Shackin' up

I have arrived at the Shackup Inn (I'm in the Fullilove Shack) and I must say it defies description. I'll try a little later, but it's like nothing I've ever seen. The guest "book" is full of people from the UK, Belgium, Norway, etc. I have to wonder just how they ended up here. As for amenities, ... There is a TV, but it only gets the Sirius blues channel. Oh, there's also a guitar, but I didn't stick with my lessons. Sigh. Amazingly, though, there is wireless internet. How 'bout that? I'm thinking of heading down to Ground Zero (Morgan Freeman's blues club) tonight, but I haven't decided for sure.

As for the drive over -- even that was fun. Of course I stopped in Oxford and had a delicious cheeseburger. I'd forgotten how much better Oxford is when school is out. I stopped in Square Books and Off Square Books. I bought a book and played with the resident cat in OSB, but the most amazing thing happened when I went to check out. The clerk rang me up and took my cash and then he looked at my shirt and asked, "Is that caffeine on your shirt?" I didn't even realize what shirt I was wearing, so I assumed I'd just had a "spillage". Nope, the guy just knew his chemistry. Unfortunately I didn't run into Joey Lauren Adams this time; I'm sure she wouldn't have been able to resist my charm a second time.

UPDATE: I just back from the Ground Zero Blues Club. I don't know how much time y'all have ever spent in the Delta, but let me tell you -- GZBC has to be the whitest spot in all the Delta. And the blues band playing tonight was just mediocre. Still, it's what one does, other than visiting Robert Johnson's crossroads, when one is in Clarksdale, MS with nothing else to do.

Delta blues

Since I have a week of freedom, I decided to hit the road. I often think about doing this, but I never come up with a good idea of where to go. Well this time, thanks to a book I just finished (review to come later), I have a destination -- the Mississippi Delta. I'm starting in Clarksdale and then working my way down toward Vicksburg. Of course this will also allow me to visit Ang and her family. Tonight, though, I will be staying here.

I'm sure I'll have good stories upon my return.

Christmas rambling

It seems to be the time of year to do stuff like this and since I'm bored out of my nut with nothing to fill my idle days, I'll take a shot at a rambling list of Christmas memories and such. There's no particular order to these things and I guarantee there was zero forethought that went into this: just a pure top-of-my-head listing.

Worst Christmas ever: I guess I was about 5 (it was before we moved out of the holler). Santa had brought me a fancy racecar track. It was one of those with the orange rubber/plastic strips that you hooked together. Of course this was the low-tech days of the 70s, so there was no external power source. No, there was a lever you pulled that catapulted your car around the track for about 1 lap. When the car came through the "launch zone" again, you were supposed to pull the lever again and send it back around the track. Did I mention I was 5? Want to guess how well I managed to master this hand-eye coordination task? Regardless, back to why this was the worst Christmas ever, ... Christmas Eve I was stricken by the "severe intestinal distress from hell." Yep, I made it out of bed long enough to open my race track and then promptly went back to bed for the rest of the day. Let me tell you, the Christmas presents just aren't as exciting when you don't get around to playing with them until days later. They've somehow lost their luster.

Best Christmas present ever: Okay to avoid offending readers who have given me absolutely fabulous, life-changing presents, I will limit this to Santa presents. (Whew, that was close!) Okay, I guess it was my first shotgun -- probably around 11-12 years old, is that right? Now before any of you modern, enlightened sorts get offended, this was a different time and place. It was a usual custom when/where I grew up. It was a beautiful steel blue/gray Savage 20 gauge shotgun with a dark walnut-like stock. I've always, irrationally, treasured that present, even though I haven't fired it in, probably, 10 years or more. Still, I remember how excited I was at the time.

Worst Christmas present ever: First, if ANY of you EVER tell Caffeine Mom about this, I will hunt you down and "smite you sorely." I'm not kidding! Seriously! I mean it! Okay, here goes -- a full-size, commemorative, collector's edition, limited release, etc. G.I. Joe doll. Why does this qualify as worst present ever? Did I mention I was about 25 years old when I got this? Oh, Caffeine Brother got the same present. In reality, I don't blame Santa for this. She was busy working and whatnot. Plus, I wasn't living at home anymore and I had given her absolutely no suggestions, directions, etc. And I will admit that I really liked G.I. Joe when I was a kid. Still, did I mention I was 25 years old? Indirectly, it did serve one good purpose. Now when Mom asks what we want for Christmas, Caffeine Bro and I try to come up with some suggestions. Here's this year's suggestion.

Favorite Christmas food: Turkey and dressing and Mawmaw's strawberry cake. It was so good, I always took it as proof of a higher power and a divine plan for the universe.

