By John Y. Brown III, on Thu May 17, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  The mathematics of dieting (or the value of a rationalizing mind)
Apparently–and this is important if you didn’t learn this in school–addition and subtraction; multiplication and division all can have nuanced exceptions apply to their normal functions when calculating caloric intake.
For example, let’s say you buy a pastry at Starbucks that you know has 400 calories.
For dieting purposes that is potentially 300 calories you will need to record for yourself if you eat the entire pastry (because you aren’t really exactly sure it’s 400 calories and it’s a smaller than usual looking pastry–and you are just trying to be honest with yourself).
However, if you only eat half the pasty, that only counts as about 100 calories (not the usual 150 or even 200 you might assume would apply using “regular non-dieting math.”
Why?
You look at the pastry and feel you ate the “smaller half.”
But, if you come back to the pastry and decide to eat 3/4ths of it (and not just 1/2), you must add another 10 calories (because the math has gotten so complicated and hard to remember that it’s OK to use shorthand at this point). So, you eat another 1/4 of the pastry and duly note the additional 10 calories. (The fact that it is 1/4th of the “bigger half” isn’t necessary to factor in at this point because you really forgot about this small fact anyway.)
And if you decide a few minutes later, “Screw it , I’m eating the whole thing” and pop the last tiny morsel in your mouth (or final 1/4 of the pastry), you will have to make yet another adjustment. Since you will recall that you just added 10 calories from eating an additional quarter of the pastry a few minutes earlier–and since you have to remain mathematically consistent— you must add another 10 calories for the final quarter of the pastry.
At this point, all you can remember is that you just added 10 calories for eating the final quarter (1/4) of the punier than usual pastry–and can’t recall what the old total calories calculation was to add to.
But that’s the beauty of math. You don’t have to remember. There’s a shortcut. If you know that one quarter (1/4th) of the pastry is 10 calories, you can be sure that the entire pastry (4/4ths) is exactly 4 times that number–or 40 calories.
So, write down 40 calories for eating that entire Starbucks pastry that was really 400 calories.
This is why so many people fail at their diets.
It not only takes willpower to succeed dieting. But you have to be really good at math, too.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed May 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET We’ve been together now for just over 30 years.
I remember our first weekend together. I was just 17 and it was late. And I found you and it’s been a love affair ever since.
Oh sure…there’s been disappointments….periods of boredom and wishing your were different.
Yet you would always finds way to surprise me. To keep it fresh. We grew and changed in our own individual ways — and still stayed together.
That first late night 30 years ago I knew you were special. That you were somehow made with me in mind.
And we’re still together –and I hope that never changes.
Thank you, Taco Bell.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Apr 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Some guys are into souped up, pimped out cars. Others are into collecting sophisticated or rare guns. Me? I’m into bad a** tooth brushes.
I just picket up a new tooth brush with—get this (forgive me for geeking out)
Sonic technology, slimmer than Sonicare Essence. It creates Sonic vibrations and a dynamic bristle cleaning action that removes more plaque than a regular manual toothbrushes.
Two Brushing Modes and two Oral-B replacement heads (Pulsonic and Precision Tip) meet my unique teeth cleaning needs. And will leave me with a radiant smile.
I asked the store clerk if this was essentially the AK-47 of toothbrushes. She wasn’t sure what I was talking about. But I clarified that I didn’t want to hear about another –even more powerful toothbrush being available—if I bought this. She assured me that would not happen.
I asked her if any of the toothbrushes were Taser-capable.
She again acted confused.
But I think she was secretly very impressed and was merely trying to conceal it.
If I pull up to a Ferrari I’ll look over as if to say to the driver “Nice car” while holding up my toothbrush for the driver to see and reciprocate with a look back of “Nice toothbrush.”
Can’t wait to get home and brush tonight!
By Zac Byer, on Mon Apr 16, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
 Good afternoon, and welcome to another edition of Prix Fixe Politics! It’s now unofficially general election season, so you can finally rest assured Sarah Palin won’t be coming out of hibernation to join the race. Here’s today’s menu…
But first – in the last edition, I asked a question in the Appetizer about what Americans want most in 2012. If you said men want more money, and women want more time, you have your finger on the pulse of the American electorate. Thanks to all who participated, and as promised, I have used the fancy algorithm of pulling a number out of a hat to pick the winner. Sakina Zaidi, a Penn classmate of mine and formerly of Bain Capital, is the lucky one, so I will be treating her to drinks in…Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Because I don’t see a trip to the Horn of Africa in the near future, Sakina can claim her prize when she is back stateside; in the meantime, I will treat Nick Eng, another classmate of mine and currently a consultant with Diamond Management and Technology, next time I’m in New York City.
