JHW: How much land does a man need?

Job Hunt Woes are never far away, but sometimes appear in a different guise. Sometimes they are not even woes, but moments of success. Right now, my woes resemble more confusion and uncertainty, although to be honest I've had a lot more success lately than I am accustomed to. Back in high school, I was forced to read many things, but a few were actually good experiences, and that includes a certain thoughtful Russian short story by Leo Tolstoy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Much_Land_Does_a_Man_Need%3F http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2738/ -spoiler alert- As I seem to remember it, the story is about an ambitious man who wants to be a rich landholder, and talks some indigenous people into selling him land based on how far he can run a circle in a day. He wins a huge tract of land for the purchase price, but the actual price is that he dies from a heart attack (or somesuch). How much land does a man need? About six feet. I've been thinking about that moral a lot lately. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, here. Life is too short, and better to know when to quit while you are ahead.

Have you read 'Atlas Shrugged'?

I haven't, but I have heard A LOT about it. The American news landscape is full of Ayn Rind (spelling to come). I don't know all that much about this ideology directly, but indirectly I have some impressions, and apparantly it preaches about "The Virtue of Selfishness" and the evils of a "Culture of Dependancy" among the needy. I just want to say I recognize many similarities with Confucianism. Wikipedia calls it a "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" in it's original form, although it is often considered a religion these days. The Confusian inverse Golden Rule ("Do NOT do unto others what you would NOT have done uno you) seems a close analog to Ayn Rind's socio-economic ideology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism I've gotta say, the title is amazing, a full of subtle meaning, but I also must say it's extremely confusing to me. I seems to me the idea of the mythical figure of Atlas shrugging (abadoning his responsibilty of holding the earth on his shoulders) says chaos comes from "shrugging" which is quite at odds with what I am given to undertand this is all about.

movies seen recently

Let's see...Cowboys Versus Aliens Kung Fu Panda 2 (?) Expendables 2 Watch (Ben Stiller) The Good Girl http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism