The Great American Beergame

Diamondbacks 14, Astros 7. Yeah, that's what happened last night at Chase Field.

A friend of mine invited me out yesterday to go to the game, and seeing as how it was a free ticket, I happily obliged. I don't often go to sports games given the price and as is the case with baseball, just not worth it to me. Granted, with the new light rail directly linking me to Central Phoenix, going to games, concerts, and the like is much more appealing than it was when you had to take the 30 for an hour or so to get downtown.

But I digress. While watching the game (and the unforgettable third inning) my friend bought us a few beers to go with our $4.50 bag of peanuts. I asked how much they were, and they were a whopping $4 each. Christ. So I slowly enjoyed that beer but I knew the right thing to do would be to buy another round. (sigh...) I go to the kiosk and they don't take credit. I'm sorry, I thought I lived in the 21st century in the US. Every place took credit except the beer stands. But, if I wanted, I could go any of the restaurants/fast food eateries and buy beer for $9 a pop. Wait? What?

At this point, I'm getting frustrated. If I pay with a card, it's an extra $5 per glass, but I don't have any cash to avoid it. What's more is that I'm in Chase Field and lo and behold I don't bank with them so if I use the ATM I'll get charged. Well, I went to the Chase ATM (grrr), withdrew $40, and paid a friendly $3 fee plus whatever my bank is going to charge me. The sad thing is, this is all planned out, and although I hate to say it: The Pragmatic Economist applauds you, Chase Field (albeit reluctantly...)

When buying naming rights to the stadium you'd better believe they got the banking rights as well. And although you can buy food at the same price regardless the method of payment, beer sales have vertical restrictions imposed. This means the owner (Chase) can tell kiosks where they can sell their wares (between sections 141 and 143, for example), for how much ($4), and how (cash only). This limits free movement. And though this doesn't directly contribute to inflated prices (I guarantee beer would be $4 regardless), it does force a small, yet sizable, chunk of attendees to stop at the local ATM. Given the lines I witnessed, and knowing that not all of these people are Chase customers, you can make a good chunk of change just by giving people their own money which they will subsequently spend in your stadium!

I remember talking about this type of thing in a class a few years ago. Cheap tickets are subsidized by high concessions. Barring the small percentage of people who can smuggle food in, you are a hungry, thirsty captive audience lured in by inexpensive seats. This surely doesn't surprise anyone, but think about what the opposite arrangement would be like.

Assume tickets subsidized concession prices. For example, a nosebleed seat costs $30 but you eat and drink for free. I bet this would be a fabulous business model. We already know a hot dog costs next to nothing to produce and beer can flow freely without much cost either. There would be significant expenses naturally, and you might not sell-out games, but you could make a good profit. So, why don't ballparks do this then?

1) It will drive people who don't consume concessions away. So I guess we lose the straight-edge vegan demographic. On the other hand, you get the frat boy crowd. Families would likely be out due to stifling ticket prices.

Solution: Give people who don't want free concessions cheaper tickets, and to ensure they don't cheat, use indelible ink to keep track, or segregate them. Or, pass out drink and food "tickets".

Caveat: People could get a full-paying person to buy goods. And "tickets" defeat the purpose of concessions subsidies when you think about it.

2) Drunk-driving groups would pounce immediately, politicians would talk about how the Great American Pastime has been morally corrupted or some such nonsense, et cetera. All in all, lots of complaints.

Solution: Roadblocks, breathalyzers, and the like. Arizona already has one of the strictest DUI laws in the country, use that as a threat.

Caveat: Left to their own devices, people drink too much, willingly or not. And most people (and I in no way advocate this) will take the risk of getting caught/killed.

So I guess in the end, it's not such a good idea, but for a moment it seemed like a distant yet attainable possibility. Kudos to the light rail by the way, a quick 30 minutes ride or so that didn't smell like vomit or urine.

