tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70168762024-03-13T02:26:04.050-06:00Nicholas SarwarkPersonal opinions and writings of a stoic, Libertarian, lawyer, politician, father, and used car dealer.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.comBlogger293125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-71017122507773321152018-11-26T22:53:00.001-07:002018-11-26T22:53:27.236-07:00Because"Because" is one of the most powerful words in the English language.<br />
<br />
In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini" target="_blank">Robert Cialdini</a>'s classic book, "<a href="https://amzn.to/2DYMo4r" target="_blank">Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</a>," he gives a great overview of the science behind persuading people. One of the most interesting experiments has to do with the effect of "because" on people.<br /><br />In a <a href="https://jamesclear.com/copy-machine-study" target="_blank">study,</a> they had a subject approach a copier with a line of people. The subject asked the people to cut in line. <br /><br />The request by itself only got 60% of the people to allow the subject to cut in line.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSpcKQxMalhtGbJUWyxZiJP5uL0GVTZQdx2F6lvZ2r5z2FWk7VqsrVZrcW9wqynG_qARsiFMMHFMFnbsoNFEDzUPcwVa7ix0l_6qN9TP7YojyZjtNv8LO4G__MoVtcXGp3FwZ/s1600/Bowery_men_waiting_for_bread_in_bread_line%252C_New_York_City%252C_Bain_Collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1536" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSpcKQxMalhtGbJUWyxZiJP5uL0GVTZQdx2F6lvZ2r5z2FWk7VqsrVZrcW9wqynG_qARsiFMMHFMFnbsoNFEDzUPcwVa7ix0l_6qN9TP7YojyZjtNv8LO4G__MoVtcXGp3FwZ/s320/Bowery_men_waiting_for_bread_in_bread_line%252C_New_York_City%252C_Bain_Collection.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
When the subject asked to cut because they were in a rush to meet a deadline, over 90% of people let them cut in line.<br />
<br />
Almost the same percentage let the subject cut when they asked to cut in line, "because I need to make these copies."<br />
<br />
Anyone in line for the copier needs to make copies, that request adds no new information to the situation, but our brains make a shortcut that assumes that what comes after "because" is a real reason, so we don't think about the information content of what comes after it.<br /><br />This is something our President uses, where his justifications for policies are often nonsensical, but by phrasing them after "because," people fill in the spaces regardless of the reality.<br />
<br />
Now that you know how this works, you can watch out for it. If you use the effect to persuade others, please do it ethically.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-2524378104820524782018-11-23T21:55:00.000-07:002018-11-23T21:55:21.042-07:00Book Review: Deep Work by Cal NewportNow that my <a href="https://www.sarwarkforphoenix.com/" target="_blank">campaign for Mayor of Phoenix</a> is over, I've had a chance to read a few books and wanted to jot down my notes on the main themes for my future reference and for anyone who might be considering the book.<br />
<br />
The first one I read on vacation in Flagstaff, <a href="http://calnewport.com/" target="_blank">Cal Newport</a>'s "<a href="https://amzn.to/2OZDlBe" target="_blank">Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World</a>."<br />
<br />
The main thesis is that the ability to concentrate on a single project or problem for a sustained period becomes harder in our world of network tools and distractions like email and clickbait websites. Since it's harder to do, there are significant advantages for those who practice the skill of going deep over others who are stuck doing shallow work.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RCuBAZXuMvBGS_pRmdzv3IGUJqhMkHZ4G1DNH5wvVEw-LvtrTWH0bLEf0A9dW-xHE3ouJoe2epOKkfeSFC_HMOGA5H3PaiFMyJVacMRGq4e1M3Fw6R8ZDXuzwChIdTLBUdFV/s1600/442375664_1a8136fa65_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RCuBAZXuMvBGS_pRmdzv3IGUJqhMkHZ4G1DNH5wvVEw-LvtrTWH0bLEf0A9dW-xHE3ouJoe2epOKkfeSFC_HMOGA5H3PaiFMyJVacMRGq4e1M3Fw6R8ZDXuzwChIdTLBUdFV/s320/442375664_1a8136fa65_b.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep diving</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
After laying out his hypothesis that deep work is worthwhile, he sets down four rules to cultivate the ability to do deep work and make it part of your personal practice.<br />
<br />
The four rules are:<br />
<ol>
<li>Work Deeply</li>
<li>Embrace Boredom</li>
<li>Quit Social Media</li>
<li>Drain the Shallows</li>
</ol>
Work Deeply: Focus on the most important tasks (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle" target="_blank">Pareto's 80/20 rule</a>), create rituals and an environment to make it easier to get into the deep work, and make sure to incorporate downtime when you stop trying to do the deep work to allow your mind to refresh and to develop insights into the problem or project using your subconscious mind.<br />
<br />
Embrace Boredom: Our constant distractions prevent us from being bored (checking social media or messing with our phones), which detracts from the ability to focus. By blocking out time to focus, and then allowing Internet distraction only as a break from that focus, you rewire your brain to have focus be the default.<br />
<br />
Quit Social Media: The ability to connect is a small benefit, at the high cost of distraction. Since this constant shallow distraction is not likely to be moving you toward your life goals, you should evaluate social media to see if the benefits outweigh the costs. Like the rule about not buying single-purpose kitchen appliances, the added clutter doesn't pay for itself with a benefit. Choose your tools like a craftsman, applying careful cost-benefit analysis.<br />
<br />
Drain the Shallows: Figure out what work is deep, schedule all of your time so that you can prioritize the deep work. Make sure to have a limit to how much deep work you do in the day. When you do have to do shallow work like email responses, make the senders work harder to send, make the responses advance the project, and don't feel obligated to respond to every electronic missive that comes your way.<br />
<br />
