Days of Plenty

Today I came across a blog of someone that left our ward here in Michigan shortly before we got here (her husband was also an accounting student), and learned a little bit of a tragedy that happened last Spring when her almost two year-old niece died as a result of choking on a little bite of an apple. There is a lot that went through my mind as I read about this sweet little girl and how her parents have been strengthened by their faith in God and eternal families, but I guess I could sum my own emotions up and just say that when Jacob wakes up from his nap today I'm going to play with him, tickle him, read to him, learn from him, and love him just a little bit more. In the words of a beautiful song from the musical Little Women, sung by Mrs. March to her daughter Jo after Beth's passing: I want days of plenty.

Days of Plenty

I never dreamed of this sorrow,

I never thought I'd have reason to lament,

I hoped I'd never know heartbreak,

How I wish I could change the way things went!

I wanted nothing but goodness,

I wanted reason to prevail,

Not this bare emptiness.

I wanted Days of Plenty.

But I refused to feel tragic,

I am aching for more than pain and grief.

There has got to be meaning,

Most of all when a life has been so brief.

I have got to learn something,

How can I give her any less?

I want life to go on.

I want Days of Plenty.

You have to Believe,

There is reason for Hope.

You have to Believe

That the answers will come.

You can't let this defeat you.

I won't let this defeat you.

You must fight to keep her there,

Within you!

So Believe that she matters!

And Believe that she always will!

She will always be with you!

She'll be part of the days you've yet to feel!

She will live in your bounty!

She will live as you carry on your life!

So carry on,

Full of Hope,

She'll be there,

For all your Days of Plenty

Picture tag

My cousin Becci tagged me...

This picture comes to us from the folder entitled simply "Honeymoon."  This is a lovely picture of the Potomac River, and it was taken the day after our wedding from the balcony of our room at the Watergate Hotel (yes, that Watergate) to show what a spectacular view we had of the river from our room.  Awfully murky that summer, wouldn't you say?  

I now tag Erin the Sister, Britt W. the Far-Away Friend, Aunt Dee and my cousin Mindy.  

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer 2) Select the 4th picture in the folder 3) Explain the picture 4) Tag 4 people to do the same

Done and done!

The past three weeks I've been working with some friends of mine one night a week (and on my own also) to make a birthday banner.  I finally finished last night at 10:04 PM.  Here are the results of my attempt at craftiness!  I think I'll hang it when I leave for the hospital to have this baby in a couple months; otherwise we can't use it until Jeff's birthday in June! :)

More books

I have not written lately about the books I have been working through, and I finally got around to it. Here they are:

National party no more-Zel Miller

Written by the former governor of Georgia. He is a democrat, and he basically just writes about how the democrats are getting too liberal. A good read.

How to get rich-Donald Trump

I already did not like Donald Trump, and I like him even less now. The unfortunate thing is, when I taught at UVU, I would have people in class reference ideas from books like these, and if I have heard the stupid ideas beforehand, it makes it easier to shoot them down as they come. The problem with these books is that in writing the book Donald Trump (or whoever he paid to write the book) has no incentive to actually make you rich, but rather, to make you buy the book, or feel good about buying it ex-post facto. So, the book is not about how one becomes rich, but rather, it just makes you feel like you have received valuable insights from Donald which legitimatize your having blown money on the silly book.

How to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime-Larry King

Very short, and pretty good. Basically all the stuff you hear in any kind of presentation class or seminar, but, with interesting stories from someone who has lived a very interesting life.

The funny thing is-Ellen DeGeneres

When we walked out of the library, Stacey asked me why I checked out this book. I told her I liked to read things from people I don’t like (like I read Clinton's autobiography, many books by Carter, the Trump book, and so on). And, it was true. I really liked this book. I have no laughed as hard in some time. Although I don’t like many of the stances she takes, there is no arguing that Ellen is a very, very funny person. There were very few parts that were not wholsome, and they were easily avoided. They are basically just stand up routines, and the ones that start something like, “I was standing naked in front of the mirror the other day, and thought…”, you just skip. I guess you could also just skip the whole book altogether, as well. But, it was funny.

The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World--Tim Harford

A Freakonomics-like book where academic economics literature is watered down for the unwashed masses. This focuses especially on rationality, and how economists assume people act rationally. Some of the examples in the book are scandalous, but, are very good situations in which to test rationality. It was interesting to hear the watered-down version of things I was learning about in PhD level economics classes. An interesting book.

The Wal-Mart Effect-Charles Fishman

Basically how Wal-Mart is the most powerful corporation that ever existed, and how this has changed at a very deep level the world we live in. I will never think the same as I used to when I shop in a Wal-Mart, but I will still continue to shop there.

