“Why should the Devil have all the good tunes?”
—Sir Rowland Hill, English inventor, born December 3, 1795
I couldn’t remember who Sir Rowland was, so I looked him up. He was an educational innovator early in his career, but his greatest work was done in postal reform. Hill transformed a hodge-podge of private services, expensive and poorly managed, into a cheap, fast, efficient communications medium for a society in rapid industrial and commercial development. He received a two-year contract to run the new British Post Office in 1839, and proceeded to lower the cost of a half-ounce of mail first to four pence (about $2.00 in today’s money), and the next year to one penny (about 50 cents). The new penny post was a tremendous success, and served as a model for the rest of the world. We’re at the far end of Hill’s revolution, and “snail mail” seems hopelessly out of date to us, but it was a crucial piece of the development of the modern world.
His question is a really good one, too. The glamor of evil, or maybe just the relative inanity of good, should pose a problem for anyone with a conscience and sense of morality. It’s genuinely difficult to portray good people in literature and movies without them seeming kind of wimpy; badasses are much more fun. I am a peace-loving, benevolent soul, but I’m much more likely to watch a film noir or a spaghetti western than a feel-good movie, or to listen to the Rolling Stones than the Beatles.
Today and Tomorrow in #westernma
| TUESDAY | DECEMBER | 3 |
| 8:00AM | Agawam | MarketRight |
| 9:00–10:00AM | Easthampton | G.R.I.S.T — Get Real Individual Support Today |
| 12:00–1:00PM | Northampton | Pioneer Valley Wellness Alliance |
| 6:00PM | Northampton | Northampton Webdive |
| 6:30PM | Indian Orchard | The Geek Group of Western Mass |
| 8:00PM | Amherst | UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative Social |
| WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER | 4 |
| 7:15–9:00AM | Springfield | Affiliated Chambers Springfield Business @ Breakfast |
| 1:00–3:00PM | Greenfield | Basics of Starting a Business |
| 3:30–5:00PM | Greenfield | Free Information for Small Businesses to Start and Grow |
| 5:00–7:00PM | North Adams | Berkshire Young Professionals Networking Social |
| 5:00–7:00PM | Northampton | Greater Northampton Chamber Arrive @ Five |
| 5:00–7:00PM | Agawam | West of the River Chamber of Commerce Wicked Wednesdays |
| 7:00PM | Springfield | Innovators Resource Network Celebratory December Meeting |
Reading
Big Boy Girl Toys
“The Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) is an open technological platform that allows for the easy fabrication of the 50 different Industrial Machines that it takes to build a small civilization with modern comforts.
“A modern, comfortable lifestyle relies on a variety of efficient Industrial Machines. If you eat bread, you rely on an Agricultural Combine. If you live in a wood house, you rely on a Sawmill. Each of these machines relies on other machines in order for it to exist. If you distill this complex web of interdependent machines into a reproduceable, simple, closed-loop system, you get these.”
Global Village Construction Set
The Last Word
“I don’t like work… but I like what is in work – the chance to find yourself. Your own reality – for yourself, not for others – which no other man can ever know.”
—Joseph Conrad, Polish novelist, born December 3, 1857