Tidbits on July 26, 2018
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

Cooling Snow Pictures for a Hot Summer
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Snow/Set11/SnowSet11.htm

 

Tidbits on July 26, 2018
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Bob Jensen's Tidbits ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

For earlier editions of Fraud Updates go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 
Bookmarks for the World's Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm 

Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page is at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Updates from WebMD --- Click Here

Google Scholar --- https://scholar.google.com/

Wikipedia --- https://www.wikipedia.org/

Bob Jensen's search helpers --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/searchh.htm

Bob Jensen's World Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm

USA Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ ubl




Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio

How to Paint Like Kandinsky, Picasso, Warhol & More: A Video Series from the Tate ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/tates-series-bridges-gap-history-creation-show-artists-process-picasso-warhol.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Watch Kraftwerk Perform a Real-Time Duet with a German Astronaut Living on the International Space Station ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/watch-kraftwerk-perform-real-time-duet-german-astronaut-living-international-space-station.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

The Inn on Sunset Hill (just down from our cottage) ---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5cqUX0LcbU&t=9s

 


Free music downloads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm 

Hear the First Recorded Blues Song by an African American Singer: Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues” (1920) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/hear-first-recorded-blues-song-african-american-singer-mamie-smiths-crazy-blues-1920.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Web outfits like Pandora, Foneshow, Stitcher, and Slacker broadcast portable and mobile content that makes Sirius look overpriced and stodgy ---
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2009/tc20090327_877363.htm?link_position=link2

Pandora (my favorite online music station) --- www.pandora.com
TheRadio
(online music site) --- http://www.theradio.com/
Slacker (my second-favorite commercial-free online music site) --- http://www.slacker.com/

Gerald Trites likes this international radio site --- http://www.e-radio.gr/
Songza:  Search for a song or band and play the selection --- http://songza.com/
Also try Jango --- http://www.jango.com/?r=342376581
Sometimes this old guy prefers the jukebox era (just let it play through) --- http://www.tropicalglen.com/
And I listen quite often to Soldiers Radio Live --- http://www.army.mil/fieldband/pages/listening/bandstand.html
Also note
U.S. Army Band recordings --- http://bands.army.mil/music/default.asp

Bob Jensen's threads on nearly all types of free music selections online ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Music.htm


Photographs and Art

An Air Force pilot took a U-2 spy plane to the edge of space — and the photos are incredible ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-u-2-spy-plane-air-force-pilot-edge-of-space-2018-2

Israel:  What it's like visiting one of the world's greatest treasures, the 2,000 year-old mountaintop fortress Masada ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/masada-israel-photos-2018-7#since-masada-is-located-in-a-relatively-remote-region-of-mountain-desert-next-to-the-dead-sea-we-stayed-in-jerusalem-1

NASA's $1 billion Jupiter probe just beamed back mesmerizing new photos of the gas giant ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-juno-probe-at-jupiter-new-photos-2018-7

Rare Photos of Frida Kahlo, Age 13-23 ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/see-rare-photos-frida-kahlo-age-13-23.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2018: The Stunning Shortlisted Images ---
https://www.newsweek.com/embargo-0001-thursday-july-19-astronomy-photographer-year-2018-stunning-space-1030663

One of the 7 wonders of the world is a 10,000-year-old city hidden in the desert — and in real life, it's more incredible than you can imagine ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/petra-jordan-7-wonders-of-the-world-indiana-jones-2018-7

These Adorable Dog Photographer of the Year Pictures Will Light Up Your Day ---
https://www.newsweek.com/adorable-dog-photographer-year-pictures-1039387

How much you need to earn to live in the most expensive zip code in every state ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-living-most-expensive-zip-code-every-state-2018-7
Jensen Comment
Some universities sit in these "most expensive zip code" locales. Can you identify the universities?
Note that only one such zip code was allowed for each state in these rankings. If the top 50 zip codes in the USA were ranked some states would not make it due to some states like California and New York would have lots of them.

Vincent Van Gogh Museum: Stories --- www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/stories

Stedelijk Online Collection (Holland History) --- www.stedelijk.nl/en/dig-deeper

A 58-story skyscraper in San Francisco is tilting and sinking — and residents say their multimillion-dollar condos are 'nearly worthless' ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/is-millennium-tower-safe-still-leaning-sinking-2017-9
The good news is that engineers proposed a fix that might work --- for an enormous fee that must be paid by somebody (taxpayers?)
The miraculous fete will be pumping it back to level.

Mondrian & De Stijl --- www.mondriaan.nl/en

THEN AND NOW: Photos that show how glamorous flying used to be ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-retro-flying-airplane-travel-photos-2018-7
Long-distance train travel was also great, but traveling by car before interstate highways was slow and tedious with lots of slowdowns for small towns and hotels without air conditioning. Also cars were more prone to flat tires and other break downs. Even worse was that you could not phone in troubles from your stalled car. You either walked or hoped a passing car would stop to help you out.

Bob Jensen's threads on art history ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#ArtHistory

Bob Jensen's threads on history, literature and art ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#History


Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on libraries --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries

Digital Dante --- https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/

Stump the Bookseller (children's books) --- http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stumpthebookseller/

The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize for literature ---
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/17/the-ugly-scandal-that-cancelled-the-nobel-prize-in-literature

Global Chaucers --- https://globalchaucers.wordpress.com/

Penguin Classic’s Back Cover Blurb for Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 Novel It Can’t Happen Here ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/penguin-classics-back-cover-blurb-sinclair-lewis-1935-novel-cant-happen.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Free Electronic Literature --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm
Free Online Textbooks, Videos, and Tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks
Free Tutorials in Various Disciplines --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Tutorials
Edutainment and Learning Games --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment
Open Sharing Courses --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI




Now in Another Tidbits Document
Political Quotations on July 26, 2018
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2018/TidbitsQuotations072618.htm             

