Sabrás que no te amo y que te amo
puesto que de dos modos es la vida,
la palabra es una ala del silencio,
el fuego tuene una mitad de frío.
Yo te amo para comenzar a amarte,
para recomenzar el infinito
y para no dejar de amarte nunca:
por eso no te amo todavía
Te amo y no te amo como si tuviera
en mis manos las llaves de la dicha
y un incierto destino desdichado.
Mi amor tiene dos vidas para amarte.
Por eso te amo cuando no te amo
y por eso te amo cuando te amo.
- Pablo Neruda
de la colección Cien sonetos de amor (1959)
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Ethanol's Back.
I got an email from Dr. L and he reminded me that he's willing to help me turn my thesis into a journal publication. I decided that I have had a long enough time away from that subject matter to be able to see it with fresh eyes. I also feel that I can commit to 30-60 minutes of daily work on the project. I'm going to have to go through my data and redefine a bunch of crap, perhaps get more recent data, run new regressions, make new tables/graphs, condense the chapters, and wait for a while.
I spent some time on the phone with him on Friday. He presented me with 2 options: lower level of work and less reputable journal (or even a "research newsletter) vs. high level of work and higher quality (peer-reviewed) journal. I think I'll take the low road. I don't want this project to cut into my study time for the PhD program, but I would like the benefit of being able to say I've published. Dr. L will be my coauthor, which will hopefully make the submission/revision process with the editors go a little smoother.
I would really like to get into a peer reviewed journal, mostly because of the associated academic street cred that it would bring. I know that I won't get into one of the best journals, partially because my data is a little choppy (by no fault of my own...blame the tax code...). I would like to shoot for a "mid-tier" journal. Aside from having more work ahead of me than if I chose a "research newsletter" as an outlet for publication, the journal pub also takes a longer time between the first submission and date of publication. During that lag time, there may be some important changes in the world of ethanol-related public policy.
I think that the marginal benefit will outweigh the marginal cost after I get a publication under my belt.
I spent some time on the phone with him on Friday. He presented me with 2 options: lower level of work and less reputable journal (or even a "research newsletter) vs. high level of work and higher quality (peer-reviewed) journal. I think I'll take the low road. I don't want this project to cut into my study time for the PhD program, but I would like the benefit of being able to say I've published. Dr. L will be my coauthor, which will hopefully make the submission/revision process with the editors go a little smoother.
I would really like to get into a peer reviewed journal, mostly because of the associated academic street cred that it would bring. I know that I won't get into one of the best journals, partially because my data is a little choppy (by no fault of my own...blame the tax code...). I would like to shoot for a "mid-tier" journal. Aside from having more work ahead of me than if I chose a "research newsletter" as an outlet for publication, the journal pub also takes a longer time between the first submission and date of publication. During that lag time, there may be some important changes in the world of ethanol-related public policy.
I think that the marginal benefit will outweigh the marginal cost after I get a publication under my belt.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Don't judge US by the way WE look.
On Sunday, after soccer, I was watching Accepted with Nitin & Neha. We thought that it would just be a funny movie, but it turned out to be good enough to recommend to other people. It's about a kid who is rejected from every college he applies to. His father really wants him to go to college, so the kid creates his own, fake, college. Due to an internet glitch, a bunch of other students end up coming to the fake college.
A real school gets upset with the fake one and temporarily shuts them down. The fake school must face the state board of accreditation. The board consists of a bunch of white people in suits. The protagonists offers a speech defending his educational institution in hopes of gaining accreditation. In the process, he says some thing about how he and his students should not be judged by how they look. In the end, accreditation is granted on a probationary period of one year and the leader of the board tells the protagonist not to judge the panel by the way they look.
That got me thinking, I have a non-symmetric way of judging people by how they look, just as the protagonist did. I've met plenty of people that you could look at and say "freak" or "dork" or "insert negative something here," but these people have totally proven to be almost the opposite of what you would expect. Most of these people went to THC. I guess I just haven't had much interaction with people on the opposite end of the spectrum.
A real school gets upset with the fake one and temporarily shuts them down. The fake school must face the state board of accreditation. The board consists of a bunch of white people in suits. The protagonists offers a speech defending his educational institution in hopes of gaining accreditation. In the process, he says some thing about how he and his students should not be judged by how they look. In the end, accreditation is granted on a probationary period of one year and the leader of the board tells the protagonist not to judge the panel by the way they look.
That got me thinking, I have a non-symmetric way of judging people by how they look, just as the protagonist did. I've met plenty of people that you could look at and say "freak" or "dork" or "insert negative something here," but these people have totally proven to be almost the opposite of what you would expect. Most of these people went to THC. I guess I just haven't had much interaction with people on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Ghost Ride the Whip
http://ghostridethewhipblog.blogspot.com/
My little brother called my attention to a video produced by the above website. If you search youtube for ghostridethewhipblog.blogspot.com, click on the first result. I laughed non-stop for a minute and 43 seconds.
I was unaware that it is now cool to dance next to (or on) your vacant moving vehicle. It is good for a laugh, especially when something goes wrong. I mean, people getting hurt especially only funny if captured on film.
He said that he showed mom the video too, and her response was "you don't do that, do you?" I mean, come on, mom...with a response like that he's not going to tell you anything else that's cool or funny for fear that you'll worry.
My little brother called my attention to a video produced by the above website. If you search youtube for ghostridethewhipblog.blogspot.com, click on the first result. I laughed non-stop for a minute and 43 seconds.
