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There is practically nothing that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper — and he who considers only the price is that man’s lawful prey.
— Thomas Carlyle (via Drake’s of London)
(Source: putthison)
Toothpick Swords: When life gives you lemon twists
Cocktail enthusiasm has a number of advantages. You can make parties, holidays and pretty much anything else that happens within 50 feet of liquor a lot more fun. You can unlock knowledge to impress dates or embarrass poseurs who are clouding your valuable bar space with misinformation.
But it’s…
The Rise of “Planning”
My official title now at work is “Account Planner.”
Above me and one unit over is another account planner.
One more unit over is a media planner.
One more unit over is an event planner.
In Ben’s words, it’s definitely a thing.
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
—John Muir
Reflections on Columbus Day
I took Columbus Day off to go camping with a friend (who actually had the day off) and it got me thinking.
Why do we celebrate Columbus? What’s there to celebrate?
Forget the easy ad hominem (see quotes below.) Perhaps he really was a great guy who just made a few mistakes, like we all do. Let’s talk about whether or not his crowning achievement - discovering America - is worth celebrating at all.
Discoveries in the name of science - advances in medicine, technology and so forth - are often rightfully celebrated. They tend to lead towards higher qualities of life. Sometimes these also have negative implications, and so even the celebratory merit of scientific discoveries can be debated. But, for now, we’ll give it to science that discovery is generally a good thing.
But what about discovering a new continent? Should we celebrate the explorer? If, in fact, it were a discovery, one of new resources, new space, etc., then sure. Humanity would have more room to grow and more resources to do it with. Great. Good job, explorer. Thank you kindly.
But, in reality, it wasn’t a discovery at all. Columbus didn’t discover America anymore than Newton created gravity. There were already people in the Americas. Columbus scouted out a continent which would later be conquered. Nothing more and nothing less.
If the goal of exploration is to discover, then Columbus should not rank high on our list of explorers.
Also, see easy ad hominem referenced above. From Columbus’ own writing:
They…brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned….They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features….They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane….They would make fine servants….With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.
And again:
As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.
When Columbus’ expectations of sending back boats laden with gold weren’t met, he turned to sending back people instead:
Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold.
It really makes you want to reconsider federal holidays.
So each mile you live from work steals $795 per year from you in commuting costs. $795 per year will pay the interest on $15,900 of house borrowed at a 5% interest rate. In other words, a logical person should be willing to pay about $15,900 more for a house that is one mile closer to work, and $477,000 more for a house that is 30 miles closer to work. For a double-commuting couple, these numbers are $31,800 and $954,000.
Adapting the numbers for a $7.50 minimum wage earner, each mile of car commuting cuts $1.43 from your workday. If you drive 10 miles to go work a 5-hour shift at the Outback Steakhouse, your effective hourly wage is more like $5 per hour after subtracting car costs and adding drive time.
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (via paulisakson)
(via paulisakson)