Worst Christmas food: I guess it's more of a Thanksgiving food, but it's got to be cranberry sauce. In all honesty, though, I'm really only talking about the canned, jelly-like version. I have eaten "real" cranberry dishes that I thought were yummy, but I just can't get over my aversion to the stuff of my childhood.

Best Christmas movie: I know it's cliched, but it's got to be A Christmas Story. It's not just the sarcastic humor. It also captures the longing for that absolutely greatest present and the futility of trying to plan the perfect gathering. Okay, the sarcastic humor gets me too.

Worst Christmas movie: There are too many to choose from here. In fact, I don't really think my selection is a bad movie, just overrated. So, most overrated Christmas movie: It's A Wonderful Life. Please don't send hate mail, but I've just never understood Jimmy Stewart's appeal. I've said it before, but I'm willing to admit I might be wrong about this one. Still, it's how I feel. On the other hand, this is a wonderful "feel good" movie. But it's not THAT wonderful!

Favorite Christmas song: I have always been really, really fond of the Eagles' version of "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Ooh, and Bob Seeger's "Little Drummer Boy". I also like a lot of the "unconventional" versions by rock, blues, etc. artists. By December 22, though, I'm usually really tired of them all. At that point I usually switch over to Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas From the Family", but that's just a little too cynical to be my favorite. So, the song I always try to listen to on Christmas day really isn't even a Christmas song: The Pretenders', "2000 miles".

Most despised Christmas song: This one is easy: "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer". There is no defense of or excuse for this one.

Okay, that's about it. I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS wherever you are.

Math humor

I used to fight my inner nerd, but now I've come to embrace him. Because of that I can laugh at things like this:

Yeah I know it's weak, but it made me laugh. At least Randa (if she's still reading) should get a kick out of it -- she's got a bit of inner nerd too, and I mean that in the best possible way.

I'll probably be scarce the next few days (I'm hoping to spend a couple of nights in the woods), so a great big Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, greeting of your choice to you all!

Present time!

So far this year, my favorite present is this thoughtful gift from a co-worker.

Think she knows me well? [Clink link above for the punchline.]

Pretty smart, huh?

Scott Adams, of Dilbert fame, has a blog post on acting smart. Essentially it's a primer on how to make people think you are smarter than you are. The whole thing is amusing, but here are my two favorite tips.

First:

[Y]ou must learn to stop talking so much. Talking is the surest way to inadvertently showcase profound ignorance.

The smartest man I've ever known (well at least in high school) lived by that philosophy. I'm still struggling to apply the lesson.

Finally, Mr. Adams suggests:

It’s important to agree with people if you want them to think you are a genius. For most people, the definition of smart is “Thinks exactly like me but even more so.” If you think that disagreeing and offering excellent reasons for your thinking will change anyone’s mind, you might be new on this planet.

Okay that one was tongue-in-cheek, but it made me chuckle and that's about all I can ask during final exam week.

Peace.

Torn up

Stories like this make my blood boil. Basically it's a tale about the "price support" system for milk in the United States and how the system makes sure customers pay too much for milk. What makes this story different is that one enterprising guy, Hein Hettinga, found a way to get around the system and he ended up selling his milk 20 cents cheaper (per gallon) than those in the system. So customers got cheaper milk, who could be offended by that? Dairy farmers, of course, and their political allies. It's a long story, but it's well worth the read. It really exposes the despicable underside of political lobbying and the value of connections. Here are a couple of my favorite parts, with commentary.

First, the dairy lobby got its legislative pal (John Kyl, R-AZ) to sponsor a bill that would have forced Hettinga to join their club and play by their rules. Hettinga, though, fought back with his own legislative pal (Lewis, R-CA) and things appeared to be at an impasse. Then Kyl recruited Harry Reid (D-NV) to join his side. How did Kyl convince Reid to join an effort that would punish consumers and make sure they paid more for their milk? By promising Reid that Nevada would be exempt from the "consumer-gouging rules" he was trying to force on Hettinga!!!

Reid and Kyl saw they could make a deal. Kyl agreed to back removing all of Nevada from federal milk regulation, and Reid agreed to support legislation cracking down on Hettinga and protecting Arizona dairies from competition from low-priced Nevada milk. In 2003, the senators co-sponsored an amendment with both provisions. In effect, Nevada bottlers would get some of the same rights that were being taken away from Hettinga.

Of course the combined efforts of Kyl and Reid were successful. Oh, another player was Devin Nunes (R-CA) whose family just happens to have started, and still own, a California dairy that participates in "the system". Here's his take:

In an interview later, Nunes called the milk legislation a victory for "every dairy farmer in America except those who were gaming the system." He added, "People out there were making millions of dollars a year off the backs of America's dairy farmers . . . that was a wrong that was finally righted."

Gaming they system? I guess so, if gaming the system means finding a way to produce and deliver a quality product at a lower price than your competitors. Making millions of dollars a year off the backs of America's dairy farmers? Of course Nunes fails to note the dairy industry is making millions of dollars a year off the backs of American consumers who pay more than they have to for milk.

