Posted On: Monday - June 19th 2023 6:10PM MST
In Topics: General Stupidity Humor Salesmen Big-Biz Stupidity Customer Care
When did people start saying "24/7"? A couple of internet sites told me it was the early 1980s, so 4 decades back. That could be, but I know this phrase as one said by businessmen, especially those dot-com 1.0 types. Amazon's Jeff Bezos used to use this one. (I don't know if it was his alone, but he also had the "It's still Day 1" bit. At this point, Mr. Bezos, I'd call your company's point on the timeline as "The End of Days"!)
It's been more than 20 years since "24/7" came into widespread use. The meaning is, of course, that something will work, be available, be open, what-have-you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I guess that implies that this goes on over the years too, until early bankruptcy*, so the "365" is not necessary, and using it would also imply that the site goes down on leap days - Feb 29's. You can't have that!
Originally, "24/7" was meaningful. It's been used so much that it's become trite and/or erroneous. What happened is that proud businessmen all over have forgotten the meaning of the phrase. That's the case with the website of a company called Laptopscreen.com.
The reader may infer some computer problems here at Peak Stupidity from the sudden revelation that that particular website's banner info has an important contradiction. Yeah, I needed a laptop screen. As the reader may know from all of Peak Stupidity's Customer Care complaint posts, I like to talk to live humans often. My only question for a live human in this case was on the delivery time, whether a few days to a week or something like 1-2 months via slow boat from China.
I want to make it clear here that I was actually very pleased with the job done by Laptopscreen.com. An American guy answered the phone in less than 1 minute, after ZERO button pushes. He assured me that "no, we don't drop ship stuff from China." and gave me a rough arrival date. The thing came and worked!
Therefore, while I was on that call ... on Monday morning... when they were open... I both held my tongue, and forgot in the meantime anyway, to give whomever answered a little shit about the contradictory banner.
See, it was a Sunday when I had found the site. Maybe I HAVE had this thing wrong for 20-odd years, but this whole time I've been under the impression that 24/7 meant that I could call these people on Sunday, even late at night. Nope, I got a voice message. Also, I'm not a chatty guy by this internet definition - that's a very LAST resort for me - but the "chatterers" are apparently offline too during, errrr, non-business hours... wait, whaaaa?
I supposed the way I should see this is very much along the lines of the standard joke I would pull out were I a clerk at the Circle-K. "How late are you open?" "24 hours." "Oh, good, 24 hours." "Yeah... I mean, but... not in a row."
PS: Ohhhh! Maybe they meant 24 days a month, and 7 hours a day. That's not quite right either but a lot closer to reality than what they say now.
* Yeah, I've got that dot-com 1.0 era in mind here.
Comments:
Moderator
Wednesday - June 21st 2023 8:16AM MST
PS: Oh, yeah, about who the guy is and what the site is:
Thanks for all that digging, Mr. Smith! I suppose you could try some of the phone numbers, but that might be considered rude. (If you've got some good questions/comments, who knows?)
BTW, I don't know if it's just my browser that makes those phone numbers into links. Does anyone else reading see that? I have the same thing happen with numbers in the UR comments, so I'm leaning toward this is a localized thing.
Back to the Palladium site. There are 5 Editor/Manager/Emeritus people listed and 8 Contributors. Harold Robinson is not one, but it says they take guest writer articles - it even gives info on that.
The About page also says right there that they are linked in some way to the World Economic Forum. I wonder what that's about besides money. I stopped in the middle of an older article ('18) about a writer's impression of Xinjiang, China.
Thanks for all that digging, Mr. Smith! I suppose you could try some of the phone numbers, but that might be considered rude. (If you've got some good questions/comments, who knows?)
BTW, I don't know if it's just my browser that makes those phone numbers into links. Does anyone else reading see that? I have the same thing happen with numbers in the UR comments, so I'm leaning toward this is a localized thing.
Back to the Palladium site. There are 5 Editor/Manager/Emeritus people listed and 8 Contributors. Harold Robinson is not one, but it says they take guest writer articles - it even gives info on that.
The About page also says right there that they are linked in some way to the World Economic Forum. I wonder what that's about besides money. I stopped in the middle of an older article ('18) about a writer's impression of Xinjiang, China.
Moderator
Wednesday - June 21st 2023 8:11AM MST
PS: Yes, thanks for the reply regarding Michel Eyqem de Montaigne, Middle-Ages Mayor of Bordeaux, Dieter.
I'll take a look at your Palladium link too, as, from my reading, these articles are well-written. Going back to this discussion since I read Harold Robinson's article this morning, yes, this does go along with what I've been observing of a decline in competency. Mr. Robinson sees it from the point of view of a white collar guy, but he does include a wide range of jobs/careers/organization. I have been thinking more about the incompetence at lower levels, just as important and maybe more important.
Also, I agree with Mr. Hail, that his one bit on the Kung Flu was a throw-away line. Additionally, even that throw-away line seems to indicate that he doesn't really get what that was all about.
Yes, Mr. Robinson writes without vitriol and very calmly like Mr. Sailer. I'm not sure Steve Sailer would have much to write about this one though. (Since you are occasionally(?) commenting there again, you could try throwing in that link as an O/T suggestion.) Mr. Sailer likes stats, and, though he covers Sailer's interests pretty well - university admissions especially - Harold Robinson knows what he knows (if you know what I mean*), but gives no numbers at all.
Anyway, there's lots in there to praise and comment on, so I will write a post on this article. Thanks for bringing it up, Mr. Hail, and thanks for the discussion here.
* Reference from Edie Brickell... and of course the New Bohemians.
I'll take a look at your Palladium link too, as, from my reading, these articles are well-written. Going back to this discussion since I read Harold Robinson's article this morning, yes, this does go along with what I've been observing of a decline in competency. Mr. Robinson sees it from the point of view of a white collar guy, but he does include a wide range of jobs/careers/organization. I have been thinking more about the incompetence at lower levels, just as important and maybe more important.
