Some great people were born this week.
My niece Katie celebrates her birthday tomorrow. I remember taking her to my apartment when she was so tiny and she'd scream her head off. She didn't like me, but now at least we're friends. :-) Love ya, Katie.
Nephew Jeffrey turns 19 today, which is quite unbelievable. I remember changing his diapers and dressing him up in little outfits and having him dance on the table.
I recall thinking, "Wow, they're getting tall," and somehow assuming that as they grew older, I wasn't growing older. And then I remember the Jerry Seinfeld line, "They're here to replace you."
Funny.
For more fun stuff, check out this YouTube link to a dancing first grader (Thank you Jessie for alerting us to it). Can you dance like a first grader? Not me. I'd be in traction if I tried this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC70xJDW7zo
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Final Final
Blog readers, here is my thought for the day, "Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong."
This is what I was thinking all morning as I finished my final final for my first semester in Graduate School.
It was all essay. And it required every bit of the two hours I was allotted.
For the first essay question, I had to write a memo to (presumed) President Hillary Clinton about the problems of the World Bank, how I as the World Bank president would fix some of the problems, etc., and how I would work to assuage shareholders, NGOs and poor countries.
For another question, I had to describe comparative advantage using the Heksher Olin model of endowments and describe a situation in which two countries would trade goods under the model over a given period of time.
For another essay question, I had to describe the current round of trade negotiations under the WTO (called the Doha round), why it’s in a deadlock and then trace the entire history of the rounds of trade, what the current issues are, and how we can overcome these problems and what is my view of the future of trade.
Then, for the last essay question, I had to describe in detail components of the last book we read (Lant Pritchett's `Let Their People Come') describe how rich countries’ demographics are generally against open borders and immigration, and then synthesize all of that into one strong essay where I had to thread the concept of “ghosts” and “zombies” as described by the book’s author throughout the theme of that essay.
Really, I'm just laying it all out here to get it off my chest. It was a lot of writing.
Am I celebrating? Of course. I am happy, elated, to be finished with this semester's studies. I did not, however, follow the advice of one of my student workers: If you don't know the answer, just draw the finger.
You all know what finger I am talking about.
But the professor did manage to pull out some tricks where I was completely dumbfounded at the questions. This is where being a non-traditional student with a career life behind me comes in handy. I used to get physically sick in undergraduate at the thought of essay exams. I would at least manage to give myself an anxiety attack. It's all about perspective. I said, "What's done is done. I did the best I could."
No summer classes for me. I've got to catch up on some sleep.
Thank all of you for the love and support I needed to get through this semester, because it wasn't easy.
This is what I was thinking all morning as I finished my final final for my first semester in Graduate School.
It was all essay. And it required every bit of the two hours I was allotted.
For the first essay question, I had to write a memo to (presumed) President Hillary Clinton about the problems of the World Bank, how I as the World Bank president would fix some of the problems, etc., and how I would work to assuage shareholders, NGOs and poor countries.
For another question, I had to describe comparative advantage using the Heksher Olin model of endowments and describe a situation in which two countries would trade goods under the model over a given period of time.
For another essay question, I had to describe the current round of trade negotiations under the WTO (called the Doha round), why it’s in a deadlock and then trace the entire history of the rounds of trade, what the current issues are, and how we can overcome these problems and what is my view of the future of trade.
Then, for the last essay question, I had to describe in detail components of the last book we read (Lant Pritchett's `Let Their People Come') describe how rich countries’ demographics are generally against open borders and immigration, and then synthesize all of that into one strong essay where I had to thread the concept of “ghosts” and “zombies” as described by the book’s author throughout the theme of that essay.
Really, I'm just laying it all out here to get it off my chest. It was a lot of writing.
Am I celebrating? Of course. I am happy, elated, to be finished with this semester's studies. I did not, however, follow the advice of one of my student workers: If you don't know the answer, just draw the finger.
You all know what finger I am talking about.
But the professor did manage to pull out some tricks where I was completely dumbfounded at the questions. This is where being a non-traditional student with a career life behind me comes in handy. I used to get physically sick in undergraduate at the thought of essay exams. I would at least manage to give myself an anxiety attack. It's all about perspective. I said, "What's done is done. I did the best I could."
No summer classes for me. I've got to catch up on some sleep.
Thank all of you for the love and support I needed to get through this semester, because it wasn't easy.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Kyrmina the Cutie
I can't help it. When I get adorable pictures of Kyrmina, I have to post some of them.
