A QUICKIE...

Polko is getting busier.. so a quick few nods to other things I've found on the web rather than anything fresh..

It also avoids me uttering anything to do with the up coming election on this blog (apart from that statement itself). There's gonna be a lot of hot air and crap blogged between now and the election and I for one am not adding to the Gigabytes of wasted storage on it.Put simply, I'm already bored of it all.

This is hilarious - basically somebody taking apart a stupid poll about how bad teenagers are at managing finances, etc.  The main point being the publisher gets it seriously wrong with a few pie charts that don't add up or shouldn't be pie charts at ll..  Funny enough, but then the original publisher tries to be funny and clever about their use of the pie charts and gets it wrong again in the comments to the blog! doh!  Worth a read - it's only a short article.

Freakonomics - Steve and Steve are at it again, pushing their brand forward!  As if taking the two fantastic books Freakonomics and and Superfreakonomics and adding to them with a lively website and blog, then taking this and airing a downloadable Freakonomics radio station on iTunes were not enough...

Apparently a Freakonomics film/documentary is in post-production stage and is scheduled to air at selected film festivals in the USA this Spring. Details are posted on IMDB and I will blog further information if and when it becomes available in the UK.  I'm off to America in June and will dig further when there too.  I always knew the age of the Economist would arrive!

Possibly even more exciting is the fact that Zoe Sloane plays a lead role... woo hoo! She's drop dead gorgeous as far as I'm concerned and can only add more glamour to an incredibly glamorous subject matter!

To cool down a little, consider this.  The nail varnish below retails in a High Street store at £19 a 13ml bottle for colour #505.

Why during MArch 2010 did it sell at £30 - £45 a bottle on eBay then?  Remember, there's little or no guarantee that you're getting the same product as you are in the likes of Harrods, House of Fraser or your local independent when buying from a faceless eBay seller either?

Firstly, those who are happy to pay £19 for a bottle of enamel paint (for that is all it is) because it comes in a nice glass bottle as opposed to a tin like a Humbrol paint (incidentally Humbrol #62 looks a very similar match and can be had for £1-40 for a 14ml tin in model shops or here) and bears the name Chanel are likely to be little interested in the difference between it costing £10 and £30 or more.. the demand for the product is 'price inelastic' or those who want it are unlikely to change their demand with an increase in its price (to a point obviously).  Mind you, if you consider that Humbrol are making profit at 10p/ml on their product Chanel must be laughing all the way to 'le banque' charging £1-46/ml!!

Secondly, #505 is a limited edition Spring 2010 only colour. For economists this translates into a fixed supply curve.  That means only one thing, higher prices to consumers than if supply could be increased as more people demand the product.  Matched with an inelastic demand curve a fixed supply means steep price hikes will always result from very small increases in demand for a product (following advertising for example).  Little surprise then that Chanel are happy to pay high prices for glossy magazine ads promoting #505 as the new black!

Wonder if Zoe wears #505? Doesn't say so on her website?