iMoan

Yeah, I go on and on about it. But I actually cannot get over how gimmicky the iPhone is.

Here, it costs about €400 at least to own one. The iPhone has a phone, MP3 player and camera built in. MiPhone has that (See what I did there?). I was pretty sure that's all a phone needed until I seen these things.

We are fickle, humans. We are materialistic and we're also greedy somewhat. Everyone wants to think they are getting something for free. I know I do. But I also know when I am being duped.

So, you are told that you get lots of free extras in an iPhone.

You get thousands of free apps! (you never needed before!) And you combine loads of gimmicks with practical stuff! And you paid €400 for it! Yahoo!!



iPhone 4g specs and what I think of them: (Same! denotes what my shitty €150 phone has)

my phone- no touch screen. What do I need this for when buttons will suffice? = gimmick

vibration, mp3 ringtones = same!

headphone jack, 3.5mm = same!

endless phonebook entries and photocall = WHY do I need endless phone entries. I know about 100 people and call probably 5 of them regularly and that's still only once or twice a month!

Photocall - first of all I have know idea what this means. Do they mean photo(graph) call? What use is that? Why would you want to call someone you are  photographing and why wouldn't you just look for them by name anyway? If they mean video call, what practical use has it over normal calls unless you are calling abroad regularly? Money in Apple's pocket, fickle tag for you.

100 dialled and missed calls - If you are not going to answer your phone you shouldn't have one

512 RAM - ram to run your battery down from all those useless apps and for Apple to charge you replacement on a new battery! Yay! MP3 plyer? Why not! - Gimmick

16/32gb memory - have you seen how big a photo is these days? 1 - 2 megs minimum. That, your songs, your messages, your numbers, your applications... Oh, and you cannot expand the memory on these things - Gimmick

GPRS - Why? In case you get lost jogging? Or will you need it on the mountain? Didn't you know moisture damage voids your warranty anyway?- Gimmick

seriously, why though?

Wlan and Bluetooth - Same!

USB - (Finally!) - Same!

Camera - 5 mega-pixel. Remember, the bigger your camera, the more memory your photos and videos will take up. Video calling over WIFI only. Yes, because while we're walking down the road, we will want to be looking at our phone instead of having it up to our ear. Nice one.

CPU - 1ghz Apple  A4 - battery battery battery...

And these are some of the other gimmicks I could strip apart but am getting too bored to continue:

FEATURES	OS	iOS 4
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
	Browser	HTML (Safari)
	Radio	No
	Games	Downloadable, incl. motion-based
	Colors	Black, White
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	No
		- MicroSIM card support only - Scratch-resistant glass back panel - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Digital compass - Google Maps - Audio/video player and editor - Voice command/dial - TV-out

And let's not forget the all important disclaimer:

Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.

Anyway, unless the best iPhone is available at a price of 200 quid or less in the mean time, I won't be getting one. I have had many potential Apple marketing employees bicker with me over why it's so great recently but in fairness, that is what they want -  people who love it to try convince people like me why I should want one too. It just does not seem economically viable or practical enough for me to change what I already have in order to get one. I mean, if there was even free public WIFI in Ireland I would be swayed slightly into getting one as I feel it's one of the iPhone's only strong point. But as we're getting ripped off on both Internet and iPhones, I'll be sticking with my 'oul Nokia E51

That is all

Scams Abound

There is something annoying me recently

Actually, to say it's actively annoying me is not really true. In fact, I only decided to start this wee rant having been triggered by a McDonald's ad and that started the landslide, as it were. But I have been taking mental note of a few things, a few modern scams that almost everyone falls into at sometime or another. I really try turn a blind eye to this stuff generally, as our society is one built up on one scam after another, but sometimes I just can't help myself... that's only when I, or some people close to me are directly affected by them.

So here are a few recent scams and oversights that just keep getting my attention.

McDonald's urinals save over 100,000 litres of water per year!

OK, this is just false. McDonald's urinals do not save over 100,000 litres of water per year, they just do not use over 100,000 litres of water per year! It's not like these particular urinals ever used 100,000 litres of water and then stopped. They have no use for water. They don't need it. They could say "We use urinals that don't have to use over 100,000 litres of water per year instead of ones that do" But these urinals do not save water. It's not like they have a switch to decide whether you prefer them to flush or not. The trick is in the phrasing. Now why doesn't everywhere else use them? Who knows. But McDonald's urinals do not save water. It's like when say, Kellogg's reduce the price of Cruncy Nut Cornflakes from 3.20 to 3.00 permanently and then say "You save 20c on Crunchy Nut Cornflakes!" Truth is, they cannot continue to charge 3.20 any more because no-one is buying 'em, so they reduce the price and remind you that they are cheaper now. You save nothing except their asses from losing their job. So McDonald's use waterless urinals because the government won't let them waste any more water. It's that simple. And what of urinals that use water? It all ends up in the same place anyway and gets treated and reused. You probably, at some stage, drank Oliver Cromwell's piss at some point. I think it just ends up costing you more money. That is when the government charge you for what they should already be paying for out of the tax you pay. Which leads me onto Garbage.

