So I'm sitting on the floor in RDU about a mile from my regular gate, mooching on their wireless. This got me to thinking though. Don't you think it'd be a good idea to give people whose flights are delayed beepers so they can wander off, and then when their flight is boarding they can buzz them back. This would allow people to spend their 3 hours doing something productive. They could also build a lounge. That would help.
Some observations:
1.RDU has a total of 3 outlets in their whole airport. Literally. I would know, I've searched. Apparently the drought in the South extends to electricity also.
2. The same guy has passed by my spot about 5 times talking on his cell phone. Each time he passes by he seems in one of three different moods: extremely happy, extremely mad, or extremely determined. Oh and he has an ugly camo backpack too. Is that necessary....
3. Some guy just blew his nose in the terminal by blocking one nostril with a finger and blowing. Without a tissue. In public. Love it. He gave me one of those "Oh, you saw that?" looks. Heh.
Thought of the day: I can't wait til Segways become socially acceptable. Once they do I wouldn't seem like a weirdo when I start running from place to place.
Second afterthought of the day: I think people assume that an Obama/Clinton ticket or vice versa would be unstoppable. I think in this case, and I can't put my finger on it just yet, the sum would be less than the parts. It's like one of those American Idol finalist shows when they all try to sing together, but it winds up sounding like shit because they're all solo artists anyway.
Friday, March 7, 2008
What Your College Doesn't Tell You on that Tour Group
OK, since I go to a college that spends more money on re-sodding their main quad than on more pertinent things I thought I would share a few thoughts:
-That main quad that looks "really beautiful" come spring break time when most seniors are taking college tours will look like shit for 4/5ths of the school year. This is because colleges don't invest in what is called drainage in most parts of the world. This ruins the grass every year, and Duke loves to spend upwards of thousands of dollars just to reseed and resod the whole campus.
-That wireless that's all over campus? It doesn't work half the time when you're on the third floor of your dorm. Oh, and forget the ethernet. But it gets even better. I had somebody explain the campus wireless to me in this way: "You know those Christmas lights that when one light goes out they all go out? Yea, that's how the wireless network works in a storm." Awesome, Duke!
-If somebody is paying $42000 a year to go to Duke, you would think they would give us something for free. Alas, I can count on a hand all the free things that Duke has given exclusively to me:
-several T-shirts
-a Devil rubber duckie
-$30 cable...cool
-I don't know whether it's a Southern thing or not, but I have yet to find a viable and healthy option that I can eat at on a daily basis. My coronary arteries are filled with sweet and sour pork and pan-fried dumplings at the moment. Life expectancy before going to Duke: 77. After: 32.
Go to Hell, Carolina, Go to Hell
Al
-That main quad that looks "really beautiful" come spring break time when most seniors are taking college tours will look like shit for 4/5ths of the school year. This is because colleges don't invest in what is called drainage in most parts of the world. This ruins the grass every year, and Duke loves to spend upwards of thousands of dollars just to reseed and resod the whole campus.
-That wireless that's all over campus? It doesn't work half the time when you're on the third floor of your dorm. Oh, and forget the ethernet. But it gets even better. I had somebody explain the campus wireless to me in this way: "You know those Christmas lights that when one light goes out they all go out? Yea, that's how the wireless network works in a storm." Awesome, Duke!
-If somebody is paying $42000 a year to go to Duke, you would think they would give us something for free. Alas, I can count on a hand all the free things that Duke has given exclusively to me:
-several T-shirts
-a Devil rubber duckie
-$30 cable...cool
-I don't know whether it's a Southern thing or not, but I have yet to find a viable and healthy option that I can eat at on a daily basis. My coronary arteries are filled with sweet and sour pork and pan-fried dumplings at the moment. Life expectancy before going to Duke: 77. After: 32.
Go to Hell, Carolina, Go to Hell
Al
Thursday, March 6, 2008
random academic musing
Well, because I go to a university where academics is the topic of the minute 1440 minutes a day, I think about this stuff in a real life context a lot. I'm an accounting major, but I think about economics a lot.
First, I find the connection (or lack thereof) between the skill and intensity in your job interesting.
I look back on my summer job, working at the snack bar at a golf course. Our favorite days to work were banquet days, not only because we got paid more, but, paradoxically, because we also did less work. We got an 18% tip of everything they ate, which usually worked out to $1 for each worker per guest that attended. On those days, I could work eight hours and make upward of $120. But on some regular Saturdays, I would work my butt off and I would be lucky to get $100 in wages and tips. Why do I get more pay for less work? The only answer I can come up with is that when people come to the golf course for a tournament, they're willing to pay a certain price for a certain dining experience, and they don't really care how much effort it takes on my part. But in terms of difficulty of work, it makes no sense at all. In fact, from a supply/demand perspective, it doesn't make sense either, because people need me just as badly (maybe moreso) on a regular day of golf.
And also think about the world's best ER surgeon vs. the world's best baseball player. I don't really know, but I'm guessing that ER surgeon makes around a million or two a year, if that, while ARod makes 27 million to hit a leather ball with a wooden stick. Which does the world need more of? That's an easy question. If you said ARod, there's something fundamentally wrong with the way you look at the world. So why does he get paid 20 times more? It's an extremely complicated question. One reason could be that people across the country will turn on their television to see him play, while thousands will pay $40 or more to see him in person. While it may not seem justified, it's how the market economy works.
