The Ambrosini Critique

Global warming, again. Now that we’ve completely wrapped up the science (its definitely happening, duh!), we turn the question of whether or not it will do harm.

There is an optimal global temperature. Is it the one we have now? Is it a few degrees cooler? Is it a few degrees warmer?

(h/t ./. BTW, has the commentary sucked on slashdot lately or is it just me? The most insightful comment was this one and it wasn’t really about the post.)

What does this mean? I think it means people don’t notice insignificant details and it doesn’t mean much more than that.

(h/t sciblogs)

That is all…

Boing Boing has the scoop.

I think this is cool.

Prof. Cogley warned us against textual analysis a la Romer and Romer today in lecture. Figuring this is a plot to steer us away from interesting research topics (he wants to keep them for himself, of course), I dove right into the Fed meeting notes and did some textual analysis. Below are some results (using this tool):

More talk about velocity under Volker, but less talk about inflation and unemployment.

Ben Bernanke agrees with me when I said, “Let’s make trade free, but figure out ways to ease the transition to the new, better world.”

The better approach to mitigating the disruptive effects of trade is to adopt policies and programs aimed at easing the transition of displaced workers into new jobs and increasing the adaptability and skills of the labor force more generally.

(h/t macroblog)

I download my favorite shows (Battlestar Galactica, Sopranos, The Wire, Heroes, Weeds, 24, The Office, and a few others I’m ashamed to mention) with utorrent from a torrent website (search google). BTW, I have cable and subscribe to HBO/Showtime so I don’t feel bad about downloading these shows.

It takes me about 3 hours a week to watch these shows and I usually do my watching between 12-2am when I can’t sleep and I should be reading for class.

I also subscribe to netflix where, in addition to movies (which are too serious to be included as TV watching), I rent cartoons. I like japanimation sometimes, but usually I get the classics. Right now I have Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume 1 disc 3 on my desk. I’ve watched episode called “For Scent-imental Reasons” with le kitty que le terrible odeur (a.k.a. Pepe Le Pew) three times so far.

Questions to the Prime Minister is a weekly must-watch. It’s low-brow comedy. MPs (that’s the generic names given to the extras in the show) are particularly clever at berating each other and some of the best shows are premised on the idea that the oldest parliament in the world should concern itself with the quality of nurse care in some particular backwoods hospital. I get that at CSPAN.org (book sunday is pretty good sometimes too).

Finally, my biggest source of TV is my news reader. Right now I’m watching a growth and development seminar and several of my feeds provide music videos.

UPDATE: Actually, the only thing I miss from the vegetative mode of TV watching are the nature/history shows. For some reason, my methods aren’t conducive to these sorts of shows.