The statistics midterm passed without much incident. It was a night test and coming out of exam I realized I made a couple careless errors. I have a propensity for doing this, it seems, and it's incredibly frustrating. I studied a lot, knew most everything, but inexplicably froze up during the exam. After the annoyance with myself passed and I received my test back, the score reflected my work. I didn't do exceptionally well but I did fine.
The microeconomics midterm did not go so well. I have never felt so badly finishing an exam as I did yesterday. I studied quite a bit (not as much as I did for stats) and felt mildly confident at the outset. That confidence was clearly misplaced. The test was remarkably difficult. Much more difficult than any of the homeworks and even last years midterm from my perspective. I have been in a terrible mood since then and have visions of me flunking out of La Follette or at least being put on academic probation. Neither of which are very enticing options.
This was definitely a wake up call. I obviously don't know what my actual score will be or how the test will be curved, but I have already committed myself to more diligent studying. Grad school in general is meant to be more difficult and La Follette is a top program, so it is expected that it will be challenging. The first phase is over (I'll call it the honeymoon stage) and midterms were a swift kick in the junk reminding me that I have to get my shit together. Marriage isn't about fun, it's about sacrifice.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Some Pictures
OK, I've finally got some pictures to put up. I've been meaning to take some photos of the various significant locations to me here but just haven't gotten around to it until now. Enjoy.
View of Lake Mendota from the La Follette Building
The La Follette House
There it is
Inside Willy Bikes
View of Lake Mendota from the La Follette Building
The La Follette House
There it is
Inside Willy BikesThursday, October 9, 2008
Test No. 1
T-minus eight hours until my first test at La Follette. My first statistics exam is schedule tonight from 6:00-8:00 and I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I have been studying quite a bit but still can't get a reading on how I'll do. Some problems I am very confident, others not so much.
Our professor tried to reassure us the other day saying, "I don't expect people to do well on the exam. Just get your first 50 points and then the rest is gravy." Not the most comforting thing, but at least he tried.
Some people are stressing over the exam. I don't really know why. I've somewhat given up on absolutely freaking out about tests and other school work. It's simply not worth the trouble. It's not in the interest of professors to fail you out of the program. In the end, everything passes as it should and life goes on whether the assignment went well or poorly. Regardless of how the test goes, we're all heading out for celebratory/conciliatory drinks at the local watering hole afterward. Yippee!
Our professor tried to reassure us the other day saying, "I don't expect people to do well on the exam. Just get your first 50 points and then the rest is gravy." Not the most comforting thing, but at least he tried.
Some people are stressing over the exam. I don't really know why. I've somewhat given up on absolutely freaking out about tests and other school work. It's simply not worth the trouble. It's not in the interest of professors to fail you out of the program. In the end, everything passes as it should and life goes on whether the assignment went well or poorly. Regardless of how the test goes, we're all heading out for celebratory/conciliatory drinks at the local watering hole afterward. Yippee!
Monday, October 6, 2008
VP Debate Reactions
The "Beers for Biden, Pies for Palin" vice-presidential debate party was a resounding success. Six of my policy cohorts came over and nearly two full apple pies were consumed along with two dozen bottles of beer... fantastic. I myself enjoyed three slices of pie - well I say enjoyed until the last three bites of the third when it became mildly painful to finish (my marginal utility for each successive bite was falling close to zero).
In terms of the debate, I thought the night was quite revealing. Neither candidate is an exceptional debater but they stuck to their strengths and it turned out to be a rather instructional for me as a voter. Firmly an Obama/Biden supporter, it reaffirmed many reasons why. For any number of reasons (Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, education, energy, etc.) the Obama/Biden ticket resonates with me and it was reassuring to see first hand Joe Biden's mastery of the area, foreign policy, where Obama strikes me as the weakest. Previously relatively unknown to me, Biden made a strong impression as a knowledgeable and capable politician. Not flawless however, as he has made gaffes and has been forced to change or compromise some of his positions as part of the Democratic ticket.
