[Niall Ferguson explains the key elements that make a society prosperous](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpnFeyMGUs8): 1. Competition 2. The Scientific Revolution 3. Property rights 4. Modern medicine 5. The consumer society 6. The work ethic Comparing political and economic proposals by how they impact these metrics seems like a good way to keep your society on track. He makes…more
A very cool interview over at Art of the Title shows [how the Mad Men opening titles came to be](http://www.artofthetitle.com/2011/09/19/mad-men/).
My favorite web service, [the Photojojo Flickr Time Capsule](http://photojojo.com/timecapsule/), just reminded me that it’s been a year since [I received and set up my Trek Madone road bike](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobman/5009452590/)–the third frame replacement from [a 2005 Lemond Versailles original](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobman/21307347/). (a year ago; I’ve already replaced the saddle, rear wheel, and cranks) My bike is basically a [Ship…more
Headed out to Andermatt on Sunday to tackle 3 passes: Furka, Nufenen, and Gotthard. 2 of these I’d missed when I broke a crankarm bolt before [Alpenbrevet](www.alpenbrevet.ch), and I was seeking redemption. Managed to make it this time, with the help of my [new long cranks and little chainrings](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobman/6127586528/in/photostream). Learned that it gets plenty cold…more
> While I could assign most good ideas, every once in a while I’d get a great idea that I simply could not sell…It took me several times to realize that this was a signal. It said, “This is the one you have to do”… > What I had been inadvertently doing was weeding out…more
> Leaders are not what many people think–people with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see whether anyone is following them. – [John Holt](http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/177781)
[According to Daniel Gilbert and others in the Journal of Consumer Psychology](http://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/files/2011/04/Journal-of-consumer-psychology.pdf): 1. Buy more experiences and fewer material goods 2. Use your money to benefit others rather than yourself 3. Buy many small pleasures rather than fewer large ones 4. Eschew extended warranties and other forms of overpriced insurance 5. Delay consumption 6. Consider…more
I found [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Im-Feeling-Lucky-Confessions-ebook/dp/B004X7SYQI) fascinating, as it not only contains stories from the earliest days of Google, but does so from the perspective of someone in a creative role–[Doug Edwards](http://xooglers.blogspot.com/), Google’s first head of marketing and a person who helped set the tone of Google’s design and communication. His insights are remarkably similar to what…more
> Let my house not be walled on four sides. Let the windows be open. Let all the cultures blow in. But let no culture blow me off my feet – [Mahatma Gandhi](http://thomasdrissen.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/a-word-of-wisdom/)
[These small Stirling engine kits](http://www.en.boehm-stirling.com/engines.html) are incredibly beautiful, inspiring, and pretty cheap. And their website is lots of fun to mouse over.