Too Much Money

I don't count myself among the pessimists who think that the U.S. economy will eventually falter to the point that we'll all be working for the Chinese or India. Nevertheless, trade and current account deficits, etc., do make me wonder whether my newborn son will spend his adulthood in an era as prosperous as the old days.

So, in contrast to generations of parents who have delighted in pointing out how hard it was when they were growing up ("we lived in a rolled-up newspaper," as Monty Python had it), I have been collecting examples of signs of excessive wealth. Many of these have to do with doggy bakeries and day care centers.

But here's a new one: Nike and Apple are teaming up to create wireless synchronicity between athletic shoes and iPods. Yes, no more fumbling through your clickwheel to find just the right song for your pace.

"They are jointly developing a wireless system so some Nike shoes embedded with a sensor can communicate with Apple's iPod Nano music player to track a runner's performance and help choreograph songs to the moment," explains the Associated Press.

Prosperity is wonderful.