Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

Neeeek · Post by **Neeeek** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:17 pm

Avoraciopoctules wrote:I am taking a Geography Field Studies class with a disorganized professor who didn't provide any recommended reading. I have been asked to write a pretend proposal for a "dream project" that involves field work to show my grasp of the material. I need to cover budget, project objectives, permits required, and an outline of the project itself from start to finish.

Does anyone know where I could find something similar (a written proposal for a field-work research project including budget) I could use to compare my draft with, so I could see if I'm phrasing things clumsily or leaving important concepts out?

You could make your dream project hiking in a national park, observing geological effects. The costs involved would be "getting there" and "about $50 for fees" with no permits required. If you need a place, the Pinnacles is handy, just go to priceline or wherever for plane tickets to central CA, check rental car prices and go with that.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:04 pm

If this is purely theoretical, then you likely want to go with a more complex proposal, so that you can include more stuff. Here's a couple links that may help, courtesy of google:

http://www.nps.gov/gate/naturescience/u ... l-Form.pdf

http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/graduate/apply ... posal.html

http://www.hf.uio.no/english/research/d ... ption.html

http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/soc/documents ... oposal.pdf

samples:

http://www.anat.stonybrook.edu/IDPAS/st ... 042908.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/bcs/grs/propsamples.jsp

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:11 pm

Is there any reason from a 'let's improve the government' why the U.S. House of Representatives can't be larger?

It seems that a lot of our problems with gerrymandering and lopsided Congressional district representation could be solved with smaller districts; the fact that Republicans can have 40 more people in the U.S. House despite losing the Congressional vote by about half a million is obscene. If Congressional districts were assigned to be 150,000 people we'd have a House of about 2,000 people.

And frankly I think that the U.S. House needs to be even larger than it is even if we didn't have the problems of voter disenfranchisement. Right now the average representative presides over about 750,000 people, which is fucking ridiculous. Not only that the problems of government are a lot more complicated than in 1911; the talent pool for legislation committees can and should be increased.

I'm aware that nothing like this will actually be done because it reduces the individual power of House Congressmen and makes smaller states weaker in the electoral college. I'm just wondering what kind of efficiency objection you could make.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:14 pm

It is impractical to have 2000 representatives all in a single room at a single time to hold votes that require all of the representatives to be present. While rare, these do come up often enough and are important enough that you don't want them to be bogged down by having to roll-call thousands of people.

sabs · Post by **sabs** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:26 pm

Why can't they use finger print scanning box for roll call? You swipe your finger, it goes yup, you're the Great Congressman from Texas, and marks you in as present.

Doing Voice Roll Call is all cute and stuff, but should be rare, and mostly unnecessary in this day and age.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:18 pm

It isn't just a matter of roll call. The more representatives you have the more problems you have with with factionalism, special interests, and competition. The more people you have the more difficult it is to get a majority of them them to agree on anything.

If you can solve the problems that come with scaling up your lawmaking body then you can skip representative democracy altogether and have direct democracy instead. The fact remains that the bigger your legislature is the more unwieldy it becomes and the stupider its decisions are.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:18 pm

Yeah, I seriously doubt any group of 2,000 people's ability to actually come to a decision unless at least 80% of them are ceding their decision-making power to someone else (i.e. how it usually works when you get 2,000 random people together with no clear hierarchy; hierarchies emerge, but that won't happen in a room full of politicians).

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:31 am

So I am way more stressed and angry than I used to be, if not reaching the levels I was before my depression was diagnosed and treatment started. So given I probably don't have a very long lifespan anyway, what's the better method for "you are now stress-free", great short-term results? Current thoughts are:
[*]Take up smoking - it seems to work, and I seriously get the urge to suck a cigarette when pissed off despite never having been a smoker
[*]Take up alcoholism
[*]Get back on the opiates, but this time do it completely legally and with less harmful additives by making poppy tea

Note: while marijuana is legal here, all it does for me is make me nauseous. If there's some actual medication that can be prescribed though, I'm all ears.

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:09 am

Well, if your general well being is no consequence... hmm. Does it have to be a drug or such substance? I don't have much experiance with that.

However, if you want to live it up a little, a great, free way I've found to reduce stress is to find one person, and one person in particular, and then make their life a living hell. Nothing makes a person (well, me at least) feel better than, not only finding someone worse off than you, but knowing that you personally have contributed to the fact that their life is worse.

The best way, I've found, is to not go at it too strong. Be subtle. Take it slow. It's like dating a grouper.

First off, dehumanize the person in your mind, such as referring to them as a Republican stooge, a LaRouche Democrat, or any type of horse organ.

I like then drive the enemy crazy by telling them incessently about my obsessions and hobbies. Bonus points if you bring them up when they are completely unrelated to any topic at hand.