 Appetizer: A piece of data you should keep your eye on as we head toward summer is the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). CCI ignores contentious social issues and wedge issues, focusing on current economic conditions and voters’ future expectations for business, employment, and personal income. The last 40 years show a potentially game-changing correlation: If the CCI is at 100 or higher, the incumbent party has a significant advantage in its bid to retain the White House. In October 2008, for example, the CCI was a paltry 52. Gas prices had skyrocketed, the beginnings of the recession were among us, and John McCain ended up losing the election. Since the 1972 election between Richard Nixon and George McGovern, the CCI has correctly predicted the outcome of 9/10 of the presidential elections (the notable exception being 2000, in which incumbent-party candidate Al Gore won the popular vote). So, where do things stand now? As of the end of March, the CCI stood at 70.2. As Democrat strategist James Carville said to Bill Clinton in his 1992 campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid!”
Read the rest of…
Zac Byer — Prix Fixe Politics, April 16
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Apr 2, 2012 at 9:46 AM ET  Greetings from my third favorite city in the world (behind Lexington & Jerusalem — sorry Vegas!): Florence, Italy.
The weather is perfect, the food extraordinary, the art sublime. Only trouble is that the RPettes and I are going to try to watch THE GAME at 3 AM while Mrs. RP sleeps.
At least everyone over here is part of the Big Blue Nation. I spotted the T-shirt to the left at Florence’s famous leather marketplace. Didn’t know Audrey Hepburn was a Cats fan, but apparently she anticipated Marquis Teague’s three-point form decades before he was born.
We are sincerely hoping that tonight Sylvester finally catches Tweety bird — What’s a Jayhawk anyway? — as Thomas Robinson discovers that Anthony Davis owns the paint on both sides of the court. He’s not in Kansas anymore!!
(I assume that joke’s being overused back home, but it’s getting big laughs here in Italy! Or maybe they are laughing because they have no idea what I’m saying.)
 Anyhoo, our trip got diverted a bit thanks to Delta and a little rain, and we got to spend the afternoon yesterday in Amsterdam. Being a huge proponent of municipal infrastructure improvement, I decided to take a tour of the so-called “Red Light District.”
Well, it seems there was a little misunderstanding. Let me put it this way — I didn’t take any pictures. The T-shirt at right is the best PG-rated presentation of the scenery in the Red Light District.
To recover from the shock and awe, I decided to take a detour into a “coffee shop.” Turns out they didn’t serve coffee, and the place was hazy and smelled like a Jimmy Buffett concert. The good news is that after spending a few minutes in the place, all of my cares disappeared, and I became relaxed and happy; although for some strange reason I was (Terrence) Jones-ing for a bag of Cheetos.
Apparently, I’m very popular in Amsterdam as well. Whenever I introduced myself, people asked if I was the same Jonathan Miller who wrote an article in The Huffington Post advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
OK, back to my vacation…I promise to send another post(card) soon.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Mar 29, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET I’m so relieved that society does not judge us on our thoughts but only on our actions.
I’d hate to be accountable for my thoughts. They aren’t dangerous. Just, well, hard to explain away.
For example, I was eating lunch alone in my car today–a turkey sandwich. Out of nowhere I start thinking about how I’m really glad that animals can’t talk. And I hope we never teach them to.
For one thing, what would we talk about? It’s hard enough making conversation with other humans. Besides, no matter how good we get at small talk with animals, we can only avoid the inevitable “Big Question” for so long.
Eventually a turkey (or some other animal) will ask, “So, why do you eat us?”
And the truth is I don’t have a good answer. All I can say is something along the lines of the primitive logic, “Look, I’m bigger than you and smarter than you and you taste good. That’s it. End of story. Let’s please talk about a less awkward subject.”
Just typing this response makes me cringe–and reinforces to me this is a conversation I’d like to avoid.
And besides, what other subject could we move on to after that uncomfortable segue? It’s just not realistic.
But even without an eloquent explanation, I’m not giving up turkey.