Red is definitely this child's best color to wear in clothing.
Adorable!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Subprime Mess Fallout
UBS has reported a first-quarter loss of $10.97 billion. It will layoff 7 percent of its workforce. See the story at the following link. That is 2,600 workers in its investment banking unit in the United States and Britain.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080506/earns_switzerland_ubs.html?.v=3
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080506/earns_switzerland_ubs.html?.v=3
Teaching Ayn Rand's Capitalism
This is making news headlines. Banking firm BB&T is pledging $1 million to Marshall University in West Virginia to establish a class that teaches the capitalist philosophy of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," and Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations."
The money also would help create the BB&T Center for Advancement of American Capitalism.
Rand wrote "The Virtue of Selfishness." Her philosophy, objectivism, is based on the view that selfishness is the only moral value, according to NPR. I own her collection of essays, "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," which has input from former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and I'm the first person to hail Greenspan as one of the better economic thinkers of our time.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90104091&ft=1&f=100
Check out the story at the above link.
Rand and Smith have some great philosophies and ideas that have become cornerstones of modern economic and philosophical thought. But the two people did not exist in our time. I am not discounting the genius of either person, but each person existed in different time and space than what we're dealing with in modern economic times.
Keynesian economics, for example, would have theorized that stagflation couldn't have happened, necessarily, but we saw that in the 1970s and we've seen many theorists who believe it may happen again today.
My point to all this is that of course someone is going to want to teach Rand, just as economics classes rely on Smith as one of the main Founding Fathers of modern economic thought. But recall that Smith was among Classicists who didn't know to account for technology in a production function. That came later, as companies evolved and economic thought evolved with it. Rand's philosophies therefore have to be balanced because standard American capitalism isn't a cure-all for the economic wounds of the world.
The money also would help create the BB&T Center for Advancement of American Capitalism.
Rand wrote "The Virtue of Selfishness." Her philosophy, objectivism, is based on the view that selfishness is the only moral value, according to NPR. I own her collection of essays, "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," which has input from former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and I'm the first person to hail Greenspan as one of the better economic thinkers of our time.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90104091&ft=1&f=100
Check out the story at the above link.
Rand and Smith have some great philosophies and ideas that have become cornerstones of modern economic and philosophical thought. But the two people did not exist in our time. I am not discounting the genius of either person, but each person existed in different time and space than what we're dealing with in modern economic times.
Keynesian economics, for example, would have theorized that stagflation couldn't have happened, necessarily, but we saw that in the 1970s and we've seen many theorists who believe it may happen again today.
My point to all this is that of course someone is going to want to teach Rand, just as economics classes rely on Smith as one of the main Founding Fathers of modern economic thought. But recall that Smith was among Classicists who didn't know to account for technology in a production function. That came later, as companies evolved and economic thought evolved with it. Rand's philosophies therefore have to be balanced because standard American capitalism isn't a cure-all for the economic wounds of the world.
Monday, May 5, 2008
It's Finals Week
Having a "Finals Week" is strange.
Surreal, in fact.
But this is my "Finals Week" so wish me luck!
Surreal, in fact.
But this is my "Finals Week" so wish me luck!
Happy Birthday Dante!
My Magic Man was born today in 1971.
His always was a remarkable story. His mother had eight miscarriages before Dante (her first child) was successfully carried to term.
Margaret, we love you for never giving up!
He had a hole in his heart and somewhere between his first and fourth years, he had a blood clot, too.
(Honey, if you're reading this, I'm using my blogging platform to let you know how much I admire you and how much I love you.)
He went into the Marines at age 18 and did that for six or seven years, and then went to college, where we met.
He tried journalism, but he hated it. Then he got his Master's degree at the University of Akron, and his admirable political career started after that.
So Dante, today, as you turn 37, know that you've already lived a remarkable life.
His always was a remarkable story. His mother had eight miscarriages before Dante (her first child) was successfully carried to term.
Margaret, we love you for never giving up!
He had a hole in his heart and somewhere between his first and fourth years, he had a blood clot, too.
(Honey, if you're reading this, I'm using my blogging platform to let you know how much I admire you and how much I love you.)
He went into the Marines at age 18 and did that for six or seven years, and then went to college, where we met.
He tried journalism, but he hated it. Then he got his Master's degree at the University of Akron, and his admirable political career started after that.
So Dante, today, as you turn 37, know that you've already lived a remarkable life.
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