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The final hurdle seems to be the hardest too... 24 Jan 2010
stopping smoking, this last few weeks have been a nightmare with it, though I have made some progress because I have cut right down, stopped smoking in the home apart from the kitchen, so the place smells better, feels better.
Just need to now stop in the home altogether, meaning other people too, soon as I stop, they do!
But, while I have made progress, it's that last bloody stretch that's driving me nuts.
I don't wanna have to start using alternative methods which while they may work, it's not really for me, there are many different ones, but I don't think it's a good idea to be putting focus on smoking, alternative or not...
I mean, instead or a real ciggy, use a false one...
I don't want to be faking it, really!
Can't see myself being comfortable doing that and even if so, how long do you walk around using that for?
Just gotta stop!!
Not create an alternative to it, replacing bad habits with good ones is fine, what habit really makes a good one to replace
Saying, eat fruit, or whatever is fine... but it doesn't stop the baccy craving, or stop you sticking a smoke in ya mouth, which we can seem to do without even realising it...that's a habit alright!
I think I will have to get nicotine patches, at least to stop that craving, the other part, stopping times and situations where I usually smoke, is another awkward one, will have to do it.
I owe it to my kids and myself to stop this shit, and NOW!
So, that's the next thing for me really in the damn battle I will win... nicotine patches...change my situations where I tend to light up, though I have been cutting it right down to the few or even two a day on good ones, it's that last bit I am struggling with.
This week I'd like to stop altogether...let's see if I can do that!
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Good, Bad, whatever...speak up I can't hear you... 20 Jan 2010
What do you choose to see?
Isn't that the world we live in, one of choices, one of free will to decide for ourselves, what we do and what we believe?
We decide for ourselves ..to a point, the fact society is "moulding people" to "fit in" through various means, schooling, media, morals, peer pressure, all real examples you can relate to.
You know, it's depressing to look at any of the news because that's what they do, dumb em down and spread fear, just how the establishment like it, genuine bad news is understandably reported about, the earthquake recently for example, but on the whole it's all manipulated depressing roof-is-caving-in-crap!
It's nearly all propaganda crap, designed to create a mass fear.
The way things work is now shifting though with more people starting to use real time media to get facts and stories direct without being filtered as such like it is for mainstream and that's also changing the way people are influenced, by what they choose to see, where they choose to look for that information, how it changes they way they think about things, around them and elsewhere in the world.
Where is all the good news?
Good news? ... um, joking or what?
Seriously, why is there not a purely good news channel sharing what is uplifting with the world.
You could say we create that ourselves by choosing what we see online, if you ignore the TV, newspapers and only look at good things, uplifting news, whatever gees you up, inspiring writing, stories that motivate you.
Why put crap and depressing shit into your head in the first place?
Remember you almost never forget anything...you may think you do, but it's there, somewhere.
The internet really is changing the mass of thought out there in the world, collective conscience is changing... the establishment have manipulated that collective conscience for so long and now they are losing that grip.
You could almost compare it to the social change of the 60's... that was a massive collective conscience change too, it changed society as a whole.
Now it's our turn to change society, collectively.
Right in front of you, is a fantastic tool... you can't underestimate what it can do for you, those around you and indeed people all over the world.
Because of it, YOU are the media...
The responsibility of the media falls down all of us now, not the establishment, we collectively have more reach and therefore more power and responsibility with it, we are already unleashing it.
The modern generation take all this for granted and are less influenced by the mainstream than my own and older generations, we had a TV with 4 channels! (can remember it being less than that) and the usual crappy newspapers, telling us what they wanted us to know.
Now there is a massive range of choice, so many channels vying for your attention and the chance to influence they way you think, see things, act and influence others.
Make your time they desperately grasp for worth your while and be picky, picky in what you see and therefore share, but overall as with the old saying, "don't believe all you read" mum was so fond of, it still matters, yet...
That's the real power in your hands, the reach from what you share, the recent "rage against the machine" being No 1 in the UK charts being a great example, another is the more recent "bra colour" viral status campaign on facebook, they were just ideas, "was it possible to do this?" and that is the internet, a field of possibility, or a factory of them.
You never had the opportunity to spread things like that before, nor so fast, use it wisely, you have more influence than you realise, even if it is just a status, or tweet!
Share your voice, loudly, it's unique and valuable.
Consider why you read some books, blogs, profiles, whatever, usually it because of the voice behind it, not the person as such, but what they say and the way they say it, it's their voice (written voice) that usually grabs you, for whatever reason, fun, witty, sarcastic, rude, or just plain old nice and easy reading.
I see some people who write some great status's and tweets and yet they have no other platform like a blog or such which I think is a shame, they could probably build a great blog audience.
You know, you can have as much as 100 readers a day on your blogger blog after a few weeks and yet though 100 is not a massive deal you still have some influence, depends who reads it, shares it, only takes one tweet, blog link, status shared from one of these readers to explode the growth of your audience and again your possible reach to new readers.
You already say and share more than you think... what may be nothing to you could be a huge thing to another...and you'd never even know it.
So, why aren't you sharing it with the world?
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Stop wishing your life away? 10 Sep 2009
Life and it's nuances with issues, problems and even pleasures make every one our lives different, it makes our life path unique. Life is itself unique in that sense. Unique but also fragile.
The pace of life these days is scary, everyone seems to be in a constant rush, everyone seems to "wish their time away" and it's plain to see when so many moan about the J.O.B on the social sites and collectively wish for the weekend to "hurry up and get here" so they can have...fun?
Life is SHORT people.
If someone is in the position of wishing their week away (5 days) to enjoy their weekends (2 days)...something is wrong!
If that sounds like you or someone you know then the best thing you can do is change it...
They say you "work to live not live to work" and yes that seems to fit with people saying roll on the weekend... but you don't just live at the weekend and if you wish your weeks away to get to the weekend you need to address it, if it is because you don't enjoy your work, do something about it, change it.
This is the reason those who work online say everyday is like the weekend, they likely do this at the weekend too.
Doing something you enjoy is not work.
Everyone has something unique to give to the world and that is what you should do, you owe it to the world to do your best at what you are best at.
Not everyone will even know what they are really best at, nor will they care, they may be happy just doing their J.O.B. if so, that's ok but will you still feel that way when you retire?
Will you wonder?
What if?
Those who do what they are great at look forward to Mondays as much as the weekend.
Your working years are a huge chunk of your life, make the most of it and do what fires you up.
Any thoughts?
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September...a time of change 30 Aug 2009
Some things are just not meant to be the way you
expect want them to be...and summer here is no different.
End of august and I see people
moaning saying "chilly now, got the heating on" on the social sites!
Talk about damn good timing. :o)
Wanna make money in simple terms, best start betting on that timing more often, it happens alot, look at sports and stuff to see it's true, like rain on wimbledon...usually a cert it will rain hard at least ONE day...yet it didn't really happen this year because of that roof, you could have laid money it wasn't gonna bloody rain hard this year!
Sods law isn't it? ;o)
There's money in that sods law there!
I digress...
September soon, I always felt it was a time of change, a sense of the start of the real year, must be from that upbringing of school new years, the nights drawing in and getting the coat out, the school starts mean...winter won't be long!
(yes, that too...short winter please) ;o)
Is the year flying by or...??
Sorry I know most don't want to hear it, but Christmas will be here in no time, then new year!!...
How will you be looking back on this year?
We still have a few months to make choices and take actions on influencing that outcome, well some do...
For most it's been a crappy year with the economy and such, but no where near as bad as the media made out at the time, even now they are already changing their tune..."green-shoots and shit" (bollox) but it sells papers!
It don't hide the truth of matter though, it's a crap situation for everyone, the whole stupidity and greed of the banks and such, the incompetence of the
thieving expense pilfering government.
It is a sad state of affairs when our government has lumbered the younger generation with a massive debt and shit start to working life without them having the means to pay that debt (money
robbed borrowedon the never never by the banks) with no work!
Looking on the brighter side of things, we have had a decent-ish summer here this year after a very nice spring. So, cold winter I bet! ;o)
Autumn first, a nice time of the year, nice skies at dusk, shooting stars, red leaves and almost a constant breeze!
I got plenty to sort out this Autumn and looking forward to doing so too, a great time to take plenty of photo's as well.
Hows the year shaped up so far for you?
Are ya looking forward to the kids getting back to school, or dare I ask!? :o)
Does Sept feel like a time of change to you?
