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Last night, at around 9pm, Nero called me to look off our balcony, where we could see a massive volume of smoke pouring out of what looked like central Eslöv. Actually, towards the bottom of the smoke, in one direction, we could also see a really bright orange glow. Then and there, I said to her, "do you want to go jump in the car and see what is up?" So we quickly got our shoes on and headed down towards town, where firetruck after firetruck were screaming down the street. The police also started to block off portions of the area, and lots of other people (like us) were just getting in the way. So we decided to head to a different part of town where there weren't police or firetrucks - I'm not the biggest fan of being one of those people who just gets in the way of public servants trying to do something effectively without all of us impeding them. >_<
So we did find a couple of areas of town where you could see some flames and where you weren't in the way. Lots of other people had also been driving and walking out to some of these "hot spots" to get a look of the actions.
Sadly, the building that was hit was adjacent to a pet store - the owner came out quickly and had to evacuate all the animals. According to the reports today, the pet store did end up burning to the ground as well. 
While we were out checking out the fire, there were many other people around doing the same thing; I overheard one person, and Nero says she overheard three people who said something to the effect of "this again".
You see, we have a small little town here of somewhere around 16 thousand people. It's basically a no-where's-ville for Sweden, and actually is often referred to as the most boring town in all of Sweden. So not much happens here, but we have the whole country's fair share of arsons. We seem to have a few arsons every single year I've been here. Since I've been here, there have probable been 10+ arsons that I can recall.
At this point, this fire hasn't been confirmed as arson yet, but the unofficial word in the press is that arson is at least assumed at this point. It sure won't surprise me if they officially state it is (again) though.
Like I said, we get them all the time - 2 months ago some gym was burned down (arson), about a year ago some small hamburger restaurant was burned down and the owners completely lost their business (arson). About 2 years ago, several of the buildings at one of the schools were toasted (arson). When I first moved here we had this large gazebo area outside by the lake that was also burnt down (arson). These are just some of them I remember off the top of my head - we've actually had several others throughout the years.
No one has been caught and no blame is ever fairly resolved.
[rant]
This leads me to my frustration. A year or two ago I was under the impression that Eslöv just had some young pyromaniac. But some of this doesn't make total sense to me. First of all, there seems to be more arson activity during the summer months (out of school), and the fact that arsons are still occurring more than 7-8 years after I first witnessed one here leads me to believe it probably isn't the same person every time. Unless they have a hard-core pyromaniac disorder, it's likely younger people with an interest in fire and playing around, causing trouble and all that jazz - but if that is the case, it would imply to me that the ones who did this many years ago have since grown up and other folks may be doing the more recent ones.
And this is where I get more frustrated and angry at the same time: Eslöv - our meager little town of only 16,000 people has more undercover drug cops than Malmo (Sweden's third largest city - with a population of 290,000 people - just 30 minutes away from Eslöv).
Something in that equation doesn't make sense! We have more police in this little sticks-ville trying to bust peaceful people like me smoking up herbs and eating funcky fungus, than Sweden's third largest f*cking city.
Our police are so f*cking busy enforcing codes of living onto everyone and telling us non-violent people what the f*ck to do with our lives, that they have no f*cking time to stop these murders, rapes, and arsons. We have so many unsolved crimes on the books, and the swine just sit in their offices going over how they can keep us all in line, and occasionally go out on undercover patrols to nab all of us "bad drug people" - while real (and major crime) like this goes unsolved, unaddressed. Not to mention, people like me pay for the damage in our taxes, we pay for the public servants to address it, and we pay for people to lock us up for harming no one.
Even more angering is that I suspect a root cause of a lot of this being kids in this town just not having $h!t to do. I know it, because I was there when I moved here. I may not have even started smoking hash, had there been something worth while in this town to occupy my time with. We have no f*cking (real) shopping malls, no gaming centers, no (real) festivals, and basically a whole lot of nothing for young people to do. Yet at the same time, we have one of the largest senior populations in all of Sweden, we pour tax money into BUILDING PLAYGROUNDS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS, and don't give two shits about our troubled/misguided/bored/hungering youth.
