Let's Make Sense

The first step in making sense is to never finish at "I don't know." This is, because you, more often than not, do know. We all have highly developed logical abilities, once we put some time and effort into thinking. So the next time you find yourself thinking, "well, I don't know," just stop yourself and replace that with, "actually, I do know."

Seeking Depth Within Life

I've always been a big fan of the philosophic and Buddhist practice of wondering about the origin of things. For example, before eating one will wonder about the origins and source of their food and drink. Where does it come from? Who collected it? Who prepared it?

Old Habits Die Hard?

I feel that this practice is extremely relevant to the understanding of the true meaning of all things in life. Many might question if their choices and practices are good or bad. The best way to get an answer for that, even if a personal one, is by learning and discovering the origins and processes things go through to reach us. Should I act in a certain way? Should I consume a certain thing? What is the meaning of life?

Yes. I feel that it is an easy way of attaining the meaning of life for each of us. Simply check about your life. If there is any dissatisfaction left after the research, then go ahead and check into the origins of your dissatisfaction! It's as simple as that. Eventually, clarity and purpose are always revealed. :-)

A Five Step Politician

A representative of the public, also known as a politician, is a person who requires a certain degree of experience and knowledge in the practice of sympathy.

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” - John Maxwell

Interests.
A contending or chosen social representative must never have any conflicting interests. There must be no profit or benefit to him or anyone in his personal circle. This requires all financial information and historical records to be publicly accessible.

Education.
A certain curriculum is expected of the politician. It is not enough to have general knowledge. The most critical contemporary topics must be well researched. In addition, topics of social conduct and historical failures and successes must be versed. A politician not only represents his public, but they also lead their public.

Experience.
Only through experiencing the hard facts of life, and learning how to cope with them realistically, can a representative be expected to be wise about their choices for the public. Each representative must pass a test of courage, wherein they will live for a month in the most poverty stricken conditions their public suffers voluntarily.

Profession.
Each representative has their own specialty. The social issues are always diverse, and for that there must be enough professional politicians to adequately solve those technical problems that arise. It is only expected that a political office that represents the natural environment, which puts emphasis on the welfare of the local animals and plants, should be led and populated by those with specific experience and knowledge.

Liability.
The life and well-being of the public is not a matter of play. If a selected representative is shown to be a failure, even though all requirements have been accounted for, then they must be replaced; for even a great expert can make great mistakes. The public must not let a politician have the interest of protecting their own status. Instead, those who already have an interest to replace the elected person - the contenders, must take responsibility over mistakes, and be elected whenever they identify a problem and offer a solution that the former politician could not handle.

Eye & Eyelid Care (Blepharitis or Pinkeye)

Healthy, clean, and happily seeing.

Today, I would like to discuss my experience with caring for the eyes, or more specifically the eyelids. I have very sensitive eyelids that tend to inflame every once in a while, for several years now. This experience has taught me a lot about eye care.

A. The first and most important thing to remember is that the eyes, as does the entire body, heal themselves constantly. All parts and particles are constantly refreshed. This process seems to take place mostly during sleep at night.

B. Sleep well and comfortably. There is interesting research from animals and apes to suggest that sleeping in different postures affects us in different ways. Sleeping on the stomach, for periods of time, seems to assist in digestion. Some claim that our metabolic system is strongly connected to the eyes, therefor healthy nutrition and digestion is paramount.

C. Externally, using natural soap - to your selection - is a great way to assist in keeping harmful substances and bacteria away. Washing the face with some soap, and washing it away with water after, would help keep the skin clean and healthy.

D. The eyes can be very sensitive both to dryness and moisture. I find that moisture, such as water residues after a face wash, can nourish bacteria and make the eyes more sensitive. Using a towel to make sure, carefully and gently, that the eyelids are dry, after washing, helps a lot.

