Category: Uncategorized
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Software Recommendations
Firefox. Copernic Desktop Search. Google’s new version is supposedly much improved, but I am very pleased with this replacement. Backpack. 37signals.com was featured for its gorgeous free web software in the NYT (or Slate). Another method for achieving organizational nirvana. Mozilla Calendar. For those who don’t really trust Outlook not to crash. Google Scholar. Anything…
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Katrina
Backgrounders:http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/hurricane.katrina/index.html Category 5 hurricane. Heading for a below sea level metropolis. This is not good. The picture is from Political Animal.
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Explanation and Justification
Backgrounders:http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/08/history_politic.htmlhttp://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/08/kitten_blood.htmlhttp://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2005/08/mccarthyism_at_.htmlBates (Amazon.com link)Easterly (Amazon.com link)Olson (Amazon.com link) Prof. Brad DeLong has a long post/dialogue with his “ex-teacher Jeff Weintraub,”* on the difference between explanation and justification. Are those who attempt to explain or rationalize the insurgency justifying it? DeLong argues that they are separable (it is possible to explain without justifying) while Weintraub maintains that…
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2008
Beijing is constantly changing. There is a massive effort underway to improve, clean, energize, stabilize, etc the city before the 2008 Olympics. [What you didn’t know that the 2008 Olympics are going to be held in Beijing?] The subway now has a third line with more under construction, but Beijingers continue to buy cars and…
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Discoveries and Finds
I picked up a copy of Beijing’s 1983 Statistical Yearbook Sunday morning in panjiayuan. [n.b. I overpaid. He asked for 20, and I gave him 15 yuan, which is less than US$2 for something that has much more value than that for me. On the other hand, I forgot that demand for this book is…
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Language Politics and Localism
China is so often viewed as monolithic that we ignore that keeping the appearance of unity is a costly endeavor. Chinese from Guangdong may not think that secession is a viable political option, but the rotation of both political and military officials in order to keep them from developing too deep of local ties, implies…
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UBC Coffee
Businesses use colors to differentiate themselves here in theover-saturated, over-populated urban Chinese environment. [N.B. Chinese television advertisements are absolutely incomprehensible to me for the same reason. Constant motion, images flashing on and off, voices blaring…. No car dealership in Indiana can hold a candle to the level of insanity I find in nearly every advertisement…
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Thank You, 7 Times 70 Times
To the Zhangs, my excellent hosts for my far too brief stay inChengdu. From freshly brewed Brazilian coffee to wonderful hot pot banquets with the extended family to patience with my inability to express myself in Sichuanese, my visit was made special because of their kindness. I am forever grateful and hope that I will…
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Some Quick Thoughts while Sitting in a 1950s Era Apartment Complex
Airline tickets are a commodity with very little productdifferentiation other than price and time; however, if you are flying domestically in China, I have two recommendations: avoid Shandong airlines and fly Hainan Air if you possibly can. Hainan had a nice 767, faux leather seats, and good service (if bad coffee).
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Living a Lie (Real Sichuanese Food)
I have not read Plato’s Republic for a long time, but the story of the cave has come into clear focus for me through the succulence of Sichuanese cuisine. Last summer at Peking University, I ate the same dish almost every day from a small noodle shop on campus: mala liangmian, spicy cold noodles. I…
Jeremy Wallace 