Diary of a Deipnosophist

Oi kid, what is your opinion on euthanasia? Tell me what you think or I will punch a hipster

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:13:43 +0100

I think that euthanasia should be legal in the UK or that we should not imprison those who help loved ones to get to Switzerland.

Although I believe it should be legal, I think there needs to be several things in place to make sure that the system cannot be abused. Every case must be assessed by a panel of experts in their fields. The panel would consist of a psychologist, the persons GP and several people specially trained in making correct and just decisions in this area.

This panel would decide if the person did, truly, wish to die. They would see if they were being pressured into by family or any other external influences. The panel would also decide if that person had an unclouded mind. Be sure that their decision to die was not effected by any mental illness. Finally they would assess the persons reasoning behind their decision, whether or not it was a declining quality of life or just a weariness of life. They would decide if they had a just reason to want death as an escape.

This system will be unfair, making it easier for people with illnesses like MND to get approval from the panel. Due to the degenerative nature of things like Alzheimer’s and dementia, where the mind is affected, it would be very hard or impossible to be sure that death is what the sufferer wanted.

Unfortunately, If this Euthanasia is to be made legal in the UK then it will be a very strict system. It shares an argument with the death penalty. If you allow someone to die, who didn’t really want it. (They were pressured by family or had a mental illness) Then you and the panel are responsible for killing this person and the nation will be in uproar. They system would have to refuse service to any persons where they were even slightly unsure about motives that the nation would probably cry out about that as well.

We have a right to live however we want; I believe we have the right to die whenever we want too. However, I don’t think that we, as a nation, are ready for it quite yet.

How or where do you find (presumably atheist) women to date?

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:26:05 +0100

Good question. Lately I have been having a good think about the nature of bars, clubs and parties in regard to the women attending each.

I have found that meaningful relationships are formed after talking to a person and therefore clubs are out, if this is what you are looking for. Clubs do, however, serve a purpose. They provide a place to go to have fun and look for other people with whom you might like to have more fun. It is a place where judging a person on their looks is normal because there is no way to hear what they are saying. To sum up, a club is where you find an attractive hook-up and not a soul mate.

Bars are a good place for making friends and meeting girls. Don’t buy every girl a drink, or even any girl unless you really want to. If a girl is interested in you, or is enjoying your conversation/company then she will stay and talk to you regardless of whether you bought her a drink. Ask questions and listen intently. Gently steer the conversation either in the direction of her childhood to try to form an emotional connection or towards a topic you are really interested in. (To see if there would be any interesting conversation in your relationship) Maybe learn a magic trick or two. Don’t take the magic seriously; make it into a joke by saying you bet a friend it wouldn’t work, or something similar. Bars are a place where friends and relationships are made and chilled fun is to be had.

Parties have the best of both worlds. If you are in the dancing room, you can pretend it’s a club, or you can sit in the kitchen or garden to just talk to people. Make jokes and be prepared to laugh at yourself if anyone makes a joke at your expense. A long-term relationship wont work if the girl thinks you can’t take a bit of banter. Getting them on their own is always good, that way you can have a good conversation without being interrupted.

The suggestions above are all rather alcohol fuelled. They work best because confidence is key and a drink and a half gives you all the confidence you need. Find places around your town that hold evening classes in something you’re interested in. Join groups for sports that you enjoy and most of all. By being part of these groups you will meet women who have at least one thing in common with you and you wont have to think too hard for first date ideas. Don’t be afraid of being rejected. The only answers you can get are YES and NO to ‘want to go for a meal later?’ Remember, don’t dig for a yes, leave them a number and walk away. They’re a stranger; you never have to see them again if you don’t want to.

Discovering The 3rd Dimension

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:41:48 +0100

FIrstly, sorry it has been so long since my last blog post. I had some stuff…

As you can probably guess from the title, I have decided to talk about 3d.

I am personally not a fan of 3d films. Not because they are mainstream and not because I want to be different. The glasses irritate my face and make it hard for me to concentrate on the film. Maybe when they get rid of the glasses, up the frame rate and eliminate strobing I will become a fan.

The thing I really wanted to talk about was 3d printing. You can have your own 3d printer for as $1,300. (makerbot) Think about what it means to have a 3d printer, you can print any spare item you need. Remember how the back of a gameboy always used to fall off and break? Well, now you can print a new one! Moved house and need shower curtain rings? Print some off! The printers at the moment can use many things instead of ink. They can use food, liquid plastic, hot resin, layers of paper or powders and glue. The powders can be any metal. Need a hip replacement? Print one out. New part for your car? Print one out. The possibiltes are innumerable.

Think about the consequences this will have on the manufacturing industry. There will be fewer jobs in an industry where all items are now created by printers. However, in a world where we are trying to be green we can all see the benefits of being able to email someone a physical item. Instead of having to ship an item across the world we can now just send them a file and they can print it off at their current location.

There are companies around now that will print things off in 3d and send them to you for a small price. (compared to buying a printer) Shapeways offer this service. It’s really fun and useful to be able to draw something out on your computer and have it delivered to your door. Prototyping has never been easier.