Well, my lunch time ran out on this thought. I’m on a business call now and sounding very professional –using lingo from my MBA and law degree. Very impressive. I’m on my game.
And I’ve almost completely stopped thinking about conversing with turkeys.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 26, 2012 at 9:30 AM ET  The RP’s Defense
[Click here to follow the full debate thread]
I agree with Mark Nickolas that Mike Huckabee would be an extraordinary pick by Romney for Vice President.
Indeed, for all the reasons Mark mentions, if Huckabee were in the race today for President, I think he would have run away with the nomination several weeks ago.
And that’s the rub. Huckabee made a very deliberative decision several months ago not to run for President.
Whether it was family considerations, financial (he seems to be making bank on Fox and the lecture circuit), a political calculation that Obama couldn’t be beat in an improving economy and a divided GOP, or a sudden burst of sanity that led to a realization that being President is an excruciatingly awful job in this hyper-toxic political system, he decided not to run.
 With those same calculations, I just can’t imagine he would accept the bottom half of what seems to be a careening ticket.
If Huckabee still has national ambitions, my assumption would be that he would just wait until 2016 (or 2020) to run for President. Being second banana doesn’t seem to be in his gene pool.
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Mar 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET A friend on Sunday I hadn’t seen in a while said to me, “Hey, you’ve put on some weight recently, haven’t you?”
It was a gentle, friendly comment. Not insulting.
I said, “Well, I’m involved in a international protest and am on a “diet strike” until justice prevails. This is day 14 of not going on a diet.”
My friend paused for a moment and then realized it was safe to laugh–and did.
“What protest?” he asked?
“Well, that’s sort of fluid right now….I haven’t exactly decided yet. But I was ready to commit to my form of protest and wanted to get a head start.”
“You ain’t right” came back the answer.
I get that response more often than I care to report.
The important point is “You ain’t right” isn’t the insult it seems at first blush. In fact it’s kind of a back handed compliment.
Anyway, that’s my status update. And I’ve narrowed my choices for protesting. And today is day 19 of my “diet strike”—and there is no turning back at this point.
Whatever I end up protesting.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Mar 1, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Sometimes when I’m in a long line at Starbucks and in a hurry, I wonder to myself, “Who was the annoying customer who kept complaining that the Barista never asked if he wanted ‘room for cream?'” That person was probably the cause of the blanket Starbucks policy to ask every customer ever time that same question ad nauseum.
That question, repeated millions of times a day seems to take a lot of time for the Barista to ask, the customer to think about, the customer to answer, the Barista to process and the Barista to respond to. And I’m not sure it’s an important enough question to ask millions of times daily.
I think Starbucks should post a “Room for cream opt out” policy. In other words, it will be assumed that all Starbucks customers want room for cream unless the order otherwise (e.g. “No room for cream, please” or “I don’t need room for cream” or “I’m utilizing the ‘opt out’ policy for room with cream”—or something like that).
I suggest a pilot project for Louisville. I suspect we’ll see a lot of freed up time to Starbucks customers that is currently time being drained from our local economy. And wouldn’t it be interesting if we discovered that this inane question asked of everyone passing through Starbucks turned out to be the primary cause of our current recession?
Of course, I don’t really believe the “room for cream” question contributed to the recession.
Just aggravated it a little.
I do think that the new additional –and more complicated—Starbucks question, “Would you prefer light or dark roast?” has the potential to seriously undermine out economy.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Feb 23, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  When I was about 6 or 7 years old I had an interaction with Colonel Sanders and he shared with me some pretty profound business wisdom.
We were at the Colonel’s Lady (Claudia Sanders) restaurant in Shelbyville, and the waitress had just brought rolls to the table.
The Colonel patiently showed me, a fidgety little boy, how to take the butter pats and mash and mix them with just the right amount of honey and then to smear the gold and yellow concoction on to a piece of the roll.
I loved it and wanted to keep eating the honey buttered rolls, but he stopped me because, he explained, his restaurant philosophy was to always leave the customer “wanting a little more” when they left— so they would come back.
That’s the opposite of the he-man meals restaurants feed us now….but I think the Colonel right.
In fact, that philosophy is good advice for many areas in our personal lives as well as in a variety of service industries.
But the advice I cherish the most from the Colonel –and have put the most frequent use in my life—was how to mix butter and honey for rolls.
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