I think I just got something...

So Coach Taylor in Friday Night Lights likes to talk about, you know "Going back to why we PLAY football in the first place." It's just a game, it's just for fun. We PLAY it because we like it, because it's a game kids start to play after school in the yard. Forget all this politics and crap, and play the game you love.

I think it's the same with scientists (and probably any other field, too). It's all just a game, just puzzles, just problems you have fun solving. Like a crossword or chess or sudoku, or trying to guess the end of a movie. I think all too often people get bogged down in the seriousness of it. In the money, in the personal reputations, in the livelihood they hope to gain from it. Joy is much simpler than that.

Anyway. I think I've still got that UAH shooting on my mind. Crazy shit, that.

First official work day of the week...

... AND IT'S FRIDAY!



I've been going a little nuts. Just you know... where you start getting pissed at people for no real reason, and get a little passive aggressive. It's happening right now between me and my housemates because we're not used to spending this much time together.

Pictures are from a walk with housemates on Saturday.

Snowed-in Thought of the Day

If Dan is right, and he may just be, especially considering the recent supreme court decision, consumers should seriously be thinking about where they spend their money. I'm not sure exactly how I started thinking about this just now, but part of the development of my train of thought took me back to some stuff in the movie Food Inc. that rung particularly true. Consumers need to treat every dollar they spend as a vote. If you buy a Big Mac, you are saying it's okay for the owner of McDonald's to determine national policy. If the placement of power is determined almost solely by the placement of money, we really need to seriously consider how and where we spend our earnings.

It is possible that a consumer shift toward more responsible companies (I don't know what this would actually entail) could help prevent future fiscal crises. I guess the main problem with this is that if a company (like McDonald's) offers things cheaper than anyone else, than people are more likely to spend their money there, whether or not the company has integrity, especially if they are poor. An interesting problem, though it could probably be better articulated. Anyone have arguments or comments? Economists?

FYI: You can check out the pdf version of the article below here. It just came out last week.