Recycling in Ireland

Why are we the only country that pays the government to recycle for us? And why do we go through the trouble of separating waste when we pay them to do it for us? In Germany, for example, they charge an extra 10c on a bottle of Cola so that when you finish you get to claim that money back on recycling. At festivals, if there are cans and bottles left lying about, kids will actually clean them up to make a few quid for themselves. They have people cleaning up after themselves because they stand to make money from it. The U.S is the same with even the homeless collecting old cans and bottles to make a few extra bucks. Why don't we have it here? It would inspire people to keep the streets and the environment clean. But no. Instead we have to pay to do our own recycling which if we choose not to, will not be collected! What a bunch of morons we are for letting them get away with this.. If we are paying for our recycling, they should be sorting it themselves. Wake the f*ck up. I'm all for recycling, but not all for being ripped off and played like a fool.

iPhone

This is ridiculous. You've probably heard me go on about these before but I haven't even scratched the surface. Apple marketing are genius. They have everyone going on about how great the iPhone is for them. Steve Jobs doesn't need to do his job. Truth is, iPhones aren't all that good. Let's take away the normal things phones are supposed to do... calls and texts. Now what have you got... An MP3 player, a camera and a portable web-browser. Great. So I lose my phone and my camera and MP3 player all in one when I leave it behind somewhere. Plus my cookies are probably saved on it too, so I lose my privacy and probably my bank details too. All that aside, the iPhone is probably a good web browser. fair enough. But after my few basic songs, messages and photos are saved, what storage do I have left? Apple iPhones haven't even got expandable memory... you have to upgrade to get that. Now this is Apple marketing genius right here. You get f*ck-all extras with your first iPhone and it cannot be upgraded unless you get a new one. Great. Cheap is it? No! Not if you've scratched or damaged it slightly. Or God* forbid you hacked it to get better deals on your calls! No replacement for you pal. Full price all the way.
Now, Apple boasts that you can have 100,000 applications at your fingertips with the iPhone (What's with this number?) "You will revolutionise the way you use the internet and application on the go" (or some bullsh*t like that. I'm paraphrasing as always) Tell me this, when before this iPhone did I ever need those applications before this? I didn't. And you didn't. Admit it, you just have a low threshold for normality and get bored easily. It's just as bad as the iFad (iPad) and how I could go on about that. Speaking of things you don't need...

L-Casei Imunitass

Look it's as simple as this. Thousands of years of evolution and we never needed it. Why do we need it now all of a sudden? Is it some kind of insurance that we'll live longer? Hardly. What's so good about living "longer" anyway (Longer than who.. yourself? A paradox methinks...) until you are old and pissing yourself and burdening your kids? Ugh. And bifidus digestivum? Perhaps when Apple's marketing team starts failing they can hire the L-Casei people. That is genius. Or maybe they can just change their whole marketing campaign to Latin. Useful for selling you shit you don't need. And while I'm at it...

Insurance:

Genius scam of the last couple of hundred years I think. Speculation payments. Fear payments. Risk payments. Gambling is the exact same. Insurance pays the benefactors, Gambling the beneficiaries... to some extent. Both carry risks you may or may not benefit from, depending on the actions of others. Insurance pays out IF you have an accident and Gambling pays out IF you are "Lucky" (See rant on Chances and Luck). Both are a shambles. You should be more careful who you throw your money at I think. Promises depending on how careless you are... shouldn't you just be more careful with your money?




*Yeah, yeah, yeah

What The F*ck Happened To My Choice, Man?

I have too many things to say about choices, but I wanna discuss a few of my "favourites". That is to say, I'm not fond of all of these things, but I like to be able to drag them kicking and screaming out into the public where they cannot hide any more. It irks me when my choices are restricted by others and it also irks me when I'm subjected to the choices of others. Anyway, in no particular order, here are my Top 10 choice related favourites:

1 - Phone calls

You know when you get that phone call you weren't expecting? OK, not always bad. You know when you get that phone call where someone's on the end and they are giving out to you over something rubbish? I'd like to have the choice of whether or not to take those calls. I certainly gain the choice next time that number rings. I make sure of it. You know those phone calls where the caller decides to subject you to an hour long monologue of everything they've done in the last... hour? I want the choice of whether I want to listen to that or not. What the f*ck happened to my choice, man?

2 - Destination

You know when you have said in passing to someone that you might go somewhere with them sometime as a sign of good faith? You know when they rigorously hold you to it instead of just going themselves? You know when they ask you "do you want to go to XXX with me?" and you say "No" but then they say "But you said you'd go to XXX with me" and you're like "What the f*ck happened to my choice man?" That bothers me.

3 - Radio & Music

I stopped listening to the radio because there was no choice available. There is only the usual soulless stuff that anyone could have written. There is so little diversity on public radio yet you are expected to pay RTE for the "privilege". So the radio and MTV and every other corporate giant plays the same crap all day and subjects you to DJs talking complete sh*t constantly and I'm like "What the f*ck happened to my choice man?". If there is one thing that is more irritating than radio generic music it's DJs who think they are interesting and the people that don't switch them off. You have a choice. The one other thing is people blaring their terrible taste in music at you while working or whatever and subjecting you to awful music overlays on Youtube or something. What is with all that awful stuff on funny accident compilations??

