Back to life

Well I completed my first semester, and although I can't say I am surprised, I am awed by the amount of work a PhD program entails. I could study 12 hours a day and not have enough time.

That being said, I love it. I am really excited to be learning so much and feel as if I am finally learning a subject to a expert level. That is very gratifying. Learning for the sake of learning. I also like the challenge. This is so difficult that I really enjoy small successes. Who knew I would end up doing so much math. My high school math teachers would never believe it. My high school math tutor would be amazed. I credit her patience and her teaching skills for teaching me to appreciate math.

Wow I did something

Snuck out to see Massive Attack tonight. Found a ticket for cheap on Craigslist. They were amazing! What a great show.

We're almost there

This is pretty cool. But now we need one that doesn't need the internet.

Federal Budget Mess

This graph is Fascinating!! Click on View the Graph.

Thanks to Frederic Sautet

Chavez vs. the UN

In his speech to the UN, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called the UN "antidemocratic". It reminds me of the old adage "takes one to know one".

One other quick thought: What is the U.S. so afraid of letting Venezuela sit on the Security Council?? How about trying some dialogue instead of shutting people it doesn't like out of the conversation?

How economists see the world

Watch this.

CPI

From Russell Roberts

"Again, I challenge the pessimists, the doom-and-gloomers who accept the wage data as indicating that for 30 years, the average American has made no progress. Either our economic system is broken or are data collection system is broken. There is dramatic evidence that the data collection system is unable to cope with the speed of change in the US economy. Why do you believe instead that it is the economic system that is broken? Where is your evidence?"

Peace through trade

This article from the BBC talks about how trade brought peace to Europe, yet there is no mention of those who champion these ideas, namely the Austrians.

Sorry for the pause

So I am confused...why did ABC use Tom Petty for the NBA finals and NBC use Nelly for Wimbledon???

Damn You Casey

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 55% Conservative, 45% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Thesis II

Successfully defended my thesis. I will write more later...now I am going to sleep.

I'm not usually into this...

I am curious:

Listen to this and then comment of what it makes you think of.

Really listen to it...sit down close your eyes and listen to it from beginning to end.

For me it was a time in my life that I loved. It makes me think of Eric and Kathy in NYC, of Sara, of smoky nights at the Ottobar, of hanging out with Pete at the Grind...my late 20s was such a great time in my life. I am happy to have such good memories.

Wow

Thesis is done...defense on Friday.

Mike

Mike died.

He was as much of Fells Point as anything else. We had some really interesting conversations. He seemed like he was getting much worse the past year or two but I am not sure we could do much for him. I will miss him and hope he has found peace.

Shaving, Sabres, Tim Russert

In homage to playoff hockey I am not shaving until my exams are over. I am graduating May 25 and in order to combat senioritis I decided not to shave until I am done. In part this was also done as a measure of solidarity with the Buffalo Sabres as they try to bring home the Stanley Cup; not shaving until elimination a tradtion as old as the NHL.

Tim Russert brought out a Sabres jersey on Meet the Press last week, but sadly did not even put it on. Come on Tim! What kind of real fan are you???

The Sabres, improbably, wiped the Senators in Ottawa last night in a shootout 7-6. Connolly scored with 10 seconds left to tie it and Drury scored 18 seconds into overtime to win it! Amazing. Go Sabres!!!

Bald Eagle Cam

http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/

Beautiful

My favorite city in the world

Democracy: Is it good?

Bryan Caplan, George Mason professor of economics, has a new book coming out. The book addresses voter irrationality in democracies. I give you a quote:

“Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom” -FA Hayek

Let me know what you think about this excerpt.

Gas Prices

Found this over on Jeffery Miron's blog.

Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith passed away. I have not read much of his work, but you can't move in economics circles and not have heard his name.


Wall Street Journal article here.
Washington Post article here.
NYT article here.

France leads the way in economic education

What a great idea! This type of game should be offered by every country. I think it is telling that one of the most socially democratic states in the world was the one to come up with this.

I have, for some time, been trying to enlighten people that in order to spend more you have to either increase the pie or cut from somewhere else. For instance, W cut taxes and raised spending. It doesn't take a genius to see how that fails to work out. Likewise, those who push for national healthcare don't have a way to fund it (other than taxing the rich).

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School!

(click on the Dean Dean Baby link at the bottom)

Some interesting stuff

Courtesy Marginal Revolution...

