If I respected you and admired your achievements, look out. It's not a good week for my idols.

Yesterday, Milton Friedman died at age 94. He more than just an economist with who showed the world that markets could empower people. A free and democratic Chile is his legacy. The half billion citizens of China and India who are no longer impoverished are his legacy.

He also played a very important role in ending the draft in the 1970s. In one of my favorite Friedman anecdotes, General Westmoreland was adamant about not wanting to command an all-volunteer army, which he referred to as a "mercenary army". Friedman put the General in his place.

Friedman - "General, would you rather command an army of slaves?"

Westmoreland - "I don't like to hear our patriotic draftees referred to as slaves."

Friedman - "I don't like to hear our patriotic volunteers referred to as mercenaries. If they are mercenaries, then I, sir, am a mercenary professor, and you, sir, are a mercenary general; we are served by mercenary physicians, we use a mercenary lawyer, and we get our meat from a mercenary butcher."

And today, Bo Schembechler died today. Truly a college football icon.

Yasmin the Light

While tracking down a user yesterday, a girl asked me if I was thenick from $streetigrewupon. When I looked up at her, I saw SH, who I hadn't seen since we waved goodbye from the window of a Ryder truck over seventeen years ago. Back in the day, SH, her brother, and hung out every day. All of those memories rushed back like a flash flood down a mountain creek. Riding in the third seat of their family's Pontiac 6000. Playing Colecovision in their basement for hours on end. The nights we tried to stay up until dawn.  Neighborhood-wide hide and seek in the summers. Good times.

Has it really been that long?

We talked for a few minutes and I gave her my number so that we could go out for a bite to eat and catch up. And for the rest of the day, all of the crap around me had the volume turned way down.

Have You Passed Through This Night?

Last night, my upstairs neighbors were yelling and screaming all evening. At one point, I hear one of the women yell "You'll fuck anything that comes through the door!"

But while I was getting dressed to head upstairs, I hear "You're lucky you're not 18 yet, because you'd be out of here!"

Damn.

On even less sexy news, the mom hit her daughter so hard that she was bleeding. A few minutes after I learned the statutority of the girl, I hear the mom yell, "You see what you make me do?" and "You have to hold this tight to stop the bleeding."

Shit, I'm the person Luka was singing to.

With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept

Today, the volume was back on 11. The big rollout has been a nightmare. Twelve hour days blow. Especially when they only change in schedule on the horizon is the week I work seventeen hours.

I'm going to go home and sleep for an entire weekend. Good night.