4 - TV

So I have opted to choose not to watch TV for the same reason as public radio. It is so unbelievably bad that it's not even worth switching the TV on before 21.00. Car insurance? Dr. Phil? Jeremy Kyle? Claims Direct? Endless hours of  TV soaps? Feckin "The Hills"?? Where's the option to watch something else? What the f*ck happened to my choice man? Oh wait, you have to pay through the face to get it, don't you? And.. f*cking AND you have to pay a TV license too! That is piss poor man. At BEST it's piss poor.

5 - Reading

So my choice if I want to read something is: Go on the internet. Forget Tabloids, broadsheets... they are both the same. Full of shit. Celebrities I never heard of who are suddenly popular, but when I ask someone why I get the same confused looks. I've given up on the papers too, incidentally. Depressing stuff or just plain rubbish. I want to do some light science reading, where do I get that? What the f*ck happened to my choice man? The popular choice is utterly disappointing to say the least. And then I got some folks who gave out about my blogs (they were phased outta my "friends" list recently) and I'm thinking, "hang on, didn't you decide to click on it? And didn't you decide to get offended by it?"

6 - Random Insults and Abuse

So you know these people who go around insulting everyone? You know these people who attack everyone they see and those who go around abusing people like physically and mentally? What the sh*t is that? You know when you're out for a drink and this asshole comes over and starts giving you grief over your hair, clothes or tattoos or something and you're just left going "What the f*ck happened to my choice man?" cuz all you wanted to do was wait for a bus or something? That f*cking p*sses me off no end.


7 -  Pro-Choice

Now if I'm not mistaken, the same f*ckers who subject you to sh*tty newspapers, terrible TV, terrible abuse and awful awful radio are the very same as those who need the ratings and support to continue on their assault. It makes sense that there are people conditioned to support them so why not tell them they don't have a choice in whether or not they want to have that illegitimate child in order to build up their ranks? (Pure speculation!!) It's easy to bully someone into making bad decisions, just look at the ratings for Eastenders and you'll see what I mean. People who want the choice of whether or not they want to have kids to oil up this machine are not allowed to because it's "wrong" to not carry through a pregnancy if you don't want it. If you were raped by one of society's thugs, it's wrong to want to delete those few extra cells in your body that could contribute to f*ucking up your life and the life of that child who didn't choose whether or not to be born. In other words, if I get a girl pregnant, the zombies in society decide whether or not we can decide to terminate the process here or not. I have to rely on the public backing to make my decision or else inconveniently travel to do it. The same people who decide to read tabloids, listen to generic music, watch crap and go around abusing and limiting others because they never took the choice themselves get to decide my fate. What the f*ck happened to my choice man? I am p*ssed off at the closed minded limitations of the majority side. Use your f*cking brain (if you have one after all that brain melt you suffer)


8 - Too Much Choice In The Supermarket

I read a funny cartoon in Calvin and Hobbes once. Calvin's Dad goes to the supermarket and is presented with too many varieties in each thing he needs to buy and ends up freaking out. This happened to me recently and I laughed in hindsight at that situation. I tried searching for the cartoon but couldn't find it. What the f*ck happened to my choice man? But seriously, There are far too many varieties out there. I mean, why do we need so much of this stuff? Laziness on one part I think. It's great to have choice, but not when the manufacture of it drives up the price of goods. And on that note too, It's good to have a variety of places to shop to keep down the price of goods also.

9 - Government

There is simply no choice between governments out there. Two right wing choices will have the same effects and pretty much the same policies. When push comes to shove, they will put big corporations earning them and the politicians money before you. There is no centre-left choices out there, no liberal democrats. What the f*ck happened to my choice man? I don't want any of this sh*t.


10 - Addiction, Smoking

So why am I subjected to your second-hand smoke? Why am I subjected to your abusive behaviour as a result of over-indulgence? Because I have no choice apparently. What the f*ck happened to my choice man? It disappeared as soon as you made your habit social. And you defend your "right" to do it. Well I have a right to be left alone and to have clean lungs. remember that the next time you are subjecting someone to your decisions.

And The Bonus Choice! - Death By Choice

So you decide to hang out with losers and violent criminals. You are active in gangland, as it were. You pretty much seal your fate when you knowingly hang out with scumbags and criminals. Look, no-one deserves to die unnaturally and no-one deserves to be murdered. But you know what these guys are like and you can stop participating any time. You know that shit kills you, but you put it consciously into your body by choice. You participate in that death-defying hobby because it makes you feel alive! But you know equally, that it may kill you. A blind-eye is often turned to these activities but what of euthanasia? When someone actually can't bear the pain of living with a disease? When they know they are past their willing participation in this world? Suicidal people are different. They think there is no other way but death. By the pro-euthanasia folk know there is no other way. thinking and knowing are two different things. Physical anguish and mental anguish are two polar opposites. With the pre-euthanised, usually it's the mind willing but the flesh weak. With suicidal people it's the mind unwilling and the flesh capable. The mind can go on forever but the flesh cannot and does not. This is why I would like to know  What the f*ck happens to my choice if I need to make it, man? I already went through depression and survived. I could do it 100 times. But if I am suffering painful cancer or something I want the choice of whether to sail with it and live in pain or just see my time out as I see fit. Or unfit as it were.

