What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

The huge sums of money being "given" away by the US Federal reserve as "stimulus packages" and "bailouts" at the moment are beyond most of our actual comprehension. The series of schematics below attempts to visually assist us with some comprehension of the ridiculous levels of debt being manipulated

A billion dollars...
A hundred billion dollars...
Eight hundred billion dollars...
One TRILLION dollars...

We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slightly fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet...

And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere...

Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros. You ready for this? It's pretty surprising. Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars...

(And notice those pallets are double stacked.) So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"... that's what they're talking about.

Half-Day Seminar (in Cantonese) A Practical Approach to Preparing and Pursuing Construction Claims 題目: 如何將建築索償做得更切合實際

The seminar, featuring speakers with extensive experience in the Hong Kong construction industry, will cover the following topics:

• Claims Concerning Measurement and Valuation
• Extension of Time Claims and Delay Analysis
• Loss and Expense Claims: A Practical Approach

Speakers include Alan Chan, Dion Yu, and Patrick Chan from Hill International’s Hong Kong office.

The government is having second thoughts about the proposed bridge connecting the former Kai Tak airport southern runway to Kwun Tong because of harbor reclamation concerns, it was claimed yesterday.

Culture is to have a bigger share of the Central Police Station Compound project, which originally had 70 percent earmarked for commercial use. It will now be split 50-50 between cultural and commercial use.

The government is seeking HK$464.7 million to plant 11,500 trees and nearly 3 million shrubs in Kowloon East, Kowloon West and Hong Kong Island over the next two years.

Residents of Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong may be able to commute to the future Kai Tak City by monorail under the latest plan for bridging the gap between east Kowloon and the former airport site.

Tamar designer to advise on community attitudes to development of police station site. The Jockey Club has invited a renowned local architect to work with his Swiss counterparts on a new design for an additional structure at the Central Police Station compound.

Three international primary schools have transformed a former government school in Sha Tau Kok into a secondary college, setting up the first international secondary school in Northern District.

The Town Planning Board today (March 20) considered the Court of Appeal's judgment handed down on February 27, 2009, in dismissing the Board's earlier appeal against the Court of First Instance's decision on a judicial review.

The Highways Department today (March 20) invited interested tenderers of Tseung Kwan O Further Development - Design and Build of Infrastructure Works for Tseung Kwan O Stage I Landfill Site (Phase I) to apply for prequalification.

The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft South West Kowloon Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The Town Planning Board (the Board) today (March 20) announced amendments to the draft Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The Government today (March 20) gazetted the Chief Executive in Council's authorisation of the MTR West Island Line (WIL) under the Railways Ordinance.

The construction industry will start looking up by the end of this year, it has been predicted.

Nine leading cultural figures from around the world will fly into town next month for a one-day open forum on how Hong Kong can make the West Kowloon Cultural District a success.

Residents' demands for more public consultation on expanding part of Hiram's Highway into a four-lane road were turned down by Sai Kung District Council yesterday.

The government has abandoned plans to turn the Seaview Building in Repulse Bay into a hotel development and will revitalise the building, the Planning Department says in a paper to be discussed by the Town Planning Board on Friday.

Tighter planning restrictions have made redevelopment projects less profitable, say urban renewal experts who have urged the government to regenerate the city instead of demolishing all older buildings.

Tighter planning restrictions have made redevelopment projects less profitable, say urban renewal experts who have urged the government to regenerate the city instead of demolishing all older buildings.

A plan to renovate an underused park in Wan Chai is in jeopardy because the MTR Corporation is considering using it as a storage site for construction material.

The Water Supplies Department (WSD) today (March 16) awarded a $360 million contract for the replacement and rehabilitation of about 56 kilometres of aged water mains with diameter ranging from 20 to 700 millimetres in Hong Kong's Southern District and outlying islands.

The Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, Mr Choi Chun-wah, visited the building site of the Customs and Excise Department headquarters in Java Road, North Point, today (March 16).

The new LOHAS Park Station in Tseung Kwan O South is expected to be ready for openingin mid-2009. Upon opening, it will mark the full completion of the MTR Tseung Kwan O Line to connect all parts of the new town with the rest of Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories.

Representatives of the three sides in the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Advance Work Co-ordination Group today (March 13) in Zhuhai staged contract signing and launch ceremonies for the start of the preliminary design and investigation of the main body of the HZMB project.

The total gross value of construction works performed by main contractors in the fourth quarter of 2008 increased by 2.6% in nominal terms over a year earlier to $25.5 billion, according to the provisional results of the Quarterly Survey of Construction

Lawmakers are fighting for more working space for their secretariat in the future Legislative Council complex, a proposal the government said might have to be vetted by the Town Planning Board.

The hotly contested Wedding Card Street redevelopment has been put on hold because of the economic turmoil. Developers will be asked to reconsider their interest in co-developing the project, centred on Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai, by the Urban Renewal Authority.