Jason's Log

International Relations 101

I've only made my way through the first chapter of "International Relations Theory", but I get the feeling it's going to take a while for me to finish this one. The first chapter is focused on describing the three main schools (or 'images', to use the author's words) of international relations thought:

1. Realist: Only nation states and their military power really matter.
2. Pluralist: Well, some multi-national organizations matter too, as do economics a bit.
3. Globalist: Economic power is the only thing that matters, especially the spread of capitalism.

That of course does not really do justice to the philosophical underpinnings. Speaking of which, the book does a really good job of laying down some basics of philosophical theory (ontology, epistimology, etc.), and how practitioners of international relations have viewed and used those concepts over time.

I've just now started the chapter on realism. The bit on Machiavelli and Hobbes was interesting. More to come.

My First Epic Ride

In a fit of insanity, I decided to go on my first epic ride with romp.org. This was a D-level difficulty ride, which I should have taken to mean "Do not attempt". The description of the ride sounded like it should be doable, at an acceptable pace.

Well, the ride totally kicked my arse. 30 miles total distance. 4,000 feet of vertical climb. We started at Steven's Creek Canyon Dam, ascended to Page Mill Rd. and Skyline Blvd where we sampled some of the trails around Russian Ridge. We went primarily by way of Canyon Trail.

I was definitely the laggard of the group. But the other riders (all three of them) took pity on me and stopped to rest and regroup enough for me to slog my way through it.

Total elapsed time: 5 hours, 15 minutes. Total weight loss: 5 lbs. Total water consumption 2 liters. Total food consuption: 2 Promax energy bars, plus a few fig newtons.

Switching modes...

I've spent the last few months reading the classics of economic theory, and today I started in on international relations. With a few recommendations from my friend Dave, who's got his Ph.D. in the subject, I hope to spend the next few months working my way through the basics. I'm not exactly sure why I'm putting all this energy into it. The only way I'll get a major payback for all of this is if I run for president. :)

Just finished Stiglitz

Finally worked my way through Stiglitz's "Globalization and it's Discontents". The contrasts he uses in comparing Russia to China are probably the most effective. Despite the fact that anti-globalization types tout his book as supporting their view, Siglitz is staunchly pro-globalization. He repeatedly mentions the fact that globalization, and only globalization, can account for the dramatic decrease in poverty in China and much of the east Asian countries.

Russia's experience certainly sticks out as a massive failure in comparison. The poverty and jobless rates in that country are still greater, ten+ years later, then they were under Communist rule. Stiglitz of course blames the IMF and the pace of market liberalization on those failures.

That being said, I think that Stiglitz's arguments are most effective regarding developing economies, and not mature economies that are in crisis. He smartly points out the relative hypocrisy in US trade relations, especially in the steel and agrucultural industries. Stiglitz's approach boils down to using Keynesian strategies for expansionary economic development, even if it includes market protectionism. Stiglitz's biggest concern regarding the austerity of pure market liberalizations is the social impact of quickly rising unemployment which has typically followed hastily enacted market reforms. Definitely worth reading.

Soquel Forest: Take 2

Met up with Reynold this morning at 9am for another try at Soquel Demonstration Forest. This time, we opted for the faster but less techincal Tractor Trail. I made a few adjustments (like lowering my seat on the downhill) and felt much more in control this time. No spills, crashes, or wounds to report.

The Tractor trail now probably ranks up there as my favorite overall trail. It's got a few really steep drops, but overall there is more of a sweeping, turning flow to it. Makes it a joy to ride.

And like all trails at Soquel, there's the two mile uphill climb out after you finish the downhill. For whatever reason, that didn't seem to take as much out of me this time. Felt good as we finished up the ride, 2 hours and 45 minutes later. I'll have to drag Mike out to this spot the next time he makes it out.

Jason meets Soquel Forest

Headed out to the Soquel Demonstration Forest for a mountain bike ride this AM. I was hoping to meet up with the ROMP group, but I got there a little late. Luckily though, I ran into another solo rider who has been to Soquel many times and could show me the ropes.

We chose the Braille trail. One of the noted features of the Braille trail is it's very technical tight single track. I only crashed once, but that trail was probably a level or two above my riding skills. I've now got a nice thigh bruise and a scraped up knee. I think I probably would have been better off on the Tractor trail for my first time out there. But at least I now know of another great bay area riding destination.

You can read other reviews of the Soquel Forest here.

My problems with Potter #5

Now that Young has finished the book and we've had a chance to discuss the book, I have to voice one big frustration with the book: If the adult characters in the book had only been a bit more forthcoming with Harry, most of the problems (and thus drama) could have been avoided. Yes, I know that Dumbledore does make his apology speech near the end but that was not enough to erase my sense of frustration. I'm all for suspense and drama, but my ability to suspend disbelief was stretched to its breaking point by Rowling. She writes teenagers amazingly well, so I'm hoping her adult characters in volumes #6 and #7 are a bit more believable.

AJ Byatt vs. JK Rowling

After reading through the original critique by AJ Byatt followed by the response by Charles Taylor in salon.com, the following occured to me:

The other thing to keep in mind is that the allegations made by Byatt have been made regularly for the last thousand years or so. The same was said of Shakespeare, Twain, and others. While not saying that Rowling is equal to Shakespeare, the opinions of academic critics like Byatt need to be kept in perspective.

Given that these sorts of statements have been made by critics for so long means that either: (a) the intellectual value of pop culture has been in constant decline since its inception, or (b) the critics have been mostly wrong since their inception.

My guess is that the intellectual value of pop culture is not getting worse. It's been consistently low the whole time. But the human tendency to always think the past was better ('more wholesome', 'more intellectual') than the current results in critics like Byatt who continue to herald the death of modern pop culture. Had they removed their rose colored glasses long enough, they would have realized that this is not a trend, but a baseline.

Got the grill back in action

Thanks to the friendly guy at Barbeques Galore in Cupertino, I learned that '76 gas stations will refill liquid petroleum tanks, even those with qick-attach valves like mine. I really got worried when Orchard Supply stopped offering quick-attach valvle tanks as part of their tank exchange offering. It was getting close to the point where I thought I might have to buy a whole new grill!

But with newly refilled tank in hand, I was able to use my trusty Best Recipe: Grilling and Barbecue cookbook. As far as I am concerned, that cookbook is the holy bible of outdoor grilling. On the 4th I cooked up some brined boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a cumin/cinnamon paste. Turned out great.

So does he really hate the IMF?

Just started reading Joseph Stiglitz's "Globalization and it Discontents". I'm only on chapter 3 so far, but what I've read so far can be summarized as "The IMF (International Monetary Fund) is the embodiment of pure evil and stupidity". I swear the first 50 pages are filled with anecdotes of how IMF hubris and/or stupidity led to some catastrophic economic outcome.

I'm also starting to see his Keynesian bias start to make itself felt. Stiglitz hasn't criticized free trade or open markets so far, just the path that developing countries take to reach that state. His basic thesis is that the shock/immersion technique that was used to transform USSR/Russia's economy from Socialist to Market-based is a horrible strategy.

We'll see where this goes.