This is the essay that Helene quoted in LibraryBytes. The essay is 15 years old and still very relevant and thought provoking.

Helene quotes from a 15 year old essay from Wired. Fascinating stuff, and here's my two favorite quotes she pulled: "'Information is an action which occupies time rather than a state of being which occupies a physical space, as in the case with hard goods. It is the pitch, not the ball, the dance, not the dancer.'" and "'The central economic distinction between information and physical property is that information can be transferred without leaving the possession of the original owner. If I sell you my horse, I can’t ride him after that. If I sell you what I know, we both know it.'"

Graphic showing the reach of Goldman Sachs. As Lex points out, the company does indeed have eight arms. Reference to "vampire squid" is from Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article "Inside the Great American Bubble Machine."

Fec's on a roll. Human nature rears its ugly head in the mortgage sector. Ever wonder where the scumbags are these days? I think you'll find some of them here.

Fec compiles some interesting economic numbers for Charlotte. In short it's a mixed bag; commercial sector is weak and unemployment is up while the housing sector looks to be coming back.