World's Most Beautiful Woman Turns 40 on Friday

Coutinho is Skillful Across Ball Sizes

And here's how Luis did.

Lou Reed is Dead At 71

Rose-Hill Transport Takes Service To New Levels

With its two brand new Yutong semif-floor buses which are according to Mr. Sharma structurally stronger and provide a more comfortable and secure ride. For only Rs6 more. They come with a camera and will set RHT back by Rs4 million a piece. Kind of happy to see this given what I said five years ago.

In the meantime the NTC is buying buses via a tender. Shouldn't we scrap this process and empower the CNT to buy buses that make sense?

Go Ahead, Make Some Good Mistakes

You can also read the amazing book.

Fama, Hansen and Shiller Win Economics Nobel

The Nobel committee just announced this. They are getting it for their empirical work on asset prices.

Munro May Write Again, After Winning Nobel

That's what the charming 82-year-old Canadian told Adam Smith a couple of days ago. I know next to nothing about the "master of the contemporary short story" so I was curious to read what other writers had to say. And here's some of her pieces to discover.

What I do know however is that the Nobel committee is discriminating against the ultra-short story writer. Maybe I should stop writing too.

P.S. The economics Nobel Prize will be announced tomorrow. Too bad they don't give a reverse Nobel Prize, eh?

Sat Mao

Dan enn interviu Ali Mansoor dir ki linn resi truv sa sat Mao ki konn maye lera la. Mo pe sipoze ki linn zwen ar sat la Minister Finans. Li ti pu interesan si li ti kav dir nu:

1. kan linn truv sat la promye fwa?
2. si sat la tuzur dan minister?
3. kuma sat la apele?
4. ki laz liena?
5. ki kuler liete?
6. sat mal sa uswa femel?
7. si enn sat maron sa?
8. si sat la konn zis maye lera uswa li ena lide lor reform elektoral usi?
9. si sat la ti pe visit so fami batiman trezor?
10. si sat la pa finn viktim trafik lorgan par hazar?
11. e finalman si sa sat la kinn fann sa bann gro dal la pandan wit banane?

Idiot Factories

I used to love laureates. A lot. Who wouldn't? They were the reason we could stay away from dumb teachers for one or more days. And taunt the other schools which did not have any in a particular year. Yep, if you want to be mean, start early.

But then we learn that some of them don't actually manage to finish their first degree. Which is fine. Or if they do they do so in a very average way. Which is fine too. Lack of ambition is one reason. That can change later. Peaking too soon is another. Relying on rote learning will not help them either because there is now way too much codified knowledge around to digest. 

And because there is only so much you can learn in the three years of your first degree. Compared to say the fifty or so years that you'll have on the clock after you promised to stay hungry and stay foolish. If you don't keep on learning you will be outsmarted fast because learning has never been easier. It's even better to learn different things. And stay out of narrow silos at all costs.  

The media can provide a nice platform for some to try -- to borrow from Ken Galbraith -- to make the ideas of your graduate days or of a Washington-based loan shark last a lifetime. But it will be an increasingly risky strategy. Worldwide. Besides maintaining a large ego is quite draining: you will have less energy to go to sleep everyday a bit less stupid than you when woke up. And it will hurt when you will come off that arrogant pedestal. 

So yeah, every year prestigious universities around the world will produce smart people and brilliant ideas. And idiots too. It will become increasingly easy to recognise them. 

Meet A Pele Fan

Ramgoolam Sends Toxic Bean-Counter Packing

Hallelujah!

Remembering Steve Jobs

Bird Nest Telling Us Something

That we are using way too much paper and plastic and throwing it everywhere. I don't know how typical this one is but when you come across more have a look and tell us what you find. Because twenty-five years ago they were made of almost 100% natural stuff. Not good.