Today, on the way to work, I saw that one of my friends.. well, one of the fuzzy critters I normally see on the way to work, was lying on the side of the road, killed by traffic. It's very depressing. It's not like its any particular person's fault -- the driver likely can't react fast enough to avoid hitting them, and the critters can't be blamed for entering the road -- they have no understanding, no instinct about cars and roads that interfere in nature's domain. It would be good if there were some kind of barrier that surrounded roads that kept them safe from other animals (and pedestrians). Something could be done.. to stop the kind of horrific thing I saw today... I wasn't really sure what I could do.. except spill tears for the poor little guy.

I've noticed that since I've moved to psychology from .. well, what was essentially a computer-science field, I actually look at myself differently -- I've lost some of my geek, appearancewise, perhaps, or maybe it's just perspective. Still, I do feel kind of a sense of seperation, and an urge to be better dressed.. or perhaps that's caused by another factor. As soon as I can train myself to always use the pant tie to keep the right leg on my pants from being eaten by my bike, I'm planning on getting a new wardrobe.. same general style, nicer without being yuppie, and I'm hoping I can convince myself to take good care of the new clothes. I'm also hoping to make some small changes in the style of my apartment, making it neater, less cluttered, and more elegant. This appears to be another milestone in changes in my life, a move from the messy-functional preferred arrangement of things more fully towards a stylish and clean look. Sometimes one picks up habits from knowing someone, and sometimes one picks up the opposite. :)

Another thought -- regardless of how I judge communism as a system, an analysis of history shows strongly that global capitalism has been the cause of wars and many abuses, and that it must be fought. What makes for a suitable replacement is a tricky issue. Nietzsche celebrates the power relations, but says little about how society is to be ordered -- in their aid or just any way that proves convenient. Marx suggests an improved social system that reduces the burden of labour and increases its efficiency enough to provide plenty, eliminating most power relations. There are many other grand visions possible.. and change is indeed possible, as Trotsky, Lenin, and friends have shown us.. And, Marx gives us a banner, that it is part of the proper realm of philosophy to think of practical problems.

A few tweaks on the nose of endings.. I recently got a raise notice in the mail .. for my old job.. which I won't actually recieve because of the timing. Also, we had a really neat lab meeting today, my last, where a guest speaker talked about tissue regeneration. But that's the nature of things.. :) Things change. Unless you make an effort, you'll eventually be washed from someone's beach to someplace new.