Also, I agree with Mr. Hail, that his one bit on the Kung Flu was a throw-away line. Additionally, even that throw-away line seems to indicate that he doesn't really get what that was all about.
Yes, Mr. Robinson writes without vitriol and very calmly like Mr. Sailer. I'm not sure Steve Sailer would have much to write about this one though. (Since you are occasionally(?) commenting there again, you could try throwing in that link as an O/T suggestion.) Mr. Sailer likes stats, and, though he covers Sailer's interests pretty well - university admissions especially - Harold Robinson knows what he knows (if you know what I mean*), but gives no numbers at all.
Anyway, there's lots in there to praise and comment on, so I will write a post on this article. Thanks for bringing it up, Mr. Hail, and thanks for the discussion here.
* Reference from Edie Brickell... and of course the New Bohemians.
Dieter Kief
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 11:59PM MST
PS
Mr. Hail and Adam - - -thx. - great info (and great fun!!).
I tweeted the article around a bit more - - - reaction rather lowly - - an ill Swiss Bocaccio reader/enthusiast tweeting as homo transiens did read the article on fast track, but suffers from the summer flu - - so - - . But that is the nature of the reception of such long articles - - - must look up, what Charles Murray wrote - - -interesting that he chimed in - - but he is deeply rooted in this kind of high-brow bio-sphere - - - T. C. Boyle calls me his friend lately (we tweet at times - - he likes my photos - - ) and i recommended the article to him - - -(also the one about Catal Hüyück et.al./Turkish pre-history).
The white Christian background is for sure true for the gay man Peter Thiel - he was brought up very very Christian - and he still holds on to this family tradition at least - - -.
Mr. Hail and Adam - - -thx. - great info (and great fun!!).
I tweeted the article around a bit more - - - reaction rather lowly - - an ill Swiss Bocaccio reader/enthusiast tweeting as homo transiens did read the article on fast track, but suffers from the summer flu - - so - - . But that is the nature of the reception of such long articles - - - must look up, what Charles Murray wrote - - -interesting that he chimed in - - but he is deeply rooted in this kind of high-brow bio-sphere - - - T. C. Boyle calls me his friend lately (we tweet at times - - he likes my photos - - ) and i recommended the article to him - - -(also the one about Catal Hüyück et.al./Turkish pre-history).
The white Christian background is for sure true for the gay man Peter Thiel - he was brought up very very Christian - and he still holds on to this family tradition at least - - -.
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:54PM MST
PS
(Hijacking of comment-thread by Kief--Smith--Hail commenter-junta, status: Complete.)
(Hijacking of comment-thread by Kief--Smith--Hail commenter-junta, status: Complete.)
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:54PM MST
PS
Dieter Kief wrote:
"PALLADIUM - - - is it a Zuckerberg enterprise - - -(I thought so because they feature this archeological/classical perspective too - - - - most likely not: But then: Peter Thiel - - - more likely - - -for him it is small change to finance such a quaterly mag and a website - - - or else? Aslo he does read th FAZ - - -and they are the system-theory influenced paper inthe German speaking regions. - - Any hints at the background of Palladium welcome. - Mr. Hail: Where did you find it? At Mr. Doolittle's twitter-feed?"
My responses:
-- Zuckerberg! My reaction is to laugh. It would be a surprise, if so. That man has had fifteen years to do anything positive with the billions he fell into through the Internet-magic that surrounded him for a time. He is not interested in being a patron of anything good, I think. He is not even a good elite, as his usual instinct in dress indicates. He began giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Black schools in the 2010s, and I presume pumped lots of money into BLM, in addition to his participation in the Big Tech info-monopoly we can all recognize.
-- Thiel: It is said that he did provide capital to help launch the magazine some years ago, but I don't know if he continues to fund it.
-- The "Systems Theory" and Palladium magazine: A certain kind of thinker does tend to think in "systems," and given that the backgrounds of the editors and some major writers at this magazine are in engineering (see earlier comment), we can expect the tone was already set for this kind of article. If the magazine uses a standard editorial feedback process (published articles are never exactly-as-submitted-the-first-time; hence, magazine/journal articles are not "long blog posts"), the editors and others who had a preliminary read-through will have pushed it in the right direction.
-- Where did I find it: It was emailed to me some days ago. I read it and looked up reactions. At that time I found that Charles Murray and others had been praising it. Curt Doolittle was not the source, but it is the same kind of thing that he so-often talks about.
Dieter Kief wrote:
"PALLADIUM - - - is it a Zuckerberg enterprise - - -(I thought so because they feature this archeological/classical perspective too - - - - most likely not: But then: Peter Thiel - - - more likely - - -for him it is small change to finance such a quaterly mag and a website - - - or else? Aslo he does read th FAZ - - -and they are the system-theory influenced paper inthe German speaking regions. - - Any hints at the background of Palladium welcome. - Mr. Hail: Where did you find it? At Mr. Doolittle's twitter-feed?"
My responses:
-- Zuckerberg! My reaction is to laugh. It would be a surprise, if so. That man has had fifteen years to do anything positive with the billions he fell into through the Internet-magic that surrounded him for a time. He is not interested in being a patron of anything good, I think. He is not even a good elite, as his usual instinct in dress indicates. He began giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Black schools in the 2010s, and I presume pumped lots of money into BLM, in addition to his participation in the Big Tech info-monopoly we can all recognize.
-- Thiel: It is said that he did provide capital to help launch the magazine some years ago, but I don't know if he continues to fund it.
-- The "Systems Theory" and Palladium magazine: A certain kind of thinker does tend to think in "systems," and given that the backgrounds of the editors and some major writers at this magazine are in engineering (see earlier comment), we can expect the tone was already set for this kind of article. If the magazine uses a standard editorial feedback process (published articles are never exactly-as-submitted-the-first-time; hence, magazine/journal articles are not "long blog posts"), the editors and others who had a preliminary read-through will have pushed it in the right direction.
