G as in Good H as in Happy

Spring Zen-Tonic for Writers

Commissioned cover for writing seminar. Draft.

Modern Alchemy

February 24, 2006

Armed and Dangerous approaches Equipped, Innovative, and Effective with this post on Dean Kamen's (the Segway) new ideas for energy and clean water for the whole world. No technical details, but if it works, please save Chez Dilys a place in line to give one each to a village somewhere.

With love. In memory of W. B.Yeats.

The Virtue of Vice

February 18, 2006

A tiny 26,000-citizen group in the Baltic islands called Åland, threaten effectively to resist the European Constitution because the European moloch in Brussels wants to forbid smokeless tobacco.

Via The Brussels Journal

Flow: Life Gets Easier

A key principle in realizing our oneness with the Tao is that of wu-wei, or "non-doing."

You Know Who You Are:

you are right. Sleeping (and presumably showering) before making complex and important decisions is better than agonizing and worrying, or coming to snap decisions (who, me? Blame the Myers Briggs P).

For shampoo brands, OTOH, read those ingredient lists on the labels. Compare. Think about it. You want the best.

Via Marginal Revolution

Little Love Note$ to the World

February 14, 2006

What is the best way to use $1 to improve the world (putting aside all the feel-righteous or the-arts-for-me contributions)?

Make like Shylock. Given all this, it seems to me that the best way to spend a little money helping the world's poorest citizens is not to spend the money at all, but to lend it.

Read more as to how.

Courtesy Marginal Revolution

When Non-Mediocrities Meet

And The Anchoress shares a moment from their first meeting.

Free Land...

...in Kansas and elsewhere.

Hard Hindsight

February 7, 2006

An economist's life lessons. Holds true in general. Ask, What is really happening here? What is my role?

How Right You Are

This is not a joke.

If someone disagrees, and cares deeply, and is certain, then They're Right, for the purposes of the conversation. If it's a matter of the safekeeping of life and limb, go ahead and check the brakes. But if Honey, they don't need checking is the lyric, the melody is, You could be right.

Nothing is sweeter, particularly to the male ear, than, You were right. You are right. You will always be right. Naturally, leave the last part implicit, don't actually say it, it makes you sound ridiculous. But the first two are pure gold.  Try it today:

You
are
right.

If you want to stretch, call up someone you argued with, and say, I just wanted to say you were right about [X]. Discover how they actually were.

You are right, what a good idea, intermittently combined sincerely with How very interesting. Tell me more about that, could carry a reasonably competent person to the very top of any enterprise and the length of a happy life.

And if you disagree with this, you could be right! Honest. In fact, you probably are.