Deane’s Personal Blog

This blog is very sporadically updated.

Also, note that this is my personal blog. You might want my technical blog instead.

Out on Zzyzx Road

DateDecember 29, 2020

Words1,927

The story of a few minutes I spent on the side of a road.

Dropping Mics

DateDecember 22, 2020

Words1,560

We don’t need to actually be right. We just need to feel like it.

The Media and The Truth(s)

DateJuly 20, 2020

Words1,396

There is no one truth about anything. Everything is filtered.

On Local Food

DateNovember 12, 2019

Words720

I try to have “authentic” culinary experiences while traveling, but it’s not that simple.

The Nicest Thing Anyone Has Done For Me

DateOctober 20, 2019

Words421

A story about an act of kindness done to me, and how hard it might have been for the giver.

On Moral Hazard

DateOctober 19, 2019

Words696

“As I write this, America is embroiled in the Ukrainian impeachment crisis. The claim is that Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for a political favor – he wanted them to…”

Breaking The Tyranny of Three Meals a Day

DateMay 18, 2019

Words1,038

“I’m a terrible eater. I generally eat too much, only to be partially saved by very good gym habits. I’ve been actively trying to cut back my caloric intake. While counting calories get a bad rap, the…”

I Miss You

DateApril 13, 2019

Words1,826

Thoughts on middle-age male friendship, or the lack thereof.

Anecdotes vs. Principles

DateMarch 25, 2019

Words569

“I’m reading The Secret World: A History of Intelligence, which is the history of espionage around the world. It’s a magisterial work – some 800 pages. I’m struggling with it, and here’s why: it’s…”

Doing Something Poorly

DateMarch 5, 2019

Words455

“I heard something that resonated with me the other day (I forget where I heard this): Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. This, of course, is a play on this common saying: Anything worth doing…”

The Core Ideological Conflict: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up

DateOctober 3, 2016

Words1,128

“At its absolute core, the difference between conservatives and liberals seems to boil down to one thing: liberals believe that society can be fixed by grand architecture, while conservatives believe…”

Why the Wealthy Subsidize the Tax Burden of the Middle and Lower Class

DateFebruary 10, 2016

Words816

“I have a theory: the U.S. economy requires a significant number of Americans to be stupid with money. If we ever all got our crap together and started managing our personal budgets responsibly, the…”

The Conservative Case for Drug Price Controls?

DateJanuary 24, 2016

Words323

“Reading a book called Rise of the Robots about the increasing role of automation in our lives. The author takes a bit of a detour in the chapter on health care to discuss how the markets are broken….”

Feeding Children in Mali

DateDecember 26, 2015

Words373

“I read a book recently called Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts–Becoming the Person You Want to Be. The book was just okay, but it contained a chilling story that I don’t want to forget. The book…”

New Word: “Variegated” and In-Group/Out-Group Bias

DateNovember 29, 2015

Words166

“An adjective which seems to related originally to colors: Varied in appearance or color; marked with patches or spots of different colors; varied; diversified; diverse. It seems to just be another way…”

Not All “Likes” Are Created Equal

DateJanuary 5, 2015

Words511

“I quit Facebook about a month ago. I still have an account because I need it for work – a surprising number of business comes in through Facebook, and I maintain 3-4 Facebook Messenger conversations…”

Embedded Racial Bias

DateJanuary 4, 2015

Words218

“Racial Bias, Even When We Have Good Intentions: A good (bad?) roll up of studies which show that embedded, perhaps subconscious racism is alive and well. Lots more in the article, including some…”

Reading Shakespeare

DateDecember 25, 2014

Words683

“My reading goal in 2014 was 52 books (one per week). I ended up reading 66 (and counting). My tentative goal for 2015 is to read all of Shakespeare’s 38 plays. I started early with The Merchant of…”

Teaching True North

DateDecember 10, 2014

Words942

“My mother died five years ago. I was 38 when she died, an adult with kids of my own. My oldest was a teenager. Since then, I’ve watched my son graduate high school and start his second year of…”

Where is your Iceland?

DateDecember 6, 2014

Words506

“I just finished ‘Brave New World,’ a novel written in 1932 which describes the ‘perfection’ of society through science. Parallel to the advancement of science, ‘Brave New World’ deals in the…”

States’ Rights and the Scope of Government

DateNovember 28, 2014

Words2,061

“There’s a constant debate in this country about the appropriate size, scope and strength of government. This debate has raged since all the country was founded and shows no signs of letting up….”

