The Economic Way of Thinking

Assorted Links (Italy Travel Edition)

We're back from a wonderful trip abroad, and here are a few quick thoughts:

(1) Every minute in Rome was worth it; Venice was neat for what it was but not a place I feel the need to return to at any point soon.  I'd go back to Rome again and again. 

Though, the Guggenheim in Venice had a Prendergast exhibit well worth the price of admission.  The exhibit had information on the influence Whistler (one of my favorites) and Cezanne (one of my least favorites) had on Prendergast. 

(2) There's a little Italian mom-and-pop restaurant near Stacione Termini in Rome that has to be one of Italy's best kept secrets.  It was our first meal in Rome, and we found ourselves returning there several more times.  It's named Mergherita something or another (I can't find any receipts and have had little luck on Google), and it's just two blocks from the station.

(3) The Roman Forum blew me away, made me think too much about the brevity of life, and left me wanting to read so much more on the rise and fall of Rome. 

Then, when heading home, I read more of Africa: A Biography of the Continent and really got thinking about how short life is in the context of geological time. 

(4) On the topic of Africa: A Biography of the Continent, I just passed a section that compares centralized empires like Rome to decentralized, well-functioning city empires.  I will blog more about this in the future, but I'm thinking someone from our perspective needs to do some serious research into the Jenne-jeno tribe.  (Maybe it's already been done?)

The civilization lasted 1,600 years, and from what John Reader says, they were a voluntary association of people that flourished by specializing and trading in the Niger region.

(5) I travel a lot, and that's been true since well before 09/11.  In that time, I've never seen or experienced anything close to the invasion Anemone and I experienced trying to get home yesterday at Heathrow and then again in Atlanta.  3.5 hours of additional screening were added onto our trip (i.e., normal harassment would have got us out of Heathrow two hours sooner and through Atlanta 1.5 hours sooner). 

Far more disgusting than the TSA invasion and complete waste of time was the nonsense we heard from people around us all afternoon, such as, "Well, whatever it takes to keep anything bad from happening," and "It's really not that big a deal."  Best of all, at the end of our trip, people in front of us were eager to jump into the "whole body imaging technology" machine when we arrived in Atlanta! 

Who would have thought kissing your civil liberties good-bye could be so much fun, would be something people would literally run for, and would occur for many without even a momentary pause to consider the inconvenience and immorality of it all???

London, Rome, Venice Bleg

I will soon be traveling to London, Rome, and Venice.  My schedule's pretty full, but I will have some free time to roam and eat. 

What are the underrated/overrated things to do in each city?  Where are the places to eat/avoid eating?  

Godspeed, Friends

For those traveling this holiday season, here's a recent WSJ story about some of the additional travel bumps you should prepare for.  In particular, getting your ID approved by TSA promises to be especially cumbersome this year:

Security screening may be bumpier for some travelers. That's because the Transportation Security Administration is phasing in a new policy that requires the name on your boarding pass to match exactly the name on your ID. If not, you may face some questions. Also, screeners will be looking more closely at any powders in your bag.

I've seen a number of people already get turned away by TSA in Atlanta. I'll take my chances on everything working out for me when I jump on a plane today. 

My three tricks for dealing with TSA are the following: (1) charm offensive; (2) Jedi mind-tricks; and (3) George Costanza-like bezerko rage.  What are yours?

As one always trying to look at the bright side of thing, here's news of a new advertising effort that'll break up the monotony of the landings a bit.  And, here's an "Austrian econ for dummies" post by Steve Horwitz about flying that'll leave me chuckling during the safety announcements.

Fanta Se

My wife and I are planning to spend a few days in New Mexico later this summer.  I think we may have found a libertarian travel writer because here's how the write-up of Santa Fe begins in the Moon Handbook for New Mexico:

One of Santa Fe's several nicknames is "Fanta Se," a play on the name that suggests the city's disconnection from reality.  This small cluster of mud-colored buildings in the mountains of northern New Mexico does indeed seem to subsist on dreams alone, as more than 20 percent of the 62,000 people who live here are engaged in some sort of creative endeavor--a larger proportion of writers, artists, and performers than in any other city in the United States--and almost 50 percent of the city is employed in the larger arts industry.  (Cynics would lump the state legislature, which convenes in the capitol here, into this category as well.)

Pretty entertaining stuff for a travel book.

Marquette's #2!

The Marquette basketball team is quite good, but they're in Milwaukee, WI.  The city of Marquette, MI, where my co-blogger Dave lives and where I met my wife, is ranked #2 in Outdoor Life's Top 200 Towns for Outdoorsmen ranking.  The city's ranking moved up from #7 to #2 in the last year. 

Lewistown, Idaho took the #1 spot, and it is now on my list of places I must visit.

Algorithms I Like, #4

I travel a lot.  Usually someone else is paying; occasionally I'm paying.  When I'm paying, I like to use Farecast's rate predictor to help me time my purchases. 

I never buy their insurance and sometimes find their predictions to miss.  On average, though, I find the information this algorithm provides to be useful and of some value when it comes to making costly travel decisions.