Cleanliness is Godliness

Things...anything...we love it. We want more of it, it fills our hearts, it satisfies us...but only for a short while before we want more!

We buy so many things, from cars to books to clothes we only wear once. We like to clutter our lives with things we want, things we don't want, things we need and especially things we don't need or want. Waste not, want not?

What is it that drives us to want more things? Why do we have to follow the latest fashion, knowing that next season our clothes will be obsolete and we won't want to wear them again? Why do we buy flash new cars only for them to depreciate quicker than petrol is going up. Why do we not cook more regularly? It tastes fantastic and costs so much less.

Would any of these things matter if it did not eat into our savings? Would these things matter if there was no such thing as carbon emissions? Should these things matter? It makes us happy, it makes people next to us happy and it certainly makes retailers happy.

HULK SMASH!!!

Morality is a funny thing. What is the right thing to do?
A lot of people have their own personal morals and they try to live by them. Personal morals are very subjective, it changes from person to person. One person can believe that someone who commits repeated crimes deserves to have another chance, to always see the good in a person. Others will might believe in second chances but once they mess up again, thats it, damnation.


During my psychology classes, I got taught that beliefs do not unnecessarily predict behaviour. To put more simply that just because you think something is true or right, does not necessarily mean you will do what you think is right.

Enchante's personal moral #5: Do not be vindictive.

But what if....WHAT IF....someone infuriates me so much that I want to send them anonymous abusive emails, send some death threats that I will never follow through with. I need justice from an outside source but it will never eventuate. I would like to serve my own justice and become a vigilante but in this circumstance it conflicts with moral #5.

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

For all the trolls

Without telling you who I am, this is who I am.

You are "Brian Griffin"!

The brain in your group, your politics are important to you - unless you have had too much to drink. You are fiercely loyal, almost to a fault since your friends are so screwed up. But hey, they're your friends and if you leave, who else is going to feed you?

Get a Life

While at work today, a light bulb hit me in the face. No not a real light bulb, but the ones that spark brilliant ideas (well brilliant for my standards). I only just realised that although my blog looks nice and tidy, most of my blogs are quite short.
Thats because of 2 reasons.
1) I'm too lazy
2) I don't have a patience to write for long periods

And apparently a picture is worth a thousand words. So today's blog is worth 1086 words and I'm going to start incorporating some pictures (when viable) to the blog.

Dennis Rodman Syndrome

There are many types of identity.
Work identity, dependable, comes in first in the morning, last to leave.
School identity, class clown, has potential to do very well if only he would commit to it.
Internet identity, whatever you are in real life you are the exact opposite here.

Identity is the make-up of what we are, who we are.
A topic I have read upon is personal identity, what is it that makes you, well.....you?
Are you you because you look a particular way. I know you are you because you have that crooked nose, that ungainly smile. If you suddenly have a face transplant...are you still you? I surely won't recognise you and it would take a great deal of convincing otherwise.
Or are you you because of what is in your mind. What you know is who you are, what you do and act upon is who you are. When you wake up in the morning, you don't have to open your eyes and check in the mirror to know you are you. You wake up and think...I need to do this today and why did I wake up so early...again.

Or do we have to be both. Do we have to look like ourselves and act like ourselves to be...us.

Are we still ourselves if we have Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia or bipolar?
Are we still ourselves if we have a horrible accident that disfigures us?
Are we still ourselves once we die?

Hippo in front of Campus

I had an idea for my blog today but as usual I did not note it down, and I have totally forgotten what it was about. I have had many distractions and somewhere in the chaos, I left my memory somewhere.

Memory is such a fragile thing. It is so important that we have memory. Without it, there would be no such thing as emotions and/or feelings. There can be no happiness and there cannot be sadness.

There are different types of memory. Those that make up who we are, we know our names our abilities, these are the things help to make up our identity.

Others such as muscle memory, which help us to do certain things with multiple exposures or after many practice sessions.

Of course there are other types of memories but I'm not a doctor and you did not come here for a lesson in how memory works.