That is all



Free Will

A Few Words on Intuition

Often-times I miss out because I didn't follow my gut. I have missed out on opportunities when I was growing up because I didn't speak up. I have missed out as I got older too. It took me four years to pluck up the courage to ask a girl out once. It didn't work out but we stayed really good friends. But it took a really long time to figure that one out. I'll never get that time back again. Funny thing is, I wouldn't change it if I could. Of course this is totally relative now, but it's still worth a mention. I wish I'd had the courage to do it sooner and just take the opportunity when it came up. But such is life. I don't regret it, I just became a better person as a result. That is kinda priceless I reckon. Anyway.

Lesson learned? You bet.

So I have become a little more impulsive as I have gotten older. Big weekends and days out still take some planning, but I don't place a lot of expectation in those things so I don't really lose if they fall through. I mean I can always just do something else impromptu. That's my word of the month; "Impromptu". Any kind of human relationship however, should be a little more than impromptu and a little less rationalised. Just take a few chances. There are plenty more fish in the sea as they say. It's not hard to find a balance. If you think they are fun and can handle their worst without going insane and you have good chemistry, knock yourself out and enjoy the ride for however long it lasts. It's only companionship, it's not death. As long as you are alive you are capable of finding a companion. Those are good f*cking odds. No pun intended.

So

I have thought actively, up until last February, about going to college. But That is a lot of reasoning about something I should want to do if I want to further my education. But in what? And will I stay doing it? Will I want to spend four years in college?

Exactly. Lesson learned? Off course!*

So anyway, without going into example after example and going on and on, I've been thinking about the stages of ambition and determination and also, the three tiers of denial. Basically, I've been thinking about over-thinking. Actually that is a lie... I wrote the title for this blog and just started typing. I have just decided now that that is what I want to talk about. So read on if that intrigues you. 

Ok, so as far as I'm concerned, there are three divisions in your psyche when it comes to making choices. The first one is the impulsive or intuitive decision, the second is the rational or reasoned decision and the third is the rotten stale decision.

They are divided up between true, captured and regretful. That is the desired decision, the mind decision and the heart decision.

The first decision is made on the spot or usually when the situation presents itself. For example, if I were to make a decision based on something I want now, I would be to a ticket office and would be leaving on a big ol' jet plane by November. If the money was there, I'd be dust in the wind.

I now place this decision to my mind and rationalise it. I am going to go, just as soon as I have enough money. My rationalising mind will try look for reasons why I shouldn't go and also for reasons I should just go and not care.

If I do not act upon this impulse or reasoned decision, It will be committed to heart and it will fester there until I do something about it. Like any steaming pile of sh*t, it will eventually rot and stagnate and I will be left feeling unwell and will have to deal with moving it on, in all it's unpleasantness later.

So what is the best decision? In my opinion, the first decision you make is usually the right one. You make mistakes and bad choices in the mean time and then you end up doing it anyway. Or else you suffer your decision not to and all reason gets wasted. But of course that is my opinion, not yours. OK, you can reason why like saying "Aw, but when I get back I'll have no money" or "My cousin is getting married and I'll miss it" or some other horse-sh*t like that but I mean, where the f*ck are you going to get in life by over-rationalising things? You'll have an older version of yourself doing things you should have done ages ago. You create a mental backlog and burden everyone else around you with your bad decisions. I wouldn't say it unless I thought it to be true. In such cases, I make up 40% of the vote of confidence (40%, incidentally, is exam pass minimum in Ireland. 50% is generally half the entire vote the world over and a few percent makes majority. That is my way of deciding things XD) so it only takes a few more examples to convince me that it's probably right, seeing as I am me and have to make my own decisions and choices. Take that!

So, just using the examples I have supplied, I'd rather be a young man looking for the perfect life for me and knowing what isn't, than an old man who knows and can't do anything about it. Taking chances has become what life is all about for me. I seldom regret things for more than a minute and know deep down, in the festering cellar of my heart what I will and will not do. What lines I will cross and what ones I won't touch with a 50ft stick. If you are unlucky enough to be standing in my way when decision time comes around, I wish you all the best and urge you yourself, not to get caught up trying to rationalise what you really want out of life. 

The continents weren't rationalised apart it just kinda "happened" for (arguably) whatever reason. Now we all have to make the effort to try bridge the gap if we really want to. There is no reason good enough not to talk to someone you like either... there is every reason just to bail in and hope for the best. Soon you might be old and rich, but you may be physically unable to do anything you always wanted to do.

"Always wanted". Think about that.

But not too much, ey?

*Random homage to Final Fantasy VII. Also, yes, I was way off course reasoning something I clearly didn't want to do for six goddamn** years

** Though I'm not religious, I reserve my right to use any goddamn religious profanity I please

A Few Words on Selfishness

I love this. It's a trick card. Manipulated by your loved ones and overplayed to the point it has become dog-eared and needs replacement. Allow me to try replace this cornerstone of arguments for you if you will. A selfish person is defined in most cases as someone who doesn't look after the needs of others. They are self-centred and self absorbed. Depression is a selfish disease. One can get so wrapped up in their own affairs that everything else can seem really unimportant compared to their own suffering. That being said, the best cure for depression is to get over yourself, I think. Spend some time outdoors. Out of yourself or out of your head... not in the drunken or drug addled states, Incidentally. Just out of your obsessive thinking brain and get into life, into everything else that is actually going on.

