Fighting the L$ downward spiral – a solution:
Not usually talking about the economy, Gwyn attempts this time to see a possible solution to the L$ inflation, as proposed by some very talented residents of Second Life, and discusses the implications.
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the problem with this system is that it adapts to and accepts devaluation at a very fast pace. what that means is that it could contribute to rapid devaluation of lindens. so what the lindens should do to prevent that is to put pricestop percentages in so if the linden changes down more than say 5% in a day, the price is frozen for 5 days.

the other thing that they should do is create linden sinks, which take lindens out of the market. the best way to do that would be to tax transactions or sales at some some very small rate after 10l. so under 10 linden things are untaxed and over 10 linden a 1% tax which probably should be progressive after 1000 linden to 2%. the sole goal there is to take lindens out of the system. That will stabilize the currency

26 Cheap Camping Tips:
According to the original poster:

These low-cost equipment/ideas/fixes for Scouting and camping in general [were] originally found on a F-Net Scouting board and [were] reposted on Fidonet on Nov 11/92 by Steve Simmons. The file evidently originated with BSA Troop 886 in the USA.

This list is HUGE. Here are my favorite ideas:

Channel lock pliers make good pot holders.
Nylon rope can be used as shoe laces.
Use a large zip lock plastic bag, filled with air, as a pillow.
A plastic bottle makes a good latrine for cold weather camping. (You don’t
have to ‘go’ very far from your sleeping bag). Keep it just outside the tent flap.
Carry several pieces of lumber cut into two-inch squares to summer camp and
use these to level platform, tent, and cot.
Old shower curtains make great ground tarps.
Waterproof matches by dipping them in nail polish.
Waterproof matches by dipping in melted paraffin.
Make fire starters by filling paper condiment cups with saw dust and pouring
paraffin into the cup.
A length of chain and a piece of coat hanger bent into an S-shape will allow
you to hang your lantern from a tree limb.
Keep batteries in prescription bottles.
Prescription bottles also make good match safes.
In fact, prescription bottles (or 35mm file containers) make good storage places for small items of all sorts.
A frisbee will add support to paper plates when the plate is place inside
the frisbee.
Laundry lint makes good tinder.
Keep the water in your canteen cooler by wrapping the canteen in foil.
When it comes time to pack up at the end of a camp, a wet toothbrush, face
cloth and bar of soap wrapped in foil won’t dampen the other things in your
kit.
To prevent batteries from wearing down if a flashlight is accidently nudged
on while you’re traveling, put the flashlight batteries in backwards.
To protect your feet from blisters, smear soap on the inside of your inner
sock at the heel and underneath the toes. Carry along a bar of soap and,
when you feel your feet become tender, give it a try.
To keep mosquitoes away rub the inside of an orange peel on face, arms and
legs.
Wrap fishing gear in foil to keep line from tangling and hooks from rusting.
By lining the compartments of a tackle box with foil, you can prevent rust
damage to plugs and other equipment.
To remove musty smell from canteen, put three teaspoons of baking soda into
the canteen with a bit of water. Swish it around and let sit for an hour,
then rinse out the canteen.
An empty plastic soda bottle, cut off to a convenient height, will work as a
camp bowl. You may want to sandpaper the cut to smooth the edge.
Save inner cardboard tubes from kitchen and toilet rolls, stuff with waste
paper and use as fire-lighters.
Use zip-lock bags for mixing foods, be sure it is closed tight and the top
is held shut before shaking or kneading.
Duct tape can be used to repair most everything on a trip. Use it to patch
tents, mend poles, hold up schedules, patch torn shoes, hold poles for
mosquito nets to cots, etc.
If you like these, check out the entire list

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heck… i use some of these in everyday life….

Chinese Death Van.:

Remember a previous post on Neatorama on mobile gallows in Africa? Well, China took it one step further. Executions there are carried out in a more modern fashion: in a mobile execution chamber inside a “death van” that shuttles from town to town.

Makers of the death vans say the vehicles and injections are a civilized alternative to the firing squad, ending the life of the condemned more quickly, clinically and safely. The switch from gunshots to injections is a sign that China “promotes human rights now,” says Kang Zhongwen, who designed the Jinguan Automobile death van …

From the outside, the vans resemble the police vehicles seen daily on China’s roads. A look inside reveals their function.

“I’m most proud of the bed. It’s very humane, like an ambulance,” Kang says. He points to the power-driven metal stretcher that glides out at an incline. “It’s too brutal to haul a person aboard,” he says. “This makes it convenient for the criminal and the guards.”

Link

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this…. in my mind is going one step too far with the administration of ‘justice’ . the death penalty in the back of a van. i am way of course that this could be fiction… but conceptually it smells of the efficiency run amok and the transition of any pretense of humanitarian values toward the thanatosian .