Random Notes from a Crank

This recent strip about happiness from Existential Comics is worth a read. In the bald guy's last counter-example, he's wrong. Happiness can be a both/and deal. The young man who enjoyed "reckless hedonism" was happy then, and the same man but now older with "a life of responsibility" is also happy. He's just a different man with different goals, desires, and aspirations. Happiness is contextual and relative to what that person is like and time. 

Or maybe I was once a fan of "reckless hedonism." 

The other day I was told a person got a divorce. It reminded me of one of my fraternity brothers who liked hearing when someone had gotten a divorce because in his mind, that data point (another person getting a divorce) increased his chances that he wasn't going to get a divorce. 

That's one way to look at it. 

I'm a fan of an interesting map. For your viewing pleasure, check out the Tax Foundation's "The Real Value of $100 in Each State." It's not all that surprising, but for a cheapskate, miserly, frugal person like me, if I ever aim to move, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana are on my radar.