A Life in the World of Andreas

Male genital mutilation

2011-12-18T16:37:00.001+01:00

Female genitalmutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."

It is ironic and scary that religious and ritually motivated mutilation of genitals on young baby boys is only called circumcision. And in Norway, we are in full seriousness debating if the state is to do and pay for male genital mutilation - in the year of 2011.

Male genital mutilation removes the ridged band at the end of the foreskin on the penis. One can debate how many corpuscles (a kind of nerve ending that is concentrated in areas of greatest sensitivity) the ridged band has, or if it has sexually sensitive and plays a role in normal sexual function, etc. While these questions might always be debated even by science, it will surely also be individual differences that we can't measure. The only important points here are that we don't know what we remove, but we know there is no immediate medical reason to do it. This operation is irreversible and it also adds potential post operation complications.

No actions, especially the controversial ones, can build its support only on tradition. As a matter of fact, the longer ago it was started the more we should question if the reasons for it is well founded or rational.

The argument that ignorant or bad parents will do it illegally anyway has no merit as it then should also apply to all other bad traditions we have gotten rid of. Do some still hit or harm their children? Yes, but it is not accepted in our society now because we created that change. Children are treated better today and more abuse is being stopped because we don't accept the argument that we should allow something just because we expect someone might break the law.

One of very many perspectives here is this: Type IV of FMG includes the traditional practice of pricking the clitoral hood or clitoris of a baby girl to get a drop of blood. While it isn't close to physically cutting of foreskin on a baby boy, you hear no politicians or religious leaders publicly advocating for pricking being legalized or paid for by the state. All agree that all forms of FMG should be illegal. I claim the reason for this double standard is ignorance and/or misplaced tolerance.

Most of us agree that the very harmful and more known forms of FMG are absolutely terrible and we can't have any tolerance for it today. Still we are seriously, in this modern society, asked to tolerate genital mutilation of baby boys, for absolutely no medical reason, because it is a very old tradition.

I vote for the little baby boy. What he decides to do with himself and his body when he turns 18 is none of my business, but until he is of an age where he is capable of making adult decisions, adults have an obligation to protect him. First and foremost that is supposed to be his parents, but when they fail, it is the responsibility of society to put the human child before any human traditions.

As none of us accept any type of female genital mutilation today (irreversible or not), so do I predict none will accept male genital mutilation in the near future.

When history one day looks back, how do you want to be judged?

Pet owner: -What would you say if I wanted to get my dog circumcised?
Vet (after a silence): -I'd have to report you to the ASPCA for cruelty.

I think, therefore I am

2011-06-08T20:00:00.000+02:00

The principle of 'free will' is that you are free to make any decision. Examples:

You are free to jump off a bridge.
You are free to believe in God.
You are free to go to the right instead of the left.

With 1 you are physically free, there is no thing or person holding you back. Why do you or don't you? Probably there are immediate instincts weighing in, telling you what you should do (e.g. fright). Maybe it is really high or the water below very cold. You decide not to jump because you can imagine possible consequences based on what you know.

With 2 you argue pro and cons in your head. There are a lot of emotional triggers connected to experiences from your childhood on to adulthood. And there are consequences of going either way - personally and socially - and not all are conscious. You weight these against each other and you select what sounds and feels most likely to you. With a mix of hope, maybe.

With 3 you are at this crossroad. There is an ice-cream parlor to the right and the office to the left. You know what you should do and you definitely know what you want to do. Your brain goes through the consequences and it challenges your values and principles. Based on a long life of learning you pretty much know all the pros and cons the two options have. You choose to go to work and you agree with your choice because you have the experience you know and understand the reasoning process behind it. At the same time the other option was fully possible, But all your considerations have causes even if we aren't smart enough to dissect them all.

The fact that you feel the process of processing all alternatives does not mean you are in a situation to handle the options equally. And as long as they aren't equal they aren't free. You land on your preference. This does not mean everything predestined, it means that everything has a logical cause.

Our choices feel free because we end up selecting what we agree is best. It makes most sense there and then so we do it. But you can't choose to jump off a bridge into your possible death if you aren't suicidal or have that lust for excitement. You can't choose to love the image of a god you find crazy and evil, just like you can't choose to like the taste of poop. And you did choose to go to work because of emotions and logical reasons. With a different brain or other experiences you might have chosen differently.

Free will would have to be a 'device' in your mind with the power to override your ability to reason and knowledge and experience. What is good with that? Wouldn't that just be a meaningless randomize function?

I'd much rather base my actions and choices in life on my ability to think and all my knowledge and experience, than on an ability to randomly make choices unbound by the same. I think, therefore I am.

"What we call chaos is just patterns we haven't recognized. What we call random is just patterns we cant decipher. What we can't understand we call nonsense. What we can't read we call gibberish. There is no free will. There are no variables. There is only the inevitable.”
[Chuck Palahniuk]

Silly ideas

2011-06-01T22:15:00.002+02:00

The whole idea of monarchy is silly.

Some believe it makes good representation for Norway when its representatives (read royal family) travel the world. I doubt that is the whole truth. I am embarrassed that we send someone who is born into such a position to represent us. And I am everything but impressed if a nation send an individual with an inherited position to represent them. To believe our democratically elected representatives treat them with anything more than an obliged politeness is silly. The whole thing is beyond rational and I am not proud to be a part of it.

We live in a democratic state, monarchy represent a very different time and is the opposite of democracy. The majority may very well elect the current king or crown prince to represent us, but it should be based on a democratic and regularly repeated process.

That the current representatives of the Norwegian royal family are good and nice people might very well be true, I have no personal grievance against any of them. For all I know they are all better and smarter than me, but even if so then we are only lucky and nothing more. We should by 2011 be in a position to expect that whatever we do is based on elementary democratic principals and we should strive to live by such elementary principles. No matter if we currently like the monarchs or not.

"The thoughts of man, in order to be of any real worth, must be free. Under the influence of fear the brain is paralyzed, and instead of bravely solving a problem for itself, tremblingly adopts the solution of another. As long as a majority of men will cringe to the very earth before some petty prince or king, what must be the infinite abjectness of their little souls in the presence of their supposed creator and God? Under such circumstances, what can their thoughts be worth?"
[Robert G. Ingersoll, "The Gods", 1872]

Movie: "The God Who Wasn't There"

2011-03-19T21:15:00.000+01:00

A great movie.

