Disclaimer: I'd like to document my kung-fu experiences, for my own use. I'll be sure to mention "kung-fu" in 1 form or another in the subject line for your filtering purposes. You're welcome to comment if you wish. I wouldn't be offended if everybody ignored these or commented.

Summary: things are progressing fairly well as far as head knowledge & upperbody coordination goes, but not in flexibility & balance.

*****Head Knowledge*****
*****Upperbody Coordination*****
*****Flexibility & Balance*****
*****Looking Foward To Future Goal: Yellow Belt*****
*****Misc. Thoughts*****

*****Head Knowledge*****

Well, absorbing the technique & head knowledge seems very easy. As I mentioned before, he does a good job of explaining things. I noticed that the other assistants are good @ explaining things as well, thus helping me to remember the names of certain blocks [inside hooking & reverse hooking].

*****Upperbody Coordination*****

An encouraging thing happened this past Friday. He mentioned that my blocks are good, in that he has nothing more to teach me, as far as beginner blocks go & other than power & speed. This makes me feel kind of cool. It makes me feel that I've reached a milestone.

I enjoy blocking & punching quite a lot, because it seems so easy.

*****Flexibility & Balance*****

The part that I look forward to the most is being able to balance on 1 foot & move around on that same foot throughout the entire range of motion that my body will need in order to adequately do the activity. I find that I just can't get my legs to stretch enough. It really bothers me. The more that I exercise, the stiffer that my legs get. I guess that I must not be stretching enough, or that I'm just not patient enough.

The part that I enjoy the most, would have to be the round house kick. It just seems so cool the way the body moves, & the way that the leg supports the entire body.

*****Looking Foward To Future Goal: Yellow Belt*****

Well, I don't know how far I want to go with this kung-fu endeavor, but I'd @ least like to get a yellow belt. It would be satisfying to reach a real milestone. After that, I'll take it 1 step @ a time.

*****Misc. Thoughts*****

I sometimes wonder how much this teacher knows about some of the peripheral things, like warming up, stretching, cooling down. That's 1 other reason that I would like to take ballet. I am hoping that I can learn to balance & stretch properly. I know that my back has been hurting a little lately.

Disclaimer: I'd like to document fish tank maintenance data, for my own use. I'll be sure to mention "fish" in 1 form or another in the subject line for your filtering purposes. You're welcome to comment if you wish. I wouldn't be offended if everybody ignored these or commented.

Summary: since my last fish journal entry, 2 babies & the other fish have survived, & the ph stayed relatively stable @ neutral; I make social commentary on their feeding habits.

*****2 Babies Survived*****
*****PH Stays Balanced*****
*****No Fish Died*****
*****Feeding Habits*****
*****Social Commentary Based On Their Feeding Habits*****

*****2 Babies Survived*****

1 male & 1 female sword tail have survived. Neither of them seem to be very territorial, which makes me happy. The other fish tollerate them well, also. I find it interesting that the biggest tetra seems to be territorial with its own kind but doesn't seem to mind the other fish getting close.

The biggest sword tail is a yellow male, & the female is an opaque orange-red. It's very interesting because they came from the same mother, which seems to imply that there was more than 1 father.

*****PH Stays Balanced*****

I'm glad that the water has remained neutral. I'm not entirely sure about the cause. I know that I only siphon out water about every month or so. The water seems to stay very clean. I suspect that this is due to the following:
* I try my best to feed only the food that they can eat
* I have so few fish in this big approx. 75-80 gallon tank, that the filters are able to handle all the debris
* I have mussel shells in the tank which give off calcium

I think that a lot more thought should go into the mussel shells, because I noticed that @ 1 time the PH almost reached 8.0 [or something like that; very alkaline]. I was quite disappointed. I suspect that the PH has gone down because the shells are "wearing out", & the remainder is just @ the "right amount".

I'll have to keep an eye on it, because things always change.

*****No Fish Died*****

I'm quite surprised that despite the lack of attention that I've put into the tank, the fish have survived so well. No fish have died between the last jounal entry & this 1. I don't know why these fish remain so strong.

*****Misc.*****

1 thing that I have noticed about the fish behaviour is that 1 fish seems to dominate the surface of the water. I wondered if this was due to the type of food. When I feed them freeze dried tubifex worms, only it seems to get the majority of it. Let's call the dominant fish, Charles, because "Charles is in charge".

Sometimes I get the impression that they really are just playing around by chasing each other, while the "runner" seems to hold the food in its mouth.

Another impression that I get is that Charles is actually just trying to make sure that it gets the largest chunks because it is aware that the other fish will only make a mess of it. If the smaller 1s get a hold of the chunk, then they'll chew @ it, & spit it out, then suck in the pieces that they can swallow. If Charles lets them do that then he'll have to go around collecting worms, which means a lot of work, because those worms are as small to him as a spaghetti noodle is to us. I suspect that these fish are like cheetahs, in that they can swim fast [I have seen them swim quite fast], but not for a long time. I don't think that they enjoy chasing food very much, because I noticed that they need the chunks broken down to certain sizes & they need to have it dropped in relatively consistent places. They also seem to need to work up to a level of fitness, by eating only a few flakes for each time per day, then more per time per day, etc. It would be a lot like working out with many sets & few repetitions, then moving towards fewer sets with & many repetitions. So, how do the other fish survive? Well, they only need to eat once per 2 days, & they can eat the scraps that Charles leaves behind. That's not bad, because they are smaller, & thus they need to collect fewer worms that are floating around.

1 interesting thing that I've noticed is that even when there is plenty of floating food @ the top,they'll wait for Charles to get something in his mouth, & then chase him, as opposed to just getting their own. They never bite each other, & their fins always seem to be in good shape, so I really doubt that they are fighting.

Another interesting thing that I noticed is that when I feed them flake food, then all of the tetras feed @ the top, @ the same time. I can only suppose that different food means different incentives. Once I get rid of most of the older food, then I'll probably go out & buy some flake food, because all of the non-bottom feeders really seem to enjoy going up to the surface to eat.

*****Social Commentary Based On Their Feeding Habits*****

Sometimes I think that people tend to be too harsh to judge when we see groups of people acting in a way that seems inappropriate. On our 1st impression, things seem to look bad, but if we just held off for a while, then we might find some positive aspects that are more profitable for the individual & the group.

What we observe is meaningless, unless it is interpreted through morals, ethics & incentives.

I don't want to get into religion & politics here, but that's the lesson that I relearned from watching the fish.

Summary: just a "quick" update with commentary & some goals for the future; kung-fu & fish will receive their own updates.

*****Welcome New Fans*****
*****Thanks for Participation in Last Journal Entry*****
*****Overall Mood of the Last Few Weeks*****
*****Work Is Getting Better*****
*****Christmas Tree [or lack thereof]*****
*****Christmas Church Presentation [or lack thereof]*****
*****Christmas Lights*****
*****Christmas Lights Cultural Note [interesting bit of trivia]*****
*****Commentary: Amway & MLM*****
*****Product Review: KDE [good]*****
*****TV Show Reviews: Joan of Arcadia [good]; Mr. Monk [good]*****
*****Relationships Update*****
*****Short Term Goal: Ballet & Jazz Dancing*****
*****Medium Term Goal: French Horn [ministry idea]*****
*****Medium Term Goal: Move Out*****

*****Welcome New Fans*****

If I recall correctly, a significant amount of you friended me after my last journal entry. Welcome. I hope that this turns out to be as much as you expect & then some.

*****Thanks for Participation in Last Journal Entry*****

I actually forgot about my previous journal entry. I'm amazed that I would even bother to write about things like that. I'm glad that I did, though.

