Salary

I learned something new today. Here is the very interesting history and etymology of the word "salary":
According to the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, "a Roman soldiers pay was originally in salt and the word salary derives from it." In Latin, salarium (salary) is derived from sal (salt).

Here is the etymology courtesy of etymonline.com:

salary (n.)

c.1377, from Anglo-Fr. salarie (c.1280), O.Fr. salarie, from L. salarium "salary, stipend," originally "soldier's allowance for the purchase of salt," from neut. of adj. salarius "pertaining to salt," from sal (gen. salis) "salt". Japanese sarariman "male salaried worker," lit. "salary-man," is from Eng. The verb meaning "to pay a regular salary to" is attested from c.1477.

Sometimes wh"Y"?

A friend and I today got caught up in another useless conversation questioning as to why the letter "Y" is only sometimes considered a vowel. After some research, here are the basic rules of this ever so versatile letter...

"Y at the beginning of a syllable marks a consonant sound.
Examples: yak, yellow, etc.
Y elsewhere in a syllable represents a vowel sound.
Examples: the many words with a 'Y' ending/suffix: happy, funny, etc."

Source: EduQnA.com

Debunking global warming?

On Thursday, Senator Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, released a report online challenging the IPCC's claim that humans are influencing the climate in a negative manner. The report, labeled as a "consensus buster", draws from the works of "400 prominent scientists." Among those "prominent scientist" is CBS Chicago affiliate Chief Meteorologist Steve Baskerville whom expressed skepticism that there is a “consensus” about mankind’s role in global warming. According to Wikipedia “Baskerville is an alumnus of Temple University and holds a Certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University." In this writers opinion, far from a position of prominence in the scientific community. Upon further digging you will notice that while there are many men and women of prominence on the list, there are a few too many with questionable credentials.

May I also suggest that it is possible that Senator Inhofe might have a "hidden" agenda. As I am quite the skeptic when it comes to politicians true motives, I think it is important to note these few facts I have come across in my research. According to opensecrets.org, in 2006 the oil & gas industry was Senator Inhofe's #1 political contributor by sector, contributing approximately $320,000, around 50% more than the next highest contributing sector, utilities. As we know, the oil and gas industries have the most to lose if it is proven that human induced carbon emissions are effecting the earth's temperature. Highly fuel efficient vehicles, emission taxes/ emission trading, alternative energy sources (e.g. biofuels) etc. could all pose a major financial blow to the industry. This is no surprise then that Senator Inhofe is making attempts to debunk global warming. Afterall, Politics 101 tells us to keep our constituents happy, particularly those with the money. I just do not understand how after so much undisputed research and findings by the IPCC, that these "prominent scientists" can attach their names to this report. Probably because they're not very "prominent."

Introduction to Utility Maximization

Hello all. As of recent, I have become quite the voracious reader, particularly in, but not limited to, the social sciences. Basically, I will use this blog to share and comment on some of my more interesting findings. To explain the blogs title, in microeconomics "utility" is a measure of the relative satisfaction achieved from the consumption of goods or services. Hence, the utility maximization problem asks: "How should I as a consumer spend my money to maximize my utility?" This led me to my title as we all are seeking utility maximization in some form or another daily. Feel free to contribute and respond to my postings. Thanks.