Personality Strengths

Hi,

I've just taken the Via personality strengths survey and it was spot on.

Normally I pass on this kind of thing, but it was recommended by technoccult.

The results section is the best thing about this test. It lists your strengths in order and doesn't go out of its was to say "this is a weakness for you".

On second thoughts that is a bit of a cop out.

My top strengths were:

• Creativity, ingenuity, and originality
  
• Bravery and valor
  
• Kindness and generosity
  

And my weaknesses were:

• Modesty and humility
  
• Caution, prudence, and discretion
  
• Forgiveness and mercy
  

It's a fair cop :-)

NP Out

P.S. A christian bus driver just didn't get the point of the athiest posters on his vehicle.... hahahahahahaha

Spitting in the communion cup

Hi,

In breaking news the Vatican has been reviewing the severity of deadly sins and it looks like there could be a major shake up.

Some of the little known sins are going to fall into the category of "go straight to hell do not collect $200".

The final list isn't out yet but defiling the Eucharist is going to be way high in the list of things only the pope can absolve you of.

Other things on this list include the more publicly known 7 deadly sins. So killing someone might remain as bad as spitting in the communion cup, but only just.

Is this a sign of the Catholic church losing one of its few remaining marbles?

I don't think so - it is in fact enforcement of dogmatic copyright.

With Catholicism spawning a number of more recent religions their paraphernalia and its abuse by these upstarts is a hot topic.

But can you copyright religion and its practice? Surely all religion is based on the basic need for spiritual understanding?

Of course you can! As long as you're monotheistic :-)

NP Out

Keeping tabs on your kid

Hi,

There are alot of new products out there specifically targeting the absent and paranoid parent market.

I'm all for parents wanting the best for their kids - but is monitoring their location and habits using technology really good for them?

You can buy your teenager a cell-phone with an inbuilt GPS locater.

Or if you're willing to forego subtelty you can just get them to wear a GPS bracelet.

This technology was developed for monitoring felons on home detention and tracking valuable property. Maybe we should just implant microchips in their necks and be done with it.

Are we now looking at an age where you don't have to build a trust based relationship with your kids? Why spend all that time when you can just Google them?

Nothing like the old laziness versus good parenting debate.

Personally I blame the teachers... It serves them right for actually paying attention to my children.

NP Out

P.S. I'm glad my parents aren't monitoring this blog post.

US Bailout - Pornographers ask for their share!

Hi,

This is still making me chuckle.

Joe Francis and Larry Flint are two of the most successful pornographers in the US, and also two of the biggest proponents of free speech.

The fact that they are asking the US government to bail them out because of poor sales is not just hysterical it is great commentary on the way that the collapse of the US economy is being managed.

As my US cousins would say this is "pure gravy".

NP Out

UK Civil Service Management MUHAHAHAHA!

Hi,

I started my working life on the management training programme for a UK government agency. The work was great but none of my actual senior managers knew what I was talking about.

They had all server 20 years and talked their way into a management position rather than bothering with all that pesky management theory and practice.

I look back on those days fondly - until current events remind me of how incompetent many of those guys were.

Case in point.

OMMFG.

NP out

What would you give up?

Hi,

People were recently asked what would they give up from their lives for 2 weeks - in liue of internet access.

The results are just plain worrying.

It's a valid question though - here are some key things I would give up:

1) Coffee

2) Biscuits

3) Fast Food

Hey - it looks like I would be much healthier...

NP Out

Ladies and clothes anxiety

Hi,

I'm going out to a Yule do tonight with my much better half.

As with most ladies she suffers from needless clothes anxiety. She's hot and I know it, but its just one of those things you have to work through.

This time I am going to pre-empt her negative feelings by posting this picture.

This other lady has put alot of work into her look - but just does not have any good basic hotness to work from.

My partner on the other hand very attractive and need fear nothing :-)

NP Out

P.S. this photo also proves the fearlessness of men serving in the armed forces.

The Most Awesome Japanese Wig Site Ever!

Hi,

It's a thing of web beauty.

A site that allows you to upload a photo. Then resizes and grades the image so you can add wigs and glasses to a near 3D model.

It's wig-alicious!

Also hours of fun - no kidding.

Travis has never looked more like a washed up Friends actor...

NP Out

P.S. The site is in Japanese so persevere with it. The rewards are out standing

Making People Notice Your Passing

Hi,

My Dad used to work for British Rail in the UK. He would come home with some funny work stories , but would also get quite angry about others.

The worst reaction he ever had was to people comitting suicide by walking in front of busy commuter trains.

According to psychologists people choosing this kind of exit want to cause inconvenience and shock in as many people as possible.

Of late there have been idiots killing themselves in front of a media audience. Either DIY with a webcam, or in front of new crews.