The California gold rush and the coming of the civil war-Leonard Richards

Started out interestingly, but then got kind of boring. I didn’t even finish it.

Against all Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror-Richard Clarke

Written by one of the folks in charge of national security before and just after September 11. I really like these kinds of books from the perspective of someone who is seeing things at a very high level. A very interesting book, although one not too friendly to the administration we had just previous to our current ruler.

The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings: A Five-Generation History of the Ultimate Irish-Catholic Family--Thomas Maier

A good book. I thought it was going to be mainly about JFK, but, it was not. It really was about five generations of Kennedys. It was very interesting to see how much corruption there was, how powerful these people were, and how much they were able to manipulate public sentiment. Kind of scary to see the kinds of things money can buy. As some of us know, it can buy anything. You get the same dark impression as during that statement when you hear about many of these dark Kennedy dealings. Don’t get me wrong, the book is by no means some sort of tell all book. It just says what happened, and corruption and money were a very large part of the Kennedy story.

Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Post-War America-Christopher Matthews

An amazing book. When I first heard the title, I thought it was going to be just about JFK and Nixon, but, it was not. JFK dies mid book, and it continues to talk about the bitter rivalry between Nixon and Ted, and so on. It is amazing how skewed our views are on these two characters. In all reality, it is likely that the only way JFK won against Nixon is through voter fraud. Nixon won his second election by one of the largest margins in history, capturing 49 states. And yet, no one thinks highly of Nixon, and most worship Kennedy. I was talking to my mom about this, who did not believe people thought so much of JFK, as she was around and didn’t like him back then. Unfortunately, the people who write history often are left-leaning, and people that were not at all universally liked in their day are written in the history books as saints. More on this in a later post. Again, an amazing book that I could just talk on and on about, but, I am about to my time limit for typing this post.

The five people you meet in heaven-Mitch Albom

Stacey had me listen to this book, and I am glad I did. It was pretty good. Some things in life are not always as we perceive them, and one can learn much from reading this book (or listening to it, whichever the case may be.)

Too funny

So, things are changing. Here is a result. I read the first couple paragraphs and could not help but laugh. I just thought it was a little funny, a little ironic, and a little emblematic of many criticisms levied that will soon see a reality check.

The blog of Janus.

So, this is somewhat of an unruly blog. Some posts are about our families happenings and cute pictures of our most famous family member, Jacob. Others are about political issues about which we (or at least I) feel very passionate. (I am thinking about this because I just responded to a comment about one such issue.) Is this dichotomy healthy? Also, I really like it when people of different opinions share what they feel. Without someone telling you why they think you are wrong, you will start saying all sorts of garbage. (read the criticisms post from several weeks back). However, sometimes I feel like the things I say on here are a little harsh, or a little too political, or something, or such a sometimes family friendly blog. What do you think about that? Can often facts-devoid political sparing and cute picture of Jacob coexist peaceful, or are they mutually diminishing?

jacket?

Many former presidents, understanding the import and honor of their office, have had rules that one cannot be in the Oval office without a jacket. Obama, in one of his first acts as president, has overturned that rule. What do you think?

Chicken or Egg

So, for one of my seminar classes, I had to write a quick one page essay on the time honored debate between the chicken and egg. Without consulting anything or anyone, I wrote the following, and was somewhat proud of myself: The chicken. Regardless of who you ask, you get the same answer. A chef will say the chicken, as it takes about 45 minutes to bake a whole chicken, whereas only 5 to cook an egg. Given we want all the food hot when we serve it at the same time, we start with the chicken first. A statistically savvy southern gentleman will concur, knowing that, in expectation, the chicken comes first, as there is a 1.00 probability that any given chicken is female and deserving of his courtesy (“ladies first”), whereas there is only a .50 probability that an egg deserves the same courtesy and would come first. A shopper agrees—chicken should be picked up first and placed on the bottom of the cart, the eggs last, so as to minimize the chance of breaking them whilst shopping. The grocer also puts the chicken first—given that there is much more product differentiation in poultry, and thus higher margin can be gained, he wants to sell chicken first. The lower margin, commodity like egg is hardly worth selling. The baby agrees—babies should not eat whole eggs (as the whites are harmful) until they are 12 months, ground chicken can be served well before that. Google agrees. The philosopher also concurs. All chickens have been eggs, but not all eggs have been (or ever will be) chickens. Thus, an egg is merely a special case of the phenomena known as “chicken”, and a special case cannot precede its general rule. The Christian theologian is quick to remind us that fowls (including, perhaps, chickens) were created by God as early as Genesis 1:20, whereas eggs are not biblically mentioned until Deuteronomy 22:6. While often at odds, the Orthodox Jew concurs—he can always eat a well prepared chicken, whereas eggs from a very few number of fowls are permitted for eating. Given a random draw from “chicken” and “egg”, he will pick the chicken, keeping true to his divinely mandated diet. President Obama also agrees, citing some reason that seems convincing to the mindless masses, but, upon inspection, makes no sense at all. Pressed, he reminds us that former President Bush was in favor of the egg (it being a shorter word, thus, easier to spell), and so chicken is clearly the correct choice in such a changelful society.