Next, I start to then move towards the heavy duty stuff, ie taking their food from the fridge and not telling them, rearranging their furniture when they're out shopping, planting illeagal narcotics in their pillow cases for the police to find... things like that. It's especially fun if the person is a Type A personality or has OCD, cause then the fun never ends.

In the final stage, begin drawing plans to remove the person from your life in the most absurd way possible. This can be hours of fun. For example, I am currently drawing plans to launch a homemade rocket through the window of my victim. (It should be noted: You don't have to actually go through with these plans. Breaking the law is fun, but not a good stress reducer.)

But most of all, be creative! Come up with your own plans to ruin the life of someone you don't care about! BECOME THE NEW KING (or queen) OF THE SOCIOPATHS!

...Sorry, I got carried away, and now I don't remember what my original point was. As for your question, Koumei, try drugs that alter your perception of reality, like LCD. Escape to a better delusion. Or, failing that, I recommend smoking. Takes longer to kill, so you get to linger in agonizing pain while your lungs slowly collapse.

(edit: fixed the italics things)

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:12 am

Shrapnel wrote:try drugs that alter your perception of reality, like LCD.

She already plays video games, though.

Is there any chance of eliminating the sources of the stress? That'd be a better approach, if it's possible. But I can understand if it's not.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:12 am

Shrapnel wrote:The best way, I've found, is to not go at it too strong. Be subtle. Take it slow. It's like dating a grouper.

First off, dehumanize the person in your mind, such as referring to them as a Republican stooge, a LaRouche Democrat, or any type of horse organ.

I like then drive the enemy crazy by telling them incessently about my obsessions and hobbies. Bonus points if you bring them up when they are completely unrelated to any topic at hand.

Next, I start to then move towards the heavy duty stuff, ie taking their food from the fridge and not telling them, rearranging their furniture when they're out shopping, planting illeagal narcotics in their pillow cases for the police to find... things like that.

Have I dated you?

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:15 am

I assure you I have never dated a member of my own species.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:30 am

Well the problem with removing the sources of stress is that it tends to be so many things. So for video games, I just don't play those games (or in the case of PWT, I don't go there and will just fucking cheat to get the prizes as needed). But when it's stuff going wrong at work, I can't just go home and not come back.

Well technically I can because I'm still volunteering, but this could actually turn into paid work and I don't want to ruin that. Likewise when there are 20 odd people at the house all making noise, there isn't really anywhere I can just wander off to - this isn't like when I was in Melbourne and totally could just go to a cafe at 10PM, or wander the city for a bit or visit any number of friends.

So from that perspective, getting lung cancer in 30 years when I'm already dead from all the other cancers isn't a big deal if I can just step off-campus for 5-10 minutes to have a smoke. The annoying thing will be the cost of purchase.

And before someone mentions masturbation as a good stress relief, a side-effect of my meds is I am so very rarely in the mood. And also doing that at work would be creepy (and grounds for dismissal/imprisonment).

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:21 am

Koumei wrote:So from that perspective, getting lung cancer in 30 years when I'm already dead from all the other cancers isn't a big deal if I can just step off-campus for 5-10 minutes to have a smoke. The annoying thing will be the cost of purchase.

I'd recommend theft, but that may or may not possibly add to any pre-existing stress.

And before someone mentions masturbation as a good stress relief, a side-effect of my meds is I am so very rarely in the mood. And also doing that at work would be creepy (and grounds for dismissal/imprisonment).

That's too bad; public masturbation is a great stress reliever for me.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:56 am

Get your blood pressure checked, you might be able to get pills to knock it back. Low blood pressure is basically the opposite of stress. Helps if you're stressed when you get the test. There are also targeted anti-anxiety meds out there, but they can have interesting side-effects like making you sleep 22 hours a day.

Otherwise just try and be super-punctual and get things out of the way as early as you can, and never accept extra work that has tight deadlines. Well, that's how I experience stress, procrastination -> time pressure -> stress -> high blood pressure -> getting shit done because W00+!, even though that makes for less good outcomes than just skipping the first step.

Immediate relief, think about slowing your breathing by deep breaths into the belly, remember what a slow heart rate feels like and let that happen now, and be a person who isn't stressed. Which is kinda bullshit but totally works in the long term, as that's how non-stressed people just are, not winding up.

Mostly, don't stress about stressing. If it happens, it happens, and then you get over it, same as always. Keep a stress-journal or some shit like that for a few months to get a real picture of how it affects you.

If you do go for cigarettes, remember they are super-addictive, make things like climbing stairs terribly difficult, and totally induce stress if you ever cut back even a little bit. They work, but do have serious downsides. Meds are totally better for a lot of people.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 5:06 am

On the cigarettes being addictive thing, it depends on genetics a little bit, I think. I've been smoking for 7 years, and can make a pack last a month. Which is really how I can afford to smoke at all.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:29 am

tussock wrote:Get your blood pressure checked, you might be able to get pills to knock it back. Low blood pressure is basically the opposite of stress.

