Bending a spoon helps who? Not many other than the spoon-benders own pockets. I agree. So-called psychics, who make people depend on _them_, and not their own judgement? Not in the longer run.
But the teacher needs ignorant pupils. The doctor needs sick people. The world is full of diversity and "exploitation". It is indeed necessary for the world to function, so nothing to fret about.
Nevertheless, it doesn't help _us_ to get disturbed all the time thinking about all the problems. It actally hinders our _own_ objective investigation and proper judgements...!
I have no doubt it is possible to bend a spoon, with our without physical force, but it is just a trick nonetheless. Wether it is by warmth, by some exotic particles, by quantum potentiality or brute-force and trickery, I know still that what happened is perfectly natural.
I also know that debunking one, does nothing to debunk every claim. It is a hopeless crusade based on flawed logic and knee-jerk reactions to the world.
The way Randi goes about science, if you are interested in the scientific method, you should condemn such practice. The means doens't justify the ends. It is a scam, and too many here are swallowing it and crying for blood, in much the same flawed way people swallow religious dogmas or try to use the Bible in scientific schoolclasses. It actually hinders real investigation by making a circus out of it. You can never test something having already decided on the result. How many scientists have falled in this pit, and still do? The man is a perfect example who should NOT represent science.
The man who is open for the result, is a _real_ scientist, that deserves praise and respect. Most important discoveries have been accidents with bieffects caught by the acute awareness of the discoverer.
If you're REALLY interested in science, DON'T be on _anyone's_ side.., or be on _everyone's_ side! Keep your mind open.
Btw, sceptics never ever came up with a new discovery. Only free-thinkers ever managed that (per definition you can even say;)
Sorry, for such a long OT note above, I just got inspired. I hope it can inspire someone to investigate that there really is more to life than what they're being told. I also write this because there seems to be a herd mentality here about the subject, which is also quite unhealthy for scientific progress.
It doesn't matter. Randi is notoriously known to hecle and intimidate his test-subjects, so there's no chance anybody is ever going to pass his tests. Basically, the whole thing is scientifically unsound: Randi is declaring all the rules, and may change them at will and will basically threaten you if you start doing well. He is far from objective about the whole test, and is acting as both executor, judge and bank.
No sensitive person is going to stand being around him. Randi is a piss-poor loser. Paranormal sensitive types or audiophiles, I don't think that's going to make a difference because of this. If you're in a bad environment, how are you supposed to be sensitive and soft? It is just lack of understanding, both of the subject and testing-process itself. For people who dabble in the subtle realms, this is both sad and hillarous.
Myself I am not audiophile, but I have observed "paranormal" phenomenon which science cannot - or will not explain, and which I _know_ where quite real and perfectly natural (although very rare nowadays) (which is another part of the whole scheme of Randi - How can anything be proven to be "paranormal", ie. unnatural. That is impossible.) It's just that you have to tune in to it, to really have the experience, let it come to you and not be impatient. This cannot be forced by our male-dominated will, but will descend on you when you are ready. Someone with over-active intelligence and too much scepticism will just not be aware of what is really happening (at any moment really). When you start becoming aware, life suddenly becomes much more interesting and amazing. It is especially amazing how much people speak about which they have not experienced themselves (second-hand stories for instance. Why waste time & energy on fantasies, when reality is much more interesting..)
The whole Randi scheme is a scam and a fairy-tale for adults, and those adhering to the dogma of science is falling flat-nosed over it..
I really hope someone is strong enough to beat him at his own game though and he'd be forced to pay up (btw, he doesn't even have the money...) It's just that the very people he challenge, sensitive people, are also notorious to escape life and not be balanced in their approach to life either - or the really superior ones will not see the point getting harassed and accused by Randi of cheating etc. Be not mistaken: It is a power-struggle, and it gets really dirty. It's simply not compatible with eachother (but free-thinking science is very much compatible with spirituality - and the very best thinkers always researched different paradigms and understood science to be just an incomplete model in the human mind. People like Einstein, Newton and many many more were both religious (without dogma) and researched Vedic texts and other sources of wisdom).
I know this all might seem ridiculous, but there IS more to life, if you are willing to really investigate (instead of ridiculing other viewpoints you have not researched yourself). I know, because I have experienced it many times, and everyday life is different for ever for me. I am healhy, good fit, have tools to get more energy and know how to get what I want / need. I probably earn double what other people earn, partly thanks to a different approach to life, but also thanks to good luck and good blessings. And most important, all that is totally unimportant to me, because I can never really lose ME - and this is imortality, which is granted to everybody to realize when they are ready. By realizing, you don't really gain anything, but you lose the illusion that you are a human body. Even if this is just on the intellectual level, it is a great freedom in it. How long will we be here? Just a few years, most of us have probably between 20-40 years left, then the body leaves us. How can we then be so bound to this illusion that we are a human body?
And no, it can neither be proved or disproved. It can only be realized, and even this is not a gain - just a realization of who we really are as energetic
this summer... But different. I was working with electron spin resonance in solids. The set up used a superconducting magnet and a microwave source. We could actually measure absorption changes when the microwave energy matched the Zeeman split. There was even some talk about using the set up as a component for quantum computers.
However, the people at the lab have started the discover that the primary relaxation method is fast phonon interactions. This must in fact be the case, otherwise the entire upper band would be overpopulated quicker than detectable. Anyway, as things stood, the materials we worked with proved to be ineffective as quantum switches. The spin property was far too transient.
In our tests, we have been working with another component. Preliminary tests found the electronic reflection change to be adequately measured within the interaction timeframe. Although none of our instruments were powerful enough to keep up with the fastest cycles, the information bits could be stored in cubic fashion, and then looked-up in strange cubit pairs after the fact. We theorize that a switch can be made, if only the energy is high enough to be reliably detected and stored.
So if we can somehow correlate the high energy of the absorption and readability of the reflection, we can combine the power of the two methods to enhance eachother and cancel out the negative aspects, I think we can have something that will finally work! When properly set up, it should only be a matter of phase-adjusting the two polarities of the photon switches to be in exact oposition to eachother, while making sure no interference can be made across the photon shields. You may have to distort the angle by a tiny fraction due to stellar polarity in our locality, but that should be easy as pie once you have the two photon switches ready.
You got it backwards: Unless we change our nature, evolve spiritually, we don't really have a future at all..
Not necessarily the same people writing the texts
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Roswell UFO Festival
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You may have to consider the people writing/preserving the text were not necessarily the same people using- or making the apparatus. Much has been lost, indeed since most of the world described is totally gone - back to a stone age world.
Much of the Vedas were never actually written, but remembered in an oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation.
You may find similar things in the Bible. Start reading from Ezekiel 1, and see if you can find the sci-fi story that unfolds there. Of course, the description is almost unrecognizable, but if you have an open mind, you will find it there.
It makes me laugh when I hear about people dismissing alien abductions just because it is a "new" phenomena, when in fact, in every religion, in every ancient tradition, you will find the same mystical elements, the same descriptions. Crop-cirlces were believed to be faeries, or the devil bending the crop (there is an old picture of this). I believe there is some truth to these things, but you have to investigate it properly with an open mind to find the truth - and not what you want to find. This goes both for "believers" and "disbelievers".
UFOs in the Vedas were called "Vimana", which in Hindu is used now to refer to aerial aircrafts. The difference being that these were not really "UFOs" (Unidentified Flying Objects), but more like "flying saucers", which had all kinds of shapes like: triangles, saucer shapes, sigar shapes, huge bowls and shapes more resembling our aerodynamic crafts of today. Another exception also being that some of these ancient crafts could travel in space, in the air, in the water and below water too. They behaved much like present days observation of UFOs (which has been observed in the whole history of mankind).
Unfortunately, these crafts were used for warfare, and the civilizations possessing them fell back to a "stone age", much like we fear is possible if we dont evolve our spiritual values beyond our technological capabilities soon.
Any UFO enthusiast should know the history between how Atlantis tried to subjugate and "conquer" the whole world. While the Vedic Rama-civilization, were also of such capabilities and having a war with Atlantis. Atlantis sunk below the ocean and disappeared completely as a civilization, while Rama remains in what is now known as the Vedic knowledge and the traditions in India and neighbouring countries.
Best part is that most of the manuscripts in Sanskrit is yet to be translated. Time for an open source effort to translate the remaining Vedic scrolls anyone? Any geek knows his salt should know his Sanskrit and Vedic knowledge!
Samarangana Sutradhara (Literally, "controller of the battlefield"), it is written:
"Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky. The movements of the Vimana are such that it can vertically ascend, vertically descend, move slanting forwards and backwards. With the help of the machines human beings can fly in the air and heavenly beings can come down to earth."
Also in Mesapotanian sources you find such statements: The Hakatha (Laws of the Babylonians) states quite unambiguously:
"The privilege of operating a flying machine is great. The knowledge of flight is among the most ancient of our inheritances. A gift from 'those from upon high'. We received it from them as a means of saving many lives."
