Stranger: It’s making me self-conscious, like “hey, you’re getting older… have some prescriptions!”

Pedantic though it may be, these are the things that endure one to a seemingly benign object like a car.

From the Institute of Government Affairs at UC Davis, via The Edge of the American West.

The other very short, but taking no shortcuts:

The credit crisis as Antarctic expedition from Marketplace on Vimeo

From Marketplace, via Lifehacker.

The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state…. The necessaries of life occasion the great expence of the poor. They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expence of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon house-rents, therefore, would in general fall heaviest upon the rich; and in this sort of inequality there would not, perhaps, be any thing very unreasonable. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expence, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.

Thanks, Ziggy for pointing me to the original post in The Edge of the American West.

…strategists must rediscover the lost art of authentic value creation. Authentic, long-run value isn’t created through arbitrage or gamesmanship — what we too often confuse strategy for. Games of off-balance sheet accounting, currency hedging, capital structuring, so-called labour arbitrage — where corporations simply shift to the lowest-cost, or most poorly regulated, sources of manpower — don’t create value. They just shift it around. Corporations who play this game of economic musical chairs are in for a rude awakening – because the music just stopped. And so they must rediscover the simple fact that value creation flows from making economic activities not just profitable in the short- run — but meaningful over the long-run.

My friend Nick Hoskin has just completed a collection of short stories titled Saving Lives, Living the Dream.

I worked with Nick in Boulder for a few years, and he was one of my first Paramedic field instructors.  He’s a great Paramedic and an even better guy.  Congratulations, Nick!

The book relates the stories of EMS professionals and is targeted at people in the business, their families who are looking for more understanding of the profession, and anyone considering a career in the field.

Check out the site for a free sample chapter with a good story in it, and to buy a copy (print or download). ]]> http://ben.dengerink.com/2008/10/i-now-know-a-guy-who-wrote-a-book/feed/ 0 http://ben.dengerink.com/2008/10/podcastin/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=podcastin http://ben.dengerink.com/2008/10/podcastin/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:17:58 +0000 Ben http://ben.dengerink.com/?p=67 A new podcast that I am on. Only recommended if you’re really bored, or in the field of EMS.