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If you lost your job, that's good... 9 Aug 2009
Even if only for the ...
Everywhere you look and nowhere to be found... Depending entirely on your perspective!
Sad to see quite a few of my friends losing their jobs recently, and having been in that position myself a few times I know how demoralising shit it can be, although in some ways it can be a godsend, a push for change, improvement and growth in other areas.
So it can be good you get that opportunity!
I am annoyed a little at the fact my own eldest son has just left school and the economy is crap, leaving him with far less opportunity...Timing!
It happens though, and I don't doubt for one minute it will happen in another 20 years time when my grandchildren leave school.
They say nowadays people will have had an average of 14 jobs by the age of 38! I am 37... and yeah I have had about that many! ;o)
My generation had a harsh start to the reality of "job security" crap with the pulling out of the ERM almost 20 years ago!! (Was it really that long ago?) Which led to alot of us being laid off almost as soon as we qualified at our trades. It happened to us in the stone industry and we were told these job were for life, indeed many of the older masons had been there for life.
Some damn "job for life" that turned to be... and yet what a blessing it was too, because they don't really exist! :o)
Although it is a crap thing losing your job, and I have felt down after being there a few times, my best lesson learnt was, that the first thing to do is to simply... get over it.
Now I don't mean that in any harsh way and I know with families to feed etc it's not that simple... yet I say that because experience tells us once we stop looking at it a certain way, we gain in another way.
Like people advise with relationships... "never mind, you'll get over it, plenty of fish in the sea"... (except there aren't right now! lol...blame the fishermen!)
The point is, we need that change at times and if we don't get "forced" into it, we don't have the opportunities that arise and we settle for what is. That's something people often regret later in life, so it's all good whenever crap happens... obviously losing a job is not like losing a member of your family, perspective on it all does help.
I hope those friends who have lost work recently see plenty of opportunities around them to take advantage of and there are opportunities out there for every one of us, if we look carefully enough. :o)
Really ask yourself what opportunities you can utilise your skillset or knowledge with....or FOLLOW the damn dream you have had so long... whatever it is.
Every coin has two sides and all that jazz. Look for the biggest and best positives around you... don't dwell on the negative.
I may not hear as good as you, but you sure as shit can't lipread a pretty face on the other side of the room like I
do can!
Labels: general, job, life, personal
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The pace of life... 1 Aug 2009
... funny thing isn't it?
Looking at how many changes we have had in the last 30 years and how everything seems to be speeding up, not just because life speeds as we age but in general, technology and science itself is progressing at a rate we could not have imagined 30 years ago.
So, to think of the next 30 years and how life will shape up for the generations below us can seem a bit crazy to most of us, we don't really know how it will go, it reminds me of watching tomorrows world in my childhood, or star trek!
I saw something posted on someone's blog, it is in some ways quite a shocking yet amazing video, it made me think about the growth of things and how things will be in the future for our grandchildren and so on.
Any thoughts on that?
Labels: general, life, people, thoughts
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Yep, blogging is dead... 30 Jun 2009
Blogging is dead?? Really... ok.
/delete... :o)
Seems to be the thing going around lately, not that I agree with it at all, they are changing maybe, evolving, adapting, growing but certainly not dying!
Why do people email or DM via twitter asking if it's true?
"Is lifestreaming, twitter killing blogs?"
"Do I start streaming and delete my blog or just leave it up?"
"It's what **** and **** is doing, so it must be true?"
WTF?? Are you serious, really?
Will my answer or anyone else's answer influence it?
If it would, then you need to get out of that mindset fast, because that's destructive to you.
The only person who can kill blogging for you, is you.
The naysayers and doom mongers are always looking to stir shit like this, that's what they do. ;o)
If you insist on listening to others and taking it as gospel you will never get far with progress anyway because no-one has all the answers and they never will, as I have said before it's all trial and error, no way to escape that.
Jumping from one thing to another is no way to go forward really.
What you should have been asking me is ...
"Is lifestreaming worth doing and if so why?"
"Can it help me with my blog or site, or presence?"
"Can't I do both and should I?"
Are they more sensible ones to ask?
Then the magic ingredient is you make your own mind up after you look at it realistically.
Does it fit with what you do now?
Can it improve things?
Then deciding if it will be worth doing, then testing it, judging it by your OWN results.
Not take what some people say as gospel and steadfastly do what they say. That's the route to nowhere.
I am not going to stop blogging, far from it. :o)
Labels: blogging, life, thoughts
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Portland Bill's lighthouse, as it's not usually seen 22 Jun 2009
Been a few days since my last post, had a busy time, a good weekend seeing friends and one in particular, well she was more than a friend at one time and that was a long time ago ... 17, 18 years or something.
All made possible because of facebook, getting us all in contact again and it was great to visit old haunts with the friends again, Portland has changed a fair bit since she was last here.
On the sunday we and a couple of friends went for a walkabouts down to Portland bill and had some dinner, the weather was nice to us too!
Managed to get a nice picture of the lighthouse from a different angle as you can see here. :o)
All in all a good weekend.
Labels: life, personal, portland bill
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Portland Bill, the place to spend hot summer days 14 Jun 2009
The sky looked great out there too ...
We get clouds looking like this a fair bit through the summer here, some really interesting patterns too.
Hope you have a nice weekend enjoying the sun ... making the most of it really as it's not exactly known for it here in the UK. lol!
Labels: life, pictures, portland bill
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Getting back to basics 30 May 2009
Sounds simple enough doesn't it?
So why do we seem to complicate everything to get to the point of needing to say..."gotta get back to basics"? Been pondering over this the last few days, indecently of which I haven't been "myself" some would say and I would tend to agree with them, glad it happened though as with everything, we learn something if we choose to... ;o) It all stemmed from one simple question that kept bothering me... What do I really want?
After asking myself that for two days and spinning my wheels not really knowing what I wanted, just "thinking" I would know... I realised...
I had a word wrong in the question, of which changes things dramatically... for the simple reason it effects everything else.
I should be asking myself...
What do I really need?
The italics just for emphasis on the words could be read as intent... ;o)
Changes thing a bit now eh?
From "ego" to "I" and as soon as realised the real question I should ask my mindset shifted which in turn changed how I felt too.
One word made all that difference.
Pondering on the right question suddenly made me aware that what I need gives me what I want.
I don't want much, nor do I really need much.
How about you?
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Chain of life 24 May 2009
Life is starting to feel like a strange chain of links, the links being the relationships between us as people, relationship between events, things, actions, how these things link together to effect us in certain ways which in turn effect the links themselves.
We strengthen or weaken them.
We all have relationships and can relate to everyone else having them etc, family, friends, work mates, all these things we constantly influence and work on. Most of the time people influence these links without thinking about them first, nor do they consider the real effects of the choices, actions they take.
Something I have learned the hard way is this...you know who your mates are when life is shit and you are down, IE when you need them most.
You know more of peoples truth by their actions rather than their words, IE the world is full of hypocrites.
So do we choose carefully enough?
Does the parent know the effect of telling a little white lie to their children early in life has on things later in their lives?
(How many doubts will be thrown up for them later in life on all the things they were unsure of earlier in life, things the parents say, once they know you started lying way back when...)
Does the boss know the overall effect of telling one "low ranked" worker that they are just a cog?
(Who else will that worker tell and will they want to work so hard?)
Does the man who slaps his wife in front of the kids consider the effects on the children's later life and their relationships with their own wives, and children?
(Do they realise the continuous loop they strengthen?)
Does the person who has a fling while their partner looks after the kids really consider the effects on these links?
(The links between the partner and kids, them and the partner, them and the kids, the between the kids themselves?)
Every chain has weak links...
Do we know when to break the weakest links?
Do we consider the effects of breaking them?
On ourselves, others and also those connected to them, you?
Do you want a strong chain or a shitty little weak one?
Cut the weak ones and work on the strong ones.
Trust, respect is what strengthens the links.
I don't want weak links that take away from me being able to strengthen the stronger ones.
I want to strengthen my relationship with my kids, the family members who matter, the friends who matter, the things I do I will consider more.
The weak links will break.
There are links I would like to build, (not sure I ain't to be single forever ya know, though I wont be second fiddle neither!) others I will cut away, if you feel I have cut you off, maybe you ought to ask why I would do that?.
New links appear all the time.
How about you? Have you considered the links of your chain?
Labels: general, life, thoughts
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Commons speaker Micheal Martin is OUT but... 19 May 2009
... is it all smoke and mirrors...
