Friday Fun

Last week Atlas sent a note called How Did We Get Here?

Here we are on the first Friday of 2025.  Tragically, a lot has already happened.  But with so much runway ahead of us, there is much more to unfold.  Of course, it will not all be a bed of roses, but we have plenty to look forward to.  Before looking ahead, let’s look back.  One would need to have been alive in 1936 the last time a square number was at the top of

Imagine the Federal Reserve as a skilled dancer, gracefully navigating the dance floor of the economy.  Right now, they’re performing a delicate waltz, trying to keep in step with a weakening labor market and persistent inflation that refuses to approach their two percent target.

Imagine the Federal Reserve as a skilled dancer, gracefully navigating the dance floor of the economy.  Right now, they’re performing a delicate waltz, trying to keep in step with a weakening labor market and persistent inflation that refuses to approach their two percent target.

It’s the holiday season.  The time of year when Hershey Kisses are wrapped in green and red in addition to their traditional plain foil packaging.  Years ago, they ran an add reading, “Big things come in small packages.”  You can see an example here.  In short, they didn’t want consumers to miss the

Big Brother Doctor

Henry Ford is remembered for revolutionizing the automobile industry, doing so by introducing the assembly line.

Atlas thinks a lot about maps and modeling.  These tools allow us all to better understand complex systems without having to have every piece of information; think Alfred Korzybski’s idea that, “the map is not the territory.”  Nevertheless, these maps and models of cities, for instance, help us navigate large and everchanging transportation arteries across the nation

Growing up there was a guy in the neighborhood who worked in some form of construction.  He would often come home with copper wires, the type used overhead for transmitting electricity.  I was in elementary school, so he never told me why it was in his possession, but he would strip the wire coating off with a large knife in his back yard and recycle the copper.

The scent of a Crayola crayon is as iconic as the vibrant masterpieces they create, hung with care using magnets and refrigerator doors.  Atlas President Emeritus, J R Capps, sent me an article about the colorful sticks, and I could immediately sense that unique smell.  It was like a time machine transported me back to a more carefree age when the biggest concern was staying within th