:: p-dog ::

I'm spending all afternoon studying for my Quant exam tomorrow. After the exam, I'm running home for a second phone interview for an internship this summer (I've just discovered that my very accomplished and talented next-door-neighbor, fellow TFA-alum and policy student is interviewing for the same spot an hour later, which is somewhat demoralizing, but hell, what're you gonna do? Poor kid has mono, so I probably shouldn't kick him in the shins as per my first instinct.)

Anyhoo, I thought I'd post the exam topic outline here, for several reasons:
a) so you can marvel at what a geeky badass I am
b) so Amy, the only one who understands, can give me some sympathy-lovin'
c) so that my posts from Belize next week will look even more decadent and relaxing by contrast
d) because studying sucks, and getting to whine about it is pretty much the only perk

Here it is:
I. Dummy Variables
II. Joint Hypothesis Testing
III. Heteroskedasticity
IV. Endogeneity
a. Measurement Error
b. Omitted Variables
c. Simultaneity
V. Proxy Variables

You know, it still helps to remind myself at times like these that I could be teaching middle school right now instead of sitting on my couch in sweatpants, wondering how much beer would hamper my ability to absorb information.

In other news, PostHip is about to POP, and I'm so excited!!

:: Leslie H - 2:26 PM - ::

Just felt like I should pop on and acknowledge the fact that I've been a lousy blogger this month. So there that is.

Maybe I'll be more moved to write from our beach-side house off the coast of Belize. Because yes, it does have wireless internet.

Interesting note: Blogger's spell check does not know the word "blogger."
My favorite variable in a regression of birth weight on tobacco use and 30 other variables: "deadkids"

Here's a Robert Reich article I really enjoyed, if you're looking for a little why-the-Democrats-suck action. Discussing this article in class, he said he doesn't believe there actually is a Democratic party.

:: Leslie H - 4:55 PM - ::

Quick Updates:

Bryan and I spent the weekend in a mountain cabin with a dozen people, skiing, sledding, and romping in all the new snow. (Pics up at gallery.)

My parents are coming to visit this weekend, and they're bringing barbeque. I'm pretty dang excited, y'all.

:: Leslie H - 7:54 AM - ::

Today in my ethics class, I:

1. hypothetically murdered a girl,
2. watched as another classmate drowned in a lake and did nothing,
and (most disturbingly)
3. profoundly questioned my position on capital punishment (a firm NO since 1998).
Apparently some very credible recent studies suggest that is does, in fact, deter crime, and quite a bit of it. Which leaves me basically stuck with the "but it's just wrong" argument, which isn't really my style. Of course there's much more to it than that, but those are pretty much the essentials.

An update from last week: I'm still opposed to infanticide, but it's not as crazy as it sounds.

I just got back from class and am now getting ready to go to the school board meeting with my IPA group. The good times keep rolling.

:: Leslie H - 5:18 PM - ::

My First Earthquake

Just after 11:30, my quant lecture on the gender wage gap was interupted by the building shaking in a rather troubling way. My professor sprinted ineffectually across the room and loudly demanded to know why half a dozen students (all California-raised) were under their desks, and it dawned on all of us that it was an earthquake. As soon as the nervous giggles stopped (about two minutes), I googled "earthquake california" and got here, a very informative site that told me there had been two quakes about ten minutes apart, four miles away. The first one (2.8) we didn't feel, but the second (3.4) had occasioned the duck-and-cover.

There have certainly been such minor earthquakes since I've been in California, but I'd never felt any before. I'm very excited about it all and encourage all future earthquake activity under a magnitude of 4.0.

:: Leslie H - 12:10 PM - ::