Howitzer

I read somewhere, that people are more inclined to help when there is no promise of reward afterwards. The logic being, if you're offered rewards, you feel indignant at the implication that incentives are needed for you to offer your time. Which made sense, when I thought about it.

Happy Fourth of July!

I spend so much time with my motorcycle that from time to time, I feel a connection with it. I almost look at it lovingly, like a pet...or a friend. It takes me places that I'm unable to go on my own. My motorcycle and I roam the streets of Boston late at night when everyone else is sleeping. We visit nearby bays and beaches on sunny days.

This turned out to be pretty serious, after all. I remember when I woke up the morning of the earthquake, the headlines quoted "dozens" may be dead. Today, five days after, the news reports show more than 10,000. Not to mention, there's an enormous nuclear crisis now, which is what I'm really scared of. Tokyo is only a few hundred miles from one of the nuclear plants. It doesn't take much radiation to make an area unsustainable for life. Imagine if the life expectancy in Tokyo were dropped 10%, due to cancer and other radiation related hazards. Who would want to live there? Unsustainable radiation levels could cause Tokyo to wither and die off in the long term. What a tragic thought. Tokyo is a massive mega city, basically multiple major cities combined into one big metropolis.

It appears Julian Assange is guilty of the charges leveled against him. It's probably also true that this is a politically motivated smear campaign.

I want to just say a few words on civic duty tonight. Let's break the phrase down to its two components: civic....duty. Civic: of or relating to the town or city one lives in. Duty: a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility. Most people generally interpret the phrase civic duty as a responsibility towards your fellow citizens to be active in politics. Voting is something that everyone is supposed to do. If you think about it from a social contract perspective, it's a reasonable interpretation. We are all bound by the social contract of citizenship. Everyone participates in government, and everyone works together for mutually benefit.

I wanted to add something to my post on Veteran's day. I posted about the suffering that our soldiers went through, and basically said that we should appreciate what they are doing. It's easy to assume that I meant that our armed services are making sacrifices to defend us from harm. That's really the simplistic way to look at it. If the US military is defending us, they must be defending us from them. Them being who? The rest of the world? The bad guys? No, it's too easy to see us as good, and them as bad.

So today I do have something serious to talk about. It's been awhile since I've written anything meaningful for future grad students, probably because I'm more experienced now, and I'm not discovering as many new things. Today's topic, however, applies to both seasoned and novice students.

I guess I should write this down, since it's too easy for me to ignore it. I didn't register to vote in Massachusetts, and neither did I vote absentee for Michigan. It's easy to ignore my irresponsibility because well, no one knows. No one's gonna yell at me for not doing a civic duty. I don't even feel that bad, while I'm sitting here writing about it. I guess I can't force myself to feel a certain way. In any case, I know I should be doing my part in helping to direct this country. Even if I don't feel guilty, I can at least change my actions.

So I’m finally in Rome. The destination I was so excited about in the beginning is no longer so exciting now that I’m actually here. I think I’m a bit tired of being a tourist, and overwhelmed by all of the art I’ve seen on this trip. I’ve now seen art in Madrid, Paris (lots), Amsterdam, Florence (lots). Oh well. I’ll make the most of the last leg of my journey, because I know I’ll regret it later.

Rome is a pretty nice place. Compared to Florence, Rome is definitely more urban, more touristy. The entire city center is filled with ancient or religious buildings of historical value. In fact, there are over 900 churches in the city. I find myself spotting a church every five minutes. In America, you would call that being surrounded by rednecks. In Rome, it’s called being pious. I like the people in Rome however. They are very welcoming and good-hearted.

The food continues to be similar to Florence. The pasta plates are smaller and more expensive that I imagined, although at least I feel full after each meal. I think I’ve reached a point where I’m going to stop ordering secondo plates of meat. It’s all just grilled or roasted beef, pork, and veal anyways. I think I’ll focus the rest of my trip on trying different pastas. I really do like the pastas in Italy. My friend once described them as more than just a means to bring sauce to your mouth. I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description. Eating the pasta is more tasty than eating the sauce. There are so many different shapes of pasta, and each shape brings a different texture to your mouth.

Rome is filled with so many churches that I was originally really excited to visit it. I’m less enthusiastic now, but I did visit a church, Santa Croce in Jerusalem, which had numerous important holy relics. The most famous among them was the Title of the Cross, a wooden board which described Jesus’ crimes and who he was. Also present were two thorns from the Crown of Thorns, which Christ wore, a piece of the Holy Cross, a piece of Jesus’ Crib, the finger of St. Thomas, and one of the three nails used to crucify Christ. I wasn’t allowed to get as close as I wanted to inspect the relics, so I had to settle for squinting at them from afar.


I found it really curious as to why holy relics are so revered. I can understand the appeal of gazing at a holy relic in wonder, and using it to help you imagine all the legends that occurred. It seems however, that the Church is very protective of its relics, to the point of refusing identification and testing of the relics. I find it really hard to believe that so many relics have been preserved from 2000 years ago, especially pieces like the Holy Cross, or the Crown of Thorns. I am especially incredulous at the idea of discovering the Holy Cross buried in the middle of the desert, during a crusade. I think legend has it that someone received a vision from God, and then discovered it. So either God must be real….or the Holy Cross is fake. But perhaps the real value of the holy relics is to help you reflect on biblical events. I don’t know.

