And Erie and Cleveland and more

This week we drove half the Lake Erie Circle Tour: Buffalo NY, Erie PA, Cleveland and Toledo OH, then to Lansing MI. 

On the way home we listened to many hours of Hot, Flat and Crowded, Thomas Friedman’s latest discourse on the state of the world. One segment of that book describes “Dutch Disease”, a de-industrialization process that sometimes follows some windfall discovery of natural resources. Seems the Dutch found huge natural gas deposits offshore in the 60s, and got so busy extracting it (and getting rich off it) that the rest of their industrial complex sorta rotted away.

I’ve observed in previous trips through Buffalo that that city’s primary growth industry appears to be Personal Injury Law. What used to be a thriving industrial center has suffered years of decline, following the general fortunes of American manufacturing.

Lansing at one time was the #1 car production city in the US, with four major GM plants. Lot of empty space there now, although there’s also some really keen stuff going on with a gradually rejuvenating downtown area. Right now you can buy homes in decent shape in Lansing for $50,000 or less in some cases.

The confluence of that particular drive across that particular industrial corridor, and the friend I visited and his company in Lansing, and the arguments in that particular book, has really got the neurons firing.

Global warming, industrial decay, urban renewal, electron guns and superconductors, a turkey-bacon sandwich accident and a killer bottle of white Burgundy wine. (That’s the Reassembler version of a movie trailer line.) I’ll hope to post a lot of thoughts and connections over the next few weeks.

Buffalo

From espn.com:

“The University of Buffalo has been invited to one bowl game in its 102 seasons. This is the story of why the players chose not to go.”  All or Nothing.

Wow.

Top Chef 5: The big question

The big question is NOT “who will win?” That looks to one of the Europeans.

The big question is “Is this interesting?” Or has it jumped the shark, run its course? My former colleague Scott assures me it will get more interesting – it always does, or always has. And since I’m watching it, it can’t be all that dull.

I suspect the main problem is just that there are TOO MANY CHEFS. Too many pretenders who have no shot, too many who haven’t gotten enough screen time to become memorable.

I think the surprise entertainment value this season is going to come from Crazy-Eyez Carla.

I also think that they’re due for a Season Six shakeup, where the contestants have to cook one episode for the Rock of Love, and another catering the 1,200 players at the USATE amateur chess tournament, and another aboard the Bering Sea crab fleet.

Now THAT’S entertainment.

Big think

When I play a much stronger player, somewhere between move 10 and move 20 I usually go into a Big Think. It doesn’t correspond exactly with being ‘out of book’; it’s more like we reach a level of complexity where I can’t figure out either 1) what the requirements of the position are or 2) how to meet them. So I burn 20 minutes, destroying whatever faint chance I might have had because of the resulting time pressure.

But you see, I like to think. To mull. “Let it roll around in your head for a few minutes,” as Chris Rock says.

Politics – or better put, the challenges of governing a big country with a diverse population – deserves less knee-jerk, partisan yapping and much more mulling.

The bailout evidently needed much more mulling.

The future of journalism needs a Big Think.

Note – a Big Think doesn’t preclude action. It just means your actions should be well-considered. Time pressure be damned.

Peter Drucker’s great unpublished quote

As I remember it:

My colleague on CIO magazine at the time, Chris Koch, called to request an interview with Peter Drucker. His office asked Chris to send the request via fax. (Really.) So Chris wrote it up and sent the fax. His phone rang almost immediately. It was Drucker, calling to say he was too busy to do the interview - his exact words were 

I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom.

Dear Mr. Crabby Old Chessplayer 3

Hi Mister C! OMG I am so Syched with a capital S [editor: sic] ! I have booked my flight to the Cheesesteak City for next year’s World Open! Just call me Philly Manilly!! My goal is to win AT LEAST $5,000 in my section – I am rated 1776, isn’t that perfect! I have started my training: booking up on a new opening (the ponziani for devastating surprise value! shhhh!), studying my Fred Reinfeld tactics manual and drinking a carrot smoothie every morning.

What else should I do?!

- Chad in Connecticut

My dear, sad little friend Chad:

 Step one – sandbag your sorry butt down to a class C rating.

Step two – buy a very, very small chess computer that fits in your pocket, has good battery life and doesn’t beep.

As you say, OMG. Not only do you have zero chance of winning money, but in fact these giant money monstrosities are the ABSOLUTE WORST THING that has ever happened to American chess. A complete and total disaster that killed local tournaments and drove the cost of the game through the roof. The one day, $7 swiss with nominal prizes – now that’s good times.

But hey, all that aside… good luck and enjoy!

- MCOCP

Top Chef 5 contractual obligation post

As soon as whats-her-face said “There’s no way I’m going home on the first challenge”, my wife turned to me and said “She’s going home on the first challenge.”

Looks like the editors are going to have to learn some new tricks or at least throw us a curveball once or twice to keep us guessing.

(I will explain the title of this post later, or Matt P can fill in the few who don’t already know.)

Smog

Second-row seats for The Swell Season, aka Hansard, Irglova & The Frames, aka a concert by the people who made the movie Once.

First opening act walks out. One guy I’ve never heard of, with a guitar, and a drummer. They start playing – it’s a stripped-down sound, ponderous tempo, simple repetition – then he opens his mouth to sing and drops an incredible baritone hammer.

What a voice. Powerful in a live setting.

Okay, but next couple of numbers seem quite similar. Singer says almost nothing between numbers (except a baritone ”Thanks.”). Audience gets politely restless. Wife is bored.

Then abruptly he pops out with this:

Melodic, crystalline, simply gorgeous.

His name is Bill Callahan and he used to record and perform under the name “Smog”, which you can understand if you listen to that first video.

Fun to encounter something completely new and different in this fashion, with no expectations at all. Reminds me of my first encounter with Adrian Belew’s music – not immediately gripping, but I kept thinking about it and the next day there I was, listening to these Youtube clips over and over.