I Do Not Call for Assistance

When a new and unexpected problem arises, a worker or student may feel tempted to ask for help immediately, but that is weak and should be avoided. While asking for help is certainly a tool that one can consider when needed, pushing the "help button" straightaway bypasses another important tool, the brain. I have learned to wait, to give myself time to think. Thinking takes time and it cannot be rushed and does not have anything to do with deadlines.

I cannot tell you the number of times in my programming career that end users called me on the phone for instructions on how to do something that they could have figured out themselves if they had spent a single solitary minute thinking instead of panicking. People have a tendency to panic when confronted with anything out of the ordinary and that is weak. Computer programmers take measures, when possible, to avoid startling users, but sometimes things arise which cannot be avoided by any reasonable coding precaution, or more often, management isn't willing to devote the resources to permit the coding of very elegant software. Programmers cannot do as they like; they are told what to work on by management.

For me, I like to think first of all. I ask myself whether there is any possible way that I can fix a new problem without assistance. If the answer is no, then do you know what that means? That means that I need to think about it some more. I am hesitant to ask for help, because doing so is a mark of incompetence. It is not charming and it is not cute. It is taking time away from somebody else. I do not like to take time away from others. I would prefer my manager only hear from me when I have some good news or if there is an emergency situation.

The only time I really need to call for assistance right away is when time is limited, but time is almost never limited. Even if a customer is waiting, they can usually wait a bit longer. Few things are so urgent that they cannot wait a few minutes for my brain to engage. I can figure out most things that do not require secret knowledge that I have no way of knowing or special abilities. That is one of my advantages. If there is a way something can be done and if the way can be perceived by an ordinary person, then I will find it, even if the problem has never been seen before.

Means to an End

It is natural to compare marijuana with alcohol, because society on the one hand permits alcohol, and just recently, in the last hundred years, has made marijuana illegal. Marijuana users are persecuted by nearly every government in the modern world. New, radical laws defy thousands of years of tradition when marijuana was legal to grow, sell, and use. Neither did our Founding Fathers nor the ancient world ban marijuana. The plant was never perceived as a problem until the corrupt and racist politicians made it so. All these things that I write are well-documented and can be confirmed by those that are interested in the truth.

Today, alcohol and marijuana are among the popular drugs, although not nearly as popular as the bearers of caffeine, chocolate and coffee. Yes, caffeine too is a drug, and unlike marijuana, is toxic. Subtle substances and influences are more dangerous, because they slip beneath our awareness. We do see in this world as through a glass darkly.

Marijuana derives from a plant grown in sunshine and is the friend of living things. Almost alone among all substances, marijuana nourishes introspection and reflection. It makes a poor party drug, as can be observed by the wider popularity of alcohol for that purpose. Alcohol suits a party because of its simplicity and predictability. In small quantities, alcohol reduces social inhibition just enough to get conversation flowing. Limiting the amount consumed poses a problem, however. For many people, inhibitions are not a problem in the first place, and one wonders, why drink at all?

Alcohol may be regarded as marijuana's opposite. Alcohol derives from Death, for it is the waste product of yeast that feeds upon decaying plant matter. Alcohol kills living cells. Men are crippled and slain by the poison. The association with death is pervasive. The physical nature reflects the spiritual. Alcohol's history with mankind is long and storied. Good men are turned bad, and bad men become worse. Drinking opens a Gateway that invites Evil into our world. Things that watch in the darkness are ever eager to use humans as their vessels. Not all puppets perceive the strings that move them.

Some do concede that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, but fear that legalizing marijuana will result in a situation where marijuana is just one more item on the recreational menu. In the first place, it already is. Millions use, whether the thing is legal or not. Prohibition transforms ordinary folk into criminals. Our United States, the powerhouse of Prohibition, imprisons more of its people than any other nation on Earth. The very first thing that the Prohibitionist wants to do is build new prisons and make them harsher than before. In this manner, men forge hells in their paradise of Earth.

Alcohol diminishes my power. One of the best presents that I ever gave myself was nourishing my resolve to abstain from alcohol. I am in general agreement with those that say Hell is found in a bottle. Even so, I would not favor a renewal of Prohibition. It never worked in the 1930s and never will work. Prohibition offends a man's sense of liberty. Let the drinkers drink, as long as they harm none. The second clause is the difficult one. Drinkers will drink and they will act accordingly. That is why religious men have tried to ban it. But banning is a simplistic solution and fraught with difficulty, because there is a need, is there not, a need for inebriation. If there is an itch, it will be scratched. I propose not banning, but replacing, and with the replacement, improving.