USA Debt Clock --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ ubl

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the booked obligation of $19+ trillion) ---
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2016/05/25/spring-2016-to-whom-does-the-us-government-owe-money-n2168161?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
The US Debt Clock in Real Time --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 
Remember the Jane Fonda Movie called "Rollover" --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the unbooked obligation of $100 trillion and unknown more in contracted entitlements) ---
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/15/news/economy/entitlement-benefits/
The biggest worry of the entitlements obligations is enormous obligation for the future under the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are now deemed totally unsustainable ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Entitlements are two-thirds of the federal budget. Entitlement spending has grown 100-fold over the past 50 years. Half of all American households now rely on government handouts. When we hear statistics like that, most of us shake our heads and mutter some sort of expletive. That’s because nobody thinks they’re the problem. Nobody ever wants to think they’re the problem. But that’s not the truth. The truth is, as long as we continue to think of the rising entitlement culture in America as someone else’s problem, someone else’s fault, we’ll never truly understand it and we’ll have absolutely zero chance...
Steve Tobak ---
http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2013/02/07/truth-behind-our-entitlement-culture/?intcmp=sem_outloud

"These Slides Show Why We Have Such A Huge Budget Deficit And Why Taxes Need To Go Up," by Rob Wile, Business Insider, April 27, 2013 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/cbo-presentation-on-the-federal-budget-2013-4
This is a slide show based on a presentation by a Harvard Economics Professor.

Peter G. Peterson Website on Deficit/Debt Solutions ---
http://www.pgpf.org/

Bob Jensen's threads on entitlements --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Bob Jensen's health care messaging updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm




Microsoft Windows: A sensible tool for cleaning up hard disks ---
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2018/jul/hard-disk-cleanup-tools.html?utm_source=mnl:cpald&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=25Jul2018


Can Netflix Survive?

Netflix's debt is rising at an exponential rate. And not once since inception has it made a profit. This cannot last.
Mike Shedlock. July 23, 2018
https://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2018/07/23/can-netflix-survive-n2502809?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Jensen Comment
Personally, I find that Netflix service is going downhill. Most of the videos I enjoy most (the majority are from BBC) are no available on the streaming service such that my only hope is in ordering the DVD disks. The DVD disks are either no longer available or I'm put on a waiting list that seems to be totally ignored over months and months and months. Turn around time on available disks that used to take about a week now takes two or more weeks. And most of the "original" films produced by Netfix are crap.

Amazon thrived for years without earning a profit, but Amazon's performance steadily improved over those loss years. I'm finding that in the losing years of Netflix service is not getting better and better.


Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's master plan is clearly working, and the company is soaring towards $1 trillion ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-cloud-plan-working-2018-7
Not a free article online


Is the Research Article Immune to Innovation?
https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/07/03/guest-post-research-article-immune-innovation/

Jensen Comment
As far as I can tell there's little or no innovation in our leading academic accounting research articles in the 21st Century. There's been a suggestion or two that research articles should be designed to excite practitioners but that's not happened. That's probably due the fact that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.


Eureka Effect --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_effect

The Milky Way Had a Big Sibling Long Ago — And Andromeda Ate It
https://www.space.com/41234-milky-way-sibling-galaxy-devoured-by-andromeda.html


In a previous Tidbits module (July 17) about a couple living on a boat for 10 years in San Francisco I mistakenly claimed that they could not deduct their 20-year boat mortgage interest like they can deduct a house's mortgage interest. I was wrong!
This is mainly another of the many tax breaks for the rich, although the middle class can live on a boat to dodge property taxes and also get a mortgage deduction for the boat used as a home.
Note that the boat does not have to ever go near the water. Years ago the son of one of my friends in Fullerton, CA lived in a back yard boat for ten years (he used the bathroom in the swimming pool cabana). Having the boat in a back yard avoids having to pay slip fees and possibly (depends on the rigor of a tax assessor) property taxes. The boat was not even licensed --- it would have to be licensed if it was in the water of an ocean, pond, river, or lake.

Your Boat (or Motorized RV) Might Be Considered A 'Second Home', And That Can Mean Tax Savings ---
https://www.lakeexpo.com/boating/the_lake/your-boat-might-be-considered-a-second-home-and-that/article_8bfa08e0-2185-11e8-ad42-bbd0a4b7ffac.html  
Also see
https://finance.zacks.com/declaring-motor-home-second-home-federal-tax-returns-1106.html
However, towable RVs no longer get the mortgage interest deduction ---
http://rvlife.com/new-tax-bill-2018/

San Francisco is so expensive, this couple decided to live on a boat — here's what it's like 10 years later ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/couple-buys-boat-to-avoid-san-francisco-rent-2017-7
Jensen Comment
This leaves some unanswered questions. How does San Francisco get property taxes out of boat owners who live on their boats? In some way these permanent residents should contribute toward schools and municipal services like fire and police protection. If these are covered in the $900 "slip fee" it's a darn good deal relative to what renters and home owners pay in San Francisco for property taxes. It's possible in San Francisco that parking a car near the boat might cost an added $900 per month.  Of course one might have two homes --- a boat in a slip and a motor home in a parking space. Where I live in the mountains of New Hampshire nobody lives on a boat, but a few folks avoid property taxes by living with wheels under their homes. That can be drafty at 30 degrees below zero with a strong wind. To avoid frozen toes up here you need a basement.
The SF Bay area has a long history of boat residents.
On the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito, my San Francisco State University accounting professor friend, Tom Montgomery, lived for decades on a houseboat --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausalito,_California
The night views looking across at the lighted hills of San Francisco were fantastic.
Note that it's possible to live on a boat away from water. The son of a friend of mine lived for ten years in a boat in the backyard of his parent's home in Fullerton, Colorado. He used the bathroom in the swimming pool cabana.

July 7, 2018 reply from Glen Gray

In California, the boat property tax is like car tax. It’s paid annually based on the value of the boat. Since the boat decreases in value over time, the tax goes down every year. The tax has a fixed amount, so it never goes to zero. However, the dock master is paying real estate taxes which generally only goes up in California. That tax is indirectly built into the slip fees. Like any rents (e.g., apartment rents) slip fees mostly reflect market rate. As far as I know they aren’t building any more marinas in California. I live in a marina but not on a boat. The marina is rebuilding the existing slips (built in the late 1960s) replacing the existing slips with longer slips. Slips are rented on a per foot per month basis. If they replace shorter slips with longer slips, there will be less slips overall. Presumably someone has done a calculation to determine there is more demand for longer slips than shorter slips. I know there has always been a waiting list to get into the marina.