I'll say no more about this crap because while some people "get it" some don't.
My last post, which was a one off shouldn't have happened really, in a way I also fell for the smoke and mirrors.
UK government is corrupt to the core.
Normal blogging will resume here! :o)
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MP's make me PUKE... 17 May 2009
Time for change!
...not the hyped crap of "hope" that worked so well for the USA, hope is by definition something you never quite achieve, else what would you "hope" for?
Hope is.. "I'd like that, but it's unlikely to happen" (...keep hoping!)
Britain is supposed to lead the way with this shit called "politics" or "democracy" and do it to our supposedly core values of being tolerant, being fair, with honesty, decency, and best for everyone involved...
Does that sound like what OUR MP's run the UK with?
Does that sound like that arrogant idiot speaker who wasted £100,000 of YOUR money trying to make sure YOU never found out how some "greedy, insensitive, irresponsible, fiddling, lying" MP's abused YOUR money. The "some" to me is VERY debatable too but nevertheless there are bound to be some good MP's.
We need ...
REAL change, not the hyped crap "new" labour hoodwinked the (gullible) voters with so effectively... IE..."our "new" meaning we WILL screw over the "working class" we used to base our values on, those who built us up to where we are, without them realising it till it's too late"... (-IE- about NOW)
Hence the "we won't raise income tax" to the public while creating many new taxes in the background to be sure we are worse off ...
One lie leads to many others, they lied at the start... do I really need explain ALL the lies? I will be here for a month!!!
Forget it, they ALL lie...
If you have VOTED for a party, you ARE gullible, but let me have a chance to say why...
They are all shit!
That make sense?
Good ...
My local MP didn't like some "comments" being posted on his facebook page, so he blocked those of us who voiced our thoughts and opinions, yeah...free speech and all that right?
How dare us... shame on us, he only wants to listen to the "yes" on his constituency... else he wouldn't have blocked us, we ARE part of it, he represents US remember... free speech again... what happened to THAT? Oh yeah, he has an agenda, a party agenda.
Course, I got a blog... lol! :o)
Lets see what REAL change could be and do for us, because it HAS to happen...cos that shower of shite and the system they FORCE us to live in doesn't work. FULL STOP!
Note, NOT "labour doesn't work" as was famously used years ago, which is STILL true, but THE whole lot doesn't work. (So the labour luvvies, don't bother, accept it, your party is crap, as are the rest, they LIED, wake up)
The first REAL change has to be the NEW vote of NO confidence.
At present you choose between the branches of the same power and system, believe it, whether you vote one of the big three, or green, whatever they are all branches of the same power base behind it, working to manipulate and control every direction of our lives.
Forget about em... but if you don't vote, what happens at the moment, if everyone chose to not vote? Somehow they have set it up so THEY, meaning the behind the scene power base still run things, something I can't seem to get the idiots who tell me I WASTE my vote by NOT voting understand.
Well... I would waste MY time voting for something as corrupt as that shower of shite and that is me voting for something I don't believe in.
Do I look THAT dumb, dishonest?
But I DO want MY vote!
Make a new vote for "NO confidence" meaning for ALL parties, that means you are VOTING to CHANGE the SYSTEM, they all lose the option and we have to make change, we take OUR rights and power back from the few manipulating bastards already ruining it for their own means, at OUR expense!
What kind of change we might ask...
We demand a law for the new "no confidence" vote for a start...
WE make the majority a "no confidence" by action... therefore we scrap the lot of them by VOTING them all out, that's REAL democracy. :o)
We change the system so it never happens again, we don't have to completely destroy things so much in one go, just make the change and work at it as fast and effectively as possible for the good of everyone and to the best of our collective ability.
Now I don't know or claim to know how it all works, all I know is it isn't working...taxes are wasted and stolen IMO and responsibility gets sidetracked to the "never never" office. I know that the further up the chain the messier it gets. Listen to them idiots in commons debate... pathetic... "right honourable member of the house"... bah makes me puke. Utter drivel. GET on with it! ... Better yet GET OUT!
I think the way forward is like this...
We elect local representatives who the locals feel best to represent them and their local issues in an honest and fair way and NOT tied to any "pre-set agenda" which is forced onto us.
The local representatives collectively represent the counties, with another elected person to represent the counties in national issues, then a national representative to represent UK in Europe and World affairs etc.
Simple.. right?
Bit like it already is but without ties to an overall party, without the POLITICS and bullshit of it all.
Not MP's - Must procrastinate.
But LR's - Local representatives.
And CR's - County representatives.
Then NR's - National representatives.
Now here is the difference for me... we don't have them idiots like MP's, or even some of those in the local councils "deciding what we should be deciding on."
The difference is you are NOT voting for what a party "thinks is best for us" but voting for someone to represent our own local issues in order to deal with them regardless of anything else, so we sort the issues at hand, the ones that effect our immediate circle in our everyday lives and do it when it matters most, no piss fart arsing around with crap to delay everything and milk the monetary side of it as they do, and having to go further up the chain, and again and again till we get to some what's-his-name-lazy-arsed political yet uncaring outsider to decide.
The system as it is is set up in such a sly way that NO-one is directly accountable yet ONE person really makes the last and all to biased choice overriding whatever went before, whatever the detractors and whatnots want to say to me about all this...I don't care!
I don't give a shit when you snobby shallow people say "I don't know nothing about it because I am a commoner and never been involved in it, never seen it first hand and these people are doing a great job and blah blah bloody blah"
Get over yourselves. they have you suckered and you swallowed the "blue pill" all to easy.
We should be VOTING on everything. With the digital age to utilise there is no reason we can't have better faster solutions to our local issues.
Nothing is so hard we can't vote ourselves on them, using digital means and printable PDF's with questions and such for us to voice our thoughts etc, once every three months, which means 4 times a year we DO get a say in matters that matter to us locally and acted on as fast as possible.
Then we get a once a year vote and such on bigger national issues.
Every change, every need, then acting on it to the best we can do collectively within our means... not paying them idiots to sort things out and yet still make a mess of it and watching our money get wasted, we should just ACT as fast and effectively as possible for the overall good for everyone....case in point locally... the brown route!
We pay so much in taxes, income, road, council, VAT etc we get VERY little real value for our money, they are all used and abused to line the wrong peoples pockets and that doesn't just mean those in power...it's those they "filter" it out to in forms of contracts etc...
The gravy train has to stop. We fuel it, we can stop it.
Listen up, this expenses crap going on. You greedy hypocritical bastards!
Those who said they are low paid in relation to real business etc. BOLLOCKS - If you can't "get by" or "survive" on a grand a week....you live in a fantasy-land!
And they get MORE than a grand a week, everyone of them, so 650 odd grand minimum a week in wages, we pay them!
If you "need" more than a grand to "live on" you are a greedy and living a materialistic, wasteful lifestyle and leading a very bad example to those you represent which can lead to resentment.
Having expenses to do some areas of your work is fine, taking the piss is NOT. But if you are going to take claims for everything just where do you spend your very over generous wages?
Or are you all getting richer every year due to being able to save so much of it?
You make me puke!
I see NO reason any MP can't live on what they do and use the MINIMAL expenses required to actually DO the job and have a damn reasonable lifestyle. (one MP has done just that.)
You just want it all cos you are greedy and abuse the power you have allowing you to do these things on the sly for so long.
Someone said rightly the only really honest person to ever go into that house on the Thames was "guy fawkes".
I believe you who have abused it should be arrested AND tried for fraud... anyone else would be?
If that doesn't happen it proves to EVERYONE there IS one law for some and one law for everyone else. Squeaky bum time for the lot of you...at least it damn well should be.
Pathetic is the fact with have idiots making the laws and some of them as been exposed even exploit it to change laws for money!
Scrap lords too.
You really need to understand the true depth of anger with the public and how you have blatantly taken the piss out of THEM for so long and will continue to do so unless WE do something about it.
That means seeing the back of you and out of the doors to make way for real people who care about real local issues that will deal with these things in the manner they should be dealt with.
Time to stop wasting so much of our money,
Save more of what we have and stop throwing money at crap!
Scrap what we pay to the EU for a start!
Scrap half of the civil servants out there, they aren't needed, they are "labour bought votes" by way of job security.
Scrap the vast expenses people leach off the system like these MP's, the legal system and the way the legal eagles abuse legal aid.