The marijuana user thrives in peace and calm and is immune to boredom and restlessness. Marijuana can be a superb tool for meditation, relaxation, and exploration of the mind. Both a benefit and a potential downside of marijuana is that the user tends toward passivity and inactivity. Sometimes it is best to wait rather than act. Think of the bear, hibernating through the winter. However, when action is called for, abstinence is best. Those placed in highly demanding roles will find their performance improves through abstinence. However, do not remove marijuana from the shelf. Marijuana offers an alternative remedy for alcoholism, drug addiction, anxiety and mild depression.

I consider it a blasphemy to lace marijuana with any other substance. Thankfully this has been a rare occurrence, because marijuana consumers prefer their product to be pure and unadulterated. Any case of violence associated with marijuana use must raise an immediate suspicion that adulterants or other substances were consumed. Individuals who are prone to violence either dislike marijuana or use it as a medication to suppress their violent tendencies. When used in combination, other ingredients tend to overshadow the subtle influence of marijuana. Alcohol and marijuana together produce a zombie-like state of no value to self or others, while alcohol alone diminishes the spirit and inhibits spiritual development.

Materialists of our age bristle at abstract terms. What is meant by this suspect word, "spirit?" Seldom is it defined. Spirit can be taken to be attitude and willpower, the driving force, that which determines, perceives and acts, let us hope, with compassion and love. That is what I mean. Other qualities such as gods or magic paint our lives with color, but they should not be taken seriously. After all, we are not serious creatures. We are improved apes. If gods exist, we are their joke, their prank. If magic exists, then it follows the laws of science in every respect, and the best magicians are scientists, and the best path to magic is study. I do not hold with those who study spells, follow the movement of planets and think the worst minds of the past can refute the best minds of today.

For the ancient shaman, marijuana was a holy sacrament, indispensable for seeing things that are hidden. In our modern world, those that use marijuana for the ancient and sacred purpose comprise a tiny minority of the entire population of users, and even they have other needs from time to time. Marijuana can serve as a conduit, a means to an end, a precursor to spiritual awakening. If one maintains focus upon gaining something that is worth having, then it is possible to make the acquaintance of Athena. After all, what does a human being need most but Wisdom? Compliance is not required, because we have free will, but it is advisable to accept the Counsel of Athena, if such is offered, for it is a gift. Those that heed her wisdom know bliss. Other impulses one perceives within the Gateway, such as paranoia, seem of little value but serve a purpose, like the staff of a shepherd goading sheep away from danger and toward the right path.

Athena is another suspect word, bound to offend religionists and bemuse materialists. The name of the Entity varies among cultures and is not important, nor is it necessary to conceptualize a separate entity with a gender and a personality, for the separation is an illusion. All is One, and the Oneness can be perceived. The realization is profound and transforming. There is no separation.

Many that do not use, or that used at one time and quit, have the wrong impression about the herb. See NORML for valid information concerning marijuana. At one time, NORML was almost the only source of information, as opposed to the enormous amount of lies and half-truths about the plant being generated by the misguided governments of the world, but the world is changing. One day soon, the plant will again be legal everywhere, just as it was for most of human history. Here is why I think so. Man loves knowledge, and knowledge leads him to the following conclusions. There is no valid scientific, moral or social reason for marijuana to remain illegal; none at all. Marijuana is superior to alcohol, and the human species would profit by abandoning the lesser substance, which does great harm, in favor of the gentle herb, placed upon the Earth as a gift to Man, a plant that brings peace to those that desperately need it. I concede that Abstinence is best for most, and I remain sober for long stretches of time to function at my highest level. But if a drug is to be used, on a rare occasion, then marijuana brings the least harm of all and this is irrefutable and self-evident to those who are honest with themselves. Marijuana is a potent medicine and a spiritual sacrament, and those who claim otherwise have never used it for the proper purpose.

