2005_04_03_archive

They Should Call It a Conference, Not a Festival

JC from the Emirates Economist sent me this Reuters piece, "No Sex,

please. We're from Manchester."

Organisers of a major erotic festival are closing for business in

Manchester due to a lack of interest, which they blame on

recalcitrant northern men.

Erotica Manchester opened on Friday, selling a range of sex aids,

clothing and footwear, but ticket sales have been poor and

organisers say they will not be coming back.

"We've tried to warm this city up for more than two years but

northerners just haven't responded in sufficient numbers," said

event director Savvas Christodoulou on Friday.

Perhaps they could increase interest in their operation if they

followed the lead of the scholars at The University of Western Ontario

and called it a "conference" instead of a festival.

posted by EclectEcon @ 4/03/2005 01:54:00 PM Comments | Trackback

Twenty - three

That's how many clocks and watches we had to reset in our house this

morning for daylight savings time. And it doesn't include my

collection of knock-offs [oops, "replicas"].

I guess I never took to heart the wonderful Chicago song,

"Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?"

It seems I do.

Update: I missed one in the bathroom. We're up to 24 and counting....

Be sure to read this interesting piece at Anomaly UK about the

economics of changing clocks.

posted by EclectEcon @ 4/03/2005 09:31:00 AM Comments | Trackback

The Price Elasticity of Supply for

Doing God's Work

One might expect that those who dedicate their lives to the church

would tend not to be responsive to pecuniary incentives. After all,

doing God's work is all that is important, isn't it?

After having spent two years in theological seminary, I can assure you

that seminarians discuss pay, benefits, and pensions when talking

about job/placement prospects. But my experience was with one of the

more "secular" standard brand religions -- the Congregational branch

of the U.S. United Church of Christ. I wondered how monks and priests

might respond to pecuniary, worldly rewards. Here's a partial answer

[h/t to BF for this link]:

ONE hundred and eighty outraged priests in a Spanish parish near

Valencia have launched an unprecedented rebellion against their

bishop, who last week slashed their wages and asked them to make up

the difference by dipping into the collection box.

In a response, at least one aggrieved priest yesterday sought

advice from the socialist trade union federation, the UGT, which

claims never to have come across a case of its kind.

If priests respond in part to pecuniary incentives, one might expect

moves like this to reduce the quantity supplied. Look for standards

for admission to the Spanish priesthood to decline over time. (see

what happened with Australian teachers when they were unable to

maintain high standards and still fill all the slots in teachers'

college).

I left seminary after two years, having read Elmer Gantry. It struck a

chord.

posted by EclectEcon @ 4/03/2005 03:26:00 AM Comments | Trackback

Give 'Em Jobs in Denver

In an earlier piece, I noted that Denver had reduced the amount they

pay substitute teachers and, as a result, faces a severe shortage of

people willing to work for the current wage rate. Maybe they can hire

some of these folks from Australia:

UNIVERSITIES are awarding places in teaching courses to students

who failed or barely passed Year 12 and the current funding regime

encouraged the practice, Education Minister Brendan Nelson claimed

yesterday....

Dr Nelson revealed a Tasmanian student had told him that one

university had allowed a student entry to teaching with a mark of

35 out of 100 that had been "scaled up".

"She said to me, 'How can we have quality teachers if you can get

into teaching with a mark of 35?"' Dr Nelson said.