Scrap the stupid amounts wasted in subsidies to farmers, landowners and such to grow NOTHING!
The way tax and such is set up is diabolical, a recipe to keep us trapped into this system and allowing our money to be wasted and squandered on meaningless quangos and crap like "outreach" jobs!
What value does a worker really get out of his efforts?
Very little if you are honest and consider it all as it gets taxed. We get taxed over and over again on the same money, that is PURE greed and "theft of value" in my eyes.
An idea would be...
Income tax should be pegged at say 12.5% for EVERYONE earning over £5000 and under £52,000 a year, also the rate should be pegged at 15% for those earning over £52.000 a year. Those Earning less than £5000 a year pay no income tax.
Income tax should be used ONLY on hospitals, policing, fire-service, etc, these things we need to have running country wide and at a level of competence that is also country wide, providing real value from the cost.
Other national things like postal service have a difference in that they are also able raise own running funds and income by sales etc.
Our other tax should be a local tax for local issues to be dealt with by locals, a self growing and self maintaining system. Each locality should be able to self decide what cost and expenses are needed to deal with the issues at hand locally, therefore collecting what's needed, rather than what they set regardless and when it is needed so as to act.
Like a new council tax? Is that what I mean?
Not really, cos that was a balls up from the start.
Nothing like the way council tax is raised and used or wasted the way it is now.
A new kind of "town" tax, and another smaller amount paid called "county" tax maybe. If you say that everyone earning money regardless of amount has to pay 5% on their income as "town tax" and another 2.5% as their "county tax" which would be 7.5% for everyone regardless of wage amount, meaning those earning under $5000 a year.
So those earning over £5,000 and under $52,000 a year would be paying in total 20% tax a year.
Those earning over £52,000 a year would be paying a total of 22.5% tax.
V.A.T... scrap it... it's theft!
The road tax system should be spent entirely on the roads and safety system but a fair price to reflect the real cost spent on what's needed.
It should be a stepped price on only vehicle type like it used to be. IE- cars, bikes, vans, lorries etc.
Drug tax should be set at a price too, like drink, cigarettes etc, but a fair price and all tax from this should go into getting people off the shit! :o)
The truth is, YOU have the power but they don't let you use it the way it would really benefit your life and your locality.
There is so much WE can make right IF we are allowed to do it the way we feel is best for us and not how "they" want it to be done.
But it takes a whole system change and that means getting RID of the system as it is and developing a new way to live and govern our lives.
The current system is OUTDATED and a failure.
Labels: general, life, thoughts
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The invisible thread? 12 May 2009
Well it has been an interesting few days for me, as you know from a previous post I have been feeling a little "lost" and yes the midlife crisis really did cross my mind! I felt like I had really come to what the picture shows... a dead end.
So I am typing this without really thinking about it to much, I wasn't going to write this but after the last two days events felt it best I should... I am not sure of how I can explain it or work it out, but I will try, so you will have to forgive anything that sounds confusing or crazy... ;o)
Comments are welcome... I am just going to be true to myself and stick to that, it may get long, may not....
It has been going on for a few weeks really, but thinking about it now and looking back all I see is synchronicity. It had me explaining that word and meaning to my youngest which he found intriguing. Even while explaining it to him I found myself noticing other moments of which I had which I realised were synchronicitic too. Some of my friends on facebook will have seen some of this happen over the last few weeks via some of the links and conversations we have had there.
Friday I really decluttered my home to the point that on friday night when my youngest got here he thought I had an emptyish living room!
Felt good to get cleared out, it helped clear my mind a little, as they say it is all in the mind and the "outside" is a reflection of the "within" so my need to clear the mind started me off decluttering within and lead to me decluttering the "out" which was not planned on friday, just felt had to do it so did it. Am I glad I did.
Just the notion of doing that and letting it go set me free of the messy thoughts and confusion enough to make more sense of it all, to put it all in perspective so to speak.
My youngest wanted to go home saturday early evening so he could go out on sunday with mum, her fella and their little son, my eldest as ever out with mates or his girlfriend! (young love eh). So I had an easy relaxing saturday night, sunday was spent lazing about as well as going out for a walkabout with my dutiful obedient camera. ;o)
But before I get to the odd events of this last weekend...
On facebook about two weeks ago now I shared on there an ebook link which I stumbled onto, no idea how I found it, I just clicked a link somewhere and was on page one of the book and started reading it...I never stopped until it was finished. When I looked at who wrote it I was surprised to see it mirrored the same thing which happened in 96 or 97..with the same author, in much the same way, ie..I stumbled onto them both unknowingly and unintentionally and just read them.
The first time in 96, 97, (not sure what year it was) I read a paperback, no idea where it came from, what it was called, where it went, nothing, I all I remember is reading it and thinking, wow, what? I never saw that book again!
While I read that and took it on board, enough to make my own conclusions but not dwell on it, I had life to deal with having two young sons at this time so I soon thought no more of it. Until the ebook reminded me of it more than ten years later!
Funnily enough, on the facebook post where I shared this, I mentioned that since I finished the ebook I had a humming in my head, now I already have tinnitus but it's was slightly different to that and felt warmer, nicer, calmer, more of a buzz than anything...my friends there would testify to me saying this, remember this was a few weeks ago too and it had not stopped for a few days after I mentioned it, so in all about 6 days I had that warm humming feeling.
I missed it the second day after it stopped to be honest lol... :o)
Then the weekend before this last one, me and my youngest were bored on the saturday night, so we decided to watch a dvd and we chose "The matrix", which we had seen before but not together, so glad we did as so many questions for each of us were answered, by explaining points to my youngest I was also learning far more of the bigger picture of the reality we live.
Matrix = system. My sons knows what "I" mean by the system...
Our system to me is law, religion, education, politics, global businesses, mainstream media, all under the power and influence of Freemason societies. (not machines in the metal sense as on matrix, machines as in power and control sense)
By the end of the film which also explains very clearly the core of the content of the two books I read as mentioned earlier my youngest said...
"So are we all Neo?" BINGO! I was pleased to hear that I tell you. :o)
Now if only more of us knew of this sort of thing at 14, 15 years old and that's 20 years ago or more for many of us. :o)
After that weekend I was "chatting" via email to one of my mates who I respect hugely and trust, I listen to what he says every time because he tells it as it is and spots things I miss, and I think likewise he also knows I will tell it as it is but more often than not we agree. ;o)
In the general "hows things?" conversation I mentioned what me and my youngest had been watching and we chatted some about the bigger picture and he said something which struck me.
You know I haven't watched the matrix yet. I guess I'm anti Hollywood. I must watch it some day. Good to hear you are sharing those type of things with your son.
I'm currently reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged which is different, but similar. It's a big book!
In that ebook I read which I mentioned earlier (also a few weeks before this email remember), there is a mention of the book "Atlas shrugged"... not only that, the book I read over ten years ago has all the old names mentioned in the matrix, they are again mentioned in the ebook I read a few weeks ago.
My mate than said something in reference to a comment I made about all this swineflu hoopla... which I agree 100% with...yet is also says alot about how the system works with mass fear and mass manipulation...
Swine flu? Pah. Storm in a teacup. not worth worrying about unless it starts threatening us. But whatever you perceive it to be (Personally I go with the conspiracy theory - man-made virus (that is never going to do any real damage) foisted on poor Mexicans in order to make all the lemmings shit themselves so they forget about the henious financial crimes recently and currently committed against taxpayers) there are bound to be lessons for us to learn.
Sadly, the main lesson I have learnt is that -
The more you study marketing/persuasion/psychology - you might get wealthy from it, but it will make you feel very alone amongst the human race because 90% plus of people are living in a dream world and are so easily influenced by bullshit and fear that they are manipulated EVERY step of the way...that TV thing is really dangerous...I hope this comes across the right way, but perhaps this is one way that you can view your bad fortune as good fortune - meaning - you might be less inclined to sit in front of a TV if you can't hear it.
I don't know - perhaps you will tell me different? But you're definitely not one of those typical lemmings. And the WORST part of it is that there is NO reasoning with them.
TV is the systems best tool....why I never watch it ;o)
Mass mind control in plain sight....they don't see it, it is hidden in plain sight...that description fits perfect!
Sadly most people are forced into a narrow-mindedness they don't even know they have, live with, think with. They literally DON'T think...
The powers that be are aware that people are happy for others to do their 'thinking' for them, so that they can repeat it like parrots while claiming ownership of the thoughts.
