Comments for Dylan Allen

Comment on Utility, Surplus & Happiness by luke

luke — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:47:20 +0000

“The only down side to working at home would be that you don’t see people which would then deprive you of time that could be spent socializing which is apparently among the best moments of the day.”

Amen!!

Comment on Utility, Surplus & Happiness by rosemary beard

rosemary beard — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:24:35 +0000

This is an awesome article! I am proud of you
Dylan!

Comment on The Political Economy… sort of by Kaymen

Kaymen — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:49:56 +0000

Hey… I know I stumbled upon this post a bit late, but I though it was interesting. I’ve always said that capitalism and communism are different means to the same end- though usually people miss my point entirely and look at me like I’m some kind of socialist.

I generally agree with you that systems aren’t inherently evil in and of themselves- but I have to ask, are we as humans capable of implementing any system without corrupting it?

Comment on The Political Economy… sort of by Dylan

Dylan — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:55:29 +0000

Thanks for you input. I didn’t define system as I meant it, sorry for the confusion. What I meant was the basic concept of a capitalist/socialist/communist system are not evil, not the system as it is executed in any given place.

A monopoly is control of a product or service, and also not evil. There is evidence to suggest that the breaking up of some monopolies caused a reduction in efficiency and benefits for producers and consumers. The issue is the same. There exists the opportunity for the monopolist to take advantage of the consumers, so breaking them up is a destructive means of checks and balances. A company grows to monopoly status because it is more efficient and successful than others.

To say that a monarchy is evil would be saying that King David and the like were part of an evil government. Is a tyrannical monarchy evil? Yes, but that is basically saying that an evil monarchy is evil. King David did a good job most of the time, and he could have done a better job. It was his own weakness and perversion that caused harm, not his system. He would have probably done stupid stuff whether or not he was a king.

I see what you are saying, and I agree with you. Our issue is with semantics more than anything, but semantics are powerful and worth discussing.

Comment on The Political Economy… sort of by luke

luke — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:20:22 +0000

Hmm … can an economic system be evil? I would say yes, certainly. An obvious example would be a tyrannical monopoly, perhaps enforced by a tyrannical monarchy. Aren’t there examples of this among the corrupt regimes of Africa and other areas in the world? We could say that the root cause of evil is not the economic system but rather the political system and the evil rulers over it, but that just gets back to the point – systems are made of people, and people can be evil. Therefore, a system can be evil to the extent that it enables and fosters evil; or to put it another way, to the extent that it fails to prohibit and punish evil.

Comment on What’s Happening by Dylan

Dylan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:21:32 +0000

Ha, of course you don’t need to play an instrument. It would be awesome to have you come. This Sunday is the first of the month so I think they are going again. I suppose I’ll find out what their plan is on Sunday morning.

Comment on What’s Happening by luke

luke — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:37:35 +0000

I’d really like to go. I talked to David about it last week, but come this Sunday I completely forgot.

If I don’t play any instrument is that okay?

Comment on Vino by luke

luke — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:15:44 +0000

I read a cool article about the “art of the pub” by a pub owner who lamented the modern lack of respect towards alcohol as a “conversational lubricant.” and I totally agree; alcohol is at its best when it’s enabling conversation – sometimes about the alcohol itself at first, but usually flowing into all kinds of stuff.

personally, I can keep a low buzz going with 3 *good* beers, and then another every 60 minutes or so. I’m also a beer snob and I like to enjoy my beer, so that’s yet another reason not to get drunk. been drunk 3 or 4 times total in my life and that’s plenty. it’s a waste of alcohol, time, effort, and health.

as for wine – I like really dry wines, but only a glass or two at most. wine gives me a headache much faster than beer, so I throttle way back when I’m drinking wine.

Comment on A Blog Log about Logging Bloggy Blogs by Kristi

Kristi — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:59:11 +0000

I think what makes a blog successful is that you blog on a subject you are passionate about–not something you think others want to read about. Of course, I use the word successful very loosely. I don’t plan on making any money or winning awards on mine. My goal is to strip off the layers of myself. I want my neice to be able to read my entries in 20 years and see who her Aunt really is and was. I have been nervous after posting some of them, because they were so personal and I don’t like stripping down like that. But it’s for her, eventually.

I don’t know how blogs go viral anymore than I figure out how videos go viral. But I know that if it’s something you are passionate about, likely others will be as well. And Oprah, I believe, managed to turn her show into something people wanted to learn about–self help, hope, motivation, new stuff. Her core audience is basically housewives, and she has been able to tap into that market.

Just my opinion.

Comment on Vino by okie

okie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:15:23 +0000

Oh, alcohol! What interesting relationships people have had with it throughout history. It’s both a bad and an amazing thing. I’m almost certain that some people are genetically alcoholic, and it’s something worth fixing up. I hope someone discovers a remedy someday. For some people, though, it’s as good for the mind as vegetables are for the body. Personally, I like to get a little sloshed every once and awhile. I like the social lubricant aspect of it the most, and true friendships and relationships can be enabled by it. They can also be destroyed by it. It’s volatile: if it’s over about 100 proof (percent alcohol = proof/2; 100 proof = 50%), it even burns at standard pressure and temperature. If you like the taste of it, but don’t want to get drunk, drink one or two drinks and enjoy it. I like wine, but I haven’t noticed a correlation in good taste with price, which I suppose is a nifty thing for my pocket. I like Sunset Blush made by Franzia. It comes in a box and is delicious. I was offered a glass last night while I was doing some reading for my linear algebra class, and I accepted the offer. I didn’t notice any effects from it, but it tasted delicious. That was the first time I decided to remember the name of it. I’ve also been known to get completely shit-faced with like-minded folks (sober people usually stay away due to annoyance), and I’ve done very few things that I regret. I’ve embarrassed myself a couple times, but that’s probably good for me. I agree with Schmalls and Jared: tipsy doesn’t strike me as feminine word. But in general, I think it wouldn’t be a bad thing if /everyone/ was a lot more feminine, if you’re looking for a value judgment on that issue. I think testosterone and aggression (substance and quality opposite of feminine ones, maybe) were for the Stone Age or something like that and are as big a problem as alcoholism. Alcohol, for some people, makes them full of love for the world, and that’s pretty cool.