Panera Bread

I recently (two minutes ago) emailed the Panera Bread restaurant establishment, requesting that they place a franchise in my hometown of Williamsport, PA. The following is the actual e-mail (cross your fingers!):

I beleive that, as the Williamsport, Pennsylvania, are is currently growing at an incredible rate into new fields of accessability and convenience-ready establishments for the use of college students and travelers, it would be highly beneficial for Panera Bread to invest in this area as well. In the past year, two Quiznos subshops have been erected, along with two Sheetz gas stations, another Pizza Hut, two new hotels, and several other new buildings. Currently, a Starbucks is being built in the downtown Williamsport area, which is sure to harness MUCH use by Lycoming College and Penn Tech college students, as well as the numerous fans of the area. Just 15 minutes away is the Lycoming County Mall, which is also undergowing extreme growth, adding such other establishments as Best Buy, Old Navy, Border's Bookstore, and Macy's. The Market Street Bridge project, the first of major renovations to breathe new life back into the City of Williamsport is nearing its middle stage, which will bring many more interstate travelers directly into the heart of the city. The other projects that will be completed by 2010 include an entertainment complex/ice rink, amphitheater, conference center, pedestrian bridge, and downtown [approximately] 8-screen cinema complex. Clearly growth of the city is evident, and the younger generation of Williamsport would surly appreciate the freshness of Panera Bread being local instead of one hour away in State College and/or Bloomsburg. Feel free to contact me directly for more information, or even tips of possible high-business hotspots. - Zachary Shellenberger

What? Why!?

Have you ever heard of the 50/50/90 rule? It goes in tandem with Murphy's law, only this one states that, whenever you have a 50/50 percent chance of getting something right or not, 90% of the time you get it wrong. Being applied to simple economics (which, perhaps this is only happening because my high school was stripped of this course, ergo, I'm not able to take it), specificially the exchange rate between the USD and EUR, this seems to apply to my expectations. Last week, when the stock market was on the rise, closing higher by hundreds of points each day, one would expect the exchange rate to improve between the two currencies, in favor of the US Dollar, right? Obviously not, as it plummeted to a (for me) all-time low, at only 77.4 cents to one USD. When I went to Europe in 2004, the exchange rate was 80 cents to one dollar, and I watched it peak at 83 centers per dollar in summer 2005. Now, as the stock market is crashing, I see the exchange rate has actually improved! How exactly does this make sense? I mean, in a world filled with backwardness and nought, I guess it does make perfect sense to dish the opposite of one's expectations, usually to the dismay of the querier, however, in this specific case, I'm pleased that the exchange rate has risen to 78.2 cents, and can only pray that it will continue to improve until I decide it is time to cash in my greenbacks for some rainbow-colored Euro-cash.