Corporate State Capitalism – speech by Noam Chomsky at Yale University (February 25, 1997)
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Emerging nations overtake West in dumping electronic trash | Reuters
A serious legacy (aka negative externalities) for future generations to clean up.
China and other emerging economies have overtaken Western nations in dumping old electronic goods, from TVs to cellphones, and will lead a projected 33 percent surge in the amount of waste from 2012 to 2017, a U.N.-backed alliance said on Sunday.
The report, the first to map electronic waste by country to promote recycling and safer disposal of often toxic parts, shows how the economic rise of developing nations is transforming the world economy even in terms of pollution.
\”The e-waste problem requires attention globally,\” Ruediger Kuehr of the U.N. University and executive secretary of the Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) initiative, told Reuters. StEP is run by U.N. agencies, governments, NGOs and scientists.
via Emerging nations overtake West in dumping electronic trash | Reuters.
Whiskey: Instant Expert by John Lamond #ScotchSunday Review
When one is starting out exploring the world of whiskey one inevitably turns to authors like Michael Jackson, Charles MacLean, Dave Broom, Robin Tucek.
Of course, any list of whisky experts is incomplete without Master of Malt John Lamond.
While the internet, smart phones and being connected 24/7 makes navigating the whiskey world easier, there is still nothing like the experience of reading a real book. This is where Lamond’s book, Whiskey, published under Princeton Architectural Press’ “Instant Expert” series is a terrific addition (represented in Canada by Raincoast Books).
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| Whiskey: Instant Expert fits in the palm of your hand |
Measuring 4.71″ x 6.61″ and at 144 pages, Whiskey: Instant Expert fits into the palm of one’s hand but it isn’t meant to be an exhaustive database of whiskeys and reviews available around the world — there are simply too many combinations and expressions. However, it provides insight for those looking to learn a lot quickly, from the very basic to the esoteric:
Whisky vs. whiskey
Scotch whisky is spelled “whisky” and must be from Scotland to be called scotch. With Irish whiskey –which has had perhaps an even longer history– the word is spelled “whiskey.”
Traditional partners for whiskey
…found in the west coast of Scotland where the fisherman would traditionally have a dram of malt whiskey with their oysters — not to the side but poured on the shell like we do today with Tobasco.
Ardbeg distillery
Ardbeg’s make is the most heavily peated of all Scotland’s whiskies, at 50 parts per million. Its make has always been a favourite of Islay aficionados, but it was closed more often than it was open in the 30 years prior to being taken over by Glenmorangie in 1997.
Glenmorangie distillery
One of the leading malts around the world, it has the tallest stills in Scotland, at just under 17 feet. The height of the still means that only the finest and most delicate of flavours fall over the lyne arm, which runs from the head of the still to the condenser.
Scotch and Irish whiskies
The malt for Scotch whiskey is dried over an open peat fire, which means the smoke permeates the grains and this smoky taste carries right through to the final whisky. By contrast, in Ireland, the malt is dried in closed kilns so that only hot air dries the grains, not smoke.
The citations above are a sampling of what the book contains. The contents range from the fundamentals to colourful stories about discovering, collecting and storing.
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| Contents of Whiskey: Instant Expert by John Lamond |
If there is anything that could be improved it is the indexing: some of pages numbers (in the index) didn’t seem to match. Whiskey: Instant Expert makes a nice gift for a budding Malt Master this holiday season and retails for $14.40 from Amazon.ca
Level: Beginner to Expert
Writing Style: 4.5 / 5
Reviews: 3.5 / 5
Value: Very High
Sukasa Stars: 4.5 out of 5
(Reviewed by Arijit Banik for SukasaStyle)
Will supply meet demand? The Glenmorangie case.
Cross posted from Sukasa Style
Single malt whiskey has gone from a largely fledgling product in the 1960s to one with exponential growth in the past decade. The story behind the demand is fairly well understood:
“In China and other booming South East Asian countries younger consumers are taking to single malts to show they have arrived in life.”
“There is a need for such young consumers to show this much earlier than their predecessors.”
Industry watchers foresee a much faster growth in single malt consumption in line with the rapid growth in economy as well as rising incomes and aspirations of Indian consumers.
(Source: Import of single malt scotch whisky doubles in first half of 2010)
The challenge is obvious to anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the nature of distilling single malt and the dynamic of markets: global demand will outstrip supply as growing affluence in low to middle income entails a shift from domestic blended scotches and traditional international blends such as Johnnie Walker Red Label to more refined fare like Glenmorangie 10-year (recently SukasaStyle #ScotchSunday review).
Publicly listed companies understand this: French luxury retailer LVMH is the owner of The Glenmorangie Company and single malt assets are a strategic bet on future growth in current emerging markets and developing economies.
Below is a video of Dr. Bill (William) Lumsden, Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation, answering questions from Glenmorangie’s Facebook followers about the challenge of scaling up production. Dare I say it is of particular interest to engineers and single malt lovers.
The key takeaway is that scaling up production will only go so far. In my opinion, single malts will continue to go up in price and the trophy items will continue to be scooped up by the global plutocracy.
Posted by Arijit Banik for SukasaStyle.
Headlines from a Mathematically Literate World
When math and ‘art’ collide…
Our World: Market Rebounds after Assurances from Fed Chair
Mathematically Literate World: Market Rebounds without Clear Causal Explanation
Our World: Firm’s Meteoric Rise Explained by Daring Strategy, Bold Leadership
Mathematically Literate World: Firm’s Meteoric Rise Explained by Good Luck, Selection Bias
Our World: Gas Prices Hit Record High (Unadjusted for Inflation)
Mathematically Literate World: Gas Prices Hit Record High (In a Vacuous, Meaningless Sense)
Our World: Psychologists Tout Surprising New Findings
Mathematically Literate World: Psychologists Promise to Replicate Surprising New Findings Before Touting Them
Our World: After Switch in Standardized Tests, Scores Drop
Mathematically Literate World: After Switch in Standardized Tests, Scores No Longer Directly Comparable
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Arijit Banik 