Today I got up before sunrise, breathed in the scent of pines as I traversed the mountainside, walked through clouds above the tree line, ate lunch next to a marmot on a mountain summit, gazed upon secluded mountain lakes, and was reminded how volatile Colorado weather is as I got caught in a hail storm at 12,880 ft. Today I remembered how beautiful and complex Earth is.

[Photos coming in a week when I get more reliable internet access.]

Below are some of my photos from the hike. The Rockies are gorgeous! They are teeming with life and beauty. The hike was excellent- beautiful weather up until the last leg of the hike, cool temperatures, sun, and in one instance in the higher elevation, snow on the ground. I even saw wild cutthroat trout in a few of the mountain streams and lakes! I am coming back here in a month for a hiking trip with a friend of mine and his family. I can’t wait!

Click on the photos to view them at a larger size. Enjoy!

Bear Lake:

Looking down on Bear Lake:

Hallett Peak over Dream Lake:

Water Lily on Bear Lake:

Hallet Peak:

Reflections on Bear Lake:

Mountain Stream:

Storms rolling in over Flattop Mountain and Emerald Lake:

Here are a few shots of me taking two of the above photos. The shots of me were taken by Jason Hughey.

Though I was only there a few days, below are a few of the photos I snapped. Click on the photos to view them at a larger size.

Only through a proper understanding of these ideas can one know what it truly means to be a patriot.

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

I got to the apartment I am staying at for the summer in Sandy Springs, GA this afternoon. It is just north of Atlanta. The apartment is new and spacious, and in a very good location! I am living there with two other FEE guys- one intern and one full time employee (a Hillsdale grad). I am really looking forward to this summer!

I hope you enjoy the photos! Click on them to see them at a larger size.

The Promenade des Anglais and the Mediterranean Sea:

Natural rock formations that I climbed out on many times (with a kayaker!)

The harbor and the hillside:

Arches – possibly an old aquaduct?

A small lighthouse/beacon at the edge of the harbor:

Lit walkway on the edge of the sea

Rocky beach, the sea, and the sun: (click to view large!)

Me sitting on the rocks on the edge of the sea (Photo by David):

Rough waters as a storm rolls in:

Entrance to the harbor on a cloudy day:

Thank you for checking out my photos from spring break! I hope you enjoyed them.

Here are my photos from Bordeaux, where I spent the most time. There I did lots of things like exploring alone, spending a day in a French high school (not pictured), and going to a small funeral at a small village in wine country (long story, and not pictured), and ate lunch with some British folk (also not pictured). Here are my favorite photos from my wanderings in Bordeaux. I hope you enjoy them! Click on the photos to view them at a larger size.

I got caught in a downpour, but afterwards this rainbow over Garonne River and Pont de Pierre bridge appeared. Definitely worth standing in the rain to see:

The riverwalk and quays along the Garonne River:

Pont de Pierre bridge at night:

The general chaos that is a French street. Trams, bikes, motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians walking any which way:

Place du Palais:

Silhouettes:

Delightful pastries in a cafe:

The riverwalk again:

I was amazed at how much French men pee in public. It seems like they go wherever they feel like. When I looked though my photos, I was surprised to find this. I didn’t notice this guy when I took the photo!

Statues:

Cathedral St. Andres:

Behind St. Bruno church:

Check back in a few days for photos from Nice!

More France photos will come soon, I promise. I am through 1.5/2 papers, so I still have half a paper and a take-home probability exam to finish in the next day and a half, then finals start immediately. I’m just a little busy…

(One paper is over the above book, so this post is entirely justified!)

Arcachon Bay:

The summer village:

Down in the summer village:

Down in the summer village (again):

The breakwater and oceanfront:

Two beautiful houses in the afternoon sun:

Me! (Photo taken by David Wagner)

Next up, Bordeaux! (Check back in a few days!)

I will post some of my favorite photos from the trip in a series of posts, one for each place I visited. This post, Paris, will start it out. Coming soon will be Arcachon, Bordeaux, and Nice. Keep checking back throughout the week! Keep in mind that these are just my favorites. If you want to see more of my photos, let me know! (I can show you them at the same time I tell you my stories!)

Click on each photo to see it at a larger size.

Luxemburg Gardens:

A typical Parisian street:

The Seine river at night with Notre Dame in the distance:

A closer view in the daytime:

Notre Dame at night:

Carvings above the Notre Dame doors:

Inside Notre Dame

Sacre Coeur:

Sacre Coeur (closer)

Two metros passing each other (long exposure, handheld)

Eiffel Tower at night from Hannah Stone’s window:

Stairway in the Hotel Herse d’Or that David and I stayed at:

Hotel de Ville from across the Seine at night:

Check back soon for more photos!

First off, the weather has been crazy here. It has gone from the teens to the upper sixties in temperature, and everywhere from snow to rain to sunshine.

Here are a few photos of the campus:
(Click on the photos to view them larger)

March, for me at least, was filled with exams, deadlines, presentations, meetings, photography, and occasional illness. I am happy to report that all turned out for the best.

During the fourth CCA, director Peter Bogdanovich showed up on campus to give an informative and entertaining lecture:

There was a week and a half span where the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The temperature was in the 50s and 60s, and the skies were clear and blue. I did a lot of studying outside those days. There were also a lot of frisbee games and guitars bring played on the quad during those days.

One evening, the classics honorary decided to put on a Virgil Vigil. They read all twelve books of the Aeneid on the quad late into the night:

Also, the Charger Baseball season started!

Last night, instrumental guitarist Trace Bundy did a concert at Hillsdale, which was excellent. I did not take any photos, but I am sure William Clayton will post some soon.

I am leaving a lot of things out, but it is for the best. These things are just a quick glimpse of my past month.

Now, it is finally spring break. I am home in Amherst for the evening, then tomorrow (Friday) I will be on a plane to France to spend spring break traveling around France with my friend David Wagner. I am visiting Paris, Bordeaux, Arcachon, and Nice. I am very excited! I will post about it when I get back.

