Some MemeStreams users have heard me talk about ordering dollar coins from the US Mint web site and racking up credit card points. Well, the couponers have caught on too. Supposedly one person bought $800,000 worth.

People really cashing in on the Mint's Free Shipping for Dollar Coins

The bottom line is that in blind wine tastings, there is a zero or even slightly negative correlation between the ratings of regular people and the price of the wine they are drinking; for experts the relationship between rating and price is positive.

Keep the Cheap Wine Flowing - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

My favorite line on this comes from the chickenhawks who say that the Fourth Amendment was written before the All Powerful Threat of Terrorism. Sure thing. Ben Franklin and his pals couldn't possibly have foreseen a world in which the very idea of America was under some kind of military threat. Those candyasses didn't understand what war was about. They were armchair theorists, civilians who'd never anticipated foreign soldiers on American soil -- surely if they'd known that America might some day face an actual existential risk, they would have put a little asterisk next to each clause of the Bill of Rights leading to a footnote that said, "Unless the king president really, really needs to do it."

John McCain vows to continue Bush's illegal warrantless wiretapping program - Boing Boing

A new survey shows that data retention laws influence the actual behavior of citizens in Germany. 11% had already abstained from single telecommunication acts, 52% would not use phone or e-mail for confidential contacts.

The problem with surveillance is not primarily that some bored officer might learn about some embarrassing private detail (although this is a problem as well). The fundamental problem with surveillance is that it changes people. People under surveillance behave differently than people who are not monitored - differently than free people.

Data Retention Effectively Changes the Behavior of Citizens in Germany « Creation Noise

Last month I took a photo of an honor payment system at a bookstore in Ojai, California. On a related note, here's an article about the City Café Bakery in Kitchener, Ontario, which uses an honor payment system and almost never gets cheated.

(Photo from MyWorldReviews.com) City Café doesn’t have Interac or accept credit cards. Neither will you see a cash register in the bakery. Instead, customers add up how much they owe themselves and drop their money into a fare box from an old bus.

“I liked the idea of simplifying things and ... the honour system made a whole lot of sense,” [owner John] Bergen says. “What irritated me about going into Tim Hortons, for example, was waiting in line for something as simple as getting a donut and a coffee. So the thought was, someone can pour his own coffee, grab his own bagel, cut it himself, throw the money in, and walk out. We don’t touch 60 per cent of the transaction.”

Because it is up to the customers to total their purchases, Bergen has simplified the cost structure.

“Everything is rounded off to the nearest quarter with taxes included where applicable,” he says. “So every desert is $1.50 (tarts, brownies, and date squares), every pizza lunch is $5, every beverage is $1.25, every loaf of bread is $2.75 (Italian sourdough, multi-grain, and raisin bread on weekends), croissants are $1 each, and bagels are three for $2 (plain, sesame, and multi-grain).”

The bakery conducts audits every six months and Bergen says only once did things come up short.

“Our theory is that two per cent of our sales are being ripped off. ‘Ripped off’ in the sense that there are people who forget to pay or they make a mistake in paying, and then there are people who deliberately don’t pay. And every so often we have to kick somebody out that we know hasn’t been paying,” he says. “But at the same time we figure we’re being overpaid by three per cent. Some people come in and want a $2.75 loaf of bread, but they see we’re busy so they throw $3 in and walk out. Or, although we discourage tips, some people still give them to us. But because the staff is paid well (the average wage is $15.50 an hour), the tips go into the general pot.”

Ontario bakery succeeds with honor payment system - Boing Boing

With any luck, it will be "Proposition H" on the ballot.

San Francisco Proposal For George W Bush Sewage Plant | Laughing Squid

I really like the TSA's new blog. Yes, it leaves a lot to be desired, but they are the first agency I can think of to engage in a direct dialog with citizens, and doing so knowing that most people are going to be angry with you is pretty bold. I invite the IRS to try :)

These images from a "millimeter wave" scanner were on the blog. I'm not really sure what to think of these. It's not quite as cool as Total Recall. TSA says that passengers given a choice of a typical pat-down or the MW choose the backscatter by 85%. I wonder, however, if passengers see these images first? Is there really "informed consent" here?

I guess what bugs me more than the whole nudity thing is the "put your hands in the air or I'll shoot" pose you are required to assume. I don't see how that is really necessary. I understand this is not "x-ray" and that they do need to scan under your arm, but the whole thing reminds me to The Fifth Element. Put your hands on the circles, or we'll shoot.

Your thoughts?

TSA Millimeter Wave Sample Images

Via BoingBoing:

Josh sez, "The folks at BMC (Black Mustang Club) automotive forum wanted to put together a calendar featuring members' cars, and print it through CafePress. Photos were submitted, the layout was set, and... CafePress notifies the site admin that pictures of Ford cars cannot be printed. Not just Ford logos, not just Mustang logos, the car -as a whole- is a Ford trademark and its image can't be reproduced without permission. So even though Ford has a lineup of enthusiasts who want to show off their Ford cars, the company is bent on alienating them. 'Them' being some of the most loyal owners and future buyers that they have. Or rather, that they had, because many have decided that they will not be doing business with Ford again if this matter isn't resolved."

I got some more info from the folks at cafepress and according to them, a law firm representing Ford contacted them saying that our calendar pics (and our club's event logos - anything with one of our cars in it) infringes on Ford's trademarks which include the use of images of THEIR vehicles. Also, Ford claims that all the images, logos and designs OUR graphics team made for the BMC events using Danni are theirs as well. Funny, I thought Danni's title had my name on it ... and I thought you guys owned your cars ... and, well ... I'm not even going to get into how wrong and unfair I feel this whole thing is as I'd be typing for hours, but I wholeheartedly echo everything you guys have been saying all afternoon. I'm not letting this go un-addressed and I'll keep you guys posted as I get to work on this.

I'm sorry, but at this point we will not be producing the 2008 BMC Calendar, featuring our 2007 Members of the Month, solely due to Ford Motor Company's claim that THEY own all rights to the photos YOU take of YOUR car. I hope to resolve this soon, and be able to provide the calendar and other BMC merchandise that you guys want and deserve! This thread will remain open for you to comment however you wish, and I'll update it as needed.

This is a really bad idea on the part of Ford, I think. Can you imagine if clothing companies did this? It wouldn't be smart of them to sell the rights along with the shirt, so I guess it would have to have some sort of shrinkwrap license agreement.

It would be one thing if Ford was in the business of making cool calendars featuring their cars, but as far as I know, they aren't.

Ford: Car owners are pirates if they distribute pictures of their own cars

Arthur Frommer took a round of questions on the Freakonomics blog. Questions include "If the dollar is declining, why aren't more foreigners visiting America?" and "Are there any places you don't list because you don't want to spoil them?" and "Where would you not want to travel?"

Arthur Frommer Answers All of Your Travel Questions...

Picture 1-75Hemmy.net has a gallery of side-by-side screenshots showing how Disney animators re-use animation from their earlier movies.

Via BoingBoing

Disney animators swipe from themselves