I know the feeling all too well – the sudden realisation that one’s keys are lost. The numbing sensation with each passing minute that one’s access has been denied to yet another place: home, office, locker, mailbox, and bike shed. So when I read my colleagues recent blog post about a friend robbed by a junkie, I was painfully reminded of an episode two years ago when my keys vanished. (more...)
Posts Tagged ‘probability weighting’
Tripping Over Small Probabilities
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012The Insurance Market is a Dog
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011After several months of deliberation I recently decided to get a Pug for my children. You can probably imagine what kind of comments the acquisition provoked among friends and colleagues of mine – one neighbour asked with a smirk if I hadn’t already enough children. But my first annoyance did not come from the effort of housebreaking a twelve-week-old puppy, it rather had to do with buying liability insurance for the little rascal. (more...)
E10: A Tough E-Number to Swallow
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011An emergency summit of government ministers and petroleum industry representatives is underway in Berlin today, to discuss the disastrous introduction of a new biofuel at Germany’s filling stations. The new ‘green gas’, E10, contains 10 percent ethanol and is touted as being more eco-friendly than its ‘super’ alternative. However, although it is reportedly safe for 93 percent of cars on German roads, owners are unsure which cars these are. There are reports that a single sip of the new carburant by a vehicle unsuited to its use could result in permanent engine damage or even in a fire outbreak. Motorists also have doubts about its eco-credentials. As a result, the vast majority of motorists refuse to use it – an obvious problem for filling stations that have already switched their reserves to E10. (more...)
The Winners, Cursed
Friday, December 17th, 2010Yet another amusement arcade has just opened in my neighbourhood. This one stays open 24/7. I have seen the boss; he is no fly-by-night. And, in contrast to his clients, he is always very elegantly dressed. Business is obviously booming. (more...)
Who will catch the A380?
Thursday, November 4th, 2010Paris, 2nd November 2010: An 18-month-old child accidently falls from a seventh floor balcony. Below is a café which, although closed, still has its awning extended because the owner had trouble with the winding mechanism. (more...)