Amity Shlaes:

Bradley C.S. Watson:

Dr. Burt Folsom, giving one of FDR’s famous gestures of dissatisfaction (ironically to FDR’s New Deal policies):

The original statement took the form “If p, then q” where p: “the red car is broken” and q: “John drives the blue car.”

The only statement in a)-g) which is equivalent to that is statement c, which is the contrapositive of the original statement. The contrapositive takes the form “If not q, then not p.”

Reason: The original statement means exactly what it says: If the red car is broken, then John drives the blue car. Think if this as two circles, a smaller one inside a larger one. The larger outer circle is statement q: John drives the blue car. The smaller inner circle is p: the red car is broken. Whenever you are inside the circle p, then you are automatically inside circle q. There is no way out of this. You can, however, be inside circle q without being inside circle p. (Draw it out if you can’t visualize it.) What we can conclude from this is that if you are not inside circle q, then there is no way you can be inside circle p. Thus, if John is not driving the blue car, the red car is not broken.

There are other reasons why a, b, d, e, f, and g are false. If you can’t figure it out, post your question to the comments and I will be happy to answer it for you.

Given this statement, which of the following is correct?
List your answer in the comments. (The answer can be any combination of the statements.)

Statement: If the red car is broken, then John drives the blue car.

a) John drives the blue car only if the red car is broken.
b) If the red car is not broken, then John does not drive the blue car.
c) If John does not drive the blue car, then the red car is not broken.
d) If John drives the blue car, then the red car must be broken.
e) The red car is broken only if John drives the blue car.
f) John drives the blue car if and only if the red car is broken.
g) If John drives the red car, the blue car is broken.

Above: Freshman Samantha Gilman volunteers for “Arts for Creative Minds, a volunteer program where college students work with area youth in arts-related activities.” Read the article. (From the February 11 edition of the Collegian.)

Professor Matt Fuerst, part of Hillsdale’s excellent music faculty, is a composer who has had his compositions performed on three continents. In the picture above, he explains his composition method to the Hillsdale Collegian. Read the full story.

Click on the photo to view it at a larger size.

I took this photo for today’s Collegian. This is one of Hillsdale’s art professors, Sam Knecht, “painting a large-scale scene of the Founding Fathers signing the American Constitution. The painting is part of the September opening of the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship.” Read the article.

The last time I updated (about palindromes) I was in Tennessee for a funeral. My family and I got back home from that trip just fine, and I drove myself to Chicago two days later to visit with/drop some things off to my cousin. Though I only stayed one night and turned around and drove back home the next day, I had a nice visit. I ate some tasty deep dish pizza, got to experience driving a vehicle through the Michigan Ave. traffic, and I ate at Hot Doug’s Sausage Emporium. What an excellent place. A whole restaurant devoted to sausage! I can’t wait to go there again. Anyway, the drive back home from Chicago took much longer than normal, since a huge snowstorm hit the midwest the night before and dumped a lot of snow everywhere. It also did not stop snowing the whole time I was driving home, so once it got dark, the last 150 miles across Ohio with slick roads, 45 mph traffic, and lots of semis made for a lot of fun.

Three days after I got home from that trip, it was time for me to go back to Hillsdale and start a new semester. (Here is my schedule.) My classes are going very well. They are a lot of work, but I enjoy it and would not have it any other way. Besides a lot of classwork, I’ve been tutoring a local home schooled student in geometry, specifically proof writing. I’ve also been taking a fair amount of photos for Hillsdale and the Collegian. I will post a sample of photos sometime over the next week.

Two weeks into the semester, I went to Chicago again for the weekend with some friends to hang out and do some exploring. On the way there, the tread flew off the back right tire. Changing the tire, filling it up, and finding an auto parts store to replace the broken tail light (from the tread) was an adventure in itself. We had fun, though, and we got back to school safely. Sadly, we did not get to eat at Hot Doug’s, though. Next time.

I finalized my spring break plans–I am going to France to visit David Wagner! I figured that this may be the only opportunity I will have to visit a friend in France who I can stay with and who actually speaks French, so I decided to take it. I am flying in to Paris on a Saturday morning, taking a train to Bordeaux on Monday, visiting the Atlantic ocean Wednesday during the day and back to Bordeaux that evening, taking an overnight train to Nice on the Mediterranean Thursday night, back to Paris Saturday, and flying back home Easter Sunday. I will then drive back to Hillsdale on Monday. It will be a busy trip, but I am very excited!

Also, big news for the summer. I was offered an internship at the Foundation for Economic Education! I will be in Atlanta for all of June, then in Estes Park, CO (right outside Rocky Mountain National Park) for most of July, back in Atlanta for a week, then Irvington, NY for a week. I will be taking photos, helping run FEE’s summer seminars, and any other miscellaneous jobs they need me to do. I will have a couple weeks at home after this semester is over before I leave, and a couple weeks before I have to start the fall semester. I am looking forward to a great summer!

I will do my best to post more often. Check back over the next week for a sample of my photos from the last month!

Though palindrome dates are pretty rare, there will be 12 in the 21st century. When there is a new millennia, it turns out there are usually 12 palindrome dates each century–one for each month–for the first two centuries. The exception to this was in the 1300s, which only had 7 and was the third century of that millennium.

Anyway, while I was waiting for my food at a restaurant last night, I took a moment and figured out the 12 palindrome dates of this century. Two have already passed, so 10 remain.
Here are the ones for the 21st century:

10/02/2001
01/02/2010
11/02/2011
02/02/2020
12/02/2021
03/02/2030
04/02/2040
05/02/2050
06/02/2060
07/02/2070
08/02/2080
09/02/2090

I did my best to make the posts interesting, and I hope you enjoyed them. I know some days were better than others. Those ‘better’ days were usually days I had time to go out and take photos specifically with the intent of posting them or write up some of my thoughts on various subjects. My girlfriend Amanda does a wonderful job writing down the ideas I have when we are together so I don’t forget them, as is too often the case with some ideas I come up with. Many of the things she wrote down for me this year turned into posts in one form or another. Other ‘better’ days were times when I travelled and posted photos/wrote about that day’s adventures. The not-so-good days were usually busy days when I didn’t have a lot of time to put into a post. I apologize for those days.

