Europe/Africa Trip in Pictures

In late June my wife and I put all our belongings in storage and set off to visit family in Europe and North Africa. Like last year's trip to NYC, I'll just give the highlights:

The Transatlantic Flight

My new rule in flying is never assume anything. Since our first honeymoon flight together my wife and I have created a bad habit of running in airports. Apparently in Boston Logan, no gate number doesn't mean to wait, it means it's an international flight (which is on the other side of the airport).

Madrid-Barajas Airport

My favorite airport of the trip was easily Madrid. It was one of our longest layovers, which shouldn't be underestimated. One of the things I noticed on the flight over is that I had a very hard time telling who was an American and who was not. It seems the entire West looks American to me.

Granada, Spain

We came to this medium sized city in Southern Spain to visit Traci's brother, his wife, and their adorable son.

Better than any picture I took

 We saw the Granada Cathedral (above) and the once-Muslim-later-Catholic palace The Alhambra (below).

It's interesting to be in a city that was once devout Catholic, then taken over by the Moors (Muslims), then taken back over back Catholics, only to be ruled by the fascist dictator Francisco Franco during WWII. It's created a nation of people who seem to be done with religion and done with work. Though not entirely.

This was one of the most fascinating people we met. He's the owner of a small but successful olive oil shop. He reminded me how important personality is for entrepreneurship.

Every American city needs one of these!

Spain was a wealthy Western European nation that seemed in most ways similar to the US. The main difference seemed to be the difference between rural and city culture more than American and European culture. Unlike our next destination.

Tangier, Morocco

We came to this large Muslim city in North Africa to visit another of Traci's brother, his wife, and their two equally adorable children.

View from their porch

With a larger language, cultural, and fashion barrier than Spain, we spent more time indoors.

Playing cards.

Reading The Boxcar Children (did you know they get out of the Boxcar?).

And playing musical chairs.

I'm not afraid to win

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The last leg of our trip was spent to visit my sister and her new husband.

As you can see the weather in Amsterdam is quite colder, even in July. Every imaginable mode of transportation exists here. Cars, mopeds, trams, and...

Boats! And...

Bikes! 

Cologne, Germany and Bree, Belgium

While in the Netherlands we took a day trip to Cologne and Bree. Here's my favorite thing we saw all trip.

The Cologne Cathedral

Like something out of a fairy tale.

We walked all the way to the top!

Madrid, Spain

Twice on our 3 1/2 week trip we had an overnight connection in Madrid. What started as a costly annoyance turned out to be one of my favorite cities. Not only was Madrid clean and safe, it was extremely easy to get around. For 1 Euro you can get anywhere in the city on the subway.

Despite a 7 1/2 layover in Tangier and getting called an asshole by a old Dutch woman, the trip went off without a hitch. The whole experience helped me better understand European and Arab culture. How similar (cultural religion isn't just a thing of the American South) and how different (like how old women and children are on the streets in Spain at 2am) people can be. Thanks again to all the family and friends who showed us around!

Red Velvet Valentine Treats

Make a delicious gift this week for Valentine's Day. Here are some beautiful inspirations. Click on the images for more info, recipes, and ideas.

Diversified New Year's Resolutions Redux

Last year I attempted five different New Year's Resolutions and pretty much failed on all of them. Even though knowing when to quit is important, I'm not yet convinced to give up. The main reason I've decided to give it another go is because my goals haven't really changed much. If I still think they are a good idea, then they must be. Just to remind you, here are the goals:

1) Moderate exercise for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week. From what I have read this is the minimum time needed to remain nominally healthy. Hopefully I will work my way up from here, but it's good to start small.

2) Drink 0-1/2 soft drink daily in my home. Again, the plan is to work down to zero, but there's a good chance I'm addicted to caffeine.

3) Read the Bible every weekday. Not many exact parameters on this one yet, but I would like to open and read a portion of the Bible 5 days a week. I claim to believe it's valuable, but my actions say otherwise. (update)

4) Pray regularly. Same details as the previous one.