While typing this blog out, I have actually remembered what I wanted to really blog about, but that will have to wait for tomorrow or perhaps another day. (p.s. this blog was a memory cue)

Don't take your memory for granted or you'll end up like Charlton Heston or HM (refer: http://ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca/kin356/ltm/declarative.htm) .

Remember to thank your memory before you go to bed tonight and any other night that you remember.

No such thing as a free lunch.

There are many ways companies try and entice us to buy there products. The most common of them all is sales. 20% off...50% off...one day only! Infomercials would use the classic line...and thats not all...if you call within the next 15 minutes we'll thrown in this hunk of junk...a $20 value...FREE! More recently with the failing economy, companies use the interest free lay-by to get sales.

Sometimes it's the small little details that people like, and what I like about when buying products is a 24 hour helpline. These are numbers you can ring at any time of the night and ask for help on your product. Now, let me ask you...when is this not a good thing?

New Zealand: 0800 2xx-xx6

After 3 automated questions, I get a person with an Indian accent. The line quality is really bad. The person on the end of the line asks all these questions that you know what you need to tell him before he asks the question. He doesn't fix your problem. You ring again, you get someone from Canada, who doesn't fix your problem. He gets his supervisor...he's from some other country.

Couldn't I just have told him my problem and he goes about the quickest way to fix my problem, and if he knew he couldn't do it, then he should have gotten someone who could have?

No...that would be too easy.

Reality 500km Ahead

Dreams. There are those that say that dreams have meaning. Perhaps they are our subconscious coming to life. Dreams are a place where they have the power to control, to bend our will to their liking.

Dreams can be very powerful, vivid. Nightmares are just unpleasant dreams. We can wake up screaming, drenched in sweat. So unpleasant was that dream, we perhaps refuse to go back to sleep and/or wake up our partner to confess the dealings we just had and for them to comfort us. Most of the time, the dreams or nightmares fade away very quickly unless we talk about them in great detail straight away.

However, when do dreams become reality? If I have a dream and I write it down for all to see? When it becomes a best selling book? or is it as simple as telling someone within earshot?

Maybe we should treat dreams like a favourite tv program with us as the main character or narrative.

Tune in next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel...same Bat dream?

Secret Shame

There are things people like to do. We like to go shopping with our friends, we eat out, we go and play sports. These things are all human nature and are considered normal.

There are other things that are part of everyday life that are considered normal, but because of how we go about doing them make them weird. It can be a daunting chore for most people but is considered enjoyable to you. It can be a time consuming task, and in this day and age where time is so precious why would you want to do it.

To me washing the dishes is a thankless chore, it is time consuming and really doesn't benefit us that much except to get dirty again, and yet we have to do it because of hygiene reasons. However one of my friends likes to wash the dishes because he said it relaxes him, he whistles when he does it and even volunteers to do my dishes.

Perhaps it isn't such a secret shame but to me it's filthy!

Magic Mix

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. "
- Placebo

Friends are normally made by a common interest. We go to school together, we work together. In this day and age, we are more likely to make friends outside of these interests, e.g. our hobbies, the gym, cooking classes. More than not, we probably won't have that much in common except for how we meet but...opposites attract right?

Are friendships better made when you don't have that something in common? When it is an act of selflessness or altruism? Wouldn't you feel very grateful that someone disadvantages themselves to help you out? Would you not feel compelled to better of those people, even if it is trivial like lending you a food processor when your blender is broken?

"A friend is someone you can use over and over and over and over and over..."
- Ancient coffee mug quote

Short Fat and Dumb

I was thinking that if I ever get the chance to choose a flatmate, I would definitely choose someone from overseas than choose someone from the local populace.

Local people are to me uncultured, demanding, inpatient and arrogant. Whereas people from overseas are having overseas experience (possible not the first time). Having learnt from other cultures their eyes are open to different perspectives. If you tell them something, they will stop and think about it before agreeing disagreeing or having no opinion to the matter.

People from overseas also have a high chance of speaking another language. Not only do they learn something from your culture, but you get to learn something from theirs. You can swap languages, music and probably most importantly, food.