According to the Dronaparva, part of the Mahabarata, and the Ramayana, one Vimana described was shaped like a sphere and born along at great speed on a mighty wind generated by mercury. It moved like a UFO, going up, down, backwards and forwards as the pilot desired. In another Indian source, the Samar, Vimanas were "iron machines, well-knit and smooth, with a charge of mercury that shot out of the back in the form of a roaring flame." Another work called the Samaranganasutradhara describes how the vehicles were constructed. It is possible that mercury did have something to do with the propulsion, or more possibly, with the guidance system. Curiously, Soviet scientists have discovered what they call "age-old instruments used in navigating cosmic vehicles" in caves in Turkestan and the Gobi Desert. The "devices" are hemispherical objects of glass or porcelain, ending in a cone with a drop of mercury inside.
Interesting read wether you believe it or not, it is still there!
Why do children all over the world, sometimes speak of previous lifetimes or in other languages than they have been subjected to?
Why have I myself seen the electrical-fluid like field that is surrounding my own body, on several accounts?
Just because the physical world is very familiar, doesnt mean that it explains the whole of reality. Especially when you start to tune in to more subtle phenomena, sometimes bordering with the physical plane. As kids, we do this all the time, but are scolded / taught to stop fantasizing. But sometimes, kids DO NOT fantasize, they SEE ghosts / other beings / light, etc. But we also want the love and affection of our parents, and they make us forget how to tune in, and how to function in the physical world.
Maybe this sounds like nonsense to you, and youd like to start critizising me for saying something that doesnt bring any meaning to you. But ask any of my friends, I have a Very rational mind and do not believe something just to escape reality. I am interested in reality and investigate it, and what I have found is that there is much more to it than meets the eye, and I am only beginning!
I challenge you to practice yoga, meditation and breathing techniques for a month, and investigate for yourself! You will definately not regret it, and if you do, you have direct experience with it to speak from.
Translucency really, really sucks. It is distracting and makes it harder to read. Just look at Word for Mac or iTerm. The translucent effect just makes it harder on the eyes, while providing NO benefit. It should really be optional overall.
Now, MenuShade is a program that gives your menu a less-brighter shade. THAT is a good idea, because it prevents the menu from burning in your fancy LCD. Im using it all the time, and it is easier on the eyes, AND simple to read.
In the bigger picture, you can never entirely disprove of anything. So how can you disprove free-will, or determinism?
Its all a mental game. To go in favour of one, you lose perspective.
Without an observer, _you_ have / observe nothing.
Those saying deteminism is impossible, its bogus, because maybe an higher abstraction / system will show it is all determined? With more information, this might be discovered at a later date.
Those saying we have free-will, its also bogus, because you cannot disprove of it since science will never end at a final conclusion about this never-ending universe. Where does it all come from? If entropy going down, is a sign of intelligence, and the universe is always going upwards in entropy (chaos)? Wouldnt that signify (not prove), that the highest intelligence was in the beginning of the universe, when entropy was at the lowest?
The wise ones, will always believe in free-will, and know it is just a belief, because it is very convenient in order to take responsibility for your life. It may be a convenient illusion, or it might be truth. But the result is a better life. (And with "result" we assume we had a choice in the first place!;)
This is probably not what you had in mind either, but this is the only meaningful conclusion I can come up with now on the subject.
Your own assumptions about the universe is just a belief mind you. You would like the universe to be like our models, of mathematics, that we created in order to understand and predict this universe. This mathematics is *within* the universe, so how this ever can be capable of holding all the parameters / the absolute truth, now *that* is irrational!
So the whole premise, although very tempting, is just impossible. The universe does not exist out of mathematics, mathematics exists because of this universe! To think any differently is perverse, and will only cloud your own judgement and mind. We must always be open to new stuff in order to advance true science, and not dogma.
Free-will or not, has nothing to do with it. The quantum-level is so low a level, that when we observe something, we irrevocably change the state. If we measure it a different way, we change the state in a different way. So wether we have free will or not, we can measure things differently, and the way we do it, will affect the result differently.
Wether we choose it by "free will", or by magic, or by rolling a dice, is just philosophy and has nothing to do with physics. You can always say this was predetermined, but the argument is that if we do it the other way, it will have different effects, that we *can* measure in experiments.
Said in a different way: Whatever we do, or dont do, we irrevocably are part of the dynamics of the universe. We would maybe like to be totally impartial observers, but when the observing itself changes the universe, how can we ever separate us from the rest of the entire universe? If you follow this logic, which yourself started, you will come to conclusions that borders on the religious, wether you like it or not. That were responsible for what we do, or dont do, even if its just observing.
So wether we have free-will or not, which is just a matter of frame of reference, where information comes from or not (we really do not know). But we have proof that we are irrevocably part of this universe and influencing everything in it, even just by observing.
So to have hope to understand such a changing system logically and reasonably, we first have to understand our self.
So, if altruism creates pleasure in the brain, is it still considered altruism? You ARE getting something out of it, after all.
I knew I should have paid more attention in my humanities courses, particularly Philosophy.
Your good actions lift up the other person, while also lifting up yourself. You dont learn this in school, but just watch people doing "bad actions". Do they look any happy? Content? Enigmatic? Intelligent? Full of heart?
Even if they get rich by doing it, you will see they are filled with health-problems, restlessness and all sorts of problems.
You will find the most paranoid and small-minded people, are the people who are extracting more out of society, than contributing. They are small, because they depend on others. But someone who is truly giving, without regard of the return, is free.
So pleasure out of doing "bad actions" is purely illusional - and illusion is called "maya" in Sanskrit. Everything we do, is so that we shall get some good out of it. But most our actions, return more sorrow, because were under the spell of maya - illusion and ignorance. Yet, we keep doing the same bad habits over and over again - until we get tired of the return of investments.
However, doing good actions, will surely bring good now or in the future, and clears the veil of illusion. It will give pleasure and bliss on a whole new order, and will in time even be greater than your greatest sexual experience. Happiness is both moral and our birthright, no matter what depressing people tell you to think..
The Art of Living will give insights like these, not theoretically, but practical experience in your own life.
Native Indians when asked by white men about where they come from (loosely from memory so bear with me): Maybe YOU come from the apes. Our ancestors and our spirit comes from the stars. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. We have legends of humans BECOMING apes, because of evil deeds and ignorance (degeneration), however our ancestors came from the stars in the sky and is not native to this planet.
In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe of people called the Dogon. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. According to their traditions, the star Sirius has a companion star which is invisible to the human eye (science has shown this to be a white dwarf). This companion star has a 50 year elliptical orbit around the visible Sirius and is extremely heavy. It also rotates on its axis.
This legend might be of little interest to anybody but the two French anthropologists, Marcel Griaule and Germain Dieterlen, who recorded it from four Dogon priests in the 1930's. Of little interest except that it is exactly true. How did a people who lacked any kind of astronomical devices know so much about an invisible star? The star, which scientists call Sirius B, wasn't even photographed until it was done by a large telescope in 1970.
The Chakra systems of native americans directly corresponds to the chakra system of the Tibetan and Vedic knowledge from around India. If you look at a tibetan and someone native from e.g. high mountains in Peru, they have the same colours of dress, the same frame, even many of their rites are directly mirroring each other. Chakra systems are also found to correspond to Egyptian lore, the Kaballa and many other spiritual traditions around the world. 7 is a holy number in most traditions, which corresponds to the 7 chakra energy senters in the body (if youd like to see energy around your body for yourself, take alternating cold and warm showers and relax in a hot sauna (alone so you can relax) - you might just catch the glimpse of "fluid-like electricity" around your body against a darker corner).
From Ezekiel 1 (International Version of the Bible). Notice the detailed description of an UFO, astronaut dress with glass bulb and wings/jetpack / airplane with cockpit and metal wings, wings of metal, fire beneath and ezekiel being physically transfered, a description of "moving wheels", some sort of movable backpack or robot. We laugh of abduction stories today, but they are not new to human lore. These "moving wheels" are even not invented yet, but might be useful to us in the future! Having a mobile backpack movable by our "spirit" / thoughts, might be handy indeed!
The Living Creatures and the Glory of the Lord
1 In the [a] thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month--it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin- 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, [b] by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. [c] There the hand of the LORD was upon him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north--an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also ha
These commercials are incidious. Just like you dont get handsome, smart, creative and out-going from drinking Coca-Cola, but rather you may get more pimples, the sugar/caffeiene rush may boost you for a few minutes, and then over the longer run you get more dull and slow-witted.
You will be sure some kid will try this because it is shown on TV. Its not the parents job to foresee everything the child might do due to watching TV.
Rather, it is the parents duty today to bring up the kids without resorting to the TV and videogames.
Upbringing based on real-life, with real risks and real pain. Talking doesnt help when youre already living in a virtual reality. People talk about things all the time, complain about what should be done in the community. Talk is cheap. If you believe you have only one life, you better start to really live it.