This is great...someone should examine the behavior behind these transactions.

I'm not sure what this says about this country...see for yourself.

I haven't read it yet, but this seems like a very interesting study. I will comment later.

Nigeria rising

Nigeria has paid off its Paris Club debt and will undoubtably pay off its World Bank debt in the next few years. This is very exciting as it will give us a chance to see whether debt is a truly limiting factor. Nigeria is an anomaly however because it holds great oil wealth and has produced some sustainable growth despite large debts. I shall watch the proceedings with great interest. I only hope President Obasanjo does not rewrite the constitution to run for a 3rd term. The consequences can only be bad.

Sister Karen

I think she was my fifth grade math teacher at Mt. St. Joseph's. I am having a hard time remembering exactly what capacity she held. I remember that she was one of the teachers who wouldn't let you get away with messing around. She may not have touched my life much, but she certainly touched a few others.

I guess I am jaded by living in a city with hundreds of murders a year, so when the Buffalo News reports 50 or so murders is a problem, I have a hard time believing it. But, every one of those is sad and senseless and Sister Karen's passing even more so.

What an extraordinary woman she was. The rest of us can only hope someone has something half as nice to say about us when we are gone.

I had no idea...

I am so deprived, living with such a technologically deficient toilet!!!

Good morning

A funny list for all you plus 30s.

Good show on mental illness

I have been fortunate to have done a lot of work with the National Alliance on Mental Illness over the past few years. They do some of the most important advocacy work in the world. Yesterday, there was a really great show on Fresh Air on mental illness. I have included a link here. It was on a subject I have thought about a lot: society's drive to protect privacy and personal choice in medical matters has driven us to a point where those with mental illness cannot get help because they do not believe they are ill. So they end up in jail etc. Listen to it...you'll learn how hard it is for familes of those with mental illness.

In the midst of school stress...

I am surprised and pleased I have been able to keep up with this.

The Jasons and more

Some interesting stuff I have read:

I came across this article which is about a semi-secret organization of mathematicians and scientists who help run policy decisions. Rather like the Rand Corporation (for realists) and the illuminati (for conspiracy theorists).

This paper in the upcoming Cato Journal is very interesting. It questions the usefulness of aid in development. I would argue that certain types of aid are necessary. We struggled with this issue at the NAFAC conference. Aid has a tendency to cause dependency and does not promote self sufficiency. However, when a state has no infrastructure and no credit, what can it do?

An article from the Atlantic Monthly about Chavez, courtesy Jackie. I am very interested in Chavez and had some great discussion with Midshipman Paul Angelo about it. I think it is interesting, given all of his methods, that he was able to topple the oligarchy. The argument is that he is creating his own. The realy interesting part is the question it raises: being that he has been pretty much the only leader who has managed to radically change the social structure of a developing state in post colonial Africa and South America, is this the only way to really affect change?

NAFAC 46

So I just got back from a week in Annapolis at the Naval Academy Conference on Foreign Affairs. This year's theme was Africa-Turning Attention into Action. I attended The Student Conference on United States' Affairs at West Point in November 2004 and ever since then I have lobbied to go to NAFAC. Leading up to this I was worried because I have so much work to do, including my thesis, but I am really glad I went.

SCUSA and this conference are among the best highlights of my professional life. The people I met and the speakers I heard were some of the most intellectually stimulating people I have ever been around. Unlike most conferences, the central part of these events are the roundtables that we are split into daily. There were 12 roundtables and we had 7 roundtable sessions at NAFAC. Each roundtable has a theme; mine was economic development, surprise! Our table included: Helen Adeosun from Notre Dame, Weston Lemay from Claremont McKennna, Mellissa Hargleroad from Boston College, Midshipman Joe Carrelli, Clark Rachfal from Towson, Alex Cree from USC, Padden Murphy from Tufts, Jon Kording from Waynesboro College, Midshipman Tim O'Connor, Midshipman David Haines, Major Grant Goodrich USMC, Anastasysia Kutelvas a student at College of Staten Island from Uzebekistan, and Jared Licina a Fulbright Scholar from South Africa studying at NYU. We spent 2 hours each session hashing over the various economic and development issues facing African states.