Time travel

2010-10-09T18:07:00.000+02:00

When I was younger, and maybe a little attractive, I got myself mixed up in love. It didn’t work out and it has since only haunted and hurt me – why would I want that again?

It might sound stupid for people who mistake infatuation with love. But to me love never fades, infatuation does. If you haven’t been there I don’t believe you can understand what I mean. I know many who say their love shifts, they drop one and turn to the next. Good for them. That’s not how I am assembled.

Living is surviving, you figure out a way to go on the best you can. I’ve been lucky to do have been allowed to do so in a nice and safe place. But it doesn’t take away any of the pain.

Life is here and now, so my school of life has been focused on learning to treasure that.

I find it worth thinking about that almost everything in the universe goes by unnoticed. Makes it pretty special to be me here and now.

From Hope to Hopelessness

2010-06-02T08:42:00.003+02:00

The conclusions are impossible to ignore: Continued occupation and blockade of Palestine will be destructive for Israel in the long run. Israel politics has fundamentally changed compared to the Israel many sympathised with in previous decades and who longed to measure up to western standards. Last and most important; American and European authorities must awaken from their apathy and force normal supply lines to a couple of million extremely vulnerable Palestine’s in Gaza and the West Bank. The Middle East doesn't need more investigation reports. Israel and the Palestine need an international leadership who can force the region out of the spiral of violence.

A continuation of the current development will lead to new and bigger confrontations. Continued occupation, blockade and colonization of occupied land around Jerusalem and West bank will be perceived as such an intolerable provocation in and outside the Arabic countries that in the long run will undermine the security for the whole region - including Israel.

A first step to break the Gaza isolation could be a sea based corridor direct to Gaza from Cyprus that UN, together with USA and EU, can overlook the security and content of. Similar corridors can be organised on the land border crossings from Egypt to Israel. This way the security of Israel will be safeguarded because American and European inspectors can stop smuggling of rockets and other weapons.

UN suggested such a corridor to the Israeli minister of defence in 2006. EU have already had border inspectors at the border crossings, but they never got any responsibility by Israel.

It is not true that the current Israeli border regime ensures the needs in Gaza. UN's relief agency UNRWA can document that under half of the needs of population are met - even in good months. Israel has for years used closing of borders as collective punishment every time extreme groups have tried to do their terror. No government in any state, not even Israel, is able to avoid all violence at any time from its varying population.

The Israel historian Tom Segevs had a gloomy analysis of Israeli politics at a talk in Oslo this week: "You must not believe that Israel is a country that will live by a western standard. Israeli politicians have stopped believing we can live in peace with our neighbours. My country is fundamentally changed. The public in most countries are worried for the existence of the Palestinians. There aren't ordinary people in Israel."

Many who through the times have worked for peace in the region have replaced their hope with hopelessness and deep despair. Palestinian extreme groups like Hamas and Islamic jihad has contributed their part to undermine hopes for the future. But Israel has time and time again systematically assisted extremists on Palestinian side by bombing vital civilian infrastructure. Moderate and unpolitical aid workers give up and escapes Gaza.

The situation increases the desperation in the region, and a will to use militant violence - especially among young people who feel they are in a seemingly impossible situation.

The text was extracted, amended and freely translated from an article in the largest Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten on June 1st 2010. Author of the full article is Jan Egeland who is the Director of The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

"Imagine there's no heaven; it's easy if you try
No hell below us, above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today ...

Imagine there's no countries; it isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace...."
[John Lennon, "Imagine"]

Benefit of the doubt

2009-10-04T01:51:00.009+02:00

I don't like justifying who or what I am - or what I do. I ask others to judge me based on what they see. I trust that good people who do an honest and fair check easily will see the true me. I’m pretty much WYSIWYG. I don't care much for wasting time or emotions on anybody who aren't honest or care enough to give me a fair chance before judging.

Many criticize or question me for being so public about my personal life on the Internet. I hear you, but have my reasons for being so transparent. However; I'm neither immune nor ignorant to the risks.

When I was as young I was very fascinated by computers. I bough my first when everybody I knew thought it was a silly fad and I got my first e-mail address long before even I knew the word Internet. Not that I could use it as I didn't know anybody else with an Internet address at the time. Back then we used the phone and called up Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to communicate. Norway was interestingly enough the first country outside USA that got connected to ARPANET (the origins of Internet). The connection to this global wonder also gave me access to Usenet and later IRC, and my international network grew rapidly. I still have many very dear friends from all over the world that I met those first pioneering years.

Through my burning interest I got into IT at my work in the Norwegian postal services and my professional career started taking off. I was privately very interested in subjects like free speech, privacy and encryption, but also eager to explore hyper text and the new possibilities in web pages. My first personal web page was my training ground and I received a lot if recognition and awards for it. I developed several web sites for organizations I supported, like free thought, atheism and anti drugs.

While I was a strong supporter of the right to protect your individual privacy, I never had a problem being open about my personal life. In many cases it was sort of therapy. I'm still a very private person. First of all I have nothing to hide; I'm just a non-violent secular humanist who believes in personal ethical awareness and responsibility. And I believe we have a responsibility to be good role models in society. As a human living in peace and freedom thanks to many before me who fought for it, I feel obliged to pick up the stick. As I for over 20 years have worked with youth, I try to show them how I in my life strive for that through sharing and dialogue.

Now we know that what goes on the Net stays on the Net. As I in 1996 got involved in public education about a criminal and dangerous cult, I knew I couldn’t rewind my steps. I also saw that I was in a unique position to make a difference. I knew this unscrupulous cult would come after me with all they got the moment I stepped up on the barricade. For 13 years they have spent millions investigating me to find any dirt. First they try to scare and intimidate, then they investigate. If that fails, the third step to spread lies to black agent you. The goal is simple: To discredit you personally and professionally. Ideally ruin you utterly.

The cult believes that their critics are criminals and crazy – that is why they are critics according to their "logic". Therefore, finding my crimes will prove this. I have seen many good people silenced under this pressure and said to myself I will not be silenced by threats. By being open about my life I want to disarm them, there is nothing for them to find. I have no "buttons" they can push that will help them and I have already shared much more than they could find. And former cult victims have told me it was important to see me being so open and friendly, as a contrast to the lies the cult told them about me. It was part of their awakening.

