09/05/2008
And that, kids, is why I love my Peugeot.
Photo posted at 16:01
08/05/2008
A type of whale, upwards of 7 metres in lengh that lives in the high arctic and has a tusk that can be up to 3 metres (10’) long.
What is a Narwhal.
Photo posted at 15:31
World press photo of the year, 2008. American soldier resting at bunker, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, 16 September. Picture: Tim Hetherington, UK, for Vanity Fair
via www.news.com.au’s gallery of the World Press Photo awards.
Photo posted at 15:16
Ralph Waldo Emerson (via minuswell, who probably likes this for the same reason I do).
Nietzsche tried hard to communicate why systematization of thought was detrimental to philosophical integrity. Look no further than Hegel, whose system is complete enough to swallow the whole universe of inquiry but leaves man shivering and alone, waiting for the Existentialists’ rescue.
Systematization of thought, the imposition of consistency and the extension of ideas to their limits, is an urge we all have; it’s particularly destructive politically, in governmental and private organizations. The application of Marxism to art and music, or the manner in which companies begin to stupidly force the latest business-speak stratagem from their CEO on the most minute details of their operations, exemplify this.
We all like to logically abstract our principles and then instantiate them in the areas of our lives; we seek consistency, formality, codification, standardization, and the smooth, clean system of the purely logical world. We subordinate reality to this vision: everything we see reminds us of our favorite candidate’s ideas, our favorite author’s theses.
The flaw inherent in seeking consistency or systematization is that you place a higher value on those qualities than on the inherent properties of whatever you’re systematizing. If we are trying to construct HR policy that is “fair and just,” but begin to overly standardize its processes and remove autonomy from managers, we have have reduced its fairness and justice in the interest of consistency.
The search for a truly full system in any field or endeavor, one both complete and coherent, was dealt a blow first by Wittgenstein and then by physicists, but it persists. It persists despite the fact that we all know what works: inconsistency, decentralization, flexibility, local implementation of ideas and communities, policies at the individual level, and so on. It’s why we want to work for start-ups and not monoliths.
But still, every damn day in meetings, I hear, “Well, we have to be consistent.” No, we don’t.
(Note: it is important to observe the word “foolish” in the quote; not all consistency is foolish, of course).
(via mills)
What else can be said except: Yes.
Quote posted at 06:49
06/05/2008
Unsurprising quotes #847:
“Hemp advocates foresee a bright future for hemp.”
Gee…you don’t say, huh. I’ve rarely known hemp advocates to be anything but tediously over-optimistic about hemp’s ability to cure all social, environmental, and medical ills and lead us into a shining new future of galactic love, harmony and shared consciousness. It’s a wonder we’re not making eco-space-shuttles out of it right now, if the hemp publicity hyperbole is anything to go by.
Quote taken from the (heavily biased) wikipedia entry for hemp.
Yes, it’s hemp day in my little tumblr circle.
Text posted at 17:09
Dr Dave. Spanish Broom.
Quote posted at 16:52
- Me: If it was so awesome it'd be everywhere, probably with some DuPont trademarked name to make it more palatable to people and so it doesn't need to carry a seven-leafed logo.
- Dr Dave: Yes, I have noticed that we're not all living in hemp cities on the moon yet....
Conversation posted at 16:51
Suddenly it’s cool to take the bus, Business Week
Looks like Business Week did an entire issue on how the price of oil may change and has changed the way we live. Check out the articles on how the price of gas might effect our car culture, and where we live.
The above quote is from an article on the increase use of employer sponsored transit systems with every increase in the cost of gas. For the short time that I dealt with an hour commute each way by car, I always felt completely drained by the time I got home. I quickly decided that the extra cost of rent in the city was well worth my time and sanity, but it’s interesting to see that some businesses went to the trouble of quantifying that happiness.(via theurbanist)
It’s fairly obvious that I’m a car-nerd. I like looking at them, driving them, talking about them, reading about them.
But lets be clear — commuting in a car, especially a single-occupancy car, is just about the worst thing you can do if you have access to any other form of transport.
Quote posted at 15:39
Its Electric / Materialicious
The interesting thing about this is that Volkswagen could never build a soap-box derby-type car like this and make it half as cool. Yet this is a very Volkswagen sort of thing to do. But Volkswagen owns Bentley. Branding works, people.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s just super-cool, too.
Photo posted at 09:26
05/05/2008
via Axel Ganz (Seawings forum)
Cap’n Tony says: ” I love Savoia-Marchettis. They’re like a Norman Bel Geddes dream come to life.”
Indeed. They even have their own collective noun: a Balbo.
Cool.
Photo posted at 19:40
04/05/2008
Paul Graham
Quote posted at 22:36
