Geoff Graham

I think a lot of folks rightly observe and articulate the problems of modernity—atomized communities, deteriorating metabolic health, ever-more industrial consolidation, etc—and assume they result from the natural progression of a humanity imperfectly directed by a central planning authority. In their view, fixing them requires a better authority rather than no authority at all. Examples: Wendell Berry advocates for price controls in agriculture and different types of price supports, many New Urbanists seek new/different land use prescriptions and federal infrastructure subsidies, etc. My sense is they advocate for these things with a kind of resignation: "It's just too that bad people, if left to their own devices, can't freely collaborate toward a better world. It's just too bad that people must have some sort of authority giving them direction." But the more I pick at any failure of modernity, the more it seems to me that it is precisely the authorities' inevitable misdirection that caused the problem. In the case of land use and the changing patterns of human settlement (an area about which I know more than a little) it seems so inescapably obvious nowadays that even those who are politically inclined toward central planning reluctantly acknowledge it. And the more I learn about agriculture, the more I see the same pattern repeating itself there. So, I don't quite get the pessimism. We don't need to try to solve the unsolvable problem of creating a better authority. If someone hangs on to that as the necessary path, I can see why they'd be pessimistic; history shows us that can't be done! But we can begin cutting Gordian knots. Ending intervention. Ending interference. Ending micromanagement. Ending central planning. Etc etc. When enough people appreciate that the central planners caused the problems, we will end the central planning. And more people appreciate that now than a decade ago. And more appreciated that a decade ago than the decade prior. So while I hear weariness and pessimism in the voices of some wise and battle-scarred critics of modernity, I'm optimistic: The path forward seems so obvious to me, and every year that passes, it seems to become increasingly obvious to more and more people. Before one can walk the way, one needs to know the way.

Howdy

@ElenaMHenshaw @bigridgemtnclub A dozen wheelbarrow loads of gravel plus a lot of spreading under the tires and for a track, and we got him out.

@bigridgemtnclub Start calling in favors, my friend.

Uh oh.

I retweeted his monologue without knowing that guy from Adam (partly because delivering that sort of casual monologue is impressive, and partly because I broadly agreed with the general sentiment he expressed), but your criticism prompted me to re-listen. 1) In that clip he criticized the government of Israel and particularly the Netanyahu regime. 2) I looked him up and searched his profile—he goes to great lengths to distinguish between Zionism and Jews, and he regularly notes how common opposition to Zionism is among Jews (some of my Jewish friends share the view he expressed in that clip). I still don't know much about him, but I do know it is both wrong and painfully and increasingly common for people to conflate opposition to the manner in which the US (or any country) is intervening in the Middle East with antisemitism.

@NickDixon This guy is a bellend. Blames the Jews and wars for the fact we can't control our borders.

Feel like this guy has waited his whole life to say this. Incredibly eloquent and accurate appraisal of the failure of Western elites.

@Liberty_Xtreme Trying to find this on Spotify. Is it there?

The Great Object Podcast: Episode 007 Deo Vindice! With Dr. Wanjiru Njoya, Dixie Cavalier, and CSA Appreciator! x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@GrantSSC It’s kinda rainy.

@ggraham Stop making me want to drive east immediately

Savannah. Cloudland Canyon. Allman Brothers. Cumberland Island. Otis Redding. This is so easy.

@MichaelTinkler1 Demand exceeds supply!

@ggraham I tried to get an apartment there a couple times when I was at Emory!

Some better pictures of the Colonnades from the internet.

@mnolangray Do modern giant blue chip companies have the capacity to do anything that isn’t incremental? Everything they do seems like a derivative of something they’ve already done. This is why they must acquire companies that have recently innovated, rather than innovate themselves.

Something that the US has lost is giant, blue chip companies dreaming up big, absurd moon shot physical projects, sometimes as a marketing play, sometimes to move a marginal amount of product, and occasionally executing on them.

@ComicDaveSmith I didn’t realize you were allowed in Canada.

@GGunthorp @jamesdecker2006 Pulled a tick off of myself last week, and been thinking about this a lot.

I think I need to get back in the duck business. A properly cooked, pasture raised duck breast is better than any steak on the planet. And confit’d duck legs….whew. Demand should be insane now.