The Weaknesses of Chrome & Firefox

The weaknesses--and some of the strengths--of Firefox, as I see it, are in the add-ons. Java and Flash are the two major annoyances. It seems at least once a month some vulnerability comes about and an update to one of the two kludges is "highly recommended," killing 10 - 15 minutes of the end user's time, per computer. For me, that amounted to about twenty minutes killed this morning updating Java on two machines. I can't count the number of times Flash has updated, but I really don't like it because I don't know anything about Adobe or what it wants to do with my computer. Do I trust Adobe? Not really. I don't know anything about the company, but its product resides on my computer, apparently necessary because so many people watch videos on the Internet these days. We are moving to an illiterate society. Sun Oracle Java, for its part, wants to install the Ask! toolbar into my browser, and if I don't remember to un-check the box during installation, it will install that worthless piece of crap into my browser, which will necessitate another lengthy uninstall process. I hate Ask with a passion.

I can certainly understand why some users have abandoned Firefox in favor of Chrome, which has flash and java built-in rather nicely and which updates those two things in a comparatively transparent and fast manner. The main thing I don't like about Chrome is that it makes too many assumptions regarding the interface, which is far too minimal for my taste. I like a few buttons and an accessible menu at the top of the screen. Computers just are not smart enough yet to make quite so many assumptions or to start with a blank screen. Chrome wants to hide everything away, and I don't like that.

I know that idealistic young computer programmers wish things were different, but the reality is computers are as stupid as the day is long. This was true twenty years ago and it remains true today, and no amount of fancy marketing or design by Google or Microsoft will change the reality. The only thing that is going to change the scene is exponential advances in hardware. Then we can talk minimalism. Okay? Until that day, give me my damn buttons and menu options.

I also don't like Chrome's lack of add-ons such as Ad Blocker, which cleans the web of so much advertising clutter. The reason I stay with Firefox has to do with its design, which I feel is just about right, and its many add-ons, and its open-source nature. I just don't trust Google or Microsoft, because they are obviously looking for some kind of advantage to accrue from their browser, and that advantage might not be to my advantage, whereas Firefox, in theory at least, intends to create the best browser, without any dependency upon a particular vendor. Perhaps Firefox does take money from certain sources such as Google, but they are not bound to Google and could change tomorrow, whereas Chrome is inextricably bound to Google. Not that I have anything against Google, of course. But Google is, after all, a company in business to make a profit. I would use Chrome if the option were between Chrome and IE, but not while Firefox is still viable, and Firefox is still viable even with the annoyances I have described above.

Arming our Enemies?

Stories like this one about Pakistan lead me to believe we are making a monumental mistake by giving money to Pakistan, which seems to be the enemy of truth, justice and all that is good. If it is true that the people of Pakistan would kill a person for simply saying not to kill people for "blasphemy," then the people of Pakistan are bloodthirsty savages, no better than animals, and considerably worse than some animals, such as bonobos. I think that Pakistan should be paying the United States tribute in return for its continued survival and in exchange for elementary education on such issues as philosophy and morality. Otherwise India should be permitted to annex Pakistan and take over the substantial task of the education of its people. I would not envy India in such a scenario.

That all the above is mere fantasy on my part points to the depressing reality, which is that our leaders and our elite in America, ever since the fateful day of 9-11-2001, have ignored everything else in their single-minded quest for vengeance--and really the entire debacle in Afghanistan is nothing more than mere vengeance.

If I could make a wish, it would be as follows. Instead of giving to Pakistan, we should be taking from. Instead of investing in Afghanistan, we should be investing in America. Instead of investing in Iraq, we should be investing in America. Instead of placing fools in power, we should place the most capable in power. With all the problems in this country today, it is indefensible to spend even a solitary penny on faraway lands.

Whenever I think of Afghanistan and Iraq, I think of President Bush, the redneck President. I cannot believe that anyone seriously thinks a guy like Mitt Romney, who is Bush #3, should be the President. I don't think Romney is a redneck like Bush, or not quite. He is nothing more than a salesman. He will say and appear to do whatever his clientele want, within reason and to a limited extent, in order to close the deal, and then do what he wants to do, which is quite limited really. He wants to strut. He would be recognized, adored, and enjoy all the perks, privileges, and prestige of executive power. That is Romney's real agenda and always has been and always will be. Plug in whatever ideology you want, but he is in it for his ego, and this is quite obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes to see. The nation has real problems that need to be fixed but unfortunately Romney's just not a "fixer-upper" type of guy. He's not an engineer and doesn't understand how to solve tough problems. He's a salesman. Period.

Obama has some good engineering qualities. I like his caution, prudence, pragmatism, and willingness to concede mistakes. These are all qualities of a good engineer, and Bush did not have them.

Work Wasted?

