Elon Musk

Over the years, I have ignored certain public figures, even though they are constantly being discussed in the media. I could not recognize a record by Rihanna or Beyonce if you played it for me. I have not watched the Kardashians in at least a decade. And even though this is, nominally, an economics blog, I have never once mentioned Elon Musk. 

For some reason, I have never been that interested in him. I have no intention of buying a Tesla, although I'm intrigued by the electric pumps at the travel courts. I have no interest in going into space in one of his vehicles. I never read Twitter, although it is apparently the way most media savvy people get their news. 

Now he is talking about buying Twitter. Will he, won't he, can he, would he? is the big news that people are preoccupied with now. I don't know. I should care because one of my mutual funds is invested heavily in both Twitter and Tesla. Just to show I'm not a luddite, I am finally going to listen to the new record by Billie Elish. 

New Jersey is becoming California

 

The image I have always had of New Jersey is that it is a place where men work on their cars in the driveway while listening to old records of the sixties on a rather loud radio playing WCBS FM. Today, though, a number of developments are leading me to believe that New Jersey is becoming more like California. 

A few years ago I went to Los Angeles and at the Safeway in Santa Monica I went in to buy some food for my room. The clerk eyed me suspiciously when he saw I didn't bring a burlap bag with me to bring said groceries home. "I'm from New Jersey", I apologized, before he sold me a reusable hemp bag with a picture of Big Sur on the front. Now, New Jersey is not going to be offering free plastic shopping bags anymore. My kitchen is knee deep in plastic bags now as I hoard them until May. 

Of course the next way New Jersey is going to become California-ized is when ordinary people can legally buy pot in dispensaries. When I was in college you could buy "Colombian" or occasionally "Vietnamese" from your colleagues on the dorm floor. As a treat, he might sell "hash". Today you are supposed to choose among a wealth of varieties they never had at school. You can choose indica or sativa, tinctures or gummy bears, vaporizers or buds. I have no idea what I'll buy when that happy day comes next week. I know I'll have to bring my own bag, preferably a hemp one. 

Next year, people will be coming to New Jersey to use the slot machines, sports bet, buy pot and obtain an abortion. New Jersey will still have Democratic senators and most young women will be sporting tattoos. Just like California. Hope some of that new revenue goes to pay my pension. 

Jury duty, revisited

There it was in my mailbox. A small blue card, looking like it purposely wants to be ignored. I look at it. It's probably nothing. Then, yikes, I read it. Jury duty!👿👿

I can't believe it. They want me to do jury service. Jury duty when you are retired is completely different from when you are working. When you are working it's like a nice break from the toils of the workplace. Instead of having to deal with those pesky library patrons I would be away from it all. Ensconced in the courthouse away from computers that do not start, printers that need toner and complaints about best sellers not being on the shelves. 

When you are working, jury duty allows you to chisel. You get out at 3PM and instead of going back to work you can run by the store and perhaps grab a choice stool at your favorite bar before it gets busy. You get a long lunch and can see that sculpture at the park. But when you are retired it means giving up your own time. Your own time is so much more valuable than work time. People who are happy to gab on the phone when at work will cut off a caller when they are at home. At home they are busy because it's their own time. Retirement hours are my hours.  Jury duty interrupts the happy idle hours of retirement. 

No to permanent Daylight Saving Time

 I have written about Daylight Saving Time before. Now the Senate, perhaps by mistake, has voted to have permanent DST. As anyone who lives in the north, drives to work, and keeps their car outside, it is a bad idea. From December to February, when I was working, I had to dedicate an extra five minutes in the morning to scaping ice off of my windshield. If there was any snow the night before I also had to get rid of the snow on the car. Millions of car commuters go through this every winter.

If we had permanent DST the procedure would be worse. One hour less in the morning would mean it would still be dark for the commuter leaving home before eight. The sun would not have the time to at least ameliorate the process by a little bit at least. Kids would have to walk to school or wait for the bus in the dark in morning. Grouchy adults and kids would be grouchier. Ditto for grouchy cars. 

All I do is charge things

 

If you were to ask me what I do now that I never had to do in the past, its charging things. I wake up in the morning and charge my cell phone. Then I have coffee and start charging my Kindle. I need to vacuum today so I have to charge up my portable vacuum cleaner. Soon I notice the ipad is running low so I charge it. I want to take I walk later so I have to charge my Fitbit watch. 

Of course I have it easy now. When I buy an electric car, charging that will be my big chore of the day. 

Gas prices deja vu

 

Wow. Gasoline prices have gone up!   It is a story a lot of us old farts are familiar with, ergo my blog from ten years ago that also talks about high gas prices. Going even further back, I remember right after I graduated from college there was a gas crisis. There were block long lines to get filled up in New Jersey. The problem was only solved by alternate gas days. Under that system if your license plate began with an odd number you could get gasoline on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It sort of worked. 

It also helped to have a regular dealer who would favor a known customer with a hand wave and a space at a reserved pump. The old man felt guilty about this because he had abandoned "Dick's Shell" earlier that year for the bargain gas dealer near Modell's. Mother had to get gas during that period. She had never abandoned dear old Dick. 

Back in 1974 we were told we were being punished by the Arabs for the Israeli gains in their war. Today we are told that it is because we are boycotting Russia. Funny as soon as the headlines are out the gas went up, even though the gas may have been purchased weeks ago. When the crisis ends, gas prices will go down. But the gas stations will take their sweet time about lowering their prices. 

Another post on Better Things

Better Things, mandatory viewing for aging hipsters, is back again for its final season. This year the kids are older and are starting to grow up. Still obnoxious, they are starting to smooth out a bit and show a bit of responsibility. They are finding out that they are not Eugenie and Beatrice after all. 

In British sit coms, when the novelty is starting to wear off, we often see a costume show. This is a show where the laughs come from watching the cast in outrageous costumes, perhaps alluding to the pantomime roots of English humor. It is usually a sign that the show is starting to become tattered at the edges. Same for Better Things, where half of an episode is dedicated to Pamela mugging with period costumes. Still it was fun to see what a Hollywood costume shop looks like. 

The season is still young. The fact that you have to watch it on the night it premiers to avoid the Hulu surcharge makes Monday nights special. It has been a long time since Monday nights were special.