ooh.

Having new and more space makes one desirous of stuff

Like these, for example:

Moved in, two weeks

We moved in two weeks ago with the help of all the climbing crew. I promptly disappeared to West Virginny and Cecilia ran off to visit cousins in Regular Virginny. Now everything is pretty much in place, except the dining room, and the place is kick ass. Slowly we are accumulating craigslist furniture to fill up the empty spaces and replace worn out things, like chairs and coffee tables. I'll post some pictures later when it's more nice.

Bikes are doing well - the Nishiki is up and running with a super-stealth new chain and rear gear cluster. The indexing works, if you count working as not shifting down to the lowest gear (I got a 7 speed to replace a 6 speed, but I'm still only able to use 6 speeds). I rode to work for the first time in a long time today and it was great, especially the part where I nearly rear-ended a car turning left who stopped for a pedestrian. I like to think the cop on the corner was impressed with my lightning fast brake reflexes.

I finished Season 4 of The Wire which I highly recommend to everyone but my parents. Baltimore is really like this, people. They are filming season 5 but somehow the first episodes are already available for download through the bitorrent things. Last weekend in Portland I introduced Cam and Linh to the magical wonderness that is Azureus. They had been just getting dvds from the library! Imagine! Now they are watching Season 1 of the Wire and downloading all the Rick James singles they can handle. It's just like Venture Communism!

Oh yeah, the bikes. Well the blue Peugeot is getting a custom-made seatpost shim courtesy of Sean, and then when its proper tires arrive it will be all ready to put up on the old Ebay. The white Peugeot has its stem and I think I just have to file down a notch on the brake cable hanger in order to set up the front brake and be on my merry way. Having a bike stand and plenty of room in the basement has just been fantastic.

Linh is a graphic designer and has her own website now. She makes the COOLEST STUFF. Somehow we have similar sensibilities (Marimekko, Orla Kiely) despite not having seen eachother for 7 years! Cam is also doing well and starting work for the Governor of Oregon next week. And Caitilin bought a house with another college friend of ours, and is planting it all up since she is a landscape architect. She also has chickens! And a Nishiki of her own. We had a totally fun time on Saturday going to the Farmer's Market and buying picnic food, then heading out to the Gorge and hiking and wading and traversing up a slot canyon. My shoes got pretty wet but boy was it fun. Then yummy pizza at Ken's Artisan, where 9 million fixies whizzed by, along with a stiff breeze. We also visited Stumptown Coffee twice, which has the best coffee in the world. No fooling, NPR says so. They are super serious and super hip. Fortunately, they make a little zine on how to get the most out of your french press/cafetiere/etc (no drip coffemakers for them!) so I can try to recreate the awesomeness at home, if not the post-punk hipster atmosphere. I came home with a bag of beans and promptly ordered an appropriate grinder from the Internet. Bientot le vrai café. If you would like to order beans from them, you can do so here: http://buystumptowncoffee.com/

Congo Choo Choo for Malaria

"We're dropping the nets in the main departments on the way to Brazzaville because the tricky part of setting up a campaign of national distribution is that bed nets are a bulky item," he said.

New Laptop

I ordered a new laptop yesterday. Am sure this will solve ALL my problems.

Clouds lifting

Yesterday turned out to be a good day, though I didn't quite figure it out until we got seated downstairs at Dizzy's, and my burger arrived still very very pink! It has been quite a few weeks since 'medium rare' has not turned into 'well done' and I was getting a little despondant about the quality control. But maybe the old chef, who loves me and my uncooked ground beef, is back from maternity leave or something, or maybe Elaine put a little word in 'cuz our table is so 'easy'.

I also got promoted, and made progress on a couple key projects, which involved only picking up the phone, but it has been hard to do lately.

So, for all that, I can now share this Onion headline with glee and not cause for alarm:
Everyone Should Own A Gun For Protection And Possibly For Suicide

Thanks, Dad, for the super-depressing link.

Why I should have known that economists are assholes.

Perhaps the skills that make a good economist are, for some reason, negatively correlated with the attributes associated with being an agreeable human being. That is, economics may attract people with a particular set of personality attributes, and perhaps these attributes are not the same set of attributes you might choose for your next dinner party.

This is not entirely conjecture on my part. For example, this study

"explores the relationship between student's personality types, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, and their performance in introductory economics. We find that students with the personality types ENTP, ESTP, and ENFP do significantly worse in Principles of Macroeconomics than identical students with the personality type ISTJ."
What is this personality type ISTJ that excels in economics class? Check out this description, which say in part:


The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others.

