Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thanksgiving Meal for Ten Only $34.03 at Walmart
CARPE DIEM: Thanksgiving Meal for Ten Only $34.03 at Walmart
Update 1:
"What single organization in human history has made the greatest contribution to enriching and improving the lives of the poor, the middle class, the average citizen, the bottom of "the 99%," etc.?
I nominate Walmart."
Update 1:
"What single organization in human history has made the greatest contribution to enriching and improving the lives of the poor, the middle class, the average citizen, the bottom of "the 99%," etc.?
I nominate Walmart."
14,000 abandoned wind turbines
14,000 abandoned wind turbines « Don Surber
When an honest history of this period in the United States is written, it will no be kind to the corporate cronyism that preyed upon public ignorance of earth science to create a crisis — global warming — to exploit and loot the Treasury
When an honest history of this period in the United States is written, it will no be kind to the corporate cronyism that preyed upon public ignorance of earth science to create a crisis — global warming — to exploit and loot the Treasury
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Elite Firms Fishing in a Very Small Hiring Poo
Elite Firms Fishing in a Very Small Hiring Pool - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic
1. Most applications practically go straight in the trash.
2. Evaluators have a lot of slack. . . . In fact, evaluators explicitly select candidates similar to themselves in school rank, grades, etc. For example:
[R]oughly one-third of evaluators did not use educational prestige as a signal.
One of the primary differences between these two groups was their own educational history, with those who had attended "top" schools being more likely to use educational prestige as a screen than those who had attended other types of selective institutions.
3. Super-elite credentials matter much more than your academic record:
[E]valuators drew strong distinctions between top four universities, schools that I term the super-elite, and other types of selective colleges and universities.
So-called "public Ivies" such as University of Michigan and Berkeley were not considered elite or even prestigious...
4. Super-elite schools matter because they're strong signals, not because they're better at building human capital:
Evaluators relied so intensely on "school" as a criterion of evaluation not because they believed that the content of elite curricula better prepared students for life in their firms - in fact, evaluators tended to believe that elite and, in particular, super-elite instruction was "too abstract," "overly theoretical," or even "useless" compared to the more "practical" and "relevant" training offered at "lesser" institutions...
[I]t was not the content of an elite education that employers valued but rather the perceived rigor of these institutions' admissions processes. According to this logic, the more prestigious a school, the higher its "bar" for admission, and thus the "smarter" its student body. . .
5. At least in this elite sample, I'm totally wrong to think that extracurriculars don't matter:
[E]valuators believed that the most attractive and enjoyable coworkers and candidates would be those who had strong extracurricular "passions." They also believed that involvement in activities outside of the classroom was evidence of superior social skill; they assumed a lack of involvement was a signal of social deficiencies... By contrast, those without significant extracurricular experiences or those who participated in activities that were primarily academically or pre-professionally oriented were perceived to be "boring," "tools," "bookworms," or "nerds" who might turn out to be "corporate drones" if hired.
1. Most applications practically go straight in the trash.
2. Evaluators have a lot of slack. . . . In fact, evaluators explicitly select candidates similar to themselves in school rank, grades, etc. For example:
[R]oughly one-third of evaluators did not use educational prestige as a signal.
One of the primary differences between these two groups was their own educational history, with those who had attended "top" schools being more likely to use educational prestige as a screen than those who had attended other types of selective institutions.
3. Super-elite credentials matter much more than your academic record:
[E]valuators drew strong distinctions between top four universities, schools that I term the super-elite, and other types of selective colleges and universities.
So-called "public Ivies" such as University of Michigan and Berkeley were not considered elite or even prestigious...
4. Super-elite schools matter because they're strong signals, not because they're better at building human capital:
Evaluators relied so intensely on "school" as a criterion of evaluation not because they believed that the content of elite curricula better prepared students for life in their firms - in fact, evaluators tended to believe that elite and, in particular, super-elite instruction was "too abstract," "overly theoretical," or even "useless" compared to the more "practical" and "relevant" training offered at "lesser" institutions...
[I]t was not the content of an elite education that employers valued but rather the perceived rigor of these institutions' admissions processes. According to this logic, the more prestigious a school, the higher its "bar" for admission, and thus the "smarter" its student body. . .
5. At least in this elite sample, I'm totally wrong to think that extracurriculars don't matter:
[E]valuators believed that the most attractive and enjoyable coworkers and candidates would be those who had strong extracurricular "passions." They also believed that involvement in activities outside of the classroom was evidence of superior social skill; they assumed a lack of involvement was a signal of social deficiencies... By contrast, those without significant extracurricular experiences or those who participated in activities that were primarily academically or pre-professionally oriented were perceived to be "boring," "tools," "bookworms," or "nerds" who might turn out to be "corporate drones" if hired.
