Current Events class #4

I sent you an invitation to the new class blog (sscurve.blogspot.com), because our assignment this week is to write a blog post about something you learned about in the news.  You can post it at any time before next class, and everyone will be able to see it right away.  So you should probably subscribe to the blog so you can be notified of posts.  If you need another invitation email, let me know.

Here are a couple things to remember when writing a blog post:

*  Remember to link to your source, so readers can read the full story and find out more.
*  Try to add something to the facts, such as: your opinion on whether it is good or bad, right or wrong; point out the important bit in the article; check on the facts on link to something which confirms or refutes them; link to another site which gives a supporting or different opinion; etc.

I have added links to three blogs on the right side of the site.  Connor's Conundrums is my favorite blog, but his quality and length is way above what I expect of you or even of myself.  Oliver DeMille's daily posts, and my own blog "maxilla asini" are good examples of the kind of short and informative posts I am expecting from you.  If you have you own blog or other favorite blogs to add to the list, go ahead and add them or send the links to me and I can add them.

Here's a quick HOWTO on creating a blog post:

1. Your invitation will arrive in your email.  Click on the link in the invitation.
2. Sign in to your google account (or create one if you do not already have one.)
3. Now when you view the blog, a "New Post" link will appear in the top right.
4. On the post page, enter the title, and type (or paste) in your post.  You can create links and format the text here too.
5. Click "PUBLISH" when you are ready to post it.

Our other assignment is to read Thousand Year War, chapters 9-17.  But don't skip chapters 1-8 if you haven't read them yet.  We will discuss whatever actually gets read next time.

In today's class, we started learning about economics, specifically about the laws of supply and demand.  And we examined a couple of examples of how they apply in the real world, with rising health care costs and the real estate bubble. 

One thing I thought about after class that I could have explained is how the market achieves the equilibrium price where the supply and demand lines meet.  It is the interactions between individual buyers and sellers which averages out eventually.  If the price is too high, buyers will refuse to pay or look for a cheaper seller, forcing the price down.  But if the supply of cheap (or cheaper) goods runs out, buyers will have to pay a higher price.  Sellers will experiment with raising or lowering their prices to see if they can get more profit from selling more at lower price or less at a higher price.  They will also compete with other sellers by trying to sell at a lower price, or (in the case of fruit) storing the goods until the supply goes down (the fruit is out of season) and selling at a higher price.  There are lots of ways the prices can vary, but if the free market is not interfered with, the prices tend to average out so that the amount of goods being traded is maximized.  (OK, maybe that explanation is too brief.  Ask me to go over it more in class.)

We also discussed the nation's debt.  My computer's battery gave out, so I couldn't show the graph I had very well.  You can see the graph on my class notes page on debt.