You should check out Are Girl Scout Cookies Deliciously Evil?, a strange and interesting homebrew analysis of the famous Girl Scout Cookies fundraiser.

The author notes the following. In 1992, a box of cookies cost $2. In 2011, they cost $4. I quote: "Total inflation from 1992–2011 was 57%, but the price increased 100%. From 2006–2011, annual US inflation was close to 1% over that period and the net inflation was 9.25%; ); there was a 14% price increase. Perhaps the Girl Scout leadership is to blame."

The analysis is interesting, and well worth a read, for at least two reasons:

1. The working hypothesis is that the Girl Scouts are evil.
2. It's an interesting case study in evaluating charities on your own.

Spoiler alert: It looks like the local Girl Scout councils, rather than the national leadership, are probably to blame.

100% of proceeds go to the Red Cross. You can also donate any amount through their site without purchase.

1. 'Selfish' Giving: Does It Count If You Get In Return?

NPR has a thought-provoking piece that asks us to examine the ethics of why we give.

Is charity ever selfless, or do we always expect some kind of reward for our actions? And if we do expect a return on our investment, is it really charity?

2. Wind Turbine + LED's = Christmas Star

Artist Michael Pendry and Siemens teamed up to create this Christmas installation outside the city of Munich. It contains 9,000 LED lights and, when illuminated, uses only as much energy as a hairdryer.

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The prints are somber and yet playful. I love the abstract geometries of their "bones".

Buy one and part of the proceeds benefit animal and environmental charities. Nice!

1. How To Spam Facebook Like A Pro

As a follow up to their coverage of social gaming scams, Tech Crunch posted this great article on the other dark side of social games: collecting your personal data and using it to spam (and scam some more).

An excerpt:

People on Facebook won’t pay for anything. They don’t have credit cards, they don’t want credit cards, and they are not interested in shopping. But you can trick them into doing one of three things:

• Download a toolbar: It could be spyware (such as Zango) or something more legitimate, such as Webfetti or Zwinkys.
• Give up their email address: You’ve won a “free” camera or perhaps you’ve been selected as a tester for a new Macbook Pro (which you get to keep at the end of the test). Just tell us where you want us to ship it.
• Give up their phone number: You took the IQ Quiz, so give us your phone number and we’ll tell you your score. Never mind that you’ll get billed $20 a month or perhaps be tricked into inviting 10 other friends to beat your score.

It's worth a read to see what's at stake for consumers and the kinds of things that happen any time a new platform comes along without enough regulation.

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