It’s time to learn something new, courtesy of the Oxford American Dictionary:

THE RIGHT WORD
To varying degrees, all of these words mean to free from guilt or blame, and some are most frequently heard in a legal or political context.

Absolve is the most general term, meaning to set free or release—not only from guilt or blame, but from a duty or obligation (: absolved from her promise to serve on the committee) or from the penalties for a violation.

Pardon is usually associated with the actions of a government or military official (: President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon following his resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal) and specifically refers to a release from prosecution or punishment.

It is usually a legal official who decides to acquit someone—that is, release someone from a specific and formal accusation of wrongdoing (: the court acquitted the accused due to lack of evidence).

Exonerate suggests relief (its origin suggests the lifting of a burden), often in a moral sense, from a definite charge so that not even the suspicion of wrongdoing remains (: completely exonerated from the accusation of cheating).

A person who is vindicated is also off the hook, usually due to the examination of evidence (: she vindicated herself by producing the missing documents).

Exempt has less to do with guilt and punishment and more to do with duty and obligation (: exempt from paying taxes).

To forgive, however, is the most magnanimous act of all: It implies not only giving up on the idea that an offense should be punished, but also relinquishing any feelings of resentment or vengefulness (: “To err is human; to forgive divine”).

I’m feeling vindicated when I should feel exonerated… And not to worry, everything’s okay. Just ask me about it some time.

I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee lately (~32 oz. today in fact).

Here’s what Nestle has to say about what some might consider to be too much coffee, which I found slightly amusing…

Q. What do researchers mean when they say that coffee is a ‘marker’ for a detrimental lifestyle or dietary habit?

A. This means that coffee is simply associated with other lifestyle or dietary habits. For example, people who smoke may also often be coffee drinkers. Coffee is thus a marker for smoking. This can create problems analysing research results, for although it may appear that coffee drinking is a risk factor for a particular disease, it may simply be a marker for another lifestyle or dietary factor which is the real cause. This means that coffee itself is not an actual risk, it is simply associated with the real risk factor.

Source: Nestlé UK

I guess this means I can drink easy now, as my coffee consumption is clearly not indicative of any problems whatsoever.

What’s better than having an atrium in your brand new educational facility? Playing dodgeball in it, of course!

Most people who try to do more that is reasonable in life learn sooner or later about the principle of selective neglect. Divide your time, energy and attention amongst all that you have to do in proportional amounts to their relative importance, and hope for the best. Or at least that’s how the theory goes. More on this later…

Me thinks its time to revisit my selectivity filter and tune it a bit.

Off to study for Control Systems,
—estevesh

ps: I was going to sign off with “Like an undamped system in want of a low-pass filter.” Consider yourselves lucky :).

…You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes
are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It’s nothing to cry about
Cause we’ll hold each other soon…

— I Will Follow You Into The Dark / Death Cab For Cutie