Glibertarians.com 2018 Archive

Category: Opinion

  • BakedPenguin’s NFL Pick-’em – Week 6

    I think I went 7-8 last week, so that sucks.

    If anyone wants to know, I got my odds here, on 10/3.

    It’s that time of the week again. Here are this week’s picks:

    Arizona at Minnesota (-10). I think the Vikings are the better team, but I don’t know if they’re 10 points better. I’m going to say no. ATL – take the points

    LA Chargers at Cleveland (PK). The Browns are a much improved team this year. Since they’re playing at home this week, I’m going with them. CLE – PK

    Chicago (-3) at Miami. Miami’s been playing much worse recently. Chicago’s been playing well. CHI – give the points

    Carolina at Washington (-1). Kind of surprised about this one. I think the Panthers are the better choice. Watch them lose by 3 TDs. CAR – take the points

    Indianapolis at NY Jets (-2). The Colts have been finding ways to lose all year, so with the Jets at home and the low point spread, I’ll go with them. NYJ – give the points

    Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (-1.5). Another game where the spread seems a little low. I’m going with the Bengals. CIN – give the points

    Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-3). Tough one to pick, but I’ll go with the Bucs. TB – take the points

    Seattle (-2.5) at Oakland. I think the Seahawks offense can deal with the Raiders defense. SEA – give the points

    Buffalo at Houston (-10). They have the same record, but the Texans have a much better point spread. Still, 10 points seems a bit high. BUF – take the points

    LA Rams (-7) at Denver. The Rams are steamrolling it this year, and the Broncos… aren’t. LAR – give the points.

    Jacksonville (-3) at Dallas. Jax hasn’t been that great, and Dallas hasn’t been that bad this year. I could go either way on this game, but I’ll pick the Cowboys. DAL – take the points

    Baltimore (-3) at Tennessee. Another couple teams with the same record, but I think the Ravens are the better team. BAL – give the points

    Kansas City at New England (-3.5). The Patriots have been playing better recently, but I think the Chiefs have the edge. KC – take the points

    San Francisco at Green Bay (-9.5). The Packers are the better team, but I think that point spread seems a bit high. SF- take the points

  • What Are Rights? A CPRM Framework

    This is the first in a series to discuss my Constitutional Property Rights Minarchist philosophy. I will take a look at each element individually before putting it all together. I figured I would start off with the nature of rights because that takes two of the CPRM parts off the table at once. This is because all rights are derived from property rights, which I aim to show through this thesis.

    So, what exactly is a right? Is a property right different than a human right? Is the right to keep and bear arms different than the right to free speech? Where do rights come from anyway? I bet they were just made up by some old dead white guy, so they don’t matter. Most of what I’m about to say is probably old hat to most of the readers, but I decided to lay it all out just to make sure before I get to the big picture.

    One note on rights off the bat (I like to reference pop culture) my favorite quote on rights actually comes from the band Powerman 5000 in their song ‘Free‘.

    “It’s not something you can hold
    It’s not something you own
    It’s not something you can buy or steal
    You’ve got it when you’re alone”

    A right is something you have regardless of where or when are born. To hit on the points above, it is a human right. Just by being human these are the rights you posses (why they’re limited to humans will be addressed later on). Well, if it doesn’t matter where or when you are born, then that means certain things can’t be rights. A person born where there is no water can not have a right to it, otherwise that ruins the whole idea that it is inherent in being human, unless you wish to posit people born in a desert are not human, but that would be awfully racist of you. For shame. I think you need counseling to deal with your racism. But you aren’t important, the idea is. So I digress. What other things can a human be born without that some call rights? Well the big one today is healthcare. But that is an even more resource intensive thing than water, I mean we could all spare some water, but there are only a limited few to provide healthcare. That would mean that to provide healthcare to masses would be to compel certain people to provide it. Another thing, which is written into the South African Constitution, is housing. Well, if you have a right to housing, that is also something someone else must be compelled to provide. I keep coming back to that word, don’t I. Compelled. It sounds so innocent. But what does that really mean? Let’s check Dictionary.com

    “com·pel

    kəmˈpel/

    verb

    past tense: compelled; past participle: compelled

    1.force or oblige (someone) to do something.

    “a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions”

    synonyms: force, pressure, press, push, urge; More

      • bring about (something) by the use of force or pressure.

        “they may compel a witness’s attendance at court by issue of a summons”

      • literary

        drive forcibly.

        “by heav’n’s high will compell’d from shore to shore”

    Oh, gosh that sounds violent. By use of force?

    No, we’ll just make a law about it.

    How will that law be enforced?

    Well by a tax, or a program.

    And if people don’t comply?

    Well, they’ll get taken to court and fined or put in jail!

    And if they don’t show up to court?

    They’ll show up.

    But if they don’t?

    Well, the cops will make them.

    How will they do that?

    Listen man, people do what cops say.

    And if they don’t?

    Then the cops make them.

    How?

    They just do.

    Is it the fact the cops ask nicely or the fact that they have guns?

    You’re killing my buzz man, leave me alone!