Yes, Hindus are a big part of the puzzle here, but please remember there is no such thing as Hindus. Muslim technology, mathematics and concepts was most probably derived more from India and the countries surrounding India, and more specifically from the Vedic Scriptures. India was once the greatest super-power in Asia, but then Buddha came along and taught people to have peace and tranquility. People misunderstood his message, and tore down the armies and development, so India became a back-water country.
Before Hinduism was invented, people in India just lived the Vedic knowledge, in all its diversity. Then came Europeans and started branding this way of living for "Hinduism", and people got an identity. However, there is no general principles concerning "Hinduism", thus it is an artificial concept, and has brought alot of conflict and confusion.
Vedic Knowledge on the other hand is a scientific knowledge, which includes western medicine and is all-encompassing. It deals with medicine, herbs, effects of sounds, way to make instruments, technology, materials and their properties, etc, etc. SO MUCH of it has been lost in time. It is said that to study it all would require life-times. So nobody has really studied all of vedic litterature (which is vast!). In its whole form, the Vedas will encompass the whole universe, but it is unknown wether this form has yet existed on our planet, but certainly you will still find many texts about different dimensions and different universes, as well as subtle energy centers in our own body, which science will have to admit are there pretty soon.
It is in many ways more advanced than Western thought, philosphy and principles. It was Vedic Knowledge from India that spurred Greek philosophy and Chinese medicine (Ayurveda has the original form of acupuncure, acupressue, Feng Shui called Vastu etc). The Vedas are really the root of many of the advanced mathematics, medicine and science today. Its application on the psyche far surpasses todays psychology.
The Vedas even describes how to make space-ships, has manuals for controlling space-ships, how fast they are moving, the age of the current universe-cycle, and much more. Alas, much of the originals are lost and many believe those texts are remainders of more advanced civilizations, so it is hard to study the fragmented remains.
I can only recommend to open up your mind and study what the Vedas can do for you. It is amazing it has been forgotten by people outside India.
Society? Parents are a part of the society. Kids are a part of the society. Even the people on TV are part of the society.
We are part of the society, and so is the community. So when you say "we", who are you talking about? And if everyone is part of the society, who would this "we" be doing anything for or with?
Ok.. It means: YOU It is either now, or later if we let things become even worse.
We can only start with ourselves, experience and pass it on.
"Then you're scarily mistaken. Antisocial personality disorder has a known biological component. If you lack the biological components for empathy, or if they are twisted out of true, or if your arousal mechanisms are depressed (which is the case with APD) then there is a probability that you will grow up cold, manipulative, and outright evil. APD is a spectrum, with some people having just enough arousal depression to allow them to live a mostly normal life, but engage in risk-taking behaviors (such as mountain climbing or firefighting), while other people from very early childhood take every opportunity to harm others whenever it tickles their sick, twisted little pleasure centers.
This kid is in that latter group. You need to get out of your pie-in-the-sky "It's all nurture" mentality and realize that sometimes evolution hands us a goddamned raw deal, and sometimes that raw deal hurts other people too."
Im not saying, be goody goody all the time, or at least Im not meaning that but these posts will always be limited.
Parents are simply way too naive these days. The kids are subject to all sorts of cynicism, alchoholism, gangbangers and criminal behaviour. It is not new, but it has certainly hardened in first world countries. So many parents just dont want to face that reality, that it can happen to their own kid. Its so easy to fool parents, when the whole families have lost touch with the community. Very few is there watching each others kids anymore.., and when they do, it is in a mentality of fault-finding, condemning, not constructive assistance. This situation is deep rooted within our society, and we really need to nurture the human values and going out in nature, do more healthy activities with our lives. This is not just one familys problem, or one kids problem. Its a sign of deep-rooted alienation within our community.
As for regarding someone as evil, that should be the last resort, if ever. We should regard them as sick, and that they need adjustment, both for themselves and others. We should not let them destroy other lives, like in this example.
People with intelligence will recognize a kid that is "the raw deal", or whatever you want to call it. Maybe medicines can help, maybe locking him up may help, but sadly, to have intelligence we need to be there for eachother. Not feel guilty all the time, and not blame other people, and certainly not watch the stupid box, or play silly games, for hours.
I have assisted on courses with youths were the youths have called their parents and lied about many things, saying one thing to the course leader and saying other things to the parents, to the children etc. Kids will use manipulation, so they should be corrected - called out. It requires strong down-to-earth intelligence, it requires a strong humanity, but I have seen it done - and done beautifully. The kid stayed on the course and was later happy about it. We dont need to condemn kids, we need to raise them. If not soft, then we need to be tough, but not with anger. Only dispassion will help, because then you are centered yourself. Have you ever been glad for something you did in your anger? No. I can only recommend Art of Living courses for this, because that is the only place Ive seen it happen. We can become so strong within ourselves, nothing can shake you, certainly not a kid. If you need help, you will not be shameful to _persistently_ ask for help at the proper place and make deals with schools, parents and police. No more guilt and hoping for the best, but becoming active and have an interesting life.
Good idea. Lets tear down the society even more. Who needs parents? Why not just bring up all the kids in a Kids Home. They all like it there, weve seen it on TV.
One day, we as a society will need to take responsibility for how we create our community. Play your video games, but when the bombs starts cracking, and you have no clean water, or electricity, it may be too late to learn to cope with life.
"I'm curious. Since you seem to be of the opinion that they did things the wrong way, what would have worked better?"
This is a sad story, both for the kid, who is now the hate-object for these parents and the community, and the parents who obviously did everything they could in the situation.
Why should we blame someone? Everybody do what they can do, nobody are _intentionally_ ignorant.
Having said that, the parents would probably go a long way cooperating better. From her story, it seems it was a "mothers house" and "our house" policy. No help or recourse for the mother when things started to go worse. No real connection between the adults besides the phone.
Instead of begging / pleading for help, a good, long talk from the heart should get through to someone at school. It sounds like the kid appeared more powerful than his parents, and they felt helpless facing abuse charges (quite understandably though, its a tough situation for any parents - mostly due to ignorance and stigma).
How familiar are they within the community? Being gamers, I doubt very few really know them.
Ive always wondered how kids would turn out when parents are busy gaming and escapist activities. Guess we now see that. Kids may turn out okay, but with love, care and nurturing by parents that are there in the real world, the weak kids also gets a chance. Family activities, like going out in the woods, hiking, swimming, etc., should give a relief to most kids.
I feel that nobody in this world is evil at the core. This kid included. Some stress, something of the past, made him frustrated. He was not met by anybody who really understood him. Mostly, people took a dualist view: Youre doing wrong, stop it! Hey, lets do something GOOD. Maybe you will feel BETTER? They employed a reactionist tactic: Whenever he did something wrong, he got attention - thus "rewarding" such behaviour. Yes, this is exactly how you can make a kid into a monster - when that is the only love he will get, he will take it.
The pattern that one kid is very mute and silently suffering, while one of the kids are revolting, is very common. Its a sign of deep family issues. It has NOTHING to do with the kids - they are being subject to these issues, which often are inherited generation by generation.
That is a pity. What we need is to learn how to master life. These kids CAN be understood, they NEED love, just like any other human being. However, people must be willing to learn and live life.
However, if you want to blame someone. Blame the whole of society. We are watching violence. Eating junk. Sitting like stiffs. Watching more junk. Discussing irrelevant things. Complaining and doing nothing.
Events with kids acting like this is a cry for help. Its an SOS. Were not living a good life, but often a very over-stimulated and superficial life. Its a sign of a defunct society and community, and most people are not reading the signals, but just blaming someone, and then watching more junk on the TV while eating themselves to bad health.
As other posters mention, we now can have external harddrives, USB2, Firewire, real multitasking on core 2 duo processors (although I dont notice much difference on my Macbook Pro), you can burn DVDs but memorysticks are starting to be more attractive, record digital photography, video and sound with a mobile phone! Etc.. Etc.
Before glorifying the days of old, look at what we have.
Heres the specs for the C64: Introduced: January 1982 Released: September 1982 How many: ~17 million Price: US $595. CPU: MOS 6510, 1MHz Sound: SID 6581, 3 channels of sound RAM: 64K Display: 25 X 40 text
320 X 200, 16 colors max Ports: TV, RGB & composite video
2 joysticks, cartridge port
serial peripheral port Peripherals: cassette recorder
printer, modem
external 170K floppy drive OS: ROM BASIC
Notice that? Resolution at 320 x 200 16 colours. That translates to 4000 bytes of graphics memory..
Now my Macbook Pro can do 1680 x 1050 32-bit colour. That is over 7MB of graphics memory. (Is this correctly calculated?)
That doesnt include the 3D capabilities and other stuff going on in the background. The old machines would be slow as molasses on higher resolutions. Hell, just try with an old computer with a new videocard, if even possible. Notice the lag. Expanding both X and Y-resolution and even colour, makes the juice required exponential..
