One of the most consistently provocative conferences I attended last year -- my own Money:Tech 2008 aside, of course -- was Eric Norlin's Defrag conference. Oodles of interesting people, lots of great conversation and all of it aimed at one of my favorite subjects: How we cope with the information tsunami.

Eric has launched Defrag 2008, and he has been good enough to give readers of this site a discount on registration. Just click on the Defrag logo in this post and use "pk1" as your registration code.

See you there.

I need a word. I want one that describes that delighted feeling you get when you discover that a subject that used to soak up a lot of cognitive cycles no longer requires any. I'm going to suggest "Yahoo!", but I'm open to other better ideas. Twitter folks have suggested "cogsternation" and "cocktail hour", which may both be better than mine.

Suggestions?

Quick heads-up that I'm guest hosting "The Call" on CNBC tomorrow from 11am to noon EST (8am-9am PST). Send topic ideas and I'll try.

Entertainingly neck-snapping day out there on the markets with stocks that were down yesterday going speedily higher. Here is a list of the top twenty stocks that were down yesterday, and up today, sorted by total distance traveled over the period. (Note that it's Russell 3000 members with share prices over $5.)

These FOMC statements should be banned. They are a tired exercise in reader-hostile word-smithing, a conscious attempt to hide meaning and abuse language.

Check the following for the MS Word track changes on today's statement. Then try to explain how the words are anything but arbitrary.

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 2 percent.

EconomicRecent information indicates that overall economic activity expanded in the second quarter,continues to expand, partly reflecting growthsome firming in consumerhousehold spending and exports.. However, labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress. Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction, and elevatedthe rise in energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters. Over time, the substantial easing of monetary policy, combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate economic growth.

Inflation has been high, spurred by The Committee expects inflation to moderate later this year and next year. However, in light of the earliercontinued increases in the prices of energy and some other commodities, and the elevated state of some indicators of inflation expectations have been elevated. The Committee expects inflation to moderate later this year and next year, but, uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains highly uncertain.high.

The substantial easing of monetary policy to date, combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate growth over time. Although downside risks to growth remain, they appear to have diminished somewhat, and the upside risks to inflation are also of significant concern to the Committee.and inflation expectations have increased. The Committee will continue to monitor economic and financial developments and will act as needed to promote sustainable economic growth and price stability.