Discounting Gnomes

I hate it when the gnomes steal intangible objects - like an hour of my day. Freaking thieving gnomes.

I decided to test an economic theory - well, I guess it's more like an almost assumption - today on some high schoolers. In economics we do something called "discounting the future." This centers around an assumption that consumption (really utility, but they're somewhat interchangeable in economics) today is worth more than consumption tomorrow. So, for example, if you were to postpone consumption today, you would have to be compensated by more consumption at a later date - and how much more consumption you would require is the discount rate. This is very easily seen in things like investments. If there was no interest rate - or if it isn't high enough - very few people would invest money.

Anyways, I tested this as simply as I could, by first asking four teenagers if they would rather have a brand new computer today, or the same brand new computer a year from now, but for 10% cheaper. Of course, I had to add some corallaries that technology will not improve for any computer over the next year. Half said they would take it today and half said next year. But the problem with this situation is that some had functional computers, while others had much less functional computers.

So I decided to change the consumption to something that would be completely used up at the time of consumption and is a luxury item - a nice dinner out. Of coruse, I had to shorten the time period, so I asked if they would rather go out to their favorite eating establishment today at full price, or a week from today and get $20 off. Again, half said today and half said next week. I'd be really intrigued on seeing if discounting is different among age groups, and if different goods bring about different discount rates.

Because something about discount rates just doesn't sit right with me, but I can't really figure out what it is. In Macro we're talking about intertemporal budget constraints, and how, if you could figure out exactly how much money you would make in your life and when, you would end up consuming the same exact amount of money every time period. But that obviously isn't the case with me. My consumption is way down while I'm in school, but it doesn't have to be. I have a lot of loans available to me, which would dramatically increase my consumption now at the price of paying it back later when I have a greater income, but I don't take advantage of it.

So I guess I'll keep asking questions and thinking about discount rates, and maybe (if I'm lucky) I'll figure out a Master's Thesis topic on the way.

Also...

What's up with BN not having music or movies? Is it just the one up here or are they all like that now?

Heroes

I am officially caught up on this season of Heroes. I must say, I really enjoyed being able to watch all of the beginning of the season in a row. I think that was really the only problem with it - it was pretty slow to build up (which most people won't enjoy), but once it did, it was awesome. The episodes that have happened since the New Year have been rather cliche and disappointing. Hopefully things will get going, though.

I heard that a lot of people didn't like the early season 3 episodes. I didn't stop watching because of that, but rather because there were other things I had to watch on Mondays. I always planned on catching up and continuing with Heroes. So, I think the problem with the first episodes is that there were a handful of new characters introduced, while others kept dying, or almost dying, or dying and then coming back to life. The problem with all of this is that viewers don't know who to invest in.

For example, much of season 2 was spent investing in DL and Nikki. But whoops, now they're both dead, and their son is pretty much written out of the script (although I have a hope that he'll return).

Another problem is time travel. This is rather key to the show, mostly because they use it as an information gathering device for the characters (either through painting the future or traveling to it), and the more you use time travel, the bigger potential hole you are digging to bury yourself in. I'm getting sick of characters seeing the future, changing it, but then still thinking that other things they've seen will still be true. I'm thinking that they will out of necessity have to keep the time travel/pre-knowledge to a minimum, which means down playing everybody's favorite character and my personal favorite character (who are not the same character).

Hopefully they'll keep the show around. The characters have a lot of room to grow, and I'd like them to have the time to do it. I have a feeling that at the end of this season there is going to be a dynamic change in their setting, and so far no show has really had a chance to explore that setting (the 4400 got close, but it got canceled before it could. X-Men 3 also touched on it, but you can't explore things in a movie the way you can in a show).

Script Frenzy

Hmmmmmm. I didn't have anything planned for April yet. Tempting.

Credits

I really enjoy watching credits. Anybody who has gone to the movies with me knows that I like to watch them all the way through to the end, even after any hope of a post credit scene has gone. The same is true of opening credits. These days, there are two types of credits, and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

One type is to show the actors doing stuff, usually along with their names. This is the standard one that most shows do. I find it really interesting to watch the opening credits of new shows and try to guess what's going on in the clips they've shown. You know that they have to be from the first couple of episodes that they've filmed, so you can try to guess the relationships and personalities of all the characters and what will be revealed early on. Recent example of this: Dollhouse.

The other type of credit doesn't show the actors, but it shows something that is meant to put you in the right type of mood to watch the show. An excellent example of this is Weeds or Dexter, but it isn't only in Showtime or HBO - Saving Grace and The Riches did the same thing.

What I don't really like are the shows that just show images of the actors (ie not clips from episodes). This is what the third season of Veronica Mars did, and what Sarah Connor is doing now. Unless it is really stylized, it doesn't get you into the mood to watch the show, which is what all credits should do.

Lastly, a word on theme songs. This is one of the most crucial things a show has to pick, in my opinion. It sets the mood for every viewing, and viewers have to listen to it every week (or every hour if they're watching from dvd). It would be interesting to choose to watch new shows based on their theme songs. I may have to experiment with that. Some of my favorites themes: Buffy, Veroica Mars (pre-Season 3), Firefly, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Dollhouse is slowly getting up on the list, but I think it's a bit too short.

Time Wasting

Usually I don't mind review. Okay, that's a lie, but usually I can get over it without being too frustrated, but class last night really tested this.

One of the cool things about microeconomics is that while you have two sides of markets - producers and consumers - looking at how they consume and produce is remarkably similar. Utility and production have many of the same properties, and both are subject to budget constraints. What this means in terms of learning about it is that once you have consumer theory down, it's a very small leap to get to producer theory. Ideally, you shouldn't have to spend much time going over producer theory, except to point out where words are different, and to point out a few things with costs (you don't really look at the average cost of utility like you do the average cost of production).

Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Instead of quickly going over producer theory and moving on to something a little more interesting, we spent just as much time going over producer theory as we did consumer theory. I really can't figure out the need to do this. I mean, once you've talked about minimizing cost in one setting, you've talked about it in the other.

What's more, all of us have gone over it before in previous economic classes (it really doesn't change that much from one level of theory to another - you just get to go a little deeper). Oh well, I guess it just means that I won't have trouble keeping up with the material. At least the homework he gives us is interesting to do - I have that to look forward to.

Tempting

I'm very tempted to travel over to SF this weekend to check out WonderCon, but I don't think it'd be much fun by myself. Still, the idea is very tempting.

Huh

I now understand why there are drains all over campus.

Blerg

It's been raining for four straight days, and I want it to stop just long enough for me to get a good run in. But I know as soon as I get ready and walk outside, the wind and rain will start up again. Oh well, I suppose we need as much rain as we can get.

I have the house to myself until later this evening (and have since Sunday). It's been nice to be able to make a mess and not have to clean it up immediately like I usually do. It's also been nice to have the downstairs to myself. I've gotten through three movies in as many days, mostly due to the fact that there's nobody down here making noise. Wednesday and Thursday I'm housesitting for another family, so I'll have a place to escape to while this house is packed with people.

You know, there is one good thing about all the marketing for V Day - the cheap candy the day after. I'm stocked up for a month, at least!

Temptation

I know that if I go outside to run, it will be freezing. But if looks so nice and warm from here. You'd think I would have learned this lesson long ago during Spokane springs.

Stuck in class

I'm seriously about to hit a guy in one of my classes over the head with my book. He's got a serious breathing problem in that his normal breathing sounds like me after I've run a couple miles. Or it sounds like he's breathing through a tube, I can't quite decide.

Anyways, I noticed this the first week, and it's quite distracting to me. So the next week I moved, knowing that if I had a problem, I should be the one to change. But he decided to sit right in front of me. Now this was only a little better than him sitting next to me. But there are four rows of desks in the classroom, and I was in the third, so this week, I figured that if I sat in the very back row, he would stay in the second row (where he had sat the previous two weeks).

But no. He again sat directly in front of me. So now I'm going to do an experiment during break. I'll move a desk down and if, when he comes back, he sits in front of me, I'll know something's up.

The real difference between American and British

"For the American system of manufactures was, above all, a totally unsentimental approach to the productive process in industry, one in which purely commercial considerations prevailed. The British long consoled themselves with the belief that standardization and mass-production techniques inevitably resulted in an inferior product. Unhappily, from their point of view, they persisted in this belief long after it ceased to contain even an element of truth."

- Why in America? by Nathan Rosenberg, originally published in Yankee Enterprise, the Rise of the American System of Manufactures in 1981

I'm doing my happy dance

I feel that it's necessary to share this: Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible) is back in television, this time with a show starring Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy and Angel, also Tru from Tru Calling).



Show starts Friday, 9:00 pm, on Fox. Right after Sarah Conner which stars another actress that Joss found. You think they did that on purpose?

