Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
What a great time we had last night at the Rico-Suave Super-Exclusive Get-Together! How about those screaming fans and the gate-crashers who failed the "Name Claire's Cats" test and had to be escorted off the premises by the bouncers? Wild, huh?
Anyway, I really enjoyed meeting you all last night but woke up with this odd feeling that something was missing. Then I realized what it was: We opened up all these interesting threads, conversationally, but now they're just hanging out there, even though I've had a night to sleep on them and I still have more to say.
So I'm going to open them up again here, all in one go. Those of you who participated in the conversations can just take it up where we left off. Maybe you'd help me out by filling in the details and explaining where we were when we said goodbye.
Those of you who weren't there--here's what you missed. It's not too late to join the conversation.
1) Spiral Dynamics: What does the theory say, and how can it help us understand the foreign policy outlook of the Obama Administration?
2) Silicon Valley: Whoa, that's cool! You're really building that? Sounds like Silicon Valley is in great shape! But who's going to buy it if consumer demand doesn't pick up?
3) Political charisma: Is it genetic? What was it that Bill Clinton did, I mean, what was it exactly, that made people feel as if they'd fallen under a voodoo hex when they shook his hand? How did people know it the moment Ronald Reagan walked into a room--even if they were looking the other way?
4) Melatonin: Does it really work to cure jet lag? Peter and I say no, but George swears it does. He says he has the secret formula--it's all about dosage and timing. I would have gotten the formula out of him, but I was nodding off.
5) Graduate School: Do you really need it? Does Diane need it, in particular? I say probably not--yes, it can come in handy later to have that title, but don't forget the opportunity costs. Besides, there's no such thing as a happy graduate student.
6) Cars: I think this concerned some past experiment with the BMW console. I know it must have been interesting because Rob, Peter and George were going on about it forever. It involved some fatal design mistake that they agreed unanimously was highly annoying. But that was the point where I'd pretty much checked out--my body was present, but my soul was with Margaret and Ronnie. (George, let's discuss that Melatonin.) I'll leave it to Rob to pick this one up, because he was really, really into this conversation and I bet other people would be, too.
7) The stimulus: Do you really need to understand a lot of economics to grasp why it's not working? Isn't that just common sense?
8) Women on Ricochet: There are a lot of them! I guess at first no one expected that. (Beats me why they didn't.)
9) Judith--isn't she a great contributor? We're glad she's back. That story about the apple juice on the Israeli charter flight was just so Israeli, wasn't it?
10) The T-shirts in the souvenir shops at Dulles Airport. "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him." "I love my country, it's the government that scares me." But not a single T-shirt recognizing Obama as the Messiah. That's got to be significant, don't you think?
Oh, wow! George just read my mind and sent me an article about melatonin. Thanks, George! It's a PDF, though, so I can't link to it.
Take it away, folks, these threads are still open for business.
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Feb '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Claire Berlinski: ...
3) Political charisma: Is it genetic? What was it that Bill Clinton did, I mean, what was it exactly, that made people feel as if they'd fallen under a voodoo hex when they shook his hand?
Just a personal, though one-degree-removed, anecdote to confirm your assertion.
In 1999 I did an internship with a Silicon Valley startup, and one of my older co-workers, Ted, was from Arkansas. Ted claims that he met Bill Clinton while he was governor, well before Clinton had started to run for President. At the time, Ted says he just "knew" instinctively that "this man is going to be the President of the United States."
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Personally, Claire, I thought last night's event was a disgrace.
We're conservatives, Claire. We don't go in for crowd-surfing.
I realize you need to defray your travel expenses, but the body-painting thing was...well, embarrassing. Try as I might, I couldn't scrub it all off. My sheets are stained fuschia.
And someone needs to take Peter aside and tell him that if he can't handle his Jello shots, he should stay home next time. Or Skype himself in.
By the way, did anyone happen to find a black nubuck oxford? Size 9?