-- Where did I find it: It was emailed to me some days ago. I read it and looked up reactions. At that time I found that Charles Murray and others had been praising it. Curt Doolittle was not the source, but it is the same kind of thing that he so-often talks about.
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:40PM MST
PS
Adam Smith wrote: Palladium Magazine was "founded by Johan Bennett and Wolf Tivy, Palladium is the flagship publication of the American Governance Foundation."
"Wolf Tivy is a former mechanical engineer and the editor-in-chief at Palladium magazine"
Another figure involved in Palladium is: Stephen Pimentel. His twitter-bio is: "Engineer and essayist, @palladiummag."
The venture succeeded, somewhat, in establishing the new magazine as high-brow and worthwhile. Their method: finding and using smart outsiders -- mostly, or possibly all (!), White-Christian-origin males. The kinds of people that feature regularly as background characters getting tossed aside in the Robertson essay.
Adam Smith wrote: Palladium Magazine was "founded by Johan Bennett and Wolf Tivy, Palladium is the flagship publication of the American Governance Foundation."
"Wolf Tivy is a former mechanical engineer and the editor-in-chief at Palladium magazine"
Another figure involved in Palladium is: Stephen Pimentel. His twitter-bio is: "Engineer and essayist, @palladiummag."
The venture succeeded, somewhat, in establishing the new magazine as high-brow and worthwhile. Their method: finding and using smart outsiders -- mostly, or possibly all (!), White-Christian-origin males. The kinds of people that feature regularly as background characters getting tossed aside in the Robertson essay.
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:28PM MST
PS
RE: Messrs Smith, Kief --
The most likely explanation is that Harold Robertson is who he says he is.
If he is the Tennessee investment-bank man and early-1980s graduate of a college in Virginia, he is presumably now nearing the end of his active career and presumably has plenty of money, therefore he feels empowered to write such things -- without any desire or ambition to become a "social-media personality."
The suspicion that the name may be a pseudonym comes because he is not very googleable, but that just means he is not interested in being an online personality. The ties to this magazine and indirectly to Peter Thiel are probably no big stretch, either, given the business that this Robertson is in.
RE: Messrs Smith, Kief --
The most likely explanation is that Harold Robertson is who he says he is.
If he is the Tennessee investment-bank man and early-1980s graduate of a college in Virginia, he is presumably now nearing the end of his active career and presumably has plenty of money, therefore he feels empowered to write such things -- without any desire or ambition to become a "social-media personality."
The suspicion that the name may be a pseudonym comes because he is not very googleable, but that just means he is not interested in being an online personality. The ties to this magazine and indirectly to Peter Thiel are probably no big stretch, either, given the business that this Robertson is in.
Adam Smith
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 4:04PM MST
PS: Greetings, Dieter!
https://media.whisky.auction/900/6453_0.jpg
I googled Harold Robertson too. = Zero, zilch, nada.
(except for the scotch whickey found above)
Harold Robertson Palladium of course turns this up...
https://www.palladiummag.com/author/harold-robertson/
“Harold Robertson is an asset class head and institutional investor at a multi-billion dollar pool of capital.”
Maybe The Alarmist works with this guy? Or knows who he is?
Is “Harold Robertson” a pen name for Peter Thiel? Could be?
OK, More seriously... Let's try again...
I googled “Harold Robertson” Investor...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harold-robertson-49788045
https://indyfin.com/financial-advisor/tennessee/chattanooga/harold-robertson-1054541/
https://smartadvisormatch.com/advisor-network/tennessee/harold-robertson-1054541
“First Horizon Advisors, Inc is a registered investment business that has its headquarters in Memphis, TN. The investment advisory business has offices in 69 locations and a total of 224 advisors. It manages $11 billion in assets among its 9,360 client accounts, making it one of the biggest firms in the country by assets under management.”
Maybe Harold Robertson works for First Horizon Advisors?
https://www.firsthorizon.com/First-Horizon-Advisors
“First Horizon Advisors is the trade name for wealth management products and services provided by First Horizon Bank and its affiliates.”
https://www.firsthorizon.com/First-Horizon-Corporation/About-Us-Rev
“With 30 trust officers, 86 financial advisors, 10 financial planning professionals, and $32 billion in assets under administration, First Horizon Advisors’ mission is to provide you with access to a range of resources that can help you build the financial future you deserve.”
Robertson Joins First Tennessee As Senior Vice President
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2006/9/17/92973/Robertson-Joins-First-Tennessee-As.aspx
I also found this...
The Stock Market Handbook for Beginners : Volume 1 by Harold Robertson...
https://www.amazon.com/Stock-Market-Handbook-Beginners/dp/1434360008
Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of this book and I have no way of knowing if this is the same guy.
There is also this page...
https://app.wealthminder.com/financial-advisors/profile/harold-robertson/69008
But it comes up 503 Service Unavailable. But google results say...
Harold G. Robertson at First Horizon Advisors, Inc.
Harold Robertson (CRD# 1054541) is an Investment Advisor Representative working at First Horizon Advisors, Inc. in Chattanooga, TN and has over 33 years of...
I can't get google's cached page of this site.
But I did find this...
https://radaris.com/~Harold-Robertson/1040406324
Harold G. Robertson
Current Address = Lookout Mountain, GA
Previous Address = Chattanooga, TN (among others)
64 years old Occupation = Manager
Phones = (423) 315-5532
Professional Records
Work:
Company: First tennessee brokerage
Position: Manager
Location: 701 Market St, Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 757-4455
Industries: Investment Advice
Education:
Degree: Bachelor's degree or higher
https://www.spokeo.com/423-315-5532
Phone Information for (423) 315-5532
Carrier = Sprint
Owner’s Location = Lookout Mountain, GA
Phone Type = Wireless
Area Code Location = Chattanooga, TN
Again, I have no way of knowing if this is the right Harold Robertson. (There are more than 900 people named Harold Robertson here in the states.) But I guess this guy fits the description found under the article...
