My Wonderwall ©

On my 30th Birthday...

2011-10-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Reflections in a swift-flowing river that never come into focus I'm trying to figure out something profound to post today, the day I turned 30. Should I reflect on the past? Should I attempt to predict the future? Both avenues seem just a bit futile to me as I sit here. My memory of the past is hazy, and I'm still that much of a Scorpio to not let on what I really think of yesteryear and how life has played itself out for me. Well, the future, hmmm... that's a much tougher question. Do I speak of my ideal future or the future I think likely? Do I try to use today to transform tomorrow as the artist sketches before he paints? Last night, I dreamed about the numbers that get to 30. 1 x 30 2 x 15 3 x 10 5 x 6 6 x 5 10 x 3 15 x 2 30 x 1 What would the 15-year-old Manny say about the 30-year-old sitting here today? Well, Manny, you're not a lawyer as you had told yourself you wanted to be. Nor are you really a writer as everyone around you would wish you to be... You work in what industry? (How the heck did you land there?) You went to what schools? You've lived where? How did you end up there? And why are you so far from home? You now live where? You speak German - for the love of God, man, make some sense?!?!?! :) And you're getting married? To someone you hadn't met at 15 nor even at 20... Haha - the world is crazy and if you don't think random forces are at play, then you are as naive as they come. And where is your soul? Where is the gift of art and love that fills your heart? Where does it sit those days and nights you spend staring at your computer screen? Where's your sense of adventure and wonder - the world as it stands before you open before you? And all that fear and anxiety? Where does it come from? Why do you let it rule you? Oh, my dear Manny, how much further do you have to walk the sands of desolation before you realize that you can jump from the train at any time... ... and not be a slave to those who would be or pretend to be or like to be your master. You never took the world for what it was - no, not at 15. Or maybe you did and memory is tinged with faded whispers. And yet, this is where you are - definitely not where you thought you'd be, in some ways far better off than you had ever imagined (you found the love of your life, no?) and in others, perhaps yet unfulfilled...? So this is who you are today: Barely lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wonderful fiancee Michelle Works too much at AVEO Pharmaceuticals Best friends are the Sharfis, Joe Sterk, the Shims and a few others in Boston I still enjoy traveling, but work gets in the way - was supposed to go to Vietnam/Cambodia last week, but had to cancel for work We're making up for it, though, by going to India at the end of January for a good friend's wedding! :) I've gotten to know some pretty amazing people in my life. And I've definitely lost touch with more than a few I would have liked to keep in my life. I wonder if life happens this way for all folks - you think once in a while, upon the people you no longer know... Facebook helps... people I would have liked to stay in touch with but don't as much as I would like to: Gino Pete Ang Sean Zy Will Jeff Katie Swami Shea Seo Eddie Eeva Anna-K Xing Eric Fanny Ismet Jefferson Karin Christa Angela Matthias Berthold Suzanne Nat Neil Niamh Liz Bill Brian Pedro Carter Hari Rocco Rosette Russ Robert They're probably too many to count and too few I remember...