In celebration of this new show, I'm going to be doing some posts between now and Friday about why Joss Whedon is the man, and why I'm very worried that this show is on Fox.

Also, thank goodness that the scheduling people didn't screw up and put it during BSG. I would have had to make a tough decision if that was the case (BSG starts at 10 pm).

Lack of Sleepies

I don't really understand my lack of affinity with going to sleep lately. I find myself surfing the internet, going back to pages that I just looked at 10 minutes ago (with nothing new on them), just too put off going to bed. Usually sleep is one of my most tried and true methods of procrastination. I routinely had to get up at 6 am during college because I had put off doing homework for my 8 am class by going to bed.

Perhaps the first step to recovery is admitting I have a problem, and this post will be the first step. And to continue on my path of recover, I'm going to go to bed now.

That is unless I put in disk three of season six of Buffy. If there's anything that's procrastination fodder, it's rewatching old television seasons (especially if there are vampires/magic/butt-kicking involved).

Tweet

So since it's the beginning of the semester, it means I have to find some new procrastination tools until classes start being interesting. This semester, I've decided to take up Twitter. We'll see how long it lasts.

Breaking the Curse

Since Netflix has all of Seasons 1 and 2 of 30 Rock available on streaming, I've decided to see if I can break the curse. If there is any show on television that could break the curse, I think it might be 30 Rock, both because of all the good talk it's gotten lately, and because it looks to have staying power. Plus, perhaps my curse only applies to hour long shows (although AD puts the lie to that, but perhaps that was a fluke). So, if you watch 30 Rock, be aware that it could start sucking in the next month or so, and if it does, I apologize.

More classes

So the first week is over, and I can continue with my initial musings on my classes. Wednesday night I have Advanced Macro Theory. I used to think that I preferred macro to micro, but in recent years I've come to question that. Now I think I prefer both equally.

Anyways, macro is taught by a guy from Turkey who likes soccer. Yay! The class shouldn't be too bad, although the classroom itself is horrible. It's twice as large as it needs to be for the class size, which means that his voice echos horribly bad. This makes the slight accent a bit harder to understand, but it shouldn't be too bad.

The problem with both theories is that it seems like a lot of time is going to be spent on not a lot of topics. I don't know if this is because they're planning on going incredibly slow, or if the material is really that hard or complex. I guess only time will tell.

Thursday is American Economic History. The only bad thing about this class is also the room its in. Although it doesn't echo, the rows of desks are all connected, which means that if somebody on the other end of the row leans back, the entire row shifts. Super annoying. Plus, the desks are from that 1980's (okay, I'm possibly exaggerating). In general, I don't like desks, and wish that all classrooms had tables.

But the class is going to be awesome (I hope!). I thought it would only be recent history, but am plesantly surprised by the syllabus. We're covering a lot of topics, and there's going to be a lot of work involved, but I think the class will be great. Unfortunately, it's a bit on the applied side, but I guess that's what has to happen if you want to get most economic students interested in history.

All in all, I think it's going to be a good semester for classes.

Initial Thoughs on Advanced Microecnomic Analysis

After running back and forth between two different buildings multiple times, my prof finally figured out where he wants to hold class. And apparently he uses transparencies, meaning that I'm required to buy a book full of the ones he's going to use. This also means that my chosen seat (back left side) is in just the wrong position to be able to see what's being written. Lame!

It seems like we're going to get through the review section really quickly, although the review is really review. I'm going to guess that the topics will be review in general, while the math won't be. So that will be both good and bad.

More initial thoughts on my later classes as they happen, although I already know that if Thursday is held in the classroom that it's supposed to be, it's going to suck. I got much too spoiled in undergrad with really nice classrooms.

Beginning Again

Time to start a new semester! I must say, the beginning of the semester brings both pain and pleasure to me. I hate the first week of classes, mostly because they're completely worthless. But I love the fact that I have a whole semester of new knowledge (hopefully) to look forward to (of course this is usually lost on me by the 11th week).

Also, I'm amazingly looking forward to all my classes this semester. That was sort of true last semester, and I was disappointed with two of them, but I'm hoping that won't happen this time. Two advanced theory classes and a history class will be just what the doctor ordered for this semester, I think. Enough reading and writing in the one class coupled with enough math in the others should be just the thing. I've decided not to continue my Arabic class, but that's only because the class itself was worthless. I did buy the answers to my textbook from Amazon, so hopefully I'll continue with the language outside of the class (I also have Rosetta Stone).

More to look forward this semester:

• Only night classes, which opens up my days for working (money!) and snowboarding (spending money!).
• Running along the river in spring
• Kayaking along the river in late spring
• Soccer

So I'm excited.

Loving it

Christmas vacation is always rough on me, mostly because it means that pretty much the whole family is all home, occupying the same space for far too large a percentage of waking hours. This translates to me needing to be gone as much as possible during said Christmas vacation (I'm talking about the traditional two weeks off). However, I love my January vacation.

I get to sit home alone, getting stuff done as I choose. It also means that I can have either the television to myself (watching old movies that nobody else in the house really appreciates) or the stereo all to myself (listening to really loud, eclectic music that nobody else in the house really appreciates). I don't have to hide in my room due to the loudness that is my family when I'm trying to watch or do something.

In other words, I love the month of January.

I can't help it

I'm going to kill another show. I just can't help it. Maybe this one will break my curse, but since its already in its fourth season, and most shows don't last much longer than 5, probably not. But a girl can hope, can't she?

And no, I'm not sharing what show it is, but I don't think anybody I know watches it, so there's no need to worry.

New Year

I don't really do resolutions, mostly because New Years always seems to sneak up on me, and because I think they're pretty silly. So my non-resolution this year is to catch up with all the friends that I haven't talked to in a while. A lot of these I saw in October, but that was such a whirlwind weekend that while I saw people, there wasn't a whole lot of catching up.

So hopefully I'll use my free month to both visit and email people who I don't hear from very often. And hopefully in there I'll also find time to watch some movies, which have been piling up over the last couple of months (first on the list is a little bit of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton).

Short Update

For those of you who might be wondering why I'm not around for the next week or so, it's because I'm up enjoying the snow of Mammoth.  Obviously there is some internet, but I don't anticipate using it a lot.

That's the spirit!

So yesterday my dad and I decided that it would be fun to go shopping. It was about 11 am on a Monday (which I'd like to point out is a working day). We safely got in and out of Costco, with only one forgotten thing, but got completely derailed on the way to Best Buy. We were going to go look at car speakers and external hard drives, not to mention wine racks (although not at Best Buy), but when the traffic was backed up behind the stoplight before Rosedale, we used the Lowe's parking lot to turn around.

Don't people have to work? Or if they're unemployed, don't they have to save money? I mean, they can't all be teachers.

Plus, all the idiots were out yesterday! We decided to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond instead of Best Buy. Of course, neither of us realized that it is next In and Out, and that they put crack in their french fries (why else would it be so popular?). The fact that people will sit in line for all of their entire lunch hour just for stupid hamburgers.

In much more fun news, I've decided that watching Gilmore Girls is a very bad influence on me.

DONE

So I had three boring finals and one interesting one. Of course, by interesting I mean impossible during the time limit. But it was still really fun. I'm a bit disappointed that I won't get it back in order to play with actually finishing the problems, but maybe he'll hold onto them until next semester.

I'm definitely ready for a break and am looking forward to six weeks of relaxing, traveling, snowboarding, soccering, and general wandering around the house.

Let it Snow!

I'm all for the cold. I made sure there would be plenty of it where I went to college. But right now the heater is broken in the house, which means that the upstairs is very cold. During the day it's fine because the whole family crowds around the fireplace, but night is pretty cold.

Lately I've felt like it was spring in Spokane, because it's been really clear and sunny, but amazingly cold. I'm thinking the Garces Tournament this weekend will necessitate pants, gloves, and a beanie (good thing I'm at a secondary sight, and nobody will care).

It does, however, mean that there should be plenty of snow at Mammoth that won't be melting!

Embracing my inner-nerd

Okay, we all know I don't have trouble doing that, but I thought I'd share. For the past year and a half, I've been getting more and more into comics. Mostly this means graphic novels, but half the time, I'm reading compilations of weekly or monthly comics in graphic novel form. It's hard to pick an overall favorite of the ones I've read, but I can definitely pick a favorite in terms of art.

Back in the day, the art of comics was pretty run-of-the-mill. I believe they were usually printed in Sunday morning papers, along with whatever comic books came out. But these days, the art in them can be amazing - especially if it is originally published as a novel (and I mean graphic novel). Kingdom Come is such an example of amazing art (it's got a pretty good story, too). I can't imagine how much time the artist had to put into it.

Currently, this is adorning my laptop, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.



Obviously, that's Superman in the middle, and his reflection is Captain Marvel. They're both surrounded by a pantheon of superheroes (you can see Diana (Wonder Woman), Green Lantern, and the Flash directly behind him).