Sounds like any economist you know?

Except for my dad. Who does a pretty good job, except on Mom's birthday, of being a super niceguy.

Whoa II

As usual, nevermind.

WHOA

New crush.





Wow.

I don't know, I just like it

London Track Stands

New Bike Logo

The dudes over at Fixie Inc (cycles-for-heroes.com) have my new favorite web address and new favorite logo. They are Turkish! In Germany! And, most interesting, their Cyclocross bike is called the 'PureBlood'. Since their site is only in German and Turkish for now, I cannot understand any hidden irony in that. The bikes are expensive but the shirts are pretty cool. Also - they sell "Carscratchers", for the ends of your flat bars:


Ben Hur, anyone?

Good news

Having a root canal was not so bad, and now I have almost no pain. Am keeping my fingers crossed that this actually works.

Last night I got invited over the bike messenger bbq across the alley. It was super fun. As I walked in everyone was like hey, the Peugeot girl with the moustache handlebars!

Vino, you stupid cow

PAU, France, July 25 — Alexander Vinokourov, the Kazakh cyclist who was considered the favorite to win the Tour de France this year and who has won two stages of the race so far, tested positive for an autologous blood transfusion and his Astana team will abandon the tour, a team official said Tuesday.

Rest of the story here:

Dumbass. Velonews gives a little more detail, including David Millar's reaction ("Jesus Christ....this makes me want to cry.").

"Hardcore Commuter"

Of course I am not doing work at the moment but instead using the lightning fast internet at work to shop for tires (did not know how hard it was going to be to find skinny tires for 27" rims!). And I visit the Soma site, since they are totally awesome in every way, especially these cool steel-core tire levers.

Anyway. I'm looking at the Xpress Tires just for kicks, and I see the description:

We wanted an urban tire that was flat resistant AND also gave an excellent ride. A splendid tire for the AIDS Ride. Messengers and hardcore commuters should try them, too.

And I realize - I am a hardcore commuter! What a perfect description of my totally lame 2 mile commute through stupid traffic and monster potholes, skating over broken glass and treacherous jettisoned trash. I don't have to feel bad about not being as tough as those messenger guys, but nor do I have to stay in the ranks of the average bike commuter, pedaling a heavy hybrid or mountain bike down bike lanes, laden with panniers. I am in that happy medium of speed and agility and short distances, every day.

Cecilia, our new roommate

She has braces so isn't smiling very big. She's 23, from Bolivia, and doing a Masters in Psych.

User Fees

User fees are a tough issue. You want to get people to pay a bit, so that they value the service they are getting at the health center and so the health center can have a bit of income with which to run programs or supplement salaries. But finding the right price is tricky. I read the Ashraf article when it came out a few months ago and it seems like Clorin is an ideal product to charge a bit for - it's dirt cheap. But you just can't charge 18 cents for a bednet.

From CDG Blog:

One of the most controversial subjects in global health is the topic of user fees for health services and commodities. Ever since Nancy Birdsall, David de Ferranti and John Akin declined to rule out user fees as a useful source of health financing way back in 1987, the World Bank has been pilloried for "advocating user fees" in the health sector, which the Bank has never done. By setting out explicit criteria for setting user fees in the 2004 World Development Report, the Bank resisted continuing political pressure to ban them outright and further fueled the debate. Among the donors, DFID (see also this white paper) has most adamantly rejected user fees as either effective or legitimate for improving access to health care by the poor. On the other hand, the social marketing of health care commodities, from condoms to antibiotics, is increasingly popular among actors such as PSI and KfW and presumes that the optimal price of these commodities, while heavily subsidized, is not free.

The obvious argument against user fees is based on the fundamental economic proposition that demand curves slope downward* - e.g. that the number of people willing to purchase a product or service declines as its price increases. It follows that lower prices should result in more health care utilization than higher prices, and that zero prices would be even better. However, a fascinating new study by Nava Ashraf, James Berry, and Jesse Shapiro of the market for home water purification solution in Zambia finds that in fact demand curves seem to flatten out as the price approaches zero, and may even slope upward - or, in plain English, that the act of paying a small amount (up to 18 cents, in this case) actually increases use over distributing Clorin free of charge.

