A PETITION From the Manufacturers of Candles, Tapers, Lanterns, sticks, Street Lamps, Snuffers, and Extinguishers, and from Producers of Tallow, Oil, Resin, Alcohol, and Generally of Everything Connected with LightingI cannot recall who first showed me the petition years ago, but remember very well how I thought that it was – and still is – really cool.
To the Honourable Members of the Chamber of Deputies
Gentlemen:
You are on the right track. You reject abstract theories and little regard for abundance and low prices. You concern yourselves mainly with the fate of the producer. You wish to free him from foreign competition, that is, to reserve the domestic market for domestic industry.
We come to offer you a wonderful opportunity for your -- what shall we call it? Your theory? No, nothing is more deceptive than theory. Your doctrine? Your system? Your principle? But you dislike doctrines, you have a horror of systems, as for principles, you deny that there are any in political economy; therefore we shall call it your practice – your practice without theory and without principle.
We are suffering from the ruinous competition of a rival who apparently works under conditions so far superior to our own for the production of light that he is flooding the domestic market with it at an incredibly low price; for the moment he appears, our sales cease, all the consumers turn to him, and a branch of French industry whose ramifications are innumerable is all at once reduced to complete stagnation. This rival, which is none other than the sun, is waging war on us so mercilessly we suspect he is being stirred up against us by perfidious Albion (excellent diplomacy nowadays!), particularly because he has for that haughty island a respect that he does not show for us.
We ask you to be so good as to pass a law requiring the closing of all windows, dormers, skylights, inside and outside shutters, curtains, casements, bull's-eyes, deadlights, and blinds – in short, all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures through which the light of the sun is wont to enter houses, to the detriment of the fair industries with which, we are proud to say, we have endowed the country, a country that cannot, without betraying ingratitude, abandon us today to so unequal a combat.
...
(Read in full here: http://bastiat.org/en/petition.html)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Candlemakers’ Petition
By Frédéric Bastiat in 1845:
Snapped
My camera is broken. :(
It couldn’t happen at a worse time. The autofocus stopped working. It costs RM199 just to send it to be looked at, consisting of RM49 service fee for the blood-sucking shop to send it to the service center and a RM150 refundable deposit! They said that I’ll get a quotation in 3-4 weeks, after which if I decide not to proceed there’ll be a RM20 return fee. WTF! Whatever happens next, the PowerShot A710 IS has served me really well.
Though the timing is really, really bad, it provides the best excuse to go look at the current offerings. Sure, DSLR cameras are popular nowadays, but I am not interested in them simply because I don’t have use for one. That said, perhaps the natural replacement for the PowerShot A710 IS is the PowerShot A2100 IS. Key words describing it on CNET Reviews are “excellent photo quality for the money”, exactly my kind of camera. Recommended retail price on Canon’s website is RM949.
But then, I often like to carry my camera in my front pocket. I hate having to carry things around in my hands – one reason bulky DSLRs are out of the question – so the Digital IXUS 100 IS (sold as the PowerShot SD780 IS in the US) looks mighty appealing. It doesn’t cost much more too, for what is supposedly the slimmest camera Canon has offer. RRP = RM999.
=P~
In the meantime, how about a random old xkcd comic?
It couldn’t happen at a worse time. The autofocus stopped working. It costs RM199 just to send it to be looked at, consisting of RM49 service fee for the blood-sucking shop to send it to the service center and a RM150 refundable deposit! They said that I’ll get a quotation in 3-4 weeks, after which if I decide not to proceed there’ll be a RM20 return fee. WTF! Whatever happens next, the PowerShot A710 IS has served me really well.
Though the timing is really, really bad, it provides the best excuse to go look at the current offerings. Sure, DSLR cameras are popular nowadays, but I am not interested in them simply because I don’t have use for one. That said, perhaps the natural replacement for the PowerShot A710 IS is the PowerShot A2100 IS. Key words describing it on CNET Reviews are “excellent photo quality for the money”, exactly my kind of camera. Recommended retail price on Canon’s website is RM949.
But then, I often like to carry my camera in my front pocket. I hate having to carry things around in my hands – one reason bulky DSLRs are out of the question – so the Digital IXUS 100 IS (sold as the PowerShot SD780 IS in the US) looks mighty appealing. It doesn’t cost much more too, for what is supposedly the slimmest camera Canon has offer. RRP = RM999.
=P~
In the meantime, how about a random old xkcd comic?
