Jeffrey Alexander Martin

I'm in favor of global warming. Overall, I think it would be a good thing. Let's look at a few points. Here's the basic idea. Can the climate stay the same? No. If you think the weather can stay the same then I would ask you to try to get back in contact with reality in whatever manner you may choose, going outside or looking at history are two decent ideas. Notice that I said climate in one sentence and weather in another sentence, but I used them in a similar way. Many people that like to sell the idea of the apocalypse through climate change like to point out that weather and climate are not the same thing. True, weather is short term and climate is long term. Climate is long weather. Climate is to weather as cat is to kitten. It's not like people are making a giant leap when they think the two are somewhat related. Starting with the assumption that weather and climate are definitely going to change we have two basic options: hotter or colder. There are nuan...

I've heard three theories about the primary impetus for the evolution of humans. A fourth seems like it should be just as important. The zoologist Desmond Morris became famous after publishing the book "The Naked Ape" that proposed the primary influencer on human evolution was hunting. Thus, the killer ape theory became popular. And, I think it's a good one. Also, there are the water theories about the swimming or wading ape. I think these are also good in their various versions. Alister Hardy proposed the basic idea of the aquatic ape in the 1960s and it seems like a decent idea. Jan Lindblad published a book on it that's never been translated into English that focuses on the idea of wading in rivers. The key with humans is the unusual mental ability, and that's more of what the stoned ape theory tries to address. It's kind of crazy, but it seems like eating magic mushrooms could change the brain over time and might lead to something like an adva...

This is an exploration. How do we pull the idea of Theoconceptualism together into a concrete form? Once a canon has been selected then it can be built off from, expanded and adapted. It's important that the local congregation would have control over it, but most likely a new location would pull from an existing one to begin with. The distributed power structure is important because it allows the whole system to adapt and change according to local needs of the society and culture. We also want to avoid extreme change, so there would be limits on this. Such as a representational board needing a majority vote to add a text and a super-majority vote to remove a text, and only allowing 1 change a year. Or something like that. Joseph Campbell talks about the four functions of mythology: to decide an affirming or withdrawing attitude toward the mystery of life, to represent the cosmos, to integrate the individual into society, and to teach one how to live life. Some things to keep...

There was a lot of snow in the Muskegon, Michigan area yesterday, so there were only five people. Not only did the session go well, it may have gone better than when there were twelve people there. The exercise was simple, but not that simple. There were six groups of physical traits. You were to choose one trait from each group and that was your character. The scene also had to include the phrase "That didn't go as planned." Here's what I did in 25 minutes, I'll talk about it after. - - - - - - - He mostly looked like any other dwarf. The stocky body, the bald head, the bushy eyebrows, hooked nose, and big beard. Just his eyes were different. Now, let me assure you that these details matter. I take three things seriously in life: one, betting, two, ax throwing, three - well... I'm not sure what the third one is, but there is one. This guy, Hulfalflafen, he was new. The odds were good, 7 to 1. I had 37 silver marks to my name. At 7 to 1, I could ...

I have a treat for you today. This is the first time that I'm looking at a song that hasn't been released yet. Adelaide came together in 2014 when Laura, the lead singer, started the process of recording songs that she had written over the last 10 years. They released "The Bigger Picture" album in 2015, and are coming out with more new music now. This song is called "Deep Waters". When Bill emailed me this song I looked up Adelaide and couldn't find the song on their Youtube, their Facebook, or their website:  https://www.adelaidemusic.com/ The song was good, so I wanted to review it. I messaged Adelaide, and I believe I chatted with Laura. I'm lucky that she was kind enough to send me the lyrics. This song will be released next week. So, this is a sneak preview. Exciting! - - - - - - - Violent waves crashing all around thundering and deafening sound threatening flashes moving in the water is rising up again I need your anchor stead...

Is Slytherin house bad? Should they be bad? Why? Intro There are four houses in "Harry Potter": Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each is associated with certain psychological traits and attributes. Gryffindor is associated with bravery, Ravenclaw is associated with intelligence, Hufflepuff takes everyone but is most closely associated with friendliness and loyalty, and Slytherin is associated with ambition. Slytherin is not presented as all bad in "Harry Potter", but they are presented as almost all bad. This is not particularly popular because many people are in Slytherin. But, there are good reasons for this. (Also, it's important to point out that no one is a pure fit for a house. Some of the characters in "Harry Potter" even seem to be a bit of a contradiction.) My Profile I did one test where it gave you the percentages of which house you would fit in. I was rated 43% Ravenclaw, 26% Gryffindor, 19% Slytherin, and 12% ...

Viktor Frankl focused on suicide quite a bit throughout his career. First, with the unemployed youth in Vienna after WW1. Then, with the persecuted and targeted leading up to WW2. After that, with prisoners in the concentration camps. This may be his most important paragraph on the subject. I read this in the introduction of "The Feeling of Meaninglessness" by Viktor Frankl. It's a quote from an earlier work. - - - - - - - Now insofar as it is necessary to evaluate precisely to what extent the seriousness of suicide risk a person represents, either when one is determining the advisability and reasonableness of discharging the patient from a closed facility, or else during a patient’s initial intake into inpatient institutional care, I myself have created a standard method that proves itself effective without fail. It enables us to provide a diagnosis of continued suicide risk, or rather to make a diagnosis of the dissimulation of suicidal tendencies as such. At ...

Voldemort was an evil wizard. Grindelwald was a bad guy. Slytherin was a big meany. Why? What makes them so bad? Slytherin First, Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin was one of the four founders of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each of the four houses at Hogwarts is named after one of the founders: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each is associated with specific psychological attributes. Ravenclaws are intelligent, Gryffindors are brave, Slytherins are ambitious, and Hufflepuffs are everyone else (they're mostly known for being nice). (Ravenclaw is also known for eccentric people. Eccentric is code for weird. They are obviously the best house. I'm Ravenclaw.) This is at a time when witches and wizards were being persecuted by muggles. Muggles are people that don't have magic. Muggles were hunting and killing witches and wizards. It's possible for a witch or wizard to be born from two muggle parents, or a mixed couple. The idea tha...

The current idea of the left and right political spectrum aligns perfectly with Marxism. That's one problem. During the French Revolution the politicians "for the people" sat on the left side of the assembly. The politicians for the king sat on the right side of the assembly. Thus, another bad idea was born. And, another great way for politicians to manipulate people. (Notice that both sides were horrible options.) The key idea of Marxism is that there is a class struggle between poor people and rich people. The middle class would be considered rich in this struggle, and thus destroyed. Obviously Marx's ideas have been proven wrong. Supporters of Marxism will deny this no matter what. Marxism is more of a religious movement than anything else. It requires faith and an absence of questions. (Marxism is popular in universities, oddly enough. And, the United States meets most of the qualifications for a Communist country contained in the Communist Manifesto by Mar...

Feynman and Schrodinger both had amazing insights into not only physics, but many aspects of life. Richard Feynman's first wife died when she was 25 from tuberculosis. He wrote her a letter that remained sealed until his death 40 years later. I read it a few years ago and it has stuck with me. - - - - - - - D’Arline, I adore you, sweetheart. I know how much you like to hear that — but I don’t only write it because you like it — I write it because it makes me warm all over inside to write it to you. It is such a terribly long time since I last wrote to you — almost two years but I know you’ll excuse me because you understand how I am, stubborn and realistic; and I thought there was no sense to writing. But now I know my darling wife that it is right to do what I have delayed in doing, and that I have done so much in the past. I want to tell you I love you. I want to love you. I always will love you. I find it hard to understand in my mind what it means to love y...