The authors posit two reasons why people might behave contrary to the simple law of demand. First, the price effectively targets the distribution of the health commodity to those least likely to waste it. Second, people who have paid more for a product may have a greater psychological commitment to using it. They find strong statistical support for the first of these effects and weak support for the second.

If these results could be generalized to other health commodities, like bednets to prevent malaria, or to health services such as curative health clinic visits, the suggestion would be that sufficiently small user fees do little to discourage utilization; they might even increase it by stimulating the supply of health care quantity and quality. Although 18 cents - the highest price that can be charged for Clorin in Zambia without reducing utilization - seems like a tiny sum to people in rich countries, this would be enough to substantially motivate a distributor of a health commodity such as bednets or condoms, and a similarly small sum might help fill a financing gap in health clinics.

Obviously, this has huge implications for policymakers in developing countries, where cutting subsidies could actually improve overall health outcomes while motivating both public and private providers at the periphery of health care systems. Let's hope that the debate on user fees for health care is enriched by more such randomized controlled studies and that they look in more detail at supply and financing effects as well as demand-side effects.

*As an aside, the existence of upward-sloping demand curves has actually been in the news a lot this week due to recent evidence proving the heretofore purely theoretical case of Giffen goods.

Interviewing Roommates

I'm at Dizzie's last night and talking about the weirdness that is our roommate search (i.e. Edith has interviewed someone before I have! In Bolivia!). Ian, being British and having an affinity for Scotland, brought up Shallow Grave, which came out in the early 90's, before Trainspotting (same people). There's a famous roommate interview scene which I will shamelessly post here. The movie ends quite badly for everyone but it is an icon for students of a certain age, especially those in my current situation.

Shallow Grave





Final Draft Screenplay

by

John Hodge
[Introduction]


Typed and HTMLed by "Greg Adkins"



INT. DAY

A blurred image forms on a white screen. A horizontal strip of
face, eyes motionless and unblinking.

DAVID
(voice-over)
Take trust, for instance, or friendship: these are the important
things in life, the things that matter, that help you on your
way. If you can't trust your friends, well, what then?

EXT. DAWN

A series of fast-cut static scenes of empty streets.

DAVID
(voice-over)
This could have been any city: they're all the same.

A rapid, swerving track along deserted streets and down narrow
lanes and passageways. Accompanied by soundtrack and credits.

The track ends outside a solid, fashionable Edinburgh tenement.

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY

At the door of a flat on the third floor of the tenement. The
door is dark, heavy wood and on it is a plastic card embossed
with the names of three tenants. They are Alex Law, David
Stevens, and Juliet Miller.

A man climbs the stairs and reaches the door. He is Cameron
Clarke, thin and in his late twenties with a blue anorak and
lank, greasy hair. He is carrying an awkwardly bulky plastic bag.
Cameron gives the doorbell an ineffectual ring and then stands
back, shifting nervously from foot to foot until the door is
answered.

CAMERON
Hello, I've come about the room.

Cameron enters and the door closes.

INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY

David, Alex, and Juliet sit in a line on the sofa directly
opposite Cameron, who shifts uneasily in his armchair. Alex
checks some items on a clipboard before speaking.

ALEX
What's his name?

DAVID
I don't know -- Campbell or something?

JULIET
Cameron.

ALEX
Cameron?

JULIET
Yes.

ALEX
(to Juliet)
Really?

CAMERON
That's right.

ALEX
(to Cameron)
What?

Cameron is not sure what to say.

ALEX
(continued)
Well, Cameron, are you comfortable?

CAMERON
Yes, thanks.

ALEX
Good. Well, you've seen the flat?

CAMERON
Yes.

ALEX
And you like it?

CAMERON
Oh, yes, it's great.

ALEX
Yes. It is, isn't it? We alllike it. And the room's nice too,
don't you think?

CAMERON
Yes.

ALEX
Spacious, quiet, bright, well appointed, all that sort of stuff,
all that crap.

CAMERON
Well, yes.

ALEX
So tell me, Cameron, what on earth -- just tell me, because I
want to know -- what on earth could make you think that we would
want to share a flat like this with someone like you?

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY

As Cameron plods slowly down the stairs, his shoes striking out
against the stone steps, Alex's criticisms continue.

ALEX
(voice-over)

I mean, my first impression, and they're rarely wrong, is that
you have none of the qualities that we would normally seek in a
prospective flatmate. I'm talking here about things like
presence, charisma, style and charm, and I don't think we're
being unreasonable. Take David here, for instance: a chartered
accountant he may be, but at least he tries hard. The point is, I
don't think you're even trying.

