Showing posts with label Random Friday nonsense.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random Friday nonsense.... Show all posts

Friday, April 10, 2009

Beer and Gas

All of the Honest Pint hullabaloo got me thinking about asymmetric information and government regulated and policed standards. Gas pumps are a typical example: certified and tested by the state to be sure you are getting a gallon of gas. But clearly this is a much bigger deal than beer, right? Well, yes, overall it is orders a magnitude bigger, but then when I started to think about my own budget I came to the...what, terrible, delightful, embarrassing, impressive?... realization that I spend about as much on beer as on gas. This is largely because I go for quality beer and beer in pubs over quantity (honest - I swear) and I try and drive as little as possible (though I do drive an awful lot between Portland and Corvallis during the academic year).

Hmmm.....something about this seems so wrong, or so right, I can't decide.

My Office is Now as Clean as it Will Ever Be

Here is proof for all eternity that, yes indeed, my office is not always a mess. 

NB: To my students, the Magic 8 Ball on my filing cabinet is what I use to determine answers to questions like "can I turn my problem set in late?"  So now you know.

I once, with a friend who shall remain anonymous, dissected and then tried to reconstruct an 8 Ball.  Surprising what you will find should you try the same thing.  Even more surprising how difficult it is to recreate.  Hint: coffee is not a good way to replicate the dark liquid...