So in my opinion, we not only are setting excellent conditions for stuff like this to breathe, but we are fueling the fires by wasting law enforcement on petty victimless crime.
[/rant]
(the last pic was just taken minutes ago - like 18 hours after it happened - though the pet shop is still partially in tact, the building that the fire started at was completely burned to the ground)
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For nearly a decade now, I have accepted (with pride) any labels such as "anarchist" or "libertarian" - just about anything that would dissociate myself from the mainstream left, the mainstream right, the mainstream socialists and the mainstream capitalists.
Most people will tell you, "every young rebel has a 'phase' they go through in which they reject authority". However, I think it's safe to say that, as my feelings, passion and heart have not changed in 10 whole years, and as I am now approaching 30 - this is more than a "phase". If anything, my passion for libertarianism only burns brighter and stronger as I age.
Now while some people may insist that with the state of our world today, it's more difficult than ever to be a truly devote libertarian, but I beg to differ. Because of the state of our world today (ethnic, political and religious turmoil), because of the contrasting differences between the left and the right (black and white politics), and because of the know-it-all-ism and political-correctness that saturates the minds of virtually every "open-mind" out there - now is possibly one of the easiest times to be libertarian.
Sometimes just defining that term (libertarian) can seem like a daunting task, but it really couldn't be any simpler. Unlike the left and the right, libertarianism is all about liberty (freedom) - whereas left and right politics is all about talking about freedom, saying you believe in freedom, but really just taking two polar opposites on most issues and rarely (if ever) basing political decision making on the simple question "does this violate liberty?"
For the earlier part of my rebellious youth, I found myself more closely relating to the sentiments of the leftish parties, and while that may still be in many ways, over the past few years I've started to finally make sense of why they are different than what I believe in. In short and sweet, the left really is no different than the right. While the left is usually looking out for what's best for everyone, and the right typically finding solace in man's selfish desires and wants, I really can't say the left is any better because both political ideas suffer from the same drastic flaw: they want to force what they think onto everyone else.
Here's an excellent example of what I mean; and actually the sole inspiration for what motivated me to sit down here and scribble out some of my thoughts on this whole topic of "political correctness":
Today I received a newsletter from change.org discussing some issues people have been discussing and voting on lately. One of the issues immediately caught my eye: "Racist Facebook App". In its petition text, it says:
Vaseline (owned by multinational Unilever) has just launched a Facebook application that will help India's Facebook users to whiten their skin in profile photos. The application is intended to advertise Vaseline's skin-lightening creams for men -- products that not only promote a distorted idea of beauty, but can also damage consumers' health.
Tell Facebook that apps are fun, but not when they promote racist ideas about beauty. Ask the company to take this offensive app off the site.
So here we are now with a petition on change.org - rallying for support to censor Facebook (for whatever the reason may be). First of all, let me make this perfectly clear: I am not a white-supremest, a racist, or in anyway think white skin is better than any other pigmant. While I may not necessarily agree with or even condone what Unilever has done here, I am behind them 100% with their right to do it. It may be a shame that apps like this may convey the ideas that they do, but what is even more of a shame is that 10,000 people out there actually think censorship is the solution. *NO* viewpoint, no matter how obscene, "offensive" or harmful to society should be eligible for censorship: PERIOD. I thought more of us believed in that sort of stuff, but apparently, it's just something we all love to talk about. Let us also not forget that ANY idea, opinion or believe runs the risk of offending someone: PERIOD. It is a frightening day when we've all collaborated on the belief that as long as it offends most of us, or even a lot of us, it's worth censoring.
And that is what separates people like my from those in the mainstream left. The politically correct way of thinking today is: "if you don't like what someone else is doing, saying or thinking - let's rally to take their right to do that away". That is exactly what is going on here, and exactly what I feel is wrong with leftish thinking. These people somehow believe a system of practicing intolerance (by censorship) will someone yield a society in which we are more tolerant - yes, that still baffles me.
As a libertarian I believe we should stop using our voices and numbers to censor and prevent everyone else from doing what we disagree with, but instead use our voices to intellectually debate WHY what others may be doing is intolerant. But of course, it's a whole lot easier just to bully people, companies and groups into submission than actually using our brains to rationalize with them and onlookers of why their ways are wrong.
