This passage is a good reminder that Jesus can only be a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord. When people go around saying they will be raised from the dead, our natural reaction is to consider them a lunatic, is it not? However, many people like to claim Jesus was a good teacher with valuable moral lessons… however, passages like this one truly paint him as a crazy person of whom we should disregard… unless of course he is Lord.

I personally can’t wait until we have elections about every 60 days to keep elected officers in their positions… this would allow money to be wasted on commercials, print advertising, and physical labor year round! More jobs!! Yippee! Unfortunately there will be less time to do actual “productive” activities which sustain/grow economies – refer to your micro and macro economics textbooks collecting dust in your basement.

http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections-campaigns/recall-of-state-officials.aspx

The Upside of Irrationality

By: Dan Ariely

“We May Be Irrational… But That Doesn’t Always Have To Be a Bad Thing”

The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely is a very interesting book on how we react to certain stimuli.  The actions we take or the revenge we seek is generally not logical.  The book goes through experiment by experiment – chapter by chapter – explaining actions we take which are not congruent with logical thought.  The concepts of large bonuses to increase work productivity, or the idea of revenge on someone with whom we have been agitated, or how we react to pleasurable events and/or un-pleasurable events are all topics covered within this wonderful book by Dr. Ariely.

Dan Ariely is a professor at Duke University and he was gifted with a wonderful curiosity to discover the reasons behind our actions.  Everyday he seemingly wakes up with a mission to discover our true motivations or underlying foundations for our actions.  This book brings us some of the conclusions of his years or researching human motivations and actions.  I would highly recommend reading this book – preferably after you have read his first book; Predictably Irrational.

Dustin Wales

9/27/11

Further Information About The Upside of Irrationality By Dan Ariely:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Ariely

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/upside-of-irrationality-dan-ariely/1100151869?ean=9780061995040&itm=2&usri=upside%2bof%2birrationality

http://www.amazon.com/Upside-Irrationality-Unexpected-Benefits-Defying/dp/0061995037

By: Bill Bryson

“A Summary of the Universe”

A Short History  of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson lives up to it’s title.  The book provides a snapshot view of scientific experimentation and history in one – enjoyable – reading.  The book is not written like a textbook or a scientific paper.  Instead, it is presented in simple ideas and concepts which everyone can understand and appreciate.

If you are looking for a book which will give you a general overview of some scientific concepts, this book is a great start.  It clearly will not go into great depth on any given subject, but there are plenty of books which will do just that – if that is what you are looking for.

I checked this book out in it’s audio format from the library and enjoyed listening to it, but did not necessarily  agree with every representation contained within it.  I obviously have some differing viewpoints on origins and life generation which run contrary to many books such as this one.  But in any case, the book was interesting to listen to – or read if you prefer – and I would recommend it as a book which you can listen to in some free time if you would like to enlighten yourself a bit.

Dustin Wales

9/27/11

Further Information About A Short History of Nearly Everything By Bill Bryson:

http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/0767908171

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything

http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Short-History-of-Nearly-Everything/103831059655691?sk=wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bryson

Important Facts:
-We sell over 100 variations of cigarette brands and flavors
-Tobacco is tobacco is tobacco
-Cigarettes cause cancer
-Cigarettes cost $7/pack

However, despite these facts… this customer was still angry that we did not sell a specific variation of a specific brand of cigarettes.

For those of you have never heard of Dan Ariely or either of his amazingly awesome books… you need to aquaint yourself.  He is an incredibly insightful professor at Duke university and his books are interesting, thought-provoking, and amazingly enjoyable to read.

The beginning of his second book discusses CEO and employee compensation packages… specifically the bonus structures of many companies.

Traditional theory might indicate that with a higher bonus at stake an individual is more likely to succeed at achieving his goal.  But this is apparently not the case – at the very least it is not the entire story.

After conducting a research experiment in India where individuals could earn a “bonus” equal to either a day’s wage, a couple weeks worth of wages, or several months worth of wages, it was clear that those who stood to reap the biggest bonus performed the lowest on the challenges they were presented with (aka, guiding a marble through a maze, or remembering the sequence of colors presented).

Apparently the thought of “losing” such a substantial reward inhibited their ability to think clearly and perform at a higher level.  This was not the case with mechanical actions… such as how many times you could jump in the air without taking a break.  With the mechanical activities larger bonuses correlated much better with the productivity.

So the idea challenge being presented by this study was more-or-less, “should employees who are performing cognitively demanding activities be given a large bonus structure?”

I’ll let you read the book/chapter yourself and decide, but it is definitely interesting food for thought.

Dustin

Why must some people make their motorcycles so ridiculously loud?  This blog posting is nothing more than a brief rant on how incredibly stupid that is.  Is it to draw attention?  Do they feel like a more important person if their vehicle annoys everyone within 10 miles?  Do they want everyone to look their direction when they drive by?  Or are they just jerks who like to irritate people?  If you are one of these people… why?

Empire State Building?  Nope…

Statue of Liberty?  Nope…

Rockefeller Center?  Nope…

The Apple Store?  Yup…

See the entire story here.