Anyway, Selfishness is defined as looking after No.1 only. That's right. No.1 only.

So don't you hate when someone calls you selfish because you aren't thinking of them? You know when they suggest that you should be thinking of them all the time.You know when they are demanding that you pour attention on them? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is selfish. Demanding that I divert my attention for your sake. I was always a firm believer that if something doesn't gain your attention naturally via care, respect and charity etcetera it generally wasn't worth caring about. Every day you see thousands pass charity workers who beg for attention on the streets and these could be classed as "Selfish". By the way, there is nothing more irritating than someone who demands that you care about the same things they do.

Now, you might be thinking that "someone has to pay these charities in order to help the starving children of the world". Tell me this: Are you paying them? Do you walk by them on the streets with excuses like "Sorry, I'm in a rush" or "Not today"? You are selfish, by the popular definition. Sorry about that pal, no double standards allowed.

Of course, I would be first to admit that by the popular, over-used definition, I too am selfish. But I'm not a traditionalist nor do I claim to be. I don't claim to live by standards set by men of old so I don't go much by outdated doctrines or definitions. I might be a number of terrible things according to the holy bible, for example. It doesn't interest me. But this is what I'm talking about, people who live by old ways and act by modern ways. Where are you living? In the ideal world in your head or the real world? I think most are living in two worlds if you ask me. They hold tight to old definitions but blatantly flaunt them for their own benefit.

So you don't give to charity, but you aren't selfish. I don't either. You give what you can when you can. That is cool, because I do that too. Yet I am selfish because I wasn't thinking about you but you aren't selfish because you think that I should be thinking about you. It doesn't add up. The last time I checked, I'm pretty sure I was born as one person. I might kinda understand how a twin or an IDENTICAL twin might think that the other twin should be thinking of them, but I cannot understand how anyone else, close or otherwise should expect you to be thinking about them. This, is my confusion over selfishness. I myself am selfless to a fault at the best of times. I buy people drinks and food. I give away money to homeless people. (The last time I checked, this was the definition of charity, sorry one of the definitions of charity that is seen) I often go without the last piece for the benefit of someone else. Yet somehow paradoxically I am selfish because I wasn't thinking about you. Pat yourself on the back there. Go on. You deserve it. Then nuzzle up to your double-standards when you go to sleep because you are obviously very comfortable with them. You only care about selfishness when it suits you. 


That is selfish.

Just a Little Push

- (Title Donated By Crosser)
- (First 2 paragraphs taken from Whitney's blog) =)


Stuck In A Moment...


So I've been thinking and what I've been thinking is this: Why exactly, I don't cash in on the fads set by modern society.

We're always working to an end, a possible future or some idea we have

about ourselves. We think that somewhere along the route we'll be

happier for the hard work we do now, but you know what? We never are.

Hard work now doesn't pay off when you weigh it against the loss of

right now. The sweat and tears we pour into trying to compete for a

place in the world

.

But the funny thing is, and I thought about this a lot, why struggle

for a piece of the gold? Why struggle for a place in society or a big

house on the hills? When I look down, I see my body and that pretty

much assures me that I'm a part of it all, no matter how much money I

have or don't have. Each and every person is capable of being an

adequate building block, an adequate citizen, regardless of what they

want in their mind-projected future. Some time the future will be now

and I won't feel all that different about it so long as I stop

sacrificing all I have for precious little. And what is the point in

working so damn hard for accommodation you don't want in a place you

may or may not stay in? If you ask me, it's investing precious time of

a very limited life that if you are not happy about in the immediate,

you clearly have no way of enjoying in the "future". There is no time

to enjoy but right now, I think. If you really want to change

something, don't think about it or project it, just do it. =)

Of course there are downsides to being stuck in the present. The

classic case of the undereducated couple who don't know when to stop a

good moment and the girl ends up pregnant for it. Your moment

continues onto a long period of responsibility usually resulting in

some kind of disappointment or other. Of course it goes without saying

the planned ones are usually happy occasions. I got to thinking about

sex in great detail on more than one occasion, as you can imagine and

it's really all just about a single moment for a guy. For a girl,

luckily enough, you can enjoy moment after moment so long as your man

has the stamina and skills to accommodate. But the principle is the

same... you can only really plan properly the next few moments of your

life unless you want to end up with prolonged changes or shelved

plans.

Apparently Ireland has two quality past-times, incidentally. We like

to have sex and we like to travel. That is why Ireland's birth-rate

and emigration statistics are so high. We must be the meek for we are

slowly inheriting the earth. Just a thought.

No one can really say what exactly they will do in the future per-se.

We can extrapolate that we will say and do and want the same things as

time goes on and all we pay for the supposition is our general

happiness. I mean, that is not a big price to pay is it?

Well, I am from the school of thought that in order to be any way

happy in the future, you have to make sure that you are happy right

now. I mean I do go on and on about this anyway so there's no need to

elaborate too much, ey? But still, to go on by example, let's look at

the college student. They go on to an establishment to further their

mind, their education, because they want to excel at a particular

subject or activity. So they go to university, study their chosen

field and enjoy the experience, the joy of being in the company of

people with similar interests so much they never want to leave. I'd

say 90% of anyone I've known that has gone to college has felt the

same way. Future plans have been shelved often-times to make room for

more study, or experience... or whatever. Anyway, the point is the

same. If you stop doing something just because you are expected to and

not because you want to, you are likely to be disappointed. If you go

around making concrete plans based on other people and they are not

met 100% you will be disappointed.