Extra Credit: Thank you to "thegordons" of Flickr for the image of Chase Field.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Google Voice and Area Code Snobbery

As some of you may know, Google said, "let there be Voice". And there was. Google Voice is the latest and greatest in Google revolutionary thought (actually it's acquired thought from the now-defunct company GrandCentral). Google Voice is like Gmail or anything else Google except for your telephone. Here's how it works:

You get a GV number free from Google after waiting a few weeks for an invitation. You can chose your area code and all that jazz, then whenever someone calls your GV number, the call gets forwarded to your cell, office, home, or whatever phone(s) you'd like. Online, it gives you free texts from your GV number, transcribes voicemail and puts it online for you, and a whole lot more. So I'm sure you're wondering how I like it? I wouldn't know. I haven't been able to choose a phone number to my liking.

Google bought up about 1,000,000 numbers across the US for it's launch of Google Voice, and sure enough there wasn't so much as one available in an area code of my choosing when I got my invite. As we know, I live in Phoenix, the city that never cools down. I already have a great phone number. It's sleek, fun, and even has a strange family connection. All in all, a desirable, classic phone number. But I can't port my phone number to Google, so I have to get a new GV number.

Alas, the time comes to get my number from Google Voice. I have two area codes I am willing to have: Washington, DC (202) or Phoenix (602). I would prefer a DC number because I intend to move there after graduation and I already have a sweet 602 number. So I tell GV to find me a 202 number. Denied. Seriously? Ok then, 602, for the win. Rejected.

Not even a (gasp!) 480 number to be found. Oh, but Phoenix has one area code available from Google Voice: 623. The Pragmatic Economist doesn't do 623. 623 provokes thoughts of drug-cartels and bad Mexican food. No. Absolutely not. And then I realized it: I am an area code snob.

Is that wrong? Do you discriminate based on area code alone? I've always thought I was open-minded, egalitarian, and such, but having a 623 area code is like wearing the Scarlet Letter of area codes. It shouts "I have done something wrong". That may be a bit melodramatic, but nonetheless, somewhat true. So until I can get a real area code, preferably 202 of course, I will be waiting to experience the wonders of Google Voice. Alas, supply and demand you have bested me. I demand, Google supplies. Beggars can't be choosers, but I'm willing to wait. Begging is such a 623 type of thing to do anyway.

Google Voice Part 2

Extra Credit: Here are links to the "Defenestrated" blog (I'm jealous of the name!) and check out some of Google Voice's voicemail transcriptions. Class dismissed.

GV: Ohh Erica I shall be too late

Stupid Google Voice Transcriptions

The Earth is 6000 years old

It's August in Arizona and school is back in session. This is the first semester since my freshman year when I have classes everyday (god forbid I study 5 days a week). Today I had my first "real" lecture in anthropology. I like this class because it's freshman level, and I am undoubtedly older than 99% of the people in the room by merit of being a senior. It's refreshing seeing these kids frantically typing on their Macs and what not, knowing that I know better than to take thorough notes in a 100-level course. Being the schadenfraude lover I am, I don't tell them otherwise. Until now:

Here is the key to success in a 100-level class: show up, forget the notes.

There, I said it. And all the freshmen rejoice at this pearl of wisdom. Most everyone can remember the basics of a class like this, at least well enough to pass with a "B" (no offense meant towards my anthro buddies!)

Today in lecture I was blessed with hearing two exceptionally insightful questions, undoubtedly coming from the valedictorians from their respective high-school classes:

1) If giraffes have long necks, and don't use those long necks throughout adulthood, will said giraffes have little giraffe babies with no necks? Naturally the question I would have thought to ask even when talking about Lamarckism. Not.

2) So if the Earth isn't 6000 years old like you say, it has to be younger, right? Wrong, you are stupid. Fail.

I am happy to attend Arizona State University, where a pulse and a checkbook qualify you to study at an exceptional institution where we have an entire School of Sustainability but scant recycling across campus. A great place where the meeting of minds produces such thoughtful prattle as where the next beer-pong party will be held or which girl put out the first day in the dorms. And finally, a community where we pay our faculty nothing, expect furloughs, and then wonder "why isn't our childrens learned good?" Simple economics kids: Incentives rock the world. Pay less, anticipate less.

