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Showing posts from July 24, 2016

GERMAN GRAND PRIX - NICO ROSBERG ON POLE AND HAMILTON P2; A GAME OF PREDATOR AND PREY?

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Quiet contemplation is need for tomorrow's Hockenheim Grand Prix Tomorrow's German Grand Prix is due to take place at Germany's Hockenheim circuit, and should probably be a finely balanced race, with one of Germany's 3 Grand Prix racers, Nico Rosberg, being on Pole, with his arch rival, Lewis Hamilton, breathing down his back at P2. As if that is not enough excitement and trepidation for Mercedes and grand prix fans all over the world, Daniel Riccardo, that intrepid and most gregarious of Formula One drivers/racers, is occupying P3 position. This will be the second consecutive time when Rosberg has placed himself on Pole, with Hamilton behind him. In the last race Hamilton, with some good fortune, prevailed upon Rosberg and overtook at the start of the race, and won it. The question now, is that of whether Hamilton, using the skills and experience he has, and blessed with more good fortune, will be able to repeat the feat of overtaking Rosberg, a

THE ELUSIVITY OR ELUSIVENESS OF ACHIEVING 'WORK LIFE BALANCE.' PART 1

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Make your objective in living to enjoy your life. It is what really counts. The challenge of achieving a good 'work life balance,' is one which is mostly within the domain of that large proportion of the population who are, as it were, gainfully employed by others, or are self-employed in their own business, or are doing regular voluntary work for which they might or might not be being paid. To this, we could also include the millions of 'carers' whose lives or most of it, revolves around caring for infirm and elderly relatives, or their children or other relatives with profound disabilities. For this section of the population, the challenge for them is that of how to achieve a health balance between 'work, work, work' and living a life where the amount of work, work work they put into their living, and the amount of pleasure, time spent with their loves ones, etc, they derive from it, is roughly or seamlessly in harmony? How do they achieve a st
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AN IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH GOD. PART 3

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You see, god, while I do accept that we humans definitely do not know or can every expect to know everything, the more rational amongst us are of the view that it is more probably that we owe our existence to an evolutionary process which, than to a process by which a self-evolved or self-generated ‘god’ fashion us out of ‘clay’ and breathed life into us. Why do I believe this, you ask, god? To which I am tempted to respond that you jest with me, god, as you, if you do exist and do so in the form which the less rational amongst us humans have argued are, would surely know the answer to. You see, god, unless you were to be defined as the original or basic ‘state of existence’, which I would describe as the original conditions which gave birth to the BBT, or Big Bang Theory, then the hypothesis or theory upon which you are based, makes no ‘human sense.’  It does not meets the test of ‘rational thought.’  Except for the original basic life form, the amebiotic li

Birds Flitting About and Doing Their Thing

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Here is a video of a number of different species of birds doing their own thing in pretty much the same space and time. Take a look and enjoy what part of it, if any, touches your soul or contemplative state.

A THOUGHT FOR NOW - THE FLY AT THE WINDOW PARADOX

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I suspect that one of our biggest failings or weaknesses, as sentient humans, is our tendency to respond to external, and probably internal stimuli in a predictable manner. I say tendency, because there are times when the reaction or response is not what we would normally expect, which suggest that our worldviews and our perceptual filters which we use to make sense of what seems to be the 'same' or 'similar' stimuli, can sometimes differ as a result of individualistic, cultural and other attributes.  We are, as it were, still the product or outcomes of our societal and genetic conditioning. This is why two people can suffer traumatic experiences, such as a death of a loved one, or substantial abuse in childhood, but it affects their functioning and life chances differential. For example, one might demonstrate signs of heightened and still acute vulnerability in adulthood, whereas the other will be able to mitigate and accommodate his/her traumatic experie

DEUTSCHLAND UNTER MERKEL - GEWISSEN DES WESTENS (GERMANY UNDER MERKEL - CONSCIENCE OF THE WEST

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Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is probably the most powerful leader in Europe; at least within the context of the European Union. Arguably, she is miles ahead of the French President, Francois Hollande, who, confronted with the continuing attacks by the vacuous and demonic lost souls who submit themselves to be the unquestioning, unthinking weapons of Daesh/Isis, is constantly being reactive and militaristic in his response.  Yes, it is also the case that the French dilemma is more complex than that of the Germans, due to the on-going conflict streams feeding into it from France's Middle East and African colonial history. Which is all the more reasons why the French needs to have very good leadership. Not so for Angela Merkel, it seems, confronted with the twin dilemmas or challenges of a massive migrant problem for Europe and her country, in particular, Merkel has taken a bit of time to decide how Germany should respond, and, accordingly, made her decision and set

