[poorgradstudent]

[quote=FlyerInHi]
It used to be that Americans were top dogs in the world, we did whatever we wanted because we could. [/quote]

We still are the top dogs in terms of military, cultural, and economic might. But instead of being the top dog by a country mile, we’re now in a position closer to a plurality.

Obviously this isn’t post WWII when Europe was decimated, China was still mostly a nation of farmers and the US far and away was THE superpower, with the USSR a distant second. The US hugely benefited in the 50s and 60s from brain draining Germany and the Soviets. That period was so great for America in part because we were the top dogs by default, and in part because we could basically pick and choose anyone we wanted to join our team.

I’m disappointed that no one seems to want to “Make America Great Again” by investing in science and (non-military) technology. A commitment to public research, in part because of the Cold War, is part of why America was so great in the past. Now we just don’t seem to care as much about progress and growth.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=deadzone]
Instead of picking on Florida St. why not criticize the University of Michigan? They pay their football coach $7 million a year and have a football stadium that holds 110,000 people including hundreds of luxury suites. Right or wrong UM is considered an “elite” Academic Institution.

UM proves my point that the athletics and Academics have nothing to do with each other. UM football is basically a professional sports team which for all practical purposes has nothing to do with the University other than using their name and land.[/quote]

You have a point that the UM football team is basically a separate entity from the rest of UM Ann Arbor. The coach, team and stadium are largely paid for by rich alumni and boosters. The school itself is quite academically rigorous, both at the undergraduate and graduate level (depending on your major, of course).

It is a good example of a school with an active party scene, strong football team, and is at least reasonably academically strong (it’s no Harvard, but even Dartmouth is no Harvard).

FSU on the other hand doesn’t have the best academic reputation. Like any big state school a motivated student could get a good education, but it definitely has a reputation as somewhere you could skate by, drunk and high most of the time on Mommy and Daddy’s dime.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=outtamojo][quote=FlyerInHi]Very interesting Trump and Republican Party article

This article I agree with most regarding Trump supporters.
The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/donald-trump-2016-authoritarian-213533

This article reasonates with me because there are so many authoritarian idiot types/followers at my workplace : ([/quote]

This is really interesting. The one Trump supporter I have on my facebook feed also is a fan of Putin… not necessarily his specific positions, but his strong, authoritarian style.

Said Trump supporter is actually a fairly weak Trump supporter in that he clearly likes other candidates just as much.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=XBoxBoy][quote=FlyerInHi]Wow, Donald Trump go Sarah Palin’s endorsement.[/quote]

Could it be that Sarah is hoping to be Donald’s VP?[/quote]

Hahaha, no.

Remember a decent chunk of Republicans actually blame her for McCain’s loss to Obama. At best she was a gutsy pick that didn’t pan out at all, and in the years since it’s not like she’s shown much intellectual prowess since.

Assuming he doesn’t win the nomination, Kasich would make a decent VP pick. He arguably would balance either Cruz or Rubio with that old white guy flavor, and he’s won elections in perhaps the swingiest of swing states, Ohio. If a Rubio-Kasich ticket could deliver Florida and Ohio, the electoral map actually could get competitive.

Nikki Haley would be the dream pick of course. She’s kind of like Sarah Palin with a brain. South Carolina isn’t tactically the best state for Republicans, but other than that she’s got a lot going for her. I’m not sure Marco Rubio could pick her, only because he’s relatively young and may need to go older like Obama did with Biden.

[poorgradstudent]

I do think that with big public universities a student often gets out of it what they put into it. I’ve known some incredibly smart, talented, skilled workers who came out of SDSU and Cal State San Marcos. But I also know those schools are easy to just sort of skate by and spend four years drinking/high.

I’d also argue the existance of schools like UCLA and USC as proof at least some universities can have it all in terms of academics and athletics and social scene. University of Michigan is another that stands out in my mind; they’ve had some dominant sports teams but it’s also academically prestigious.

All universities have gotten more academically competitive as the cost of tuition has skyrocketed. Once upon a time almost anyone with a pulse could get into SDSU, but these days spots are pretty limited there.

[poorgradstudent]

I’m excited that Iowa is finally going to vote soon.

After we get real results from IA and NH we’ll find out what the “real” Republican field is like. The strength of Rubio in particular will be interesting to see, and of course where Trump actually falls. And if Bernie loses both IA and NH, even by slim margins, it’s hard to see him coming back in states that are less white.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=deadzone]What’s your point? All large universities could be considered party schools even the ones that are so called “elite”. The presence or absence of top sports programs has nothing to do with anything. Frankly, all things equal I would rather go to a school with elite football or bball program, makes for a more interesting college experience, along with the drinking, partying and sex that is hall mark of ALL universities.[/quote]

UCSD could not be considered a party school. At all. There are parties, but it really is dominated by nerds.

UCLA is a lot more balanced.

[poorgradstudent]

I can’t speak to some of those, but University of Iowa is a pretty decent University. It’s not Harvard, it’s not UC Berkeley, but it’s also more prestigious than Iowa State. It also isn’t really much of a party school.

I also know that University of Oregon has a pretty decent chemistry program.

I mean, general rule, any school with “State” in the name is less rigorous and more of a party school. LSU and Florida State aren’t super high in terms of academic prestige.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=bearishgurl]

I think part of the problem of the college-educated Gen Y set’s “failure to launch” is that they are “too picky” about what job/housing they will accept … straight out of the gate. This mindset keeps them from moving on with their lives into adulthood. In some cases, their parents may be part of the problem by enabling them to live rent-free in their homes into oblivion.[/quote]

Well, speaking specifically of San Diego county, I think it’s stupid to make your adult child pay $1000 a month to rent an okay room if you have a room in your home unused (and everyone gets along).

Most of the Gen Y’s I personally know that don’t live with their romantic partners live with roommates in kinda crummy apartments geared towards young people.

[poorgradstudent]

I like biotech right now partially because the rest of the world seems to hate it.

Additionally, it’s not like biotech cares much about energy prices.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=spdrun]
Also, I think some of the innovations coming out of Sillycu*t Valley like self-driving cars will be actively socially and environmentally harmful. So a crisis which delays innovation by a few decades would be useful.
[/quote]

Well, arguably self-driving cars will operate in a more fuel efficient manner. The dunce behind the wheel constantly pushing the gas pedal and brakes during bumper-to-bumper traffic really isn’t getting peak efficiency.

From what I’ve heard there’s a real potential to reduce accidents… because self-driving cars drive slower and more carefully than manually driven cars. And that’s exactly why I’m not sure they will catch on. People WANT to drive dangerously, but that’s a huge liability for manufacturers.

[poorgradstudent]

We’re in the late stages of the economic recovery part of the cycle. This tends to be good for wages and bad for the stock market (after all, those rising wages eat into profit margins).

I’m personally extremely optimistic about my own economic situation, but that’s based on working for a growing company and the fact I just refinanced my mortgage and will be paying $250 less a month.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=paramount]”Sell everything.”

That harrowing advice is from The Royal Bank of Scotland, which has warned of a “cataclysmic year” ahead for markets and advised clients to head for the exit. Do not wait. Do not pass go.[/quote]

Cool. Once we get a couple more of these it’s a good indicator it’s time to buy.

[poorgradstudent]

Now looks pretty good. Seems the knife has finished falling. Unless this is a dead cat bounce?

[poorgradstudent]

Well, I was thinking of playing when the total was ~900M but I was a little too lazy to go buy a ticket.

Now that it’s gonna break 1.3B I’ll go buy at least one $2 ticket.

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