Asian Weather Reporter Charres Riu On the Scene

I don't mind the rain. Sometimes it's nice to have the change of weather so that we can all experience actual seasons throughout the year. I know I've been spoiled by living in SoCal for most of my life, where it's basically summer all year round. When the sun finally breaks through on the next day, you get the whole "Ahhhh...." refreshing feeling as the trees and plants are still moist from the condensation. Plus, if I stay in on a rainy day, I'm one of the types that cuddles up on the couch with a blanket, book, and a hot cup of tea.

Except, it's different here...

Fuck the weather lately. Yeah, I can tolerate a day or two of rain here and there. But shit son. This rain has been going on for a week, a teaser couple days of sunshine, then POURING. Now starting this week, there's some ridiculous wind factor going on (see picture).



FML. Now the rain is coming in from all directions instead of just up. It's like mother nature has decided we've all done something terribly wrong here in Berkeley (like buying too many made-from-awesome-trees textbooks).

Dear Mother Nature, I'm sorry if I haven't been a hippy lately? I made steak for dinner, so maybe I have it coming for me now because I killed a cow. Maybe I shouldn't have stepped on that crunchy leaf near the Campanile either.

I think I'm attributing my particular bad experience to my lack of umbrella, though. Yes, let's just say this picture can describe it pretty well:

My umbrella had suffered a slight mishap last year when the wind was particularly strong, but it was still usable given a slight bend in the metal shaft. All was well until a particularly rainy day last week. I pushed the button to extend my mini umbrella, except it extended all the way out, onto the floor.

This would be an appropriate time for me to hear one of those annoying "Congratulations, you have just won two free iPod nanos!" ads. Just replace the iPods with an umbrella handle and metal shaft.

I got the umbrella from LA Chinatown a couple years ago so I wasn't really expecting much from it either. I ordered this umbrella from Amazon last week hoping it would get to me by now, but it hasn't. PLZ COME SOON.

In short, screw the rain, and I don't have an umbrella. I'm using my Northface jacket in the meantime, but sometimes it's still a little ridiculous here regarding the weather. This probably means I already hate Seattle. Fuck their coffee too. I drink tea anyway.

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Game Theory for Social Science

Here's the strategic form: 1 guy can choose to party or not party. 1 girl can choose to party or not party. Guy gets a higher payoff if girl goes to a party. Girl gets the same payoff if she parties or stays home.

1. I'll generalize that guys want to find a "nice" girl. Maybe even more general that someone that is seemingly "compatible". People have their preferences may it be physical, emotional, personality, etc.

2. In order to find these "nice" girls, guys go to social settings, introduce ourselves, try to stand out or make ourselves seem unique in our own way, without pushing ourselves over to be someone we're not...

3. These social settings, perhaps, are IRONICALLY, not the places that are populated at maximum probability of the nice girls or type of girls we actually want to meet.

4. This perhaps limits guys to maybe an academic setting or random encounter (e.g. introduced through a friend), in which case, we are subject to a "weirder" crowd of the Berkeley public, or if I was less blunt, greater variety of personalities.

5. The game compatibility is this: for guys is that we go to these social settings, in which case, the nice girls we are looking for may not be at these social settings. They are, rather, either at home being a good person doing homework, or watching a movie - resulting in the chance of meeting each other at a very low percent.

Solving this game would involve not going to these social settings, but that is counter-intuitive to meeting people at all, and in layman's terms is associated as "nerd", "loner", or any other words you fancy.

So with backwards induction, the guy chooses to stay home because he might not find "that" type of girl, and the girl will stay home because she doesn't like "that" type of guy. Their payoffs are [0, 1] for guy and girl respectively, as the guy stays home and does not meet the girl, while the girl studies and/or has a good time with her girlfriends.

Note: serious, but also not serious.

2nd note: Problem Set 0% Complete Read More......