Random Thoughts from the Socio-Sphere

2011-10-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Challenge yourself to make today a bit different. When we recapture what it is like to be a kid, discovering all that is new around us, we evolve and just might find a bit of ourselves. This is immortality. Croutons are good in both soup and salad. Coincidence? I think not. I believe in booms and busts as part of a well-functioning economic system - the boom provides the incentive and the busts clear away the inefficiencies and make us hungry - right about now, we are starving. Ok, so Facebook is also twitterizing itself with the subscriptions... a plan for world domination materializes. Finally, the FB team is innovating - still a long way to go guys to becoming a bit less annoying. For one, stop pretending you know what we want to hear about. The seven blunders of the world: 1 - Wealth without work. 2 - Pleasure without conscience. 3 - Knowledge without character. 4 - Commerce without morality. 5 - Science without humanity. 6 - Worship without sacrifice. 7 - Politics without principle. - Mohandas Ghandi Being allergic to chicken would suck - it's like a fourth of the meat universe... Typhoon Roy - Guam: 90 mph / 1988 Typhoon Russ - Guam: 125 mph / 1990 Typhoon Yuri - Guam: 175 mph / 1991 Typhoon Omar - Guam: 150 mph / 1992 Typhoon Paka - Guam: 185 mph / 1997 Typhoon Chata'an - Guam: 150 mph / 2002 Typhoon Pongsona - Guam: 150 mph / 2002 ...Tropical Storm Irene - Massachusetts: 40-50 mph with gusts to 70 mph / 2011 ... We got this. Crises of leadership are common in defunct systems with poorly defined incentive structures and an endemic lack of true accountability. Checks and balances has devolved into corrupt bureaucracy / we certainly have the worst system, except all others. Inspiration and confidence in judgement: What people desperately need but rarely get from "leaders" - why does our system now produce such weak leadership (politics and industry included)? Creativity. Hard Work. Reliance on one at the expense of the other just might be unsustainable. Large labor force = ease of providing 'hard work;' Specialized labor force = ease of providing 'creativity' - There are implications here for price that I'd be interested in hearing others comment on... On the difference between surviving and thriving: Only one of the two can be achieved without conscience or principles. The tyranny of the budget - part of the reason why entrepreneurs can move so quickly. They have no budget process to slow them down... Completely astounded by how rapidly the forms and means of content distribution and consumption is transforming the universal human experience. I can't keep up, and that's a good thing. Random thought: from an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense that at least one half of a pair has to worry... Is what we call 'nurture' therefore nothing more than a nice byproduct of an evolutionary advantage to worrying? Think about the implications: emotions are needed to worry... [On Gay marriage]: What would an enlightened society do? Evolution, especially of staid institution (church and state in this case), takes time. Ideas require marketing, and the best marketing is still first-hand experience and ubiquitous dialogue/exposure. In this case, the most staunch advocates for equality are those most marginalized. It is great to see that network effects are breaking down barriers. This string of posts, like all the other pieces of the puzzle from Hollywood to friendships to direct advocacy - these are the tools by which an imperfect society gains the high road. I for one am glad to be in America where such is possible. There are many places, whether because of more deep rooted historical/socio-religious inertia, have a much tougher path to follow... where tools of progress are simply held down. Facebook has become a part of society and as such can be a tool for change or a tool for marginalization. Bravo team. This post is an example of the former. Man as Factory: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/dreamanatomy/images/1200%20dpi/IV-A-01.jpg On May 21, 2011, the day the world was supposed to end: So we officially survived the e... You are genetic drift: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110518/full/news.2011.294.html Why entrepreneurs are so important: they haven't yet produced enough backward inertia to kill all forward momentum. Life can't get you down if you have someone to share it with. It has occurred to me that I just might need more free time to have thoughts occur to me. You know it has been a busy day at the office when it takes you five minutes to realize that your keyboard is unplugged... Life is as good as you make it, sorrow as long as you let it. On the tolerance of failure: No one likes to be measured, because everyone is afraid to come up short. If you tolerate failure, you encourage measured progress. Execution becomes a value. No Sloanie left behind. Huha! "Guam competes with the sheer natural beauty of Hawaii and the wealth of beaches in the Bahamas, but more than that, the island offers an authentic, delicious and culturally rich getaway you may never have known was waiting for you." - http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20110207-guam-the-best-place-you-never-considered-going-to Seriously, Boston - low of 8 degrees? “The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus nothing could have been done,” the panel wrote in the report’s conclusions, which were read by The New York Times. “If we accept this notion, it will happen again.”

110%

2011-08-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

I know many people who make fun of the saying 'giving it 110%.' People laugh and say it is simply not possible to give something 110%.

I disagree.

We do it all the time. You get paid for a 40 hour work week but work 60. To me, that's giving it 150%. Let's say it takes 6 hours a week of exercise to have a healthy lifestyle. But if you're like me, you give it 2. That's giving it 33%.

If you want to get good at a hobby, maybe you need 8 hours a week and you only have 4 to devote. Well, my friend, you're doing a half-@$$ed job of it and you'll probably suck.

