California Dreamin'

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we head west to Oregon and California, I will try to do some updating along the way, or at least update at the end. We shall see. Wish me luck and see you later!

End of an Era

Well, tomorrow is graduation. Here it is: the end of an era. The end of my time as a student at Mississippi State University. In about 11 hours, I'll "receive" a Bachelor's of Science degree in Civil Engineering. It's been a pretty hard road, but four year: on time. Have I spent a little too much time studying? Maybe. Am I sad that I have done well? Absolutely not. But in reality I have had plenty of good times, so don't worry about that.

Regardless, I'm heading Cali. UC Davis is the destination for me. Going into the geotechnical engineering section with a view into a PhD. Right now I'm in the master's program, but I will hopefully be continuing on to the PhD. We will just have to see how it turns out after the first couple of quarters (they are on quarters out there, so school won't start until September).

I chose to go to Davis for a couple of main reasons. Although I had the chance to go to more high profile engineering schools (Texas, Virginia Tech) I don't want to simply do consulting/design, although maybe I would like to at some point. Right now, I see myself doing high end research work. I felt like I could best accomplish this at Davis. Davis seems to be more fundamental, "first law" type of place in geotechnical engineering. There is a dedicated modeling professor and several classes to this topic. Although I may come out with a PhD with less lab/practical experience, I think I will have a better feel for modelling and theory. Of course this is all subjective and I won't really ever know. My feeling is that it will be more about the research experience and my own innate abilities than anything. Regardless, we'll see, and hopefully I will get a feel soon and can report against about it.

Another reason I chose to go to Davis is that I have always wanted to live in California. Although it will be expensive and hard to keep up with expenses, I think the experience will be good for me to live somewhere completely different than what I have been used to. I will be going into a situation where I am completely uncomfortable and don't really know anything or anybody. I will have to learn how to be myself, and basically to find myself. And interesting road indeed. It gets no more different, social-politically, geographically, culturally, than switching from Mississippi to California. I am excited, and I am ready.

Plus I have 3 months to make some good money and be comfortable working in Vicksburg this summer before I make the big leap. Wish me luck!

Update

So, I haven't had much to say in a while. But maybe over a few minutes this afternoon on the first day of March I will have something on my mind, we'll see how this goes. I have three things I want to talk (probably to noone, lol) about today: 1) Lent, 2) Grad School, 3) the economy.

1) For lent, although I don't go to church and also I'm definitely not Catholic, I decided to give something up this year, starting after the amazing debauchery that was Mardi Gras on Ash Wednesday. I know what may be going through your mind. This guy is a sucker for pain, he just likes to give things up for no apparent reason. And you would be right. I don't know I just like to have something to think about and goals to strive for all the time it seems.

Regardless, this time I am actually giving up three things. Facebook, meat, and coffee.
Facebook is fun and it's a good way to keep in touch with your friends. But man is it a bad time waster, then again so is this.. Also, as time comes for me to get into grad school, I don't want anything that I wouldn't want people seeing to show up somewhere. In fact when I get back on Facebook (because all in all, I probably will, it IS useful in some capacity) I'm probably going to clean alot of pictures and things up for the future.
Yes, I gave up meat again. It will be harder this time since I went back to meat after the Cleanse, but I'm prepared. There will be alot more soy milk drinking and tuna fish eating and I'll probably get mercury poisoning but it's all good..
Coffee.. that was what I was going to originally give up.. all concentrated caffeine things. I mean it's not big deal but I do love coffee a couple of days a week.

2) Grad school. I have applied to six grad schools for a Master's in Civil Engineering (geotechnical): Virginia Tech, UT Austin, U of Missouri at Columbia, NC State, Texas A&M, and UC Davis. I'm not counting any schools completely out yet. However, suffice it to say that the consensus among some people that I know that I have talked to are that Virginia Tech, Texas, and Davis are among the best schools in the field. Thus far, I have been accepted to everywhere. However, I have only received hard offers from two schools, Virginia Tech and Texas. I won't go into details but I am waiting on everywhere to send me something before I may any decisions. I'm pretty happy with how it's looking so far and I haven't really come to any big decisions. I'll probably be waiting for a few more weeks (during which period I will be visiting at least those two schools and possibly a couple more) and will probably hold a press conference to announce my decision sometime in early April, no big deal. I'll keep update and announce to all my adoring fans when I figure something out.

3) The economy. Oh my. The economy has continued to go down the drain since my last dissertation on the subject. Since then, the recovery package has passed both houses and was signed into law by President Obama. Total pricetag: $787 bn. Hmm. What do I think about this?

I think there are alot of good things in this. Like I said before, I'm not sure that if the government doesn't at least put on a facade of doing something, the economy will come back. In fact, this is a very very bad economic cycle. It's not like anything before. Without government backing, alot of companies would have already fallen. Including the auto industry, but we'll get back to that later.. Some might say (thanks Noel Gallagher) that this could just be prolonging the death of the companies and the true collapse of the global economy. That's a possibility. It's also a possibility that we could actually see some rebound in the next year or so. I believe this will happen. How much of it was due to government intervention, I'm not sure. But I do believe that if we don't help the country, it will fall much faster.

