Warning!

Warning. The following publications may induce intense reasoning.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Of Dreams & Memories

I am in a shuttle. Not a train. More like a plane, or a spaceship. It is an in-between of those two, really. It is shaped like a long rocket without wings, and it is populated by rooms, and halls full of safety-chairs, where people wait for the landing. Only the bottom part has an engine and control center.

I am inside a waiting room, all for my own. I just woke up. I get the feeling that the end of the journey is approaching. Although I slept through it, it was not a long journey, actually. It is a mystery to me where I am, and where I am headed. And although it is a mystery, it is not important. The only thing that is important is the landing.

I slowly climb out of my room. It is connected to one of those sitting halls, through a corridor entrance, above me. The gravity is awkward, and although I do not float, I do need to crawl my way out of the room. As I approach the above chamber, I find myself pausing next to a window.

Instead of a "disposable rocket",
This is the actual final result!
The view is intimidating. It is not just a freefall. It is an accelerated drop, from who knows how high. There is no sound. I keep staring into the incoming ground. It is littered with boulders, as if the landing site is meant to be more of a hazard, rather than less.

Suddenly, the thrusters below me burst, and the noise of combustion roars, as if from a long distance. Just as it seemed the vessel would hit the ground, and my mortal life would end miserably yet quickly, an ever so slight wobble motion hits, and everything just stops.

We have landed, and not surprisingly, everyone in their sits start applauding.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Anything But The Dzed

In a dark corner, beneath the edge of a mountain, lie a little Dzed. The alien, whose ancestors had arrived on Earth only a century ago, was hunting. He was hunting in the dark, as all his kind do. His vicious arachnid form, extremely suitable for trapping and the silencing of his prey, hung from the top branch of an oak tree.

The man, a native of the land, dark skinned and rough natured, walked over the trap, without hesitation. He was not aware of the trap being there, yet he was not afraid of such a possibility. He was a hunter, and for him, it meant that danger was a casual thing.

Giant alien spiders are our friends.
That's the narrative, anyhow.
Just as the Dzed activated his trap, contracting the wires of his immense weave, the man jumped. As the man fell out of its' way, and rolled back on to his feet, a roar filled the night, behind him. Inside the Dzed's web, a large cat with pointed ears was wrestling with the arachnid's device. Needless to say, it was a futile attempt.

The man looked up the tree, where the trap connected to higher branches. A shadow loomed against the star-filled sky. The man knew it to be a Dzed. Shaming the hunter, the Dzed did not even consider him worthy prey. Real prey, for the mighty arachnoid, had to pose a real challenge.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Virtual Game World Framework In NodeJS

I have been spending many of my creative hours, in these past months, working on a big project of mine. I call it Node World.  ***THUNDER CLASH***

The Open Source Code on GitHub

My Announcement of Node World on GameDev

A Live Demo For Developers

In summary, it is a framework for MMO's. It is intended to help developers and MMO fans - programmers, writers, and artists, express their ideas in a virtual world, without having to do everything from scratch.

I've found much inspiration in modern manga, such as Sword Art Online.
In elaboration, however, Node World has been my dream for several years. Ever since I realized how modern games are limited. How repetitive and inflexible they remain. I wanted to have a game world, where many players can join together, and not only explore and do combat, but also make a difference, in the game world itself!

I am looking for developers to join me! NodeJS is a relatively easy programming language, and I am doing my best, for the sake of modifications, to keep the code simple and readable. Contact me, if you want to inquire about it!

And our manga seers are only improving!
The goals of Node World are well defined:

1) The server seamlessly integrates any client into itself: Text, 2D, and 3D.

2) The project is modular, both in code and in functionality, so that programmers can easily modify and add to the project, and players can modify and add to the virtual world, without editing the code, at all.

If you have any ideas you want to share, then comment below, and say what this project brings to your mind. :-)

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Homemade Pure Aloe Vera Gel

How simple and easy it is, to make my own health products! Well, at least, when it comes to handling Aloe Vera.

This plant has become so infamous that I will skip the introductions, and simply say how great it is for the skin! It is well-known, for treating all sorts of skin problems, from acne & burns, to fungi & dryness.

About five leaves of this size, would make for a personal dose.
Photo from "Health Care After a Disaster."
1. Collect several Aloe Vera leaves. It has a spiky edge, so if you are sensitive to thorns, you might want to use thick gloves, or a knife. Personally, I just tore the outer leaves, by pulling them sidewards.