“Harold Robertson is an asset class head and institutional investor at a multi-billion dollar pool of capital.”
Anyway, I hope you have a great evening, Dieter!
☮
https://media.whisky.auction/900/6453_0.jpg
I googled Harold Robertson too. = Zero, zilch, nada.
(except for the scotch whickey found above)
Harold Robertson Palladium of course turns this up...
https://www.palladiummag.com/author/harold-robertson/
“Harold Robertson is an asset class head and institutional investor at a multi-billion dollar pool of capital.”
Maybe The Alarmist works with this guy? Or knows who he is?
Is “Harold Robertson” a pen name for Peter Thiel? Could be?
OK, More seriously... Let's try again...
I googled “Harold Robertson” Investor...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harold-robertson-49788045
https://indyfin.com/financial-advisor/tennessee/chattanooga/harold-robertson-1054541/
https://smartadvisormatch.com/advisor-network/tennessee/harold-robertson-1054541
“First Horizon Advisors, Inc is a registered investment business that has its headquarters in Memphis, TN. The investment advisory business has offices in 69 locations and a total of 224 advisors. It manages $11 billion in assets among its 9,360 client accounts, making it one of the biggest firms in the country by assets under management.”
Maybe Harold Robertson works for First Horizon Advisors?
https://www.firsthorizon.com/First-Horizon-Advisors
“First Horizon Advisors is the trade name for wealth management products and services provided by First Horizon Bank and its affiliates.”
https://www.firsthorizon.com/First-Horizon-Corporation/About-Us-Rev
“With 30 trust officers, 86 financial advisors, 10 financial planning professionals, and $32 billion in assets under administration, First Horizon Advisors’ mission is to provide you with access to a range of resources that can help you build the financial future you deserve.”
Robertson Joins First Tennessee As Senior Vice President
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2006/9/17/92973/Robertson-Joins-First-Tennessee-As.aspx
I also found this...
The Stock Market Handbook for Beginners : Volume 1 by Harold Robertson...
https://www.amazon.com/Stock-Market-Handbook-Beginners/dp/1434360008
Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of this book and I have no way of knowing if this is the same guy.
There is also this page...
https://app.wealthminder.com/financial-advisors/profile/harold-robertson/69008
But it comes up 503 Service Unavailable. But google results say...
Harold G. Robertson at First Horizon Advisors, Inc.
Harold Robertson (CRD# 1054541) is an Investment Advisor Representative working at First Horizon Advisors, Inc. in Chattanooga, TN and has over 33 years of...
I can't get google's cached page of this site.
But I did find this...
https://radaris.com/~Harold-Robertson/1040406324
Harold G. Robertson
Current Address = Lookout Mountain, GA
Previous Address = Chattanooga, TN (among others)
64 years old Occupation = Manager
Phones = (423) 315-5532
Professional Records
Work:
Company: First tennessee brokerage
Position: Manager
Location: 701 Market St, Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 757-4455
Industries: Investment Advice
Education:
Degree: Bachelor's degree or higher
https://www.spokeo.com/423-315-5532
Phone Information for (423) 315-5532
Carrier = Sprint
Owner’s Location = Lookout Mountain, GA
Phone Type = Wireless
Area Code Location = Chattanooga, TN
Again, I have no way of knowing if this is the right Harold Robertson. (There are more than 900 people named Harold Robertson here in the states.) But I guess this guy fits the description found under the article...
“Harold Robertson is an asset class head and institutional investor at a multi-billion dollar pool of capital.”
Anyway, I hope you have a great evening, Dieter!
☮
Dieter Kief
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 2:08PM MST
PS
The internet at my commend did have nothing/zilch about high profile financeman Harold Robertson - - - the high profile investor - - -is it Peter Thiel?
The internet at my commend did have nothing/zilch about high profile financeman Harold Robertson - - - the high profile investor - - -is it Peter Thiel?
Dieter Kief
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 12:49PM MST
PS
Ha! - Thx. Adam!
Ha! - Thx. Adam!
Adam Smith
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 11:37AM MST
PS: Greetings, everyone,
Mr. Hail, I too think it is pretty far fetched that a basketball player coined the term 24-7 in any form. I'm inclined to believe that "24 hours a day 7 days a week" has been around for quite some time.
A little background on Palladium Magazine...
Founded by Johan Bennett and Wolf Tivy, Palladium is the flagship publication of the American Governance Foundation.
https://www.americangovernance.org/
https://www.palladiummag.com/about/
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/82-3895681
https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2020/03/bpr-interviews-jonah-bennett-on-governance-and-its-future/
Claremont mentions that a certain Natalia Dashan is also an associate editor at Palladium Magazine...
https://www.claremont.org/page/2020-publius-fellows/
Seems Palladium is (largely?)(partly?) funded by Peter Thiel.
☮
Mr. Hail, I too think it is pretty far fetched that a basketball player coined the term 24-7 in any form. I'm inclined to believe that "24 hours a day 7 days a week" has been around for quite some time.
A little background on Palladium Magazine...
Founded by Johan Bennett and Wolf Tivy, Palladium is the flagship publication of the American Governance Foundation.
https://www.americangovernance.org/
https://www.palladiummag.com/about/
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/82-3895681
https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2020/03/bpr-interviews-jonah-bennett-on-governance-and-its-future/
Claremont mentions that a certain Natalia Dashan is also an associate editor at Palladium Magazine...
https://www.claremont.org/page/2020-publius-fellows/
Seems Palladium is (largely?)(partly?) funded by Peter Thiel.
☮
Dieter Kief
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 11:33AM MST
PS
Mod. - - the answer to yur Montaigne question of old is in No. 4. Maybe you've seen it - maybe not.