To those who participated in the dicussion, thanks; even if you had a different opinion. I hate it when you all disagree, but I appreciate the fact that we have the opportunity to discuss it. That's something small [in my opinion], but very significant.

*****Overall Mood of the Last Few Weeks*****

In the last few weeks, I have been extremely moody & cranky. I suppose that has been due to stress from various areas of my life. So, I didn't journal. Now I have a whole bunch of stuff to get off of my chest.

*****Work Is Getting Better*****

Well, I got a raise @ the start of November, & some fixed hours, which helped me to rest a little better. I need to be putting in more hours so that I can save up more.

The company is doing better too. It has $30k in accounts receivable.

*****Christmas Tree [or lack thereof]*****

Usually, I tend to be quick on the draw when it comes to setting up the tree. I'll usually ask in November, to ensure that we get a lot of viewing enjoyment, but this year, I decided to be a bit different. I decided to not ask, & give the others a chance to come up with the idea on their own.

Not surprisingly, my mom pointed it out to me, & felt that it was too late to be setting up a tree. I just agreed with her, & moved on to other things since I am kind of busy.

This is weird. It feels like I'm in 1 of those Christmas specials where nobody has room in their lives for the "magic of Christmas". Whatever.

1 of the things that I really appreciate about the plastic tree is the smell. It seems to be such a comforting feeling. It brings back memories. Obviously real trees have such a nice smell as well, & they stir up images & memories, but the plastic tree is something else. I'm going to miss it when it gets thrown out.

Most of the smell is faded now, but if you're real careful when you open the box, you can still catch a small whiff of it. It almost brings a tear to my eye that there is so little smell left.

1 part that I appreciate is the fact that the tree & some lights & decorations are older than me. I'm 30. The blinking lights are cool.

I look forward to the future when new lights & trees will bring new memories.

*****Christmas Church Presentation [or lack thereof]*****

I was attending a church @ 1 time, where I would participate in the Christmas presentation each year. I would play my trumpet in the full orchestra [woodwinds, strings & brass; the works!].

In between the last presentation & now, it didn't really bother me much because I left the church in a disgruntled manner, & the people continue to rub me the wrong way [it's a whole journal entry in & of itself]. But this year, it does seem to hurt. I don't know why. I suspect that it's because I've been practising my trumpet almost every day [except Sundays, & special occasions], for about approx. 40-50 minutes per day.

I'm going to not worry about it too much. It bothers me, & I'll let it bother me, but I'll look forward to other Christmas presentations.

*****Christmas Lights*****

I hate putting up those outdoor lights, but I do like the sight of them. All the houses in the culdesac puts up lights. When I walk home from the bus stop @ night, it's a good feeling to arrive to a well decorated neighbourhood.

I was hoping that I could skip putting them up this year, but apparently my mom wants them. So up they go.

I look forward to putting up the LED Christmas lights, 1 of these years. They seem to be well advertised around here. The hydro company is making a big push [offering coupons].

*****Christmas Lights Cultural Note [interesting bit of trivia]*****

I found out that my Sikh neighbours put up Christmas lights before Halloween, & set off fireworks. It turns out that they are celebrating a festival of lights, where they gather together with family & friends. It seems that it is the East Indian equivalent of Christmas.

I used to think that those fireworks were being set off by punky kids, who couldn't have delayed gratification, by waiting till Halloween.

I usually don't have a lot of respect for other cultural holidays, but I think that I'll have to tip my hat to this 1. It has Christmas lights [thus extending the season, even if they aren't the same], fireworks [do I need to explain?], & gathering of family [not great, but still good].

*****Commentary: Amway & MLM*****

Oh man, oh man.

I was waiting @ the bus exchange to go to kung-fu lessons, & to avoid wasting time, I decided to practise turning for the round house kick. I'll spare you the technical details other than to say that because you have to turn your foot & body, it's all about balance & flexibility. As you might imagine, there are times when I just don't have any shame about doing certain things in public.

So, this guy approaches me, & introduces himself. Red flags go up everywhere, but I didn't spot a single 1. He starts talking about martial arts because he recognized that I was obviously doing something martial-arts-esque.

All of a sudden, he asks me about my work. All of a sudden, he starts talking about the wonderful opportunity of online marketing [or whatever he called it]. All of a sudden, a voice shouts in my head, "Quixstar! Amway!".

Disclaimer: I'd like to give you the discussion so that you can savour the flavour of the moment, but unfortunately, I don't recall all the details; so take it all with a grain of salt about the size of your monitor.

"Eh, I'm not interested. I'm not interested in selling a bunch things online. I'm actually interested in selling transit maps & stuff." [I was referring to selling things like Amway's products & those misc. items; I was actually serious about the maps]
"Well, what would you have to say, if I told you that you don't have to sell products? You just have to set up a web site & that's it."
"I'm not interested. I've heard about it before from my friends, family, & several people. I'm not interested. Bye. See you later." [the bus came just @ the right time; I won't even thank him for the offer; he owes me thanks, & no he isn't welcome]
"Alright. Bye."

So, he ends up getting on the same bus as me. *sigh* He ends up talking for the entire 10 minute trip, never getting any feedback from me to gauge my interest or see if I have any questions. Of course he answers a cell phone. Everything just looks "great". He must have caught my body language that spoke of how bored & offended I was, because he started talking with a teenager next to me. Sad; sad; sad.

Amway is a scam! It's pyramid. Nobody is really working, & when they think that they are working, they are doing things inefficiently. Why would I want to buy from Amway when I could buy from the store & have net savings?

"blah blah blah, Amway gave out 5 gazillion dollars in blah blah blah"

Well, okay, if a chocalate bar costs you 6 gazillion dollars, & you got back 5 gazillion, then you'd be rich!!! You could use that money to pay off the debt that you took on to buy the chocolate bar; only 1 gazillion more to pay off!!! Yippee!

But alas, I'm preaching to the choir.

Somebody help me before my head explodes in anger.

*****Product Review: KDE [good]*****

I managed to compile KDE on my Pentium. It took about 1.5 weeks, because the computer restarted once due to a black out, & another time I had to restart a certain part because I typed Ctrl-C instead of Ctrl-Z. I really will look into getting a new faster computer, but I hate upgrading because things don't always work out well.

Anyways, I love KDE. Even with only 64 MB of RAM, & a processor running @ 180 MHz, KDE runs beautifully. It starts up in a minute. The menus are quick & responsive. The apps load somewhat slowly, due to the slow computer, but other than that, I can't find any problems. I mention my computer's speed & RAM to emphasize how well KDE works, even on old hardware.

The most important part is their strong attempt @ making it all work seamlessly & beautifully. Most users should be able to forget about the operating system, & get to work/play. The games are great too [KAtomic & KSokoban].

I love the documentation. I read it all [or most of it] before I even started compiling.

I just love this desktop. I just can't get over how much they really care about the end user.

Compare that with Gnome. I started to read their documentation for the sake of completeness, & to give them a fair chance. It sucks. I don't know how to explain it. Perhaps Gnome is more task oriented. They give a lot of steps to do something without telling you why you would want to do it. Perhaps KDE is more goal oriented, where they tell you that you "get to achieve" such-n-such, & that all you have to do is foobar.

Long live KDE. Thanks KDE guys!

*****TV Show Reviews: Joan of Arcadia [good]; Mr. Monk [good]*****

Normally, I tend to think that tv is going down the tubes. It's so easy to turn it on randomly & find a low quality show.

I think that these 2 shows deserve special mention.

