Marginal Utility

by Ken Houghton

As Armadillocon nears, and I head for the cold, a final reminder of where life really is. Everything I know about food I learned at the County Line, which apparently served me well:

Labels: Eat Our Brains, just life, Meta

by Ken Houghton

Via Roy, I discover that the San Francisco of Victor David Hanson's, er, mind consists of:

smartly dressed yuppies, wealthy gays... What is missing are school children, middle class couples with strollers, and any sense the city has a vibrant foundation of working-class, successful families of all races and backgrounds...

My wife's relatives work in San Francisco and live in Albany, but they're doctors and lawyers. (Though—sorry, Julie, Howard, and Mike—not many would confuse most of them with being "smartly dressed" in the VDH sense of the phrase.)

So I guess Mad at EoB doesn't exist, since VDH's SF "reminds [him] of H.G.l Wels Eloi and Morlocks," and I've never seen her wear as much eye shadow as Yvette Mimieux in this film (though it's possible that Sarcasm Girl can stay).

Labels: Eat Our Brains, raving lunacy, sf

by Ken Houghton

They are heavily discussed at EoB. (Most recently here.) Now, Zombies have made it into The Economists' [sic] Voice:

The problem with this assumption is that there is a significant amount of spam that is currently being sent via "zombie" computers...Should the owners of these zombie bots then be made liable for their contribution to the worldwide spam problem?

Sounds like a good idea. But YOU may be (running) a Zombie:

Perhaps, the responsibility of maintaining a sound firewall lies on the owner of the machine. But, even if we do make the owner legally liable, what good would it do? The subtleties of security technology lie beyond the average user of the Internet.[emphasis mine]

I think I prefer Steve's version.

Lim, Jamus Jerome (2008) "Letter: Zombies May Mean Attention Bonds Will Not Cure Spam," The Economists' Voice: Vol. 5 : Iss. 2, Article 5. Available at: http://www.bepress.com/ev/vol5/iss2/art5

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Economics, technology

by Ken Houghton

This is by no means a comprehensive list.

1. You Not Sneaky! dropped two great posts here and here on Malthus, Economics, and Malthusian Economics, complete with a spreadsheet model available for the download (all right, this is really two weeks ago but (1) I need something that keeps this relevant to economics and [2] I really did only find them today)
   
   
2. Gary Farber is moving from Denver, CO, to Raleigh, NC. Maybe he just can't deal with Democrats. Oh, wait, there's another, much better, reason:
   

   Why Raleigh? Enter: Amygdala Woman. (Sometimes known as "Malibu Stacy.")

   
   Go hit the tip jar, those of you with revenues.*
   
   
3. There have been multiple earthquakes in Reno, but fortunately, Susan Palwick and her husband Gary are fine so far. Our best wishes to them and others, some of whom were likely not so lucky.
   
   
4. Larry Niven, who is independently wealthy to the extent of having a relative of his named in a passage blind-reffing the Teapot Dome scandal in a Heinlein novel** and was responsible for Shira's last Major Fandom Event Participation,*** has gone completely bonkers (sad h/t to Dr. Black).
   
   
5. Erin uses cold cream. My imagination runs wild, but not on a family blog.
   
   
6. Janelle of Bond Girl Fame hasn't posted an update on the injuries on the set of the latest film, but one can understand that she has other things on her mind.
   
   
7. I was expecting Rory at Eat Our Brains to respond to this post of Patrick's, but he has (instead?) decided to become a Zen Master or something, and, finally,
   
   
8. Shira can rejoin SFWA (though I still need to find out who the Canadian Regional Director is).

There's probably more.

*By the way, does this mean Obama loses a delegate? Chris Wallace should ask The Annoited One-to-Be on his regularly-scheduled Fox News appearance.
**"Since Secretary of State Fall was convicted or receiving a bribe Doheny was acquitted of paying."
***Louis Wu's Birthday Party at the 1989 WorldCon in Boston

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Erin O'Brien, just life, MakingLight, sf

by Ken Houghton

Congratulations to Steve (and Laura, without whom...) on the #1 Movie in America. And the Japanese poster is Way Cool.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, movies

by Ken Houghton

With a rather appropriate title, former DU poster and more-politically-active-than-I (not that that takes much) Caroline Spector endorses the reality, not the illusion of Obama:

I was an Edwards supporter, and I actually think Hillary is better qualified, but against McCain, she’s going to have problems....

[paragraph discussing the Iraq War, noting that Obama, not having been in the U.S. Senate in 2002, can run as a "purer" candidate]

[O]ur economy is in the ******* in no small part because of the war. (The housing bust — so reminiscent of the S&L debacle of Saint Ronnie’s tenure — is a huge part as well, but that’s another post.) If Obama can tie the two together in peoples’ minds, he will have a real shot at winning....

