meaning

So I read today that I have pursued an education that is beyond my means.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/IsYourDegreeWorth1million.aspx?page=2

My degree is worth, on average, 300K over my lifetime. I assume this is representative of a non-teaching lifestyle. I will settle for a lifetime advantage of 150K . This makes my net lifetime profit of 100K once you factor in all of the interest on loans.

But this doesnt help when I start off into my career. The starting salaries are low. The peripheral benefits are either absent (401K), or high (Insurance rates). The interest accumulated during my schooling is roughly 1/3 of my debt at variable and at times obscenely high interest rates. This is the good debt most financial people speak of.

But to say that I spent money beyond my means is ridiculous. I spent what I needed to spend to get a high quality education. Because, a high quality education is what I needed to have a career. Spending less would have resulted in a lower quality education, and thus not much hope of moving up.

Financially, though, didn't I spend beyond MY means. Yes. My parents spent a lot too. I got scholarships, financial aid, and loans. I did what I needed to, and I am paying it all back. Was it worth it?

It is worth it because I have opportunities. And will have opportunities.

My mind naturally goes to this: What if I didnt pursue my maximum potential?
I would still be poor, and I wouldnt have any opportunities. I would have been working longer, harder, for less money (per hour, over a lifetime).

So what should we tell poor kids? Don't seek an expensive degree? Dont maximize your potential? Stay poor? let your kids share in your poorness and pass on the mantra: "You cant afford education!"

The problem isnt education is expensive. Its that jobs pay too little, because companies can't give them a salary without giving them GOOD benefits. I want good benefits, too.

There are other problems too but I am tired.

energy and the gov

I received an email:

"Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ...... during the Carter Administration? The Department of Energy was instituted 8-04-1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Hey, pretty efficient, huh?????

AND NOW IT'S 2009, 32 YEARS LATER ... AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR
* THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES
* AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?'

* Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy.

And NOW we are going to turn the Banking System & the Auto Industry over to them?
* God Help Us !!! "

End of quote.

So my gut reaction was that while "true" we are no less dependent on foreign oil, I had my doubts that DOE was all about oil, and only oil, for the last 32 years.

DOE history is long and convoluted and shrouded in politics. It is a government agency. It has flaws. But DOE's principle mission at conception was to unite all forms of energy under one roof. Nuclear. Solar. Geothermal. Carbon. Nuclear ... weapons. High energy physics. Research and development. Climate change. Efficiency. Nuclear waste cleanup. Sound environmental practice.

DOE does high impact high risk R & D because industry could not or would nut pursue these avenues because of their cost and high risk of failure.

I urge you to read the DOE history. See how Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton modified and changed the Dept.
The best summary I can offer is this:

We need energy conservation and efficiency. We need to diversify our energy portfolio. By and large Republicans have argued for less control of oil and gas, and more drilling and clean coal. Thereby reducing the percentage of imports to domestic production. Democrats have gone for the fuel efficiency, reduced drilling, energy conservation.

What I find funny is that all the presidents have had the same energy plan. Conserve. Make efficient. Invest in new tech. As with all things political, everyone is to blame from the american public [yes you too H2 owner], to the politicians, to the corporations. No one has been holier than though. No one has capitalized on an energy crisis to bring about action [let alone change]. 39 years since this discussion started.

Not too much accomplished.

If you point the finger, use the middle one. if you need to direct it somewhere ... look in the mirror.

We voted them in.we keep them there. we let nothing happen. we buy the gas. we buy the oil. we dont ask for solar on our roof. we dont ask for a wind turbine. we let the market decide whats best for us. and the market obliges by selling us stuff we want because they are not providing us the products/services/technology we NEED.

We need leaders. Leaders who work ALL year. Leaders that work together for the common good.

genius

I still need to read Outliers, and now Nudge, not to mention a few other books.

However, is genius nature vs nuture? Perhaps is genius more an expression of potential, rather than raw intelligence? Its hard to argue against an initial value problem here. If you start out with a high IQ, and do the hard work, master your creative abilities, and harness both your IQ and hard work then you too can be a genius.

But is a high IQ necessary? and is hard work sufficient?

I am sure there is work out there that shows that people gifted musically have brains wired differently. Structurally identical. Just the individual connections would be more focused and/or more active during the displays of genius. We already know the brain responds to repetition - learning. So it shouldn't be surprising that genius involves hard work and problem solving in creative ways. Probably even in discrete jumps - rapid learning in short intervals.

The brain also acts via chemicals to suppress certain responses when it is concentrating. Just like people who shoot at targets. A shaking hand goes absolutely still as the brain zones in, focusing only on the one action - the release of the arrow, for example. The same should apply for rapid learning ... the kind of learning where breakthroughs happen. Einstein was self taught in mathematics. His genius was derived from at least some hardwork, experience, even maturity, and clarity of purpose. His clarity of purpose is best illustrated in his lack of ability to have a meaningful relationship with his wife and children ... he was too focused on his work.

So genetics, environment, IQ, and experience all play a role ... and I'll bet each genius has a unique distribution of those 4 qualities. So given that you dont control any of these, you might as well work hard - the benefits are obvious. Failing to be a genius, you just might make yourself (and the people around you) smarter.

Perhaps the one quality all geniuses have ... a good challenge. Something that compelled them to work hard, stay focused and motivated, and acheive.

Challenger

I remember that cold morning in CT. I wanted to watch it, but the family wanted to the hit store (Bradleys, if I recall correctly). We came back to my aunts house, turned on the TV, and there was the explosion being replayed.

I was only 9.5 years old. I dont remember feeling bad about it, though I knew it was obviously tragic. My Dad used to wake me up for those 6am launches every once in a while. So I liked watching the shuttle take off. I knew nothing about it though. But I remember what followed after Challenger.

So I wrote to NASA asking for information. What I got back was an inch thick packet, for free, detailing everything there was to know about the shuttle (in laymens terms, complete with diagrams, and unclassified of course). I wrote reports with that literature. I even wrote after that to get information regarding the SRB O-ring failure, I think.

So, that was my hook to get started in science.

I am not sure if NASA ever truly recovered after that disaster. It took 33 months or so for the next shuttle to launch. An eternity in kid time. But I remembered it was well advertised.
It took a while but I got down tothe Cape to see a shuttle launch. Still cant find that videotape. That would be awesome to show the family. I think I saw it go up in 1992.