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Sunday, April 21, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
What the World Eats
I cannot help but find this fascinating...
Links for more pics of world eats:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1645016,00.html
I wonder what the Thai one would look like?
Probably this...
Thailand
The SCA Family in Bangkok
Average weekly expenditures: ???
Favorite foods: Hot Pot, BBQ, Pad Thai
 |
| United States: The Revis family of North Carolina Food expenditure for one week: $341.98 Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken |
Links for more pics of world eats:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1645016,00.html
I wonder what the Thai one would look like?
Probably this...
The SCA Family in Bangkok
Average weekly expenditures: ???
Favorite foods: Hot Pot, BBQ, Pad Thai
Saturday, April 6, 2013
How Logic Endangers Fact a.k.a. There is No Laundry
Fact isn't real.
Say what?
It isn't real! The definition of fact is "A thing that is indisputably the case." Since nothing can meet this criteria, fact is not real. We therefore cannot use "facts" as supporting evidence to build a case, and that means science has as many holes as religion
But facts are facts, right?
No, that is like saying but "god is god"... how do you know?
Nothing can be indisputable. Things can be true to a very large extent, but if they were indisputable then all scientific theories would be infallible! If scientific theories were infallible, science would be the same as religion! Ack!
I guess there really is no table.
Luckily, this also means there is no laundry for me to do either....
Come to think of it, this idea is really growing on me!
~~~
Related humour:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Roland Barthes: The chicken wanted to expose the myth of the road.
Albert Camus: It doesn't matter; the chicken's actions have no meaning except to him.
Richard M. Nixon: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did not cross the road.
M.C.Escher: That depends on which plane of reality the chicken was on at the time.
Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.
Pyrrho the Skeptic: What road?
Rene Descartes: It had sufficient reason to believe it was dreaming anyway.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.
Paul de Man: The chicken did not really cross the road because one side and the other are not really opposites in the first place.
Mark Twain: The news of its crossing has been greatly exaggerated.
Say what?
It isn't real! The definition of fact is "A thing that is indisputably the case." Since nothing can meet this criteria, fact is not real. We therefore cannot use "facts" as supporting evidence to build a case, and that means science has as many holes as religion
But facts are facts, right?
No, that is like saying but "god is god"... how do you know?
Nothing can be indisputable. Things can be true to a very large extent, but if they were indisputable then all scientific theories would be infallible! If scientific theories were infallible, science would be the same as religion! Ack!
I guess there really is no table.
Luckily, this also means there is no laundry for me to do either....
Come to think of it, this idea is really growing on me!
~~~
Related humour:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Albert Camus: It doesn't matter; the chicken's actions have no meaning except to him.
Richard M. Nixon: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did not cross the road.
M.C.Escher: That depends on which plane of reality the chicken was on at the time.
Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.
Pyrrho the Skeptic: What road?
Rene Descartes: It had sufficient reason to believe it was dreaming anyway.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.
Paul de Man: The chicken did not really cross the road because one side and the other are not really opposites in the first place.
Mark Twain: The news of its crossing has been greatly exaggerated.
For more chicken jokes check out: http://humorarchive.efinke.com/recfeat/chicken.php
Being Confident
A lot of people have trouble being confident. There are so many things that lead to this. How many times have you watched someone walk past you and felt a twinge of jealousy, "I wish I was as confident and him/her!" I think everyone does it.
I want to tell you a secret. In fact, I think a lot of successful people know this secret. You can't either pay $20.95 to read it in their book or you can trust my (free) blog even though I'm not a celebrity. You don't have to believe me of course, but I think it will benefit you if you do.
The secret is that about 95% of being confident is just seeming confident. So you are feeling unconfident, maybe even uncomfortable or a little bit scared. Do you:
A) slump around trying to avoid notice and looking around warily out of fear of the people around you or the unfamiliar location?
B) hold your head high, walk like you do this every day, and approach people with polite assertiveness?
Most people will sheepishly admit to A. That's okay. I am totally guilty of it sometimes too, but one thing I have learned this past year is that B is the better option. Seem confident. I know you are scared. Being scared is okay. Everyone gets scared, even the world's most successful people.
Just remember that people percieve you as they see you. They do judge books by their covers. This doesn't mean go get plastic surgery to get rid of that mole you've always tried to hide. No, instead you need to say to yourself "this mole is a part of me, and people can take it or leave it!"
Now, next time you feel like you want to hide behind the door or pretend you are sick to get out of something instead say to yourself, "If I were a movie star and this was a movie scene, what would that look like?" Walk into that situation just as a movie star would confidently strut into a scene. Use your best movie star voice and speak confidently. Your insides will be churning the first few times, but you will soon see how differently people treat you. Congratulations! You have achieved the 95% which is seeming confident. The other 5% of being confident is just people believing you actually are confident and then treating you like they would treat a confident person. The way they treat confident people will help to boost your self-esteem until you don't actually have to pretend to be confident anymore, you'll actually feel thay way! (At least most of the time. As I said, even the most successful people still get scared sometimes!)
I want to tell you a secret. In fact, I think a lot of successful people know this secret. You can't either pay $20.95 to read it in their book or you can trust my (free) blog even though I'm not a celebrity. You don't have to believe me of course, but I think it will benefit you if you do.