1st of all, they tend to avoid a lot of politics, as far as I can tell. This makes it easy for the entire family to watch.

2nd of all, both shows have believable characters, as far as I can tell. The shows don't always try to bash on certain types of people, in the same manner that the recent Star Trek shows do. Everybody seems to have a significant weakness, except for the father in Joan of Arcadia [more on that later]. I especially like Mr. Monk, because the show goes out its way to make sure that it doesn't beat up only on men or women. Instead, it shows the weaknesses of everybody. Is it my imagination, or are they actually developing the characters a little more this season?

Joan of Arcadia is interesting in a few ways. It seems to be a mix of Dawson's Creek, Highway to Heaven, & some kind of police show. Mixing things up like that helps to provide a bit of relief from any intensity. I also like the way that they deal with ethical issues. This fits well with my theology. @ times, we may unintentionally do the wrong thing to get the right goal. As far as I can tell, in this show, the people aren't commended for doing the wrong thing. They are commended for the right goal, but are encouraged to do it right the next time. No episode seems to spell that out clearer than the 1 where she destroys her friend's art project. I also appreciate how the situations always turn out so hairy before they turn out better. To be honest, this show kind of gives me hope for tomorrow. Other tv shows tend to commend people for doing wrong to achieve what they consider to be right. That's a real no-no in my books. The end never justifies the means. I can't tell you how often I get angry watching television programs. Like a dog returning to its vomit, I keep going back for more.

Mr. Monk is great comic relief, & is mentally stimulating in that we can try to solve the mystery too. Obviously, they'll tend to do it before we do, since they spot the clues before we do, but still.

These 2 shows make great family viewing.

A special note should go out to the cop portion of Joan of Arcadia. I don't know how to explain it, other than to say that it seems very exciting. The father seems to be the only relatively normal person, but I think that this exception is understandable, because it is a cop portion of the program which does require a serious attitude, & also because if everybody is weak in every show, then it all becomes too stereotypical. The mother seems pretty normal & cool too, so I guess I might have over stated. Hopefully, you all know what I'm referring to.

As I proof read this, I realize that they have done another cool thing with Joan of Arcadia. Some of the story lines aren't really that big, exciting & complex. When they mix the cop portion of the show in with the Joan part, then they allow the story to sink in a bit, & as a result the viewers get better value for their time. It's like watching 2 30 minute shows, but because they are mixed in, they end up having the same effect as 2 40 minute shows.

Bravo!

*****Relationships Update*****

Well, for last few weeks, I've been trying to make a strong effort to get to know some new people each week & perhaps get to know some aquaintences better. It's been exciting to think that I've gotten to know some of the pretty ladies that I've noticed in the past weeks.

It was odd in that when I did get to know 1 of them, it seemed so natural to introduce myself, & ask her for her name. It didn't seem to be a confidence issue @ all. I had seen her before, & she really has the attitude that "we" [her & whoever she seems to speak to] are good friends already. As I reflect on this, I can't help but wonder if we loose out on many opportunities, because we look @ the situations as confidence issues, rather than situations where we would be obligated to get to know them.

If I am obligated to get to know someone, then I take on the attitude that if they are offended, offensive or snobby, then they can go shut up & get lost. It's really that simple. It doesn't mean that we have to become good friends right away. I'm just refering to extreme snootiness & offensiveness.

I think that I'm @ the point that I am ready to start making some casual friends from my aquaintences, or to make some aquaintences with the intent of making casual friends. I'm not exactly sure about where to procede from here. I'll keep trying to make aquaintences till the end of the month, for the sake of more practise, & try to keep an eye out for how I can develop some casual friendships. I figure that if I do that as opposed to start trying to make casual friends as soon as possible, then I'll be able to leave the gates running as opposed to just picking up speed.

*****Short Term Goal: Ballet & Jazz Dancing*****

This all seems weird, but I decided to take up Ballet because I want to be able to stretch better & have better balance. There is a school that has drop in classes. I'll go for a few months to a year & see how it works out. Ballet is supposed to be a good foundation for kung-fu & dance.

I've been having balancing problems & flexibility problems in kung-fu. The master claims that it is normal, but I kind of wonder about that. I sense that he doesn't know much about flexibility & balance. I'll deal with this more in the kung-fu update.

I definitely want to learn to jazz dance because I want to be able to be able to dance with my wife, if I get married. Rhythm is a good thing. Dance could be a kind of play before the foreplay. *Grr-rr-rr-rrowl*

On a very important note, just about every dance class probably has more women than men. Do you see where I'm going with this? *Grr-rr-rr-rrowl*

*****Medium Term Goal: French Horn [ministry idea]*****

I want play in an orchestra so badly. In the new year, I intend to buy a French horn for $1k-2k, & play in his my uncle's orchestra [he conducts].

My uncle has no French horn players. This isn't surprising because every where you go, French horn players are rare. I think that it is 1 of the hardest instruments to play. I would consider this my ministry, because it would save him time. @ this point in time, my uncle has to take the French horn sheet music & make it playable for the other instruments. If he didn't do this, then the orchestra just wouldn't sound as full. If I did play for his orchestra, then there is that much less music that he has to convert. I consider this to be a definite gain; a definite profit; money well spent.

@ the end of it all, if the orchestra folds, I will still have something that I can enjoy & make music with.

*****Medium Term Goal: Re-move Out*****

Well, I'm 30. It's about time that I moved out again. I lived out on my own for a while. I'm sure that I need to do it again.

I intend to live in downtown Surrey, & commute to my parent's place to work, or work over the Internet. Maybe I'll pay them a bunch to cook my suppers & lunches for me. Yeah, that seems lame, but why develop a new skill when you can pay someone to do it? Everyone could use a little more money. Besides, I could always cook a few meals every now & then.

My neighbour says that she married a guy who always lived with his parents until he got married @ age 33. This is true for my brother as well, but @ a different age. The neighbour said that she didn't think anything of it, because it's normal & good for someone to do that in eastern communities. She was probably born here, but her parents came from India. I can assure you that she definitely does not strike me as homely, unconfident, or unable to support herself. She works as a teacher in a very good [good as far as I can tell] private elementary school.

I think that she does have a strong point in what she says. Unfortunately, I think that my path is different, & I tend to live in a more westernized world. I don't foresee marriage in the next few years, & would feel uncomfortable living here forever. In the westernized world, it is highly frowned upon to be living with family for such a long time.

Thus, I have made a goal to move out again, @ the beginning of next year. Maybe I'll change that goal to move out by 2006 or so.

Suggestions?

Summary: just a vague response to the news about that homosexual stuff.

I've been feeling suffering from the flu since Monday evening, & as you might have guessed, it gives you a lot of time to read, & think about the things that you don't like in the world. It gives you the energy to be cranky & have no sign of happiness. I surely hope that I didn't take it out on anybody. In fact, I think that I might not have. I really wanted to avoid this journal entry because I've been so down & out lately. [Speaking of out, where is Brent Metzler? I thought that he would have echoed my sentiments by now. Maybe you've all given him too hard a time. Just because this is /., it doesn't that there aren't unwritten rules we have to play by. Brent, if you could let me know whether or not you are still here, then I'd appreciate it. It'd cheer me up a bit, actually.]

Disclaimer: from the rest of this discussion, I'll probably only use the word, "marriage", not "union", not "common law spouses", etc; it should be general enough in meaning for you to know what I mean.

Why can't we allow homosexuals to marry? It boils down to 2 things, as far as I can tell.