Next time you get to choose a flatmate, choose the one with the cute accent.

Our own worst enemy

Being sick is horrible. You don't feel like yourself. You feel drained. You don't want to do much.

Thank Allah we have medicine to make life bearable.

I got to thinking however, there are many diseases and illness that are a natural progression. But how many illness are cause by us humans because of our ever expanding technology?

An example would be swimming pools. Public swimming pools are a great place, it is clean and fun. To keep it clean they need to put chlorine into the pool, but this can cause skin welts and rashes. So to combat this, we put on vaseline and wash with aqueous cream.
Another would be side effects to drugs e.g. the pill makes woman fat etc

How many other illnesses are caused by our need to have a better life, a more comfortable life.

No Thank You Mouthful

I think that there are many foods and drinks out there that taste horrible. Utterly revolting, and yet we force these products down our throats.

In foods, it can be anything from mushrooms to crocodile meat. In liquid refreshments, I am mostly talking about alcohol but include drinks like spirulina.

There are foods which at the beginning taste horrible, but because we expose ourselves to them often we get desensitized to the bad taste and eventually it tastes good.
Alcohol is a prime example. Making a big assumption, I think that the first time anybody ever has alcohol, it tastes horrible to them. However, it is accepted by society to drink, and so we almost force ourselves to like it.

Is forcing ourselves to eat/drink something we don't like, so we become desensitized to it a form of masochism?

Compelled to help.

Why do some people feel the need to correct other people's mistakes or when they "think" being are making a mistake. Sometimes it not even a mistake but perhaps giving advice on a "better" way to do something.

Is your way of doing things just better than other people and that is why you have to correct other people. Is it because you always want to be right?

Am I writing this because I am speaking for the masses who are afraid to change. The who feel that "their way" is a comfortable way of doing it. Yes, it isn't the best way to do things, but it is a familiar way, a relaxed way and thus we feel annoyed, even angered when other people try to correct our ways.

Relief and Relax

Often, relief is describe by people as the best feeling in the world. When you having been holding on for 30 mins and then let it go, it feels fantastic. If you have a itch and you scratch it, it feels better than a massage. However, relief is always preceded by a bad or unwanted situation. To feel this "best feeling" in the world, you have to suffer....interesting (no pain no gain?).

The power of relaxing is a powerful thing indeed. Smokers use cigarette's to help relax and calm them. Alcohol is used to steady the nerves. However, I was thinking about just a day off after you have worked your butt off for the last week or two. Just sitting down and relaxing, doing nothing, wasting the day can feel so good. Relaxing is an essential part of everyone's lives. Too many of us suffer from burnout and we need to actually take care of ourselves and treat ourselves to good times.

So do it...DO IT NOW!

No Deal, No Deal, No Deal

Gosh, stupidity is everywhere. It surrounds me like a fog. It tries to suffocate me. It even tries to convert me when I am at my weakest. Stupidity makes me angry, it makes be laugh out loud, it even dismays me. I am at eternal war with it. Death to stupidity!

Game shows are great, they give such good family entertainment value. The ones that are the successful are ones that have audience interaction and when audiences are willing the contestant to win big. Deal or No Deal, is one such game show.

The beauty of this game (from the eyes of the producer) is: in general peoples maths skills are extremely bad, they are greedy, they are willing to take risks. The common saying is..."I came here with nothing."

One lady, went on the show. She said she wanted to get $20K, the moment came around and she was offered $22K with 4 still on the board (100K, 20K, $50, $250). Statistically speaking, she should have left, because the risk of loss is great and she was already offered more than the second biggest number on the table. This lady left with 50 bucks.
Another lady, left with 50 cents after being offered 20K with 5 still on the board (200K, 5K, $250, $100, 50 cents).

Education is important kiddies. Now if you try a little harder in maths (at school), maybe you'll walk away with 20K next time on Deal or No Deal, instead of letting half the southern hemisphere know your a dumbass.