It's a relatively short, well-written book, with solid research citations and anecdotal examples from the author's career of how the techniques can benefit someone who wants to achieve more than most people in society without spending as much time.<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-43155741119141719502017-09-04T13:34:00.000-06:002017-09-04T13:34:51.152-06:00“You can never buy a decent used car”?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEvJLex6yXPFhawAk9blKppnGi0uZsNkJkpb7PrUOrX8oPu9Nxf1rT-swW0wvBZk0-QfPL_-v8cXFIkomtUEkCPJ_O3O2Vd6kNvf88TItI49FEn8rMkUMSkNGYwH_bDTNmbWy/s1600/The_Big_Lemon_P229_EJW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEvJLex6yXPFhawAk9blKppnGi0uZsNkJkpb7PrUOrX8oPu9Nxf1rT-swW0wvBZk0-QfPL_-v8cXFIkomtUEkCPJ_O3O2Vd6kNvf88TItI49FEn8rMkUMSkNGYwH_bDTNmbWy/s320/The_Big_Lemon_P229_EJW.JPG" width="320" /></a>It was the subtitle that got me to read Tim Harford’s book, “<a href="http://amzn.to/2wz2wEN" target="_blank">The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich are Rich, the Poor are Poor – and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!</a>” Our family owns <a href="http://www.consolidatedauto.com/" target="_blank">the oldest independent car dealership in Phoenix</a> and has sold thousands of decent used cars over the last 75 years; who is this guy to say you can “never” buy one?<br /><br />I’m glad the title pissed me off enough to read the book. Nothing is more powerful for a man than knowing how things work. Harford’s book shows you how the world works in ways that empower you to do something about it. Whether you’re a <a href="https://www.lp.org/" target="_blank">Libertarian</a> like me or subscribe to some other political belief, an economist’s understanding of the effects – intentional or otherwise – of market actors and government policies will help you advocate for the good. After finishing this book, you’ll have a much better grasp on the world than 95% of our politicians in Washington.<br /><br />“Billions of people could benefit from better economic policies. Millions are dying because of bad<br />ones.” -<a href="http://timharford.com/" target="_blank">Tim Harford</a><br /><br />One key insight he explains in simple terms is that if one wants to adjust the outcome of a race, the<br />least distortion is made by rearranging the starting blocks, rather than forcing some runners to run<br />backwards or more slowly. The outcome is still that all runners cross the finish line at the same time,<br />but they all are still running at their individual capacity.<br />
<br />There is also an excellent analysis of why our healthcare system in the United States is so broken and<br />what we could do to fix it. Rather than distort the heath insurance market with mandates and<br />penalties to deal with the issue of asymmetric information between individuals and insurance<br />companies, we should adopt a system that allows the market and price forces to work, similar to<br />Singapore. The Singaporean system is not perfect, but would be vastly better when it comes to both<br />price and outcomes than what we have now.<br />
<br />As to the used cars, think about how you would deal with the problem of a car dealer having good<br />and bad cars for sale (“peaches and lemons”) from the perspective of a car buyer who doesn’t know<br />which is which. Once you’ve thought through the problem, pick up a copy of <a href="http://amzn.to/2wz2wEN" target="_blank">Harford’s book</a> and<br />see whether you got the same solution.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-17080085857317322102017-05-09T07:45:00.001-06:002017-05-09T08:18:51.245-06:00Marketing to a small minority without a massive budget<span class="_5z6m"></span><span data-offset-key="6vcn0-0-0"><span data-text="true">If 1 out of 100 people are potential buyers for your product, you still have a target market of approximately 3,227,000 people. The challenge is reaching them.</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="1mvhq-0-0"><span data-text="true">Mass media would work, if you saturate all 322MM people with your message, some fraction of that 1 in 100 would respond, but you'd be broke from the cost of mass marketing to everyone to target the 1%.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="2v7tu-0-0"><span data-text="true">The hack for this system is to get the media to give you free (often negative) coverage by creating manufactured controversy and outrage. They will run stories that attack your product and show them to everyone, but your 1 in 100 target market will also see those stories. They will be intrigued by your product and probably even more loyal customers from watching your product be attacked by the mainstream.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6uove-0-0"><span data-text="true">The specific methods for using this technique are covered in Ryan Holiday's book, "<a href="http://amzn.to/2qVxGAA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trust Me I'm Lying</a>," and are used by controversial public figures every day. <br /><br />Understanding how this works is a powerful tool, though it can't be your only tool.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-75367217671268851712016-10-09T18:01:00.002-06:002016-10-09T18:01:46.117-06:00Book Review: "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpAZkYyJhYTBlfcvy8grM7S7dfsjHtuOFIBZ7diFw3nkRw_EFrgShFrVwnIDhSuIi4TlAdYX8BWV0fCu_UGo2J5CDJ2rUXFueD4sxPCenb67v5XRXJrzE54AqcITQcb5SoYS-/s1600/uewb_06_img0372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpAZkYyJhYTBlfcvy8grM7S7dfsjHtuOFIBZ7diFw3nkRw_EFrgShFrVwnIDhSuIi4TlAdYX8BWV0fCu_UGo2J5CDJ2rUXFueD4sxPCenb67v5XRXJrzE54AqcITQcb5SoYS-/s1600/uewb_06_img0372.jpg" /></a></div>
It's not often anymore that I have time for a full-length book, but I recently read Jon Meacham's biography of Jefferson, "<a href="http://amzn.to/2dCsH4x">Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power</a>." It took a few weeks taking it on long flights and reading before bed, but it's very worth the time.<br />
<br />
Meacham covers the entire arc of Jefferson's life, giving plenty of space to his formative years in Virginia and looking at the influences that shaped him prior to obtaining high office.<br />
<br />
By Meacham's account, Jefferson seldom would be directly critical of others, even political opponents or enemies. His politeness and tact were the surface that people saw, while he worked quietly and diligently behind the scenes to consolidate alliances and test the waters to ensure that he seldom engaged in battles he could not win.<br />
<br />
Meacham does not avoid the issue of slave ownership, treating it thoroughly, but noting the complexities of the time and Jefferson's complicated relationships with his slaves. He finds some evidence that Jefferson supported abolition as a concept, but his assessment of the political situation was that it would be a lost cause to fight for publicly.<br />
<br />
Libertarians have a soft spot for Jefferson, due to many of his writings and quotations having a strong libertarian bent, but the picture Meacham paints is of an idealist who was an absolute realist about policy and the exercise of governmental power. His ideas were lofty, but he also had skill as a political tactician in not seeking too much and knowing when to negotiate.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in the man behind the legend of a Founding Father, Jon Meacham's "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power" is worth a read.
