dracoaus

From the page: "Do financial advisors aid their clients in making wise investments? This column shows that investors who delegate their portfolio management achieve better results. But that's due to the fact that advisors tend to be matched with richer, older investors.

In fact, financial advisors tend to lower returns and raise risk relative to clients who manage their own investment. "

(PDF) Oxford Dept of Economics Discussion paper 'Is Happiness Infectious'?

Life in the Fast Lane is a blog about Emergency Medicine, eLearning and health 2.0 with a funny and very appropriate "Pinky & The Brain" cartoon on their "About Us" page

Professional campaign support and strategy

Candidates Online offers your campaign, whether it be an election, issue or awareness campaign, professional support and full service strategic guidance. Even if you have no idea what you can, should or could do to get your message out there - we can help.

The Death of Capitalism .. (or is it?)

Narrativium
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The most common element on the disc, although not included in the list of the standard five: earth, fire, air, water and surprise. It ensures that everything runs properly as a story. For example, if a boy has two older brothers, chances are they will go on a quest. The first will be strong, and fail because of his stupidity, the second will be smart, and fail because of his frailty and the youngest brother will then have no choice but to go out, succeed and bring fame and fortune to his poor family. This phenomenon is also known as Narrative Causality. Dragons breathe fire not because they have asbestos lungs, but because that is what dragons do. Heroes only win when outnumbered, and things which have a one-in-a-million chance of succeeding often do so. The application of this phenomenon appears to be governed by some loosely formulated laws.

The Wizards have found that the Roundworld has no Narrativium at all, and are amazed that it can still function. Instead, Roundworld functions with quantum, also known as physics by its inhabitants.

Quotes mentioning Narrativium from Science of Discworld (I, II and III)

Our minds make stories, and stories make our minds. Each culture's Make-a-Human kit is built from stories, and maintained by stories. A story can be a rule for living according to one's culture, a useful survival trick, a clue to the grandeur of the universe, or a mental hypothesis about what might happen if we pursue a particular course. Stories map out the phase space of existence (II: 327).

The characteristic feature of narrativium is that it makes stories hang together. The human mind loves a good dose of narrativium. (I:64)

From the page: "In November 1993 I took my radio microphone into the control room at the Sydney utility Pacific Power.

It was Melbourne Cup day. I was there to see and record what happened during the few minutes the race was run.

I learned that providing power is a very difficult (and very wasteful) enterprise.

For the the alternating current to keep coming out of our sockets at 50 cycles per second supply needs to exactly equal demand (as the economists would say)."

While I'll never be fit or rich enough to climb fearsome peaks like the Eiger I enjoy going for holidays to Australia's Snowy Mountains and the New Zealand Alps to take photos and go for long walks.

Climbing a mountain vicariously by watching films like "The Alps" on IMAX is as close as most of us will ever get to the real thing. If you're like me and live/work in a city but dream of travelling to remote beautiful places like mountains and deserts than it's well worth watching.