E. Clean hands can help clean the eyes. While the eyes produce sticky wastes to protect themselves, and especially so during sleep, they can't always remove them properly. These are usually removed at the edges of the eyelids. It is possible to assist the eyelids in cleanup, by using clean hands - after washing, even with soap - to gently pull away the crust from the more sensitive area of the eye and away. I find a little gentle use of fingernail helps.

F. Inflamed or injured eyes should never be scratched or rubbed. Only healthy eyes can tolerate this mechanical maneuver  In order to locate and remove irritants from sensitive eyes, you should use a mirror under good lighting. Use clean hands and gently remove any hair or dirt located. Pinpoint the spot, and never attack the eye in its' entirety, for it will get even more sensitive if you do.

G. Lastly, the most important occasions for eye-care are before going to sleep and directly after waking up. Before you go to bed, make sure your eyes are clean and dry. Even a little cleanup can help a lot. After waking up, if you have special sensitivity or injury, wash up and dry up. Use a mirror to identify any crust or hairs that may not have been removed during the morning wash. Wastes from the eyes can be very sticky and insistent, and this is why eye infections are often chronic and persistent, in my experience.

Enjoy healthy and clear eyes! :-)

No Blog Post Today

Emptiness is a vastly misunderstood concept. Space holds all matter, yet it is inherently empty for sight. People contain the force of life, yet we are inherently empty of it, for when the balance of a body fails, so does its' life vanish. Emptiness is not a lack of substance; rather emptiness is the balancing counterpoint to substance.

Imagine an object that is both empty and substantiated. It has no properties at all times, while it has all properties at no given time. This object is our reality. We, and all existence and living beings, are a confluence of the balance of reality. Each of us represents a balance. Anything we experience or do is a state of such balance.

A balanced life, which is the optimum state of all beings at any moment, requires a careful handling of both substance and emptiness. Substance is represented by the material world; all things that are sensory. Emptiness is represented by a digestion process of all matter, either physical or mental. Emptiness is not the lack of or opposite to substance. Rather, it is a process; unlike matter, which is a result or substantialization.

An inclination for results is unhealthy. An emphasis on processes is also unhealthy. Just like the well-trained juggler, so do all beings must throw and catch at the same time this accommodating experience of life.

Time To Sit Down

Socrates 400BC.

Meditation. The word has changed its' meaning quite profusely since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. Originally, it held a wide meaning of taking time to ponder or think through. The idea was that knowledge is in itself the peak of realization.

Acariya Mun of the
Thailand Buddhist
Tradition.

Today, due to the expansion of Buddhist teachings around the world, meditation is used as a term for the action of being without disturbance. This new term disregards the value of knowledge, while emphasizing on the conditions necessary in order to obtain such knowledge.

I practice awareness meditation often. I value this practice and the Buddhist teachings and traditions. This has allowed me to be more aware of my life and environment. While more awareness also means more pressure to take responsibility, it is worthwhile and definitely recommended.

Want to try? Find a place where you are serene and have no disturbances at all. No people, no devices, no games and nothing else to draw your attention. Keep your attention calm and serene, and see how you feel after an hour of this practice. It is not important to keep any specific position, as long as your are not disturbed by this. I often switch from sitting to walking and so forth. Also, it is not important what you think or do not think about. There is no need to control anything, except for your surroundings and the choice to remain in that empty place. There is not even a need to set a certain amount of time for this practice, at all.

Update: Flame On!

It

Burns!

This is an update to my previous Olive Oil Lamp post. On your left you will see a simple photograph (webcam) of me holding one of my DIY olive oil glass jar lamps. :=D Daddy is so proud!

Basically, I use a rather wide thick-glass jar, cut some white cotton sock for a wick, and bend some steel wire to hold that wick in place above the oil. Beautiful. Utsukushii. I have this smaller one for my room - a lovely hand warmer and atmosphere setter, and another bigger one for my outdoors camp. The lid is used to kill the flame, while it also keeps the smoke inside as it dies.