Despite all the lies against me, I have managed to build a great professional career, I've received a lot of recognition in international media, I'm now on the national board of the largest Humanist association in the world - and despite all the resources used over so many years, the cult have not found one single bad thing on me. To me that is a darn good reference – privately and professionally!

Today I have over 20 years of personal history documented on the Net. A lot of it is personal, and a tiny fraction is lies. This has an impact on my life and I can not change the past. I can only continue striving to live a positive and constructive life. I can only continue to be open about my personal life to balance the lies.

So if you read about me, please at least give me the benefit of the doubt.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
[Benjamin Franklin]

Hermits don't kiss

2008-05-19T19:20:00.010+02:00

I was on the KLM flight over the Atlantic from Europe to the U.S., my bag stacked full with all the cool magazines I only buy when travelling and the 80GB iPod fully charged. I'm as close to Heaven this Atheist will ever be.

I always loved the radio - I don't even have a TV at home any more - but with odd working hours I usually only remember to listen to it while in the car. Podcasting has added a wonderful new dimension to my life! I can listen to or watch all my favourites when it suits me. In my pocket I got great stand up video casts from Comedy Central, fascinating science programs from The Naked Scientist and Verdt å vite, skeptical wisdom on Skepticality, mind-blowing talks from TEDTalks, ethical challenges from Verdibørsen and Norwegian linguistic fun on Språkteigen. And that's only a small sample of endless free entertaining and educational stuff I travel with. In my little precious pod I also have all my music which is able to trigger every chemical emotion my brain can induce. I can not conceive a life without it. Even got a few movies, sitcoms and photo albums on it. Oh, almost forgot the huge collection of great audio books! The only problem is finding time to enjoy it all! That's why I love transatlantic flights.

On the tourist class distant and tiny monitor, with the color red out of balance, they were showing a love flick. Obviousely not a classic as I can't remember which. By chance an article titled "Why We Kiss" in Scientific American Mind (vol. 19 no. 1) had just caught my interest. My first thought was that it must be a limited topic, but they had it as their feature article. Turns out new research has revealed a hidden complexity behind this exchange of bodily fluids. Kissing, the article explains, might have evolved from mouth-to-mouth feeding of primate infants by their mothers. It could then have morphed into a strategy for comforting hungry children in the absence of food - and later into a more general way of expressing affection.

I catch a glimpse of a screen-kiss in the end of the cabin. I'm reminded of my last transatlantic flight. I was on the aisle end of this 3-seater with a couple in their thirties on my window side. After the seatbelt sign was turned off the aisle was starting to fill up with children fully charged to explore this new and narrow universe. I always love to get eye contact with passing small children, and if they hold it I reward them with a slow wide smile. Probably sounds weird, but it feels like planting a little friendly seed in their developing memory banks - telling them in a non-verbal way that life and humans are nice and friendly too. For me it's like winning the lottery every time one of them return the gesture with a wholehearted smile. It can literally make my day.

The corner of my eye was distracted by the couple beside me, there was something going on that my subconscious couldn't quite decipher. In the middle of trying to steal a smile from a cute little kid crawling eagerly down the aisle, it was revealed by some improper sounds from my neighbours. Abruptly both needed to leave their seats. I was getting embarrassed like I'd seen something I shouldn't have. In the back of a plane in tourist class there are limited places to look away and I couldn't help noticing how they went from restroom to restroom. There seemed to be something wrong with all of them for the guy, while she was eager to enter any. Finally their negotiations were over and they settled on one. It's like saying "Don't think of an elephant" - are you able to think of anything else? I was wondering if they really thought nobody noticed, while my eyes shifted to the sky outside the window. Sharing smiles with kids suddenly felt improper.

The worst part wasn't over. When they eventually returned they were in the mood to talk with me for the rest of the flight. I'm a very liberal guy, but the situation just got a little too intimate and embarrassing to me.

The evolution of intimate kissing might have been sped by silent chemical messengers called pheromones. It's controversial if humans are able to sense pheromones, as specialized pheromone detectors hasn't been identified in humans, unlike in many animals. Some suggest we might be able to detect them through our nose or mouth. That could explain such curious findings as a tendency of the menstrual cycles of female dormitory mates to synchronize or the attraction of women to the scent of t-shirts worn by men whose immune systems are genetically compatible with theirs. I'm reading on as we pass over Island on the right.

Kissing supposedly unleashes a cocktail of chemicals that govern stress, motivation, social bonding and sexual stimulation. If pheromones do play a role in human courtship and procreation, the article continues, then kissing would be an extremely effective way to pass them from one person to another. Of the dozen cranial nerves that effect human cerebral functions, five are at work when we kiss, shuttling messages from our lips, tongue, cheeks and nose to a brain that snatches information about the temperature, taste, smell and movement of the entire affair. I find stuff like this fascinating at 30,000 feet. :)

Kissing and love boost the same brain chemicals associated with pleasure, euphoria and a motivation to connect with a certain someone. Researchers have found an unusual flurry of activity in two brain regions that govern pleasure, motivation and reward. Addictive drugs such as cocaine similarly stimulates these reward centres, through the release of dopamine. Love, it seems, is a kind of drug for us humans.

I am unwillingly being reminded of my lost love and that it must be over seven years since I kissed someone last. I wonder if the next 'happy pill' will be a pill that sends the same stimuli to the brain as a kiss does. A love or kissing pill maybe?

"The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."
[Thomas Henry Huxley]

Media Circus

2008-02-25T21:22:00.003+01:00

On Saturday my fight against the Cult of Scientology was feature article in the magazine "Magasinet" which comes with the national newspaper Dagbladet (English translation here).

I happen to have many opinions. Public debate and democracy is very important to me and of course I want the issues I think is important to be debated publicly. When it comes to the fight against the Cult of Scientology it isn't easy to get someone to stick their head out - since most know what these guys are capable of doing to critics. I refuse to be silenced out of fear and said early on that I would not give in to it. Little did I know that I would have to say that for over 10 years.

I receive a lot of amazing support, and of course that helps and motivates me. It is good to know you make a difference. But for me personally this battle has only cost a fortune and given a lot of grief. I'm not complaining, I knew exactly what I entered into and would definitely do it all again, but it is a little exhausting. Especially when some think I do this only to put my own face in the spotlight. Honestly, that is a side of it that I truly dislike and wished I did not have to do. I would have liked to prioritize my personal life with maybe start a family or focus more on my career. Being a public critic of a criminal cult makes both very difficult, it is actually a threat against both. I've never received a cent for what I am doing and cover absolutely every cost from my own pocket.