Relationships are quite the same way. To build a good friendship, you have to put in the time. Funnily, maintenance on a friendship decreases with the level of past investment... but that's for another blog post.

Ahem.

So let's also say you need 6 hours a week to maintain a healthy and fun relationship with your spouse but only give it 3. That's fine if you want a half-baked relationship and a divorce in half the time. Don't believe me? I can introduce you to a few people who had some rough experiences.

Now let the really fun math begin.

First, start by ranking a few aspects of your life in terms of importance to you. It may look something like this:

1) Solid relationship with spouse
2) Hanging out with friends
3) Learning to golf
4) Fulfillment at work
5) Feeling rested

Now let's think about a few ratios around your hypothetical day-to-day lifestyle:

Relationship with spouse: 6 hours/week for maintenance: 50%
Friendships: 1 hour/two weeks for maintenance: 100%
Your golf game: 3 hours each week to get good: 50%
Work: 40 hours each week to keep your job: 150%
Sleep: 8 hours each day to feel rested: 75%

Similar to your golf game, why would you expect your relationship with your spouse to be any better? Oh and that job, is that promotion really worth it? How does not getting enough sleep affect the rest of your day?

So the next time someone laughs at you for saying that you're giving it 110%, think about all the things you are not doing in order to give that extra 10, 20 or even 50%. After all, we only get 24 hours each day and 2 days for most weekends.

Then rethink your priorities.

Madness

2011-03-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

The faster you spin, the more you shake
until one day the wheel leaves the road

You try to catch yourself
but you don't know how
You reach out
and the rope isn't there

It's the chess game that is won or lost
a few moves in advance of a thought

And the wheel leaves the road
and suddenly you are spinning

Shaking, losing yourself
Only madness remains

The Tolerance of Failure

2011-03-18T11:16:00.001-07:00

On the tolerance of failure: No one likes to be measured, because everyone is afraid to come up short. If you tolerate failure, you encourage measured progress. Execution becomes a value.

The Tyranny of the Spoken Word

2011-02-13T10:04:00.001-08:00

How many times has the man who speaks overmuch won the day, to the deficit of deep and conscientious review? Society today offers winnings to the fast-talker with the most biting question.

Where in this melee is there room for the man who listens?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/us/13thomas.html?_r=1&hp

Check Mate, You Lose.

2011-02-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

I know the rules.
I own the game.
I can't lose.

Check Mate.

Hi, it has been a while

2011-01-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

How have you been?

Are these yours?

What are their names?

Oh they're so cute!

How's work? the wife?

You know things are okay here

- can't complain -

I have a few of my own...

two boys, 8 and 13 -

they grow so fast!

And how are your mom and dad?

That's great to hear they're still active and doing well!

I haven't been home in a while, but I saw my dad the other week

He was visiting DC for a conference - yeah, it was good to see him

So how long are you in town?

Only so long? Well, we should grab dinner sometime before you leave

It would be great to catch up - is your number still the same?

Great - I'll give you a call this afternoon.

Have fun! See you tonight!

Divergent Paths / New Ways

2011-01-16T06:53:00.000-08:00

Friends. They Change.

And we do, too.

Whether we like it or not

the people we once knew

may not be the same

in the subtle ways

we would wish

Yet we hold on

to memories and idle times

to smiles and warm company

For what becomes a life

but a string of what once was

and a song

sometimes sad, sometimes happy

that only you will ever hear.

The Child who would be King

2011-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard tell
of the child who would be king?

Have you ever had your heart
tipped at the end of some great spear?

Only to have it plunged
smashed 'gainst the shield?

For what care had the child
for the spear or heart or shield?

All that matters, of course,
is the want of a child king

and your permission - your yield.

Have you ever wanted to be truly great?

2010-10-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

On top of the world?

Unstoppable?

Better?

C'mon... you know you have.

Ambition - the need to accomplish...

Is it genetic? Is it socially-contrived?

The competitive drive? Why does it come so naturally?

Why is there a need to dominate? To excel? To exceed?

Where does the hunger come from?

And more importantly, what does it all mean...?