    So to go back to the beginning. Yes it is the old ‘private island’ thought experiment, but with a small change. It’s not an Island, but any place on earth where the first humans were the first intelligent beings to move to (that intelligent beings bit will come back on my promise of why they are human rights). Ug shows up with his sharp stick and his loin cloth in lower Mongolia. When he gets there what does he own? Well, of course he owns his own body, he is a slave to no man, and ownership of everything else extends from his self ownership. And that sharp stick, he found it and chewed it for miles to sharpen it. The loin cloth, well he stole that, so that’s a bit more complicated on the ownership front. So he arrives in lower Mongolia and there is nothing there. There is like this one pissed off falcon circling overhead and Ug saw some wild dogs a hundred miles ago. But that’s it. So Ug decides he’s tired of roaming sits his ass down and says ‘shit, fuck this Ug build himself house!’ There aren’t many trees around, but Ug finds enough to build a frame for a rough stone age yurt. He then hunts enough animals and tans enough leather to to finish his new domicile. Ug found some wild grains and harvested the seeds, carefully planting them and tending to his new garden. Then a wild goat shows up, he grabs it and builds a nice pen. The goat provides him with milk to make up for the absence of an accessible source of water. Months pass and Ug has made a nice little home for himself. Then that asshole Ur shows up.

    You goat be mine. You house be mine!

    No me house mine!

    No, me Ur be mine!

    No, me Ug be mine!

    After a tense stalemate. Ur makes an offer to Ug.

    Me know how make fire!

    Me know how milk goat!

    Me want milk!

    Me want fire!

    Me give you fire for milk!

    Me give you milk for fire!

    Me take your house!

    Me give you place to build house, if you give me hard rock!

    Me give you hard rock, if you build me house!

    And that is the right to contract. Ug created things that were not there when he arrived, and owned those as well as himself. Ur owned a rock which Ug wanted, so they traded. I know this is all farcical, but these are the underpinning ideas. You own your own body. You own the fruits of your labor, which you may trade for payment (today we call this going to work). But you know who doesn’t have any rights? Animals. You know why? It’s not because I’m racist against animals, believe me I have lots of animal friends. No, it’s because animals don’t understand rights. That is an important concept. To you this whole diatribe while slanted and farcical, is something you can understand. If I tell you this is mine and that is yours, that is a concept a human can grasp by the age of three. If you try telling that to a 100 year old tortoise it will still just eat your lettuce and shit on your floor. Tortoises are assholes.

     

  • Pondering pragmatism in politics redux

    A while ago I wrote about the issues of pragmatism in politics. Planning the second part, I ran into a serious dilemma: I could not find the proper alliterative title. I thought of words starting with p to indicate this is a second part of a previous post, but I found none.  Redux does not really work but r is sort of like p…

    But enough of my personal failings. Let us once more grab pragmatism by the balls… My first post was not a critique of the concept of pragmatism in itself – this can be a different story – but what I called pseudo-pragmatism. This is basically completely ignoring principles and the multitude of problems with many politicians in the name of so called pragmatism, leading descending spiral of corruption and incompetence which is not in any way “pragmatic.”

    This led me to think, get the old rusty cogs turning among the cobwebs. Where is the place of pragmatism in libertarianism? Can we find it some room of its own? The answer to this depends on who you ask. Because, otherwise, libertarianism would be thoroughly boring.

    I thought about expanding on the issue by analyzing pragmatism and ideology, not pragmatism and every day politics. Because I believe that an ideology which is not at least somewhat rooted in reality is mostly pointless, and basically not that better than utopian communism. It is quite easy – as the corpus of fantasy literature shows – to imagine all sorts of things and put them in words. Something that will actually work in our world – and not Middle Earth – is more difficult.

    To be fair, feudalism is probably better than anarcho-syndicalism

    Now, given there are 10 different opinions for every 9 libertarians, I assume few will agree to what exactly constitutes pragmatism in ideology. But, as many of our little talks around this place are in agreement, let’s get controversial.

    The main issue is: to what point can you bend a principle in service of being pragmatic, before it ceases to be a principle? Some would say not at all, slippery slope and such. Others would try to define some minimal leeway in it. Another way of viewing things is: can we design the principles to be pragmatic? My island experiment post was an attempt to start from some basic premise and define some principles, while keeping an eye on reality.

    So let us dive in the deep end… I see two types of political discussion. One idealistic, how we would like things to be in perfect universe (cough anarchism) and another what is a good enough ideology for the world we live in – presently, not 500 years from now or in some post scarcity utopia and/or dystopia. My answer is along the lines of minarchism plus, a form of limited government, free(ish) markets and personal liberty, enabling for each a life as close to what they want as can be.

    Now, I am all for talking anarchism for the sake of an interesting debate, but after a point, we need to get back on Earth Earth and see what has a chance in hell of working. What is not impossible, but merely highly improbable? Anarchy? Yeah… no. Minarchy? Probably not true minarchy. Reasonably limited government? Well that is a very long shot maybe.  Which, in the end, we might never live to see, but I am saying there is a chance.

    To clarify, by working, I mean something that allows the individual to live and thrive. Feudalism was stable for many years, but I would not say it worked. Certainly not for the serf. One out of 100 people in a harem may think it is working.  Somewhat anarchic Zomia worked a while, only if working means hunting, gathering, swidden agriculture and almost no capital accumulation.

    While this may or may not be possible, I am trying, against the modern trend, to find principles as objective as possible, otherwise it becomes a quagmire of subjectivism and feels. So I am trying to think of some basic guideline of organizing a political entity. This is not necessarily fully libertarian, but something that maybe can appeal to a slightly broader demographic.