How To Write A Book (A Practical Guide)

Had to add that "practical guide" part there :=P What? It gets results.

Anyway, today I want to share with you, my dear readers and blog-followers, my secret methods for authoring a book. In order to reduce technical issues when writing a story, I have devised so far two methods that speed up my creative writing flow, and minimize the effort necessary in maintaining concentration while writing an entire story.

One, is my Book_Template file. I didn't want to shift between different programs/interfaces while writing a story, so I had to figure out how to implement my ideas using only Word 2012 or any other interface. Therefor, before I write my story I first fill-in a template file with the following:

Title, Subtitle & Summary. These allow me to choose a topic and general theme for my story. The summary specifically allows me to note down any important ideas that I want to include in the storyline.

Main Characters, Secondary Characters, Miscellaneous Characters & Locations. These are short lists I keep in my template, so I can keep an eye on all those details, and change them in an organized fashion. This keeps me from obvious errors, and also helps me order my characters and locations. This order helps for referencing inside the story.

Chapters, Sections & Subsections. I divide my story into titles. Every chapter is split into several sections. Every section is split into several subsections. This allows me for a consistent storyline, which is also very easily manipulated. Also, using the titles as a reference, my writing-flow is more steady. This reduces distractions dramatically and builds up self-confidence while writing.

The second method is a simple Heading manipulation in my story file. I have been using it with my current book, Future Value, and I am very pleased with the results. Under the View tab in Office 2012, it is possible to reveal the Navigation Pane. Then, I simply copy my template into the story file, and edit it so that each chapter, section, and subsection are set as a Heading in their according levels (Heading 1/2/3). Other titles are kept as a Title or Book Title heading, so they do not crowd my Pane. This allows me to add content directly under my titles, and it also allows for amazingly easy navigation within my story. I find this method more efficient, than simply checking back with my template file after every two or three paragraphs. :=)

TIP: One of the awesome things with headings is that the author can select all content that is of a certain heading, even Normal text, and immediately apply any action to it. Even remove all Normal text with a single button press!

Attached are my up-to-date Empty Template file, and an example of a properly headered Story file:
http://speedy.sh/TE8nS/Empty-Book-Template.docx
http://speedy.sh/SA2Nj/Empty-Book-Example.docx

How To Make A Story Sound More Interesting

Often, authors will think of events and characters that really capture the mind. These would beg and insist to have a story-world to be told about in. While a good idea and a character is something to start with, it is obviously not enough. Interest is lacking.

A good event or story need several things:
A. A reason for it's occurrence; whether it is told before the event of afterwards.
B. Relevant emotions that create sympathy between the characters and the reader. Without describing such strong emotions, the reader will feel disinterest.
And finally, C. Every event must be in relation to its' affect on others in the story. I once saw on TV a joke about this issue. The newscaster read from the prompter: "An atomic-bomb has fallen on Los Angeles last night! No one was killed or injured in the event." :-D Hehehe Classical.

I hope this helps. ;-)

How To Be Happy With Poverty

It has always been a common issue with people around me. Poverty, or the lack of insight for a financial future. Today, I feel I must respond to an article I found on the matter at:
wikihow.com/Be-Happy-Despite-Poverty
There is a misunderstanding with the issue of finance. Many assume that the ability to finance is related to both luck and opportunity. The reality is reversed. Finance is only constructed by need and ambition. When you may one day find yourself without a place to sleep in - then you have the need. Sometimes, all it takes is a warning. Such as feeling that going out for a party is just too expensive, before the month ends. o-o

Ambition is special. The will to drive yourself to success, and the intuition to choose the relevant options for you. The motivation to do it alone, and do it against all opposition, just because it is the right thing to do. For you. For me. A balanced mix, constructed by effort and education (knowledge), gives fruit to finance and success.

