Prolonged exposure to EBAY can lead to serious addiction

It comes and goes like my quarterly craving for a Big Mac or a Santa Ana wind. Every several months I reintroduce myself to the great free-market experiment that is called E-Bay. And every time that casual infatuation turns into a full blown fever.

There was the baseball card rash of 2003 when I spent a boatload of cash on cards that featured actual game used jerseys of my favorite players. Those cards are currently in a shoebox in my office closet. Then there came the coin craze of 05'. It was a spectacular epiphany when I discovered that you could by artifacts from your favorite corner of antiquity. So I bought tons of coins both for myself and in an effort to teach my nieces and nephews about the coolness of history.

Fast forward to the present. I casually went online to see if I could find some good prices on jewelry for Jodi. But fifteen minutes into the exercise I was soon doing searches for things that interested me. I found an original Diego Rivera watercolor. I found authentic jerseys. And I found a multitude of items from Greek and Roman antiquity. While it was cool to see the stuff I was craving a more interactive experience. So I started to bid on these items. My primary reasons were A) a curiosity to see if I could actually get something like that at a cheap price and B) To make the other guys earn their keep by bidding up the price on those items.

Well the euphoria was soon doused by the cold water of reality when I realized that I was only a few hours away from having to own several hundreds of dollars of rare art. I almost ended up having to buy the Diego Rivera but it ended up settling for $630. I did however get stuck with a Greek Lekythos. What is that you ask? Well here is a textbook definition from Wesleyan University

"This vase was a flask used for toilet oils, perfume, or condiments, and also appears in funerary contexts, where it was used to pour libations for the dead or was left on the grave as an offering."

So I am now a proud owner of my very own Lekythos. I've actually looked at several sites of antiquities dealers and evidently I got a good price on the thing. I will just consider this to be an investment. With the stock market tanking I figure that this is just as good a place to put my retirement funds.

I have also learned my lesson. Unless I have gobs of discretionary income then I should probably avoid spending time on Ebay. I have sworn it off for now but you never know when the siren song of sweet deals and exotic goods will come calling again. Until then I will enjoy my little funerary vase from 5th Century BC Greece.

Randomizer Volume IV series IV

• I've become keenly interested in body language and interpersonal relationships lately. One it's interesting and two, social skills and creativity are two things that can't easily be outsourced to Bangalore, India. I would love to be able to read, communicate, and manipulate people better. Well, I'll publicly admit to striving for the first two. A pretty cool basic site regarding body language is called Changing Minds. Check it out.

• I've been called rambunctious and been accused of tom foolery but I've never been suspected of or called out for chicanery. I always liked that word and I always thought that it would be a seminal noun to aspire to for someone who liked good natured fun. That was until I looked up its exact definition. Now I don't mind that it has never been used when describing my high jinks, mishaps, or missteps.

• Here is a pretty cool blog from the creators of Freakonomics. When they stick to economics or social science they do a good job and they have a way of bringing to life stuff that can generally be considered prosaic.

• So I've been watching a couple of crime dramas on TV these days. I guess that's kind of tough since they are as universal as reality shows. One thing I've noticed is that every single tough guy detective/cop character has a horrible personal life. They all have serious issues with their dads as well. I guess that makes for good drama...or lazy writers.
  

My yin versus your yang

Every once in awhile I muster up enough courage to read a book that is considered a classic. It is much more challenging to read something like "Crime and Punishment" when there is no grade on the line. Right now I am reading some Greek Philosophy and brushing up on the age old struggle between Nomos and Physis.


In an effort to retain what I am learning about philosophy I am dedicating this entry to trying to apply these principles to the mundacity of my life. Here we go...

• Nomos (Order) vs. Physis (Chaos)- This eternal struggle often plays out between Jodi and I when it comes to matters of home maintenance. She sets a high standard and believes in a house of order and folded clothes. I hail from the free style "jazz" school of thought that believes in keeping things in a minimal working order. At the end of the day she always win and I always have to begrudgingly dust the coffee table.
  
• Theory of Fallacies and Descartes- This crafty Frenchman doubted everything in his search for truth. His quest led to the gem "I think therefore I am". From this truth he could move beyond doubt and had the foundation to build on other ideas. Me? I like to take a different approach. I like to blindly believe everything until it is proven wrong. A letter from the Publishers Clearing House declaring that I've won $40million. I'm all over it and awaiting the check in the mail. Big foot found in Georgia? Sure, it seems feasible. It takes a less effort to blindly believe everything then it is to disprove it.


