The Last 1 1/2 Weeks

As one can probably imagine from my last posting, I have been too busy to post much of late. It did not help that I attended, last weekend, a Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders conference on higher education.

Having three children is chaos. Utter chaos. Daniel is having a hard time of it. I had to take him out on a father-son date to help him feel better. A little time, just him and me, at Starbucks, playing with cars on a table. It seemed to raise his spirits for a few days.

At the FSSO conference, we basically concluded that revolutionary change is both unlikely and counterproductive, that any changes will likely be marginal, and that probably most students are getting what they want, anyway. This is what happens when you believe in social change on the margins, keeping tradition in consideration at all times. Of course, not all traditions are good, and that is why change is sometimes necessary. But what happens when the professors have a different concept of what education is than most of the students? And what if many professors prefer the students' attitudes, because that means far less work for them?

The good news is that the new baby sleeps well, wakes up to eat every 3 hrs, like clockwork, and is not fussy at all. In other words, Anna and I can actually get some sleep. This differentiates Dylan considerably from both Melina and Daniel when they were his age. With them, we did not get sleep for about 8 weeks.

Now that the FSSO conference is over, on to the next round of projects. I have a book review to get done asap, and a paper on the Basic Income Guarantee vs. the Negative Income Tax, which is due in June. Those are of immediate importance. I also need to work on my paper "Why Economists Ought to Go to the Theater" and I am thinking about a paper on the relationship of higher education to the various spontaneous orders. The latter was, of course, inspired by the FSSO conference.

This is my life right now: alternating between domestic life and a life of the mind. I read philosophy, economics, and literature, and Dr. Seuss, Biscuit phonics, and princess stories. I attend conferences and play with trucks. All I need now is a job, and my life will be perfect.