What really made this so unique was the intellectualism that went on. Each roundtable session was followed by various speakers and events. In between sessions we continued to debate and discuss, not only with each other, but with members of other tables to see what they had been discussing. Just an example of how great this was...I came back from the bars at 1 AM the last night. We were finished with the conference and everyone was departing in the morning. I found myself at 4AM sitting in the lobby of the hotel, passing a bottle of wine, with 20 people or so discussing the presence of China in Africa and the US's real motivations in its dealings with China in Africa.

The speakers included:
Vice Admiral Rodney P Rempt, Superintendent of the Naval Academy. He spoke at the banquet on Africa's relevance to national security. He also hosted us at his house for a reception for National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, whom I met!

Dr. William Miller, Dean and Provost of the Naval Academy. His speech was general and intended as a brief welcome to NAFAC and the Academy.

Dr. Robert Rothberg: Director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He was fairly good and made some good points about corruption.

The keynote address was General Carlton Fulford, USMC Ret. The Director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He was very good and spoke to the unique problems in Africa such as the disparate languages, most in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy. Who was brief and vague.

National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. His speech was the same crap you have heard from Bush over and over. I think he has the same writer. But the questioning was good and he made some really good points about the importance of empowering women, although Olumide, a Nigerian delegate told me that women's roles in many African states are different and wield a lot of power in non-Muslim states where they operate within certain social norms. It was a bit of a surprise that no one asked about domestic spying though!

The panel discussion sucked. The moderator did not keep the panelists on track and spent so much time on his own questions that none of the mids or delegates got to ask any questions. Also, one of the panelists asked the audience, like a bunch of grade schoolers: Does anyone know where Darfur is? Know your audience asshole.
Moderator: Dr Stephen Wrage
Panelists included Dr Umunna Orijiako, Ambassador from Nigeria.

The final Banquet address was by far the best part of the conference. The speaker was Dr Princeton Lyman, former ambassador to South Africa and Nigera and currently the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

I had a wonderful time and did not want to leave. I made many friends and met tons of unbelieveably interesting people from the US, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Niger, India, Pakistan, Japan, China, Mexico, France, El Salvador, DR Congo, Canada, UK, etc etc. Also, Midshipman Paul Angelo, 2006 Rhodes Scholar.

United 93

I was tooling around on Slate and found this article on the coming movie United 93. I did not read it first, but jumped straight to the clip. I have to say that I was unprepared for the emotions that it raised in me. I immediately knew that it was an account of one of the 9/11 planes, but by the end I found myself running through the emotions I felt that day. I did not think that I still harbored such strong feelings about it.

Having said that I was amazed at how close this movie follows on the heels of an event like that. The Slate article points out that Pearl Harbor came out 50 years after the event. Although I think that this move is bold and provacative (in a good way), it really cuts through some of the barriers of what we consider appropriate. I can only imagine that people with a much more personal connection to the events of 9/11 would feel much more than I did.

I might see this movie. As some of you know I don't say that often. I think that its value lies in the fact that it forces you to confront feelings still raw and makes one reflect upon the past 5 years in terms of what has and has not been done to prevent terrorism by the Bush Administration. On the other hand, this movie could also spark a new upwelling of xenophobia and anti-foreign sentiment leading to further debacles such as the Dubai ports deal.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

Women's NCAA Basketball Championship

Although I have my problems with Title IX, the Maryland's women's basketball team has been so much more fun lately to watch than the men. Actually, Brenda Frese's team reminds me of Gary Williams' scrappy, overachieving national champion Terps.

So the number 1 team in the country, North Carolina, ended their season 33-2. Not a bad year! Their only two losses come at the hands of the Terps. So Maryland bounced them in the Final Four and will go on to play Duke for the national championship. Duck Fuke!!

Thought of the day....

Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Yeah its a cliche, but when you really think about it...

French Protests?!?!

I love the French. I love their wine, their commitment to food, their lazy afternoon and late dinners, and the language is beautiful. But the French have a terrible case of entitlement that is hurting their country economically. The job security enjoyed by so many hurts businesses' ability to remain profitable and in business. In Cowboy Capitalism, Olaf Gersemann, a German, details the problems with the European welfare state. The social safety net in place is unsustainable and the French may find themselves in much more unpleasant circumstances than out of a job. The latest episode finds the French casting about for reasons for high unemployment. The final quotation in the article perfectly captures the misplaced blame.

"We are here for our children. We are very worried about what will happen to them," said Philippe Decrulle, an Air France flight attendant at the Paris protest. "My son is 23, and he has no job. That is normal in France."

