Wrapping up the undergrad story...

Maybe I'm not quite ready to begin writing about 9/11 or graduate schools just yet.

In 1998, after 14 moves in 6 years, I decided that I wanted to settle down for a little while.  I wanted the chance to stay put.  While I had friends on campus and locally whom I had kept in touch with as I ping-ponged between work and school, I wanted the stability to be in community, to stay put for a while.

So I redid my plan of study to add a sixth year.  I didn't have very many engineering courses left, which gave me time to continue my language studies.  I turned both of my languages into Minors.

Social Complexity

I've recently learned that another term for the impact of the Web of Connection that I described, is Civic Republicanism (from The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control Is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System).  Because we are all connected, it is in our best interests to educate our children, to have libraries, to have roads, etc.  I believe my sister has blogged about similar ideas, the importance of nation building, although more of that is in her LiveJournal posts from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Compass

Last time I promised to write a bit about the principles and guidelines that I keep in my compass.  Here are some of them: