Don't tempt me...

In the Microeconomics lecture I'm TA-ing for, the prof. brought up a recent article about water costs and ethanol in the WSJ. Needless to say, it's going to exacerbate the water shortage in KS, thanks to Nebraska over drawing for irrigation of extra corn stock. I believe my professor is tempting me to make an ethanol speech to my class... now this might violate the whole "Keeping your political views out of the classroom" issue... but if I present it to them in a reasonable and dispassionate form... kind of like the way I have before in this blog... they'll clearly see my rational logic. As opposed to my obsessive hammering of how bad of an idea this is.
Ah, but the plot thickens. One of my fellow TA's (but in another lecture) is the daughter of a Southeastern KS farmer, who is thinking of switching over to corn to take advantage of the boom recently (dissenting opinions in the office!). According to her there are already rumblings that expected corn prices will fall. Perhaps the price change won't be as sticky (slow to correct in the market, causing higher prices for consumers) as I've been worried about. But there are still plenty other issues with ethanol (water resources, costs, inefficient production).

The kiddos are doing great with the material. I've had a few discussion groups where I've had to stop and clarify a few things they really ought to know (slope, equation of a line, how to label axes, etc.), but they seem to not be making the same mistakes twice. At least, the ones that show up. No one has dropped officially yet, but half of my Thursday morning and Tuesday afternoon classes have not shown up this week. I look forward to seeing them after the first test as they try to complain about their grade.

In other news I nearly got run over by a big blue dump truck Wednesday morning, that ran a stop sign. I contacted the department of sanitation with the date and time of the incident, and my description (my favorite part is when the driver yelled at me, for him running the stop sign), and got a very nice response.
Here's some bedtime reading:

"Thanks for bringing this to my attention, -------.

We not only expect our drivers to come to a complete stop and be sure
the way is clear before proceeding into the intersection, but we also
have strong rules against yelling at citizens, no matter what the
situation.

I will present this to the supervisor over that area. It is likely he
can identify the driver at that location at that time. If so, he will
have a discussion with the driver covering appropriate rules of the
road, as well as appropriate behavior.

So-and-so
Solid Waste Division Manager"

But I've gotten used to the hills on the bike already. Much faster than I thought I would. Two of my office-mates and I are still getting up early every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to work out at the gym. The first exams are coming up. All in the same week. But the probability, and micro exams should be fine. The math exam will be the big one.

I miss the squirrel, but I'll bet she's having all sorts of fun with la familia. It's good to talk with her at night over instant message, but I'd rather have her here. We could get her a bike, and she could ride around the hills. I promise, no dump trucks will try to run her over. ;) The weather has gotten good for night-walks, and there are some fun outdoor activities in and around the town.
I've also been keeping the apartment relatively clean and cooking. :D
C'moooon... you know you don't want to go to Harvard for another year. Hehehe. I kid, I kid.