Springwise- Smart new business ideas

Russell Davies- Fascinating writer

Nightmare Brunette- NSFW… Amazing collection of pictures & bits of writing

37Signals- Makers of basecamp, among other great apps

What sites do you guys out there follow?  I love to find great new sites for my collection.

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1. Have as many children as possible.
2. Spread yourselves around geographically.

Religion causes people to do evil things to one another and limits the progress of humanity in many ways, but it has survived in part by espousing the central commands above.  

Is religion a necessary tool for the survival of biological life?

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Businessmen on the other hand openly state that their primary motivation is selfish: They want to make money.  Many of them also want to help the world in some way by providing a quality product or service, but that is a secondary benefit.

So why do I say that businessmen are the best men?

Almost everything that makes your life good comes either directly or indirectly from people in business.  The car that swiftly and reliably takes you hundreds of miles to visit your family in another state was designed, manufactured and sold by businesspeople.  The healthy/tasty/organic/fast/bulk food that you eat every day for very low prices came from businessmen.  The job that enables you to take care of your family, obtain medical care and a plethora of other products and services all came from entrepreneurs.  

Most products and services in America are provided by businesspeople.  Think about it: you live like a king would have lived less than a hundred years ago even though you are probably just middle class today.  You actually have access to more & better products, services and information than even the wealthiest and most powerful individuals did.  You have high quality medical care (not witch doctors & leaches), tasty food from around the globe (”what’s a banana?”), rapid travel worldwide (airplanes, cars, trains, fast ships), the internet, etc.

Businesspeople are even partially responsible for the freedom that we enjoy.   It is in a businessperson’s best interests to maintain free trade, free speech and small government because it enables them to make more money easier.

People who disdain or fear businessmen generally don’t understand them or how the world works.  These are the people who go do UN aid work in Somalia… basically helplessly trying to treat symptoms while ignoring the disease.  In many of these countries mired in poverty, simply establishing a system with free trade and free speech protections will lead to most of their other problems getting resolved by businesspeople.  

Americans should be desperately afraid of what is happening now in our country: businesspeople are being persecuted and the government is destroying their entire class.  Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama are eliminating free trade by bailing out companies that should fail and vastly expanding government power.  If you think working for your boss under free enterprise is bad, wait till your boss is Big Brother and it is impossible to leave your job if you don’t like it.  America is rapidly nationalizing products and services and turning into a totalitarian country.

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I asked my friends this question and below are their answers.  My ideas are at the very bottom of the post on why people usually are opposed to dating their friend’s ex’s.

Z: Cuz its not personal

Q: in this case, i think ignorance is bliss. how weird would it be to listen to your friend talk about her boyfriend, good and bad, then pursue a relationship with him? you want your boyfriend or girlfriend’s ex to be anonymous…you want to believe that they were too good and that’s why they moved on to better things (aka you). that’s hard to say if they in fact moved on from your best friend, right?
me: ahh.. so its because of a fear of being the second choice or having to take the leavings of someone you know? but aren’t you willing to that with cars, apartments, and other things? also, if they just aren’t a good fit for your friend doesnt mean they wont be a good fit for you, right?
Q: hmm i don’t think you can make that comparison, but we can go there if you’d like. i buy a car from you, we both know the value and agree on a price. now, if i end up dating my friend’s ex, whatever the value of the guy is, it has already depreciated in value…maybe i want a sportcar and my friend wanted an SUV. it doesn’t matter, whatever it is, the value is inherently lower because of he’s been “depreciated” through her “use”
it’s not about fit, it’s about perceived value
me: haha hmm.. why is use by a friend worse than use by a random?
Q: information bias
me: explain
Q: think about why people might break up….unfaithfulness, lies, whatever. i rarely believe that it is mutual, and in fact, you’re like if it works out that way. because of that, there’s a good chance that you are dating or potentially will date someone who pulled an ass move (was the bad guy in the breakup)
you know the nitty gritty details if its your friend…you are either consoling her and cursing him out, or supporting her in her decision even if it’s probably not fair anyways, you are so close to the truth of the relationship, that if you were to pursue a relationship with the ex, there is no mystery. you know too much. it’s hard to give someone a fair, unbiased shot if you know the details of the relationship

