Watch out for zombies...

Humility is king

Here's a great article describing Lebron James' ascent to the top of the basketball. Amazing... This guy was hailed as the next coming of Michael Jordan at age 17, but didn't let it go to his head.

Like Jordan, he's aiming for perfection, constantly working on himself and accepting that while he's good, he's not the best, and he'll never be the best, so he needs to work harder to become the best, and repeat.

He is damn amazing to watch, and the humility and openness to accept feedback is no doubt at the core of him going from being in the top quartile of players which he's been since the beginning, to the top...

Yet another thing that makes MIT unique

MIT has to be the only university in the country that offers a school-sponsored course that you sign up for to learn how to flirt and date: MIT's Charm School. They're offering a CH.d, Doctoral Degree in Charm.

A 93 by any other name is.... still a 93

Here's an interesting article about my home county, where it takes a 94 to get an A in high school instead of a 90 like in many other parts of the country. Apparently, parents are rallying to water down the grading system to match the rest of the nation.... But how much will it really change things?

College admission boards keep track of different parts of the country, and Fairfax County with several top 50 high schools and the magnet high school TJHSST (a.k.a. Future Einstein High) is likely known across the country as a tough place to go to school - i.e. a 3.5 from Fairfax probably equals a 3.8 from somewhere else, and 3.8 from Fairfax is truly elite.

I don't see how changing the grading system will accomplish anything. Fairfax just won't be an outlier anymore. Congrats parents, your children will no longer stand out with a slightly higher GPA if the measures pass.

My favorite quote from the article proves the point itself: A parent mentions that her daughter is a straight C student, and as a result, doesn't stand a chance of getting into the University of Virginia, which happens to be my alma mater. What this deluded parent doesn't realize is if the measure were to pass and your daughter were to become a half B and half C student, or even a straight B student, she STILL wouldn't have a chance of getting into UVA. UVA's looking for the closest to straight A's possible, and importantly, emphasises admitting well-rounded individuals who have stretched themselves by engaging in many different extracurricular activities. This girl needs to study harder and the grades will take care of themselves.

On a side note, as an in-state school receiving several thousand apps each year from Fairfax county, of all universities she could have mentioned, UVA would be particularly well aquainted with Fairfax County's grading scale.

Go Go Gadget Green

Sweet. The states can now control their own fate when it comes to emissions requirements after President Obama's announcement.

Great breakdown of the current economic situation

Here's a great snapshot of what the financial crisis has morphed into by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz.

What a meeting of the minds

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for this meeting. Getting all of the living U.S. Presidents together... apparently it hadn't happened since 1981.

I think it's going to take a lot of strong creative and analytic thinking to solve the issues we face. I think it's a sign of strength for the new administration to be open to other ideas, but still have the grit to go ahead and do what it thinks is best.

Nasty Slush

Today brought a day full of wintry mix to Boston. Unfortunately, this amounted to a ton of slush all over the place.

Aside from the general slipperiness of it all, the slush all looks uniform, and you have no way of knowing if you're stepping into an inch of the stuff, or a sizable puddle.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be in the 60's and evaporate all this stuff (wishful thinking, I know).

Happy 2009!