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. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In yet another moment of middle-aged reflection, I happened to be listening to the local classic rock station the other day. They played "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam. Early Pearl Jam has now become classic rock radio fare -- ear candy canon fodder. So depressing.

That moment of reflection and depression moved me to put Ten into my CD rotation in the car though. What an outstanding album. 

Because of certain media outlets' love affair with Governor Christie, Grist have provided an important article that details his track record with environmental issues: "Chris Christie is No Moderate on the Environment." 

In a related post on Climate Progress, "Top Climatologist Slams Science Magazine for Getting the Extreme Weather Story Very Wrong," Joe Romm recounts researchers' reactions to a Science magazine article.  

One of my pals sent this article, "Your Personality Type Determines Your Paycheck," to me. As an INTJ (very strong introversion and moderately strong in judging), I'm miffed that the ENTJs are supposedly making more loot than others of us in the "rationalist" category. As I said in a different forum, "I will quietly reflect on this 'fact,' consider the implications, and judge the extroverts for being the bastards they are." [That's me quoting me.] What's clear though is that it doesn't pay to be an idealist. However, the graphic distorts the differences quite a bit. 

If you're looking for more visual stimuli, check out Reid Wilson's "Which of the 11 American Nations Do You Live In?" in the "GovBeat" section of The Washington Post. Wilson talks about Colin Woodard's argument that the US can be seen as 11 politically separate nation-states. I'm sure the dividing lines are a bit murkier than presented, but here's how my life has played out according to Woodard's map. I grew up in the upper Midlands but very close to Yankeedom for eighteen years. I then lived at the northwestern edge of Greater Appalachia for eight years with one year in a major metro area in the Midlands. Then I spent four years in the Deep South and returned to a metro area in the Midlands surrounded by Greater Appalachia. And now the Nasty family lives in Greater Appalachia in a strong "blue state."  

A Map, History, & Music

If you like a map and history set to music, check out the video below. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Yesterday, I prepared some cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped jalapenos. I went out to start the grill and discovered, eventually, that my grill is dead. I've had it for a long time, and I've needed a new one for a while. The second burner was all corroded and rusty and barely pumping out any heat. For the past few months or so, I've been grilling with one and a half burners. 

I got the grill, if I remember correctly, as a gift for one of my first fathers' days, back when we lived in South City (St. Louis). As much as that fact holds sentimental value, I'm really like my new grill: four burners, a fully functioning side burner, and an electric start mechanism.

It was fairly easy to put together. Except I missed one part of the directions. After I had it all put together, for some reason I couldn't get the electric starter to work. Curse words were used. Then Mrs. Nasty noticed a AAA battery on the ground, smiled mockingly at me, and leafed through the directions to discover that I hadn't put in the battery for the electric starter. Typical move by this here hombre. 

I like maps and atlases, which I've prattled on about before. I also like learning about dialects. This map, the "Full Scale Dialect Map," combines my interests in both. My dialect region, where I grew up, is the Western North. Mrs. Nasty hails from southwest tip of the Inland North dialect region because she's originally from Cedar Rapids. My kids are growing up in the Central Midland region. 

I've been catching up on my magazine and academic journal reading lately. "Letting Biodiversity Get Under Our Skin" by Rob Dunn was featured in Utne, but here's the link to the article in Conservation if you're interested. Dunn provides information about the "possible link between biodiversity and human health."

A Different Map of the US

Via a NPR FB post, I learned about different maps of our great country. 

In "A 'Whom Do You Hang With' Map of America," the author provides one map that uses the circulation of currency to show population mobility. The article is a fascinating read because the maps show us the parochialism of our movements. 

Here are my observations on the blue-border bill-circulatin' map:

• The eastern dark blue border of the Missouri region, which includes southwestern Illinois, puts where I live right on the edge of psychologically siding with St. Louis or Chicago. This also can be seen by what baseball teams people root for. Where I live in East Central Illinois, Cardinals fans generally outnumber Cubs and White Sox fans (among the "locals"). 
• Indiana is all kinds of cut up by borders.
• I found it interesting that there is such a strong blue border down the middle of Wisconsin. Don't know what to think about that. 
• There's a strong dividing line between Oklahoma and Texas. I've heard of this divide. 
• In some respects, the blue borders among the original thirteen colonies indicate the traditional demarcations of the New England states, the Mid-Atlantic states, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. 

The second map shows viewers what cell phone data has to say about who we hang with. Interestingly enough, the call data confirms much of what the dollar data lays out for us: that Oklahoma vs. Texas thing, the Missouri region, and the colonial parochial hangover. The cell phone data provides finer detail about the Deep South, however. Mississippi and Louisiana get aligned, and so do Alabama and Georgia. That makes sense to me. I've always considered Alabama more like Georgia than Mississippi.