Charity and Personal Responsibility

DateNovember 20, 2014

Words1,182

“One of the defining characteristics of your political view is how you think a government should balance charity against personal responsibility. Charity is the government giving aid in the form of…”

The Politics of Getting Re-elected

DateNovember 14, 2014

Words2,442

“One would hope that politicians always act in ways which they think will directly benefit the country. But, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they do things that actually go against their better…”

Why Labels Matter

DateNovember 14, 2014

Words915

“We’ve talked a bit about the ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’ labels, but you might be wondering why they matter. Indeed, why wouldn’t a politician just eschew labels and say ‘I’ll do what’s best for the…”

Labels and Contexts

DateNovember 13, 2014

Words746

“When discussing labels like ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal,’ it needs to be acknowledged that there are different contexts in which they apply. People can be both conservative and liberal at the same…”

On the Interestingness and Usefulness of Books

DateNovember 12, 2014

Words931

“I’m reading more now than at any time in my life. I set a 2014 goal of one book per week (52 in all), and as of the second week in November, I’m at 58. Additionally, I’ve been keeping track of my…”

Evaluating Externalities

DateNovember 8, 2014

Words1,132

“What can get mystifying about politics is that opposing politicians can have such different opinions about political issues. It seems like they can never agree about what to do about a given situation…”

The Individual vs. The Community

DateNovember 7, 2014

Words665

“Your personal political philosophy is highly influence by how you view the way individuals relate to their larger community. For example: Conservatives view the individual as the prime mover. The…”

Effort and Potential

DateOctober 15, 2014

Words1,070

“Almost everybody has heard of ‘The 10,000 Hour Rule,’ which says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master anything. I actually read the original study (PDF) last year. But I’ve often wondered…”

The Human Connection and the Lack of Corporate Morality

DateOctober 13, 2014

Words1,529

“I own 25% of Blend Interactive, which is a significant percentage. This chunk of ownership binds me to this company, in the sense that I see the company as a sort of extension of myself in many ways….”

Why Marketing Bothers Me

DateOctober 9, 2014

Words305

“I was thinking about marketing this week while I was on a trip, and two things occurred to me that I find distasteful about the discipline. I’m not claiming all marketing is like this, but I’d call it…”

Gratifying Narrative Syndrome

DateOctober 6, 2014

Words826

“As human beings, we chronically suffer from what I call ‘Gratifying Narrative Syndrome,’ or a desire to confirm narratives that we find emotionally or psychologically gratifying. You see these all the…”

The Rich and Their Effect on the Cost of Living

DateOctober 5, 2014

Words572

“I’m not an economist, but I’m fairly confident in a couple of economic principles. Inflation tells is that when there’s more money chasing the same amount of goods, prices will go up. Supply and…”

The Myth of Water Consumption

DateOctober 4, 2014

Words458

“I enjoyed this article about the myth of water intake: You Don’t Need 8 Glasses Of Water A Day. This idea has been floating around for decades: you must drink more water – specifically eight glasses…”

The Validity of The Lesser of Two Evils

DateOctober 2, 2014

Words486

“Here’s an article which has reinforced a paradigm that I think gets ignored too often by the environmentally conscious: when considering an optional you find lacking, always consider the alternative…”

Defining It

DateOctober 1, 2014

Words436

“When I was in my first political science class at Augie, I remember the first paragraph of the text tried to define ‘politics.’ It went something like this: Politics is what happens when people are…”

RIP Phil Hartman

DateSeptember 30, 2014

Words197

“I loved this profile of Phil Hartman written by Jack Handey, who was an SNL writer for decades (and the source of the infamous, ‘Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey’). He could do any accent. He could play…”

The U.S. Economy is Complex and Slow-Moving

DateSeptember 27, 2014

Words822

“I saw two animated statistical graphics recently that reinforced and sharpened a belief that I’ve had lurking in my head for years. Links to the graphics are below (I would embed, but they’d both be…”

What is Newsworthy?

DateSeptember 26, 2014

Words414

“In college, I took Journalism 101 (actually 110; Augie’s numbering scheme is weird), which I just loved. I maintain it was the best class I took in college, and the one that has provided me more…”

Why Johnny Can’t Find a Job

DateSeptember 25, 2014

Words349

“This video was shown at a Rotary lunch by the president of the local technical school. It lays out a solid (and entertaining) case that college isn’t for everyone, and you shouldn’t go ‘just to go.’…”

Adventures in Litigation Financing

DateSeptember 24, 2014

Words410

“This New York Times article has introduced me to something I didn’t know existed: litigation financing. Lawsuits are expensive, and investors will fund your legal fees if they think you can win, and…”

Risk Compensation: Why We’re Not As Safe as We Feel

DateSeptember 23, 2014

Words431

“Another note from Jeff Speck’s book: risk homeostasis, or risk compensation. Risk compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level…”

