In what might qualify as a surrealistic moment, the Administrator of USAID asked a staffer to summarize the policy conclusions of the Vanity Fair analysis for U.S. foreign aid.
That’s from William Easterly’s working paper “Can the West save Africa?” A footnote to the passage reads:
I verified this by getting an actual copy of the memo
Venerable Savile Row tailors are concerned that upstarts are degrading the Row’s reputation by taking orders in W1 for manufacture elsewhere, reports the BBC:
Fashion experts such as Eric Musgrave, who used to be editor of Drapers magazine, says the traditional tailors in Savile Row should press for protected geographical status under EU law.
He said: “You can only call a fizzy white wine champagne if it comes from the Champagne region. You can only call ham Parma ham if it comes from Parma.
“I think the boys on Savile Row should continue battling until they get their definition that ‘Savile Row Bespoke’ can only be made on Savile Row and the defined area around it.”
To that end the Savile Row Bespoke Association is launching a quality mark to distinguish its products from other companies who sell “made-to-measure” suits under the banner “Savile Row Bespoke”.
That would allow potential customers to at least know what they are buying when they pay for their hand-tailored suit.
This raises several questions for me. Firstly, is this a protectionist quest to preserve the economic rent that derives from owning some prime tailoring real estate, or a legitimate attempt to increase the level of information available to customers in the market? More practically, is there are quality difference between suits made elsewhere in the UK (or Europe) and actually on the Row that is noticeable even when all other factors (service location, fitting, etc.) is held the same?
Either way, this article is itself a good bit of PR for – Dege & Skinner and an advert for Sartoriani.
Paul Graham suggests that we should keep our identity small in order to have better arguments, especially on religion and politics:
More generally, you can have a fruitful discussion about a topic only if it doesn’t engage the identities of any of the participants. What makes politics and religion such minefields is that they engage so many people’s identities.
I totally agree, although I don’t think this perspective is new. I think it used to be called impartiality. This essay reminds me of the Hanson and Cowen paper, ‘Are disagreements honest?’
YIMBY n. A person who favors [sic] a project that would add a dangerous or unpleasant feature to his or her neighborhood [sic].
That’s from WordSpy, a new find.
Anyone wish this “world’s shortest course” were longer?
That’s from ‘The World’s Shortest Course in Time Management’ on Marty Nemko’s blog. I assume that it is a trick question.
Time management is an important skill about which people have strong views. Tyler Cowen has previously written:
All people are equally good at time management, but some people are more willing than others to admit that they are doing what they want to do, while others maintain the illusion they wish they were doing something else.
Will Wilkinson disagrees. I stand between the two. I think it is often tempting to pretend that you are ‘not good at time management’ when you are either lazy or demotivated. But I also think that time management skills can be improved – primarily by adopting a relentlessly single-minded approach to your tasks, for example:
These are goals I aspire to, rather than principles I uphold.
Helen and I spent the long weekend motorbiking around the Isle of Wight with some good friends who are also bikers. We all had a great time, and the weather held wonderfully. I can wholeheartedly recommend:
I was less keen on The Spyglass, a pub on the front at Ventnor, which had Ringwood beer and huge portions of hearty pub food, but was a bit crowded and dark; the Pond Café in Bonchurch, which had top-class food (and prices) but disinterested service, despite having only five tables; and Red Funnel ferries, which, despite good onboard accommodation and a good outward crossing, made a total hash of loading the ferry out of Cowes on the return leg. I would also advise strongly against riding pillion on the back of a Suzuki GSXR, especially after a wine-tasting. Some photos will appear on Flickr soon.