DemiDec Talk > Mega-Combined Emotions Topic

tryingtothinkagain

Oct 29 2009, 12:05 AM

my university is trying to go green. very, very green.
I was nominated for a sub-committee in charge of coming up with and implementing ideas for reducing our pollution, energy use, etc., because of my experience building my house 2 years ago (we acted as general contractors and designers, my dad estimates that we have the greenest house on the Texas Gulf Coast)
Apparently I impressed the post-grad in charge of the group with my idea for a gray-water/rainwater recycling system for the dorms, because he's setting up a team to investigate the plausibility of such a system and present the results to the university's administration, and he's putting me in charge. This has the potential to be a several-hundred-thousand dollar project.

Research Monkey

Oct 29 2009, 12:33 AM

QUOTE (JBroms @ Oct 28 2009, 04:27 PM)

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 12:20 AM)

i guess that counts as academia when you go to school in titsville.

My english prof is awesome, the first few papers in his class are on anything you want to write about for a certain type of paper.
so far, i have written:
a paper about late night wendy's customers (94%)
a persuasive paper about linux (94%)
compared and contrasted two Pink Floyd albums (94%)
and the definition of "the bro" (97%)

good smurf.

You are a varsity, and clearly so is your teacher

I just wrote an English paper advocating the liberalization of divorce law, quoting studies done by behavioral economists from MIT, statements from Dr. Gary becker on the application of the Coase Theorem to divorce scenarios, and how the predominant values of our nation's present moral philosophy, permeated by Christian values, trace their belief systems back to Aristotle, who would have explicitly stated the lack of true virtue in the alternative decision structure caused by further regulation of divorce. And I mentioned King Henry the VIII.

It was epic.

PS: Tonight- free pizza and a lecture from a dude with a PhD in economics. Woo.

JBroms

Oct 29 2009, 01:00 AM

QUOTE (Research Monkey @ Oct 29 2009, 01:33 AM)

QUOTE (JBroms @ Oct 28 2009, 04:27 PM)

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 12:20 AM)

i guess that counts as academia when you go to school in titsville.

My english prof is awesome, the first few papers in his class are on anything you want to write about for a certain type of paper.
so far, i have written:
a paper about late night wendy's customers (94%)
a persuasive paper about linux (94%)
compared and contrasted two Pink Floyd albums (94%)
and the definition of "the bro" (97%)

good smurf.

You are a varsity, and clearly so is your teacher

I just wrote an English paper advocating the liberalization of divorce law, quoting studies done by behavioral economists from MIT, statements from Dr. Gary becker on the application of the Coase Theorem to divorce scenarios, and how the predominant values of our nation's present moral philosophy, permeated by Christian values, trace their belief systems back to Aristotle, who would have explicitly stated the lack of true virtue in the alternative decision structure caused by further regulation of divorce. And I mentioned King Henry the VIII.

It was epic.

PS: Tonight- free pizza and a lecture from a dude with a PhD in economics. Woo.

there aint no such thing as a free pizza.

overly_critical_man

Oct 29 2009, 01:32 AM

Eh...I wrote a paper once about how the movie Bring it On was a landmark study on the commodification of minority cultural achievement by the MAN.

A+, smurfs.

Also...that was probably Kirsten Dunst in the only role where she was semi-decent looking.

iMatt

Oct 29 2009, 01:42 AM

PS:

debator

Oct 29 2009, 01:55 AM

YOU COME AND GO

Captaink

Oct 29 2009, 02:37 AM

QUOTE (Research Monkey @ Oct 28 2009, 07:33 PM)

QUOTE (JBroms @ Oct 28 2009, 04:27 PM)

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 12:20 AM)

i guess that counts as academia when you go to school in titsville.

My english prof is awesome, the first few papers in his class are on anything you want to write about for a certain type of paper.
so far, i have written:
a paper about late night wendy's customers (94%)
a persuasive paper about linux (94%)
compared and contrasted two Pink Floyd albums (94%)
and the definition of "the bro" (97%)

good smurf.

You are a varsity, and clearly so is your teacher

I just wrote an English paper advocating the liberalization of divorce law, quoting studies done by behavioral economists from MIT, statements from Dr. Gary becker on the application of the Coase Theorem to divorce scenarios, and how the predominant values of our nation's present moral philosophy, permeated by Christian values, trace their belief systems back to Aristotle, who would have explicitly stated the lack of true virtue in the alternative decision structure caused by further regulation of divorce. And I mentioned King Henry the VIII.