Poverty is a lacking. A wise person knows to manage what-is, and to employ any available resources for improvement daily. For a wise person, financial success is only periodic, while poverty is nonexistent.

My two cents, Inc.

What Name Would You Choose?

Gandalf the Grey by Lucas Graciano

As part of my upcoming Flash RPG game, I was wondering about character names. This is both for the players to learn from, and for NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and the game world.

I feel that a page or a method to assist with name choice is a good step in the right direction. As such, let me share here a few interesting results I have pinpointed in my quest for awesome ancient legendary names!

"Looking For Group" Comic.
An awesome character necessitates
an awesome name!

A good start is always Norse Mythology. A second best and great for Elves is Celtic Mythology. For variation and less fluid sounds there is Ancient Germanic. Finally, for those who are interested in more finesse and modern names one can browse through Anglo-Saxon.

Olive Oil Lamp

If you have not yet seen, played with, and/or made an oil lamp with olive oil - please do. Here is advice on exactly that.

Aladdin style.

Frugal Survivalist Style.

There is an endless variety of lamps, and many methods to use. I recommend using any lamp material that would not heat up and burn your fingers. Also, I recommend using cotton for a wick. And last, but not least, I recommend pure high-quality olive oil, even though other grades and kinds could be used. That's just me :-)

For you, here is how I made my own lamp. A used glass jar is great for holding the oil, and it is possible to add water below the oil - so that the wick is not far away. If there is a large distance between wick and oil, more than a few centimeters, then it is likely that the wick will burn-out and the lamp stop flaming. Easily fixed with a new wick and oil replenishment.

I used a hammer and nail to make a hole for the wick to pass through. I bent the wick sideways so that the flame doesn't easily kill the soaked wick. Olive oil is hardly flammable, and would take very flammable conditions in order to burn openly.

I am still adjusting my lamp experiment, and will update on the matter here. Somehow, it feels that having an ancient style lamp would be most awesome and comfortable. Meh, used jars are what I have.

Treating Cotton To Withstand Water

Maybe you have recently asked yourself, "Hey! How do I make a piece of cotton fabric stand against the winter rains? Maybe even cover my -insert item-, so it is kept dry and clean." So here it is.

Things You'll Need
Waterproofing Spray

Instructions

1. • 1
     Clean the cotton fabric before applying the waterproofing spray. If you are going to apply the waterproofing spray to a cotton trench coat or overcoat, have it dry cleaned first.
   • 2
     Hang the coat outside in an open area or lay it flat on a clean table outside. Apply the spray in an even back and forth motion to fully cover the material. If the coat is laying on a table, make sure to allow the spray to dry on one side before turning it over to apply to the other side.
   • 3
     Reapply the waterproofing spray following the same steps as above once you find that the coat has begun to lose its ability to keep the water from seeping through.
     
     Quoted from eHow.com after scanning around for an easy solution. Second best is something awkward, like hardcore oldstyle ways, for example our friend StigOfTheDump shares:
     

     Horace Kepharts book Camping and Woodcraft contains a recipe as follows:
     
     Waterproofing Cloth at Home. — If one has 
     home facilities, there is no reason why he should not 
     make a good job of waterproofing for himself. 
     
     Paraffine Process. — The cheapest, simplest, and, in 
     some respects, the most satisfactory way is to get a cake 
     or two of paraffine or cerasine, lay the tent on a table 
     rub the outer side with the wax until it has a good coat- 
     ing evenly distributed, then iron the cloth with a medium- 
     hot flatiron, which melts the wax and runs it into every 
     pore of the cloth. The more closely woven the cloth, the 
     less wax and less total weight. 
     
     Some prefer to treat the tent with a solution of paraffine. 
     In this case, cut the wax into shavings so it will dis- 
     solve readily. Put 2 lbs. of the wax in 2 gallons of tur- 
     pentine (for a 7x9 tent or thereabouts). Place the ves- 
     sel in a tub of hot water until solution is completed. 
     Meantime set up the tent true and taut. Then paint it 
     with the hot solution, working rapidly, and using a stiff 
     brush. Do this on a sunny morning and let tent stand 
     until quite dry. The turpentine adds a certain elasticity 
     to the wax; benzine does not. 
     