Hail the Conquering Hero

To welcome in our new President, I have decided to follow his call to service around his inauguration.

For now, I think I will do this by donating blood. As we all know, the Red Cross does not just take donated blood and give it away to the needy--they sell it. From the proceeds of the blood sales they carry on their activities. I have no idea what they sell blood for. Let say $100 a pint. So, my "service" will mean $100 more in the coffers of the Red Cross.

The inauguration festivities are going to cost about $150,000,000.00, spent on lots of booze, DJs, disco balls, caviar, and lots and lots of police to keep someone from damaging our new king.

It is interesting to think about how one justifies such an expense. It is even more interesting to think of a line of 1,500,000 million people (more people than live in my home state of Idaho) lined up to give blood just to equal what is being blown to celebrate the coronation. It is even more interesting to think about how many starving Kenyans (or West Virginians) could be fed and saved from death with that amount of money.

It seems like a great way to welcome a new era of fiscal restraint.

What are your thoughts?

Sleep Study

So, for any of you who have ever gone to anything with me where there is very much sitting, you will know I like to fall asleep. Well, not that I like to fall asleep, I just do fall asleep. Given the coverage on our health insurance, I have decided to figure out what is wrong with. So, in November I had a "sleep study" and this last Tuesday night I had a second one.

Basically, they hook a bunch of stuff up to you and let you sleep. Then, in my case, in the morning, they had me do "nap studies" where they have me take 5 20 minute naps, or at least they put me in a dark room laying down and see what happens. It was all interesting. So far, they have found nothing (and I suspect they wont find anything) but I can at least be pretty confident that I tried to figure out what was going on. So now for a description of what I wore to bed:

This second study they put a tube down my nose into my throat. It supposedly extended down to my mid-chest. You can see it in the back of my throat. It was, needless to say, somewhat odd and difficult to sleep with a tube the size of a spaghetti noodle down your nose.

Here are some of the things on my head: And on my face: And a video of some more of them:

In addition to what is shown, right before you fall asleep they put a monitor on your finger, a very annoying thing that hangs in front of your nose and mouth, and two straps around your middle (like the ones women in labor wear).

They put all that on, then put you in bed, and the lights turn out. They tell you to do all sorts of stuff to calibrate their machines (blink five times, look right, look left, wiggle your feet, and so on). Then, they tell you to go to sleep. It is weird, because someone is listening to you all night long. If you wake up and are up for very long, there is a voice "Do you need something?"

You are being watched, listened to, your oxygen intake and outtake, chest cavity pressure, brain activity, leg movement, heart and respiration rates are all being monitored. It is a very Orwellian feeling. You wake up in the morning and you fill out a questionnaire. It asks things like "How long did you sleep for?" "Did you dream?" You know they know exactly how long you slept for, and if you dreamed. For all I know, they can watch my dreams through their little instruments.

So, that is that. In the end, it is amazing what they can do these days, and a very weird feeling to be so closely monitored as you sleep.

Pinewood Derby

So, my ward recently had a pinewood derby. For those of you who have never had a cub scout around, this is a contest where you start with a block of wood, cut it into a car, add some wheels, and then race the thing down a track. They are kind of fun, even funner if you are a 10 year old boy. So, dutifully, I made me a pinewood derby car, and raced it. And lost. I lost both my races, and was the first to get out in the double elimination tournament. Here is a lineup of the cars. If you can pick mine out, you should feel good about "understanding" me (a la last scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and picking a goblet).

A Rant on Teaching

Since I decided what I wanted to do when I grow up, I have had many conversations with people about what I wanted to do when I grow up. Inevitably, most of them ask if I am ever going to go out and actually be an accountant before I teach accounting. I reply that I am not. This seems to not go over so well with some people. Now, you may say as you are reading this, “they are so right—how the heck can you teach something you have not done?”

I have thought about this a lot. First, let me start by saying that I am not doing something at all unique. Many, many people go straight from an undergraduate degree to a PhD and then teach very successfully for the rest of their life. Many professors at our nation’s most elite universities will have never had a “real” job. But, is this something that should be done?

