Make better decisions now!
In this blog, I share my thoughts on my central purpose in life: to teach others how to make better decisions, specifically in designing, building, maintaining, and using information systems. I review books, explain scientific research, discuss philosophy, talk about education, and share my own experiences on how to make the best decisions for living a happy successful life.
Winter break - so no class preps this week. At least, nothing eminent. I still need to finish previewing my ASP.NET book, write a couple assignments and complete the final project expectations.
Friday will be a work around the house day. Hopeful, the weather will be warm enough to do lots of painting.
Essential goals:
Work through Chapters 4-7 of ASP.NET book
Resubmit ethics article
Submit Alt Solution article
Outline changes to Online Auction selection article
Complete FRF recommendations for Dean
Patch the paint in Family room
Stretch goals:
Complete painting of basement, boy's room, doors, and trim
Complete changes to Online Auction selection article
Write assignments 8-10 for IS606
I doubt the weather will be warm enough, but I'd like to clean the hot tub as soon as it is. I want to get as much use out of it as we can before we move.
I love my job as an academic. However, this morning I realized that I have been conflicted on how to spend my time during breaks (i.e. winter break, spring break, and summers). There are two possible ways to focus my attention, each leading to two rewarding career paths, as either the philosopher-writer or the consultant-business owner. I'm afraid that if I try to do both, I'll fail at both because these are part time emphasizes. To do them well, I need to focus all my time and effort on one to maximize the return on my investment.
With the philosopher-writer career, my specialization in Objectivism could be maximized so that I could write research articles applying the philosophic principles to information systems. There are very, very few professors in information systems with this specialization, so I would have wide opportunities for contributions. I have re-considered applying to the Objectivist Academic Center as a means of improving my core understanding of Objectivism and improve my skills as a writer. As I progress in my career, I would like to write several books, both textbooks and popular press books, with my particular interest in information systems history and the conceptual approach to education.
In the other career track, I would focus on developing a deep understanding of application of concepts, specifically in Internet technologies, cloud computing, and Internet marketing. My research would focus more on human computer interaction with Internet technologies. I would spend more time learning about various development frameworks, project management concepts, and analysis and design practices. Consulting engagements could flow from these skills. As my career progresses, I would start some small businesses to capitalize on industry needs and supplement my financial plan.
Up until now, I have been explicitly leaning towards the former path, but realized that the latter path kept creeping into my to-do list. So here I explicitly acknowledge my dual interests. Both career paths have equal interest at this point. Both have good research opportunities and continuing cash flows. Both would challenge me in new and exciting ways. Both fit within my central purpose in life. But my focus must ultimately rest with one or the other. Which to choose? I don't know, but I may be talking with a number of people in the future to help me make my decision.
Oy! I did a horrible job keeping up with my goals last week. I like to push myself, but sometimes things come up, I can't get motivated, or I run out of steam. In this case, I think its a matter dividing my list of tasks. I have the list I write here and a list I keep on my phone. Since I hate duplicating my lists, I have to refer to both, which often leads to me forgetting one or the other. Looks like I may have to re-think how to stay organized.
Essential goals:
Re-think how to manage to-do lists.
Prep for classes
Prep for the Global IT club alumni panel
Follow-up on articles
Follow-up on research funds
Advertise baby stuff for sale - Craigslist, GLO members, and neighbor group
Calculate financial plan for moving
Stretch goals:
Keep editing next article
Request quote from PODS
Paint Thomas's room
Paint bathroom trim
Finish painting basement
Brainstorm on long-term financial plan (integrated with my own and my wife's long term goals)
Yesterday, very disturbing news hit the airways in Auburn, Alabama. Someone poisoned the oak trees on Auburn University campus. Not just any oak trees, but the 130 year old oak trees at Toomer's Corner. The oak trees that after every significant Auburn sports victory, would be mobbed by ecstatic fans who would decorate the trees with rolls of toilet paper. Then, fans would celebrate the win for hours after. The destruction of these trees was an act of hatred of the good for being good.
