Money

Welcome to Middle-Age

Vim Vocifero

It used to be, when I was out and about, the sound system would be playing music written before I was born. You know the kind of stuff: Queen Victoria’s Favorite Jams, Top Tunes from the Early Roman Empire, Hottest Hits from the Last Ice Age. But lately, some time last year, to be exact, […]

Experiments in Instant Gratification

Jim Jocifero
Sad gingerbread man cookie.

You know that experiment where they tell a child, “You can have one marshmallow now, or two later”? Most of the kids choose the one marshmallow now, showing “just how stupid most children are,” in scientific terminology. Under the direction of Big Science, the experiment is now being conducted in performance venues such as theatres […]

Regrets

Jim Jocifero
Outlandish antique computer.

Dear Sirs, We regret to inform you that the after-burner on your self-regulating laser-powered discombobulator has expired, and you will need to purchase a new set of fuel packs to re-energise it. If you choose not to purchase the update, the software on your discombobulator and all saved settings will be encrypted and a new […]

Holiday Returns App

Vim Vocifero

Returning gifts can make the first few days of Christmas almost as busy as the last few days before Christmas. But do you ever wonder whether those gifts you chose with so much care and thought were really as appreciated as their recipients told you they were? After all, even if someone tells you that […]

Even Better Ways to Save Electricity

Jim Jocifero
Farmhouse. Real farmhouse.

Are you still paying those darned electric bills every month? Want to find a way out of it? Try these tips to save tons of electricity1 without paying for expensive generators, windmills, or solar panels.2 Tip #1. Turn off your computer when you’re using it. What you probably haven’t realised is that a laptop computer […]

How The Economy Works

Jim Jocifero
Brown jug with sign: If whiskey interferes with your business, give up your business.

We hear a great deal about The Economy in the news, on the radio, on television, on the primary school reading list, and even on candy bar wrappers. But not many people really understand The Economy or how it works. This article will give you the basics and, in fact, all you need to know […]

How 1 Song Cost Me £Thousands$

Jim Jocifero
Twenty Dollar Bill by John Haberle, 1890

Now, I may not live in “America,” but I think I’m pretty good at counting money, whether it’s in dollar bills, or pounds, shillings, pence, ha’pennies, farthings, etc, etc, etc. . . . (By the way, I still got me a few two bob bits, but the darned old curiosity shop in town won’t take […]

Mint Expects Big Profits From New Penny

Vim Vocifero

It is a fairly well known fact that the U. S. one cent coin (popularly know as the penny) costs more to produce than its nominal value of $.01. (In 2014, the cost of producing a penny was 1.66 cents.1) This extra isn’t much, but it adds up; the billions of pennies minted each year […]