I am not so old, as to be weary of life; nor (I hope) so bad, as to be either afraid to die, or ashamed to live: true, I am so afflicted, as might make Me sometime even desire to die; if I did not consider, That it is the greatest glory of a Christians life to die daily, in conquering by a lively faith, and patient hopes of a better life, those partiall and quotidian deaths, which kill us (as it were) by piece-meales, and make us overlive our owne fates; while We are deprived of health, honour, liberty, power, credit, safety, or estate; and those other comforts of dearest relations, which are as the life of our lives.

Though, as a KING, I think My self to live in nothing temporall so much, as in the love and goodwill of My People; for which, as I have suffered many deaths, so I hope I am not in that point as yet wholly dead: notwithstanding, My Enemies have used all the poyson of falsity and violence of hostility to destroy, first the love and Loyalty, which is in My Subjects; and then all that content of life in Me, which from these I chiefly enjoyed.

Indeed, they have left Me but little of life, and only the husk and shell (as it were) which their further malice and cruelty can take from Me; having bereaved Me of all those worldly comforts, for which life it self seems desirable to men.

The exhibit was pretty interesting, although I found myself thinking more about “culture” and “history” as a business rather than enjoying the priceless antiquities. The exhibit was incredibly crowded. The tickets were around $15 a piece mainly for the privilege of admiring baubles looted from the crypts of long-since departed Egyptians. Most of the non-statuary exhibits were comprised of jewelry and amulets worn by the dead, although there were also many small containers used to store eye makeup and various balms. Things any normal, respectable Egyptian would need for their one-way trip to the afterlife. The commonplace nature of most of the stuff was striking. Human beings have not changed at all in 3500 years. For example, there was whip handle (kinda like this) given to some overseer with an inscription of praise for a job well done. It reminded me of the plastic plaudits most large corporations award in lieu of bonuses: “This whip handle awarded to Amon, the Harvest Manager of Senemut, for bringing in the barley harvest under budget and ahead of schedule.” Something about this is depressing, although I think the Egyptians had a really boring culture judging from the stuff they left behind. Much like the Babylonians, most of their residue is rather uninspiring, with the exception of the pyramids, sculpture, and palaces. Did the Egyptians have a Plato or a Socrates? Maybe they did and that’s the kind of stuff that was destroyed when those idiots razed the Library of Alexandria.

One of the other things I really enjoyed was a game set in a small wooden box meant to be buried with its owner, obviously a lover of games. It reminded me of how we buried my grandmother with a deck of playing cards when she died, because playing games like Shanghai Rummy and Hand and Foot was one of the things she loved doing most with her friends and family.

If you have a chance, spend some a little while gawking at these old dead and their junk. It will make you glad that you’re still alive in your little place and time.

In Clicking, futurist Faith Popcorn identifies 16 trends–big, sweeping consumer movements that are driving the marketplace. When you study these driving forces, says Popcorn, you’re sure to get plenty of ideas for business opportunities. Here, in no particular order, are her top trends:

1. Cocooning: People stay at home, building safe harbors that afford protection against the uncertain–even dangerous–outside world. The “country living” style of home furnishings is a case in point of products designed to tap directly into the cocooning trend.
2. Clanning: We’re staying at home but still want to connect with other, like-minded souls. How? Internet chat rooms are one way we “clan” but still cocoon.
3. Fantasy adventure: The operative concept is “risk free,” as we seek breaks from ruts through (safe) travel, new foods and possibly virtual reality.
4. Pleasure revenge: “This is `Screw it, I’m wearing my mink coat,’ ” says Popcorn–and more broadly, pleasure revenge means consumers are tired of the rules that restrain us and are enjoying forbidden pleasures. “Smoking is another pleasure revenge,” says Popcorn.
5. Small indulgences: Even if we can’t afford a Porsche, maybe we can afford a Porsche watch. Stressed-out consumers are rewarding themselves with countless little, affordable treats–from good cigars to Godiva chocolates.
6. Anchoring: Anchoring is the search for spiritual roots and meanings.
7. Egonomics: Rebelling against uniformity and sterility, we seek to stamp an “I” wherever we go as a quest for individuality becomes a major trend.
8. FemaleThink: A big shift away from traditional, goal-oriented models to “the more caring and sharing, familial ones,” says Popcorn.
9. Mancipation: Popcorn calls it “a NewThink for men,” and it means men will break out of strictly business ruts into more individual freedoms.
10. 99 Lives: Today’s consumers are busy, busy, busy. Life in the late ’90s is just plain hectic, and smart businesses find ways to make their customers’ lives easier.
11. Cashing out: Employees are jumping out of conventional careers and into more fulfilling, simpler ways of life, often in the countryside.
12. Being alive: “Wellness” as a concept continues to mushroom, and healthy living is a dominant philosophy.
13. Down-aging: Nostalgia for a childhood past: “When we eat Oreos, this is down-aging,” says Popcorn.
14. Vigilante consumers: The business that messes with its customers can expect to pay a price, as consumers organize boycotts and go on the attack.
15. Icon toppling: If it’s big, established and traditional, it’s in trouble as we join in overturning all the pillars of society.
16. SOS: “Save Our Society.” A growing sense of living on an endangered planet is spawning a new environmental consciousness, new ethics and a new compassion.

• Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people’s actions, and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself.
• Anger cannot be dishonest.
• Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good; and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.
• Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.
• We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.