Mod. - - the answer to yur Montaigne question of old is in No. 4. Maybe you've seen it - maybe not.
Moderator
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 9:32AM MST
PS: Mr. Hail, I forgot to plug in that Harold Robinson article. I've got it in a tab now, and I'll read it tonight, and see if I can add or subtract to/from the discussion here.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Dieter Kief
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 9:21AM MST
PS
Mr. Hail - - I've tweeted the Diversity-essay out in all kinds of places - with good resonance. I like not least the style - - a dream of an article. Occam (=Sailer-like, but not the least bit insiderly. Also - - - he grasps systems-theory - - - and makes good use of it - - -this is rare (Matt M. Briggs agrep upon this point wholeheartedly). _ For example, hehe, whenever I made references to one of the big shots of sociologial systems theory at iSteve even, but for sure on other places esp. in the US - - - -deafening silence or: More likely: Ridicule. This is something quite unfortunate, because, well understood- as Robertson does - - - Systems theory is making arguments better structured and clearer to understand in the interaction of certain kinds of phenomena - - - that apply to .v.a.r.i.o.u.s. kinds of societal - sub-systems. As I've written also a bit on your blog in my Habermas-remarks (H is a systems-theorist who says in other contexts he'd loathe it - - - very complicated relationship that), the big advantage of this perspective/method is to see the common denominators and the aspects of certain phnomena that don't add up nicley in different kinds of contexts. ST is a context-mower - a dry cleaner of contextually muddled clothes, a sewer which can seperate and confluate ideas precisely in the way necessary - - - so. That was a delight.
What I also wrote in various - - - -contexts today. He misses out on the fringy stuff - and more important: On the climate hysteria. But: As an Occamite: I would not - - I would really not - and not even indirectyl say that he did not do so on purpose. - - - Exactly as Occam, hehe, he knows that this terrain is - - -slippery, oh so slippery and swampy throughout... PALLADIUM - - - is it a Zuckerberg enterprise - - -(I thought so because they feature this archeological/classical perspective too - - - - most likely not: But then: Peter Thiel - - - more likely - - -for him it is small change to finance such a quaterly
mag and a website - - - or else? Aslo he does read th FAZ - - -and they are the system-theory influenced paper inthe German speaking regions. - - Any hints at the background of Palladium welcome. - Mr. Hail: Where did you find it? At Mr. Doolittle's twitter-feed?
Mr. Hail - - I've tweeted the Diversity-essay out in all kinds of places - with good resonance. I like not least the style - - a dream of an article. Occam (=Sailer-like, but not the least bit insiderly. Also - - - he grasps systems-theory - - - and makes good use of it - - -this is rare (Matt M. Briggs agrep upon this point wholeheartedly). _ For example, hehe, whenever I made references to one of the big shots of sociologial systems theory at iSteve even, but for sure on other places esp. in the US - - - -deafening silence or: More likely: Ridicule. This is something quite unfortunate, because, well understood- as Robertson does - - - Systems theory is making arguments better structured and clearer to understand in the interaction of certain kinds of phenomena - - - that apply to .v.a.r.i.o.u.s. kinds of societal - sub-systems. As I've written also a bit on your blog in my Habermas-remarks (H is a systems-theorist who says in other contexts he'd loathe it - - - very complicated relationship that), the big advantage of this perspective/method is to see the common denominators and the aspects of certain phnomena that don't add up nicley in different kinds of contexts. ST is a context-mower - a dry cleaner of contextually muddled clothes, a sewer which can seperate and confluate ideas precisely in the way necessary - - - so. That was a delight.
What I also wrote in various - - - -contexts today. He misses out on the fringy stuff - and more important: On the climate hysteria. But: As an Occamite: I would not - - I would really not - and not even indirectyl say that he did not do so on purpose. - - - Exactly as Occam, hehe, he knows that this terrain is - - -slippery, oh so slippery and swampy throughout... PALLADIUM - - - is it a Zuckerberg enterprise - - -(I thought so because they feature this archeological/classical perspective too - - - - most likely not: But then: Peter Thiel - - - more likely - - -for him it is small change to finance such a quaterly
mag and a website - - - or else? Aslo he does read th FAZ - - -and they are the system-theory influenced paper inthe German speaking regions. - - Any hints at the background of Palladium welcome. - Mr. Hail: Where did you find it? At Mr. Doolittle's twitter-feed?
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 8:02AM MST
PS
- on the Competency Crisis in PALLADIUM -
To Messrs. A. Smith and D. Kief: I am glad to hear your positive response to the Harold Robertson article on the Competency Crisis. This seems like an important article especially because, as best I can tell, it is not from some quasi-con-artist "social-media personality" type. It has gotten attention in high places. If Steve Sailer weren't removed from his duty station due to his North American travel related to the VDare conference, there is a fair chance he would have picked it up by now.
Since reading it yesterday, I have realized the author could have written a lot more and that he wanted to keep it all very business-like and without much reference to anecdote (the latter is, in part, what PEAK STUPIDITY is for).
There is something like a "competency crisis" in all sorts of areas even where you don't expect it, or areas where it is more "visceral." Actually, this has indeed been a major theme of Peak Stupidity going back to the early entries and continuing regularly.
From March 2020 to ca. early-spring 2022 (and beyond in lesser-form), much of it seemed to be blamable on the Corona-Panic phenomenon. That is a topic the author Robertson doesn't get around to once (except a meaningless nod to it in the last-or-so paragraph). The Robertson / Palladium article has another argument to make, a specific argument on what the cause of the Competency Crisis is, and the stone is sharpened through the thousands of words of verbal real-estate he has. His argument is taboo, seems to be radical but is also highly restrained, not unlike the Steve Sailer style.
- on the Competency Crisis in PALLADIUM -
To Messrs. A. Smith and D. Kief: I am glad to hear your positive response to the Harold Robertson article on the Competency Crisis. This seems like an important article especially because, as best I can tell, it is not from some quasi-con-artist "social-media personality" type. It has gotten attention in high places. If Steve Sailer weren't removed from his duty station due to his North American travel related to the VDare conference, there is a fair chance he would have picked it up by now.