     For tents to be used in cold weather before an 
     open fire, the following process is better: 
     
     Alum and Sugar of Lead. — First soak the tent over- 
     night in water to rid it of sizing, and hang up to dry. 
     Then get enough soft water to make the solutions (rain- 
     water is best; some city waters will do, others are too 
     hard). Have two tubs or wash-boilers big enough for 
     the purpose. In one, dissolve alum in hot soft water, 
     in the proportion of 34 Jt). to the gallon. In the other, 
     with the same amount of hot water, dissolve sugar of 
     lead (lead acetate — a poison) in the same proportion. 
     Let the solutions stand until clear; then add the sugar 
     of lead solution to the alum liquor. Let stand about four 
     hours, or until all the lead sulphate has precipitated. 
     Then pour off the clear liquor from the dregs into the 
     other tub, thoroughly work the tent in it with the hands 
     until every part is quite penetrated, and let soak over- 
     night. In the morning, rinse well, stretch, and hang up 
     to dry. 
     
     A closely woven cloth should be used. 
     
     This treatment fixes acetate of alumina in the fibers of 
     the cloth. The final rinsing is to cleanse the fabric from 
     the useless white powder of sulphate of lead that is de- 
     posited on it. Failures are usually due to using hard 
     water, or a less proportion of alum than here recom- 
     mended, or to not dissolving the chemicals separately and 
     decanting off the clear liquor. When directions are fol- 
     lowed, the cloth will be rain-proof and practically spark- 
     proof, but not damp-proof if you use it as a ground-sheet 
     to lie on, or if exposed to friction. After a good deal of 
     use, the tent will need treating over again, as the mineral 
     deposit gradually washes out. 
     
     Remember that cotton goods shrink considerably when 
     first soaked. 
     
     Alum and Soap. — Shave up about a pound of laundry 
     soap and dissolve it in 2 gallons of hot water. Soak the 
     cloth in it, dry out thoroughly, and then soak in an alum 
     solution as above, and dry again. 
     
     I have had no success with the alum and lime 
     method mentioned by " Nessmuk." 
     
     Good waterproofing compounds can be purchased 
     teady-made from some tent-makers. 
     
     The following recipes, although not suitable for 
     tents, are useful for other articles of equipment, and 
     are included here while on the subject of water- 
     proofing cloth: 
     
     Oiled Cloth. — For groupd-sheets to use under bedding: 
     get some of the best grade of boiled linseed oil of a 
     reputable paint dealer. One quart will cover five or six 
     square yards of heavy sheeting. Pour it into a pan big 
     ■enough to dip your hand into. Lay out the cloth and rub 
     the oil into it between your palms, using just enough oil 
     at a time to soak the cloth through, filling the pores, but 
     leaving no surplus. Then stretch it in a barn or garret, 
     or other dry shady place, for one week. Finish drying by 
     hanging in the sunlight three or four days, fi .st one side 
     up, then the other. 
     
     Apologies for wierd spelling mistakes as its taken from an OCR scan of the book that is free online and in the public domain here:
     http://openlibrary.org/works/OL49656..._and_woodcraft

     
     

Lemon Water [FREE]

Slice a lemon in half. Prepare an empty and clean cup; preferably from glass.

Take saw-knife or fork, and grind the flesh of the lemon into the cup. Make sure you turn the lemon towards the cup, so you do not spray nor leak beyond the edges. Juice will flow - maybe some seeds as well. No worries, for the seeds drop to the bottom.

Add water. Not too much. Probably just a bit more than the amount of juice. Mix with the fork or knife. A sweet-sour drink is ready for you enjoyment! :-)