Cameron has reached the bottom of the stairs. He opens the main
door.

ALEX
(continued)
And, Cameron -- I mean this -- good luck!

Cameron leaves and the main door closes behind him.

ALEX
(continued)
Do you think he was upset?

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY

Inside the hall of the flat, David approaches the door toopen it.
Freeze-frame.

ALEX
(voice-over)
David likes to keep spareshoelaces in sorted pairs in a box
marked, not just shoelaces', but spare shoelaces'.

David opens the door to the Woman.

WOMAN
I've come to see about the room.

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY

Outside the door of the flat a young Goth girl, aged about
twenty, rings the doorbell.

INT. HALL. DAY

Inside the hall of the flat Alex approaches the door to open it.
Freeze-frame.

JULIET
(voice-over)
Alex is a vegetarian. Do you know why? Because he feels it
provides an interesting counterpoint to his otherwise callous
personality. It doesn't. He thinks he's the man for me. He isn't,
though there was a time when, well, there was a time when...

Alex opens the door to the Goth.

GOTH
I've come about the room.

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY

At the door of the flat a Man aged about thrity-five rings the
bell.

INT. HALL. DAY

Inside the hall of the flat Juliet approaches the door to open
it. Freeze-frame.

DAVID
(voice-over)
Like one of those stupid posters -- you know, a gorilla cuddling
a hedgehog, caption love hurts --- that's what I think when I
think of Juliet.

Juliet opens the door to the Man.

MAN
I've come about the room.

INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY

In the living room each of the candidates is interviewed
individually with the same seating arrangements as before (i.e.
the trio on the sofa and the applicant on the chair). What we see
are briskly intercut excerpts from each of these interviews. We
do not get the responses to the questions, although we may see
some facial reaction.

All of David's questions are to the Woman.

All of Alex's questions are to the Goth.

All of Juliet's questions are to the Man.

DAVID
All right, just a few questions.

ALEX
I'd like to ask you about your hobbies.

JULIET
Why do you want a room here?

DAVID
Do you smoke?

ALEX
When you slaughter a goat and wrench its heart out with your bare
hands, do you then summon hellfire?

JULIET
I mean, what are you actually doing here? What is the hidden
agenda?

DAVID
Do a little freebasemaybe, from time to time?

ALEX
Or maybe just phone out for a pizza?

JULIET
Look, it's a fairly straightforward question. You're either
divorced or you're not.

DAVID
OK, I'm going to play you just a few seconds of this tape -- I'd
like you to name the song, the lead singer and the three hit
singles subsequently recorded by him with another band.

ALEX
When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of
black to wear?

JULIET
Now, let me get this straight. This affair that you're not
having, is it not with a man or not with a woman?

DAVID
Turning very briefly to the subject of corporate finance -- no,
this is important. Leveraged buy-outs -- a good thing or a bad
thing?

ALEX
With which of the following figures do you most closely identify:
Joan of Arc, Eva Braun or Marilyn Monroe?

JULIET
It's just that you strike me as a man trapped in a crisis of
emotional direction, afflicted by a realization that the partner
of your dreams is, quite simply, just that.

DAVID
Did you ever kill a man?

ALEX
And when did anyone last say to you these exact words: You are
the sunshine of my life'?

JULIET
OK, so A has left you, B is ambivalent, you're still seeing C but
D is the one you yearn for. What are we to make of this? If I
were you, I'd ditch the lot. There's a lot more letters in the
alphabet of love.

DAVID
And what if I told you that I was the antichrist?

Feeling lame

Shit. Now I'm in one of those funks where I'm sad I'm not 26 with a brilliant job and married to an equally brilliant and clever person. I suppose this only gets worse as one gets older.

Emily Oster at TED

How HIV and life expectancy are correlated (given malaria burden...which I'm not sure about, since reduced life expectancy in high malaria areas is because lots of small kids are dying, bringing down the average); Uganda's coffee production vs ABC campaign as reason for its reduced incidence rate in the 90s; risks of rapid economic growth for spread of HIV. This is why I love economics!

Eh?

Mr Mwesigye said if NMS predicts the expired drugs, they supply the relevant information to the third party programmes but most of them fail to respond to save them.

from Uganda: Shs3.7 Billion Malaria, ARV Drugs Rot in National Medical Stores

The Monitor (Kampala)

12 July 2007
http://allafrica.com/stories/200707110814.html