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theatlantic: greekdude submitted: The fact that I’m Greek makes it weird but here’s what this BBC...

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:55:44 +0300

greekdude submitted:

The fact that I’m Greek makes it weird but here’s what this BBC article from 3 months ago says:

Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the average Greek worker toils away for 2,017 hours per year which is more than any other European country.

Out of the 34 members of the OECD, that is just two places behind the board leaders, South Korea.

Great find, greekdude. Here’s Derek Thompson’s response:

The answer is that what we consider “hardworking” (a proxy for productivity) isn’t the same as “working for a long period of time.” (E.G.: Monitoring a modern irrigation system is productive. Carrying a few gallons of water on your head for two miles from the nearest stream takes a long time.) In fact, the OECD’s richest, most productive, most hardworking countries have some of the shortest working hours. The bottom five, according to the OECD, are Denmark, France, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. All are richer per capita than Greece. All are technically “lazier” if you go by hours worked.

The missing key is productivity. Germans — armed with large and scaled-up firms, low corruption, state-of-the-art technologies, financing opportunities, and smart global supply chain management — get a lot more product out of each hour worked. So does the U.S. With the wealth that our productivity buys, Americans and Germans can afford things like leisure, or savings, or (in the case of the U.S.) lots and lots of stuff. Matt Yglesias put it simply, broadly, and truly: “Countries aren’t rich because their people work hard. When people are poor, that’s when they work hard.”

I knew that the response would be about productivity. Yes, Greeks work the most hours in the EU but the economy is unproductive. Why? Bureaucracy, high taxes, corruption, very limited innovation, huge public sector and I can keep going on… However, when it comes to a personal level, Greeks are right to feel they are the most hard-working (numbers say so). Then, it’s up to the government and the EU/IMF/ECB to take steps towards growth, and to the public sector to take risks, once survival is not at stake.

Björk - Jóga (Live on Later with Jools Holland)

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:47:37 +0300

Björk - Jóga (Live on Later with Jools Holland)

lovewikipedia: Centralia, Pennsylvania Centralia is...

Sun, 27 May 2012 18:17:53 +0300

lovewikipedia:

Centralia, Pennsylvania

Centralia is a borough and ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12 in 2005, 9 in 2007, and 10 in 2010, as a result of a mine fire burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia is one of the least-populated municipalities in Pennsylvania.

Very few homes remain standing in Centralia; most of the abandoned buildings have been demolished by the Columbia County Redevelopment Authority or nature. At a casual glance, the area now appears to be a field with many paved streets running through it. Some areas are being filled with new-growth forest. The remaining church in the borough, St. Mary’s, holds weekly services on Sunday and has not yet been directly affected by the fire. The town’s four cemeteries—including one on the hilltop that has smoke rising around and out of it—are maintained in good condition. There is also a notice board posted near Hammie Hill, about 500 yards from the cemetery, protesting the evictions and demanding former Governor Rendell intervene.

More…

onlylolgifs: A polar bear smells a seal under the ice....

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:08:08 +0300

onlylolgifs:

A polar bear smells a seal under the ice. Unfortunately for the bear, the ice is too thick. (Planet Earth Live - BBC)

ouch

Loreen - Euphoria (live) Not just a pretty face so I’m...

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:35:42 +0300

Loreen - Euphoria (live)

Not just a pretty face so I’m glad she won!

airinie: OMG this is soooooo much better than the Ivi...

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:16:00 +0300

airinie:

OMG this is soooooo much better than the Ivi original.

La La Love by Ivi Adamou - Acoustic cover

12 points for ~~Cyprus~~ the Philippines!

thedailywhat: Adorable Animal Being Adorable of the Day: It’s...

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:24:21 +0300

thedailywhat:

Adorable Animal Being Adorable of the Day: It’s the laziest polar bear you’ll see all day.

[oneoworldoneocean]

jtotheizzoe: A 7 year-old asks Neil deGrasse Tyson what would...

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:58:00 +0300

jtotheizzoe:

A 7 year-old asks Neil deGrasse Tyson what would happen if two black holes collide.

It’s wonderful. You da man, Clayton.

Oh, and the answer will make your head spin in the all the best ways.

(by KaluzaPryme)

vvolare: by Jpdodd

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:02:23 +0300

vvolare:

by Jpdodd

guardian: guardianartanddesign: This is The Tate Gallery By...

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:02:01 +0300

guardian:

guardianartanddesign:

This is The Tate Gallery By Tube (1987), by David Booth of the design agency Fine White Line. Take a trip through the best examples of London cartography with a selection of pictures from Mind the Map exhibition at London Transport Museum

Love these London maps!

lion-bear: Greece.

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:40:22 +0300

lion-bear:

Greece.

(via Cyberpunk dress code, circa 1990 - Boing Boing) I want to...

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:51:00 +0300

(via Cyberpunk dress code, circa 1990 - Boing Boing)

I want to be a Cyberpunk.

Good night.

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:04:54 +0300

Good night.

I quit.

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:51:09 +0300

I quit.

meganjsh19: 9gag: Or they don’t think in a language at...

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:24:42 +0300

meganjsh19:

9gag:

Or they don’t think in a language at all?

They think in visuals and feels and shapes and colors and I remember thinking in emotions and vague sounds because I could hear vague sounds

Reblogging for the answer.

Better to watch it @ youtube Patient research work involving...

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:46:00 +0300

Better to watch it @ youtube

Patient research work involving more than 5 thousand photographs resulted in a 1 minute film that AlmapBBDO created to advertise Getty Images, the world leading image database for creating and distributing visual contents. The film is surprising when showing 873 images in 15 images per second, sufficient speed to transform the series into a video that, without any text, tells a beautiful story. All photos, without any exceptions, are from the Getty Images archives.

indierawk: Metric - Speed the Collapse. New Metric via...

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:10:49 +0300

indierawk:

Metric - Speed the Collapse.

New Metric via Pitchfork. So glad that Emily Haines’ voice exists.

(via Studio Ghibli 4x6 postcard set of nine by 845studio on...

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:10:25 +0300

(via Studio Ghibli 4x6 postcard set of nine by 845studio on Etsy)

braiker: An utterly charming gallery of Victorians...

Wed, 23 May 2012 22:43:09 +0300

braiker:

An utterly charming gallery of Victorians smiling

Best Victorian era photos. Click the link.

zeroing: Mikko Lagerstedt

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:11:06 +0300

zeroing:

Mikko Lagerstedt