It was epic.

I wrote a paper on the organizational structure of Japanese corporations and its effect on international trade and intellectual property rights as a freshman. In high school.

Take that, sucka...

AK_WDB

Oct 29 2009, 02:48 AM

QUOTE (Research Monkey @ Oct 28 2009, 04:33 PM)

I just wrote an English paper advocating the liberalization of divorce law, quoting studies done by behavioral economists from MIT, statements from Dr. Gary becker on the application of the Coase Theorem to divorce scenarios, and how the predominant values of our nation's present moral philosophy, permeated by Christian values, trace their belief systems back to Aristotle, who would have explicitly stated the lack of true virtue in the alternative decision structure caused by further regulation of divorce. And I mentioned King Henry the VIII.

You should elaborate on this, because my gut reaction is to think that divorce laws should be much, much stricter, but you are clearly better informed than me and I would like to hear your argument.

debator

Oct 29 2009, 03:32 AM

wait why would it be good to have stricter divorce laws? so we can have more loveless marriages pointlessly elongated?

TheAwesomeKid

Oct 29 2009, 03:45 AM

PPPS: Midterms are over.

TheAwesomeKid

Oct 29 2009, 03:48 AM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 04:32 AM)

wait why would it be good to have stricter divorce laws? so we can have more loveless marriages pointlessly elongated?

Idealistically: making it easier to opt out of marriage devalues marriage, which increases divorce rates.
also, divorce also hurts people apart from the husband and wife. i.e, the kids. Easier divorces means more divorces, means more families torn apart, means more hurt kids.

I'm pretty ambivalent about it, but I mean come on - those are at least two pretty solid reasonings behind stricter laws.

AK_WDB

Oct 29 2009, 03:51 AM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 28 2009, 07:32 PM)

wait why would it be good to have stricter divorce laws? so we can have more loveless marriages pointlessly elongated?

No, so that loveless and poorly thought out marriages are less likely to occur in the first place and result in harm to children.

Research Monkey

Oct 29 2009, 03:52 AM

QUOTE (Captaink @ Oct 28 2009, 07:37 PM)

I wrote a paper on the organizational structure of Japanese corporations and its effect on international trade and intellectual property rights as a freshman. In high school.

Take that, sucka...

I wrote a 30 page analysis of NAFTA my senior year of high school.

Bonus points: my thesis was in support of the expansion of free trade.

debator

Oct 29 2009, 03:53 AM

being in a house with two parents who don't love each other can mess a kid up as badly as being split between two parents. i'm not saying marriage should be taken lightly: couples should really be sure they want to spend the rest of their lives together before taking their vows, and especially before having kids. but making it more difficult to get out once you're in doesn't do any good for anybody. except maybe, as you said, by deterring marriage.

Research Monkey

Oct 29 2009, 03:55 AM

QUOTE (JBroms @ Oct 28 2009, 06:00 PM)

there aint no such thing as a free pizza.

Ah, but this was Nello's pizza:

And I have a 22 page packet from the professor about why our state budget sucks so hard. In addition to teaching Capstone in Economics each spring, he's actually the official consultant for the state legislature to compile figures for the politicians to ignore and continue sucking.

JBroms

Oct 29 2009, 03:59 AM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 04:53 AM)

being in a house with two parents who don't love each other can mess a kid up as badly as being split between two parents. i'm not saying marriage should be taken lightly: couples should really be sure they want to spend the rest of their lives together before taking their vows, and especially before having kids. but making it more difficult to get out once you're in doesn't do any good for anybody. except maybe, as you said, by deterring marriage.

i grew up in that scenario. so im going to say

THIS

Research Monkey

Oct 29 2009, 04:03 AM

QUOTE (AK_WDB @ Oct 28 2009, 07:48 PM)

QUOTE (Research Monkey @ Oct 28 2009, 04:33 PM)

I just wrote an English paper advocating the liberalization of divorce law, quoting studies done by behavioral economists from MIT, statements from Dr. Gary becker on the application of the Coase Theorem to divorce scenarios, and how the predominant values of our nation's present moral philosophy, permeated by Christian values, trace their belief systems back to Aristotle, who would have explicitly stated the lack of true virtue in the alternative decision structure caused by further regulation of divorce. And I mentioned King Henry the VIII.

