John Piper had a great article the other day called Let’s Make Some Autumn Resolutions. A resolve — such as a New Year’s resolution or, in the case of Piper’s article, an “autumn resolution” — is essentially something you intend to do, change, or become more of. It can be initiated by a change in […]
The Safety of Airplanes
Two major airline crashes in the last month is tragic. Fast Company has an interesting article on “why, in the 21st Century, do aircraft keep plummeting out of the sky?” I gave some of my answer last month in my posts on why airplane crashes happen and the role of communication styles in airplane crashes, […]
Spending Does Not Drive the Economy, Part 1
The belief that spending drives the economy is pervasive. It manifests itself in two sub-categories: First, the belief that consumer spending drives the economy and, second, the belief that government stimulus spending assists the economy. We’ll look at each of these in turn, and then show how this relates to the topic of productivity.
How to Design and Then Arrange a Room
We’ve had to recently learn some of the best practices about how to arrange a room. Having just moved, we wanted — as much as possible — to know what we are doing as we get furniture for rooms that didn’t exist in our prior house. We are probably a bit odd here — a […]
Don't Be a Cynic
A cynic is: 1. a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view. 2. a person who shows or expresses a bitterly or sneeringly cynical attitude. Don’t be one of those people. Don’t be someone who thinks that everyone has ill […]
President Bush on Popularity
In a recent interview, here’s what Bush said about popularity: Look, I’ve been popular and not so popular. But the thing that matters most in life is not one’s popularity but principles. And I am not going to sacrifice my principles on the altar of political popularity. If you chase popularity, you’ll be a lousy […]
How to Make Your Car Feel Warm as Fast as Possible in Cold Minnesota (and Elsewhere) Winters
I just l left the staff Christmas party at Famous Dave’s, and it was freezing outside. (I used to ignore the cold; now I’m starting to think I get less used to the cold as time goes by.) I had to drive my car back to the office, which caused me to reflect on what […]