The Pragmatic Economist fails you Arizona State. I know you have to make do with the budget cuts and such, but a real world-class school acts like one. The Republicans upstairs cut your funding, fine, I get it. Perhaps you should tell legislators that students are entering college still thinking the Earth is 6000 years old. Maybe that would capture their attention? Wait...if our legislators had their ways, we would believe the Earth was flat and that angels really did dance on the heads of pins. Never mind.

False Alarms and Water Damage

My downstairs is a wind tunnel right now. We have two industrial, fluorescent orange in the kitchen facing the walls trying to dry our baseboards after some water damage. The reason? Fire. Actually no, not fire.

A few days ago, I was eating a quick dinner while watching TV before going for a quick run outside. All of a sudden I heard something out of the ordinary, and thought maybe my dryer was squealing or the AC was malfunctioning. So I turn the TV to mute and hear sirens/beeping/alarms upstairs. Needless to say, I didn't go upstairs to check it out. I went outside instead to call the fire department. (I remember my fire safety, I knew that 2 hour class I had to take for work would come in handy some day...) As it turns out, the sirens in my entire building were going off, and after deciding it probably wasn't my place that was on fire, I went inside to check for sure. Nothing was wrong with the house, no smoke, no fire. The upstairs alarms were going off (apparently we have smoke detectors downstairs but no fire alarms) so I grabbed my laptop just in case, and left the building.

Soon after, the fire department arrives, and it turns out a sprinkler in the unit next to me malfunctioned and flooded the entire condo. Water everywhere: rushing through the front doors, cascading from the vents, pretty much doing everything you wouldn't want to happen unless there were a real threat. There was no fire, like I said it was a malfunction. The fire department stopped the flooding after within 15-30 minutes but not before my neighbor's place was totally ruined by water damage. Needless to say, little survived unscathed.

The next day, the home owner's association had some damage control people come to look at what happened. The flooding was so severe that it not only covered the condo, but leaked through to the adjacent stairwell, and finally, into my kitchen baseboards. We've had flooding issues before in the kitchen. In fact, every time it rains, the kitchen gets wet and smelly. Granted, it doesn't rain often in Arizona, but it rains enough to be an inconvenience when you know you're going to have to clean it up.

This situation raises a few questions:

1) Who designed this building? A lot of people have similar problems. (Well, not with the faulty sprinkler, but with flooding) Whoever thought building an awning over the balcony thus forcing rain into my house was not thinking.

2) In this market, what do you do with a water-damaged condo that can't be lived in? If my neighbor sells, I'm sure he'll take a huge loss. I can't imagine how stressed he must be dealing with this.

3) Who is responsible? The fire department said the sprinkler was faulty, so it wasn't my neighbor's fault. Does the HOA pay for the damage? Insurance? I think I need an expert in tort law.

All I can say is I'm grateful it wasn't my place.

On the blog

In an effort to document my every move, I've decided to start a blog. Well, I'm not looking to document everything but I figure I should start a blog so that my friends abroad can have slightly more frequent updates about my goings-on. So for those of you in Malaysia, Bhutan, and beyond, this blog is for you!

So an update for you. I've decided to start running. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous to start running when it's 100+ degrees in town, but I'm getting antsy from sitting inside all day in my air-conditioned winter wonderland. But honestly, I'm mostly doing it for health reasons and personal satisfaction. My goal is to go from zero to P.F. Changs half-marathon in about six months. I think it's a lofty yet attainable goal. We'll see what happens. On the side of the blog, you can see how many miles I've run. I hope that number slowly increases, but the fact that running is only possible between 10pm and 6am makes me a bit nervous.

I'll be sure to post more soon about all that's going on. Expect posts in the future regarding:

1) Law school applications

2) Foreign Service Exams

3) Fulbright applications

4) Peace Corps application

5) My thesis

6) Other ramblings