Winter in NH is cold, and other fascinating facts
RWL #430
Greetings from The University of New Hampshire! … and we’re back! It’s “spring” semester here, as you can tell. That’s Hewitt Hall where I hang my hat most days and from where I am writing to you this morning.
This is what I saw as I prepared to walk out the door this morning to head into the office:
-5 degrees is a bit of a punch in the face. I’m not going to lie - I don’t like temperatures below about 20. They make me want to just stay inside. But that is winter in New England. We did get some lovely powder on Sunday night and now everything is covered in a white quilt, which is quite lovely. I took advantage of Monday being a holiday and went for a quiet photo walk in the woods. Being in nature is centering. The Japanese call it “forest bathing”.
According to this National Geographic article, “Forest bathing is not just for the wilderness-lover; the practice can be as simple as walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting with what’s around you.” For me, my camera is a mechanism for mediating connection. I see things better if I have the camera with me. It probably violates some hard core forest bathing principles (if that isn’t an oxymoron), but I have a very busy brain and the camera allows me to focus (pun intended).
Winter in New Hampshire is magnificent, as all the seasons are. The cold presents some challenges, but you have to overcome them, or your lazy self will keep you inside, complaining until summer rolls around.
We also had a presidential hand-off on Monday. A few comments below in the article Executive Orders. I hope President Trump puts the welfare of the nation before his own and wish him success to the degree that he does.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: The American Presidency Project, Executive Orders
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders
Why: President Trump’s performatively signed of “Day 1” executive orders with more showmanship than his predecessors, as one would expect given his entertainer background.
(source AP - https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-executive-orders-3a035a0bbd37b5c12630b92c8c8a9625 )
The performance doesn’t matter that much to me, and I set aside comment for the moment on the specific content of the orders. It concerns me, as a citizen, that the executive branch is engaged in extensive legislating by order. The separation of powers is an essential part of the Constitutional order to prevent despotism, which was the main concern of the Founders. Given that this abuse of executive orders runs on both sides, by both parties, I believe we, as citizens, need to start being more vocal about reining it in.
This article shows the number of executive orders by president. Not all executive orders are inappropriate. The president has to issue orders to manage the federal bureaucracy. I object when the orders cross over into policy that should be made by Congress. I think a review of many of the orders made by the last several presidents shows that they have all encroached on Congress’s prerogative.
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What: HR McMaster, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House
Why: I thought this was appropriate for this week. McMaster was Trump’s national security advisor during his first administration for a little over a year. I became a fan of McMaster by listening to the Goodfellows podcast, where he is one of four regular round table contributors. I’ve enjoyed listening to his commentary on policy over the last few years. His account of his year+ as an advisor to President Trump during his tumultuous first term was fascinating. I was surprised by the conflict he had with both Tillerson (SecState) and Matis (SecDef). Listening to him recount how he tried to implement process on national security decision making at the presidential level was fascinating because it sounded like something straight out of an Army staff operations training, which is obviously the lens he brought as a 3-star general. His description of trying to run a process was textbook military. This is one man’s recounting of his experience, so I’m sure other people didn’t see him the same as he saw himself (apparently Tillerson and Matis didn’t), but taking the book at face value, it is educational. It also made me a bit wistful for my days in uniform. The title of the book tells what it was like - putting it in my own words, I think McMaster thought Trump could have done so much more if he would have submitted to a process. Trump’s erratic nature undermined his own ability to advance his agenda. Trump was, in effect, at war with Trump. It will be interesting to see if Trump has learned that lesson as we get our second term with him.
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What: HBR, How to Write a Thank you Email After an Interview
https://hbr.org/2022/11/how-to-write-a-thank-you-email-after-an-interview
Why: Some very good advice for the job seeker. I’m working with the juniors this semester to get them placed in their summer internships and I sent them this link to remind them that a thank you note is a minimum professional action when interviewing.
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Watch
What: After Skool, The ONE RULE for LIFE - Immanuel Kant's Moral Philosophy - Mark Manson (21 min)
Why: A nice summary of Kantian moral philosophy, especially his categorical imperative. I’ve been meaning to circle back to Kant. It has been a few decades since I gave him serious study. This was fun - listen at 1.5x speed.
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Listen
What: Honestly, Trump’s Populism Isn’t a Sideshow. It’s as American as Apple Pie. (39 min)
Why: This isn’t criticism of Trump. It’s an interesting comparison of Trump to Andrew Jackson, the only other president to ride to the White House on a wave of populism. Other populists have caused a stir, and forced the parties to change, but no one else has made it all the way.
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What: EconTalk, The Power of Nuance: Lessons for Public Health (with Emily Oster) (56 min)
(link)
Why: Oster is an economist who is applying economic research to topics such as parenting. She offers some insight into when the model driven approach of economics is appropriate and when messier, qualitative approaches are better. But mostly she talks about telling the truth.