Quote of the Day

Chains required, whips optional.

- California highway sign

"Roman Holiday" Break

First Paragraph

Seven hundred years ago a man almost conquered the earth. He made himself master of half the known world, and inspired mankind with a fear that lasted for generations. 

- From Genghis Khan: The Emperor of All Men by Harold Lamb

Long Before "Star Wars"

A noted actress captured the hearts of America in a thrilling story featuring stunning special effects and brilliant dialogue.

Illustrating a Ghost Story by Dickens

Cory Godbey at Muddy Colors looks at how illustrators have approached A Christmas Carol,

Music Break

Placido Domingo: "Hacia Belen va un borrico."

Miscellaneous and Fast

Wally Bock: Read like the Warrior Monk.
Matthew Lang advises us to level up. (Will do.)
Patrick Rhone: Paper is not broken. (Bravo!)
Law Latte: Mathematical gift wrapping. (Sorely needed.)
Unconventional education: Althouse on the Badger Rock Middle School.
Sippican Cottage on toughing it out during a Maine winter.

Pre-Obvious

The idea of the wheel now seems oh-so-obvious and yet at one time it wasn't. Once you get past trying to duplicate legs, then you are closer to the mark, and some wise individual or group made that move.

In doing so, they left one realm and entered another.

It is a heady atmosphere - when you see something which others have missed - and doing so requires a willingness to break free from old assumptions and to ask new questions.

That's why an Assumptions List can be so valuable. Jot down your assumptions and then review them. See what stands out.

You may find a wheel.

Highly Recommended

Quote of the Day

I could never have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.

- Charles Dickens