5) Allow my wife to pick one for me. She knows my flaws better than anyone and I trust her more than anyone. Who better to help me improve? (update)

The only difference is this year I'm going to put my economics skills to work. This year I'm going to try a very specific commitment device. I hope to put in place a future incentive to keep my future self just as motivated as my current self. Last year a reader recommended that I put money on the line using the website stickK.com. The only problem with that is my wife is cheaper than me, so she would be punished more for my failure. Not a recipe for a happy household. Instead, I've made her my commitment device. One of our big financial debates is whether I got out with friends after improv practices and shows. So here's what we've agreed to:

For each of the five goals completed, I will earn $1 to go out with friends every week.

It's not much, but maybe it will be that little nudge I need.

Merry Christmas from Google Ngram

This graph represents the usage of Merry Christmas in library books over the last 500 years:

 Try your own searches at Ngrams.GoogleLabs.com.

Avoiding Xmas Deadweight Loss, Part II

Christmas two years ago I pointed that the inefficiency of gift giving is significant, but could be avoided. However, what I didn't mention is just how significant it was. The Economist suggests the number may be close to 10% of all money spent on Christmas gifts. That's $4 billion in wealth gone. Although giving can be valuable on its own, like a good short cut on a long road trip, increases in efficiency increases happiness. Sadly, because of the social norms market, giving cash, and to a lesser extent gift cards, aren't the short cut. That's why I was so amused by a recent story from Planet Money was so convincing. I won't do the story justice by describing it, so you should take the time to listen and come to the same conclusion that I did; that trading presents increases well-being. That's why my siblings have decided to do something a little different this year:

1. Instead of exerting the huge effort needed to find all of my siblings (I have six not counting their spouses), we've drawn names. Each person is responsible for one other person.
2. We each also bring a smaller gift and play the Dirty Dice Christmas Gift Grab Game.

We actually did this early because of schedules and I must admit, it was fun and affordable.

Luminarias - Lighting for Christmas Eve

Make your own luminarias (lights) or farolitas* (small paper lanterns):

Gather a handful of brown lunch bags, a bucket of play sand, a trowel, white votive candles, and a candle lighter. Open bags, fold over the top edge to shorten the height, flatten the bottom, scoop in some sand to weight the bottom and double as a fire retardant and nestle a candle in the center. Lay out your filled bags to flank the outside entrance, or line a path to the door. When darkness falls (or at the appointed hour and before guests are expected) carefully light each votive with a long handled lighter.

Beautiful, festive and very easy!

Image for inspiration: Holiday Open House at Spruce Tree House, an ancient Anasazi cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park near Durango, Colorado

*Farolita is the diminutive form of farola, the Spanish word for streetlamp.

Uncompensated Holiday Unemployment

Here's a quote NPR's Marketplace last week in a story about academic sabbatical:

From the outside, the professor-ly life might seem pretty cushy. Summers off, the job security of tenure, a paid leave every six years or so to do research.

And here's a letter written in response:

Michael Harris wrote from Fairbanks, Ala., and his post at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to challenge the notion of professors getting summers off. Academics are on nine-month contracts, Professor Harris writes. "This is not actually time off, but rather annual uncompensated unemployment with the obligation to return to their faculty positions in the following term."

With today and tomorrow canceled for snow, I guess my forced leave begins early. Oh the challenges of educating the youth of America.

Spousonomics' Suggestion for Date Night

I recently came across a blog called Spousonomics all about "using economics to master love, marriage and dirty dishes". It's based on a book of the same name. In one of their posts the authors suggest not only regular date nights, but unique ones. These new experiences flood the brain with same chemicals that bring us back to the same feelings we had when we first fell in love. Encouraging these kinds of "active choices", ensure that our routine isn't irrationally impacting our actions. This is idea is what convinced my lovely wife and I to go to downtown Raleigh to the only outdoor skating rink in North Carolina last week. Just look how romantic this advertisement makes it look!

It was cold. It was inelegant. It was memorable. So get out and there and follow your heart (and your utility curve). My wife and I are heading out again tonight for a improv company Christmas party!

Economics of Hanukkah

I've done the economics of Christmas, and since I'm an equal opportunity blogger, here's one for you Old Testament only readers:

In case you're lost, here's some economics help and here's some Jewish history help.

