Dan Lipka Web Log

Selling out to the man? No, I’m just testing this whole AdSense project. So excuse the silly Google ads at the top, they won’t be there forever. And if this blog is being secretly read by millions around the world, I could make 2 or 3 buck, woo-hoo.

My Cousin Andrew and his wife Stacy had their first baby yesterday, Zoe Elizabeth - 6lbs 6oz, 18 inches long. She is my aunt Sharon’s first grandchild, which brings her slightly closer to my mom’s six grandchildren (my aunt and mom are twins). I wish them the best of heath and happiness and it got me thinking of what advice I would give to them (basically what I have learned over the past year). Here is what I got… - Books are nice, but all kids are different. - All kids are basically the same, so whatever you think is wrong is very common. - Little babies can still learn good habits. - Little babies forget or outgrow their habits every few weeks - Children never stop teething, so don’t use it as an excuse too often. - The first year does not go by quickly, but you will forget all about in a few years. - The ruffles on diapers are important. - Don’t over-medicate the kid, but some meds are priceless (like baby

I was wondering about the impact of my existence on the world. Perhaps when people think about their impact they think about making a substantial change, but I’m talking about making the tiniest of change to someone life. How many people in the world have been impacted by my existence? This includes people that have had to wait an extra two seconds because my elevator stop was before there’s. People who got to work a second later because my car was on the road. People who had to grab a different bag of chips in the supermarket because I got the one before. And to go further, what about all the secondary impacts? Was that person in the elevator meeting someone else, who now had to wait a little longer for them to get there? What about people that I affect substantially, such as my daughter. Her whole existence, and everything she impacts, can be attributed back to me. I have friends from other countries so my impact might be international. What if I was at the airport and someone missed

Who are we? The best answer to that question that I have heard (and believe) is that we are a collection of our habits. If you look at our past and quantify the things we do in certain situations, you are able to ascertain what we will do in the future. Our habits are who we are. However, a “habit” isn’t something tangible, it isn’t real, it is just a metaphysical idea. And because it isn’t real, it can be changed easily, meaning that we could, if we choose to, change ourselves into almost anything (or anyone to be more precise). My point is that nobody is confined to what they believe as their innate self. Some people say that certain clothes are not “them”, but what does that mean? If they wore the clothes in a consistent way (as a habit) that it would become “them”. The same goes for people who identify themselves as brave, shy, smart, scared, artistic, or just about any other verb to describe a person. Anyone can be brave if they act brave, and since there is no physical r