I knew it!

I'm still awaiting the return of my regular computer (that's why I haven't been blogging much). In the meantime, ...

I've long suspected that we economists are just slightly higher life forms than others, now there's an anthropological theory to support my thinking.

This guy, Alan Fiske, has developed a theory that all human relationships are built from 4 types of interactions: communal sharing, equality matching, authority ranking and market pricing. Since "market pricing" was the last to develop, Fiske theorizes it's the one people have the most trouble understanding. My favorite part:

In other words, to have an intuitive grasp of economics, you might just need to take a step or two up the evolutionary ladder.

Big, black clouds

I know blogging has been light of late; I have excuses. Let's see what's been going on since I last posted.

First, there was the bathroom renovation. Builder Bob does beautiful work, but he doesn't like to rush ANYTHING. Hence, every day he'd show up and tell me what all he had planned for that day, but when I'd get home it'd look like nothing had been done. I'm no expert, but he always had plausible excuses for the lack of progress. He was waiting for the subflooring to dry completely before doing putting anything on top. He was waiting for the mud to dry completely before trying to sand and paint. He was waiting for ... Eventually, though, things began to take shape and I could recognize a bathroom. Last Friday, after taking Thanksgiving off, I thought we'd reached the end. It turned out, though, Builder Bob wasn't happy with one little detail and he wanted to come back Saturday and finish that off. Honestly, I could see the little "problem" he was talking about, but I'd never have complained if he'd left it as it was. Still, I appreciated the attention to detail.

Saturday arrived and, by the end of the day, they'd finished -- almost. They'd put up two extra pieces of trim and Bob thought they needed one more coat of paint, yet the initial coat wasn't dry. I had to go to TN, but I left the back door open for Bob so he could come back once it'd dried and put on the final touches. When I got home Saturday night, I thought everything was finished.

Sunday morning I got up and eagerly went to take my first shower in my "gold plated" bathroom. The shower itself was fine, but after getting out of the shower I heard a noise from the laundry room. Upon investigation, I found the floor of the laundry room covered in water! At first I suspected my hot water heater, though that seemed a big coincidence, but I soon figured out it was indeed connected to the recent renovations. It was Sunday morning, but I called Builder Bob and he was very apologetic. He even got the old man plumber he uses to come over to the house with him and they quickly identified and fixed the problem. Of course they did have to cut a hole in the sheetrock from the laundry room to access the problem so now Bob has to come back one more time to patch that -- he's waiting AGAIN for things to dry. Regardless, I (sort of) now have my new bathroom. I hate to say it, but it is nice.

Anyway, I went through all that -- and the various family functions over the holiday -- so I was almost relieved to come back to work yesterday. When I got here, though, I discovered that my computer would not turn on. The light would come on, but that was it. I longed to hear the familiar whir as the computer boots up, but it just wasn't happening. At wit's end, I called the IT department and they assured me they'd take care of it. When I came back from class, my computer was gone and there was no note or anything from IT. I called this morning and I was assured they were on top of it, but I'm still nervous about it. I'd never done it before, and I don't know why I did then, but last week -- the day before Thanksgiving -- I decided it'd be a good idea to back up my current semester files on my jump drive just in case something happened. So even if my computer is destroyed, I've at least got my current grades and such. If not for that, I'd really be in a panic. As it is, though, if I don't get my data back, I'm going to have a heck of a lot of work to do in preparing for final exams and such. Still, it's better than losing my grades. Besides, I have no reason to doubt IT will be able to fix my machine. They say it's most likely just the power supply (my thoughts) or the mother board. In either case, I shouldn't lose anything. I'm waiting on a call from them now.

So anyway, that's what I've been up to. Oh, there was a decent review of Haruki Murakami's latest book in the Daily Sunday. I have it on good authority the review was rushed, but it's not too bad.

Hopefully all my dark clouds are out of the way for a while. Now if I can just make it through the semester!

What the ...?

In case you're interested in the latest from the Huntsville school bus tragedy, here's today's story from the HSV Times. There's not much new news (4th student died yesterday, still some "critical" cases -- including the driver). What caught my eye, though, was the end of the story:

In another development, members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., announced plans Tuesday to demonstrate at the funerals of the wreck victims.

The group often holds protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. The church runs the Web site GodHatesFags.com and is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery. The church blames homosexuality for most of the world's major problems.

What possible reason could these idiots have to protest at the bus wreck victims' funerals?!?! I find them despicable enough when they do what they do, but at least I can see the "logic" (twisted though I may find it) in their usual protest targets. This, though, I don't get.

The natives are restless

From the always quotable Paul Finebaum, there's this column:

The time has come for the University of Alabama to finally man up and act like one of the greatest football powers, one with a storied tradition, instead of Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

Bama being compared to State and Vandy -- OUCH!