I was unaware that it is now cool to dance next to (or on) your vacant moving vehicle. It is good for a laugh, especially when something goes wrong. I mean, people getting hurt especially only funny if captured on film.
He said that he showed mom the video too, and her response was "you don't do that, do you?" I mean, come on, mom...with a response like that he's not going to tell you anything else that's cool or funny for fear that you'll worry.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Keep in Touch
I'm pretty bad at keeping in touch with people. Throughout college, I hardly kept in touch with any of my HS friends. A few of my really good friends didn't seem to care so much, and we enjoy our time together whenever we can see each other. I once told Jessica that I didn't think I could get rid of her if I tried (not that I would try).
I think that I've been doing an alright job of keeping in touch with a few of my college friends since graduation. I wonder if there's a better way than calling people on the phone or dropping an occasional email. I kind of thought that writing a story in my blog would allow everyone to read it and free me from repeating the same thing 50 times.
Whenever often I feel bad about not calling someone, I tell myself that the phone works both ways. They can call me too. So far, I haven't talked to anyone who's bitched about "you haven't called me in so long..." I would have to remind them that they hadn't called me in about the same amount of time.
I think that I've been doing an alright job of keeping in touch with a few of my college friends since graduation. I wonder if there's a better way than calling people on the phone or dropping an occasional email. I kind of thought that writing a story in my blog would allow everyone to read it and free me from repeating the same thing 50 times.
Whenever often I feel bad about not calling someone, I tell myself that the phone works both ways. They can call me too. So far, I haven't talked to anyone who's bitched about "you haven't called me in so long..." I would have to remind them that they hadn't called me in about the same amount of time.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Economía escondida
escrito el 15 de junio de 2005 en Quito, Ecuador:
Hay mucha actividad económica que no produce recibos ni impuestos. Para los vendedores (de mercancías o servicios), es casi necesario que el gobierno no cobre una porción de sus ganancias. Es difícil cobrar bastante para mantener la vida por muchos trabajadores callejeros. No sé mucho sobre los traficantes de drogas aquí, pero imagino que hay menos drogadictos aquí que en los EEUU...la oferta no debe ser difícil obtener con una frontera con Colombia, pero la demanda no es prevalente. Creo que se puede comprar cualquier cosa en la economía informal con la excepción que la mayoría de las marcas son falsas y por eso el producto no tiene garantía de la compañía.
Vender algo en las calles es una empresa que no requiere mucho dinero para empezar. Me gusta comprar de estos vendedores cuando tienen productos que me valen en vez de obtener el mismo objeto en una tienda de cadena. No me gusta ver la gente que pide dinero sin tratar de hacer nada. Tengo un prejuicio que estas personas son perezosas pero dejo esta mentalidad cuando veo quienes no tienen brazos o [sic] piernas.
Estoy curioso si el país será mejor o peor si el gobierno cobraría impuestos en esta actividad. Sé que es imposible...el costo de enforzar la colección sería muy alto. Ya veo que la IVA es 12%, que me parece alto. no sé que otros impuestos se tiene que pagar aquí.
Creo que la presencia de este mercado negro es bueno para la economía en total. Crea trabajo para los desempleados y circula dinero (aumenta la velocidad MV = PY) más rápido. Presenta una oportunidad de comprar a descuento para los que no tienen mucho dinero. Ahora me pregunto si quiero que tengamos más de esto en los EEUU o empeorará nuestro sistema financial.
Hay mucha actividad económica que no produce recibos ni impuestos. Para los vendedores (de mercancías o servicios), es casi necesario que el gobierno no cobre una porción de sus ganancias. Es difícil cobrar bastante para mantener la vida por muchos trabajadores callejeros. No sé mucho sobre los traficantes de drogas aquí, pero imagino que hay menos drogadictos aquí que en los EEUU...la oferta no debe ser difícil obtener con una frontera con Colombia, pero la demanda no es prevalente. Creo que se puede comprar cualquier cosa en la economía informal con la excepción que la mayoría de las marcas son falsas y por eso el producto no tiene garantía de la compañía.
Vender algo en las calles es una empresa que no requiere mucho dinero para empezar. Me gusta comprar de estos vendedores cuando tienen productos que me valen en vez de obtener el mismo objeto en una tienda de cadena. No me gusta ver la gente que pide dinero sin tratar de hacer nada. Tengo un prejuicio que estas personas son perezosas pero dejo esta mentalidad cuando veo quienes no tienen brazos o [sic] piernas.
Estoy curioso si el país será mejor o peor si el gobierno cobraría impuestos en esta actividad. Sé que es imposible...el costo de enforzar la colección sería muy alto. Ya veo que la IVA es 12%, que me parece alto. no sé que otros impuestos se tiene que pagar aquí.
Creo que la presencia de este mercado negro es bueno para la economía en total. Crea trabajo para los desempleados y circula dinero (aumenta la velocidad MV = PY) más rápido. Presenta una oportunidad de comprar a descuento para los que no tienen mucho dinero. Ahora me pregunto si quiero que tengamos más de esto en los EEUU o empeorará nuestro sistema financial.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Tha D-O-Double-Jizzle loves the 213...
Snoop's song "That's That Shit" off his "Tha Blue Carpet Treatment" album has lyrics about US, the 213... he says: "213 the gangsta click / 21 motherfucking 3 nigga / All we do is the gangsta shit"
and "and if you're ever in the 213 / holla at a playa / holla at a playa"
In fact, that makes it cool enough to be the pick of the week!
and "and if you're ever in the 213 / holla at a playa / holla at a playa"
In fact, that makes it cool enough to be the pick of the week!
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