Good decisions are always based on the point of view of those judging.  ”What is better?” all depends on what you are optimizing for.

In the book The Power Broker, by Robert Moses, there were two plans to create Central Park in New York City.  One was to leave it as a natural habitat for animals and people who wanted some hiking.  Basically to leave it untouched.  The alternative plan (and the one eventually adopted) was to put in baseball fields and trails and theaters and all kinds of man-made objects.  This included sculptures and crafted lakes and botanical gardens.

The manicured plan was horrifying to the naturalists.  However, it is hard to imagine Central Park being as wonderful of a place if it was an unkempt forest.  Each side hated the plan of the other.  Neither is “right”, but that won’t stop people from arguing about it.

Another similar situation is Climate Change.  The book Freakonomics talks about climate change and the differing views of how to fix the problem.  One approach is to stop polluting.  This is similar to the natural central park plan.  Leave it the way nature intended it. The alternatives include some geo-engineering. Nathan Myhrvold is one of the leading minds in this area.  And of course, there are people who deny that it’s even happening and that we should just keep polluting.

Politics is rife with this problem.  What is the good decision?  Are some politicians against a good decision for political reasons or do they really believe it’s a bad decision?  Does it even matter?  Should corporations be treated as people?  Should unborn children have the same rights as when they exit the birth canal?  She the minimum wage be higher?

Every single decision has pros/cons.  There are always people on every side of an issue.  How can we possibly make good decisions in this environment?

I have no answer.  My only salvation is that we have progressed a species this far. Fairly impressive feats if you ask me.  Hopefully, we can progress further still.

I’ve had this mild allergic rash for a while on my neck and elbow.  I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what I am allergic to.  It could be the dog, but hopefully not.  One person suggested it could be something in my diet.  This led me to try an experiment.  I cut gluten out of my diet.

Gluten
noun: a protein present in cereal grains, esp. wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough

Gluten is found in alot of foods.  The Mayo Clinic lists these ingredients as having gluten:

• Barley (malt, malt flavoring and malt vinegar are usually made from barley)
• Rye
• Wheat
• Bulgur
• Durum flour
• Farina
• Graham flour
• Kamut
• Semolina
• Spelt

This means that a ridiculous amount of foods contain gluten such as:

• Beer
• Breads
• Cakes and pies
• Candies
• Cereals
• Cookies and crackers
• Croutons
• French fries
• Gravies
• Imitation meat or seafood
• Pastas
• Processed luncheon meats
• Salad dressings
• Sauces, including soy sauce
• Seasoned rice mixes
• Seasoned snack foods, such as potato and tortilla chips
• Self-basting poultry
• Soups and soup bases
• Vegetables in sauce

How the heck do people do it??  That’s alot of stuff.  I decided to not go gluten-free, but rather gluten-reduced and see if it had any effect.  I’m not sure how long to give this experiment, but 6 weeks has been the number thrown out there.  I am on week 2 now.

I’ve found it’s not THAT hard to be gluten-reduced.  Some examples of meals I have eaten recently:

• Scrambles (Eggs with meat and vegetables – like ham or nova and onions)
• Chinese food (Rice is OK, thank god) with no noodles
• Indian food (I hate spicey foods, so butter chicken was my choice)
• Sushi (rice and fish)
• Ceasar salad (No crutons)
• Yogurt with pomegranates and gluten-free granola

It’s not awful, but I do miss pasta and bread.  Specifically a ham sandwich on a bagel!

Results
So far the rash remains unchanged.  I have lost a few pounds though.  Gluten is, after all, pretty fattening.  It’s an added benefit that keeps me on the diet.  I wouldn’t mind losing a few.  My food satisfaction has dimmed, but not so much that it is making me crazy.  I’m not sure I could do this diet full time, but it’s worth doing for as long as I can.

Either way, I am going to an allergist and figuring out what the cause is.  I can’t just keep eliminating variables individually on my own forever.

I am considering sending my kids to a private school.  In researching such places, we found the Nueva School. (nice site)  We recently went to a little seminar they held explaining the school.  It had teachers, administrators and students.

The Campus
There are actually two different schools.  The one we visited was a K-8 school in Hillsborough.  However, the high school is being built in San Mateo at Bay Meadows. (They have a cool webcam of the construction site.)

The Hillsborough campus was beautiful.  Lots of trees and walking space.  The buildings had interesting architecture and were clearly designed and built with care.  The internals of the buildings had student artwork everywhere.  It had large soccer fields and nicely maintained tennis courts. Overall, it was gorgeous.

The Teachers and Administration
I’ve never seen such enthusiasm and energy from a faculty.  They had a child-like zest for their jobs.  They gesticulated wildly, like they couldn’t contain their love of learning and teaching.  The principal was funny and smart, yet humble.  He exuded confidence and devotion to the vision and mission of the school.

The Students
My oldest boy thought they were “super kids”.  Like super heroes in child form.  One kid was playing soccer while also playing violin in the San Francisco Orchestra.  He is writing his own screenplay and saving the world from hunger apparently.  All while loving every minute of their day at school.

One kid said that one of the teachers assigned a homework question.  Just ONE question.  He said to spend 20-30 min on it.  The kid said, I was so interested in this one question, I spent an hour on it.  I just wanted to know how it worked.  No busy work, no rote memorization.  Real learning.

Other schools
I have come to the conclusion that most schools aren’t for education.  They are for separating the students into tiers that can be used to send them to different colleges.  The rules of the game are simple:  Those who can follow the teachers instructions and pass the tests get the best grades.  Their reward is a better college.  The reward for a better college is that employers will think highly of your education and hire/promote you accordingly.  My poor education has not helped my career.  I know this very clearly.

Bottom Line
Neuva completely changed my mind.  There are places where learning is real.  There are places where they inspire kids.  I wish every school was like this, but that is just a fantasy.  I hope my kids can gain admittance to the school. I think it would be a life-changing experience for them and for us, their parents.