And after watching the last year’s worth of coverage of Clinton’s campaign, I am struck by how much this country still just plain hates and fears women.

I feel like a traitor to my gender, but I’m likely going to vote for Obama in the Texas primary. I’d rather not give men a reason not to vote for a Democrat (Hey, notice the correct usage of the word!) this election. And I’m delighted that there are so many who are inspired by Obama and who see him as a force for change. But this is the eighth presidential election I’ve voted in. And in those mumbledy-mumble years, I’ve seen a lot. Most of it not pretty.

Sure, I’d love to be inspired. I’d like to Mulder this election. But we can’t afford that. We need to win. If we thought the last eight years were bad — just imagine four more years of war, our currency in free fall, and the rest of the world thinking we’ve lost our collective minds.

So forgive me for being pragmatic. I can’t afford to hope right now. If we win, I swear I’ll let a glimmer of it back into my heart.

We have come to the point of being able to say that our most-qualified remaining candidate is not our best candidate to win the election.

When did Democrats become Republicans? And, more importantly, can it last?

Labels: 2008, Eat Our Brains, ObamaNation, Politics

by Ken Houghton

A Google search for "Warren Spector"—looking for the former Bear Stearns leader who was ousted by Jimmy Doobie-Doo—produced a full first page--of Caroline's (of EOB fame) husband.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, The Old Firm

by Ken Houghton

Caroline Spector Explains Punk All to You. (The material about Paul Ross Evans is spot on as well.)

Labels: Eat Our Brains, pop music

by Ken Houghton

is the trailer for Jumper.

Let's hope Steve's film agent did as well for him as Evan Handler did for David Duchovny in Californication.

And that, say, Greenwar will follow.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, movies, sf

by Ken Houghton

The Avon girls* were passing out St. Derek of Pasta Diving (tm - Scott L) new cologne, Driven,** so I had to visit LG&M Thursday.

Well worth the trip.*** It's nice to see that that messy "Iraq" thing has been solved and we can go back to important work:

[Senator Mitch McConnell]’s “deeply disappointed” the new Democratic-controlled Congress has not tackled the “tough issues,” like Social Security…

Besides their “preoccupation” with the Iraq war, Democrats spend their time dreaming of “taxation, regulation and litigation. It’s in their DNA.”

It's a good thing, as I noted Wednesday, that Jane GaltMegan McArdle assures us that we can ignore anything a politician says; otherwise, I might start thinking that the Republicans are trying to distract us from the war and pay for their exorbitant spending with the Greenspan Committee's payroll tax increase that both (1) was scheduled to pay the Boomer retirements and (2) even now was rather accurate in its demographic projections, and moderately pessimistic about productivity and revenue gains.

Headline Reference should be clear to EOB readers. See here for album picture.


*Phrase used advisedly. While at my age anyone Suzanne's age or younger can fairly be considered a "young woman," these two appeared barely old enough to carry a Trapper-Keeper.

**The cologne was named, one guesses, because it is the answer (along with "He was...") to "How did Derek Jeter get to a ball hit four steps to his right?"

***I have to assume that this

Given rural Kentuckans' well known hatred for Federal entitlement programs, dismantling Social Security is a sure winner for Mitch, but it's still kind of surprising to see a Republican in a border state try to shift the focus from the war to domestic issues...

is a joke (possibly unintentional), since without those Federal entitlement payments, the state of Kentucky would be at least $500MM a year poorer [PDF]. If we assume they are rational, then cutting SocSec and Medicare payments should be the last thing on a Kentuckian's mind.

Labels: baseball, Eat Our Brains, Iraq, LGandM, policy wonk, Politics, social security

by Ken Houghton

Brad Denton at Eat Our Brains, an excellent, social, cultural, and inadvertently-political novelist and brilliant short-story writer but so-so Do-It-Yourselfer analyses the Labor-Leisure Tradoff and the Substitution Effect in attempting to Maximize Utility:

Dear MHG: I don’t know. I’m supposed to be writing a novel. Won’t it be a better use of my time to work on the book and hire someone else to do the water-softener job?

Dear DIM: That depends. What kind of advance are you expecting?

Dear MHG: Okay, I’m ready to start on the water-softener project.

Read The Whole Thing.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Economics, marginal utility, Optimal Resources

by Ken Houghton

1. Caroline Spector tries Starbuck's coffee:
   

   I met a friend at Starbucks the other day. I haven’t been in Starbucks since I quit drinking coffee. Not unlike the alcoholic who should stay away from bars, I found just being in a place so redolent of brewing Sweet Nectar of the Gods was more of a temptation than I could stand for the first year or so.
   