    We can dismiss out of hand ideas that would work if humans were different. Humans have a certain nature, respond to incentives and are not some sort of altruistic angels. Teach murderers not to murder is not a viable idea, certainly not pragmatic in any sense of the word. Due to the problems associated with putting humans and power in the same room, I will say outright that no ideology without some clear limits on state power can function.

    As I believe that, quite objectively, humans are unique individuals, I believe any system needs to focus on individual human rights, not collective ones. A system must not sacrifice individuals – which are obviously a real entity, you can touch them if you want, as long as the sign the consent form – for the sage of a vaguely defined society – which may have a function as an abstract concept but does not really exist. Neither tyranny of minority or majority must rule.

    A functioning country must have some level of stability. A revolution every two years is not sustainable. At the same time there must be a way to change whatever “leaders” there are. Whoever is in a position to wield tools of coercion – police, justice, taxation, regulation, whatever – needs to be held accountable and have some skin in the game. History shows that when leaders can act with impunity, nothing good happens.

    So is socialism right out? Socialism was always right out. I never got the whole socialism would work if humans were better. If humans were better, it would still not work and anyway there would be no need of it. There is no situation where socialism is needed or desired. We can dismiss democratic socialism. It is lipstick on a pig, trying to add the veneer of legitimacy by the democratic part.

    Any form of dictatorship or monarchy should be excluded – this can rarely exist with accountability. A monarchy can be ceremonial at best. Any form of democracy must not lead to mob rule and must be restricted by the fundamental rights of the individual, as history can show us how people were often mistreated by bad laws that had the support of the majority. Excessive centralization is not desirable. This reduces accountability and skin in the game. It concentrates power and it makes corruption easier. It makes the coercive institutions distant for the individual.

    Economically, for better or worse, say what you will of the tenets of small government decentralized republics, it worked some. Yes, there was graft and government imposed monopoly and protectionism, but keeping government somewhat limited meant these could not mess things up to much. And when the state grew too much, there were always problems, even in the Swedish paradise.

    Socially, the main problems were brought by putting the so called collective over the individual. There are no clear models in history for ways of organizing that did not do this. Monarchies, republics, dictatorships, theocracies, capitalism, socialism they all wronged people. The solution is simply extending laissez faire economics of small government to the non-economic issues. I do not believe in social and economic division of freedom. They are either both or neither.

    Now what are my principles? Well I believe rights are individual and that peoplekind [hupersons?]  are social beasts. As such, living together, various conflicts appear. The core role of government is solving or mediating these conflicts in a fashion which best preserves said rights. There is an individual sphere – what is inside is none of societies damn business – and a common sphere – which is basically interaction of individuals, and the main issue with many forms of government is bringing into the common things that are individual. To take a small example, there can be a case for common involvement in health when it comes to contagious diseases e.g. quarantines, but not when it comes to broken legs.

    Believing in non-anarchy, I believe there is some taxation needed and this, in my view, is where I bend the principle some libertarians hold of taxation is theft / extortion / whatever. So to get to the actual point, basically the single land tax is a good idea, is where I am getting at.

    Anyway I think this topic can go on and on and as such I want to take it to the comments section… So how do you like your principles, fellow glibs? Medium rare or blue? Not cooked at all? Discuss …

  • 7 Costume Suggestions for the Sharp Dressed Orphan

    Once again, I am going to search the comments and distill the ones most likely to be an effective writing prompt.

    Which upon the dreaded realization that at the time it was August and they already had pumpkin beers out, you can probably appreciate my self-control for waiting until October to actually put this out for general consumption.

    This is my review of Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale. H/T Bob Boberson

    Of course, this also means that there were number of others things about October that people have little self-control in talking about—namely Halloween. Which means today we are going to discuss the top 7 libertarian Halloween costumes, because 7 makes sense.

    #7 (slutty) Rape Apologist

    This one is actually pretty easy to complete. Just dress up as a lawyer if you happen to be a unicorn female–bonus points for showing a little leg. If you happen to be a libertarian male, just wear what you are wearing anyway, and leave your pants open.  The key for both is to simply demand hard evidence for everything, and in every conversation. For example, did somebody spike the punch? Demand evidence that it was spiked, or that there was even any punch to begin with.

    #6 Rick Sanchez

    I don’t know why Rick is libertarian, to be honest. I never watched the show, but I am willing to entertain any arguments as to why or why not.

    #5 (slutty) Gender-Fluid Handmaidens Tale

    Again, this is also a simple to costume to create. Get a red smock, a bonnet and grow a beard. Once again, bonus points for showing more leg than required.

    #4 (Slutty and/or Gender-fluid) Ayn Rand

    Objectively, this costume is superior to all the others, because it allows for a level of morality…okay I can’t do it. If you have the stomach for it, I WANT TO SEE IT.  The downside, is everybody asking you why you are dressed like a peasant lady.

    #3 Kochtopus

    Amazon has plenty of octopus costumes for which you can wear, add top hat and monocle accordingly. However, you can take it to the next level by creating this lovely top hat with tentacles sticking out of the top. Simply add a monocle, some body paint, and you are golden.

    Things will get real ugly

    #2 Walt (Gran Torino)

    Halloween means a bunch of kids are going to be running around your lawn; there is only one effective way to keep them off your lawn and that is a M-1 Garand from your days in Korea and explaining it to them you wish for them to get off your lawn. If you prefer to chase them down, a Colt M1911 A-1 to the face after tackling those damn kids, will also do the trick.

