a lot of stuff fell into place today.
i discovered a newly-created master's program at lse. it's called "environmental economics and climate change." it's perfect for what i want to do because:
-it's economics
-it's specialized
-it's a master's program
-it's in england
i got some pretty exciting results on a regression i ran and have finally put them into a formal paper. for those of you who care,
tot_SO2_em = -35.674 - 0.000GRP_percap + 0.004GRP_100mil + 2.846GRP_persec - 2.148empl_per_sec + ε
the important part of that equations is GRP_persec (percent contribution of secondary industries to gross regional product) and empl_per_sec (percent contribution of secondary industries to regional employment). the dependent variable is sulfur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain and are usually accompanied by other nasty pollutants. this regression suggests that, on average, as secondary industries' contribution to GRP increases by 1%, sulfur dioxide emissions increase by 20,346 tons. that's pretty serious. the weird part is that as secondary industries employ 1% more of the population, SO2 emissions actually decrease by 20,148 tons. now the problem is explaining that discrepancy...
tonight was a lot of fun. we went to memphis to visit a haunted corn maze, but the line was really long, so we turned around and drove back to oxford. guess the fazoli's quick pasta made it worth it.
we got back to oxford, went to parish's and the library (the bar, not the books) then went home. it was a nice, easy night with friends that i haven't seen in a while.
now it's time for bed. my parents are coming up tomorrow for lunch and i'm crossing my fingers that i'll have a productive day at work.
until then,
m
24 October 2010
20 October 2010
Still thesising
i have successfully turned the noun "thesis" into a verb.
D: what are you doing tonight?
M: thesising, again.
S: hey, what have you been doing all weekend?
M: thesising.
L: what are you doing later today?
M: probably going back to the lab to thesis.
as annoying as data compilation and editing is, i'm actually really excited to see how the regressions are going to turn out. this has been my most challenging semester without a doubt (毫无疑问), but i'm really enjoying most of my classwork, and i'm picking up some great time management skills in the process.
sidenote: i keep meaning to blog about the ole miss mascot issue, but i feel bad for 1) wasting time to talk about it and 2) pretending it's a big deal. it's not. nevertheless, i'll get around to it...eventually.
D: what are you doing tonight?
M: thesising, again.
S: hey, what have you been doing all weekend?
M: thesising.
L: what are you doing later today?
M: probably going back to the lab to thesis.
as annoying as data compilation and editing is, i'm actually really excited to see how the regressions are going to turn out. this has been my most challenging semester without a doubt (毫无疑问), but i'm really enjoying most of my classwork, and i'm picking up some great time management skills in the process.
sidenote: i keep meaning to blog about the ole miss mascot issue, but i feel bad for 1) wasting time to talk about it and 2) pretending it's a big deal. it's not. nevertheless, i'll get around to it...eventually.
15 October 2010
friday afternoons
what are you doing today?
this is what i'm up to:
it's almost 4:00 PM. i'm done for the day. it's too nice outside to enjoy it from the computer lab. time for some tennis, an episode of lost, mexican food and the square. i'll get back to work tomorrow.
this is what i'm up to:
it's almost 4:00 PM. i'm done for the day. it's too nice outside to enjoy it from the computer lab. time for some tennis, an episode of lost, mexican food and the square. i'll get back to work tomorrow.
10 October 2010
on china and liu xiaobo
if you follow me on twitter, you know that i wholeheartedly supported liu xiaobo's nomination and ultimate reception of the nobel peace prize.
dr. liu has been a peaceful advocate of government reform in china for years. he's well-educated, polite, and the only institution he threatens in the chinese communist party. in america, we know that if the ruling party fails to meet the people's demands, it's out. apparently the CCP knows that, too.
why is china's government so worried? if chinese communism is all it's cracked up to be, wouldn't democracy allow their party to stay in control? the government has recognized corruption as one of the biggest hindrances of social development. why, then, will they not allow political competition, which would inherently eliminate some of the corruption? why even pretend to hide behind the smokescreen that china calls a constitution, when the most basic personal liberty - the right to free speech - is trampled on over and over again?
