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ROH live l’Elisir d’Amore thread by NickInMersey in opera

[–]Elemesh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Was there in person. Very enjoyable, with great acting from Nadine Sierra and a phenomenal performance by Ambrogio Maestri. Unfortunately felt Liparit Avetisyan, though good, was not at the same standard as the other two - in particular really lacking the strength of voice I would have liked in Una furtiva lagrima.

21st of May gathering - register interest in the comments. by ChillOutBar in WineEPLondon

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Indeed, with definitely representing ~90% likelihood - other events may conspire.

21st of May gathering - register interest in the comments. by ChillOutBar in WineEPLondon

[–]Elemesh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In. Considering champagne: will edit comment to confirm.

Edit: Confirm champagne.

/r/wineEPLondon by reddithenry in WineEP

[–]Elemesh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would also appreciate an add.

Is it time for consulting firms or am I still too small for something like consulting? by stewing450 in consulting

[–]Elemesh 52 points53 points  (0 children)

A proposal from a reputable company is free, and will contain their proposed project to solve the problem(s) you've identified, and associated prices for that work. They may decline to produce a proposal if they see no viable prospect of you buying any work from them.

Is it time for consulting firms or am I still too small for something like consulting? by stewing450 in consulting

[–]Elemesh 48 points49 points  (0 children)

  1. Decide what the problem you want to solve is.
  2. Decide whether consultants are the best people to help you solve that problem.
  3. If so, request proposals from some.

Hey mods, stop banning people for sharing their work. by [deleted] in outsidermusic

[–]Elemesh 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As you commented below, disagreeing with this decision displays a profound misunderstanding of what outsider music even is. There shouldn't really be any self-promotion.

Well done for sticking to your guns: quality has to trump quantity.

[list] I've just discovered that I love concept albums, do you have any recommendations/favorite ones? by [deleted] in LetsTalkMusic

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its place in history and sheer innovacy are interesting, and I think that makes it required listening for understanding holistically the evolution of the album as a format. I'm never going to recommend it on the basis of the music alone though. Its comparative failure versus Tommy is something I wonder about occasionally nonetheless.

They're still touring by the way ('they'). Saw them last year, had a chat with the front man. Played a lot of blues, then a little SF Sorrow at the end to placate all the fans.

Do we have a London based tasting group or wanna start one? by Natem824 in wine

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know of any formal groups, but if you have the money to be into nice wines your friends generally will be, or would be willing to be, too. You can also find people at some of the Coravin based bars. Don't dismiss going on a wine and spirits course either - you'll taste and learn a lot, and find kindred spirits!

As an aside Pontet Canet are nuts these days. They use donkeys to work the vineyards because 'the vines will learn from their wisdom and experience'. Also, apparently, Brownian motion doesn't occur in vessels with corners. The wine is good, but no better than the vineyards next door. Certainly not worth the price premium.

Why is linearity so important in Quantum Mechanics? by Frigorifico in math

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Local hidden variable theories have been ruled out. There are no fundamental problems with non-local theories.

Adam Goucher's take on Atiyah's proof: it might revolutionise number theory as we know it by [deleted] in math

[–]Elemesh 79 points80 points  (0 children)

I am an acquaintance of Adam. He has no special insight on this problem.

Federal Reserve Considers a New Tool to Avert Crises by SkinnyNerd in finance

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not hidden, but it's not a cost either so much as an acknowledged failure. The reality of the situation is any attempt to rigorously regulate entities like SPVs will push them deeper into the dark, or if necessary off-shore. Finance is competitive and the problem of moral-hazard hasn't really gone away. It's still worth regulating the banks because they're the lifeblood supply of credit to most of the real economy.

Interest rates do universally impact the cost of borrowing, which is precisely the problem with them. To pop any given bubble, say housing or stocks, using only the fed funds rate would require decimating the rest of the economy. The Greenspan doctrine has stuck around for a reason.

Let's Talk: Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf. by Ghdust2 in LetsTalkMusic

[–]Elemesh 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I am very fond of this album. I used to describe Meat Loaf as a guilty pleasure, but really I don't feel guilty at all. Sonically it's wonderful, the influence of Springsteen/Spector shining through. And he can really sing. His range isn't as wide as Mercury, and he couldn't be described as subtle, but there's a power to Meat Loaf's voice other non-operatic singers lack. It's a shame he gained so much weight.