This morning I thought about a web site that is now gone. I had breathed good life into its bones. Is it true that many thousands of hours of work were wasted? Is it true that all of the hours invested in coding, designing and refining the web site will be of no practical value, that is to say of no importance to any employer? I think that these conclusions are all true. All of that work was completely wasted. Probably it is true I could have been in coma and achieved the same result of nothing or close to nothing.

Work as an end to itself is a difficult concept to grasp. I often feel dismay about mountains of work that I have performed with no apparent reward and no trace of the work ever having been performed, a depressing outcome for an ego that looks for rewards.

So then I call upon my guide No-Ego, which apprises me of the view from up in the watchtower. I see over the horizon a future (or is it the past?) in which humanity does not exist (or does not exist yet), and it chills me, the thought not only of my own extinction but of my entire species, but it is also a sobering observation. It seems that all human accomplishments are doomed, because that is the nature of human accomplishments. Not only the things that I do, but even the works of kings and the fabulous artifacts of genius are temporary. Every song, story, building, machine and artwork pass from all recollection. Our planet is doomed according to the current thinking of astrophysicists. We are, all of us, building castles in the sand before the tide--a consolation for anyone who has watched some of his castles be devoured by an early tide.

Living in a finite existence, one grows accustomed to thinking in terms of time, of beginnings and endings, alpha and omega, but the cycle does not end. There is no end and no beginning, so what will come will be followed. Better, worse, greater, smaller, weaker, stronger, different, same, all are manifestations of the one. I cannot and I will not be more specific than that, because I am an ant crawling on a mound of mud on an island in an archipelago--about as aware of what is going on as that.

The Bank Teller

I had a funny dream last night. I was at the bank, waiting to cash a check, and one of the tellers, a man about my age, made a snappy comment about me. I don't recall what he said. Unfortunately, my recall of dreams has always been spotty at best. The minute I wake up, about 75% of the details are gone, leaving only the skeleton. At any rate, the teller had a mustache and unkempt hair with cowlicks going in every direction. I thought that was odd, as bank tellers tend to be neat and conservative in their appearance as a rule. He made a snappy remark, and I retorted with something like, "Why don't you comb your hair?" and the other bank tellers laughed at him. He made no reply. Then I went over to the little table set aside for customers to sign checks, and I signed a check that someone had written to me for $500. I did not recognize the signature, but it was someone from New York, judging by the address in the top left corner. I went to the same cashier, let's call him Mr. Clown, and he performed his job in a professional manner without making any further remark.

I started having a bad feeling about the check, because I did not know where it came from. Was it a forgery of some kind? Since I didn't have any recall of the check's origin, I decided that it must indeed be fraudulent. I told Mr. Clown to give me the check back, that I had changed my mind about cashing it. He smiled and said I had made the right decision, because he had doubts about the check's authenticity as well. I took out one of my own personal checks and wrote myself a check for $500, withdrawing from my own account.

That was the end of the dream. The only basis the dream has in reality is that I recently withdrew $500 from my checking account--via the ATM, not a personal check. I have not been inside my bank in several months and have never had anything but a pleasant experience with bank tellers. However, I have had an increased rate of forgetfulness due to adopting a new schedule with many new tasks and duties and many new risks and potential problems. I think the theme of the dream is "Vigilance is Required," because it was vigilance and caution that moved me to halt the cashing of the suspicious check. I think that the bank teller was actually another copy of myself, because my hair has a tendency to stand up, and each morning I have to apply a wet comb to keep it down. I like to use humor to offset anxiety and lighten otherwise tedious or stressful situations, so Mr. Clown was me serving as the butt of a mild self-deprecatory joke. I'm not sure why the check was from New York, but I have given some thought in the past to the idea of moving to New York and perhaps some day I will.

No-Ego

The ego believes in win and lose, life and death, success and failure, and is centered upon the self. All things to the ego revolve around self and are only judged by their relation to self. It is impossible to perceive truth as long as an ego stands in the way, because the ego distorts reality by centering reality around the self. This is like looking into a concave mirror.
 
No-ego does not perceive reality as revolving around self, but observes the self in its proper place, as a small part of the whole. No-ego is concerned with the whole, with all things, although there may be a focus upon human society because of its seeming importance. Entering the zone of no-ego, one can see for miles... Insight expands, uncertainty declines. Connections are made with the whole, so that there is not a separation between the observer and the observed, but the observer feels and senses what the observed perceive.

Dwell in the ego because you must, because of the animal-nature which requires selfishness in order to survive and prosper, but build watchtowers of no-ego for the purpose of expanding the vision beyond the short-term and the trivial.