Glen

July 7, 2018 reply from Bob Jensen

Hi Glen,

Sounds like a better way to reduce property taxes is to live in a motor home rather than a boat, although there are still annual registration fees that decline with age of the motor home. There are more options for parking motor homes, although local zoning laws can be restrictive. 

Car and presumably boat registration fees sound like they are state taxes that avoid local fees like the town, county, and school district portions of property taxes that can be much more expensive than state vehicle registration fees. My property taxes in NH are nearly 25 times the annual NH registration fees for my new car even though the value of my home is not 25 times the current value of my new car. 

The $900 slip fee in San Francisco for the boat in the article is far less than my average monthly NH property tax.  And the $900 (assumed monthly) "slip fee" includes annual returns to the marina owner. Only a portion of those cover local "taxes." Hence, I think people living on boats in marinas are probably dodging a lot of local taxes for towns, counties, school districts, hospitals, etc.

One huge problem with boats is maintenance expense, especially if the boat sits in corrosive salt water. The article covered that a bit. 

Probably the biggest difference between owning a house and owning a boat or motor home is that houses on land that are well maintained tend to go up in value except in a very depressed housing areas. Value appreciation rarely happens with boats and motor homes irrespective of maintenance. In other words, your house is both an investment and a shelter from the weather. I don't know that anybody buys a boat or motor home for purposes of having a long-term investment.

There also is an income tax consideration. A $250,000 mortgage on a house is tax deductible even under Trump's new income tax law. I don't think a $250,000 loan on a boat is tax deductible, although I did not research this issue.

The bottom line is that living on a boat is a way to avoid most local taxes but is a lousy option relative to home ownership as a long-term investment. In California home ownership is an even better long-term investment relative to most of the other states in the USA because of Proposition 13 that caps local property taxes even if home value soars through the roof. 

As an example, a friend of mine has lived in the same Palo Alto house for over five decades. Due to Prop 13 his property taxes are negligible relative to what anybody who buys his house will pay. The value of his home soared through the roof over the last 50 years. He would be a lesser millionaire if he'd lived on a boat for 50 years in Palo Alto. 

But, as the article implies about Silicon Valley boat living, living on a boat, car, van, or motor home in Palo Alto may be the only option for someone wanting to move to Palo Alto in 2018. This is why Stanford University housing subsidies became vital to sustaining this university. But you have to work for or be retired from Stanford to get those subsidies. 

Now we know why so many Silicon Valley employees, including those making over $100,000 per month, are living in cars, vans, motor homes, and boats. Investing in a Silicon Valley home may not be a feasible alternative.

Bob


Amazon finally made self-publishing (potentially) lucrative. But does its dominance come at a cost?
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/07/amazon-kindle-unlimited-self-publishing/565664/


How to Mislead With Statistics
Call it the “green rush:” Legalizing weed in Colorado caused a 6% surge in house prices in 2015 -
--
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ecin.12556
Jensen Comment
I'll leave it to you to count the ways this type of "causal" conclusion is misleading. Have students identify how this study makes an effort to infer causality and how those efforts can go wrong. This is similar to what accounting researchers call "events studies." Firstly, accountants identify an important event that took place that might impact share prices on one or more companies. For example, an event might be the announcement of Company X net income/loss for 2017 on April 23, 2018. The impact of that "event" might then be studied in terms of share price movement. Error arises when there are other events affecting share prices on or around April 23 such as political or economic events. Error arises when there are "leakages" about the anticipated net income/loss to be announced. For example, at any time after January 1, 2018 financial analysts from around the world might announce their estimates of Company X net earnings/loss. Rarely has the awaited announced loss of Tesla come as a complete surprise to the investing world. My point here is announcement of municipality weed laws also did not usually come as a complete surprise on the date of the announcement. Real estate transactions in those municipalities probably anticipated weed law events well in advance. Have students identify other sources of error in events studies of causality.

Does legalizing retail marijuana generate more benefits than costs? This paper provides a first step toward addressing that question by measuring the benefits and costs that are capitalized into housing values. We exploit the time‐series and cross‐sectional variations in the adoption of Colorado's municipality retail marijuana laws (RMLs) and examine the effect on housing values with a difference‐in‐differences strategy. Our estimates show that the legalization leads to an average 6% increase in housing values, indicating that the capitalized benefits outweigh the costs. In addition, we find suggestive evidence that this relatively large housing value appreciation is likely due to RMLs inducing strong housing demand while having no discernible effect on housing supply. Finally, we show that the effect of RMLs is heterogeneous across locations and property types. (JEL K20, R28)

Causal Inference --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causal_inference

Causal Inference With Observational Data:  Econometrics Blog Post by David Giles ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2018/06/shout-out-for-marc-bellemare.html 

Shout-Out for Marc Bellemare

If you don't follow Marc Bellemare's blog (shame on you - you should!), then you may not have caught up with his recent posts relating to his series of lectures on "Advanced Econometrics - Causal Inference With Observational Data" at the University of Copenhagen in May of this year.

Marc is keeping us all on tenterhooks by "releasing" the slides for these lectures progressively - smart move!

So far, the first four of the eight lectures in the series are available for downloading:

·                     Lecture 1: Introduction

·                     Lecture 2: Causality

·                     Lecture 3: Instrumental Variables

·                     Lecture 4: Panel Data & Differences-in-Differences

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of these terrific lectures.


How to Mislead With Statistics: 
Here's how wealthy the average family is in 35 countries around the world ---

http://www.businessinsider.com/net-worth-average-family-around-the-world-oecd-countries-2018-7
Jensen Comment
I'll leave it up to you to count the ways this ranking can be misleading. For openers think of living costs such as how much does it cost to hire a house cleaner, and yard service for 40  hours to 24/7 hours per week in each of these countries, e.g., Switzerland versus Mexico. Then there are the many taxation differences such as property taxes, income taxes, VAT taxes, etc. Then there are enormous differences in real estate prices. world class health care, etc.

Then there's kurtosis affected by outliers in mean calculations (think of poverty in Mexico versus Switzerland and the USA).


