Status update

Immigration study This is a meta-study of immigration, which uses results from all over the place to inform the design of a simulation of immigration between the U.S.A. and Mexico. I think it's a good way to do a meta-study: more objective, more quantitative than most methods. I'll be presenting it on Thursday, which makes me tense and has given me a cold, which is my standard response to any stressful situation. Despite my best efforts at optimization, it still takes a long time to run, which leaves me waiting often (like now).

This study is really important because immigration law affects so many people, and the rulemaking and revision is happening now, as indicated by the tumultuous nature of the Bureau Formerly Known As The INS, so I really want to get this out soon.

Book on statistical computing I'm waiting for the editor at (name of publisher) who was supposed to get back to me on Friday. This makes me tense, and I don't know if I should write him again or not. How do you make an email whose sole content is `OK, what about NOW?' sound polite? I'm also worried that they won't let me retain the movie rights to the book. If they reject me, there's also hope from (name of publisher), which had me mail my proposal to them. I have no way to verify that it was received or is getting any sort of consideration---which is stressful.

This book is really important because the exessive dependence on linear regression and the stats packages that facilitate excessive dependence on linear regression is one of the two greatest problems in social sciences today [Have I blogged about that one yet?], so I really want to get this out soon.

Law review paper on software patents I'm waiting on my coauthor to add footnotes. She's not calling me back, I think because she feels guilty that she's doing her own work instead of working on this dumb little article. I'd blog about this further, but I've found from my conversational experience that people who are not me find software patents are the single most boring topic ever. This may include my coauthor, and thus the hold-up.

This study is really important because the longer the single frigging ruling upon which all software patents are based continues to hold (hint: the Supreme Court's rulings contradict that ruling), the longer it'll take us to dig our way out of the mess that software patents have created, so I really want to get this out soon.

simulation of the Chinese software market Waiting on my coauthor to send me some code, and on the administrators at (name of institution) to specify exactly what they want, since this'll be part of a gigantic initiative on China which is bigger than you and me put together.

This study is really important because the Chinese and other governments are setting policy right now, and these policies will be far-reaching and difficult to undo if done wrong, so I really want to get this out soon.

smoking among junior high kids Nobody seems to want to work on this project right now. We have good data, and I like to think that my analysis is pretty decent, but we're not going to do more until the other dozen people working on the project are simultaneously free. I wrote to orkut.com about getting their data, since they ask if people smoke and they of course have network information; I give them about a zero per cent chance of replying. Friendster never wrote back, but we already know they're arses.

So, in summary: Stressed. Waiting. Failing to save the world. Only one unemployment check before Uncle Arnold cuts me off. Cold (in the having sense, not the being sense; at least I still have tea).

P.s.: I included all that about how important all of this is because I'm trying to bait you guys into leaving snide comments. I feel a little jealous of this guy who got a few dozen comments to his article, most of which explain how his technical problems prove that he's a bad person.