You should elaborate on this, because my gut reaction is to think that divorce laws should be much, much stricter, but you are clearly better informed than me and I would like to hear your argument.

I'll link you a final draft once I revise what I have, but to quote some key points, sans my rhetoric:

QUOTE

For any action to occur, marriage and divorce included, there must be some level of self-interest or cooperative interest at work. Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker argues that in scenarios involving divorce, individuals do just that. Quoting an economic theory called the Coase Theorem, Becker states that regardless of the legal barriers placed on marriage, the two parties involved will reach the same agreement that is in their mutual best interests. Expanding on this concept further, Northwestern University Law Professor Abraham Wickelgren explains that the liberalization, or loosening, of divorce laws from mutual consent divorces to unilateral divorce have a significant effect on how people interact in relationships based on the incentives available to them. Dr. Wickelgren states that “the different default rules change the direction of the compensation in marital bargaining. Under consent divorce, the default rule is that a married couple stays married. Thus, if one spouse wants a divorce and the other does not, the spouse that wants a divorce has to compensate the other to obtain a divorce. By contrast, under unilateral divorce, the default is divorce; the spouse who wants to stay married now has to compensate the other spouse to prevent a divorce.” In practical terms, this means that individuals will see one of two sets of incentives, depending on the structure of divorce laws. If both partners are required to dissolve a marriage, then neither partner is incentivized by the chance to improve their marriage to ensure they will avoid a divorce. However, under a liberalized legal framework, the incentive structure actually rewards partners for “cooperative investing” in the marriage, and trying to avoid divorce by attempting to resolve points of friction in the relationship. Though many people believe that by easing access to divorce, the meaning and value of marriage (both religious and secular) is diminished, it is clear that ultimate value of a relationship can only be determined by married couples for themselves. Only by transfer of responsibility to the married individuals can put the decision-making process into the hands of the individuals where it belongs. Between Dr. Wickelgren's analysis and the Coase Theorem, it is clear that a consent system of divorce does not prevent divorces from occurring because the transaction costs involved are negligible, and a unilateral system of divorce actually strengthens the institution of marriage, encouraging married people to put forth effort to maintain their marriages.

and

QUOTE

Economist Justin Wolfers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology set out to look for such data by examining the trend in crimes where a spouse was the victim following the switch in various states from consent divorces to a unilateral system. Dr. Wolfers' conclusion states that “Examining state panel data on suicide, domestic violence, and murder, we find a striking decline in female suicide and domestic violence rates arising from the advent of unilateral divorce. Total female suicide declined by around 20 percent in the long run in states that adopted unilateral divorce.”

This is all my work, y'all. So cite me, smurfs.

(I left out my appeal to value although it was a "value essay," simply because that's not empirical, so it doesn't really have much place here.)

Captaink

Oct 29 2009, 04:14 AM

Holy crap south park is funny this week...

Widget!

Oct 29 2009, 07:23 AM

QUOTE (AK_WDB @ Oct 28 2009, 08:51 PM)

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 28 2009, 07:32 PM)

wait why would it be good to have stricter divorce laws? so we can have more loveless marriages pointlessly elongated?

No, so that loveless and poorly thought out marriages are less likely to occur in the first place and result in harm to children.

Hey, that's the same kind of deterrence theory behind the prison system!

...wait...

debator

Oct 29 2009, 05:28 PM

RECESSION OVER! EVERYONE BACK TO NEEDLESS EXCESS.

Captaink

Oct 29 2009, 05:55 PM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 12:28 PM)

RECESSION OVER! EVERYONE BACK TO NEEDLESS EXCESS.

Dude yes i'm totally buying that new margaritaville with the salsa dispenser...

iMatt

Oct 29 2009, 06:09 PM

Man I'm jealous, you have a Sur La Tab-leh near you?

overly_critical_man

Oct 29 2009, 06:11 PM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 10:28 AM)

RECESSION OVER! EVERYONE BACK TO NEEDLESS EXCESS.

Wait...there was a recession?