Holiday notes

Blogging has been light of late and it likely will be for the remainder of the week. I'll be headed to various feasts and will not be sharing the incipient horrors until next week. In the meantime, ...

I'm smack in the middle of 3 days of "professional development" (yes, those scare quotes are necessary). I think y'all know my feelings on this general concept, but some of the sessions yesterday were good. I picked up a couple of Word/Excel tips and I figured out how to solve a nagging PowerPoint issue that's been bugging me for quite some time. In addition, I attended a lecture on word origins and such. I found out some interesting stuff about the word "decide" that will make an appearance in my day one "What is economics?" lecture. We already read The Road Not Taken, but now I've got something new.

Bathroom progress is SLOW. The new subfloor is down, sheetrock is up, and everything has been painted. If the stars align, the new shower unit goes in today and I'm hoping the new floor covering goes down. If that happens, the only things remaining will be the reinstallation of the sink and toilet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Oh, I think I made a good move by going ahead and giving Builder Bob 6 bottles of my nut brown ale. He was most impressed and has indicated that he wants to start making beer. I'm hoping that'll make him want to keep me happy.

In a bit of tragic news, I'm sure y'all all saw the news of this horrific school bus crash in Huntsville. The area reaction has been surreal. Thailand Jeff's nephew attends Lee High School, but I have it on good authority he was not involved. Sad tale.

Well that's it for today. One more meeting to get through today, but that one involves food, so it can't be too bad. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey.

Sad day in econ

Milton Friedman has died. While I never "worshipped" Friedman the way some do, I do think he was one of the most important economists of the 20th century. As a colleague said, "Friedman is one of the few guys about whom you can say, 'There are parts of the world that would be significantly different had he not been around.'" If nothing else I think we owe him a debt of gratitude for at least checking the ascendancy of Keynesian fiscal policies.

Man, his Wikipedia entry was updated quickly.

Insure me

For those of you not familiar with Tim Harford, he's an economics writer for the Financial Times. He also hosts a show on BBC2 and he pops up on the e-zine Slate occasionally. I discovered him through a wonderful book he wrote -- The Undercover Economist. It's one of those "pop econ" books (a la Freakonomics) that attempts to explain everyday economic puzzles. There are lots of similar books out there, but Harford's is the best I've read. Anyway, I found this (sort of) recent rant of his and I thought I'd pass along some of his insights.

The fundamental lesson is that most (small $) insurance policies are a ripoff. This is one of my soapbox issues -- not as big an issue as the lottery, but a bigger deal than the idiocy of the Electoral College. Yeah, I know we all feel better "just in case," but it's almost always a bad deal. I'll let Tim explain:

Most of us worry too much about little risks like losing a cheap mobile phone.
[...]
What is more, most of the people who buy the phone insurance could afford to replace a £50 phone without having to starve.

We are buying protection from a risk that we can afford to take, and we are buying it at an incredibly high price.

Though I can't find a source, I've heard an obscene share of Best Buy (and similar retailers) profits come from those extended warranties. Similarly, I saw a report (can't find it either) a couple of years ago showing the USPS charges something like 10 times the "fair price" for postal insurance.

Let me be clear, I'm not talking about insuring your home against fire -- an unlikely event, but one with a huge negative financial impact on most of us.

It can make sense to pay for insurance, even overpriced insurance, to protect yourself from a big risk: your house burning down, or you becoming ill and unable to work for years.

For that kind of risk, there is no way your savings account will ever be big enough.

But that is what insurance is designed for: risks that you cannot afford to take, not risks that you can.

If you can bring yourself to keep cool about little risks, you should insure only the big risks, such as your house burning down.

(What counts as a big risk, of course, depends on how rich you are.)

As for the mobile phone in the lavatory, you will simply have to tell yourself that in the big scheme of things, it is not that important.

That is the closest that economics will ever come to Taoism.

I had to include that part, just so I could get "economics and Taoism" into the same sentence. Regardless, stop automatically buying product protection "just in case" something happens. As Mr. Harford points out, insurance is for big risks that you can't reasonablyaffordt to bear on your own.

Anyway, that's my PSA for the day. So far no calls about the bathroom today. Oh, it turned out I did NOT have to go pick out fixtures last night. Builder Bob had a prior commitment so now we're back to the "just pick something out" plan.

I'm scared

I’ve often suspected this, but now I have proof. I’m one of the stupidest men on the planet! What is this proof of which I speak? I’m having a bathroom redone. [Note: I'm pretty sure I'm not THE stupidest man on the planet; I'm not trying to do it myself.]

Yes, you read that right. I am voluntarily agreeing to have a guy come into my house, tear out perfectly serviceable fixtures and such, and then replace it all with pricey new stuff. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned all the hidden disasters that will arise in the course of this undertaking. Actually, I’ve already encountered one of those.