My only complaint against comics is that there's just so many of them! There's no way I can keep up with all the characters that I love.

"Back when I was your age..."

Last night I was helping my cousins write a paper for her English class. I should have been working on my own paper (like I should be now), but it sounded like so much more fun to edit hers. Anyways, it is on Greek culture in the ancient times (something I'm only slightly familiar with). I should point out that my cousins is a freshman in high school, and is in what they call Honors (the equivalent of our GATE program for freshmen).

Apparently, writing an essay is no longer creative in any way. They have a strict format they have to follow, called the Jane Schaffer Method. This format requires an opening paragraph of 3 - 5 sentences, and each body paragraph to have 11 sentences in the order of "Openings, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, conclusion. Then you merely repeat that for however many body paragraphs you need, and end with a conclusion that is basically the same as your intro. Further, my cousin is forbidden to use words like "would" and "could" (understandable) and "show" or "shown" (ridiculous).

Perhaps the worst thing about this method is that it encourages run-on sentences. For example, you can't introduce a quote in one sentence, follow with the quote in another sentence, and explain it in a third - because that doesn't follow the "fact, commentary, commentary" format. So you have to both introduce and include your quote in one sentence. Not only does it encourage run-ons, but it also encourages mindless repeating of yourself, merely to meet a sentence quota. Absurd!

But don't take my word for it. I googled "Jane Shaffer" and this highly entertaining blog post came up.

I should point out that it's possible that this whole thing isn't my cousin's teacher's fault. The school district apparently requires this method of writing. Please! Let's stop giving teachers a bad rep by tying their hands at teaching children creativity and how to find their own voice!

Miscalculation

I misjudged how long it would take me to finish my philosophy final this morning. It was supposed to start at 8:00 AM, and I knew that I wouldn't need the full two hours to finish the test. We were told there would be between 60 and 80 questions, all multiple choice, and many would be similar to ones we saw on our quizes. So I figured that I'd give myself an hour, and it would probably take me half an hour.

Nope. 15 minutes is all it took. So now I have an entire extra hour to kill on campus that I tried to not have. This is because I don't have my second final until 5:30. I have a paper and powerpoint presentation to finish for it, and I know if I go home I won't get it done, but I really don't want to be here all day.

At least I got to the library early enough that I have a nice spot staked out (with an outlet claimed). Of course, I'll probably have to vacate at some point to scavenge for food, but hopefully the extension cord I brought will help me find an outlet later.

Some people!

Sometimes it amazes me how stupid people are. Well, maybe that's being harsh, even for me. Perhaps it would be better to say "uneducated" instead of stupid. Or perhaps "unwilling to become educated."

Take today, for example. As I was sitting in line to buy this week's parking pass, a person in front of me had to be told how to fill out a check. He didn't know that on one line you write the words of the dollar amount, and in the box you write the numbers of the dollar amount. I wonder if he knew where to sign. Now if I'm honest, this isn't really a case of being stupid. But by the time somebody is in college, they should have taken it upon themselves to learn how to write a check, especially if, say, they have a checkbook. But in the land of debit cards and online shopping, I guess that isn't necessary anymore.

Second case. In my philosophy class, we occasionally have to participate in an online discussion board though Blackboard (I think we've done this three times). On of the previous discussions that we had was on whether or not there all theories of social and political arrangement involve some assumption of the moral equality of all people. This would be because every theory (except ones that any rational person would automatically discount) involve some sort of equality, or some thing that ought to be distributed equally (for Nozick, this is libertarian property rights, for Rawls this is equal liberty and initial distribution of primary goods).

Anyways, we have this online discussion, and I'd say about 90% of my classmates object to moral equality because "people don't have the same views on morality." Perhaps it isn't clear because I haven't quoted the entire introduction to the discussion, but this is obviously not what "moral equality" means in this case, which is even more obvious if you read our required reading for the discussion (of course I realized hardly anybody actually read it).

So about two or three people make a post about relativist morality, when I make my post. I nicely (at least in my opinion) that almost everybody missed the point, and proceed to explain what the conversation should actually be about, pointing out that I think the moral equality of human beings is based on a shared rationality (although sometimes I have to be in doubt of this). But it doesn't matter! First of all, somebody disagrees with me (silly person!), and everybody still continues to discuss whether or not all people hold the same morals (the answer is a resounding 'no').

But then, in class, our professor points out that "almost everybody missed the point," and refers to my post about the true topic we were supposed to be discussing. But it doesn't matter again! People are still posting (required participation that they didn't realize before, so they're trying to make up some points) and still talking about the lack of universal morals. I just don't get it. Can somebody please explain to me how people can be so stupid, for lack of a better word?

I'm trying not to be harsh, but it's rather difficult when the correct topic has been pointed out not once, but twice, and is still posted for them to read. And I don't want to hear that it's because they're undergrads, or young, because I'm really not that different a student from when I was younger and an undergrad, and I would have gotten the point then. Plus, most of these people are still older than me!

I love this book

In my political philosophy class, our textbook is titled Political Philosophy: A Beginners' Guide for Students and Politicians. It's really quite good - straightforward, well written and organized, and includes most relevant topics. It's also, on occasion, very funny. The author is British, which means nothing, except that some spellings are the British way, there's lots of references to British government (although not exclusive), and his British humor comes out frequently.

The latest awesome quote is this:

"Since most of us believe that democracy, at least in some form, could be legitimate, this point may seem academic. (That's 'academic' in the pejorative sense that condemns my profession to the elucidation of irrelevant niceties)."

And if you don't find that as funny as I do, you're lame.

Crap....

So my headaches usually come in pairs, spaced a few days apart. Which means the one I have right now is going to bring its friend over to play, probably on Thursday night, just to spite me (just like the last time I had a Arabic test followed closely by a huge math test followed by a 4 hour drive to Bakersfield).

Uncool, self. Uncool.

First a president, now a web browser!

I can't believe this. Apparently there is a new web browser specifically tailored for the African American community. It looks exactly like Firefox, but has a black color scheme. Also, it apparently comes preloaded with a bunch of bookmarks that might be of interest to the black community. Because apparently they are unable to go and find their own bookmarks like the rest of the internet community.

Seriously, though? I guess I'm too stuck in my non-minority role in America to see how this is necessary, or even a good thing. We're never going to get beyond race until we stop making it a distinction (which I've said before, and I imagine I'll be saying again). But maybe I'm naive, and that'll never happen. So perhaps it's a good thing that every ethnic group might someday have specific web browsers. Because, you know, they wouldn't take us to the same exact place.

Kiss a wookie, kick a driod

This is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Guy didn't write the song, but it's still impressive. And mad props go to the group that wrote the song (if you're really interested, you can follow the link from the video details).

Victory Dance

Woohoo! I managed to rise to the challenge of writing 50k words worth of a novel in less than a single month! Go me. It doesn't matter that I'm probably less than halfway through all the plot that my story will eventually have, because there's nothing in the rulebook of Nano that says my story has to be finished in 50k. In fact, 50,000 words was almost the exact amount to get me through the portion of my novel that I had planned out before November, which I find somewhat oddly coincedental.

You may be wondering what I get for all my hard work. Well check it out.



Yes, it's entirely true that I could have made something like that in Photoshop for a whole lot less work than Nano took, but that's not the point!

I'm currently sitting at 50,025 words with essentially two days to go. However, I think that I will be enjoying the 360 and doing some math homework during those two days, so my word count will not substantially increase. Once it's officially over I'll post my writing graph (and Rachel's with her permission) so you can see exactly how much work it daily took to reach the lofty goal of 50,000 words.

So who's going to join us next year? It really wasn't so bad.

Word of the Semester

This production of "Fall Semester" has been brought to you by the word 'Ridiculous.'

I find myself using this word over and over again, and I really don't like the fact that my vocabulary seems to have become so restricted, but on closer examination, I really don't know if there is another word that I could be using.

Perhaps absurd, but those are so similar that they should be the same word.

Let's look at three places in my life where this semester has been particularly ridiculous.

Soccer - Soccer itself hasn't been particularly ridiculous; in fact it was a really good season where everybody involved had a good time, I think. But reffing up here has been absolutely and totally ridiculous. It ended up that every week I would end up calling my brother to give him that week's "Stories from the Soccer Field" where I would get to tell all of the horrible things that the ref did in my games.

Some examples:

1. Not tucking in shirts. Now, if you're not a ref, you don't understand why this is a big deal, but I forgive you. It's actually put in the rule book that the ref's shirt should be tucked in. And it's not difficult to do. Basically, it's along the lines of dressing appropriately for work. Most people aren't allowed to wear cut-off jeans and a wife beater to work, just as refs are expected to look professional.

