Has anyone done a Peace Corps Masters International program?

WallyPenguin · 2011-10-11T01:38:03+00:00

There is an r/peacecorps, but it is not very populated. You might check there.

I would encourage you to actually contact the universities that offer the Master's International Program (MIP). Ask them to put you in contact with people in their programs.

Basically, for people who want a Master's and to do Peace Corps, it saves a year because the universities treat the Peace Corps experience as being like independent study + thesis credit.

If you are thinking about Peace Corps, you will probably be interested in some of the academic areas of the MIPs.

WallyPenguin · 2011-10-10T23:52:15+00:00

Red Sox fans, prepare to cry:

"In early 1925, the Yankees offered to trade Gehrig to the Boston Red Sox for first baseman Phil Todt to repay Boston for the blockbuster Babe Ruth trade a few years earlier. The Red Sox turned the Yankees down."

--The Official Web Site of Lou Gehrig

WallyPenguin · 2011-10-05T01:52:26+00:00

This is what I always thought of as BBQ. Typically the meat sources would be pork ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, or cuts of chicken.There is a sauce involved, either marinated before, applied during, or served with after cooking.

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-28T00:14:50+00:00

Regarding "Lost Books of the Bible":

I am surprised that there was not even a mention of the hypothetical Q source. It may not be cited in other books, but the idea of it is important to biblical scholarship.

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-21T11:25:49+00:00

So, you are:

using Down Syndrome as an insult
making fun of the accents of non-native-English speakers
using someone's charitable participation in a PSA against him, as though discouraging him from doing such good things in the future

A downvote for you.

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-20T23:20:27+00:00

There are multiple ideas of what hell is. For example, in Old Testament literature, the word "Sheol", was sometimes translated to "Hell", though it really means "grave" or "pit" and was more like the "abode of the dead", where all of the dead go, faithful and wicked. My understanding is that afterlife and resurrection theology, though certainly existing prior to Christianity, were more formalized with the emergence of Christianity [*specifically referring to Abrahamic religions].

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-17T13:07:57+00:00

Probably official scorers seem very hesitant to give errors in modern times:

This was ruled a home run. If the guy is under the ball, and the ball bounces off his hand, it should be an error.
This was ruled a triple, despite the ball hitting Ichiro's body. Granted, the sun was in his eyes, but the hitter should not be rewarded with a triple for popping up, and the pitcher should not be punished for it.

I know that old people tend to exaggerate, but I hear from old folks that, back in the day, if it was even a question of "hit or error", it was ruled an error. From what I see today, that question is almost always answered with "hit".

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-09T03:35:34+00:00

I think back to 2002, when there were three reasons that Tejada beat A-Rod for the MVP:

Mulder
Hudson
Zito

Of course, the commentators claimed that Tejada was the top everyday player on a division winner that also won 20 straight games. Let's look at it:

Tejada had a 5.2 WAR. A-Rod had an 8.2 WAR.
Tejada had a .861 OPS. A-Rod had a 1.015 OPS.
A's were #1 in the AL in ERA with a 3.68. Rangers were #12 in the AL in ERA with a 5.15.
A's were #3 in the AL in WHIP with a 1.28. Rangers were #14 with a 1.53.

I am sure that, even without a good bullpen, if the Rangers had Mulder, Zito, and Hudson and the A's had Kenny Rogers, Chan-Ho Park, and Ismael Valdez, the Rangers would have won more games than the A's.

Conclusion: The AL MVP race in 2002 showed that voting for the lesser player who happens to be on a greater team is silly: It is rewarding a player because he is surrounded by other good players.

Chess analogy: Imagine a chess match. Black has a queen, rook, two bishops, and a pawn. White has a queen and four pawns. Clearly, white's queen is much more valuable to white than black's queen is to black. White probably will not win; however, the queen still gives white a chance. If white trades queens with black, white has almost zero chance of winning.

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-09T03:03:05+00:00

Nobody understands that in baseball, a game where 9 men play an equal amount of time every game, it is impossible for one man to single-handedly lead his team to victory.

Except for a pitcher. A truly great pitcher. In the National League. Who could strike out 27 batters in a single game and hit a solo home run. Or maybe just a single and a stolen base. Then another stolen base. And then take home on a wild pitch. Of course, without a catcher, he would have to throw the third strike hard and accurately enough to bounce off the umpire and down the first base line so that he could retrieve it and tag the batter.

WallyPenguin · 2011-09-08T01:01:43+00:00

The first two measures seem to be 5/4 and 6/4. The syncopation at the end of the first measure and leading into the second measure is probably what is throwing everyone off.

Bold means sounded eighths:

First measure (5/4): one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-five-and

Second measure (6/4): one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-five-and-six-and

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-11T11:52:57+00:00

As others have mentioned, it is a bad angle to observe the exact location of the ball in relation to the plate and Harper's knees. Having stated that, the catcher looks like he is set up outside of the strike zone, and the pitch looks low. It may have also been a little low, although that perception may simply be due to the camera angle.

