in renewable energy like solar, wind (all the other resources are finite BTW), less trashing of earth with wiser consumption of our limited resources. This is like paying for an insurance for something that may happen to you in the future. It sure costs money upfront and most of the time, you don't get a penny back even if you never filed a claim.




You may ask if I am all talk and no walk. I do act. Have a hybrid that gives me 45MPG on the average, buy green power from my utility, use re-usable cups, plates as much as possible. I have also made many small life style changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator and choosing to walk for short distances and of taking the car or something else. I reduced my home temparature by a few degrees which result in cost savings. Cook at home more often which otherwise means driving to a restaurent etc. Buy food in bigger quantities rather than bite size containers. Also don't remember the last time I used paper. I can go on and on.

End result is that I am making myself more healthier and I am not losing on anything except making good choices. You should too consider that.

We are screwed. For ever!

If you had thought you knew something about the money and banking system, I dare you to watch Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated presentation of "Money as Debt" which tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it is being created. This is very scary stuff. Not for the faint hearted