Thinking about it, I will not be teaching how to do what accountants do. Accounting professors don’t teach what accountants actually do. Accountants actually go from place to place talking with people and making sure financial statements are correct using methods that vary from place to place, they use software (which varies depending on which accounting firm you work at) to fill out tax returns and deal with their clients figuring out where there is ambiguity in those returns, they design and manage systems that track costs, figuring out ways to make the system more efficient, and so on and so forth. Accounting professors, on the other hand, teach the basic principles of financial accounting, auditing, the rules behind taxes, and the basic thought process and rules of managerial accounting.

No accounting firm hires someone expecting they will know how to do the job—they hire people assuming they have the basic framework with which to learn how to do the job, and they gain that framework through their professors.

Thinking even more, is it necessary to have done something to teach how to do it? How many bishops, pastors, or priests talk with people with serious moral problems and coach them through overcoming those problems, never having had the problems themselves. Having never had problems with his wife (or even had a wife), is a Catholic priest qualified to help one of his parishioners overcome marital difficulties?

In the end, succeeding in academia has little to do with applied experience, but with creativity and success in developing new knowledge. Unfortunately, few outside of the field understand how professors are incentivized, and how little their incentives have to do with having worked somewhere in the real world.

I would propose that an outsider to academia suggesting that someone go work in the real world before going and teaching at a university is exactly like my recommending to my auto mechanic that he go get a PhD in mechanical engineering so he can better do his job. His job is not to “understand” exactly how minuet little things work or be able to come up with better ways of doing them. His job is to make a broken car work, and a PhD has nothing to do with his ability to do with that. Likewise, a professors job is not to be able to actually do real tasks in the real world, but rather, teach about the basic framework in which those tasks are done, as well as empirically and theoretically improve that framework through original research.

So, in conclusion, I will not be working for an accounting firm before I teach accounting. I don’t really think I need to. That, and there is probably no firm that would hire me.

Change

So, there were many guesses, a few close, but no one guessed what large change has taken place in my life that is represented by the picture. Shortly after my mission, I bought a pair of jeans. I wore them, and they served me well. I have not bought a pair of jeans since. One exception was while my brother was on his mission I took advantage of his absence and stole two pairs of jeans from him. That is the extent of my post mission jeans acquisitions. The problem is, I wear jeans every single day that I don’t wear shorts or church clothes. I also ride my bike to school, which in Provo was about a 2.5 mile round trip, and here in A2 is about 7 miles round trip. I am also very obese, causing a lot of interleg friction. My pants are not in good condition. Along with all that, however, I HATE TO SHOP FOR CLOTHES. Looking at extremely overpriced clothes just so you can look better to those around you not only takes up too much time for my liking, but is something I detest for other reasons I won’t mention. But, about a week ago, I was doing some homework which was based on overstock.com, and thought that maybe I could buy some pants online. After ruling out any pants from overstock.com, I decided to check my favorite store. They had some pants. I bought them. They were delivered to my house at a cost of .98. I have been told (by my wife) they will last only a week. So, we shall see what happens with my online purchased pants that are just about the cheapest money can buy.

A New Car?

So, for a while now, Stacey and I have needed to buy a new car. Seeing as how the point of owning a car is to be able to get somewhere when you need to go there, and how our current car is not always able to comply with that request, we need a new one. But, like most things I am personally involved in, I just talk about doing it and never do it. In any event, here is one we are thinking of: It is a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport, 85000 miles, 3.3 liter engine, V6 engine. It has one large dent. It is otherwise cosmetically very nice. The guy, a visiting professor here at UMich who is leaving within the week and is somewhat time pressured to sell, claimed he had the dealer look at it and it was problem free. It started up very easily and nicely in 20 degree weather, and with the driving I could do with the snow and cold, it seemed to go nicely. We would have a mechanic look at it before purchasing. We were not looking to buy a van. We only have 1.8 children, and were going to get a regular car. But, this van looks like a pretty good deal, it is nearby, and it just seems like it would be very easy to both buy and make for a lot of extra room once we owned it. The extra space of a van would be nice. Becoming minivan people would not be nice. So, the questions: Where do you learn about the reliabilty of cars? I have searched and read many reviews online, but most either say the hated it or loved it, about equally split. They have averages of these, but the mean of a bimodal distribution is hardly a good estimator of the true mean. So, is there somewhere less obvious where I can see how these things are, on average, doing after 7 years? Do you think we should buy the van? If so, at what price?

A New Way to Dance

Jacob and I spend a lot of time listening to music. He usually waves his hands, bounces up and down, or sings along, but recently he started something new. I don't know how he knows to change his dancing when the girl's verse starts, but he does that almost every time we play this song from Grease. Enjoy!