Update on Draft 2.5

The fact that this update is three days behind the usual Sunday schedule is indicative of the state of things. But the main goal for last week was to survive my talk on Sunday, and I did -- audience casualty figures are not yet available. In the preparation for the talk, I found that progressing with respect to policy strictness in three stages -- when describing drug regulatory regimes -- seems to work pretty well. Start with the alcohol regulatory model, then add exclusion options (mandatory and voluntary), and then add buyer licensing. My old order of first introducing licensing and then exclusion always made exclusion seem like an afterthought.

The unrelated tasks of tax filing and sending in a book review (the book concerns the Russian economy, not vice policy) also were completed, minutes before the respective deadlines. Gave an unrelated (to the Five Drafts project) talk on law and economics, which went OK. As for progress in reading the three vice-related books, well, not much to say. The books remain...

(1) The Saloon Problem and Social Reform, by John Marshall Barker, 1905;

(2) Last Call, by Daniel Okrent, 2010; and,

(3) All or Nothing, by Jessica Warner, 2008.

Here's where things now stand, in terms of pages read: Barker, 64 out of 212, unchanged from last week; Okrent, 30 out of 469 (up from 26) but I finished the skip-ahead portion and a bit more, so pages 310 to 380 are completed; Warner, 122 out of 230, up from 106 last week. I intend to finish Warner this week!

Next Wednesday is the due date for Draft Three, which right now looks a lot like Draft Two. I am also scheduled to give a related out-of-town talk next Wednesday, so that worries me, as it will cut into my time for revising the draft. Nevertheless, this week's main goal is to push along the revising/writing of Draft Three.

Incidentally, I recognize that these rambling lack-of-progress reports are deadly dull to others, and even to me. This blog is a commitment device for me of sorts, however, and it is serving (imperfectly) that modest function.