VCH

Linear = Jeff can try to tell a good story. Non-linear = Jeff tries to make everything fit = bad story Linear is clearly better.

I like it so far; respect.\ Also, your voice is good for this.

threads like this one always make me a little sad—aren't most of us nerdy enough as it stands?

Update: 20 = max

Originally Posted By: Dantius tl;dr: GDP = [Consumption] + [investment] + [Net exports] + [Government Spending]. The first three can't be fixed beyond minor tweaks, and current conditions are letting the US borrow money for a steal. There is absolutely no non-political reason that the Government shouldn't step in and try and fix things now, full stop. It is eminently possible to borrow and spend out way out of this almost-depression, and it is in everyone's best interests that we do so. Thank you for killing the 3 hours of my day that I spent reading about this stuff. I see your point. I'm still not entirely comfortable with all the different theories being proposed simultaneously. In science (Ecology any way), older models of how things work don't seem to be dredged up as often as they are in economics, or at least that's my impression and experience. Progress in scientific theory seems to be more analogous to a staircase or at least multiple staircases that eventually join, whereas economics seems more weblike. ~So do we need to spend on the same scale as we did during WW2 to fix things? ~Also, could you suggest a good book on macroeconomics.

SoT (or anyone really) could you explain the importance of this discovery in away that those of us with minimal physics knowledge might understand; newspapers are doing a poor job of that. Thanks

ready

Blackberries are the most glorious of weeds. Southwest British Columbia has them lining ditches and generally just creating a nuisance on the edges of most open fields. That being said, for a wild plant they produce a huge and tasty crop.

My bibliotech has Cloud Atlas, so I'm in.

You also can't borrow your way out of a recession. I agree that the US shouldn't put the brakes on spending when it comes to important things, and the "bailout" of the banks and AIG was necessary, and by the way has largely been repaid with interest, but another rate cut by Bernanke (basically impossible) or another round of quantitative easing isn't going to get people to spend; that will require people feeling like they actually have the cash to spare in the first place. Mr Bernanke has no bullets left, and this thing is just going to have to fix itself, like it always does, and by the way sort of is (slowly), if you consider the latest housing data.

An Obama loss would do wonder for my American stocks—not that a Republican president would be any better at sorting things out. In the end everybody just needs to work off a hell of a lot of debt and there's nothing the government can do to help besides adding more debt to the government's books, which isn't really help at all in the long run.

Originally Posted By: Actaeon Not granted. Cheesecake is... what Vonnegut said about semicolons and isn't fit to print here. And without the bit about college. Baker and Hansen, in The Elemnts of F*cking Style, wrote something better about semicolons.

Looks like Nightfall or Cloud Atlas.

Originally Posted By: Dantius Originally Posted By: Jewels in Black ... Sy, I think Dinti will be having quite a work out but it will be from running away. As for the program, I have been meaning to find something to get back into. Use to go to the gym and quite enjoyed it. Use to practice kuykido with the boys till my kneecap tried to dislocate on a jump switch.. stupid old injury. I've been feeling (and seeing) the effects of inactivity so I'm in. Being a year out of practice from formal push-ups I only made it to 5. If you're having knee troubles, I'd recommend biking. I used to run a lot, but since my mid 30's it's just been too much stress on my knees and legs, so I usually bike now. Haven't had any serious problems with them since I started, and an hour or two a day on a bike goes a long way towards keeping you active. Like any sport, if you're getting hurt you're either pushing yourself too hard or not doing it right. Running should have very minimal impact on your knees, shins and so on if done with good form. But most people never consider that there's more to running than "just doing it"—imagine if pro golfers thought that way. I'm sorry if this came across strong, i'm not picking on you per se.

Well, Edmonton is, you know, a city with stuff in it, so you kinda win overall.

Originally Posted By: Arch-Mage Solberg I did only 33 push-ups. When I was in Naval bootcamp I was one of only 4 people in my division of 73 to do more than 100 push-ups in 2 min by doing 106 and I was beaten by two others. I haven't pushed myself to do that since. I've been out of the Navy for over 6 years and have barely done any push-ups since I got out. Post #667 So I guess 100 pushups might be too many for most of us.

Originally Posted By: Status Post —Alorael, who has a couple of friends who worked on Svalbard. That and Arctic explorers are all you have to worry about for competition there. Cool, I've had Longyearbyen on my travel list since I was 13 or so. I'm somewhat obsessed with the North for some reason.

I'm in. But one thing to consider is that we don't all have the same quality of library, or perhaps much of a library at all. I guess I could download the chosen book, or interlibrary loan it, but that could take a few weeks.

Running is a much better path to health than any single exercise, with perhaps the exception of pushups—weak abs = bad back often enough. But any way, I've actually managed to stay pretty active since Highschool. A friend and I started running 3-4 years back. He slowed down a bit because of work, but I've managed to do two marathons (42km) and lots of half marathons. I think one of the biggest hurtles for people is that there really is no easy way to get healthy or fit—there is no secret. The only thing that works is, as runners say, the TRIAL OF MILES (MILES OF TRIALS), which means you have to put in time consistently to get anywhere. Often people start with an exercise programme, then upon finding that they aren't improving, or only very slowly, they give up or look for an easier way, which I assure you there are none. Running has done nothing for my upper body so I'll take part in this challenge and cheer us all on. Today's total = 15

Easternmost: Luxor, Egypt [25°41N, 32°38E] Westernmost: Victoria, Canada [48°25N, 123°21W] Northernmost: Grise Fiord, Canada [76°25N, 82°53&W] Southernmost: Aswan, Egypt [24°05N, 32°53E] Anyone have 76° North beat?

Originally Posted By: Dintiradan Hmm, actually, the northmost North American member might be me, barring the likely scenario of someone else being from Alaska. I'm from the Edmonton area, which is almost as far north as Prince George is, whereas I remember VCH being in or close to Kamloops. But maybe he's moved since. I went to school in Kamloops, and will be again, but currently I live in Mackenzie BC.

Originally Posted By: Excalibur Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba he is doesn't actually live in Alaska This is news to me I'm quite sure there are no North American members that live above me. Most Canadians live close to the border; I do not.

My friend (Canadian) went to med-school in the Caribbean (St. Georges) because the competition from Asians for spots in Canadian medical school was too great-as well as, I suppose, from overachieving Canadians.

Yo, dis game is still open. Join plz.

Here's a good graph. It looks like more women than men earn Biology degrees. (I actually had several upper level courses (e.g., community ecology, and animal behaviour) with a total of 4 men in them compared to ~25 women.) I couldn't get the graph to display so here's a link. A large version of this graph (page 9) plus loads more info can be found HERE