liu's charter 08 (中文) is a great piece of work, principally authored by a man who understands freedom's necessity. he calls for equality, social justice, rule of law (as opposed to rule of a single party), and proper stewardship of our natural resources. if the government were doing it's job, none of this would be warranted, much less threatening. the government's response shows just how scared they are of reform.
but what about reformers inside the government? what about premier wen jiabao?
wen wants reform. if he weren't shackled by communist propaganda, he might be able to implement some of his ideas. he is in china's highest eschelon of power, but they still censor his cnn interview. he's not crazy - he knows things would have to move slow - and that's why the party needs to let him run with it. if they wait until people are fed up with their rule, there's going to be a violent uprising. my advice: let wen do his thing; show the chinese people that the party is on their side.
the first way to do this is by easing censorship laws and RELEASING LIU XIAOBO. this would be a great indicator that china is serious about correcting its past human rights abuses and moving forward as a world power. just look around, are there any other one-party governments that enjoy the same status as, say, america, japan or western europe? no.
democracy doesn't necessicarily equate to freedom, but it seems the two are correlated. debate would help the communist party grow and meet the needs of its constituents. unfortunately, all the debators are in jail.
that's sad, and if china ever wants to make it to the top, which it obviously does, the central government is going to have to accept political reform as inevitable and ride it out. those who should win, win. those who should lose, lose. that's how the world works.
dr. liu has been a peaceful advocate of government reform in china for years. he's well-educated, polite, and the only institution he threatens in the chinese communist party. in america, we know that if the ruling party fails to meet the people's demands, it's out. apparently the CCP knows that, too.
why is china's government so worried? if chinese communism is all it's cracked up to be, wouldn't democracy allow their party to stay in control? the government has recognized corruption as one of the biggest hindrances of social development. why, then, will they not allow political competition, which would inherently eliminate some of the corruption? why even pretend to hide behind the smokescreen that china calls a constitution, when the most basic personal liberty - the right to free speech - is trampled on over and over again?
liu's charter 08 (中文) is a great piece of work, principally authored by a man who understands freedom's necessity. he calls for equality, social justice, rule of law (as opposed to rule of a single party), and proper stewardship of our natural resources. if the government were doing it's job, none of this would be warranted, much less threatening. the government's response shows just how scared they are of reform.
but what about reformers inside the government? what about premier wen jiabao?
wen wants reform. if he weren't shackled by communist propaganda, he might be able to implement some of his ideas. he is in china's highest eschelon of power, but they still censor his cnn interview. he's not crazy - he knows things would have to move slow - and that's why the party needs to let him run with it. if they wait until people are fed up with their rule, there's going to be a violent uprising. my advice: let wen do his thing; show the chinese people that the party is on their side.
the first way to do this is by easing censorship laws and RELEASING LIU XIAOBO. this would be a great indicator that china is serious about correcting its past human rights abuses and moving forward as a world power. just look around, are there any other one-party governments that enjoy the same status as, say, america, japan or western europe? no.
democracy doesn't necessicarily equate to freedom, but it seems the two are correlated. debate would help the communist party grow and meet the needs of its constituents. unfortunately, all the debators are in jail.
that's sad, and if china ever wants to make it to the top, which it obviously does, the central government is going to have to accept political reform as inevitable and ride it out. those who should win, win. those who should lose, lose. that's how the world works.
i have a new neighbor
meet leopold rousseau
in other news, i've had yet another unproductive night. got a bit done on my literature review, though. now i'm about to go read chapters 2 - 8 and chapter 15 of my intermediate microeconomics text book (test thursday). my life is sooo much fun.
-m
in other news, i've had yet another unproductive night. got a bit done on my literature review, though. now i'm about to go read chapters 2 - 8 and chapter 15 of my intermediate microeconomics text book (test thursday). my life is sooo much fun.
-m
04 October 2010
i want to be a photographer
like her.
maybe, if i don't get into graduate school, i'll be able to go somewhere and take pictures of people. that would be fun, right?
maybe, if i don't get into graduate school, i'll be able to go somewhere and take pictures of people. that would be fun, right?
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