Principles of economics, translated

Yoram Bauman's take on Greg Mankiw's Principles of Economics..... hilarious!

Happy 20th, ummm, 25th, Smiley face!

When did it happen?
September 19th, 1982 at 11.44 AM

Mom and Dad: Scott E. Fahlman, Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon University

First pic (a.k.a original smiley message): Can be viewed here

Smiley lore in the words of proud parent: Here

Original creator: Forrest Gump (atleast according to Robert Zemeckis)

Aah... iodine

My favourite subject has returned...

What would you do if you found out that you were iodine deficient (let play out a scenario, notwithstanding the fact that individual iodine deficiency is neither easy nor cost effective to determine)...

so, you are in the middle of the desert, starving for iodine (and water and food... run with the scenario, folks). What would you give your left arm for (assumption 10001: you are right handed)? a slice of pizza with feta cheese and caramelized onion topping? you must be mad... iodised salt? nah, it will only make you thirsty... seaweed? in the desert?
No, you should never leave home (and specifically, not for the desert) without your trusty (wait for it, wait for it) 20 oz bottle of Iodine Mineral Water, courtesy your wonderful looking-out-for-your-health friends at Eniva Corporation.
$26.95 for a bottle! HA!

Economist Robert Frank @Google

Its 55 minutes long... get out your popcorn and watch some pop economics on Youtube! :)

Its 9 O clock on a friday...

...and I am still in the lab...

Existential Questions no 1: Why?
Existential Questions no 2: What is the learning curve for someone my age?
Existential Questions no 3: Why dont I get on with the powderin' of rat livers instead of posting on my blog?

Partial answer: I aim to be lab work free by midnight tonight.... weekend plans include a trip to Vermont... Bob left his Infiniti with me, for safekeeping! (Hahahaha... ) I am going to let 'er rip on Route 2 on the way to Vermont on Sunday... If you read my obit sometime next week, be assured I went out in a blaze of glory with a smile on my face! (j/k - but i will still put the Infiniti through its paces... on a short drive it handles like a luxury car should...)

All is not lost...

If this man in France can survive for as long as he did, then I can breathe easy about my future! hahaha...

Tip: Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution who is "second-hat-tipped" by Winterspeak

Moving...

This blog will soon move to Brookline Village... nope, that's not right... the blog stays where it is, the blog author moves to Brookline Village on September 1! I will be back...

What would you do if you got $500?

Tyler Cower, a practical economist, believes that money to individuals makes more sense than through foreign aid (read government bureaucracy). To back this up claim, Tyler will send one Indian $500 and five others $100 each through Western Union. This is in alignment with the principles he writes about in his new book, Discover Your Inner Economist. Those aforementioned principles are:

1. Cash is often the best form of aid.
2. Give to those who are not expecting it.
3. Don't require the recipients to do anything costly to get the money.

Why India?
To no surprise, he loves the country! In his words, "been to India twice and both times I have been received with the utmost hospitality and enthusiasm. I loved the food, the music, the diversity, and the more-than-occasional chaos. Most of all I loved how the people engaged me so directly, and how every moment was so full of human drama and stories."

What do you do?
Find a deserving Indian, and follow instructions on his blog

NOW!

"Careful with that axe, eugene."

...yes, and that liquid nitrogen is badass, only watch out for its cool sting!

So, the key to crushing rat brains into a fine powder is to render them stone-like so that a mortar and pestle can be put to good use! What is the best way to instantly render something to stone, apart from Basilisks?
Enter left: Liquid nitrogen

Ta-daa! Liquid Nitrogen
oh yes, at a boiling point of 77 K (-196 °C or -320 °F), you can say that it is a cool dude!
I used a lot of liquid nitrogen over the last few days... enough to power a mini-AC/DC concert. I used cryo-gloves and protective eyeglasses, for most of the time (i looked pretty cool, if I do say so myself). When apportioning the crushed powder into small plastic storage tubes, the cryo-gloves turned out to hamper more than help. So I had to take them off, and depend on my triple-gloved left hand (yes, lessons well learned from the ole days of surgery and urinary iodine analysis) to hold the mortar and pestle while a spatula in my triple-gloved right hand (i support equal rights for both hands - pun unintended!) scooped brain powder into the tubes. Initially, my fresh virginal cutaneous surface ("skin" to you laypeople) endured the cold very well. Aaah, the misinformation and deception that is a cutaneous receptor! It flattered to deceive. By the fourth day, I had blisters on my pinky and ring finger, and rosy spots on my palm where there is evidence of light cryogenic burns. "band-aids wearing" has been added to my morning preparation. :)
This morning, i decided that to follow that old adage about prevention, pounds, ounces and cure, and adorned my fingertips (all but one finger, which was left free to be employed in "emergency signage") with "protection" ;) hahaha

hence the look below,



I haven't photographed the palmar surface with its rosy spots, that might put you off that muffin that you are eating ("Step away from that fatty (or low-fat, if you are that way) snack right now!") :)