Nancy Pelosi Wants A Federal Babysitting Service
Nancy Pelosi Wants A Federal Babysitting Service
"One of the great pieces of unfinished business is high-quality child care; I wonder why we just can’t do that,’’ she recently said to a California audience.
"One of the great pieces of unfinished business is high-quality child care; I wonder why we just can’t do that,’’ she recently said to a California audience.
Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction
Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction - latimes.com
He was replaced by Michael Brune, 40, a veteran of smaller activist groups, who has pledged to concentrate on grass-roots organizing, recruit new members and focus on such issues as coal-fired power plants.
He was replaced by Michael Brune, 40, a veteran of smaller activist groups, who has pledged to concentrate on grass-roots organizing, recruit new members and focus on such issues as coal-fired power plants.
Penn State’s institutional wickedness
Mark Steyn: Penn State’s institutional wickedness assistant, graduate, state - Opinion - The Orange County Register
Hold it right there.
"The next morning"?
Here surely is an almost too perfect snapshot of a culture that simultaneously destroys childhood and infantilizes adulthood.
The "child" in this vignette ought to be the 10-year-old boy, "hands up against the wall," but, instead, the "man" appropriates the child role for himself: Why, the graduate assistant is so "distraught" that he has to leave and telephone his father.
He is pushing 30, an age when previous generations would have had little boys of their own.
But today, confronted by a grade-schooler being sodomized before his eyes, the poor distraught child-man approaching early middle-age seeks out some fatherly advice, like one of Fred MacMurray's "My Three Sons" might have done had he seen the boy next door swiping a can of soda pop from the lunch counter.
....."When we say 'we don't know what we'd do under the same circumstances,' we make cowardice the default position."
Hold it right there.
"The next morning"?
Here surely is an almost too perfect snapshot of a culture that simultaneously destroys childhood and infantilizes adulthood.
The "child" in this vignette ought to be the 10-year-old boy, "hands up against the wall," but, instead, the "man" appropriates the child role for himself: Why, the graduate assistant is so "distraught" that he has to leave and telephone his father.
He is pushing 30, an age when previous generations would have had little boys of their own.
But today, confronted by a grade-schooler being sodomized before his eyes, the poor distraught child-man approaching early middle-age seeks out some fatherly advice, like one of Fred MacMurray's "My Three Sons" might have done had he seen the boy next door swiping a can of soda pop from the lunch counter.
....."When we say 'we don't know what we'd do under the same circumstances,' we make cowardice the default position."
Friday, November 18, 2011
State employee pension systems deliver budget shock
State employee pension systems deliver budget shock - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register
Most for university pensions
The university system is the main reason for the increase.
SURS originally expected to need $1.06 billion next year.
Instead it told lawmakers and the governor’s office it needs $1.4 billion, up from $980.5 billion this year.
Most for university pensions
The university system is the main reason for the increase.
SURS originally expected to need $1.06 billion next year.
Instead it told lawmakers and the governor’s office it needs $1.4 billion, up from $980.5 billion this year.
Detroit's clock striking midnight
Stephen Henderson: Detroit's clock striking midnight Detroit Free Press freep.com
The City of Detroit is running out of money.
Not in the theoretical terms we've imagined for decades, but in literal figures, splayed out over spreadsheets that tell a long story of mismanagement and incompetence, culminating in insolvency.
Cash runs out by April, unless dramatic steps are taken.
The City of Detroit is running out of money.
Not in the theoretical terms we've imagined for decades, but in literal figures, splayed out over spreadsheets that tell a long story of mismanagement and incompetence, culminating in insolvency.
Cash runs out by April, unless dramatic steps are taken.
Treasury Admits What Everybody Already Knew: Taxpayer Losses On GM Bailout Are Going to be Massive
Treasury Admits What Everybody Already Knew: Taxpayer Losses On GM Bailout Are Going to be Massive - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
This means that the total hit to taxpayers, who still own about a quarter of the company, could add up to $38.6 billion.
That’s even more that the $34 billion on the outside I had predicted in May.
This means that the total hit to taxpayers, who still own about a quarter of the company, could add up to $38.6 billion.
That’s even more that the $34 billion on the outside I had predicted in May.
One in four American women take medication for a mental disorder
One in four American women take medication for a mental disorder Mail Online
More than one in four American women took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression last year, according to an analysis of prescription data.
The report, by pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc, found the use of drugs for psychiatric and behavioral disorders in all adults rose 22per cent from 2001.
More than one in four American women took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression last year, according to an analysis of prescription data.
The report, by pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc, found the use of drugs for psychiatric and behavioral disorders in all adults rose 22per cent from 2001.
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