yet another subprime crisis in the making
and so soon! GM is apparently this desperate:

"...dealers now can offer loans through GMAC to consumers with credit scores in the 620 range.

"Six hundred twenty is not a subprime score," said LaNeve. "That’s a very creditworthy buyer. Hopefully, we’ll have access to more of the market that is out there."

Compare with Wikipedia's article on subprime lending:

Although there is no standardized definition, in the US subprime loans are usually classified as those where the borrower has a credit score below a particular level, e.g. a FICO score below 660.

- posted by vcmc @  12/31/2008 01:51:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
how to migitage the negative health effects of drinking, pt. 3 or so


So beyond the don't-take-tylenol bit I covered before, before we can understand how to minimize physiological damage to the body through drinking, we need to know exactly how alcohol affects the body. That's a big list, and the research is nowhere near complete - in fact there's a medical journal of peer-reviewed research regarding alcohol published quarterly.

In any case I'll try to distill (ha!) it down to the most important components - the ones which can most effectively keep you from fucking up your liver and/or feeling like shit the next day.


1. Dehydration (duh)
Alcohol's a potent diuretic, with its effects lasting well after the last drink is consumed - in some cases until the next day. This one's easily remedied - unless what you're drinking is less than about 3% alcohol, have water between drinks, and more before bed (if you'd consider yourself drunk when you go to bed, it'd be a good idea to have at least two large glasses).

2. Congeners.
During the fermentation process, yeast is primarily working to produce ethanol, but depending on yeast strain, fermentation temperatures, and substance being fermented (e.g., grape juice, malt, etc.), various other alcohols and compounds may be produced, though usually in much smaller amounts than ethanol. These may include:
- isopropanol (primary component of rubbing alcohol)
- propanol
- butanol
- amyl alcohol
- furfural
- methyl alcohol (wood alcohol)

While I wasn't able to find research on the metabolization process for each of these (as they're rarely present in more than trace amounts in most diets), methyl alcohol is particularly notable, as it is commonly known to cause blindness on its own (though ethanol counteracts that effect at concentrations commonly found in most commercial alcoholic beverages).

Long story short, we know enough about the way the body handles various alcohols to say that if they're not damaging on their own, the metabolization byproducts are particularly harmful. (Another prime example - ethylene glycol, or antifreeze, is not particularly toxic itself, but its primary metabolization product causes severe kidney damage). And while I haven't found sufficient research to support the following, I would speculate that these compounds can and do significantly contribute to what we call a hangover - in many cases more than the ethanol itself.

Solution:
Drink "clean" alcohol. Whiskey (all kinds), brandy/cognac, dark rum, aged tequila, most liqeurs, red wine, most ales, dark beer, etc. should be consumed as little as possible - no more than 1-2 drinks in a night. Clear, "clean" tasting lagers, blanco tequila, white wines, sake, or light rum are not so bad, but should not be consumed in excess.

The best vodka and gin is distilled to a high degree of purity, stripping out these unwanted compounts (which in most cases also contribute to off flavors and "burn" or spiciness).

A few recommendations:
vodka:
russian white gold (the bottle looks cheap, but it's exceptionally good)
russian standard platinum (hard to find - don't confuse with the non-platinum version)
dripping springs (amazing, though hard to find outside of texas & neighboring states)
tito's
chopin
shakers
belvedere
vikingfjord

gin:
tanqueray 10 (in the octagonal bottle - the regular stuff is mediocre)
miller's
hendrick's
plymouth
quintessential/Q
bombay sapphire (not the cleanest, but usually easiest to find)


2. Acetaldehyde.
(to be continued)
- posted by vcmc @  12/26/2008 01:34:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
WTF FDA
you regulate the use of the word "plus"? seriously?

I mean, I'm all for regulating banks, cause those fuckers need it. but who the hell seriously thinks that the word "plus" has nutritional connotations in the mind of the average consumer?

This reeks of unnecessary bureaucracy. Go find something better to do with your resources, like, oh, maybe requiring cigarette makers to list additives, or requiring alcohol producers to provide nutritional and ingredient information.

for fuck's sake. I mean I'm not a fan of soda, and adding small amounts of B vitamins to soda to make consumers think it's healthier(it's not) is a little shady, but come the fuck on. nanny state, indeed.
- posted by vcmc @  12/23/2008 04:45:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
financial karma
I love this! paying execs bonuses in mortgage-backed securities worth potentially a lot less than their face value. brilliant!
- posted by vcmc @  12/18/2008 04:42:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
NY soft drink tax
Apparently people are pissy about a proposed tax on soda in new york.

How is this a big deal? Not that it's a direct comparison, but cigarettes in new york are taxed at well over 50%, sometimes exceeding 100% (depending on what you buy), and there are negative health effects to soda as well - studies have shown links between soft drink consumption and metabolic disorder (even with diet soda).

Does anybody who doesn't work within the soft drink industry actually care? What's 18% - an extra 7c a can? If you're drinking enough soda to impact your financial situation, that's a lot of fucking soda, and you should probably stop for health reasons anyway.

As diet soda is exluded from the tax (though I would disagree with that since as I mentioned it has been shown to contribute to metabolic disorder just as regular soda), the economist side of me is curious to see what sort of price differences there might be between diet and regular sodas if/when this goes into effect, and if higher prices on regular soda might make it appear as more of a "premium" product, in turn countering some of the sales loss due to the higher price.
- posted by vcmc @  12/17/2008 01:14:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
Quant Doom
One model to rule them all, one model to find them, one model to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.

"Frodo! You must take the black box and cast it into the fires of Quant Doom!"
- posted by vcmc @  12/14/2008 06:52:00 PM  |  0 comments

 
things that are fucking stupid
- skate culture's obsession with brands. same stupid shit, smaller demographic. and by extension the "collabo" or [brand1]x[brand2] thing. if you don't know what I mean, peruse hype beast for a minute or two.

- big poofy skate shoes. I think they actually use marshmallows for the tongues. (e.g., this or this)

- the skull motif all over t-shirts these days (e.g., anything by "affliction"). If I see another over-tanned, muscle milk fueled 40-something douche wearing a $50-$75 shirt just because it cost what it did, I may... do nothing. I mean, I don't want someone twice my weight with the mental capabilities of a 7th grader angry at me, do I?
- posted by vcmc @  12/11/2008 10:37:00 PM  |  0 comments