Since reading it yesterday, I have realized the author could have written a lot more and that he wanted to keep it all very business-like and without much reference to anecdote (the latter is, in part, what PEAK STUPIDITY is for).
There is something like a "competency crisis" in all sorts of areas even where you don't expect it, or areas where it is more "visceral." Actually, this has indeed been a major theme of Peak Stupidity going back to the early entries and continuing regularly.
From March 2020 to ca. early-spring 2022 (and beyond in lesser-form), much of it seemed to be blamable on the Corona-Panic phenomenon. That is a topic the author Robertson doesn't get around to once (except a meaningless nod to it in the last-or-so paragraph). The Robertson / Palladium article has another argument to make, a specific argument on what the cause of the Competency Crisis is, and the stone is sharpened through the thousands of words of verbal real-estate he has. His argument is taboo, seems to be radical but is also highly restrained, not unlike the Steve Sailer style.
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:39AM MST
PS
M says:
"I'm guessing Woods was intending to say something like "I was >thinking< basketball 24/7". Athletes are not particularly articulate."
I agree. It's a clue that "24/7" (numbers-only version) in its early days was just a braggart's tool and not meant to convey specific information as such. Practicing basketball, or even thinking basketball, are not possible "24 hours a day, 7 days a week" -- because of needs for sleep, for one thing.
A useful, information-conveying usage of "24/7" would be for an institution, as in restaurant at which you can get a meal any time of any day of the week. It must apply to an institution and not a person. But even institutions sometimes will use it metaphorically. Pre-1980s, I doubt anyone used "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" in this loose way. I conclude that the fixed-expression "24/7" is partly a degradation of the language.
M says:
"I'm guessing Woods was intending to say something like "I was >thinking< basketball 24/7". Athletes are not particularly articulate."
I agree. It's a clue that "24/7" (numbers-only version) in its early days was just a braggart's tool and not meant to convey specific information as such. Practicing basketball, or even thinking basketball, are not possible "24 hours a day, 7 days a week" -- because of needs for sleep, for one thing.
A useful, information-conveying usage of "24/7" would be for an institution, as in restaurant at which you can get a meal any time of any day of the week. It must apply to an institution and not a person. But even institutions sometimes will use it metaphorically. Pre-1980s, I doubt anyone used "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" in this loose way. I conclude that the fixed-expression "24/7" is partly a degradation of the language.
Hail
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 7:34AM MST
PS
- Still looking for "24/7" origins -
"Jerry Reynolds...used...to describe his jump shot, claiming that it was good '24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year'."
I have a problem with tracing the origin of the fixed-expression "24/7" (said as: "twenty-four, seven" without additional context-words) to a use of the phrase "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" in Sports Illustrated in 1983.
As if the first time someone said "twenty-four hours a day" and tied it to "seven days a week" was a pro sports player boasting of his shooting skills!
Without checking too deeply, I feel like I can guarantee that people have used such an expressions ("twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week") maybe even as back as long as English has existed, but definitely at least as long as early-industrialism.
Economic development and urbanization allowed widespread and practical 24-hour businesses to operate, usually something like "24-hour" diners, which were common in the 19th century in even small-city downtowns, especially near train stations or docks connecting water-transport. The telegraph stations of the 19th century were also famously "24/7" operations by necessity, as were, generally speaking, bigger-city newspaper offices. And there is no more quintessential 24/7 operation than running a great sea-vessel (re: The Alarmist's comments), which requires men "on watch" at all times.
Here is a use of "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" from 1970:
https://hailtoyou.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/inner-circle-sauna-formerly-imperial-sauna-and-massage-minneapolis-1970.png
Such things as that can be found back in any era of the 20th century and much of the 19th century. Therefore, the expression "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" has been recognizable for generations, long before some basketball player in the 1980s boasted of his skill to a magazine writer.
The fixed expression "24/7," though, is something different, as it drops the "hours a day" and "days a week" part. A free-standing expression had been born, and enters mainstream language as a lazy-man's rival to the original-and-more-precise "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" by the late 1980s (interesting that the 1987 use I found was also related to basketball, after the supposed 1983 "coining"), then becomes well-established in the 1990s.
It must be said: it's not much of an innovation to drop "days a week" etc. Also we notice that the "24/7" version (numbers only) is often metaphorical and not literal. The expression lost value along the way, such that "24/7" is sometimes just a bombastic version of saying "often," "a lot of the time / a lot of times," "frequently," or even sometimes 24/7 can mean "(what we do is) with spirit" with hardly a reference to frequency or time-duration at all! (which applies to the Laptop Repair people in this case). And hence was born another entry in the annals of PEAK STUPIDITY.
- Still looking for "24/7" origins -
"Jerry Reynolds...used...to describe his jump shot, claiming that it was good '24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year'."
I have a problem with tracing the origin of the fixed-expression "24/7" (said as: "twenty-four, seven" without additional context-words) to a use of the phrase "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" in Sports Illustrated in 1983.
As if the first time someone said "twenty-four hours a day" and tied it to "seven days a week" was a pro sports player boasting of his shooting skills!
Without checking too deeply, I feel like I can guarantee that people have used such an expressions ("twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week") maybe even as back as long as English has existed, but definitely at least as long as early-industrialism.
Economic development and urbanization allowed widespread and practical 24-hour businesses to operate, usually something like "24-hour" diners, which were common in the 19th century in even small-city downtowns, especially near train stations or docks connecting water-transport. The telegraph stations of the 19th century were also famously "24/7" operations by necessity, as were, generally speaking, bigger-city newspaper offices. And there is no more quintessential 24/7 operation than running a great sea-vessel (re: The Alarmist's comments), which requires men "on watch" at all times.
