dtcwee: The Value of Nothing

 A user asked r/geography, " Why is the modern Mediterranean so poor compared to the historical one? " The simple answer (not mine, unfortunately): "The world got bigger."

Think the public service is bloated or that small business is the backbone of Australia? Look here.

Can testaments be created that outlast heirs? The Native American practice of looking forward seven generations sounds noble but is essentially vague. Still, it seeds the idea for an investment math exercise that could provide not just for seven generations, but the generations beyond. (Fund Manager Conference Call)

Same again tomorrow. One thing I like to tell myself during bear markets: On any given trading day, three quarters of a percent of the U.S. market turns over .

I'm travelling from Tokyo to Singapore and I don't want to lug a laptop with me. I want a full desktop through my Android phone. So I'm going to: Provision a Debian Linux VM  - (Google Cloud Compute Engine VM Instance) Install Remote Desktop  - (Chrome Remote Desktop on PC and Android) Move the VM from Tokyo to Singapore References The article ' Launch Ubuntu Desktop on Google Cloud ' was very helpful, as was this  old article from Google . However their descriptions of the Google Cloud interface are slightly out of date. Furthermore, Debian (without sound support) was easier to set up, with fewer issues, and is cheaper than Ubuntu Pro (i.e. free). Wanna do this with me? Let's go! UPDATE: It cost about AUD$9 to faff about setting up (2 days) and use the VM in Singapore (1 full day), or it would have, had I not been using Free Trial credits. Free compute!

What if it's actually the houses? I spent the last six months in Australia without a car, looking to do some travel, home repairs, and a little blogging about life without a car. That's all come to an end.

Cheap labour may no longer come to you.  Rich western nations may be souring on immigration . Longer term, the global supply of working-age people will shrink . Services inflation outstrips goods inflation , particularly in areas which are hard to automate.