For those of us who struggle a bit w/ networking: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2012/04/25/the-7-pillars-of-connecting-with-absolutely-anyone/
(I get shy... Which I understand makes little sense knowing my personality, but it's true. It's like dating all over again sometimes.)
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Salutations!
Hey fellas,
I'm honored to have been invited to participate in your studies of Nuclear Braiology.. I am humbled by the braintrust I see participating in the discussion, and I hope I can adequately contribute. I don't get to surf and read as much as I would like due to my workload right now, but I'll do my best.
Unlike the rest of you, I'm not as focused on politics right now as I have been in the past, so hopefully I can add some value in other areas. I'll rely on you guys to form my political mindset - I'm all about outsourcing some of my thinking. :)
As a tech guy I have several technology related sources I recommend you follow. My curiousities are pretty expansive in other subjects, so I'll just do my best to share interesting things as they come up..
Podcasts
(w/ all podcasts I recommend you use either Apple [new podcast app for iPad and iPhone, btw] or Stitcher to get your feed)
Freakonomics - by the authors of the book by the same name. Often interesting, occasionally silly, and certainly worth a listen when commuting. Hay loves this.
This Week in Tech (TWiT) - a group of tech pundits sit around and discuss the week in... wait for it... tech! The personalities make the show fun, and I think
Here's the Thing - Alec Baldwin interviews famous people. I don't always agree with everything said (obviously a lot of hollywood types are liberal), but I find it interesting to understand people and their motivations. I recommend the interviews w/ Joseph Stiglitz, Kristen Wiig and Ed Rollins.
HBR IdeaCast - these are fairly short and often interesting. Often times they're interviewing someone who wrote the most recent Biz Fad book and you get a really good idea of what the whole thing is about before picking it up on your kindle. The episode w/ Carol Dweck about her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success got me to read the book and I was pleased with it.
Blogs/Magazines
The Verge - founded by a bunch of guys who left Engadget, I strongly recommend them for your tech information. Their podcast is way too chatty, so don't subscribe unless you're into a bunch of worthless chatter, but their coverage and editorials are great.
FastCompany - I strongly recommend the magazine, though the blogs seems to be OK. They do, however, have these Co.<Whatever> sub-blogs on their page that can be quite fascinating. If you're at all interested in the latest goings on in the realm of start up/fast moving companies, you should really check this out.
Wired - You should all know Wired by now... Their blog is pretty great these days - check it out if you haven't in a while. (JonJon - check their Game|Life section)
Quick Picks: GigaOm (tech), Joystiq (for Jonny), Lifehacker (you should know this one), Daring Fireball (Apple coverage)
Books
(I'll comment on the nonfiction, but if there is no comment then just check out the Amazon description and know that I highly recommend a read)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (teaches creative writing at BYU and is extremely popular in fantasy lit. I also recommend The Way of Kings)
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute - this one is a really thought provoking take on our relationships w/ others and how we get things done in the work place. We had a really long discussion about it's merits in a recent peer mentoring group meeting and we kept digging deeper and deeper. Very similar to Bonds that Make us Free (which is Mormony I believe, and we suspect it must have a common author).
Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. I may post again this afternoon w/ another article I saw on Forbes recently, but hopefully this adds some value for you. :)
I'm honored to have been invited to participate in your studies of Nuclear Braiology.. I am humbled by the braintrust I see participating in the discussion, and I hope I can adequately contribute. I don't get to surf and read as much as I would like due to my workload right now, but I'll do my best.
Unlike the rest of you, I'm not as focused on politics right now as I have been in the past, so hopefully I can add some value in other areas. I'll rely on you guys to form my political mindset - I'm all about outsourcing some of my thinking. :)
As a tech guy I have several technology related sources I recommend you follow. My curiousities are pretty expansive in other subjects, so I'll just do my best to share interesting things as they come up..
Podcasts
(w/ all podcasts I recommend you use either Apple [new podcast app for iPad and iPhone, btw] or Stitcher to get your feed)
Freakonomics - by the authors of the book by the same name. Often interesting, occasionally silly, and certainly worth a listen when commuting. Hay loves this.
This Week in Tech (TWiT) - a group of tech pundits sit around and discuss the week in... wait for it... tech! The personalities make the show fun, and I think
Here's the Thing - Alec Baldwin interviews famous people. I don't always agree with everything said (obviously a lot of hollywood types are liberal), but I find it interesting to understand people and their motivations. I recommend the interviews w/ Joseph Stiglitz, Kristen Wiig and Ed Rollins.