2. Use a kitchen board and your good knife, and remove the spiky edges from a leaf. Wash it quickly, so it has no dirt or that yellow goo, which is an irritant.

3. Then, press the leaf down against the board, and insert your knife between the skin and the gel. (The gel is the nice firm stuff inside the leaf, and not the liquid goo that comes out of it.) Carefully slice the gel away from the skin.

4. Make sure to remove leftover green bits, before you do the other side. It is quite hard to hold the gel down, without any skin. After you finished with one side, then do the other side, in the same manner.

Unless you've got a better idea,
throw away the leaves' skins.
5. Wash the pure gel in water, quickly, and put the gel into the blender! Do this for each leaf, making sure no leaf still has any yellow goo. It is very noticeably.

6. When done, activate the blender! Give it around half a minute, to make sure all the gel has become liquidy. The end result is a gooey liquid.

A bit foamy, after the blending.
It stays good for many months, inside a tight-lid box! By itself, it is anti-bacterial.

Wash your hands, before you apply it to your skin! Aloe Vera gel can be, usually, applied to any part of the body. Try a small dose, to see if it irritates any part of your body.

I use it on my face and hands! It helped me get rid of some unfriendly skin problem in the past. I also use it on my funky parts, when I feel more funky than usual. ;-)

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Automatically Publish New Posts To Facebook

Blogger, being a Google product, is quite handily integrated with Google+. It is not, however, well integrated with Facebook, at all; not surprisingly, being the competition and all.

I have quite loyally enjoyed the automatic syndication publishing service from NetworkedBlogs, for a long while, now. Sadly, I have noticed that their script adds a lot of clutter & bugginess to my blog! :-S This is simply unacceptable.


On my venture to find a new auto-publishing mechanism, I have read about dlvr.it. It seems nice and friendly. My registration and setup was very (very) quick. Now, let us see if it works!

This is my first test-run post for it.

Cheers. :-)

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Reviewing The Elder Scrolls Online Beta

I will keep this article rather concise, so let us exclude the introductions, and get to the point.

The Elder Scrolls Online, the beta, which has just begun a rather massive event, starting recent Friday, 31.1.2014, has been a new experience for me. It is an MMO of a new generation. It actually has some serious story, questing, and a realistic vibe, to it.

Man, I saw no radar in my beta! ><"
First of all, it feels well made. It does not feel cheap, or "AZN", or a scramble of well-tested ideas, scrounged into an "role-playing-like action game". It is a real MMORPG. There are a lot of actors reading out the quest texts, and shouting about in populated areas. The visuals are compelling, and not toy-ish. The UI and controls are minimal, logical, and entertaining. It feels really good.

Maybe just as important as the feel it has, it draws the interest of the player. I am only enjoying a few days of beta here, as I have been invited with a private key; one of the lucky ones, who got rolled in. But, in these few days, I have found myself growing more and more curious about the game world itself, and about where it would lead me. Unlike many other games, which quickly turn into a repetitive-quest grind-fest, ESO straddles itself tight onto its' story and characters. NPC's are not that stupid. MOB's feel more purposeful, than in many other games. It is kind of nice.

I will point out, critically, that the atmosphere of the game is quite dark and gloomy. For many of us, who enjoy a light-hearted - casual - funky sort of ~vibe~, I seriously doubt that it is there. Even the player-base feels different. All those individuals, who have been enjoying the Elder Scrolls single-player games of the past, now turn in their hordes, to play this new release; the next of the series, really.

You see, it's a different sort of humor.
For me? It ain't extreme enough.
I strongly suspect that, while being a rather good MMO - unusually so even, it will only draw unto itself a rather specific crowd. I hope it gets enough trolls.

Oh, and I do not plan on buying it, myself. Nothing personal, really.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Failure Of The Buddha


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

The Buddha, as described & depicted by the ancient Buddhist texts in the Suttas, specifically the older text from the Pitaka, is painted for us as a person who did not strictly associate himself with any group, nor considered any place as a specific place of practice. That is to say, that the Buddha did not weave together with his Dhamma, the concepts of a monastery, or a religious group, under one name.

Just like researchers today, and in the past, he was a man, who suggested a system of rules & practices that recognized a problem, and pointed to a solution. And just like other researchers, even since before his time, his system was described in terms that were relevant to his time and place. Beyond its' basic principles, it only created many responses to issues of its' time.

