Money, the root of all evil...?

Wow. (long silent pause)

Yes, I am *still* trying to work my way through Atlas Shrugged. I don't recall the exact date I started, but it's been a long time, even for non-book-worm me. Today I hit a passage that struck me, perhaps more than anything I've read in a long time; a passage so important and so fundamental to the heart of Objectivism that I have to recommend people to read (or re-read) it on their own.

At the wedding reception of Jim Taggart, there is a brief monologue by Francisco d'Anconia starting with "So you think that money is the root of all evil?" and making many points including "Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value."

...this monologue continues some pages later "Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created. The words 'to make money' hold the essence of human morality".

I cannot do justice to this long passage, other than to agree with it wholeheartedly and recommend that everyone should have a chance to read it and to think about it. I'm far enough into learning about Objectivism that I've lost much of my newbie status, so if this is the first time you've encountered this idea that the phrase "to make money" is more than just metaphor, I'd be interested to hear what you think.

For myself, I know that money doesn't always have to be involved -- as I was limbing a downed tree at my in-laws today, there I was out in the sunshine and fresh air doing work for no monetary benefit, and it felt very good to see the branch piles grow, to accomplish something worthwhile in the world, and to know that I was productive. (yes, there are non-monetary benefits to this activity, including clearing a sidewalk, making the yard safer for my son, getting fresh air and exercise, some small scraps of cherry wood for "play" on the wood lathe, and contributing to a family that I value)

wishing you all a productive day...

rootie

Gratuitous smiling baby picture and drool management

For those baby lovers among you who like pictures of smiling babies, even stranger's babies... (*groucho marx accent* "and there's nothing stranger than babies") here's a recent shot.

For the mess averse among my gentle readers, note that the baby's head is resting on a patterned piece of fabric that just happens to be a cloth diaper. Babies that are prone to spitting up will soak anything under their mouth, including your shoulder, your arm, the cat, the changing table, and their fancy bed linens... One solution is to keep a cloth diaper under their head, neck and shoulders -- let'em soak away!

My wife has been using small terry-cloth bibs to keep the car seat drool-free, but now that Amelia has gained a modicum of control over her hands, there's a small hole in that logic -- you see, bibs are conveniently located within hand's reach and easy to get to the mouth. Of course, once the edge is curled mouth-ward, the spitup is free to flow over that edge to the nice dry pajamas underneath.

The other thing that helps is not boiling the baby. Ok, perhaps I better explain that comment a little -- you don't actually boil the baby, but you can get them quite excited with very little effort this excitement appears to cause stomach contents to "boil over" and come dribbling, spilling, and shooting out of their mouth: "who's daddy's girl? oh what a pretty smile you have! can you hold my finger? that's a good grip you have! ... oh wow you can sure spit up a lot!" Of course, this varies by baby. My son rarely if ever spit up, but my daughter is a drool and spitup factory and she's still not 4 months yet.

We've hit that stage where she is now capable of grabbing some nearby object and steering it into her mouth, including the hand that is trying to dry her hair. ...and so, having masted the charmer smile, and started the period of initial dexterity, the first 3 months of "crying bread loaf" end and the real fun is just beginning. I can hardly wait for "peek-a-boo"!

rootie