Of course Mssr. Decrulle is worried about his son. He has every right to be. 23 and no job is a problem. However, it should be clear that the reason no jobs exist is because companies who cannot afford the taxes, benefits, and inability to fire bad workers have gone out of business, taking the jobs with them, thereby creating unemployment. To think that government advocting for less job security is the reason is foolish.

You have to give it to the French though. They are world class protestors!

New Mexico, Buffalo, and Back

I am here in the airport in Albuquerque and getting ready to head back east. Despite my east coast bias, I really enjoyed it out here. The mountains are amazing and we ate some great food. Also, I got to see Amy and Chris, two of my best friends who lived in Baltimore for a short time, and their two AMAZING kids! I really miss them and it was so great to catch up after 3 years or so.

Anyway, personal stuff aside, I wanted to blog about the food.

I LIKE New Mexican food. Though I am a bit burnt out on cheese. I had a enchilada at High Noon -78--that was cheese covered corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and topped with green chile. The food was pretty good, the atmosphere was wonderful, but the service was not as good. The server mentioned that it was her second week ever and she was pretty dizzy. She was nice and tried hard. Also the mozzarella in the Buffalo Mozzarella Salad was clearly cow's milk in origin.

We also ate at a supurb Spanish tapas restaurant on Canyon Drive, the artists' enclave in Santa Fe. El Farol -90--was perhaps the most expensive meal we had, but sooooo worth it. I had grilled romaine salad, aguacate--a deep fried avocado with salsa cruda and lime crema-- and the best pasta dish I have ever had: pasta pinon verde--penne, manchego, poblano and pinon cream.

More later.

This Won't Come as Much of a Shock!

Check out this personality test courtesy Jackie.

My Personal Dna Report She mentions on her blog that it is quite thorough and she is right. I like the sliders. It is much easier to answer realtively than the traditional multiple choice. So anyway, suprise surprise, I am...

Attentive Leader

You are a Leader
#

Your solid grounding in the practicalities of life, along with your self-assuredness and your willingness to appreciate new things make you a LEADER.
#

You're in touch with what is going on around you and adept at remaining down-to-earth and logical.
#

Although you're detail-oriented, this doesn't mean that you lose the big picture.
#

You tend to find beauty in form and efficiency, as opposed to finding it in broad-based, abstract concepts.
#

Never one to pass on an adventure, you're consistently seeking and finding new things, even in your immediate surroundings.
#

Because of this eagerness to pursue new experiences, you've learned a lot; your attention to detail means that you gain a great deal from your adventures.
#

The intellectual curiosity that drives you leads you to seek out causes of and reasons behind things.
#

Your confidence gives you the potential to take your general awareness and channel it into leadership.
#

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges.
#

You are well-attuned to your talents, and can deal with most problems that you face.
#

Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts
#

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.
#

You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.
#

You have a strong sense of style and value your personal presentation - friends may even seek your style advice from time to time.
#

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

You are Attentive
#

Because you like spending time with others, understand their feelings, and often know what is best for them, you are ATTENTIVE.
#

Some people are merely concerned about others, but you take action, helping people when you have the opportunity.
#

Although you care about others, you are hesitant to trust them to act in the best way on their own.
#

You don't let your concerns with people go unnoticed: if someone has hurt your feelings, that person will hear about it.
#

People energize and excite you—you love being in large groups and just having fun.
#

You also learn a lot about yourself by talking things out with others, even if you don't always share things that are important to you.
#

Although you are social by nature and are not hesitant to express yourself, you have a strong sense of right and wrong.
#

Understanding the dynamics of a situation is an important skill that you have, and you often intervene to clarify things for others.
If you want to be different:
#

You care about people, but finding the ones you can truly trust will allow you to get closer to them.
#

While you have strong opinions about what is right and wrong in the world, you risk coming across as judgmental—be sure to consider different perspectives when voicing your opinion.

Dubai

The whole situation is perfectly shameful. For anyone who doesn't know what has happened, see this. I have never seen a policy that was so blatenly racist and anti-free trade. The unintended consequences are fantastic. First, Arab companies have already begun discussing the withdrawal of investments in the U.S. Arab states, directly and indirectly, finance a large portion of our debt. The withdrawal of such investment could prove disasterous. This sends a signal to all foreign investment. We are already going to suffer long term repercussions for the Patriot Act's impediments to workers and students from abroad. We are tanking our capital structures for the future. This country's strength has long been the presence of both human and financial capital. As India and China continue to rise, students study elsewhere, and innovation takes place outside our borders, our advantage in human capital declines. Losses in investments and constarints on business here in the United States will sap our advantage in financial capital as well.