The Buddha is depicted as debating his opinions with others. The Buddha is depicted as putting forth concentration & thought, into understanding his reality. The Buddha is depicted as a person who accepted disciples, which means that he accepted disagreement, and different ways of using his ideas.

Understanding this history of Buddhism, and by doing some research about our own contemporary Buddhism, it comes to light that there really is no such thing as "Buddhism." What there is, is the Dhamma - the rules that the Buddha described, and the results he predicted, for following those rules. We also have several millennia, in which people have tried those rules, in an endless variety of ways.

And the result? Failure. There is no evidence, whatsoever, that the Buddha's Dhamma actually achieves the results it predicts. Saying that a person has not used the Dhamma for "enough time", or that those who fail, do not "really follow the Dhamma", is not acceptable reasoning. Scientists and researchers do not, these days, accept "laws of nature" that do not prove themselves constantly.

I practice meditation,
but do so regardless of Buddhism,
like most people.
Today, there are simply too many recorded instances of people, who do follow the Dhamma, but do not present the expected results. The ending to suffering - Dukkha. This is not only objectively so. Many who have practiced this faith wholly, and for a period of several years, often describe not feeling what is to be expected.

For the Buddha's ideas to be true, to be a law of nature - Dhamma, they must repeat in a reliable manner. This is simple scientific observation. Naturally, there can be argument about the validity of certain cases. But, like with anything else, when there is an overwhelming account of failure, then there can be nothing left, but suspicion and doubt.
Lao Tzu, of the ancient wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, was not affiliated with any group, either. He taught what he saw as the law of nature - Tao, in an a way that is applicable to people, as well. These are the most concise and specific ideas he could use, to predict results with. There is an interesting correlation between the two faiths, when their origins, history and modern expressions are examined and compared.
If the Buddha ever had a religion, it was simply the manifestation of his own ideas, and nothing more. If he ever had a monastery or sacred place, it would be nothing more, than just his home. If he ever had disciples, they would be nothing more, than just interested equal parties. Buddha, like many other charismatic teachers, had his own traditions and notions about life. Those worked out in limited ways, and never proved to be anything but generally good ideas, if even that.

The same could be said about any of us.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Warhammer Production!


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.


Click here to download an excerpt from Thorn and Talon.


The Warhammer audiobooks were a refreshing surprise to my senses. I believed to have been well acquainted with well-made science-fiction and fantasy audiobooks, but discovered an exceptionally made production, in this case!

In my excitement, I bring this report to you, my audience, before browsing deeply into the collection; which, by the way, spans over 30 stories! Of course, most of them are rather short. Some of those I have enjoyed, so far, were about an hour long. And what an hour it was!

The production of the audiobooks includes clear narration by a professional, who does the characters very well, and music & sound-effects, according to the situation entailed. This mixture of grand production and refined stories, brings together some of the best fiction audiobooks available! The narrator appears to be British, or at least, he is well versed in their speech habits.

I will post an update, when I find myself at the end of this wonderful collection, so stay tuned.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

A Celebration of Ten Thousand Blossoms


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

A haiku for my reaching the 10,000 unique visitors mark!

                                                                                      
    "    people come to watch                                                
                                                                                      
          
        where robots host the show                              
                                                                                      
               
                       in a house of words         "            

                                                                                      


lol

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

No Money In My Bitcoin

My latest rap single has been released, from my home "studio"! I find it entertaining, and I sure hope that you do, as well.


Monday, January 6, 2014

Basking In Fantasy

In these cold winter days, up here in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, I find myself spending more hours reading books of fiction. Well, I say reading, but I enjoy more audio-books than paper books or ebooks, really.

It is enjoyable to imagine different worlds, full of unexplored wonders with tales of thrilling adventures. Whether these worlds are either strongly or loosely based on our own reality, matters little.

The Elder Scrolls Online
Is it all just a pretense?

The careful mixture of emotions and ideas that is displayed in stories, represents a reality that is not quite our own, but more so how we feel about it.

In other words, stories feel more real, while representing reality in an impossible way. After all, stories can describe events and objects that clearly have no evidence for, in our own lives, while still feeling true and eminent.

Sort of like living a lie?