The Danger of Stranger Danger

Today is Halloween and that means more candy, more costumes, and yes, more absurd fears. I'm not one to say the past was better, but Halloween safety is getting out of hand. Whether it's setting trick-or-treating curfews, setting an age limit of 12, or forcing sex offenders to attend a mandatory class about sex-offense laws on Halloween night (even though children are no more likely to be molested and sex offender registration programs don't do much good). In fact, FreeRangeKids.com's Lenore Skenazy suggests in the Wall Street Journal that Halloween may be one of the safest days of the year. Is there a day where parents spend more time with their children outside the home, meeting and greeting neighbors?

So what's the danger in stranger danger? It's the opportunity cost of focus. Like my earlier post on moral math, we only have so much attention we can give to important matters. We we focus on rare problems (kidnapping, school snipers, terrorists, dangerous strangers, drugs), we lose focus on real threats (homicide and abuse from people who know the child, drowning, and car accidents). And let's not forget, there are plenty of economic lessons to be learned in trick-or-treating.

Nudging Humans Toward Economists

I recently came across an article in the medical journal The Lancet about how economists try to understand humans:

Early in their engaging book, Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein draw a distinction between Homo economicus, a species whose members they refer to as “econs”, and real people, whom they refer to as humans. “Homo economicus can think like Albert Einstein, store as much memory as IBM's Big Blue, and exercise the willpower of Mahatma Gandhi. Really.” Real humans do indeed have cool, computationally gifted, far-sighted, and ethical minds, but these “econ” brains are constantly at war with their much older lizard brains, the “hot”, programmed-to-win, and action-oriented system that controls affect, that wants stuff, and wants it now.

Adam Smith called it "passion" and John Maynard Keynes called it "animal spirits". I might call it the struggle between reason and emotion. Admittedly economists makes a lot of assumptions when talking about human action, but as the article points out, that's mostly good:

Current mainstream economics has many defenders and it has many successes despite (or some would argue because of) ignoring the passions. Thinking of people as greedy calculators does pretty well in many situations. The idea that I know what is good for me (even if frequently wrong) seems like the right starting place, certainly compared with having other people decide what is good for me.

If citizens aren't always rational, certainly politicians aren't either. However, often governments and businesses manipulate choices just by forcing you to make one. Citing the popular economics book Nudge (blog here), the article suggests making the "best" choice easier:

The most important is the “Save more tomorrow” scheme, in which employees sign a contract that will automatically increase their saving rate next year, at which time no action needs to be taken. At the very least, this nudge shows how a clever understanding of human psychology can help design light-touch institutions that help people do what they want to do, with no limit on their freedom to choose.

I can appreciate frustration with my own decisions (remember my New Year's Resolutions). I can also appreciate small (emphasis on small) nudges for a passionate/spirited/emotional people. Economics ignores a lot of reality in order to find some truth. If we try to explain everything we end up explaining nothing. Economics has been expanding into other social sciences and now they are expanding back. As long as economics doesn't lose what has made it grow, perhaps this mix can help us learn more about ourselves.

Quiet Resolutions

Last New Year's I made five public resolutions, attempting to diversify my risk of failing. One month later I admitted failure. Three months after that I posted that perhaps my ability to drop unattainable goals is actually good for my mental health. Well it turns out all that talk may have actually been counterproductive. According to entrepreneur Derek Sivers, talking about your goals actually makes you less likely to complete them. Much like the moral math I mentioned recently. Telling people your plans makes you feel good, even though you haven't done the hard work yet. The mind is tricked into thinking you've already completed the goal and you haven't even started. So next time I tell you what my resolutions are, doubt me.

Quit While You're Way Behind

Instead of being a search for truth, often this blog feels like a justification for what I'm already doing. Everything from talking fast to teaching high school and being poorer. The most interesting things are often those that explain an already existing pattern. As you know, my diversified New Year's Resolution failed miserably. Perhaps it was for the best:

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement and goal reengagement tendencies and indicators of physical health (e.g., health problems, cortisol rhythms, sleep efficiency). Based on research showing that goal adjustment tendencies are associated with subjective well-being, the authors predicted that people who are better able to disengage from unattainable goals and reengage with alternative goals also may experience better physical health.

