A federal appeals court says the California Recall election should be postponed because some counties will use punch cards (read the decision here).

A quick read suggests that the court did not consider how often punch cards are mistaken. Since no system is perfect, an important question should be: how many more votes will be accurately counted by delaying the vote? Anybody know how accurate the different voting mechanisms are? In short, will the costs of delay be less than the benefits?

The world of the arts seems chaotic to outsiders, but there is quite a bit of order. Three books provide insights into the careers of creative individuals. (a) David Galenson’s Painting Outside the Lines argues that outstanding artists tend to have critical insights early in their carreers, or they develop an original vision after decades of slow development. Very little in between. (b) I Bought Andy Warhol is about one art dealer’s mission to purchase an Andy Warhol painting for his own private collection. He talks about the hierarchy of artists and the nuts and bolts of the art dealing business. (c) Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman is a biography of Fred Wesley, highly respected trombonist and member of the James Brown band. Wesley discusses the life of those skilled musicians known as “sidemen,” who spend their carreers playing in the ensembles of higher profile musicians. These three books give you a nice view of the business of art in the late 20th century, from the perspective of producers and sellers.

Thanks for the kind words, Alex. It’s a pleasure to be here.

First entry: During my undergraduate economic sociology class week, we engaged in a discussion of Islamic banking after a Malaysian student said that banks in her country were engaging in interest free banking. A web search revealed that Maylasia has a well developed dual banking system, with some banks engaging in interest-free lending. There are now money markets and other economic institutions based on observance of Islam (a summary).

Another student pointed out that it was difficult for international organizations to loan money to Islamic nations because its hard to tell how much debt has been incured. Apparently, a lot of accounting in Islamic nations deals with making interest payments invisible. For example, a bank is allowed to purchase something and sell it to a “borrower,” with fees for late payments. Once you have the idea that you can trade such contracts, you can have securities markets.

Which leads to a question: if you can reproduce most Western banking practices in Islamic banking, does it make a difference in the banks performance? How are the non-Islamic banks in Malaysia doing?