09.15.06
Goombah
I had no idea goombah was a term of affection.
goombah (GOOM-bah) noun
1. Friend, accomplice, or crony.
2. Godfather or mentor.
08.27.06
The News Cycle
“A newspaper consists of just the same number of words, whether there be any news in it or not.”
-Henry Fielding
The same could be said about 24 hour news channels…
08.25.06
The Habit of Excellence
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
– Aristotle
08.24.06
On Certainty
The biggest cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid people are so sure about things and the intelligent folks are so full of doubts.
– Bertrand Russell
08.18.06
The Truth
The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.
-Ludwig von Mises
08.09.06
Talking to Yourself…
In fact, Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) once opined that at some future date he believed the differences between atheists and religionists would become indistinguishable. In his view, the only difference between an atheist and a religionist is that an atheist is merely a person who, when he is talking to God, believes he is talking to himself.
In fairness, I would concede that an atheist could justifiably argue that the opposite could also be true — i.e., that a religionist is merely someone who, when he is talking to himself, believes he is talking to God.
– Robert Ringer (quoted out of context…)
07.31.06
Quoting Thomas Jefferson
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
07.19.06
Apocalypse Now
One of the best scenes of dialog from the powerful film Apocalypse Now:
[napalm falling in the distance]
You smell that?
Do you smell that?
(What?)
Napalm son.
Nothing else in the world smells like that.I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. and when it was over, I walked up. We didn’t find one of ’em, not one stinking dink body. That smell… you know, that gasoline smell… the whole hill… smelled like…
Victory…
Someday this war’s gonna end.
07.13.06
Pondering Risk
The late, great Peter Drucker once said this:
Every decision is risky: It’s a commitment of present resources to an uncertain and unknown future. Risks can be minimized if you know when a decision is necessary, how to clearly define a problem and tackle it directly, and that you’ll have to make compromises in the end. You haven’t made a decision until you’ve found a way to implement it.
I’ve been thinking a bit lately about the nature of risk and what we really mean. I think this one quote helps solidify my thinking more than anything else I’ve come across while pondering the topic.
Note to self – go back and finish reading Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter Bernstein.