Hikes and Bikes

Economic inequality for rich people

It's scarcely new to note that economic inequality has exploded in recent years.  It's not even all that new to note that increased economic inequality has some deleterious effects*.  However, Matt Miller's new Fortune Magazine column has an interesting take:  income inequality will become a relevant political issue as the merely very rich (99%th percentile, doctors, law partners, etc) act on their jealousy of the obscenely rich (99.9% percentile, CEO's, etc).  I don't know whether to hope he's right or wrong.  What a world we live in.

*LeClere FB, Soobader, MJ. The effect of income inequality on the health of selected US demographic groups. Am J Public Health. 2000 December; 90(12): 1892–1897. Waitzman NJ, Smith KR. Separate but lethal: the effects of economic segregation on mortality in metropolitan America. Milbank Q. 1998;76(3):341-73–304.

Rational marginal criminals

A new paper by Clemson’s Todd Kendall suggests that pornography and rape are substitutes.  He looks at internet adoption from 1998-2003 and found that it was associated with a decrease in the incidence of rapes, but not other crimes.  Further, the effect was strongest among 15-19 year old males.  Internet adoption is used as a proxy for pornographic consumption for obvious reasons.

One huge assumption that may seem strange is the implicit economist’s assumption of rational actors.  While a strong version is poppycock, a weak version (that people respond to incentives and their environment in rational ways) seems to work rather well.

The study seems pretty well done, but still fairly troubling.  While the author does what he can, it’s not obvious that he’s testing what he wants to test.  Internet access changed a lot more than teenage boys’ basement habits.

quickies

My advisor is trying to convince me to apply to the University of Alberta, in Edmonton.  I think it's too cold there for a guy from the South.  He says he regrets considering weather when he looked at grad schools.  I know he went to Stanford.  Hm.

Speaking of cold, overnight lows are in the 30's, my apartment is currently unheated, and my window leaks cold air.  Last night I pulled my dog into bed under the covers to keep warm.  I was warm, but may have created a monster. 

Flat taxes

A new IMF paper suggests that flat taxes don't have a Laffer-curve voodoo economics effect.  I'd suggest that my governor read the paper, but I imagine his flat tax fetish has more to do with sharing the name of the local basketball arena, research hospital, chemical conglomerate, a building at Wharton, etc than with deep knowledge of macroeconomic theory. 

The other interesting finding is that flat taxes may increase the effective progressivity of the tax code, in large part due to increased compliance by rich people.  Lowering the bar is certainly one way to decrease lawbreaking.

stupid injuries, a continuing series

I currently have a stripped-down steel bike frame sitting in my room.  Having moved from a house to a room, there's not much space, so I propped it on top of my bed's headboard.  Being prudent, I gave the headboard a push to make sure that it would stay, and it did.

Can you see where this is going?  Still remember that this thing is steel? 

Sure enough, a couple nights later it clanged down on me.  Now I have a big ole knot and gash dead in the center of my forehead.  The  cut is clearly a section of a circle; I haven't yet tried matching it up with the various tubes on the frame, but my guess is that it was the bottom bracket tube that got me.

Long Live Long Rides - Crest, American Fork TR

Taking the IMBA's motto to heart, I put in 50 miles this weekend, with about 5000 feet of climbing and 10000 feet of descending.  And miles of mud to slog through, making it feel even further.

The regular crew went down to American Fork Canyon on Sunday.  It's fabulous - great flowy singletrack with beautiful views of Timp and the Wasatch Back.  We started from the Timpooneke trailhead, slogged our way up to the gorgeous if ineloquently named Ridge Trail 157, then dropped down Tibble Fork.  Tibble is some of the fastest singletrack I've ever ridden - good sightlines, smooth, no sharp turns.  We then had a slow, muddy climb back to the top of the new Trail 252.  252 was a good time - tight, good switchbacks, nice turns around the trees, but if it were dry and hard would be really chattery from horses.

Saturday was a regular Guardsman-Pipeline Crest ride with some new riding partners.  I'd been told that the trail was in really good shape.  I was told incorrectly.  Puke Hill was fine, although the puddles en route to Scott's Pass were all iced over.  The ridgeline was actually warmer than I expected.  The next couple miles were mostly okay, although when the trail bent to a northerly aspect it turned immediately to slop - sliding all over, using balance to steer.  As soon as we dropped into Millcreek it got much worse.  My only tumble of the weekend occured when my bike just slid off the trail as I was slaloming down doubletrack fruitlessly trying to get my SPD's to be useful.  Things were sloppy all the way down to the rock garden above Great Western; below that the trail dried out pretty fast.  Pipeline was in great shape, and Rattlesnake Gulch was as fun as always.

Add in biking around town in the evening (as the redneck eulogy goes, "alcohol was involved") and my legs are pretty shot.

Ahh, Republicans

You know, every so often I think that I'm sufficiently cynical that nothing more could surprise me.  Invariably, something out of the Republican little-a administration reminds me that I'm wrong.  It's almost pleasing, this constant cycle of life.

Today's episode wasn't the torture bill, or Foley, or Hastert's brushing it under the rug.  It was Fox News. 

Fruita TR

Spent the weekend in Fruita, CO.

Day 1 we rode new (to us) trails in the Tabegauche area south of Grand Junction - Ribbon to Eagle to Eagle Wing to Andy's, I believe.  I had a blast.  Most of it is just semi-technical playgrounds.  Tough rock moves, fun swooping singletrack across the desert, it's a blast.  The only downside is that it's a decent drive from our regular campsite out by the Bookcliffs north of Fruita.

Day 2 was at Kokopelli's.  Between the previous night's copious beer consumption and morning coffee, everybody started dehydrated.  That is not the optimal condition for midday desert riding.  The guys hammered Steve's and Mary's Loops (I mean hammered - I don't think I've ever done either one that fast).  I cleaned some stuff I haven't cleaned before, rode other moved smoother and faster.  We went our separate ways climbing Mack Ridge, which is a moderately challenging but hardly demoralizing climb.  It's got a number of good little rock moves to get up, especially on the top half of the climb.  I ran out of water at the Mack Ridge - Troy Built Junction, so instead of hammering to catch RossH and Ask I just dropped down to the frontage road to cruise back to the trailhead.

But.

I picked up the frontage road near the town of Mack (the actual site of Country Jam).  The Mack Liquor Store is only a half mile away, and the truck and cooler were 5ish miles away.  Putting all this together, I cruised into town to get some refreshment for the pedal home, only to find that the liquor store was closed midafternoon on a Saturday.  This just goes to show that you can never trust Coloradans.

That night RossK, Wade, Belle, and I did a night ride on Prime Cut.  This time I cleaned Pete's Rock, only to eat it when there was a new large rock in the middle of the exit.  Ouch.  Shoulda had more speed.  I do love night-riding.  You have to mind your temperature, but the sensation of winding down the singletrack by the light of your headlamp is a blast.

Day 3 we did a quickie on Zippety Do Da before hitting the road.  Zip has some decent exposure to long, steep, soft dirt falloffs.  Because of that geology, it's hard to put in a trail across the fall line, so lines down ridges are straight down and you don't have the normal force to do much braking.  However, the trail is really well designed, so while there's some fear factor, there are also good run outs.  All of the steeps are perfectly rideable if you just get behind the saddle and off the brakes.  It's a fun ride.