1.) The Bible says so. It's a black & white issue whether you agree with it or not. You either allow it or you don't. It's just the nature of the topic, & I know that many of you don't respect the Bible's view on the issue, so I won't bother expanding on it.

2.) Everything is always a slippery slope. It's all just the way things work. This isn't fashion. This is a moral issue. Everytime people press for more freedoms, they never are content to leave it @ that. I know this to be true for you. I know it to be true for me. That's the beauty of the free market. It helps to put some restraint on our lusts for more money & power.

Think about that for a second. If this whole union concept was embraced through out the religions, laws, & cultures, then why would anybody want to just leave a law supporting homosexual marriages as is? There's always someone out there trying to brainstorm something new.

I know that you still don't believe me. ***Eugene shakes his head***

If you don't believe me, then let me tell you what I would do, literally, if I had the money to push the envelope.

I would form my own organization or whatever, to state that a man & his fish constituted a marriage, & thus they should be entitled to tax breaks.

"Ah, Eugene! We never said that unions automatically deserved tax breaks."

Ah, whoever-you-are! I never said that you said that. :^) That's kind of my point, actually. Do you really think that the organized movements people are only trying to get verbal validation to puff up their down trodden egos? Do you really think that they are trying to get the government to say, "My, oh my, aren't you special?".

People always want more!

Right now, they want:
1.) "My, oh my, aren't you special?"
2.) special tax discounts. [after all, why shouldn't they? aren't they families?]
3.) to push religion as far way as from the real world as possible

I predict that next on the adgenda is:
1.) lowering the age of consent to allow for pedophilia [if it's a "loving" relationship, then who are you to disagree? yes, I know that it's pretty black & white, but alas, you believe that whole world is grey & that even black & white are grey; to all those who disagree, how will you counter any pedophile ramblings? yeah, you can point to scientific ramblings, but remember what you said about everything being grey?]
2.) promotion of beastiality [hey anything is possible; if goats are your thing, & you could get a tax discount, then wouldn't you want to do that? perhaps a better question is why wouldn't you?]
3.) all children of non-conformists of certain beliefs shall be raised by the state [this happens all the time, it's just not as legal as "they" would want it; I could cite a pretty generic case that we could agree on, if any of you really want]

"But Eugene, religion already is far away from the real world!"

Okay, you kind of got me there. @ least you brought me to me next point.

I think that religion is far away from the real world, for different reasons that you believe. You all probably believe that it boils down to this:
1.) belief in 6 Day Creationism
2.) testimony/actions of "those people" giving religion a bad name

Well, it's not hard to be 1 of "those people" when I have strong religious views that may prompt me to label you as an unwashed heathen [despite your claims :^)], & I certainly believe in 6 Day Creationism [I could do a journal entry on some of the most recent stuff that I've read in the Bible, if any of you would like], but I say that those are the most meaningless standards. Almost anybody could fit into that profile in other types of discussions.

"But Eugene, what about the homosexuals & the end times?!?"

Yeah, I know. It's hard to explain my view. I don't think that I can't cover any moral issue precisely in 1 sentence. I'm trying my best out of respect all of us.

I think that religion is far away from the real world because:
1.) followers & the formal organizations don't apply their standards & holy texts to real world situations
2.) some of them are just plain bad
3.) the observers [yes, that means you atheists, tend to lump them all together, never factoring in the charitable works that they do with their own money, their own time, & their own resources, all fueled by their "blind zealotry", "crutches", "halucinations", & "myths"]
4.) of the breaking down the value of the religion by the opponents & enemies

I'm not going to waste time on 1-3. 4 is little bit more interesting. I believe that religion offers tons of insights into who we are & how to live our lives. Yet, the opponents would peel away 1 advantage @ a time until there is nothing left.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that the Bible promotes the concept of a free market. Yet, instead of going to 1 rule book or fixed standard for this insight, we go else where. I'm a firm believer in the idea that the Bible promotes the idea of discrimination based on justice, & not race. Yet, instead of going to 1 rule book or fixed standard for the definitions discriminations, justice & racism, we go elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I think that we should read various opinions & sources, as time & resources permit. I read your journals for that very reason & also because I'm interested in seeing how you are doing.

I suppose that my point here is that when you unravel a package & take away the benefits, you end up making it a lot worse than it reallyis. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts [or something like that]. Take any Christmas gift, & start removing certain aspects of it. Is it still "meaningful" to you when there is no gift wrap? What about when there is no actual gift inside? What about when there is a gift inside with an item deliberately removed by the giver? What about...? What about...?

This the slippery slope thing that I might have mentioned above. It has everything to do with not knowing exactly where each person's "meaning" is, & with avoiding that line as much as possible.

I still haven't forgot about the homosexual thing.

With certain issues, we avoid toeing the line. On 1 extreme, if we really care about those we love, then we'll give them a nice gift, beautifully wrapped, based the resources we have available. On the other extreme, we'll greet someone & he'll consider it a gift because he's so lonely. That's all fine & dandy. I'm just trying to say that we tend to push to the safe side on some issues, despite the fact that others receive blessing from such trivial gestures.

Okay, I'm going to start tieing everything together.

So, if we see value in avoiding the toeing of the line in some issues, then is there value in breaking apart certain ideas & beliefs, & then removing those advantages? I guess that I am starting to sound like I am off my rocker here. Perhaps what I am thinking & feeling can be best expressed by the following dialog:
"Why should I become a Christian?" [or whatever religion]
"Well, there's the blahblah benefits."
"Yeah, but I can get that elsewhere."
"Well, there's the foofoo benefits."
"Yeah, but I can get that elsewhere."
"Well, there's the insight that such-n-such is true."
"Yeah, but I disagree with you."
"Well..."
"Yeah, but..."
"Well..."
"Yeah, but..."

Have you noticed some interesting patterns in society that sort of relate to that discussion? In just about any issue where freedom is related, the freedom being discussed just cannot handle bad publicity.

If President Bush attacked Iraq purely out of compassion to save lives, then someone would find something that he doesn't like, & poopoo all over the program as if there are no redeeming benefits, or as if there is only a net loss.

If the freemarket experienced adversity through no fault of its own [ie: freak tornado in a place that never had 1], then you know who will start to moan & groan, & wonder when the government is going to write itself a letter to get back to work.

Just to show you that I can look @ it from both points of view, here you go.

When socialist leftwing governments make mistakes & the economy fails, then freemarketers are quick to complain about every single little mistake without looking @ some of the people who got good stuff out of government handouts. Hey, I'm not saying that I agree with it. I feel filthy for just typing that. My emphasis is that I can see dissatisfaction from other view points as well, so everybody should keep reading.

This all has so much to do with religion in that when organized religion gets off its butt & does something with its own resources, then we are still quick to criticize. In fact foolish opponents will not only be quick to forget the good, they'll be quick to remember the bad.

Opponents will tell you how many people died in Iraq; "they all died because of Bush", after all.

Opponents will tell you how many kids were abused in Catholic churches.

Opponents will tell you how many people lost jobs just because weaving machines came along, but they won't be able to tell you how many people can now afford clothing without depending on hand-me-downers that are 50 years old. Sure, they'll be able to tell about natives in bizbaz who gave up their "culture" for the sake of wearing clothes from Walmart, but they sure won't tell you how uncomfortable those other clothes are, nor will they tell you how people would actually rather live in the western world. I know it's hard to believe, but the western world actually is better. Really.

They are always good @ remembering the negatives, removing the benefits, & throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Okay, this is the homosexuality thing. I know that a lot of homosexuals will find this offensive. I am speaking down on them after all.

