Month: May 2020

The Invisible Hook

“All pirates are thugs, and the world would be better off without them. But not all pirates are equal. Unlike their Somali successors, early 18th century pirates, men like Blackbeard, “Black Bart” Roberts, and “Calico” Jack Rackam, weren’t only thieves. They were also early experimenters with some of the modern world’s most cherished values, such as liberty, democracy, and equality.

At a time when the legitimate world’s favored system of government was unconstrained monarchy, early 18th-century pirates were practicing constitutional democracy. Before setting sail each would-be pirate crew drew up and agreed to a set of written rules that governed them. These rules regulated gambling, smoking, drinking, the adjudication of conflicts, and in some cases even prohibited harassing members of the fairer sex.

18th-century pirate constitutions established democratic governance for their roguish commonwealths. Crewmembers elected their captains by popular vote and democratically removed captains who dared to misuse their power. Because of this surprising system, far from tyrannical, the average 18th-century pirate captain was a dutiful, elected executor of his constituents’ will.”

Revealing the democratic and economic forces propelling history’s most colorful criminals, The Invisible Hook establishes pirates’ trailblazing relevance to the contemporary world.

– “MIT Sloan Management Review”


Peter Leeson is an economics professor
at George Mason University and author of
The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Hook

https://www.npr.org/2009/04/10/102961315/
in-defense-of-pirates-the-old-time-ones

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5999777-the-invisible-hook


Bell & Ross BR03-92-HUD – Limited Ed 999 PCs

Bell & Ross BR03-92-HUD: Here we have a fine example of B&R retro HUD designs. Though recent HUDs for Military Aircraft are embedded into helmet Visors, these dials are reminiscent of the HUDs from the not so distant past like Maverick’s own F-14 classic. Now retired from service since 2005. Precision assembly and perfection finish is expected since this is a Swiss Made piece. The top case screws have been carefully calibrated so they turn into the case at 45 deg. We can suspect this is another double seal design from B&R, so it will continue to function to spec in most harsh conditions. Personally, while I find this interesting take on the HUD concept, it is a bit of a fantasy to think that a pilot may wear a watch such as this. However this takes nothing from the design and the quality of the watch. Bell & Ross make exceptional watches since 1991 / Bell & Ross bellross.com

3 Years ago (but you wouldn’t know it) B&R BR03-92 aka The B&R Horolum. Sporting a timeless Bauhaus inspired, if a little bland and more brutal design then usual: “For the past few years the word doing the rounds of publications such as Monocle and Cereal has been ‘brutalism’ – an architectural movement that’s all about concrete and hard, unforgiving angles. It’s a style that perfectly suits the Horolum, which makes the watch spot-on for 2017. It’s a hard yes from us. In fact, we’d go so far as to say the only thing soft about this watch is the calfskin strap.”