HBR IdeaCast - these are fairly short and often interesting. Often times they're interviewing someone who wrote the most recent Biz Fad book and you get a really good idea of what the whole thing is about before picking it up on your kindle. The episode w/ Carol Dweck about her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success got me to read the book and I was pleased with it.
Blogs/Magazines
The Verge - founded by a bunch of guys who left Engadget, I strongly recommend them for your tech information. Their podcast is way too chatty, so don't subscribe unless you're into a bunch of worthless chatter, but their coverage and editorials are great.
FastCompany - I strongly recommend the magazine, though the blogs seems to be OK. They do, however, have these Co.<Whatever> sub-blogs on their page that can be quite fascinating. If you're at all interested in the latest goings on in the realm of start up/fast moving companies, you should really check this out.
Wired - You should all know Wired by now... Their blog is pretty great these days - check it out if you haven't in a while. (JonJon - check their Game|Life section)
Quick Picks: GigaOm (tech), Joystiq (for Jonny), Lifehacker (you should know this one), Daring Fireball (Apple coverage)
Books
(I'll comment on the nonfiction, but if there is no comment then just check out the Amazon description and know that I highly recommend a read)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (teaches creative writing at BYU and is extremely popular in fantasy lit. I also recommend The Way of Kings)
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute - this one is a really thought provoking take on our relationships w/ others and how we get things done in the work place. We had a really long discussion about it's merits in a recent peer mentoring group meeting and we kept digging deeper and deeper. Very similar to Bonds that Make us Free (which is Mormony I believe, and we suspect it must have a common author).
Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. I may post again this afternoon w/ another article I saw on Forbes recently, but hopefully this adds some value for you. :)
Supreme Court Decision
So my thoughts on the Supreme Court today.
If Chief Justice Roberts wanted a more united court, he didn't get it. The dissent is united. The Majority opinion is bisected and trisected with concurrences and minor dissents.
To allow the mandate as a tax undermines democracy completely. The Act barely passed because it was touted as not containing any new taxes. The Act always said there would be "penalty" for not purchasing health insurance. It would have never passed if it had said "tax." That is the only reason Congress didn't try to pass it using the tax power instead of the commerce clause. Taxes are unpopular, the Act was already unpopular passed by subterfuge. For CJ Roberts to completely rewrite the Act to include a tax is ridiculous. The mandate as a tax was also a very small argument in the briefs and the lower courts didn't consider it seriously. That four of the justices thought it was constitutional via the commerce clause makes me fear for the Republic. The full opinion is 193 pages long; as Prof. Barnett said in class two years ago, they use a lot of words when they make stuff up.
I thought CJ Roberts was a strong conservative on the side of limited government. I lost a lot of respect for him today unless of course this was all a sinister plot to bring Obama down in November which today's decision will help do. And he didn't extend the commerce power, but did extend the tax power. So it just means Congress will have to deliberate on the duck tax test when passing legislation with penalties.
If Chief Justice Roberts wanted a more united court, he didn't get it. The dissent is united. The Majority opinion is bisected and trisected with concurrences and minor dissents.
To allow the mandate as a tax undermines democracy completely. The Act barely passed because it was touted as not containing any new taxes. The Act always said there would be "penalty" for not purchasing health insurance. It would have never passed if it had said "tax." That is the only reason Congress didn't try to pass it using the tax power instead of the commerce clause. Taxes are unpopular, the Act was already unpopular passed by subterfuge. For CJ Roberts to completely rewrite the Act to include a tax is ridiculous. The mandate as a tax was also a very small argument in the briefs and the lower courts didn't consider it seriously. That four of the justices thought it was constitutional via the commerce clause makes me fear for the Republic. The full opinion is 193 pages long; as Prof. Barnett said in class two years ago, they use a lot of words when they make stuff up.
I thought CJ Roberts was a strong conservative on the side of limited government. I lost a lot of respect for him today unless of course this was all a sinister plot to bring Obama down in November which today's decision will help do. And he didn't extend the commerce power, but did extend the tax power. So it just means Congress will have to deliberate on the duck tax test when passing legislation with penalties.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Headlines from Supreme Court AZ ruling
Media bias--it comes from both sides, but worse from the Left.
CNN: "Blow to Immigration Law" and "Supreme Court sides with U.S. in AZ immigration case"
MSNBC: "High courts strike down key parts of AZ immigration law"
FoxNews: "Supreme Court reins in Arizona immigration law, but leaves key provision in place"
WSJ: "Court upholds key part of AZ law"
Washington Post: "Supreme Court rejects much of Arizona immigration law"
Roll Call: "Supreme Court Renders Split Decision on Arizona Immigration Law"
I think Roll Call and FoxNews come across as the most balanced.