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-57362928690479185702016-02-18T07:14:00.001-07:002016-02-18T07:14:44.595-07:00Real change starts with the man in the mirrorThere are so many people in the world who are not doing what they should. When I find myself focusing on the actions of others, I find it helpful to listen to Michael Jackson's classic, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00136LQ9Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00136LQ9Y&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa&linkId=6B6AD353PNY3BGGE" rel="nofollow">Man in the Mirror</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=B00136LQ9Y" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
."<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PivWY9wn5ps" width="459"></iframe><br /><br />
<br /><br />
As a stoic, I recognize that only my actions are in my control. As a <a href="http://lp.org/">Libertarian</a>, I recognize that nobody should have control over another person's freedom. As a <a href="http://consolidatedauto.com/">businessman and manager</a>, I have experience that people respond better to examples than commands.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
It's time we take a look at the man in the mirror. It's time to make a change.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-3580790932159786592015-05-22T22:55:00.001-06:002015-05-22T22:55:25.767-06:00How Much Do You Get Paid for Breathing? - An updateBack in July 2013, I wrote <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/07/how-much-do-you-get-paid-for-breathing.html">a post about how much one gets paid for breathing</a>. The basic concept is to figure out how much money you make from entirely passive investments and divide it our to figure out what you get paid just for breathing, without having to do any work.<br />
<br />
At that point, between interest, dividends, and rental income, I was making $0.34 per hour.<br />
<br />
Not quite two years later, I'm doing a little better on dividends and the rent went up on the house we don't live in. The new passive income is up to $3409.49 for the year, $284.12 for the month, $9.34 per day, and $0.39 per hour.<br />
<br />
A five cent per hour raise is not normally something to write home about, but when it's a raise on the wage you make for breathing, that's an extra $438 every year for just staying alive.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-22680392448316088152014-10-06T10:32:00.000-06:002014-10-06T10:33:10.734-06:00The Next Chapter in my Career<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT51x9JSiaAPt6su55vcwgMYyHRCUEsk4XQyh5OYb-Qaz85NCvbxYe5uEwErccgvcCTO65BcNy6lEHheIjogTfBNsKOuSNFvoevLBg9BGeyYOOSTfQE_UIkNG8ebPDyY-tHCxp/s1600/ss_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT51x9JSiaAPt6su55vcwgMYyHRCUEsk4XQyh5OYb-Qaz85NCvbxYe5uEwErccgvcCTO65BcNy6lEHheIjogTfBNsKOuSNFvoevLBg9BGeyYOOSTfQE_UIkNG8ebPDyY-tHCxp/s1600/ss_1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Over 70 years ago, Roman "Slim" Sarwark moved from South Bend, Indiana
to Phoenix, Arizona to convalesce after he lost a lung to tuberculosis.
His doctors didn't give him much chance to live for many more years.<br />
<br />
Slim started Sarwark Motor Sales in 1942, selling one or two cars at a
time. His hard work and dedication built the business up, through
selling new cars, mobile homes, and eventually only selling quality used
cars. He was at the lot every day until about a week before he passed
away at the age of 87 in 1999.<br />
<br />
My father, Frank Sarwark, worked with my grandfather as he grew up, sometimes being called from
high school to bring back the car he was driving so a customer could buy
it. He's the President of the company now, and just like his father,
he's at the lot every day.<br />
<br />
The name has changed to <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=243669188703" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Consolidated-Auto-Sales-Inc/243669188703">Consolidated Auto Sales, Inc</a>,
but it's the same business my grandfather started 72 years ago. When
people come to us, they aren't always in the best financial or credit
situation, but they need a vehicle. We still treat every one of those
customers the way we would want to be treated, with respect and
integrity. We do our own financing and do whatever we can to work with
people to get the vehicle they need.<br />
<br />
That way of doing business
is not as common as it should be. We can't make other dealers change
how they do business, but what I can do personally is join my father in
the family business to make sure that we keep living up to the standards
set by my grandfather and father for another generation.<br />
<br />
Our
sign at 1610 E. Van Buren says, "<a href="http://www.consolidatedauto.com/">Sarwark's Consolidated Auto Sales</a>."
That's my grandfather's name. That's my father's name. That's my name.
I'm committed to honoring that name and the reputation for doing
business the right way that was earned long before I was born. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-22164799777388484062014-08-22T06:48:00.000-06:002014-08-22T06:48:05.785-06:00Last day as a public defenderToday is my last day as a Deputy State Public Defender. <br />
<br />
Over the last five years, I have fought beside some of the best people I've ever met to defend the indigent accused. <br />
<br />
I've had the honor of saving men from living the rest of their lives in a cage. I've experienced the pain of watching a client be sentenced to 48 years of prison, taking away his adult life. <br />
<br />
Nearly 35 jury trials. Oral argument in front of the Colorado Supreme Court. Thousands of clients lives touched, and hopefully, helped in some way. Late nights and weekends spent working harder to keep my clients out of a cage than the prosecutor was working to put them in.<br />
<br />
There are new chapters to be started. They should be good ones, but today is the last day of the most meaningful job I've ever had.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-73329526646628560912014-07-16T08:44:00.001-06:002014-07-16T08:44:34.311-06:00Sarwark Elected Chair of Libertarian National CommitteeBlogging here has been kind of light. I <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2014/06/elect-nicholas-sarwark-as-chair-of.html">ran for</a> and was elected <a href="http://www.lp.org/lnc-leadership">Chair of the Libertarian National Committee</a> over the last weekend in June. It's going to be a busy two years.<br />
<br />
From the <a href="http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-elect-new-leadership">official press release</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Delegates to the 2014 Libertarian Party National Convention in
Columbus, Ohio, elected Nicholas Sarwark of Colorado to be the party's
new chair.<br />
Sarwark has been active with the LP since 1999. He has served on
committees of the national party, and as chair of the Libertarian Party
of Maryland. He is currently the vice chair of the Libertarian Party of
Colorado, where he played a key role in recruiting the state's 42
Libertarian candidates for 2014, as well as supporting the passage of
Colorado's historic marijuana legalization initiative in 2012.<br />
Sarwark's goals include clearly positioning the Libertarian Party as the only choice for pro-freedom young people.<br />
"Younger voters are rejecting the old political parties," Sarwark
said. "Reaching out to pro-freedom young people will make us the
dominant political party in 20 years."</blockquote>
<br />
I will keep this blog primarily for personal stuff. Based on the last two weeks, in which I've taken official positions on the <a href="http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-respond-to-hobby-lobby-ruling">Hobby Lobby decision</a>, <a href="http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-urge-americans-to-declare-their-independence">leaving the old political parties behind</a>, <a href="http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-say-let-the-immigrant-children-in">immigration</a>, and <a href="http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarian-party-joins-coalition-urging-obama-to-veto-cybersecurity-bill">stopping NSA spying</a>, I'll be saying plenty about politics in my role with the <a href="http://www.lp.org/">Libertarian Party</a>.<br />