The thing is - the delay to trains was not what got my Dad angry. He got upset because the poor train driver could never stop in time - and ended up feeling resposible for killing someone. Even if that someone was a self involved wanker.

I guess this new media suicide doesn't wreck an innocent persons life. Unless you count the affect on untold idiots who insist on watching the clips themselves.

Personally I read the web-page but never watch the clips. I prefer my dead losers to remain un-witnessed.

I just felt the world get lighter.

NP Out

Rock on!

Hi,

I'm a big fan of computer games and played alot of Guitar Hero II when it came out.

There's nothing like nailing a hard rock track on a plastic guitar with large, colourful, plastic buttons.

It is frighteningly close to doing it for real - minus the huge anxiety at the beginning and the huge exhaustion at the end of a live gig.

Now you've got guitar hero on tour and rock band. Both of which provide multiple instruments (guitars, drums and vocals).

You can rock out with your friends and get a serious pleasure high from nailing hard tracks.

The genre is hit such critical mass that you can even get versions of the game specific to your religious tastes.

The humour involved in christian rock goes up a notch when you watch the video of mid western familys enjoying a hedonism based music scene from their own home.

The more advanced games allow you to start composing your own tracks. Making it possible for people to collborate and create music in a simple and easy way.

But is rock n roll really supposed to be this easy to take part in? Have they finally crossed a line and forced the sound of youth rebellion into a plastic package?

More importantly do you want to play on the plastic guitar, drums or sing into the microphone?

Just one more track man!

NP Out

Pants Wettingly Good Art

Hi,

I do not use this phrase lightly.

Dealing with wet pants is one of those things I still have a problem with in spite of being a dad to a 3 year old...

Alex CF just hit my top 5 artists of all time, and it took just 5 minutes of looking around his website.

Imagine you could buy a specimen case brought back from the Lost World penned by Arthur Conan Doyle...

Or maybe some remnant of the expedition to the Mountains of Madness in antarctica penned by the great H.P. Lovecraft...

Or even the travel case accidentally left behind by Death when he was making a house call...

This artist just blows me away with the detail he puts into his creations. His ability to model and hunt down minor antiques to put the touch of authenticity into his work is staggeringly good.

The fact that his work centres around good books, and myths, that intrigue and delight me just adds to my enthusiasm.

This is the first time I have wanted to rush out and buy an artists work in the last 10 years.

Wow

NP Out

P.S. big thanks for technoccult for yet again pointing me in a direction I hadn't known existed but for some reason felt like I had been looking for - for ages

Americans - Screwed up or Righteous?

Hi,

The verdict - Screwed Up

This product is indeed now available and its mere existence made me laugh so much coffee came out of my nose.

Is it the ultimate act of Democrat denial? These guys don't approve of masturbation or anything short married sex.

Is it stark political commentary? Erm probably not.

More importantly - do you think her husband has one?

OMFG

NP Out

OK now I'm officially old

Hi,

The highlight of my weekend was taking my 3 year old daughter to Te Papa. Which is probably the coolest kid focussed museum I've ever been to. Oh and it's local and free too.

They've recently installed a huge interactive video wall, which lets anyone create an interractive masterpiece from stock images and even pictures and video updloaded to their web-site.

It is great fun to play with and dozens of people can use and interract with it at the same time.

I'm a very technical boy - so my feeling aged wasn't caused by this awesome and easy to use piece of technology.

It took me 2 minutes to work out how so retrieve and display images using a base station and then beam them to the wall. Not too shabby for a late thirties tech head.

All the other adults had to have an expert guide them for the first 5 to 10 minutes. So I was feeling smug.

My daughter was watching me the entire 2 minutes and then asked for a go. Not only did she handle it perfectly straight away but she also used multiple fingers to control the touch screen interface in Apple Mac style. This increased her speed and ability to find cool images and then display them on the wall.

The thing is it never occurred to me to use MAC shorthand on the damn thing...

She's only 3 godsdammit!

Is this the start of a slippery slope? In a couple of years will I be getting her to program the 3DTV recorder for me?

NP Out

P.S. on the bright side my daddy-pride level was huge :-)

Other Election News

Hi,

The US presidential race is occupying alot of press - but right now the Austrian election is holding my interest the most.

Austria has a good electoral system which encourages more than usual 2 horse race (10 parties took part in the latest legislative election). Of course this means that minority governments and coalition governments are the norm.

The current election currently has the Social Democtrats in the lead holding 29.7% of the seats. The interesting thing is that two far right wing parties now hold 29% between them.

That represents a huge swing to the far far right - which has got alot of commentators and European pundits worried.

But this is not the rise of a fascist state. Its the people of a democratic nation voting for the leadership of their country. I applaud the fact that Austrians actually get a choice when they vote on election day and that their choices can bring a radical change to how they are governed.