The Right Thing

2010-10-02T04:41:00.000-07:00

I work in the pharmaceutical industry. I'm also a business guy. My job is to maximize the commercial success of products in development or already on the market. I have worked on commercial strategy for products ranging from diabetes to cancer. These products produce billions of dollars in sales each year and improve or save the lives of millions of patients.

There are all sorts of rationales for what I do.

Charge a higher price? Why not? After all, that price is used to fund the future discovery, research and development of life-saving therapies.

Come out with a single dose strength? Why not? After all, other dose strengths muddy the commercial picture.

At the end of the day, maybe everything I do is justified. I mean, at the end of the day, what I do in some small way allows patients to get access to medicines that could save lives.

One could even argue that the only way medicine development is possible is because monetary reward provides the profit incentives for investors, biopharmaceutical companies and entrepreneurs in the life sciences. These profit motives in turn aggregate the money needed to support researchers who dedicate their lives in pursuit of scientific discovery.

At the end of the day, it is scientific discovery that forms the basis for breakthroughs in patient care and life-saving medicines.

So as I sit here thinking about what I do and whether it is 'right and good' to think about commercial success in a business that touches the lives of so many, I have to remind myself of the cascade of events that makes medicine development possible.

At the end of every day, I know that there are millions of patients taking products every day that I helped to optimize for commercial success. Their insurance companies may pay a great deal for the products. And out-of-pocket costs might be pretty high. For that, I am only partially apologetic. After all, I can also be a part of ensuring that medicines are used appropriately and that there are programs to help patients afford their monthly copayments.

I'm not saying that patients would not have drugs to take if I weren't around. In fact, every innovation in the life sciences is a collaborative effort, and I doubt whether any single person can take full credit or blame for any drug on the market today.

But in this great engine of innovation we call capitalism, I play my part. And decades from now, when a patient takes a drug whose development relied on the profits of a drug that came before, I will know that my part was well-played.

Do you want a Bud Light?

2010-09-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

This was my grandpa's favorite line. And for several decades, he drank nought but Folger's coffee and Bud Light. And you couldn't visit him without sharing a drink with him, during which he would tell you the stories he was most proud about recounting.

I recall sitting through many fairly disturbing meals of "kadon french fries and pork rinds" nodding my head and smiling as I worried about food poisoning. I guess I owe him for my cast iron stomach!

Oh, and don't forget there was always more Bud Light in the fridge.

Strongman

2010-09-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Grandpa would always talk about when he was younger, he would never hit someone more than once in a fight.

You could tell even in his later years that grandpa must have been a fit young man. He would often recall the time when he was standing in line and a young man behind him put out a cigarette into his arm. (At which point grandpa would show us the scar). Grandpa would then relate how he then turned around slowly bringing his left arm slowly in front of the young man's eyes followed spritely by a right hook that had him flat on his back.

Grandpa recalled smugly that he then went into the store and that the young man was just getting to his feet when my grandfather left with his purchases.

When My Grandmother was Alive

2010-09-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Grandpa didn't talk all that much. I remember going with them to the commissary. Grandpa would wait quietly in the car while grandma would go and buy groceries. We would then go to the cafeteria on base where I would order up the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Every time.

Grandma would sit on her throne in the chair where she received all her visitors, cigarette in one hand and betel nut in the other. When family or friends would visit, grandpa would sit across quietly, sometimes talking about one of his repeated stories.

If grandpa repeated himself too often, I would share a funny wink with grandma sitting across the way. Then she would send me to Onedera or to fetch pupulu for her betel nut.

Tending the Garden

2010-09-09T19:11:00.001-07:00

I remember my grandpa's gardening. He would take this huge, 20-lb. rod and use it to pry out weeds from his lawn, which was always well kept. In later years, he would let the jungle around his house grow and call it his garden. Eventually, he couldn't garden nor fish anymore. He could talk about those days, though.

Fisherman

2010-09-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

I recall seeing my grandfather tending his talaya. He would sit for hours stitching and reworking. I would see him practice in the grass and I remember his many failed attempts at teaching me how to throw. I remember accompanying him to the beach a few times. He would always carry his own bucket. And he would try to show me how to watch for the shadows in the water, because that's how you know where the manahak was. To this day, I can point out small schools of fish from the seashore.