Builder Bob arrived at 7:30 this morning and he was measuring and mumbling as I left for work. That was several hours ago and, so far, he’s only had to call me once. Mind you I trembled when I saw his number pop up on my telephone. I figure there can’t be a good reason he’d be calling me. Sure enough, it wasn’t. Actually, he did start with a good thing – I have great plumbing (copper, in good shape) – but soon he got to the bad. There’s been a pretty severe leak around the toilet in that bathroom. He’d already planned on replacing the wafer board, but he just doesn’t feel right about putting new wafer board on top of that old plywood. Hence, I’m now getting a new subfloor. He claimed that would add almost nothing to the total cost – basically, just the cost of a sheet of plywood. We’ll see.

Actually, that wasn’t the worst part of today’s news. See, Builder Bob had asked me questions about what I wanted done and I’d told him I’d just like to replace the built in tub/shower unit with a corner shower and get new hardware for the shower and the sink. He asked if I wanted to get all that or just let him “shop around” for me. I told him to go right ahead. I HATE shopping. Builder Bob seemed amenable to that, so imagine my surprise this morning when he said he’d like for me to go to Home Depot/Lowe’s tonight to pick out what I wanted. ARGH! That’s exactly what I was hoping to avoid. In Bob’s words, though, he “wants me to be happy.” I guess I can see the wisdom of that, but I do not want to go pick out new bathroom fixtures and stuff. I really ,really, really hope he’s not going to try to get me to pick out the shower unit too!

Regardless, wish me luck. I know it’ll be much funnier for y’all if it turns into the expected disaster, but I’m (foolishly, perhaps) hoping for the best.

Wouldn't it be nice

I often think of things I'd do differently if I went back to college now -- with my accumulated stock of wisdom, hindsight, etc. Mind you, I have no intention of going back to earn another degree, I just like to think about the fun/interesting fields of study I'd like to explore. In The New Republic, Martin Edlund describes doing just that. No, he didn't do anything so pedestrian as signing up for classes as a non-degree seeking student or entering an "adult learners" program. No, he simply started showing up and sitting in on classes he thought would be interesting.

College, like youth, is wasted on the young. This is not merely idle philosophizing on my part, but a conclusion arrived at from hard-won experience. Last year, nearly a decade after graduating from college, I spent two illicit semesters back in school--sneaking into classes, playing intercollegiate sports, and getting drunk in the dorms.

How did he pull this off?

I ventured out onto campus a day early to scope out classrooms, striking from my list any that looked too small for me to hide in the crowd. That night, perched on a barstool at the local watering hole, I tried on false identities--literature grad student, American Studies fellow, returning G.I.--that I might use to parry questions from suspicious teaching assistants or flirtatious coeds. To my relief and disappointment, my classmates couldn't have cared less about me.

So, how did he approach his second opportunity to be a college student? To his surprise, he embraced the academic aspects.

I took to being a fake student with a zeal I never knew as a real, tuition-paying one. I bought the books and course packets. I devoured the assigned readings. I dreaded midterm and finals weeks--not because I had to take the tests, but because I couldn't.

This reminds me a lot of Thailand Jeff's approach to UAH classes in the summer. Though Jeff insists on playing by the rules, I often make fun of him [sorry, TJ, but you know it's true] because he's likely the only student in the class who cares a whit about the readings and assignments. Gee, maybe that's not so unusual.

Anyway, the rest of the piece is devoted to Mr. Edlund's druken escapades with the water polo team -- which he joined, no questions asked. To me, though, the part about his approach to the classes was much more interesting. I've always heard, "With age comes wisdom," and boy do I hope it's true. This piece gives me some hope.

By the way, I'd do a hard science if I could go back and do it all over again.

Water water everywhere

Now that I’ve gotten over the shakeup at the coffee shop, I’ll tell you about water testing.

As I mentioned earlier, I spent last Friday and Saturday at an Alabama Water Watch workshop, learning how to test water. I’m not a fan of workshop/group activity kind of things. In fact, I’d rather shove bamboo splinters under my fingernails than sit though most such gatherings. This one, though, was kind of cool.

Friday we learned how to do chemical tests to check several things in water: pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen content, turbidity, etc. We went through each test and then we headed down to Big Spring in Huntsville to practice performing the tests. I wasn’t sure about it, but with the instruction book, even I was able to perform each test.

Saturday was much the same, but we focused on bacteriological testing. There are lots of bacteria that can show up in water, but they’ve found that E. coli correlates very well with all the other nasties; hence, AL Water Watch only tests for E. coli. Of course there’s still the problem that formal tests for E. coli are expensive, time consuming, and require sophisticated equipment. Some guy in Maryland, though, came up with a simple, yet ingenious, solution that is easy and only costs about a dollar a test. You do have to “incubate” your sample for 30 hours, but that’s not hard. Once you’ve done that, you just count the blue dots (the E. coli colonies).

