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Loser's Guide Loser's Guide

 Loser's Guide to Life

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Some Expertise Wanted 

It's beyond clear that racial profiling would be a good thing—if it worked!

An important heuristic tool
Would that it did, because then everyone could sleep easier knowing that a significant bulwark (not, perhaps, an unfordable earthwork, but an extra battlement) had been erected between us and the enemy. However, race study, or Rassenkunde, is still very much in its infancy. It's doubtful that many people could name more than five of the thirty-three distinguishing features of Mon-Khmer heritage, or could correctly pick out an Octaroon from a crowd of evening revelers. We have already seen how the SAS team in London faced something of a poser: no time to check skull length against jaw occlusion.

No, racial profiling, albeit an important heuristic tool in the Swiss Army knife of democracy, is best left to the experts.


Lifestyle Upgrade

If you were considering the purchase of a membership in the middle class, you could be looking at US $300,000 a year even in the provinces. The linked article by Paul Campos examines a report in Forbes that offers "an estimate of how much money an American family of four needs to live a 'comfortably affluent' lifestyle." That seems like an awful lot of money. I suppose the key here is "comfortably affluent". That must mean "not so affluent that it would cause problems", or "just enough affluence".



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Watching TV is a good way to tear yourself away from the computer.