   My friend arrives and gets an iced coffee. Being the shameless mooch I am, I ask if I can have a sip of her enticing cold beverage. (Mmmmm, caffeine.) She graciously obliged.
   
   I take a sip. And then I have that moment we’ve all had, (girls more so than guys I suspect) the, “Do I spit or swallow?” dilemma. Because what I have in my mouth is not Sweet Nectar of the Gods, but rather Satan’s Piss.
   
   You know: The Devil’s Urine. Beelzebub’s tee tee. Lucifer’s pee. Mephistopheles’s piddle. This stuff is so foul I’m pretty sure they must have an EPA permit to sell it.
   
   And I realize why Starbucks sells all those Vente, Grande, Mocha Swirl with a Half-gainer concoctions. Because if anyone actually tasted the coffee in them, they would be convinced, as I am now, that Starbucks is actually in league with The Dark Lord (no, not Voldemort) to corrupt the taste buds of an entire generation.

   
   and then she discusses Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a manner that (though I disagree with her conclusion) at least makes it clear she has a basis in reality.
   
   
2. Trying to find reality, Gavin Kennedy reviews Milton Friedman's "contribution" to Adam Smith's Legacy, finds he's the primary reason it is "lost":
   

   In the meantime, I am savvy enough to know from long experience of this misattribution to Smith of a metamorphosis of a metaphor into a ‘concept’, which he never meant it to be read that way, as my regular reader will know, that I could assume what follows, but scholastic training, and the many occasions when in discourse I have seen people caught for doing just that before falling on their faces, I shall refrain from the temptation, and await some kindly person to send me the paragraph..
   
   That Milton Friedman, of Chicago University fame, was behind the metamorphosis does not surprise me. ‘Chicago’ Adam Smith was created in Milton’s department and replaced the authentic ‘Kirkcaldy’ Adam Smith who wrote the Wealth Of Nations.
   
   One of the many atrocities committed by Chicago and its graduates who spread the word across US campuses, was the myth of the ‘invisible hand’, which some variants transmuted into ‘as if led by an invisible hand’, and most of examples of the myth in currency assert it was, first a ‘concept’, then a ‘theory’ and finally Smith’s most ‘important idea’.
   
   Should my reader wish to have an electronic copy of my recent paper, “Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand: from metaphor to myth”, he or she should let me know by arranging the following words into an address: ‘gavin’, ‘negweb’ and ‘com’ in the usual manner.

   
   UPDATE: Kennedy gets the full quote, and goes full out.
   
   
3. And—only somewhat related to either of the above but as a result of visiting a world more unreal than that of thestrals and Xenophilus Lovegood—Felix Salmon discovers that Punditry is for Professionals Only. Do not try this at home, especially if you are Sane:
   

   Just some of the Cramer gems there:
   

   "I'm looking for 100% default on the 2-and-28s. One hundred per cent. The bears are looking for 50%. I'm saying that they're foolish and that they're way too optimistic."
   
   "I'm not distinguishing any more between subprime and prime. That's a meaningless distinction. When your house drops 20% in value, then it doesn't matter whether you're subprime or prime. It's better to walk away, even if you're wealthy, because you don't want to lose your credit card, and you don't want to lose your car. Your house is the one thing that's fungible. It's smart to walk away... If your home declines 20% in value, it's really important to walk away from it."
   
   "I'm calling for a dramatic decline in home values... If the Federal Reserve were to cut rates by one full point, things would just reverse dramatically, and everything would go up in value... Until then, we're going to be in what I believe now is a total crisis."

   
   Is it worth responding to this as though it's rational? Is this what passes for informed commentary on TV these days? I can see how it gets ratings, in a train-wreck kind of way – hell, I'm blogging it. But the idea that wealthy people will stop paying their mortgages because their houses are "fungible" (unless we get a 100bp cut in the Fed funds rate, of course) – it's like some kind of incredibly unfunny parody. Nouriel Roubini et al might be shrill, but at least there's coherent logic to their position.

   
   Is it worth responding to Consummate Irrationality? Probably only at the margins, and there are days when the marginal return doesn't seem to be enough.
   
   
4. Bryan Caplan says something sensible on this anniversary of Friedman's death. (Of course, he discovered it at Comic-Con):
   

   My Comic-Con epiphany: Economics doesn't really have superstars. Even if Adam Smith himself showed up at the American Economic Association meetings, he wouldn't have thousands of economists fall on their knees in awe. But that's basically what happened at Comic-Con when Neil Gaiman held some public Q&A.

   
   Just wait until after Stardust comes out at the end of next week.
   
