Orion

Make the distinction between having a drink and getting drunk. Someone gets drunk to escape the necessity of thought. Alcohol, like most any drug, inhibits the proper relationship between thoughts and feelings. Abusing it or any drug is a form of reality escapism. Are there situations where it's moral to have a drink, or a few? Yes, certainly, but these would be random and accidental (such as having drinks with dinner, not concerned with counting each and every ounce, or dealing with momentary but severe emotional pain). But to the OP, if this pattern of behavior is consistent with your girl, and getting drunk is something of an activity in and of itself for her, then you're dealing with a certain level of drug abuse. Remember that inanimate objects are neither moral or immoral. Only individuals, with the possibility of choice, can be classified as either.

George Washington

You're using the Law of Identity in an attempt to refute it. This is bad comedy.

Since when is World of Warcraft an educational tool?

Capitalism is nothing more than a social system which recognizes individual rights. What does it have to do with machines or this question? Are there no socialist countries which use machines? Let's assume you mean that a machine, owned by an individual, is capable of doing the job of another human being. Let's assume that our machine in this case is cheaper, more reliable, and better at the given task. The owner sides with the machine and decides not to employ the individual. What seems to be the problem?

The single most important precondition for any revolution is the acceptance of certain ideas within a culture. Depending on the ideas being accepted, you'll witness different types of revolutions.

A couple thoughts...first, the most obvious point, consider the source. The Fountainhead is a romantic novel, a work of fiction; it is not a journalistic piece. The characters Ayn Rand creates are larger-than-life, on purpose, and not meant to be a mirror image of what you see in the world around you today. Romantic art projects life as it could be and ought to be, keep in mind. It exists to show you what is possible, not what is actual. However, there's still much to learn about how to live, according to such novels. Observe the choice of profession that Rand chose for Roark. He's not a drycleaner who pushes buttons. He's not a cab driver whose entire job consists of moving strangers from one place to another. He's an individualist, in a profession which -back then- celebrated the work and achievements of an individual mind. It's hard to realize now, with the sameness in architecture thanks to government zoning codes, but there was once a time when individuals made a living designing structures according to their own visions. You asked what relationship you could have with your "boss and the one in control of your salary"? Answer: a professional one. In the example you gave, another person controls your salary. Keywords: boss and salary. Roark worked for himself, he was an entrepreneur, but when his designs weren't selling he took other jobs. He cared what bosses told him to do when he was working in a quarry or doing mindless architectural corrections on someone else's designs. Hold the full context, at all times. I think you misunderstand the essence of Roark. His defining characteristic is not that "he doesn't care what other people think" - it's that, to him, people are not the important consideration. His work is the vital thing in his life. His work, in correspondence to reality. For example, when Ellsworth Toohey confronts Roark and demands that Roark tell him what he thinks of him, after learning that Ellsworth was stopping him all along. Toohey presses, "go on, Mr. Roark, tell me what you think of me!"...to which Roark replies, "but I don't think of you".