Circumcision

An interesting article on male circumcision popped up recently in the daily news.

I don't have a strong opinion on it one way or the other. However, when I read that circumcision helps lowers the rate of HPV, HIV, herpes, and urinary tract infections, that is something I can't ignore. Personally I don't think circumcision really matters on an aesthetic or sexual level. If you love someone, then you will get used to whatever they have in the genital department; of if they love you, then vice versa.

However, if I were to be a father (unimaginable now) then I would probably decline the procedure for my newborn for the simple reason that I don't feel like I should intrude my own opinion or belief onto another human being in a way that will unalterably change their body for life. They might resent it later, and besides, new scientific research is always coming out and one never knows what next year's study might indicate. Just for the sake of human rights and all that jazz, I would rather each boy decide for himself once he becomes emancipated from his parents.

At any rate, if circumcision is indeed a human rights violation then surely it is a trivial one in comparison to all the others.

ImgBurn is a Virus

ImgBurn is malware. After I installed it, without warning it replaced my home page and search engine and attempted to install an unknown add-on in Firefox. I immediately uninstalled ImgBurn. As far as I'm concerned it is no different than any other virus. I just wish my anti-virus program, Avast, had stopped it in time.

I think I have eliminated all of the changes it made. What an idiotic thing that Ask search engine is. I would never in a million years use such a search engine that behaves in such an obnoxious, intrusive manner. Not only did I remove it from the default search engine, I deleted it altogether from the list of search engine options, and if I ever see it on someone's computer, I definitely will recommend removing it. Ask is a search engine created by virus-writers.

Depression

CNN posted a decent article on Depression along with many online resources. I think that young people should get help fast from professionals when they need it, rather than parents going into denial mode and thinking everything is okay or that Junior just needs to buckle down and study more. The reality is that no amount of extra studying and no amount of extra discipline is going to alleviate depression (such strategies might actually make it worse). If the depression is not treated by someone competent it will get worse. Unfortunately there are some incompetent or misinformed psychologists and psychiatrists out there in the wild. I would say that a good shrink works wonders and that is the one to select. Only word of mouth recommendations by forthright and candid current or former patients or their parents can help find a competent mental health professional, which by the way is also the best way to find a good mechanic, carpenter or air conditioning repairman. Also, not every shrink is suitable for every patient, because personalities, personal limitations and preferences do come into play, coloring the professional's judgment and reasoning at times.

In addition to being a mental problem, depression is a medical and physical problem affecting the brain and the body. It is not "all in the head" or imagined, it is real and causes real changes in the brain and the body.

Obama in 2012

I support Obama in 2012 because he has been a much better President than Bush. He hasn't gotten us tangled up in any foreign war. He has tried to offer relief to working Americans, though blocked at many points by Republicans, which points to the urgent need to elect more Democrats to Congress. I intend to vote straight-ticket Democrat, because Republicans in almost every instance vote against the interests of working Americans. Obama has better foreign policy, better domestic policy, better economic policy, better science and technology policy, and is better on all social issues. Gays can serve openly in the U.S. military now because of President Obama, and that is a big step forward. I am also pleased that Obama has announced that he supports gay marriage, because gay marriage is extremely important for gays to aspire to the same level of stability, happiness, and security that straights do. There may be areas where I disagree on one point or another but overall the choice between Obama and Romney is a very dramatic and clear-cut one, requiring all of two seconds.

Romney does not seem much different than Bush, although he has shown a surprising degree of flexibility on many issues, changing his positions to suit his electorate. I think Romney would involve the U.S. in additional wars. To finance the new wars, he would drastically increase the national debt, just like Bush. I think he would reduce funding for education in the U.S., because the more educated the electorate is, the less likely Republicans will be voted into office. He would certainly be amenable to cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the "big three" government programs, as well as food stamps, mortgage relief and anything else that helps ordinary people.

Romney claims to want to turn back the clock on gay rights and abortion rights, but I don't really know how far he would go in that direction, because some wealthy donors to the Republican Party don't share the enthusiasm of the religious right for gay-bashing. I'm sure the Republicans would attempt some kind of mischief to hurt gay people, but it would probably be symbolic or temporary rather than permanent. However, I would vote against Romney on the gay issue alone, if for no other reason, because there is a real chance he could hurt gays with his foolish pandering to the hateful. Romney lacks charisma and intelligence, and so he will feel great pressure to pander and give in to pressure groups on the right wing. At risk are gays, women's reproductive rights, and minorities of every kind, but everybody will feel the pinch of his pro-war, anti-working class agenda. The only people Romney truly represents are the wealthiest 1%, while everybody else is dispensable in his view and only necessary to win an election or two. That is where all the new talk against gay marriage and abortion comes from, Romney's tacit acknowledgment that he needs to fire up the religious right in order to win the election. The religious right is less concerned about Romney's real agenda (more money for his cronies) and much more concerned about gays and abortion.