Most often, I would just remember my grandpa coming home with his catch held in the bucket or more recently in a small plastic container (usually a half-cut detergent bottle or Folgers coffee can). My grandmother would take the catch, clean it nicely and sometimes fry up some deliciousness or marinate it in vinegar with onions. Yum.

The old red volkswagon and later the pickup truck were always sandy.

A Carpenter - Hard Living -

2010-09-09T19:02:00.001-07:00

Grandpa would always talk about how he grew up a carpenter, learning the trade from his father. He remembered when he made his first bull cart. He would recall going hunting with nets for fanihi as a child with his older brother. He recalled growing up pretty poor and walking from Agana to Dededo with pails of water. He described a tough life growing up.

I still remember when he talked about his 5 cent steaks and how he was once told not to enter a bar because it was for blacks only. Times change.

After the War

2010-09-09T18:59:00.001-07:00

My grandfather would always recall how he was the first citizen in Guam to have a privately-owned vehicle. He would talk about how he joined "the postal" by which he meant the US postal service. For a time, the postal service not only paid him, but also paid to rent his vehicle from him. He also mentioned having a bus at some point and would recall with pride about how he used to have the island's first two-story house.

He built both his home and the home I lived in for a time in Dededo with my mom and brothers.

A Navy Man

2010-09-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

My grandfather was in the Navy twice. He was a damage conrolman during his first tour. He would recall that his job was to be prepared to respond to emergencies. He would recall with pride that even if there was a high ranking officer on duty, as damage controlman, he would be in charge and the officer would have to listen to him. He would always say how he once took a test and out of 647 who took the test, he was number 1. He would always recall how he was invited into the administrator's office and told, "Pedro, if you want to be an officer tomorrow, you will be an officer." My grandfather would go on to say how he wanted to become an officer, but that my grandmother Fina wouldn't let him. He would recall how she "on account that she didn't want to live in the officer's quarters and associate with the officer's wives." He always spoke with some regret as he spoke of this, but of course, you could tell he lived a good life and was proud of what he had managed to do during his many long years.

During WWII, he was the chief steward serving the admiral. He wasn't in Pearl Harbor, he would say, because the admiral was far away at the time, and he was always with the admiral. He would laugh as he would recall his special privileges, being able to go ashore to visit his girlfriend when no one else was allowed because he could always claim he was getting supplies for the admiral. He would recall how the officer on the barge would think he was the admiral and salute and then curse when he realized it was only him!

Grandpa never really talked about combat except once mentioning that as troops advanced in one of the islands, they advanced to quickly and were bombed by their own ships. He also once off-hand mentioned having been at Guadal Canal. He never elaborated on these stories except to say that he once found a man's leg on the beach unattached to its owner.

He once mentioned that at the end of the war, there wasn't a whole lot of celebration. Too many people had lost friends in the war to celebrate.

Opportunity in Two Parts

2010-07-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

So life doesn't always give you exactly what you want. Maybe you find yourself getting your second choice of everything. This could just be the story for you.

One day, a chimp climbed down from his tree and found two sticks. He thought to himself, "Perfect. Now I can take these sticks and finally get at those ants tucked away in that tree over there."

Another chimp climbed down from his tree and found another two sticks. He thought to himself, "Perfect. Now I can take these sticks, throw them, and perhaps knock down those delicious fruits I could never reach before."

A third chimp climbed down from his tree and found a last set of sticks. He rubbed them together, a spark flew and landed in a pile of dry leaves. The whole forest was lit on fire.

Ok. So opportunity is kind of like the story of the chimps with two sticks. Each chimp encountered the same set of circumstances with dramatically different result. What was different in each situation, you might ask? After all, the chimps all encountered sticks in the forest.

So when in any situation, you should ask yourself which chimp you are. Are you the chimp that eats insects or fruit or the chimp that sets his whole world on fire?

