Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Wonders of the library.

No, the subject line isn't sarcasm at all. This is a brief post written at the library computer instead of the longer post I wrote at home because the wireless network at the library is malfunctioning for the second day in a row. Since I have been home, of the probably 8 times I have come to use the library's network, it has been unavailable three of those days. Ok, I'm done griping.

This morning I was sitting in the dentist's chair (don't ask), and I suddenly thought how wonderful a market economy is to continually provide the necessary incentives for all the 'stuff' the dentist used on me to be developed. Dr. Bill and I briefly talked about the developmental history of dental drills, and there were satisfactory systems used long before the current high-speed pneumatic drills - which are quite satisfactory themselves. My dentist went on to explain how there is a new breed of drill hitting the market, improving on the current standard yet again. In a planned economy, does anyone truthfully think that innovation would continue after something was judged to be "highly satisfactory?" I didn't think so.

Random thought for the day... I have heard unconfirmed whispers about the Chinese military intending to forgo their historical emphasis on quantity in an attempt to focus on quality. My question is not just "can they do it?", but also " what economic effect will this reduction in the size of the PRC armed forces have?". Guess I have to add this subject to my list of defense/economics topics I want to research during the last few days of my inter-semester break.

One more thought for now. Read Zacheriah chapter 8. Pay special attention to the last verse. Isn't that cool?

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