Category: Uncategorized
-
Recession Winners and Losers
Chris Yeh of Adventures in Capitalism answers the question: “Who are the winners and losers when an economy is in recession?” Losers Conferences Consultants Advertising-driven Companies Angel-funded Companies First-time Entrepreneurs/First-time VCs Anyone looking for money Winners Online Porn/MMOs/Virtual Worlds Low Cost Providers People With Cash Bootstrappers Liquidators As Chris says, “if you have a bootstrapped…
-
Beard Chart
As David said; the beard chart is an important resource. One that seems to be absent: ‘The Jesus’, as modelled in The Big Lebowski. via Link Banana
-
Why ‘Politics of Fear’ Works
Negative campaigning has been a constant of American elections for as long as I can remember, and is now making its way into mainstream UK politics. Seed looks at how evolution can explain both the appeal and recent failings of negative campaigning. Advertisers, like neuroscientists, started out with a so-called cognitive model of decision making — a…
-
Blogging the Bible: A Philosophical Primer
A few years ago I was in a discussion with one of the more intelligent people I have had the pleasure to meet: a Ph.D. philosophy student at the University of Cambridge. Substantial parts of his thesis had to consist of original philosophical ideas, and this meant a large portion of his ‘revision’ consisted of…
-
Where a Book’s Cover Price Goes
Ever wondered what we pay for when we buy a book? Ever been interested in how the cover price gets divided between those involved; the author, retailer, publisher, etc.? Based on figures produced by The Observer, BookTwo has produced a wonderfully simple infographic depicting the percentages of the split (for a £20 hardback): Retailer: 55%…
-
Stop Searching for Your Passion: Do What You Do
In many self-help and career blogs, people wax lyrical about how you should not cease searching for your ‘passion’; that elusive cause that you would be happy to devote your life to… something that makes ‘work’ feel like ‘play’. Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, however, believes that asking yourself, “What’s my passion” may not…
-
American Conservative Intelligentsia Voting Obama
I’m slowly losing interesting in the U.S. presidential election now that the result seems inevitable (get on with the inauguration already). However, the Obama–McCain dance-off video (via Kottke) combined with a feature in the latest The American Conservative, has temporarily piqued my interest again. In said feature, The Right Choice?, 18 prominent conservatives were asked…
-
How to Win the Man Booker Prize
Earlier this week I started reading a Man Booker winner for the first time: Vernon God Little. I’ve heard on good authority that it’s a great book and so far it’s living up to its reputation. As chairman of the 2008 Man Booker panel, Michael Portillo has been interviewed by The Economist and reflects on…
-
Charlie Brooker’s American Road Trip
With a lengthy US road trip in the pipeline (’09 or ’10, hopefully), I was pleased to read Charlie Brooker’s commentary on his recent excursion to “the Kingdom of Road Trips”. My ideal holiday is a road trip. All that variety! And sitting down! It’s like watching television, but better, because every so often you…
-
Eunoia: Beautiful Thinking
Christian Bok’s Eunoia sounds like an interesting read. The BBC has a review of the book, complete with some (interesting) excerpts: Eunoia is the shortest word in English containing all five vowels – and it means “beautiful thinking”. It is also the title of Canadian poet Christian Bok’s book of fiction in which each chapter…