Podcast on Euvoluntary Exchange

The 20th time (here's the whole list) Russ Roberts has been kind enough to let me jabber. I really enjoyed this one, a very interesting discussion about my idea of "Euvoluntary Exchange." (The paper has finally come out... Here is the gated version. Happy to share if you email me.)

I hope you like it!

Where's the FDA when you really need them?

LeBron James is a metrosexual!

And here's the proof:

I guess he thinks he's Sonny Crockett now??

Buy me a ticket for an air-o-plane

or, LeBron's decision gets instant validation.

or, Alex Chilton in reverse.

"lonely days are gone, I'm a heading out, my owner, he wrote me a letter"

The full text of Danny Gilbert's Lebron letter is here. Seldom has such vituperation been written in such an inappropriate for the occasion font!

People, LeBron has every right to go wherever he wants. He was drafted by Cleveland and they had his services for 7 years, during which time, the management totally failed to build a cohesive or reasonable team around him.

LeBron to Miami is a lot of things but it IN NO WAY is a "cowardly betrayal". Gilbert is now pushing into Don Sterling and Dan Snider territory as the worst franchise owner in sports.

Local Newspapers...

As I noted two days ago, it is fun to read the local newspaper at the beach.

Today, in the want-ads:

LOST: Boxer, 10 mo. old female, answers to "No-No." Needs medication. Call (number)

Now, yes, that's sad. But if you have to call your dog by screaming "NO! NO!" it is likely that (a) the dog will need medication, and (b) it will run away.

Two spots down, in the want-ads:

LOST: Fluffy female cat, black and gray striped, has 1 eye. Answers to "Roxy." Call (number)

Um... It's a CAT. It doesn't answer to anything. Cats only answer to reverse psychology: when you want them to go away, they come bug you. Perhaps if you go out and yell "NO! NO!" then old Roxy will come to you.

When did Diego Maradona join Van Halen?

Is he the new new lead singer or something?

I can only assume that he is now in the group after looking at his demands for hotel services at the upcoming football World Cup in South Africa.

My favorite items are:

(A) 2 "e-bidet" toilets for his personal use, with heated seats, a blow dryer, and double fountains.

(B) 24 hour ice cream.

Nothing about M&Ms though.

Argentina have the best player in the world (Messi), but I don't think they will get out of the first round with this gentleman leading them.

The Elastrator

Didn't Ray Bradbury write a book called "The Elastrated Man"? Maybe not.

Anyway, the Bishop sends this little tidbit.

Here's the bigger version, for bulls.

Fear the elastrator. For the elastrator will set you free.

Careful with that ash, Kazem

Here's one of the best entries ever in the "minister's explain nature" category:

"A senior Iranian cleric has claimed that dolled-up women incite extramarital sex, causing more earthquakes in Iran, a country that straddles several fault lines, newspapers reported on Saturday.

"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran.

"Calamities are the result of people's deeds," he was quoted as saying by reformist Aftab-e Yazd newspaper. "We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers.""

My thoughts:

1. Man, I have GOT to go visit Iceland!

2. This is a pretty warped and sick view of what causes sex. "Of course I had sex with her your honor, I saw her ankle and her nose. What else could I do?"

3. "When in doubt, blame the woman" seems to be a common position among at least some groups of Islamic clerics.

Books which have influenced me most

1. Answer to Job, Carl Jung
2. The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins

These two books somehow liberated me and let me feel much more comfortable in my own skin.

3. The Incredible Bread Machine

Just as with Tyler, this was the first book about economics I read and it got me very interested. Then I took principles of micro and didn't come back to economics again for 3 years.

4. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, Charles Beard.

This got me thinking about how economics could be applied broadly to other fields.

5. Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt

People, here is where I learned about the broken window fallacy. This was the second economics book I read.

6. A book whose title and author I cannot remember about the history of the relations between the US Government and Native Americans. This mystery book really shook my faith in government ***UPDATE*** The book in question has been determined to be Custer Died for your Sins, Vine Deloria Jr.

7. The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson
8. The Calculus of Consent, Buchanan & Tullock
9. An Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs

Something in these books made me change my mind in grad school and decide to become an academic (my original plan was to be a macro forecaster!) and to focus on political economy.

10. Hard Boiled Wonderland & The End of the World, Haruki Murakami

This novel changed the type of fiction that I read and opened up a lot of pleasure for me going down a new (to me) literary path.

This post updated to correct the spelling of Hazlitt!

Where the magic happens

Spring semester starts today. For some reason I thought I'd show y'all my office. Mrs. Angus and I put $0.49 per square foot laminate floating flooring down over the ancient and foul carpeting in our building, and I built my own set of office furniture last year in our garage. Here it is (click on pics to enlarge):

 

Here's a close up of the desk:

Oh, yeah, I made a matching bookshelf too:

Now I gotta get my butt in that chair and do 5 referee reports, finish 4 papers, teach two grad classes and direct 3 dissertations!

Sing it Bing!

Descartes' Muse?

If only I was German, I could blame my parents for everything!

People, this may come as a shock to you, but my legal name isn't Angus; its Kevin.

And in Germany, Kevin apparently is a "non-traditional" name.

And in Germany, kids with non-traditional names are stereotyped as dumb and troublemakers by their schoolteachers!

I especially appreciated this line from the article:

The name Kevin was perceived as being linked to especially poor behaviour and performance, with one study participant even writing that, “Kevin is not a name – it’s a diagnosis!”



Hat tip to Freakonomics via TCap.