Pain

Nothing makes your night quite like finding out your great-grandfather who is your greatest hero just went home to heaven. Topped off with the girl you've loved since you were a kid running into you then telling you she had a boyfriend. Tonight rules.

Stay Frosty

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Robert Frost (1922)

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Blame Me.

I'm not normally much of a hip-hop guy, but for some reason my heart has a soft spot for the NWA guys from Compton. There is a blaming problem with America today and Ice Cube hits the nail on the head with his pyroclastic flow.

After using the first verse to vulgarly provide his qualifications for discussing social issues, he hits the chorus with the line "ain't nuthin' to it, gangsta rap made me do it" mockingly pointing the finger at himself and his fellow artists for the reason there is bad in the world today. Everything from language to violence to global warming is gangsta rap's fault. What a pathetic scapegoat.

While I question his methods and vocabulary, his message is clear and I agree with it. Get the plank out of your own eye before you start looking for specks in mine. Teachers and parents and ministers are so quick to blame the problems of the world today on media, music, and technology. But the problems today are no different than the ones 3000 years ago. I think what he's trying to say is to stop lying to yourself and blaming what you do on outside circumstances, and take responsibility for yourself and your actions.

The man may be vulgar and profane, but he's honest. Gangsta rap can't make you do anything, but feel free to blame it all on him. But it sure does make a convenient excuse.

Outliers

Outlier

Malcolm Gladwell tells a story of success that delves deeper than the typical success, leadership, etc. self-help book. He cleverly paints his argument through stories and logic and I really liked the way he presented it. My mathematical upbringing always taught me to disregard outliers because they did not fit a pattern, but the author cleverly gives outliers their own pattern. So cleverly in fact that he convinced me to purchase his other books.

Things I learned

• Success is a combination of hard work, talent, opportunity, taking advantage of that opportunity, and luck. (By luck I mean the hand of God)
• 10,000 hours of practice is required if I ever want to be a master of anything. 
• Matthew 25:29 is true. And more clear to me now than it has ever been. 
• Opportunity and legacy are interconnected. 
• IQ a measure of potential, not the measure of potential. 
• It is much easier to get your point across through stories than inspirational jargon. 
• Reading books is the best way to increase knowledge. 

Peace Child

I just finished a book assigned by my graduate class entitled Peace Child. Incredibly story of deceit, redemption, hate, love, and the insurmountable grace of God. Go check out Isaiah 52:7, then read this book and see how great the Father's power reigns and how rapidly His Eternal Kingdom can grow.

Isaiah 52:7
Peace Child book on Amazon.com