Anyway, without labouring the point too much more I'll leave it here.

I'm sure I went off on a tangent somewhere along the lines anyway.

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A few side notes that inspired this piece:


Plan for yourself and make those plans reasonable.
Don't base your plans on maybes and possibilities and definitely don't base it around the participation of someone else, especially if they are only half interested. Remember, they are also half-interested in something else.
If you are not happy now, you won't be happy in your imaginary-world-future. You will always be the same person, just make sure you're a happy you rather than a forced dismal throw-off.
Things won't happen how you plan 'em unless you plan on treading on a few toes along the way or are ignorant of a few things happening around you.
If you don't enjoy hard work and saving now, you probably never will.
There are people out there who feel the same way as you do, so don't force your ways on someone who clearly has no interest in them.
Your ways are suitable and 100% correct always. For you.


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Stuff that inspired this piece:


U2 - Stuck In A Moment (You Can't Get Out Of)
Eckhart Tolle's - The Power Of Now
Anthony De Mello's - Awareness

Change Part 1

Change is very strange.

We're all conservatives at heart, every last one of us. We hate change, only because we don't change ourselves.

What we do change is usually cosmetic... Clothes, hairstyles, facial hair, skin (tattoos, tan) and even our body shape. But our personalities never change. Some of us like certain things that make us feel comfortable and happy and naturally, we clash with other's whose interests are different to our own. Actually, sometimes people who are the complete opposite to us can compliment our own personalities very well and some will feel "completed" by this. I guess that's where the old saying "opposites attract..." comes from. Sometimes difference is just as important as identity, it seems.

Some folks would be inclined to put up the argument "Ahhh, but you cannot change an alcoholic or junkie"

Alcoholics and junkies are either victims of circumstances, bad judgement or background, usually. I doubt you'll ever talk to an alcoholic or junkie who actually wants to be one. Some say there is a lack of awareness there, but I don't think there is. I think the awareness is just focused on the wrong area, generally. People who are unfortunate enough to be in these circumstances usually are aware of their inner problems more than the substances they are using to virtually or temporarily block them out with. They want to change the problem, rather than the person who is dealing with it. But you cannot, as I say, change the person who is dealing with it, only the attitude you have towards the problem.

So even the most freely liberal thinker will be subject to some sort of conservative attitude. We hate things being different to what we're used to. But we do get bored and then we want to change our surroundings and go abroad, or even others to suit ourselves. We never want to change ourselves to suit others. And why should we? Remember, it's not the personality that changes, only the attitude.

It's great to have some friends who never change. They are not rigid, but flexible. They appreciate difference and diversity. They appreciate that not everyone is the same as them. No one is, we are all different in some way. So we bugger off for a few years, come back and they are still the same. It is in strangers that we find the true value of those friends we already have. We know, because they don't change, that we can always come back to them. I am a person who needs a lot of change in my life, so it's nice to know that I have friends who never will. I'm sure they know I won't change either. I mean, issues are issues, but the person dealing with them never changes, just their attitude towards it. Sometimes the answer isn't always right on your doorstep either, so it's necessary to open your mind and broaden your horizons I think. This is not something that can be taught, but something that has to be learned or realised. You know that feeling when you want to break out of the mould or routine? That is change. Change WANTS to happen.

Some of us punish the ones we love because change so badly wants to happen to us. We want others to suit ourselves, our dreams and ideals. You have to experience a sensory awareness of the real world and the vastness and diversity of human beings to appreciate what you already have and what you can actually achieve from your dreams about this life. We can only do what our hearts tell us to do really. I don't think anyone's heart tells them to try change a person. To some, they see it as a chance to find what they are missing. To others, they hear it as a "rational" thought process and they go out to try and change the world, or at least the little system they are involved in. They nail down the pegs and refuse to budge from their perch. Quite often, the flow of change leaves them marooned in a stagnant little section of life and they wonder where they lost it all. People come out of long, stern relationships wondering why everyone else has moved on and done other things. It's hard to see out a window that has only one clean spot in it.

There is quite a lot I could say about change really. I write it as it occurs to me, basically. One thing I do know quite well about it though is I may feel differently about this blog as time wears on. I will stop short of regretting it though I think, because that's just how life goes. It changes. We change. Or age, our bodies change, as does our attitudes to certain things. That is why I will publish this blog. I will always appreciate why it was written in the first place.

Today: Dynamos

The blog is so-called, because that is what I had to type in to post the link on Facebook yesterday. I thought it was quite funny... "Today is aaaaaaallll about Dynamos!"

Anyway;

What The Hell Am I Doing Here?

A Question everyone asks at some time or other. "What the hell am I doing here?". To the philosopher, a question that asks for the reason humanity exists at all. To the scientist, a question that requires statistics, probabilities and theories. To the awakened, a question that requires explanation as to why they have ended up in a situation they have no rational reason for being in. To me? Why the hell am I in a country that I am bored of. A country I have no attachment or anything in common with. I am not working for the economy or the, well, Bastards with a capital "B" to put it bluntly, who run it. I have no real commitments to stay here. What the hell am I doing here? I have no idea. No reason. It makes no sense at all. Yet here I am. What's up with that?