My immediate and near-future plans:
On this New Year’s eve, my parents and I are driving to Tennessee–a short, unexpected trip for a funeral. We plan on being back Monday, then I am driving by myself to Chicago for a quick visit with my cousin on Wednesday. I will be back Thursday night, then I am headed back to Hillsdale on Sunday, January 10. Somewhere in that time I plan on finishing Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, a few Platonic dialogues (probably the Meno and Gorgias). As for my blog, I am beginning a redesign. I am not going to continue posting every day, but only when I have something interesting. I will definitely continue to post, though.

Whether you’ve been reading my blog all year or you just started, thank you for reading! Have a safe, wonderful New Year!

Read cagrimmett.com’s Google Analytics report for the 2009 year.

Back in October, when the weather first turned cold in Hillsdale, I walked out of my dorm, felt the cold air biting at my face, and breathed in deeply through my nostrils. Almost instantly I stopped in my tracks and smiled. The old familiar smell of a wood fire was in the air and it comforted me with thoughts of home.

I am taking advantage of the fire as much as I can over this Christmas break. Soon I will return to Hillsdale and it will be gone when I return later in the spring when the weather is warmer.

The only reason I see to wait until January 1 to start a resolution is if the new calendar year offers some strategic advantage not available beforehand. Examples include a discount on a gym membership, daily Bible reading plans that go in order and start on January 1, or something similar. Keep in mind, however, that there are two sides to resolutions–the overarching ideas and the specific details. Waiting until January 1 because of a discount on a gym membership falls on the details side. If your resolutions are detail-specific, find the idea behind those details and implement other complementary details now that help you stay true to the idea behind the resolution.

A loophole I see to this is if you are a type of person who absolutely needs structured dates to start something and thrives on that. In that case, waiting to start resolutions until January 1 might help you. For everyone else, I suggest you start now. If your resolution is so unimportant that you can wait until January 1, why even start it then? If it will really make a difference, start immediately.

(I believe it happens when January starts on a Sunday or a Thursday, though I am not 100% on this.)

It happened this year (2009). March and November, with February, March, and November having Friday the 13ths.

January and July in 2012 – January, April, and July have Friday the 13ths.

March and November in 2015 – February, March, and November have Friday the 13ths.

January and October in 2017. Those are the only two months that year that have a Friday the 13th.

The miscellaneous:
I’ve really been enjoying being home, spending time with family and friends, and relaxing. I’ve been able to get things done that I did not have time for during finals, like cleaning off and organizing files on my computer, fixing my external drive and backup situation, and turning in schedules for the spring semester. I plan to write a few letters and come up with a website redesign this week. Also, I have time for reading now! I am rereading The Hobbit so that I can start the LOTR set I got for Christmas. I am very excited!

A few things to reflect upon today:
“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

As promised, I made hummus today. (Among other things, that is. I slept in, went out to lunch and shopping with Amanda, visited the Amherst Schools tech guys, ate dinner with my parents, made hummus, then wrapped presents with the help of my Dad.)

My friend Dom came over to make hummus with me, as he as made it many times before. We made two batches of the following recipe:

30 oz. Chickpeas
1/2 cup sesame seeds
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 red bell pepper, chunked
2 cloves garlic
1 package of pita bread (approx. 6-8 pitas)
A pinch of salt
A drizzle of olive oil
As much hot sauce (I prefer Frank’s) as you want

Preparation:
Get out your blender or food processor of choice. Puree the sesame seeds with the lemon juice and garlic first. When it is sufficiently pureed, add and blend the first 15 oz of chickpeas, salt, and olive oil. Then, add and blend the red bell pepper, the hot sauce, and the remaining chickpeas. If it is all too thick, add a little bit of juice from the chickpeas (provided that they are canned–if not, use a little water) to thin it out.

Next, cut the pita bread into 8ths, lightly brush the pieces with olive oil, sprinkle a touch of salt on the pieces, then put them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees to toast them.

(The photo above is the hummus and pita chips Dom and I made. In the background is my family’s Christmas tree.)

After we finished making biscotti, I went home to cook dinner. I told my parents I would make dinner tonight, so I made the spicy chicken stir fry that I made this summer (with a few changes to the ingredients.) My idea for dessert was to have yogurt with blueberries and raspberries, so I went to the store and bought both. As I started cooking, though, Dad had a better idea–make parfait out of it! I didn’t know how to work such a wonder, so I let him do it. It turns out that all you have to do is whip yogurt, heavy whipping cream, sour cream, and sugar together. It was great! After Dad made it, he and I layered tall glasses with the mixture, blueberries, raspberries, and granola. It was a wonderful tasting (and wonderfully easy) dessert!

Tomorrow: Hummus! I am craving hummus, so I am going to figure out how to make it tomorrow. If you have a good recipe for it, please email it to me at cagrimmett@gmail.com – I would greatly appreciate it! All I know as of right now is that I am going to have to get some chickpeas, red bell peppers, and then pitas to bake into chips. Looks like I have some research to do! (Hmm… and that just reminds me that I have done zero present wrapping…. I should get on that, too.)

Anyway, after reading the Blue Eyes logic puzzle question, he posed a calendar question to me. He is fascinated with the intricacies of calendars, so this is a question he has already solved and he wants to see if I can figure it out. If you figure it out, please don’t post the answer in the comments. I want to figure it out. I just wanted to post it so other people can work on it, too. Here it is:

In our lifetime, every 28 years there is a year with two 31-day months each having a Friday the 13th. Find the next year when all of this will occur and list all months in that year with a Friday the 13th.

Good luck!

Kirzner’s best work, in my opinion, is in characterizing the role and actions of the entrepreneur in the marketplace, a place which he viewed as in a constant state of disequilibrium. Entrepreneurs, by staying alert, learning, and discovering profit opportunities, tend to systematically move the market closer to equilibrium and erode ignorance that exists.

How does this relate to shopping?