Road Capacity, Traffic Problems, and Induced Demand

DateSeptember 20, 2014

Words416

“I’m reading Walkable City, by Jeff Speck (who recently spoke at the Plain Green Conference, part of which I attended). In it, he talks of ‘induced demand,’ which he says is the thing that everyone in…”

Why Fun Isn’t Always “Fun”

DateJanuary 1, 2014

Words1,050

“A friend and I were discussing fun the other day. Specifically, what do we do for fun? We’re both in our early 40s with young kids (him, 3 and 5; me, 12 and 9). We were lamenting the fact that we have…”

Muscles, Movements, CrossFit, and Zombies

DateMarch 24, 2013

Words1,436

“Once, when I was in the military, I was doing a PT with the Marines. I was 19-year-old gym rat at the time, never far from my copy of Muscle and Fitness, and I thought it wise to explain to the drill…”

The Illogic of Red Light Cameras

DateMarch 19, 2013

Words314

“I don’t believe in traffic cameras. These are the contraptions that take a picture of cars that speed or run red lights, then send the owner a ticket in the mail. These things need to end. I’m not…”

The Plight of the Christian Democrat

DateNovember 4, 2012

Words373

“I enjoyed this post and agree with it in large part. Why I am a Beautiful Christian Democrat At some point – the 1964 Republican Convention, say some – the Republican Party established itself as the…”

Individual vs. Group Focus

DateMay 30, 2012

Words204

“The Neal Boortz Commencement Speech: This supposed commencement speech by Neal Boortz is incendiary as hell, but I appreciated for articulating a point that I find very true: the difference between a…”

The Power of the Persona You Give Yourself

DateFebruary 18, 2012

Words1,185

“In any driving course, when learning how to recover from a skid, the instructor will always hammer the same thing into you: ‘Look where you want to go because you tend to go where you look.’ it’s good…”

Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

DateJanuary 22, 2012

Words459

“Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack (PDF): If you see left-wing conspiracies everywhere, then best to stay far away from this essay. it’s a discussion about the generally unacknowledged racial privilege…”

The Imperfections of Freedom

DateJanuary 14, 2012

Words360

“I just finished Ron Paul’s book Liberty Defined. it’s a collection of essays on ‘50 essential issues that affect our freedom.’ There’s everything from Abortion to Zionism (yes, it’s in alphabetical…”

Why Money Can Kill Motivation

DateJanuary 2, 2012

Words275

“The Overjustification Effect: This is a good distillation of what motivates us, and why money isn’t always a good motivator. According to the research, in modern America the average income required to…”

Statutory vs. Effective Tax Rate

DateDecember 31, 2011

Words694

“I’m learning the difference between the statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate. it’s an important distinction. The statutory tax rate is the tax imposed by law (by ‘statute,’ hence the name)….”

Why Taxes are Going to Go Up

DateDecember 26, 2011

Words403

“Americans don’t really want spending cuts: This article is brutally honest, in two places. First, this is an important point to note: Any truly meaningful debt reduction plan must include Medicare,…”

Lowering Taxes Does Not Raise Revenue

DateNovember 26, 2011

Words825

“I try to give all political opinions a fair shake, but there is one conservative assertion that just makes me hang my head with embarrassment. This is the assertion that cutting taxes actually…”

The Ranger Test

DateNovember 20, 2011

Words676

“Okay, it’s time to commit to my next fitness goal. Here it is – At the age of 40, I intend to pass the U.S. Army Ranger entrance exam. This is the physical fitness test you have to pass to be…”

Political Representation Among the Lower Class

DateAugust 28, 2011

Words242

“Economic Inequality and Political Representation: Here’s some light reading for the weekend. I examine the differential responsiveness of U.S. senators to the preferences of wealthy, middle-class, and…”

Finishing the Story

DateJuly 30, 2011

Words371

“I find this really interesting. Bush explains 9/11 classroom reaction Former President George W. Bush says what some people took as his apparent lack of reaction to the first news of the Sept. 11,…”

Why I Love “The Incredibles”

DateJuly 19, 2011

Words546

“I love ‘The Incredibles.’ it’s one of my favorite movies, and when it’s on, I drop everything and glue myself to the couch. I tried to figure out why I love this movie so much, and I came up with a…”

Rules Are Rules

DateMarch 5, 2011

Words849

“I’ve been thinking a quite a bit lately about consequences, and how today’s society tries to qualify everything – ‘well, I know it was against the rules, BUT…’ Brigham Young University recently…”

