Ready for the next semester

Well, it seems that grades are finally in, it sure does take them long enough! I am very happy with my grades this semester. I really wanted to do well, coming to a new school and all, and my GPA for this semester is my highest ever! So it feels like I am getting off on the right foot. I do have quite a bit of work to do over the break though, hopefully I will get some of it done before my girlfriend flies out here to visit. I am not used to having such a long winter break, its kind of nice but is also kind of boring if you don't have anywhere to go! Its been nice just hanging out with some of my friends who are in similar situations, stuck in Butte, far away from family and close friends.

One thing I have had plenty of time to do is read! The book I am reading now "33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed To Ask" (pictured to the left) reminds me of a famous quote - "those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it". It basically takes some "myths" of American history, and debunks them with more factual accounts than some of the summaries we see in popular culture. Stuff like "Was the "Wild West" really so wild?" (turns out it wasn't) and "Did capitalism cause the Great Depression?" (much more complex than that - The Federal Reserve had its hand in some of the disaster) I like this book because it takes the controversial stance that some of the things you learn in public schools may be propaganda. This is hard for some people to wrap their heads around, but its easy to see where the conflict of interest could come from. I have read several books in this vein by a few different authors, and I enjoy them throughly. I may be slightly biased though, as I was able to meet several of the authors when I was attending the Von Mises Institute this summer.