I went shopping on Saturday not knowing what I was going to buy. I didn’t even have an idea. I was sheerly ignorant of all of the potential profit opportunities around me. All I needed was to stay alert to those opportunities the best I could and hope to stumble upon a profit opportunity and take advantage of it. I was, at least in my mind, a Kirznerian shopping entrepreneur, stumbling upon unexploited gains, reap the benefits, and add value to them as Christmas gifts to my loved ones. While shopping, I experienced first-hand the inherent “surprise element” (as Kirzner calls it) in the discovery process. I never knew the specific items I purchased existed, and there was no way I could search for them. I was in a state of sheer ignorance regarding their existence. Yet, due to the awareness of my cousin and me, I noticed the “$20 bills on the sidewalk” and “picked them up.” In the process, I was not only able to clear up a fraction of my ignorance and learn about shopping profit opportunities, but I had a good time engaging in it. If you aren’t all that keen on shopping and you are economically inclined, try thinking about it like this. It made my day a lot more enjoyable. (Okay, I know I am a little odd, but whatever works, you know?)

I am glad the market is in disequilibrium and that individuals do not have perfect knowledge of all possible trade opportunities. It allows for all sorts of interesting things to happen.

I encourage you to read a paper by Kirzner on entrepreneurial discovery and competition. You won’t regret it.

When I got home, the house was beautifully decorated!

I took my linear algebra exam this morning, and I am very, very grateful to God that it went well. I was very worried about it. I finally got a grasp of it and I think it came out well.

My U.S. Constitution exam is in the morning. I studied all evening with my classmates for it. I feel better about it than I have for some of the other exams.

After that exam is over, I am finished for the semester and I will be on my way home! I loaded my iPod with Christmas music, which I will be playing the entire way home. I can’t wait.

Side note:
You should read Richard Wagner’s 1980 article Boom and Bust: The Political Economy of Economic Disorder.

On the plus side, my two exams today went well, or at least I felt like I did well. The results won’t be out for a week or so.

I apologize for the lame posts this week. I’ve been devoting a lot of energy to studying, and not much is left for creativity. I’ve been economizing on brain power.

…at home, looking out my back window at the snow-covered porch, yard, and trees. Then going to stand by the fireplace to warm up, then settling down on the couch to read a good book.

Unfortunately, multiple finals stand in the way, and I am very worried about the Linear Algebra final. My stress level is through the roof right now.
On a lighter and happier, less stressful note, my macro final went very well today.

Back to studying.

Saturday night the Niedfeldt dorm held its annual Christmas party with a new twist – this year it was combined with Coffeehouse, so there was live music!

Here is my finals schedule:
Tuesday: Macro 1pm
Wednesday: Austrian Econ 8am and Understanding Music 1pm
Thursday: Linear Algebra 10am
Friday: Constitution 8am

Also… if you break your finger over the next week and a half, you can x-ray it at home while wrapping presents!

Contrasts in How Google Suggests Searches from Ben Casnocha

Rationality Advice from Mathematician Terry Tao on Less Wrong

Unintended Consequences of Environmentalism: LED Traffic Light Edition from Steve Horwitz

Minister’s Tree House (HT: Steve Stay)

Mountain Dew Throwback coming back again Dec. 28!

Absolutely beautiful wave (not the Google kind) photography from Clark Little

Below: Sophomore Tyler Gerber goes for two. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

I’ve really enjoyed this semester and all of the wonderful things that have happened.

I am really looking forward to next semester’s classes.

Now, onward to finals!
(I will be home for Christmas on Dec. 18!)

Oh, and all bagels I eat from now on will be cut like this.

(Weather note: The windchill was -4 degrees while I was taking these photos.)

A little over 3 inches of snow was dumped on Hillsdale in the last few hours! Hopefully I will have some time to take a few photos of it tomorrow.

Here are two photos I took of the performance a year ago yesterday at College Baptist:

The Hillsdale College Choir:

The violins, violas, and harpsichord, as well as Professor Holleman and the timpanis:

—-

What’s happening in my life: It is the last week of classes now. It just started snowing this week, too, which I am excited about. I am currently finishing a paper for my Austrian economics class, and I have another one due Friday for a seminar I am taking. I praise God that my stress level is not as high as it usually is during this time in the semester, and that everything is going well in my life. I am very excited to go home in less than two weeks!

Here are two photos taken with the camera on my phone:

This answer comes from mathematician Terence Tao, and has to do with common knowledge.
–
100 days after the Guru’s comment, all the blue eyed people will leave. This is proven as a special case of

Proposition. Suppose that the tribe had n blue-eyed people for some positive integer n. Then n days after the traveller’s address, all n blue-eyed people leave the island.

Proof: We induct on n. When n=1, the single blue-eyed person realizes that the traveler is referring to him or her, and thus leaves on the next day. Now suppose inductively that n is larger than 1. Each blue-eyed person will reason as follows: “If I am not blue-eyed, then there will only be n-1 blue-eyed people on this island, and so they will all leave n-1 days after the traveler’s address”. But when n-1 days pass, none of the blue-eyed people do so (because at that stage they have no evidence that they themselves are blue-eyed). After nobody leaves on the (n-1)st day, each of the blue eyed people then realizes that they themselves must have blue eyes, and will then leave on the nth day.

If you need any explanation of this, let me know.

Read some of the details. I do not think this program is in effect yet, but since the president held his jobs summit today, I think this will likely come along soon. I found this by looking for something to write about for my last Austrian economics paper. I think my last paper is going to be an Austrian critique of this.

I never showed a photo of my halloween costume, so I am posting two now (photos courtesy of Liz Essley.)

Sitting in a chair:

Dancing:

What was it? A duck mask, hoodie, and shirt and tie. I didn’t mean it to actually be “something”… it was just a costume. Apparently it was kind of a creepy costume, though, especially when I walked into rooms and stood there without saying anything. There is just something creepy and mysterious about unchanging expressions…

First Floor North (note: the stuff in the hall is wrapping paper, as they just finished wrapping the doors before this shot)

James and PG’s room

—

Blue Eyes:
The Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World

A group of people with assorted eye colors live on an island. They are all perfect logicians — if a conclusion can be logically deduced, they will do it instantly. No one knows the color of their eyes. Every night at midnight, a ferry stops at the island. Any islanders who have figured out the color of their own eyes then leave the island, and the rest stay. Everyone can see everyone else at all times and keeps a count of the number of people they see with each eye color (excluding themselves), but they cannot otherwise communicate. Everyone on the island knows all the rules in this paragraph.

