Sunday, July 7

Something deeply significant

Something deeply significant is going on, if only we could grasp what precisely it is

Discussions of literature aside--

As a child, I felt that something deeply significant was going on in the world, if only I could grasp what precisely it was. Now what I perceive of the world makes sense to me only in isolated bits and pieces, and even then any meaning appears to have been imposed by fallible fellow humans, and may change at any time.

True elegance

"A gentleman should always be so well dressed that his dress shall never be observed at all. Does this sound like an enigma? It is not meant for one. It only implies that perfect simplicity is perfect elegance, and that the true test of taste in the toilette of a gentleman is its entire harmony, unobtrusiveness and becomingness."
--Gazette of Fashion, 1872 (via Ask the Past)

Actually, I just like being anonymous.

Friday, July 5

Results of crackdown on "price gouging"

A crackdown on "price gouging":
  • encourages precautionary hoarding after disaster strikes
  • discourages consumer conservation of goods in most demand
  • discourages suppliers from acquiring precautionary inventories of goods useful after disasters
  • discourages consumers from being prepared in advance for disasters
  • lack of rising prices will not attract more resources from surrounding areas.
based on Peter McCaffrey via Knowledge Problem