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I also maintain a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sarwark4chair">Facebook page as Chair of the Libertarian National Committee</a>, where I will be doing more political blogging. You can also <a href="https://twitter.com/nsarwark">follow me on Twitter as @nsarwark</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-86720929080251162442014-06-12T22:25:00.002-06:002014-06-12T22:25:38.440-06:00Elect Nicholas Sarwark as Chair of the Libertarian National Committee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The <a href="http://lp.org/">Libertarian Party</a> national <a href="http://lpcon2014.org/">convention will be held in Columbus, Ohio June 26-29</a>. I have announced my <a href="http://chair.sarwark.org/">candidacy for Chair of the Libertarian National Committee</a> and hope to lead the party to growth and success as we go into the 2016 election cycle.<br />
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If you can attend the convention, please come out and support me. If not, please "Like" my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sarwark4chair">campaign page on Facebook</a> and tell your Libertarian friends about my campaign. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-3260746733869195452014-01-20T16:57:00.000-07:002014-01-20T16:57:19.221-07:00Book Review: So Good They Can't Ignore You<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455509124/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1455509124&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1455509124&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=thenicholassarwa" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=1455509124" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
"Follow your passion and the money will come." How many people have been given this advice when deciding what to study in school, whether to take a job, and whether to quit a job to do something else? It turns out that it's terrible advice.<br />
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That's the thesis of "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455509124/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1455509124&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=1455509124" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />," by <a href="http://calnewport.com/">Cal Newport</a>. The title comes from a quote by Steve Martin, that the secret to success is getting so good that they can't ignore you. It's advice that's simple, but difficult, which is why most people don't want to take it.<br />
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The book examines the passion hypothesis and finds it lacking. It turns out that the passions people have seldom correspond to a career. It is true that people who are passionate love what they do, but that passion is developed over time through success.<br />
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Newport suggests building "career capital" by developing skills in your current work through deliberate practice. That career capital can then be leveraged into work with more control, which is linked to job satisfaction.<br />
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At the end of the book, the author walks through the example of his own career path to an assistant professorship at Georgetown as an example of how the principles can be applied in practice.<br />
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It's a good read about how to focus energy away from daydreaming about other careers or the traditional "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607743620/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1607743620&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">What Color Is Your Parachute?</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=1607743620" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />" type of career advice.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-26453020404479343062013-12-23T08:14:00.000-07:002013-12-23T08:19:13.972-07:00Drinking White Wine in the SunIt's hard to be an atheist around Christmas sometimes. As we are reminded, often loudly, Jesus is the reason for the season. But I, like many atheists, enjoy Christmas for all of the beauty it brings unrelated to religion. Singing songs, spending time with family, loving each other.<br />
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<a href="http://www.timminchin.com/">Tim Minchin</a>, <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/05/2-gs-n-i-e-and-r.html">whose work I have mentioned before</a>, has a beautiful song that sums up the conflict of the unbeliever, but in a gentle, sentimental way. The bonds of love and family that come around this time of year are worth celebrating.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fCNvZqpa-7Q" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
If you purchase <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/white-wine-in-the-sun-live/id458900984?i=458901001&uo=4&at=10lqKf" target="itunes_store">White Wine In the Sun</a> from iTunes in the month of November, December, or January, all the proceeds go to the National Autistic Society.<br />
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Merry Christmas to you, no matter why you celebrate or what you believe. Love each other.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-42520692778532672992013-12-22T15:47:00.001-07:002013-12-22T16:10:18.415-07:00The $1,000 ChallengeThere are only two ways to improve your financial situation. You can bring in more money or you can stop spending as much money. In my quest to do the latter, I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591846439/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1591846439&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">The $1,000 Challenge: How One Family Slashed Its Budget Without Moving Under a Bridge or Living on Government Cheese</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=1591846439" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />by Brian J. O'Connor.<br />
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Mr. O'Connor is a <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/section/OPINION0315">personal finance columnist at the Detroit News</a>. The book follows his quest to cut his monthly budget by $1,000 ($100 in each of ten categories). The prose is easy to read and humorous and the tips are broken up into three categories in each chapter, depending on where your personal financial situation is.<br />
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None of the recommendations are life-changing or that new to those of use familiar with <a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/">Mr. Money Mustache</a> or <a href="http://earlyretirementextreme.com/">Early Retirement Extreme</a>, but the book helps you with how to think about your budget and figure out where you can cut.<br />
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If you can cut $1,000/month from your budget, you can reduce the nest egg required to retire (or reach financial independence) by $300,000. This is based on a 4% safe withdrawal rate and the amount of money required to support $1,000/month. (1000 x 12 x 25 = 300000)<br />
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Check the book out from Amazon or your local library and let me know what you think.<br />
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<iframe src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=thenicholassarwa&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1591846439" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-64285852756932231172013-11-18T08:14:00.000-07:002013-11-18T08:15:45.813-07:00Simple shelf from one hardwood plankWhen you do "knowledge work" for a living, there's an inherent frustration in not creating something concrete from your efforts. Negotiating a case, reading cases to prepare a brief or a motion, appearing in court, all of these things have value to a client, but the value does not manifest itself as a thing you can touch and feel. Matthew B. Crawford explores this concept in eloquent detail in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143117467/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0143117467&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work</a>, a book <a href="http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/about">Mark Bennett</a> recommended I read and I, in turn, recommend you read.<br />
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One of the ways to get that feeling of accomplishment, of making a "thing," is having a hobby where you make stuff. I <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/10/build-50-workbench-and-start-woodworking.html">built a workbench</a> so I could have a place to do woodworking. The first project I wanted to build, a simple tic-tac-toe shelf from Spike Carlsen's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610350049/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1610350049&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">Ridiculously Simple Furniture Projects: Great Looking Furniture Anyone Can Build</a>, is done now.