Here is a use of "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" from 1970:
https://hailtoyou.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/inner-circle-sauna-formerly-imperial-sauna-and-massage-minneapolis-1970.png
Such things as that can be found back in any era of the 20th century and much of the 19th century. Therefore, the expression "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" has been recognizable for generations, long before some basketball player in the 1980s boasted of his skill to a magazine writer.
The fixed expression "24/7," though, is something different, as it drops the "hours a day" and "days a week" part. A free-standing expression had been born, and enters mainstream language as a lazy-man's rival to the original-and-more-precise "twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week" by the late 1980s (interesting that the 1987 use I found was also related to basketball, after the supposed 1983 "coining"), then becomes well-established in the 1990s.
It must be said: it's not much of an innovation to drop "days a week" etc. Also we notice that the "24/7" version (numbers only) is often metaphorical and not literal. The expression lost value along the way, such that "24/7" is sometimes just a bombastic version of saying "often," "a lot of the time / a lot of times," "frequently," or even sometimes 24/7 can mean "(what we do is) with spirit" with hardly a reference to frequency or time-duration at all! (which applies to the Laptop Repair people in this case). And hence was born another entry in the annals of PEAK STUPIDITY.
Moderator
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 3:58AM MST
PS: M, yes, I thought about the email, but then that claim of "24/7 support" could be used by anybody. "Sure, you can send mail 24/7, and it comes right into our mailbox, and we'll read it when we get back from vacation."
Moderator
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 3:55AM MST
PS: I think it was the use of the expression from the first of the 2 basketball players that I was going by.
Yes, Adam, it was not too bad - 8 screws, but mostly the thing is kept together by double-sided tape and other adhesives. Little plastic appendages unsnap from each other but don't necessarily snap back in as nicely.
Yes, Adam, it was not too bad - 8 screws, but mostly the thing is kept together by double-sided tape and other adhesives. Little plastic appendages unsnap from each other but don't necessarily snap back in as nicely.
M
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 3:22AM MST
PS
Speculating on how they can claim to be "24/7" with other hours.
Maybe it's as simple (and stupid) as "We have an email account which will receive them 24/7"...
Hail: I'm guessing Woods was intending to say something like "I was >thinking< basketball 24/7". Athletes are not particularly articulate.
Speculating on how they can claim to be "24/7" with other hours.
Maybe it's as simple (and stupid) as "We have an email account which will receive them 24/7"...
Hail: I'm guessing Woods was intending to say something like "I was >thinking< basketball 24/7". Athletes are not particularly articulate.
The Alarmist
Tuesday - June 20th 2023 2:28AM MST
PS
I worked in a Command Center that was "24/7" in the early '80s, so the term is at least 40 years old.
I worked in a Command Center that was "24/7" in the early '80s, so the term is at least 40 years old.
Dieter Kief
Monday - June 19th 2023 11:49PM MST
PS
Thx.Mr.Hail for your Palladium-hint!
Palladium is a brainy San Franciscan treasure (would love to know who funds them - - - the Zuckerbergs?)
Btw. : This one about ancient history and - - Turkey is quite interesting too - I stumbled across it following your interesting indeed link - -
https://www.palladiummag.com/2021/05/17/why-civilization-is-older-than-we-thought/
Ah Mod. - - -no I did not want ot link to Montaigne. Ahh - I would have loved to, but I can't because I have the quote, but not the page where it stands.
Just one remark about this stuff: Montaigne's idea is, that - especially in times of fear/angst, it is important to stay calm & clear inside. - He was rasied from three years on (!) by a house teacher his well-educated father hd hired for him - - speaking / reading Latin and he of course knew the stoic's coolness ideal by heart - but also the latin style: Clare & distincte. (clear & concise (think of Occam).
This is a way of approaching the world - - -not least cognitively. Because being so - cool - while approahcing the confusing and often scary problems of the real world means to - - - as we know (not least since - - -Dr. Freud - - -) be able to come into contact with the parasympathic structure of our brain (the - this is a hurdle here: Non-rational part of our brain - the intuitive side of our conscience - - - (see also Iain McGilchrist: The Master and Its emissary).
Ok - - - - - we have the latin/stoic tradition with Montaigne as our guide and as an example, to steer clear and cool during a huge threat via disease - - -The Black Plague - - -Montaigne led his city of Bordeaux through phases of the Black Plague as - the major - - -and so good, that the citizens asked him to do it one more time after his second stint - - - but he declined - - -because he had things to write down - - his later fmous Essais - - - which was true, and what is the reason, we have a spiritual/rational/reasonable voice to listen too in our Covid- turmoils - - -
Thx.Mr.Hail for your Palladium-hint!
Palladium is a brainy San Franciscan treasure (would love to know who funds them - - - the Zuckerbergs?)
Btw. : This one about ancient history and - - Turkey is quite interesting too - I stumbled across it following your interesting indeed link - -
https://www.palladiummag.com/2021/05/17/why-civilization-is-older-than-we-thought/
Ah Mod. - - -no I did not want ot link to Montaigne. Ahh - I would have loved to, but I can't because I have the quote, but not the page where it stands.
Just one remark about this stuff: Montaigne's idea is, that - especially in times of fear/angst, it is important to stay calm & clear inside. - He was rasied from three years on (!) by a house teacher his well-educated father hd hired for him - - speaking / reading Latin and he of course knew the stoic's coolness ideal by heart - but also the latin style: Clare & distincte. (clear & concise (think of Occam).
This is a way of approaching the world - - -not least cognitively. Because being so - cool - while approahcing the confusing and often scary problems of the real world means to - - - as we know (not least since - - -Dr. Freud - - -) be able to come into contact with the parasympathic structure of our brain (the - this is a hurdle here: Non-rational part of our brain - the intuitive side of our conscience - - - (see also Iain McGilchrist: The Master and Its emissary).
