Talked about group actions in one class, outer measures in another, and cardinal numbers in an independent study. Stopped by Kroger on the way home and bought Kefir. I love Kefir, probably drink too much. It's half protein, half sugar. It's the sour milk of the Great Mother. I got home and the woman had cooked a chicken. Ripped off a leg like Grimlock, having texted "On my way. Grimlock hungry!" Later: unsalted roasted peanuts, honey, rolled oats, and lots of ground flax seed in one of those screw-top plastic containers. This is a great for leftovers if you're a savage who doesn't care much about plates and bowls. Just screw on the lid and refrigerate. After an old-man nap, I looked through yet another book about Heidegger. Couldn't really enjoy it. Both Heidegger's and the authors fault, I suspect. Googled "radical instrumentalism," not sure whether anyone else used the phrase. They do. Found some alright stuff. I even found the thread I started on page 4 or thereabouts. That was fun. Took a walk with the wife, one of the things we do when the world quiets and cools down at night. She actually interrupted the writing of this. A little sweet talk, some lap-sitting, and the exchange of good nights, thoughI'll be up till 5AM.

Wow, that was comprehensive. : )

I've just finished taking breakfast and morning bath at around 1:47pm local time. Stayed up all night until 3am earlier watching anime.

I'm currently downloading Pokemon Reborn (fan-made). It's your regular Pokemon RPG set in a sort of post-apocalyptic world (my kind of game). The internet connection is currently really bad and the estimated time of completion is around 2-4 hours for the remaining 330 MB of data. I hope the download, installation, and gameplay won't disappoint.

I'll try to force myself to read the 'virtual' pile of conference papers that I have to read for my studies while waiting. #Priorities

Ha! Well, I really like bringing the conversation down to earth sometimes. I wish you luck on the downloads. My internet slows down occasionally (or just jams) and I find it annoying as hell. What are these conference papers? School? Work?

Well it's not right now.
Yesterday I participated in a psychological study that one of my friends was running. They were investigating altruism vs selfishness. Part of the study was the dictator game.

Your in a room with only the person running the experiment. They tell you that the other people participating will all pick a card out of this bag. There are 2 roles, the dictator and recipient. The dictator is given $10 and can choose to split it with the recipient in any way they want. I pulled the dictator card out of the bag, so my friend gave me $10 in coins as well as an envelope and a wooden box. They left the room and I am meant to place any amount I want into the envelope then put it through a slit in the wooden box.

I separate the coins into $5 each and was about to put the money into the box when I realized that the game was probably a sham. The recipients don't actually get tested on anything and that the people running the study wouldn't waste half their participants without getting data, the bag was probably filled with only dictator cards. So I kept all the money.

My friend probably thinks I'm a prick now, but eh.

Umm, both school and work I guess -- it's really hard to distinguish between the two when you are on study-leave. : )

They're mostly about energy/power system market and regulation. I also have a separate 'virtual pile' for my other coursework, but that can wait for next week.

Nice! I watched that movie on the electric shock guy (Sarsgaard was the lead). It makes one a little suspicious of the tricks up psychologists' sleeves.

I'm not familiar with study-leaves. So it's economics with a focus on energy? Or something o' that?

Yeh I don't trust them at all. The last study I participated in, they put on head gear to measure some kind of brain activity and had me performing some easy vs hard tasks on a computer.
It turned out that the task results were completely irrelevant, rather there were some beeps in the background and they were testing whether the brain reacts to the beeps in the same way when it's loaded with hard tasks as opposed to easy tasks.

Exactly! Maybe it's good for their work, but maybe the awareness that one is being tricked messes with the data.

Study-leave is a paid leave for 2-4 years to get a degree, MS or PhD. So you're basically employed by the university but studying to get your degree.

So it's economics with a focus on energy? — Hoo

More like the other way around -- energy and electric power systems with focus on economics. Issues usually lie on pricing of electricity and what market and regulatory structures and mechanisms are best suited in a monopolized market.

Nice. I'm not sure if I would be able to think of that response. Maybe it comes with experience -- you've already transcended being a guinea pig! : )

Yah I was actually hesitant about keeping the money because of that. I did spend an hour helping for an experiment, only to give them bogus data for a $5 gain. I actually thought of the Milgram experiment while deciding and recalled that one hypothesis was that people continued not because of the authority of the scientist but because they valued science. So the words 'the experiment requires you to continue' had significance.

Oh, then we're in a similar situation, since I have a fellowship. My only job is to show up and get good grades --and eventually pass some qualification exams. In 2 years, I'll have to lead recitations or be a research assistant, though.

So are you something like an engineer? Or a person who works for the energy company who knows the market and helps them plan?Not trying to pry. I'm just always curious about all the paths out there in the real world, having chosen my particular fork in road and occasionally wondering what the road not taken had to offer.

Good point. Perhaps the issues are mixed. The scientist derives authority from the great Cause. I like science, but it's a little creepy how science functions as a master-word in the minds of those who hate math, for instance. Is it because truth is holy or because technology works "miracles" or ...? The experiment is personified in that statement you quoted. Creepy. Funny, too.

Your case and my case sounds similar, just that I have to return to being a faculty after getting the degree (hopefully).

Technically, I'm an 'engineer' but only practicing within the confines of the academe (teaching and some research work). I don't think the corporate world would fit me -- people-management is a very stressful business.

I'm glad to share and I'm also grateful for your responses. I'm also curious about what other people are up to on a daily basis, especially how people spend the very long nights after work, hence this thread. : )

Thanks for the info. It's a great idea for a thread. I hope others participate.

Thanks! I hope so too. : )

Building my own forum software. I told @jamalrob I'd be doing this when he first set this place up. Better late than never. ;)