@Allbald2 Great raft race! Old school! 🔥

@ggraham Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, James Brown, out of the hills of Habersham and Hall, the Chatahoochie, and the Great Raft race, Rattle Snake Roundup

As I understand it, prior to the visit the topic came up in casual conversation between mother and daughter. The daughter presumed yes and the mother presumed they both understood this was an obvious no. Daughter angry, mother concerned, boyfriend (of about three months) wanting to be respectful to mother, but girlfriend obstinate.

@ggraham I’m curious if there was a request. What is the daughter’s expectation? My kids know the answer is no and wouldn’t ask. It would be understood he’s sleeping on the floor of the brothers’ bedroom.

Still astonished by these results. They were the inverse until the poll got a little traction beyond the folks who follow me.

@leastitistome Blackberry Smoke & Laser Show 🔥

@ggraham My birthplace. Blackberry Smoke. Laser show at Stone Mountain. Fernbank. Jackson Lake. Lake Lanier. Lake Allatoona. Georgia Aquarium.

@budvandoor @PstafarianPrice Fantasizing? Wut? I am trying to understand your POV. You jumped into my replies, and I would appreciate it you would answer my sincere question. x.com/ggraham/status…

@ggraham @PstafarianPrice Y’all are the ones fantasizing about other people’s sex lives. A 23yo woman doesn’t need her mother’s blessing. That’s reality. If she’s bringing her boyfriend to her parents it’s to meet her parents, not to have sex.

@budvandoor @PstafarianPrice Would it be a fair representation of your view that a mother ought to openly encourage her 23 year old daughter to have sex with boyfriends in her home, regardless of the seriousness of the relationship?

@PstafarianPrice @ggraham The point is that you can live in reality and treat your grown children like adults or you can patronize them with what you imagine high society would do and pretend those are your traditional values. One choice will make your children want to visit.

@budvandoor There was never a time and place where parents did not let courting-but-unmarried young adults share a bedroom in their home?

@ggraham People who say no are projecting. They follow you because it helps indulge their fantasy about a time and place that never really existed.

My wife mentioned a nice private school over dinner this week She said the campus was beautiful I asked what's the tuition She said we should look at it as an investment in him not a cost I made a note She said don't make a note I said I always make notes She said this isn't a deal I said everything is a deal She closed her eyes She said we'd discuss it Saturday I agreed Saturday 7:02am She came downstairs in her Saturday robe Coffee in hand I had my cargo shorts on The dining room had been cleared The projector was on The analyst was at the head of the table Quarter zip on, three iced coffees, a legal pad, and two laptops He had been there since 6:44am I texted him at 11:14pm Friday The text said dining room 6:45am bring the model He sent a thumbs up My wife stopped in the doorway She said what is this I said you said you wanted to discuss it She said this is not a discussion I did not respond She sat down anyway The analyst stood He said good morning ma'am She did not respond He sat back down A printed deck in front of each seat A fourth copy in case Slide 1 Tuition Schedule $38,500 per year Thirteen years $500,500 nominal Before escalators The school has raised tuition 4.2% per year for a decade With escalators $648,000 My wife said okay I said I'm not done Slide 2 Opportunity Cost Even before escalators $38,500 invested annually 10% nominal return S&P long-run average since 1928 By his eighteenth birthday $944,000 My wife said we can afford it I said I know that's not the slide Slide 3 Terminal Value at Age 65 $83 million She was quiet The analyst slid the sensitivity tables across the table 8% return $31 million 10% return $83 million 12% return $222 million She did not look She said this isn't about money I said it's always about money She said no it isn't I said then what is it about She did not answer She said you can't put a dollar value on his teachers his classmates his environment I said I can the analyst already did slide 6 He flipped to slide 6 She did not look She said the school is the best in the city I said best is a feeling She said it produces the best students I said the students were already the best before they got there She said our son deserves it I said our son deserves $83 million My son walked in He is five Dinosaur pajamas He looked at the projector He looked at the open deck on the table He looked at slide 3 He said are we modeling pre-tax or after-tax The analyst opened a new tab My wife looked at the ceiling He said what's the discount rate The analyst set down his pen She closed her eyes He said is this the same return assumption from the 529 conversation The analyst stopped typing He looked at me I did not say anything She stood up Sat back down He said dad can I help I said yes He pulled up a chair The analyst handed him a printout He started reading My wife watched him read She watched him for a long time She said his name He looked up She said do you like school He said the work is too easy and the kids don't ask questions She did not respond She looked at the ceiling She walked out of the room The analyst started packing up He said should I follow up Monday sir I said no follow up needed He'll be fine Sent from my iPhone