When I see polls indicating that Obama is only ahead by a small margin, I am really puzzled. I do not see any reason at all for anyone except a selfish billionaire to vote for Romney. The only way I can explain Obama being only slightly ahead in the polls is that many liberals are dissatisfied with his policies on various issues ranging the gamut, from foreign policy to the economy to gay rights and marijuana decriminalization. One of my friends has even announced she is not going to vote for Obama but is going to vote for the Green Party candidate, whoever that is. I would like to remind liberals that the choice is not between Obama and your ideal. The choice is between Obama and Bush #3. And that is a very easy choice to make.

Regrets

Regrets are not helpful if they are not solvable. If one can do something about something, fine. But there's no point "crying over spilt milk." (Yes, Blogger, spilt is spelt correctly.)

One of the difficult life lessons I have acquired is to stop fretting over things that can't be changed. For instance, I feel that I could have risen higher than I have if I had chosen the right career, lawyer or doctor, at the age of twenty instead of indecisiveness, followed by the adoption of a path, the easiest one for me at that time, that led to quick but modest rewards, computer programming. Today, in the U.S., if you do not have two years of experience already in a specific programming language in high demand, you are locked out. You will not be able to find a job anywhere, because ten years of experience in an old language is worth nothing. People that do not program computers do not realize this. People who are already in the field do. I have abandoned computer programming as a profession due to the inability to find a job anywhere in the computer field.

Being perfectionist can lead to depression when one detects various oversights and errors in judgment made in the past. The very nature of the past is that it cannot be changed. Only the present can be changed and only a little. The future is the most fluid of all time frames. The only thing the past can provide is wisdom by way of little stories that illustrate possible outcomes for behavior, choices and beliefs.

Another tool for overcoming regret is being mindful of the limited amount of time permitted in a human life. Sure, if we had eons, we could learn what to do and what not to do, without relying in robot-like fashion upon the instructions of others but using direct experience and observation to achieve a state of being close to perfection. We have very little time and that is the chief problem of human existence along with a limited intellect and fragile body.

I often like to imagine nonexistence and think about the impending leave, that is, what the world will be like in my absence. Better? Worse? I foresee it would be little changed with the exception of those nearest and dearest to me, so that is a powerful motive for remaining in the world as a benevolent, helping and healing influence, but it also informs me that whatever I do or don't do is not going to make any big waves in society and that's all right by me. My goal is to act in such a way that things around me are improved to the limited extent I can improve them.

My Max Power Draw is 45W

I am proud to say I do not own a CPU or APU with a power draw greater than 45W. I think that in 2012 anyone who does is paying too much in electrical costs to maintain their computer--unless they have special needs or play some new-fangled video game. The trend in computers is to use less power, not more. I say that time and time again. Old school hackers don't believe me. Back in the day, the only thing that mattered was speed, because computers were too slow, and human beings hate to wait for a machine. Anyone who has been paying attention to processors knows that the situation has changed. Today's processors are fast enough for most tasks and in fact much processor potential goes wasted, with the primary exception of video games. If you don't play the latest video games--and I don't--then go green, ignore the "fastest processor" hype, and buy a motherboard/processor combination optimized for HTPC. Some of them today have a total power draw of 18W or less, which is extremely impressive. Processor power draws are getting down into Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb territory! What this means is that not only will we save money running our computers, we will also save on air conditioning costs (less power=less heat dissipation=less cooling costs) and enjoy quieter machines (cpu fans become optional with passive cooling becoming a possibility).

The chief disappointment I have encountered in shopping for HTPC motherboards is that motherboard manufacturers do not know what time of the day it is. They always include a parallel port and serial port without fail, both of which are completely useless to most users today. I disable these "features" on the BIOS of every motherboard I have. Typically, they cut the PCI expansion slot in favor of an unnecessary PCI Express expansion slot, ignoring the fact that their apu-provisioned motherboards do not require separate video cards (the usual consumer of a PCI Express slot). Also, most motherboards I have seen have Stone Age sound. They lack a SPDIF optical connection and suitable hardware HD sound support for a high-end surround-sound stereo system. Most motherboards also seem fixated upon HDMI, which I don't use--and I don't understand why anyone would use it unless they have a monstrously high-resolution monitor, in which case a little bitty green HTPC might not be indicated for their purpose.