Everybody is saying that government should be open to more views or @ least recognize different marriages. Why don't they just go with the traditional family? Because they want to remember the negatives, remove the benefits, & thow the baby out with the bath water. Because people are never satisfied with leaving the envelope the way that it is. They have to push. They have to change every single detail till it becomes conceivable to: have their cake & eat it too; feed every person regardless if he foolishly avoids work; teach every 1 into agreement so that they can have more cake.

I admit that my arguements are somewhat circular if not totally circular. However, I claim that my arguement also has a logical "entrance/exit" into it. In other words, I factor in human nature & don't resort to A+B=C arguements that always require empiracal evidence or commonly agreed upon presuppositions.

The truth is that almost any opponent's arguement could be made to look circular if you are skilled enough.

I believe that there are certain behaviours in life that we just know to be wrong. I believe that that is why we laughed @ homosexuality. It would be as foolish as a person who claims to be happy being obese. It would be as foolish as a person who claims to be happy being anorexic.

"I can't believe that I read all the way down here just to read that. Yeah, they may not be happy, but who are you to say anything about how they live their lives?"

Ah, remember what I said about pushing that envelope? You can't be a communist & not affect me. You can't be Bush opponent & not affect me. You can't be whatever, & not affect me. Obviously, there are things about you that are good, & worth knowing. After all, many of you are on my friends list despite the things that I disagree with. The point is that some things are really viral in nature. These viral things should be sending up red flags every where.

Why would a homosexual couple want to just be satisfied with a union? Instead of just arguing, we should just recognize it for what it is: perversion; destruction of family values; red flag!

Why would you want to be a communist & pay into a system that no other beneficiaries have to pay into? Instead of just arguing, we should recognize it for what it is: covetousness; theft; red flag!

"Yeah Eugene, but they're teaching their kids to be polite & respectful of others."

Oh, you mean that if you teach them to be polite & respectful, then it justifies them as parents? I don't know if I like that, because if they don't teach them to be polite & respectful, then are they morally forbidden from having kids? I doubt that that is what any of would say or mean, but what difference does politeness & respect make?

You probably still don't see where I'm trying to go with this, so let me do my best to conclude.

Homosexuality is a symptom of something gone very wrong in 1's beliefs. It actually can be thought of as a red flag. It can be thought of as pushing the envelope where it shouldn't be pushed. Remember what I said about that Christmas gift & how we should try to avoid toeing the line? Well, that's the same thing in family values. We should strive for perfection. Sometimes perfection involves diversifying in areas such as risk management. Sometimes perfection involves being content with what we have. Sometimes perfection involves struggling for as much as possible, based on the amount of resources we have. In family values, this means striving for the ideal family which is efficient in its consumption, in teaching morals, in giving examples, in giving role models. Even in a perfect world, life would be complex. Why would you want to change any boundaries?

It's 1 thing to diversify your investments, but do you do diversify your words, standards, morals, & ethics?

I for 1, will stand by this hopeless cause & watch us all go to hell in a handbasket.

PS. I mention the end times in the title simply because I believe that the Bible states that the end times will be characterized by plurality.

Edit: I edited #7 of "Relationships: Discussion Protocal", & added link that takes you to #8, which TechnoLust suggested.

*****Summary*****
*****Relationships: Conversations @ Church*****
*****Relationships: Discussion Protocal*****
*****Volunteer Teaching @ Church [economics, game theory, diffusion theory]*****

*****Summary*****

Today's day @ church was very interesting in that I had several encounters that proved to be very encouraging. I met a new woman today. I chatted with a guy about certainty, & being open to more discussions on whatever topic. Yesterday, I emailed 1 of the fellows @ church to volunteer for a teaching opportunity in the Sunday school class that I attend. I'm looking forward to exercising my gifts to introduce new concepts to them regarding group behaviour.

*****Relationships: Conversations @ Church*****

I just can't get over how easy it is to chat with these people. Maybe I'm more mature. Maybe the people are less snobby. I don't know. It's just amazing how I could go ahead & chat with the best & most popular.

I met 1 of the interns today. It turns out that she was struggling with the intern program, because the church has been way too busy to deal with her internship. In short, she needs to do more stuff. The way her head was tilted when she told me that, showed me that the subject weighed heavily on her. It was kind of neat to be able to share my experiences regarding church internships. From what little she said, I felt that we both went through the same thing.

On the bus ride home, I reflected on how we had kind of moved beyond trivial introductions to sharing some serious concerns. I would speculate that we moved from stranger to aquaintance to casual friend. Because I see her there quite often, it would be easy to maintain a casual friendship.

So for the sake of my struggling nerdly friends, I offer this chart for your use, based solely on my experiences & opinions.

* stranger: you haven't been introduced to; someone you don't know; you have no useful exchange with the person; requires zero maintenance
* aquaintence: someone you have been introduced to or have enough contact that you can associate the face with a place &/or time; you have no obligatory future contact with the person; requires zero maintenance, but it is good to say hello to keep memories fresh, in case of future contact
* casual friend: someone you see regularly; you have chatted about things more than once; you are kind of obligated to maintain a certain level of friendship
* close friend: someone you see much more often; someone you can confide in; someone you are obligated to help out in time of need

I hate to use the word, "obligated", but I'm just discussing the responsibility side of friendship. Obviously, there are the warm fuzzies, too.

I believe that certain types of relationships can span the other categories due to circumstances & cultural norms, but not more than 1 category in either direction. I'm just guessing, so feel free to share your stories, insights.

*****Relationships: Discussion Protocal*****

Another conversation that I had before I met the woman was with a guy who had mentioned something about agreeing more in discussions. I followed up on the discussion, & it turns out that we ended up speaking together really well. He wanted there to be a way for people to be open minded no matter how certain we are of whatever issues. 1 of the things that I shared with him was the idea of having a dicussion protcol, that allowed us to introduce new information to answer questions in debates, discussions, arguments, etc. The protocal would be a set of rules for how you approach someone. Here are a few of the rules. They are still rough & need to be honed a little. Hopefully you know what I'm generally getting @. There is a time & place for everything. These rules are supposed to help us figure out when those times are & where those places are.

1. Don't talk about an issue till an incident brings up something. For example: if you believe all meetings of bizbaz groups should meet @ the foo, then don't bring up the issue until someone decides to meet @ the bar. It's okay to present your opinions & general historical reasons @ almost any given time, but it's best to wait till you need to discuss it.

2. Always make a quick statement about which belief or action you would like to discuss, then always tell a story. Telling him a story of what brought up the subject allows the person to see through your eyes a little, & it also allows them to ask questions about your opinion. When the person is telling his story, then that's a good opportunity to gauge how much time you have available to invest in the discussion.

3. Always be respectful of the fact that some people may have 100% certainty, & thus always take time to ask questions to see how much they know.

4. List out the things that you both agree on, before moving on with the actual logic & reason.

5. Try to keep your sentences short, to let the person respond.

6. Keep trying to find more stuff to agree on to avoid repeating certain points.

7. Table the discussion if you don't have time to finish it. Nobody has to finish a discussion now, so don't worry if you have to table it.

8. One debate at a time.

Like I said, this is rough, & needs honing. It's probably old news to many of you, though. Any insights, corrections, opinions & experiences are welcome.

*****Volunteer Teaching @ Church [economics, game theory, diffusion theory]*****

I have a firm belief in the idea that Christians need a strong general understanding on group behaviour & that any given body is greater than the sum of the parts. I volunteered by sending in an email, hoping that I could pass on my discoveries, insights, & opinions to my fellow class members. I'm really looking forward to it. Because I often may have trouble explaining myself, I'm going to need to prepare a few examples & illustrations. I'll keep you all updated.