The secret is that about 95% of being confident is just seeming confident. So you are feeling unconfident, maybe even uncomfortable or a little bit scared. Do you:
A) slump around trying to avoid notice and looking around warily out of fear of the people around you or the unfamiliar location?
B) hold your head high, walk like you do this every day, and approach people with polite assertiveness?
Most people will sheepishly admit to A. That's okay. I am totally guilty of it sometimes too, but one thing I have learned this past year is that B is the better option. Seem confident. I know you are scared. Being scared is okay. Everyone gets scared, even the world's most successful people.
Just remember that people percieve you as they see you. They do judge books by their covers. This doesn't mean go get plastic surgery to get rid of that mole you've always tried to hide. No, instead you need to say to yourself "this mole is a part of me, and people can take it or leave it!"
Now, next time you feel like you want to hide behind the door or pretend you are sick to get out of something instead say to yourself, "If I were a movie star and this was a movie scene, what would that look like?" Walk into that situation just as a movie star would confidently strut into a scene. Use your best movie star voice and speak confidently. Your insides will be churning the first few times, but you will soon see how differently people treat you. Congratulations! You have achieved the 95% which is seeming confident. The other 5% of being confident is just people believing you actually are confident and then treating you like they would treat a confident person. The way they treat confident people will help to boost your self-esteem until you don't actually have to pretend to be confident anymore, you'll actually feel thay way! (At least most of the time. As I said, even the most successful people still get scared sometimes!)
Being True to You
I have spent a lot of my adulthood so far, most of it actually, running away. In running away I thought I'd find myself. I did occasionally have breakthroughs but they were far outweighed by how many times I just got farther away, from friends, family, support networks, and by extension finding myself. I am not suggesting you shouldn't travel, because it was not just a physical distancing, but also a mental one I was taking part in. Travel is a wonderful experience. It opens your eyes to new ideas and ways of life. There is no perfect way to describe it. Some of my friends inform me travel is not for everyone. This may be true. Some people live perfectly happy lives in the comfort of their hometowns, or in a generational home, or just in the seductive comforts of sleepy little towns or suburbia. I would never be happy with so much of the familiar in my life even now. I need adventure and changes of scenery. I want to truly experience so many different things. I have complete respect for people who live smaller (but not lesser) lives and can be happy in that way of living. I also have come to realize more recently that there is a group of people who want to live a lot larger lives than me. These are the ones that when faced with the same challenges as me through living far outside their comfort zones, in another country in fact, have come to the realization they would never be happy to just go home. For them, this has become home... and not just here, but anywhere that they can find startling new adventures. They might not even need a home; I'm not really sure. I have utmost respect for people who live happily this way too.
I have often thought that I found my home inside of myself and this was what allowed me to travel around, and pick a new life somewhere new every few years. I have come to realize that this is not in fact the truth. I have many homes. It is like I have unceremoniously hacked off bits of my own heart and strewn them across provinces, countries, and continents with much less knowledge and purpose than John Chapman and his famous applesseeds. Yet, I don't feel remorse over this decision. I have so many homes. What draws me to each one is the people I love, the scenery I have come to adore, and the simplicity of everyday living in the midst of much greater adventures. I love adventure and I love simple comforts. I love the middle road. My life is not too big and not too small. It's just right! I like to go to the places the wind whispers in my ear. Right now it is whispering I should go home to Canada. Within that I need to clarify I will be going home to Manitoba not going home to British Columbia, although I love my 2 homes in BC dearly! I will miss my home in Thailand, but the truth is I cannot stay anywhere forever! I need space to wander and roam and follow the switchbacks of the middle road. I love my many homes; they are a special part of who I am.
I want to warn you though, despite what people tell you, the middle road isn't for everyone. Some people belong in smaller lives and some belong in much bigger ones. Buddha said it best,
I have often thought that I found my home inside of myself and this was what allowed me to travel around, and pick a new life somewhere new every few years. I have come to realize that this is not in fact the truth. I have many homes. It is like I have unceremoniously hacked off bits of my own heart and strewn them across provinces, countries, and continents with much less knowledge and purpose than John Chapman and his famous applesseeds. Yet, I don't feel remorse over this decision. I have so many homes. What draws me to each one is the people I love, the scenery I have come to adore, and the simplicity of everyday living in the midst of much greater adventures. I love adventure and I love simple comforts. I love the middle road. My life is not too big and not too small. It's just right! I like to go to the places the wind whispers in my ear. Right now it is whispering I should go home to Canada. Within that I need to clarify I will be going home to Manitoba not going home to British Columbia, although I love my 2 homes in BC dearly! I will miss my home in Thailand, but the truth is I cannot stay anywhere forever! I need space to wander and roam and follow the switchbacks of the middle road. I love my many homes; they are a special part of who I am.
I want to warn you though, despite what people tell you, the middle road isn't for everyone. Some people belong in smaller lives and some belong in much bigger ones. Buddha said it best,
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
Believe and do only what agrees with your soul. Feeling at home doesn't happen when you run away from the place you call home. It happens when the time and place are right for you, in the moment of realization that you are content with what you have, and you accept yourself exactly as you are.
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