That really is why I can't say I fit in anymore with folks on the left - because when you get down to it, they are no different than the right. They think they have all the answers, they think they know what's best for everyone, and they will use their numbers and whatever means necessary to ensure they get it (whether that means the law or what have you). Now while they may very well see issues from completely different angles, the bottom line is they both use the same fundamental practices. Worse of all, they both love to talk a lot about freedom while stealing it away from you in the name of "tolerance".
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I'm fairly baffled that no one has bothered to point this out yet, but then again - I didn't even catch it the first few times I heard about this law.
Los Angeles county has been at war with the hundreds of medical Marijuana dispensaries that have been popping up. It's often said that there are more medical Marijuana dispensaries in LA than there are Starbucks. This influx of "pot shops" has startled many, who see the presence of these shops selling the forbidden herb as something corrosive to their communities.
As a matter of compromise, the LA city council has been trying to please both the residents of the communities that are being "effected" as well as the dispensary operators. Yet, in a desperate attempt to find some middle ground, while drawing up new legislation, no one in any of those meetings seems to remember the basic principles under which America was founded upon.
The new laws state that medical Marijuana dispensaries cannot be located within 1000 feet from schools, parks or CHURCHES.
Maybe I've been in a social slumber for a decade or two, but when did we all take the time machine back to the days of writing legislation to appease religious sentiments we might not all agree with?
After all, doesn't anyone seem to remember the first amendment anymore?
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
If you live in America and don't know the first amendment by heart, stop right now and read it over and over until you can say it word-for-word without fumbling.
In my opinion, this is possibly the greatest political theory and practice ever created, and understanding its different meanings should be a must.
We (in the west) are supposed to live in societies where you're absolutely free to believe what you want, but at the same time understand that you can't use the law to legislate respect for what you believe. I realized there was something wrong with this law after I had read about again, and it hit me: "why should I care if my medicine offends and disrespects a religion I don't even believe in?" Many of us don't believe in the religion you might believe in, so we - as a whole - should never be obliged be paying respect to your religious sensititivities.
After all, that is one of the most basic principles by which America was founded upon. Or, have we all forgotten that already?
WAKE UP LOS ANGELES!
(For the record, in 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that the first amendment does NOT only refer to the federal government, but government in general! - Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet)
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Okay, this has kinda pissed me off, and really isn't helping me get over the incredible anti-Apple sentiment I've been gaining the few weeks.
A lot of the time at night, I like to play around on my iPhone and check out new programs from the Apple App Store.
I stumbled upon one called "Drug Addiction", and was intrigued enough by its "noble" aim to educate people on awareness of drug abuse, so I downloaded it and gave it a look.
Holy crap, have I not seen so much flagrant misinformation since the film "Reefer Madness". My biggest gripe with the program wasn't its complete partisanship, or even its scarce scope of information, or even the fact that most of the information was incredibly outdated, irrelevant and antiquated. My biggest gripe was that no where do I remember seeing the word "use". Anytime anyone drinks a beer or smokes a joint, it's "abuse" - well, at least according to this program. No where in any of the few substances listed was there the slightest distinction between use and abuse.
Nope, just more of that outdated fear-mongering we've all grown up with.
So I thought - heck, even though the program already has a 2 out of 5 star rating out of more than 10 ratings already, I felt it was necessary for me to have my say. So I did, and guess what?
My score seemed to have been accepted, but my written review was NOT added.
Being all the wise to many of the other disgraceful ways I've learned Apple conducts its business (overly aggressive DRM that can make Microsoft look like a saint, planned obsolescence with iPods and iPhones, unjustified and zealous program review process, removing threads critical of them or their partner companies in forums - to name a few), I felt it was necessary to copy my review and paste it into the notes program in the event that Apple would play big brother.
So here it is, my review of a crappy propaganda program - which seems to coincide very well with what other people thought of the program (judging from its score):
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First of all, there is an enormous difference between use and abuse, but this app fails to ever make a distinction of the two. Many drugs CAN be used recreationally without necessarily abusing them.
