The winter birds are coming back to the Resaca. No, I don't mean the Winter Texans (Snow Birds they're called elsewhere). I mean the herons, egrets, anhingas, whistling ducks and coots are starting to show up in abundance and the sea gulls are only a desultory few skulking over the water. The parrots migrated through a few weeks ago, shrieking and flashing in the afternoons. Before that it seemed the days were filled with gulls and the mornings with twittering fly catchers. Now it's all pijejes' whistle calls and the oddly discordant complaint of the snowy egret getting bullied by the great (strictly a matter of opinion) egret.
The butterflies have come along with the shore birds. There are monarchs, of course but also a dazzling array of small brilliances fluttering through all levels of the sky column. Soon of course, all too soon, this all means that grim winter, or as grim as winter gets along the Rio Bravo, will be upon us. I'll have to start wearing shoes and socks to go outside and even a sweater! Will this nightmare never end?
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Why Capitalist Selection is not Natural
Ever since Darwin formulated his theory of natural selection social scientists and crackpots have been trying to find the same mechanisms in non-biological processes mostly under the rubric of "social Darwinism". Although largely discredited in general, there is still a tendency among capitalism's ardent supporters to use arguments of natural selection when describing the (nearly mythical) power of the market and the intrinsic degeneracy of regulation. The market, they argue, exercises a neutral determination, picking winners and losers by their inherent value to consumers. Any intervention in the esoteric peristalsis of the market would throw the whole economy into an un-natural state of imbalance where value is no longer distilled from the supply and demand stochasticism of pure capitalism. It would become "bad". Here's why that's bullshit.
The key word in "natural selection" is "natural". When Darwin was sailing aboard the Beagle he observed species diversity in a setting that none of those species controlled. Indeed, the forces of nature, while influenced cumulatively by the aggregation of the behaviors of all of the living and non-living elements of the system (you know, nature), the natural environment is more like a heat sink, a massive, pervasive presence, than a local condition, like a nest or a pond. Within the cauldron of the natural environment, species scramble around to find food, shelter, and mates. Those that are trying to find those things in the same place compete in the sense that when any resource is scarce, those individuals who have some means to increase their access to that resource, or adapt to an alternative resource, are more likely to thrive. Those who cannot, succumb to the cruel indifference of the environment. Species or individuals are unable to conspire with the environment to create barriers to other species' or individuals' access to resources, or to favor their own access. Predators generally, much less a locally important pride of lions, cannot control nature to rig the selection game. If the wildebeest go elsewhere, the lions die. Not so the market.
When capitalist enterprises compete in the marketplace, they are competing in an artificial arena constructed by capitalists. In the case of huge financial constructs, they can define what the conditions are to even get in the game. That would be like sparrows getting to decide that scrub jays couldn't fly. The environment in which the competition takes place is not natural and so the competitive advantage is in no way related to anything like "natural" superiority, much less any inherent strength. The idea that "market-chosen" winners deserve success and losers deserve destruction is wrong in every way. Suggesting that companies' success or failure in a system whose constraints are created by the instantaneously largest competitor is in any way "natural", or even "selective" is absurd. The vaguely religious notion that the profitability of a company (short term return on investment) is an indication of its worth, its "goodness" is an assertion, not a logical conclusion. Rather, the value of a company to me, to society, to nature I venture to say, is measured by its contribution to the fabric of the community: the jobs it creates, the pollution it does not. To suggest that the market will cull bad actors would be laughable if it weren't so plainly sinister. The game is rigged. That's undeniable. It might as well be rigged by us, not them.
The key word in "natural selection" is "natural". When Darwin was sailing aboard the Beagle he observed species diversity in a setting that none of those species controlled. Indeed, the forces of nature, while influenced cumulatively by the aggregation of the behaviors of all of the living and non-living elements of the system (you know, nature), the natural environment is more like a heat sink, a massive, pervasive presence, than a local condition, like a nest or a pond. Within the cauldron of the natural environment, species scramble around to find food, shelter, and mates. Those that are trying to find those things in the same place compete in the sense that when any resource is scarce, those individuals who have some means to increase their access to that resource, or adapt to an alternative resource, are more likely to thrive. Those who cannot, succumb to the cruel indifference of the environment. Species or individuals are unable to conspire with the environment to create barriers to other species' or individuals' access to resources, or to favor their own access. Predators generally, much less a locally important pride of lions, cannot control nature to rig the selection game. If the wildebeest go elsewhere, the lions die. Not so the market.