Notice this is talking about unattainable goals. I've yet to decide if my original goals were attainable considering my motivations and mental accounting of the costs and benefits. I'll let you know in my mid-year resolution check up.

Egg-Citing for Easter

Here are 3 easy ideas to add to your repertoire of spring holiday decorations and centerpieces. They are all from Martha, of course.

I am definitely going to do this one. I'm quite certain all the materials needed are on hand.

The delicately dyed lavender egg shells with tiny blossoms are so sweet. They would look lovely in a cluster or at each place setting.

For more info, click on the images.

The Twelfth Night

With the twelve days of Christmas concluded, I am finding new excuses to leave the tree decorated and indoors a little while longer. Perhaps it's the cozy scene it evokes in the evening with the lights delicately illuminating the ornaments? Perhaps it's the cheerful view of the home-made red tree skirt, embellished with smiling reindeer and sequined trees? Or perhaps it's the joy of having found our own Charlie Brown tree this year.

The sweet holiday scene above is from an old Johnson Brothers dish I keep on my desk. Most of the year, it's filled with clips and other important fasteners in various colors and sizes. But in December, in anticipation of the holiday decorating, I clear out the dish and enjoy the inspiring view it provides.


Next week, I'll think about trees and mulch, for now, the Christmas season continues at this address.

Green Christmas Trees

Again this year we struggled with the concept of a green Christmas Tree and what it should be. As much fun as it sounds to find a vintage white or aluminum tree that we can save and make our own - it's just not happening in time this year. We couldn't find that old artificial tree looking for a good home. But we did enjoy the hunt. Instead of a tree, we happened upon some fabulous retro vintage ornaments and dazzling decorations long forgotten and still quite fabulous. But I digress.

We toyed with a living tree, root ball intact, but it seemed harsh to subject it to our indoor climate, then expect it to adapt again to a garden and thrive after all that excitement.

A tree of recycled paper seems environmentally thoughtful. And some may argue a tree of green bottles is sort of responsible, too.


We're still most enchanted with the trees we featured here last year and think they offer the eco-conscious style and classic beauty we admire and respect in a green holiday tree.

Green Wrapping from Japan

Ms. Yuriko Koike, former Japanese Minister of the Environment, recommends the Japanese practice of wrapping things in a furoshiki, a large piece of fabric, to transport purchases and gifts and help reduce waste from plastic bags and wrapping papers.

"It would be wonderful if the furoshiki, as a symbol of traditional Japanese culture, could provide an opportunity for us to reconsider the possibilities of a sound-material cycle society. As my sincere wish, I would like to disseminate the culture of the furoshiki to the entire world."

The furoshiki can be used to wrap purchases and gifts of almost any shape and size. Here are some traditional folding and wrapping styles. Click here and here for more instructions.

Green Wrapping with Paper

Looking for green wrapping solutions often brings me to patterns in eco-friendly inks on recycled paper or tote bags that can be used again. For sources closer to home, recycling a sheet of newspaper or a map works nicely as an eco-wrapping choice, especially when it's brightened with a colorful bow made from a magazine.

Jessica Jones of How about orange... shares her brilliant and green (well, orange) bow made from a magazine page in a tutorial here.

May your wrapping be inspired and fun!

Make Your Own Pipe Cleaner Wreath

Feeling the pinch this holiday season? Here's a beautiful art project to easily craft. With a lot of pipe cleaners, a pair of scissors and a little patience, you can create your own masterpiece of lightness and design.

Make a wreath of green and red to hang on your door, or in front of a mirror. Try a silver design near a dark painted wall. Or maybe a graphic statement in black pipe cleaners on a white wall.

Many thanks to Kate Pruitt and her DIY projects at Design Sponge.

Happy Thanksgiving

If you need a few extra turkeys to put around the table this Thursday, here's a quick and charming idea for DIY place cards.

Thank you for being our guest at 973 Third Avenue. Have a wonderful holiday!