• Epicureanism and the Good Life- I'm all about seizing upon some of that great "Carpe Diem" that this school pushes. In short when given the choice between a cheap and simple value menu and a gourmet dinner I will always chose the latter. While some may take satisfaction in knowing that the drive through at Wendy's saved them $3 they miss out on the greater pleasure that comes through a meal well made. Look towards tomorrow but not at the expense of today.
• Nihilistic Thinking- Well I can't say that I like much that comes out of Nietzsche or his disciples but that doesn't mean they aren't worth a read. I just haven't cared much to hear what Zarathustra spake or to enjoy the art and ideas of the many turtlenecked clad Euro dadaists that talk about post-modern nothingness. At the very least these crazy ideas make some good movies. Two cinema classics "Fight Club" and "Big Lebowski" have a little nihilism in their storylines.

Music and Memories

You ever put on an old mix CD and a long forgotten song comes on? And with that song comes a vivid memory of a specific time and place in your personal history? I think most of us can use music to document the key moments in our lives. Here is an example of one of mine.


Snow Patrol, “You’re all that I have”. From the summer of 2006

The previous months had been an absolute torrent of hell. I think that most of you know the back story so I won’t go into any details. My entire life, as I knew it, had ended and I was now left alone to try and forge something new. The sum total of my efforts for the previous several years had just been obliterated and I was starting over. Everything was terra incognita….new house, new relationships, new aspirations.

While there was a feeling of fear it was slowly being pushed out by the exhilaration associated with new possibilities. My slate was clean. I could pursue new hobbies or interests. I could learn from my past and forge new and more meaningful relationships. In many ways I was granted a second life.


So spent a week and visited my friend in Washington DC, something I had been meaning to do for years. I went to Austin City Limits with my cousin. I started to write music. I enrolled in a mentorship program. I dated with no regrets. I took up photography. I started attending early morning Kundalini Yoga sessions at the local Sikh Temple. I stepped up my efforts in church.


I wanted to experience my life in full color and for whatever reason that album from Snow Patrol really resonated. There was a yearning that I could relate to. I listened to that album incessantly because, for whatever reason, it was speaking to me.


Eventually life settled down into a comfortable and meaningful routine. I soon met Jodi and we would pick up new albums and artists along the way. That album would be pushed to the back of the playlist. But whenever it happens to get played it brings back a flood of those feelings from my experiences during the summer of 2006.

The Autopsy of our Economic Crisis

So we've been bombarded with articles, commentary, and assessments of our economic situation. At the top of the heap are accusations of blame. The epitaphs are incendiary and, depending on your political views, cast a different set of villains responsible for this morass.


In one corner we have the conservative view that the primary culprits for the crisis are the government sponsored programs (CRA, Fannie, Freddie, etc...) that have loosened lending standards in the name of getting everyone into a house. Lenders were forced to comply with these absurd standards as a means to get uncredit worthy applicants into their piece of the American dream. Along the way corruption and mismanagement of the programs (ie. Fannie Mae) became rampant and ignored. Until now. I am all for everyone getting an opportunity to get a home or car but I think that it has to come with the traditional strings attached such as down payment, credit history, collateral, and responsibility.

In the other corner we have the liberal view. Because the Republican leadership was so focused on deregulation it allowed the suits on Wall Street the chance to get creative with financial instruments that were highly risky and fundamentally unsound. The environment created by Fannie Mae lead to wild speculation and these mortgage backed securities. Everyone assumed that things would continue to go up and these people took more risks and became more careless. The proliferation of derivatives and other financial instruments got reckless. So, according to this view, we need more government oversight into how credit is extended and how the rules of finance are governed.

This is a pretty obvious over simplification of the problem. But it begs a fundamental question. Was it government involvement or non-involvement that caused this mess? And is government involvement or non-involvment the needed prescription to solving it? We'll see. I just hope that it is objective and non-partisan economists who come up with a solution and not the earmarking, pork barreling politicians. I hope that these politicians who are responsible for voting on "our"solution do so in a manner that reflects everyone's interest and not just their own.

Here's to hoping. Are the Visigoths at the gates yet?