January 2008
41 posts
“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”
– Roald Dahl
“He who can lead you to believe an absurdity, can lead you to commit an atrocity.”
– Voltaire
“I tell you one thing, though. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we’re gonna...”
– Joe Banks (Tom Hanks), Joe Versus the Volcano
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of...”
– Barry Goldwater
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than...”
– President Thomas Jefferson
—
Most people are unaware that the Federal Reserve is a private organization that is unelected and unaccountable. They put more money into the economy whenever they choose. This leads to an inflation tax. This is what caused the Roman Empire to collapse.
“And shepherds we shall be,
For Thee, my Lord, for Thee.
Power hath descended...”
– MacManus Family Prayer, The Boondock Saints
Chicago School [Wikipedia] →
The Chicago school of economics is a school of thought favoring free-market economics practiced at and disseminated from the University of Chicago in the middle of the 20th century.
It is associated with neoclassical price theory and free market libertarianism, the refutation and rejection of Keynesianism in favor of monetarism (until the 1980s, when it turned to rational expectations), and the...
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a...”
– Lazarus Long, Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
“Picture the scene. Wednesday morning in the Volley. Me and Tommy are playing...”
– Begby (Robert Carlyle), Trainspotting
Harm Principle [Wikipedia] →
The sole purpose of law should be to stop people from harming others and that should people want to participate in victimless crimes, crimes with no complaining witness, such as gambling, drug usage, engaging in prostitution, then they should not be encroached in doing so.
“so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside...”
– William Carlos Williams
Dunbar's number (150) [Wikipedia] →
represents a theorized cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships, the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point has some good detail and examples on this topic.
“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the...”
– Hunter S. Thompson, Gonzo Papers, Vol. 2: Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ’80s
Audiobook Pet Peeve
I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks recently because I have a 40 minute commute now. One thing that I’ve found that bothers me is when the reader changes the word “book” to “audiobook” or “read” to “listen.” They are supposed to be reading the book, we are all at an understanding that it’s now audio, but we are cleaver enough...
“Margaret More: Father, that man’s bad.
Sir Thomas More: There’s no...”
– A Man for All Seasons
“Son,” he said without preamble, “never trust a man who doesn’t...”
– James Crumley, The Last Good Kiss
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you...”
– Often attributed to Mark Twain, but probably not him
“Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a...”
– Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), Thank You for Smoking
Nuremberg Defense [Wikipedia] →
a legal defense that essentially states that the defendant was “only following orders.”
The Yuppie Nuremberg Defense: “I just need to pay the mortgage.” (from Thank You For Smoking)
“Wise men are cautious where fools are sure.”
“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do...”
– Clarence B Kelland
Stategery
Patton
King Leonidas
Sergeant York
Sun Tzu
Rommel
David
Hannibal
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of...”
– Plato
“So take this wine and drink with me, let’s delay our misery.”
– Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry
“I have not yet begun to fight!”
– John Paul Jones’ famous response, in the early phase of the Battle of Flamborough Head, (September 23, 1779) to an inquiry by his opponent (Captain Richard Pearson of the Royal Navy ship HMS Serapis) as to whether he was surrendering his ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard
“Well George, we finally knocked the bastard off.”
– Sir Edmund Hillary’s first words, to lifelong friend George Lowe, on returning from Everest’s summit
He died today
“In questions of science the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble...”
– Galileo Galilei
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to...”
– Galileo Galilei
“Good, Bad, I’m the guy with the gun.”
– Ash (Bruce Campbell), Army of Darkness
Two Cunts in a Kitchen [Wikipedia] →
Two Cunts in a Kitchen, is slang used within the advertising industry for a type of television commercial. Generally, the commercial shows two women in a domestic scene, discussing, using, or otherwise portraying the advertiser’s product in a positive manner.
“When some people die, it’s time to be sad. But when other people die, like...”
– Jimmy Bender, Greg the Bunny
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
– Plato
Websites I used in 2007
Gmail Google Reader
NDNation (Rock’s House & Back Room) Meebo Facebook Digg Reddit ESPN Google Finance (Portfolios) TV IV Flickr TripIt Billmonk Last.fm Dave’s Trailer Page
Gordie Howe Hat Trick [Wikipedia] →
A variation on the hat trick, wherein a player scores a goal, gets an assist, and participates in a fight in a single game.
“A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.”
– General George S. Patton