On the other side, Sarah Palin did well for herself and the Republican party. She did not have any disastrous moments of 'Deer-in-Headlights Syndrome' and answered the questions in a way that really should help solidify the Republican base of voters. However, I hope it was as painfully obvious others who saw the debate as it was to me that she is painfully underqualified and illequipped to be the vice-president of the United States. She had three talking points that reocurred over and over again regardless whether the question was about education, foreign policy, health care or whaterver: she and John McCain are Mavericks (whatever that means exactly), she's an outsider from an energy producing state, and doesn't like taxes. It was amazing how many times she mentioned these things and how little substance there was to them. Not that it was terribly unexpected, but she dodged every other question and reverted back the talking points that the McCain handlers scripted for her.
In the end, I would say Biden won the debate by a good amount. He dictated the pace of the debate and answered questions directly and with good information. His knowledge of foreign policy is impressive. Palin on the other hand held her own and did fine. The talking points came through strongly but there was little, if any, substance to her rhetoric.
In terms of the debate, I thought the night was quite revealing. Neither candidate is an exceptional debater but they stuck to their strengths and it turned out to be a rather instructional for me as a voter. Firmly an Obama/Biden supporter, it reaffirmed many reasons why. For any number of reasons (Iraq, Afghanistan, health care, education, energy, etc.) the Obama/Biden ticket resonates with me and it was reassuring to see first hand Joe Biden's mastery of the area, foreign policy, where Obama strikes me as the weakest. Previously relatively unknown to me, Biden made a strong impression as a knowledgeable and capable politician. Not flawless however, as he has made gaffes and has been forced to change or compromise some of his positions as part of the Democratic ticket.
On the other side, Sarah Palin did well for herself and the Republican party. She did not have any disastrous moments of 'Deer-in-Headlights Syndrome' and answered the questions in a way that really should help solidify the Republican base of voters. However, I hope it was as painfully obvious others who saw the debate as it was to me that she is painfully underqualified and illequipped to be the vice-president of the United States. She had three talking points that reocurred over and over again regardless whether the question was about education, foreign policy, health care or whaterver: she and John McCain are Mavericks (whatever that means exactly), she's an outsider from an energy producing state, and doesn't like taxes. It was amazing how many times she mentioned these things and how little substance there was to them. Not that it was terribly unexpected, but she dodged every other question and reverted back the talking points that the McCain handlers scripted for her.
In the end, I would say Biden won the debate by a good amount. He dictated the pace of the debate and answered questions directly and with good information. His knowledge of foreign policy is impressive. Palin on the other hand held her own and did fine. The talking points came through strongly but there was little, if any, substance to her rhetoric.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Beer for Biden, Pie for Palin
Tonight Scott, my roommate, and I are hosting a Vice Presidential Debate Party. Yes, yes quite dorky perhaps but I am policy student and it comes with the territory. The theme of the party, as all good parties have some type, is "Beer for Biden, Pie for Palin." Beer is an obvious choice and we decided on pie because, well, we like alliteration too. More directly however, a couple girls in our program went apple picking over last weekend and came back with an excess of 10lbs of apples. Apparently one of the girls already made more than a gallon of apple sauce and there are still plenty of apples left over for some delicious pie.
I am quite curious to see how the debate tonight turns out. Admittedly I am quite partisan toward Obama-Biden, but I am always interested to hear what the McCain-Palin campaign has to say. McCain definitely played a wild card in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate and up to about a week ago I would say it was paying off. Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a disaster, but that makes this debate all the more interesting. All the politically minded folk around the country are waiting to see what happens tonight; it could be a real boon for either campaign for sure.
I am quite curious to see how the debate tonight turns out. Admittedly I am quite partisan toward Obama-Biden, but I am always interested to hear what the McCain-Palin campaign has to say. McCain definitely played a wild card in choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate and up to about a week ago I would say it was paying off. Palin's interview with Katie Couric was a disaster, but that makes this debate all the more interesting. All the politically minded folk around the country are waiting to see what happens tonight; it could be a real boon for either campaign for sure.
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