Not the best study music

I'm listening to Mogwai's "Come On, Die Young," and let me tell you, their loud-soft-loud style doesn't work well for studying cost-benefit analysis. It's fun to listen to though.

Is my mustache really that shocking? It seems like people here should remember that I grew a mustache in March.

USC

I'm watching the USC-Fresno State game and I can't shake this feeling that no matter how good they are, USC is bunch of pussies. Reggie Bush is particularly so because he always wears long sleeve undershirts for home games in Los Angeles. It's not cold in L.A. They weren't wearing long sleeves in Ann Arbor or Lansing.

On a related note, why do the sportscasters not want to give Texas any credit for their success this year. I hear talk about how Ohio State would have won that game if Troy Smith had played the whole game. I heard talk that Miami is better than Texas. I'm glad that Miami lost, not just because I hate the seventh floor crew, but I like to see the sportscasters backtrack.

Fresno State is looking tough. I love the announcers. They're like the two dumb drunk guys at the bar who won't shut up but somehow they're endearing.

Damn

Alabama looks bad right now.

Congratulations

Are Warehouse Stores really a good deal?

I haven't really done any research on this issue, but it strikes me that shopping at bulk stores like that may not be economically efficient. There are a couple of things to consider about this.

1. What would people otherwise do with the space that they use to store there hundreds of roles of toilet paper and giant boxes of cereal and lightbulbs? If there is a better way to use that space, or if people value less clutter, then that is an argument for inefficiency.

2. How big is the discount, and how much do you expect the price of the regular sized goods to increase in real terms? If the price doesn't increase much over time then the discount would have to be more than whatever an individual's cost of foregoing present consumption is, e.g., you can't buy a cd today because you just spent $500 at Sam's or CostCo. I personally place a high value on current consumption, as do most people.

I suspect that the discounts are large enough to compensate most people, but I doubt many people consider the efficient use of space issue. If they did, maybe they would start buying generic goods and save some money that way.

Another strike against Fox

For some reason, FOX has switched me from the NY Giants-Vikings game as the Giants were attempting a 2 point conversion to tie the game with just over a minute left in the game to the beginning of the Packers-Falcons game. Do they have no concept of what makes an entertaining football game?

Has Fox Lost its Touch?

In my brief tenure as a prime-time tv watcher, I have seen only one truly brilliant tv show. That is Arrested Development. Unfortunately, Fox has decided to cancel Arrested Development after this year. Another promising show, Kitchen Confidential, will also be canceled by Fox. I'm certainly not the target market for the networks, but AD seems like the type of show that needs some time to get its audience. It also seems like the audience will be loyal. Sports Night was this way. Maybe the fine folks at HBO will buy Arrested Development and then I would never have to watch a network again, other than on Saturdays for college football and March Madness.

Stupid turn of events

It seems to me that one of the benefits of having a wife in the opera is that if one decides to go to the opera then there is a pair of comp tickets available. That seems reasonable to me. It seems that a lot of my friends are going to the opera tonight and I don't have a ticket because Meredith gave her free pair to a coworker so he could woo a girl. Now, I'm all for girl wooing, but it seems like the spouse should have the right of first refusal to any and all free opera tickets. Now if I go, I'll have to shell out the $20 to get the discounted student ticket.

Kudos Texas

Congratulations to Texas for turning back the giant pink beast that is the gay rights movement. You are successful in codifying discrimination. I only want to know one thing. What is the fucking externality that necessitates legislation? Nobody has made a convincing argument that there is any type of inefficiency that requires government action. I thought Texas was a tough, independent, anti-government, state. Is that wrong? Is Texas really a meddling, interventionalist state? If there is no legitimate negative externality as a result of two people loving each other and having their union be respected by the state, then there is no call for government action. Being strangely uncomfortable around someone doesn't count as an externality. I would argue that there is a positive externality from any marriage, or partnership that should be supported by the state. Marriage or partner rights provide individuals with a very tangible benefit. They know that someone who cares about them is there to make important decisions when they cannot. I'm washing dishes and I hate the save as draft function, so I'm ending this post here, but seriously people. We need someone on a public stage who commands respect from most people to denounce this type of legislation. People who support it need to have their character questioned publicly and loudly.