On this island there are 100 blue-eyed people, 100 brown-eyed people, and the Guru (she happens to have green eyes). So any given blue-eyed person can see 100 people with brown eyes and 99 people with blue eyes (and one with green), but that does not tell him his own eye color; as far as he knows the totals could be 101 brown and 99 blue. Or 100 brown, 99 blue, and he could have red eyes.

The Guru is allowed to speak once (let’s say at noon), on one day in all their endless years on the island. Standing before the islanders, she says the following:

“I can see someone who has blue eyes.”

Who leaves the island, and on what night?

There are no mirrors or reflecting surfaces, nothing dumb. It is not a trick question, and the answer is logical. It doesn’t depend on tricky wording or anyone lying or guessing, and it doesn’t involve people doing something silly like creating a sign language or doing genetics. The Guru is not making eye contact with anyone in particular; she’s simply saying “I count at least one blue-eyed person on this island who isn’t me.”

And lastly, the answer is not “no one leaves.”

A word of warning: The answer is not simple. This is an exercise in serious logic, not a lateral thinking riddle. There is not a quick-and-easy answer, and really understanding it takes some effort.
–
I am willing to talk this over with anyone who is struggling with it. Puzzles like this are fascinating to me.

This is my grandfather:

Richard got to try his hand at playing guitar, too!

Unrelated:
I am back in Hillsdale now after a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Now for the final three-week insane dash to the end of the semester!

The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.
-Life of Theseus by Plutarch

Richard, my parents, and I were discussing the classic paradox of Theseus’ ship (stated above from Plutarch.) We each came up with different examples and related them to a number of different situations. Afterwards, I looked online to other possible solutions to the paradox, and found that my answer was a combination of two older ones: Aristotle’s causes, and the concept of four dimensions.

I am interested in hearing what other people think about this. If you have a little time to think about this, please do so and either email me or leave a comment with your thoughts

Today was a very nice, family-oriented day. I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Richard and my two cousins in the morning, hung out at home for a little while, then went to dinner with my parents, grandparents, Amanda, and Richard. I need to spend time with family more often.

By the way, The Blind Side is a pretty good movie. I recommend it.

Above: Dad cutting up one of the turkeys for our big family feast.

A quick Thanksgiving history lesson:
The tradition of Thanksgiving as a national holiday started 220 years ago today with a proclamation from President George Washington. Below is a copy of the original text for you to reflect upon as you give thanks today. (Accessed from gwpapers.virginia.edu)

–

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor–and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be–That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in thecourse and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions–to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

After wandering along the lake, we made a quick stop at the high school, then went to the new Perk Avenue Coffee Shop in uptown (downtown) Amherst. I am impressed with how nice it looks! Amherst needed a modern coffee shop. Then, we visited Mr. Strohm and Ms. Alexander for a while. It was nice to see and talk to them for a while. Lunch with Sean soon followed. We ate at Ziggy’s, another recently renovated Amherst restaurant, then went back to Sean’s house for a few minutes. We decided then to go to Target to pick up something for Richard. We did not find what we were looking for, but we did find Amanda and her mom, who were also shopping! It was very nice to see the two of them, even if for a minute.

From that point, since we had been up since 6:15 a.m., we were pretty tired, so we came home and took a nap until dinner. The rest of the night was uneventful, except for my grandparents from Tennessee, aunt, and uncle came to visit for a little while. My grandparents are in town for Thanksgiving, and it is always very nice to see them.

I am very grateful to have had a day to take time to relax and spend time with family and friends!

On Day 301, I wrote about getting a moving violation for passing a vehicle on the right. After weighing my options, I decided to challenge it (against much advice to the contrary). The date of my pre-trial meeting with the county prosecutor was today. I took in a highlighted copy of the Michigan Vehicle Code, photos of the spot I supposedly made the violation, a diagram of exactly what happened (including measurements of the lane and paved shoulder), and an outline of my main points about what I wanted to contest.

After discussing what happened with the prosecutor’s office, standing my ground, and constantly but politely questioning the prosecutor’s points about why she felt the ticket was legitimate, she finally dismissed the charges against me. I don’t know if she actually bought my arguments, or if she was tired of listening to me, but either way, the case was dismissed. It looks like I am exempt from the state taking my money… at least for the time being. In fact, the money I had to post as bond was given back to me.

I went out right before sundown to get some aftermath photos for The Collegian. Check out the corresponding article. Don’t forget to look at some of Will’s excellent photos from the fire!

Here are some interesting results I found. Take from them what you will:

-The U.S. is not 1st, but 9th in the rankings of highest GDP per head and highest purchasing power per head.

-The U.S. is 12th in the human development index.

-The U.S. is the 3rd least trade dependent nation in terms of trade as a percent of GDP.

-The U.S. is the 2nd largest world exporter.

-On the lists of top consumers in different commodities markets, the U.S. only topped 5/21 lists. (Cocoa, coarse grains, coffee, natural gas, and oil)

-The U.S. is 20th in color televisions per 100 households.

-The U.S. is not even in the top 48 countries for mobile phone subscribers per 100 people.

-The U.S. is 15th in CD players per 100 households.

-The U.S. is 6th in computers per 100 people.

-The U.S. is 24th in daily teenager computer use.

-The U.S. is 16th in number of cars per 1,000 people.

-The U.S. is 5th in music downloads per head.

Conclusion:
I am starting to doubt that the U.S. is the dark pit of consumerism in the world today that it is frequently portrayed as. It looks to me like the U.S. is definitely not the ‘consumerist’ country. I am not disputing that it is there, but it is definitely not as serious as other places.

The first type focuses on paying producers a higher price for goods, typically raw materials, raw food, etc. (This is the meaning I am against.)

