Whispering in the dark Information overload manifests itself like a demon in the dark. On lazy days that I spend reading for most of the day, I fall asleep at night to the whispers of passages that I read earlier in the day. These whispers are vague and formless and closely resemble a fever dream.…
Sleep of the Just Plain Tired There is still light in the sky when I fall into a dreamless sleep. It is something of a miracle in its dreamless quality and in its duration. When I awaken, just after 6 am, I realize that I have slept more than 8 hours, an achievement unparalleled in…
A Remarkable Number It seems these days that almost every travel article I read tells me how bad air travel has gotten. Airlines are nickle-and-diming passengers. Passengers are getting into fights with airline staff. Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Airlines do nickle-and-dime passengers. The overall quality of the airline experience has gone down considerably in…
From pp. 331-332 in Caesar and Christ: The famous “panic” of A.D. 33 illustrates the development and complex interdependency of banks and commerce in the Empire. Augustus had coined and spent money lavishly, on the theory that its increased circulation, low interest rates, and rising prices would stimulate business. They did; but as the process…
As promised, here are some pictures of the suite we stayed in at the Westin Excelsior in Rome, courtesy of vickyandnorm. In case you don’t know this, Norm is a High Panjandrum in the company that owns these hotels. When I booked my room, I booked a very nice room, but then Norm stepped in…
I’m in Rome at the moment. The last two days have been busy, yesterday filled with climbing Vesuvius and visiting the ruins of Pompeii, as well as packing; today, with debarking and seeing as much of Rome as I can in the few hours I have to see it. However, now that I have a…