However, there is alot of stuff that went through that I do not support, and I think is very wasteful. However, if certain red states don't want the money, don't take it. It's OK Haley Barber, let's let the schools deteriorate, and our roads pothole and bridges collapse. You were a Washington lobbyist originally anyways. Let's ignore the fact that our governor's old lobbying firm was the first or second most powerful in the nation and backed the tobacco industry in the 90's. No big deal.

So, what do I think will fix the economy? I'm not sure. I do know that letting the country fall after the big mistakes of the past 15 years of basically Laissez Faire is not the way to do it though. Some would argue, I invite them to.

We SHOULD however, let GM fall. Yes that would lose alot of jobs, but they are being propped up by the government right now. If they go down, maybe market space is opened for the competitors who could then fill that gap, but right now we are just throwing money in the fire by giving them these loans that will never be repayed.. a) they haven't been making money in several years of decent conditions. There is no effing way they are going to begin making the type of money needed to stay viable AND pay back the American people in an economy like this and gas prices eventually going back up, and their refusal to accept new transportation technologies. (see the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car").

AH, well that it for now. I'll post some more when I get more stuff to get off my chest. If you have any comments or questions, let them lose.

Economics.. Joe style

Why do people still say to let the economy fix itself? I mean, really? Largest downturn since the Great Depression, where 25% of American citizens were without work?

Let's think about this for a second. Even if you doubt whether FDR's New Deal got us out of the Great Depression, one has to admit that it did get people into jobs and America's spirit back up. Moreover, if one says that it wasn't government intervention that restarted the economy, then it was MOST DEFINITELY the American entrance into WWII, which got industry moving in a forward motion to support the war, and got American into "jobs" as soldiers.

Now, fast forward to today's economy. Argue or not, the past 8 (read: 20 tbh, including Clinton) years our nation's spending has skyrocketed due to "wars" and other assorted objects of desire for the administrations: so much for small government and spending on the Republicans' half. In addition to that, the people that control the money in American (bankers, the stock market, because they really do..) have gotten entirely too overconfident.

Some examples of how this overconfidence has gotten us into this quagmire..
1) Oil prices have (had until the economic downturn) soared on the backs of the market-based oil economy. i.e. investors put money into oil, forcing the prices to go up, thusly, these speculators make money as the oil prices rise and the average person suffers. That may not be entirely true, but that is some truth in it.
2) The housing collapse was based on similar principles. Banks were giving cheap (bad) mortgages to people who didn't need to be buying houses. They banked on the assumption that housing prices would continue to rise and people could use the inherent worth of their homes to continue borrowing money etc. Unfortunately, this scheme fell apart when enough people couldn't sell their homes. Thusly, we are in a home-owning crisis.
3) The boys on Wall Street, I really don't know what to say about that. All I know is people stopped borrowing from the banks, thusly the economy slowed. When that happens, the markets fall. Although these big corporations were not making money, they were still paying executives upwards of $500k for taking them into bankruptcy. When the markets fall, everyone else falls because investments (retirements) lose money and now noone can retire. Only there are less jobs to get because the companies aren't making money from the slow economy and noone is investing funds into their stock, therefore they aren't getting outside cash flow.

Now, on the stimulus package on in Congress.
Republicans argue that we need smaller government and less spending. FACT. This is completely true, as a country we are overspending and overreaching our bounds. Although I'm not sure why express concern, because we have been doing it for 50 years.

Democrats argue that the stimulus needs to happen now. FACT. Obviously, this is true, our economy is in a downward spiral (although one may argue that the markets have reached their bottoms, around 8000 in the Dow). Although I generally believe in the invisible hand, I don't think now is the time to rely on that hand. We need to at least do something to help it along. The economy won't correct itself for no reason. People aren't just going to go out and start changing their ways and spend in a BAD economy. It's contradictary! You save money when the money is tight, not spend it. It makes sense. Therefore, you have to have a STIMULUS to make people start spending, lending, and borrowing again. Thus, government intervention. It's not Socialism, it's called reason.

Although I do not believe that the current stimulus package is the best that it could be (it is not at all bipartisan on the House side), we need to get something in the barrell right now. This could, and it may could not, but we shall see, be what the economy needs right now.

On Obama, I like him. I have a theory that the President is really just a figurehead, he is a person to "lead" the nation, i.e. speak for it. He doesn't actually do much of a ruling of the country (except for instance executive orders like closing down GB). Therefore, there is no better person than a person who speaks well. And speaks well, at least some of the time, for the average person in America.