When the Majority Feels Oppressed

DateMarch 5, 2011

Words565

“Here are two things I’ve learned: I’ve wondered about this phenomenon for a long time, and I’ve come to this conclusion: it’s considered somehow inappropriate for a majority to campaign for their…”

Run, Donkey, Run

DateFebruary 24, 2011

Words417

“A bunch of Democratic senators are on the the run from Wisconsin so they don’t have to vote on what appears to be a union-busting bill sponsored by the governor. According to this CNN article, this…”

Life Doesn’t Come with Cheerleaders

DateFebruary 9, 2011

Words650

“My 9-year-old daughter Gabrielle was making our bed yesterday. It’s her only chore. She has to do it every weekday. When it was done, it was horrible. The bedspread was all askew, the pillows were a…”

Fixing the System

DateJanuary 28, 2011

Words1,235

“Here’s an amazingly interesting article about the possible future of health care. This is an actual, practical manifestation of the ‘let’s make health care more efficient’ pipe dream. Lower Costs and…”

The Stupidity of the Rooney Rule

DateJanuary 4, 2011

Words392

“The NFL’s Rooney Rule is ridiculous. It says that teams have to interview minority coaches for open coaching positions. This leads to ridiculous situations like this: Another indicator [that the 49ers…”

Which political party is the “Christian party”?

DateDecember 23, 2010

Words371

“This is a really interesting point in a really interesting article. Over the last few decades (and someone would say since the 60s), the Republican party has become the ‘Christian’ party in politics….”

The Battle for Health Care Cost Savings

DateNovember 22, 2010

Words492

“I’ve been following this case for about a month now. It’s a good demonstration of how cutting health case costs is going to be harder than it seems. Case against Blue Cross shows difficulty of cutting…”

It’s All About Perspective

DateNovember 18, 2010

Words432

“Craig Wilson points out that people need to put stuff in perspective before they start complaining too much. I was reminded of this the other day when I listened to all those folks on that stranded…”

Agriculture in South Dakota

DateOctober 10, 2010

Words402

“We were driving out towards the middle of the state this weekend for my son’s soccer tournament. it’s harvest time, so the farms were pretty active. My wife started asking me about the crops planted…”

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

DateSeptember 12, 2010

Words1,427

“This is such a loaded phrase: ‘Tax cuts for the wealthy.’ Every election season, it’s thrown around like a weapon. And it’s never questioned – it’s constantly accepted as patently bad, even downright…”

The Next Bubble

DateSeptember 10, 2010

Words373

“Student loan debt exceeds credit card debt in USA: I think the student loan bubble is the next one to burst: Total student loan debt exceeds total credit card debt in this country, with $850 billion…”

The Sad Truth About Climate Change

DateSeptember 2, 2010

Words608

“(This post is going to make some people hate me. I’m sorry for this in advance.) I’ve come to some peace about climate change. I wasn’t obsessing about it before, but I do think about it quite a bit….”

The Byrd Rule

DateAugust 16, 2010

Words455

“Why Are the Bush Tax Cuts Expiring in the First Place?: Here’s why Bush’s tax cuts are set to expire – the income tax cuts and the estate tax cuts. If Republicans love their tax cuts so much, why…”

The Supreme Court Should Be Blameless

DateJune 28, 2010

Words441

“I get annoyed when people ‘applaud’ the Supreme Court for decisions, or vice-versa. John Thune just did it on Facebook: I applaud the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in McDonald v. Chicago. The…”

My Song for the Girls

DateMay 16, 2010

Words116

“Here’s a song I’ve sung to the girls since they were babies. They have it memorized, and were singing it back to me this morning. It’s sung to the chorus of ‘O Solo Mio (audio). The endings of all the…”

The Unbundling of “Marriage”

DateMay 12, 2010

Words928

“Marriage is a bundle. It is, all at once, a contract, a romance, and a spiritual institution. But I don’t think it’s going to stay this way. Marriage is actually three structures, layered on top of…”

David Copperfield and the Disappearing Audience

DateMay 5, 2010

Words594

“So Annie and I went and saw David Copperfield tonight at the Washington Pavilion. It was a good show. I honestly couldn’t figure out a lot of the tricks. As with many magicians, a lot of the show…”

Me and My Gas Guzzler

DateApril 26, 2010

Words674

“I drive a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee. it’s a weird story about how I came to be driving this vehicle, but suffice it to say that I love it. I’d like to drive it until the wheels fall off. The only…”

Thoughts on Avatar

DateMarch 21, 2010

Words579

“So, I saw Avatar the other night. I was finally prompted to go because it’s coming out on DVD in about a month, so I figured this was my last chance to catch it in the theater. Alec came with me,…”

