Where to Stay

National Geographic Traveler gives its list of "129 Hotels We Love."

Quote of the Day

Man only likes to count his troubles, but he does not count his joys.

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Big Interviewer is Watching

The sad tale of how an indiscreet tweet cost an applicant a job.

The Joke

Ed told it to Carol, who frowned but later chuckled and passed it on to Helen and Lara and Lara, well you know Lara, she forgot it five minutes later but Helen thought it was hilarious so she emailed it to 12 other people, thoughtfully crediting Ed as the origin, and all 12 emailed it to at least two others and in one case 34 others some of whom are inside the company and others who are way on the outside, including one reporter who sniffed and thought it highly inappropriate and maybe a story but nonetheless bounced it to five friends who roared and one hidden rival who tucked it away for a bright day when it might be useful as evidence of instability or insensitivity or one of those other "ins" but the others pretty much thought it was fine and by the time the week was over Ed's wit had reached at least a couple of thousand but by then Ed was having second thoughts so he called Carol and told her not to mention it and she said sure, she wouldn't say another word.

Green Death: The Other Side

I'm hardly an admirer of arrogant jocks and obnoxious coaches. When I first heard about the uproar over the note from the coach of the Green Death soccer team, my reaction was in favor of the critics.

Having read the entire note, however, I'm wondering if the guy was the victim of a huge overreaction as well as political bias. An excerpt from his missive:

These are my views and not necessarily the views of the league (but they should be). I recognize that my school of thought may be an ideological shift from conventional norms. But it is imperative that we all fight the good fight, get involved now and resist the urge to become sweat-xedo-wearing yuppies who sit on the sidelines in their LL Bean chairs sipping mocha-latte-half-caf-chinos while discussing reality TV and home decorating with other feeble-minded folks. I want to hear cheering, I want to hear encouragement, I want to get the team pumped up at each and every game and know they are playing for something.

Porn in the Student Union

"We thought this would be something fun for the students to do, especially since we're getting close to the end of the semester," said Lisa Cunningham, program coordinator for the Hoff Theater, which is showing the film. "We're a college movie theater and we thought it would bring out the students."

I imagine it will.

Of course, snuff films might bring them out too. Would it be too much for the university administration to get some guts and enforce some standards?

[HT: Drudge Report]

Regulatory Reform

Writing in City Journal, Luigi Zingales has a proposal regarding regulation:

Hence the need to rethink regulatory architecture along clear lines of responsibility and goals. I propose that we allocate financial regulation and supervision to three different agencies, each responsible for only one of the three principal goals of financial-system regulation. One agency would be in charge of price stability, more or less conducting the traditional monetary policy that the Fed currently conducts. A second agency would be tasked with systemic considerations, absorbing some of the extraordinary roles that the Fed has taken on during the current crisis, together with other solvency issues (often overseen by state insurance regulators). Finally, a third agency would focus on protecting the little guys, whether they’re investing in stock, depositing funds at a bank, borrowing from a bank, or buying an annuity or other insurance product.

Subtle Sabotage: 7 Techniques

There may be no limit to the way in which people who harbor a grievance, real or imagined, can retaliate. The secret to the game is doing so in a manner that leaves some reasonable doubt regarding intent. The classic practices include:

1. Delaying or omitting notification of important meetings.
2. Losing crucial paperwork.
3. Processing requests as slowly as possible.
4. "Accidentally" disconnecting calls.
5. Not proofreading documents.
6. Strictly following rules in a manner that produces maximum inconvenience.
7. Doing the absolute minimum and no more.
   

Quote of the Day

Egos eat brains.

- Alan Brunacini

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino did all of us a favor when he made Looking for Richard, in which he explores the nuances of Shakespeare's Richard III.

It's a marvelous film and should be more widely known - and available - in the USA.