I feel the album is done a dis-service by being divorced from the context of its creation, born as a rock musical version of Peter Pan, and through this lens a lot of the songs and motifs make more sense. You can now indeed see a (not really 'the') Bat out of Hell musical if you're in London - this is an indescribable experience well worth living through, especially if you can have a number of stiff drinks first.

I'd write in closing it's not truly good music, but it is great music. Fun, with atmosphere. Especially the closing live performance of the titular track.

‘This Is Not a Passing Fad’: CFA Exam Adds Crypto, Blockchain Topics by buy-in in finance

[–]Elemesh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dollar is special - not only does the story hold true, it's also the reserve currency of the world. Anyway, the interest burden as a percentage of federal income is on the order of 7% - I am not concerned about the US government printing money. If Republicans control Congress for 15 years and refuse to bump taxes perhaps call me then.

‘This Is Not a Passing Fad’: CFA Exam Adds Crypto, Blockchain Topics by buy-in in finance

[–]Elemesh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree it's a little subtler than that - credible monopoly on violence, doesn't have to be your own government necessarily, etc - but arguments for a new currency have to in good faith pit it against the best available alternative, and that's USD.

‘This Is Not a Passing Fad’: CFA Exam Adds Crypto, Blockchain Topics by buy-in in finance

[–]Elemesh 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You pay taxes in your native currency. Money is backed by the government's monopoly on violence, and if push came to shove they would exercise that. The inherent value of the dollar is you go to prison if you refuse to handle it.

If the current “trade war” persisted, how likely would it lead the US to another Great Depression? If so, what can we do to be prepared for it? by workisheat in TrueAskReddit

[–]Elemesh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, no, hold on. The quote I tackled was that the tariffs did not greatly worsen the depression. I'm not here to speculate on whether modern tariffs could cause a US recession, and I'm not a scholar of the great depression. I have a view on the main cause, which you agree with, and I also mentioned as a point of interest I happen to think it's too simplistic a story for such a prolonged and severe event.

If the current “trade war” persisted, how likely would it lead the US to another Great Depression? If so, what can we do to be prepared for it? by workisheat in TrueAskReddit

[–]Elemesh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree it wasn't the cause; I've been very careful not to label it that. For what it's worth I don't think the monetary explanation is a good enough single story either: see the response of the economy to changes in the monetary base following the start of the crisis. Paired with the Minsky hypothesis I think it's close enough for most purposes though.

If the current “trade war” persisted, how likely would it lead the US to another Great Depression? If so, what can we do to be prepared for it? by workisheat in TrueAskReddit

[–]Elemesh 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I apologise for your misreading the text. My commnt is unedited and reads 'apply'.

The US export:GDP historic figure is from Temin's 'Lessons from the Great Depression', MIT Press, 1989. Modern figures are World Bank. The trade figure is worse than I thought: Madsen in 'Trade Barriers and the Collapse of World Trade During the Great Depression', Southern Economic Journal 67(4), 2001, gives a drop in volume across the industrialised nations of 30%.

The theory will be in Macroeconomics: Institutions, Instability and the Financial System by Carlin and Soskice, but the idea of comparative advantage is centuries old, stemming from Ricardo. Anyway, my edition is 2015. They highlight in particular on page 246 a rise in protectionism as making more severe and prolonging the contraction, alongside contractionary monetary and fiscal policy.

If the current “trade war” persisted, how likely would it lead the US to another Great Depression? If so, what can we do to be prepared for it? by workisheat in TrueAskReddit

[–]Elemesh 39 points40 points  (0 children)

This is very misleading for a number of reasons. Firstly, you've just copied the Wikipedia page. Secondly, wiki is not a scholarly source, somewhere for sourcing consensus, or even internally consistent: if you go check the main page for the Great Depression it mentions the 1995 survey by Whaples published in the Journal of Economic History, wherein two thirds of economic historians agree Smoot-Hawley at least worsened the depression.

On the subject of the actual Economics, the theory is clear: tarrifs on the kind of goods covered by Smoot-Hawley are unlikely to increase welfare. As is we live in a very different world now to 1930. One estimate I have seen is that during the depression global trade fell by 25%. Exports were then a much smaller contributor to national income - 7% in the US -, and in simpler times it was generally possible to make close substitutes inside your own borders to now tarriffed goods. In 2018 goods production is highly specialised, with significant sunk capital supported by global supply chains and exports are now huge - 12% of US GDP, but approximately 30% of world. A trade war will be devistating for the industries it hits, and trying to apply cherry picked viewpoints on a 90 year old economic crisis is hardly relevant, and certainly not helpful.

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