What we need to focus on though, is the user experience. Both Apple and Microsoft has something to learn about GUIs I think.
Even if it is a hoax, debunking it should be done with an open mind. All his assertions are either empty assumptions or misunderstandings of the era in Titors story. I wrote a reply to it:
You are too intelligent for your own good, which is limiting your mind. You set out with some assumptions, and then try to prove why the story must be a hoax. As you will see, this limits your perspective and understanding, so you create assumptions and then break these straw-men away. But they are your own creations and misunderstandings, not Titors.
Firstly, you have to remember the Titor posts were written in the early 2000-2001, BEFORE 9/11, BEFORE the costly iraq war, BEFORE Mac Cow Disease broke out, BEFORE CERN decided to test mini-black holes and was then downplayed, BEFORE China put a man into orbit. These are predictions Titor made, and came true (except the atom smasher to test mini-black holes have not finished yet but will be within 2007 - well within Titors timeframe). THIS is what is startling people, but I wont go into "proving" the predictions positive, since this is about debunking a hoax, it gets meaningless. I just want to show that these predictions were NO WAY common sense at the time, or expected behaviour of the world.
Your first assumption is that the economy is communism-based, because it is based on labour. This is patently a misunderstanding. The society is more capitlist than ever, but it is a COMMUNAL-based society. People DEPEND on each other for survival. However, those who cannot labour, is weak, handicapped, whatever, THEY DIE. Simply, the society has no resources to feed the weak, so you have to labour for your food, wether you get it from friends, relatives, through the money-system or whatever. If you dont take care of your own health and body, theres no hospital or complex surgeries that can save you. It is a much more chaotic economic system, but communism is just a straw-man and a loaded/meaningless word set up by you.
You then assume how economics would be in a surviving USA after nuclear war, civil war and pandemic. How can you predict? People will still want to survive. If old paper money makes a means to barter, people may just decide to use it, or make new money. Somehow, something will survive, and maybe GE has other sites, where they actually produce stuff and you know, it may even sound plausible since GE still has factories in the USA. This is just one more empty assumption, proving nothing.
You then attempt to "debunk" the Many Worlds theory, which is a sound variation of one of the string theories physicists are arguing over. Of course this is impossible to discuss since we dont know the parameters of our own universe yet, but importantly, nobody has yet to come up with inconsistencies in Titors claim. In fact, Titor made the claims of the Many Worlds theory, and later Stephen Hawking himself said that he had been wrong and the Many Worlds theory indeed will solve the grandfather-paradox. (However, keep in mind MW-theory came before Titor.)
So, you wish this is a hoax, and then create a few arguments that doesnt have any weight why it is a hoax. This is the best example of how our own mind can fool ourselves, and we can believe our dogma without objective evidence. You are the victim of your own limitations of your mind.
There seems a good contradiction against Titors claims is that the Olympics would end in 2004, but Winter Olympics were held in 2006. However, some people claims he meant the summer olympics (being from USA his worldview is statistically narrower), or that his worldline is different from ours already so it may not even happen here. Many others of his claims came true however.
The relevant Titor-quote is: "As a result of the many conflicts, no, there were no official Olympics after 2004. However, it appears they may be revived in in 2040."
Its just your mind that is incapable of holding two possibilities in the head at the same time. Your mind is closed, so you only see what you believe is possible, but that is limiting your own mind.
Your mind can be free, and keep many possibilities, and then you rule them out as you see new evidence. That is the scientific way to study the world. Without it, theories like relativity, quantum theory, string theory etc. would be put off by centuries. But they came, before we had any evidence, because of great minds.
I am not of victim, but you are the victim of your own mind.
Im surprised at this ruling. It seems RSS / Atom-feeds has just been made illegal in belgium, or am I missing something?
The courts should not address issues it has no understanding of. It should consist of younger people for technology-related rulings.
It doesnt even fit this particular scenario. Google News is almost unreadable already, the snippets they cut from each news source is just a few words, and most often not even complete sentences. It is more of a free advertisement for the News agencies, because to get the story, or get any meaning out of it, you need to click the link. Such short snippets should be ruled as fair use, and the Google News should really be longer to be actually readable, but IANAL or a judge for that manner, so who can fathom the reasoning behind it?
But of course, there will always be rulings going against common sense, but today, it will get more light and fame, so there are really more checks and balances today than say 100 years back.
Maybe Google should just stop the feeds for those agencies that are suing, and when they see their traffic fall, they will beg to be listed on Google again. I remember this happened for some similar scenario of linking to news a year ago or so.
Heres some of the most convicing quotes. Attributes goes to crims on scienceforums.net. Remember these quotes were made in the early 2000-2001s, before 9/11, Patriot Act, Iraq-war, etc: http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/archive/index.p hp/t-19841.html These following predictions by John Titor were the most convincing and made me think he could be real:
"Real disruptions in world events begin with the destabilization of the West as a result of degrading US foreign policy and consistency."
"In the grand scheme of things, the war in the Middle East is a part of what's to come, not the cause." [This was posted in November 2000]
"I'm glad to see it's so easy for [you] to dismiss the Middle East. Yes, I suppose it is a no brainer but pretty soon it will be a "no armer" and a "no legger". [Nov 2000]
"I believe they [China] are pretty close to putting a man in orbit. It shouldn't surprise you if they do that soon." [Late 2000/Early 2001 - China put a man into orbit in Oct 2003]
"Are you really surprised to find out that Iraq has nukes now or is that just BS to whip everyone up into accepting the next war?" [Late 2000/Early 2001]
Plus he said there would be a woman president in 2008 (Condi Rice or Hillary?)... which would make sense for Condi, since she's an expert on Russia/USSR and John Titor predicted Russia would nuke USA in 2015...
My most memorable Titor-quote is:
"Are you really surprised to find out that Iraq has nukes now or is that just BS to whip everyone up into accepting the next war?" [Late 2000/Early 2001]
How could he know that so early, even before 9/11?
Heres more predictions from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A6345407 Besides the American civil conflict and a third World War Titor made a number of other significant predictions:
*
America will wage war on Iraq, claiming Iraq has nuclear weapons. Titor made this statement years before a war with Iraq was considered. He also claimed no weapons of mass destruction would be found.
*
War will erupt between Israel and its Arab neighbours, and weapons of mass destruction will be used.
*
Korea, Taiwan and Japan will be annexed by China as the West becomes unstable.
*
In the early 2000's CERN will lay the foundations for time travel. In the autumn of 2001 after Titor had left, CERN released a statement indicating the creation of mini black holes was possible.
*
Mad cow disease will be a health issue in America but it will be under-played.
*
Genetically modified food will be used to produce hybrid seeds that will have detrimental effects on the population's health.
*
Titor made a number of statements about constitutional and civil rights in America. He also said the American government will assume its citizens will prefer security over certain personal freedoms.
*
The future will judge the present harshly.
Maybe not all will come to pass, but his way of writing is very convincing. We CAN do more than just hope though. We can start with ourselves, and raise the global spiritual awareness. Service to one another is the greatest thing any human can do in her lifetime.
I have my fair deal of scepticism against John Titor and the claims he has traveled from the future to fetch an old IBM machine besides testing the time-machine, but so much that he wrote about in 2000-2001 thereabouts, has in fact come true. These are just the broad ones: http://johntitor.strategicbrains.com/
This is yet another drop in this mans pretty hefty prediction bucket. At the time of this link, there were no mentions of black holes being generated in the new smasher, but now it seems that this too will come true (if possible), and very much in the same timeframe as predicted too! http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread124980/p g1
A site that is covering news in the media and corelating it with Titors predictions: http://www.johntitor.com/
I dont claim any of this is true, in whatever what you regard as truth, but when reading this, it is startling how accurate the person who wrote those messages in 2000-2001, is describing the trends of our society, problems of the US, Mac Cow Disease, CERN beginning to experiment with mini-black holes, and much more.. For the sake of our planet, and our future, it is worth considering living as THOUGH weve already been through this, than not. He describes a more primitive, but also a more enlightened society if you read the archives from the first link.
I like the design. Its the only groupware with a decent file manager. It supports IMAP webmail, calendar and third-party modules. The coding is excellent and clean. Its one of the cleanest projects out there, with a VERY pedantic programmer-team.
Anyone else have more experience with it though. Havent used it in "production" yet, but certainly plan to now that its at version 1.0. A 1.0 from this team, can only mean an incredible useful and stable product, if Im listening to my hunch that is..
Slashdot Mirror
Bending a spoon helps who? Not many other than the spoon-benders own pockets. I agree.
;)
So-called psychics, who make people depend on _them_, and not their own judgement? Not in the longer run.
But the teacher needs ignorant pupils.
The doctor needs sick people.
The world is full of diversity and "exploitation". It is indeed necessary for the world to function, so nothing to fret about.
Nevertheless, it doesn't help _us_ to get disturbed all the time thinking about all the problems.
