Economic Theory

There was a funny article in the International Herald Tribune today.   It was about how professional economists had missed the factors leading to the current economic crisis and are now engaged in handwringing about their relevance to the real world.  Oops.  It leads me to a consideration of naivete.  One popular theory in the Bush administration has been that the general public lacks an appreciation for the danger of Islamic extremists and thus the necessity for hard men to deal with them with extreme violence.  That is a theory I do not subscribe to.

I believe the naivete of many in the U.S. relates to a lack of recognition for how special, fragile and positive, a stable society with respect for the rule of law is.  Many of the US proponents of a "free market" and limited government seem to take for granted a baseline societal understanding on values and the limits of trading behavior that is by no means universally accepted elsewhere.  Is is legitimate to traffic in slaves, particularly in women and children?  Is it legitimate to push workers until they are injured or die and then cast them aside?  These are practical, rather than rhetorical questions, but Americans seem to assume a baseline where trafficking in humans or organs is not permitted.  That is only a construct of law and values, however, and if a US administration declares that it does not believe in universal human rights and that in the name of expediency it will detain and torture individuals without judicial review, then that is profoundly destructive.

What has confused economists and called into question their relevance, is the collapse of trust that has led to a seizure of the international credit markets.  But such trust underpins a complex, modern trading market.  And such trust depends on market and societal norms that must be respected by all.  New York law, which is the basis for my career and employment, assumes a covenant of "good faith and fair dealing" in all contractual relationships.  This is a far different ideal than that of a pure "buyer beware" construct.  It provides that market participants will not seek to defraud others.   Looking at the behavior of sub-prime lenders and of "mainstream" financial groups such as Citigroup, it seems they may fall far short of such a standard in practice.  Despite his fall from grace for his personal failings, Eliot Spitzer's attempts to give teeth to anti-fraud provisions of NY law seem well justified.

Tokyo--Wild Animals

It is Christmas Eve in Tokyo.  For Japanese people, that seems to be the rough equivalent of prom night.  One of those things that it is hard to explain.  In my case, however, I would just like to have some Christmas decorations.  Unfortunately, the tanuki (raccoon dogs?) seem to have eaten through the wiring of the Christmas lights on our back patio.  Yes, there are tanuki in Yoyogi Uehara.  See the picture if you doubt it!

December 23rd--Hakone Ride

Even in late December temperatures had been very high.  On the 22nd, I rode to work in Tokyo sweating in roughly 70 degree temperatures.  Given the warm spell, I sent a ride message to the IAC list about riding in Hakone on the public holiday on the 23rd (weather forecast was for clear skies, if a little colder).  By the time I was cycling home from work in freezing rain about 35 degrees cooler, I was having second thoughts.

Even with no takers, however, I set off in the morning to catch the 8:16 Odakyu express as advertised.  My shoes were not completely dry from the night before and I dashed on mid-train without time to walk to the front car, but I made it.  At the intermediate stops, the bitterly cold air had me ready to walk across the platform and return home....

From Shin-Matsuda on the Odakyu line, however, I followed the planned course.  First a scenic detour along the river towards Fuji-san.  As I set out, the very tip of the peak (peek?) loomed above the river through a small gap in the ominous clouds, not to be seen again.  Then the climb proper towards Ashigara-toge (足柄峠).  I gradually got warm and sweaty and finally took off the fleece skullcap at the turn to the old forest road (足柄古道入り口).  Up to the tunnel/pass at 800 meters altitude was uneventful, just one resplendent pheasant for wildlife.  There was also thankfully no ice or snow, although at the ridge the evergreens on the peaks were encrusted with ice where the clouds had passed over them in the night.

Descending from the peak my fleece vest and skullcap saw me through joining the main 138 route, turning onto route 75 and then up the final steep stretch to the pola art museum (www.polamuseum.or.jp/english/index.php).  At the museum, the guards showed me to a prime parking space, I ate the fancy French course lunch (not especially recommended) and was able to do some Christmas shopping at the gift shop.  The enfrosted evergreens upon the peak above were beautiful.

After lunch, the ride involved bombing through Gora down to the main road (138 again?), jogging left, and then taking the forest road around the ridge and back to Odawara.  After passing some mtn. bikers, I turned right and eventually emerged into fruit orchards above Odawara with views down all of Tokyo bay in the warm sunshine.  Just fabulous.  A quick descent and turn onto Route 74 brought me to the west exit of Odawara station.  A great deal of fantastic scenery and changes in temperature for little more than 50km of riding.

On the train home I met one of Japan's leading young triathletes.  A delightful day all around.

2008 Sado Long Ride

2008 marked the third year I did the Sado Long Ride. For those not in the know, the ride is in late May and follows the circumference of Sado Island, Niigata, Japan. 210 km in all. Sado is a windswept island in the Sea of Japan. Generally, May means unpredictable and blustery weather. The initial editions had featured significant rain and wind. Year three brought warm sunshine and low winds the entire day. Just unbelievable. Four of us had driven up from Tokyo, Hiro (an IAC member), my friend Larry from Singapore ( a former Tokyo resident who had done the 2007 ride), and Larry's friend Nick from Singapore (not Leeson by the way).

Given the favorable weather, the ride was great. Having experienced it previously, I was also better able to deal with the length and finish up strong. The organization was very good; marked improvements had been made on the prior year. Even our hotel had refurbished the restaurant with spectacular views down the coastline. The weather may never be as nice again, but all in all it is a highly recommended event.

2008 Cycling--Chiang Mai Trip

In January of 2008, I had the good fortune to tag along with my friend Julian's planned trip to Thailand.  Our greatest stroke of good fortune was on the trip from Narita to Bangkok.  Julian arrived first and was moved from our scheduled flight to one an hour earlier.  The subtext seemed to be an expected delay on our original flight.  Once he was checked in that permitted me to jump the queue and also move to the earlier flight.  Without that, we might have been stuck in Narita for a day!  Above is Julian having the ANA services carefully bubble-wrap his bike.

Once in Chiang Mai, we had a generally delightful trip.  Our hotel was close to the airport and we could leave bike boxes in storage for our return.  Leaving town along the river was painless and scenic.  The only hint of issues to come was in the first steep slopes of the national park to Doi Inthanon (Thailand's highest peak), particularly the broken fanbelts of overstrained pickups lining the shoulder of the road.  The eco-huts in the park were basic accomodation but the coconut chicken soup at the restaurant defies description, utter pleasure.  The peak was ridiculous:  if you love 15% grades it was fine but we did not see many other cyclists for good reason.

It is hard to describe the whole trip, but apart from steep grades we did not have the slightest problem the entire week.  No flat tires, no aggressive drivers, pleasant people, beatiful weather and scenery.  A lot to recommend a trip in early January.