However, I do not particularly like the way he has started off his administration this year. 3 nominated candidates for White House positions have tax leins because they failed to pay their taxes? Why is this? Of course one of them, at least, may have just been confused (the lady who simply failed to pay a nanny tax of some sort), but still there is little excuse for this lack of foresite. Furthermore, I think the main problem that some people have in relation to the administration and the stimulus is that it is not at ALL bipartisan like Obama's campaigns somewhat promised. Of course there is plenty of blame to be placed all around on that fact. Republicans will not concede anything when it comes to spending it seems in Congress. Additionally, the Democrats (especially in the House) have given nothing to the Republicans yet. Of course they really don't have to since AMERICAN voted in Democratic leadership majorities in both houses.

Alas, we shall see what happens with the stimulus in the next few weeks, and then we shall see what happens with the economy in the next few months/year.

Stay Out!

You know what makes me pretty mad? You may or may not, but you are about to find out if you read this.

So I'm driving around town today and I drive by one of the classic Baptist (I think, maybe not but it's a decent assumption) church. In the yard around they had placed some hundreds, or thousands, of white crosses and a sign that says something about 1000 babies killed by their mothers in this county.

I'm assuming that this is a response to President Obama's executive order on abortion. The order lifts the ban on federal funding to organizations that have anything to do with abortion. Be it education or anything. Additionally, the ban expanded to organizations that didn't even get their funding for abortion-related activities from federal funding. As far as I'm concerned, if a health education organization even acknowledged abortion, then it was banned.

It's one thing to not approve of abortion on a personal level. That's ok with me, but why try to demean people who make that decision? Not everyone in this world (6+ billion, right?) has the same moral code on things like that. Just because someone believes something different, doesn't mean they are wrong. My problem comes with these demonstrations that try to get into other people's business.

If someone wants to get information on this for one reason or another, so be it. People should stick to their own business on things that have no direct effect on them. If you don't like it, and it doesn't hurt you, then don't worry about it. I'm not saying that people should just go at whimsy to get abortions, but people should be at least allowed to get information and counseling on these things. Luckily Mr. Obama is not falling to these molders of people's mental clay and allowing them to change what he believes in; I hope he continues to stay away from Ann Colter and crew. :)

Blah, that post doesn't even make sense. Of well, at least I got some of it off my chest.

Post-Cleanse

Ok, well.. The past 24 hours has been very interesting to say the least.

Without going into too many details (you really don't want to know haha) the past 24 hours (i.e. since I have finished the Cleanse and returned to eating.. well basically everything in sight) have been one of the most rollercoaster-esque (word?) times of my life.

Well, we decided to head to a friends house the break the fast at 12:01 AM this morning.. in Indian style. Curry chicken was, of course, the meal on tap for the event. Great meal btw as well.

However, a late addition to the breakfast party also included some indulgence into the word of fermented beverages. Advice to anyone thinking about cleansing in any way: take it easy on drinking following the cleanse.. :) Regardless, the past 24 hours has been very fun, and very not fun at times. That is all.

Moving on, it has been good since I have returned to flavor. I will continue to savor the foods that will be fueling my body again, at least for the next few days, much more than I have, perhaps ever, I have a feeling. Additionally, I am very glad to see the return of coffee and tea: two much missed beverages for me and my awareness.

So, what do I have to say to sum up this experience? 1) This was probably the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life. 2) I lost 8 pounds in 2 week: aka alot, but not as much as I anticipated to be honest, and it will probably be back by two days from now. 3) If I ever do this experience again, I will stick to 10 days and plan it out much better next time. 4) I do not really feel much healthier than before, especially since I have been eating alot of ice cream in the past 24 hours. 5) I do feel that I have a better appreciation for food and tastes than before, but I'm not sure how long this will last.

I am glad, overall, that I had this experience. Maybe not so much for the physical attributes of it, but moreso for the emotional and mental portions of the journey. It has been quite a journey.

Where do I go from here? I'm not quite sure. I am going to just eat like I had for 21 years for the next week until Chinese New Year (next Monday) at which point I will make beef and brocolli. Then I will come to a conclusion about how I would like to semi-permanently suite my diet. I don't feel like I will return to ova-lacto-terianism like I did last semester. However, as I sit now, I feel like I would like to cut out MAJOR entrees of beef and pork when possible. I.e. when I move out of MS permanently (presumably) I will not eat any steaks or pork chops etc. but not be strictly go against chicken or turkey or dishes with dark meats in them. I know this is getting out of any sort of vegetarianism, but that is just how things are looking as of now.

Additionally, I am going to try out another challenge, influenced by a number of factors. After my birthday in two weeks.. I will be attempting a 30 day alcohol free time. This will be good for me in multiple ways, hopefully. But I will get more into this as the time gets close.

Until then, ciao.

Day 10

Ok, my original plan is now over. So my plan for the original cleanse has been achieved, to much difficult success.

From here on out, shouldn't be too bad. I am just waiting for Monday morning!! Hot pockets and grits will prevail in my stomach come this time.