Welcome!

I have many opinions on different things and I’m not going to hold back here. But I also know how easy it can be to offend some people, so I will always ensure that anything I say in my blogs is respectful. I do not aim to cause offense or conflict. That aside…. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say! I might sound a bit weird, angry, and/or just plain dumb at times. I am weird and the first to admit that; I can be a bit of a grump sometimes but in general, I’m a pretty quiet and friendly person so don’t take this blog as a reflection of who I am; Sometimes I act dumb or say something dumb, but I know for a fact I’m intelligent. I’ve worked hard to learn about computers and all things IT, I’ve embraced many facets of my industry, and I continue to teach myself new skills as time goes by. If I were lacking in intelligence than I would not be able to do all of that.

Now, please read on…

1940 - 1945

Reblogged from I have a homing instinct for the stars:

Whenever I split logs, my boyhood years
Come rushing back, spring tide in fullest flood.
The acid smells of chestnut, birch and oak
Rebuild the wood stores at our end of town
And recreate the tar and sawdust fuel,
The heatless swirls of grey-green blinding smoke,
Incense to gods of darkness and of war.
At night we strove to see and wept to read…

Read more… 1,008 more words

This blog has touched my heart in a very profound way. It's about a little boy living in Jersey as it was occupied by the Germans during WWII. If you want to understand what it was like to be a child growing up during the war, read this!

An old soul’s take on humanity

I suppose I must be an old soul – I listen to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald  The Ink Spots, Dinah Shore… the list goes on. My ride to work and home are usually spent being soothed by the gentle crooning so commonly heard during World War 2. And while the world has moved on and left the attitudes of 1940′s wartime in the past, I will continue to hold them fondly within my heart. A time when music was still music, sex was something sacred and beautiful, and swearing in the street was met with gasps of horror and disgust.

These times were shadowed by the dark cloud of Nazism and the ever-present threat of global extermination brought on by WWII. It was during these dark times, however, that people drew close to one another. They all watched out for each other and helped out where they could. Smile at a stranger on the street and you’d likely be greeted with a “Hello there, Stranger!” or maybe a “How do you do?” What other choice did people have? They had to live each day as if it were their last and they didn’t sacrifice their morals or good judgement to do so.

Those were better times and I see them returning to present day… somewhat. People are becoming decent again, showing a bit more respect. Crime may be increasing, but so is people’s etiquette and understanding. Now we just need to reach out more to our younger generations and teach them the importance of respect and how important it is to understand the consequences of their actions (both immediate and gradual). The world can never be the way it was before. After all the changes we have all experienced, it would be unnatural to completely revert to our past states of mind. We must move forward, we must progress and advance… but we must never forget our past completely. We must remember and learn from it. Take from the past the lessons we must remember in order to advance ourselves as people and as a species. And never allow our past mistakes to be repeated in the future – for to do so would mean we never have learned a thing and, possibly, never will.

I suppose I’m just rambling on and, after having read this, it may not make any sense to you. Still, if it does than please feel free to tell me your thoughts. How do you think Humanity should go about improving itself? What key factors do you feel we must change in life in order to move forward?

The dangers of staying at home

I’m recovering from a recent bout of the flu and I gotta tell ya, I can’t remember the last time I felt so glad to be back in the office. The past 4 days have been quite awful for more than one reason.

1. I had the flu earlier than I’ve ever had it *sniff*
2. I didn’t have the energy to sit up long enough to play a single computer game
3. I started google celebs waaay to often – Hooray for Incognito mode in Chrome!
4. I watched Neighbours! *Retches*
5. I watched day time TV… all day!

The Knowing-You-Watched-Neighbours face is the same as this

Oh, and the worst part of it all? Upon my return to work, one of my colleagues saw me writing this post. Oh, the shame! Let this be a warning to you all, NEVER become a stay-at-home ANYTHING! You will stagnate and a part of you will die.

I’m as dead-serious as this guy

Here’s hoping (and praying) that I never get sick again. EVER!!

Save Berlin’s East Side Gallery from being de-constructed for luxury condos on the former “Death Strip”

 

Save Berlin’s East Side Gallery from being de-constructed for luxury condos on the former “Death Strip” - CLICK HERE TO GO TO PETITION

Image from http://www.meltwatercareers.com

Please sign this petition! This piece of history serves as a reminder of what we must not allow to repeat – and it’s about to be destroyed!

Important message regarding heart attack symptoms

In my country, a campaign ran that told people not to be complacent about the health of their heart and to call an ambulance immediately if they are over 50 and experience any of the following symptoms:

• Pain/pressure/heaviness/tightness in your:
  • Chest
  • Neck
  • Shoulder(s)
  • Arm(s)
  • Jaw
  • Back
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Dizziness

So, when I read this blog post, I just had to share it with you guys. It’s called ‘So yeah… my mom had a heart attack‘ and it was written by Purnimodo.

Have a heart!

Please read it! If you have a loved one who is at risk of heart failure and you see them having any of these symptoms, please do not ignore them. Call the ambulance right away! It’s better to find out that it was all a false alarm than to allow a potentially dangerous situation get out of hand. And thank you, Purnimodo, for sharing that very powerful experience. With that blog post, you have reminded us all of the dangers we face when we ignore our own bodies.

Political correctness involving racism

I’ve read different articles and blogs over the past couple of years on various subjects that touch on the subject of political correctness. I remember one Christmas, Santa Claus was discouraged from saying “Ho! Ho! Ho!” in case he offended any hoes… *Ahem* I mean sexually unrestrained women. I also recall another (more recent) incident where a white kid dressed up as a dark skinned athlete, including using makeup to make his skin dark, like his hero) and caused a whole lot of hubbub when he has his picture taken with the athlete he was dressed up as. I don’t remember their names (if you know who I’m talking about, please comment below) but I don’t recall the athlete being offended by it. If anything, I think he was quite chuffed about it!

My absolute pet hates are political correctness and racism. I grew up in a very multicultural country and was always around people of different backgrounds, races and religions. I’m the last person anyone can ever call racist and get away with it.

So, this morning, as I read a blog by a girl who saw a bunch of “American donuts” in a German grocery store with flavours labelled “Black”, “Brown” and “Pink”, I got mad. Why, you ask? She was calling the advertisers of the donuts racist! Am I missing something? They’re donuts, not Humans – they have no race! Or did I miss some sort of major news announcement where it has finally been declared that donuts have their own racial groups now? Really, if that’s the first thing that enters your mind when you see something like that, grow up and climb off your soap box! I do not see the relevancy in how someone can look at a packet of donuts and, based on the variety of flavours and how they are named after their colours, can come to the conclusion that the people who make them are racist. And this is just one example of many.

I don’t support Nazism or racism – it is illogical, it is evil and it is responsible for the most high impact war the world has ever seen, World War 2. Only people with limited intelligence could ever think that racism can be justified. And I guess it’s easy for people who also abhor it to want to defend those who they perceive to be the victims of racism. I can understand that, really I can! What they don’t get is that by doing that, they’re just turning the matter into a political correctness issue and detracting from the real issue of racism in this world.

Am I wrong? Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree with me. I would love to hear your views on this matter.

May history serve as a reminder…

May history serve as a reminder of mistakes made in the past that we must never allow to repeat.

Recently, when commenting on a blog someone wrote discussing their studies on WWII, I wrote this at the end of my comment and I just want to share it with the rest of you. It just came to me as I was writing and I think this is something we all need to live by.