No. Our perception of reality does not change, when we pretend. A pretense is only a layer that we put over our perception of reality, just like putting sunglasses over our eyes. It does not change our notion what is real.

Still, to pretend that a story, or even a game, has real meaning, requires from us a justification. We justify the pretense, by setting out rules of conduct in a defined setting. This is the same as actors, when they play a character on stage or in front of the camera. Pretending to be a character outside of that setting, would only then truly be lying.

Is the purpose of pretense to generate beneficial behavior?

Dreams are a pretense. We experience dreams, in order to improve the functionality of the brain, and thus generate beneficial behavior, when we are awake again.

We also have many popular games, from card & board games to sports and social entertainment games, that encourage action and thought, where idleness and atrophy would have been the default. Even if on rare occassion conflict or injury may result, those are still generally considered beneficial.

Never the less, there are many instances of pretense that neglect to consider our well-being. False marketing, militarism, nationalism, religious fanaticism & extreme hierarchies are some examples that we are all familiar with.

Behold, how this monstrosity turns into an
 innocent little girl, in front of your eyes!
Does pretense enhance our sense of reality?

It sounds like a contradiction, right? Imagining things in order to enhance our sense, or understanding, of reality. Almost laughable.

All cultures, from the wildest tribes to the most technologically sophisticated nations, bask in fantasy. More often than not, it is those most impossible ideas and stories that persist, when a culture makes the transition from tribe to nation: The belief in deities, and superstitious behavior.

It is the need of living things to grow that encourages pretense, wherever and whenever life is little more than subsistence. Boredom, tediousness, disinterest, and even apathy, are all urgent signals for us to find entertainment in pretenses that rejuvenate our faculties.

So, I must conclude that yes, pretense enhances our sense of reality. Pretense brings us to life, when we would have become dull and detached, from our own needs and abilities.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Jerny At Ways, Part Two


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

When Pae finally realized that she and her brother could not stay at the farm any longer, she asked Maghir, her elder brother, about their mother.

"Why can't we stay with mom? We can work the animals, ourselves," she complained. Maghir, a young boy, quite far from being a young man, did not have a good answer. Instead of giving her a bad answer, he decided that answering another question would be better.

"We're going to aunt Jen and uncle Madhu. They'll take care of us, and granny will take care of mom," he ended in a decisive tone. He was not really sure why their mother needed taking care of, but it was plain enough that she did not take their father's death well.

It is not that most children take death well. Not even a friend's death, much less family. Even the death of a farm animal could hurt. It is not even that their father was a bad man to be despised and glad over his demise. Not at all. Maghir and Pae simply did not feel as strongly as most others, when it came to death. Even they suspected that such a perspective was considered unusual in people.

"Spring" by Charles-Francois Daubigny, 1857
On the northern road, away from their home in Iranwin and towards those who would adopt them, at least for a time, Big Hor sang merrily. "Hoddy ho doddy do, little bird a whistle oh," he went and changed melodies and lyrics often, with little pause. Pae seemed aloof to the man's attempt at cheerfulness. Maghir felt slight disgust at the notion that they were too young to be allowed to be upset about their father's death.

Hor was a neighbor and an old friend. Each farm in their village, their further and further away village, stood a good walking distance away from the next farm. Even so, the locals felt close to each other, and treated each other well. Even between adults and children, games and conversations were commonplace. Hor was not then only a friend of the family, but an actual personal friend to both brother and sister.

As they walked under the mid-day sun, Maghir heard a noise from the east. Hor seemed to be too preoccupied to notice the sound, but Pae did turn to look at the same direction, as Maghir did. They exchanged curious glances. Could it be a wandering fox, Maghir wondered. When he turned back to look to the east again, he saw a tall woman covered with feathers from head to toe. She wore no clothing, except her feathers and a big toothy smile.

End of Part Two.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

How To Identify People Reliably


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

The act of identifying people has always been a nookie in the smooth mechanic wheels of communication. By nature, we tend to generalize our identification of people by their figure, face, voice, gestures and swagger. Less consciously, we also do so by scent and rhythm.

In the age of the letter, which now includes the age of information technologies - Internet & Computers, we find the problem more aggravating, than ever before. And the contemporary solution? Passwords.

Passwords are as much of a failure as is fast food. First, you have to memorize them both ways, which is unreliable. If either the listener or the teller get the password wrong, for whatever reason, then the identification fails. Second, using the letter or word format to identify a person is unsafe. It may be easily stolen and copied.



