Archive for August, 2007

Parallels between China and U.S., Part II

Following up on the last post, there’s another terrific post on the China Law blog (linked to China Briefing) that cuts to the same point: it’s difficult to secure property rights if there are huge barriers to acquiring deeds/title or doing business in the country. China Law’s Dan Harris says:
It makes my blood boil because, […]

Parallels between China and U.S., Part I

The “US in 1887 = China in 2007″ meme is rippling through the blogosphere and I thought we should do our part. The idea is basically that these two countries, around the years listed (+/- several decades) are actually very much alike in terms of various consumer protections and intellectual property rights. Stephen Mihm, assistant […]

Out of Town — August 11-16

I just wanted to put out an alert that I will not be around from August 11-16 and it is doubtable that I will have internet during that time. I’ll be in Orlando and Haines City, and maybe other places, too. I’ve been doing more research, as ever, for the project and will present my […]

Physical (virtual) currency

Big hat tip to 3pointD.com: Step aside Liberty Dollar, the Linden dollar is now available for physical transactions!
Other news I discovered is that John List, an economics professor at U. Chicago and former UCF professor, has been investigating experimental possibilities in Second Life. Here is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education from July […]

Online Library of Liberty

Awkward Utopians in a bookish but impecunious mood might be interested to visit the Online Library of Liberty, part of the Liberty Fund, a non-profit educational organization with a devotion to classical liberalism. (I myself am currently availing myself of their edition of the Federalist Papers.) They offer—gratis—a wide assortment of classic and modern authors […]

New eats near campus

Once in a rare while, the Alligator actually is the bearer of good news. It seems that a new, 24-hour restaurant has opened in the Holiday Inn in the space vacated by Denny’s so long ago, and I’m pleased to say that I think this is a good development for UF’s eating community: the Dill […]

Market Demand for UES School

Given how we’re making it, this could indicate the presence of some kind of untapped demand for our school, mostly since there’s no supply:
Twelfth-graders did better on a recent national economics test than they did on similar math or reading tests, according to results released Wednesday. Forty-two percent of 12th-graders nationwide scored at the proficient […]

Markets Transforming the World

Usually, I am loathe to talk about stories posted on the Drudge Report, if only because everyone has already seen them and/or read/heard plenty of commentary on them. But in this case, consider a possible trend. This is not a trend that only I have noticed, but it is a trend that requires some thought. […]

Giant Lego Man RETURNS

Thank God — they’ve fished out the Giant Lego Man. He’s back. We can resume our plans.

The Economist: Freefall Watch - Registan AGAIN

This time, Registan lights into this article: “They are a bad magazine, and their child’s excuse for wit cannot cover up their steep dive in critical thinking skills.” The usual whiny nit-picking, but also some good points.

PATRIOT Cmte - 50707.31

I am posting some of the results of our last PATRIOT Committee session in case we would like to discuss. First, a comparison of some financial numbers:

Student Stations

Teacher Stations

Furniture / Equipment

Total Facility Cost

Ocoee HS

3,128
117
$4.7 million
$46.378 million

UES

300
??
??
??

Bay Meadow Elementary

1,000
46 (44)
$900,000
$14.26 million

And then there is the time breakdown for our classes in primary school:

School Year
1

2

3

4

5

Median Age […]

Paper Highlights

Last UES meeting, unbidden, I confiscated about 14 papers from MAT224 and I posted any potentially salient points I found in the papers, eschewing regurgitating the math and for the most part methodology in favor of soundbites, conclusions, and guideposts for further research. We already know most of this, but there are cites which I […]

The Economist: Freefall Watch

I decided that if I posted all the stuff I want to about this “newspaper’s” current decline, I’d run out of Roman numerals somewhere along the way. Hence the column “Freefall Watch.”
While most of the time, I find the author’s tone extremely off-putting because he seems to go out of his way to tease ignorance […]