     

    #1 Zombie John McCain

    Too soon?

    My friends, BRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!

    Its never too soon, Cowboy.

    So is this beer any good? You will not like it if you are not down with pumpkin ales. I however, happen to enjoy and appreciate the history behind the pumpkin ale therefore I will likely purchase this one again. This one is intense in its alcohol content and does not apologize for anything, just like all of these costume ideas. I give Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Pumpkin Ale a solid 4.5/5.

     

     

  • Self-Study or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Knowledge

    The Man, The Legend

    “Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company, and reflection must finish him.”
    –John Locke–

    To start off, I wish to thank Suthenboy and Trshmnstr in particular for inspiring me to write this after I read their pieces on rights, Natural Rights, and Natural Laws. Now for the meat of this piece.

    After my trip to the United States last month (Florida Glibs Represent!), I came back to my residence in Japan with fresh thoughts on the conditions of my fellow Americans, a few souvenirs for the office, and an old kindle from my father packed with tomes on political philosophy and the fundamentals of capitalism (such works included were The Law, The Road to Serfdom, Free To Choose, etc.). This, along with the pieces I’ve read on this website (I cannot thank the Founders enough for giving liberty-lovers like myself a home) and recommendations by fellow users here, were the inspirations for getting me back into reading for my own entertainment and knowledge. My long academic career killed most if not all of my passion for private reading and studying for quite a number of years.

    Lecture #1000 on how FDR Saved America with Socialism

    When it came to education (by education I mean the system and the curriculum), my teachers were able to convey the basic information, but they unfortunately left a lot of important details out. For example, my colleagues and I were taught about what the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence were as well as the U.S. government’s structure in our Civics and American History classes, but we were never taught WHY? What made America, what made our Founding Fathers develop and implement this revolutionary system? When it came to learning contemporary or inspirational political theories, we were only taught of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke vs. Thomas Hobbes (we were only taught the titles of their works, not exactly the content or comparisons of their works such as Two Treatises of Government and Leviathan respectively), and there were only passing references to the “Father of Capitalism” Adam Smith and Common Sense’s Thomas Paine. Also an honorable mention in class was The Federalist Papers however brief the mention was.

    Regrettably, I had no idea about the significance and dare I say it, nature, of natural rights and natural law until just this last year or two! I also didn’t know about Cicero or Charles-Louis de Secondant aka Montesquieu. To those who may not know, Cicero was one of the earliest proponents of the priceless concept that is Natural Law and Montesquieu was a major influence for the United States’ system of a tripartite separation of powers. These two individuals were definitely major influences for the Founding Fathers and Writers of the Constitution, yet all the textbooks and readings we were ever assigned never mentioned them. We were also never taught about Alexis de Tocqueville and his classic work, Democracy in America among other prominent authors in early American history. Finally, we were also never taught about the intentions of the Founding Fathers or the Writers of the Constitution (as seen in Washington’s Farewell Speech, various personal letters, or in The Federalist Papers). It took me quite a few weeks of lunch breaks, slow office days, and weekends to go through various works and subsequent analyses to understand and digest them.

    Seize the Memes of Production

    This next bit tackles a very different subject from the above, but I feel it is also gravely important especially considering recent events. Another major concept we were never really taught about in school was the exact nature of Communism. To be sure, we learned the basics of Communism (The People™ own the means of production, classless society goals, y’all know the rest) or who Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov “Lenin”, Karl Marx, Mao Zedong, and Josef Stalin (gulags were also covered, thankfully) were in our World History classes. However, we were never taught exactly WHY Communism has failed in practically every attempt it has been implemented or why the concept DOESN’T look good or function even on paper.

    With the “knowledge” I received from my school studies (this was all from Catholic private schools and my public college years), I was led to believe a government that ensures its citizens are totally equal, aren’t necessarily “poor”, and provided for is a good thing. What a shame that all the people who run this form of government always end up seizing more power and implementing Not-Real-Communism™. As a result, I was one of many young minds who merely thought it was a good concept on paper, but bad in application. To discover the answers and truth for myself, I had to dive straight into the heart of it: The Communist Manifesto. With an open mind and my almond primed, I finally read and understood for myself how rife with anti-life, anti-liberty, and anti-property rhetoric it was. I, for one, firmly believe in the concepts or the truths of Natural Laws and Natural Rights (ex. the rights to life, liberty, and property), all of which would be neutered by the philosophy and application of Communism (no absolute truths exist in Communism, Товарищ). If one is a member of the filthy “bourgeoisies” or refuses to cooperate with the revolution (looking at you Kulaks and Wreckers), their lives are to be forfeited for the sake of The People’s™ Revolution. If one wishes to ensure total equality in every way as well as micro-manage everyone’s actions and thoughts (ex. Communism requires the erasure of disgusting “Bourgeois-influenced” pre-revolutionary thoughts and memories for it to “work”), it would require a most repressive authority that would definitely violate everyone’s basic liberties. Finally, the abolishing of “Bourgeois” private property (such as the fruits of one’s own labor) and inheritance rights are self-evidently anti-property and anti-prosperity.

