tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post459553379176611401..comments2023-10-14T23:56:22.016-10:00Comments on Reflecting Light: The glass isn't half full or half empty. It's empty.Rick Darbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02371910140619422820noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-83991179827944477732008-08-23T16:34:00.000-10:002008-08-23T16:34:00.000-10:00It is no mean feat to make a fellow laugh out loud...It is no mean feat to make a fellow laugh out loud over the Internet.<BR/><BR/><EM>Spend tax money, if anyone has any remaining lolly to tax, on infrastructure projects, nuclear power plants, birth control for the poor, death-ray guns to arm border guards, and books to replace every school computer by 2012.</EM><BR/><BR/>That did it. Books to replace every school computer! Exactly right.<BR/><BR/><EM>Howard</EM>Howard J. Harrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17107528208467150644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-47848574521366298922008-08-18T09:29:00.000-10:002008-08-18T09:29:00.000-10:00I'm thinking writers who don't have to interview p...I'm thinking writers who don't have to interview people, or work in groups, could maybe get away without the "humane arts of conversation"...possibly some novelists could fall in this category, though I'd think the art of conversation would be useful even for them.David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-58028927661928432672008-08-18T08:13:00.000-10:002008-08-18T08:13:00.000-10:00David,What kind of writers? Blog writers?David,<BR/><BR/>What kind of writers? Blog writers?Rick Darbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02371910140619422820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-29811104414435758762008-08-18T05:56:00.000-10:002008-08-18T05:56:00.000-10:00Sebastian..."the "skills" needed to be a professio...Sebastian..."the "skills" needed to be a professional nowdays do not include the humane arts of conversation or sublety (now known as inter-personal skills)"...what kind of profession are these people in? I can't think of too many professional jobs that don't involve interpersonal skills to at least some important degre--maybe stock/bond traders, certain kinds of writers, and surgeons, but what else?David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-42723662866789460352008-08-18T04:25:00.000-10:002008-08-18T04:25:00.000-10:00yih,thanks for the explanation.zazie,I've been wat...yih,<BR/><BR/>thanks for the explanation.<BR/><BR/>zazie,<BR/><BR/>I've been watching a French TV cop show, <I>Fabio Montale</I>, starring an old but still handsome Alain Delon. Set in Marseille. <BR/><BR/>Of course, the bad guys are among <I>les flics</I>, the good guys and girls are Arabs. I see political correctness has infiltrated your TV just like it has ours.<BR/><BR/>Time for another revolution, although I hope without recourse to the guillotine this time. <I>Allons, enfants de la Patrie!</I>Rick Darbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02371910140619422820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-45807565101550488152008-08-17T21:54:00.000-10:002008-08-17T21:54:00.000-10:00Ah yes Santaria, a bizzare blend of Catholisim and...Ah yes <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santeria" REL="nofollow">Santaria</A>, a bizzare blend of Catholisim and African Voodoo. Primarily practiced by Haitians.<BR/>They pray to the Saints AND sacrifice various animals. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-66981643902760695622008-08-17T10:50:00.000-10:002008-08-17T10:50:00.000-10:00That is me again ! Sorry! I have forgotten to ask ...That is me again ! Sorry! I have forgotten to ask for the meaning of "santeria" ; can you spare a minute to tell me ?zaziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02639722488366613594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-24811180688323323792008-08-17T10:46:00.000-10:002008-08-17T10:46:00.000-10:00I totally agree with your suggestions, drastic as ...I totally agree with your suggestions, drastic as they are !<BR/>I particularly liked the idea of a "goddamn revolution"...The French used to be good at starting that sort of things ; I often wish they remembered it ; might be a bloody affair of course if the intellectual dwarfs who "lead" the world were not brought to change their behaviour by the mere threat of a major upheaval; some will say that such an event is just what they wish ? Maybe, but then they should remember how dangerous it is to play with matches.zaziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02639722488366613594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-29218515271516303042008-08-16T13:24:00.000-10:002008-08-16T13:24:00.000-10:00Well, once again I've made some careless error and...Well, once again I've made some careless error and wiped out my would-be reply. Click and "poof", gone. Doubtless we've lost some brilliant insight that would have altered global consciousness.