More from Putzger

 

Here are four more pages from the atlas.  This page is a map of the empire of Alexander the Great, showing his campaigns and those of his generals.  The smaller maps on the same page show how Alexander’s empire was divided after his death.

The second page shows details from battles of the Seven-Years War.

This page shows the expansion of Prussia over the course of the 19th century:

This page contains three items: at the top is a rendition of a page from the medieval Peutinger map, which was based on classical sources and was in effect a road map of the Roman empire.  (The lower blue strip is the Mediterranean and the upper blue is the Adriatic; since the mapmaker wasn’t interested in maritime travel the map doesn’t waste space on water.)   

The middle plate shows the spread of the Celts through Europe (dark blue is older; light blue is more recent). 

The bottom map shows north Africa in the 3^rd century BC. You can see Carthage and its territories stretched up the Spanish coast.

I can’t think of anything profound to say about these maps, but the visuals are cool. B1 did a great job of scanning them up and adjusting the alignment so that the page break is minimally disruptive.

Estate Sale finds, 1940s edition:

1) Ellery Queen Novels (2)
2) Gregg Shorthand Reader
3) Calculating Machine

Harrumph

I think Greg Smith formerly of Goldman Sachs, wants to quit and turn into a writer a la Michael Lewis. Good luck with that.  He doesn't say anything Lewis didn't say 20 years ago.  And he doesn't say it with nearly the same style.

Domestic Economy Returns

Domestic Economy Returns...length of stay uncertain.

Yes, it's fish or cut bait here at domecon. Thank you to those who have kept me on your blogrolls despite months of inactivity. I promise (well maybe) to make it up to you.

In the meantime, I wish I had profound insights about the state of the American consumer, but I don't .

What have I been up to while I've been away? Finished a bunch of tax returns. Whiled away the month of May with some payroll activity and some business property statements (answering questions like, "wait, you mean they tax my photocopier?"). Spent quality time with SGH and the offspring. Ran a couple of road races. Read the new Harry Potter book (more on that below). Finished another accounting class (ask me about consolidated financial statments - just ask me). Took an all-American family camping vacation. And now I'm back at my station, staring a bunch of September 15th and October 15th deadlines in the face, coming up against the wall with my CPE hours, and on and on.

But enough whining. Back to Harry Potter. Great minds out there have subjected the Harry Potter books to some exhaustive financial analysis and come up with these insights:

Death and Taxes - the Blog brings our attention to some estate planning issues that arise in Harry Potter that might not arise in, say, Illinois. (Caution, Book Five Spoiler, sort of.)

Juan E. Pardinas from CIDAC points out how certain aspects of Hogwarts Castle resemble the Mexican tax system. (No spoiler here, just an analogy I never in a million years would have thought of.)

Megan McCardle of the Guardian points out some fundamental economic inconsistencies in J.K. Rowling's treatment of magic as a commodity. She says it works in Lord of the Rings but not in Harry Potter.

On the meta-level, marginal revolution tells us exactly why J.K. Rowling makes the big bucks and why she is so much more able than Shakespeare or Homer to leverage the market.

And finally, for those who haven't seen it, I bring you Harry Potter's correspondence with a Nigerian scam artist, courtesy of scamorama.

Happy reading!

Financial Planning, Continued

We at Domestic Economy are always in search of new financial products for you, the discerning consumer. Our research department has just found just the thing for the new year:

It's an expandable credit card - just put it in water and it grows. (Sort of like those magic fish or those washcloths in a pill your kids may have gotten in their stocking recently.)

The packaging touts this as the credit card "For People with No Job and No Life." "The Bigger it Grows, the Bigger your Credit Limit!" I like this line too, "Good Credit Increases Your Net Worth so Grow Some Credit Today!"

I'm still holding out for the Chia Credit Card, though.