Recently I've been writing about the use of metrics in the workplace, especially the pitfalls of using them poorly or simplistically. The pitfall I'm writing about in this chapter is how when a measure becomes the objective it ceases to be a good measure.

This is often called Goodhart's Law (Wikipedia link), based on the writings of a British ( Read more... )

Okay, I know, I'm a week behind on catching up with speeches at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Just this evening I watched some of the highlights from Night 2, which was last Tuesday. But please- no spoilers! I haven't finished the series yet ( Read more... )

A few weeks ago I read an article about some of the wisdom of Charlie Munger. Munger, who died last year at age 99, was famously the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the corporate conglomerate controlled by the legendary Warren Buffett. In an article on Moneywise, ‘Who in the hell needs a Rolex watch?’: Why Charlie Munger warned Americans ( Read more... )

Australia Travelog #27
Valley of the Waters, NSW - Fri, 29 Dec 2023, 10:30am

The first part of our hike down into Valley of the Waters was not exactly fun. The sky was gray, casting a pall over everything. And there was lots of descent- which not only ached my injured ankle going down but made me dread the pain I'd endure climbing back up. That ( Read more... )

Australia Travelog #25
About to leave the hotel - Fri, 29 Dec 2023, 8amI was stiff last night when we got back to the hotel after dinner. With two descents into the canyon followed by two climbs back out, along with all the miles I walked, my legs are sore and one of my ankles aches. I feel a twinge of pain when I walk, particularly when I flex it ( Read more... )

My D&D game was on a hiatus for a few weeks due to travel around Thanksgiving week. We played again last night, Friday night. It was session 4 of my adventure, City of the Dead.

Friday's session reminded me of a funny but totally true observation about roleplaying games, about how the GM and the players influence the story:

”In a role-playing ( Read more... )

Last week I wrote about the "Money Doesn't Buy Happiness" canard. I called it a canard because while it's literally true in the strictest sense- happiness is not a good that can be bough and sold- its widely understood meaning is grossly misleading to the point of being functionally false. Money may not literally buy happiness but, in a mature ( Read more... )

Recently in my newsfeed I saw yet-another "Money Doesn't Buy Happiness" article. This one is based on an interview with Barbara Corcoran, star of the TV show Shark Tank. Example coverage: CNBC article 14 Jun 2023. These stories bother me because they're almost invariably written by or about people who are a) wealthy today and b) have never really ( Read more... )

I mentioned in my previous blog about Band of Brothers that Ep. 6, "Bastogne", told the story of the Battle of the Bulge from a different perspective. That difference is captured in a bit of text shown on screen over the closing scene:

On December 26, Patton's 3rd Army broke through German lines, allowing supplies and evacuations to flow. The ( Read more... )

Tyrion Lannister, portrayed so well by actor Peter Dinklage, has a bigger part in the story in season 6 of Game of Thrones than anytime since season 2- when he rocked. Part of the fun with seeing Tyrion is that he's witty- and not evil. Tyrion delivers some great lines in S6E2, "Home".


( Read more... )