5 Minutes of Fame

A five minute cartoon synopisis of F.A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Thanks to Marginal Revolution.

NCAA Bracket

Some comments:

• I am a Terps fan to the end, but they did not deserve to go. Quit whining Gary and start recruiting for the future. This Terps class was a real letdown after the National Championship team.
  
• There WERE however some questionable picks for the tournament this year, many of whom played as inconsistently as the Terps and in weaker conferences.
• For once I can't disagree with the number 1 seeds.
• I do disagree with ALL of the number 2 seeds.
• George Washington got ripped off so badly with an 8 seed and a potential second round game against Duke after losing only 2 games.
  
• Speaking of Duke, how about that ACC championship? Duke really showed that it has a new group of punks to replace Reddick. McRoberts and Paulus are vying to become my new whipping boy. So far McRoberts is in the lead.
• If Hansborough doesn't win FOY...
• Gonzaga should have been a 2 seed and Michigan State should have been an 10.
• Cincinnati got screwed as well.
  

Restaurant Guide

This post will be a continual work in progress...
(See sidebar for permalink)

Rating System:
95-100 World class, everything is outstanding from service to ambiance to wine list
88-94 Among the best and favorites.
80-87 Very good, at times outstanding, but could be inconsistent or not provide a total dining experience
70-79 Good. May surprise you at times, usually inexpensive and casual.
60-69 Decent. A good weeknight, quick dinner out. Nothing fancy, but gets the job done adequately.
Below 60 Not recommended

Baltimore

Pazo-88--Spanish, Italian and French Riviera tapas. This is in my top 5 favorite restaurants in Baltimore. Try the involtini di tonno if it is available. Oh and the cannolis are the best I have ever had. The service is a bit spotty considering the Foreman training. The Pazo Red and Pazo white are 15 bucks each and eminently drinkable.

The Wharf Rat-79--This bar is the essence of the dirty sailors of Fell's Point's past. Don't go to the newer one on Pratt Street. The best micro-brewed beer in town and the best greasy bar food you have ever had. The pizza is some of the best in Baltimore and the chicken fingers are huge and juicy! Get both the BBQ and the honey mustard sauces. Wash it all down with Ironman Pale Ale.

Ixia-92--Aside from the dramatic space this restaurant is in, the food remains the star. Chef Kevin Miller is the most creative chef in Baltimore. His menu is constantly surprising and his food nearly world class. The fois gras and scallop appetizer is always pure pleasure and his take on bouillabaise is astounding. A friend recently loved the sweet potato gnocchi. Remember to save room for dessert as Kevin's training is in pastry. His homemade sorbets and ice creams are mind numbingly good and he is a master of bread pudding.

El Trovador-81--My favorite Salvadorean place in Baltimore. Stick with the platas tipicos and you can't go wrong. The portions here are enormous and the atmosphere is lively. Have a Tecate or two and some of the wonderful pupusa de puerco and the ribs are tender and good. Any of the biftek are great and so inexpensive. This is one of those restaurants where everything the waiter carries by your table, you ask what it is.

Arcos-73--Mexican food rules here in a interestingly renovated rowhouse. The owner is a contactor and he took parts from many different houses throughout Baltimore and used them to fashion this restaurant. It is beautiful, though a bit dark. Go when the backyard is open and they have tacos cut from meat on a spit and the mariachi band in the corner. The queso fundido with chorizo and the barbacoa are hits. Oh and the salsa and chips they serve are the best in Fells Point.

Mezze-86--The food here is very good and very consistent, but for some reason I can't rate this one higher. The spinach fritters and crabcakes are among my favorites. I also really like the grilled sardines. Do get the sangria! The food here is solid, I guess I just have never been blown away by anything. Its also a bit cramped and uncomfortable. Sit outside if you can. Update-went last night and I have not changed my mind a bit, in fact the waiter was awful.

