alexist

my old local paper had an article on B&H... doesn't nearly convey how crazy the place is!
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--holycameras1119nov19,0,6112392.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

Carly got her present yesterday and loved it :-) :-) Haven't spoken to her, but I just called my dad and that's what he said...

I sent Jen's to my parents' as well because everything was up in the air, so she won't have gotten it yet.

I rock! :-)

Now, if only I could work out what to get Neil... (and remember, it's his birthday on the 22nd as well!!)

ETA: Spoken to Carly and Mom. Both thought the beaded jacket I got Carly was stunning. Jen liked the black jacket I got her (I have no idea when she got it... Carly thought she hadn't). The top was a bit big on Jen but she can have it taken in (she really liked it). They were all surprised at what I chose--I had to explain that while I pick boring stuff for myself, I have great taste for other people. ;-)

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?051128ta_talk_surowiecki

contains a comment about French productivity being as good as American.

BUT: this hides something, which is surprising given the rest of the article. In France, the labor market makes it inefficient to hire low skilled workers. French productivity is artificially high, in a sense, because many low skilled workers aren't in the market at all (hence 10% unemployment, raging youth unemployment, etc--the French model also protects existing workers at the expense of those trying to break into the market). So from this perspective, American productivity might actually be higher than it seems at first glance.

(This is not advocacy of any particular economic model: I think both the Franco-German and American models have major flaws. A system in which 10% of the population don't work at all is not something to be proud of, even if there's a coddled class of workers with 35 hour a week contracts and 6 weeks vacation.)