Paid to get book

The seller's name should remain undisclosed. However, if you think of online booksellers named similarly to rivers in Brazil you are on the right track.

Over the summer I was buying a book for $15. As I was checking out I noticed that there was an offer to get an $25 discount by signing up for a credit card and putting an order for over a certain amount on it (let's say $50). So, I went ahead and found another book I wanted making my order well over $50 and got the credit card. Figured it was a good deal and I'd just have to look out for the bill and pay for it later. I play games with credit cards all the time so it was no big deal.

My $15 book came in the mail, but the more expensive book was apparently out of print and the bookseller was having a hard time finding it. After a couple of months they finally canceled my order and told me they'd refund the cost of the book to my credit card. I figured they'd take into account the discount and that I'd have to pay the $15 for my other book. However, today I just got a check for $10 in the mail. Ha! I effectively just got a book + $10 courtesy of this bookseller. Thank you very much.

No Id? Tased!

Police brutality seems to be a bit of a problem as of late. This instance bothers me a bit too much since it hits close to home. There better be a full-blown investigation ending in sanctions to these officers in the next few days. Granted the video does not show how it started, but how long can one "resist" arrest specially while being tased? Besides, it seems that the student was trying to leave when the officers started using force.

These are all from reddit:

Video

Article

Article

Update:

One more article on reddit.

Long Time No Post

Ten days without a post! Yes, things have been a bit busy, but mostly I just haven't had anything to talk about. No more. I am in the process of writing an essay of sorts about the way physics is taught in the US. Mostly to take some frustration out, but I think that there are some things we can do better. Stay tuned for that.

On a different note, I taught my last lab on tuesday. This term went well as far as that goes. The kids did well. Most of them seem to have learned a thing or two about a thing or two. They also gave me an ego massage in my "course evaluation". I love to teach. Hearing "oh that makes sense!" after guiding someone to an "answer" through a series of questions is one of the most gratifying feelings ever.

Now that teaching is done, I look forward to solely focusing on learning things for the next six weeks. Well... after this weekend's grading. Woot!