The henchmen of the cult is out trying to "character assassin" me now due to the article so I felt it appropriate to repeat this fact.

Internet provides us, the ordinary woman and man, real democratic weapons against fascistic cults. Because everything now is transparent, and we now can unite in numbers, we can bring even the biggest and most scary monsters to their knees. While nobody can do everything, we are dependant on all of us doing a little right. First you need to educate yourself, think, and dare to take stands in different issues. Don't be afraid they are wrong - challenge them in debate and find out. But stand for something! Only dead fish swim with the stream. The risk is that if you stand for nothing, you are likely to fall for anything.

Evil things happen when good men do nothing.

Finally got the mobile picture blog back!

2008-02-06T18:41:00.002+01:00

Now I can post images on the road to my blog. I can't imagine anybody finding it interesting to see how it looks where I am, but I think it's cool just to be able to do it. Cool beats both valuable and necessary.

Work is very good these days as I received an incredible acknowledgement - more later! Because of Tom Cruise the Operation Clambake site is experiencing record traffic and I've never been contacted by so many journalists in such a short time. It is exciting times!

"It is precisely because it is fashionable for Americans to know no science, even though they may be well educated otherwise, that they so easily fall prey to nonsense. They thus become part of the armies of the night, the purveyors of nitwittery, the retailers of intellectual junk food, the feeders on mental cardboard, for their ignorance keeps them from distinguishing nectar from sewage."
[Isaac Asimov, "The Armies of the Night"]

Before I die

2007-08-23T00:47:00.000+02:00

I had a short vacation last week and needed to "reset" my brain as the last months at work has been very busy and exhausting. Too restless to read a good book, I went to the cabin and started working on a list of things I would like to do or experience before I die. Some big, some small, some hard and others already achieved. Always thought of making this.

I'm probably spoiled, living in the best country in the world and having a lot etc, and I don't take for granted that I will get all this. If I die tomorrow I'll do so with a smile as I have lived a very privileged life filled with fantastic experiences. But if my luck continues and I have a few more years in me, then I'm not going to spend them hiding in the closet. This list will be one tool to remind me that life is more than work and fighting crazy cults. You have to take care of yourself too.

Making the list did get me thinking about something else than work and thereby providing an important distraction. I also got to do some swimming in the sea with friends. A very enjoyable weekend.

So, without further ado here is my list.

"Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism."
[Isaac Asimov, "On Religiosity", Free Inquiry, also attributed to Science Fiction Magazine, Jan 1992]

When Nature wears green...

2007-08-04T10:26:00.001+02:00

Lately while helping couples find poems for their wedding ceremonies I have awoken my sleeping love for poems. The first poem I can remember I learned by heart was one by Kajenn. It meant a lot to me when I was young, but I have since forgotten part of it and have had no luck finding out who this Kajenn is and the poem is not on the Internet. However, the other day while going through an old box I found a copy of it written with my childish hand 20-30 years ago. Made me feel good. Thought I'd share it:

That our earth is a place fit to live in
Must be what we aim for, dear friend
Make a world that the world can survive in,
that must be our goal in the end.

For the plot that we have in our keeping,
the resources of our cosmos commands
Will surely not go on increasing
To keep step with our growing demands.

So judge not in rubel or shilling
The value of life on our scene;
No, judge by the nightingale's singing
In springtime when Nature wears green.

-Kajenn

""Do not feed children on maudlin sentimentalism or dogmatic religion; give them nature... Do not terrify them in early life with the fear of an after-world. Never was a child made more noble and good by the fear of a hell."
[Luther Burbank, "The Training of the Human Plant," 1907]

What puzzles me

2007-07-10T20:58:00.001+02:00

Armed with my new marriage licence I have set out for ceremony twice so far this summer. First I married a man and woman at their cabin in the woods. I was probably just as nervous, especially worried my speech would not set the right mood. The lovers came in on the back of a veteran tractor and I married them under a flower arc with both their families and friends standing around. Sigh...

My second run was a same sex marriage last Saturday. We've had same sex marriages for some time in Norway, but this was the first same sex humanist wedding ever in Rogaland! Beautifully set by the sea in the garden of one of the parents. A smaller and more intimate ceremony, but it was so moving when they came marching down I almost could not hold the speech. I'm always very critical about everything I do, but so far all feedback on the ceremony and speech has been great. A hundred more runs and I might start to suspect it's not all bad. ;)

These new experiences triggers mixed emotions in me. While I had put love on the shelf, it is wonderful to meet these couples with stars in their eyes. It is an honour to be invited to be part of them creating one of their most important memories in life.

A humanist wedding ceremony starts with me getting to know the couple trough a few meetings so I can make a personal speech dedicated to them. The ceremonies vary from 20 to 45 minutes long and is filled with music and poems they have selected. It is important that it is ceremonious and formal, and that it focuses on the couple. This is their magic moment. Some have it out in nature, others at home or have rented facilities. In a few weeks I'm having one on an old ship out at sea and another on a beautiful beach. So far this summer I'm engaged by 11 couples to 'tie their knot'. After the ceremony I have to send in all the proper forms so the marriage is properly and formally registered.

I never stop being puzzled when I notice what I get myself involved in - and how all of it gives me new and great experiences. Life is but a dream.

"I am here on this planet to help others. Why the others are here, I don't know."

First love

2007-05-27T14:16:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I met (online) my first real love. It was college and I was very innocent and shy. We were only friends back then, but I was very much in love. Weird how that person has been a passenger in my head since, always returning when I was thinking of the strangest things.

I get easily infatuated, I admit. At first it was a struggle, but these days I treasure these impossible attractions as a luxury. I draw energy from the moments I see or meet someone who fires something in me - no matter if it purely physical or mental. As I've learned to accept being alone it is no loss when they evolve to nothing.

It has been a long a rugged way to where I am today. Single and 42 yes, but wiser and burned. After my first secret love in college I fell heavily in love in my twenties, got dumped after a few years and swore newer again. It was great while it lasted, but the heartache was almost too much for me. I don't know how, but I did get up again. And what was supposed to never happen again did after a few years. Wiser love, but just as deep and blind for me. I honestly did not know how to go on when it ended. Just the fact they could end it crushed me. While I understood and accepted that love ends without we having much say in the matter, I never accepted or forgave that they could end the friendship.