T: 10-20?
me: just a guess at how many they slept with previously
T: got it. there are many reasons why this is…. with a random girl you have hope she could be flawless/ special
if you know enough about her going in, she’s ordinary

Y: not 100% sure.. would you rather have a threesome with you a random guy and some girl or someone you knew?
me: not sure. u?
Y: prol a friend… laugh about it later… though if i would have done that with X (sketchy friend) i could have caught the herp… thankfully the girl was so drunk she puked in his bed

B: well, i think generally its taboo b/c it may affect your friendship. you don’t always know if that person is really harboring feelings still or not
guys aren’t exactly the best at relay those sort of things to each other
it’s usually more crude and simplistic
was she hoit
hot
was she a good lay
was she cool
was she crazy
blah blah
if you dated your friend’s ex and she was nuts… he is either going to think you are nuts for dating his crazy sloppy seconds (ergo associating you with her crazy deficiencies)
or
he might get that whole grass is greener syndrome
and start thinking that he misses her
and secretly he’ll resent you and want her back
on another note…
you really want to put your penis in the same place your friend put his penis?

W: that’s a great question
hhmm
i think its depends on the circumstances: if they parted under perfect amicable conditions then its not that big of a deal right? but that’s probably pretty rare
me: would it be okay under amicable conditions?
W: are you asking if it’s morally problematic?
or in poor taste?

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I was walking into my office and older female coworker was looking at my stomach and stopped in front of me blocking my way.  I pulled up to a halt and she poked me in the stomach and said, “Hard body” and went on her way.  A little weird, but I wasn’t worried about it and actually found it a little complimentary.

The incident brought to mind how sexual harassment is vastly different for men and women in the workplace, even though “equal rights” supposedly prevail.  I asked a couple of my friends what they thought:

F:  “When they do it to you, you like it; when you do it back, they don’t”

D: “Just one more inequality”

T: “Sexual harassment is a way to specifically protect hot girls”

Men generally seem to have the attitude that sexual harassment of men is humorous, whereas women don’t care as much about sexual harassment of men since it is not an issue that affects them.  Societal expectations differ on how men and women think of sex and sexual advances enough that a men who actually undergo aggressive unwanted sexual advances are laughed at if they say anything.  Fortunately, my ugly mug protects me from real sexual harassment lol.

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I put this question to some of my friends and their replies are below:

Buddha: i think that if you are successful, it’s not a girl that you really want to date
because she obviously doesn’t have much loyalty
and if you can steal her away from someone, who’s to say that someone else couldn’t do it to you
a girl who allows that to happen doesn’t have good character
so it might be fun for you to do, and if you are just trying to bang, go for it, but prob not a girl that you want to get serious about

Frodo: yes and no

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President Bush and his legal advisors claimed that since America is currently engaged in a “War on Terror”, people deemed to be “terrorists” may be held in prison without recourse as enemy combatants.   I agree that in a conventional war, captured prisoners must be held until the war has ended.  However, a conventional war is fought against a specific group or region of people and is over when certain predefined objectives are completed… Think of America’s involvement in World War 2, Vietnam, etc.

Former President Bush used semantics to grant himself massive power to imprison almost anyone he wished for as long as he pleased.  By declaring a “War on Terror” (terror being vaguely defined guerrilla warfare tactics used since the dawn of civilization) and giving his government the right to secretly incarcerate anyone he claims is a terrorist without trial (including you), President Bush effectively suspended Habeas Corpus for all Americans and foreigners.  Habeas Corpus is the right to seek relief from unlawful detention and is a vital protection for individuals from arbitrary state actions.

Many individuals have been imprisoned by the Bush administration worldwide and remain incarcerated under President Barack Obama.  Legitimate criminals and terrorists have been held under this policy, but so have many people who have committed no crimes and are only suspected of supporting terrorists.  Both the guilty and the innocent have no right to a trial and some have been kept in solitary confinement or have been tortured for over 6 years now.