Magpies Attacking a Crown

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This is a short video of a flock of Magpies ganging up on and attacking a Crow. As you will see from the brief encounter, the Magpies seem to be well verse in psychological warfare and 'shock and awe' tactics, with the Crow seeming to find the experience very frightening. Take and look and see what you make of with.

THE SOCIAL WORKER. PART 3

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Before you make your visit, carefully consider the whys, whos, and hows of your visit. Why am I visiting, who will I want see and how am I going to obtain what what information I need to have. Prepare an agenda and use it. Once the social worker has been allocated his/her cases, I would have expected there to have been some discussion with his/her team or practice manager, and/or with their team members. This discussion can take place between the social worker and the team or practice manager, in their office, if they have one, or at a team meeting, where the case will be presented and the key issues discussed. For example, in Britain, it might be a case of a child who is in the local authority’s care and is placed with foster carers or in a children’ home, with the child being subjected to an Interim Care Order, or Full Care Order (Section of 38 or S.31) or S.20 of the Children’s Act 1989. The difference between S.20 and Section 38 and 31, being that the local au

WOULD GOD LOOK ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ANY LESS OR MORE FAVOURABLY, IF IT HAD AN ATHEIST PRESIDENT?

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So, the question is this: Would god look on the United States of America any less or more favourably, if it had an atheist President? This might seem an interesting and even shocking question, but it is not really so. It is somewhat similar to me posing the question: 'If the devil were to retire, would it make any difference between the level of evil in the world in the past and now, and after the devil's retirement? Yes, the answer would be the same; no, it would not make one iota of difference, as the saying goes, and neither would it make any material difference if an atheist who believes in the 'democratic values' which Americans say underpinned their country's persona, were to become the President of the United States of America. It would, of course, remove the need for such a president to mouth the pointless refrain, "god bless America", and it would also most probably make the deliberations of the American government less given t

ISIS/DAESH - WE NEED A MORE ACCURATE CHARACTERISATION OF :POLITICAL ISLAMIC EXTREMISM?

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The political Islamic extremists represented by Daesh/Isis are continuing to perpetrate their outrageous atrocities on innocent people and communities in Europe, America, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. Although they continue to massacre and terrify more people living in Muslim countries than in pre-dominantly non-Muslim ones, their atrocities in the West has continued to cause - probably understandably so - more alarm for countries in the West than they seem to be doing in the Muslim ones.   This could be due to a number of factors. It could be that there is still great alarm in the Muslim countries which are being persistently subjected to the murderous activities of political Islamic extremism, but that it has become so common place that it is not being reported much in the media in the West.  It could also be that that many people in the affected Muslim countries, such as Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Sudan, et al, have become resigned to their fate, citing the Isl

Amazing Canal Life, At Other Moments in Time

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Such is the marvel of Canal life, that, at different times you come across fauna and flora you might not have expected to see, either in their variety and/or their sizes. This video provides some examples of this amazing world; in this case, including these fish that seem to be having as good a time as I did watching and videoing them, with not a fisherman in sight to disturb or threaten them. Indulge and enjoy, if you will.

AN IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH GOD. PART 2

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These ancient stones do not speak for themselves, and neither do the gods for whom the priests presume to speak. What lesson should contemporary humans draw from this? Why do I not believe in you, you are probably wondering, god? Well, there are reasons to do with metaphysicality, rationality and science. You see, god, I find myself having to decide, if I must, and I have chosen to, between two extremes, as it were. On the one hand, there are those among us who believe that the earth and the universes and all that there are in and outside of them, were created by you. These humans are called the ‘creationist’, and pay homage to you for the wonders of the earth and the universes.  Then, on the other side, there are those among us humans, who do not believe that you or any other god created the earth and the universes, but that they have their origins in an evolutionary process. These humans, as you probably already know, god, are called the ‘evolution