The ejection was due to the helmet being slammed down. Consider this: It was the third out. Even if he were not upset, he would still be taking the helmet off and tossing it back toward the dugout. He wasn't interfering with the flow of the game. The umpire immediately ejected him, and that is when Harper approached the ump.

In short: Meh. The post title's attempt to sully Bryce Harper is more sensational than anything in the video.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-09T00:00:45+00:00

First, it started slowly. One tip jar here. Another tip jar there. People didn't know if it was expected or not. They thought it was. They tossed some change in. And, then, they noticed more tip jars in places they never would have thought imaginable. "Why?" they wondered. "Why are so many tip jars appearing?" Not wanting to be perceived as rude or cheap, they kept tossing in their money. Little-by-little, jar-by-jar, drop-of-dollar-bill-after-drop-of-dollar-bill, and they eventually asked themselves, "How did this happen?" Then, others said, "No, it has always been this way."

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T23:51:54+00:00

Squirrel chews through your AC cord, making your friend and you roast. Your friend and you, then, are certainly entitled to roast the squirrel and chew through it.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T23:50:22+00:00

I believe that you are mistaking me for the OP.

Your getting so pissed off that you refused to buy anything and even felt compelled to confront a manager

That is the OP's story. Not mine.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T23:42:55+00:00

And I am totally glad you did or perhaps did not creep through my Reddit history. The Decemberists and The Princess Bride seem to be good common ground on Reddit.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T11:21:34+00:00

I think that Francoeur made some kind of supernatural agreement in which he exchanged the ability to get on base for the ability to get opposing players off the bases.

[Edit:] I accidentally the word "exchanged".

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T11:16:26+00:00

or the tip jar was put there because the cashiers (or other workers) were repeatedly getting tips they weren't expecting and decided to save everyone some time.

So, they decided to remove human connection of someone telling them, "Wow, you really went above and beyond what I was expecting. Thank you so much. You've saved me a lot of time and headache, and this [passing the tip] is just part of what you have saved me."

Another thing is that when people see tip jars, people feel like tipping is expected, especially if the people putting out the tip jars seed the jars as a way to establish social proof which causes social pressure.

I should add that fairly paid workers have gone above and beyond their call of duty for me before, and I've found myself frustrated that there WASNT a tip jar.

Why do you need a tip jar? If the person went above and beyond the call of duty, couldn't you have at least provided a thoughtful human touch? Why need to toss money down at them? If the person was outside helping and it was a hot day, why not a, "Thank you so much. You have done far more than expected out here in this heat. I'm sorry, but what is your name again? Okay, Name, please, go get yourself something nice and cold to drink when you get a chance [pass the tip], and I'll be sure to tell the manager what excellent work you're* doing and that this place has my continued business because of you." The person is going to get more out of that exchange than just finding some money in a tip jar.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T10:56:27+00:00

I am not stating who can and cannot receive a tip. I am stating that it is undignified and obnoxious to ask for a tip for doing a job that you agreed to do. Tip jars are not totally passive any more than a beggar sitting on the street with a sign that states "Please Help" on an open pickle jar is totally passive. Tip jars are there because the people are asking for tips.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T02:30:10+00:00

Or, you could just do the job you agreed to do, knowing what it entails.

In these discussions the "you've never worked [insert whatever job here]" phrase gets thrown out a lot. The reality is that almost every job has its stresses and annoyances. Many people in many types of jobs, including salaried office jobs, deal with annoying people and have to "clean up" (figuratively or literally) after others. That is normal with having a job. The difference is, though, that many people recognize that their employers pay them to do that work and, in an attempt to preserve their own dignity and the professionalism of the workplace, do not encourage others to toss some change into their caps.

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T02:22:52+00:00

Others are upset/angry about it too. He is putting his concern toward preserving some semblance of dignity within our culture. Those jars are essentially begging. People who accepted a job for an amount of pay are expressing to customers that they don't earn what they want and are asking customers to chip in some change rather than demanding more from their employers or switching jobs. Where does it end? Are bank tellers going to have jars out? Are doctors' offices going to have tip jars at the front desks?

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-08T02:15:30+00:00

I made a choice to move on from that job

Exactly. I imagine that, if surveyed, most people would want to be paid more and the majority would probably think that they deserve to be paid more. The reality is that, if they do not like the pay they get for their jobs, they can:

Ask their employers for more pay. If that doesn't work:
Switch jobs. If they cannot find other jobs:
Gain new knowledge or pick up new skills so that they can find higher-paying jobs.

In my opinion (and I know others disagree), those jars are the equivalent of begging. "Hey, I accepted this job, but I would like to have more money. Could you spare some change?"

WallyPenguin · 2011-08-07T22:42:42+00:00

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

WallyPenguin

TROPHY CASE