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The completion of the project is shown in pictures below. Total time was probably 3-4 hours, with gaps for the finish to dry. All that was required was a 1" x 6" x 8' hardwood board (I used poplar).<br />
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The raw plank:<br />
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Cut down to four equal lengths:</div>
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Notched:</div>
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Cut into arcs:</div>
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Ready for finishing:</div>
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Dry fit:</div>
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Finished with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001007OJ4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001007OJ4&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">Medium Walnut Danish Oil</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=B001007OJ4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />:</div>
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Close up of the finish:</div>
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Mounted on the wall with picture hangers:</div>
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With a canister to give a sense of size on the wall:</div>
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Less than $30 worth of materials and about 4 hours of work and I have a very nice shelf for our dining room and a "thing" I can look at and think, "I built that."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-9105576789787416202013-11-03T05:53:00.000-07:002013-11-03T05:53:53.607-07:00Organize your shirts with the Army rollI have a lot of t-shirts. They're kind of like a scrapbook of places I've been and things I did over the last 20 years. The problem with a lot of t-shirts is that they get crumpled and jammed in to make them fit, making it hard to find the right one, popping the hardboard bottoms out of the IKEA dresser drawers, and leaving a wrinkled t-shirt at the end.<br />
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The solution (other than getting rid of some of them) was to use the technique in this video:<br />
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To turn a drawer like this:</div>
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Into a drawer like this:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-53506205266392240682013-10-27T07:32:00.003-06:002013-10-27T07:32:51.168-06:00More thoughts on the Washington Redskins name controversy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcoORnFuxgs3rX-rDOGRYdH6BGVmneZTJp-jGCDTpVpQf2QytgIa3rH9ZFo5Iw-3v4EVzdj-VdmU_7YrKxK49grvKPk3qbq6oBpR5SchyNOuh_Q0boIh_NVNSs8mVxkvRLD-W/s1600/redskins-spear-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcoORnFuxgs3rX-rDOGRYdH6BGVmneZTJp-jGCDTpVpQf2QytgIa3rH9ZFo5Iw-3v4EVzdj-VdmU_7YrKxK49grvKPk3qbq6oBpR5SchyNOuh_Q0boIh_NVNSs8mVxkvRLD-W/s1600/redskins-spear-small.jpg" /></a></div>
Back in March, when the Washington Post was leading the preseason charge to pressure the Redskins to change their name, I wrote a <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/03/why-redskins-shouldnt-change-name.html">short post suggesting the team shouldn't change the name</a>, making two main points: (1) the word "redskin" is no longer commonly used to refer to Native American people at all, and (2) the linguistic origins of the term are not actually offensive, with the offensive usage taking hold for a much shorter period later. (See Ives Goddard, "<a href="http://anthropology.si.edu/goddard/redskin.pdf">'I am a red-skin': The Adoption of a Native American Expression (1769–1826)</a>", Native American Studies 19:2, 2005)<br />
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It's October now and the <a href="http://www.redskins.com/">Washington Redskins</a> are visiting the <a href="http://www.denverbroncos.com/">Denver Broncos</a> for the first time in eight years. My mother-in-law flew out for the game and we went downtown to the Redskins Rally at the Tavern last night. The organizers said it was the largest turnout for any event they had ever had in a visiting city; I guess waiting eight years will build up some excitement. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cooley_%28American_football%29">Chris Cooley</a> was there and took a picture with Joel. Valerie and Ruth took a picture with Dan Snyder. Several renditions of "Hail to the Redskins" were sung. There were also a couple of spontaneous chants of "keep the name."<br />
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That got me thinking about why I still don't support the name change, even though I try not to use other offensive words like "fag" or "retard" or "nigger." I don't use those words because I love beer, freedom, and other people and see no value in hurting others. (I do slip from time to time and use offensive terms like "Cowboys fan." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mea_culpa"><i>Mea culpa</i></a>.) <br />
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Many years ago, I read a book by <a href="http://www.missmanners.com/">Miss Manners</a>, the etiquette columnist. I recall her suggesting that the polite thing to do is to refer to someone how they would like to be referred to. It came up in the example of someone named James who would be called Jim by strangers and really preferred to be called James. Since then, if I meet someone with a commonly shortened name or nickname, I always ask them which they prefer.<br />
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This situation came up more recently after the Manning trial. The Pfc. Manning was an Army soldier who leaked a number of videos and cables to <a href="http://wikileaks.org/">Wikileaks</a> and was court martialed. After the conviction, Manning came out as transgendered and asked to be referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Manning">Chelsea Manning</a> (as opposed to Bradley, her male birth name). Having transgendered acquaintances in the past, this was just common sense and the polite thing to do. However, a number of journalists and commentators thought it was absurd.<br />
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The point that's often overlooked in the Redskins name debate is that the activists who want to team to change the name are not asking that people not refer to Native Americans as "redskins," they're asking that we not refer to a football team as "the Redskins." They are taking offense at the use of the word per se, not at use of the word as an offensive slur.<br />
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It's fine to have the opinion that some words are just offensive and not want them used at all. I have many friends who are on the other side of this issue and I respect their position. But there is a fundamental difference between campaigns like <a href="http://www.r-word.org/">The R-Word</a> that seek to stop the use of a term to disparage individuals and a campaign to change the name of a football team because you are offended by the word's use in any context.<br />
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In short, there's a difference between saying "you're a filthy redskin" to a person and singing "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Redskins">Hail to the Redskins</a>" after a touchdown. I would never do the former; I hope to do the latter many times this afternoon when they beat the Broncos.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-356094294106533432013-10-15T08:04:00.001-06:002013-10-15T08:08:00.761-06:00Build a $50 workbench and start woodworkingA few weeks ago, I picked up a book at the library with some furniture projects I wanted to build around the house, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610350049/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1610350049&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">Ridiculously Simple Furniture Projects: Great Looking Furniture Anyone Can Build</a>." Author <a href="http://www.spikecarlsen.com/">Spike Carlsen</a> breaks projects down into just one or two pages of instructions with beautiful pictures and minimal material and tool requirements. The second project in the book is a Tic-Tac-Toe Shelf that looked nice and easy to tackle. The author <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/110690103312800757/">uploaded it to Pinterest</a> if you want to take a look:<br />