Imagine if you or a friend was one of those people Bush had falsely declared a terrorist (perhaps because you knew something incriminating about someone in his administration).  Imagine being kept in a prison cell by yourself with no contact allowed from family, friends, legal counsel or even fellow prisoners.  Imagine perhaps even being tortured and made to feel like you were drowning or kept awake for days at a time under heavy interrogation.  Do you see now why holding a person prisoner without giving them a right to a fair legal review is wrong and why you would never want this to happen to you or your family?

Petition President Barack Obama now to stop the evil practice of indefinite detention without legal review immediately.  One day that could be you who is desperately needs a fair trial.  The Bush administration secretly listened to millions of Americans phone conversations and read their emails… maybe you said something out of place in one of them.  I actually have had Homeland Security agents come to my apartment and take away a roommate before without warning… it took me a couple of days to find out what happened to him.  Watch out and protect your rights now while you still you can.

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On another note, I watched Slumdog Millionaire tonight.  Good movie.

Also went crosscountry skiing for the first time today.  I thought it was okay, but it was super easy and a little boring.

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Joel: Mark Driscoll may be building a cult of personality that is much like Joel Osteen or Kevin Gerald, but targets a different type of person.  What do you think about cult’s of personality in religion?  Even Billy Graham or Dr. Dobson?

Mark: I agree that many Christians fall into the trap of personality cults constantly and they are trying to make some ordinary man in the place of Christ.  However, I don’t believe it is necessarily the intention of these leaders like Osteen, Driscoll and Dobson, I think that their followers are the ones making the mistake of elevating them to superhuman status.  Then obviously their pride can get in the way and they start believing what their followers say about them, and thus their downfall occurs.  As far as what I think about personality in religion, I believe that no person should be worshipped, and that definition is different to different people, but essentially if you are making people your god, then you are in error.  I think these Christian self-help books and some of the stupid teachings out there have appealed to people in need and take advantage of them which sickens me to see just like it does you, and then they become money grubbers and swindlers.  Ultimately God knows their heart, but sometimes they make obvious errors.  I also believe God can use anyone to accomplish His purposes and He can use people like Driscoll and Osteen in different ways, but they are both imperfect people who make errors just like all of us.  But the Bible is pretty clear on how pastors are to live their lives and God does not look lightly upon people who intentionally lead people astray just to better their own personal satisfaction.

Joel: Personality cults in religion scare me, I’m glad you have seen that sort of thing too.  I was wondering how you feel about the Prosperity Gospel message preached by megachurch pastors like the guy who runs Saddleback church in Orange county california?  I dont like those preachers because they twist scripture to make lonely, sad poor people have false hope.  My mom has fallen for that crap.  Basically, they take promises made to specific individuals in the old Testament and try to say that they apply to people in their church… which ends up with them saying things like, “buy my special prayer book and say this prayer twice a day and you will be rich/healthy/happy”.  No self-respecting theologian agrees with them but loads of desperate people do.  It turns my stomach.  Maybe i should do a post on why the prosperity gospel is a scam operation.

Mark: As far as prosperity gospel, I don’t know those pastor’s hearts of whom you refer to, but in general I sadly have to agree with you, a lot of what I have heard and especially some of the guys I have briefly seen on TV are throwing out gargantuan lies, or at least stretching the truth badly.  It reminds me of what the Catholic Church did with indulgences to keep power and make money.  There may be some of the prosperity pastors who are doing it out of a good heart, but as far as my experience goes, if you teach Jesus message the way He taught it, zounds of people are not always going to follow, it also upsets many.  I guess I would have to listen to them individually and ask them a number of questions to make a judgment call on it, but overall I agree with you from what I’ve heard.

Joel: I’m glad you can recognize the megachurch pastors and televangelists who badly twist the bible to fit their own ends… they are just like the “psychics” who claim that they can commune with your dead relatives for you.  Basically they just prey upon people in their weakness.  I hate the guys who tell poor, ignorant people that “if you just repeat this prayer on a daily basis and give to the church, god will bless you with great wealth and bounty.”  Such garbage.

What do my readers think?

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I am thinking about building a website that tracks people’s personal habits- workouts, nutrition, alcohol consumption, studies, goals, books & movies, etc.

What would you like me to build?  Is there anything that you think would be really useful?

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