How much you need to earn to live in the most expensive zip code in every state ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-living-most-expensive-zip-code-every-state-2018-7
Jensen Comment
Some universities sit in these "most expensive zip code" locales. Can you identify the universities?
Note that only one such zip code was allowed for each state in these rankings. If the top 50 zip codes in the USA were ranked some states would not make it due to some states like California and New York would have lots of them.


July 17, 2018 message from Glen Gray

University education may increase the likelihood of brain cancer by 19 percent for men and 23 percent for women.

 

https://www.ozy.com/acumen/the-really-weird-link-between-college-and-brain-cancer/70712?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07162018&variable=bd43d720a6c9c7750e7b8fb89f29a522

Glen

July 17, 2017 reply from Bob Jensen

This is another example of confounding variables in spurious correlation similar to Yates' finding that storks might really deliver babies in Denmark.

I speculate that college graduates on average have more tensions in their jobs, marriages, and/or other lifestyles. Graduating from college is not a cause of brain cancer. Tension (a confounding variable) might increase the risk of brain cancer. There may also be an outlier issue in this research. I suggest replacing least-squares analysis with quantile analysis.

Thanks,

Bob

Spurious Correlation --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurious_relationship

Jensen Comment
Confounding variables in spurious correlations have varying degrees of ambiguity. For example, Yates' discovery of correlation of Danish birthrates with the number of stork nests in Denmark probably has some confounding factors, but the confounding relationships are quite ambiguous. On the other hand, correlations of ice cream sales and swimming pool drowning deaths are more directly related to increased number of people (especially young children) swimming on hotter days.

We know how newborns are delivered, and this does not entail delivery by storks. However, there can be confounding variables that lead to Yates' classic example of spurious correlation. For example, Danish birth rates may be more closely related to the prosperity that comes with increased weekly rainfall. Likewise, the number of stork nests in Denmark may also be related to increased food supply resulting from increased weekly rainfall.

Causal inference can become quite complicated.

Causal Inference --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causal_inference

Causal Inference With Observational Data:  Econometrics Blog Post by David Giles ---
http://davegiles.blogspot.com/2018/06/shout-out-for-marc-bellemare.html 

Shout-Out for Marc Bellemare

If you don't follow Marc Bellemare's blog (shame on you - you should!), then you may not have caught up with his recent posts relating to his series of lectures on "Advanced Econometrics - Causal Inference With Observational Data" at the University of Copenhagen in May of this year.

Marc is keeping us all on tenterhooks by "releasing" the slides for these lectures progressively - smart move!

So far, the first four of the eight lectures in the series are available for downloading:

·                     Lecture 1: Introduction

·                     Lecture 2: Causality

·                     Lecture 3: Instrumental Variables

·                     Lecture 4: Panel Data & Differences-in-Differences

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of these terrific lectures.


Ivy League Degree for the Nontraditional Student ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/07/25/penn-announces-online-masters-degree-coursera-platform?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=dbda386f31-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-dbda386f31-197565045&mc_cid=dbda386f31&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Bob Jensen's threads on fee-based online degree programs ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/crossborder.htm


These are the 10 highest-paying jobs (with experience) in tech, according to Glassdoor ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paying-tech-jobs-salary-glassdoor-2018-7


Yield Curve Inversion --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_curve

Imminent yield curve inversion 'real possibility': Fed's Bullard ---
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-bullard/imminent-yield-curve-inversion-real-possibility-feds-bullard-idUSKBN1KA1MO


Walmart is using self-driving cars to transport shoppers to their groceries ---
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-self-driving-car-grocery-2018-7


University of Central Florida:  How It Grew from 22,000 students to 66,000 since 1992 with partnership building amidst other growth factors that includes a new medical school?
https://www.chronicle.com/article/This-President-Tripled-the/243922?cid=db&elqTrackId=8d63b43d076d45e39806bd47f77c25b1&elq=c54b3157daf84e638d19256b151e886a&elqaid=19757&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=9139
Jensen Comment
Growth can be a double-edged sword.
In the profit sector General Electric is Exhibit A for some of the bad things emerging from growth. In the not-for-profit sector growth can be overwhelming such as in the poop-smeared not-so-beautiful City of San Francisco. But growth can also be a very good thing as evidenced by Google, Apple, and Stanford University. Often the jury is still out on fast growing entities like Facebook and the University of Central Florida.

I always remember hearing on the campus of the University of Maine at Orono (where I was on the faculty for ten years) that the last thing UMO needed was a medical school and medical center, because more often than not the always-desperate medical schools and their medical centers sap the budgets of the other divisions of their host universities (of course this is not always the case). Exhibit A is the recent split between Vanderbilt University and its Medical Center ---
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/04/29/vanderbilt-university-split-medical-center-saturday/83716076/
Both parties to this split are expected to do better on their own, although the medical school itself will still be part of the university.


Python Programming Language --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)

Beginner Tips for Learning Python Programming ---
https://realpython.com/python-beginner-tips/


Peril for Small Private Colleges: A Survey of Business Officers ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/peril-private-colleges-survey-business-officers?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=5ce20b3a9a-WNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-5ce20b3a9a-197565045&mc_cid=5ce20b3a9a&mc_eid=1e78f7c952


The Myth of Clean Solar/Battery Energy
Energy storage has a dirty secret. The way it’s typically used in the US today, it enables more fossil-fueled energy and higher carbon emissions. Emissions are higher today than they would have been if no storage had ever been deployed in the US ---

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/4/27/17283830/batteries-energy-storage-carbon-emissions


Indictment Alleges Bribery in Admissions at Penn ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/07/23/indictment-charges-coach-was-bribed-get-applicant-penn?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=16fd5b76fd-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-16fd5b76fd-197565045&mc_cid=16fd5b76fd&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Bob Jensen's Fraud Updates ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm


Education Week's Report on Pre-K:  Are the Effects (on academic achievement) of State Funded Pre-K Overrated? Probably ---
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/07/18/are-the-effects-of-state-pre-k-overrated.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news1&M=58551888&U=2290378

Jensen Comment
There are just too many confounding variables affecting both short-term and long-term academic achievement. There are also other benefits of "free" Pre-K such as financial savings for working parents.


