Cheating
Mar 10, 01:08 PM by Eric Allen
We have been in an era of cheating on a truly grand scale. From students believing the only way to do well in school is to cheat on exams to Wall Street bringing down the global economy with its excesses, we have witnessed cheating at every level of society. The American Dream is no longer a dream—it’s a right! We Americans seem to believe we are entitled to owning our own home, having two cars, and consuming at an insane rate. Unfortunately, the rest of the world has tried to follow us! Chinese students come to the US with one goal: make a lot of money. At least they still believe in hard work for the most part. No matter where I look, I see a society rotting from within. Where did virtue go? Honesty? Trust? Hard work?
Now, I predict (quite optimistically) that over the next five years we will return to the social norms that have worked so well for the better part of American history. Already Obama is working hard to restore competence and trust to the White House. Consumers across the nation are flocking to green products, and the Prius is one of the best-selling cars in California. I think things are only going to get better. As our economy continues to stagnate or decline, Americans will have no choice but to buckle down and work hard. The nineties were a great party, but it’s time to get back to life. Cheating works only when people let you get away with it, and desperate people don’t let you. When Americans struggle to make ends meet, they aren’t going to tolerate others taking advantage of them. Wall Street has a long road here to prove itself valuable to us in the decade to come.
I know it’s a bit odd, but I welcome the recession. I work hard, and people seem to consider what I do to be valuable. An economic contraction on this scale is going to make millions of people wake up and question what is going on. And they must! We’ve spent so many years prospering from our world domination we’ve forgotten what it’s like to worry about what value you create. Now is the time to start ventures! Go out and create! Build things…things people want. There’s enough food to go around, and housing is rapidly becoming much more affordable. I like being useful, and I think most people do. Now is our chance to feel truly useful again!
What do you want to be good at?
Jan 19, 10:37 PM by Eric Allen
Today I decided I want to be a better skier. My friend Eric (yes, same first name) gave me one little suggestion while we were on the slopes this morning: shift your weight before you move your skis on a turn. That one tip improved my skiing by, oh, 30%? But I want to do better. I want to ski moguls, ice, double black-diamonds, and enjoy all of it. Do I have natural “talent” for skiing? Not really. However, I thoroughly enjoy it, and I intend to improve. I’ve found something that I enjoy practicing.
So focus on the process when you pick your goal. Stop thinking about the end goal just for a minute so you can test yourself – would you really enjoy the life that would require all that practice time? Find something where the answer is yes. Because you will naturally restructure your day to accommodate that process if you are aiming to be great at something you love to practice.
from This is why all your goals are bad for you by Penelope Trunk
On the flip side, I spent this evening delving into the performance of my portfolio over the last eight years. I have been investing in stocks since I bought my first share of Microsoft (my dad was my broker until 2000) in 1996. How have I done? Not bad. Not good, either. Since 2004, I have performed above the major market indexes for about half the time, and below them the other half. Right now I’m dead-on with the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P500. If I want to do well at stock picking, I’d better improve.
I don’t want to, though. Would I enjoy practicing investing every day? No. Will I enjoy the outcome? Not really. Money doesn’t mean that much to me. It’s always been a number in a spreadsheet (or now, on a website). It’s abstract, and it doesn’t do a heck of a lot for me. I’m still not entirely decided, but at this point I don’t think I want to be good at investing.
Spending some time choosing what I do want to be good at and what I don’t want to be good at helps me get my priorities in order. I want to dedicate as much of my life as possible to practicing the things that I want to be good at. I want to be good at programming, I want to be good at interaction design, and I want to be good at skiing. I’m sure I missed a few there, but those are the priorities for this semester. I’ll think about the future…in the future!
The Disadvantages of an Elite Education
Jun 23, 11:17 AM by Eric Allen
I just ran into an article from The American Scholar that confirms many of my fears about top-tier schools. Having blatantly and publicly resigned from the whole pre-school system and headed off to an essentially vocational school (okay, engineering is a pretty awesome vocation, but still), I have found an interesting path. Unfortunately, most of the people around me at RPI are even less interested in being intellectual. Not only did they play by the rules, but they “lost” the game. Come on, guys! I, for one, and thoroughly enjoying the activities on campus, including a College Democrats club that has zero political science majors and a student-run sound reinforcement crew. I mix rock concerts! There is a significant handful of people at my university who do what they do because they enjoy it, not because it will get them good scores.
A little bit of sunshine
Jun 20, 11:58 AM by Eric Allen
My dad had an interesting experience the other day that I think is worth sharing. Here’s what he has to say.
Today I tried something new with regard to panhandlers. Usually I shake my head in the negative way; ooccasionally I give some money. Today I said “No.” A few steps later I remembered that I had a bag of apricots in my messenger bag that I had picked from my backyard and brought along for snacking on. I went back to the panhandler and asked if she would like an apricot. She smiled as I handed it to her, and we both felt better. These happen to be very flavorful apricots and I smiled as I walked away thinking of the small moment of pleasure she would get when she bit into it.
I haven’t spent much time in really urban environments, so I’m still somewhat confused by the behaviors and values surrounding panhandling. I really like the idea of giving the delicious fruit, though! Not only did it appear to make this woman’s day, it made my dad’s day, too!