When capitalist enterprises compete in the marketplace, they are competing in an artificial arena constructed by capitalists. In the case of huge financial constructs, they can define what the conditions are to even get in the game. That would be like sparrows getting to decide that scrub jays couldn't fly. The environment in which the competition takes place is not natural and so the competitive advantage is in no way related to anything like "natural" superiority, much less any inherent strength. The idea that "market-chosen" winners deserve success and losers deserve destruction is wrong in every way. Suggesting that companies' success or failure in a system whose constraints are created by the instantaneously largest competitor is in any way "natural", or even "selective" is absurd. The vaguely religious notion that the profitability of a company (short term return on investment) is an indication of its worth, its "goodness" is an assertion, not a logical conclusion. Rather, the value of a company to me, to society, to nature I venture to say, is measured by its contribution to the fabric of the community: the jobs it creates, the pollution it does not. To suggest that the market will cull bad actors would be laughable if it weren't so plainly sinister. The game is rigged. That's undeniable. It might as well be rigged by us, not them.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Okra
I like okra. I know a lot of people don't but I must say I don't know why they don't. I first encountered okra (μπάμια) in a Greek restaurant in Vancouver in 1973. I was an instant fan. Since then, I've tried to grow okra myself with limited success. First in Montana, even with a start in a hot bed they never even flowered before the frost came. Later, in Colorado, I was able to get them to produce one or two fruits before the season ended.
Fast forward to San Benito. I didn't get around to planting until June. Here it is late October and the okra is still growing. I've been harvesting in ones and twos for months but now it looks like I'm going to have a real crop, from just three plants, and who knows how long they'll keep growing? The plants are tall (around 5') and bushy and right now they all have multiple fruits and they're still flowering.
I'm still having trouble figuring out how to shade, when to water, what can handle the soil. I've killed a couple of avocado trees, a banana, and a papaya. My tomatoes grew out ok but then never developed fruit. But at least with the okra, I'm declaring success!
Fast forward to San Benito. I didn't get around to planting until June. Here it is late October and the okra is still growing. I've been harvesting in ones and twos for months but now it looks like I'm going to have a real crop, from just three plants, and who knows how long they'll keep growing? The plants are tall (around 5') and bushy and right now they all have multiple fruits and they're still flowering.
I'm still having trouble figuring out how to shade, when to water, what can handle the soil. I've killed a couple of avocado trees, a banana, and a papaya. My tomatoes grew out ok but then never developed fruit. But at least with the okra, I'm declaring success!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
City budget meeting
I went to what was billed as a Special Meeting last night for the purpose of hearing what the city commissioners had to say about the budget and the proposed tax rate. At least, that was my purpose. It turns out, like so many times before, I had it wrong. The agenda, published and on display, was as follows:
Fortunately, my fellow San Benist was prepared, otherwise, I might have felt compelled to say something and that would probably not have been pretty. He referred to an endeavor to find $30k to take out of the discretionary (un-allocated) budget to pay for raises for the city hourly employees. I'm afraid his endeavors, which I wholeheartedly endorse, might have come off a bit grinchy (if there were anyone but me and 2 commissioners and the mayor to hear what he had to say) as his focus was on what is unquestionably a very generous public relations department budget for Christmas decorations.
I think I would prefer to hear why a city that is struggling with infrastructure problems, and crime, and unemployment, and poverty needs a Public Relations Department at all. Maybe we do, but maybe we don't. I think a budget item, something that the city will spend (public) money to provide, support, and otherwise procure, needs to serve one or both of two purposes:
- Welcome
- "Public Hearing" Discussion on the 2014 Tax Rate.