Ok - - - - - we have the latin/stoic tradition with Montaigne as our guide and as an example, to steer clear and cool during a huge threat via disease - - -The Black Plague - - -Montaigne led his city of Bordeaux through phases of the Black Plague as - the major - - -and so good, that the citizens asked him to do it one more time after his second stint - - - but he declined - - -because he had things to write down - - his later fmous Essais - - - which was true, and what is the reason, we have a spiritual/rational/reasonable voice to listen too in our Covid- turmoils - - -
Mr. Anon
Monday - June 19th 2023 8:48PM MST
PS
First time I saw "24/7" was, I think, sometime in 2000. I think it was in a Jonah Goldberg article on NRO. Back when I read Jonah Goldberg. Back when I read NRO.
First time I saw "24/7" was, I think, sometime in 2000. I think it was in a Jonah Goldberg article on NRO. Back when I read Jonah Goldberg. Back when I read NRO.
Adam Smith
Monday - June 19th 2023 8:15PM MST
PS: Good evening, gentlemen,
“I'm not a chatty guy” says the man with 24,055 Comments totaling 2,405,600 Words on unz.com. (I kid...)
Did you change the laptop screen yourself? (just curious)
(Lots of tiny screws and some plastic trim to carefully unsnap...)
On the origins of 24/7...
(not sure if this is true...)
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the first recorded use of 24/7 was in a 1983 edition of the US magazine Sports Illustrated. Credited with its coinage is US basketball player Jerry Reynolds, who used it to describe his jump shot, claiming that it was good "24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year"
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/buzzword/entries/24-7-365.html
Thanks for the Robertson article, Mr. Hail. I'm going to go read it now...
Cheers!
☮
“I'm not a chatty guy” says the man with 24,055 Comments totaling 2,405,600 Words on unz.com. (I kid...)
Did you change the laptop screen yourself? (just curious)
(Lots of tiny screws and some plastic trim to carefully unsnap...)
On the origins of 24/7...
(not sure if this is true...)
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the first recorded use of 24/7 was in a 1983 edition of the US magazine Sports Illustrated. Credited with its coinage is US basketball player Jerry Reynolds, who used it to describe his jump shot, claiming that it was good "24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year"
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/buzzword/entries/24-7-365.html
Thanks for the Robertson article, Mr. Hail. I'm going to go read it now...
Cheers!
☮
Hail
Monday - June 19th 2023 7:29PM MST
PS
recommendation:
An article getting a lot of attention, on the unforeseen effects of Diversity Ideology in practice, is right "up the alley" of Peak Stupidity and let me take the liberty to recommend it:
"Complex Systems Won't Survive the Competence Crisis," by Harold Robertson, June 2023, Palladium Magazine (5800 words)
https://www.palladiummag.com/2023/06/01/complex-systems-wont-survive-the-competence-crisis/
recommendation:
An article getting a lot of attention, on the unforeseen effects of Diversity Ideology in practice, is right "up the alley" of Peak Stupidity and let me take the liberty to recommend it:
"Complex Systems Won't Survive the Competence Crisis," by Harold Robertson, June 2023, Palladium Magazine (5800 words)
https://www.palladiummag.com/2023/06/01/complex-systems-wont-survive-the-competence-crisis/
Hail
Monday - June 19th 2023 7:26PM MST
PS
Some interesting data-points for your consideration, on the timing of "24/7" origins (its entry into the language):
-- An independent film of 1997/98 in England, about a heroic-underdog boxing coach and starring Bob Hoskins, was titled "Twenty-Four Seven."
-- A Tina Turner album, 1999/2000, was likewise titled "Twenty Four Seven." There have been many albums with this name, but the name only became common by about the Tina Turner album time. The very first such album was 1989, by "Dino."
-- Among the earliest uses of "24/7" I find is a Jan. 1987 interview with one of the top Philadelphia high-school basketball players of the time, Randy Woods (b.1970; Randy Woods later had a college basketball career, 1988-1992, and a pro and semi-pro career, to 1999).
Quote from Randy Woods on his recent practice philosophy: "Every day, I'd go to the schoolyard and practice on my own. I'd shoot nothing but jump shots. Twenty-four, seven." (Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 30, 1987, "Fearless Guard Keeps Franklin Out of the Woods").
You can see, from the basketball-player Randy Woods quote, that "24/7" was not at all used literally in its early years.
Some interesting data-points for your consideration, on the timing of "24/7" origins (its entry into the language):
-- An independent film of 1997/98 in England, about a heroic-underdog boxing coach and starring Bob Hoskins, was titled "Twenty-Four Seven."
-- A Tina Turner album, 1999/2000, was likewise titled "Twenty Four Seven." There have been many albums with this name, but the name only became common by about the Tina Turner album time. The very first such album was 1989, by "Dino."
-- Among the earliest uses of "24/7" I find is a Jan. 1987 interview with one of the top Philadelphia high-school basketball players of the time, Randy Woods (b.1970; Randy Woods later had a college basketball career, 1988-1992, and a pro and semi-pro career, to 1999).
Quote from Randy Woods on his recent practice philosophy: "Every day, I'd go to the schoolyard and practice on my own. I'd shoot nothing but jump shots. Twenty-four, seven." (Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 30, 1987, "Fearless Guard Keeps Franklin Out of the Woods").
You can see, from the basketball-player Randy Woods quote, that "24/7" was not at all used literally in its early years.
I agree with your assessment of Mark Zuckerberg's behavior as an elite, Mr. Hail.
As to the original topic, not really very important compared to all that O/T discussion, the use of "24/7" as new slang or idiom for "most of the time" is what I understand too. In the business word, it used to mean something. Maybe the boss was sometimes not serious about it, but when it comes to hours of operation or up-time of software, it had a definite numerical meaning.
It's that this company put that up there right along their hours that gets to my funny bone and one other, my annoyance bone. I mean, did that not clue in anyone to think for just a second of the root of that idiom?