Leverage

DateMarch 21, 2010

Words670

“I’ve become awfully smitten with the TNT series Leverage. it’s a dramedy about a team of five con artists who play Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and powerful and returning money to those they’ve…”

Why 51% Shouldn’t Be Enough

DateMarch 21, 2010

Words398

“I don’t want to get too political, but Here’s my feeling on the process Congress is going through right now to get this health care bill passed. This is a huge bill, both in raw dollars and in the way…”

The (Original) Problems of Haiti

DateJanuary 15, 2010

Words372

“I’m more than a little amazed that I stumbled on this article. A divided island: the forces working against Haiti: For years, I have wondered about this very question: why has the Dominican Republic…”

Excerpts from “Casino Royale”

DateNovember 17, 2009

Words902

“I just got done reading ‘Casino Royale’ for the third or fourth time. This is the original novel, from 1953. It was the first James Bond novel, written by Ian Fleming from his estate in Jamaica. There…”

Gate F11 at O’Hare

DateNovember 4, 2009

Words343

“Gate F11 at O’Hare is epic. If you fly United from Chicago to any one of dozens of smaller Midwest destinations (Sioux Falls included), you’ve been here. It has six sub-gates, A through F. You descend…”

Core Human Skills

DateAugust 8, 2009

Words155

“Do You Have These Core Human Skills? : I’ve really enjoyed this list of ‘core human skills.’ These are actual skills that make you a more effective human being. (More effective at what is an important…”

My Appendectomy

DateAugust 1, 2009

Words1,170

“I had lunch yesterday about noon. Somewhere around 2 p.m., I started to get intense abdominal pain – it was a burning/pressure-type pain high in my abdomen, just under my sternum. Eight hours later, I…”

High School Memories

DateJuly 19, 2009

Words562

“Very off topic: Why I won’t be at my high school reunion: This was a hard post to read, because I identified so closely with it. This guy is faced with his 25th high school reunion. High school was…”

The Sad State of Political Commentary

DateJune 24, 2009

Words550

“The O’Reilly Procedure: Ebert writes about a pet peeve of mine – political commentators, both on the right and the left. They drive me nuts. Ebert discusses Bill O’Reilly in particular. Understand…”

How Companies Can Encourage Employee Health

DateJune 20, 2009

Words490

“How Safeway Is Cutting Health-Care Costs: Here’s an interesting article about what the supermarket chain Safeway is doing about health care costs. First, they start with an important point: the only…”

Why Health Care is So Expensive

DateJune 7, 2009

Words855

“This is brutal article, which, if accurate, is a damning indictment of the business of medicine. The Cost Conundrum The writer (a physician himself) went to McAllen, Texas, which has the highest cost…”

The Demonyms of the United Kingdom

DateJune 7, 2009

Words184

“I kept hearing about Susan Boyle being ‘Scottish.’ Then I was reading the Wikipedia page on Bonnie Tyler and she was described as ‘Welsh.’ I was confused. Weren’t these people British? I consulted my…”

The High Cost of Being Poor

DateMay 21, 2009

Words272

“A sobering summary of how hard it is to be poor, and why it’s so hard to break out of poverty. You don’t have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco or Trader Joe’s, where the middle class…”

Exactly who do you think your knee belongs to?

DateMay 13, 2009

Words318

“Javon Walker recently had surgery outside of the Raiders organization, which is a big no-no. Your team paid good money for your body, so you don’t do anything without prior approval. This article…”

The Corrupt Saga of Kwame Kilpatrick

DateMay 13, 2009

Words1,059

“I’ve been reading the Wikipedia article about Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced mayor of Detroit. I’m honestly wondering if there has been a more blatantly corrupt and dishonest politician in recent…”

Real Food in a Fast Food World

DateApril 11, 2009

Words609

“I worked at Hardees in high school – back in the 80s. Hardees is a fast-food chain specific to the Midwest, I think. At the time, I didn’t recognize how high-quality the food was. I don’t whether this…”

Adam vs Danny

DateApril 11, 2009

Words308

“A showdown is looming on American Idol which I think is going to be pretty interesting to watch. The top two contenders – the two I firmly believe will fight it out in the last episode – could not be…”

The State of Aid in Africa

DateApril 4, 2009

Words275

Foreign aid sometimes backfires and makes things worse over the long term.

Thoughts on Monotheism

DateApril 2, 2009

Words272

Some people believe the monotheistic faiths are all worshipping the same God.

My Art Deco Connection

DateMarch 11, 2009

Words148

I have always loved Art Deco, and there might be a weird reason why.