1-19-13 Hodgepodge

Time to Ban Hammers, Mr. President!

A man has robbed a bank at hammerpoint in Alaska. I guess that means we need the all-knowing, all-powerful government to invoke the same magical rituals we're gearing up to do with guns so that this never happens again!

Weekend Reading

"As they spout off, they are admitting, albeit implicitly, that they are not able or willing to figure out what's true anyway, so all that matters is that they look like they know what they're talking about." -- Michael Hurd, in "Saying 'No' for No Reason ... Not Smart!" at The Delaware Wave

"Some people just can't tolerate that they might be wrong." -- Michael Hurd, in "Hypocrisy is Unhealthy!" at The Delaware Coast Press

"The only honorable (and practical) choice is for the Congress to pay its invoices, and thereafter to work hard to reduce the magnitude of its future invoices." -- Richard Salsman, in "Debt-Ceiling Gimmickry is Unbecoming a Rational Government!" at Forbes

My Two Cents

Anyone weary of phony showdowns related to the debt ceiling and silliness like proposals to mint trillion dollar coins will find Salsman's piece a breath of fresh air.

Berkun on "Notebook Fundamentalism"

Scott Berkun does a nice job of torching the idea that you're wasting your time if you're not using the newest, trendiest technology on the job:

If I worked with someone who used smoke signals and carrier pigeons but did better work than their fully upgraded neural implanted cyborg peers, I'd make sure they had all the firewood and bird feed they needed.  And by the same token, if the cyborgs did better work, I'd offer cyborg implants to the rest of the team to try.  It's only after I see what people produce that I'd consider commentary on the means they used.

And the tool is just one variable. Most important is how effectively an individual thinks and implements his ideas. A tool can help, but is no substitute for a rational mind or a strong work ethic.

--CAV