Stossel on Stop Signs

Do fewer stop signs reduce the number accidents? John Stossel has a great column. He also touches on how traffic tickets can quickly turn into a money making scheme for both cities and police officers.

Black Hole Stupidity

This has made it's way around the net, but it is just too stupid for me not to link to.

A Dallas county commissioners court meeting resulted in charges of racial insensitivity when one commissioner referred to "black holes."

Forget looking for intelligent life in outer space; it's hard enough to find it on Earth!

On Naming Stuff After People

It has begun. Waco came extremely close to naming an elementary school after Barack Obama.

I dislike the idea of naming stuff after people. If a new school is built, name it after the town or the street it's on. If a new highway or road is constructed, give it a number or name it after a tree. Naming stuff after people inevitably results in nonproductive tinkling contests. The only times I like the idea of naming something after someone is as a joke (such as "The Michael Vick Humane Society Annex") or as a back handed compliment (such as naming a park lot "The Joe Blow Memorial Parking Lot" before Joe Blow actually dies).

Would naming the new Waco elementary school "Barack Obama Elementary" versus "J.H. Hines Elementary School" actually improve educational quality?

Probably not.

Furious at the Gas Station

I often find myself spinning into a furious rage at gas stations and it has absolutely nothing to do with the price of gas. It is caused by other drivers, such as the way people park at the gas station, how they cut through the service bay as opposed to going around it, leaving their vehicle at the pump after they've filled their tank, etc. I cannot understand the rationale behind any of this. If you park square and in the designated spaces, then everyone can maneuver more efficiently. If you go around the service bay to enter or exit the station, you cut down on the potential for accidents. If you need to buy a soda after getting gas, pulling up to the store opens up a pump for someone else. The question is why doesn't anyone seem to do any of these things? Do gas stations not have an incentive to enforce some level of rules in their parking lots to facilitate their operation?

The only way I've found thus far to subdue my rage is to find the smallest area between two vehicles I can fit through and drive my truck through it. Usually someone is watching. Maybe eventually someone will come to the same conclusions I have and gas stations will become more pleasant places.

Various Stuff

• One reason for the higher price of milk: sawdust!
• From Arthur Brooks: money can't buy happiness, but earned success does.

Current Projects

Here is what I'm currently trying to figure out by channeling my inner Tyler Cowen.

• How can you combat the universal human tendency to stop in door ways? How many times have you been to a large event and the human traffic stops moving the moment you get to the door because everyone before you has stopped in the door? How can incentives be used to get people to take enough steps to keep the flow of traffic moving?
• How can you get people to stop donating garbage to charity or giving you garbage? For example, someone can't bring themselves to throw away a worn out piece of furniture, so they give it to their church. On an individual level, if someone gives you garbage, you can give them garbage in return. At some point things should stop because the original giver no longer wants you to reciprocate. On the charity level, I'm not sure what to do.

The Good and Bad of NIMBY

I've come to the conclusion that NIMBY has at least one virtue: it is proof that we've become wealthy and prosperous enough that we can afford to keep various productive activities out of our backyards without massive consequences.

On the other hand, if taken far enough, NIMBY could kill the goose that lays the golden egg; i.e. any business that someone finds offensive will be run or kept out of town thereby destroying or preventing prosperity. See Marlin, Texas for an example.