Category Archives: Miscellany

Rossi’s Laws of Evaluation

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th March 2012

1.  The Stainless Steel Law: The better designed the outcome evaluation, the less effective the intervention seems. 2. The Iron Law: The expected value of any impact assessment of any large scale social programme is zero. 3. The Brass Law: The more social programs are designed to change individuals, the more likely the net impact…


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Conversation of the Day

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th October 2011

Winston Churchill’s 6 year old grandson: “Grandpa, is it true that you are the greatest man in the world?” WC: “Yes. Now bugger off. ” Quoted in Roy Jenkins Churchill: A Biography


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More Proof That the Brain is Not a Vital Organ

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th May 2011

“Did you know that ten percent of people 24 and younger think its OK to text during sex?” Wired.com


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Educational Thoughts of the Day

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th January 2011

The first mistake of public business is going into it. In rivers and bad governments the lightest things swim at top. Old boys have their playthings as well as young ones; the difference is only in the price. Tis against some mens Principle to pay Interest, and seems against others Interest to pay the Principal….


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You Can’t Make This Up

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th October 2010

The American Postal Workers Union internal election was postponed because thousands of ballots were lost in the mail. They should have voted online. The Federal Highway Administration has required that all street signs in the US be written in Clearview font by 2018. They’ve been studying this important issue for most of the century at…


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Quotation of the Week

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th September 2010

People like to say that buying a house is the biggest purchase you’ll ever make. Well, the median price of a home in 2008 was $180,100. Having a baby is like buying six houses, all at once. Except that you can’t (legally) sell them—and after 13 years they’ll tell you they hate you. Jonathan Last…


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Honda's New Mobility Device

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th May 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S_SL8IWObY]

I don’t know if this is going to catch on, but it’s a clever idea. It likely shows where we’re headed in helping people who have difficulty walking.


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Be Careful Buying From ProFlowers

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th March 2010

Recently I ordered flowers from ProFlowers.com – apparently a major player in the flower business. The flowers duly arrived and were as described by the vendor. Somewhere along the line I got an email from ProFlowers asking if I wanted a discount on future orders. Not seeing any cost to doing so I clicked yes….


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Musings on the Extraordinary

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th April 2009

I’ve been reading a biography of the transcendental Indian mathematical genius Ramanujan and thinking about the current economic crisis. What does the one have to do with the other? They are both extraordinary and we are helpless when confronted by the unique. Many commentators in the wake of our immediate economic duress fault the government…


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Why Nothing Works

Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th December 2008

The title is a bit hyperbolic – almost nothing works. Good service usually can  not be purchased at any price unless you are in the billionaire class. Why do businesses that provide only a service – like the airlines – perform so terribly? In this case (airlines) it’s our fault. We don’t want to pay…


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