Entrepreneurship

What Can We Learn by Comparing the Employment Situation in Texas vs. California?

"One of the great things about federalism, above and beyond the fact that it both constrains the power of governments and is faithful to the Constitution, is that is turns every state into an experiment. We can learn what works best (though the President seems incapable of learning the right lesson). We know, for instance, that people are leaving high-tax states and migrating to low-tax states. We also know that low-tax states grow faster and create more jobs. I particularly enjoy comparisons between Texas and California. The Lone Star State is kicking the you-know-what out of the Golden State in terms of overall economic performance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Can We Learn by Comparing the Employment Situation in Texas vs. California?

Retroactive California tax terrifies tech

"Entrepreneurs and investors in California can expect to receive a rude shock in the mail if they sold their company in the last four years. Not only did the state's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) eliminate a tax break on capital gains for small business owners and investors, it announced the tax would be reinstated retroactively. This means those who benefitted from the break can expect a bill for unpaid taxes, plus interest, stretching all the way back to 2008. Now, not only will stockholders have to pay the full tax rate on capital gains, which has risen to about 13%, but they'll also be billed retroactively for 50% of the taxes they excluded." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRetroactive California tax terrifies tech

Jeffrey Tucker: Bitcoin’s Moment

"The Cyprus disaster sets in place an incredible precedent: Bank deposits will hereafter be treated as government property first and belong to the depositors only at the discretion of the masters of the money. It’s no wonder that Bitcoins are being brought from locales all over Europe, including Spain, Greece, Italy, and beyond. This also accounts for why mainstream news outlets are starting to write about Bitcoin as if it were the real thing, something serious, something that really matters on the world stage. Meanwhile, Bitcoin applications are flourishing all over the Web." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Bitcoin’s Moment

Analyst: All Of My Clients Think There’s A Bitcoin Bubble, Despite ‘Perfect Storm’

"Where is all of the momentum behind the Bitcoin trade coming from? 1. An increasingly tech-savvy base of savers all around the world don’t think it is any stranger to trust an open-source piece of software than it is to put your money in a commercial bank. 2. Lots of people around the world are uncomfortable with central bank policies, which seem to give money away to a global banking system which remains fundamentally broken. 3. Worries over heavy deposit taxes in various European countries (Spain, Greece, and even Italy), courtesy of the resolution to the Cypriot banking crisis 4. Some clarification of U.S. regulations, bringing Bitcoin long-needed legitimacy..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnalyst: All Of My Clients Think There’s A Bitcoin Bubble, Despite ‘Perfect Storm’

Casascius Physical Bitcoin: Orders now accepted by invitation only

"On April 1, 2013, I stopped accepting orders for Casascius Coins from the public. I switched my website so orders can only be placed by resellers with prior invitation. I recommend and encourage sales of Casascius Coins by resellers. Over the last month, Bitcoin has become a lot more interesting to the world. Bitcoin prices have skyrocketed. Interest in Casascius Coins has increased substantially for multiple reasons that are seemingly working as a 'force multiplier'. While I’m very excited to see this has happened, for me to be able to satisfy the market demand for Casascius Coins, I will have to make some major changes to the way they are made and shipped." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCasascius Physical Bitcoin: Orders now accepted by invitation only

Iranian dairy company unveils five-ton ice cream tub to break world record

"An Iranian dairy company unveiled a five-ton tub of chocolate ice cream in Tehran on Monday in a bid to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. The company, Choopan, put the giant tub, which is more than two metres (6.5 feet) wide and 1.60 metres (5.2 feet) tall on display at a ski resort in the foothills of Tochal, just north of the capital, where over 10,000 people came to see it. Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records did witness the record attempt in Tehran, but could not speak to the media for 'security reasons,' the company's CEO said. The current record is held by American ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranian dairy company unveils five-ton ice cream tub to break world record

Decentralizing Science: Local Biohacking

"Far-out ideas make established scientists uncomfortable. If your entire career was built around the fax machine, phrenology, the geocentric model or the beeper, you’re not too excited about these crazy kids and their ideas. There is a lot of untapped brainpower out there. The state education mill is a barrier to entry, a great divider — a credential firewall. MOOCs and badges may displace the academic cartel, but not without vested interests fighting to halt creative destruction along the way. Statistician and philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb recognizes that 'stochastic tinkering' rather than systematic, institutional agendas yield the greatest discoveries." Continue reading →

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To protect restaurants, D.C. may curb food trucks

"Should D.C.'s food laws try to protect consumers and public safety? Or should they try to protect brick-and-mortar restaurants from competition? D.C.'s restaurant lobbyists, along with many local politicians and bureaucrats, seem to thi nk the government's job is to save the delis and diners, bistros and brasseries from the scourge of falafel trucks, barbecue buses and weenie wagons. Most of downtown D.C., according to the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington, would be off-limits to food trucks under new regulations proposed by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTo protect restaurants, D.C. may curb food trucks

Robot suit designed to aid the physically challenged and elderly gets global safety certificate

"A robot suit that can help the elderly or disabled get around was given its global safety certificate in Japan, paving the way for its worldwide rollout. The Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL, is a power-assisted pair of legs developed by Japanese robot maker Cyberdyne, which has also developed similar robot arms. A quality assurance body issued the certificate based on a draft version of an international safety standard for personal robots that is expected to be approved later this year, the ministry for the economy, trade and industry said. The metal-and-plastic exoskeleton has become the first nursing-care robot certified under the draft standard, a ministry official said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRobot suit designed to aid the physically challenged and elderly gets global safety certificate

Patient has 75 per cent of his skull replaced by 3D-printed implant

"A man has had 75 per cent of his skull replaced with a custom-made 3D-printed implant. The un-named patient in the United States had his head imaged by a 3D scanner before the plastic prosthetic was crafted to suit his features. Oxford Performance Materials in Connecticut then gained approval from US regulators before the printed bone replacement was inserted in his skull during a surgical procedure earlier this week. The ground-breaking operation has only now been revealed. The company says it can now provide the 3D printouts to replace bone damaged by disease or trauma after the US Food and Drug Administration granted approval on February 18." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPatient has 75 per cent of his skull replaced by 3D-printed implant