An alternative interpretation was offered up by Joel Benoliel, Costco Wholesale Corp.'s [a former customer of Hettinga] senior vice president. In an email to Kyl, Benoliel pointed out how the dairy industry had been gouging Southern CA consumers by 20 cents a gallon (compared to Northern CA) for years and they (producers) had been totally unresponsive to calls for lower (equal) prices:

It was a brazen case of price gouging and profiteering by the strongest, largest market suppliers simply because they could.

Couldn't have said it better myself. And to think, these are the folks the politicians are protecting from "unfair" competition! It really burns me up.

Oh, final exams this week so blogging will be light (nigh nonexistent, most likely).

Suggestions welcome

It's that time of year. Yes, I've been Christmas shopping. Fortunately, I've found things for most people on my list. One snag, though, is Caffeine Dad. For those of you who don't know him, CD is a handy/outdoorsy sort. He has a pretty large assortment of tools and gadgets and he doesn't tend to use new ones even if they are given to him. In fact, that pretty much applies to any gift. He's honestly one of those "don't need or want anything" folks.

So I'm asking y'all, what should I get the Caffeine Dad? I'm considering this wrench, but I seriously doubt he'd use it. So, any suggestions?

Say what?

I tend to think most things in life can be explained by a judicious application of economic principles (follow the incentives). Sometimes, though, I see something like a $20 gift certificate selling for $22 on eBay and I'm rendered speechless. [Oh, there's also a $2.99 shipping cost.]

The good news: Despite my recent remodel adventure, I am NOT the stupidest person (or even the 2nd stupidest -- 2 people bid over $20) in the world!

Hat tip to the guys over at Marginal Revolution.

Liberaltarians

If you've spent any time among the libertarian bloggers the past few days, you've seen scads of references to Brink Lindsey's "Liberaltarians" essay in The New Republic. I've read lots about it, but since the essay was "pay-per-view", I had not read it until today. Here is an ungated version directly from Cato.

If you don't know about it, let me summarize. Lots of folks (including MANY voters) recently have expressed unhappiness with the current version of the Republican party. Many, in fact, have switched sides or opted out of the whole political process because they seem to feel the party has, in some sense, betrayed its principles or something like that. Lindsey, on the other hand, says it's not that Republicans have betrayed conservative principles, it's that conservative principles have changed. He suggests that libertarians now might be more at home in the Democratic party.

I've long subscribed to the basic thesis of a deep conflict in the perceived libertarian "fusion" with the Republicans. Generally it's viewed as a tradeoff between common ground (fiscal issues and "size of government") and polar opposition (legislating morality). Now though, Lindsey argues, Republicans (and the conservative movement) have forsaken even the common ground of small government fiscal restraint (see the explosion of earmarks and continuation of extravagant farm subsidies since 2000, for example). According to Lindsey, it might be time to sign on with the Democrats.

As I said, I agree with the basic premise, but while I do find myself voting for more and more Democrats these days, I'm not optimistic we libertarians will find a home there either. See, I feel the "anti-globalization", "Wal-Mart bashing" wing of the Democrats will remain firmly in charge of the national party. [I have no great love of Wal-Mart, Target, etc.; it's the principle involved.] As long as the Dem party views John Edwards as "enlightened" for telling a story about his son chastising a classmate for wearing Wal-Mart shoes, I don't think that party will be reaching out to me. No, the Dems seem to be swinging way too far toward protectionism and populism for me. Wake up Dems -- without economic growth and free markets, many "progressive" achievements of the 20th century would not have happened (or at least would have been much less successful).

So where do I (and other libertarians) go? To me the answer is -- nowhere. The Repubs have chased me off and I don't think the Dems really want me. Lindsey seems to think the Dems might make a concerted effort to recruit libertarians, but I don't see that happening. I guess true to the spirit of libertarianism, it's good that we can't embrace either party. If you have any interest in this subject, though, read the whole thing. I think it's a serious examination of a relevant question and, for the most part, it's well done. In the end, though, it doesn't leave me optimistic. My favorite part expresses the gulf between the parties:

Here, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, the rival ideologies of left and right are both pining for the '50s. The only difference is that liberals want to work there, while conservatives want to go home there.

Of course people smarter than me (including Dan Drezner and the always insightful Sebastian Mallaby) have weighed in as well.

Naughty and nice

Since it is (sort of) the Christmas season, I give you "naughty" and "nice" -- or rather, "nice" and "naughty":

Emmylou (aka "nice")

Gumbo (aka "naughty")

Thanks to Amy for the pix of my kitties. In Gumbo's defense, Amy has a history of terrorizing that cat, so it might not be all Gumbo's fault.