The ugly scandal that cancelled the Nobel prize for literature ---
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/17/the-ugly-scandal-that-cancelled-the-nobel-prize-in-literature


These are the best books of 2018 so far, according to Amazon ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-best-books-of-the-year-2018-6


Google fined a record $5 billion by the EU for abusing the dominance of Android ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-fined-by-eu-android-2018-7
Jensen Comment
It seems that American companies get fined by the EU just for being American companies
Is there an American tech company that's not been fined?


English Majors:  Writing is doing relatively well, and literature not so much. ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/07/18/new-analysis-english-departments-says-numbers-majors-are-way-down-2012-its-not-death?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=70c138edeb-DNU_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-70c138edeb-197565045&mc_cid=70c138edeb&mc_eid=1e78f7c952


The $4.3 Million Haul in 28 Days

James R. Ramsey (28 Day President of the University of Louisville --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Ramsey

Ramsey is accused of mismanaging over $55M in University Foundation funds. He is currently being sued by the institution. The suit says the defendants knowingly caused the foundation to spend endowment funds at an excessive rate and that they took endowment money that should have been invested and diverted it to speculative ventures, loans, and gifts that had little realistic chance of repayment.

From a Chronicle of Higher Education Newsletter on July 16, 20, 2018

The man who earned more than any other public-college president in the 2017 fiscal year spent a grand total of 27 days on the job, and he resigned under a cloud of recriminations. Yet James R. Ramsey, who led both the University of Louisville and its foundation, took home nearly $4.3 million, most of it from an unorthodox — and record-setting — deferred-compensation package. Now the university and the foundation are suing to get that money back.

From a Chronicle of Higher Education Newsletter on July 13, 2018

A dozen public-college presidents made more than $1 million in 2016-17, and the top earner received a lucrative final payout — after his resignation in a cloud of controversy — that amounted to more than four times that. You can read all about it, including statistics on your university, or your peer universities, in Monday’s Chronicle.

Jensen Comment
By comparison the head coach at the University of Georgia makes over $4 million per year.

2018 AAUP Faculty Salary Report ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/04/11/aaups-annual-report-faculty-compensation-takes-salary-compression-and-more


Trade Balance --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_trade (note that China and the USA are opposing outliers)

Trump's looming auto trade battle is staggeringly pointless — but there's a good chance he'll win it ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-trump-will-win-auto-tariff-trade-war-2018-7

China's trade surplus was US$28.9 billion (for the month of June) on the back of a 12.6 per cent rise in China’s exports to the United States before Trump's tariffs kicked in ---
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2155113/china-reports-record-surplus-and-strong-exports-growth-us-july-6
 

Jensen Comment
What would happen if all countries eliminated their tariffs (free trade)? (presumably preferred by President Trump although this is not entirely clear for all industries since destroying some industries is political suicide)
Aside from military-induced tariffs, the primary political argument for tariffs is to save jobs and industries (such as saving Japan's inefficient labor-intensive rice farms) ---
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/17/business/u-s-agrees-to-let-japanese-tariffs-stand-on-rice-wheat/#.W04pKLgpCUk
One somewhat surprising gift to Trump is the way other countries (think Brazil and Egypt) reacted to China's increased soybean tariffs was to pick up the demand and price for USA soybeans.

Because the political stakes are so high with trade wars (pitting industries against one another) there's a massive amount of fake news as trade wars heat up!

USA Today:  Trade wars are damaging, so why is Trump fighting one with China?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/07/13/trade-wars-tariffs-us-china-donald-trump/778719002/

EU-Japan free trade agreement defies protectionism ---
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-japan-free-trade-agreement-defies-protectionism/a-44695274
Question for Students
What makes such a free trade agreement more difficult for USA-EU or USA-Japan?
Hint 1:  USA low export prices of agricultural products like rice, corn, and soybeans are huge stumbling blocks for nations trying to protect their own farmers (such as Japan's rice farmers)
Hint 2:  USA low export prices on automobiles have been stumbling blocks for European nations trying to protect automobile manufacturers, although recently the EU lowered import duties on automobiles
Protectionism works both ways in politics and makes free trade agreements very difficult to negotiate such as the recent EU-Japan agreement


On Amazon You Don't Always Get What You Paid For ---
NYT:  Amazon’s Curious Case of the $2,630.52 Used (lackluster) Paperback
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/technology/amazon-used-paperback-book-pricing.html

An otherwise unremarkable used 2009 paperback romance novel was listed on Amazon for $2,630.52. This is just one example of many otherwise unremarkable books listed for exorbitant prices by (possibly Russian) third-party sellers on the “bizarre bazaar” that Amazon’s online bookstore has become.
Five Thirty Eight Blog on July 16, 2018

Jensen Comment
It's quite common to see used copies of Amazon books priced higher than new copies even when new copies are available. I never could quite understand this if used vendors weren't including pot leaves pressed between pages or when the used books are otherwise more precious (first editions, author signed, fantastic margin notes, etc.). As a retired professor I can think about ways used copies may be more valuable to students. For example, if a student's teacher gives open-textbook examinations having a used book with math answers computed in the margins might be useful.

Amazon's Book Return Policy ---
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=202075110

I suspect that Amazon gets burned a lot with book returns. It would seem that there must be some limits placed by Amazon on heavy abusers.


BBC:  Young Norwegians have enjoyed a 13% rise in disposable household income, bucking a downward trend in other strong economies ---
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180709-unlike-most-millennials-norways-are-rich

. . .

People in their early thirties in Norway have an average annual disposable household income of around 460,000 kroner (around $56,200).

Young Norwegians have enjoyed a 13% rise in disposable household income in real terms compared to Generation X (those born between 1966 and 1980) when they were the same age. These startling figures come from the largest comparative wealth data set in the world, the Luxembourg Income Database, and were analysed in a recent report on generational incomes for the UK Think Tank The Resolution Foundation.

Continued in articl

Cost of Living in Norway --- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Norway&displayCurrency=USD
In the currency box click on the currency you want to view such as "USD" for US Dollar
Cost of Living and Wages are difficult to compare when taxes and services differ greatly between countries.
As a rule of thumb it costs about 50% more to live in Norway but there are many variables to consider such as how expensive gasoline is offset by free electricity for charging (relatively expensive) electric cars
Visiting Norway as a tourist is much more expensive than most other nations.