    In my experience, those of us who grew up after the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell (I was born in May 1992) were not told of many major contemporary references that could teach us about the horrors and evils of Communism’s application (yes, there are numerous unfortunate examples even today, but these are usually hand-woven away by some of our “experts”, educators, and media as the results of “American Capitalist” corruption, poor management, or just poor luck). However, I was fortunate my grandparents who were politically exiled after the Cuban Civil War (to paint a picture of them: one of my grandfathers was a soldier who fought and suffered injuries during the fights against Fidel Castro and the other was a toy store manager who was tortured and imprisoned for a crime he and his coworkers did not commit) taught me about life under that repressive system. I also heard other experiences from people such as North Korean defector Park Yeon-mi and Chinese immigrant Lily Tang Williams (I recommend watching John Stossel’s interviews and pieces with them in “Playing the Victim” and “100 Years of Communist Disaster” linked at the bottom if you haven’t seen them yet).

    More Likely Than You Think

    To conclude my self-study to ascertain why Communism could never work and how vital natural rights and laws are, I took some time to reflect on my life. In my experience, I never liked being coerced to give away my possessions or my time to random people (I try to be a charitable person, but it is always of MY own volition). My social interacting growing up also strengthened my belief and practice of the golden rule (thank you parents and my local church for instilling that in me). I also discovered how people even under the most similar socioeconomic backgrounds could have entirely different outcomes due to all sorts of variables and factors, many of which ultimately can never be controlled. Some of my closest friends ended up working all over the country for various companies, some are still stuck with their parents and getting their acts together. Finally, upon reflecting on my experiences living in a very rural part of Japan by myself with minimal assistance for years as well as the experiences of my grandparents when they first came to the United States of America with just a suitcase at best, I learned how they, other individuals, and myself can have the strength, will, and initiative to be self-sufficient and not just survive, but THRIVE. Our natural rights give us the foundations we need to build our lives and prosper, forwarding the progress of human civilization.

    In conclusion, I believe self-study is important if not essential to an individual’s growth. Sure, our education system does a bang-up job teaching its citizens (please laugh), but for us to have a true understanding of why things are the way they are, how we can build a better future for not just ourselves, but for our families and those we care about, and what we can do as individuals to ensure the above, we must study for ourselves. Whether we study by reading the works of various minds of the past, speaking with our forefathers, the elderly, or friends about their experiences and beliefs in detail, or simply reflecting on our own lives and experiences, we should practice self-studying to complete our intellectual journey as much as possible in the short life we have.

    As a final note, I wish to encourage everyone here to follow John Locke’s advice to take a few moments when you can to sit down and read a book, even if it’s one with content you may strongly disagree with (if anything, you can learn how to argue against a particular idea/belief more effectively), spend time with your family, loved ones, and friends, and finally, spend some personal time to reflect on significant moments or influences in your life that shaped your beliefs or who you are as a person today.

    Thank you fellow Glibs for reading and I hope you all have a pleasant day.

    Credits and Inspirations:

    “What are Rights?” and “What are Rights? An Encore” – Trshmnstr
    “Not Just Self-Evident” – Suthenboy
    The Glibertarian Community
    The 5000 Year Leap: Twenty-Eight Great Ideas That Are Changing the World – W. Cleon Skousen
    The Communist Manifesto – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
    Two Treatises of Government – John Locke
    Ameritopia – Mark Levin
    My Parents and Grandparents (R.I.P. Abuelo Tim, I love and miss you very much)
    “Playing the Victim” with John Stossel featuring Park Yeon-Mi
    “100 Years of Communist Disaster” with John Stossel and Lily Tang Williams

  • BakedPenguin’s NFL Pick-’em – Week 5

    I think I went 8-5-2 last week, so a little better than previously.

    If anyone wants to know, I got my odds here, on 10/3.

    It’s that time of the week again. Here are this week’s picks!

    Indianapolis at New England (-10.5). The Patriots are probably the better team, but they have been wildly inconsistent this year, which makes the 10.5 point spread seem a bit high to me, even at Foxboro. IND – take the points

    Baltimore (-3) at Cleveland. If the spread were a bit higher, I might take the Browns, but I think Ravens can cover 3 points. BAL – give the points

    Jacksonville at Kansas City (-3). Two pretty good teams, and the Chiefs very good offense makes for a compelling story going up against the Jaguars defense. While the traditional logic is to take the defense in that scenario, they’re also playing in KC, and the new rules restricting defense make me think the Chiefs have an advantage. KC – give the points

    Tennessee (-3) at Buffalo. The Titans are looking like a good team this year, and the Bills are looking… like the Bills. TEN – give the points

    NY Giants at Carolina (-7). The only thing I wonder about with this game is whether the Panthers can cover the spread. Based on not very much, I’ll say yes. CAR – give the points

    Denver at NY Jets (-1). A fight between two mediocre teams. However, with a one point spread, it’s essentially picking which team will win outright. Basically, who sucks less on the given day. I’ll say the Jets. NYJ – give the point

    Atlanta at Pittsburgh (-4). Another fight between two teams unlikely to see the playoffs. I want to pick the Steelers, but I’m really thinking they’re going to win by a FG or less. Ah, screw it. PIT – give the points

    Green Bay (-1) at Detroit. Another game that’s essentially a pick ‘em. I hate picking so many away teams, but I’m not picking the Lions. GB – give the point

    Miami at Cincinnati (-6). Damn, another game where I want to pick the away team, at least against the spread. I’ll ignore that here. CIN – give the points

    Oakland at LA Chargers (-6). I think LA is the better team here, and they’re at home, so this is one of my earlier choices. LA – give the points

    Arizona at San Francisco (-5). San Francisco isn’t that great, but Arizona has been terrible this year. SF – give the points

