That Big Clear Rock On Your Left Ring Finger… Is An Ostentatious, Useless Piece Of Crap.

“A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” sang late starlet Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

But since when did diamonds become valuable?

And how did clear pieces of carbon, nothing more than mere coal, a dirty fossil fuel, come to symbolize – of all things – “love”?

They’re certainly not rare (though for a brief time, they were), and in fact, they are significantly more abundant than gold – though you likely wouldn’t be aware of it, per se – and because diamonds are the hardest substance known to science, it’s not uncommon to find diamond abrasives in any hardware store, or construction site. They’re even on fingernail files. But since when did you ever see a golden saw, or golden fingernail file?

But first, some  supply-and-demand “backstory” mixed with market manipulation and eventual monopoly… and then back again.

In 1870, gigantic diamond mines were discovered near

Why Is Alabama Gasoline So Expensive?

In a word, because of the state legislature.

Here’s an explanation.

In Alabama, an anti-competitive law prevents motorists from enjoying low gas prices. This is the price per gallon of a gallon of regular gas purchased at a Kroger Fuel Center in Texas, after using Kroger Fuel Discounts.

In Alabama, a law called the “Motor Fuel Marketing Act” (Code of Alabama §8-22) prevents retailers from selling gasoline (or any other motor fuel, such as diesel) for less than what it costs them to purchase it.

Specifically, the law reads in part, that:

Section 8-22-6

Certain below cost fuel sales prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce in this state to sell or offer to sell motor fuel below cost or to sell or offer to sell it at a price lower than the seller charges other persons…”

In other words, it’s illegal to do that.

The marketing technique of retailing something for less than it costs to purchase it wholesale is called “low-price, or loss leader” and

Butter really IS better!

How Food Marketers Made Butter the Enemy

By Tom Philpott

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 3:00 AM PDT

Louise Cukrov/Shutterstock

James McWilliams—a historian who has made a name for himself in prestigious publications like the New York Times and The Atlantic for his contrarian defenses of the food industry—is back at it. In an item published last week in the excellent Pacific Standard, McWilliams uses the controversy over a recent study of saturated fat as a club with which to pummel food industry critics like the Times‘ Mark Bittman.

Here’s what happened: A group including Harvard and Cambridge researchers analyzed 72 studies and concluded that there’s no clear evidence that ditching saturated fat (the kind found mainly in butter, eggs, and meat) for the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated kind (found in fish and a variety of vegetable oils) delivers health benefits.

Bittman responded to the study’s release with

Georgia Wine Exportation Increases

While this story is about the nation known as Georgia, given the numerous convoluted and antiquated laws governing beverage alcohol in the Southern United States, it could very well be Georgia… Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, or Arkansas.

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Something Old, Something New: Georgian Wines Adapt To Changing Market

April 17, 2013

by Glenn Kates

KISISKHEVI, Georgia — Seven years ago, Burkhard Schuchmann, a retired German railroad executive, arrived for the first time in this lush region, where the snow-capped Caucasian mountains cast a long shadow over the grapevines that line the low-lying fields.It was 2006 and Russia had recently imposed a crippling embargo on Georgian wine.Schuchmann decided to open a winery nevertheless.

“To see it from today’s point of view, Georgians can be lucky that the embargo came,” Schuchmann says. “Because then they were forced to [focus on] quality and to think about marketing. There was no need before.”

After mostly “satisfactory” inspections by Russia’s consumer-rights agency in February and March, Georgian wines will soon be sold in Russia again. But Russians, perhaps expecting the sweet, syrupy taste of years past, may be surprised by the changing nature of Georgian vintage.

Burkhard Schuchmann opened a winery in Georgia because he thought he could compete outside of Russia by modernizing the industry.

In 2005, Georgia exported 80 percent of its wine to

Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll

Periodically, friends and family come to me seeking understanding about various medical and health related issues, which often includes information about procedures and medications.

And on occasion, I continue to be asked to identify certain medications.

Particularly problematic are the numerous herbs and Over The Counter (OTC) non-prescription remedies that neither treat nor cure, yet proliferate and line the pockets of those unscrupulous enough to market and sell them to the unsuspectingly ignorant.

On one such occasion, I was asked by a friend to identify several foreign concoctions of apparent Asian origin, which I succeed in identifying, though I suspect I merely added levity to our communication. Fortunately, the request wasn’t anything of any seriously substantial nature.

It’s becoming more difficult to identify many items, though I count myself fortunate to have access to the numerous resources I do.

Here’s the text of my response. Perhaps you’ll find it enlightening.