JBroms

Oct 29 2009, 06:29 PM

QUOTE (overly_critical_man @ Oct 29 2009, 07:11 PM)

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 10:28 AM)

RECESSION OVER! EVERYONE BACK TO NEEDLESS EXCESS.

Wait...there was a recession?

OCM sees things like ice ages as a recession

Captaink

Oct 29 2009, 06:33 PM

QUOTE (iMatt @ Oct 29 2009, 01:09 PM)

Man I'm jealous, you have a Sur La Tab-leh near you?

yeah, I went to crate and barrel first, but their prices were not agree-ableh...

debator

Oct 29 2009, 08:45 PM

QUOTE (Captaink @ Oct 28 2009, 09:14 PM)

Holy crap south park is funny this week...

SRSLY

TheWerg

Oct 29 2009, 08:45 PM

PS: Best medicine ever.

Stanley Tree

Oct 29 2009, 08:45 PM

That was the most intense ass South Park I've ever seen.

debator

Oct 29 2009, 08:47 PM

QUOTE (TheWerg @ Oct 29 2009, 01:45 PM)

PS: Best medicine ever.

i can has?

Chloe

Oct 29 2009, 10:07 PM

Very PS: I'm finally involved in two projects, one group and one individual, that I'm actually excited about.

*cloud of artistic depression lifts*

JBroms

Oct 29 2009, 10:33 PM

LOL: that south park everyone is raving about

PS:i've spent 2 hours in class in the past 3 days.

Dr. Roffles

Oct 29 2009, 10:38 PM

PS: watching this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxZkaEge0R8

PS: over and over and over again

UC: russian test tomorrow (presumably?)

PS: still watching that video.

Research Monkey

Oct 30 2009, 01:30 AM

PS: Capture the flag tonight, and no homework.

VPS: Tomorrow is Friday, and therefore the weekend. And Quizbowl trip.

VVPS: Yeah, ^that again.

beregond

Oct 30 2009, 03:32 AM

For the most insane Wednesday night ever nomination:
Wanted a flannel shirt or two; had a gift card to the Gap. Only problem there is, the closest Gap is in Emeryville, by the foot of the Bay Bridge. Not sure how far it is (about 3 or so miles as it turns out), but walking is definitely not an option and even the bus is a bit tricky. It's in this Bay Street shopping complex with a whole bunch of stuff, so I figure I'll be able to figure it out.
So, took the 9 down to transfer somewhere between Berkeley and Emeryville to the 19. Waited for half an hour for the transfer (I must have just missed the earlier 19). Wasn't entirely sure where to get off on the 19...So I guessed. And, of course, I went too far. Walked west for about 15 mins trying to find it...and then I see it. Across a bunch of railroad tracks. Naturally, you can guess what I did next: Hopped some fences, managed to avoid the barbed wire, and crossed the tracks. Found an easy way out over this drainage wash; and there I was in the parking lot.
In retrospect, I should have checked where exactly I should have gotten off on the bus. Also should have checked online at the Gap to find out that, not only do they have very little if any flannel, but it's so expensive, even with my gift card it's not really an option. And there's none at Old Navy a bit. But a Fuddrucker's burger fixes all that. Then about 15 minutes of browsing in Barnes and Noble before I realize OH SNAP 50 bucks worth of Best Buy gift cards in my wallet that I forgot about, and a Best Buy close by!
It's obviously dark by now, but I walk the half mile by the Bay Bridge onramps to the Best Buy, past a couple of cop cars chilling out, and get one of the most amazing RTS ever and the new Alice in Chains CD. Life is good. On my way out, as I don't really feel like finding my way past the tracks to the other bus line, which may no longer be running, I ask the cops the best way to get to the BART station (which is odd because normally interacting with cops is really not what I'd prefer). I discover, at the bus stop, that the free shuttle they pointed out is no longer running, but no worries, the Latino kid at the stop tells me (translating for su madre), there's a bus coming that runs to the McArthur station. 10 minutes later, I'm at the BART, running up the escalator, and there's the train right there. Half an hour later, after walking from the Berkeley BART home, my journey has ended. Time elapsed: 5-6 hours. Distance covered: estimated 7-8 miles. Result: perfection in its own way, and a night of grunge/metal and World War III battles. Loving life.
WIN.

TheWerg

Oct 30 2009, 03:42 AM

My verdict: Your standard for insane Wednesday nights is pretty low.