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<a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/110690103312800757/"></a>
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However, as I was contemplating cutting out a curved piece of wood with a jigsaw and notching it with a chisel, I remembered that I'd be doing it on the floor of my garage. Since buying my first house back in 2001, I've collected a fair number of tools, but have never had a proper workbench to build things on. So I decided I needed a workbench to build a tiny brick-a-brac shelf.<br />
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The bench I decided on was one I found on <a href="http://www.familyhandyman.com/">Family Handyman</a> after a lot of web searching. Entitled "<a href="http://www.familyhandyman.com/workshop/workbench/how-to-build-a-workbench-super-simple-50-bench">Super Simple $50 Bench</a>," people were talking about it only taking 4 hours to build a very sturdy and practical bench. The materials required are straightforward: 15 2" x 4" x 8' studs, cut to various lengths, one sheet of 1/2" plywood, lots (I used about 2 1/2 lbs) of 3" screws for framing, and some 1 5/8" screws to secure the plywood bench tops.<br />
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The nice guy in lumber at Home Depot did most of the long cuts on my studs and plywood for free. The only downside is that some of the lengths were off by 1/2" or so, so my finished bench is not entirely square.<br />
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A couple of warnings: This project takes longer than 4 hours if you're working alone, especially if you're building on the garage floor because you don't have a proper workbench. Also, $50 is low for current prices. My final costs were about $100 for basic materials, and another $40 or so for a light, pegboard, and a power strip.<br />
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All that said, two weekends later, I have a completed workbench in my garage.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLef__Oz6E8-UvBLN-o43aZ3y7Ay0v82JAA1PnDJg-unDMg-cAxyeixl855w6xRXtlhbRdQX3Vx8hyUoKosllav_Xkn3H7X9qrIXEf1ayRqeviwtBwzPbmi4e7-j7vDvbIXTS2/s1600/IMG_1281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLef__Oz6E8-UvBLN-o43aZ3y7Ay0v82JAA1PnDJg-unDMg-cAxyeixl855w6xRXtlhbRdQX3Vx8hyUoKosllav_Xkn3H7X9qrIXEf1ayRqeviwtBwzPbmi4e7-j7vDvbIXTS2/s400/IMG_1281.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished workbench with pegboard and light</td></tr>
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While it might not be exactly square, it's incredibly sturdy. So sturdy that I had to have my neighbor come over to help me move it to the other side of the garage, since Valerie couldn't lift the other side of it up for more than a second. I put on some pegboard, a light and a power strip, but still want to run pegboard all the way across and apply some polyurethane or Danish oil to the plywood tops to protect them.<br />
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Now I'm ready to tackle that shelf. Next weekend.<br />
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<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-69156721645634756032013-10-08T11:42:00.002-06:002013-10-08T11:42:59.920-06:00Facing the truth on the debt limitDavid Friedman has a very good post on <a href="http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-debt-limit-and-default.html">The Debt Limit and Default</a> that makes two essential points for cutting through the hyperbole in the news about the risks of not raising the country's debt limit. (1) Our government takes in enough revenues to make all interest payments on existing debt and (2) even defaulting on all of those interest payments would not be enough to deal with the budget deficit. Read the whole thing, it's short.<br />
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Joe Nocera has an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/opinion/nocera-why-the-debt-ceiling-matters.html">op-ed in the New York Times</a> trotting out the parade of horribles that would occur if the Federal government did default on its interest payments, but never acknowledges that not raising the limit doesn't automatically lead to default.<br />
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Matt Yglesias, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/10/07/debt_ceiling_breach_default.html">writing at Slate</a>, acknowledges that the Federal government could make all of the interest payments, but says it would be really hard and require the Treasury Department to figure out how to rework its computer systems to do it.<br />
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Both authors uncritically repeat a widely believed falsehood about United States debt. Nocera: "The second point worth making is that U.S. government debt is the only risk-free asset in the world." Yglesias (on impact of payment prioritization): "But nobody in the future could seriously treat U.S. government debt as a risk-free information-insensitive asset." <br />
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<b>There are no risk-free investments.</b><br />
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I had to put the above in bold because it's so basic and important. The real effect of not raising the debt limit is not default, but rather facing the reality that there's nothing magical about the United States that lets it borrow money it doesn't have indefinitely and without negative consequence. That truth hurts, but it's time we faced it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-48864258994510465262013-10-01T23:45:00.000-06:002013-10-01T23:45:01.140-06:00Why are you buying enchilada sauce?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WKJQYiTgk0pGguy-d3rx9MguVkBEc_UPRB1l1YbRPbYt_2UoL995xcl-4AZ-K7iFrv6fIDjm8jm4CN8SEKBMLlKMfbPECre-gGtwbqPUED_nrNIEilHPVSPGMFfxEskhyphenhyphen6NQ/s1600/enchiladas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WKJQYiTgk0pGguy-d3rx9MguVkBEc_UPRB1l1YbRPbYt_2UoL995xcl-4AZ-K7iFrv6fIDjm8jm4CN8SEKBMLlKMfbPECre-gGtwbqPUED_nrNIEilHPVSPGMFfxEskhyphenhyphen6NQ/s200/enchiladas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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We just got back from vacation late Friday night and I was going to make dinner for the family to give Valerie a break. Simple bean and cheese enchiladas; refried beans, corn tortillas, pepper jack cheese, and enchilada sauce. We had the first three things in the house, but no enchilada sauce.<br />
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I considered driving out to the grocery store to pick up some more enchilada sauce, but decided to do a quick Google search first to see if there was a recipe to make our own. Third link down, I found t<a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/">his recipe for homemade enchilada sauce</a>. The ingredients were as follows:<br />
<ul id="zlrecipe-ingredients-list">
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-0" itemprop="ingredients">2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-1" itemprop="ingredients">2 Tbsp. flour
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-2" itemprop="ingredients">4 Tbsp. chili powder
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-3" itemprop="ingredients">1/2 tsp. garlic powder