Catholics And Numbers

So it's no secret that I left the Catholic church recently. According to the CSO, There were over 3.5 million Catholics in Ireland as of 2006. These are the same Catholics who apathetically supported the Nazis in WWII, the same Catholics who apathetically ignored the abuses going on in Industrial schools and the same Catholics who don't change their policies while persecuting gays, women and anyone who wears a condom or has sex before marriage. There are many ironic things I think, is that of the number that are counted in the Catholic population there are huge amounts of single mothers who baptise their kids... remember, sex before marriage is wrong and conception outside wedlock is wrong also. I guess it's a lucky thing these guys don't use contraception eh? There is a major amount of people too, I notice who are joining anti-abuse groups and anti paedophile groups on certain social networking sites. A contradiction I feel, when actively belonging to the worlds biggest persecution group. These are some of the same guys who are baptising their kids, no questions asked as A FORMALITY. There is power in these statistics you see. Every Christened child is another brick in the solid wall of abuse, inequality and ignorance in Ireland and the world at large. I guess it's somewhat fitting though that I know a few racists out there... also baptising their children into Catholicism.As you can see here there was no shortage of photos depicting the relationship between the Catholic church and the Nazis. As for fighting against paedophiles... you belong to a huge paedophile ring while actively counted in number as a Catholic. It's OK to be Christian. Jesus, if he did exist had some good ideas when they were fresh from the horses mouth 2000 years ago (apparently). But there is no need to be a Catholic Christian any more than there is to be a God-fearing bigot.

The Stare That Shook Me

What I do in my spare time, is promote a paint ball site in Bray. I'd rather be promoting paint ball than promote debit or credit cards. You don't get heavily in debt while shooting your friends and you won't lose your house from paint balling. However, sometimes when I try talk to people about it, it's as if I am asking them how I should kill their parents. They look utterly disgusted  when you offer them some kind of fun. But that is Irish people on a large scale... reluctant, tired, very boring and easily offended. I often get some terrible looks when promoting paint ball. Sometimes I get shot down. Sometimes I face some of the rudest snobs the country has to offer. But there was one person who really got to me the other day. When I think of them it makes my heart feel really sad or some other emotion, I'm not sure. It was a toddler. A toddler outside Spar in Ringsend. I was talking to a girl and I glanced at the child and you know how she looked at me? She smiled. And then the child waved. I never felt so trusted and so welcomed in the last while. That image haunted me today and I felt like getting sick or something. It got me thinking. How do we grow up from innocence and just start despising people for no reason at all? It's puzzling. But there is one saving grace and that is that every small kid like that has the potential to make someone feel weird (happy?) for a while until the people around it start to effect it and do whatever it is they do to make them guarded, mistrusting and in some cases hostile. It's a real shame.

That's all I got for today

Kill Yourself... Or Die Trying

Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody

So I hear that there are billions of people saving up billions of Euro or whatever because they do not want the banks fucking them over again. Why? Why not just trust your better judgement, stop voting in arseholes and keep blowing your cash on frivolous bullshit. Problem solved. Of course, that cash never did belong to either you or they because it was never here in the first place. It was virtual wealth. So you see, you can never really be prepared for this kinda stuff. We're creatures of habit and greedy ones at that. Just admit it and you'll be half-way through the battle. Just keep splashing out on yourself and spare the excuses. And the arseholes? Well they'll keep spending your cash. Just watch out and stop being so naive. At least vote for someone who tries to hide the fact they are doing it.

And remember; You could be saving your money for years and years and yet you could die in an instant. Have you checked your health? Do you aimlessly walk in and out of traffic? Do you procrastinate about what you really want and think you'll always be around to get it? What's that, you do it for your kids... all right. If they are young, no problem. If they are over 18, get them to do it themselves. Time is not a commodity, it's a constant. You cannot give time to people. You cannot take it away.When you go asleep it's today. And when you wake up, it's today too.

All The Best Smokers

So I am thinking about world class athletes. You gotta practice long and hard to be a world class athlete. And there is no shortage of news updates on them, especially if you watch any of the Sky channels. There are benefits to being a world class athlete too, like you get to play your many games against formidable opponents and get paid way too much. So then I got to thinking about smoking. All the best smokers practice really hard and pay a lot to do it too. But there are not many of them around to compare yourself against. There are no champions because in order to be one you need a trophy, like maybe say, a trophy illness. If you are not getting satisfaction or rewards for doing it, then why bother at all?

Young Women Vs Older Women

Girls my own age are always pissed off when guys I know, or am around, fancy someone younger then they are. They say things like "you are intimidated by our intellect" or "you men are pervs" or something equally mind-numbing like that. I have never met a guy who didn't like a women because of her brain ever.  And why the hell do you care what we think of younger women anyway? Why not whinge to someone who cares, like older men, guys with patience? We obviously don't care a lot if our heads turn when someone hot walks by. We are antagonised because of our genes, something we cannot change. And then there are older women too. Guys are attracted to older women also for whatever reason. Freud had a few, but no one really cares these days. Maybe we're not attracted to women our own age because they antagonise us. And they antagonise us because we are not attracted to them. Vicious cycle perhaps.