2. Being near completely deaf. Seriously. This guy could not hear a word I said. He had to have special flags so that the assistants could get his attention from the sideline, but of course the batteries were dead. There goes that idea.

3. Starting the game 20 minutes early for absolutely no reason. IN soccer, if you're going to change anything having to do with game time (length of halves, starting time, halftime break) you have to get the agreement of both coaches. When my team shows up 45 minutes before a game, and 20 minutes of that is taken by the ref starting early (and refusing to answer my questions why) I'm just a little angry.

Arabic - Now, don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying learning the Arabic language. It's challenging, completely different from anything I've studied before, and just plain fun to write in a strange script. But that's all true of specifically learning the language; the class is just plain ridiculous. In the beginning of the year, she almost completely ignored all of the 'non-heritage speakers.' She would frequently expect us to know words that we've never been exposed to, I think because she just assumed that we all already knew how to speak the language.

This, of course, has translated into testing us on material there's no way we could have learned. In recent weeks this has changed slightly (probably due to complaints), but she still gives absolutely no structure to the class, frequently not following the given syllabus, and deciding to give us huge projects on Tuesday that are then due on Thursday.

Most frequently, she's making us go to class to watch a movie, when she won't be there. But for some reason, renting it, watching it at home, and turning in the movie evaluation isn't good enough.

Cost Benefit Analysis - I was actually looking forward to this class at the beginning of the semester. It's interesting stuff, looking at the costs and benefits of different public policies and seeing if they're worthwhile. In particular, I'm interested in seeing how they do this for environmental issues. Well I got my wish, and then some.

The class has covered very little actual CBA material. We're using an undergrad book, which goes in depth over things consumer surplus and deriving demand curves. The first any Intro to Micro or Macro student would understand, and the second any student who has any math knowledge at all will know (there was a little statistics, but it was pretty easy).

In addition the wasted class time, we've been assigned a project with absolutely no structure, as well as very little research available. On top of that, the project doesn't actually involve doing any CBA, but merely looking at other people's and critiquing it.

I have got to learn a lot about issues in environmental economics, but I'm pretty sure I signed up for CBA, not Intro to Environmental Economics.

Nano 08, Day 25

Yesterday I pounded out 5,000 words. That's 1/10 of my goal for the month. The day before that, I managed 4k, which is also impressive. Now I'm still behind, but only by 6k, which I've just showed I can almost hit in one day if I really put my mind to it. Hopefully by the end of the day, I'll be less than 4k behind, and ready to catch to be caught up by Thanksgiving Day.

The showdown between Rachel and myself has heated up. We are closely guarding out daily word counts, hoping that the other suffers a power outage or is attacked by rabid monkey demons who steal her laptop so she is forced to chase after them for two hours, losing 2k potential words. She's playing catch up, but is doing a very good job at it, and the reward of most days writing the most words is still up in the air.

16,000 words to go, 6 days to write. I can totally do this.

Painful experiences

I've had a heat pack on my neck/shoulder off and on all day today (well in the afternoon after I went to the store to buy a heat pack). I needed to do this because apparently I got hit a lot yesterday at my game, and woke up with a bad headache and horrible pain in my neck. Looking back, I can count four times that somebody decided it would be fun to try and just stand still where I was running through, causing the other person every time and me a few times to end up on the ground. Of course, there was also an incident that I did to myself which involved slipping on the wet grass and managing to end up on the ground.

Hopefully by tomorrow I won't feel like I gave myself partial whiplash.

Also, I'm hoping that tomorrow I can finally motivate myself to write this paper I've been putting off. I don't know when I've ever had this much trouble getting started on a paper (perhaps one of the insanely stupid assignments from Janota?). In trying to figure out why I'm having this trouble (to hopefully fix the problem), I've hit on a couple interesting facts.

I generally have no trouble making myself write a paper in which I get to pick a side and argue. I also don't have trouble taking a difficult to understand topic and making it understandable. This pretty much covers all possible philosophy topics. I don't mind doing research to describe something. For example, piecing together bits of information to put together a coherent picture of an economy or some such. While this can be a little boring, I don't have trouble getting myself to do it.

Now, you'd think that would describe most economic papers, but this sadly isn't the case. Currently, the paper that I just don't want to do involves, well, nothing. Or at least that's how it seems. I'm supposed to compare and contrast non-existent Cost Benefit Analysis projects of California's Solar Initiative. Granted, a lot of this has to do with the fact that my group decided a smaller project would be better (I still don't know why they thought that was a good thing), so instead of looking at 1.1 billion dollars worth of a policy, we're only looking at 100 million.

Which means that nobody cares about it, because it's so small. Which means there's no research done on it, particularly because it's geared at low-income housing, which by law has to receive 10% of funding. So nobody has bothered to do a Cost Benefit Analysis of this for us to look at, because it really doesn't matter.

So really, this assignment is completely pointless, unless I want to teach myself how to BS, which is something I already know how to do, and don't really like doing (contrary to popular opinion I would much rather write a paper with an actual point).

At least I've learned that I'd better pick a worthwhile thesis topic if I want to be able to make myself write it.

Just can't escape it

I come home for half a week and they put me to work! It's HS volleyball playoff season, which means that they need four refs for each game, instead of the usual two. My brother told the assignor that I was going to be in town, and apparently he immediately asked if I would be willing to do some lines. Who am I to turn down $25 for doing nothing, so of course I agreed.

But it turns out that not everybody is happy with the fact that I did a line, because I'm not a member of the 'association' (this year, at least). Of course, the person who is upset is a complete jerk (and that's putting it mildly), so I'm kind of happy to be upsetting him.

Also, this week I've finally gotten to take a better look at Fable II, which is a bit too much like Fable for my tastes. I feel like they should have been able to make it much more complex, but it appears that all they've done is make it bigger. Oh well, should still be a fun play.

One sick puppy

Max was sick earlier this week - and I guess it was pretty bad. His red blood cell count was way too low, and basically if it didn't go up, he would have died. But somehow he got miraculously healed. Seriously, the vet had no explanation, and even asked my dad if he was religious, because he had no idea how it happened.

I was really worried because I usually play with Max and take him for a walk or two when I'm home, but thanks to wedding festivities, I didn't get to see him much when I was last home. I'm definitely going to make up for that this week, though. Even thought he got better, it reminded me that he's getting up there, and won't be around forever.

Please explain

Can somebody please explain to me how it's okay to vote for Obama because he's black, but it's not okay to not vote for him because he's black?

Happiness is....

As I was running today, my mind wandered to questions of basic distribution and enjoyment of goods.

My question is this: should we measure distribution in terms of the levels of happiness certain groupings of goods give, or should we just measure the distribution of "primary goods"? Of course we have to have some basic unit that we can compare across different distributions, otherwise we would be comparing apples to oranges, but I'm not sure which is superior.

Rawls argues that it should be primary goods, whereas Utilitarians think it should be the level of happiness, and I automatically want to think that Utilitarians are wrong. Luckily, in this case they seem to be, if only because measuring levels of happiness necessitates basing the distribution of society on the subjective happiness that people receive.

But what if a person is impossible to please? This would mean that, if we're trying to make utility equal for every person (not something a Utilitarian would want to do) this person will have to get a larger share of goods than a person who is very easy to please. Conversly, if we are trying to maximize society's total utility, the impossible to please person will receive less goods than the other.

Both situations seem unfairr, although for different reasons. Rawls tries to get around this by dealing only with primary goods, but it's unclear that this method is better. First, there are goodds which are excluded from being primary goods - but why shouldn't these be included in an examination of a society's distribution? Also, what if a person simply needs more primary goods than another to survive? A sickly person will need more medical attention than someone who is healthy, but it isn't entirely clear that they would get that under Rawl's system.

And if you made it to the end of this post, you can now see that I've been rambling without any real point. Except to say this:

We should play hide-and-seek (in the dark) on Monday night, since a lot of people don't have work on Tuesday (and yes, I'll be in Bakersfield!).

I'm never going to grow up

Every time I see a nightvision anything I have to almost physically stop myself from buying it. But as soon as I find a legitimate excuse to have one, I'm going to buy one. The same thing is true of a set of walkie-talkies (the good kind, not the $15 kind). So really, I need to start playing competitive hide-and-seek in the dark, or something like that.

Anybody know of a league?

10k

So I broke the 10k mark today during one of my classes (don't judge me!). I think that means I deserve a little break, which is good since I have a paper due on Tuesday, and have no idea what I'm supposed to write about. Yay for poor professors who both don't teach you the material and don't give you clear instructions!

Change?

It's going to be an interesting two and a half months, and an even more interesting four or eight years.

Election Day

You know, I'm a little bit scared about what is going to happen after tomorrow. It seems to me that there are a lot more polar issues this election day than there have been in the past. Perhaps this is because primary campaigning started so early, so people have been talking about it longer than I'm used to, but it seems like there are so many issues going on tomorrow than is normal. And this isn't just in the presidential election, but there are a couple of California props that have very strong supporters for both sides.

