i now pronounce you, "mr. and mrs. screamin gumbo davis."

Yes, I - Jailhouse Boy McGee - will soon be Mrs. Screamin' Gumbo Davis. 50 days, as a matter of fact. Last night, Billy and I ate at Sticky Fingers for the first time (and probably last time...but that's another blog.) The best part of the night was that I learned what my blues name is and what my married blues name will be. I think I can live with it.

Also yesterday, Billy and I went to see Ratatouille. I must say, this movie is the best Pixar has ever created. If anyone knows my family's love affair with cooking, you can understand why I thought it was WONderful. everyone should see it.



Now, for the real reason behind this post. I have started reading the book Freakonomics by Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It's a pretty interesting book [so far] and I think that I would like it more if I had not sat through Philosophy of Business with Dr. Yonai. That class taught me to think in a very "out of the box" thought pattern and so I find myself nodding a lot. However, there are a couple of points I would like to bring forward.

First of all, I couldn't agree more with the discussion of incentives that is in chapter one.

There are three basic flavors of incentive: economic, social, and moral.

It was interesting to read the discussion on incentives on blood donation. For those who don't know, the authors discussed how the incentive behind donating blood is a moral incentive. If people get paid to donate blood, then the total number of those who donate decreases. However, if they get paid an extreme amount, people would kill others to give blood. It's a delicate balance that must be found in all situations when dealing with incentives. What you think might work could strongly backfire.

The second thing I would like to note is the theory on management brought up in chapter one. Paul Feldman stated that

morale is a big factor - that an office is more honest when the employees like their boss and their work.


I have seen this several times within my short job history, but it is a very true statement. The interesting thing is that even though business students are taught this truth, very few apply it within their own management style. Why? I don't know. But the previous statement is very true.

Lastly, there is this intriguing statement by economist Adam Smith.

How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.

Food for thought. It hints at the soul of man...the nature of man, as does the following story from Plato's Republic:

There was a shephard named Gyges who stumbled upon a secret cavern with a corpse inside that wore a ring. When Gyges put on the ring, he found that it made him invisible. With no one able to monitor his behavior, Gyges proceeded to do woeful things - seduce the queen, murder the king, and so on.

The story poses the following question: could any man resist the temptation of evil if he knew his acts could not be witnessed? Glaucon, the student of Socrates, believed that the answer was no. Adam Smith and Socrates both agree that it is possible to resist. It is, nonetheless, an interesting scenario to contemplate.

So, that's all for now...I have to go return some baseball movies for my Beyonce, but there will be more later. Stay classy, Planet Earth.