Psycho Neighbours

Everyone has got a psycho neighbour. At least I think they do anyway. There's always a weirdo on the block. If you do not have a psycho neighbour, I think I may have yours here, where I live. She is seriously fucking weird and annoying. I am the most passive person in the world. I don't think shouting and arguing are worth the energy you put into them. But this one... I'm really tempted. Check this out for a list of mad stuff:

- calling a repair man around to fix our floor without asking us
- giving out about playing music at a reasonable hour
- giving out about parking my motorbike outside at 11am
- giving out about us walking on our floor
- coming up and ranting about making reasonable noises at reasonable hours
- placing bins in front of where I park my motorbike
- being a psycho weirdo
- giving out about sex noises

I'm sorry, yes, most of the above are tolerable. The last one and first one... and pretty much all of the rest are just insane. INSANE. The woman is a fruit-loop. Yeah, I know what I did there. But seriously, I know there's always one... This one is about two weirdos. She is actually a fission weirdo. She has split into two weirdos. There is a daytime and night time version. Our place costs €325 each per month. I now know why it was so cheap.

Artist, Athlete, Apathetic, Assiduous

Athlete:

So athletes. They are on TV kicking footballs, they are climbing hills. They are constantly pushing themselves. Lifting heavy things to get bigger. Running really fast. Jumping all over the place with balls. Rowing big boats in rivers. They never stop. I wish I could be an athlete. They do everything I am reluctant to do. Well, I'm working on it. I want to climb big hills and wear silly outfits while running. I don't want to die of heart disease. I am somewhere in between being an Athlete and an Artist

Artist:

Writing loads of stuff down, that is the artist's way. They paint big pictures and draw stuff that moves and some stuff that doesn't. They basically put writing instruments onto paper. Then they write songs. They play music and they talk at great length. It sometimes rhymes and sometimes it doesn't. Artists are a sad bunch mostly. They write and paint and sing about things that they have done or things they should have. Generally, artists don't get paid a lot and people reckon they are bums. These people are usually Apathetic.

Apathetic:

People who have jobs and don't like them are apathetic. They do not like sports enough to do anything but watch them. They languish on their couch at home or in the pub and watch them. They do not like their friends enough to hang out with them and they do not like people who don't have jobs to hate like they do. Apathetic people will generally stick by their guns and say you are wrong about your lifestyle because they will not take the initiative to change their own. Apathetic people do have interests however. They just think they will be around forever for some reason to eventually partake in them. Coronary heart disease and heart attacks await apathetic people because they are too lazy to work the cholesterol out of their arteries and too highly strung about everyone else to notice they are driving up their blood pressure. I used to be one of these people. I then became assiduous and tired of that soon after.

Assiduous:

These people work hard and play hard. They are astute workers and get it done. They are passionate about their jobs, whatever they may be. The assiduous type will do their work or else stay there to get it finished. After they finish their work they consume. They consume so much. They consume products and they consume alcohol. They play hard because their hard work pays off. But they don't need thanks because they enjoy what they do or else they are just determined. The assiduous type is faultless to a large degree, but they should watch whether their efforts are appreciated or not.And I mean, whether they appreciate what they are doing or not too.

Fundamentalist Haircuts:

What is going on with these? OK, granted, this article will point out that it is only in fundamentalist Iran but this is symbolic of the extremes a right-wing government will go to control you. Recently, a couple of "raunchy"  ads like this one and this one were taken off air in Ireland because *SHOCK* *HORROR* it shows some good looking women in CLOTHES!! Granted, clothes that are pretty steaming hot, but when the fuck was it ever bad to be a female who makes consenting choices to be in such ads. These girls are obviously models and want this kind of work, so they got it. Men buy into sex... if it's an ad for Coke and it's got a hot chick in it, we buy it. If it's a hot lady in a video game ad, we buy it. Men in Calvin Klien boxers? Emmm, maybe a big seller to gay men, I don't know, but I'm sure straight men buy them too. And morality... well it's gone on it's head. Taking them off TV because it shows a few women who agree to the work in hot pants and belly tops. Fucking hilarious. You see worse (BETTER!!) walking down Grafton street on a hot day. I am moved to ask why there are Johnson & Johnson ads depicting naked toddlers in front of the masses, why there are shampoo and body lotion ads that show side-boob on before the water shed and why, WHY aren't they allowed to advertise crisps with a simple female form? Everyone knows that sex sells. Fucking women's lib, flannel shirt wearing activists know this is true, so why not just suck it up and admit it. Perving? Hardly. Being a straight male with hormones in the driver seat? Great market for selling stuff. Sales 101: Sell a man something with a woman in it or just get a woman to sell it to him. Much money will be earned. Right wing, conservative coffin dodgers are actually UNBELIEVABLE. And protective parents who don't want their kids to see a belly or a leg... tell me this... How was you child conceived? Did you have sex and then forget the whole thing? Was it in the dark? Did you have sex through a black sheet? Did you artificially inseminate? Have you ever looked into a mirror or looked down on yourself when you were naked? The good news = your type are a dying breed.



Can You Read My Mind?