Another reason that I volunteered to teach is that there is 1 or more people who don't do a decent job of teaching there. The 1 or more people don't seem to stir up an urgency or relevance to our lives, so the unclear ramblings begin to remind me of mental masturbation: thought provoking questions that nobody cares about. I hate that disgusting term, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. I should also point out that everybody seems to get a kick out of everybody else. It's only me that feels that way.

To everybody's credit, though, when you're dealing volunteers & a scarcity of teachers, then you have nobody to blame.

Summary: I didn't know that I attended a speed dating event until I read JawTheShark's journal entry about speed dating; I don't know why, but I just didn't realize it.

*****Disclaimer For Technolust: I'm not just moaning & groaning, & being unconfident*****
*****The Story*****
*****My Impressions of the Event*****

*****Disclaimer For Technolust: I'm not just moaning & groaning, & being unconfident*****

Technolust, I don't want you to think that I'm staying away from these events because I think that I'm not good enough. It's kind of the opposite; kind of. Maybe I'll have to give it another try 1 day. Your advice is still welcome.

*****The Story*****

Well, my cousin got a new boyfriend from a particular club that she joined, so since there was a bit of heated discussion about who he was & the quality of her boyfriends, someone came up the with idea that she should bring him to a games night with the small Bible study group. We were a pretty close knit bunch, so it isn't really as bad as it might seem. It's not as if we would kick her out if we didn't approve.

Anyways, as I got to talking with the fellow, I learned that there was a games night that the club was putting on. I was kind of hesitant to go, @ 1st, even though they kept suggesting.

Standard disclaimer: I try to give the details as best as I can to give you the full flavour of the moment, but you'll have to bear in mind that I'm quite forgetful, & thus I tend to fill in the blanks quite a lot.

"So, what kind of games do they play: Risk, Axis & Allies; or Taboo, Mad Gab & whatever?"
"Just group games. You know."
"Hmm, okay."
"So, what are the games called?"
"Just whatever. You know, like regular group games. Why don't you go?"
"Heh, I don't know. I might. They don't mind new comers just walking in, eh?"
"Oh, no! They'd love to have you. Why don't you go?"
"I guess. When is it?"
He said the time, but I leave it out, for privacy sake.
"Okay, I'll try to remember that. Where is it?"
"In Vancouver."
"Where abouts?"
"Just downtown. Why don't you give me your email address, & I'll send you the info?"

So, we exchange info, & the next thing I know, he has sent my info to someone that I don't recall meeting, who has signed me up with some web site. Ugh!!!! As annoying as that is, I'm able to look past that because the Internet is still relatively new for a lot of people. I certainly learned my lesson, though.

So, I went to the event. Despite what the web site said, I still kind of figured that it would be a casual event, where we wouldn't need to worry too much about anything. I tried to wear some nice casual stuff, assuming that I'd try to dress to impress, in case there were girls there. *sigh* All I know is that whatever was going on, it wasn't conveyed very well. You'd see some cool looking guys, some nerdy guys, a nerdy guys in a tie, 1 guy trying to look cool [that would be me ;^)], some fairly good looking women, some older looking women, & some who don't look all that attractive. All the people seemed very polite, & you'd get to know them on a casual basis. Some of them were even interesting enough that I got to know some of their hobbies & interests, so it wasn't all that bad.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think it was kind of cool. There were familiar faces from other contexts, & a woman that was in my former church's high school youth group.

On a sadder note, I felt sorry for the people who really dressed inappropriately. I don't know what is & isn't appropriate, but some people just didn't match.

So, 2 hours later, they finally start the "group games".

"Yippee!!!", I thought to myself, "After all, I'm not here to pick up chicks!". Boy was I wrong.

The 1st game was trying to match up the celebrities. On our name tags, the guys were supposed to have guy celebrity names, & the gals likewise. So, I would have to just go find the woman wearing the name of the celebrity that is married to or dating the celebrity that I am wearing. I didn't even know who my celebrity was, so I didn't win the coveted lottery tickets. Oh boo hoo!

In the 2nd game, the guys would get in an outer circle & face inwards, & the gals would be on the inner circle, & face outwards. A few guys would chat with 1 gal. It was all about supply & demand. It reminded me of The Bachelorette. Ugh! But what can you expect? So, I meet some interesting people & have some interesting conversations. Surprise, surprise; the better looking women were getting a whole lot of attention, & weren't moving a whole lot when they found someone they liked. Shucks!!! So, this fairly good looking lady comes my way, & talks with a few of us.

With a knowing smile on her face, "I know you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"Where from?"
"ECBC." [the initials of the church where we went to the youth group]
"Hmm, are you sure? I don't remember you."
"Yep. Young Life" [the name of the youth group; not affiliated with the actual organization]
"Okay, so what's your name?"
"[insert name]"
"Oh! No way! I remember you! I've always wondered what happened to you. You stopped coming."

I can't remember much of the discussion after that. The other guys basically jumped in, & she was being private in that she didn't really want to catch up on old times.

So, I basically walked around a bit more & chatted with the others. Nothing really excited me, & I don't think that anybody had any interesting connections.

We were supposed to write down names of people that we were interested in on blank business cards, & deposit it into a box. I think that I was the only 1. On my card, I said, "I'm not interested in meeting anybody, but if anybody's interested in meeting me, feel free to give her my number.". I don't think that it went over well, because when I asked if we were allowed to do that they didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea. Oh well.

So, I decided that it might be useful to see if I could get that girl's number [the girl from the former church's high school youth group]. She rejected me, outright. Yikes. I hate it when people do that, & make no attempt to show interest. I guess if there's no interest, then that's okay, but I'd rather have her be straight forward. But then again, isn't "No. I'd rather not." a pretty straight forward answer? :^) I guess my gripe with her is that I want know if she felt akward giving out her phone number as opposed to other contact info, or just not interested in anything. So, I paused, took a deap breath, & nodded my head.

"You don't want to give me your phone number, or you don't want to keep in touch?"
"I don't want to keep in touch."
"Alright. See ya later."
"Hah ha ha! Bye!"

Tip of the day: laughing rarely smooths over adversity; cut it out already!

So, I walk over to the table to write down that message that I put in the box, & some guys come over, saying "You got a number?!?". I wanted to brag, but I've got to be honest, right? & so, I was.

What really surprised me the most is that she walked up & offered her email address.

"Are you sure? You don't have to. I thought that you don't want to keep in touch."
"Yeah, but I am going away to [insert other country], & I didn't want to start any new relationships."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."

I have yet to contact her after several months, even though the paper is sitting on the top of my keyboard, just waiting to be used. *sigh* I'm too lazy.

*****My Impressions of the Event*****

I guess I expected more, & in not such an unnatural format. I don't like being put in front of a woman & being told, "Okay, start dating. Start relating to each other.". @ that split second in time, the only common thing that we have is that we are both single. Other than that, I know nothing about her, or the event. Lame!

I honestly would have expected a group game where you might have a chart where you fill in the blanks [ie: "Find someone who has had a root canal in the last year."; "Find someone who likes to juggle."; "Find someone who has travelled to a foreign country."]. I think this type of a game is better because then you have a reason to ask a direct question, & you don't look so lame for asking questions that turn up negative responses.

Feel free to comment & share your stories.

Summary: voice all complaints in this journal entry.

FortKnox made an interesting journal entry where people could voice complaints about him. As I suspected, nobody said anything negative about him [or @ least not majorly negative about him], that I can recall. I believe this is an accurate representation.

