Konichiwa, Chevy!

Check out this gem (Jalopnik via Dublin Saab). It's a photo of a Toyota racing trailer being pulled by... a Chevrolet.

Ethanol Vs. Beer

One of the market distortions that is being caused by the government mandate for ethanol in transportation fuel is the rising cost of all kinds of food, including one of my favorites: beer.

According to the WSJ in a fascinating article from October 5th, 2007, small beer brewers are getting squeezed by dramatically higher prices of barley and hops.

Consumers could pay 50 cents to $1 per six pack more in the coming months for many small-batch "craft beers," as brewers pass on rising hops and barley costs from an unpalatable brew of poor harvests, the weak dollar and farmers' shift to more profitable crops. Other makers of craft beers, the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. brewing industry, say they may eat the higher ingredient costs, which will pare their profits.

...

Craft beer makers have faced escalating costs over the past year. Prices for malting barley, which accounts for a beer's color and sweetness, have jumped as farmers increasingly shifted to planting corn, which has been bringing higher prices because of high demand from makers of biofuels, like ethanol. The weak dollar also has made it more expensive for U.S. brewers to buy commodities from Europe.

The price of malting barley has increased by a whopping 75% in the last several months, from around $4/bushel to about $7/bushel. As a result, the price of small-batch beer is expected to increase, and some small beer makers are actually in danger of folding.

Wouldn't it be better to allow importation of Brazilian sugar beet based ethanol, tariff free, and leave more of our agricultural capacity for the tasty stuff?

Addicted.

I'm addicted to this free "tower defense" type game. It's really good.

http://onslaught.playr.co.uk/

iAuto Vehicle Classifieds Software Version 4.0 Released

We've finally released our new version of iAuto. I'll simply post an ad that we're promoting it with, and if you are looking for additional details and specifics of the new version, you're always welcome to visit our website:

iAuto is a cutting edge PHP vehicle classifieds script. It is a perfect solution for websites that sell any vehicles for land, air, or water. It comes bundled with a fresh car make/model database.

Key features of iAuto include an innovative search engine that allows visitors to search and sort by any field. A ZIP/postal code and radius search capability is provided based on the US ZIP code database. Import of postal codes for other countries is also possible with the existing import utility.

Our new version features a fully editable template-based look and feel. The ability to present listing data is limited only by your HTML coding skills.

One important addition of iAuto is the ability to list multiple listing types (advertise cars, boats, and airplanes on one site) and to create common or custom fields for each type.

iAuto also features user groups that can segregate users between individuals or corporate clients, with custom menus and profiles for each group.

New version offers a multitude of ways to make money with iAuto. You can choose between a pay-per-ad or subscription plans and further add pay-per-feature packages to charge for extra features such as pictures or videos.

Three payment gateways are built into iAuto: 2Checkout, Paypal (with card payment processing capabilities) and Authorize.NET merchant account gateway.

Two iAuto packages are currently offered starting from as low as $219, with FREE TRIAL and online DEMO.

Free lifetime upgrades and frequent functionality improvements make it a worthwhile purchase, giving you the ability to upgrade your website to respond to emerging market trends!

We'll be discussing other details related to the new software functionality and the ways you can use it for your business needs.