I never got over either of them. I wish them the best in the world and would take a bullet for them any day, but while time doesn't heal these wounds for me it does march unaffected on. I've found ways to occupy myself to overshadow those thoughts (and regrets). Taking one day at the time and trying to do a little good in the world while making sure I am happy too.

Internet provides an opportunity to re-connect with people form the past, and as someone who left the birth city early that also helps to relieve some wounds. Good past memories is good medicine against other not so good.

It is very true when they say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. I would not be without any of my experiences - together they created who I am today. That still does not say it is easy. Especially when you find out you've never been loved the way you have loved others.

"I do understand what love is, and that is one of the reasons I can never again be a Christian. Love is not self denial. Love is not blood and suffering. Love is not murdering your son to appease your own vanity. Love is not hatred or wrath, consigning billions of people to eternal torture because they have offended your ego or disobeyed your rules. Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that iscontingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being."
[Dan Barker, "Losing Faith in Faith"]

FaceBook here I come

2007-05-13T23:11:00.000+02:00

I know, it's big brother all over. Everybody is doing it so what the heck - I want to do it too. If someone inside a mountain somewhere is logging all I write and report then I want to know if they calculate anything interesting! :) Poor sods.

So, I'm on FaceBook too. I'm mirroring this blog there, but this is still my main site.

"That's why the religious people are so freaked out about the Internet, not because of the smut but because NO religion can stand up to access to information."
[Robert Carr]

Brief History of Disbelief

2007-05-11T07:18:00.000+02:00

Jonathan Millers at BBC has made a great documentary of the history of disbelief. Lots of very interesting interviews and historic facts and you can watch some of it here: A Brief History of Disbelief. I especially liked the young boy saying "I was brought up to believe in God, but I have found my own way now." I can't imagine where I would have been today if I had been allowed and dared that realisation too at the age of 7. As a child I was taught in public school and by society to retract inwards to handle my sorrows and problems by talking to someone I did not see, but who all I knew said was there. I was schooled not to think critically and instead trained to blindly accept dogmatic faith and undocumented claims. For as long as I live I will be influenced by Christian stories and images because that was so dominant in my life when I was most susceptible to it and the most trustful.

I am saddened that intelligent adults were willing to abuse the trust of a child to implant their own personal religious belief. Religion and superstition will always be a part of human life and I like the fact that human society is so diverse. However, the value in something so personal is deluded and corrupted when it is only something you are trained to be, and not something you yourself have found to fit for you.

You should always be very sceptical to all who claim they have found any eternal answers.

"I certainly don't believe in the mythologies of our society, in heaven and hell, in God and angels, in Satan and demons. I've thought of myself as an 'atheist,' but that simply described what I didn't believe in, not what I did. Gradually, though, I became aware there was a movement called 'humanism,' which used that name because, to put it most simply, humanists believe that human beings produced the progressive advance of human society and also the ills that plague it. They believe that if the ills are to be alleviated, it is humanity that will have to do the job. They disbelieve in the influence of the supernatural on either the good or the bad of society."
[Isaac Asimov, quoted in "2000 Years of Disbelief, Famous People with the Courage to Doubt", by James A. Haught, Prometheus Books, 1996]

With a licence to marry!

2007-05-10T20:46:00.000+02:00

Today I received a letter from the County Governor of Oslo and Akershus with a certificate licensing me to, as a representative of the national secular humanist organisation, perform marriages and same sex partnerships in the kingdom of Norway. As more and more people find life, meaning and joy outside old religious doctrines and cold churches, secular ceremonies where humanity (and not superstition) is the centre gets more and more requested.

After a good course and a certification process by Human-Etisk Forbund (The Norwegian Humanist Association) I really look forward to the seven marriages I have scheduled so far for the summer. I know this is going to be a wonderful experience and that I will meet lots of great people. It is a luxury to be living in the best country in the world and having time and opportunity to participate in and experience everything I can.

Now that I have all my fellow licensed humanists all left for me is to find someone who is strong enough to live with me. :)

"That is what marriage really means: helping one another to reach the full status of being persons, responsible and autonomous beings who do not run away from life."
[Paul Tournier]

Mark your calendars

2007-02-01T14:28:00.000+01:00

March 10th is Xenu Day International! Who's Xenu? Find your alien costume and join the fun.

"How do you steam clams? Make fun of their religion."
[Johnny Carson, stand-up monologue on NBC's "The Tonight Show"]

Two new fantastic American magazine articles

2006-11-27T21:44:00.000+01:00

The first was the feature in Wired (November 2007 issue) titled:

NO HEAVEN. NO HELL. JUST SCIENCE.
Inside the crusade against religion.

I would recommend you buy your own copy, but you can also read it here.

The second feature article is in New Scientist (18 November 2006) titled:

THE BIG QUESTIONS
Life, Death, Reality, Free Will and The Theory of Everything

It starts with an article "IN PLACE OF GOD" (Can secular science ever oust religious belief - and should it even try?). There is a preview available here. Quote: "The world needs to wake up from the long nightmare of religion. [...] Anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilisation." (Cosmologist Steven Weinberg, University of Texas)

Then from page 31 to 72 it goes into "THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS EVER ASKED":

What is reality?
Do we have free will?
What is life?
Is the universe deterministic?
What is consciousness?
Will we ever have a theory of everything?
What happens after you die?
What comes after humans?

Many of which are my favourite subjects. A great read sitting inside with a mug of tea listening to the fall storm outside. Enjoy, get a perspective!

"I do not believe life has a meaning, but I find it meaningful to live."
[Levi Fragell, President IHEU]

Drawings of Prophet Mohammed and giving in to threats

2006-02-18T17:16:00.000+01:00

It is impossible to walk through life without ever offending or be offended. Anybody expecting that is sadly deluded.

For reasons now unimportant, small Christian Danish and Norwegian newspapers/magazines printed drawings of Prophet Mohammed and started an outrage. It is important to understand that this stunt only was an unexpected trigger causing many different and complex conflicts and issues to boil over. We must not explain this away by blaming the drawings, there are bigger and more serious causes for the problems we now see.

In retrospect it is interesting to look at the development of the criticism - escalating as the violent outrage has happened. And not to forget the many forms of excuses that has been given to calm down the potent situation.

I am disappointed that threats of violence have allowed many to restrict their actions and speak. To what degree the drawings were disrespectful or not should be totally overshadowed by the violent reaction. No matter the lack of respect, we can and must not give in to religious violence! The modern Christian religion is today civilized not because of its holy scriptures and most dedicated believers, but despite them. More people than we dare to imagine (and thank) were robbed, tortured and killed to achieve the freedom and modern democracy we now have. We have to remind ourselves that no time was darker in Europe than when the churches ruled the Middle age.

I am saddened and frustrated by the anger, but not discouraged. We know that it helps to stand up, to dare go against the fanatics who try to violently impose their rules on others. No matter how hopeless it seems. We know women and dissenters are oppressed in many Muslim countries and we must not invalidate their struggle by giving in to this now. It is not going to be easy to change this, but we know from experience that it is possible and inevitable.

By threatening with violence the protesters have forced us to protect freedom of speech by doing what they protest. Giving in to such threats will only motivate more to do the same. And we will have taken two steps back instead of one ahead.

So, is provocation a sacred act? No, of course not. But humour is an important human ability to demystify and disarm dogmatic and oppressive religious tendencies. Humour is personal therapy, especially for former victims. I, inspired by the words of Voltaire, detest what the violated believers in Mohammed say, but I would give my life to make it possible for them to continue to say it.

"I rarely waste time in reading theological subjects... Ridicule is the only weapon that can be used against such unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. If it could be understood it would not answer their purpose. Their security is in their faculty of shedding darkness, like the scuttle-fish, thro' the element in which they move, and making it impenetrable to the eye of a pursuing enemy, and there they will sulk."
[Thomas Jefferson]

Olympics about to start

2006-02-10T08:48:00.000+01:00

Bread and circus to the people. Few things are less interesting that watching strangers running around competing. It frustrates me...

"Sure, there's still war in the Balkans, but the Supreme Being of the universe seems to have become shallow and spends all his time intervening in sporting events."
[John Bloom (aka Joe Bob Briggs), comment after the Super bowl]

15,000 days!

2006-01-04T23:21:00.000+01:00

Several years ago I stumbled upon a web page (now long lost) where you could calculate how many days you had lived. It also told you about upcoming anniversaries - and my next one was 15,000 days. Meaningless and fun enough trivia to qualify to be included in my digital calendar.

And today, long after I forgot all about it, my PDA beeps joyfully in my pocket and when I turn it on a reminder from the past blinks at me: You're 15.000 days today. Happy me! :)

This week has so far offered me 2 other good and 1 bad event. The bad is that I have received my first speeding ticket ever (photo box). I was doing so well and have really been committed to reach my personal goal of never getting a speeding ticket. I am very disappointed at myself and there is no excuse. Talk is easy, I want to live what I preach.

The two good events are that I have met up with two dear friends that I have not seen in a while. I'm, despite my faults, a happy man.

A reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 20:

Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, "Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and breakfast cereals... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."
[Monty Python, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"]

Ecumenical dialogue

2005-11-10T00:14:00.000+01:00

Was at a meeting yesterday in a local ecumenical dialogue group discussing "Children and faith". Started with 6 cute kids from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints singing for us. Then people from different religious groups discussed their experiences and how we can bring up the kids in each belief system and still not exclude them from society. Very interesting and educational.

Being aware of what religious education and group pressure can do to people, I find it hard to draw a line between right and wrong in bringing up children. While I might have an opinion, I have no right to impose it on others. In a free society we have to have very good proof of harm before we interfere with families. So, more important than my personal opinion is the parents rights to raise and educate their own children the way they believe is right. I demand that right, so I have to grant it to others. Making that stand does of course not exclude me from critisising parents if I disagree with them.

What we seemed to agree on at the meeting was that children need to meet other children - cross the faiths. It's not a treat against their upbringing, but is more likely to male them more tolerant and stronger.

"Someone with a fresh mind, one not conditioned by upbringing and environment, would doubtless look at science and the powerful reductionism that it inspires as overwhelmingly the better mode of understanding the world, and would doubtless scorn religion as sentimental wishful thinking. Would not that same uncluttered mind also see the attempts to reconcile science and religion by disparaging the reduction of the complex to the simple as attempts guided by muddle-headed sentiment and intellectually dishonest emotion?"
[P.W. Atkins, "The Limitless Power of Science" essay in "Nature's Imagination", John Cornwell, ed.; 1995 Oxford University Press, p.123]

Blogging for life

2005-11-09T11:47:00.000+01:00

It's a baby blogging boom! Friend Frode is expecting a son - and the soon to be citizen Trym has a blog all waiting for him!

"The known is finite, the unknown is infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land."
[Thomas H. Huxley]

Nephew Blog

2005-10-03T22:57:00.000+02:00

My brother is home with Morten now, and it's blogger-mania! :-)

"It is a wise father that knows his own child."
[William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "The Merchant of Venice", Act 2 scene 2]

In full color

2005-09-24T22:39:00.000+02:00

Have received a few comments today as the biggest business newspaper in Norway (Dagens Næringsliv) mentions and has a big picture of me.

"Obviously, a man's judgement cannot be better than the information on which he has based it. Give him the truth and he may still go wrong when he has the chance to be right, but give him no news or present him only with distorted and incomplete data, with ignorant, sloppy or biased reporting, with propaganda and deliberate falsehoods, and you destroy his whole reasoning processes, and make him something less than a man."
[Arthur Hays Sulzberger]

Democracy

2005-09-10T07:43:00.000+02:00

Election for parliament in Norway on Monday. I'm disappointed and worried that so many Norwegians have fallen for the charisma and simplified answers of the brown outer right wing party. It's sad to see people, who don't know how well they are off, start blaming and fearing the weakest or the ones who aren't like themselves.

Forgive them not, for they should know what they do.