I thought it would be kind of interesting to let people voice complaints about me. Generally speaking, I don't like to hear complaining unless it's coming out of my mouth, but I think that it's okay here. What I'm really looking for is for comments on what you want to read more of. I usually don't write journal entries on some issues, because I think that everybody else has said it in the exact manner that I would have, or 2 or more people have said 2 or more parts of what I would have said. In other situations, I don't journal about things because I don't want to waste your time, & it doesn't help me much. I'm just trying to be considerate.

If there has been anything that I said to offend you, then let me know. I probably won't apologize or even show remorse, but you never know. I've changed a lot since the year 2000, & I am often amazed @ how often I've taken a complete opposite view on certain issues.

Also, this is a perfect opportunity for you to get another fan on your list. Lately, I haven't been adding too many people to my friends list because I've already got a whole bunch, & I've lost a little bit of interest in reading journals. However, don't let that stop you. If you think that you are particularly insightful, wise or knowledgable about a certain issue, & you want me to read up on it, then let me know. You don't have to agree with me on the issue, because I'm more open minded these days. I still make no promises, though.

Remember, if there is anything @ all that crawls under your skin because of me, then let me know. I'll try to bend over backwards, if it isn't a moral, political, or honesty issue.

Update: it's been pointed out that her last journal entry shows us that we've been trolled, thus making this journal entry an embarrassing mistake; I must confess that it doesn't look like she is saying that we've been trolled, but I'll take Safety Cap's word for it.

Summary: If any of you don't know who she is, then don't bother reading this journal entry about how offended I am.

I read the whole journal entry of LG, & she seemed rather offensive in her approach; or should I say departure. I missed many of her journal entries because I never bothered to friend her. It's kind of weird, because she never seemed to frequent this side of The Circle. All discussions that I hear about seem to go on elsewhere.

The part that really offended me the most was her complaint about Safety Cap. I don't understand how anybody could complain about that. It's not as if the code is staring @ us in the face. She must have made a conscious attempt @ to look for it, & as far as I know, made no attempts @ improving it. I don't care if chicken scratch marks on wood make better code; the fact is that Safety Cap & others took time out of their own schedules to save us time. When we participate in the contest, we can make use of the simpler interface [correct terminology?]. It's not as if we are going to sell the code, or definitely use it again. If we are, then great. If anybody doesn't see a problem here already, then you're missing out. I'm not going to elaborate. I don't see how anyone can complain.

To people like LG, who feel that they have a right to be rude, I say, good riddens! I'm not even sure that I can accept the fact that others have wished her well.

Summary: the 1 hour lesson had lots of theory & practical practise. I passed out. I think that teacher is good even though he is white. Shop around if you want to sign up for lessons.

I was kind of nervous when I signed up for this, but I'm glad that I did. I thought that the guy would have lots of pride, but I think that it isn't any different than if I hired a physics or calculus tutor to teach me the respective subject. In other words, he doesn't seem to have any arrogance or pride that I can detect.

1 thing that I had to get over was wondering if a white guy could do as good as a yellow 1. Obviously, he could, but the thing is, how would I know any different until it is too late? Well, I think that he is good, because he treats it like a business, as opposed to a religion. There is some respect to pay to the people have blazed this kung-fu trail before us, but fortunately, it isn't religious. It's just doing a quick bow before entering the room [to show respect to those who are learning right now], & before & after the lesson, kneeling & saying something like, "To the masters!". I notice that this fellow teaches theory behind each action which helps to give a better idea of what we are striving for, whereas lots of yellow people seem to focus on doing the action precisely before telling you what you are doing. As a result you don't know how to improve what you are doing. With them, you just repeat your actions until you're told to change it, whereas with him, you are reminded of what you are aiming for. You'd probably know what I'm talking about if you saw the comparison. So, in short, his whiteness actually turned out to be beneficial, in that he took a westernized approach to things.

If you decide to take lessons, try to find a place that looks clean enough for your purposes, & where they actually make you work out. The other place that I saw made you do things in a way that spent a lot of time stretching & standing around. Something else to consider is the kind of floor they have. This particular place has an aerobics floor which is wood on rubber, & thus is more forgiving compared to wood & cement.

After about 35 minutes into the lesson, I passed out. I was surprised @ how intense the activity was. It wasn't as if I was breathing heavily. I was quite calm as well. He said that this happens quite often. People don't understand what kind of intensity is involved in this kind of a workout. Marathon runners & soccer players still have difficulty with this, he said. 1 guy was taken to the hospital. Most people who pass out are people who missed 1 or more meals before coming to the lesson. I guess that I'll be packing some beef jerky along with me. I intend to get a month transit pass as well, so that I won't have to walk. I actually spent about 1 hour walking before I arrived.

This morning I tried almond dessert tofu covered with approx. 5 heaping table spoons of strawberry jam for breakfast. It reminds me of a strawberry sundae, just as I hoped it would. It's quite good. A better comparison is super soft almond flavoured jello covered with jam. Whatever. I highly recommend it.

For quite some time now, I've had a lot of text in the right column. I got tired of pressing PgDown 4 times just to start reading something meaningful. I decided to cut the texts out from their respective fields in the preferences page, & I record it for my own reference.

If you want to add text to your right column, then just remember that you can't add periods in the fields, if I recall correctly.

*****Summary*****
*****AOL*****
*****ICQ*****
*****Yahoo!*****
*****Jabber*****

*****Summary******
AOL: do the right thing even when it isn't convenient & profitable
ICQ: independence is overrated
Yahoo!: transit is good; let's make it & use it
Jabber: science is overrated; check for certainty by crossreferencing unconnected communities

*****AOL*****

you always have to do the right thing; unfortunatly, it isn't always convenient; to make matters worse, sometimes it isn't even profitable

*****ICQ*****

I believe that independence is way overrated; are you really going to look down on someone just because he is humble enough to admit that he needs someone else? I don't see any advantage to claiming to be independent of others; I look @ it from a game theory point of view; what could I get by being alone & doing things on my own? on the other hand, what could I get if I work together with someone or a group of people? I could get more by working with others & depending on them; I would rather work with them

*****Yahoo!*****

transit is important, not from an air pollution point of view, but from a space usage point of view; all of these electric cars may not spew out a lot of toxins, but they still use a lot of parts & energy, plus they still take up a lot of room on the road; would it make you feel better knowing that you are still going to have to sit in 1.5 hours of rush hour traffic? the electric car is good, but it's not going to solve most of our problems; we need better transit so that our space usage will be much more efficient; another thing that is worth considering is placing limits on the geographical size of a city; for example, if the size of the city could only be X km^2, then there will be financial incentives to start building more efficient houses & apartments; it's always neat to have a nice home with a front yard & back yard, but I don't think that it is all that practical because we don't have the time & expertise to make it as nice as it should be; I guess this whole thing can be summed up as better transit, & better city planning

*****Jabber*****

I believe that the science community thinks too highly of itself; any time they come up with an idea, then only they can give proper review in order for it to be verifiable; well, excuse me for not submitting a proper essay; I believe that the better way is to cross check the idea with other areas of society; if 2 [or more] different communities that have different incentives believe something is true, then it is reasonable to believe that it is true; the reason that I say this, is because when each group believes that something is true, they each have to take different risks to make use of that fact; for example, the Christian church & the science communities both believe that the world is round; the Christian church has to be sure of this if they want to continually send people to other counties around the world, in order to reach people for Christ; otherwise, they may send missionaries to their impending doom; scientists have a different incentive; they have to be sure that their calculations are accurate, so they are always careful to bear in mind the proper shape of things; when each of these communities has their own incentives, there is less of a risk to create conflicts of interests; the science community has a conflict of interest in that they get lots of their funding from the government, & aren't held accountable by anybody but themselves for their beliefs; just like anybody else, what they believe does matter; so, the moral of the story is to ask 2 or more distinct communities what they believe regarding a matter, then try to find out how it profits them & affects their actions

These are a few misc. thoughts that have been going through my mind today.

