Anyone care to explain to me why...

My email app (Thunderbird) takes up 1-2% of CPU to sit there happily checking and displaying email.
GMail running in Firefox takes up 35% of CPU.
Winamp will stream internet radio while taking up 2-3% of CPU
Deezer (flash music streaming site) in Firefox takes up 40% of CPU to do the same thing.

I know that Flash is going to be less efficient than something running separately - but why the hell is it 10x slower?  And the same with AJAX - why on earth does sitting there with a connection to google, doing nothing, take up that much CPU?

Delicious LiveJournal Links for 12-12-2008

• Why asset bubbles are a part of the human condition.
  Because people naturally try to beat the system, take time to realise that bad things can happen if they take risks, and throw away what they've learned if the situation changes slightly.
  (tags: research psychology finance science markets trading)
• Why the IWF was wrong to lift its ban on a Wikipedia page
  Interesting piece on OUT-LAW. Which I expect a fair chunk of you to disagree with, but it is well worth a read.
  (tags: UK internet censorship)
• NumberSpiral.com
  Made my head hurt - but in a good way.
  (tags: visualization mathematics maths tutorial numbers)
• Actor cuts throat on Vienna stage
  Acting - dngrs bsns
  (tags: acting unlikely)

Things to love about the economy

In fractional reserve banking, banks offer interest to customers to invest their money so that they can then lend on more than they have, a situation that's tenable so long as the customers don't require more than the bank has handy at any one time.

In a pyramid scheme, companies offer returns to chumps to invest their money, so that they can use it to pay off money they've already promised, a sitation that's tenable so long as the customers don't require more than the scheme has handy at any one time.

There are two main differences between the two:
1) The bank doesn't offer such stupid rates of return that it can't afford to pay them.
2) The bank actually has some assets in the first place.

Of course, sometimes these differences are more theoretical than actual.