...to say the 'I'

I wanted to write a real post tonight, but I'm tired from my first day on the job. While there was little difficult mental exercise, the strain of smiling while asking stupid questions and trying to remember all the little details necessary for working in an office wore me out (as did a certain lack of sleep). On the bright side, I think work is going to be great. I'm also hoping that once I get a real routine going, I'll be able to organize my time to allow for some real blogging. If only I had a dictaphone that could convert recordings into Word documents, I could put my two-hour round-trip commute to good use by "writing" posts in the car. Ah well, I'm still being productiveâ€"I do love books on tape/CD. Currently, I'm learning basic conversational Russian (in 10 easy lessons!), a birthday present from my mom (the big day is tomorrowâ€"9/9). But once I get my first paycheck, you'd better believe that part of it will go towards purchasing some audio lectures from the Ayn Rand Bookstore, such as Concretizing the Principles of Objective Law.

Oh right, the rest of the world:

CB of "My War" is back. I hope it goes better this time.

Cox and Forkum hit hard again. I've got an essay brewing to go with the image, but it might take a while.

On a related, but side note, I'd like to ask a question of those Objectivists who are patient enough to continue hitting up this site once in a while. (Those of any other philosophic persuasion are also welcome to comment, but I'm particularly interested in some O'ist opinions.) What, if any, is the role of emotion in argument? Will a persuasive essay/op-ed always be strengthened by the near-elimination of an emotional tone, in order to let cold facts and reasoning stand on their own?

Finally, go to Books for Soldiers if you're interested in sending some "care packages for the mind" to our men and women in the sandbox(es). The discontinuation of the "Any Soldier" program due to security concerns made it harder for those of us who would like to show our appreciation, but luckily, there are tons of groups that have sprung up to fill the void--I think this is one of the best. I went to the Goodwill, picked up 10 books for $2.50 total, and found three guys whose interests matched what I found. If you go with the flat-rate envelope, you can brighten someone's day for under five bucks. I included a self-addressed postcard so that each soldier could let me know that he received his package, and one Specialist not only wrote a nice message on the card, but sent an additional letter. Trust me, it will be worth it when you hear back from them.