CNN: "Blow to Immigration Law" and "Supreme Court sides with U.S. in AZ immigration case"
MSNBC: "High courts strike down key parts of AZ immigration law"
FoxNews: "Supreme Court reins in Arizona immigration law, but leaves key provision in place"
WSJ: "Court upholds key part of AZ law"
Washington Post: "Supreme Court rejects much of Arizona immigration law"
Roll Call: "Supreme Court Renders Split Decision on Arizona Immigration Law"
I think Roll Call and FoxNews come across as the most balanced.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Presidential panhandling
Things like this make me think Obama is getting pretty desperate. We may have a Mormon president after all, next year.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Romney uses Obama 2008 ad against him
This is very smart because you can't say Romney is being unfair or taking something out of context unless you admit the same about the President. Plus, Obama's words are even more indefensible than McCain's.
Watch the two ads, side by side
Watch the two ads, side by side
James Taranto... always witty
From the WSJ:
The Accidental Scholar
Seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Warren of Riverside, Calif., won a scholarship from the Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club, MSNBC.com reports:
Seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Warren of Riverside, Calif., won a scholarship from the Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club, MSNBC.com reports:
A hush, followed by some giggles, enveloped the Martin Luther King High School gym in Riverside, Calif., when it was announced on senior awards night that Warren was the winner of the scholarship. . . .
The $1,000 scholarship, one of two awarded annually by the seniors club, is meant for African-American students. Club members didn't know Warren is white until he rose to receive the award. . . .
After some contemplation, Warren and his parents decided to return the scholarship. They sent an email the next day informing the MLK senior citizens club of the decision.
How embarrassing for the Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club that they accidentally judged someone by the content of his character.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Headwinds
I just finished running a half-marathon. I almost needed a Krugmanian infusion of Goo to make it what with all the headwinds pushing against my sure and steady progression. Really, the wind was a factor, but I made it in less than 2:10.
Blogs: I read Ace of Spades HQ, Hotair, Daily Caller, National Review almost daily. Those are in order of extremity. I frequent Drudge and rely on The Volokh Conspiracy to keep me informed on legal stuff. They pretty much are responsible for the Obamacare mandate getting struck down, as it inevitably will be. My Con Law professor Randy Barnett contributes there a lot and was the main architect of the argument.
Books: Mere Christianity and the latest John Grisham candy are by my side.
Podcasts: N/A
I watch Sunday morning pundit-fests when I can and when I can stomach them.
Blogs: I read Ace of Spades HQ, Hotair, Daily Caller, National Review almost daily. Those are in order of extremity. I frequent Drudge and rely on The Volokh Conspiracy to keep me informed on legal stuff. They pretty much are responsible for the Obamacare mandate getting struck down, as it inevitably will be. My Con Law professor Randy Barnett contributes there a lot and was the main architect of the argument.
Books: Mere Christianity and the latest John Grisham candy are by my side.
Podcasts: N/A
I watch Sunday morning pundit-fests when I can and when I can stomach them.
In response to lengthy Ben's prattle
I haven't stayed nearly as current with podcasts as Mr. Meek, but appreciate the recommendations. That is an area that I could use to broaden the variety of political/economic media consumption. The main audio that I've taken in is NPR's This American Life, often left-leaning but frequently interesting. I've been pretty absorbed in textbooks lately but have read a couple of decent books recently:
Henry Kissinger's On China - providing history and insight into Sino-American political and economic relations.
The Real Romney - I borrowed this from mi madre while I was back in the States last week. So far it has been a pretty evenhanded look at Mitt. Part's have made me more excited about his possible Presidency, and some parts less.
Poor Economics - Fascinating book about microfinance/credit that I read in preparation for my upcoming dissertation. The authors conducted an in-depth survey on the effectiveness of microfinance in India. I strongly recommend it.
As for blogs, I've been following:
Ann Althouse, a center-right leaning Law prof from Wisconsin. I find she always provides interesting insights into all Wisconsin and national legal/political news.
Cato@Liberty for a libertarian perspective
Confessions of a Supply-side Liberal - this one is new to my rotation, but I've been pleased with it thus far.
Democracy in America - A center-left perspective from the Economist
Donald Marron - For the inner fiscal policy wonk in me
Greg Mankiw - Harvard's famous Intro. to Econ prof, former Bush 43 economic adviser
John Lott - For examples of how guns are used for good. He's a U of Chicago prof. I frequently feel his perspective is a little to much on the right for my tastes.
