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All wet

Ah, so much fun to watch our net worth shrink daily.  It is satisfying to know that AIG will live another day to lose more of our money.  I don't think anyone currently serving in national government ever took a basic accounting class.  There's this concept called a sunk cost.  As humans, we have this natural tendency, once we've put a lot of money or time or effort into something, to want to stick with it even if it's a losing proposition.  Accountants would say that's counterproductive.  Any time or money you've already put into something is sunk.  It's gone - adios, bye bye - and therefore should not be considered in decisions about the future of the project or investment.  So, in situations when the benefit or profitability from an expense is unlikely to materialize, the prudent thing to do is to cut your losses, let whatever it is go and start from scratch.  Obviously, neither our Secretary of the Treasury nor our Federal Reserve Chairman have taken Accounting 101.  I learned that at Cal State Northridge, a fine, reasonably-priced, public institution.  Maybe basic accounting is not deep or intellectual enough for the Ivy League.

Meanwhile, here in Hawaii, Hilo High School is cutting teachers.  Hawaii has one of the highest per-capita incarceration rates in the nation.  A woman was stabbed two days ago in Honolulu for no apparent reason.  Her assailant man bought a knife at a cutlery shop, the went outside and killed the first person he saw.  She was just sitting there on a bench, minding her own business, eating saimin. Totally random.  She couldn't be some sleaze we'd be better off without.  Of course not.  She was a beloved teacher, wife and mother of two.  Just goes to show ya, shit happens everywhere.  

On the bright side, it's raining.  And since it's miserable outside, I'm less tempted to go out and spend money, which I don't have.  Oh I'm sure the sun is shining somewhere, like Kona or Phoenix or Death Valley or the Sahara Desert.  Hmmmm... Desert.  Dessert.  One little letter really makes all the difference, doesn't it. I think I need a cookie.

A hui hou.  Aloha!

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