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[19 Jun 2010 | No Comment | ]

Everyone knows that gasoline is a commodity:

Gasoline is traded as a commodity on the New York Merchant Exchange
Gasoline is derived from crude oil, another commodity
Gasoline is chemically similar across stations (aside from additives)
Even though gasoline is a commodity, it has the loyalty of a branded product. How did this happen? Oil companies have created loyalty programs to convince you to pull into their gas station instead of their competitors. Worse of all, some people may even drive an extra distance just to fill up their gasoline tank at their …

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[18 Jun 2010 | No Comment | ]

In May and June 2009, my life was in a carefree limbo. I had just completed my undergraduate in April, and I was slated to begin my fulltime job in July 2009. I decided I would use my short lived freedom to sit in lectures I was never able to attend during my Engineering undergrad. One of them was World Politics, instructed by Bill Moul (PSCI 281).
On the first day Prof. Moul introduced the class to the HDI Index (Human Development Index), and how it can be used …