*sigh*

Another day, another 30 rat brains ground to a fine powder... at least this has a purpose (i hope!), unlike the fate of their brethren!
On an unrealated note, Monique and Jerry have decided to open their house in Concord, and the pond next to it, for fun n frolicking... "Sun, Swim and Sweets", they call it...
White Pond 2007 be a sequel to White Pond 2006.
Pat and Lori, we will miss you...

Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer is a funny guy. Even before he was well known as the voice of Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Dr. Julius Hibbert, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Lenny Leonard, Principal Seymour Skinner, Otto Mann and Rainier Wolfcastle among others, on the Simpsons show, he was involved in creating , writing and starring in "This is Spinal Tap", a classic rock mockumentary (one of my favourites). He is also extremely smart. He won last night's (August 3rd '07) face-off on Celebrity Jeopardy (yes, yes, I am a nerd, I do pretty well, even though some of the categories are way out of my field) against Soledad O'Brien and Isaac Mizrahi.
Here's Harry playing a familiar character....





If you are a link-person, you can follow it at No Cooler for the Scooter
From the site:
"No Cooler for the Scooter
Description: Dick sings one for his Libby, and one for the road."

Some economists fib?

...really? Who would have thought that?
Foreign Policy looks at 5 myths, if you will.
Looks like a 2 plus 2 can sometimes be shown to equal 7. Some economic food for thought.

Tip: Dani Rodrik

Maybe I should become a writer...

Thanks to Dr Sood, my mentor in Endocrinology from AIIMS (that's the much venerated, much hollowed...oops... hallowed "All India Institute of Medical Sciences" in New Delhi, where I whittled away a significant portion of my productive life!), I have been invited to co-author yet another chapter on iodine. Super! After one book (look for No.5 in the National Health Programme Series - yes, yes, I am relegated to a number!), and a couple of chapters in the "Big Book" (which made me famous among the 30 odd people who actually bought the book), I am now embarking on another chapter, this time documenting the endocrine effects of salt iodination. I aim to use high faultin' words and phrases like plasma inorganic iodine and radioiodine kinetics to show that I can slang with the best of 'em! In my iodine tinted world, I am a fabled warrior, armed with nothing more than my wits and an unending supply of iodine replete salt, which I tend to throw over my left shoulder (uh, or is it my right?).

J K Rowling, you had better watch out... wait... isn't she finished with writing? Awright, Stephen King, keep an eye on your rearview mirror, 'coz I am gaining on you!
Teaser trailer: My next book will be set in the land of vitamin B12!

PS: Didja notice the subtle pun in "embarking on another chapter"... nope? no worries - thank you, come again!

Adventures of a Lab Rat. Subtitled: Why me?

"Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake of this creeping malaise
If I don’t stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze? "

- Pink Floyd
Dogs (Waters, Gilmour) from "Animals"

For the last month, I have been working in the Neurocognition Laboratory of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Ageing at Tufts University (And no wisecracks, please, about me discovering cognition,finally, or "coming to my senses"). Ergo, the lack of posts. I am trying to refine my hypothesis; let me rephrase that - I am trying to figure out what my hypothesis will be; i am immersing myself in the lab to get oriented with, and learn more about, lab techniques, pick up skills in hitherto unheard of (atleast in ordinary everyday science lives) tests like genotyping, and generally bring some hilarity into the lab atmosphere. I have also been a not-so-proud active participant in the "sacrifice' of 60 rats in two batches of 30 each. The experiment involved seeing the effect of various diets on membrane lipids in various organs, and blood. I remember the rat experiments in school, and the heart and nerve physiology experiments in the torture chamber called "Medical Physiology Lab", and these experiments, which details I will not divulge as I have blocked them out from active memory, fall in the same category. These noble souls have given their lives for scientific progress. They, and their species, will not be forgotten. Here's looking at you, Rainy!
On a cheerful note, when I am not lab-ratting (yes, that is a verb!), I hang out with a cool group of people, enjoying their company, as I hope they enjoy mine.
~Still Alive and Kickin' Lab Rat
PS: I am assuming that the smart readership of mine (all 10 of you; Yay! up from my last census count of 6) must have already discovered the obvious link between my post title ("rat") and the line from Dogs ("maze")... hahaha... but it goes deeper than that... i am talking about a metaphysical maze, and my path forward...if you figure that one out, do send me a telephatic message

