Hurricane Irene... Be Extra Safe

Reuters details:

President Barack Obama on Friday warned Americans to take Hurricane Irene seriously and urged them to obey orders to evacuate from the path of what is likely to be an "extremely dangerous and costly" storm.

"All indications point to this being a historic hurricane," Obama said in a statement to reporters from the farm where he is vacationing on this island off the Boston coast.

When the Swine Flu panic was spreading a few years back, I posted the following table outlining a potential reason why (what turned out to be excessive) panic made sense when viewing the potential outcomes of overstating vs. understating the issue.

Let us only hope that the bold statements made regarding Hurricane Irene have been done for a similar reason (instead of staying home for the swine flu, please LEAVE your home if told to).

To all my family and friends back east (who would have thought moving to San Francisco would have allowed me to avoid two natural disasters in one week), I am thinking of you.

Be safe!

The Bulldog Bubble

Random? Yes, but I like dogs...

The American Kennel Club (hat tip Skip) details:

This year’s list included some shakeups in the top 10 – the Beagle overtook the Golden Retriever for the 4th spot and the Bulldog, who has been steadily rising up in rank, took 6th place away from the Boxer, who dropped to 7th in 2010.

"Not since the early 20th Century has the Bulldog enjoyed such sustained popularity," said AKC Spokesperson Lisa Peterson. "‘Bob’ was the first AKC registered Bulldog in 1886, and today the breed enjoys its highest ranking in 100 years at number 6."

Source: American Kennel Club

What is So F'n Funny?

WSJ (hat tip Infectious Greed) details:

Before settling in Sunday for your 10-hour NFL binge, there's a pretty good chance you'll watch the hour-long pregame shows. There's also a pretty good chance you'll notice something slightly odd about their hosts: They never stop laughing.

Source: WSJ

TV Viewership and Educational Attainment

Hunch Blog (via Collision Detection) details:

Does watching lots of TV zap brain cells, or is it just that more educated people watch less TV? We’re not sure about the cause and effect relationship, but according to Hunch data the latter statement definitely seems true.

Interesting, but while Hunch is not sure why the relationship is inversely correlated, I think this chart makes it pretty easy to guess the reason (i.e. a HECK of a lot more time on their hands on average).

Source: Hunch

For the record, I am definitely one of the 37% listed with a Master Degree that watches at least 2 hours a day (though I probably watch less than 15 minutes each day while not multi-tasking).

Gone Fishing

Posting to resume tomorrow...

Where's the Shout Out?

My post/ chart @ 9:34 AM ET yesterday regarding the impact cash for clunkers had on GDP.

Clusterstocks post / chart @ 2:13 PM ET yesterday (at which point my post had ~3000 hits)

And I know for a fact that the author of that post Vincent Fernando reads EconomPic (he has used our charts in other posts before). Same dates / scale for the chart no less, even though data from the BEA for autos goes back to the 1960's.

As any reader of mine knows... feel free to use my charts or information, but PLEASE give me a shout.

Source: BEA (hat tip Barry)

Happy Odd Day!

For all you # geeks out there, the AP details:

For the mathematically challenged, Thursday's date, 5/7/09, is one of only six this century that will feature three consecutive odd numbers.

Source: Greg Mankiw

Happy 2009

As 2008 comes to an end, it is easy to curse the year that was. I urge you all to remember that the greatest things in life are not your personal finances. For me this includes:

• My family remained healthy and happy
• The birth of my first nephew
• Living in the greatest city on earth (in my opinion), New York City
• The ability to reach out to thousands (shocking) of readers via EconomPic Data
• And most important to me... getting engaged to an unbelievably caring (and gorgeous) woman

Rather then just put this year in the past, I urge you all to look forward to a brighter 2009.

Best wishes to all and a happy New Year.

-Jake