Foooooood!

Here's a list of what the Times OnLine says are the fifty best food blogs....

How can Mugabe get any more shockingly awful?

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace have secretly bought a £4m bolt-hole in the Far East while his country struggles with hyper-inflation, mass unemployment and a cholera epidemic.

The Mugabes’ house, in an exclusive residential complex in Hong Kong, was purchased on their behalf by a middleman through a shadowy company whose registered office is in a run-down tenement block. When a reporter and a photographer called at the house last week, they were attacked by the Zimbabwean occupants. The assailants were questioned by the police.

The property came to light during a Sunday Times investigation into the Mugabes’ financial interests in Asia, where a web of associates has helped them to spend lavishly on luxuries and stash away millions in bank accounts. In Zimbabwe, meanwhile, inflation has reached 231m%, unemployment stands at 94% and 3,467 people have died in recent months from cholera.

According to sources in Zimbabwe and Asia, Grace Mugabe has splashed out £55,500 on marble statues in Vietnam and £8,700 on a handbag in Singapore. She and her husband have enjoyed some of the region’s finest hotels.

In Hong Kong, where she has discussed a venture to have Zimbabwean diamonds cut and polished in China, her aides paid one hotel bill with a bag of cash containing £10,500. [Times]

Endangered Languages

The world has lost Manx in the Isle of Man, Ubykh in Turkey and last year Alaska's last native speaker of Eyak, Marie Smith Jones, died, taking the aboriginal language with her.

Of the 6,900 languages spoken in the world, some 2,500 are endangered, the UN's cultural agency UNESCO said Thursday as it released its latest atlas of world languages...

There are 199 languages in the world spoken by fewer than a dozen people, including Karaim which has six speakers in Ukraine and Wichita, spoken by 10 people in the US state of Oklahoma...

India tops the list of countries with the greatest number of endangered languages, 196 in all, followed by the United States which stands to lose 192 and Indonesia, where 147 are in peril. (Yahoo.com)

So, what is the impact of a language being lost? Clearly, language is an important part of culture and so with the loss of a language, the world loses part of the global cultural heritage.

On the other hand, how do you keep these languages alive? People must not be passing them to the next generation because they are not useful. I remember reading years ago that these languages are largely lost to languages linked to political or economic power, like English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic...

Fascinating Chicago Buses

According to the Chicago Tribune:

The CTA Bus Tracker Web site has received 15,395 visits since last year from people in Norway or whose computers or personal wireless devices were registered in that country.

That's more Web "hits" than any other country outside the United States, according to the information-technology gurus at the CTA.

But it doesn't appear that most of those 15,000-plus Norwegian folks happened along to the Bus Tracker site ( www.ctabustracker.com) by accident because 75 percent of them clicked through to visit other pages on the CTA Web site and spent more than 18 minutes there before moving on, officials said.

"Many people just like to watch buses on their computer, even if they are not planning a trip," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said.

It is kinda cool to watch the buses go 'round. Give it a try.
Hat tip: Margaret.

China vs. India

Here's an interesting excerpt a review in Foreign Policy of the book, Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China, written by the first Chinese-speaking Indian journalist in Beijing:

Whether it’s the breathless pace of China’s economy versus India’s slower, more measured growth, or China’s communist political system rated against India’s complicated democracy, the two countries are endlessly dissected in relation to one another. Yet amid all the hand-wringing over which country is “beating” the other in their race to industrialize, one simple question sums up very pointedly the debate over which one is making life better for its citizens. It’s a question few dare to ask in polite circles: If you were born today, would you rather be Chinese or Indian?

Delhi-born Pallavi Aiyar, the first Chinese-speaking Indian journalist based in Beijing and author of an engaging new book about the two countries, takes on the charged question. The best option, she contends, is to be a high-caste Indian man. His political freedom would certainly outweigh the economic opportunities of any Chinese citizen, she argues. But if that weren’t possible, she’d choose to be a wealthy Chinese woman, because she wouldn’t be as constrained as her Indian counterparts by low literacy rates and limits on female participation in the public sphere. If she had to be poor, she’d go with China. An Indian latrine cleaner may get to vote, she says, but a Chinese one is far less likely to be viewed as completely subhuman.

PJ O'Rourke on Adam Smith

In today's FT...

How then would Adam Smith fix the present mess? Sorry, but it is fixed already. The answer to a decline in the value of speculative assets is to pay less for them. Job done.

We could pump the banks full of our national treasure. But Smith said: “To attempt to increase the wealth of any country, either by introducing or by detaining in it an unnecessary quantity of gold and silver, is as absurd as it would be to attempt to increase the good cheer of private families, by obliging them to keep an unnecessary number of kitchen utensils.” [440]

We could send in the experts to manage our bail-out. But Smith said: “I have never known much good done by those who affect to trade for the public good.” [456]

And we could nationalise our economies. But Smith said: “The state cannot be very great of which the sovereign has leisure to carry on the trade of a wine merchant or apothecary”. [818] Or chairman of General Motors.

