Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are competing for the title of the most antitrade candidate. They disagree with the vast majority of economists, who know that impeding trade is analogous to closing down freeways. Yes, San Diego fish tacos might be cheaper if we didn’t allow LA residents to buy them. But would we really be better off?

What is free trade, really? Here’s the clearest explanation that I’ve heard.

That’s Steven Landsburg writing; more here. The original idea is due to David Friedman.

Also, a piece in the NY Times argues that free trade will reduce starvation.

I had lunch with a friend today at Nine-Ten in La Jolla. The restaurant is inside the Grand Colonial hotel, and we sat at the terrace. It was a nice day, so I snapped some pictures.

We each ordered the three-course lunch for $24.

Nine-Ten serves California cuisine. My appetizer was a salad from La Milpa, a local farm.

Kai started with a soup made from pureed eggplant and… some other vegetable. He said it was very good.

My main course was an Angus hanger steak, medium rare, with sauteed chanterelle mushrooms, pancetta, dried tomatoes, okra, potato gnocchi, with a red wine reduction.

I had never had pancetta before. It’s like bacon. There’s a piece in the bottom pile. It’s the white cube at the upper right.

Kai had a hamburger with sauteed mushrooms and garlic aioli.

You can’t have a hamburger without pommes frites.

For dessert, I had the half-baked chocolate cake with caramel sauce and whipped cream. It was deliciously gooey inside.

Kai’s dessert was the hazelnut and coffee ice cream sundae with cacao nib blondies.

Now I’m well-fed and at home. Time for a nap!

This movie was so entertaining! Its run in theaters is very brief. In LA and San Diego, the last showing is on Thursday, April 10.

http://www.planetbboy.com/

   It’s Saturday afternoon, March 29. I’m in Dallas, waiting for Mike at Blockbuster. The store features a video game lounge with a leather sofa, an XBOX 360 and a 42-inch LCD. The game on display is Guitar Hero 3. I own the Wii version.
   I pick up a guitar controller and test its weight in my hands.
   A clerk approaches me. “Would you like to play?”
   Sure.
   I select the expert level and choose my best song: “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” I haven’t played in a while, but I’m hitting my notes. The clerk turns up the volume throughout the store.
   I finish the song, and Mike walks in. He’s never played before. I teach him how.
   Mike plays the same song on the easy level. On his second try, he gets all the way through. Nice.
   Two clerks approach me. “You’re really good. Can we request a song?”
   Sure.
   They want Metallica, “One.”
   I know that song. It’s really hard, with rapid runs that cramp my hands. I’ve never played it above medium level. Today, I’m playing on expert. It’s two notches higher.
   Three clerks are watching me now.
   Here we go! So fast so fast so fast so fast.
   There we went. I wipe out. That was the longest thirty seconds ever. So embarrassing.
   I dial it down to the hard level. Lemme try again.
   Ah, this is much better: just challenging enough. I’m sight-reading but doing fine.
   This song is really long. I last five minutes, but conk out with two minutes remaining. The clerks applaud enthusiastically. I laugh and put down the guitar. Mike and I go to check out the new DVD releases.
   A minute later, the first clerk comes over. What is he holding?
   “I want you to have these coupons, man. They’re good for two free coffees at the Starbucks next door. I hope you’ll come back and play again tomorrow, because that was really entertaining.”
   I am king of the nerds.

I wish every day were April Fool’s Day. To me, it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card for all the things I wish I hadn’t said. Dumb or silly, ambiguous or awkward, there’s no faux pas that can’t be fixed by saying “April Fool’s!” with a big smile and quickly changing the subject.

Here’s a conversation that I wish had happened on April 1.

Years ago, my friend Eugene’s then-girlfriend/now-wife Winnie was visiting town. Eugene was on call one night, so Winnie and I had dinner together. Winnie is a dear friend now, but at the time we were just beginning to get to know each other. One exchange went like this.

Now imagine what could have been.