I write what I like

Types of Coffee

2010-04-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

I always used to put cream and sugar in my coffee. Then, I started working at Starbucks, and now I drink my coffee black. I attribute this to the coffee tastings they have us do. Smell, Slurp, and then the manager asks, "what do you taste?" I never say the right thing. I am simply shooting in the dark when it comes to flavors, however, I do know what I like.

Since Starbucks coffee is primarily of the dark, bold roast variety, I jumped at the chance to try something different last night at Urth Cafe. The organic rain forest coffee is a mild coffee with an citrus taste which my brother says smells like tobacco. I realized that this lightly roasted variety needed another dimension for its flavors, so I added sugar and cream. Then, like magic, that indulgent taste of creamy coffee revisited me.

Lesson: Mild Coffee and cream work well together, their flavors rest upon each other. Starbucks' Pike Place taste better with non-fat milk which brings less to the palate. The darker roasts of coffee taste best black.

Morality

2009-11-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

"In trying to provide a definition of what I take to be the ordinary normative sense of “morality,” that is, a moral system that is put forward by rational persons to be used by all moral agents in guiding their conduct, I find it useful to regard morality as a public system. I use the phrase, “public system” to refer to a guide to conduct such that (1) all persons to whom it applies, all those whose behavior is to be guided and judged by that system, know what behavior the system prohibits, requires, discourages, encourages, and allows; and (2) it is not irrational for any of these persons to accept being guided and judged by that system. What this means is that insofar as a person is legitimately ignorant of what he is morally prohibited or required to do, he is not subject to moral judgment. This is one way in which morality in the normative sense differs from law. Law is not a public system for sometimes “ignorance of the law provides no excuse.” Even if a person is legitimately ignorant of what he is legally prohibited or required to do, he may still be subject to legal judgment" - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-definition/

Because Marciano dropped out

2009-10-07T22:56:00.001-07:00

I just joined Campbell connect which makes me politically active and also a libertarian. I do not believe I am like other libertarians who like to gang up on and talk down to the government. However, when I think about our country I am often feel that it could do better. Look at California's government! Another thing that irks me is apathy, but who cares... So I've made up my mind because I want to feel like I am putting a little momentum into the system. Learning about the politics is completely changing (elucidating) the way I see the government, and its making me change too, I am supporting a Republican, Tom Campbell. Not because he's a good old social conservative, but because he is a academic Libertarian. Maybe he hasn't lost his nascent optimism and thinks the world is a good place. In any case, he is a good choice for California.

be who you want to be

2009-07-27T01:51:00.001-07:00

be who you want to be

When I went to Alan's memorial service today, I cried at two different times when Jordan and Josh spoke. What made me sad was the recognition of Alan's rigorous personality, lost to his passing. Josh said that, maybe there was a little Alan in all of us, and that touched me. Right now I wish I had the undaunted ability to be the person I want to be. Alan had the strongest of personal drives to make it today. That let' him succeed. The American, self-made dream, let it rest in his memory.

Logical Argument and Disagreement

2009-05-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished having a discussion with my friend Patrick about the best way to convey one’s beliefs. Patrick said that he tried to subtly influence people to see things his way. A person would “see the light,” once they taught themselves the idea he was trying to present. It’s a polite way convey a lesson to someone to whom you are subordinate, an idea form Dale Carnegie. That’s great if you are surrounded by people with the same opinions as yourself, but what if you encounter someone who genuinely disagrees with your beliefs? In that case, the only way to make a person agree that your beliefs are true is to disprove at least one of their beliefs. How can a person do this when adding a phrase like “in my opinion,” or “from my perspective,” to everything they say? These are common phrases which my teacher, Lucas Mather, thinks are used to save a friendship from an argument. Saying “in my opinion,” undermines the truth in one’s beliefs. If an argument is not based on truth it has little strength and it will not stand up in the face of opposing opinions. This is what the speaker in the Symposium refers to when he says “you may think that I am a failure, and that’s ok, I know you’re one.” A belief should be defended as if it is true and discarded if it isn’t.

Our government lacks business sense

2009-04-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

I just read in the Economist that General Motors is seeking an additional $ 11.6 billion in government funding in addition to the $ 15.4 billion it has already received. This is the latest in the effort to keep GM out of bankruptcy court. The argument has always been that we, America, should save our largest car manufacturer because it would be foolish in times like these to let so much capital (human & machine) to just do nothing while the bankruptcy court did its thing. That argument makes sense, if and only if, GM’s capital is producing something that has an economic benefit, and people are willing to buy what they make. However, GM has been losing money for years. GM’s uninspiring cars are reactions to prior year’s trends.

Now the government finds itself in a pickle because it is not only GM’s largest single creditor, it is also its largest shareholder, and protector of autoworkers union interests. It has way too much at stake to let everything fail. I believe that by propping up GM, the government is actually blocking the way forward for the entire auto industry.

The Whitehouse says it does not plan to run GM. Pretty soon, someone is going to need to design some new cars. By leaving that most crucial portion of the equation up in the air, the government is in effect letting GM’s failed production management continue to run its course (into the ground). With potentially $ 30 billion on the line that is way too careless. There needs to be some serious overhaul, and an about face if America is going to even have a viable auto industry in the future. I think the Whitehouse should at least roll out an Obama-mobile.

My point is that things need to change, and that means ditching GM in favor of something else. Essentially, the government is putting its money on a horse that has already lost the race. At the very least, it must exercise its rights as a share holder. Oh wait, this may never happen because bond holders can still force the company to go to court! As the economist writes, “Bondholders face the prospect of a small stake in a clapped out car company run by a union-friendly government with a zeal for green cars that may not have much of a market. With that as an alternative, a gamble in a bankruptcy court may seem quite appealing.”

I right what I like, doings of the omnipotent master,

2009-04-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have finally made my own blog. Now, my train of thoughts has a track. Now, there is a piggy bank for my 2 cents. Now and from now on, my opinions have a home. Thank you Internet.

"I write what I like," was Steve Biko's publication in South Africa. He used the pen name Frank Talk. In naming this blog after his work, I hope to inspire the same insightfulness in my writing.