- "Public Hearing" Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-2015
- Adjournment
Fortunately, my fellow San Benist was prepared, otherwise, I might have felt compelled to say something and that would probably not have been pretty. He referred to an endeavor to find $30k to take out of the discretionary (un-allocated) budget to pay for raises for the city hourly employees. I'm afraid his endeavors, which I wholeheartedly endorse, might have come off a bit grinchy (if there were anyone but me and 2 commissioners and the mayor to hear what he had to say) as his focus was on what is unquestionably a very generous public relations department budget for Christmas decorations.
I think I would prefer to hear why a city that is struggling with infrastructure problems, and crime, and unemployment, and poverty needs a Public Relations Department at all. Maybe we do, but maybe we don't. I think a budget item, something that the city will spend (public) money to provide, support, and otherwise procure, needs to serve one or both of two purposes:
- Either it is something that the public wants, or
- It is something that will (probably) cause revenues to increase,
or both. I can't imagine that the good citizens of San Benito have clamored for a Public Relations Department. Perhaps we do indeed want some things that are provided in the current organization by that department. I don't know. On the other hand, there is definitely no evidence to support the notion that the activities of the San Benitio Public Relations Department have generated any revenue at all.
Alas, such things were not heard at the Public Hearing.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Going old school
Like many people today, I imagine, I was introduced to lime, or quicklime, by Tom Sawyer. You know, the part where Tom has to whitewash the fence and get's the neighbor kids to do it while he "supervises". I really hadn't given it much thought since.
My house is old. It was built in 1920. The house, itself, is made from stucco and the property is lined with a wall made from old adobe bricks. I needed to seal a bunch of stucco cracks so I hired a painter to paint the house (not the wall) with some high-powered masonry paint. I wanted the sealing properties but the painter was very interested, as you might imagine, in making sure the house looked as good as it could. It looked pretty good. Then there was the wall. My painter, let's call him Maurilio, kept eyeing the wall. He knew I couldn't afford to get the wall painted by him and he knew me well enough to know I probably didn't want to paint it myself, at least not with paint. One day we were standing in the shade by the wall and Maurilio told me that back in Mexico, sometimes people would use lime to paint masonry white. And it was as he said. Actually the process dates back to at least the Roman Empire.
I bought a sack of lime (around $8 for 50 lbs). I experimented with the consistency. You can make it thick (that's called plaster) or thin (that's called whitewash). Thick does some structural repair but thin is way easier to apply. When I got the consistency to the compromise I wanted I slopped it on. It was somewhat disconcerting at first as it was mostly a grey slurry until it dried. Then, through the miracle of chemistry, Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and water becomes, with the absorption of CO2 from the air, bright white limestone (CaCO3). I don't know how often this needs to be redone but it's kind of miraculous.
My house is old. It was built in 1920. The house, itself, is made from stucco and the property is lined with a wall made from old adobe bricks. I needed to seal a bunch of stucco cracks so I hired a painter to paint the house (not the wall) with some high-powered masonry paint. I wanted the sealing properties but the painter was very interested, as you might imagine, in making sure the house looked as good as it could. It looked pretty good. Then there was the wall. My painter, let's call him Maurilio, kept eyeing the wall. He knew I couldn't afford to get the wall painted by him and he knew me well enough to know I probably didn't want to paint it myself, at least not with paint. One day we were standing in the shade by the wall and Maurilio told me that back in Mexico, sometimes people would use lime to paint masonry white. And it was as he said. Actually the process dates back to at least the Roman Empire.
I bought a sack of lime (around $8 for 50 lbs). I experimented with the consistency. You can make it thick (that's called plaster) or thin (that's called whitewash). Thick does some structural repair but thin is way easier to apply. When I got the consistency to the compromise I wanted I slopped it on. It was somewhat disconcerting at first as it was mostly a grey slurry until it dried. Then, through the miracle of chemistry, Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and water becomes, with the absorption of CO2 from the air, bright white limestone (CaCO3). I don't know how often this needs to be redone but it's kind of miraculous.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Taking flight
There has been a family of parrots living along the route I walk my dogs. They have a nest in a dead palm tree standing in the grass between the frontage road and Interstate 69. It seems like a precarious place to raise a family but what do I know.
