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The World In Which We Live: Ongoing Trade War Edition

It wasn't supposed to last this long. Or so it was thought. "Trade wars are good and easy to win!" the tweet read. I'm not seeing much good and no one appears to be having fun. I suppose a trade war is good when you have no skin in the game, ie your living expenses are covered by taxpayer dollars and you know how to write down losses, but for those of us on the ground in this trade war, real pain is being inflicted. Ask the farmer who is losing money (although in a bit of welfare, there are subsidies being discussed). Ask the customer paying more and more for the same items. Ask the business owner paying more for said items and passing that cost on to the customer you just spoke to. The current trade war is the economic equivalent of the second Iraq War: a war of choice, led by amateurs. Sure, US-based intellectual property is being stolen, but the companies whose IP is being stolen are multinational corporations who operate in China willingly. I'm yet to me

Quote Of The Day, Muir Edition

The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. - John Muir

Quote Of The Day, Castaneda Edition

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.  - Carlos Castaneda

Anatomy Of A Photo: Overtaken

Beaufort, South Carolina is an archetypal southern town. It also happens to be home to the late author Pat Conroy. My wife and I trespassed to get this photo; we were on our honeymoon and thought even the most hard-assed southern cop would give us a pass. It was a quiet day and our journey went unnoticed. Years of neglect and decline of a fine old home gave birth to this photo.

Quote Of The Day, Taleb Edition

It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. Those who have followed the assertive idiot rather than the introspective wise person have passed us some of their genes. This is apparent from a social pathology: psychopaths rally followers. - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Quote Of The Day, Picasso Edition

I do not seek. I find. - Pablo Picasso

Beyond The Lens

Photography has been a defining passion of mine for almost three decades. I began with a 35mm Nikon and a copy of " The 35mm Photographer's Handbook ," both purchased locally, as was custom in the early 90s. After many ups and downs during the learning process, I began to get results I was proud of. Medium format photography beckoned and I moved to a Mamiya 645, a truly fine camera of its time. I was on a roll. In time, I would return to 35mm and the wider range of accessories. In the early 2000s, I moved to digital and was struck by the immediacy of the format. No more waiting for film to be developed, prints made, etc. Photo editing software made it even more immersive to capture one's vision. Amazing stuff. A few years later, I stumbled upon a book about pinhole photography. I'd encountered the format once before, in 4th grade, when the class made our own cameras out of cardboard and black electrical tape. Most failed, mine included. A web search of pinho