Nothing but a lot of antiquated misinformation and scare mongering.
Yes, drugs CAN be bad, but let us not forget we all use psycoactive substances, whether it's for a headache, boost of energy from a cup of coffee in the morning, to sleep better, for depression, etc..
Some illicit substances are not nearly as damaging as they are often made out to be, so how about we finally stop with all the scare tactics and focus on factual information from places like www.erowid.org (which focuses on educating and not mindlessly scaring)?
The last thing the world needs is more falsified information, which does far more harm than good - by giving people the mentality that if one thing they were told about something is a lie then maybe it all is.
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Am I the only one who finds nothing worth censoring here other than my idea? No obscenities (like many of the reviews they allow to be posted), no personal or defamatory slander (like many reviews they allow) - nothing. Just a little bit of reality, that for whatever reason, doesn't coincide with Apple's world vision.
You know; commercialism, spending, waste, consumption. All those things that make society tick. Could it be simply that ideas like what I've expressed are not popular by conglomerates simply because they challenge the established structure of society itself? Think about it; we're supposed to buy into the concept of finding happiness through buying things, and all of our super technologies - it doesn't seem a very popular idea to find happiness in a glass of beer, a pill, or a joint, because that undermines the entire foundation of how we have created our economy. "We" don't want people to be able to use substances that make them happy and content with life, because then they aren't going to want any part in much of what "we" think is important in life - namely: commercialism, spending, waste and consumption. So I guess, arguably supporters of drug prohibition may very well be right that drugs may hold a power than causes people to drop out of many social institutions. And maybe it's just my view of the world here, but I see that as a good thing. We *need* more people who's focal point in life is feeling good and happiness, and not all those things we are conditioned into thinking are important.
So yeah, let's just keep spreading misinformation, and scare-mongering. It's doing a whole lot of good, isn't it?
Screw you, Apple!
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They suck!
There, I said it.
Energy efficient light bulbs... everyone has heard the term, and probably most of us even have switched from our old energy wasting light bulbs to the newer "environmentally aware" cousins. Well, all of us have probably heard about just how "efficient" they are, while all of us have probably also wondered how true it can be when we see the obvious noticeable difference with our own eyes.
And if you're anything like me (distrusting everyone and everything around you), you may even begin to wonder if this is all some scam against every consumer worldwide, simply to hawk a new product at, and justify, and in fact encourage it, by stating it's good for the environment.
Yeah, I know, less energy being wasted is good for the environment, but you know what's even more effective than energy-bulbs? No bulbs at all!
If you understand the irony in that statement, then I think you are getting onto my point now...
You see, the term "efficiency" does not automatically assume something has been sacrificed. In fact, one could argue this isn't efficiency at all; just a sacrifice. For something to be "efficient" it needs to do all of (or in the sense here: both of) the various aspects surprisingly well. But "energy bulbs" don't.
Granted they consume significantly less energy; they also produce significantly less light.
Thus, one could argue nothing efficient is even going on. You're simply getting much less because you're putting less in. That's not efficiency; it's just a sacrifice.
I'm sure every single person who has used energy bulbs has thought to themselves one of the following:
1) wow, that took a little longer than I thought to turn on
2) doesn't that seem dimmer to you
3) how long does it take to reach its full effect
I performed an interesting test today to see if the claimed wattage effect of these energy bulbs was in fact what was claimed. From my testing, I've learned that energy bulbs simply do NOT produce anywhere near the same level of light as non-energy efficient bulbs do.
For my test I used one of those gadgets that tells you a plant's moisture level in the soil, it's PH level - and what's relevant here - the amount of light it receives. You could probably do this same experiment with various other gadgets and tools - it just needs a photon-detector, with a meter to understand what it finds.
In this experiment I used three different light bulbs:
- 60 Watt old-school bulb (day white / active)
- 60 Watt old-school bulb (relaxing / yellow)
- 11 Watt (claimed 60 Watt effect) energy efficient bulb
There was an incredible difference between the amount of light detected from the energy bulb and the non-energy bulbs. As I held the meter about 6 inches from the light bulb, the meter indicator would go as far to the right as it possibly could - when using the non-energy efficient bulbs. Actually, I was expecting a bit of a difference between the white light and the yellow light, but both of these bulbs produced nearly identical results.
