Archive for April, 2009
Exams!
Posted by alice in Uncategorized on April 26th, 2009
Someone mentioned to me that I haven’t updated in a while … so here’s my upcoming schedule:
Mon 4/27 – 900 exam
Tue 4/28 – 900 exam, 1430 exam
Wed 4/29 – 900 exam
Thu 4/30 – 1430 exam
Tue 5/5 – 900 exam
Thu 5/7 – 900 exam
Thu 5/7 – 1030 done with engineering exams!
tldr =p – 3 exams done, 7 more to go
D-process
Posted by alice in Uncategorized on April 15th, 2009
I was trying to figure out what people meant by a D-process and came across an old interview with Bridgewater’s CEO:
Barron’s: I can’t think of anyone who was earlier in describing the deleveraging and deflationary process that has been happening around the world.
Dalio: Let’s call it a “D-process,” which is different than a recession, and the only reason that people really don’t understand this process is because it happens rarely. Everybody should, at this point, try to understand the depression process by reading about the Great Depression or the Latin American debt crisis or the Japanese experience so that it becomes part of their frame of reference. Most people didn’t live through any of those experiences, and what they have gotten used to is the recession dynamic, and so they are quick to presume the recession dynamic. It is very clear to me that we are in a D-process.
Barron’s: Why are you hesitant to emphasize either the words depression or deflation? Why call it a D-process?
Dalio: Both of those words have connotations associated with them that can confuse the fact that it is a process that people should try to understand.
You can describe a recession as an economic retraction which occurs when the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy normally to fight inflation. The cycle continues until the economy weakens enough to bring down the inflation rate, at which time the Federal Reserve eases monetary policy and produces an expansion. We can make it more complicated, but that is a basic simple description of what recessions are and what we have experienced through the post-World War II period. What you also need is a comparable understanding of what a D-process is and why it is different.
Link.
Peterhouse in Springtime
Posted by alice in Uncategorized on April 8th, 2009
I live in Peterhouse College which has its own deer park. The gardeners were very busy last year and here’s why:
My pictures don’t do them justice.
Here is a tour of the college. The first thing you see when you walk through the gate are the Chapel cloisters in front and the Chapel next to them:
Through the cloisters is the Old Court, with the Combination Room and Hall on the south side. Our hall was built in 1290 and is the oldest collegiate building in Cambridge.
Looking back from the other end of Old Court we can see the front of the Chapel:
Behind Old Court is Gisborne Court, where Lord Kelvin used to live:
Venice
I spent the last few days in Venice, Italy. Everyone else was busy studying so I went by myself 
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At first I had trouble finding my way because Google maps is a couple years old in that region and doesn’t show a new fourth bridge crossing the Grand Canal in front of the Piazzale Roma (nor does live maps), FYI. This bridge is gorgeous and modern unlike the other ones:
My first night there I took a walk, wandering aimlessly so I don’t know where I went. This is a bridge I saw:
The next day, I decided to go to two of the islands near Venice, on the recommendation of some people I met at the hostel – Murano, which is famous for making beautiful glass and Burano, which has colorful houses.
It’s really easy to get around Venice on vaporetto, the water buses. I spent hours riding around the island and along the Grand Canal after I got tired of walking. Here’s a vaporetto next to Rialto bridge:
I later moved to a hotel closer to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) because it’s the center of Venice and I thought it would be more convenient. It was nice to be 2 minutes from the square but the room was scary; I found this one night when I got back:
I called the guy at the front desk to help me and he killed it by smearing it onto the floor. He only took the remains away when I asked, but left the majority of the legs on the carpet (they’re probably still there so don’t stay at Hotel Astoria if you ever visit Venice). Also, unlike the hostel I first stayed at (Absolut Venice, near the train station), no one cooked me dinner and breakfast, or made delicious espresso in the morning. And no free Wifi .
I spent as much time as I could not in the room.
St. Mark’s Square was beautiful, surrounded by a bell tower, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, and the sea.
Inside the Basilica, which is a mix of European and Middle Eastern architecture, were beautiful golden mosaics:
The Doge’s Palace was even more opulent with ceilings and walls covered in paintings, including the largest oil painting in the world – Tintoretto’s Paradise:
During the day, St. Mark’s Square is covered in pigeons because many tourists like to feed them and hold them in their hands:
I liked to make them fly away. The most effective way isn’t to chase them, but to throw something over them, like my scarf. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take pictures of them flying away because I was throwing stuff into the air. 
More pictures here.