Edit: 2nd paragraph of the Relationships section

*****Good Deed Tip*****
*****Dessert Tofu Recipes*****
*****Relationships: Conversation Rhythms*****

*****Good Deed Tip*****

I was on the way to church today, & I saw a lady who couldn't figure out what to do with her fare. She appeared to be unable to speak English. I was going to just put her fare in the box on her behalf. I realized that she would have paid more than she needed to. I checked to see if I could break her $2 coin for her, & found out that I didn't have the correct change. Fortunately, for her, somebody else had it.

Tip: always carry enough change to break a larger denomination, for exact bus fare.

I'm sure that the person that you help will really appreciate it. You'll be helping transit as well.

*****Dessert Tofu Recipes*****

Lately, I've been trying to incorporate more tofu into my life. I'm trying to be supportive of the industry. For those of you who don't like tofu flavour, my best advice is to "Chinese it up", or maybe "Italian it up". In other words, you just need to add stronger ingredients. If I don't eat tofu regularly, then I feel so disappointed.

I saw a commercial that gave a tofu smoothie recipe. You just throw the following ingredients in a blender:
* 1 block of dessert tofu
* 1 banana
* 1 can of orange juice concentrate

Obviously you'll have to adjust to taste till you perfect your own recipe. I found that it is very sweet & sour. There needs to be something that absorbs some of the flavour. There also needs to be something that compliments the flavour.

I also used Google to search for more recipes with the search terms, "dessert tofu recipes", without quotes.

I'm looking forward to trying some breakfast recipes as well.

*****Relationships: Conversation Rhythms*****

I'm probably not the best person to be giving advice, but I'd like to bring up the topic for discussion. @ the very least, I'd like some affirmation about whether or not I'm on the right track. If you're married [or have been], then you're definitely qualified to advise in this discussion. If you're not married, but feel confident in your social skills, then by all means, say something.

For some time now, I've strongly believed that in order to have a fun time with friends & to make friends, you have to be able to follow a rhythm in a conversation. To follow that rhythm, you have to understand that:
* you can't wait to be prompted to join in & you shouldn't have to prompt others
* you always need to be looking out for what is more interesting to all people: the topic @ hand, or the next tangent
* you have to be able to gauge interest [by reading body language] so that you can decide on whether or not you need to move to the next point of discussion
* you have to be thinking proactively [you can't mentally lean back & discuss things passively]
* you have to practise getting good @ the social skills that you already have, until it becomes natural, so that it frees up your mind to think about advanced social skills [dating is more advanced than hanging out with casual friends, marriage is more advanced than dating, etc.]; I think that this attitude carries over to other skills like making music, computer programming, writing, problem solving, reading comprehension, math, spacial, etc.; in other words, you have to master the basics in socializing, music playing, computer programming, writing, etc. before you can become good @ the skills of the relevant skill set

Well, am I right?

The story behind this is what happened a couple of times in church. In both cases, I tried to find something to add to the conversation, that wasn't always just questions, that wasn't always just about her, & that wasn't always just about me [not that I do always talk about me; I was just thinking proactively].

In the 1st case, I was just conversing to be polite, courteous, & considerate. In the 2nd case, I sat down in this pew with a lady who seemed quite attractive. Because she seemed to be in the social upper class, I was really quite nervous. I didn't expect much to happen beyond just a few sentences. She seemed old enough to be most likely married. Lately, I haven't been outgoing, & thus haven't introduced myself to any strangers. This time around though, I decided to give it a shot. After all, what's the worst that could happen when you're just saying, "Hello."?

Well, it went really well. We talked with each other about work, loniness [because it related to our jobs], & other things. In fact, we talked till the beginning of the service. I was really quite impressed @ the results. I never expected the conversation to have to be cut off just because the service was starting.

I feel so successful. It's unbelievable. I know it's not much as far as the outward outcome, but I feel successful, because
* it was very controlled [none of it "just happened"]
* the goals were very specific
* the goals were achievable
* the goals were achieved
* I actually enjoyed the conversation, as opposed to just "did it for the other person's sake" & felt happier because of the conversation
* she appeared to enjoy the conversation as well

Dictionary.com has a web page on how to get instant access to the web site. With Mozilla, I don't think that you need that web page, because you probably already have a nick name set up for the query. However, with Opera, it doesn't seem to work, so the suggested link helps you get your query with less steps. Lately, I've been opening a new tab, then dragging the bookmark into the address bar, then adding the word @ the end of the query address. This takes extra steps when you want to query again without opening a new tab. I suppose that you could use that text box @ the top of the page, though. Their method saves about 1 or 2 clicks [or keystrokes], & just seems much more intuitive in my opinion. The worst is opening up their front page, then doing the query, because it takes 1 extra page load.

Take my 2 cents for what it's worth, but bear in mind that the exchange rate is changing.

*****Acticle Moderating HowTo*****

DaytonCIM, I think that you were joking when you made the suggestion, but I was thinking of the same thing in a serious manner. I'd like to see how far I can take this.

The 1st 2 moderations that I could think of are:
-1 Michael
+1 Cliff

These should be pretty self explanitory.

Rules:
* You can moderate according to your own opinion.
* Don't do it just out of spite; do it to actually give the article an actual moderation
* If you start the thread, use the following subject line: ARTICLE MODERATION
* Make sure that your moderation is a reply to that starter comment.
* Place only the moderation in the subject line
* Only replies directly to the starter comment should be counted.
* Any reply is to be considered discussion about the respective moderation.

If you all want to suggest possible moderations, either just go ahead & do it or post it here, or wherever. I'd love to hear what you have in mind.

Also, if you want to ammend the rules, then let us know.

I'm hoping that 1 day, some1 will make a web site that actually searches through these articles looking for the thread, & counts up the modpoints.

Suggestions:
* Do this anonymously, so that people can mod it down. Modding down this thread is actually a good thing because it takes up a lot of screen realestate.
* If you want to post a rationale, then do it in the comment area.
* Try to follow standard protocals so that it is easy to gather the data.

*****Thanks for Support*****

I thought that all of you chimed in well, when you commented.

Just in case anybody didn't see, I agreed with Banky's comment in FortKnox's journal entry. It's not really about whether or not God exists. It's all about whether or not such-n-such activity works automatically, no matter what, or improves the overall outcome no matter what. I admit that prayer doesn't produce those outcomes. I think that all/most believers in any religion agree with me.

That being said, I admit that I didn't read the article! :^) :^/

Update & Edit: This has been rejected quicker than a nerd @ the school dance. ;^)

What is everybody wearing this year? How many are going as Tux, or a gentoo? I figure that with the popularity changes in the BSDs, there certainly must be a change in other OS costumes? Is anybody going as RMS, Alan Cox or Eric Raymond? Whatever happened to the guys dressing up as kill & killall? I'm considering whether or not I should dress up as a zombie process to avoid getting thrown out. Other things that I'm considering are KDE [bloated but popular with the girls] or the command prompt [skinny but unhelpful & unfriendly]. For those of you who enjoy talking a lot, but don't have anything meaningful to say, or are hard to understand, try dressing up as a man page.