Arrested Development question

A free pat on the back to whomever can remind the name of the character that wears the camera on his head so George Sr. can see what's going on while he's on house arrest.

Obama leaning farther left

Obama has been an intriguing choice for presidency for many, including me. However, in my case, he suffers from a lesson learned. I voted for W in 2000 without knowing much about his politics - I just liked his rhetoric. I'm not making that mistake again. As this article points out, and many like it that I've been reading lately, Obama isn't pushing for change I can believe in, he's just pushing for much higher taxes. No thanks.

I think I'd be willing to vote for a tax hike in the face of a compelling plan, but so far that piece of the puzzle is lacking. I don't really want a tax hike for the sake of pandering. I wish he'd buy votes with someone else's money.

Hot Tamale

The other day I took Molly to "help" me with the grocery shopping. My car has black seats and it is getting HOT in Texas. When we came out and opened the car, the air shimmered with heat. I exclaimed, "Wow, it is a hot tamale." Without missing a beat, Molly said, "Yeah, hot ta-daddy." I thought that was a great line. Probably not as cool in print...

200 Haves or Have Nots

I saw this on another blog. Thought it was cool. I didn't rate so well.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

Good news about high gas prices

It's becoming more and more tempting to "invest" in new assets that might otherwise be considered splurging on new toys.

Watch it now, watch it

When I was a boy scout I remember playing frisbee on a campout at sunset. As dark settled in, depth perception got worse and worse. Finally someone sent me a zinger that I stared at all the way until it bounced off the bridge of my nose. I see the same thing happening right now with my housing situation.

Gas costs $4/gallon and is unlikely to get cheap again. The immediate side effects have started kicking in - SUV sales are way off, mass transit is way up, etc. One side effect has yet to play out - the same impact on the McMansion. As a guy that lives in a house that's just a bit too voluminous on a lot that's just a bit too large, this is likely to hit me squarely. With high energy costs, people won't want to drive all the way to the suburbs to pay to heat/cool a big house. Good news for city living and responsible city planning. Bad news for suburban dwellers, especially those looking to sell.

I'm unlikely to flinch until this frisbee hits me in the nose.

(credit the naked economist for raining on my parade)

Reading recommendation update

I finished The Number Devil today. I hope the kids like it. I found it a quite interesting way to introduce some of the "cool" side of math (if you can believe there is such a thing). If you've ever wondered about the fibonacci sequence (opening part of the Da Vinci Code), this explains it and other cool things like it. Give it a shot.

Born of Goodly Parents

Father's Day is one of my favorite holidays. During 364 days/year, I pay 6x the food, diapers, soccer fees, movie admissions, etc. On this one day, I receive my annual dividend for all that investment. I sleep in, have breakfast in bed and a wonderful amateur backrub with six pairs of hands. Wonderful.

My own dad passed away nine years ago, so now I have to content myself with calling my grandpa and my father-in-law to wish them happy father's day. However, I still reflect each year on my dad, and how he contributed to the good in me (and some of the bad probably). I have some traits that I attribute entirely to genetics, from my mom and dad - integrity, honesty, hard work, frugality. I'm not a world record holder along any of these dimensions, but I find them part of my nature and believe that's because of those chromosomes they gave me. It's too bad the sarcasm gene was on the same chromosome.

I also reflect a bit on days like today on what sorts of traits I've passed along, and am reinforcing with what I teach and how I live. Six times a bad habit has a really geometric sound to it. On the other hand, six times a commitment to making the world place quickly adds up. I hope this is the math that is part of what I've given as a legacy.

Thanks Katie for sponsoring such a pleasant day.

Summer Reading

Perhaps it is because I am working so many hours at the moment, but I have dreams of an idyllic summer vacation sitting for a few weeks in a comfy chair, on the beach or in the woods, leisurely reading a stack of good books. However, since gas is too expensive to make it to the beach or the woods, and I have too much work to do to take the weeks off, I'll just recommend some reading for those of you near the beach or the woods.

For kids or adults, kids books are awesome summer reading. Amazon has a great page for summer reading for kids. I'm currently reading The Number Devil, and would like to read Evil Genius and the entire list of Newberry winners. Our kids have enjoyed series by Angie Sage, Eoin Colfer, Rick Riordan and Ridley Pearson.

There's also an good Amazon page for aspiring adult readers. These lists seem to be too heavy on estrogen for me though, so here are some ideas for you.

Books I wish I had time to re-read this summer:
Invisible Man
Les Miserables
Midwives
Catch 22
Fahrenheit 451
Slaughterhouse Five
A Brave New World

Selections from my wish list:
History - King Leopold's Ghost, Assassination Vacation
Religion - Misquoting Jesus, The Infinite Atonement
Business - Nudge
Cookbook - The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
Fiction - Sacred Games, The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Non fiction - How Soccer Explains the World, Spoiled Rotten America
Biography - Long Walk to Freedom, The Essential Ghandi

JK Rowling at Harvard

Someone should assemble the best commencement addresses each spring and publish them. Some incredible people spend a lot of time thinking up words of wisdom for other incredible people.

Here's my contribution for this year - JK Rowling's address to Harvard. If you don't have time to read it, just consider her concluding quote:

As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

Black Helicopters

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

A friend of mine from college has spent the last few years chasing UFOs (aka corrupt hedge funds) with Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com), and it appears they've found a few. If you're interested in real world conspiracy theories, you can read the whole story at http://www.deepcapture.com - don't start it until you have a ton of time though, it's like 80 pages printed out.

For a 45 minute presentation on naked short selling, check out http://www.businessjive.com.

Or if you just want to read about spooky stuff going on at Wikipedia, you can check out his www.antisocialmedia.net.

I wouldn't normally pay much attention to this sort of stuff, but I trust Judd a great deal and suspect they're onto some interesting things that have pretty huge implications.

Breaking up is hard to do

A friend of mine has a son on an LDS mission in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She forwards me his emails pretty much every week so I can keep track of what's going on. He's a very funny kid. I thought this was worth sharing.

this week, i went through my ´first breakup.` this guy named claudio, who we have been teaching for the past month and a half, seriously sat us down and broke up with us. he explained that he likes us and that he still wants to be friends and everything and that we are welcome at his house anytime, but he doesn´t want to hear our messages anymore. he even, no joke, pulled the ´it isn´t you, it´s me.` thing. i wanted to throw a chair and laugh at the same time. this is not a joke either, he kissed me on the neck going out the door. wait...if we broke up...doesn´t that mean...i thought...he can´t, still...you know...have, uh, feelings for us does it? oh well. he´ll call me.

The Best Solution for High Prices is High Prices

From the New York Times:

Tax adjustments

If you were king for a day, which tax would you lower:
* Personal income
* Gas
* Corporate

Few Americans would choose the latter, but Greg Mankiw makes a strong argument for it.