Nearsighted Ambitions

As the week comes to a close, so does my toil. This week brought a workload of unprecedented measure, and left me with little time to worry over those triffling things. My camera is back from repair, and though disappointed at not having received an updated model, you can't beat having a camera repaired for free.

This summer my ambitions;

1. start a company
2. become the CEO of that company
3. become financially independent
4. photograph, publish, dectorate
5. pay some bills
6. annihilate diplomacy
7. dabble in Lightman
8. beat Phil, in everything
9. save the world
10. learn russian

mutatis mutandis

A direct translation from Latin of mutatis mutandis would read, 'with those things having been changed which need to be changed'. More colloquially, it can be interpreted as 'the necessary changes having been made,' where "the necessary changes" are usually implied by a prior statement assumed to be understood by the reader. It carries the connotation that the reader should pay attention to the corresponding differences between the current statement and a previous one, although they are analogous. This term is used frequently in economics and in law, to parameterize a statement with a new term, or note the application of an implied, mutually understood set of changes. The phrase is also used in the study of counter-factuals, wherein the requisite change in the factual basis of the past is made and the resulting causalities are followed.

Addendum: Oct. 14, 2007. How and why do I know this? Or care to know? Well, grasshopper, as we learn in international law, this is a legal reasoning that would allow for a treaty to be broken. Though, to be realistic, breaking "international law" (geneva accords, multilateral treaties, etc) requires no "legal rational." A country does what it wills and and obeys the treaties it subscribes to only if they are in the best interest of the country. Usually they are because the consequences of breaking international law spread beyond just the immediate consequences, (notably, they destroy the integrity of your word).

As British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston (whom i mistakenly have referred to as Pemberton, for some reason) effectively said, England "has no permanent friends; she has only permanent interests."

Just Something I Like

Warren Harding’s speeches were once described as “an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea.”

Ice Cream of the Month

Underground Blogger

I'm feeling better today; refreshed after a good night in my own bed. And then for lunch I met Brad at Little Italy. After eating pizza in Manhattan the other day, I thought my appetite for pepporoni would have deteriorated. But it didn't, that slice was as good as ever.

Speaking of New York City...

Book of the Week

Last week (or maybe the week before) I tried to sell back some of my old textbooks. At the FTX Bookstore on Baxter, I was grieved to find that one of my books was outdated, and the other they had overstocked. But as I was waiting in line, a table of clearance books caught my eye. After eyeing them over, I found a book called Great Fortune: The Epic of the Rockefeller Center. The hardback book was heavy, and nearly 500 pages in length. My goal was to sell books, not buy more. But, needless to say, I departed from the bookstore with one book more than I had upon arrival.

The book it amazing. And the preface includes a line that I found particularly delightful. It reads,

To Lawrence F.H. Okrent,
who got me interested in
everything that's interesting

The book can be found at, http://www.amazon.com/Great-Fortune-Epic-Rockefeller-Center/dp/0670031690

Today I began to read; it's a slow read, but trendy and elegantly written, though heavy with content. I found myself growing angry at each customer who arrived and forced me to stop mid-sentence to care for their stupid laundry; why must they bother me?

Things I'd Like to Be

Ingenuous, Candid, Artless, Frank...

I used to think I could make everyone happy. I'm not sure what to think now, perhaps I'm more or less apathetic. Pleasing everyone means being adaptable, and being adaptable means changing, compromising; I used to do a lot of that. Some people just say whats on their mind, others are more methodical, calculated in approach. Though I hate to confess it, I'm probably more the latter. What I say depends on who you are, what you believe, etc. Maybe I should get into politics, or not; John Kerry didn't fair too well. I'd probably share his fate. The people I respect most are those who just say what they think, regardless of their audience. You may not like what they say, hell you may not like that person, period. But at least you don't have to double-analyze everything they say to interpret and cross-interpret the actual meaning. So I'm working on being candid. Sure there are advantages and disadvantages. Being candid can backfire on you, but I'd rather people know what I want.

Word of the Day

Sciolism

n. A pretentious attitude of scholarship; superficial knowledgeability. superficial knowledge.

[From Late Latin sciolus, smatterer, diminutive of Latin scius, knowing, from scīre, to know; see skei- in Indo-European roots.]

sci'o·list n., sci'o·lis'tic adj.

Social Innovation

Bill Strickland is my new hero. Seeing him speak was refreshing. His words carried weight, and I listened. Head of both the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the Bidwell Training Center, Strickland impacts more lives than a John Maxwell speech could ever dream to accomplish. Strickland takes single-mothers and turns them into gourmet chefs, analytical chemists, and pharmacy technicians. His secret, just fresh flowers and sunlight. He takes struggling high-schoolers, and puts them in college. As he explained, "people are a function of environment, a function of hope." Thus, he asserts "we're in the attitude business, not just the training business."