The trees were more than just a gathering place for celebrating. They became a symbol. A symbol of victory. A symbol of achievement. A symbol of pride. Whenever alumni return to Auburn (myself included), they always visit Toomer's Corner to get a glimpse of that symbol and remind themselves that Auburn is a place where the good is still considered good.
And some pathetic man decided to destroy that symbol. Don't buy into his claim that he killed the tree over a 30 year old grudge. Whether his claim is true or not, the claim long ago lost any legitimacy. No, what this man did was out of pure envy and hatred of the good. Consider his timing... Alabama, who early in the season was rated tops in the nation, was defeated by Auburn right before he committed his act. Auburn, who went on to win the 2010 BCS National Championship, displayed the height of achievement in college football. And Auburn fans rightly celebrated that achievement. Consider his target... he didn't target just any trees at Auburn. He didn't target the stadium where the games are played. He didn't even target the players or students (thank God). Instead, he targeted the symbol of success. The symbol of good. And consider his method... it wasn't done in full day light, proud of this destruction, but done discretely in the dead of night. This man displayed envy and hatred. And it wasn't just fan rivalry.
In sports, fans can become bitter rivals. For many people, it involves light-hearted mocking and taunting. For some, it even includes cheering when a rival team loses. Occasionally, fans become overly impassioned and start fights or perform stupid pranks. But to stoop to the level of destroying a rival's symbol of success involves depth of hatred that goes beyond pure rivalry. As Ayn Rand said:
"Envy is regarded by most people as a petty, superficial emotion and, therefore, it serves as a semihuman cover for so inhuman an emotion that those who feel it seldom dare admit it even to themselves . . . . That emotion is: hatred of the good for being the good." ~ Ayn Rand, "The Age of Envy"
This man is the embodiment of envy. He hated the good because it was good. What he did was viscous, unconscionable, and unforgivable. If indeed he is the guilty one, he deserves whatever he finds in jail.
But I will not end on a note of sadness. Instead, let us re-live one of the greatest moments in Auburn history - the celebration of the BCS national championship at Toomer's Corner. Let this be our memory. Let us always celebrate the good for being good.
One virtue my parents helped me to cultivate was the virtue of independence. I'm not sure they did it consciously, but looking at both my brother and myself, I see that same streak of questioning authority, the status quo, or societal norms. Whether they did it consciously or not, the end result was the same - my mind was self-made.
But I didn't truly appreciate the virtue of independence until the day I finished reading Atlas Shrugged. That is truly my Independence Day moment. That is when I fully realized that my knowledge, my decisions, and my life are fully in my power. That is when I realized that I shouldn't believe anything anybody else says just because they said it. That is when I realized that I should actively validate all new knowledge through observation and reason. That is when I realized I can be - I should be - I am a self-made man.
If only it were that simple to state it and let it be true. Unfortunately, I have struggled to verify that my knowledge truly is independent. And by independent, I mean my knowledge is not dependent on someone else's say-so. Even in areas where I am no expert, I must verify the statements of facts by "experts" with my own first-hand thinking. Sometimes (many times) the experts are right. Sometimes they are not. The only way I can make my knowledge independent of some expert's word is by thinking and observing. When I don't, I usually end up learning the hard way... by having reality smack me in the face. I had to dabble with Libertarians to realize how unprincipled they were. I accepted much of the Ayn Rand nay-sayers at the Atlas Society before discovering the fallacies in their arguments.
I would hazard to guess that the biggest reason individuals fail at achieving independence is that they were not taught how to think inductively. When they cannot look at the world around them and discover. They are not taught how to critically examine multiple, sometimes conflicting theories. From politics to nutrition, independent thought is absolutely essential for successful living, yet very difficult for many people to achieve.
I plan on being there, in the theaters on April 15th, when this movie releases. It will be low budget; so no fancy graphics, no epic scenery, little too no action. My guess, it will be mostly drama driven by dialog. In an interview with the director, it seemed as if he had a basic understanding of the philosophy. Certainly not perfect, but what Hollywood directory would?