The new, energy efficient bulb, yielded completely different results. For one, I made sure to leave the lamp on for a good minute before measuring (as we all know, energy bulbs can take a long time before they even reach their maximum effect). After a bit over a minute, I started measuring, and I was blown away, because it was like comparing an apple to an orange. When holding the light detector basically one inch from the light bulb, the meter's indicator was only 1/5 - 2/5 to the right, whereas with the old school bulbs it was as far to the right as the meter would allow.
So here's where I tie this whole stupid rant together... You can't expect people who have been accustomed to something for generations and generations, just to make a quick trade-in, for something which does not work as well. It's understandable for governments and social institutions to encourage and in fact, disallow the use of older technologies when newer ones are present that have all the angles addressed. Our current generation of energy efficient light bulbs are still nowhere near that point. They really seem like more of a trade-off than anything, which is not what they are portrayed to be. We are all told that they are just as effective, but I think anyone of us who have ever spent a good deal of time around these lights know that's a damn lie. If we are to fully make the transition from energy wasters to energy savers, then we need to focus on the how well it works, and not just the energy usage.
The light produced by energy bulbs is NOT equal to, or even in the same range of light produced by energy wasters. I love the environment, and I don't want us all to damn our future by using ineffective and obsolete technologies, but before we are to move forward with a technology, we need to ensure that we are not sacrificing something we had before that technology came along (namely: decent light). So please, let's not kid ourselves. We can do this if we really want to cut back on our energy consumption, but for the love of it all, can this nonsense that they are just as effective please cease now?
I've got high hopes for LEDs. After tinkering with them for a while, I suspect they may actually be far more efficient (because they consume little energy *AND* produce vibrant light ).
"Energy bulbs" only do one of those, and for that reason I can't call them efficient.
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As I've mentioned a while back, I keep tabs on GAF from time to time to bring in a bit of income.
Anyhow, there are various aspects of this site that really depress me. First of all is the obvious presence of countless projects asking you to do things that are morally bankrupt (rigging ratings, suppressing negative information on search engines and what not), but I think out of it all the thing that gets to me the most is the fact that very few people these days seem interested in doing something truly original or unique.
Everyone (95% anyhow) just wants a rip off of some other web site. Clone this, copy that, redo this.
Frigging-a, have people seriously become this void of thought and creativity?
Am I the only one that thinks creating something yourself is more mentally fulfilling and rewarding than just stealing someone else's idea or concept?
Seriously folks, no wonder the web is in shambles when it seems as though most of the people who put the sites up on the web are just stealing each others ideas, layouts and concepts.
I guess that's what over-commercialism does.
People begin to lose sight and vision in exchange for a quick or simple buck.
How some people sleep at night is beyond me...
soulless, heartless, mindless, commercial slaves to the dollar
Not me - no, thank you.
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Yeah, I'm hording. I've got three now. It's only a matter of time before one peaceful religion blows the f*ck out of another, or any atheists who want no part in their social and dogmatic dominance.
Ahem...
Anyhow, I got my third gasmask yesterday; only 50 kronor with a filter (filter not shown). I don't really buy them with the idea of using them one day, but I like collecting them as souvenirs of our failure as a species.
"The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure." - LBJ
Whooohooo!!!
Once I am financially well off enough to build a house, one of my first orders of business will be to build a hardcore bomb shelter (with a "Fallout" theme  ), with "101" on the door. 
I have absolutely no faith in humanity. We kill each other because others are different. We kill each other because others believe different things than us. We justify the murder of other human beings out of religious justification. f*ck, I used to think the world was worth saving; yeah, save a bunch of arrogant parasites too god damn blind to see their destroying themselves. Biiiiiig loss. NOT!
I don't really give two shits about saving this world that doesn't want to save itself anymore. All I care about is protecting myself and those closest to me. I'd lock you all out of my bomb shelter if it came down to it, because you'd just spread your self-righteous religious hatred in my shelter. f*ck that.