Becker-Posner - the blog of Gary Becker and Richard Posner, two Nobel Laureates debate on economic issues. Always enjoyable and interesting.
The Grumpy Economist - John Cochrane's (a fabulous Harvard Economics fauculty) views on Macro issues
The Money Illusion - Scott Sumner, one of the best perspectives on Macro issues and nearly always providing the opposing view to Paul Krugman.
I also enjoy the weekly interview from the WSJ.
Jonny?
Henry Kissinger's On China - providing history and insight into Sino-American political and economic relations.
The Real Romney - I borrowed this from mi madre while I was back in the States last week. So far it has been a pretty evenhanded look at Mitt. Part's have made me more excited about his possible Presidency, and some parts less.
Poor Economics - Fascinating book about microfinance/credit that I read in preparation for my upcoming dissertation. The authors conducted an in-depth survey on the effectiveness of microfinance in India. I strongly recommend it.
As for blogs, I've been following:
Ann Althouse, a center-right leaning Law prof from Wisconsin. I find she always provides interesting insights into all Wisconsin and national legal/political news.
Cato@Liberty for a libertarian perspective
Confessions of a Supply-side Liberal - this one is new to my rotation, but I've been pleased with it thus far.
Democracy in America - A center-left perspective from the Economist
Donald Marron - For the inner fiscal policy wonk in me
Greg Mankiw - Harvard's famous Intro. to Econ prof, former Bush 43 economic adviser
John Lott - For examples of how guns are used for good. He's a U of Chicago prof. I frequently feel his perspective is a little to much on the right for my tastes.
Becker-Posner - the blog of Gary Becker and Richard Posner, two Nobel Laureates debate on economic issues. Always enjoyable and interesting.
The Grumpy Economist - John Cochrane's (a fabulous Harvard Economics fauculty) views on Macro issues
The Money Illusion - Scott Sumner, one of the best perspectives on Macro issues and nearly always providing the opposing view to Paul Krugman.
I also enjoy the weekly interview from the WSJ.
Jonny?
Friday, June 8, 2012
In which I prattle on at length.
Here's a rundown of my latest reading and podcast habits. I'd always like to hear your own suggestions on worthwhile books and blogs, although I already have a reading list as long as my arm. I always get a little distressed when I stumble on indispensable sites and interesting writers though...the mindshare and time I devote to these things is already filled to capacity.
Podcasts: My weekly rotation of podcasts has almost completely supplanted my former habit of listening to music while I drive. Favorites:
Books: I am trying to come out of a prolonged personal reading slump. I read an obscene amount for my MBA (although probably less volume and more interesting material than Jon), so I'm really out of the habit. That said, I squeezed a couple books in here and there.
Podcasts: My weekly rotation of podcasts has almost completely supplanted my former habit of listening to music while I drive. Favorites:
- EconTalk with Russ Roberts. This is fantastic and unfailingly interesting. There is a searchable catalog going back several years. This means that I have about 300 hour-length episodes to catch up on. Here are a couple good ones to start on:
- Coffee and Markets. 20 minutes or so every weekday. Really sharp and thought-provoking, and explains tons about financial markets and economics in particular, and book reviews on Wednesdays. I think you'll really like these.
- Ross Douthat on Bad Religion (don't miss the brief discussion on the LDS church as a model for cohesive religious communities)
- Peter Schweizer on Throw Them All Out.
Books: I am trying to come out of a prolonged personal reading slump. I read an obscene amount for my MBA (although probably less volume and more interesting material than Jon), so I'm really out of the habit. That said, I squeezed a couple books in here and there.
- The Rational Optimist (Matt Ridley) had a profound impact on my thinking, and gave me lots of ammunition for arguments with the anti-prosperity, "sustainability" crowd. I loved this book.
- Liberal Fascism (Jonah Goldberg). A devastating analysis of the intellectual history of the American progressive movement.
- Don't Vote, It Just Encourages the Bastards (P.J. O'Rourke). Just got this for my anniversary--isn't Katie a sweetheart?--and I'm only two pages in, but I already love it.
Blogs: Sites I refresh like a rat hitting the bar for a food pellet.
- City Journal
- The Weekly Standard (including this awesome piece from Matt Labash on the fundamental asininity of Facebook)
- National Review
Go forth and consume! What's in your daily rotation?
Lileks For the Win!
Enjoy some righteous snark on Bloomberg and soda pop:
http://www.lileks.com/bleats/
http://www.lileks.com/bleats/
Government Austerity
Great blog post from Cato about the effects of public austerity on growth: Check it out.
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