What is the next step in reliable identification?

Patterns!

Passwords are a sub-category of patterns. Many things are patterns. How we behave. How we converse. Our timing.

Face, voice and finger-print recognition software use patterns, too. Are they reliable and safe? No. Faces and voices are too error prone and may be simulated by others. Finger-prints are reliable, but can be copied, so they are not very safe.

Also, all of the above require an extra device to get the user input. A camera, a microphone or a finger-print sensor. It will be more reliable if we avoid using extra devices for identification.

There is, however, a pattern that requires nothing new, and is more reliable and safe, than anything else. Usage patterns.

For example, a computer can remember the input patterns of the user, during regular activity. Typing on the keyboard. Mouse clicks and movement, or touchpad clicks. The days and hours of usage. The applications most used and the pattern of changing between them. Internet website browsing patterns. Even the patterns of audio and video that the computer can access.

What does this mean, in practice?

Any new account is guaranteed access, for a limited period of time. No password necessary. After a reliable and unique pattern has been identified, the computer will begin keeping a watchful eye on the user, trying to identify the user. The moment the user logs in, the computer will start running unobtrusive tests, against the user. The more the user is identified, the more access is granted.

Simple!

Imagine you create a new email account. The email server - the computer on the other side - begins the recording process. After you have accessed your email several times, the server will start by having you type a short phrase, for basic entry. Any phrase! The server will know what words, symbols and typing habits should display from your side.

In the case of more entry levels, such as a sensitive email folder, the server may open up certain secure options, only after you have displayed enough usage to confirm your identity.

Can you even imagine anybody able to mimic your habits? It sounds impossible!

Unless, you are a machine. Machines mimic patterns. That is their specialty. Never the less, no worry, for this process is protected from such machine hacking attempts, by the simple usage of already existing anti-bot modules (pieces of software that are designed entirely for this need.)

Big social websites, such as Facebook and Google, already use pattern recognition for both server and user. The server will identify and alert you, when your account has been logged in from a new location. Facebook even requires users to identify people in their photos!

I hope you find this topic interesting. I know I do! This is definitely going to be implemented in my next programming project.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Argument Against Money, Even BitCoin


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

Before money, people had to keep their promises or trade on good faith. That is to say, that you gave something of yours to another person, because you trusted that other person to give you of his own, equally.

"At the potlatch, gifts repay guests for witnessing the week's events
with nonstop feasting, singing, dancing, and gift-giving."
- Shirley Collingridge, Wordsmith

Whenever trust is lost, the only way to have trade is by force and violence. Money is an intermediary to the threat of violence. When you cannot trade by trust, but you are forced to trade regardless, by other parties, then one way to mask the actual violence inherent to the trade, is by using an actual item that represents the promise of trading back to you goods of equal value.

Whether it is a sack of wheat, the ancient Babylonian Shekel, or a coin or a note, as we know money today, it is always a promise that disagreement to do trade will lead to violence. But, it is also an empty promise, because the value of the money is always decreed by those who rule by violence. They change the value of the currency according to their own needs. Even a sack of wheat, can in one hand represent life itself, and in another hand, represent nothing, at all.

In other words, say you give me an apple, and I give you a note that says that I must give you something of unknown value back, for that note. Why would you accept such a blatant scam? Because the other party forces you to do so, using violence and the threat of violence. The only value remaining to you is the trade that you can do with others, who are under the same threat and have the same-styled notes of promise that you do.


Digital currencies are no different. They are but a meaningless promise given by strangers and those who have little to no interest in the other party; you. If I know and trust another person online, then I will feel comfortable giving them of my own; knowing that they are likely to do the same for me. However, when I deal without having trust (personally, or by proxy of another trustee), then I know not that I will ever get the value of my goods back to me, in any shape or form.

This argument, claiming that money is nothing but a weapon, may not seem obvious, at first. Ask yourself the following questions:
  • Where does money come from? Generally, to everyone, and personally, to you.
  • What do people do, when they have no money?
  • What is the history of the value of currencies?
  • Are there people who live without money, and if so, how do they do trade?
  • Do most people actually agree on the value of goods?
Even the answers to these questions, should be enough to see that money is not the supposed "tool and method" of trade that many claim it to be.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Do The Pullup! + Pics

The pull-up bar is the most important piece of exercise equipment, for both men and women. Modern society lacks upper body strength and health. The pull-up bar helps us maintain a maneuverable body weight, healthy arms & hands, a better more straight posture and a better sense of balance.