Friday, January 29, 2010
Pirates
I’ve been trying to write something up all week but couldn’t, honest! So the next best thing is to post something some else has written. :P
Here’s Jessamyn West at Boing Boing:
Copyrights, and generally access to knowledge/information, are among my favorite issues.
Here’s Jessamyn West at Boing Boing:
Book Sharing Bankrupting Publishing Industry!YARR!
Librarians are the worst sort of pirates. Eric Hellman has a wry look at how Offline Book "Lending" Costs U.S. Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion
To get to the bottom of this story, Go To Hellman has dispatched its Senior Piracy Analyst (me) to Boston, where a mass meeting of alleged book traffickers is to take place. Over 10,000 are expected at the "ALA Midwinter" event. Even at the Amtrak station in New York City this morning, at the very the heart of the US publishing industry, book trafficking culture was evident, with many travelers brazenly displaying the totebags used to transport printed contraband.
As soon as I got off the train, I was surrounded by even more of this crowd. Calling themselves "Librarians", they talk about promoting literacy, education, culture and economic development, which are, of course, code words for the use and dispersal of intellectual property. They readily admit to their activities, and rationalize them because they're perfectly legal in the US, at least for now.
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/27/book-sharing-bankrup.html
Copyrights, and generally access to knowledge/information, are among my favorite issues.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
No Parking
At today’s meeting somebody again raised the issue of parking spaces on campus. Our staff parking area is constantly intruded upon by students, contractors, visitors, etc. who park indiscriminately in our parking spaces and on both sides of the access lane. The security officers are either incapable or unwilling to take action.
The problem is fairly easy to solve, if only you resolve to do it. I wrote about it over three years ago but think it’s time for a revisit.
First, we start by having an audit of parking facilities on campus to see exactly how many parking spaces there are. For illustration, let’s say that there are 1,000 on them. Then, we allocate out of the 1,000 parking spaces for staff and other university employees (say 500) and visitors (say 100). Not all university employees need to be allocated parking spaces, but I would say that each academic staff should be assigned one as needed.
What to do with the remaining 400 is where it gets interesting. The university can auction off all or some of them for maximum revenue. If auctioning is too “capitalistic”, we can sell long-term parking permits instead. Those who opt not to buy parking permits, like visitors, can be charged hourly or daily rates. I don’t see that there is any obligation for the university to provide free parking to students. Free parking is not a necessity, particularly when most students are offered on-campus housing and the university is regularly serviced by buses. With the government cutting down funding, the university can definitely use the extra income.
The second part is enforcement. One way, we can tell campus security to buck up. I doubt they’ll ever step up though, being understaffed and overworked as they are. The biggest problem now is people parking their vehicles where they aren’t supposed to. The existing method of enforcement, by either issuing summonses or clamping the offending vehicles, doesn’t seem to work. In fact, I think that it is stupid to clamp vehicles found to be parked haphazardly and obstructing traffic, so they cannot be moved. The better alternative is to tow them away.
We can contract tow truck operators to carry away vehicles that violate parking rules, of course at the expense of the owners. Since the tow trucks get paid for each vehicle they tow away, motivating them won’t be a problem. Again, the university can take a cut of the towing charges. It is one thing to get to your car and find a parking ticket or have it clamped; something else to find it gone, towed away. I’m sure nobody will dare violate parking rules after having their car towed away once.
Now, aren’t we glad I am not running the university?
The problem is fairly easy to solve, if only you resolve to do it. I wrote about it over three years ago but think it’s time for a revisit.
First, we start by having an audit of parking facilities on campus to see exactly how many parking spaces there are. For illustration, let’s say that there are 1,000 on them. Then, we allocate out of the 1,000 parking spaces for staff and other university employees (say 500) and visitors (say 100). Not all university employees need to be allocated parking spaces, but I would say that each academic staff should be assigned one as needed.
What to do with the remaining 400 is where it gets interesting. The university can auction off all or some of them for maximum revenue. If auctioning is too “capitalistic”, we can sell long-term parking permits instead. Those who opt not to buy parking permits, like visitors, can be charged hourly or daily rates. I don’t see that there is any obligation for the university to provide free parking to students. Free parking is not a necessity, particularly when most students are offered on-campus housing and the university is regularly serviced by buses. With the government cutting down funding, the university can definitely use the extra income.
The second part is enforcement. One way, we can tell campus security to buck up. I doubt they’ll ever step up though, being understaffed and overworked as they are. The biggest problem now is people parking their vehicles where they aren’t supposed to. The existing method of enforcement, by either issuing summonses or clamping the offending vehicles, doesn’t seem to work. In fact, I think that it is stupid to clamp vehicles found to be parked haphazardly and obstructing traffic, so they cannot be moved. The better alternative is to tow them away.