In Norway, 32 percent of the population has a higher education. The competition for jobs is intense . . .  ---
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180709-unlike-most-millennials-norways-are-rich

Jensen Comment
Note that college education is free in Norway. However, the 32% number above reveals that only intellectually elite can get into college, which is typical of tertiary education in nations having free college ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#Tertiary
Progressives raving for free college in the USA because college is free in most of Europe fail to mention that well over 60% of the populace in Europe cannot pass the competitive admission requirements for college.


US News:  To attract and retain younger workers, more companies are offering a different type of employee perk: student loan (taxable)  repayment assistance ---
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2018-07-23/what-to-know-about-employer-plans-that-pay-your-student-loans


Conspirators in eight states have been sentenced and 32 people in India have been indicted in connection with an IRS phone scam in which fraudsters posed as Internal Revenue Service agents or immigration officials ---
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2018/07/22/scammers-finally-punished-for-cheating-us-taxpayers-out-of-millions-of-dollars/#eaee1ee2294d


How Your State Funds Welfare and Where It Goes ---
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/07/13/how-your-state-funds-welfare-and-where-it-goes/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=JUL182018A&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

01. Vermont (highest welfare spending state per capita)
> Total 2015 state welfare spending: $2,761 per capita ($1.73 billion)
> Medical payments as share of state welfare spending: 82.5% (11th lowest)
> State welfare spending from federal funds: 64.7% (21st highest)
> Population 65 and over: 18.2% (4th highest)
> State tax collections per capita: $4,861 (2nd highest)

02. Massachusetts
> Total 2015 state welfare spending: $2,721 per capita ($18.49 billion)
> Medical payments as share of state welfare spending: 92.6% (5th highest)
> State welfare spending from federal funds: 50.2% (5th lowest)
> Population 65 and over: 15.8% (24th highest)
> State tax collections per capita: $3,976 (7th highest)

 . . .

 

49. Georgia
> Total 2015 state welfare spending: $1,152 per capita ($11.77 billion)
> Medical payments as share of state welfare spending: 90.3% (16th highest)
> State welfare spending from federal funds: 54.2% (15th lowest)
> Population 65 and over: 13.2% (4th lowest)
> State tax collections per capita: $1,931 (5th lowest)

50. Utah (lowest welfare spending state per capita)
> Total 2015 state welfare spending: $1,076 per capita ($3.22 billion)
> Medical payments as share of state welfare spending: 79.6% (5th lowest)
> State welfare spending from federal funds: 74.9% (10th highest)
> Population 65 and over: 10.5% (2nd lowest)
> State tax collections per capita: $2,237 (13th lowest)

Jensen Comment
Interestingly, Georgia has a relatively high proportion of minorities and is
second lowest in terms of welfare spending per capita.
Vermont has a relatively low proportion of minorities and is
highest in terms of welfare per capita.
Utah has a relatively low proportion of minorities and has the
lowest spending per capita for welfare.
Clearly, many factors are at work here other than minority presence.

Which states are facing the biggest budgetary crises?
https://www.statedatalab.org/

 


Find Your Masters Degree ---
https://www.mastersavenue.com/


Free Online Tutorials, Videos, Course Materials, and Learning Centers


Education Tutorials

The National Archives: Education Sessions and Resources --- www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/sessions-and-resources

Science in the Classroom: Concussions: A Century of Controversy and Research --- www.scienceintheclassroom.org/collections/concussions-century-controversy-and-research

Sara VanDerWerf (K-12 Mathematics) --- https://saravanderwerf.com/

How to Paint Like Kandinsky, Picasso, Warhol & More: A Video Series from the Tate ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/tates-series-bridges-gap-history-creation-show-artists-process-picasso-warhol.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Bob Jensen's threads on general education tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch

Bob Jensen's bookmarks for multiple disciplines --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI

 


Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

Science in the Classroom: Concussions: A Century of Controversy and Research --- www.scienceintheclassroom.org/collections/concussions-century-controversy-and-research

The National Energy Education Development Project --- www.need.org

Geotripper --- http://geotripper.blogspot.com/

Climate Change in Maine --- https://bates.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=d9485749e38d46bda1f0f829361c2bff

Going Viral: the Mother of All Pandemics --- http://goingviralthepod.libsyn.com/website

Merlin Bird ID App --- http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

The National Energy Education Development Project --- www.need.org

Bob Jensen's threads on free online science, engineering, and medicine tutorials are at --http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Social Science and Economics Tutorials

Going Viral: the Mother of All Pandemics --- http://goingviralthepod.libsyn.com/website

Neighborhood Atlas (public health) ---  www.neighborhoodatlas.medicine.wisc.edu

The National Energy Education Development Project --- www.need.org

University of Minnesota: Immigration History Research Center Archives --- http://umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/5494

Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal --- https://geo.btaa.org/

Disability Studies Quarterly --- http://dsq-sds.org/index

DisabilityInfo.gov http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/
 
The History of Disabilities in the United States ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/09/26/review-kim-e-nielsen-disability-history-united-states
 
Ouch! (people with disabilities) --- http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/
Question Mark (Software for Test and Tutorial Generation and Networking)
HEPROC Home Page (Education Research ListServs)
Web-Based Training Information Center (Good Discussion of CBT)
Welcome to AskERIC
AskERIC Toolbox
ConnecText Catalog: A Registry for Online Textbooks
Beckman Institute Visualization Facility
EDUCORP Direct Online
Spreadsheets in Education
IAT: Homepage
IKE - IBM Kiosk for Education
MDO - Computers may be required soon - 12/05/1996
New Chalk Vol.1, No.4
NewChalk Vol.1, No.2
QuickReference for Education Materials (U. of Texas)
The Switched-On Classroom (Free Online Book)
Learning Insights Multimedia Learning Products (includes CD-ROMs for business and accounting education)
The University of Arizona Bookstore
The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Educational Technology (21-May-1996)
Welcome to the Flexible Class-Lab Site!
Education Library (Vanderbilt)
Palladian Fall 1998
: Asymetrix Distance Learning Development Resources: Cool Sites Research Corner
Rick Birney's demo of streaming ToolBooks