Birches-90--I may be ranking this a bit high, but I was charmed to death by the atmosphere: the old wooden bar, the spittoon that ran along the base of the bar, the high ceilinged bathrooms with the old school trough in the men's room, the cozy dining rooms, the warm neighborhoody feeling and the magnificient food. The prices are a bit high. Some might balk at the 29 dollar fillet mignon or the 14 dollar shrimp and black bean wrap. I assure you that everything is worth it. The last time out I had perhaps the best burger I have ever had and my Companion had an awe inspiring cobb salad that fed us for 2 more days.

Fells Point Station-61--The only reason to go here is the wings. I am an expert on Buffalo style wings and these are the closest to the real thing.

Brick Oven Pizza-85--BOP has good pizza with a stunning array of toppings. The Lucky Seven is 7 cheeses and is heart stoppingly good. The greek salad is huge and amazing. The antipasto has 10-12 different toppings! Only place in Fells to get soy cheese for all you vegans. The cheesesteak wrap has what must be 1lb of meat and cheese in it.

Lucia's Pizzza
Lulu's
Slainte
Kooper's Tavern
Daily Grind
John Stevens LTD
The Waterfront Hotel
Bonaparte
Red Star
Burritos en Fuego
Jimmy's Restaurant
Admiral's Cup
Duda's
DuClaw Brewing Company
Fletcher's
Friends
Blue Moon
Ding How
Pierpoint
Thai Talay Grill
Asahi Sushi
Ze Mean Bean Cafe
Peter's Inn
Liquid Earth
One Eyed Mike's
Charleston
Chiru Sushi
Della Notte
Amicci's
Sarah's Cafe
Thairish
Helmand
Akbar
Red Maple
Brass Elephant
Banthai
Mick O'Shea's
Sacha's 357
Thai Landing
Brewer's Art
Tapas Teatro
Thai Arroy
Blue Agave
Spoons
Matsuri
Ten-O-Six
Regi's
Sam's Bagels
Sky Lounge

DC/MD/VA

Jaleo
Logan Tavern
Merkado
Rice
Lalibela
Java Green
Skewers
Coppi's Organic
Busboys and Poets
2 Amys
Thai Tanic
Zatinaya
Fado'
Vegetate
Veridian
Malaysia Kopitam
Bertucci's
A&J's
Joe's Noodle House
Mark's Duck House
Vegetable Garden
Amanna's Vegetarian Kitchen
Nirvana
14K
Chinatown Express
Teaism
Thai-Xing
Old Ebbitt Grill
Restaurante Tosca
Taberna del Alabardero
Thai Place
Bar Pilar
Julia's Empanadas
Soul Veg

Sen's take on the newest offering on the development shelf

Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning economist, looks at William Easterly's new book on development in Foreign Affairs. His review, which can be accessed here, chides him for overstatement and hyperbole, but he says that Eastely has some good points. I can't wait to read this and see his take on the problems in development.

The mathematics of derivatives

What an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal. Apologies to those who cannot access this. I think I might have to look up stochastic calculus.

At the Model UN Conference

I have been volunteering for the Baltimore County Public Schools Model UN, among others. I have worked on this for about 2 1/2 years now and find it so rewarding. I was just thinking about it as I sit here during the break and I encourage everyone to find something to do in your community. Just a few hours here or there can make a big difference. Many people see volunteerism as inherently classist, but I argue that everyone can find a few minutes to help.

Hockey IS Sport

With all of the steroid allegations present in baseball surrounding Barry Bonds, the lost season for child-like behavior we just saw Terrell Owens face, and the "terrible hardships" faced by Latrell Sprewell's family, major league sports has become a window on the dark side of human nature. These events are sadly, not isolated incidents.

Hockey, however, (aside the the unfortunate incident involving Todd Bertuzzi and the strike) has been free from much of the greed and self centered behavior we have seen in the other major sports. Now hockey is back and better than ever.

The poster boy for the new NHL has to be Alexander Ovechkin. Going into the season everyone was talking about Sidney Crosby, but compared to Ovechkin, Crosby has been quiet. Even if you don't like hockey, watch this montage. It is an amzing display. The guy is a 19 year old rookie and has already scored 40 goals this year. But what I like about him is that no one plays the game with more exuberance and energy, while making professional hockey players look like fools. You can barely believe he is playing against the best players in the world the way he is making them look! There was no one more fun to watch in the Olympics. Ovechkin has re-energized hockey and for me, sport as well.

Here we go again

I am a complusive blogger, as in I start Blogs and never post to them, eventually forgetting the password, then the address. So as a friend of mine did, I will not share this with anyone until I have made a significant contribution.