Regardless of how things turn out tomorrow, I think a lot of Americans are going to be very upset. I mean, how does it make you feel to not have the candidate you voted for win, especially if you're completely convinced that they are the only hope for America? This is the first election that I've really paid attention (how could I help but do so), and it really makes me think about democracy.

How does it feel to be a part of the minority when it comes to voting? I guess I know from the primaries, and I have to admit that I'm still not totally convinced that my choice shouldn't have won - but I guess that makes sense, because why else would I have voted the way I did?

All this to say that I'm actually really worried to see how people take both winning and losing tomorrow on all the controversial issues. There are going to be winners and losers, and I really don't think that tomorrow will end the discussion from both sides about what is right and wrong. If anything, it could polarize people even more, and polarization is the thing I despise most about politics.

Stupid class

I really wish I didn't have class tomorrow.

http://www.bingowecanbelievein.com/

(Mad props to Rachel for sending me this link).

Peer Pressure

I'm not really sure how it happened, but Rachel has convinced me to sign up for Nano this year. We'll see how long it takes for me to have ADD, but I am watching The Princess Bride tonight for inspiration of crazy shenanigans in a fantasy setting.

Recession?

So preliminary reports of GDP are saying that in the third quarter, real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 0.3%. It should be noted that this isn't official yet - that should be released around November 25. But this leads to the question, "Are we in a recession?"

The problem with answering this question is there is no cut and dry definition of a recession. Obviously it's a shrinking of real GDP (as opposed to a slow down - there has to be negative growth), but the question is how long (how many consecutive quarters) does there have to be this negative growth. A rule of thumb is two - which means that we're not in a recession. There was positive growth (around 2%, I think) in the second quarter, thanks to all those tax rebates.

But when it comes down to it, nothing is expected to change for the fourth quarter, which would mean two consecutive quarters of negative growth, which would mean, according to the rule of thumb, we're in a recession.

But does this really surprise anybody?

Family Ties

What is with the stupid little stick family stickers that I see all over the SUVs of Bakersfield? Now, these have been around for a long while, but I never noticed that I only see them in Bakersfield. I never see them in Sacramento or the surrounding area. You may say this is a result of spending most of my time around a college campus where there aren't a lot of family owned vehicles, but I also spend a lot of my time around soccer fields, where there are a lot of families. Did some car dealership decide that every family that buys a new SUV needs to have a sticker of them on their back window?

Musings while driving

As I was driving down I-5 and saw all sorts of SUVs cruising down the 5 with only one person inside at 80 MPH +, it occurred to me that there should be a tax that these people have to pay for unnecessarily increasing the demand for gas. I think a lot of people would claim that the market breeds efficiency, but that just isn't true. What it does breed is people who can afford to do so wasting resources, and making them more expensive for those who can't. So in addition to paying for the resource they are wasting, they should also have to pay for the increase in price due to the shock that their tastes and preferences causes to demand.

Of course I realize that this can't happen, but I can dream, can't I?

Note to self:

Don't ask questions when you don't want to know the answer.

Being right

So this weekend my team is playing in a tournament, and I won't be there. Part of me is very worried that things are going to go horribly wrong, while another part of me is kind of hoping that might happen so that my superiority might be proved. The main problem is that the other coach and I have distinctly differing coaching methods, and I happen to think that mine is better - I'm sure he thinks the same way. It would just be nice if I was proved to be right.

Also, apparently I use way too many economic terms in my political philosophy class. Now, this was never a problem when I was a undergrad, and I think it mostly has to due with the subject in this class - in particular, social justice that we've been looking at recently. This has hugely economic implications, and I find it difficult to not discuss without mentioning things like 'factors of production,' 'marginal productivity,' and 'utility of income.'

Today in class I pointed out that if one does not accept redistribution, than that implies one thinks the current distribution is just, and you can't do that without looking at the factors of production and determining if the current scheme - something like marginal productivity, but I would argue not exactly - is just. There are surely people that would say no (Marx comes immediately to mind).

See, see! I was right; they do exist together!

Newness!

A friend of mine sent me an old router, and I now have very decent internet access in my room. I'm also able to (finally) play Guild Wars up here, and we'll see about WCIII (which has previously been disconnecting me after a short amount of time.

Of course, this has happened right during midterms, which isn't the best timing for my grades, but I really don't care. I'm just so happy that I no longer have to brave silly teenage boys watching stupid YouTube clips if I need the internet any time after about 1:00 pm. Plus, I am no in charge of the home network, and no more shall the phrase "No, I don't know what the router's password is," be uttered in this house (at least while I'm here).

At least they're consistent

In a completely expected, yet oh so painful move, Fox has canceled The Riches, which will not be coming back for a third season. Please, Fox, do something unexpected - keep a good, quirky show around for more than 2 seasons. It must be admitted that the show was lacking in its second season, but I have to believe a lot of that came from the strike, and how can you cancel of prolong any show based on last season?

I love this commercial

If you haven't seen this yet, I don't know where you've been hiding. It makes me happy every time I watch it. If you've already seen it, you should probably watch it again, just because.

Discovery Channel

Boom-de-yada!

I also love this comic.

Exercising what I can

Apparently I need to google all words in potential titles of my blogs to make sure that I don't get people excited for steamy details about my life. I apologize. But really, you should know better.

I think my two weeks of no sleep officially begins tomorrow, although I should be getting enough sleep this weekend. In the span of two weeks, I have two midterms, a paper due, 1/4 of my semester's math homework, and two weekends of traveling. Yay me. It should, however, all be worth it.

As long as I survive.

I'm getting to experience the fun that the hive mind of female teenagers brings. I don't really remember being as bad as the girls I have to deal with, but that's possibly because I never found that much in common with my soccer teammates (other than the fact that we all played soccer) and so never got into the giggling/squealing fits that they seem to love. I've had parents tell me on numerous occasions that I will make a good mom because I understand very well how to handle teenagers, and that coaching this team is just a good exercise in patience. Yay, just what I need - exercise.

No more swinging

I feel like I'm back in the swing of my traditional fall, and I wish the oscillation would stop. Traditionally, fall has always been the busiest season for me, mostly because it was the season of soccer. When you're weekends get eaten up by something, you feel as if the weeks go a lot faster.

This is true again, but now my classes are getting into the swing of things, and midterms are just around the corner. Once again I have a group project where my group members refuse to communicate, or respond to communication, regularly. How fondly I look back upon those high school projects now.

I hate to say it

I hate to say it, but well, yeah. I just hate to say it.

The title to this comic read, "Except for anything by Lewis Carroll and Tolkien, you get five made-up words per story. I'm looking at you, Anathem." (I wikied it, and Anathem is a book by Neil Stephenson, which I now need to read). I'd also like to point out that this function is true of another series, which I think would be much improved if the author wasn't infatuated with his own ability to make up words and use language.

So close, yet so far away

I'm on the second-to-last level of The Force Unleashed, and the game keeps freezing. I really can't figure it out. My cousin has gotten past this part (under another username), and there's nothing on the disk. It's really frustrating, especially since I know I'm so close to the end, which I'm hoping contains a little scene with a Star Destroyer. I'm thinking about calling Microsoft customer service and complaining until they send me a new disk, which really won't solve the problem, since I'd have to wait for that.

Oh well, back to Mass Effect for a while, I guess.

Not so stupid human tricks

Today on my way back from campus, there was a guy riding a mountain bike on the trail. Of course, this is much more impressive when I add the fact that he was juggling at the same time. And this guy was cruising, not just going slowly.

I have to wonder what brought on the desire to learn how to do that, and if this guy is also a clown entertaining at birthday parties. I was sure entertained by that trick.

The story of my (TV) life

I think this comic from Ctrl-Alt-Del pretty much sums it up.

Shopping Lists

The other day I was at Costco (buying The Force Unleashed!), and the guy in line in front of me was buying an interesting assortment of items. They were: green beans, flax cereal, organic carrot juice (from Bolthouse!), a 36 can case of Coors, and a large bottle of Vodka. I want to go to that party.

Of course, my shopping list was just as interesting. All I bought was the game. (Although I thought about adding a couple seasons of Smallville).

True procrastination is an art

And it takes a lot of effort to be good at. My latest version of procrastination takes the form of playing in Photoshop. I'm not very picky, so I'll play with both photographs and images, depending on my mood and resources at hand. Tonight's project was something I've been thinking about lately, but unfortunately not everybody is going to understand. That's okay, because I think it's funny, and that's all that matters.

Note: These images are not meant to be derogatory towards a particular candidate, nor to show my support for one of the other. It just happens that one has a slogan I can make fun of.