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-4" itemprop="ingredients">1/2 tsp. salt
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-5" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 tsp. cumin
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-6" itemprop="ingredients">1/4 tsp. oregano
</li>
<li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-7" itemprop="ingredients">2 cups chicken broth</li>
</ul>
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I had all those spices in the house and the 15 minutes necessary to simmer the sauce. The result was delicious. Two cups of rich, spicy enchilada sauce for probably $0.20 worth of ingredients. Compare that to spending about $1.29 per small can of store-bought sauce (and needing two for a full batch of enchiladas).<br />
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Just like <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/07/get-rich-with-breadmaker.html">making your own bread with a breadmaker</a>, making your own enchilada sauce is a simple way to eat better and save a few bucks in the process.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-85031945753890799802013-08-14T10:32:00.001-06:002013-08-14T17:15:06.332-06:00Why I Cancelled My PNC Bank Credit CardMy wallet is one credit card lighter this morning. I cancelled my PNC Bank Visa that I've had since it was still National City bank. Their business practice of charging exorbitant fees with zero grace period is not something I want to support with my purchase dollars.<br />
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The facts are these: Back in January, my payment was sent in the mail and arrived a day late. The next statement had a $25 late fee as well as $1.50 in finance charges. I called <a href="https://www.pnc.com/">PNC Bank</a> to complain about this fee and they reversed it.<br />
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My July payment was due on July 20 (a Saturday). PNC Bank posted my payment on July 22 (a Monday). Boom, another $25 late fee and $1.50 in finance charges. I called them this morning to ask them to reverse the late fee, as the payment was posted one business day late and $26.50 is a pretty ridiculous amount for one day.<br />
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I was told by the representative that he could not reverse the fee because they had reversed the late fee in February. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was transferred to Ralph. Ralph told me that he could not reverse the fee, that it was "company policy" that they would not reverse more than one fee every 12 months. I asked him if it was worth it to PNC Bank to lose a customer of over a decade over $26.50. He apologized, but said that he could not reverse it and that there was nobody else I could speak to who could.<br />
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I explained that I didn't need to do business with a company who had those kind of business practices, that I have plenty of other credit cards and can get plenty more.<br />
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Then I had him cancel my card.<br />
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Apparently, <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/07/pnc_bank_profit_doubles_as_fee.html">PNC Bank has been making record profits on the back of increased fees</a>.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Highlights for the quarter included higher client fees, larger gains on
asset sales and larger asset valuations stemming from the rise in
long-term interest rates.</blockquote>
It looks like <a href="http://aprilkuhlman.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/why-pnc-bank-sucks/">I'm not the only person who is done with PNC Bank</a>. <br />
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The bottom line is that PNC Bank is free to use whatever nickel-and-dime fees they want to bleed their customers. But it's going to suffer the consequences as those customers leave for a bank that doesn't try to bleed them with fees. Just <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/bank-of-america-the-latest-corporation-to-fall-prey-to-consumer-revolt/2011/11/01/gIQAHROAdM_blog.html">ask Bank of America how their $5 debit card fee</a> went.<br />
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PNC Bank sucks and I would encourage you to take your business elsewhere if you agree. Vote with your dollars. I will update this post if I receive a response from PNC Bank.<br />
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UPDATE: After posting on Twitter, I received a phone call from PNC Bank customer service and spoke to someone in their "Retail Escalation Department." They told me that, under the new credit card law, they have to apply the same policy to everyone and so can't waive any fees besides one per 12-month period. Assuming that she was referring to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_CARD_Act_of_2009">CARD Act</a>, I read through the law and saw no such provision.<br />
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FURTHER UPDATE: Based on my reading of Section 106 of the CARD Act of 2009, the company is not supposed to count as late payments received on the next business day after a due date that falls on a weekend or a holiday. As such, I've filed a complaint with the <a href="http://www.consumerfinance.gov/">Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</a>, which has been logged as complaint # 130814-00160.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-80065267143497968662013-08-04T13:45:00.000-06:002013-08-04T13:45:32.243-06:00My First Bottle BombAugust 3, 2013. A day that will live in infamy in my house. After over 15 years (off and on) of brewing, I had my first bottle bomb.<br />
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My <a href="http://blog.sarwark.org/2013/06/peach-weizenbock-and-bozenweiss.html">peach weizenbock</a> had some suspended peach bits in it when I bottled. I was already using a higher than normal amount of priming sugar to get carbonation true to the Bavarian style and apparently the combination of the sugar and the residual sugar from the peach bits was just too much.<br />
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The laundry room was covered in shards of broken brown glass and still smells of beer. Thankfully, nobody was in there when the bottle exploded.<br />
<br />
<br />Lesson of the day: when you brew with fruit, make sure to filter it out before bottling and maybe cut the priming sugar back just a bit.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-58252139332801839642013-07-31T22:35:00.001-06:002013-07-31T22:36:17.350-06:00Get rich with a breadmakerThe three biggest expenses the average family has are food, transportation, and housing. Savings in one of these three categories will have the biggest effect on your budget, and consequently your ability to get rich.<div><br></div><div>A loaf of whole wheat bread costs us about $4 at a grocery store, maybe $3.50 at Costco. With two small kids, we go through two loaves a week. Assuming we shop at Costco (we do), that's $364 per year on bread.</div><div><br></div><div>Enter the breadmaker.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh-tud1IxK-N27ozs5MNvCkbmoZSHr27HqVHRnqbU-sQFbuBwT5IN2fuI7oNCJngoDHqTrHIYHXqPILLsRqUnZG0WvSKPqr1rlMdHb7VRawZ5p4_L4eL0r9bnfGRfAqCGiSGH/s640/blogger-image-2056840744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh-tud1IxK-N27ozs5MNvCkbmoZSHr27HqVHRnqbU-sQFbuBwT5IN2fuI7oNCJngoDHqTrHIYHXqPILLsRqUnZG0WvSKPqr1rlMdHb7VRawZ5p4_L4eL0r9bnfGRfAqCGiSGH/s640/blogger-image-2056840744.jpg"></a>We got this Black & Decker breadmaker for $5 at a yard sale down the street a few months ago. Since then, we haven't bought a single loaf of bread from the store.