Bryan McKenzie has an excellent idea In the face of an egregious violation of group mores, a group member could call for a free shot to quickly and adequately express societal disapproval…. If so, justice was swiftly and gladly administered on the scene.Swift justiceA free shot was a punch administered to the offender by each member of the group without fear of reprisal by the offender. Members affected by the behavior were allowed one punch each to the offender’s arm or chest.No strikes to the head, stomach, back or legs were admissible and any such illegal strike was immediately met with its own call for a free shot. Calling for too many free shots also resulted in a free shot.Sure, the punishment caused minor physical discomfort but after the first few days of its novelty, it resulted in greater adherence to group norms.
Browsing Category Off-topic
Mold, bubble, energy prices and Zipcars!
What will CNBC and BusinessWeek cover if the market only shifts and doesn’t “burst”?Is the price of your house about to plummet? There’s no one foolproof indicator of a local housing bubble, so the best approach is to evaluate the situation from many angles. It’s important to gauge such factors as construction permit issuance, local incomes, job growth, and rental rates to determine if you’re living in a danger zone…. Caulk will help lower your energy bills.With heating prices expected to soar over the next few months, homeowners are starting to take a newfound interest in the unfashionable minutiae of caulking, insulation and tankless water heaters.Good resources here as well.
Saving energy and telecommuting
“We currently waste about half of the energy we use in this country, so the potential is quite enormous,”This from the president of the Alliance to Save Energy in a story in the RealEstateJournal. Here are some ways to save energy.I think that the rising energy costs are going to effect how we live in many ways, not least how we settle, work and develop our areas. Developments and work environments may be closer together, mass transit may become more prevalent …… one can hope!Find the time to read this article.
Afternoon Links
My personal favorite from QandO – Don’t get stuck on stupid.Fiber is Cheaper than Asphalt, a call for more broadband, something that Nelson County is working on (and here).Building homes few can afford.
Efficient email
Between twenty to thirty percent of my business comes from the web, and most of the rest is personally-generated business.One of the downsides of sending so much email is finding ways to best organize it…. 43Folders is a great site with loads of useful tips for making one’s life a bit more efficient.You can make it even easier for your recipient to immediately understand why you’ve sent them an email and to quickly determine what kind of response or action it requires. Compose a great “Subject:†line that hits the high points or summarizes the thrust of the message. Avoid “Hi,†“One more thing…,†or “FYI,†in favor of typing a short summary of the most important points in the message:Typically, I put the transaction name in the title of the subject and the actual subject of the email.
Get ready for winter
Energy un-efficient homes.With soaring oil and natural gas costs, people will be under mounting pressure to make buildings more energy-efficient, especially as the weather turns colder and higher home heating bills arrive…. Big-ticket items like new windows and doors, or adding more insulation to your attic and walls, can cost thousands of dollars. Not only that, it’ll take 15 or more years — longer than most people own their homes — to see much return from lower energy costs…. Hopefully this will provide the impetus needed for private industry to exercise its innovation and develop alternative fuels and more efficient and economically feasible houses.