It actally hinders our _own_ objective investigation and proper judgements...!
I have no doubt it is possible to bend a spoon, with our without physical force, but it is just a trick nonetheless. Wether it is by warmth, by some exotic particles, by quantum potentiality or brute-force and trickery, I know still that what happened is perfectly natural.
I also know that debunking one, does nothing to debunk every claim. It is a hopeless crusade based on flawed logic and knee-jerk reactions to the world.
The way Randi goes about science, if you are interested in the scientific method, you should condemn such practice. The means doens't justify the ends. It is a scam, and too many here are swallowing it and crying for blood, in much the same flawed way people swallow religious dogmas or try to use the Bible in scientific schoolclasses. It actually hinders real investigation by making a circus out of it. You can never test something having already decided on the result. How many scientists have falled in this pit, and still do? The man is a perfect example who should NOT represent science.
The man who is open for the result, is a _real_ scientist, that deserves praise and respect. Most important discoveries have been accidents with bieffects caught by the acute awareness of the discoverer.
If you're REALLY interested in science, DON'T be on _anyone's_ side.., or be on _everyone's_ side! Keep your mind open.
Btw, sceptics never ever came up with a new discovery. Only free-thinkers ever managed that (per definition you can even say
Sorry, for such a long OT note above, I just got inspired. I hope it can inspire someone to investigate that there really is more to life than what they're being told. I also write this because there seems to be a herd mentality here about the subject, which is also quite unhealthy for scientific progress.
It doesn't matter. Randi is notoriously known to hecle and intimidate his test-subjects, so there's no chance anybody is ever going to pass his tests. Basically, the whole thing is scientifically unsound: Randi is declaring all the rules, and may change them at will and will basically threaten you if you start doing well. He is far from objective about the whole test, and is acting as both executor, judge and bank.
No sensitive person is going to stand being around him. Randi is a piss-poor loser. Paranormal sensitive types or audiophiles, I don't think that's going to make a difference because of this. If you're in a bad environment, how are you supposed to be sensitive and soft? It is just lack of understanding, both of the subject and testing-process itself. For people who dabble in the subtle realms, this is both sad and hillarous.
Myself I am not audiophile, but I have observed "paranormal" phenomenon which science cannot - or will not explain, and which I _know_ where quite real and perfectly natural (although very rare nowadays) (which is another part of the whole scheme of Randi - How can anything be proven to be "paranormal", ie. unnatural. That is impossible.) It's just that you have to tune in to it, to really have the experience, let it come to you and not be impatient. This cannot be forced by our male-dominated will, but will descend on you when you are ready. Someone with over-active intelligence and too much scepticism will just not be aware of what is really happening (at any moment really). When you start becoming aware, life suddenly becomes much more interesting and amazing. It is especially amazing how much people speak about which they have not experienced themselves (second-hand stories for instance. Why waste time & energy on fantasies, when reality is much more interesting..)
The whole Randi scheme is a scam and a fairy-tale for adults, and those adhering to the dogma of science is falling flat-nosed over it..
I really hope someone is strong enough to beat him at his own game though and he'd be forced to pay up (btw, he doesn't even have the money...) It's just that the very people he challenge, sensitive people, are also notorious to escape life and not be balanced in their approach to life either - or the really superior ones will not see the point getting harassed and accused by Randi of cheating etc. Be not mistaken: It is a power-struggle, and it gets really dirty. It's simply not compatible with eachother (but free-thinking science is very much compatible with spirituality - and the very best thinkers always researched different paradigms and understood science to be just an incomplete model in the human mind. People like Einstein, Newton and many many more were both religious (without dogma) and researched Vedic texts and other sources of wisdom).
I know this all might seem ridiculous, but there IS more to life, if you are willing to really investigate (instead of ridiculing other viewpoints you have not researched yourself). I know, because I have experienced it many times, and everyday life is different for ever for me. I am healhy, good fit, have tools to get more energy and know how to get what I want / need. I probably earn double what other people earn, partly thanks to a different approach to life, but also thanks to good luck and good blessings. And most important, all that is totally unimportant to me, because I can never really lose ME - and this is imortality, which is granted to everybody to realize when they are ready. By realizing, you don't really gain anything, but you lose the illusion that you are a human body. Even if this is just on the intellectual level, it is a great freedom in it. How long will we be here? Just a few years, most of us have probably between 20-40 years left, then the body leaves us. How can we then be so bound to this illusion that we are a human body?
And no, it can neither be proved or disproved. It can only be realized, and even this is not a gain - just a realization of who we really are as energetic
this summer...
But different. I was working with electron spin resonance in solids. The set up used a superconducting magnet and a microwave source. We could actually measure absorption changes when the microwave energy matched the Zeeman split.
There was even some talk about using the set up as a component for quantum computers.
However, the people at the lab have started the discover that the primary relaxation method is fast phonon interactions. This must in fact be the case, otherwise the entire upper band would be overpopulated quicker than detectable. Anyway, as things stood, the materials we worked with proved to be ineffective as quantum switches. The spin property was far too transient.
In our tests, we have been working with another component. Preliminary tests found the electronic reflection change to be adequately measured within the interaction timeframe. Although none of our instruments were powerful enough to keep up with the fastest cycles, the information bits could be stored in cubic fashion, and then looked-up in strange cubit pairs after the fact. We theorize that a switch can be made, if only the energy is high enough to be reliably detected and stored.
So if we can somehow correlate the high energy of the absorption and readability of the reflection, we can combine the power of the two methods to enhance eachother and cancel out the negative aspects, I think we can have something that will finally work! When properly set up, it should only be a matter of phase-adjusting the two polarities of the photon switches to be in exact oposition to eachother, while making sure no interference can be made across the photon shields. You may have to distort the angle by a tiny fraction due to stellar polarity in our locality, but that should be easy as pie once you have the two photon switches ready.
You got it backwards: Unless we change our nature, evolve spiritually, we don't really have a future at all..
You may have to consider the people writing/preserving the text were not necessarily the same people using- or making the apparatus. Much has been lost, indeed since most of the world described is totally gone - back to a stone age world.
Much of the Vedas were never actually written, but remembered in an oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation.
You may find similar things in the Bible. Start reading from Ezekiel 1, and see if you can find the sci-fi story that unfolds there. Of course, the description is almost unrecognizable, but if you have an open mind, you will find it there.
It makes me laugh when I hear about people dismissing alien abductions just because it is a "new" phenomena, when in fact, in every religion, in every ancient tradition, you will find the same mystical elements, the same descriptions. Crop-cirlces were believed to be faeries, or the devil bending the crop (there is an old picture of this). I believe there is some truth to these things, but you have to investigate it properly with an open mind to find the truth - and not what you want to find. This goes both for "believers" and "disbelievers".
UFOs in the Vedas were called "Vimana", which in Hindu is used now to refer to aerial aircrafts. The difference being that these were not really "UFOs" (Unidentified Flying Objects), but more like "flying saucers", which had all kinds of shapes like: triangles, saucer shapes, sigar shapes, huge bowls and shapes more resembling our aerodynamic crafts of today. Another exception also being that some of these ancient crafts could travel in space, in the air, in the water and below water too. They behaved much like present days observation of UFOs (which has been observed in the whole history of mankind).
Unfortunately, these crafts were used for warfare, and the civilizations possessing them fell back to a "stone age", much like we fear is possible if we dont evolve our spiritual values beyond our technological capabilities soon.
Check out for yourself what Wikipedia says about "Vimana"
Any UFO enthusiast should know the history between how Atlantis tried to subjugate and "conquer" the whole world. While the Vedic Rama-civilization, were also of such capabilities and having a war with Atlantis. Atlantis sunk below the ocean and disappeared completely as a civilization, while Rama remains in what is now known as the Vedic knowledge and the traditions in India and neighbouring countries.
Best part is that most of the manuscripts in Sanskrit is yet to be translated. Time for an open source effort to translate the remaining Vedic scrolls anyone? Any geek knows his salt should know his Sanskrit and Vedic knowledge!
Samarangana Sutradhara (Literally, "controller of the battlefield"), it is written:
"Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky. The movements of the Vimana are such that it can vertically ascend, vertically descend, move slanting forwards and backwards. With the help of the machines human beings can fly in the air and heavenly beings can come down to earth."
Also in Mesapotanian sources you find such statements:
The Hakatha (Laws of the Babylonians) states quite unambiguously:
"The privilege of operating a flying machine is great. The knowledge of flight is among the most ancient of our inheritances. A gift from 'those from upon high'. We received it from them as a means of saving many lives."
According to the Dronaparva, part of the Mahabarata, and the Ramayana, one Vimana described was shaped like a sphere and born along at great speed on a mighty wind generated by mercury. It moved like a UFO, going up, down, backwards and forwards as the pilot desired. In another Indian source, the Samar, Vimanas were "iron machines, well-knit and smooth, with a charge of mercury that shot out of the back in the form of a roaring flame." Another work called the Samaranganasutradhara describes how the vehicles were constructed. It is possible that mercury did have something to do with the propulsion, or more possibly, with the guidance system. Curiously, Soviet scientists have discovered what they call "age-old instruments used in navigating cosmic vehicles" in caves in Turkestan and the Gobi Desert. The "devices" are hemispherical objects of glass or porcelain, ending in a cone with a drop of mercury inside.