Problems of Economy

There's one pretty glaring problem I have with studying economics, and it's really only glaring because I've also studied philosophy. This is a problem of ethics. You see, almost everything in economics that evaluates policy (which is actually quite a bit of it) has to operate within a Utilitarian framework. And I, personally, follow a much more Deontological and Virtue based ethical framework.

This is really coming out in one of my current classes, Cost Benefit Analysis. As you'd guess, in this class we look at the different costs and benefits of different policies and compare this to either other policies or the status quo (it's actually more complicated than it sounds). Obviously, the best option is to choose the policy that has the highest net benefits; if a policy has net costs the status quo is preferred.

During class and while reading, everything within me wants to scream that some things are worth doing - I'd even go so far as to say morally correct - no matter what the cost, and in spite of whatever benefits there are. Of course, this can't really be said in economics, because it's all about costs and benefits, and it's all about Utilitarianism.

At least economics doesn't go quite as far as Utilitarianism and say that the policy which has highest net benefits is the morally right one to choose, and should be implemented, but it gets pretty close when coupled with politics. And of course there are branches of economics that deal with other ethical frameworks, but still, it's definitely a Utilitarian world, and I'm definitely wearing spots in a world of mostly stripes.

It starts.

The first day of class is such a waste. I really don't understand what professors are thinking. Do they think that we're incapable of reading a syllabus on our own? We're only in college, after all. Of course, I've only had one class, so there's still hope that the day won't be a total waste, but I really don't have any hope for it until my class in the evening, which is three hours long. We can't spend that whole time playing 'get to know everybody' and reading over the course description and expectations. I hope.

I used to like my class schedule, but now that I'm looking at wasting 6 hours here on campus with nothing to do, I'm not so sure about it. Perhaps I'll have to ride my bike to my first class, and return after my second one, so I only have to waste a little over three hours here. That might be doable, but I question whether it's a good choice once it starts raining.

Political philosophy should be fun, even if we won't be reading the historical philosophers that I know and love. I guess contemporary philosophy can't be too bad, right? I'll just have to stop myself from talking about Aristotle and Plato too much in class.

This past weekend I started a project that I'll probably be working on for years, but it should be fun. I've begun to scan all the random pictures that are all around the house. My mom doesn't scrapbook like some people out there, so we have a ton of pictures that just piled in boxes. I'm going to tackle those first, and then move on to the ones in albums, but those are mostly much older. Of course, the first step was to start scanning the pictures that I have from high school, college, and beyond, which I can now play with in Photoshop. Here's one of my favorites.

Putting the Miss in misconception

Sometimes I really hate stereotypes. Just because I have two X chromosomes doesn't mean that I'm incapable of changing a tire. As a matter of fact, there are two people in my house who can change a tire, and I'm one of them. I asked my brother why he hadn't changed his tire yet (he had to drive my mom's old car, which we both despise), and his response was that he hadn't had time. And that Dad hadn't had a chance to help him with it yet. Of course, as I'm changing it this morning a neighbor from across the street wandered over to see if I needed help. Of course by that point I had already gotten all the lugnuts loose (usually the hardest part) and the car jacked up, but I suppose it was still thoughtful.

I've finally got my laptop up and running, with about half of the programs installed that I need. It's very fun two be on both of my computers at the same time. I even broke it in by playing some WCIII over battlenet with a couple friends.

Now I just need to get all my files over so that I can keep updating my spreadsheets!

Olympics

I haven't blogged anything about the Olympics because I figured that the news does enough of that, but it's time to break the silence. The other day I was watching the men's race walk, which is quite possibly the most entertaining event in the Olympics to watch. It's not very exciting (after all, they're just walking), but the motion that they have to use to get maximum speed out of walking is absolutely hilarious. I couldn't find any pictures that would do it justice, but trust me (and check out a video if you feel like it).

In much more important events, the US won the gold in women's soccer, and lost the gold in women's softball. Surprisingly, these are both good things. Gold in soccer for the obvious reason that I'm always excited when the US women win, and they managed to defeat Brazil, without the help of their star forward and goal scorer. It was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation, and the US put one in during the first 10 or so minutes of overtime, but then had to hold on for the full 30 minutes against arguably the best forward line in soccer (Brazil's Marta is absolutely amazing to watch). We're going to have a practice for my U14 team where we just watch the game and I explain what's going on.

The US losing the softball gold is a good thing because it might mean that softball gets put back as an Olympic sport. This was the first lost I think since it became an Olympic sport (1996), and since then the US has only allowed something like 6 runs. So the Committee took it off because they said the US dominated too much. So hopefully they'll no rethink that, and it'll be back in for the 2016 Olympics.

I should probably say something about the 8 golds that Phelps has won, but really, I just don't care.

Emails!

Yes, I'm still quoting Dr. Horrible, in case you were wondering. The quotes aren't always perfect, but I'm doing the best I can.

I bought a new computer today, a laptop to be exact. I figured it was time to return my dad's to him, and since there are a ton of back to school deals going on right now, there wouldn't be a better time to get one. It's nothing special, just a solid laptop to do work and a bit of gaming on. Of course, I won't even be using it until I can get it back to Bakersfield where all my program disks are, which won't be for another two weeks. But I can still stare at the pretty new toy that I have, which is perfectly fine with me.

It's not about making money, it's about taking money

So here's another one of those wonderful gems that would not be possible if it weren't for the invention of the internet. The Guild is a webseries about a group of MMO players who all belong to the same in-game guild. You'll really only be able to appreciate this if you've ever played a MMO (Guild Wars or WoW), mostly because some of the lingo is hard to catch, but it's absolutely hilarious if you can understand what's going on.

I love people that only want to make shows, and aren't in it for the money. I really hope this is the future of television, because I have to admit that I'm sick and tired of all the best shows out there getting canceled after a year because the US populace is too stupid to understand and appreciate them. Stupid Fox, stupid NBC.

And that's all I have to say for now.

Destroying the status quo, because the status is not quo

I finally got around to reading Watchmen today. I think I've had it for about a year, but just never really got around to sitting down with it. I have to admit that I like the current art of comic books/graphic novels better, but you just can't beat Alan Moore when it comes to story.

I had to rewatch the trailer for Watchmen, because I now know what I'm looking for, and I've got to say, I'm even more excited now. It's a tricky book to pull off, mostly because there's so much information given in the book, and a lot of it in flashbacks, but I'm hopeful that it'll go over well. At least the trailer looks amazing. Some parts are exactly how I imagined them, which is always nice.

And sometimes there's a third, even deeper layer,

and that one is the same as the top surface layer. Like with pie.

It's been a busy week, but luckily I get to sit through 20 hours of complete boredom this weekend (that was sarcasm, by the way). Yay for being made to sit through a 20 hour ref course when I've been doing this half of my life.

Wednesday my mom and I went down to LA to meet up with Rob for a pickup game of frisbee. Of course, I had decided to randomly give blood that morning, so I had to take it easy (sort of), but it was still awesome.

Thursday my mom and I headed to the beach, which was fun, if windy. I like the beach to be hot (almost too hot) so that the water is a welcome relief, and you can jump in and out and easily dry off in the sun. Unfortunately, while the sun was warm, there was a strong wind which kept the temperature a little too cool. But it was still fun.

Today my big accomplishment was that I finally got around to figuring out how to remove red eye in a picture with Photoshop. This is important for me because I think I have yet to see a picture of myself that used a flash where my eyes aren't red, and I'm talking bright red. So go me!

(By the way, I chose that quote because of the mention of layers, which you use in Photoshop).

You're driving a spork into your leg.

I was really hoping that for some reason the dress I ordered wouldn't make it on time - there would be some error with the computer, a wrong number typed in, or something. Unfortunately, no such luck. Lame.

What a crazy, random happenstance.

I thought of some brilliant things to post about in the past couple of days, but have since forgotten all of the good ideas. So instead you're going to be left with the boring going-ons of my life.

Yesterday I was at a BBQ where I behaved myself admirably, especially considering that there was some idiot there name dropping all sorts of economic terms (can you name drop a term?). I refrained from both defeating him with economics and philosophy, and was rather proud of myself.

This week I've attempted to catch up on all the recent movies that I haven't gotten around to seeing yet. I watched Shopgirl, Jumper, and The Bourne Ultimatum, and have the two most recent Bond films on the way. I know, most of these I should have already seen, but I'm just so busy with classic movies that I don't get around to seeing modern ones. I also watched a Myrna Loy/William Powell movie that I hadn't seen before, so I did get my classic fix for the week.

I've decided I'm going to start quoting Dr. Horrible for my blog titles for the immediate future. If you haven't watched it yet, you should.

Best reason ever

I saw a commercial with the single best reason I've heard to stop global warming.

If we don't, all the Reese's will melt.