Interesting ... and a message

Following sound advice from Big Brother, I started using Google Reader as my choice of an RSS Aggregator. I follow Foreign Policy analysis, Development Economics, US Food Policy, Medicine, News , NewYorker, blogs from family, friends, friends of friends, people I haven't met (but would love to meet), people I have met and would love to meet again, and also a random funny comic strip to balance things out.
My morning does not begin unless I have read through these, even at the cost of less sleep. I was looking at some of the time saving tips that the Reader offers, as time is limited with me, notwithstanding that I will live to be 86 years.

I came across this:



Curiosity killed this Cat! So, I added Next to my bookmark, opened my reader, read all the unread posts, and then clicked the Next on the bookmark to see what would happen. I got this message:


hahahahaha.... alright, I am a sucker. I am going to click on the End of the Internet. What will happen if I reach the edge of the world? Will I fall off?

Nope, I now know that at the End of the Internet, I will come head to head with another funny person! I love it. Okay, Harry Potter, my time is yours now! :)

What happened...

Follow the pictures, and fill in the blanks to create your own magical fairytale wedding story...








And....
Find the needle in the haystack...rather, find the needle and then the haystack...

Coming soon...

... when I have time...
1) Photoblog of "Adventures in Discovery Park" (Not quite Jurassic Park, but it had its own thrill)
2) Lake Washington Kayak-King (Nay, no names will be taken, atleast not in vain)
3) JetBlues a.k.a Return of the Prodigal Son (from Seattle)

Eventful...

...to say the least....

It's 9 pm in Seattle. I am sitting on Kelly's balcony, watching the sun set on Mt Rainier, digesting the quick indian dinner that I made for us (Krish, you missed out on this one but, lose not your heart, tomorrow is our night!)

Big Event No. 1: Pat and Lori got married

Big Event No 2: Pat and Lori got married



alright, alright, the wedding pretty much dwarfed everything else... And to Big Event No 3: I danced at the reception (Yep, all of the two left feet me)
Pat, in his inimitable style, made a presentation of his and Lori's life - funny, poignant, and memorable... and we all featured as the supporting cast; Thanks to our adventures at the Ben Gurion Airport, I got the honor of being represented as a video clip :)
On a related note, the Seattle Times reported that 37000 couples got married on 7/7/07 - i hear that particular day was lucky both from a religious as well as a cultural perspective... I know of one couple who won't need luck :)
It has been a whirlwind visit - Seattle, Redmond, Pasco, Kennewick and Seattle again in 3 days! A shoutout to Kelly, Donna and Krish for making it happen...
I am off to adventures galore, as Krish and I "paint the town pink"(His words, not mine - I prefer the colour red).
Toodles...

Fourth of July

This was my second Fourth of July in Boston, in three years!
Last year, Pat, Lori, Kelly, Char and a bunch of us headed out to the top of the Tisch Library on the Tufts Medford Campus to watch them from afar. Someone had brought a radio and we even got to hear Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as the fireworks took off.
Since the last fourth of July, my year has been something of a trough on all fronts , plunging down, rising a bit, dipping for a bit and then plunging even further! Pretty much the toughest year of my life, notwithstanding Year 1 (Oh i forget, that wasn't difficult for me, it was hell for my mater and pater!).
I put a tombstone on that year with a fantastic evening with Noah and Dora, Bob joining in as a late guest. Nothing spectacular, we saw a cute rat movie "Ratatouille", sneaked in our homemade popcorn and raspberry lemonade into the theater, made our own pizzas for dinner, and watched the fireworks on TV :) . To top it all, Nikhil is born
Off I go to Seattle, to meet with the ole Gang, and to "ride with Krish"

Nikhil is born...

Another star is born!
Nikhil Srinivasan was born at 12.21 AM on the Third of July 2007. Mom and baby are doing fine. Big Brother Adarsh is excited about his arrival, and refuses to leave his side. Dad is efficiently managing the whole show, losing a lot of sleep but not showing it.
Yay! I am an uncle again!