I first noticed them when I heard their unmistakable screeching one day. I caught a flash of emerald green in a tree, then I saw two green streaks in the air. Then there they were, clinging to the side of the dead palm. Then one of them wasn't visible, from which I gathered it had gone into a hole. Over the next few months I would see them, always two, or hear them every so often. When I did see them, it was always a visual jolt, especially during the gray winter. They're so strikingly green they seem out of place in the sky.
In the early summer, I started seeing them on the side of the palm making a lot of noise and taking some obvious interest in what was happening inside the tree. I surmised of course that there must be some parrotlings inside. Kind of the opposite of Monty Python's "ex-parrot": a not yet parrot. A few days ago they were making an awful ruckus and seemed (to me) to be quite impatient that someone get on with something. The next day, I saw four emerald streaks. In spite of all odds, they had successfully reared, and now seemed poised to be rid of, a pair of healthy birds. Over the next day or so, I caught glimpses of the four of them flitting from tree to tree in what seems reasonable to conclude is a crash course in where the food comes from when you have to get it yourself.
I wonder if the parents will remain in their freeway adjacent condo. I hope so.
I first noticed them when I heard their unmistakable screeching one day. I caught a flash of emerald green in a tree, then I saw two green streaks in the air. Then there they were, clinging to the side of the dead palm. Then one of them wasn't visible, from which I gathered it had gone into a hole. Over the next few months I would see them, always two, or hear them every so often. When I did see them, it was always a visual jolt, especially during the gray winter. They're so strikingly green they seem out of place in the sky.
In the early summer, I started seeing them on the side of the palm making a lot of noise and taking some obvious interest in what was happening inside the tree. I surmised of course that there must be some parrotlings inside. Kind of the opposite of Monty Python's "ex-parrot": a not yet parrot. A few days ago they were making an awful ruckus and seemed (to me) to be quite impatient that someone get on with something. The next day, I saw four emerald streaks. In spite of all odds, they had successfully reared, and now seemed poised to be rid of, a pair of healthy birds. Over the next day or so, I caught glimpses of the four of them flitting from tree to tree in what seems reasonable to conclude is a crash course in where the food comes from when you have to get it yourself.
I wonder if the parents will remain in their freeway adjacent condo. I hope so.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Cooking gadget tip
I have just discovered a neat way to keep cooking oils. Now, perhaps this is well known and I was just out of touch. Perhaps even most people have no problem with the way they keep oils. I did. I like to keep oil in the refrigerator to maintain it. but I want to have some handy and at room temperature for cooking. It turns out that "boutique" booze comes in the perfect bottles. By "boutique" I guess I mean "narrowly marketed" as I have no idea if these examples are really especially good. Moreover, I know some really high end beverages come in outlandish bottles that really would be no good at all. So these are like small batch whiskeys or niche drink ingredients. For example:
This is sunflower oil in what had been a Rocky Mountain blackberry-infused whiskey. The glass is thick, the stopper is substantial, the size and shape are pleasing and convenient. Likewise:
this is olive oil in what had been a 200ml Grey Goose vodka (don't ask) bottle. The long neck makes pouring more slowly easy and again, thick glass, good cork, nice size.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Resaca Spring
It's definitely Spring in the Resaca City. Baby birds are falling out of trees. Severe weather is an every-day possibility. And there are baby nutrias swimming along the banks. The nutria is unquestionably an invasive species. Also known as "Coypu" from the indigenous chilean name, they're generally descended from released or escaped fur farm animals throughout much of the world. They do a lot of damage to wetlands and aquaculture, it is true. But the little blighters are just so darn cute!
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Harbinger of Spring?
A flock of parrots showed up at my house today. I hope that means the cold weather is history, at least for a while. Of course, just because they're exotic doesn't make them smart. Still, they didn't show up when the pelicans did, or when the only bat I've seen since we moved here came by. So I'm hopeful.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Elections
It's been a while since I lived anywhere people running for office would say, proudly at that, that they were Democrats, much less tout their tenure as party officers. It's quite refreshing.