"The rational man seeks the truth gropingly, he knows that his reasoning is only probable, that other considerations will arise to make it doubtful; ...he is "open." He may even appear hesitant. But there are people who are attracted by the durability of stone. They want to be massive and impenetrable, they do not want to change: where would change lead them? This is an original fear of oneself and a fear of truth. And what frightens them is not the content of truth which they do not even suspect, but the very form of the true--that thing of indefinite approximation...They want to exist all at once and right away. They do not want acquired opinions, they want them to be innate; since they are afraid of reasoning, they want to adopt a mode of life in which reasoning and research play but a subordinate role, in which one never seeks but that which one has already found..."
[Jean-Paul Sartre]

If you stands for nothing you fall for anything

2005-08-30T21:56:00.000+02:00

As a public critic of the Church of Scientology I am very used to character attacks against myself. People claiming to be from the police or private investigators contact friends and acquaintances trying to find my "dirty secrets". "Reporters" call my colleagues all over the world asking leading questions like "What is your comment about your colleague in Norway being involved with terrorists?". They ask leading questions loaded with lies to slowly build suspicion about me. They have even put up a hate page filled with untruths about me.

The cult is these days on a new offensive to try to, what they call, Dead Agent me. As a critic of this cult I am Fair Game to all Scientologists. No act against me is punishable for them.

Luckily my case is well known in the media here and most people out there are intelligent enough to see through the lies. All attacks against me only increase the support I get and adds to document the ugly reality of Scientology.

Intimidation and threats will not stop me from using my freedom of speech to protest this criminal and abusive cult. It only confirms the importance of standing up against it.

Please let me know if you are contacted too.

"This is correct procedure:
Spot who is attacking us.
Start investigating them promptly for FELONIES or worse using our own professionals, not outside agencies.
Double curve our reply by saying we welcome an investigation of them.
Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press.
Don't ever tamely admit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way."

[Scientology internal policy letter on how to handle critics: HCOPL "Attacks on Scientology"]

Wikipedia

2005-07-23T21:01:00.000+02:00

I have to be honest and admit I am a bit proud that I'm mentioned on Wikipedia. Gee, how do you react to that??

"Each of us does what we can do. Our obligation is to do it as well as we can, with as much grace, dignity, integrity and honor our egos can tolerate."
[Robert Vaughn Young]

Pictures as my life happens

2005-06-25T01:32:00.000+02:00

With a lot of help from my friend I finally got a Picture Blog on my site. My idea was that I wanted to just take a picture wherever I was and the camera (in my mobile phone) would instantly and automatically put the image on a web page. AND NOW IT WORKS! Big hugs to Frode, it's fun to be a geek. Check out the link to Picture Blog in the menu.

"Primus in orbe deos facit timor."
(Fear created the first gods in the world.)
[Caecilius Statius (220-168 B.C.), Thebais]

Firstborn

2005-04-13T00:07:00.000+02:00

My brother has had his first born! A wonderful boy just named Morten. And I'm 600 kilometres away. I have to get a jet plane or something.

"I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she's too young to have logged on yet. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say 'Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'"
[Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation]

More photos

2005-03-23T04:58:00.000+01:00

I've finally updated my on-line album with lots of pictures (see under About Me in the menu).

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth."
[William Purkey]

You don't have more fun than you make yourself

2005-02-06T21:45:00.000+01:00

I had the most amazing day.

When I turned 30 I was deep in sorrow after the loss of my big love. When I digged myself out of that underground cavern I promised myself that I would not allow my 40th birthday go unnoticed.

The only problem with the teenage years is that you don't know how damned lucky you are and you don't see your opportunities. That will haunt you for a couple of decades. The thirties is a mess, you try to cling on to your lost youth. To me it was great to turn 40. I survived the thirties without too deep scars.

I turned 40 in December 2004. December is the month when all of corporate Norway have their "julebord" party and there is no way you can get a decent place or get all together. I was determined to do something when I turned 40, but moved the event to February 4th 2005. And I had a fantastic party. We were 66 people, with great food and lots of drink. We Norwegians aren't good at socializing, we are a bit shy. To bring 65 people together from 20 years of living in this city (Stavanger) was a hoot! At least for me. Offering good food helped a lot. It was the party of my life! Imagine being surrounded by the people that means the most to you for a whole evening and half a night.

I'm now only thinking about what I will use my 50th birthday for. All I know is that it's going to be great, that is, if I manage not to fall out of love just before. All I am sure of is that it will be sooner than I can imagine, so you better start preparing! :)

A TOAST

The soul may be a mere pretence,
the mind makes very little sense.
So let us value the appeal
of that which we can taste and feel.

[Piet Hein]

Finally 40!

2004-12-11T14:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I finally turned 40, survived the thirties without any serious damage. :)

"When I can look life in the eyes, grown calm and very coldly wise, life will have given me the truth, and taken in exchange — my youth."
[Sara Teasdale]

You only live once - so do it!

2004-10-21T07:56:00.000+02:00

This is a time for change. My father passed away early this year, which was hard and led me to take a new look at myself and my life. It occurred to me that sons seek a great professional career first and foremost to impress their fathers. After almost three years running the Norwegian branch of the company I work for, I decided to step down. It was a great job, a business I know very well and the economy and future of the company is very bright. But it takes its toll, there are many sacrifices that a good salary can not compensate for. I'm probably a 'workaholic', so the job easily consumed me.

I reminded myself I work to live and not the other way around. I want to look back at all the things I did, and not regret all the things I never dared or had time to do. I'm proud that I managed to do this, 'cause it wasn't easy.

Stepping down when it is still fun and everything is on the top is a privilege few get. I recommend it! :) One of the last things I did as general manager was to sign new contracts amounting to almost US$ 10 million. The next big thing was to take 5 weeks vacation. I flew to New York, rented a car and used 5 weeks to drive the long northern route over the continent to Los Angeles. That's another thing I recommend you do!

Be patient, pictures from the trip will come soon.

"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse."
[Isaac Asimov]

Skype

2004-06-26T13:03:00.000+02:00

Try Skype if you want to test free phone over the Internet. Skype uses P2P (peer-to-peer) technology to connect you to other users – not to share files this time, but to talk and chat with your friends.

"I received your letter of June 10th. I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist."
[Albert Einstein to Guy H. Raner Jr, July 2, 1945, responding to a rumor that a Jesuit priest had caused Einstein to convert from atheism. Article by Michael R. Gilmore in Skeptic magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1997]

Two to the 100th Power

2004-06-23T07:38:00.000+02:00

Are you the curious type, like to explore the world around you to get a better grasp of reality? Well, proves you are human, most of us strive to find answers and understanding. Here's a challenge for you, a simple question to understand two to the 100th power.