 

 

Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Philosophy tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Law and Legal Studies

Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Law


Math Tutorials

Sara VanDerWerf (K-12 Mathematics) --- https://saravanderwerf.com/

Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Mathematics and Statistics

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


History Tutorials

University of Minnesota: Immigration History Research Center Archives --- http://umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/5494

Global Chaucers --- https://globalchaucers.wordpress.com/

French Revolution Digital Archive --- https://frda.stanford.edu/

Chicago History Museum Collection Online --- http://digitalcollection.chicagohistory.org/

What Is Stoicism? A Short Introduction to the Ancient Philosophy That Can Help You Cope with Our Modern Times ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/what-is-stoicism.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Rare Photos of Frida Kahlo, Age 13-23 ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/see-rare-photos-frida-kahlo-age-13-23.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Pioneering Women of American Architecture ---
https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/acknowledgments/

Going Viral: the Mother of All Pandemics --- http://goingviralthepod.libsyn.com/website

Vincent Van Gogh Museum: Stories --- www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/stories

What America Ate (in the Great Depression) --- http://whatamericaate.org/

Fashion Institute of Technology: The Museum at FIT --- http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/

Open Library of Humanities --- www.openlibhums.org

Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal --- https://geo.btaa.org/

Fire & Freedom: Food & Enslavement in Early America --- www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/fireandfreedom

Stump the Bookseller (children's books) --- http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stumpthebookseller/

Stedelijk Online Collection (Holland History) --- www.stedelijk.nl/en/dig-deeper

Digital Dante --- https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/

World War Ireland: Exploring the Irish Experience --- www.nli.ie/WWI

Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to History
Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm  

Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


Language Tutorials

Bob Jensen's links to language tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Languages


Music Tutorials

 

Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
Scroll down to Music

Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm


Writing Tutorials

Bob Jensen's helpers for writers are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob3.htm#Dictionaries



Bob Jensen's threads on medicine ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Medicine

CDC Blogs --- http://blogs.cdc.gov/

NPR Health News --- http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots

Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/

July 16, 2018

July 18, 2018

July 19, 2018

July 20, 2018

July 21, 2018

July 23, 2018

July 24, 2018

July 25, 2018

July 26, 2018

View All Health News

 


Time Magazine:  The 10 Best and Worst Oils For Your Health ---
Click Here


Omega-3 no protection against heart attack or strokes, say scientists ---
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/18/omega-3-no-protection-against-heart-attack-or-strokes-say-scientists ---


Neighborhood Atlas (public health) ---  www.neighborhoodatlas.medicine.wisc.edu


Study compares athlete and truck driver, identical twins ---
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-athlete-truck-driver-identical-twins.html

 




Humor for July 2018

Dad Ditches Kid In Economy Class To Relax In Business Class (12-hour flight) ---
Dad Ditches Kid In Economy Class To Relax In Business Class
Jensen Comment
I have an acquaintance with a free first-class upgrade who ditched his wife in economy class. I wonder some about the "honeymoon" later at that conference
 

Hunter S. Thompson’s Many Strange, Unpredictable Appearances on The David Letterman Show ---
http://www.openculture.com/2018/07/hunter-s-thompsons-many-strange-unpredictable-appearances-david-letterman-show.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29




Humor July 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q3.htm#Humor0718.htm 

Humor June 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q2.htm#Humor0618.htm

Humor May 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q2.htm#Humor0518.htm

Humor April 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q2.htm#Humor0418.htm

Humor March 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q1.htm#Humor0318.htm 

Humor February 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q1.htm#Humor0218.htm

Humor January 2018--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book18q1.htm#Humor0118.htm 

Humor December 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q4.htm#Humor1217.htm

Humor November 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q4.htm#Humor1117.htm

Humor October 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q4.htm#Humor1017.htm

Humor September 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q3.htm#Humor0917.htm 

Humor August 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q3.htm#Humor0817.htm

Humor July 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q3.htm#Humor0717.htm

Humor June 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q2.htm#Humor0617.htm

Humor May 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q2.htm#Humor0517.htm

Humor April 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q2.htm#Humor0417.htm

Humor March 2017--- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q1.htm#Humor0317.htm

Humor February 2017 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q1.htm#Humor0217.htm

Humor January 2017 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book17q1.htm#Humor0117.htm

Humor December 2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1216.htm 

Humor November 2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1116.htm 

Humor October 2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q4.htm#Humor1016.htm

Humor September 2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0916.htm

Humor August  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor083116.htm

Humor July  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0716.htm  

Humor June  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor063016.htm

Humor May  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor053116.htm

Humor April  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor043016.htm

Humor March  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor033116.htm

Humor February  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor022916.htm

Humor January  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor013116.htm

 




Tidbits Archives --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/

Online Distance Education Training and Education --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm
For-Profit Universities Operating in the Gray Zone of Fraud  (College, Inc.) --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#ForProfitFraud

Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

The Cult of Statistical Significance: How Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/DeirdreMcCloskey/StatisticalSignificance01.htm

How Accountics Scientists Should Change: 
"Frankly, Scarlett, after I get a hit for my resume in The Accounting Review I just don't give a damn"
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm
One more mission in what's left of my life will be to try to change this
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm 

What went wrong in accounting/accountics research?  ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#WhatWentWrong

The Sad State of Accountancy Doctoral Programs That Do Not Appeal to Most Accountants ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#DoctoralPrograms

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ACCOUNTING REVIEW: 1926-2005 ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm#_msocom_1

Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm

Tom Lehrer on Mathematical Models and Statistics ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZWyUXn3So

Systemic problems of accountancy (especially the vegetable nutrition paradox) that probably will never be solved ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#BadNews

 

World Clock --- http://www.peterussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php
Facts about the earth in real time --- http://www.worldometers.info/

Interesting Online Clock and Calendar --- http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
Time by Time Zones --- http://timeticker.com/
Projected Population Growth (it's out of control) --- http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/worldpopulation.htm
         Also see http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Populations.html
        
Facts about population growth (video) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
Projected U.S. Population Growth --- http://www.carryingcapacity.org/projections75.html
Real time meter of the U.S. cost of the war in Iraq --- http://www.costofwar.com/ 
Enter you zip code to get Census Bureau comparisons --- http://zipskinny.com/
Sure wish there'd be a little good news today.

