Respect Wisp

In order to receive some extra credit points for my Intro to International Relations class, I attended a speech given by the former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Jack F. Matlock, Jr. I must say I was very impressed by his speech. I might update this post later with some notes that I took that I found interesting, but the point of this entry is to call attention to one of his main themes: Respect. Mr. Matlock argues that the best way to deal with adversaries like he did during the cold war was to treat them with respect and to always be willing to talk. Not an easy thing to do in this world I am sure. His introduction to the speech made this point and his conclusion cemented it. However I was embarrassed to see many of the students getting up and leaving right at the end of his speech. I am sure that they were there for the extra credit just like me, but for them to leave like that just 30 min before we were officially let out, what a joke. I suppose it is truly their loss for they cannot see past the extra credit to the real value of hearing a former Ambassador speak.

After the real end of the session I walked over to a little convenient store on campus to buy some coffee. I asked the girls working there if it would be possible to buy just a half cup of coffee-as I am easily affected by caffeine. She said oh yea we can just charge you for the cup, so it would be 30 cents. The other one chimed in; "You can help us finish off the French Roast. And take a pastry for free while you are at it." As I grabbed a pastry and got my coffee I asked if they were serious about what they said. They assured me that they were and when I approached the register, one of the girls looked down at the give a penny take a penny box they had and said, "you know what we actually have 30 cents right here so you can just take it and have a good night." I thanked them and wished them luck on their finals. How about that folks, just when you think students can't get more rude, something like that happens. I guess that goes back to what Mr. Matlock was saying about treating others with respect. You shouldn't judge individuals on the actions of many. It makes you forget that they are human and that they should be treated with respect because they are capable of great versatility.

Moon Wisp

It really is amazing how so much can happen in such a short amount of time. It really has not been that long since my last entry but so much of my life has changed.

I love looking at the moon every night. It is refreshing to see the way the moon is constantly changing, yet is cyclical so you know you wont be getting any curve balls. I think it was a full moon yesterday. So for the last couple of days I have had the pleasure of being able to stare into a big bright moon every night. What makes it more special, it has been cold at night and the moon has been so bright that it has been creating moon halos.

If you want to read up on it more check out this wiki page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_%28optical_phenomenon%29

If not just look at this picture:
















All of this full moon business made me wonder about the werewolf legend. I can understand about there being a supernatural feeling of a full moon hanging in the sky. I just think that it isn't the optimal time to transform. The night of the full moon is the night where the whole forest may be lit up from the full moon, making it easier for humans to spot a werewolf. Maybe because the night of the full moon was the only night that humans could see the werewolf, they assumed that it was the only night that werewolves appeared, leading to the legend that they appeared only once a month during a full moon.