It's time for the primaries here in Texas and yesterday we attended an event in Harlingen where several of the candidates for (Cameron) county office were in attendance. The event was hosted by a candidate for County Judge, Joe G. Rivera. There was music and dancing and classic cars and food. The candidates mingled but the music was too loud to really talk to them, although I tried. I wanted to know, for example, how it might matter to me who became County District Clerk (it turns out that rather than political philosophy, I should care about organizational skills in candidates for that office, who knew). The biggest issue for me was the election of judges. We have District Court, County Court at Law, and Justice of the Peace, in descending order of oversight authority. But how is someone who isn't a lawyer or a criminal to know how to choose among the candidates? For which office is "judicial philosophy" important (District Court) and for which administrative competence? And where do the candidates talk about politics and philosophy?
Not so much, as it turns out, at the Joe G. Rivera for County Judge picnic. Here's something I didn't know, even though I lived and voted in Texas for 10 years (25 years ago): County Judge isn't a judge. He's the head of the Court of County Commissioners, which isn't really a court (except as, you know, King Arthur's Court was a court)
I did manage to buttonhole one of the candidates for DC Judge and ask him about prejudice and rehabilitation but the music was loud and he needed to press the flesh so we couldn't really platicar in any useful way. Then there was a chance for the candidates to talk but they just urged us all to vote and told us why they were qualified. As I said, it was quite refreshing that they proudly talked about how many years they served as Party Chairman or other party officer. They talked about the struggles everyone faces growing up in the Valley. They talked about how Cameron County needs to create opportunities and training resources. All good stuff. But I really didn't (shouldn't have expected to) get a means of differentiating their "revolutionary fervor".
One of the candidates for District Clerk turned me on to the League of Women Voters website which is where I found what I needed (or most of it). In Colorado they would produce a booklet for voters but this website offers the same information and more. It actually explained the duties and qualifications for all the offices. So we're ready. Tomorrow is election day and we have a plan.
It's time for the primaries here in Texas and yesterday we attended an event in Harlingen where several of the candidates for (Cameron) county office were in attendance. The event was hosted by a candidate for County Judge, Joe G. Rivera. There was music and dancing and classic cars and food. The candidates mingled but the music was too loud to really talk to them, although I tried. I wanted to know, for example, how it might matter to me who became County District Clerk (it turns out that rather than political philosophy, I should care about organizational skills in candidates for that office, who knew). The biggest issue for me was the election of judges. We have District Court, County Court at Law, and Justice of the Peace, in descending order of oversight authority. But how is someone who isn't a lawyer or a criminal to know how to choose among the candidates? For which office is "judicial philosophy" important (District Court) and for which administrative competence? And where do the candidates talk about politics and philosophy?
Not so much, as it turns out, at the Joe G. Rivera for County Judge picnic. Here's something I didn't know, even though I lived and voted in Texas for 10 years (25 years ago): County Judge isn't a judge. He's the head of the Court of County Commissioners, which isn't really a court (except as, you know, King Arthur's Court was a court)
I did manage to buttonhole one of the candidates for DC Judge and ask him about prejudice and rehabilitation but the music was loud and he needed to press the flesh so we couldn't really platicar in any useful way. Then there was a chance for the candidates to talk but they just urged us all to vote and told us why they were qualified. As I said, it was quite refreshing that they proudly talked about how many years they served as Party Chairman or other party officer. They talked about the struggles everyone faces growing up in the Valley. They talked about how Cameron County needs to create opportunities and training resources. All good stuff. But I really didn't (shouldn't have expected to) get a means of differentiating their "revolutionary fervor".
One of the candidates for District Clerk turned me on to the League of Women Voters website which is where I found what I needed (or most of it). In Colorado they would produce a booklet for voters but this website offers the same information and more. It actually explained the duties and qualifications for all the offices. So we're ready. Tomorrow is election day and we have a plan.
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