You see, opportunity comes in two parts. You can always decide to be the part that is most important.

2010-06-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Disparity. It is a well-known phenomenon of the modern capitalist system. As countries grow, the economic divide between the rich and the poor gets ever-wider.

And this is exactly the argument that a communist might make against the capitalist regime. The argument is derived from a commonly-held belief that capitalism functions at its best when competition delivers the optimal allocation of resources in an economy. Of course, to evaluate this statement, we first need to define the criteria by which we should evaluate capitalism.

I posit that the best way to measure the success of an economic system is to determine to what extent an individual is able to acquire that which will make that person happy. For simplicity, let us limit an individual's appetite to the world of goods and services.

If we define success in this way, then I posit that competition is only marginally relevant to how well capitalism functions to allow individuals to acquire that which will make them happy.

Let me explain.

In a previous post, I described the Indian economy, not as one economy, but as two separate and very distinct economies. The first, the unbranded economy, is characterized by hypercompetition between unbranded players, each individual limited in the scope of trade to those with whom personal relationships can be built. This is the economy of the hundreds of millions of poor living in India. This is the economy of the street-vendors and public vegetable markets.

This first economy is only marginally linked to the economy of the rich, where India's wealthy patronize branded shops and require branded service.

The greater the ability of individuals, firms or institutions to brand themselves and charge higher rents for their elements of production, the better off that second, branded economy becomes. The rich become richer.

What does this all mean?

It means that economic success is driven more by scarcity that drives up prices in a branded economy than by unbranded competition. The better individuals, firms or institutions are able to accrue higher rents for their services, the better off the economy becomes. Think of branding as a corollary to trust and a means of limiting unbranded competition through differentiation.

What the unbranded masses need is exactly the opposite of increased competition. They need to start specializing, limiting competition and branding themselves - creating real or psychological scarcity. This will allow individuals, firms or institutons to accrue higher rents. In India, this is similar to the street vendor advertising the use of bottled water instead of questionable tap water in its meal preparation.

How does an economy help individuals get what will make them happy?

The Chinese have it right. Limit the number of children individuals have in a country where labor is cheap. The subsequent "relative" labor scarcity will encourage specialization, individual branding and the greater accrual of rents to individuals within the system.

This is not to say that every country should try to limit procreation in this way. However, the extent to which a nation can encourage specialization and individual branding through education, for example, the better off that nation will be.

The radical in me suggests the Chinese approach, however, in cases like India where there is a radical oversupply of labor that limits individual branding power.

So why is disparity NOT in and of itself a bad thing?

It is simple: The unbranded masses trade with each other. They can purchase goods in the unbranded market. To the extent that brands, specialization and pricing power emerge - effects of exclusion/scarcity and NOT unbranded competition, the greater rents they can accrue.

Disparity does NOT mean that poor people cannot access the goods and services that will make them happy. Disparity just means that the rich can access better goods and services than the poor.

So what lessons can we draw?

Competition in an unbranded market damages an economy by lowering prices and making it harder for individuals to accrue the rents they need to purchase the goods and services that will make them happy.

Specialization, scarcity and exclusion drive prices up and accrue rents to branded individuals, firms and institutions in an economy. This is the key to economic expansion in a capitalist system and is MORE important than unbranded competition as per the commonly-held belief.

If the US or any other economy can master these ideas and principles, then they hold the keys to the true power of the market to determine prices and economic success (read individual access to the goods and services that will make them happy).

Disparity (read exclusion) thus becomes a natural byproduct of the successful economic regime, and should not be maligned by the enemies of the free market. After all, unbranded competition hurts everyone and the poorest most of all. Specialization and scarcity, however, will set you free to charge what you will and accrue the rents you need to acquire that which will make you happy.

And what is the personal take-away?

Take care of your individual brand. The more branded you are, the greater rents you will accrue and greater economic success you will have. It's a simple statement, but powerful. It means that you should get a branded education and experience when and where you can.

