I am officially a Bad Person because thank you notes give me writer's block. I never even finished the ones for my wedding presents. My horror of thank you notes is particulaly odd since I'm by nature a grateful person. The problem is that thank you notes, no matter how sincerely intended, always sound completely phony. Now I see there's a positive in this character flaw: With the occasional exception, I haven't left the paper trail that's embarrassing Harriet Miers. Slate's Julia Turner explains the tyrannies of the genre.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 23, 2005 • Comments
Thanks to the numerous readers who sent me links to this article, in which Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels cites The Future and Its Enemies. While researching the book, I read a remarkable speech Daniels made to a pharmaceutical industry group back when he was at Eli Lilly. I don't have a copy handy, but the tone was quite dynamist and the message, that the industry would have to adjust to changing consumer demands, was not one the audience would have wanted to hear. I wasn't able to wedge a citation into the book, but I think it's safe to put Daniels in the dynamist camp.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 22, 2005 • Comments
Sarah Lacy of Business Week has written a delightful account of the design process beyind P&G's new CarpetFlick--the Swiffer's soft-surface sibling. (Photos here.)
As one reader comments: " I NEVER thought I'd be so entranced with an article about a quick-clean product. I own one of these great little contraptions and I have to admit it was fascinating to learn its story, from concept to development. The P&G and Ideo duo is a creative force to be reckoned with."
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 16, 2005 • Comments
If there's been a big blog response to the terrible earthquake in South Asia, I've missed it. But as this Seattle Times story reports ex-pat groups in the U.S. have been organizing relief drives. Mercy Corps is also working in the area.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 16, 2005 • Comments
This peculiar piece by Dallas Morning News metro columnist Steve Blow illustrates what's wrong with the judicial nomination process. Blow asks readers to send him dirt on Harriet Miers, because, he says, his colleagues haven't found anything wrong with her. Why would anyone object to putting her on the Supreme Court?
We've poked and prodded into her personal and professional life, interviewed scores of people, looking for anything that bears on her qualification for a seat on the Supreme Court.
And after all that, not one associate here was found with the view that she is unqualified for the position.
Yet skepticism remains high, even among some of President Bush's strongest supporters. Some have even raised the idea that her nomination be withdrawn. So what gives? We've got great confidence expressed by those who know her best and grave doubts expressed by those who know her least.
In this view, only corruption, utter stupidity, professional failure, or ideological extremism (whatever that is) warrants opposition. So if you think a nominee is simply so-so--in this case, the successful product of a closed, parochial local business culture that eschews substantive debate--you should just shut up. Or, alternatively, try to destroy her.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 16, 2005 • Comments
A new Carnival of Tomorrow is up.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 15, 2005 • Comments
Hooray! Thomas Schelling has won the Nobel prize in economics, along with Robert Aumann. Marginal Revolution has lots of background. Amazon is offering a discount on Schelling's Choice and Consequences and The Strategy of Conflict
when you buy them together.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2005 • Comments
This fun story on how Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez invented the frozen margarita machine demonstrates that patent protection need not be the most important spur to profitable invention. Here's an excerpt:
Mr. Martinez had grown up around his father's eatery, El Charo. Tequila was tough to come by then, he said, and the margarita was an exotic drink that most people only consumed on vacations in Mexico.
But the elder Mr. Martinez occasionally would make the frozen drink in a blender for his patrons. When his son opened his own restaurant, he knew that frozen margaritas would help his establishment stand out.
The harried bartenders at Mariano's couldn't squeeze enough limes or blend the drinks fast enough to keep up with demand, though. Customers complained — the signature drink was inconsistent, and it wasn't even cold.
"I saw my dream evaporating," Mr. Martinez said. "This was my one shot at being somebody."
A pit stop at a 7-Eleven proved inspiring. Mr. Martinez spotted a Slurpee machine and knew he'd found the answer. He acquired a soft-serve ice cream machine and started mixing.
"The challenge was to make each drink taste like a blender margarita," he said. "We kept experimenting — and tasting."
Once Mr. Martinez hit upon the right recipe — sugar was the secret ingredient, he said — he moved the machine to the bar.
"It became an instant success," he said. "We didn't have to sell it."
Mr. Martinez never got a patent for his margarita machine, so copycats quickly surfaced. Soon, other bars and restaurants were pouring frozen margaritas, and a few claimed to have acquired "Mariano's secret recipe."
"I never dreamed that I invented anything," Mr. Martinez said. "To me, it was just a way of producing consistent, quality, cold margaritas."
Martinez's original machine was just added to the Smithsonian's collection of American inventions.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2005 • Comments
Amazon has sold out of its supercheap copies of The Substance of Style, but it's now offering a new deal: TSOS plus Freakonomics at a 5% discount off the usual price. (Look under "Best Value" on either book's page.)
NOTE: This item has been moved up from last week.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2005 • Comments
Combining unparalled reporting, often-hilarious personal memoir, and his usual spectacular writing, Michael Lewis describes what really went on in New Orleans after Katrina (he was there) and what it might portend for his hometown. If ever there were a must-read article, this is it: fun, informative, and smart.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2005 • Comments