    Minnesota at Philadelphia (-3). I think the Eagles will be able to cover a 3 point spread at home against the Vikings. PHI – give the points

    LA Rams (-7) at Seattle. The Rams have been a much better team than the Seahawks this year, so this is one away team I don’t mind picking. LAR – give the points

    Dallas at Houston (-3). I really don’t know which team to pick in the Texas bowl, so I’ll go with the Texans at home. HOU – give the points

    Washington at New Orleans (-6.5). New Orleans has a very good offense, but they’re headed against a Redskins defense that isn’t bad. Meanwhile, the Washington offense isn’t bad, and they’re going up against a Saints defense that’s mediocre. If the spread was a bit higher, I’d probably go with Washington, but I do think NO can cover under a TD. NO – give the points

  • What Are We Reading – September 2018

    SugarFree

    I spent the month reading The Complete Chronicles of Conan, a volume issued to celebrate the centennial of Robert E. Howard’s birth. It not only collects the published stories but also the fragments and notes from Howard’s archived papers. The stories are arranged by publication order, my preferred way to read them, and were taken from the original publications with comparisons and corrections to Howard’s final drafts where still extant.

    Re-reading the Cimmerian’s adventures is like going out drinking with an old friend: you know all the stories but the pleasure of hearing them again cannot be dismissed. I also re-watched the 1982’s Conan the Barbarian, one of my favorite movies, the terrible Conan the Destroyer and the aggressively mediocre 2011 reboot (although I thought Momoa made a pretty good Conan.) And, to complete a total Conan emmersion, I re-read all The Savage Sword of Conan issues edited by Roy Thomas. So much barbarian action…

    Web Dominatrix

    When I’m not whipping websites into shape, I am a business consultant to service providers, so most of what I read is related to business. I just finished Scaling Up by Verne Harnish, founder of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Association. The book is all about how to scale a business and what a lot of companies get wrong.

    I really like that this book draws a distinction between starting a business and scaling a business, both two very different processes, but many “business gurus” lump them together.

    There are many concepts in this book that aren’t a great fit for service providers, though the author indicates these strategies could be used for any business. For example, the author says there are four areas in which one needs to optimise their strategies and systems, and one of the areas is “routine.” As a systems strategist, I would argue that routine execution needs to be built into each strategy and system, and not treated as a separate system itself. If each system isn’t designed to be implemented, then ultimately the system won’t be as effective.

    But I digress.

    All in all I would recommend this book for any business owner to read, but keep an open mind and think about where you can improve upon these concepts instead of merely accepting them as commandments written in stone.

    SP

    I’ve generally been a fan of Michael Connelly, dipping into his work here and there over the years. I realized a couple weeks ago that I’d never read the early Harry Bosch books. So I’m correcting that with The Black Echo: A Novel (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 1). I like to read series in order, so I can only imagine I first picked up a mid-series book laying around someplace way back when and didn’t realize at the time that it was, in fact, part of a series. Now, I will, of course, proceed to binge-read the complete Bosch books (in order). (Update: I’ve just moved on to Harry Bosch Book 2.)

    In the car while driving this week, I started listening to Ken Follett’s A Dangerous Fortune. The narrator, Michael Page, has a wonderful voice, and that’s improving the story considerably.

    Also, I’ve been trying to follow jesse.in.mb’s marvelous example and pare down my physical book collection. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I crack myself up!

    This week I did manage, though, to take a box of about 3 dozen books to my Dad, from whom I received my voracious read-anything-all-the-time habit. He’s read everything in all the libraries of his county, so we try to keep him supplied with interesting works. This time he received all my Rick Riordan Tres Navarre books (all now available on Kindle if I want to revisit them periodically), along with a bunch of others.

    Oh, yeah, and I am reading my constant companion: my pharmacology textbook.

    jesse.in.mb

    Slow month for me. I put away a trio of novellas by romantic fiction author Illona Andrews (it’s actually a husband and wife effort. Their Innkeeper novels are a foray into urban fantasy without erotic content and they were breezy literary candy. The downside is that Amazon now thinks I’m a randy heterosexual hausfrau. I’ll live.

    I set aside a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora at 1/5 of the way through, I was having a hard time maintaining interest.

    On the audiobook front I listened to Ken Lozito’s Genesis, which was entertaining enough although some sections seemed like filler. L.T. Ryan‘s Noble Beginnings is a big ol’ no for me. It’s 6 hours of uninspired fight scenes read in a clipped tone. I’m reminded of Homeric poetry in the way the author used a series of stock phrases without alteration over and over again. Various characters “hitched up [their] shoulder[s]” 27 times and shrugged once…at the end. I’d kind of assumed the author was unfamiliar with the word.

    Not Adahn

    I had thought about going on a rant abut how Catalyst Games has completely cocked up FASA’s Battletech, when I received a Mysterious Package in the post. Opening it, I discovered the following cookbook:

    I assume that this was written by UnCiv, and forwarded on to me for a review prior to a second edition, or perhaps for an additional cover blurb. It is somewhat distressing that my post box location was so easily obtained, but that was a risk of becoming known to the Glibhedrin.

    In any case, this is a wonderfully useful addition, as it allows me, through judicious variation of my orphan’s food supply to engage in carrot-and-stick motivation techniques, without the expense of obtaining carrots! My only criticism, minor as it is, is that in an effort to pad the book’s length to a full 28 pages, our UCS has engaged in excessive extravagance in his ingredients list on a few recipes. Butter, really?

