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Externalities are a poorly understood concept in economics, although most people grok the idea the pollution is harmful to people outside an economic transcation and literacy has a social benefit outside just the person who has acquired it. Whilst everything has some externalities, it is a concept that must be applied to the competing models of the National Broadband Network, which Nick Ross has provided perhaps the best facts-based report, supplementing the an analysis which points out that FTTN is not a transitional technology. Given that the NBN is arguably the single most important technology for future economic efficiency and the generation of positive externalties, to paraphrase Tony Windsor, you build it once, you build it with fibre, you build it to the premises. Leaving people to extend from the node is just not a cost-efficient optoin.
Externalities are also enormously important with public revenue issues. Apropos this, I found myself involved in three major discussions with three groups of people who don't quite get the difference in the relative efficiency and effectiveness of deriving public income from different factors of production. One side was the advocates of the Austrian pro-capitalist economists, which was relatively easy to dispense with. Equally empty of reasoning was a debate with some Marxists on the subject, one of whom professed to be a graduate of economics. The third was, disappointingly, with mutualists, who I expected better of. There was a small degree of irony when I received confirmation of my application for a PG Dip in Economic Policy at the University of London. My area of specialisation is (unsurprisingly) going to be computational innovation, with an emphasis on (quelle surprise) higher education and positive externalities. Amusingly I have also recently received an email response from an economics academic concerning a website proposal which I sent to them seven years ago.
Three major events at work this week. The first was running the Introductory and Intermediate High Performance Computing with Linux courses with the snazzy new manuals, again with very positive feedback. I really must get a move on with designing the Advanced version of the same (MPI Programming). This was also the last week of Phil T., as HPC Centre Manager at VPAC, after some - forty years? - in the industry. His emphasis on quality assurance, vendor relationships, and commercial outreach has left a lasting impression at the organisation, although he will continue to touch base with us as an "Executive Consultant". His final action was to shutdown tango, the HPC workhorse which has served the organisation well for six years. I started at VPAC just as tango was also beginning to work, and now I've seen it run its last job. It may seem silly, but I have the same feeling torward it that was expressed by XKCD to the Spirit Rover.
Externalities are also enormously important with public revenue issues. Apropos this, I found myself involved in three major discussions with three groups of people who don't quite get the difference in the relative efficiency and effectiveness of deriving public income from different factors of production. One side was the advocates of the Austrian pro-capitalist economists, which was relatively easy to dispense with. Equally empty of reasoning was a debate with some Marxists on the subject, one of whom professed to be a graduate of economics. The third was, disappointingly, with mutualists, who I expected better of. There was a small degree of irony when I received confirmation of my application for a PG Dip in Economic Policy at the University of London. My area of specialisation is (unsurprisingly) going to be computational innovation, with an emphasis on (quelle surprise) higher education and positive externalities. Amusingly I have also recently received an email response from an economics academic concerning a website proposal which I sent to them seven years ago.
Three major events at work this week. The first was running the Introductory and Intermediate High Performance Computing with Linux courses with the snazzy new manuals, again with very positive feedback. I really must get a move on with designing the Advanced version of the same (MPI Programming). This was also the last week of Phil T., as HPC Centre Manager at VPAC, after some - forty years? - in the industry. His emphasis on quality assurance, vendor relationships, and commercial outreach has left a lasting impression at the organisation, although he will continue to touch base with us as an "Executive Consultant". His final action was to shutdown tango, the HPC workhorse which has served the organisation well for six years. I started at VPAC just as tango was also beginning to work, and now I've seen it run its last job. It may seem silly, but I have the same feeling torward it that was expressed by XKCD to the Spirit Rover.