(and yeah, that is a cut on my arm you nosy cunt. I didn't realize it was in the photo until it was too late, and I don't like changing who I am enough to redo the pic to appease any sensitive viewers. I don't cut out of feeling discontent with myself; I cut out of anger against everything around me... and since I'm 27 now, and I've been doing it for more than a decade, I think it's fairly safe to say it's not a "phase". Not everyone fits into your stereotypical idea of emo kids. *barf*)
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I've been listening to a lot of The Clash lately, and one song (Bankrobber) has been stuck in my head for a while, because there is a line that I really wish some folks would think about.
I think life is a crock of $h!t too, and I think life itself is rigged, and that most of the cards have already been dealt before we are born. But still, I can't respect those who don't at least give life their best.
Some is rich, and some is poor,
That's the way the world is,
But I don't believe in lying back
saying how bad your luck is
Maybe life is really just $h!t in the end, but to not even try your best to make the most of it, knowing that you probably won't even succeed, is a real sign of character. Sadly, some people really lack this.
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Man, am I sick of getting f*cking spam!
I've been quite busy building the SikoSoft/Theia website lately, so I haven't been checking my email quite as often, or going through my spam folder as I normally do.
I don't trust Thunderbird's "adaptive spam filter" at all, because it's proven to be incredibly unreliable in the past, no matter how much you "train" it. So this means, I actually sit down skimming through all my spam in the spam folder and delete everything manually I know is junk, and keep an eye peeled for real mail.
Since I haven't cleaned my spam folder lately, I had to go through 1600 messages just now! And that's, sadly, less than a weeks worth of spam to a single email account.
I guess this is what happens when you use the same email address for around 10 years...
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It feels like 95% of the IT jobs in this country are up in Stockholm... That's about a six hour drive from where I live (maybe more).
And since I am applying for the jobs that I am most suited to, this means that I'm basically being forced to apply for these jobs (plus, I am legally obliged to apply for jobs anywhere in the country; bullshit).
So I just got another response from a company who said they think I could be the person I am looking for, and asked if I could come in for a job interview sometime next week.
It costs probably around 100 bucks for me to even get up to Stockholm, all for some job interview that has no guarantee I will even get it.
Damn I'm so sick of this stupid unemployment system.
At least, I've made up my mind and decided to start publicly releasing, promoting and pushing Theia in just one month's time. It would be so nice if I could make it work after a few months so that I don't even need to bother with getting a job...
*sigh*
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I was just watching CNN for about 20 minutes, and well, it's almost as worthless as FOX.
So I got to thinking... No wonder Americans are all idiots. Yeah, I just said that, so excuse me while I stereotype here, because my lack of knowing any American with their head on straight really clouds my judgment of the people as a whole.
They spent about 20 seconds talking about Obama's visit to Europe and talks with European countries and leaders.
Then they spent about 2-3 minutes talking about what church the Obama's would be attending.
And then another minute or two on what dog they would be getting.
Seriously... You have got to be f*cking kidding me. Are ALL American's so void in their heads that this is what they see as news? Granted it's not quite as bad as the rubbish on FOX, but this sorta stuff is a joke.
It's no wonder American's don't know jack $h!t about what goes on in the world, or even have a f*cking clue why so many other people in the world think they are a bunch of nitwits.
Man, do I miss BBC. They actually covered real NEWS on there, unlike any American news outlet I've ever seen. More than that, they don't use nearly as much manipulative signals to influence your thinking (again, more evidence to why I think all American's are dumbfucks). On CNN here, they mentioned "immigration" for a second as the image on screen shows a man's arms in handcuffs. Instead of portraying immigration as a form of movement from one region to another, it was portrayed as criminality. Yup, you American's really are farm fed idiots.
Oh, and for the record, I thought Americans were all a bunch of tools all 18 years I lived there. Moving to Europe has only strengthened my convictions that Americans are probably the dumbest people on Earth. If I was any less vocal about it while living there (which I don't think I was), it was merely because America is not a society that welcomes or values every opinion - that's just a bunch of empty rhetoric.