Interesting read wether you believe it or not, it is still there!
Why do children all over the world, sometimes speak of previous lifetimes or in other languages than they have been subjected to?
Why have I myself seen the electrical-fluid like field that is surrounding my own body, on several accounts?
Just because the physical world is very familiar, doesnt mean that it explains the whole of reality. Especially when you start to tune in to more subtle phenomena, sometimes bordering with the physical plane. As kids, we do this all the time, but are scolded / taught to stop fantasizing. But sometimes, kids DO NOT fantasize, they SEE ghosts / other beings / light, etc. But we also want the love and affection of our parents, and they make us forget how to tune in, and how to function in the physical world.
Maybe this sounds like nonsense to you, and youd like to start critizising me for saying something that doesnt bring any meaning to you. But ask any of my friends, I have a Very rational mind and do not believe something just to escape reality. I am interested in reality and investigate it, and what I have found is that there is much more to it than meets the eye, and I am only beginning!
I challenge you to practice yoga, meditation and breathing techniques for a month, and investigate for yourself! You will definately not regret it, and if you do, you have direct experience with it to speak from.
Translucency really, really sucks. It is distracting and makes it harder to read. Just look at Word for Mac or iTerm. The translucent effect just makes it harder on the eyes, while providing NO benefit. It should really be optional overall.
Now, MenuShade is a program that gives your menu a less-brighter shade. THAT is a good idea, because it prevents the menu from burning in your fancy LCD. Im using it all the time, and it is easier on the eyes, AND simple to read.
In the bigger picture, you can never entirely disprove of anything. So how can you disprove free-will, or determinism?
;)
Its all a mental game. To go in favour of one, you lose perspective.
Without an observer, _you_ have / observe nothing.
Those saying deteminism is impossible, its bogus, because maybe an higher abstraction / system will show it is all determined? With more information, this might be discovered at a later date.
Those saying we have free-will, its also bogus, because you cannot disprove of it since science will never end at a final conclusion about this never-ending universe. Where does it all come from? If entropy going down, is a sign of intelligence, and the universe is always going upwards in entropy (chaos)? Wouldnt that signify (not prove), that the highest intelligence was in the beginning of the universe, when entropy was at the lowest?
The wise ones, will always believe in free-will, and know it is just a belief, because it is very convenient in order to take responsibility for your life. It may be a convenient illusion, or it might be truth. But the result is a better life. (And with "result" we assume we had a choice in the first place!
This is probably not what you had in mind either, but this is the only meaningful conclusion I can come up with now on the subject.
Your own assumptions about the universe is just a belief mind you.
You would like the universe to be like our models, of mathematics, that we created in order to understand and predict this universe. This mathematics is *within* the universe, so how this ever can be capable of holding all the parameters / the absolute truth, now *that* is irrational!
So the whole premise, although very tempting, is just impossible. The universe does not exist out of mathematics, mathematics exists because of this universe! To think any differently is perverse, and will only cloud your own judgement and mind. We must always be open to new stuff in order to advance true science, and not dogma.
Free-will or not, has nothing to do with it. The quantum-level is so low a level, that when we observe something, we irrevocably change the state. If we measure it a different way, we change the state in a different way. So wether we have free will or not, we can measure things differently, and the way we do it, will affect the result differently.
Wether we choose it by "free will", or by magic, or by rolling a dice, is just philosophy and has nothing to do with physics. You can always say this was predetermined, but the argument is that if we do it the other way, it will have different effects, that we *can* measure in experiments.
Said in a different way: Whatever we do, or dont do, we irrevocably are part of the dynamics of the universe. We would maybe like to be totally impartial observers, but when the observing itself changes the universe, how can we ever separate us from the rest of the entire universe? If you follow this logic, which yourself started, you will come to conclusions that borders on the religious, wether you like it or not. That were responsible for what we do, or dont do, even if its just observing.
So wether we have free-will or not, which is just a matter of frame of reference, where information comes from or not (we really do not know). But we have proof that we are irrevocably part of this universe and influencing everything in it, even just by observing.
So to have hope to understand such a changing system logically and reasonably, we first have to understand our self.
So, if altruism creates pleasure in the brain, is it still considered altruism? You ARE getting something out of it, after all.
I knew I should have paid more attention in my humanities courses, particularly Philosophy.
Your good actions lift up the other person, while also lifting up yourself. You dont learn this in school, but just watch people doing "bad actions". Do they look any happy? Content? Enigmatic? Intelligent? Full of heart?
Even if they get rich by doing it, you will see they are filled with health-problems, restlessness and all sorts of problems.
You will find the most paranoid and small-minded people, are the people who are extracting more out of society, than contributing. They are small, because they depend on others. But someone who is truly giving, without regard of the return, is free.
So pleasure out of doing "bad actions" is purely illusional - and illusion is called "maya" in Sanskrit. Everything we do, is so that we shall get some good out of it. But most our actions, return more sorrow, because were under the spell of maya - illusion and ignorance. Yet, we keep doing the same bad habits over and over again - until we get tired of the return of investments.
However, doing good actions, will surely bring good now or in the future, and clears the veil of illusion. It will give pleasure and bliss on a whole new order, and will in time even be greater than your greatest sexual experience. Happiness is both moral and our birthright, no matter what depressing people tell you to think..
The Art of Living will give insights like these, not theoretically, but practical experience in your own life.
Native Indians when asked by white men about where they come from (loosely from memory so bear with me): Maybe YOU come from the apes. Our ancestors and our spirit comes from the stars. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. We have legends of humans BECOMING apes, because of evil deeds and ignorance (degeneration), however our ancestors came from the stars in the sky and is not native to this planet.
In Mali, West Africa, lives a tribe of people called the Dogon. The Dogon are believed to be of Egyptian decent and their astronomical lore goes back thousands of years to 3200 BC. According to their traditions, the star Sirius has a companion star which is invisible to the human eye (science has shown this to be a white dwarf). This companion star has a 50 year elliptical orbit around the visible Sirius and is extremely heavy. It also rotates on its axis.
This legend might be of little interest to anybody but the two French anthropologists, Marcel Griaule and Germain Dieterlen, who recorded it from four Dogon priests in the 1930's. Of little interest except that it is exactly true. How did a people who lacked any kind of astronomical devices know so much about an invisible star? The star, which scientists call Sirius B, wasn't even photographed until it was done by a large telescope in 1970.
The Chakra systems of native americans directly corresponds to the chakra system of the Tibetan and Vedic knowledge from around India. If you look at a tibetan and someone native from e.g. high mountains in Peru, they have the same colours of dress, the same frame, even many of their rites are directly mirroring each other. Chakra systems are also found to correspond to Egyptian lore, the Kaballa and many other spiritual traditions around the world. 7 is a holy number in most traditions, which corresponds to the 7 chakra energy senters in the body (if youd like to see energy around your body for yourself, take alternating cold and warm showers and relax in a hot sauna (alone so you can relax) - you might just catch the glimpse of "fluid-like electricity" around your body against a darker corner).
From Ezekiel 1 (International Version of the Bible). Notice the detailed description of an UFO, astronaut dress with glass bulb and wings/jetpack / airplane with cockpit and metal wings, wings of metal, fire beneath and ezekiel being physically transfered, a description of "moving wheels", some sort of movable backpack or robot. We laugh of abduction stories today, but they are not new to human lore. These "moving wheels" are even not invented yet, but might be useful to us in the future! Having a mobile backpack movable by our "spirit" / thoughts, might be handy indeed!
The Living Creatures and the Glory of the Lord
1 In the [a] thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month--it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin- 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, [b] by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. [c] There the hand of the LORD was upon him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north--an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also ha
These commercials are incidious. Just like you dont get handsome, smart, creative and out-going from drinking Coca-Cola, but rather you may get more pimples, the sugar/caffeiene rush may boost you for a few minutes, and then over the longer run you get more dull and slow-witted.
You will be sure some kid will try this because it is shown on TV. Its not the parents job to foresee everything the child might do due to watching TV.
Rather, it is the parents duty today to bring up the kids without resorting to the TV and videogames.
Upbringing based on real-life, with real risks and real pain. Talking doesnt help when youre already living in a virtual reality. People talk about things all the time, complain about what should be done in the community. Talk is cheap. If you believe you have only one life, you better start to really live it.
Yes, Hindus are a big part of the puzzle here, but please remember there is no such thing as Hindus. Muslim technology, mathematics and concepts was most probably derived more from India and the countries surrounding India, and more specifically from the Vedic Scriptures. India was once the greatest super-power in Asia, but then Buddha came along and taught people to have peace and tranquility. People misunderstood his message, and tore down the armies and development, so India became a back-water country.