Hyde Park - at the center of the Universe?

Well, there are some who would say that the University of Chicago has always been the center of the Universe, but it's certainly stepped up since the election of our home-town boy.

This afternoon, an an incredibly gorgeous unseasonably warm day in Chicago, I opened the door to the fire escape and say four Marine Corps helicopters flying over.

Is our Prez in town visiting home?

Almost missed it!!

The Westminster Dog Show is already 1/2 over already and I've missed the terrier group. :-( Here's a link to the Westie judging.
But you can still watch the final judging and Best in Show tonight!

Here are some great pics.

This is, of course, also a great time to watch the 2000 movie Best in Show - a classic for all times.

I wonder if George realizes that some day he'll be the proud papa of a Westie and an Afghan Hound.

More on Enlightenment

I'm so glad to see that the subject of Enlightenment elicited so many responses!

To follow on in a bit less light-hearted vein, here's a great quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.:

The time is always right to do what is right.

How Enlightened Are You?

A Test:

If you can live without caffeine or nicotine;
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains;
If you can resist complaining;
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you any time;
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment;
If you can ignore friends' limited educations and never correct them;
If you can treat the rich and poor alike;
If you can face the world without lies or deceit;
If you can conquer tension without medical help;
If you can relax without liquor;
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs;
If you can have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, or politics;

Then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog.

Davos Psychology

Here's an interesting piece on the Foreign Policy site on the behind-the-scenes mood at Davos:

When participants were asked whether they think they have done something in their career which "might have contributed, even in a minor way, to the financial crisis," 63.5 percent opted for a clear "no"; 31.5 percent went for a "yes," often adding in the same breath that nobody in the industry can honestly claim otherwise; and 5 percent said "maybe."

The "yes" people were then asked to explain what triggered their wrong decisions. They had three options: "too much optimism" (68.7 percent), "I felt I had to keep dancing while the music was playing" (31.3 percent), or "greed" (0 percent)....

For all the talk of the more "somber" mood at this year's event, there were about 100 more private jet movements at the Zurich airport last week than during last year's event. I'm not sure if the irony was lost on the organizers who handed out pedometers to forum participants, to encourage them to walk and reduce their carbon footprint.

Super Bowl Warm-up

Here's a great round up of the best of commercials past...

Consumption = Life?

I'm passing along a reference from my friend's very good blog, Thoughts in the Days of an Economist, from Andrew Sullivan on the economy:

Why is a lower standard of living unimaginable for us for a while? Why is it essential that income keeps rising? Why can't we do more with less?...

This is why our problem is not just economic; it's spiritual. We have mistaken consuming for living.

Healthy body, healthy mind

Before he agreed to cook for the Obama family in the White House, Chicago chef Sam Kass was already talking about changing the way American children eat.

During weekly Tuesday gatherings at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in Chicago, Mr. Kass hosted “Rethinking Soup,” which he described as “a communal event where we will eat delicious, healthy soup and have fresh, organic conversation about many of the urgent social, cultural, economic and environmental food issues that we should be addressing.”

In May, over a meal of locally-produced beef and barley soup, Mr. Kass lamented the sorry state of the National School Lunch Program, which provides low-cost or free lunches to schoolchildren. He noted that what gets served up to kids is influenced by government agricultural subsidies. As a result, he says, meals served to students are low in vegetables and disproportionately high in fat, additives, preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup. (He also links the high consumption of sugary foods and food additives to learning difficulties and attention deficit disorder, although the medical community remains divided on that issue.) [NYT]

And the serious stuff....

:Michelle's fashion, the take by the NY Times. I loved the yellow dress for the inauguration. Wasn't quite as excited about the white dress for the balls.

Chant with me.... Obama! Obama!

Here's a link to the full text of the inauguration speech.

Some of my favorite lines:

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.....

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage....

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. [!!!]....

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.

Micro-franchising

Here's a piece in Business Week about a group in Colorado developing franchises for the <$1/day billion people on the earth:

Most of us look at the 1 billion men, women, and children in the world who live on less than a dollar a day and see poor people. Paul Polak sees market failure. He sees 1 billion potential entrepreneurs who would rather earn money than accept handouts, if given the opportunity. And if companies would develop the products these people needed, he sees 1 billion potential customers as well.

It may seem obvious that poor people are poor because they don't have enough income, but most anti-poverty programs don't actually focus on helping people earn more. "So much money is wasted on big infrastructure projects and government-run programs," says Polak, from his airy office in Denver. "We need to change the way we approach development. We need to see the poor as customers rather than charity recipients." On a roll, he adds, "we need a revolution in how multinationals design, price, and market their products. There is a huge virgin market out there!"