Self Destruction

In our day and age we have so much information at our disposal. We have the internet, books, the library, advertisements and education. So why do so many people, take drugs, smoke, and drink excessively?

Excluding being addicted to the substances, I am going to try and explain this through a psychological point.

People do what they do, because they are instantly rewarded for doing so. Depending on what physical state/mood, they are either positively reinforced (rewarded) by feeling joy/ecstasy and satisfaction, or they are negatively reinforced by having stress removed or elation of withdrawal symptoms (negatively in the sense removal).

When you think about it like that, it is no wonder people who do that sort of thing do so. Advertisements and warnings about cancer, lung disease, brain damage have little effect, because instant gratification is much more powerful than delayed negative reinforcement (not having disease etc).

However, wouldn't it be possible that because we have so much information, we know we are not only doing ourselves harm, but the people around us, our friends and families. We can't plead ignorance. We continue to brutalize our own bodies , and punish that which sustains us.

(is that really me talking?)
Current Mood: Spaced Out

Missing You 2: Logic vs Heart

My girl found a job in Wellington and has been there for 2 weeks now. I would be lying if I said that I don't miss her. The thing is, I don't really show it and express it that much (at least not as much as she wants).

Those that know me, know me as a very logical person. Everything that I do, I do logically. Now that is to say that I am not without emotion, in Star Trek terms I'm probably a Half-Vulcan, I think logically yet I have emotions and can evoke them.

Last year, a fellow blogger called RK Singh commented on my Missing You post. He said "Missing is not a physical entity but it is to be felt in your heart."

Now, since I show little emotion about missing my girl because my logic overrides it, am I a heartless bastard? Or is it that I do miss her but because I don't show it enough, I am just a bastard?

I am here to rectify the situation.
Sweetie, I miss you.



To pieces even.

Genuinely fake people.

Why are people fake? I mean, why are people different when they are around different people?
An easy answer would be to be popular, to please people, to not displease people.

But seriously? really?

I can accept that answer when people are still in their teens, maybe even early 20's while still an undergrad where peer pressure is a big deal and we haven't learnt to stand on our own two feet. But when people are 20+ have a degree and/or have a focus in life, why are these people fake, what are the benefits?

Perhaps it's because we live in a PC world where it is frowned upon when you speak your mind. To be other than what you are? Are we a society that claim we want individuality yet secretly discriminate against those who refuse to be assimilated?

If so....well fuck me.

Good...Great....Legend...

What is the mark of a good man? There are many things you can do in your life to make yourself a good man/woman. There have been many great New Zealanders, Ernest Rutherford the "father" of nuclear physics; Kate Shepard, gave woman the vote in 1891.

In May 29 1953, a man named Edmund Hillary was the first man to successfully scale Mt Everest and climbed down to tell the tale. He was later knighted by the then newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June the 6th, only 8 days after he climbed Everest. In 1957 he helped to found Scott Base in Antarctica. However, arguably his most notable achievement was founding the Himalayan Trust, which in turn helped build numerous schools, hospitals and roads in the Sherpa region of Nepal. In New Zealand we honored him in 1992 by putting him on the $5 note, the only ever living (at that time) New Zealander to be presented on our money.

If we thought he was a Legend, the Nepalese thought he was a living god. Fathers tell their son's the story of Sir Ed, not only of his achievements but his selfless contributions to the Sherpa people. Sherpa's have followed in his footsteps by climbing to the top of the world. On the 50th anniversary of the first ever ascent the Nepalese Government conferred honorary citizenship upon Hillary at a special Golden Jubilee celebration in Kathmandu. He was the first foreign national to receive such an honour from the Nepalese government.

I stood dumbfounded at the TV when I first heard the news and constantly had goosebumps. I was so sad to hear that he had passed away. NZ citizens are debating how best to honour him. Of course everyone wants an extra holiday but is that really the best way to remember him? By slacking off?

"In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander. I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination and I rather like to succeed."
- Sir Edmund Hillary

I would rather hope, we rename something significant after him and make sure that our children and their children are taught who he was and what he did.

Farewell Sir Ed, we are definitely worse off without you.