The second type is against products that use slavery anywhere along the production line.

I am against the first meaning and the first meaning only. The reason I am against the it is because even though it sounds like a noble idea, it actually does more harm than good. First of all, it is based on bad ideas. What is a “fair price”? In the absence of using force in a trade, the notion of a “fair price” does not mean anything. Surely, if someone was using force to make someone accept a low price, that would be wrong and unfair. That is not happening here, though. “Fair Trade” proponents advocate paying producers a higher price when the producers are willing to accept a lower price. Now, before you leave nasty comments calling me a terrible person, let me explain briefly why this is harmful. Prices send signals to both producers and consumers. Artificially bidding up prices sends distorted signals to both groups; essentially telling producers to supply more, and telling consumers to buy less. Also, it encourages other producers to enter the market, which further encourages excess supply. While this might benefit a small group of producers in the short run, in the long run it hurts both them and the entire economy, slowing growth and long-run development. Typically, harmful protectionist (redundancy, I know) legislation is used to encourage “fair trade practices.”

I obviously am in full support of the second type, though, as I believe slavery is always and everywhere wrong.

The only trade I support is free trade: trade without coercion, whether for or against the trade. (The second definition of fair trade falls into this category, the first does not.) I believe you should not be forced to buy or sell anything, nor should you be forced not to buy or sell anything, given that the seller has ownership over the given item.

If you want to help people in developing countries, the best thing to do it get rid of protectionist policies and trade with them. Trade without coercion is always mutually beneficial. Also, check out microlending. This can do a great deal more to help developing countries than the “fair trade” movement can.

(Note: Don’t quote me as being a proponent of “Fair Trade” unless you clarify what meaning of the phrase you are using. It is best to say that I support trade without coercion.)

If you want to discuss fair trade with me, please email me at: cagrimmett@gmail.com

For those of you not familiar with Liberty Fund, I want to give you a quick introduction in today’s post.

From Liberty Fund’s website:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. The Foundation develops, supervises, and finances its own educational activities to foster thought and encourage discourse on enduring issues pertaining to liberty.

Liberty Fund does this by publishing scholarly editions of classic, hard-to-find, or rare/expensive works pertaining to liberty on multiple fronts: history, philosophy, literature, economics, and law. It makes these high-quality, well-bounded, and durable books available to the public generally at a pretty low price. Liberty Fund is a blessing for cash-strapped students.

L.F. also holds numerous conferences each year.

In my opinion, though, the best part about Liberty Fund is the massive amount of books they have made available for free online at the Online Library of Liberty. The folks at Liberty Fund also have an online library dedicated solely dedicated to economics, where they also provide a huge number of free, searchable books. This is the Library of Economics and Liberty, which is also home to the EconLog.

I highly suggest checking out Liberty Fund‘s multiple online resources. What a wonderful institution!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled blog post:

While I was having lunch with Amanda and her friends in Saga today, Maria, the Collegian editor, rushed over to me and announced that there was breaking news happening that instant and I should rush down to the intramural fields with her and Will to investigate and take photos. A helicopter was just seen descending on the IM fields. I was the only Collegian photographer she could get ahold of, so I cut my lunch short, quickly said my goodbyes, literally ran to my dorm to get my gear, and jumped in the car to investigate. There was much adrenaline pumping between the three of us in the car…how often is it that you get to report breaking news on a small college campus?

On the way down to the fields, we saw an ambulance and paramedics carrying someone out of a house on a stretcher. We thought this might be related to the helicopter, since the IM fields is the closest spot a helicopter could land. Could someone be in such bad condition that a helicopter came to fly them to Jackson or Toledo hospital? We intended to find out.

…Well, after waiting by the helicopter for 10 minutes, Maria found out from campus security that the helicopter belonged to a family member of someone on the Board of Trustees, who was on campus today for a Board of Trustees meeting for the Michigan Colleges Foundation. False alarm!

Here are two quick shots I snapped of the helicopter, though:

Here are a few shots from the volleyball game. (I was not at the football game, as it was in Minnesota.) Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Unfortunately, the special battery in my wireless remote died after one shot, and I was limited to 30 second exposures rather than 30 minute exposures. I decided to take a couple photos anyway, and here is one that came out. Click on the photo to enlarge it (recommended!).

I apologize to those of you who have dark monitors. The sky in this photo is supposed to be dark, but not pure black. You should still be able to see it.

Today, he met with students in the George Washington Fellowship Program, and I was asked to stop by and take a few photos. Since the photos are for the college, most of them have both Mr. Brookhiser and students in them. When I was going through my photos, though, I found this one, and I like it a lot. I think it really expresses just how much emotion and expression Mr. Brookhiser puts into his lectures. The college probably has no use for this photo, so I decided to show it here.

For the time-being…
Here is a shot of my friend Paul that I took on Saturday while he was climbing a tree.

For those of you who don’t know her, she is a beautiful, wonderful, smart young lady, and she has been a blessing in my life. If you have a chance to get to know her, I suggest you do. You won’t regret it.

In fact, I wish you could all get to know her and find out what a beautiful person, both inside and out, she is.

Here is a photo of her from a few days ago, taken on my phone:

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Here are the three speakers we had:

Dr. Bradley Birzer, History:

Dr. Charles Steele, Economics:

Dr. William Morrisey, Political Science:

We had a great turnout. Around 65 people showed up and filled the room we were in, even though today was a busy day at Hillsdale. The talks were excellent, and provoked some thoughtful questions. The event was a success!

If you have time, read this post Dr. Birzer had yesterday at De Regno Christi, entitled “The Priest, the Prophet, and the King.”

I tried it this evening, and it is relaxing, calming, and wonderful. Life can get so filled with things to do and deadlines to make that we never stop to actually think. Think and nothing else. After a stressful week, it was nice to reflect for a while.

Though I am, in terms of technology, an unapologetic modern, I still find value in turning some things off for a little while and having uninterrupted thought, free from the distractions of the modern world. If I knew I would not miss something important, I would like to turn my phone off and stop checking my email for a few days. The only problem I have is that technology is so ingrained in my life that if I shut off my phone or email, over 90% of my communication would be cut off. Perhaps this is a good thing, but not something I can do during school. Maybe I will give it a try over Christmas break or the summer.