Part of me is still slightly anxious about this result.

Its just as well the two charismatic leaders of the right wing parties loathe each other and do not agree on anything.

NP Out

I'm starting to be predictable

Hi,

There are lots of things that come to mind to blog about today.

• Archaeologists discover Egyptian zombie plague

• Ancient Iranian city a matriarchy - shocking

• Over reaction to the Large Hadron Collider
  

But as per usual I'm going to go with giant fertility symbols cropping up in strange places.

Global warming is causing all manner of strange icebergs to crop up, and this one made me laugh so hard coffee came out of my nose.

Is mother earth showing an extreme reaction to mankinds neglect - or just letting us know what she thinks of us?

I'm voting on the later.

NP Out

Chrome Doesn't Suck

Hi,

One more quick update. I've been testing the new Google Chrome browser all of this morning.

It is quite frankly brilliant.

Chrome is similar to Opera, but faster, easier to use and completely open.

If you're a Windows user go get it now - you won't be sorry. MAC and Linux users have to wait a bit though.

NP Out

Is the Anglican Church changing Gods?

Hi,

Interesting news from the Anglican church, who always get alot of respect from me for adapting to meet the needs of modern society.

But have they gone too far this time?

The Birmigham Cathedral is going to open Anglican themed wine bars as a way to encourage converts and hopefully make some money.

The clergy of the cathedral are behind this move which is definately blurring the line between the church and its community of alcohol loving English folk.

"Fully in line with Christian sacrement" you might say. But - as with most of the rest of Christian dogma and ceremonies a wine sacrement was borrowed from other older religions.

Most well known is of course the worship of Dionysus. Who is actually alot older than his most associated Greek pantheon.

Lets hope that this subtle switch of deviotions does not spread. Orthodox Christians will not like their Sunday worship turned into a all out debauched revel.

Then again it might tempt me into attending...

NP Out

Veils - Its a cultural thing

Hi,

Middle eastern females wear veils and their cultures reinforce them doing so.

Parts of the Koran also talk about veils and body concealment. but then again you can read an awful lot into the Koran.

There continues to be alot of discussion about this on the net. Is it a religious thing, is it an oppression thing etc. Blogs in the west tend to agree that mandatory veil wearing is not a good thing.

But don't veils make women more alluring and sexy?

The Egyptians are definitely pushing this angle with advertising showing that girls who wear veils find it easier to get a husband. In fact Egyptian women are finding that veils just increase harassment.

In some ways do veils and body covering clothing mean that a woman has to be alluring on a more than physical level. There are middle eastern "beauty" contests where other attributes are seen as being more important than just good looks.

Isn't considering a woman as something more than being physically attractive a good thing?

Of course the clothing police do not stop at veils.

There are new lines of clothing for Strict Muslim ladies to allow them to enjoy sporting activities without exposing their bodies.

So at what point do veils and concealing clothing become something that is aberrant to western women?

Well the control aspect is definitely not their cup of tea. Especially when it can be enforced to extremis.

Or are Western women just preoccupied with their looks?

NP Out

Favourite Philosophers No 1 - Alan Watts

Hi,

Just a quick blog about a philosopher I never stop reading or listening to - Alan Watts.

He was a conflicted man, both personally and philosophically. But his take on common sense mysticism and his deep understanding of different points of view / religions is something I find alot of solace in.

He was a late 60's counter culture philosopher, but also in his life a minister and theologian. By the time he died he had published numerous philosophical works and changed a generation.

Here are some on-line links to some of his talks and video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKGO7dAIvQU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRq0ZnA4V7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0caqNCIUSZM

He's the kind of philosopher who can point out the emperor is naked and turn it into dry humour. The emperor in this case being a society of people accepting everything they are told.

Also he's normally sporting a top beard, which earns him several hundred cool points.

Np Out

The Darker Side of Photo ID

Hi,

I'm a big fan of anonymity. When someone wants to shrink into the background and not have their daily routine and habits measured they should be encouraged to do so.

I won't even carry a Flybuys or swipe my AA card when I buy something just out of general principle. I'm missing out on my reward points which is fine by me - though my better half gets a little up tight about it...

The Liberty organisation in the UK is dedicated to maintaining equal rights and the ability of citizens to be anonymous if they want to. They've been around for years and campaign against things national ID cards and photo drivers licenses. I fully support them.

However there are other reasons to insist on anonymity that I find intriguing and scary at the same time.

The increasing level of surveillance and ID tracking is a sign to some people that Satan has arrived and is busy marking his followers.

I'm all for people believing what they want - but the thought of people making decisions based on a fiery revelations ending makes my knuckles itch.

NP Out