1. The bar is located at the end of my reach,
so I do not over-stretch myself.
2. I strengthen my grip and pull myself upwards,
as if I were climbing a tree.

4. Hang down and lift my knees up,
to give my lower abs some exercise.
3. Going up as high as I can manage
and hold for two seconds.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

How To Upload Your Podcast?


This is more of question rather than an answer; although, I do deliver an answer, as well.

I was very disappointed to see that Google, while providing blogging, website and online profile services (for free), they do not provide podcasting services - or rather MP3 (audio) file hosting services.

Music full of vitamins and minerals!
I searched around and found a website that, while it does not seem entirely reliable in the long run, does work and work well. Kiwi6 lets us upload and share audio with others, with direct links. It seems to be mostly used by independent artists that record music and songs. They have some nice playlists to play while surfing or gaming.

If you know of other reliable hosts for audio files, or even specifically for podcasts, which let us direct link to the files, then please comment!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Jerny At Ways, Part One

The Crossroads at the Eagle Nest

Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

Maghir's father died, shortly after the boy had reached his seventh birthday. The grief tore at his mother, who decided she would travel alone and see the world, so that healing would come faster. She left Maghir and his younger sister Pae to their aunt and uncle; her elder sister's family.

Turning and twisting in his sleep, Maghir dreamed of the morning his father died. He and his younger sister were playing with the lambs; those who had already grown enough wool to be fluffy to the touch. Two rams were wrestling under a big oak tree. His father did not appreciate having his rams injured or dead from fighting, so he moved in to kick one of the giant heavily-horned rams.

This was not an unusual day. Life at Maghir's family farm was a quiet and simple one. Mostly pleasant, and sometimes harsh. Just as life should be, or so Maghir imagined. Suddenly, he heard his father yell followed by a loud crunch. Pae turned to look and so did he. They both stared to see their father lying broken on the ground. One of the giant rams sniffed at the man curiously.

"Dad? Is he dead?" Pae asked without looking away. Maghir had the words dad and dead confused in his mind.

"Yes," he said sharply. "Of course he's dead, Pae. Just look at him." Their father was not twitching or moaning. The two children had seen many people and animals this way, before. A broken body, so badly twisted that it was a surprise to not see blood oozing from the corpse. "Stay here and make sure nothing comes to... eat him," he turned to look at Pae, his eyes worried and his lips pursed.

As he turned and walked back towards their wooden hut, beneath the trees further inside the forest, he was not surprised to see his sister only staring in disbelief, or was it shock, at the twisted corpse of their now ever-restful father...

End of Part One. Listen to part Two.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

What Does The Fox Say?


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

I do not know.

But, I do know that there are plenty of foxes (actually, jackals) where I live. They are generally friendly and harmless animals, similar to dogs, but smaller and faster.

I recall spending a night outside, on a local hill, just sitting and relaxing. After lying down, I heard some rustling noises from the bushes. I glanced towards the sound, but saw nothing. A minute later, I heard their sharp pitched barks all around me. I admit; I was scared! Even knowing that they are harmless, I felt scared; so, I grunted loudly to scare them, and walked back, down the hill.

It is odd how at night even small things are scary.

A Middle-Eastern Jackal.

Friday, November 1, 2013

On Moral Agnosticism


Click here to download this blogcast in MP3 Audio.

Ayn Rand, the 20th century philosopher and novelist, who coined the term Objectivism, spoke of the avoidance of moral judgement by one person on others:

Virtue of Selfishness, pp. 82–83.
We lose our personal integrity, when we deny the existence of morality. This is our own belief in ourselves: opinions and emotions. Our ultimate natural intuition. This denial is equal to naming ourselves liars. It is often correlated with dismissing our own opinion in favor of someone else.

Self-trust is not about being right or correct. It is about having a clear set of priorities in mind. All decision come from and rely on the self. If the self is dismissed, then no critical thought is allowed. Without the benefit of critical thought, we cannot come to conclusions. We then must either wager or rely on others.

It is the responsibility of each person to choose. Without choice there is no free will. Without choice there is no learning and correction. Choices are always based on our inner morality; what we decide is good or bad.

Would you care for an uneducated life?

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