Amazing

I really have no idea where this week has gone. It's amazing that I can waste as much time as I do during the day. Luckily I have running and soccer practice to occupy myself a little bit, and I think I shall take myself out to the movies tomorrow, since I don't know when else I'd see it.

I think I need a new hobby. Any suggestions?

Nothing to report

I have nothing to talk about other than the fact that I've been sitting around the house for the past two days watching movies. Unfortunately, my Netflixed ones haven't come yet, but thankfully there have been plenty on TCM and AMC to occupy me for today, even if I have seen some of them before.

Exhausted and Red

As in sunburned after a day of soccer in the sun. My little team had its first games today and while they weren't all wins, some good stuff did come out of the day. But after a day full of yelling until I was red in the face, I am tired. Luckily I have the house to myself this week, so I'll have ample opportunity to recover.

So now I'm relaxing in front of the television watching the beginning of last season of the 4400, lamenting the fact that I hate and despise television executives.

Can't stop reading

I really can't. It's a general assumption I make that humanity is stupid, but even I didn't think that people were as stupid as they act in some of these quotes. Check it out. I think you'll especially enjoy the page if you've ever worked in retail (which I haven't, but I like to think that some coaches and parents I've had to deal with when reffing are as bad as customers).

Not Always Right

These boots are made for running

I had my first run today for the month of June. My dad forbid me to go running (or biking) in Bakersfield because the air quality was so bad, and I actually listening to him because it really was horrible. Technically I went on my aunts elliptical when I was staying at her house last week, but it really doesn't count. I hit the bike trail with the new dog, Maggie (my best guess is a boxer/border collie mix), and it was great. We saw a coyote, but luckily it was far away in the brush. I'm so looking forward to the next one tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Mama Mia with my cousin and aunt, and I'm trying to keep an open mind about the movie, so I'll let you all know what I think. Luckily the cast is pretty good, so I'm not expecting horrible things. Perhaps I'll be happily surprised. We'll see. Either way, tomorrow will be a good day since I'll be running!

Home Again

I'm finally back up north where I belong. Yesterday I came over to the Hollister household to catch the end of a week long party. Almost every surface that could be converted to sleeping was last night, on account of the fact that there was a big triathlon here yesterday, and the teammates of my uncle and their families were all staying here. So I took all of the children to laser tag yesterday, and afterwards we went to the river, finishing up with an awesome dinner of margaritas, tri-tip, and some good Spanish wine.

Next week I'll be busy hanging out with my cousins, making up for the fact that I wasn't here all summer, and then the week after I'll have the house all to myself while I house sit. I'm thinking there will be a different Netflix movie each day, as well as whatever I can find to Tivo. Considering that I'll also be able to run/bike again (the air was too nasty in Bakersfield for such activities), and it'll probably be a perfect week.

Old Friends

I had a nice long talk with Rachel the other day, telling her all about the stories from the weekend. Long live Skype! I'm back in Sacramento now, which is good. Yesterday's soccer practice started off poorly, but turned out better. We still have a lot of work to do before the beginning of the season. Thankfully they're still scared of me.

The second act of Dr. Horrible is available, and while it isn't as funny as the first one, it's still good. I can't wait for the final act.

Dr. Horrible

Joss Whedon has decided that he's sick of writing things that don't get produced, so he's taken matters into his own hands with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's a three part movie released over the internet and iTunes, staring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day. It's only available (free!) until July 20th, so I'd suggest jumping on the bandwagon. Act I was released today, and Acts II and III follow on the 17th and 19th, respectively.

Yes, it is a musical, and yes, it is about a super-villain, and yes, the super-villain is played by Neil Patrick Harris. Seriously, check it out; I don't know what else to say.

ID4

I think that was actually the tag line for Independence Day, but I think it fits equally well for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, or whatever the full title is. I went to finally see it on Thursday with my dad, and was highly entertained. I can now evaluate some of the Top 10 things that Robert gave when he saw the movie a long time ago.

From Robert:
10: The bad guys still can't hit Indy & Co., even when shooting at almost point blank range.
So true. As a matter of fact, I commented to my dad that the Russians shoot even worse than Stormtroopers did.
09: Obligitory references to the previous Indy films.
I would have been disappointed without them, although it's not new. They were there in Last Crusade, too.
08: It's been a while since the Russians were the bad guys in a movie.
And Cate Blanchett made a great villain.
04: Best use of a refridgerator, ever!
Can't argue at all.
03: Cameo by a faorite actor from Scrubs.
I thought that scene was unnecessary, except that it filled in some of the blanks of what happened after Last Crusade. Still, could have done without it.
02: Three words: Indiana Jones Theme.
While I normally sit through all the credits, this time I did it just so I could hear the whole theme.
01: Shea LeBouf doesn't ruin the movie.
Were you expecting him to?

Now I just need to see Hellboy II, The Dark Night, and a handful of others that are coming out this summer. I love summer movie season, although it does make me run out of money from about October until Christmas, due to the fact that they're all coming out on video at the same time.

Out of office reply

Just to let everybody know, I won't be having much (if any, I don't know yet) internet access for the next two weeks. Next week I'll be in Fresno torturing children at a math and science camp for girls, and the week after I'll be torturing coaches and parents alike at a volleyball tournament in Reno. If everything pans out, I'll be back in Bakersfield on the 4th of July. I will have my cell if anybody absolutely has to get in contact with me.

Thoughts and Disappointments

So it will be another year before AFI comes out with their next list. A lot of people (mostly Rachel) have pointed out to me that it's silly to care so much about what AFI thinks and track percentages of the movies I've seen on their lists. Really, she's right, but mostly because I think AFI gets a lot of it wrong. The math nerd in me would really like to know the demographics of all the people voting, and look at the statistical information to see which groups of people voted certain ways. I have a feeling that the average age of the people voting is quite a bit older than me, and it is reflected in the movies that are placed on the lists.

Anyways, here's a recap of the Top 10 from last night's lists, since I'm pretty sure the only people who watched the show were the people watching it with me.

Animated: Snow White
Fantasy: The Wizard of Oz
Science Fiction: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Mystery: Vertigo
Gangster: The Godfather
Sports: Raging Bull
Western: The Searchers
Romantic Comedy: City Lights
Courtroom Drama: To Kill A Mockingbird
Epic: Lawrence of Arabia

There are really only two of the number 1s that I disagree with, those being 2001 and City Lights. Star Wars should have been the top movie in Science Fiction, and City Lights I don't even think fits well under their description of a romantic comedy. Something like Bringing Up Baby (which wasn't even on the list!), It Happened One Night, or The Philadelphia Story should have been up there.

Anyways, I know you don't care, but now you know the crucial information about AFI's new list. Now I can't wait for the next one!

It's like the Superbowl

Tomorrow means that it's time again for AFI to release their yearly list. This is something I look forward to for pretty much the whole year, so I'm very excited. I'm planning on getting my spreadsheet ready for the new films tomorrow, and probably have it on my laptop as I watch, because I'm that much of a nerd.

Special brownies

Jessica, Chris, and I went to go see Reefer Madness today, which was playing at The Empty Space, a theater here in Bakersfield. Since we had all recently watched the movie version of this to show Carly that it wasn't horrible, it was very fresh in our minds. I think all of us were impressed with the way the show turned out, even though there were some things we wish had been done differently. The entire cast had very good singing voices, and gave good performances, especially a couple (Mae and Ralph). If you're in Bakersfield, I'd suggest seeing it, although I think it's only showing for another weekend.

After the show finished we went back to the apartment and somehow ended up looking at all the high school year books. It's amazing to see what people thought was important enough to write into a yearbook back then. Chris was amazed at all the Star Wars references sophomore year, until I reminded him that was the year The Phantom Menace came out. Scary stuff, reminiscing about high school.

I also bought Lego Indiana Jones today, although I'm waiting to play it until tomorrow (see, I do have some self control!). I'll be sure to post about it later.

Facebook

I've decided to try to start using Facebook more to keep in touch with people. Of course, I haven't really figured out what I'm going to do more, but I did add five friends yesterday, so I guess that's a start. Suggestions?

I did learn one thing

As much as it pains me to admit it, I did learn one thing from senior English. Of course, I would have learned it later in college, but I have to be fair and admit where I learned it once. Post hoc ergo propter hoc (it's even in Latin!) is a philosophical fallacy that says because one thing follows after another, the first thing caused it.

The reason I bring this up is because I have, in the past, been accused of killing television shows. The argument is that if I start regularly watching a show, within a year or two, it will be canceled. This came up in conversation with Chris and Jessica, because Chris started making a list of shows that he wants me to start watching - American Idol, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and Law and Order: CI (I'm sure I've forgotten some).

I'd like to claim that me killing television shows is a post hoc fallacy, but really, I don't think I can.