Just by reading something and thinking it you give it power, reality, by expanding on it by way of commenting with others etc, you further strengthen that thoughts transformation into reality, group thoughts project more of the reality...mass panic!
That is why the Internet is so powerful for you and me... it is a platform "they" have no control over, they cannot censor everyone sharing what they feel needs to be shared.
They also use this platform to manipulate, or at least they try, but the reality is YOU chose what you look at online everytime you look, providing you think for yourself that is ;o)
But he is right, start to think for yourself and see the bigger picture and you can find it a slightly lonely place. The Internet is the thing helping us to connect to others who think for themselves.
Then this last weekend a few odd things happened admittedly both of which stopped me in my tracks really, for a while anyway.
On twitter if anyone post something with your username ie mine is @robsellen it will show up in your replies tab for you to see regardless whether you follow the person or they follow you.
One such tweet sprung into my replies tab asking if I was there as you can see, from a famously known psychic person too, so I did reply to him and a few tweets were posted which were interesting as you can see here and here and he openly asked for my blog link after someone mentioned it, so he hadn't yet read it or anything.
So anyway, he went and had a look at the blog then posted a tweet saying it was falling into place. Well according to another psychic mercury has something to do with it too.
So what do I make of all this and what lessons are there for us?
Now as my mate mention studying marketing/persuasion/psychology earlier I of course will think, in some terms, of this way relating to all of this, I mean, Russell knows I will think for myself, so remembering there is a marketer in all of us, including Russell it would be easy to say.."ah well, he could have checked my twitter out etc and decided to do this"... maybe so, maybe not.
I don't think so, I think all this is genuinely connected.
I have not yet mentioned the ebook or author, I would like to know what you think about all this before doing so, maybe I will do that in the next post ;o)
What to make of that I am still wondering, but as Russell said...
"mine is not a reason to wonder".
Any thoughts on this?
Labels: life, personal, thoughts
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St Patricks day, 16 years ago today 17 Mar 2009
This handsome young man came into our lives, a day my life changed forever and for the better.
The day I became a dad!
He never made it easy for his mum either keeping her in labour two days!
I am proud of you J.
Happy birthday son, Love ya lots.... Dad x
To the rest of you, have a good St Patricks day.
Labels: general, life, personal
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Life it is then, the real essence of a blog 15 Mar 2009
Thanks to you all who helped me in the last post with the quick poll.
The results have not really surprised me but they have pleased me as I hoped it would be this
way, after all it's life that matters.
It's life that allows me to take things like this...
By choosing life to write about, any aspect like I said, I can add the other things just less and when relevant to do so which is ok really as it is part of life for me and no doubt it helps some who do appreciate reading it and that's opened the...
for me to write what I get passionate about whatever it relates to with life :o)
As I know and agree blogs on one sole topic, while good for SEO, get boring, it can get that way for the writer too as there are only so many things you can say about any given thing over time.
Hard to keep rolling out good content like that without becoming jaded in some way, in my opinion.
I can see the wood for the trees now...
Thank for helping me clarifying it and giving me the motivation to keep on doing it without the worry and fear of not pleasing everyone, after all that is impossible but I have at least now I know what I want to write about is going to be more likely what you want to read about. ;o)
Blogs were originally taken in this context, weblogs, "online diaries" written about life itself, but with the "microblogs" like twitter for that kind of "diary" style posting blogging about life topics needn't be like a diary at all.
Still great to see the real core essence of what a blog should be about being picked.
It was 80% choosing life, and the other 20% divided by the rest.
Labels: general, life, people, thoughts
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A fire, a clean slate and why it matters 3 Mar 2009
Glad to be here writing this...my pc blew up and this started a small fire inside the unit which thankfully didn't get worse as it could so easily have done so.
After that happened I realised a new pc was needed or at least whatever part it was that blew needed replacing, thankfully a friend (hat tip to you stu) helped me to get this sorted out and yet it was almost the whole thing was replaced inside, regarding the hard drive I lost everything on there apart from the back ups I had online and the few disc of things I had saved over the time.
I am annoyed at not backing up more often and although you have heard it before...don't forget the back ups! ;o)
Don't learn the hard way like some of us do, I have lost well over a thousand ebooks in one go!
As well as a lot of other stuff I had kept over the years.
Thankfully I did get slightly lucky.
In some ways I am glad it all happened now because it gave me a real scare and also galvanised me to avoid it happening again. It also got me clear on a few things in ways I didn't expect that I now know will be of massive benefit to me over time.
Immediately after knowing it was blown I thought...
"Damn, I have lost so much stuff on there, wtf am I gonna do now"
Well I grabbed an A4 pad and pen and with the realisation all I really needed to know was already in my head due to having been doing lots over the years and getting that experience as well as having read all them books I have lost, It's all there somewhere and I just need to extract what I can and do what I can with that.
I didn't have the bonus of firing up the pc and refreshing my memory and getting distracted with manner of other stuff.
The simple fact I approached it like I was actually starting from scratch got me thinking clear on what I really knew and where it fitted together and knowing the action needed to make it work for me, it really helped to make it sensibly achievable for me in reality, on paper!
We fixed my pc, replacing what we had to and I was lucky enough to be able to use my Hdrive as well as another old blank one I had, got back online with all new start for me, a clean slate.
Then I started to really look at the few folders Stu manged to save and moved to the other Hdrive, to my surprise I started funding folders with some saved things in them, ebooks, docs, etc, all manner of things I already accepted as being lost!
I feel lucky to have to now also found things I really thought were gone which just made it like a bonus. :o)
Nevertheless I had already started to really get into the frame of it being a good clean start and though I am lucky enough to have also sites and such up online to build upon I still feel like I am have a new start rather than losing what I had.
Taking the positive from it as an experience and learning from it.
Don't forget the back ups! :o)
Labels: general, life, personal
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Make your blog your Fantasy Island 14 Jan 2009
You get offered a chance to have an Island anywhere you want as your own for a year, you have the opportunity to live as you wish on your Fantasy Island as long as you blog about it.
You can have whatever and whomever you love live on the Island with you, the Island rules and standards are yours but you must blog about "life" as it is on the Island, you are creating your perfect life, your blog is the virtual Fantasy Island.
What do you choose?
How would you live?
Whats passions would you live with while there, the passions you would spend ALL your time doing if you could?
Bearing in mind you have to share your life with the world on your blog, does it reflect well on you?
Whats stopping you creating your own virtual Fantasy Island aka as a blog?
Getting started with a blog could be one of the best things you do online and is something you really should consider doing sooner than later and even more so if you have a passion worth blogging about, a passion that others share too.
Imagine living with that passion and creating an income from it, directly or indirectly, by this I mean you could earn directly via the blog or indirectly by creating your dream career using your passion.
The blog you create could be the launch pad to living the life you want to live.
It's not about the money, it's how money helps you live the life you want to live.
Create your Fantasy Island...Where will it be and what will you do?
Labels: blog, ideas, life, thoughts
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"Happy new year, same shit different day?" 1 Jan 2009
Happy new year!
While it is nice to see some of us can afford to relax!!
Most people are either nursing a sore head, tidying up a real after party mess or back to work!
Some of us now setting goals or if you like resolutions to achieve in 2009, starting today while that's ok I am not sure it's a good thing in some ways as it can also set you up for a bit of early disappointment depending on what it is, ie: give up smoking TODAY. (Failure tomorrow?)
So I am taking a slightly different route this year knowing it's going to be more beneficial to me over the short, medium and long term, but I will have goals but...
Instead of just setting goals, planning the action to take you forward to them goals then taking the action needed to reach them, most people get bogged down by "stuff" that creeps back into the normality after the new year optimism.
Daily slots.
I am setting daily slots of big action to avoid getting bogged down by the "stuff" normality brings us, you may have seen someone wearing a t' shirt proudly declaring...
"Same shit, different day!"
That is a truth for way too many of us! For far too many days!
I learnt a powerful lesson reading something Steve Jobs mentioned in a speech...(worth reading)
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
I have been saying that to myself for the last few months each morning and it has made a difference in a big way. I realise while it's ok to have goals as people do, such and such by 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc, it's the daily ones that matter the most as we are only here today, now.
Well for someone working online, that "stuff" that bogs you down is a time and money sucker, after all time is money.
That "stuff" is a distraction and can waste time we can't afford to waste.
That "stuff" is, for someone working online things like forums, social sites, twitter, facebook, etc reading blogs too much etc.