FScigal

Oct 30 2009, 03:43 AM

HR: If what my friend said this morning is true, my high school now has a nursery. Probably the result of the number of girls who got pregnant last year. Somehow this doesn't surprise me.

I'm not entirely sure how to react to this.

beregond

Oct 30 2009, 03:53 AM

QUOTE (TheWerg @ Oct 29 2009, 08:42 PM)

My verdict: Your standard for insane Wednesday nights is pretty low.

ok, not necessarily insane in its total off-the-wall action. But taking buses I don't really know and hopping railroad tracks near Oakland? That was fun!

debator

Oct 30 2009, 04:22 AM

taking a bus you're unfamiliar with! what a crazy life you lead.

overly_critical_man

Oct 30 2009, 04:23 AM

QUOTE (debator @ Oct 29 2009, 09:22 PM)

taking a bus you're unfamiliar with! what a crazy life you lead.

But he did it in Oakland. I'm surprised he didn't get stabbed to death.

Dr. Roffles

Oct 30 2009, 04:26 AM

Exact thought process.

PS: Yesss semi-formal date next friday I am gonna look ~ classy ~

UC: Wait. Wasn't I doing something next friday?

UC: ... wait, that's not... no ...

HR: ... I'm in San Antonio with Amy for the conservative publication conference.

Man I was even kinda looking forward to this trip before Tina and I started dating. But dating is pretty much infinitely better than trips with Amy that involve being around hordes of uppity republican children and uh Amy. Smurf that noiseee.

debator

Oct 30 2009, 04:29 AM

first mistake: signing up to go to a conservative publication conference.
second-infinityth mistakes: every second since that moment you spent not un-signing up for the conservative publication conference.

Dr. Roffles

Oct 30 2009, 04:31 AM

but it's in san antonio

.001% chance of meeting tim duncan

almost worth it.

TheWerg

Oct 30 2009, 04:35 AM

Uh... probably much lower.

Dr. Roffles

Oct 30 2009, 04:45 AM

QUOTE (TheWerg @ Oct 30 2009, 12:35 AM)

Uh... probably much lower.

Impossible. I am a statistician, your argument is invalid.

TheWerg

Oct 30 2009, 04:48 AM

I am an English major; I don't care about your silly "facts".

Research Monkey

Oct 30 2009, 04:59 AM

Turning down a chance to chat with uppity politicos in Texas in favor of spending a night with a special lady?

Roffles, I hate to break this to you, but it's become apparent that you're a liberal. Your membership card will arrive in the mail as soon as we find a way to raise the revenue to send it.

overly_critical_man

Oct 30 2009, 05:06 AM

QUOTE (Dr. Roffles @ Oct 29 2009, 09:26 PM)

Exact thought process.

PS: Yesss semi-formal date next friday I am gonna look ~ classy ~

UC: Wait. Wasn't I doing something next friday?

UC: ... wait, that's not... no ...

HR: ... I'm in San Antonio with Amy for the conservative publication conference.

Man I was even kinda looking forward to this trip before Tina and I started dating. But dating is pretty much infinitely better than trips with Amy that involve being around hordes of uppity republican children and uh Amy. Smurf that noiseee.

I have no idea who any of those chicks are.

Dr. Roffles

Oct 30 2009, 05:06 AM

QUOTE (Research Monkey @ Oct 30 2009, 12:59 AM)

Turning down a chance to chat with uppity politicos in Texas in favor of spending a night with a special lady?

Roffles, I hate to break this to you, but it's become apparent that you're a liberal. Your membership card will arrive in the mail as soon as we find a way to raise the revenue to send it.

Speaking of which, I did something very un-me today. I gave a guy a dollar for global warming just to get him to stop talking to me. I did not want to be a dick, since he was a nice guy, so I lied and said all I had was a one, and wrote down a false phone number, name, and address. But, uh, I still gave him a dollar, and then later looked in my wallet and was like "wait, goddamnit, noooo."

Still though I better be able to sell this card for some money. I am the stingiest liberal you will ever meet

Also yeah she is pretty cute and special that is a pretty solid statement okay

debator

Oct 30 2009, 05:11 AM

pshyeah. for an albino.

Research Monkey

Oct 30 2009, 05:12 AM

Debator is only saying that to cover up his secret albino fetish.