Tips on Europe to a Friend in Austria for a Few Months

2010-06-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Austria:

• Salzkammergut (weekend getaway) – Click here for pictures

• Melk Abbey (hit on way to Vienna) -
Click here for pictures

• Vienna (1 – 2 days)– pretty much anywhere in this town is great / take in an opera or symphony / definitely visit Schloss Schonbrunn – take in some art (don’t forget to try a Käsekrainer – cheese-filled sausage from a street vendor).

• Salzburg – 1 – 2 days – highlights: Mirabell Gardens / Castle; Must eat Bosna (anywhere) and Doner Kebab from the train station if you like spicy or from Vogelwiederstrasse; If you are fans of The Sound of Music, there’s a kitchy tour that is actually worth it if you get a good guide (Mitch is amazing if you can get him). MUST: Find the Augustiner and eat some of the ribs with a few liters of beer

Germany:

• Munich: Beer; great museums; try the rotisserie chicken at the Munich train station (go with the Schoenes Wochenende ticket – really cheap weekend ticket from Salzburg); visit Dachau concentration camp on an extended visit (if you go, I can get you in touch with a friend)

• Nuernberg: Go for the Christmas market (I have friends here)

• Cologne: Longer trip, better overnight

• Berlin: Longer grip, better overnight – do not go in Winter (very cold)

Italy: (all longer trips – overnight trains – better with long weekends)

• Florence

• Cinque Terra (a-mazing – be prepared to hike between the 5 villages): – Click here for pictures

• Sienna: – Click here for pictures

• Venice: overrated, but your girlfriend might like it

• Milan (I’ve never been here, but I have friends here)

Czech Republic (if you go, I have friends in town)

• Czesky Krumlov

• Prague

Hungary

• Budapest: – Click here for pictures

Slovenia

• Ljubljana: – Click here for pictures

Switzerland

• Zurich

• Interlaken (longer trip, better with overnight train)

MUCH LONGER TRIPS, BUT WORTH IT IF YOU GET A LOT OF TIME OFF – recommend you need a four-day weekend at least:

• Krakow, Poland (good to see Auschwitz; great student life)

• France: Paris (overrated), Versailles (exceeds expectations)

• AMSTERDAM: try the pancake factory near the Anne Frank museum – Click here for a review

• Barcelona, Granada Spain

• Meteora and some of the islands in Greece: – Click here for pictures

• London/Edinburgh in the UK; Dublin, Ireland

The Unconscious Politics of Exclusion

2010-06-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

We've all been there. There they are. It's a circle of people we don't really know, except for that one good friend. We'll call him Jim. We think to ourselves, "Gee, I think I'll just go over and join the group. After all, my good friend Jim is there."

So you walk over. The circle doesn't widen and you squeeze yourself in, but barely. You say hello, but the conversation doesn't ebb and no one turns to acknowledge your arrival. You start to enter the conversation, but for whatever reason, everyone leaves.

There is an unspoken law of exclusion at play in almost every group setting. Let me explain.

Individual members of a club derive benefit from exclusivity. The more members there might be, the more dissolved the benefit and the weaker each member becomes.

Those with power often wield it unconsciously. And it is often not with whom group members connect, but who they decide to exclude from a network that gives members individual strength.

There are many who subconsciously practice the rule of exclusivity. These are the individuals who, talking within a circle, will not acknowledge your presence and move on rather than risk forming yet one more connection in their exclusive circle. They do not know that their actions are born of a subconscious understanding that exclusion is the key to power in social circles.

Then there are the people I would just call 'the Includers.' For whatever reason, these are the people who haven't discovered the power wielded by the in-players, and instead seek to include others in their networks whenever possible.

This, of course, diminishes club exclusivity and incentives for members to join. The includers, end up being the most powerless and least cool.

And most interestingly, popularity becomes a product of exclusion.

We sometimes forget

2010-05-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

They are our quiet, simmering loves.

They are the flowers we dare not admire from up close

lest we inhale too greedily.

For what man glimpsing heaven's sweet nectar

just out of reach, can fail to take a leap of faith

or tame his base desire?

And if we fall, it is because we sometimes forget

that failure is too often a quiet,

simmering burn at the base of the spine

that never quite seems to fully heal.