Weird. Last I checked, I had low blood pressure - enough so that suddenly standing up made me very dizzy.

but they can have interesting side-effects like making you sleep 22 hours a day.

I could counter that by taking anti-sleep meds! (Side effects: anxiety)

Otherwise just try and be super-punctual and get things out of the way as early as you can

That generally isn't the stress cause at work. It's typically people suddenly coming in with problems that are our fault (because we are the IT people and the problem is with their computer, not the fact that they're incompetent fucks) or seeing the number of ruined machines (did you know you can fold laptops in half? You totally can!) It's not even stuff where we are officially "to blame" - leadership knows we're going above and beyond the call of duty, they just won't follow our advice and install security cameras in rooms.

If you do go for cigarettes, remember they are super-addictive

I have indeed heard that. And I can't unaddict myself from sugar or caffeine. But addictiveness only matters if you intend on suddenly stopping.

totally induce stress if you ever cut back even a little bit.

See above.

They work, but do have serious downsides. Meds are totally better for a lot of people.

There's also the bit where, in recent weeks, I've been regaining the weight I lost in Melbourne. I'm pretty sure cigarettes help reduce weight.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:18 am

They're an appetite suppressant, but you have to smoke them in vast quantities for that benefit, I think.

I hear crack is a great diet drug, though.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:02 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:They're an appetite suppressant, but you have to smoke them in vast quantities for that benefit, I think.

My understanding is that is a side effect of them fucking up your taste buds.

I don't know if the taste bud damage is permanent (I thought I heard that will be restored), but if she's not planning on quitting, I guess it doesn't matter.

Another annoying thing about smoking is that if you do decide to quit, you will likely gain weight. I think this mostly has to do with eating keeping your hands and mouth busy, which an help alleviate the addiction (or more so, the habit).

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:14 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:On the cigarettes being addictive thing, it depends on genetics a little bit, I think. I've been smoking for 7 years, and can make a pack last a month. Which is really how I can afford to smoke at all.

Try going an entire year without smoking, and see how you feel afterwards.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:56 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:On the cigarettes being addictive thing, it depends on genetics a little bit, I think. I've been smoking for 7 years, and can make a pack last a month. Which is really how I can afford to smoke at all.

Yeah, and I could totally stop being an abrasive dick if I wanted to!

Shut up Prak, you are too addicted.

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:58 pm

Would "Randall Thor" be a good porn name? Would it be a reasonable name for a performer on the slender/androgynous side?

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:52 pm

Shrapnel wrote: Try going an entire year without smoking, and see how you feel afterwards.

I've quit smoking for years at a time several times now and haven't smoked at all in three years but probably would smoke again--I'm happy to bum cigarettes off of people but I don't party like I used to so it doesn't come up often. At my smoking peak I was at around a pack or two a month for about a year and quitting wasn't hard. I have zero problems with booze and unlike Keith Richards, I found harder drugs tougher to resist than cigarettes--I'm more of a power tripper* than someone who struggles with anxiety, apparently, but it wasn't a big deal because I don't like spending money. Nicotine is a bit of an odd duck-- it is addictive but there appears to be an element of self-medication involved where people who border upon having anxiety or bipolar spectrum disorders are likely more susceptible than the general population. Schizophrenics, for example, have smoking rates that are almost comically high. Anyway, it doesn't matter that much though because in any case it sounds like Koumei is on the anxious end of the scale and thus probably falls under the likely to get addicted umbrella.

But really, that's all beside the point, because everyone really ought to take care of their health. Because with modern medicine being what it is today, odds are you will make it past 50 and probably into your 60s. But if you don't take care of yourself on the way there you can find yourself with debilitating issues in your late 40s pretty easily. Do not want.

*Cocaine is indeed a hell of a drug.[/i]

Essence · Post by **Essence** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 8:50 pm

I hate to be reasonable and humane in a place like this, but one of the best proven ways to overcome stress is with gratitude. Take 5 minutes out upon waking and then before bed to think about all of the things that are good and right and happy in your life, and be grateful to the people or circumstances or powers that make them part of your life.

Science has studied over and over again the power of being grateful to reduce stress and improve overall health -- as well as your general attitude toward life. It's weird, getting in the habit of deliberate gratefulness, but it works wonders.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:01 pm

How fast, relative to the Earth, would a one kilogram iron sphere of uniform density have to be traveling such that it's contact with Earth's atmosphere releases enough energy to destroy all matter in the observable universe, not accounting for the constant expansion of space-time?