Has anyone else tried this? How did it go? I am interested…let me know in the comments.

Dr. Ebeling is a prolific author, former president of the Foundation for Economic Education, and professor of economics at many different institutions, including Hillsdale from 1988-2003. In 1996, he and his wife, Anna Ebeling, obtained the lost papers of Ludwig von Mises, which had been kept in a formerly secret KGB archive in Moscow for 50 years. Dr. Ebeling is now on the faculty at Northwood University in Midland, MI.

If you are interested in what Dr. Ebeling had to say tonight, read this article he wrote yesterday.

Read these articles. They are very good. I had to read three of them recently for class, and the fourth I came across a little over a week ago.

Menger: On the Origins of Money (PDF)
Hayek: The Use of Knowledge in Society (PDF)
Horwitz: Subjectivism (Google Book)
Buchheit: Applied Philosophy, a.k.a. “Hacking” (HTML)

I apologize for the lack of new photos and decent thoughts this week. I plan to get out and take some photos this weekend, when I won’t have more exams hanging over my head.

The only worthwhile thought I have right now (worthwhile to this blog, that is) is that you should not trust the hype about the 3.5% increase in GDP last quarter. Do some research and see where it actually came from. I will give you a hint: Individuals’ consumption levels stayed roughly the same, investment stayed roughly the same, and net exports roughly stayed the same. What changed? Government spending! Does this mean things are getting better? No. In fact, unemployment went up last quarter.
Beware of Christina Romer going on national news and trying to convince you that things are a lot better since GDP went up 3.5%. “It just ain’t so!”

- – - -
Exams finished this week: 2.
Exams left this week: 1.
Days to study left: 2.

Oh, and I decided to fight the ticket I talked about a few days ago. My court date is set for Nov. 24, three weeks from today.

What’s new today: Exam number 1 of 3 for the week is finished! Now I have the Austrian Economics exam on Tuesday, and a Constitution exam on Friday. This week has been busy so far!

My cousin HankD made this zombie/skeleton by hand!

It was excellent to be home, even if for a little while. My wonderful Mom did my laundry (thank you!) and cooked a delicious meal before I had to drive back to Hillsdale this afternoon.

The Spider Holster finally came out today! I’ve been looking forward to this since the spring, but now that it finally came out, I am waiting to buy it. Even the cheapest version (just the holster, nothing else) is more than I want to spend right now. I am excited that it is finally out, though!

I decided at the last minute to drive home today and go to HankD and Jackie’s (my cousins) halloween party. I am glad I did! I had fun and enjoyed seeing everyone. Above is a photo I took of my Dad’s jack-o-lantern. I placed a strobe inside of it, a smoke machine behind it, and two skulls and a candle beside it.

Their yard looked pretty awesome:

After talking to a few professors, friends, and my advisor, I finally worked out my schedule for next semester, The number after the class name denotes the number of credits it is worth:

Symbolic Logic (3)
Theory of Probability (3)
Sophomore Math Seminar (1)
Intro to Philosophy (3)
Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
Austrian Economics II (3)
Philosophy and Literature in Comics (1)

I think I am most excited about Logic, Probability, and Austrian II. In Austrian II, we read through and discuss Mises’s Human Action in a small group. The math seminar will focus on proof writing, oral presentations, literature research, and using programs like Mathematica to enhance our math skills. It is geared for math majors/minors. As of right now, I am working on a math and economics double major.

He gave a very interesting talk on structural activism and the seasteading movement. The talk was the culmination of his past few years of thought on how to change political structures in order to maximize freedom in a society while still maintaining the stability of that society. While significant work has been done on how to set up political systems to preserve a high level of freedom and stability while minimizing coercion, little –if any– work has been done on how to actually get to political systems like this. Until now. That’s where Friedman comes in.

Does this interest you? If so, check out Friedman’s essay from April on the topic of structural activism and why he thinks it is the only way to make systematic changes that will lead us to a realistically freer world in our lifetime. The essay is basically an outline of what he spoke about on Tuesday night. Also check out Let A Thousand Nations Bloom.

After reviewing the code, I believe I was not in violation of that code.
Here is the situation: A vehicle in front of me stopped to make a left turn off of a two lane road into a driveway. There was a line of vehicles in the other direction, so it was clear he was going to sit there for a little while. The shoulder was fully paved, and as wide as a normal lane, so I slowed down and went around the vehicle in front of me–on the right. I thought this was perfectly okay, but apparently not. A State Patrol car happened to be traveling in the other direction and pulled me over immediately. I was not speeding, I was wearing a seat belt, and following all other traffic laws. The only thing I was cited for was passing on the right. The Michigan Vehicle Code has a clear exception for passing a vehicle on the right if that vehicle is making a left turn. The code also states, however, that “the driver of a vehicle shall not overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right by driving off the pavement or main-traveled portion of the roadway.” I did not drive off the pavement (the very wide shoulder was paved), but a shoulder is not technically the “main-traveled portion of the roadway.” Still, the vehicle in front of me was making a left turn, I slowed down, and was fully on the pavement.

Should I challenge it? My ticket is $100 and there are no court costs involved if I decide to schedule a hearing, so the most I can lose is $100 plus my time in the hearing. How much of a chance do I have of winning the case? I realize the odds are stacked against me, as it is my word against an officer of the state’s word and another officer of the state’s interpretation.

By the way, since I am an out-of-state driver, the court needed either $50 or my driver’s license as bond, to make sure I pay the ticket. Since I did not have $50 in cash on my person, I had to hand over my license, so I have to at least pay $20 to get it back. If I lose the case, that $20 goes towards my total $100 fine. (I was told I am allowed to drive without my physical license for the time being. If I am asked for it, I just need to show the ticket I received, which shows that my license was posted in lieu of bond.)

What do you think, should I challenge it, or suck it up and hand over $100?

