I.T. Erudio

Category: history

  • Sisyphus, “Say Anything”, The Seeker

    The tragic part of living a life of “quiet desperation” (in the Henry David Thoreau sense) is usually the lost opportunity to do good as opposed to “intentional malice.” For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds. Sonnet 94 (William Shakespeare) In 2023 Merriam-Webster tells us that a…

  • Science Fiction, “social commentary”, and “Politics”

    FIRST I will say that I am a fan of William Shatner OC. The “OC” stands for “Order of Canada” – which is an honor of merit bestowed by the Canadian government. The 2019 announcement specifically mentions Captain James T Kirk/Star Trek but these types of honors tend to be conferred because of a combination…

  • Markets and Competition

    True innovation is rare. Ecclesiastes 1:9 is several thousand years old and tells us that “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” Of course when we aren’t talking about “big picture…

  • Talking Football – August 2023

    Back when the B1G was actually 10 teams – “two yards and a cloud of dust” was sometimes used to describe the offense philosophy of most coaches in the conference. The forward pass might have been added in 1906, but to paraphrase a coach “three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two…

  • Random thoughts on Time, Distance, and Faster Than Light Travel

    The good folks at Merriam-Webster give us 14 definitions for “time” as a noun, another 5 as a verb, and then 3 more as an adjective. A quick peek at the etymology tells us that the “time” came into the English language by way of Old English and (Old Norse) words for “tide.” That “time”…

  • Mr Warhol and photography copyrights

    Since Andy Warhol died in 1987 – the Supreme Court was probably/technically ruling against his “estate” in their recent decision. Mr Warhol had used a photograph of Prince (“The Artist”) in a 1980’s painting (“Orange Prince”) – money changed hands among the concerned parties back in the early 1980’s so there wasn’t any problem until…

  • The GREATEST movie of ALL TIME

    well, the obvious problem with the title is “how do you define ‘great’?” of course everyone that has answered the question has been “correct” – “greatness” is determined by individual tastes. Consider that the credit for creating the “modern summer blockbuster” belongs to “Jaws” (1975) – which was the “greatest box office success” of all…

  • Marketing and Propaganda

    In its best form “marketing”/”advertising” is just “information” If you have a great product that does “whatever” the best use of your “marketing” budget is to build awareness of the products benefits among folks that need to do “whatever it is that your product does” e.g. say you make beer or running shoes – and…

  • Profit Margins

    If a company is “profitable” over a long period of time that PROBABLY means it is “well run” or “managed properly.” Of course we need to define “long period of time” — in a healthy economy companies will come and go just by the natural cultural shifts and technological advances. e.g. Thirty years ago multiple…

  • … have a drink on me

    … “spirits” as a reference to “distilled alcohol beverages” apparently traces back to the belief that they drinks held the “life force” (i.e. “spirit”) or the “essence” of the grains or plants that were used. the English word “spirit” (first usage as a noun – 14th Century) traces back to the Latin “spiritus” (literally, breath,…