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Thanks Claire! I wish I could have been there. Rob & Peter: when's the East Coast version?
My two cents: melatonin (no); graduate school (opportunity cost - including student loans - is the key point); stimulus (common sense).
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Claire, the BMW console thing is a perplexing doohickey called iDrive, where you're supposed to control a plethora of your vehicle's features with a sort of circular mouse and a small computer screen. Simple, really, once you get used to it. But annoying.
I believe Rob and George were trying to explain to Peter how to get his iDrive out of the fatal "Brady Bunch" mode, where it does nothing but perpetually loop the episode where Greg and Cindy bring home a stray kitten and have to hide it from Carol.
That, by sheer coincidence, happens to be Peter's all-time favorite Brady episode, but after the 3,000th loop, even he no longer chortles with delight when Carol finds the kitten in the bread box.
Aug '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
I had to run a 6:10 so I guess Claire and entourage showed up at 6:15. D'oh. Regarding graduate school I can only say coming from a two PhD family is for G-d's sake don't do it! Just say no. Friends don't let friends go to graduate school. Etc.
May '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
First, thank you to Ricochet management who quite generously hosted (and Diane for organizing). I know the Republican lineage that made you feel obliged to have a full host bar, but please don't let that be an obstacle to future gatherings. We can buy our own drinks next time.
Second, I left with the nerdy parents-of-children-under-10 crowd, and spent too much time with the random guy from the Dennis campaign and not enough time with Peter and Claire, so I hope there are more events (though I am heartened by the prospect of an upcoming Uncommon Knowledge.)
I did value my time chatting with other members, including Kenneth who, for those of you not there, is 100% true to his online personality -- funny, laser-direct and holding up the Libertarian corner of the tent with Ayn-Randian strength.
As a Ricochet focus-group it was fascinating and made me think managers/editors could benefit from an ongoing meta-discussion about the site itself.
Finally, Graduate School depends on the degree. Business? Yes. Journalism/Education? Maybe not. My undergraduate career was spent growing up. My graduate education was spent learning stuff. I don't regret either.
Feb '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
You need to consider family and relationship opportunity cost as well. I considered going for a Ph.D. while I was finishing up my Master's degree (with a family including two kids). The idea of doing cutting-edge research was very appealing. However, I realized that by the time I finished, I might walk in the front door of my home and wonder who those two young teenagers were, and they might also wonder who this strange man was as well.
If you're single and have a passion for something, and don't mind potentially being single for a lot longer, go for it. Otherwise weigh the costs very carefully.
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
I'm really fascinated by the charisma one, and have been thinking of a way to write something about it, actually, for a few weeks. The three most charismatic human beings I have met (and I met them all outside of their occupations/comfort zones) were Jesse Jackson (on a plane from DC to NYC), RFK, Jr. (at the 2001 Super Bowl and he was standing next to Rudy Giuliani, NYC mayor at the time) and football great Jim Brown. I am (obviously) not a political fan of Jackson or Kennedy, but they shone SO brightly and were so magnetic that I, honestly, could not keep my eyes off of them. I met Jim Brown at some boxing press conference somewhere, and he's an amazing, placid, powerful human. These three stand out from many, many other "famous" people I've met, but I've never been around a president.
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Trace Urdan:
I did value my time chatting with other members, including Kenneth who, for those of you not there, is 100% true to his online personality -- funny, laser-direct and holding up the Libertarian corner of the tent with Ayn-Randian strength.
"...laser-direct"?
Oh, aren't you the little diplomat.
Go ahead and say what you really mean, Trace: "An overbearing sociopath."
That's what my mom says. Or "horse's patootie."
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Oh, and I'm totally willing to host ECRF (East Coast Ricochet Fest) but I just need to know when Peter and Rob might be coming out this way. I'm a 50 min. drive from NYC, or it's about an hour train ride from Grand Central. My house is walkable from the station.
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
BMW iDrive: It's been so bad, even auto magazine editors complain about it.