Will it be good? My expectations: I hold out hope that it will be reasonably good, but I see three dangers. First, the production of this film was independent and rather rushed, so there is a danger that the film will be a snoozer due to poor editing, weak actors, and/or a mediocre director. Second, there is a danger that the ideas will be butchered. Well, more an expectation that some of the ideas will be butchered. Just not sure how grotesquely so. Third, the film may also focus too much on the love triangle between Dagny, Hank, and Francisco, rather than the heroism of those characters. IF the film can overcome these dangers, I think I will be pleased, given whatever other faults the film contains.
The trailer should be out later today. Take a peak and let me know what you think.
Not the most productive week last week. I failed to achieve quite a few of my goals, both essential and stretch goals. I had major motivation problems all week. Emotionally, I just couldn't get myself pumped up to finish the work I needed to do. Hopefully, that feeling is past because I want to push ahead this week.
Essential items:
Prep for classes
Write exam review for 247
Complete "Alt Solution" article
Follow up with co-authors
Brainstorm ways to spend research funds
Advertise stuff for sale
Write on living consciously. Forgot to write on a habit last week.
Stretch goals:
Review investments
Start building ASP.NET apps
Brainstorm homework assignments for 606
Edit quizzes for 215
Follow up with realitors
Conduct lit review for IR evaluations and IT ethics paper.
Its easy...
To let pain slide right off of you.
To let fear of rejection control your actions.
To unfocus your mind when things become painful.
To change the subject when you start to lose an argument.
... and its easy to develop anxiety, become lethargic, or depressed by taking this easy path.
The loss of control over one’s consciousness is the most terrifying of human experiences: a consciousness that doubts its own efficacy is in a monstrously intolerable state.~ Ayn Rand, “Our Cultural Value-Deprivation,” The Objectivist, April 1966, 1
And yet, the greatest growth occurs when we can take on these "hard" challenges. The habit of living consciously consists of constantly applying one's mind in the course of every activity. Of using reason to integrate and deduce the appropriate actions to guide one's life. To never let the moment slide by because we refused to think. To be in focus, all the time, every time. It is a skill of applying my mind to all situations.
For the most part, I do it well. When I work out, I think about my form, my times, or my goals. When I read, I consider the implications of the ideas presented. When I play games, I develop strategies to win the game. When cuddling with my wife, I sense her every touch. But I still have lots of room for improvement. Areas where I can use some work? One that I have been focusing on lately is dealing with my kids when they misbehave. I go through spouts where I actively engage my mind during the process of addressing their misbehavior. Then there are the other times :( I revert to old habits where I am not mentally engaged, and this unfortunately usually results in an unhappy ending. Lately, I have been striving ever harder to apply my thinking mind to these situations with my kids. Rational Jenn's blog has detailed a bunch of parenting skills I would love to improve in myself, many of them based on Positive Discipline.
How can I bring more consciousness to relationships with my kids? Well, I first need to start accepting them for who they are and secondly start treating them as if they were adults in training. Their wants and desires must be acknowledged for what they are. That does not mean I cave to their whims, but I do hold them to standards of fairness that I would any other adult or kid. This at least gives me a place to start.
Sometimes, no matter how much self-discipline you have, you just have to take a break from work. That happened to me on Wednesday, during our snow day. The pseudo-blizzard kept me at home. While I could have worked all day from home, I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, motivate myself to work. I discovered I need a recovery day. A fun day of just playing with the kids and playing some games.
This happens to me every so often. If I'm pushing hard for several weeks, I need to take a day off and do nothing. Lately, our weekends have been busier. Not crazy busy, as it'll get this spring and summer, but busy enough not to recover completely from a highly productive week. So I took a day of rest and relaxation in the middle of the week, rather than working from home. Now, I'm ready to push ahead again today. Ready, set, GO!
That is truly my Independence Day moment. That is when I fully realized that my knowledge, my decisions, and my life are fully in my power. That is when I realized that I shouldn't believe anything anybody else says just because they said it. That is when I realized that I should actively validate all new knowledge through observation and reason. That is when I realized I can be - I should be - I am a self-made man.