My friend Kahryn:

Dr. Hutchinson’s class:

1: ISO Expansion
In normal mode, the 40D only shoots in ISOs 100-1600. Once ISO expansion is turned on, ISO 3200 is made available, denoted as ISO H. This is a HUGE help in low light situations, especially capturing action, such as football games under the lights or indoor volleyball games.

To turn it on:
Menu > Scroll over to the Custom Functions menu (the orange square with the camera) > Select C.Fn I: Exposure > Set > Scroll over to 3: ISO Expansion > Set > Select 1: On > Hit Menu to go back to the regular menu.
There you are! You can now shoot in ISO 3200! (I suggest using something like Noise Ninja in your post-processing to clean up some of the additional noise.)

2: Highlight Rendition
This little known setting improves the details in highlights. You won’t notice a difference in most shots, but it becomes wildly apparent when shooting photos with strong highlights, such a sunset lighting up a few select clouds with others in shadow. Ken Rockwell has a great writeup on this setting.

To turn it on: Menu > Scroll over to the Custom Functions menu (the orange square with the camera) > C.Fn II: Image > Set > 3: Highlight Tone Priority > Set > 1: Enable > Hit Menu to go back to the regular menu.
As Ken Rockwell points out, this setting won’t help you if you overexpose a photo, and it limits your ISO from 200-1600 if you have it on. I only turn it on when I notice a scene with strong highlights I want to get more detail in.

Introduction to Anarchy and the Law: Ed Stringham

Anarchist Theory FAQ: Bryan Caplan

What it means to be an Anarcho-Capitalist: Stephan Kinsella

But Wouldn’t Warlords Take Over?: Robert Murphy

A 5-part series from Stefan Molyneux:
1: The Stateless Society
2: Caging the Devils: The Stateless Society and Violent Crime
3: These Cages are only for Beasts
4: Disproving the State
5: The Stateless Society Fights Back – Answers to Common Questions

Small Town Anarchy: J. L. Bryan

Anarchy, Anarchy – Wherefore Art Thou?: Wilton Alston

About Market Anarchism: Molinari Institute

Anarcho-Capitalism: An Annotated Bibliography – Hans Hoppe

Center for a Stateless Society

These past few days in Hillsdale have been beautiful! Check out William Clayton’s blog to see a beautiful Hillsdale autumn photo. I even had class outside yesterday! (The seminar I was in is not the one pictures on Will’s blog. Dr. Wenzel gathered us around a tree because Dr. Smith already took the amphitheater.)

The Chicago skyline on a dreary day, taken from the Chicago St. bridge over 90/80. EDIT: 90/94.

Downtown urban art: This robot character was made out of the same thing the reflective lines on the road are made of. Evidently, someone got his hands on some of it and made these characters. I saw them all over downtown.

Inside Cloud Gate (The Bean) at Millennium Park

Eleven City Diner is great! It is a Jewish deli/diner with excellent food. I had a double decker corned beef & pastrami sandwich, and I tried a few other things. Here are a few photos from my phone:

After lunch, we walked down Michigan Ave down to Millennium Park, then took the river architecture tour. I have some really cool photos from today, which I will upload over the course of next week.

Right now, we are on our way to dinner, then a house party down to street to hear some live music.

Tomorrow night, I will be back at Hillsdale.

EDIT: We decided to go see Where The Wild Things Are and then eat Chinese food at midnight, rather than go to the house party.

I slept in, then got up and ate brunch at Jam, a trendy little spot in Ukrainian Village, just a few blocks from my cousin’s house. The food was excellent–great coffee, a tasty chocolate raspberry muffin, fingerling potatoes, and a spanish omelet with chorizo, roasted peppers, melted onions, and garrotxa cheese. The restaurant was really neat, with small tables, clear plastic chairs, and chefs out in the open.

After brunch, I decided to walk in the drizzling rain down to Michigan Ave (about 3 miles) to where Ryan works. It stopped raining about halfway there, and it stayed nice for the rest of the day. I visited Ry’s office, visited a bunch of stores down Michigan Ave. I carried my camera around all day, so I have a bunch of photos! I will post some when I get back to Hillsdale…the internet here is not very reliable.

Ryan’s girlfriend Carrie met us for a dinner of deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s. It was my first time eating it, and it was excellent! Later, we hung out at Carrie’s house for a little while, then went to the Blue Man Group show at the Briar St. Theatre. I had a great time!

Tomorrow, we are going to devour some hot wings at Jake Melnick’s, then visit some museums.

By the way: Another printed version of The Onion came out today! I was excited to find that. I really enjoy The Onion.

I got stuck in traffic outside of Chicago for about 40 minutes, then once I finally got to Ryan’s apartment, I just hung out until he got home. I planned on going exploring, but it was raining all day, so I just lounged around. After he got home from work, we went for a walk and ended up eating at The Silver Palms. The dining area is actually in an old railroad dining car from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Apparently the restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Ryan ordered the Three Little Piggy sandwich, which is a huge sandwich stuffed with smoked ham, pork tenderloin, bacon, and gruyere cheese, all topped off with an onion ring and a fried egg. I ordered the Smoked Meat sandwich, which is corned beef brisket, grilled onions, and gruyere cheese on pumpernickel. We ended up splitting the sandwiches, so we both are half of each. I liked mine better, but his mountain of pork sandwich was pretty good, too.

On the walk back, I found a newspaper box that had paper copies of The Onion, so I am looking forward to reading that later tonight.

I have very sporadic and unreliable internet at his apartment, so I might not be uploading any photos while I am here.

Plans for tomorrow: Visit Ryan’s office, walk around Michigan Ave. and take photos, eat deep-dish pizza, and go to see Blue Man Group!

Besides lots of sight-seeing, photographing, and eating, I plan to update my photography portfolio here on my site while I am there. I have not updated it in a year, and my skills have improved in that time. I have a lot of photos to take out, and a lot of photos to add. I will post it when I get it finished.

Here are some photos from the alumni football game last weekend. All previous Hillsdale football players were allowed to participate in the event. Guys ranging from their mid-20s to mid-50s showed up to play.

Now, for the regularly scheduled program:

4 photos from the Charger Blue & White meet last Saturday: