I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong.
- Leo Rosten
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
First Paragraph
Marco da Cola, gentleman of Venice, respectfully presents his greetings. I wish to recount the journey which I made to England in the year 1663, the events which I witnessed and the people I met, these being, I hope, of some interest to those concerned with curiosity. Equally, I intend my account to expose the lies told by those whom I once numbered, wrongly, amongst my friends. I do not intend to pen a lengthy self-justification, or tell in detail how I was deceived and cheated out of renown which should rightfully be mine. My recital, I believe, will speak for itself.
- From An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
- From An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
The Importance of Negotiation Skills
SoxFirst has an amazing story about former Apple executive Ron Wayne . An excerpt:
The New York Daily News reports that he ended up selling his 10% stake for a total of $2,300 and going back to his old job at Atari. How much would that be worth now? About $35 billion. Not that he regrets it. "If I'd stayed with them, I was going to wind up the richest man in the cemetery, so I figured it was best for me to go off and do other things," Wayne said.
The New York Daily News reports that he ended up selling his 10% stake for a total of $2,300 and going back to his old job at Atari. How much would that be worth now? About $35 billion. Not that he regrets it. "If I'd stayed with them, I was going to wind up the richest man in the cemetery, so I figured it was best for me to go off and do other things," Wayne said.
The Really Big Class
FutureLawyer on the future of online universities:
What if a Stanford Professor, known around the world as an expert in robotics, taught the same class to 130,000 students on the Internet for free that he offered to students on the Stanford campus paying $50,000 a year in tuition?
[Execupundit note: What if the class was taught for a reduced amount that would provide a generous profit to the professor and a bargain for the individual student? Is a Groupon.com - or its equivalent - deal for classes in our future?]
What if a Stanford Professor, known around the world as an expert in robotics, taught the same class to 130,000 students on the Internet for free that he offered to students on the Stanford campus paying $50,000 a year in tuition?
[Execupundit note: What if the class was taught for a reduced amount that would provide a generous profit to the professor and a bargain for the individual student? Is a Groupon.com - or its equivalent - deal for classes in our future?]
"A General Presence of Incivility"
Ms. Tzortzatos’s tolerance for the newcomers finally vanished when the sink was broken and fell to the floor. She installed a $200 lock on the bathroom to thwart nonpaying customers, angering the protesters.
“I’m looked at as the enemy of the people,” she said.
Read the rest of The New York Times article here.
“I’m looked at as the enemy of the people,” she said.
Read the rest of The New York Times article here.
Survival Essentials
The film "Contagion" raises an interesting question of what you would do if a highly contageous illness made grocery stores off-limits and the police force was unlikely to come when called.
I came home from the theater and pondered our sparse supplies. You don't need to subscribe to survivalist publications to wonder whether it might be wise to stock up on a few things.
Oddly enough, we were fairly well-supplied with water. (That's not always the case.) The food supply could have stretched to perhaps a week at most with only one meal a day. The weapons arsenal is not bad but could be expanded. We're a little low on barbed wire and animal traps.
So the larder needs food that can last a long time; the staples of life so to speak, such as beer, Pop Tarts, Jack Daniels, jerky, and Twinkies.
I haven't surfaced that list with the family. I'm sure they will approve.
I came home from the theater and pondered our sparse supplies. You don't need to subscribe to survivalist publications to wonder whether it might be wise to stock up on a few things.
Oddly enough, we were fairly well-supplied with water. (That's not always the case.) The food supply could have stretched to perhaps a week at most with only one meal a day. The weapons arsenal is not bad but could be expanded. We're a little low on barbed wire and animal traps.
So the larder needs food that can last a long time; the staples of life so to speak, such as beer, Pop Tarts, Jack Daniels, jerky, and Twinkies.
I haven't surfaced that list with the family. I'm sure they will approve.
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