Rome also has many monuments built by the ancient Romans. Yesterday I saw the walls of Rome. Quite impressive that they were still standing and sturdy-looking after all these years, and all the sackings that Rome experienced. Some of the marble monuments show heavy signs of corrosion though. It’s sad to see the columns and buildings with large, dark pit marks, where the acid rain has eaten away at the soft marble. It makes me realize the transience of all the other pieces of art, culture, and history I’ve seen. Eventually everything I witnessed this trip will be devoured by time.

Recently, there was another earthquake in China. This time it occurred in the Qinghai province, which border Tibet. Qinghai is the home of my father's family, but fortunately, I am told that none of my relatives were injured.

So. I've been having a lot of fun recently, but I've also been feeling that coming back to Ann Arbor has been really good for me. I've been making a lot of meaningful relationships with people. Also, I've been reunited with my beloved car. I just freshly waxed it yesterday (technically two days ago now), and it shines. It's way too late for me to be up, so I'll leave this brief summary.

I read an interesting article a few months ago, when I was fresh from my breakup. It registered with me intellectually, but I don't think I really grasped the meaning of it until today. According to the article, first experiences really shape how you view things. They can build up your confidence, or tear it down. For example, if the first time you ask a girl out on a date, she turns you down in a humiliating manner, you're likely to be fearful of trying again.


For the past few months I've been thinking that I've lost my desire to do things with my life. I still enjoyed activities both alone and with friends, but I just really didn't have any motivation or plan for my future. Right now I'm basically in limbo; I'm sitting back in my hometown, on a indefinite break from MIT, with no plans to look for a full-time position anywhere. The thought of going back to MIT to finish my degree was just repulsive. The idea of working a desk job at some big company just felt like a waste of time.


I am now suspicious that I'm just afraid. Afraid of taking the risk involved in moving away again and trying something, whether it's school or work. People pointed out that moving to Boston was my first real experience away from the familiarity of home, though I always disregarded that. I'd lived away from my parents for so long, and I'd even moved down South for a summer once, on my own. But after reading that article, it's possible that my "first time" trying the unknown ended up a disaster, and it made me adverse to trying new things again.


If this is true, then it's much easier for me to overcome the doldrums that I'm in right now. The quickest way to beat fear is to ignore it and plow ahead. I can't really let one bad experience ruin my world view can I?


- Howitzer




http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200912/heartbreak-and-home-runs-the-power-first-experiences

Michigan. The name has become synonymous with the great American fall from prominence. The worst economy in all the land. The disappearance of manufacturing from the Rust Belt. The decay of Detroit. Where people once looked to Michigan as a symbol of American innovation and prowess, now people scoff at it as a crippled lion. Dilapidated, broken down, withered away.

So I got stopped by the police the other night.

Not sure if I'm back to writing yet, but here's an entry I wrote previously, before Thanksgiving:

I’m writing this from midair right now, en route from Boston to Detroit. I’m traveling back home from MIT to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I just finished my apple juice and delicious ginger snap cookies when I started thinking about the costs of what I just incurred.

A drink normally costs about 1$ from the vending machine, and a snack of cookies might cost around 75 cents. For simplicity, we will say I just ate 2$ worth of snacks on this flight. However, we have to account for the screening costs of bring stuff onto an airplane (screening for safety, government guidelines, etc.). Of course, there is the cost in air fuel to fly this stuff; how many gallons of pricey jet fuel does it take to hurtle 16oz at +400mph over 500 miles? I’m going to guess it’s more than 1 gallon, so that’s another 3 bucks added on. In total, I wouldn’t be surprised if the added cost to me of enjoying an apple juice + ice, with some gingersnap cookies is more than 10$ out of my wallet.

This is why I’m not so angry when airlines start to charge extra for little things such as sitting in the exit row or checking in bags, and dropping other services altogether. This stuff that we used to enjoy, costs money! And frankly, I might prefer to save some money on my flight ticket. Obviously, this opinion changes a little for longer flights.

I’ll follow up this post with an estimate of the cost to hurtle 1lb through the air for 500 miles. When I land and have access to the internet, that is.

From 10,000 ft in the air,

Howitzer

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So, every former president is still on the US payroll. Not sure how I feel about this, but here is the wording of the Former Presidents Act:

"(a) Each former President shall be entitled for the remainder of his life to receive from the United States a monetary allowance at a rate per annum, payable monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury, which is equal to the annual rate of basic pay, as in effect from time to time, of the head of an executive department, as defined in section 101 of title 5, United States Code [section 101 of Title 5]. However, such allowance shall not be paid for any period during which such former President holds an appointive or elective office or position in or under the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia to which is attached a rate of pay other than a nominal rate."

On the one hand, presidents should be thanked for their service. Being president is probably the hardest job in our country, and it's nice that they're taken care of by the citizens after serving. On the other hand, it's not like they're going to need the money. Heck most of them start off rich enough. They are probably earning around $100k to $200k, considering how much a current president is earning.