The John Stockton Theory of NBA Champions

Basketball teams whose starting lineup includes a small guard cannot win championships. That sentence was written just after tip off of Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, though I have yet to tune in. The Spurs are a great organization and Wembanyama may be my new LeBron, but for this series, in this year, […]

In Defense of LAX-it

LAX-it is the name of the Los Angeles International Airport’s method for managing taxi and ride share traffic for travelers leaving the airport. If you live here, you are supposed to complain about it. I am here to defend it. LAX-it refers to the relegation of taxis and ride share vehicles to a surface parking […]

2026 NBA Trade Deadline Hot Takes

It’s the second most exciting time of the NBA season, the trade deadline. While I hate how much time podcasts spend discussing hypothetical trades – just analyze basketball – I always enjoy seeing how the league is reconfigured into the back 30% of the season. I enjoy even more yelling at GMs and wondering what […]

Cash is Widely Accepted in China

I have just returned from a work trip to China. In preparation, I purchased a new used Android phone and acquired a local SIM as soon as I landed. A main motivator for this configuration was to be able to pay for items. Though I was with a conference and most transportation and meals were […]

In Defense of Government Services

Since, approximately, the Articles of Confederation, Americans love to bemoan government services, especially federal ones. They are slow, inefficient, bloated, blahblahblah. Well, I have had plenty of positive interactions with government, whether that is calling emergency services, non-emergency police, 311, contacting a representative, and so on. So, to remind everyone that government is good, I […]