What could we do intead of what our politicians are recommending?

I haven’t really been following anything closely since I started my move. Dealing with a new place and new job doesn’t leave much time for blog reading. But this strikes a chord. Politicians want to be like our parents, and promise us that they’ll make everything better. Sometimes it just takes time to heal, (kind of mixing my analogies) and panicking just makes everything worse.

Marginal Revolution: What instead? 2

4) Don’t Panic. This is the policy that has cured most recessions. The do anything and do it now mindset feeds panic. I do think this recession will be longer than average and quite deep, it is a concern that it is worldwide. But recessions are normal and we have unemployment insurance and other assistance programs to help people through tough times. The economy will recover and its very possible to make things worse by trying to make things better.

Lack of RSS on Barney’s Blog = Lame

Having a character have a blog is a good idea. Dwight and Meredith’s are awesome. I’d love to read one from Barney from How I Met your Mother, but in this day and age, it’s ridiculous not to have an RSS feed. What are they thinking?

Democrats effectively encouraging aggressive Swat units?

So I was kind of joking with the title before you get angry at me. However, you should still read this link, lest you think either party doesn’t have massive room for improvement.

Friday Night Lights

I gave up my habit after the first season, but if Yeah Right asks nicely, how can I refuse. Setting your dvr remotely, FTW. Oh, and being able to watch the second season online is pretty cool too. Bleg: I need to buy an HDMI cable, and I’ve heard there are good deals online. Any recommendations?

Is there a “fact of the matter?”

Bryan Caplan says, “Almost no one admits that many, if not most, laws are so vague that there is no ‘fact of the matter’ about what they mean.” Specifically, TARP is entering territories that he thought were illegal, but everyone (almost) seems inclined to reinterpret as legal now. Perhaps laws in his field, economics, are more vague and less clear than say, criminal law. I hope AH dismisses his viewpoint out of hand, you know, since he’s not a law professor .

There’s low standards, and then there’s low standards

What does every pessimist say to every optimist? “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist.” I suppose Arnold Kling would say the same:

I tend to set the bar pretty low. I always said about my daughters that if they reached 18 without getting pregnant, addicted to drugs, or badly injured in an accident, I would feel pretty optimistic about their future. So far, so good.

Similarly, as far as government is concerned, I think that the fact that our leaders are not taking us into another first World War is something we ought to be happy about. World War I gets my vote for Worst Historical Event Ever, and it happened less than one hundred years ago. Today, we’re not sending most of our able-bodied men to go fight in trenches. Count your blessings.

Not so ware of roaming

It turns out that you believe your phone when it says roaming. If you are driving through west Texas and Arizona and your nationwide phone says Roaming, you probably are connecting to a cell tower in Mexico. To the tune of $100 for the bill.

San Francisco First Weekend Happenings

So you followed the roadtrip if you were reading my facebook or twitter updates. Here’s a breakdown of the rest.

Friday:

• Arrive at Dan’s place after a little bit of time lost in San Francisco
• Go to holiday party. Introduce myself and admit I know virtually no one. I’m like a lost puppy
• Win Snowboard

Saturday:

• Walk around a lot with Dan. Including to the top of Buena Vista. Pretty cool view
• House (warming) party with Dan and his friends

Sunday:

• Breakfast with Dan and his gf
• Afternoon of football and conversation with two coworkers in Mountain View at uWink
• Find a “great” parking spot two blocks from Dan’s
• Crepes with April, her bf, Dan, and his gf

Monday:

• Get out of the house with plenty of time to drive to Facebook
• Find car has been towed (I had absentmindedly parked directly in front of a driveway)
• Call friend who lives in SF and works at FB who doesn’t answer
• Try to call a cab company
• Get a call back from friend. Yes he can take me. I need to get to his place
• Wait approximately 30 minutes for a cab, with two SF people stealing ones before me. I don’t know cab etiquette
• Get to his place, get through traffic, get to my first day at work 20 minutes late
• Play poker after work with work people and clean up

Tuesday:

• Walk two miles to car depot. Find out my stupidity has cost me another $400

One of the funny things is. I still feel like I came out ahead between the snowboard and the towing. Maybe it’s because I found another Fratty story.

Good Houskeeping 1958 vs. 2008

Laura Vanderkam shows that a lot of things have changed, but not the ones you think. And that Good Wife’s Guide is a forgery.

One Person’s Coffee History

Cool personal coffee journey, told through coffee stains on napkins. HT JG.