Before Hinduism was invented, people in India just lived the Vedic knowledge, in all its diversity. Then came Europeans and started branding this way of living for "Hinduism", and people got an identity. However, there is no general principles concerning "Hinduism", thus it is an artificial concept, and has brought alot of conflict and confusion.
About "Hinduism" and Vedic Knowledge (Sanskrit)
Vedic Knowledge on the other hand is a scientific knowledge, which includes western medicine and is all-encompassing. It deals with medicine, herbs, effects of sounds, way to make instruments, technology, materials and their properties, etc, etc. SO MUCH of it has been lost in time. It is said that to study it all would require life-times. So nobody has really studied all of vedic litterature (which is vast!). In its whole form, the Vedas will encompass the whole universe, but it is unknown wether this form has yet existed on our planet, but certainly you will still find many texts about different dimensions and different universes, as well as subtle energy centers in our own body, which science will have to admit are there pretty soon.
It is in many ways more advanced than Western thought, philosphy and principles. It was Vedic Knowledge from India that spurred Greek philosophy and Chinese medicine (Ayurveda has the original form of acupuncure, acupressue, Feng Shui called Vastu etc). The Vedas are really the root of many of the advanced mathematics, medicine and science today. Its application on the psyche far surpasses todays psychology.
The Vedas even describes how to make space-ships, has manuals for controlling space-ships, how fast they are moving, the age of the current universe-cycle, and much more. Alas, much of the originals are lost and many believe those texts are remainders of more advanced civilizations, so it is hard to study the fragmented remains.
I can only recommend to open up your mind and study what the Vedas can do for you. It is amazing it has been forgotten by people outside India.
Society? Parents are a part of the society. Kids are a part of the society. Even the people on TV are part of the society.
We are part of the society, and so is the community. So when you say "we", who are you talking about? And if everyone is part of the society, who would this "we" be doing anything for or with?
Ok.. It means: YOU
It is either now, or later if we let things become even worse.
We can only start with ourselves, experience and pass it on.
"Then you're scarily mistaken. Antisocial personality disorder has a known biological component. If you lack the biological components for empathy, or if they are twisted out of true, or if your arousal mechanisms are depressed (which is the case with APD) then there is a probability that you will grow up cold, manipulative, and outright evil. APD is a spectrum, with some people having just enough arousal depression to allow them to live a mostly normal life, but engage in risk-taking behaviors (such as mountain climbing or firefighting), while other people from very early childhood take every opportunity to harm others whenever it tickles their sick, twisted little pleasure centers.
This kid is in that latter group. You need to get out of your pie-in-the-sky "It's all nurture" mentality and realize that sometimes evolution hands us a goddamned raw deal, and sometimes that raw deal hurts other people too."
Im not saying, be goody goody all the time, or at least Im not meaning that but these posts will always be limited.
Parents are simply way too naive these days. The kids are subject to all sorts of cynicism, alchoholism, gangbangers and criminal behaviour. It is not new, but it has certainly hardened in first world countries. So many parents just dont want to face that reality, that it can happen to their own kid. Its so easy to fool parents, when the whole families have lost touch with the community. Very few is there watching each others kids anymore.., and when they do, it is in a mentality of fault-finding, condemning, not constructive assistance. This situation is deep rooted within our society, and we really need to nurture the human values and going out in nature, do more healthy activities with our lives. This is not just one familys problem, or one kids problem. Its a sign of deep-rooted alienation within our community.
As for regarding someone as evil, that should be the last resort, if ever. We should regard them as sick, and that they need adjustment, both for themselves and others. We should not let them destroy other lives, like in this example.
People with intelligence will recognize a kid that is "the raw deal", or whatever you want to call it. Maybe medicines can help, maybe locking him up may help, but sadly, to have intelligence we need to be there for eachother. Not feel guilty all the time, and not blame other people, and certainly not watch the stupid box, or play silly games, for hours.
I have assisted on courses with youths were the youths have called their parents and lied about many things, saying one thing to the course leader and saying other things to the parents, to the children etc. Kids will use manipulation, so they should be corrected - called out. It requires strong down-to-earth intelligence, it requires a strong humanity, but I have seen it done - and done beautifully. The kid stayed on the course and was later happy about it. We dont need to condemn kids, we need to raise them. If not soft, then we need to be tough, but not with anger. Only dispassion will help, because then you are centered yourself. Have you ever been glad for something you did in your anger? No. I can only recommend Art of Living courses for this, because that is the only place Ive seen it happen. We can become so strong within ourselves, nothing can shake you, certainly not a kid. If you need help, you will not be shameful to _persistently_ ask for help at the proper place and make deals with schools, parents and police. No more guilt and hoping for the best, but becoming active and have an interesting life.
Good idea. Lets tear down the society even more. Who needs parents? Why not just bring up all the kids in a Kids Home. They all like it there, weve seen it on TV.
One day, we as a society will need to take responsibility for how we create our community. Play your video games, but when the bombs starts cracking, and you have no clean water, or electricity, it may be too late to learn to cope with life.
"I'm curious. Since you seem to be of the opinion that they did things the wrong way, what would have worked better?"
This is a sad story, both for the kid, who is now the hate-object for these parents and the community, and the parents who obviously did everything they could in the situation.
Why should we blame someone? Everybody do what they can do, nobody are _intentionally_ ignorant.
Having said that, the parents would probably go a long way cooperating better. From her story, it seems it was a "mothers house" and "our house" policy. No help or recourse for the mother when things started to go worse. No real connection between the adults besides the phone.
Instead of begging / pleading for help, a good, long talk from the heart should get through to someone at school. It sounds like the kid appeared more powerful than his parents, and they felt helpless facing abuse charges (quite understandably though, its a tough situation for any parents - mostly due to ignorance and stigma).
How familiar are they within the community? Being gamers, I doubt very few really know them.
Ive always wondered how kids would turn out when parents are busy gaming and escapist activities. Guess we now see that. Kids may turn out okay, but with love, care and nurturing by parents that are there in the real world, the weak kids also gets a chance. Family activities, like going out in the woods, hiking, swimming, etc., should give a relief to most kids.
I feel that nobody in this world is evil at the core. This kid included. Some stress, something of the past, made him frustrated. He was not met by anybody who really understood him. Mostly, people took a dualist view: Youre doing wrong, stop it! Hey, lets do something GOOD. Maybe you will feel BETTER? They employed a reactionist tactic: Whenever he did something wrong, he got attention - thus "rewarding" such behaviour. Yes, this is exactly how you can make a kid into a monster - when that is the only love he will get, he will take it.
The pattern that one kid is very mute and silently suffering, while one of the kids are revolting, is very common. Its a sign of deep family issues. It has NOTHING to do with the kids - they are being subject to these issues, which often are inherited generation by generation.
That is a pity. What we need is to learn how to master life. These kids CAN be understood, they NEED love, just like any other human being. However, people must be willing to learn and live life.
However, if you want to blame someone. Blame the whole of society. We are watching violence. Eating junk. Sitting like stiffs. Watching more junk. Discussing irrelevant things. Complaining and doing nothing.
Events with kids acting like this is a cry for help. Its an SOS. Were not living a good life, but often a very over-stimulated and superficial life. Its a sign of a defunct society and community, and most people are not reading the signals, but just blaming someone, and then watching more junk on the TV while eating themselves to bad health.
Time to wake up people!
As other posters mention, we now can have external harddrives, USB2, Firewire, real multitasking on core 2 duo processors (although I dont notice much difference on my Macbook Pro), you can burn DVDs but memorysticks are starting to be more attractive, record digital photography, video and sound with a mobile phone! Etc.. Etc.
Before glorifying the days of old, look at what we have.
Heres the specs for the C64:
Introduced: January 1982
Released: September 1982
How many: ~17 million
Price: US $595.
CPU: MOS 6510, 1MHz
Sound: SID 6581, 3 channels of sound
RAM: 64K
Display: 25 X 40 text
320 X 200, 16 colors max
Ports: TV, RGB & composite video
2 joysticks, cartridge port
serial peripheral port
Peripherals: cassette recorder
printer, modem
external 170K floppy drive
OS: ROM BASIC
Notice that? Resolution at 320 x 200 16 colours. That translates to 4000 bytes of graphics memory..
Now my Macbook Pro can do 1680 x 1050 32-bit colour. That is over 7MB of graphics memory. (Is this correctly calculated?)
That doesnt include the 3D capabilities and other stuff going on in the background.
The old machines would be slow as molasses on higher resolutions. Hell, just try with an old computer with a new videocard, if even possible. Notice the lag. Expanding both X and Y-resolution and even colour, makes the juice required exponential..
What we need to focus on though, is the user experience. Both Apple and Microsoft has something to learn about GUIs I think.