"Windhorse is a combination of disruptive technologies and microfranchising," he says, offering the example of a "Windhorse Energy" franchise. The company has developed a cheap device made of plywood and mylar that will reflect sunrays on a solar panel, intensifying the light by a power of 10. The concentrator essentially turns a 20-watt solar panel into a 200-watt unit for marginally higher cost. Customers who buy the $200 setup become micro-utilities, reselling the electricity to anyone who needs to charge, for instance, a cell phone or a motorcycle battery and, says Polak, earning back their initial investment within six months.

Manners/Social Skills

There's a piece in the NY Times discussing how teaching children social skills or manners is critical, in fact the central point of child rearing, perhaps.

But that first big counterintuitive lesson — that there are other people out there whose feelings must be considered — affects a child’s most basic moral development. For a child, as for an adult, manners represent a strategy for getting along in life, but also a successful intellectual engagement with the business of being human.

While I believe this is true and if I ever have a child I will teach him/her manners, I wonder if it really does make life better for the child. It certainly makes life better for people around the child, but the world is so full on rude, self-centered people that I wonder if you're better off also being self-centered. If you are, then you will ignore the rude people and give as good as you get.

Will rude, self-centered people actually get farther in life or business?

I'm applying!

Could it get better than this?

An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.

The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner's home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's state government announced on Tuesday.

In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.

The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.

Obama and Europe

Another good article from today's FT taking a look at how the relationship between the US and Europe will change with the new administration, and how the US may ask difficult things of its European allies.

With Barack Obama’s arrival in the White House on January 20, differences between the US and Europe are likely to narrow on policies ranging from climate change to detention of terrorist suspects at the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. As a result, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic – the alliance that won the cold war and which still represents the most significant economic relationship in the world – are looking forward to working together more closely than they have for years.

All the same, Europe is about to discover yet again that America can be an uncomfortable ally. Strobe Talbott, former deputy secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, warns of “a very real risk of excessive expectations”. But he adds: “There will be an eagerness in many capitals around the world for President Obama to succeed ... because of a recognition that these extraordinary, difficult and multitudinous problems are not going to be amenable to solution unless there’s mutual effort and American leadership.”

On issues such as Guantánamo Bay and Afghanistan, the US is likely to make painful requests of the Europeans, requests that will be all the harder to ignore precisely because of the philosophical convergence between the two sides. Difficult strategic decisions await on topics such as Iran, the Middle East and Russia. All the time, Europe and America will have to work closer than ever on the issue Mr Obama identifies as his biggest challenge of all – the economic and financial crisis.

Euro Default

There's a column in today's FT contemplating the default of a Euro-zone country, possibly Spain, Greece or Ireland. All of their bonds have been downgraded in the last few days, fueling speculation on their economic strength. Indeed the Euro is down almost 10% in the last few weeks because of this speculation and fell 1% just on the news of the Spanish downgrade.

A crisis over Greece might be the euro’s ultimate “stress test” (to borrow a phrase from Daniel Katzive of Credit Suisse). If the eurozone could find a way to deal with a default, that might confirm the euro’s status as the world’s next reserve currency.

But if the eurozone could not work out a solution, and a country exited, any such ambition would be over.

The dollar-euro exchange rate affects many other assets.

Now that fears are in the open that Greece (or another peripheral country) could be the Trojan horse that breaks up the euro, any news on this front could shake many other markets.

Endless fun

I'm home not feeling well today. Fortunately, I have a laser pointer and two cats. When one gets tired of chasing the red dot on the floor the other one takes over.

Hours of fun. I highly recommend it.

Food/Gardens/Locavores in Chicago

There is a community garden just a few blocks south of our place where you can get a garden plot for the summer. Now that I'm all married and stuff, I guess I'm feeling domestic (domesticated?) and was searching around on the web for information trying to figure out how to get a plot. I ran across many interesting Chicago and Hyde Park foodie resources:

The Local Beet - a Chicago locavore blog, nice name, eh?
Experimental Station - Artist's loft now hosting farmers market, cafe, garden plot coordinators and bicycle repair workshop/youth employment center

Chicago's Green Hotels

The City of Chicago began a Green Hotel Initiative, working to have the most green hotels of any city in the country. Given the incredible resource use that hotels represent, I love that the City is working on this. Thirty-some hotels have either gone through the certification process already or are on their way.

Lao-Tse on Peace

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

chinese philospher - lao-tse - 6th century bce

If you're feeling the need for peace or a bit of stress reduction, go to this website where I found this piece: WorldPrayers.org. Click on Meditations at the bottom.