Bush, worst thing for the economy since Carter

Chart of the Day, a web site which has various financial charts, had an interesting one today. It's the Dow Jones Industrial Average compared to the price of gold. Although the Dow reached a record high in the summer of last year, in US Dollars, when you try to "buy the Dow" using gold, a totally different picture emerges.



When priced in gold, the Dow reached its apex in 2000 and has been sliding ever since.

2000... Let's see... that was the year Bush was elected! Coincidence?  I think not.

Even Reaganomics was better for the economy than Bushwhackonomics.

Pie-rat software

My SO needed Office 2003 for his new laptop (because 2007 kinda sucks), so I ordered a copy from Amazon Marketplace. As soon as it arrived I knew something wasn't right. The discs were clearly counterfeit. Very, very good forgeries, but definitely fakes.

We're both really peeved about this, not so much because of the money (which I can get back easily, the purchase is covered both by Amazon's A-to-Z Guarantee and I can always dispute the charge with the credit card company), but because we needed this software now.

I've contacted Microsoft and the BSA about this, and left nasty negative feedback for the seller.

Sorry about the reflections in the photos, it's freaking hard to take a picture of a CD-ROM.


On genuine Microsoft discs, the label is embedded underneath the surface of the disc. This disc clearly has an adhesive label.


The wavy edge on a genuine Microsoft disc should be perfectly smooth. This one is obviously a badly cut sticker.


On a genuine Microsoft disc, the text on the underside of the disc should be oriented normally, not backwards like the counterfeit. (This is because it is impossible to make a holographic sticker that has a holograph on both sides)


The sticker is clearly flaking off this counterfeit disc. A genuine Microsoft disc has the label embedded underneath the surface, so there is nothing to flake off. Also note the obvious sticker line around the center hole.