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We modified one of the recipes in the manual to make a nice honey wheat with a 2:1 bread flour to whole wheat flour ratio. The only ingredients are flour, water, honey, butter, salt, and yeast. It's delicious.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bread flour is about $8 for a 25 lb bag at Costco. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsh6EgSmn7Fg_708FXlp8JxZlX5k3id0D3QtsmFc01C7IuXhNTN7sCfN6-YRn0NyBb_ym0ehu3dj2VwpUVYa3UJxQ4q8K2UvdIkf-bkPdSd_tFUJtz1zxdWKntUJrtsmugpSKW/s640/blogger-image--1207449007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsh6EgSmn7Fg_708FXlp8JxZlX5k3id0D3QtsmFc01C7IuXhNTN7sCfN6-YRn0NyBb_ym0ehu3dj2VwpUVYa3UJxQ4q8K2UvdIkf-bkPdSd_tFUJtz1zxdWKntUJrtsmugpSKW/s640/blogger-image--1207449007.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Buy a jar of yeast at the grocery store, a 5 lb bag of whole wheat, and the normal honey and butter you have around the house. Set the timer and you have a fresh baked loaf of bread in the morning at a fraction of the cost.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As an added bonus, it makes super easy pizza dough for family dinner on Sundays, again at a fraction of the cost of ordering pizza.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Saving $300 per year may not seem like much, but little things like this add up. That's $300 extra to be invested, producing an extra $20-30 in annual income.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-87227297431731411782013-07-10T23:40:00.000-06:002013-07-10T23:40:06.793-06:00How Much Do You Get Paid for Breathing?This post from <a href="http://www.bravenewlife.com/">Brave New Life</a> talks about how <a href="http://www.bravenewlife.com/12/i-have-the-worlds-toughest-job/">he has the world's best job</a>. Essentially, he breaks down what he gets paid for breathing. He's taken the advice of <a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/">Mr. Money Mustache</a>, and <a href="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/30/your-money-can-work-harder-than-you-can/">making his army of dollar bills work for him</a>.<br />
<br />
We all know what we make per hour when we're working. If you're paid hourly, they tell you up front. If you have an annual salary, drop three zeroes and divide by two to get a reasonable approximation. For example, if you make $50,000 per year, drop three zeroes to get $50, then divide by two to get $25. You make about $25/hour while you're working.<br />
<br />
The problem with the traditional job is that you only get paid while you're working. Also, that annual salary conversion trick only works if you work 40 hours a week. I assure you, I work more than 40 hours a week, mostly because keeping poor people out of prison is hard and doesn't lend itself to 9 to 5 hours.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://trustmeimausedcarsalesman.blogspot.com/">My father</a> once told me that his goal in life was to become "gainfully unemployed." That is, to make money without having to work for it. It's a simple goal, but a profound one. Getting paid for breathing more than it costs you to live. This goal is attainable, but it takes effort and discipline.<br />
<br />
The nice thing about having your dollars work for you is that they are earning money 24/7/365, not just the 40 hours you're at work every week. <br />
<br />
As a motivation, I thought I'd break down what I currently get paid for breathing, not counting any of my salary as a public defender:<br />
<ul>
<li>Lending Club (peer-to-peer lending) pays $11.45 as of last month in interest.</li>
<li>My non-retirement stock accounts paid $62.40 in dividends last year.</li>
<li>The house we don't live in, that I rent out, $2,740.17 after expenses in rental income.</li>
<li>Interest on various savings and checking accounts was $12.89 for last year.</li>
</ul>
Breaking that down, it comes to $2,952.86 annually. That's $246.07 monthly. $8.20 per day. $0.34 per hour.<br />
<br />
$0.34 per hour is about how much I get paid to breathe. <br />
<br />
It's a horribly low wage, but I get paid it every hour of every day, whether I'm awake or not. Every dollar I invest pushes that number up a little bit higher. And at some point, some day, I will be gainfully unemployed.<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016876.post-58304118757750102072013-06-18T20:56:00.000-06:002013-06-18T21:03:48.003-06:00Peach Weizenbock and Bozenweiss Raspberry WheatI made a batch of <a href="http://thebrewhut.com/">The Brew Hut</a>'s Bozenweiss Raspberry Wheat a couple of weeks ago. The recipe is as follows:
<br />
<blockquote>
6 lbs. Wheat LME<br />
1 lb. Crystal 10L (Briess)<br />
12 oz. Flaked Wheat<br />
8 oz. Acidulated Malt<br />
1 oz. Tettnanger (60 minutes)<br />
1 oz. Tettnanger (30 minutes)<br />
Safbrew WB-06<br />
ADD RASPBERRY PUREE (3.1 lb. Can) AT "HIGH KRAUSEN" (the second or third day of fermentation). Be sure to sanitize the top of the puree can as well as the can opener before opening the can and adding to the primary.<br />
ADD RASPBERRY FLAVORING (1-4 oz. to taste) INTO THE BOTTLING BUCKET OR KEG.</blockquote>
Lately, I've been trying to expand my brewing knowledge (and save a couple of bucks) by devising a recipe I can pitch on to the yeast cake from the prior recipe. Saves money on yeast and challenges me to come up with my own recipes.
The general rule for pitching on a previous yeast cake is to do a batch of beer that is stronger and darker. I decided to keep with the fruit theme and came up with a <a href="http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/peach-weizenbock">recipe for a Peach Weizenbock</a>. I decided on a whim to use peaches instead of some kind of berry. I used <a href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/weyermann-caraaroma.html">CaraAroma malt</a> to steep to give it a darker color and decided (also on a whim) to use frozen peaches.
Because peaches are one of the most subtle fruits, I decided to rack the beer out of the primary on to the peaches in the secondary. There's some small danger from putting a non-boiled ingredient into the beer at the secondary stage, but I sanitized everything and figured the freezing process killed most bacteria or wild yeasts.
Things I learned about working with frozen peaches:
<br />
<ul>
<li>If you don't have a funnel, you can make one by cutting the top off of a soda or water bottle.</li>
<li>When you put frozen peaches into a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000645TW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0000645TW&linkCode=as2&tag=thenicholassarwa">Cuisinart</a>,<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thenicholassarwa&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000645TW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />what comes out is very similar to Italian ice.</li>
<li>Italian ice is very difficult to put through a makeshift funnel made with a cut off water bottle.</li>
<li>Briefly microwaving Italian ice makes it much easier to get through a funnel.</li>
<li>Three pounds of frozen peaches don't take up very much room at all in a 6.5 gallon carboy.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueVSbISfZfHtA4eh2qCfXX1jmrsPxDtyZbCRdYkyBaWAElwJju6yW5q_PU7eCWBGBXf4yeUGtd9nrSpoPZnZl1YQQZjsLMrrnhPO0vi8RtIrHRedpNzXcUFUPS-StI3vfy8sa/s640/blogger-image-1204371543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Peach Weizenbock in the carboy" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueVSbISfZfHtA4eh2qCfXX1jmrsPxDtyZbCRdYkyBaWAElwJju6yW5q_PU7eCWBGBXf4yeUGtd9nrSpoPZnZl1YQQZjsLMrrnhPO0vi8RtIrHRedpNzXcUFUPS-StI3vfy8sa/s400/blogger-image-1204371543.jpg" title="" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peach Weizenbock in the carboy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'll find out in a week or so whether the peach flavor comes through in the finished beer and whether I need to rack it off into a tertiary to clear up the tiny peach chunks.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06548682123197856458noreply@blogger.com1