Even if it is a hoax, debunking it should be done with an open mind. All his assertions are either empty assumptions or misunderstandings of the era in Titors story. I wrote a reply to it:
You are too intelligent for your own good, which is limiting your mind. You set out with some assumptions, and then try to prove why the story must be a hoax. As you will see, this limits your perspective and understanding, so you create assumptions and then break these straw-men away. But they are your own creations and misunderstandings, not Titors.
Firstly, you have to remember the Titor posts were written in the early 2000-2001, BEFORE 9/11, BEFORE the costly iraq war, BEFORE Mac Cow Disease broke out, BEFORE CERN decided to test mini-black holes and was then downplayed, BEFORE China put a man into orbit. These are predictions Titor made, and came true (except the atom smasher to test mini-black holes have not finished yet but will be within 2007 - well within Titors timeframe). THIS is what is startling people, but I wont go into "proving" the predictions positive, since this is about debunking a hoax, it gets meaningless. I just want to show that these predictions were NO WAY common sense at the time, or expected behaviour of the world.
Your first assumption is that the economy is communism-based, because it is based on labour. This is patently a misunderstanding. The society is more capitlist than ever, but it is a COMMUNAL-based society. People DEPEND on each other for survival. However, those who cannot labour, is weak, handicapped, whatever, THEY DIE. Simply, the society has no resources to feed the weak, so you have to labour for your food, wether you get it from friends, relatives, through the money-system or whatever. If you dont take care of your own health and body, theres no hospital or complex surgeries that can save you. It is a much more chaotic economic system, but communism is just a straw-man and a loaded/meaningless word set up by you.
You then assume how economics would be in a surviving USA after nuclear war, civil war and pandemic. How can you predict? People will still want to survive. If old paper money makes a means to barter, people may just decide to use it, or make new money. Somehow, something will survive, and maybe GE has other sites, where they actually produce stuff and you know, it may even sound plausible since GE still has factories in the USA. This is just one more empty assumption, proving nothing.
You then attempt to "debunk" the Many Worlds theory, which is a sound variation of one of the string theories physicists are arguing over. Of course this is impossible to discuss since we dont know the parameters of our own universe yet, but importantly, nobody has yet to come up with inconsistencies in Titors claim. In fact, Titor made the claims of the Many Worlds theory, and later Stephen Hawking himself said that he had been wrong and the Many Worlds theory indeed will solve the grandfather-paradox. (However, keep in mind MW-theory came before Titor.)
So, you wish this is a hoax, and then create a few arguments that doesnt have any weight why it is a hoax. This is the best example of how our own mind can fool ourselves, and we can believe our dogma without objective evidence. You are the victim of your own limitations of your mind.
At least you could have done a bit of research. On the wiki-page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor
There seems a good contradiction against Titors claims is that the Olympics would end in 2004, but Winter Olympics were held in 2006. However, some people claims he meant the summer olympics (being from USA his worldview is statistically narrower), or that his worldline is different from ours already so it may not even happen here. Many others of his claims came true however.
The relevant Titor-quote is: "As a result of the many conflicts, no, there were no official Olympics after 2004. However, it appears they may be revived in in 2040."
So y
Its just your mind that is incapable of holding two possibilities in the head at the same time.
Your mind is closed, so you only see what you believe is possible, but that is limiting your own mind.
Your mind can be free, and keep many possibilities, and then you rule them out as you see new evidence.
That is the scientific way to study the world. Without it, theories like relativity, quantum theory, string theory etc. would be put off by centuries. But they came, before we had any evidence, because of great minds.
I am not of victim, but you are the victim of your own mind.
Im surprised at this ruling. It seems RSS / Atom-feeds has just been made illegal in belgium, or am I missing something?
The courts should not address issues it has no understanding of. It should consist of younger people for technology-related rulings.
It doesnt even fit this particular scenario. Google News is almost unreadable already, the snippets they cut from each news source is just a few words, and most often not even complete sentences. It is more of a free advertisement for the News agencies, because to get the story, or get any meaning out of it, you need to click the link. Such short snippets should be ruled as fair use, and the Google News should really be longer to be actually readable, but IANAL or a judge for that manner, so who can fathom the reasoning behind it?
But of course, there will always be rulings going against common sense, but today, it will get more light and fame, so there are really more checks and balances today than say 100 years back.
Maybe Google should just stop the feeds for those agencies that are suing, and when they see their traffic fall, they will beg to be listed on Google again. I remember this happened for some similar scenario of linking to news a year ago or so.
Heres some of the most convicing quotes. Attributes goes to crims on scienceforums.net.p hp/t-19841.html
Remember these quotes were made in the early 2000-2001s, before 9/11, Patriot Act, Iraq-war, etc: http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/archive/index.
These following predictions by John Titor were the most convincing and made me think he could be real:
"Real disruptions in world events begin with the destabilization of the West as a result of degrading US foreign policy and consistency."
"In the grand scheme of things, the war in the Middle East is a part of what's to come, not the cause." [This was posted in November 2000]
"I'm glad to see it's so easy for [you] to dismiss the Middle East. Yes, I suppose it is a no brainer but pretty soon it will be a "no armer" and a "no legger". [Nov 2000]
"I believe they [China] are pretty close to putting a man in orbit. It shouldn't surprise you if they do that soon." [Late 2000/Early 2001 - China put a man into orbit in Oct 2003]
"Are you really surprised to find out that Iraq has nukes now or is that just BS to whip everyone up into accepting the next war?" [Late 2000/Early 2001]
Plus he said there would be a woman president in 2008 (Condi Rice or Hillary?)... which would make sense for Condi, since she's an expert on Russia/USSR and John Titor predicted Russia would nuke USA in 2015...
My most memorable Titor-quote is:
"Are you really surprised to find out that Iraq has nukes now or is that just BS to whip everyone up into accepting the next war?" [Late 2000/Early 2001]
How could he know that so early, even before 9/11?
Heres more predictions from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A6345407
Besides the American civil conflict and a third World War Titor made a number of other significant predictions:
*
America will wage war on Iraq, claiming Iraq has nuclear weapons. Titor made this statement years before a war with Iraq was considered. He also claimed no weapons of mass destruction would be found.
*
War will erupt between Israel and its Arab neighbours, and weapons of mass destruction will be used.
*
Korea, Taiwan and Japan will be annexed by China as the West becomes unstable.
*
In the early 2000's CERN will lay the foundations for time travel. In the autumn of 2001 after Titor had left, CERN released a statement indicating the creation of mini black holes was possible.
*
Mad cow disease will be a health issue in America but it will be under-played.
*
Genetically modified food will be used to produce hybrid seeds that will have detrimental effects on the population's health.
*
Titor made a number of statements about constitutional and civil rights in America. He also said the American government will assume its citizens will prefer security over certain personal freedoms.
*
The future will judge the present harshly.
Maybe not all will come to pass, but his way of writing is very convincing. We CAN do more than just hope though. We can start with ourselves, and raise the global spiritual awareness. Service to one another is the greatest thing any human can do in her lifetime.
If youre new to John Titor, heres the complete archive of his texts:r _project.html
p g1
. cgi?noframes;read=165532
h tml
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/the_john_tito
An interesting interview with Larry Flynt:
http://www.larryflynt.com/notebook.php?id=95
I have my fair deal of scepticism against John Titor and the claims he has traveled from the future to fetch an old IBM machine besides testing the time-machine, but so much that he wrote about in 2000-2001 thereabouts, has in fact come true. These are just the broad ones:
http://johntitor.strategicbrains.com/
This is yet another drop in this mans pretty hefty prediction bucket. At the time of this link, there were no mentions of black holes being generated in the new smasher, but now it seems that this too will come true (if possible), and very much in the same timeframe as predicted too!
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread124980/
This is the person who even told Hawking was wrong, and later Hawkin conceded he was wrong on the subject!
http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/forum
Time Traveller The Movie. John Titor doesnt HAVE to be proven correct. WE can DO something about it, starting with ourselves!
http://www.fasttrackproductions.biz/TimeTravel_0.
A site that is covering news in the media and corelating it with Titors predictions:
http://www.johntitor.com/
I dont claim any of this is true, in whatever what you regard as truth, but when reading this, it is startling how accurate the person who wrote those messages in 2000-2001, is describing the trends of our society, problems of the US, Mac Cow Disease, CERN beginning to experiment with mini-black holes, and much more.. For the sake of our planet, and our future, it is worth considering living as THOUGH weve already been through this, than not. He describes a more primitive, but also a more enlightened society if you read the archives from the first link.
I vote for Horde Groupware - http://www.horde.org/
I like the design. Its the only groupware with a decent file manager. It supports IMAP webmail, calendar and third-party modules. The coding is excellent and clean. Its one of the cleanest projects out there, with a VERY pedantic programmer-team.
Anyone else have more experience with it though. Havent used it in "production" yet, but certainly plan to now that its at version 1.0. A 1.0 from this team, can only mean an incredible useful and stable product, if Im listening to my hunch that is..