Enjoy (and next challenge your friends!).

"We are not endeavoring to chain the future but to free the present. ...We are the advocates of inquiry, investigation, and thought. ...It is grander to think and investigate for yourself than to repeat a creed. ... I look for the day when reason, throned upon the world's brains, shall be the King of Kings and the God of Gods."
[Robert G. Ingersoll, "The Gods" 1872]

Internet Relay Chat

2004-05-15T23:34:00.000+02:00

If you have ever IRC'ed, you will have a blast reading QDB's Top 100 Quotes. If you don't know IRC it will not make much sense.

I met a lot of great people on IRC, like Daniel, Peter, Marilia, Jordana, Wenda, Kirsten, and many more. We all met at #Valhall. Some years ago I had to stop, IRC just took too much time (usually nights) and other things in life needed my attention. Drop by now and again, my nick is Spirous. Maybe we'll chat? :)

#99835 +(4200)- [X]

<Guo_Si> Hey, you know what sucks?
<TheXPhial> vaccuums
<Guo_Si> Hey, you know what sucks in a metaphorical sense?
<TheXPhial> black holes
<Guo_Si> Hey, you know what just isn't cool?
<TheXPhial> lava?

[bash.org]

Don't just forward it - think!

2003-07-31T18:11:00.000+02:00

Can all of you please read this Warning? It would make some things a lot easier and reveal me of some frustration on your behalf. Thank you All.

Comfort level

2003-07-27T00:32:00.000+02:00

I have the luxury of having a job that I really like a lot, I get to realise a lot of my potential and meet a lot of very gifted and interesting people. How I ended up in such a remarkable situation is to me interesting. There is a good portion of circumstance, of course. I do work hard, my Norwegian nature makes me always think all others are better (even though I am very satisfied with who I am), so I overcompensate by working hard and a lot. I am also very loyal, so while others who might be smarter and better give up, I stay on because I believe in what we do and always think there will come better times. It is amazing to see the "survival of the fittest" work in our daily life. Not as who is strongest, but who is best fitted for the situation we are thrown into. I'm not the smartest or the best, but I fitted well into the situations I was thrown into.

My brain can not alone grasp the impact millions and billions of earth years can have on the development of microbes. Life is a mystery to humans because what we try to analyse with is the same we want to analyse. Still I have no problem accepting life evolves, like we see so clearly in our own societies and even in ourselves. Life is organisms with the ability to clone itself only almost identical. Of 1000 differences offspring 1 might have an advantage. Or one of 1 billion. The phenomenon is proven fact and nobody can today dispute evolution. What creates a problem for some humans is their inability to think very many steps and to understand what millions and billions of years actually means. To them it is impossible that a simple prehistoric amoeba could ever give birth to a horse - so an amoeba could not have developed into a horse. And of course they are right; an amoeba can not give birth to a horse.

Their problem is that they are trying to add X with Y and the reason why they don't see why the result is Z is because they do not understand neither X or Y.

I've had some great experiences in my work lately. Things are happening that I like. Now I just need to sort out the issues that makes me work too much, and get a life... Hopefully the changes that are coming will make that happen. I hope. The problem is that people like me just find new things that can keep us occupied. :)

Well, at least I am a very happy guy and I not complaining. I'm only troubled by a missing piece of my heart. Maybe I one day will get it back or someone helps me repair it. But if all only loved we would only get a lot of almost perfect clones and no social progress. So society also needs guys like me who don't just breed, but gives everything for work etc. ;)

Well, at least that idea gives me some comfort.......

"We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestrial creatures; because the earth never froze entirely during an ice age; because a small and tenuous species, arising in Africa a quarter of a million years ago, has managed, so far, to survive by hook and by crook. We may yearn for a 'higher' answer---but none exists."
[Stephen Jay Gould, quoted in "2000 Years of Disbelief, Famous People with the Courage to Doubt", by James A. Haught, Prometheus Books, 1996]

Y tu mamá también

2003-07-11T15:11:00.000+02:00

In a galaxy far, far away, there is a clear, clear message for us.

Old and erratic

2003-07-08T17:27:00.000+02:00

I started a web journal back in 1995 and you can see it here: Spirous' Journal ...

It should have been called Spirous' Erratic Journal...

Why is all?

2003-07-07T13:37:00.000+02:00

Monday morning blues. I got sand in my eyes and a heartbeat. Nothing black coffee and extract of raw ginseng can't cure. I work too much, left the office 01:00 last night and was back at 08:00. Becoming a hermit I'm afraid, but that's the price you have to pay when you are addicted to your work and interests, in addition to enjoying your own company a lot. I am often alone but never lonely.

The meaning of It All is a favourite subject my mind likes to play with. Without asking if it is the right time or place, my mind just troughs it in and expects me to play around with it. I usually find it hard not to. The simple answer is; if it triggers some reaction and emotions in you, then it has "meaning". I don't like the word "meaning", it implies a higher cause, a better word is "value" or "effect". If it has value to or effect on you then you have a reason to do it. To me personally death for example has no meaning, it's just a logical and natural result of life. Life on the other hand is a series of impression that influences me to feel every emotion from agonising frustration to blind love. Do I want to bang my head against the wall now and again? Off course! Can my emotions make me irrational at times? Absolutely. Am I in control? Not at all.

I (we have to talk about the definition of "I" another time) am a result of two things: The impressions my senses get and the limitations/ability of my brain to process them. That is my perception of the existence of "all". "All" is again two things; "I" and "all around me". One is meaningless without the other.

Damn I'm deep today!! Better stop before I write a book.

Hugs.

"The idea that a good God would send people to a burning Hell is utterly damnable to me. The ravings of insanity! Superstition gone to seed! I don't want to have anything to do with such a God. No avenging Jewish God, no satanic devil, no fiery hell is of any interest to me."
[Luther Burbank, address to Science League of San Francisco, Dec. 1924]

In the beginning...

2003-07-06T22:20:00.000+02:00

Let the writing begin!

There is something weird about the 'net as a phenomenon - somehow we are caught in the illusion that others might (or even should) be interested in all the weird things we do or think. We have all caught the publishing virus! So, here is my place under the sun, my private reality show, my platform from where I observe my local perspective.

Welcome dear friend and fellow citizen, it is with great delight I notice that you are reading this.