I went to Yahoo News to check on the basketball scores and noticed that one of the headlines is about one of my studies. Not that the description has much to do with the study, which was a mathematical model of social perception:

[link]

They have the most amazing 72-Layer Hand-Cut Cream Cheese Biscuits

Guh.... Oo, and they carry them at Whole Foods, apparently. Hm. I might have to go on a quest.

This weekend I need to get a spazzy friend to make firm plans, color my hair, clean clean clean, get groceries, do TWoP stuff, and wash many loads of laundry. And then on Sunday I'll be at my brother's for half the day. So it seems like Saturday's going to suck.

Especially since I have a game I want to spend hours playing but I guess I can't do that. Wah.

So, Rick, you've outed yourself as Correen Farris?

Spring break! WOOOOO!

Well, except that I have to be here two more hours and come in tomorrow. But the point is, the kids are (almost) gone and I'm done scolding them to be quiet during a movie! YAAAAY!

In general, I think any argument that relies on everyone involved being mendacious or dumb has extremely poor explanatory power.

I... don't know. Developing an investment strategy based on the TV series Flip This House sounds kinda dumb to me, especially if you develop the strategy after the show's been on a couple of years.

So, Rick, you've outed yourself as Correen Farris?

A former graduate student. We did the study several years ago.

Guh.... Oo, and they carry them at Whole Foods, apparently. Hm. I might have to go on a quest.

They are worth the effort, though they are a bit pricey (as is the restaurant itself).

I went to Yahoo News to check on the basketball scores and noticed that one of the headlines is about one of my studies.

hah! My friend & I were going to have shirts made at one point that would read "Not Flirting, Just Friendly."

Happy Birthday, Mal!!!

My friend & I were going to have shirts made at one point that would read "Not Flirting, Just Friendly."

Er, so when you WERE flirting, you'd just, uh, take your shirts off? That's probably clear enough....

...

Scrappy, I'm sorry.

Can anyone explain to me why the water supply is a public utility and the electric and gas lines are private companies, even though they essentially have a regional monopoly?

That actually differs throughout the country. Some municipalities supply water, gas and electricity. They usually buy the electricity through some kind of group buying with other cities. A few generate power or own part of a power plant. For example, the City of Dalton owns 3% of a nuclear plant.

There wasn't really any planning involved. The system jist growed. In Georgia, for example, a company called Georgia Electric Light Co. started a street lighting and streetcar service and built a dam to supply power to it. It then bought or merged with many other small companies to become Georgia Power. At one time, Georgia Power supplied natural gas, electricity and streetcar services to Atlanta, but SEC and federal court rulings forced them to sell the gas and streetcar businesses, mostly for antitrust reasons. The gas service was then supplied by a Atlanta Gas Light, but the city bought the streetcar system.

I suspect that cities supply water because cities have supplied water thousands of years. There are places where companies have bought the water system and operate it for the city.