It's always interesting to look at the push and pull of supply and demand, from both a consumer and labor perspective. While it sucks that Nike workers in Asia only make a couple dollars a day, there's a reason they work there. Because their only other alternatives are to work somewhere else for less money or not work at all. In fact, the average pay at a Nike factory close to Ho Chi Minh is $54 a month, almost three times the minimum wage for a state-owned enterprise. In the U.S., that's like making $20 an hour. If you had no education and no specialized skills, and someone offered you $20 an hour (about $40,000 a year if you work full time) to produce shoes, would you? Of course, because that's slightly more than what the average person with an associates degree makes. When it comes to stuff like that, it's all relative. It is confusing and makes sense at the same time.
Whenever you buy something and you need something to think about on the walk/drive home, think about why the thing you just bought costs what it did. For example, why can I go to the mall and buy a Polo shirt for $65, take it straight to Goodwill, and someone else can buy it for $5? It's an interesting thought experiment...
First, I find the connection (or lack thereof) between the skill and intensity in your job interesting.
I look back on my summer job, working at the snack bar at a golf course. Our favorite days to work were banquet days, not only because we got paid more, but, paradoxically, because we also did less work. We got an 18% tip of everything they ate, which usually worked out to $1 for each worker per guest that attended. On those days, I could work eight hours and make upward of $120. But on some regular Saturdays, I would work my butt off and I would be lucky to get $100 in wages and tips. Why do I get more pay for less work? The only answer I can come up with is that when people come to the golf course for a tournament, they're willing to pay a certain price for a certain dining experience, and they don't really care how much effort it takes on my part. But in terms of difficulty of work, it makes no sense at all. In fact, from a supply/demand perspective, it doesn't make sense either, because people need me just as badly (maybe moreso) on a regular day of golf.
And also think about the world's best ER surgeon vs. the world's best baseball player. I don't really know, but I'm guessing that ER surgeon makes around a million or two a year, if that, while ARod makes 27 million to hit a leather ball with a wooden stick. Which does the world need more of? That's an easy question. If you said ARod, there's something fundamentally wrong with the way you look at the world. So why does he get paid 20 times more? It's an extremely complicated question. One reason could be that people across the country will turn on their television to see him play, while thousands will pay $40 or more to see him in person. While it may not seem justified, it's how the market economy works.
It's always interesting to look at the push and pull of supply and demand, from both a consumer and labor perspective. While it sucks that Nike workers in Asia only make a couple dollars a day, there's a reason they work there. Because their only other alternatives are to work somewhere else for less money or not work at all. In fact, the average pay at a Nike factory close to Ho Chi Minh is $54 a month, almost three times the minimum wage for a state-owned enterprise. In the U.S., that's like making $20 an hour. If you had no education and no specialized skills, and someone offered you $20 an hour (about $40,000 a year if you work full time) to produce shoes, would you? Of course, because that's slightly more than what the average person with an associates degree makes. When it comes to stuff like that, it's all relative. It is confusing and makes sense at the same time.
Whenever you buy something and you need something to think about on the walk/drive home, think about why the thing you just bought costs what it did. For example, why can I go to the mall and buy a Polo shirt for $65, take it straight to Goodwill, and someone else can buy it for $5? It's an interesting thought experiment...
Movies that are Even Better a Second Time
The Hunt for Red October
Glory
Absolutely NOT Commando
Forrest Gump - just for the quotes
Apollo 13
Thoughts:
Bertrand Russell once said: The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
Russell was never Kanye West.
Glory
Absolutely NOT Commando
Forrest Gump - just for the quotes
Apollo 13
Thoughts:
Bertrand Russell once said: The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
Russell was never Kanye West.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Who Wins?
So for the past year, the Democratic nominees have been debating, caucusing, primarying, and just generally taking over the headlines. I can't go to CNN without hearing another Obama speech or Hillary cackle. But what's happening to the country in the mean time?
George Bush is probably reveling in the respite he's getting from these primaries. You could truly say that no news is good news for Bush. While his approval rating is hovering in the 20s, you've heard next to nothing from his administration...
Sounds good to him....
George Bush is probably reveling in the respite he's getting from these primaries. You could truly say that no news is good news for Bush. While his approval rating is hovering in the 20s, you've heard next to nothing from his administration...
Sounds good to him....
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday Night Musings
Crewmutts...There are no words. The fact that it actually looks appealing and I'd actually consider spending 100 dollars on that stuff is amazing in its own right.
JuicyCampus...Aren't there patrols or like garbagemen on the Internet that filter through the crap out there? They really let this one go then. Overheard on campus:
Guy: OMG, you're on Juicy Campus!
Girl: Oh, God. No way, I don't even wanna look at it.
Guy: Yeahuh
Girl: Ugh, well, the only people who post on that website have poor self-esteem.
DING DING DING!
JuicyCampus...Aren't there patrols or like garbagemen on the Internet that filter through the crap out there? They really let this one go then. Overheard on campus:
Guy: OMG, you're on Juicy Campus!
Girl: Oh, God. No way, I don't even wanna look at it.
Guy: Yeahuh
Girl: Ugh, well, the only people who post on that website have poor self-esteem.
DING DING DING!
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