I guess that's what happens when you have a system of anti-intellectualism where stupidity is glamorized in the media (through the use of entertainment mediums which strengthen the notion of not stopping to think), coupled with constant commercial bombardment.
But wait, let me say it again, because I take oh-so-much pleasure in uttering these words: Americans are probably the dumbest people in the world.
Granted, I know that there must be a hundred people out of the 300,000,000 which do have their heads on straight, I've never met one, and I kind of doubt I ever will. I realize that, by in large, stupidity is rampant and infectious everywhere, the degree to which Americans allow themselves to be absolved of any sort of rationale, neutral reasoning, or desire to expand one's mind is unparalleled.
And no, I do not think it is fair to blame the media alone for the shriveled size of an American's brain. If it were not for the people accepting what they are being fed, without question, then the media would not be able to continue in such a way. Everyone is to blame, because everyone demands to be entertained instead of educated.
Even though I didn't choose to be born an American, I am so ashamed to be a part of such an ignorant, complacent and brainwashed culture.
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I went to pick up my meds this afternoon. I'm sorta running low on both of them, but I consider the Theralen (anti-anxiety; I mainly use it for sleep assistance) the much more important one since it "helps" me sleep. The only other (prescribed) medication I take is Sertaline (it's an anti-depressant of the SSRI family).
Anyhow, over in Sweden I get electronic prescriptions a lot of the time. I can't complain because it's a lot less environmentally wasteful, plus it doesn't matter if you are really messy and lose things all the time (like me).
So anyways, much of the time I don't know what the doctor made the prescription out for (with any certainty that is) until I am there at Sweden's only monopolized pharmacy (Apoteket).
I find out today that I only can get a refill on Theralen one more time (making it two total fills counting the one I got today), and oddly enough I have *three* more refills of Sertalin.
This blows my mind because it sounds like the complete opposite of what she told me she would do. I'd expect much more Theralen and far less Sertaline, but that didn't happen. I'm not supposed to see the doctor again until late this year (Oct-Dec), and one bottle of Theralen lasts me at most 1-2 months, whereas each pack of Sertaline has 100 pills and I take one a day (more than three months worth for each refill, easily lasting me until the next appointment). Yet, I will have to call already on the Theralen in just around 2 months, once I've picked up my last one.
Excuse my weak rant, but why is it that professionalism seems to be an antiquated concept in contemporary medicine?
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It's about 10 over 4 in the morning and I cannot sleep.
The worst part is I've actually really been trying hard for the past five hours, but no luck so far.
I wish I had some pot now. I'd sleep solid in a matter of minutes. But alas, that is illegal, and by extension harder to obtain, so that conventional chemical producing companies can make their piece of the pie filling us all up with their worthless poisons.
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Sweden just passed a law, on February 1st, banning the use of high intensity green lasers.
There are various rules regarding their use, but one even specifically states they may not be used in the sky either.
Which means, I may just be a criminal for something else now. Whoopie!
See, I have a high intensity green laser (AKA an astronomy laser). Unlike standard red lasers, high intensity green lasers are much stronger and you can even seen the entire beam if it is dark or if the conditions are right. You use it for guiding your telescope when you have no orientation, which is perfect for me since I can't calibrate my telescope on the balcony as I have a very limited view, and no view of true north. This makes finding cosmic objects, or where the telescope is aiming, much easier. I simply hold the laser against the top of the telescope as I turn the nobs.
So yeah, just another law to take away yet another part of that thing people used to know called "freedom".
This comes after a kid supposedly used a green laser and pointed it at a police officer.
Do I care? At the principle yes, but not because it will "stop me", because it won't. I don't give two shits about any law that I feel is violating my personal freedom. It angers me, yes, because it shows how repressive and out of hands we have allowed governments to get, but I don't care about the presence of such a law because the law is meaningless to me.
I'm already a drug user, pirate, free speech enthusiast, as well as a host of other things which are not permitted in this country, so using a green laser is just one more.
As you can see, I'm not the type of person who lives in fear from a repressive government and worries about what I'm allowed to do. I'm a human being who believes in the freedom to do whatever I want if it doesn't violate someone else's freedom.
f*ck the law.
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