Two sides to it all
But there lies the rub, it is a double edged sword, as we need to do this "stuff" too in many cases, it is finding that balance to make it all worthwhile and fit together for the bigger picture.
If you are to "work" online you need to earn money, you can't do everything for nothing as it won't last, before long you don't even have an Internet connection!
Some will say "well you make the money in traffic and connections from these social sites, forums, blogs etc"...yes it's a part of that double edge sword as a sort of a marketing action.
But without something to sell, or earn from by way of service etc from that marketing action it is useless, because there is something fundamentally missing...
Buy me buttons!
Hire me buttons!
If, as I suspect will happen sometime somewhere given the current economy, someone is to say, "hmmm maybe there is something in this make money online lark"
They will need to grasp that simple fact!
For you to "get" money, you have to give them a way of giving you that money.
A value exchange.
So there you have it, my daily goal, increase what value I can give, and create more buttons to
allow the acceptance of money. :o)
See I am sick of these so called "people who know better" telling us what we should and shouldn't do, saying things like...
You shouldn't be "monetising" a blog, it's against our unwritten code of "ethical" blogging.
Should I highlight the most important bit there? I will, done.
Bugger off, do what ya like with your blog, I couldn't give a toss, THIS one is mine and I decide what goes here! :o)
Cheeky sods!
In any case...the truth is I don't want to "monetise my blog", I want to "monetise my time and business!"
That doesn't mean stopping using social sites etc, it means using my time to better effect, ALL the time, making daily slots of big action that gets results, IE helps me make money online.
That is my aim this year henceforth known as 2009!
The end of the "same shit different day" for me!
What goals and actions have you set yourself for 2009?
Labels: blogging, business, goals., life, make money online, personal, thoughts
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"101 Recession busting tips- free book" 22 Dec 2008
Just a few days away from Christmas and the new year...guessing you have all your preparation ready for the big day to enjoy with your families. :o)
I hope it it's a great Christmas for you and the family.
I also wish you all the best for 2009 which is almost here.
But lets' be honest here, after the new year starts life creeps back to... normal and a fair old chunk of us face the reality of the recession which is not a great start to the year, but as we all know recessions are cyclical so there is always light at the end of the...
What wont happen is staying put....we have to get through that tunnel!
Well I have good news which is this free book to help anyone with getting through the recession.
Got kids?
Double income in the home?
Own business?
Good stable job?
Just want to make changes?
Boss looking to shaky for your peace of mind?
About to lose it?
Just uncertain?
Whatever situation you are in whether one or all of the above, these 101 tips have something for all, something foreverybody.
It's not just all about...
Though money tips are there, saving money, improving your money management, making money, helping kids with money, money alone has it's own issues, depending on how you see it...
The recession will provide opportunity for those who see it, opportunity to change habits, create better understanding of the cycle for the next time it hits, as it certainly will.
For those who don't see opportunity, preparing for the end half of the recession is just as important as what you do now as we go into it, if only for the fact you can springboard yourself using built up leverage coming out of the recession, whether through saving a little, or starting a new venture, hobby, habits.
Use the tips, use the recession. :o) >> Beat the recession!
P.s No idea if the book will stay free, so grab it while you can. :o)
Labels: ebook, general, life, people, tips
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"Learning as you go, sharing as you learn" 9 Dec 2008
Wouldn't you say that is the best way to get to grips with anything you want to use, do, perfect?
Wouldn't you say that your experience with anything is 100% different to that of everyone else?
I agree... :o)
So in that case the more we share the more we all learn and faster too, never before has everyone had the opportunity on such a scale to "self educate" thus "self improve" which are really the same thing.
The only way to improve is educate yourself, learn, the only reason you learn is to improve. :o)
We do it anyway, life itself is a learning and growing experience but in the days of old we were limited in ways we could learn and the speed we could absorb and learn, so limited in growth of self.
Nowadays...hold your hats!
What about YOUR kids? The next generation?
I hated computers at school. they were the old BBC's, big clunky great things that had NO appeal to me whatsoever!
Now I can't get OFF the damn PC at times! :o)
The teachers were obviously older than us, but they were also of the old method of teaching, blackboards, chalk, so not actually tech savvy themselves, plus the computers were pretty primitive. :o)
For today's kids and tomorrows teachers, it's a whole new ballgame.
They will be far more involved with computers and such, so in theory kids of tomorrow will learn more and faster, but will they?
This huge advantage of multimedia as a way of learning and teaching should be harnessed as best as possible, but also about the right things.
All the potential due to the Internet!
The biggest value for me is it has allowed me to self educate at my pace and on what I wanted to learn about...as many books as I can read is normal for me.
With the speed and volume of information (though not ALL correct information) on the Internet anyone can self educate about any topic, passion etc...as far as to make yourself an "expert".
BUT there is also a big problem in my view that should, for the benefit of the future generations, be discussed and considered as a real possibility to implement, though I feel it's highly unlikely to ever happen anyway, simply due to the "control" factor of politics and the state.
Education starts from birth as we all know, but the "controlled flow" of education is what I believe needs changing and it also needs to change in the schools because it's a change as a whole to the approach of learning, the subjects of learning, the best growth possibility of each person.
I believe education as it stands is not working to its best ability for the times.
Today's teachers are not going to be like tomorrows teachers, just as today's kids are not going to be like tomorrows, education itself changes too but to slowly to make a big impact so the system they also teach under needs changing.
You read any blog or news article of a famous "self made" person or someone who gives advice to others, it's always "follow your passions", and most of the time these same people didn't do well at school, or just struggled so left with no qualifications.
So why do we stifle the passions of kids?
Why do we deny them the best opportunities to grow that passion?
Minimizing the opportunities to become a happy and successful person doing what they love?
Why is education such a mess that it manipulates kids to be a certain way, follow a certain pattern.
Manipulated to "fit" into society as "they" want you to fit in.
What is the real underlying cause, with education that needs changing, in my view?
It's too broad, for too long.
Lack of focus on any passion.
As it stands everyone gets more of the same!
Can you remember much from the lessons you never liked? Nor me!
What about those you did like... ;o)
Our passions don't start at 16, they start at a young age when we have bigger dreams than we do now as adults, because we dare to dream that way...as we grow reality kicks in!
The times demand change in education.
The reason?
People, and that includes kids are better connected than ever before and to harness that we need change, so the growth of those valuable connections start early and strengthen as they grow.
What would I change if I had the chance?
Starting at the age of 4 would be the first thing.
One problem is working parents have working hours out of line with school hours of their kids, so that would a good start. It would be a better habit for all our body clocks if they were in line with each other as we all grow.
Changing these hours means more lessons for the kids but have one whole day a week concentrated on play and interacting with each other, sports etc, games, challenges, basic socialising.
The teachers need to be looking for passions of each child, reporting it in a log, be it painting, writing, sporty things, challenges, etc.
They have the basic education of reading and writing etc, as we do now, until the age of 7.
By 7 each pupil would have a log of the things that they are keen on, like, have a passion for or learn in better way, i.e reading, watching, doing.
These kids should be grouped a little better for the collective development of each "band" of passion, i.e drawing, or English, or maths, and style of learning.
There will be overlaps of styles, but utilise what's working best for them.
Now from aged 7 till 11 these passions should be developed with integration of the basics.
What do I mean by that?
History, geography etc doesn't need to be just on a broad thing, if a class of kids are passionate about painting, they could have a history lesson around the passion making it far more interesting and engaging, more meaningful.
By 11, the kids will have shown alot about themselves and their passions etc meaning they are enjoying school more and doing better for it.
Moving into "senior" school the teachers need to completely different to what we have now.
They need to be as passionate about the passions the kids have while being also able to integrate the basics into the teaching process around the passion.
Part of the education I would integrate into this is business lessons, money lessons, relationship lessons.
As the hours of school are longer and the kids are more passionate to learn more about their passions they also form real bonds that will matter after school.
How many of us have been in touch with the "majority" of those we were at school with?
Not many I bet, we were all diverse, destined to separate and follow our own paths, only having close bonds with the handful real friends we have.
How many of the real friends go into the same career path as you?
Not many I bet, we are all choosing different paths, that share no real mutual benefit in most cases. As it stands we leave school, to find ourselves in the "deep end" with no real understanding of how the world works or what we have to do as part of it.
We learn NOTHING about tax, business, law, money etc.
So we feel more isolated and lost within this situation and we have to "grow up fast" just to get by!