Buy a Merc instead.
Grad School: Don't do it if you want to learn something. Do it because you want to discover something. Many people get it for the credential, and that's all it is for them.
Political Charisma: I don't get it. Perhaps it's because I'm "an overbearing sociopath," but I am not easily swayed by the Cult of Personality.
The Stimulus. Anyone with a home budget knows spending more money doesn't get you out of debt. Unless you're that woman from the Real Housewives of NJ.
Women on Ricochet. Yes. More of that.
T Shirts. I like this one: Doing something stupid once is an adventure. Doing something stupid over and over is a philosophy.
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Ursula, that's a generous impulse.
Just be sure to tell Peter to leave his vuvuzuela at home.
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
I don't know about Peter, but Rob will fly to NY at the drop of a hat. Maybe we should just name the date. My city apt is too small, but I'd gladly hop on Metro North . . .
Jun '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
I, for one, would love to see you get a conversation started focused on charisma -- it's such a powerful, mysterious, and, yes, dangerous element in public life
Aug '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Busy System Admin
You need to consider family and relationship opportunity cost as well.
Yes, definitely. For my area of study (math), graduate school can be really useful -- I mean, there's tons more math to discover. And you're not supposed to go to a grad school that makes you pay rather than offering you a stipend, anyhow, so the student loans aren't a problem.
But my parents are now in poor physical and financial shape -- and they've always been a little crazy to boot -- and I can't abandon them. And hubby and I want to have our babies before I turn geezer.
I had several undergraduate mentors convinced that I was just the sort to make a fine math professor at a smaller school -- I have the brains for research (though not the health for the high-pressure, high-prestige research that goes on at major institutions) and I love to teach. But life stepped in, so I must re-assess. Is it so bad, after all, to take a teaching certificate and become a Calculus teacher, or to become the math-and-science mom in a home-schooling network?
Edited on Sep. 3 at 8:34amJul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Pilgrim
I, for one, would love to see you get a conversation started focused on charisma -- it's such a powerful, mysterious, and, yes, dangerous element in public life · Sep 3 at 8:31am
I've only met two charismatic personalities: William F. Buckley and Margaret Thatcher.
Well....three, if you count Tila Tequila.
May '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Grad School: I was standing there, two weeks before the start of classes for the first quarter of my master's program, listening to Claire tell Diane how awful grad school is, how it's nice to have a credential in front of your name but it's only sometimes useful, and "there's no such thing as a happy grad student."
I looked at Claire in depair, "Don't say that!"
"Don't worry," she said. "Engineering is different." I hope she's right!
Aug '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Kenneth
"...laser-direct"?
Oh, aren't you the little diplomat.
Go ahead and say what you really mean, Trace: "An overbearing sociopath."
That's what my mom says. Or "horse's patootie." · Sep 3 at 8:06am
I'd also add, fun to quarrel with.
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
... and I love to teach. But life stepped in, so I must re-assess. Is it so bad, after all, to take a teaching certificate and become a Calculus teacher, or to become the math-and-science mom in a home-schooling network? · Sep 3 at 8:31am
Edited on Sep 03 at 08:34 am
Oh, MFR, I encourage you to try this! Teaching is so rewarding, and it certainly gives you a taste of what parenting is like, if that's, indeed, around the corner for you. The homeschooling idea is also a fantastic one. Man, if I ever chose homeschooling for my kids, I'd be looking for someone JUST like you since I am quite weak in the mathy-sciencey stuff! Anyway, you CAN have a family with the teaching career. Good luck.
Jul '10
Re: Good Morning, California! We Still Have a Few Things to Discuss
And what an entourage it was!
The two huge mamalukes were intimidating at first, what with their scimitars and their muscles bulging out of those Aladdin costumes. But once they had a few drinks in them, they were playful as puppies.
The fire-eating harem girl was quite a hit with the rest of the crowd, but, honestly, after a couple of hours, even belly-dancing fire-eating only goes so far.