Right Path

How can a fellow know that he is on the right path? For me it is a simple feeling of well-being, that things are moving in the right direction. Restlessness, boredom, anxiety, anger or depression are signs that one is not on the right path or that something is amiss in the environment and calls for a change in behavior, either individual or collective.

OpenELEC

I really admire OpenElec, but it's not for me. I like my computer to be able to do a wide variety of tasks and don't want any "one-note Charlie" that is only good for playing videos or music. However, even though OpenElec isn't for me, that doesn't mean I don't like it. I like the OpenElec concept for an important reason--my Mother. I think it would be great for her as an HTPC because it is easy to use and won't present any demands in terms of maintenance. So I am keeping OpenElec in mind as a potential solution for users with somewhat less technical knowledge than myself.

Official Breakfast of Glorious Igor

My daily breakfast:

3/4 cup of dry oatmeal (either "old-fashioned" or "1 minute quick cooking" is fine)
1 to 2 tbsp of ground brown flaxseed (Red Mill's is a good brand)
1 tbsp of cocoa nibs
2 tbsp of dry roasted sunflower seeds

Add enough water. The precise quantity is unimportant. Experience will serve as a guide. If too little water is added, more can be added later. If too much water is added, simply cook for a longer period of time. Microwave for 80 - 99 seconds, but no longer than 99 seconds. The only purpose of cooking is to make the concoction palatable. There should be no risk of contamination with these fresh, dry ingredients. The absolute minimum amount of cooking is always preferred. Too much cooking destroys vitamins. After heating, make appropriate adjustments to the water level if the oatmeal is too dry.

Now add the following and mix it in with a spoon:

5 dried apricots
juice of 1/2 a lemon (put the juice of the other half in your cold or warm, not hot, tea)

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Rationale:

Oatmeal provides carbs, fiber and a suitable base. Flaxseed provides Omega-3 fatty acids and additional fiber. Cocoa nibs are an effective antidepressant, are rich in minerals and provide additional protein, carbs, and beneficial fat. Sunflower seeds offer a cheap source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Apricots contribute vitamin A, and lemon juice contributes vitamin C. Lemon is superior to lime due to higher concentration of vitamin C.

The overall flavor of this combination is excellent. The recipe is very flexible allowing the reduction or increase of ingredients based on taste or caloric needs, as well as the addition of other ingredients such as raisins, almonds, and ground pepper and other herbs. Note: avoid adding anything on a regular basis, such as chocolate chips, that will raise the amount of sugar, because sugar causes inflammation! Once in a while is all right but not every day!

Lime

I have introduced a new additive to my daily breakfast of oatmeal--lime, squeezed into my cup of tea. It tastes great, but I am doing it for a cheap source of vitamin C. It is difficult to obtain adequate amounts of Vitamin C through diet, but I am persuaded that C may be one of the most important vitamins. Vitamin pills have had such a bad rap in the media lately that I'm reducing my dependence on them.

Only after I bought the limes did I discover that lemons actually have far more vitamin C than limes. Oopsy-daisy! Well, next time I'll buy lemons. My purchase was influenced by the history of the British Navy, which provisioned its ships with limes sometime in the 18th or 19th century in order to counter scurvy among sailors, which was causing massive amounts of casualties, wounds and leaving sailors vulnerable to infections and tooth loss. After limes were introduced into their daily diet, British sailors began to be called "limeys." Limes may have been cheaper then. Today, the cost difference is negligible, so I think I will opt for lemons, which are superior in nutrition content.

I no longer trust juice for sale in the grocery store. Juice tends to be concentrate and water  with vitamin C injected into the mix. One might as well pop a pill rather than drink that sort of juice, because it is nothing more than liquid vitamin pill. Solid pills are cheaper and take up no space in the refrigerator. Lemons and limes keep better in a refrigerator than an open bottle of juice and are easier to use--just cut in half and squeeze one or both halves over a cup of tea or water. I think that freshness is a good thing. I also think juice is a bad deal if it costs even as little as $2 a half-gallon, because for that price I can buy 8 lemons, which is enough for 16 servings, and the lemons will last longer in the refrigerator and taste better.