Free (updated) Basic Accounting Textbook --- search for Hoyle at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks

CPA Examination --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cpa_examination
Free CPA Examination Review Course Courtesy of Joe Hoyle --- http://cpareviewforfree.com/

Rick Lillie's education, learning, and technology blog is at http://iaed.wordpress.com/

Accounting News, Blogs, Listservs, and Social Networking ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm 
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Some of Bob Jensen's Tutorials

Accounting program news items for colleges are posted at http://www.accountingweb.com/news/college_news.html
Sometimes the news items provide links to teaching resources for accounting educators.
Any college may post a news item.

Accounting  and Taxation News Sites ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

 

For an elaboration on the reasons you should join a ListServ (usually for free) go to   http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ListServRoles.htm
AECM (Educators) http://listserv.aaahq.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?HOME
AECM is an email Listserv list which provides a forum for discussions of all hardware and software which can be useful in any way for accounting education at the college/university level. Hardware includes all platforms and peripherals. Software includes spreadsheets, practice sets, multimedia authoring and presentation packages, data base programs, tax packages, World Wide Web applications, etc.

Over the years the AECM has become the worldwide forum for accounting educators on all issues of accountancy and accounting education, including debates on accounting standards, managerial accounting, careers, fraud, forensic accounting, auditing, doctoral programs, and critical debates on academic (accountics) research, publication, replication, and validity testing.

 

CPAS-L (Practitioners) http://pacioli.loyola.edu/cpas-l/  (Closed Down)
CPAS-L provides a forum for discussions of all aspects of the practice of accounting. It provides an unmoderated environment where issues, questions, comments, ideas, etc. related to accounting can be freely discussed. Members are welcome to take an active role by posting to CPAS-L or an inactive role by just monitoring the list. You qualify for a free subscription if you are either a CPA or a professional accountant in public accounting, private industry, government or education. Others will be denied access.
Yahoo (Practitioners)  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xyztalk
This forum is for CPAs to discuss the activities of the AICPA. This can be anything  from the CPA2BIZ portal to the XYZ initiative or anything else that relates to the AICPA.
AccountantsWorld  http://accountantsworld.com/forums/default.asp?scope=1 
This site hosts various discussion groups on such topics as accounting software, consulting, financial planning, fixed assets, payroll, human resources, profit on the Internet, and taxation.
Business Valuation Group BusValGroup-subscribe@topica.com 
This discussion group is headed by Randy Schostag [RSchostag@BUSVALGROUP.COM
FEI's Financial Reporting Blog
Smart Stops on the Web, Journal of Accountancy, March 2008 --- http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/mar2008/smart_stops.htm
FINANCIAL REPORTING PORTAL
www.financialexecutives.org/blog

Find news highlights from the SEC, FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board on this financial reporting blog from Financial Executives International. The site, updated daily, compiles regulatory news, rulings and statements, comment letters on standards, and hot topics from the Web’s largest business and accounting publications and organizations. Look for continuing coverage of SOX requirements, fair value reporting and the Alternative Minimum Tax, plus emerging issues such as the subprime mortgage crisis, international convergence, and rules for tax return preparers.
The CAlCPA Tax Listserv

September 4, 2008 message from Scott Bonacker [lister@bonackers.com]
Scott has been a long-time contributor to the AECM listserv (he's a techie as well as a practicing CPA)

I found another listserve that is exceptional -

CalCPA maintains http://groups.yahoo.com/taxtalk/  and they let almost anyone join it.
Jim Counts, CPA is moderator.

There are several highly capable people that make frequent answers to tax questions posted there, and the answers are often in depth.

Scott

Scott forwarded the following message from Jim Counts

Yes you may mention info on your listserve about TaxTalk. As part of what you say please say [... any CPA or attorney or a member of the Calif Society of CPAs may join. It is possible to join without having a free Yahoo account but then they will not have access to the files and other items posted.

Once signed in on their Yahoo account go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxTalk/ and I believe in top right corner is Join Group. Click on it and answer the few questions and in the comment box say you are a CPA or attorney, whichever you are and I will get the request to join.

Be aware that we run on the average 30 or move emails per day. I encourage people to set up a folder for just the emails from this listserve and then via a rule or filter send them to that folder instead of having them be in your inbox. Thus you can read them when you want and it will not fill up the inbox when you are looking for client emails etc.

We currently have about 830 CPAs and attorneys nationwide but mainly in California.... ]

Please encourage your members to join our listserve.

If any questions let me know.

Jim Counts CPA.CITP CTFA
Hemet, CA
Moderator TaxTalk

 

 

 

 

Many useful accounting sites (scroll down) --- http://www.iasplus.com/links/links.htm

 

Bob Jensen's Sort-of Blogs --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

Some Accounting History Sites

Bob Jensen's Accounting History in a Nutshell and Links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#AccountingHistory
 

Accounting History Libraries at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) --- http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/accountancy/libraries.html
The above libraries include international accounting history.
The above libraries include film and video historical collections.

MAAW Knowledge Portal for Management and Accounting --- http://maaw.info/

Academy of Accounting Historians and the Accounting Historians Journal ---
http://www.accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aah/

Sage Accounting History --- http://ach.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/11/3/269

A nice timeline on the development of U.S. standards and the evolution of thinking about the income statement versus the balance sheet is provided at:
"The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces Behind Professional Standards (1930-1973)," by Stephen A. Zeff, CPA Journal, January 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm
Part II covering years 1974-2003 published in February 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/205/index.htm 

A nice timeline of accounting history --- http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2187711/A-HISTORY-OF-ACCOUNTING

From Texas A&M University
Accounting History Outline --- http://acct.tamu.edu/giroux/history.html

Bob Jensen's timeline of derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm#DerivativesFrauds

History of Fraud in America --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/415wp/AmericanHistoryOfFraud.htm
Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud.htm

Bob Jensen's Threads ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

All my online pictures --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/PictureHistory/

 

Professor Robert E. Jensen (Bob) http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen
190 Sunset Hill Road
Sugar Hill, NH 03586
Phone:  603-823-8482 
Email:  rjensen@trinity.edu