<BR/><BR/>Actually just wanted to say thanks for pointing out that graph-encrusted article. The writing is quite friendly for readers (like me) with no real grasp of economics. Not too heavy-handed, either. He seems to be saying that we need to recognize natural cycles and let them play out without undue interference but I don't think most citizens expect the gummint to stand by while market dynamics take away their dreams. Enter the politicians-- and witness any number of the comments following that piece. <BR/><BR/>Why can't we have a loud and public understanding that private citizens, corporate and government all have responsibilities to make the system work properly, at least on average? The first group is the one that cannot dodge the bullets so you'd think they would be the most attentive, but no...<BR/><BR/>Or perhaps that is the basis of the unique energy that perpetually revitalizes the American experiment: faith that we can build what we want, and equal faith that we can fix whatever goes wrong?leadpbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08957439101293478340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-46933361280108854532008-08-16T08:30:00.000-10:002008-08-16T08:30:00.000-10:00Yes, three to four hours each night and seven to t...Yes, three to four hours each night and seven to ten on weekends. Granted, these are not the most passionate, happily married, satisfied people. But it is strange nonetheless because they can function in the real world just fine. And that, ultimately, is what worries me: the "skills" needed to be a professional nowdays do not include the humane arts of conversation or sublety (now known as inter-personal skills). These guys have good portfolios, pick stocks, have their finances in order - and yet in every other way they would appear as over-grown to my mother or father. What I'm trying to describe is difficult to grasp: it's their success that baffles me and tells me what kind of society we have created. I have a copy of West's book and will get to it later his month.<BR/><BR/>Enjoy your blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-43851647193055115652008-08-16T07:59:00.000-10:002008-08-16T07:59:00.000-10:00sebastian,Forty hours of computer games a week? An...sebastian,<BR/><BR/><I>Forty hours</I> of computer games a week? An average of over five hours a day? That's scary! <BR/><BR/>We all need hobbies and recreation, but if these are people who have full-time jobs, then they must have no time to ever read a book. Not, I suppose, that they'd want to.<BR/><BR/>I know plenty of people who don't play computer games, but now that I think of it, they are all of the Baby Boom generation or older. Twenty- and thirty-somethings seem to have settled for perpetual adolescence. Someone -- Diana West? -- has written a book on the widespread refusal to grow up.<BR/><BR/>If the predictions in the Seeking Alpha article are anything like correct, a lot of people are in for shock treatment.Rick Darbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02371910140619422820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-36436885927714780332008-08-16T07:35:00.000-10:002008-08-16T07:35:00.000-10:00I like your suggestions, especially replacing scho...I like your suggestions, especially replacing school computers with books. Of course, the opposite will happen - in every way. I know thirty-five year old Ive League grads who play - literally, I'm not exaggerating - upwards of 40 hours of computer games a week. These people are married and have high-end jobs. With a populace in such stupor, especially the traditionally most active member of a household, the government and NGOs can do ANYTHING they want, let in ANY number of immigrants, invade ANY nation, fabricate ANY phony crisis (Georgia), and the only reaction will remain: how does this affect my online character's capacity to get more power pellets so I can kill more monsters. - We are a nation of man-children and get the society we deserve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-68156041639183592132008-08-16T02:24:00.000-10:002008-08-16T02:24:00.000-10:00leadpb,I hope you read the article from Seeking Al...leadpb,<BR/><BR/>I hope you read the article from Seeking Alpha that I linked to. Long as it is, it's actually a skillful compression of the economic loony bin this country, including both individuals and their government, has voluntarily committed itself into.Rick Darbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02371910140619422820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16646992.post-31364871604220873812008-08-15T13:37:00.000-10:002008-08-15T13:37:00.000-10:00Once again, Rick, it's as though we share the same...Once again, Rick, it's as though we share the same brain. My mind waffles between "How can I get this message to my representatives" and laughing my ass off. If the poor bastards in the "developing world" need a revolution then so do we. For many years I have believed, as a general sensibility, that the worst thing Tricky DIck did was take us off the gold standard. My financial worth has to be tied to real collateral to function in the world of borrowing. Why shouldn't the big boys and Uncle Sam be on the same leash?<BR/><BR/>Yes, abolish the Federal Reserve. For starters.leadpbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08957439101293478340noreply@blogger.com