Competition

I'm pretty good at competition--that is to say, in an academic or professional setting. Among all people of all ages I would guess I am in the top twenty per cent, which means I have plenty of company--good company--but also that I function at a level higher than many. But I don't think of myself as better, and I have decided also that I must not think of myself as worse, because either self-image is exaggerated and mistaken. In reality we are to function at the best of our abilities, within the limitations of our environment. There is no other option. If someone achieves better grades or better status than me, that is okay. If someone achieves lesser grades or lower status than me, that is also okay and does not mean I am to see them as inferior. I think that many people involved in competition lose sight of our shared mortality and shared humanity. A judgmental and Darwinist attitude can develop over time. It is most interesting to see this in people who are not high performers, but merely mediocre, and they are the precise ones most apt to look down upon those that achieve less. I observe such egotism and what immediately occurs to me is, hey, you're no Albert Einstein, and I don't think you invented the steam engine either. The truth of the matter is we are all mental midgets working in the shadow of just a few titans of science and the arts. I have no patience for egotism and can't find any room for it in my own mind. I know my limitations and as I get older I find that I am reminded of them more often. Perhaps it is young people who tend toward egotism the most, because so much is handed to young people on a silver platter at birth (particularly the ones from well-to-do families), and they have not encountered quite as many dead-ends, insurmountable obstacles, defeats and reversals.

Organized Religion

I have no problem with religion or to be specific with Christians. In fact I feel much more benevolent now than when I was younger and less experienced and more rebellious. However, it does rankle when theists presume a monopoly on morality or think that going to church or praying in public or chatting about their faith makes them better than others from an ethical or spiritual or psychological perspective.

Everybody is different, and some of us thrive upon a different path due to our background, experiences, personality, limitations, abilities, and preferences. I have always felt that religion is a personal and private matter, and it seems distasteful to cheapen it with public displays of religiosity. The words that are said and the things that are done in church have often irritated me and distanced me from organized religion because they are seldom based upon reason or upon right but instead upon the common orthodoxy about some matter to which no one gave any original thought of their own. Today we see mainstream Protestant organizations wrestling with a moral issue that seems a completely obvious and clear-cut good thing, gay marriage. The fact that they have had to dicker with it for so many years points out the limited scope of their ethical (or spiritual) development, and we need say nothing of the Catholic church or for that matter Islam, Hinduism or orthodox Judaism.

Only once in my life have I ever heard a sermon that inspired me, and it was delivered in 1963 by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., but it was more a political speech than a sermon. Really his speech was a masterpiece not equaled in the 21st century. I can't speak for other centuries but I never heard a better speech in my life. That is not to say it is perfect. There are some minor imperfections, almost unnoticeable, but they don't matter. Could he have given a better delivery? Yes, but one must consider the moment, a hot sweltering day outdoors among thousands of people, and the equipment--microphones and speakers from 1963--and the fact that there was no possibility of repeating the speech, and the fact that King used no teleprompter, but spoke entirely from memory. It is a masterpiece pure and simple by a human being and could scarcely have been equaled by a human being at that place and that time.

Syria's Resistance Army

So far, I'm not surprised by supposed atrocities (or desecration of corpses) by untrained civilians in the Free Syrian Army against regime snipers or the bloodthirsty shabbiha, who have themselves committed so many unpunished atrocities against unarmed civilians. One cannot with any degree of realism expect the same standards experienced in peaceful, comfortable and democratic Western countries to apply in the Syrian conflict. A civilian population that has been brutalized, watched their own wives and children tortured and mutilated, and seen their people reduced to the status of animals can be expected to act out what they know, feel, and perceive. Although there was a possibility of a better resolution in earlier times, at this point, Assad's regime cannot expect much in the way of leniency. The Assad regime respected not the smallest shred of morality, and so their enemy may be expected to conform and behave in like manner. The regime appears to have locked itself into a genocidal conflict, which reflects a grave strategic error at the highest level of their leadership. It would have been far better to compromise, to offer the opposition a seat at the table and break bread with them. Fear is only an effective tool in controlling the weak, and even there it has severe limitations.

Assad may have been educated in a medical profession (although I am skeptical of how much he really understands even in that field), but he is a fool and a discredit to his university, because he did not understand even the rudiments of morality. There is an ancient problem with evil and a very good reason that wise men reject evil ways. He who renders evil unto others is liable to be repaid in like coin.