Quick Update

So I'm all done. Well, not all done as in "all done," but at least all done for this year. I think I fairly kicked butt on all my finals, although I can't really tell, because I just know my final grades. So now I'm spending some quality time in Bakersfield being rented out as slave labor to my mom's friends who need help on computers, being used as slave labor in the back yard, and getting ready for Yosemite. I actually don't mind the slave labor part so much, since it gives me something to do.

I spent Memorial Day evening over at the Burzlaff's, which was a lot of fun, and there was some very good food involved. During Memorial Day Weekend (Saturday and Sunday) the family (minus the little brother, who can't be bothered to do anything) was down in LA for my dad's graduation ceremony. I took Soren and my DS to keep me company, so it wasn't so bad, plus it was good to see the various family members who live down there.

This weekend three of us are heading up for the yearly Yosemite trip, which I've been looking forward to for months. I think my back may be in good enough shape to tackle Half Dome, which I've only been able to do once and it almost killed me. Billy and I are talking about doing it on Saturday, depending on what time we arrive on Friday (it's an all day hike and would require getting up around 6). I still don't know what I'm doing this summer, but hopefully I'll figure it out within the next week. Anybody know of any available jobs?

Strange Happenings

Yesterday as I was riding to school I saw a guy pulling a little child trailer with his bike. I didn't think anything was strange until I realized that the child was actually a German Shepard enjoying getting pulled along.

I also saw another snake, but this one was a little green guy that was absolutely terrified of my bike. Quite comforting.

It looks like I may get back Friday afternoon/early evening if anybody is interested in doing something in Bakersfield. My dad is doing his little Master's ceremony this weekend down in LA, so I'll be gone for at least Saturday and Sunday. It's a little unfair that he's getting his before me, but I just comfort myself by pointing out that it's not a real Master's degree, it's the one they give teachers (and yes, I realize I may be making some people mad, deal with it!).

Anyways, time to look at the Calc II notes (I get and 81/2 by 11 sheet of paper for the test). I'm really not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Freaking pissed

My mom came up to visit me this weekend, which was a lot of fun. She got here on Friday and we went to the outlet mall to walk around, although I had gotten little sleep the night before and it was hot so we didn't shop for too long (I don't usually shop for long anyways). Then we went to Crepeville for dinner with my aunt, since it was her birthday. I had told her to Netflix Eddie Izzard, so we went and watched some of that, which is funny as always.

Saturday my cousin was having a huge birthday bash (with like 30 high schoolers over) so we helped set up for a little bit then drove to Davis since my mom had never been there and wanted to see the town. Sunday was a successful attempt to escape the heat with a trip to the Bay Area to visit my aunt. We had a nice brunch and then I pretty much spent the day playing video games (Super Smash Brothers Brawl, so take that Chris and Rob). It was great fun.

I have three finals in three days, so I really should be studying right now (the first one stats in an hour and fifteen minutes), but I'm obviously not. I guess I'll end this and get to work. Or perhaps I'll go eat breakfast instead.

Oh, I almost forgot the reason for the title of the blog! My mom's brand new car was parked on the street next to the house on Sunday, and some idiot (I'd use stronger language, but my family reads this) hit her car. At first we thought they had just nailed the side mirror, which is annoying but not worthy of really getting angry. But it turns out they also managed to clip the car near the back wheel, denting it. It's just a little one, and if it was on my car I wouldn't get it fixed, but this car is seriously less than a month old. I'm freaking pissed!

Remind me again...

Why I never went to parties in high school.

Oh wait, it's because of bad loud music and silly people. My cousin had his birthday party tonight (even though his birthday was 2 plus weeks ago), which consisted of a bunch of kids over at the house and a heavy metal band. The band wasn't supposed to go on until 8, but they showed up before 4 to set up, and proceeded to play pretty much for the entire 4 hours until 8. Once they started their set for real, they only played for about 40 minutes, which nobody else finds ironic (annoying). Thankfully they were cut off at 10 because of promises to the neighbors.

My madre is up visiting this weekend, which is fun. We're headed over to the Bay Area tomorrow to try and escape some of the heat (summer is apparently in full swing) and see my aunt. My uncle just got a Wii (in addition to the 360 he has) so it's going to be a fun day. Of course, I probably should be studying for at least my final on Monday when I'm over there, but I'm almost certain that's not going to happen. Maybe I'll make Mom drive and I'll study in the car.

I'm done on Wednesday, which means that I need to officially start figuring out what I'm doing this summer. I'll be in Bakersfield for at least two and a half weeks, but after that I have no idea. I'll keep everybody posted, though!

Holy Venom Batman!

I almost stepped on a rattlesnake today. I'm serious and not exaggerating at all. If I hadn't stopped when I did, there would have been no way to stop my stride before stepping on it. Belle (the dog) gave me no warning, and just ran past. Freaking scared me.

I saw Iron Man and wasn't disappointed, although I didn't like the climax. It just felt forced and cliche, but the beginning was really good. If you're going to see it, see it through the credits, since there's a little tidbit for fans (although most probably won't get it unless they're familiar with Marvel).

Guadalajara!

I find it highly ironic that there are signs about campus proclaiming the celebration festivities of Cinco de Mayo on Wednesday, May 7 (and also Wednesday, May 8 on some for added humor).

Also, I'm very excited that it's finally test crunch time, and that professors are starting to do the normal final's backoff. By this I mean the lightening of the work load that happens every semester right before finals so that we can study. My studying being done for a couple hours the day before the test, I'm sitting pretty for two weeks of no work, tests, or papers. This means I can make a few bucks (hopefully) by subbing without the stress of knowing I have papers to work on.

PS The title of this post comes from a video we watched sophomore Spanish class, where a mariachi kept singing, "Guadalajara." Chris and Rob - you remember the one I'm talking about?

Thorstein Veblen

I have found my new favorite economist, not so much for what he talked about, but rather because of the method that he used to talk about it. Take, for example, this passage (yes, I realize there will be eye glazing, but I still have to share).

If we are getting restless under the taxonomy of a monocotyledonous wage doctring and a cryptogamic theory of interest, with involute, loculicidal, tomentous and moniliform variants, what is the cytoplasm, centrosome, or karyokinetic process to which we may turn, and in which we may find surcease from the metaphysics of normality and controlling principles? What are we going to do about it? The question is rather, What are we doing about it?

In the article I'm reading, the sentence preceding this is, "An excerpt from the same article, where Veblen attempts to denigrate conventional economics by employing the nomenclature of botanical classification, show his style at its worst."

I think I'll include the earlier excerpt tomorrow, once this paper is done. It's highly entertaining.

PS I've decided I will name my next pet "Thorstein" and it will go by "Thor" for short.

Well it's about time

So I really shouldn't be working on this - I should be working on my Econ project that is due tomorrow (well, a draft). But instead I've decided I've put this off long enough, and I heard Carly's words, so here's the results!

The quiz was for Heroes (could you tell by all the 'hero' references?). First, a breakdown of the possible results. It should be noted that this is all season 1 stuff for those of you who watch the show (although I might be the only one).

Claire - You've always known you're different, which is probably why you spend so much time trying to act like everybody else. Bubbly, bright, and athletic, you're a searcher, someone who yearns for beauty and meaning in an often cold and callous world.

Peter - Earnest and kindhearted, you look out for the little guy first, thought it may be because you were always an underdog yourself. As someone who always thought life was about something bigger than yourself, you're both the ultimate dreamer and the ultimate idealist.

Hiro - You have something special about you that draws others to you. Part of your charm is your contagious enthusiasm, evidenced by both your intellectual curiosity and your willingness to drop everything to go on an adventure. You'll always be ahead of the curve.

Niki - Outspoke yet private, wild yet cautious, you seem to have two different sides to your personality, which often leaves you wondering what it is you really want. The one place they seem to meet is your understanding of how mind games are played, which will always be to your advantage.

Nathan - Smar, charming, traditional - by all appearances, you have it made. Behind your public image, however, lurks a much more ambivalent heart, one that yearns to break out of the normal definitions of succewss, though in most matter you allow your intellect to rule over you.

Matt - Always someone who's sensitive to the feelings of others, you don't always have an easy go of things, especially in your romantic life. One of the many great things about you, though, is your willingness to work through your problems instead of burying them.

And here's the results for everybody. Rachel and Jessica - I answered the questions for you, so if you don't like the results, answer for yourself next time! I've included most and least, just for those of you who are curious.

Robert - Hiro (4), Niki (0)
Chris - Hiro, Nathan (4), Peter, Niki (0)
Tim - Hiro (4), Niki (0)
Becca - Hiro (6), Claire, Nathan, Matt (0)
Carly - Hiro (3), Niki, Nathan (0)
Jessica - Niki (4), Peter (0)
Rachel - Claire (4), Hiro (0)

I think the questions were a bit skewed and unanswerable, but the results are still interesting to see. Hopefully I'll be putting up another one sometime soon.