     

     

     

     

     

  • Maximizing the Value of Your Timber

    Suthenboy is not a credentialed expert. This is just his personal experience, not legal advice. Consult credentialed professionals before attempting any of this.

     

     

    Some here have asked me about this subject so here it is.

    Timber buyers, obviously, want to pay as little as possible for timber. Timber growers want to collect as much as they can for their timber. The nature of timber purchase is speculation. From the time of sale a tree may stand for months before harvest. It may stand for a couple of years. From there it can lay in a yard for a couple of years. From there it may still be a year or more before that lumber lands in The Hyperbole’s hot hands. The buyer is trying to arrive at a price that allows them to make money in a future market. They have to take a chance on, mostly housing starts, years into the future.

    *If you want to get an fairly accurate prediction about the economy’s future performance, check the price of timber. Those guys aren’t screwing around, they know what they are doing and they aren’t political. BTW, timber prices on the stump are sky high right now. Must be those pesky Russians.

    If you are selling timber you may want to have a professional forester evaluate your timber and give you and estimated value. However, it is hard to know how incestuous a relationship exists between foresters and various buyers. Here is the best way to go about it once you are certain you want to sell your timber. It is tried and true.

    1. Do some research. Find all of the potential buyers in your area. This will include all of the saw mills, pulp mills and plywood mills. You may also find some timber brokers. It is hard to say how large your area is. Because of fuel cost and highway usage fees the further from your timber a mill is the less they will be willing to pay. Out of courtesy I include everyone inside about 50 miles but I know the best offers will be from those half that far away. Write a letter to each one announcing that you intend to sell your timber in a closed bid auction on a given date and time. Include a survey of your property, directions to and legal description of the property. Include a title search confirming that you are in fact the owner. These can be found at your Clerk of Court’s office. Include a copy of your contract. Invite them to examine the timber at their leisure.
    2. Contract. You should be able to get a timber sale contract from your local clerk of court easily. Every state has different style and requirements. Get an example at your local courthouse of someone else’s completed sale from the clerk’s office. Just walk right in and tell them what you want, they are glad to help. The contract should include things like access, road building, time limits, damage repair and clean up. Use that contract as a template for your own and adjust the terms to your liking.

    Consider things that will increase your price: clean up is expensive. If they have to spend 10K or 20K on labor and gasoline pushing tree tops around, it will be reflected in your price. Those tops will rot away in a couple of years on their own.

    Remember, they are speculators. The longer you give them the better off they are. Here, most time limits are 6 months. I give ‘em two years. That will be reflected in your price. Most land will restore itself in a couple of years and bulldozers are damned expensive to operate. That will be reflected in your price. Don’t worry about minor things: Often the cutter will change oil several times and just dump the used oil on the ground. Don’t sweat it. That will be gone in a couple of years on its own.

    Lastly, make certain that the contract places liability on either the cutter or the buyer if they cut over the line. Once they crank up the saws you have no control over them so you should have no liability.

    If any of this makes you nervous, get a lawyer. There are a lot of good land guys around that will facilitate a sale for a modest fee.

    1. Clearly mark your lines with paint before the potential buyers inspect it. Most harvesters will not cut the trees with the paint on them. They are considered ‘line trees’ and will be left as future markers. Chose crooked trees, don’t mark veneer quality logs. The buyer wants those. If you are uncertain about those lines you may want to have a survey performed, but that can be expensive. If you are on good or neutral terms with your neighbors it is a good idea to have them accompany you to examine where the lines are before you paint so that you are in agreement.
    1. If you have any contact with any of the buyers do not discuss money. Do not discuss price. I cannot overemphasize this. If they try to bring it up inform them that you absolutely cannot discuss money until after the bid. If you are seen as someone who tries to manipulate a sealed bid auction no one will touch you. Word will spread and no one will show up at your bid. In fact, you may never be able to sell your timber. You will become persona non-grata. Not acting in good faith will burn you.
    1. Rent a small conference room at a mid-level hotel. Don’t go expensive, don’t go cheap. You don’t want cracked-out hookers accidentally wandering in while you are opening bids. Bring cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, etc and coffee. Lots of coffee. Most of the buyers that intend to place a bid will RSVP so you should have a good idea how many people you are serving. Hopefully you will be serving at least ten.
    1. You should have a check-list of everyone you sent an invitation to. Check them off as they arrive. If at the appointed time there are some that did not show ask the room politely if you can wait another few minutes. If you have anyone who cannot wait do not try to accommodate the person who is late.

    *At least once the winning bidder showed up about ten minutes late, and they weren’t the winner by just a little bit.

    1. Collect all of the bids in plain sight of everyone. Open them and read them out loud so that everyone can hear. Just read the numbers and then place the bids out in plain sight on the table. When you have finished, pick the largest bid and announce it and the bidder. Thank everyone for coming. If there are any who don’t have to be anywhere try to engage them in conversation so that you can pick their brain. Ask questions. These guys know the business inside and out.
    1. The winning bidder will likely have the check on them, already filled out. They will present it to you and you both will sign the sale contract. You should have two copies of the contract to sign.
    1. Immediately after the sale you want to do two, maybe four things. First go to the bank and deposit the check. Find out how soon the money will be available.