Apparently we have a problem with the gays up here

So while my friends and family in Texas are voting on a constitutional amendment to ban (gay) marriage today, I find out that Wisconsin is going to have a gay marriage/civil union ban on the ballot next November. I'm not going to live here then, but I'm kind of upset about this. There are very few things that I like about living here, but one is that the people seem to have a civil libertarian bent to them. I like that because I share that attitude. Maybe this proposition will fail, but I'm not so sure. Aside from central and southeastern Wisconsin, the state is trending in quite the conservative direction. It's interesting to watch as an outsider, but it's also disconcerting.

Houston Rollerderby

Click the link and check out the Prosecutor. That's my wife's cousin.

I so smart, s-m-r-t

I got annoyed last night watching the football highlights. All of the ESPN guys kept saying that nobody believed that Miami could beat Virginia Tech, there was no way that Miami could handle all that speed. Please. In the build-up to that game, I don't see how anyone could have thought that Miami would be the team unused to a fast defense. Miami faced a very fast Florida State defense in the first week of the season, Va Tech had not seen anybody nearly that fast. Miami got to use what they learned against FSU and they won convincingly. I stand by my prediction that Miami has a very good shot at playing Texas in the Rose Bowl. Fresno State may surprise USC. I doubt it, but I won't be surprised if it happens. Penn State looks much better than I want to give them credit for being. They pushed the Badgers around this weekend. I was very surprised to see Brian Calhoun get handled like that. All of my other predictions look to be at least on pace to being correct.

Happy Day

I should have posted this sooner, but my little niece turned 5 today. We gave her some pink converse all-stars and some black converse all-stars. She recognized them as the shoes that Meredith and I occassionally where. She decided that we want her to be just like us. She's a cute kid. Apparently she was sick this morning. Fortunately, ice cream, cake, and roller skating, seem to have a way of making kids better.

Good news out of Colorado

The wise people of Colorado have decided to effectively stop the spending limits imposed by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights for at least the next five years. This should be good news for the people of Colorado as well as those of us in Wisconsin and other states currently considering TABOR amendments.

Colorado is consistently held up as the example of a good TABOR policy but proponents of spending limits. The problem with that is that Colorado has become financially strapped as a result of the amendment and has been forced to make some very difficult decisions regarding spending cuts. You see, the point of such spending limits are to essentially destroy the ability of state governments to provide services. This is the starving the beast idea. These policies usually allow for an annual inflation adjustment to state spending. This sounds reasonable until several factors are considered. The primary expenditures of states are on salaries. Salaries rise at a rate faster than inflation in most professional industries, particularly education. The costs of providing benefits to state employees rise at a rate faster than inflation. The only things that may rise at a level consistent with inflation are non-labor inputs such as office supplies. These are certainly not the bulk of state spending. Those that argue otherwise are either lying or ignorant. Either way, they shouldn't be elected public officials.

Citizens of Colorado, your Governor said quite recently that TABOR is having the unintended consequence of reducing the ability of the state to provide services. The entire point of TABOR is to reduce the ability of the state to provide services. It is supposedd to shrink government. Government provides services based on the preferences of the voters.

That's another problem with TABOR, it is incredibly undemocratic. It does not allow for changes in preference over time. It does not have faith in voters to make rational decisions about a bundle of goods. It implies that the preferences of those that don't support the policy are somehow not valid. If TABOR can gain legislative support, then those supporters should be able to cut spending without a constitutional amendment. The fact that they have to lower spending through misleading rhetoric indicates that the limits they propose are not nearly as popular with voters as they may suggest. Legislators should have faith in the voters to make preferences and to establish those preferences with their votes.

Meredith made me

Meredith has dared me to put my college football predictions down for all to see, so here I go.

ACC champ: Miami
Big 10: Ohio State
Big 12: Texas
Big East: They play football there? West Virginia?
PAC 10: USC
SEC: LSU
Notre Dame will go 8-3. Wisconsin will go 9-2 as will Penn State and Texas Tech. Oklahoma will go 8-3. The Aggies will not go to a bowl game.

Texas will play USC in the Rose Bowl and defeat them. I think it is possible that Texas will play Miami in this game. I can't see USC losing a conference game, but a Fresno State upset is possible.

The secret to my success

There is no better way to do homework than by drinking some PBR and watching That 70's Show at the same time.