When I left Huntsville Saturday I was all hyped up to start water testing. Now, though, I’m not so sure. I still think I’d like to do it, but two things are holding me back – the cost of the testing kit and the time commitment. The initial kit costs $250, but if you test 9 times a year AWW will replenish your kit for free. I’m not crazy about spending $250 on a box of chemicals, a thermometer, and some Plexiglas vials, but the kit cost is not the biggest obstacle for me. No, to me the time commitment is part I’m not sure about. It all sounds fun right now, but they’d like you to test once a month and I’m just not sure I’d get around to the local creek that often. Actually, I do have a stream picked out that I’d like to track, but I’m just sure I’d keep at it. I still remember my childhood fiasco with guitar lessons.

Still, I’d like to start doing this and I think I will. I just have to take the plunge, order my kit, and start doing it. In an attempt to find other reasons to do it, I sent an email to one of our biology guys, asking if he’d be interested in me doing a “demonstration” for some of his classes each semester. I figured that’d give me even more of an incentive. Sure enough, he emailed back and said it sounded great.

So, I haven’t decided for sure, but I’m thinking I’ll start water testing. Maybe in January; that’s when everyone makes new resolutions, right? Of course most people’s resolutions don’t involve environmental testing, but I’m kind of different.

Crash into me

That's my coffee shop! And I was sitting just inside said coffee shop when that lovely Volvo knocked a gaping hole in the wall this morning. Seriously, I was kicked back, reading the morning paper, just about 6 feet from the front bumper of the car. I heard an engine rev, a thump as the car jumped the curb, and then a tremendous BOOM as it slammed into the wall. The wall was pushed in far enough to scoot my chair across the floor and push me a couple of steps toward the other side of the shop. I'm not injured, but it was pretty damned scary!

Fortunately, the rest of my coffee shop circle was not there this morning or someone (less tough than me) might have been injured. I didn't think that much about it as it happened, but I'll admit to a slight case of the jelly knees when I turned around and saw a big green car bumper just feet from where I had been sitting. Whew!

Oh, as for the driver -- she was okay too. According to her story, the accelerator hung and she had to swerve into the parking lot to avoid slamming into a bunch of cars on 6th Avenue. I'm sure it was scarier for her, but that didn't make me feel any better at the time. Regardless, all is calm now. My back is a little stiff, but I think that's probably just from tension.

Gee, and I thought the big excitement I'd be blogging about today would be the elections. Oh well.

Something in the water

Sorry I've been neglecting my posting duties. I'm sure you've all been agonizing, right? Anyway, I've been giving (and now have to grade) a scad of tests this (and next) week, so I've been a tad busy. Plus, I spent most of today and will spend a big chunk of tomorrow at a workshop/training session sponsored by
Alabama Water Watch. I'm learning how to test water quality. Cool, huh? I'll let you know more once I'm certified.

Yet another reason ...

I'm thankful I don't have a cell phone.

As I mentioned earlier, last week I went to one of those “wellness” screenings and they pointed out a couple of things I should work on improving. Well it turns out both areas could be helped by more exercise. I truly do enjoy getting out and hiking/camping/biking/etc. but I’ve always felt exercising just for the sake of exercising is right up there with watching paint dry. Not something I’m real eager to do.

Given my spotty wellness report, though, I’ve decided that I might ought to consider a more regular exercise program. Since my front yard fronts on a wonderful park with a mile-long walking trail, I decided I’d start doing a couple of “fast” walk/run laps 3 mornings a week. Last week was uneventful, but I knew my weirdo magnet would rise to the surface soon. I don’t know that this qualifies as a true weirdo magnet story, but I did have an encounter yesterday morning.

Over the past year or so I’ve often sat out on my porch reading the paper, drinking coffee, doing what not, and I’ve had a chance to watch the folks walking around the park. A few times I’ve noticed this older man who, though he walks alone, keeps up a running monologue as he walks. I’ve never been able to tell just what he’s saying, but he says it in a loud voice and his rhythm makes me think he’s preaching (or maybe praying) as he walks.

Anyway, yesterday morning, as I was heading home, I saw him pacing back and forth between me and the house. I knew he was going to speak to me and sure enough he did. I did not, though, anticipate what he’d ask me. He didn’t want to convert me or witness to me or anything like that. No, he wanted to know if I could help him figure out how to make a call on his new cell phone! I felt really bad for the man because he couldn’t have picked a worse person to ask in all of Decatur. I know he probably thought I was lying to him when I told him I didn’t know anything about how those things work, but it was the truth. Poor guy.

It sucked for him, but I was thankful that my cell phone aversion might have prevented a weirdo encounter. I could easily picture a scenario in which I'd have been sucked into whatever phone call he mad and I'd have ended up having to go to the bus station in Huntsville to pick up his brother or something like that. Whew!