    Then go straight to the courthouse and record the contract with the Clerk of Court. Lastly, if the money is available go straight and pay any local, state, or federal tax you owe. Don’t feel flush and think you will do it later. Do it now.

    I also recommend, while you are at the bank to open a separate account to reserve some of the money for future property tax, a personal ESCROW. Those taxes are going to come due like the sun will come up. Make sure you have the money when the time comes.

     

    As it turns out maximizing the value of your timber is a lot of work. If you are only going to do it once in your life you want to get it right. I have included as many pointers as I can think of. My father wrote a detailed book on the subject, but I can’t seem to find my copy. It’s buried in a mountain of books. If it turns up I’ll let y’all know and anyone that wants a copy, just ask. I will be happy to share it.

    Last bit of advice – There are timber companies and land management companies that purport to manage your timber for you. In return they want exclusive rights to your timber when it comes time to harvest. They will lock you into a contract and thus into a price. NEVER ENTER ONE OF THESE CONTRACTS. They are not crooks. They think it is fair because of the services they provide which might include a survey, but probably not, justifies reducing the sale price. You will end up with a minimum price just short of being legally actionable. DON’T DO IT.

     

  • BakedPenguin’s NFL Pick-‘em – Week 4

    I think I went 8-8 last week, but in my defense, I never said I wasn’t terrible at handicapping.

    If anyone wants to know, I got my odds here, on 9/26.

     

    It’s that time of the week again. Here are this week’s picks:

    Minnesota at the LA Rams (-7) The Rams have looked really good every week this year. The Vikings have looked like…. The Vikings (non-early-1970’s). 7 points at home? LAR – give the points.

    Miami at New England (-7) I hate to pick against a team that’s come up with a way to win for many years, (and at home, too.) but New England has not been looking good this year. The Dolphins have found a way to win this year. And against a TD spread? MIA – take the points.

    Houston at Indianapolis (-1½) The Texans have looked like a team that finds a way to lose – all three games this year. Indy just looks like a bad team, one that’s playing at home. IND – give the points.

    Cincinnati at Atlanta (-5½) Atlanta’s not a horrible team, and Cincinnati isn’t a great one, but 5½ points to the Falcons seems a bit much. I’d say the Bengals will at least cover the spread.CIN – take the points.

    Buffalo at Green Bay (-10) The Bills are an odd team. Mostly terrible, but can come out to play, as the Vikings saw. And since the Vikings tied the Packers, it would seem like both opponents would be comparable for the Bills. Therefore, I’m going to go with the Packers in this one (I know it makes no sense; that’s the point. Fuck you.) GB – give the points.

    Detroit at Dallas (-10) This one is hard for me, as I’d like to see both teams lose. 10 points seems like a lot for the offense starved Cowboys, even against a team with as shoddy a defense as the Lions. DET – take the points.

    NY Jets at Jacksonville (7½) The Jags are almost certainly a better team than the Jets; the real question is what the Jets will show – will they be the same team that smashed the Lions, or the one that gave Cleveland its’ first win in a couple years? For that coin flip, I choose not: JAX – give the points.

    Tampa Bay at Chicago (-3) Again, I think Tampa is a better team than Chicago, but Chicago is home. Ehh, I’ll give this one to the road warriors. TAM – give the points.

    Philadelphia (-4) at Tennessee. The Eagles are tough, but so are the Titans. And the Titans are at home. TEN – take the points.

    Seattle (-3) at Arizona. Wow, you really have to suck. I mean, you really have to suck when you are a field goal down to Seattle as the favorite. Kinda hate to do this, but I’m going to pick the Cards here. ARI – take the points.

    Cleveland at Oakland (-2½). Cleveland’s been playing a lot better this year, but they’re playing in Oakland. However, the spread is low. Yes, I’m actually taking the Browns, minus the points. Watch them win by 1. CLE – give the points.

    San Francisco at LA Chargers (-10½) The 49rs suck, but I don’t think they suck more than a TD + FG against the Chargers (who aren’t that great themselves), even in LA. SF – take the points.

    New Orleans (-3) at NY Giants. Yeah, the Saints are a better team than the Giants. I’d give them this one. NO – give the points.

    Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-3). Yeah, and the Ravens are a better team than the Steelers, I’d give them this one. BAL – take the points

    Kansas City (-5) at Denver. The Chiefs might have it over the Broncos, but a 5 point fav in Denver? They  aren’t that good. DEN -take the points.

  • Poll: Favorite Season

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    Autumn is the best season.

    • Beautiful, complex, ever-changing views, that surprise one as one turns a corner.
    • Crisp, cool, low-humidity air.
    • Leaves to wade through, releasing that wonderful scent and that fun rustling noise.
    • Apples and pears to pick.
    • The Fucking Hate Birds, the Birds That Hate go away.
    • The lawn no longer needs mowing, yet there is no snow to shovel.
    • The final burst of ripening vegetables.
    • Fewer humans in the grocery store in the middle of the day.
    • “Indian” Summer.
    • REAL football
    • No more mosquitoes.
    • Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.
    • Apple cider and doughnuts.
    • The annual visit from a beloved European friend.
    • Pressing colorful leaves in wax paper to hang in the window.
    • Wonderful deserted lakes on which to canoe and kayak.
    • Lower electric bills, because a/c is off and heat is not yet on.
    • The return of casseroles, fondue, and heavier red wines.

    Do you agree with me, and are therefore correct? Or do you have a different, inferior, opinion?

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