We lost contact with the majority of our "old circle" as they also go through what we do, having to also "grow up fast".
No wonder there is so much pressure on people in their late teens and 20's.
By changing things...
This way the bonds will last because of the "valuable connections" built and nurtured through the learning process of a collective passion between the class, these become the close friends you share life with, go into a career with.
While at school, you all learnt together about building a life with your passion, and having each other to learn and grow with, and that continues outside school.
We have more passionate business owners who are all working together to grow.
Some of these passionate people become the next generation of teachers, to spread and grow the passions farther.
We have a better chance of having a stronger society this way.
We have a better chance to build upon the success of each generation.
We have a society of happier, more successful people.
These people are tomorrows parents who will also know the value of building the passions of their own children, the next generation.
Over time the education will improve and become better suited to building real passions in real passionate people.
This I believe would create a much more valuable society and it's ability to grow through business and collective support for each other.
The self education of society would continue to expand through the ability to share valuable relevant information between passionate people.
What do you think?
Does education need to change, if so how?
Labels: general, life, people, thoughts
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"Magic of making up" 18 Nov 2008
We all have them, good and bad.
The one thing we all also know, when they end, friends say...
Don't worry, plenty of fish in the sea, get out there and get into the dating game again...and quick!
Bad advice if you ask me, for several reasons,
- Is it fair to have "emotional baggage" put onto someone else?
- Do they really want to meet someone else?
- If they do meet someone else, is ANYthing about that going to be genuine?
Funny thing love!
While it may be true sometimes the split up is the best option, or the only option left to them, the majority of the time there are kids involved and in reality it's very few of those split ups that are "hopeless."
There is some very do-able things that will save any relationship, somethings you would never even think of and yet if people knew of them they would have a better chance of trying to make it work out, even if only for the children's sake.
But the real beauty of this knowledge is, why wait till you have the problems? Why not use them to strengthen your relationship?
Every relationship takes work as we all know, but it's what you work ON in the relationship that can make the difference between an ok relationship and a great relationship...and NO it's not the sex!!
It's the Magic of making up!!
Labels: general, life, people, personal
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"8 things everyone wants, or wants to be" 3 Nov 2008
Ignore the doom and gloom, there really are only 8 things we ALL want to have or to be more of.
If you know more, please share ;o)
In no particular order they are...
Nice relationships in the family,
Nice friends,
Constant peace of mind,
Prosperity, however sized,
8 things, what can you do to improve each of these...daily?
Improve one a day, as well as possible, or improve each a little daily.
Choices...oh yeah them, aren't you lucky, you CAN choose your choices, actions and results. ;o)
What do you choose?
Labels: life, personal, thoughts
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"Lucky YOU, the timing couldn't be better" 21 Oct 2008
Lucky you, possibly, possibly not, everything depends on YOU. ;o)
If the media is anything to go by, the only way now for us should be down, with the doom and gloom spread daily the fear is creeping in, and fear is the LAST thing you want.
It seems people fear losing jobs, losing their homes, losing income, in short the "shit is gonna hit the fan!"
Fear breeds bad shit... who wants that? :o/
I'll tell you who...those that KNOW what the people fear, and what those that fear will want as a result of that fear.
Those people think, and ask..."how do I make money to help MY situation, or if I lose my job and can't get another?"
THAT is the opportunity these who sell the "dream" of "making money online" see.
Those in IM know exactly what you will do, and fight each other to be where you will go after you DO what they KNOW you will do.
Listen up, if you KNOW what I mean by IM... you don't need me telling you, ;o)
I do say though, tread carefully because of the power of connections now has never been bigger or better, scam or take the piss and it WILL haunt you. ;o)
For you that don't know what I mean by IM, or are new online...don't worry.
Just don't spend...and get sucked in too easy, it happens! Believe me! ;o)
I'll be posting some great free resources in the next few post, one benefit is I and others have already been through the free crap to find the gems, so it saves you time and information overload.
But have NO fear... I am hoping this blog as well as others I share with you help you avoid that "sucked in trouble". :o)
Really, you want to look at things from an opportunist perspective, knowing that there are always going to be opportunities around you, so even in bad times some of those are often the biggest opportunities because less people will see these opportunities and will dwell on their fears.
The FIRST thing to remember is, there ARE other people just like you out there, and coming online daily, whatever it is you are like ;o)
Seeing any opportunity means you CAN act on it, do that and you are one step ahead of the pack.
Once you know it's worth taking the action, ie a little due diligence is needed aka a little researching, will mean you already KNOW of any potential from the actions you need to make.
BUT and it IS a big but...
EVERYTHING will depend on you, what effort, WORK will you put in? Huh work?? :o/
Well, if you have a real trade you have some knowledge and skill...you work anyway!
Some skills etc obviously won't be much use online, but I digress...
Ok, FUN would be better, and possibly more profitable. ;o)
Depending on what you do, what you like, enjoy sharing etc.
The timing is a good one to get started NOW if you want to do that or just spend a bit of time in evenings after your day job trying it out, getting started is far easier than people think.
The best thing NOW is to evaluate your skills, knowledge, passions, etc.
If your list is big, trim it down AS you research it's potential, you may miss a gem otherwise. ;o)
If you find it hard to create your list, ask someone close, "what do YOU think my passions are, etc, what do I seemingly always talk about etc".
May get some surprising answers if you ask a few people you know closely. ;o)
Then armed with this info...look online at these things.
So, you may type whatever it is into google.com or google blog search, or find forums, websites, etc.
While searching for whatever keyword (i.e "beach fishing", "How to make a quilt?", "windsurfing in UK" etc, you use what you would anyway, a question, a query, whatever, but use " " and without " " around your phrase.
While doing this in either "" or no "" mode, check and take note of the number of sites etc, on the top right, in bold of the google page...
The number of sites and blogs and activity within all these blogs and sites will give you a good indication of how good or bad the "scene" is regarding that "niche".
You want a reasonably competitive, active and busy market, not too big, not too small.
If you have a few good ones, think about doing them all and you will make money online. ;o)
For now, just browse in the areas that you are interested in, see what you find.
THAT is your FIRST step, and we take it one at a time. ;o)
Any questions or comments. feel free to post below...
P.s I'll be doing a few interesting post over the next few days, and sharing some good resources that won't cost a penny or drive you bonkers. :o)
Labels: general, ideas, life, make money online, people, thoughts, tips
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"WHY we live here, there is NO-WHERE else QUITE like it! 10 Sep 2008
Find more photos like this on Portlanders!
Labels: general, life, pictures, portland, portland bill, sunset
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"Matter of creation, creation of matter" 9 Sep 2008
Are we doomed?
With that massive experiment underground on the French and Swiss border happening tomorrow there seems to be alot of publicity on it lately.
Even a matter of a court case to try and stop it going ahead.
Is it a big risk?
Who knows, in my opinion the scientist just want to DO it, they are not going to say YES a massive risk if it stops it happening, they want to do it to find out because of the sheer potential of what it could teach them about anything and everything.
The say they guarantee it will be safe, but if they are wrong, will we even know about it?
That is part of the reason I feel they care more that it works than not, that sounds strange, but what I mean is they are NOT going to be bothered if it doesn't work and the earth gets swallowed up, after all, they will be gone as much as we will!
If they are wrong, to late, if they are right... it could change things as we know it for the better.
Playing GOD, or whatever your world view on that is?
Any opinions on this experiment?
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"Online at last" 28 Jul 2008
Thankfully I have a connection now so I will blogging again yet right now I have no idea what to write about?! ;o)
I sure have missed out one of the better years to be online with the explosion of "social networking"... doh!
Typical of moi that is.
At least I am online. :o)
I can get back into the groove and catch up in time.
Labels: life, social media
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Isolation not ignorance. 3 Dec 2007
Some of you have been using facebook etc to contact me...I am not ignoring them, it's the library using limited filters and IE 6 stopping me using them.
Nice to see old friends on the social sites...even ex girlfriends from um...15 years or more ago! ;o)
Shows how the net really has made the world a smaller place, never thought I would hear again from some of the people I have.
Been a great thing to see how people have changed and where the path they chose lead them to.
Still trying to get back online at home so I am looking forward to really catching up with some people when I am.
Have I missed anything of note on here?
Not sure, been focused on getting other areas of life sorted out and set me up for the right start in 2008... I mean 2007 shot by!
I am looking forward to 2008 for a few reasons. :o)
So how are you all?