We can contract tow truck operators to carry away vehicles that violate parking rules, of course at the expense of the owners. Since the tow trucks get paid for each vehicle they tow away, motivating them won’t be a problem. Again, the university can take a cut of the towing charges. It is one thing to get to your car and find a parking ticket or have it clamped; something else to find it gone, towed away. I’m sure nobody will dare violate parking rules after having their car towed away once.
Now, aren’t we glad I am not running the university?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Errands
I was reminded recently that I haven’t been updating my blog. Well, what can I say; I have been busy or otherwise occupied. :P
There is nothing unusual happening at work. Oh, the university has decided that we cannot bar students for non-attendance anymore, which is fine by me. Word has it that the university wants to avoid the trouble of dealing with students taking legal actions after being barred from taking the final exam. If true, I say that it is one very lame excuse. Why bother having any rules then? In the past, issuance of warning and barring letters had helped both the university and parents discover cases of students going missing.
Now that we cannot bar students, many lecturers don’t even bother taking attendance anymore, although the university still says that we are recommended to continue doing it. What for? Only the Rector now can bar students “in cases of breach of university regulation”. I was told that it means that lecturers can request the Rector to bar students for any violations. I suppose that now I can finally get students barred for wearing toilet slippers to class.
Last year, I bought a new pair of baju melayu for Raya after six years. The last time I bought a new baju melayu before that was in 2003 for my IIUM graduation. Since I had to attend the convocation ceremony twice, I bought a suit and a baju melayu. The baju melayu I had before that lasted even longer. Going by the previous records, I ordered enough baju melayu last weekend to last me at least twenty years! LOL.
The past weeks also had me busy with Mak’s cabinet. We had a termite infestation that ruined part of my mother’s new cabinet. So we disassembled the cabinet, threw away the parts beyond saving, bought replacement parts, and are now in the process of reassembling the cabinet. Before that the walls need repainting. I bought a 5-liter can of Dulux Light & Space last weekend. Mak picked a purplish pink shade called Pink Sea Iris. Hopefully, I can get the painting done this weekend.
On top of everything, I am also looking at second-hand 4x4s for my brother. Luckily, there is a cousin living nearby who knows a mechanic we can bring along, as I know next to nothing about cars. We went to see a couple of prospects last night, and we’re going to see at least one more tonight. I really hope we find a good car soon, as I have better ways to spend my evening than looking at old cars.
There is nothing unusual happening at work. Oh, the university has decided that we cannot bar students for non-attendance anymore, which is fine by me. Word has it that the university wants to avoid the trouble of dealing with students taking legal actions after being barred from taking the final exam. If true, I say that it is one very lame excuse. Why bother having any rules then? In the past, issuance of warning and barring letters had helped both the university and parents discover cases of students going missing.
Now that we cannot bar students, many lecturers don’t even bother taking attendance anymore, although the university still says that we are recommended to continue doing it. What for? Only the Rector now can bar students “in cases of breach of university regulation”. I was told that it means that lecturers can request the Rector to bar students for any violations. I suppose that now I can finally get students barred for wearing toilet slippers to class.
Last year, I bought a new pair of baju melayu for Raya after six years. The last time I bought a new baju melayu before that was in 2003 for my IIUM graduation. Since I had to attend the convocation ceremony twice, I bought a suit and a baju melayu. The baju melayu I had before that lasted even longer. Going by the previous records, I ordered enough baju melayu last weekend to last me at least twenty years! LOL.
The past weeks also had me busy with Mak’s cabinet. We had a termite infestation that ruined part of my mother’s new cabinet. So we disassembled the cabinet, threw away the parts beyond saving, bought replacement parts, and are now in the process of reassembling the cabinet. Before that the walls need repainting. I bought a 5-liter can of Dulux Light & Space last weekend. Mak picked a purplish pink shade called Pink Sea Iris. Hopefully, I can get the painting done this weekend.
On top of everything, I am also looking at second-hand 4x4s for my brother. Luckily, there is a cousin living nearby who knows a mechanic we can bring along, as I know next to nothing about cars. We went to see a couple of prospects last night, and we’re going to see at least one more tonight. I really hope we find a good car soon, as I have better ways to spend my evening than looking at old cars.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Why Bother?
- I teach two courses, each with two classes, and I give assignments in all four. Unfortunately, I cannot read minds.
- While I certainly cannot memorize the names of even a quarter of the students, I am pretty sure that there is no “Sean Nast” registered in any of the classes.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
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