   
5. And, finally, from earlier this year, I honor The "Uncle Miltie" of Economics by referring you to Max's "discuss[ion of] Milton Friedman's leading contributions to economic thought" and its attendant links. So that his legacy may not be forgotten.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Economics, mortgage, sf, subprime

by Ken Houghton

Steve Gould reminds us that Wil Wheaton is smarter than Wesley Crusher.

In other news, Harriet Miers violates the law. (Pick your own link)

Labels: Eat Our Brains, sf, terrorism

by Ken Houghton

His name was Earl.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, just life

by Ken Houghton

Via Rory at Eat Our Brains (see also the correction and comment from Steve), with a reminder tip to LG&M.

Labels: blogging, Eat Our Brains, Meta

by Ken Houghton

A marvelous novelist in her own right, spouse of (and coauthor with) Steve Gould—a novelist in his own right as well as the tech-brain behind of Eat Our Brains—and a lapsed Investment Banking professional, Laura Mixon was the first person who taught me (while shopping in NYC) that one of the easiest ways to help the environment is to carry your own bag for the small-shopping moments that are endemic to big cities.

The dynamic is somewhat different in non-metropolitan areas, where buying is done on a less frequent basis. But the damage is exaggerated every time one opts for "plastic" instead of paper.

Now, one city is battling back:

It was watching sea creatures choke on plastic bags in the Pacific Ocean that finally persuaded Rebecca Hosking that enough was enough.

The British filmmaker had already recoiled in disgust at deserted Hawaiian beaches piled up with four feet of rubbish, the jetsam of Western consumerism washed up by an ocean teeming with plastic. Now, filming off the coast, she looked on aghast as sea turtles eagerly mistook bobbing translucent shapes in the water for jellyfish.

"Sea turtles can't read Wal-mart or Tesco signs on plastic bags," fumes Ms. Hosking, who returned to Britain in March. "They will home in on it and feed on it. Dolphins mistake them for seaweed and quite often they'll eat them and it causes huge damage."

Within a few weeks of coming back, Hosking persuaded her hometown to ban plastic bags outright and found herself in the vanguard of a sudden British revulsion for that most disposable convenience of the throwaway society.

Think globally, act locally. Or maybe follow Tom's suggestion and "kill all the subsidies":

And there is a climate-change dimension as well: Plastic bags are manufactured using oil. Cutting usage in Britain by a quarter would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 63 tons a year – equivalent to taking 18,000 cars off the road, the government says.

Some countries have taken decisive action against the plastic bag. Bangladesh and Taiwan have banned them. Ireland took a much-lauded step of imposing a tax (€0.15 per bag) in 2002, leading to usage reduction of up to 95 percent. Next month, California will become the first US state to force supermarkets to provide recycling bins.

The tax is just a realisation of the cost of externalities, which, as Prince Charles noted, is actually just a matter of presenting people with the information about the full cost of their decision and letting them decide.

Those who support Greg Mankiw's "Pigouvian tax" argument have only two possible answers to "Paper or plastic"? One is "paper." The other is "I brought my own."

An entire British city and several other economies understand this. UPDATE: And so, apparently, does the mayor of San Francisco, at least as a start.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, environmentalism, externalities, Pigouvian tax

by Ken Houghton

Via Steve Gould and Eat Our Brains comes Strange Maps (clearly, a website to add to the Reader, especially if you already "read" Jessica Hagy's indexed), and this great map:



There are more details at their site. And maybe more later here.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, GDP, Income Inequality

by Ken Houghton

Compare this from Maureen at EOB with this from E. O'B.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Erin O'Brien

by Ken Houghton

While I can't argue with the appeal of Sharpton/Tancredo as a choice, and my preferred mainstream candidate (of those currently declared) is no secret—especially in light of recent events—I've been waiting for an Exciting Candidate Who Wasn't a Year Behind Me in College.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Erin 2008. Not certain about that second point, but the rest of the platform is solid, especially this:

Everyone can still bear all the arms they want, but bullets will cost $10,000 each and will only be available for sale between the hours of 4 and 4:30 a.m. on the third Wednesday of every month at a remote outpost deep in the heart of Death Valley.

The problem is that she needs a Vice President. And it should be someone with whom she gets along well, and who can appeal to those who might not be thrilled about the Screaming Yellow Zonkers and promise of nude pictures.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rory Harper.*

So the only question is who should be president, and what their slogan should be. Subject to approval of the candidates (and given that Rory hasn't announced yet):




*Whose post provoked this response from his fellow EoBer, Steve Gould.

Labels: 2008, Eat Our Brains, Erin O'Brien, Politics, Unity08

by Ken Houghton

Leave it to the boy from Kansas to summarize the ex-Hoosier better than this ex-Hoosier ever will.

Go Read Brad Denton on Kurt Vonnegut at Eat Our Brains.

Labels: Eat Our Brains, Kurt Vonnegut, memorials