Labels: general, life, social media
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"Dam greedy banks" 25 Sep 2007
Done it again, ripping me off with charges...costing me my connection..yet again!
Have had enough of the hassle from them.
I am astonished at the greed they show.
I went £2 over my limit...that's 4 dollars, and got a bloody charge which has wiped out what I had for my connection!
I am now going to write another letter to the bank to sort this out.
Meanwhile, looks like I am back the library like I am now writing this.
I am sick of the stress and hassle of struggling.
I will be on here as much as possible while waiting for that to sort out.
If I can do a review, or sell a few things from here it may help.
I will NOT let the banks get away with that sort of greed.
As usual shit customer service!
Labels: customer service, general, life, personal
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"The power of the cause" 14 Sep 2007
This weekend is going to very very interesting for two reasons, but first...
Fasten your seatbelts!
Get your thinking cap on, keep your notepad and pen handy, maybe create a folder to save stuff too. ;o)
There is a cause I think you can help make succeed, yet you could also learn a thing or two as well...depending on how you look at things. ;o)
Two things are happening this weekend and both may be of interest to you, for now I want to concentrate on the important one...the one that will save kids lives.
Everyone does things differently, like we blog about passions, hobbies, thoughts, life, experiences we have, or just about what we are experienced at. Us bloggers all blog but for different reasons. :o)
The reason behind us doing things has a big bearing on how well we can do too.
A good cause is a powerful reason to succeed.
Saving the lives of children is a very good cause to do anything in life.
And the man behind this cause just amazes me.
I have to do what I can to help him save the lives of these kids.
THAT is the real cause behind this post... if I can help in any way whatsoever it is by sharing the message with you and anyone else I can share it with, if you can also share the message and help the cause then that is great.
My good friend Dr Mani is the man behind the cause, his name is a hint on how much he is behind this cause.
See Dr Mani is a heart surgeon who operates on kids...but not only that he also raises the money to pay for these operations!
Yes, an amazing genuine hard working and big hearted man indeed!
As I said there are many reasons we do the things we do, Dr Mani turned to the Internet early on, realising the power it had in helping the work he does and as that work as so important I don't blame him. ;o)
You see, he turned to the net part time in order to raise awareness, but also utilises everything he does in a positive way and he does this brilliantly, his drive is huge...because of the cause. :o)
Hopefully one day you will see this logo EVERYWHERE on the net...Go on post it too. ;o)
Each year he blogs for 24 hours...a post every 30 minutes to raise money and it's this weekend!
Last year I did a guest post on his blogathon (this blog project) and felt proud to have contributed.
This year it's a little different...YOU can take part too!
Why not take a look and see what you can do to help, the blog of Dr Mani.
Take a look at the "mini blogathon" to see what others are doing too. :o)
If you do nothing else this weekend please keep an eye on that blog. :o)
There is something else too, Dr Mani really knows what he talks about when giving tips...read his blogging tips.
That's what you want the damn pen and notepad for!! ;o)
Labels: blogging, dr mani, health, life, people
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text:
Losing the song for the words
Vande Mataram is in news for wrong reasons. People too are reacting for wrong reasons, writes Abhishek Singhvi.india Updated: Aug 30, 2006 08:45 IST
Vande Mataram has been in the news but for the wrong reasons. Most people are reacting but also for the wrong reasons. That is because few are aware of the history surrounding the song. The fundamental fallacy is to confuse the song and its exalted status on the one hand, with its compulsory singing on the other.
In The Biography of a Song, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya points out that the song can be dated to sometime between 1870 and 1875. It is clear that the first two stanzas were written earlier by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay and the later portion added when the author published his novel, Anandamath, in 1881. Thus, the author himself made a distinction between the first two stanzas and the later portion.
The song is one that India is justly proud of. It was the vanguard of the freedom movement; it inspired and enthused a whole generation of Indians, including pathfinders like Tagore (who sang it first in 1896), Aurobindo and Gandhi. It soon transformed into a slogan by itself, a slogan of anti-imperialism.
In actual fact, the first two stanzas have no religious motif or symbolism at all. They are a soul-stirring ode to the motherland and reflect one of the finest tributes to nationhood and patriotism. The subsequent paras continue in the same vein, barring two references to Hindu goddesses Durga and Kamla, i.e, Lakshmi.
Divisive British policies and Jinnah's growing opposition to the song led to the setting up of a committee headed by Nehru, acting on Tagore's recommendation, to give a special status to the first two stanzas in 1937 and to encourage its singing while clarifying that there was no compulsion to it. Thus, the first two stanzas must be sharply distinguished from Chattopadhyay's novel. Moreover, the element of compulsion was eliminated by a resolution as far back as in 1937. The last day of the Constituent Assembly led to Vande Mataram (the first two stanzas) being adopted by a non-voting resolution as India's national song.
Post-Independence, the status of the composition as India's national song, with all its attendant prestige and special status, was an established fact. It has been sung with joy by large congregations. The few who have objection to its recitation have avoided singing it but without furore and controversy. Compulsion in singing has been a non-issue.
Interestingly, in 1998, the BJP-supported UP government sought to issue a circular to make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory. The then BJP PM, AB Vajpayee, clarified that this was not so. This is a party that is now trying to cash in on pulp patriotism by declaring its singing mandatory in several BJP-ruled states. The BJP must also answer why it did not declare its singing to be compulsory during its 1998-2004 tenure?
Obviously, because Vande Mataram's national status and its non-compulsory singing status have gone hand in hand and been an irrevocable fact now for over 70 years, since 1937. The circular issued recently by the UPA government did not use the word 'compulsory'. On top of that, the moment the controversy arose, the seven-decade position was orally confirmed - that singing was not compulsory.
Vande Mataram has stood the test of time. It has been accepted and absorbed by Indians for decades. The supreme irony is that those who want us to show that we are patriotic Indians only if we sing Vande Mataram compulsorily, do Vande Mataram the greatest disservice because they evoke a resistance to it that is non-existent when millions sing it spontaneously and voluntarily.
Destroying faith
I am not a film reviewer though I love watching thrillers and murder mysteries. I am not madly fond of Shah Rukh or Amitabh (as my wife is) or Abhishek (after all, I took that name much before it became famous or common) but I rate them both highly (my favourites are Sunny and Saif). I am not at all averse to Rani or Preity (though I prefer Juhi and Mumtaz). I was nevertheless horrified to find a horrible and shallow offering - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - being eulogised ad nauseam by the media.
Maybe I am dimwitted but I would like the bright TV participants who were constructing the most complex philosophical models on the basis of this film to answer a few questions. Was Kank trying to teach infidelity or extra-marital sex to Indians - to those who wrote and lived the Mahabharata? Was there any story or content in Kank? If infidelity was to be portrayed, was Kank a patch on Fatal Attraction or Arth or Unfaithful? Each of those films had a story, solid content, an extrapolation from everyday human events.
In contrast, Kank presented a inconsolable weeping Rani. What torture did Abhishek subject her to? What was so heinous about Preity's conduct that made life unbearable for SRK? Perhaps Karan JoharJohar wanted the audience to assume all such minor details. And what stopped SRK from marrying Rani after separating from their respective spouses?
All Kank had was the glitter of New York. It was all hype without matter. It was plain boring. But it shows what hype can do. By sheer advertising power, the nation was made to discuss, analyse and dissect a banal and highly forgettable movie. Fortunately, most discussions were a thousand times more tolerable than the movie itself.
The writer is Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and Congress MP
First Published: Aug 30, 2006 04:57 IST

subset: commoncrawl


text:
My name is Maciek Łazowski and I'm an illustrator, designer and cartoonist based in Warsaw, Poland. I have a Master of Arts degree from The Higher School of Art and Design in Lodz. I'm an author of the comic strip "Głosy w mojej głowie" ("Voices in my head"), children's book "Co się dzieje, kiedy śpisz?" ("What happens when you sleep?") and many other things. I like coffee and video games, I don't like liver.
I've worked for clients such as Danone, HBO, Egmont, Škoda or PlayStation.
2014 - European fairytales in illustration, Lodz, Poland (group show)
2015 - European fairytales in illustration, Santiago De Compostela, Spain (group show)
2017 - Doodles, Lodz, Poland (solo show)
2018 - Lines, shapes and silliness, Lodz, Poland (solo show)
2019 - Video games, all day long, Warsaw, Poland (group show)