Pictures

We picked up some pictures from my parents when we stopped on our way back to LA. I scanned them in and Susan's been fixing them up during the wee hours. Check them out at my flickr page.

Watching a Bit of Soccer

Message to Ruud Gullit: What are you doing with those bums in your defense? I would be willing to play for a reduced salary. Call me.

God Bless America

Channel surfing, just now, we stumbled upon Alien Nation, en Español. Who among us didn't love the kidney-bean-head aliens and their daring salt-water Russian roulette?

More about "The Economy of Cities"

Okay, in comments there was a question:

So is this book written from the perspective of "I know how to best plan cities"? Without any data, how can the author make a claim that mixed zoning is physically inefficient?

To the first part: no. The author basically claims in this book that the "city planning" we mostly know and loathe is worse than useless, and development should mostly be allowed to occur spontaneously.

To the second: there isn't any data presented, so she can't, if you ask me.

Grand Parents

My dad, much on his dignity, on the floor with my son:

My mom, soothing a weary, tiny, traveler (>700 miles in the car today):

.

Cute Overload!

Hilarity

I haven't laughed this hard at something in a while.

Check it out.

Oh, NPR.

I was listening to a local show which does film reviews on Friday. As they were discussing the movie Mongol, one of the film critics complained that the movie had too many battle scenes. In a movie about Ghengis Khan? Too many battle scenes?

Inefficient Cities as Sources of New Work

As I continue with "The Economy of Cities" there have been a number of assertions that seemed relatively uncontroversial (what with my vast knowledge of development economics). However, there's no data in this book, that I've yet seen.

I've gotten to the point in the book where the author is contending that inefficient cities--those that are somewhat "organic" in their physical and economic layouts--are engines of innovation. The idea seems pretty reasonable: a number of small firms duplicating work (economically inefficient) and/or being lumped hurly-burly next-door to different pursuits, whether business, residential, or commercial (physically inefficient) may lead to new ways of doing work, new firms making new things, what have you.

Never Thought I'd See That in Print

I jussst started reading The Economy of Cities, by Jane Jacobs. Not fifteen pages in, this gem:

...factories in rural West Virginia employed local people who already knew how to sew and possibly even made their own underwear but this should not persuade us that therefore brassiere making developed from subsistence underwear making in West Virginia.

"Subsistence underwear making" is just hilarious. Like, there they are, barely scratching out their chemises and boxer-briefs.

Height

Here you go.

Eating Enough?

Report

Well, that went okay. I fear that my talk was pitched to the wrong
level, but a few people seemed to follow it and even enjoy it a bit.

I had something like fourteen one-half-hour interviews, as well as
lunching and dining with some of the people. Those all went very smoothly.

For someone with actual knowledge of that industry, it seems like it
would be a truly wonderful place.

San Jose

Going up tomorrow afternoon. I have a day of interviews there and will be giving a seminar on my research at a research unit of a well-known tech company. Somewhat nervous, but also not too bad, as I don't think a) there's a single chance in hell I'll get it, b) don't even really want it.

Still... advice?

Soren's Growth

Continuing apace

Oh, Patton. Another Jest!

"Casserole of evil."

That's some good coinage.

Air Talk

Sometimes, I'm terribly surprised at the things I hear on the radio. With the Pope's visit coming up, it seems as though NPR is all Christianity, all the time.

Yesterday, while interviewing a couple of men in seminary, a hostess made the point that the general public don't really know much about what the lives of seminarians and priests are like. She actually said something to the effect that "the perception is that priests live very cloistered lives."

This morning, I got off the phone and turned the radio on and heard a
host talking to a priest--I think it was a priest--about coitus interruptus.

Dawn of the Dead

Hilarious if you leave the captions on. E.g. "Undead gnashing of teeth" and "cadaverous moaning."

Hello, World

Where is my mind?

I like this song by the Pixies. It came on my internet radio station at work. I said to myself, "Tom"--'cause that's what I go by, back home, is 'Tom'--where is your mind?"

Oh - stop

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground Try this trick and spin it, yeah Your head will collapse But there's nothing in it And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind?

Way out in the water See it swimmin'

I was swimmin' in the Caribbean Animals were hiding behind the rocks Except the little fish But they told me, he swears Tryin' to talk to me, coy koi.