Trivia: “Two Bits”

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You know the phrase “Two Bits” ? For example at the end of
“Shave and a haircut- Two Bits” ? Many people know it refers to 25 cents.
But few know why an odd number like 25 cents could be two of anything.

From Collect Source:
“Because America’s First Silver Dollar was often cut into eight pie shaped “bits” in order to make change, the intact coin became known as a “Piece of Eight.” Since the entire Piece of Eight had a value of 8 Reales, each bit was valued at one eighth of the total. Two bits equaled a quarter, four bits a half dollar and six bits three quarters of a dollar. Did you ever spend two bits?—Then you were living the legacy of America’s First Silver Dollar!”

So why don’t we still cut up our coins? Well, first of all, our coins are a lot harder than currency used to be-
today’s quarter is made of nickel and copper, rather than pure silver. Cutting a quarter today requires power tools rather than a hammer and punch.

Secondly, our currency is more representational than it used to be- in the age of the real silver dollar, the metal in the dollar coin was actually worth a dollar, with the value of the US$ tied to the price of the metal. If you wanted to save a bunch of money, you would usually melt down all your savings and have it made into eating utensils or a tea service or something, which is how silversmiths like Paul Revere made their living. Nowadays the metal is worth far less than the face value of the coin, which separates the US$ from the value of gold and silver. You know how it says “In God We Trust” on all our coins? Well you better trust God because since the coin itself is worth nothing he’s all you got to back up your investment in the US Monetary system!

Also note that with the mass production of currency the production cost has to be weighed when minting coins. It costs the US Mint much less than 25 cents to make a quarter, and the difference in production cost and face value (called seigniorage) helps fund the Departmment of the Treasury. According to this Report to Congressional Committees from the United States General Accounting Office, “each quarter produced [in the 2002 minting year] generates $0.21 in profits, or seigniorage” for the Mint.

BabyHead Magazine Review

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BabyHead Magazine by Chris Jordan.
He writes it. He draws it. He does his own lettering. The only thing he doesn’t do is the editing, he has Cliff Chiang for that. But BabyHead is totally fucking awesome and you need a copy.

I loved BabyHead. When I read it at APE 2003 I bought not one more but three more and then distributed them to my friends. I made other friends buy it. No joke! I own a Jive Worm magnet and a “Fuck Superman” magnet. My girlfriend quotes Jive Worm on a weekly basis- he’s a pimp tequila worm.

Zoe is pretty great- she’s a teenaged super hero and definitely a girly girl. She beats up villains and repeatedly saves the world as you might expect, but unlike any number of mainstream super-girls she seems like someone you might know. I’m sure Chris is tired of people comparing it to Brian Michael Bendis’ “Powers.” Zoe is sassier and more “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” than anything Bendis writes.

But my favorite? I love girl-cop Hitachi Bubblegum, and I basically AM her flying monkey sidekick “Sim Sim.” You know what HB reminds me of the most? Judge Dredd. No not that god-awful movie with Rocky in it. I mean the old-school 2000 AD comic, where the future was weird and wonderful, hopeless, and almost every episode had a body count in the thousands. HB accidentally fries suspects and gets in squabbles with her chola/hair-bear police captain. And what cop story would be complete without the gratuitous lesbian scene at the end?

Awesome work Chris. Please please keep it up; I need more Hitachi Bubblegum. I will mail you Judge Dredd comics for reference if necessary.

Web link of note: BabyHead Magazine Review
(At http://babyheadmagazine.com/)

Free WiFi Access in SF

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This little map of SF rocks. It’s a map of all the cafes in San Francisco that provide free wireless access. That is, access to the internet you don’t have to pay extra for. Just walk in with your laptop with 802.11b, fire it up and surf with your bad self and your assload of caffeine.

For those of you just joining us, many of the cafes with wireless internet make you
pay for a service… for example StarBucks has partnered with TMobile to bring you internet- except you have to pay $6 an hour. Ouch!
Web link of note: Free WiFi Access in SF
(At http://www.cheesebikini.com/blog/archives/000234.html)

Making RSS work

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Me vs. Dennis Miller

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DENNIS: What? Two bucks for a cup of Joe?
BRIAN: Two dollars gets you a small latte, imported coffee beans finely ground and then leached with boiling water at four atmospheres of pressure. A “cup of joe” will cost you one dollar. Unless you want Kopi Luwak,
which has been through a small mammal’s butt!

or how about:

DENNIS: Water. The most plentiful element on the planet…
BRIAN: Actually Dennis, water is neither an element nor is it the most plentiful substance on the planet- that would be Silicon Oxide. Hey aren’t you rich? Why are you complaining about phone prices? You probably haven’t paid your phone bill yourself in over a decade!

Sounds like my vacations

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Man, they took my idea! I can’t believe all this time I could have just
paid someone to plan my vacation for me!

From Mainichi Daily:

In Ecuador, Japanese can, according to the men’s weekly, hunt for children in a different manner as they are armed with a rifle and permitted to track down a youth let loose in the jungle. About 10 Japanese have so far taken part in the tours, with only three getting a shot off at their target and no fatalities reported.

Japanese are tapping into the underground in European countries, too. Belarus attracts a monthly gathering of people from all over the world for its sickening slave auctions.

“I’m what you’d call a broker. My job is to buy people (in Belarus) and sell them all over the world. Buyers are the types you’d expect, doctors, politicians and the like. Belarus has its underground slavery companies. They have a monthly auction in poor villages. Young men, women, children and even the middle-aged are auctioned off,” an unnamed man tells Tokusatsu Shinsengumi. “Belarussian women are beautiful, so they sell for a high price. Higher than you’d imagine. Basically, the younger they are, the better price they command. Let’s face it, they can be enjoyed for longer, right?”

CSS links

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Motorcycle Ape despairs of fixing his .css:

M A: I’m begining to think it can’t be solved
M A: or at least not acceptably
M A: i will just use tables
M A: and be way nonleet
BRIAN: GASP but then people in Japan on DoCoMo phones can’t read your blog!
M A: well they jsut wull ahve to live with a little formatting wierdness
BRIAN: nooooooooooooo it must be PRETTY
BRIAN: you don’t understand the pressures girls in japan face!
BRIAN: what if they have your ugly-formatted page on their cute pink and white Sanrio phone?!?
BRIAN: they’ll be LAUGHED OFF THE SUBWAY
M A: cool
BRIAN: the SHAME