Learning by Doing

"Ok, I've been gone for a minute, but now I'm back with the jump off" (Lil Kim)
I'm not really jumping off anything, but I'm ready to write again. I feel like I have 5 extra minutes today to devote to writing non-academic prose. So, here goes...

Boxed macaroni and cheese has never tasted as good as it did today. After maybe 3 or 4 years of no Kraft macaroni and cheese, it has found its way back into my kitchen. Oh lordy, words cannot describe the immense pleasure I felt while eating that orange meal from a cardboard box! It was expensive but definitely worth the money. In fact, I just may wait another 3 years to eat it again. I don't want it to become everyday food again. Having it as a luxury meal makes it taste way better :).


On the same topic of food, I recently made my first pot of cornmeal porridge. Not even cancer patients have so many lumps. There was a lump fiesta going on in my porridge :). Anyhow, the second time I tried, it came out lump free. Ah dear, I guess my incompetence to prepare this everyday meal is a result of not having any grandparents. I've heard that grandmothers teach grandchildren how to cook among other important life lessons. Anyways, learning by doing is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, there's an economic theory by that exact name, 'learning by doing'. You would think that that would be obvious to everyone, right. It's very effective to learn something by doing it. So why did they need to create a theory to show just that? Sometimes I think some Economists have nothing to do. But on a serious note, that's exactly what Economists do - observe life and the elements that participate in the economy and create theories and models that describe them. I guess it's a way of documenting our existence. The theories and models are then tested to see how they actually measure up to reality.

That, in a small nutshell, is economics. Please don't confuse it with business. Financial economists are the closest peers with Business men. Financial economists may watch the financial market and theorize and make models or follow models then business men will take the information and do business. In general though, one should not expect an economist to be financially savvy with overflowing expertise about business and money. I think that would be like asking a gynaecologist about the steps to build an x-ray machine. They both exist in similar fields, but medicine and medical technology are very different.

Taken from a Slideshare presentation by Ranganadh Siitam

Help, Frisk me!

What an advertisement!
I saw this on a train recently and just had to take a pic. What were the creators thinking? Frisk is a popular brand of peppermint sweets, but how does that link to a bikini top in a pool? Do the creators know the meaning of frisk?

frisk

frɪsk/

verb

1. 1.

   (of a police officer or other official) pass the hands over (someone) in a search for hidden weapons, drugs, or other items.

   "he raised his arms to permit the officer to frisk him"

   synonyms:

   search, body-search, check, inspect, examine; More

2. 2.

   skip or leap playfully; frolic.

   "spaniels frisked around me"

   synonyms:

   frolic, gambol, cavort, caper, cut capers, sport, scamper, skip, dance,romp, trip, prance, leap, spring, hop, jump, bounce, bob; More

noun

1. 1.

   an act of frisking someone.

   "a frisk search"
2. 2.

   a playful skip or leap.

Are they saying help me because I'm being frisked due to my amazing peppermint sweet? Maybe the peppermint made the person eating so cool, that they got arrested for high levels of coolness and the bikini was taken off and left behind during the frisk. 

Or could it be that the sweet has made the person sucking it so cool that he / she needs someone to frisk him / her and remove this supercool sweet? 

Whatever the meaning, it surely got my attention and I'm sure the implications of a bikini top floating in a pool without a body also got the attention of many others. Sex sells even peppermints! Haha!

Rock Climbing in Ashiya

Yesterday I went rock climbing, partially by accident. My friend invited me to go hiking, but a lack of a tour guide and an adventurous nature led us to a rock climbing path. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though my body was screaming with exhaustion. Believe me, rock  climbing inside a gym does not compare to actual rock climbing on a real mountain. During the ascent, we found several scenic views that left us with a sense of peace and serenity. So much so, that one of my climbing partners kept repeating that she wants to live in the mountains so that she will be able to feel the same sense of calm all day everyday.

 The terrain was simply beautiful. The orange coloured dirt provided an apt contrast to the luscious green hills of Ashiya Rock Garden. The journey was one of endurance and bonding among friends.

 A few times during the trek I wondered about our safety. If one person had fallen and gotten hurt on the rocky terrain, what would we have done? It would have been extremely difficult to bring someone downhill because of the steep and uneven surface. I  hope the hospitals have special helicopters to rescue injured hikers and mountain climbers.

 On the way up we encountered mountain lions. Haha, ok, not really lions, but cute cats from the family of lions :). It struck me as a bit strange because it was drizzling and as far as I know, cats do not like being wet. So why were they outside in the rain? Are mountain cats less sensitive to being wet? I love the colour contrasts though. I wonder if they are a couple. If they are, I hope they'll make multicoloured kittens.

Look at the slope!
I climbed that ! I'm proud of my fitness level because against my expectations, my body seems fine the day after. I'm not suffering from any muscle aches. How is that even possible? Someone who never exercises goes rock climbing and experiences no pain afterwards.

Anyways, it was a very enjoyable climb. I think I'll do it again this year :).

Sakura: 3 little words of little importance

Sakura: 3 little words of little importance: I grew up in a society that didn't place much emphasis on the words 'I love you'. Love was shown by actions and everybody unders...