Internet Browsers

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:18:00 +0100

What internet browser are you using? Do you know about all the other browsers available and their individual merits? But, most importantly, did you know that Google is dropping functionality for some older browsers?

Google spends loads of money each year making sure that all of their services like calendars and mail can be used by anyone in any browser. However, older browsers do not have the same level of support for website meaning that Google has to maintain many different versions of each service for use on each browser. This takes a lot of money to do, keep and store. The other reason behind them doing this is because older browsers can be insecure and not sophisticated enough to deal with the latest websites.

Google have decided that they are not going to maintain functionality for older browsers any longer. This means, if you are using an older browser you might see a drop off in some of the things you can do in Google applications. This is no real problem; all you need to do is update your browser. While you’re at it, why not see if different browser would be better for you. Check back later for a post about browsers.

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A More Mac Muddled Mind

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:58:53 +0100

The other day I thought that I was confused over getting a mac. I have since heard about an almost unbelievable story about the lengths one Chinese teenager went to just to own an IPad 2. Click below to read more.

A apple infatuated Chinese teenager arranged the sale of his kidney over the internet to pay for an IPad 2. The IPad 2 went on sale last month in china and this insane (possibly brilliant) kid worked out a way to pay for his. Apparently he saw an advert online offering money to organ donors, he was paid £2000 ($3392) for his kidney. The buyer arranged the trip into hospital as well as conspicuous payment. The government are trying hard to crack down on this form of organ trafficking.

The kid used this money to buy his IPad and a new laptop. He didn’t tell his mother to begin with, figuring he could hide 2 brand new computers and a large red scar. He couldn’t and his mother became suspicious. He finally told her the whole tale and the story came to press.

It is amazing what people will do for the latest gadgets. Would you sell your kidney for £2000 ($3392)? After all, you only need one.

The Mac Muddled Mind

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:04:00 +0100

I need a new computer, more specifically a laptop. I need something that allows me to do work on the move. I have a desktop that functions fine but doesn’t quite hit the high specifications required to run nice looking games on “ultra”. What should I do? Click below to read more.

I have about £1000 to spend on a computer if I find a bit of extra work in the summer. This is the exact amount i would need if I were to buy a Mac Book Pro, a laptop I have used and am an admirer of. The other option is to buy a PC laptop and have enough money left over to either build a new computer from scratch or seriously pimp my current system. This, at the moment is the most appealing option.

The reasons for getting a mac would be such:

I need to be able to develop apps for apple products
I enjoy the almost instant start-up speeds
The ease of use
The amount of help available at the apple store
The image that comes with owning a mac

Numbers 1 and 3 could be solved by making a hackintosh. I am reluctant to do this however. If I did by a PC laptop i would build a new system and turn my old desktop into a mac simulator.

I am still undecided on this issue, any help would be appreciated.

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Tawdry Technology

Sun, 22 May 2011 22:13:00 +0100

Today I was thinking about technology, computers in particular. Everybody can use them but a much smaller percentage knows how they work. Most people can open Word and write an essay or go online and send an email. But how many people could install Word or create a wireless home network connected to the internet? Are you a computer wizz? Click below to find out.

I put together a small list (in no particular order). If you think I have missed anything please send me a small message telling me the vital skill I have overlooked. You should be able to do 75+% of these things if you are a competent computer user.

Install or Uninstall a program
Burn a CD from an ISO
Send an email with an attachment
Install a printer
Change the ink in a printer
Format a hard drive
Replace a hard drive
Install a floppy drive
Create a small HTML website
Rid your computer of viruses
Turn off printer sharing
Create a wireless network
Set up a static IP
Change your wireless password encryption type
Use Linux
Use a Mac
Be able to make a small program
Update a windows service pack
Reinstall windows
Edit parental settings on any supporting program/website

So, how many of these things can you do? I am a bit of a computer geek so some of these may be a little bit out of touch but you should be able to do 15 of them. If you can’t you should look into learning them. Sometime in the future you will have to do most of these things, it will really help you and your wallet if you can do them yourself.

Alternative Voting

Thu, 05 May 2011 00:01:24 +0100

I appreciate that a lot of my readers are from outside of the UK, this paragraph is for you. On Thursday the 5th of May 2011 the UK is voting on a referendum to change the way we vote. At the moment we use “First Past the Post” we have the option to switch to “Alternative Voting” the first step to “Proportional Representation”. Read on, tomorrow could be a record day for democracy.

With the vote tomorrow, I thought it was time that I made up my mind. The first thing I did was educate myself to how the system works. At first glance it seems to be fairer with more people’s votes actually counting.

In case you are unaware as to the working of the system, watch this video http://bit.ly/hwyPZ3. It explains it clearly. I will wait for you to go watch that now…….

Glad your back, from this point on I will assume you know what I’m talking about. With the current system, FPTP it’s less about who has the most votes but who has the best distribution of supporters. If you have 40~% of the population voting for you but they are evenly distributed between all constituencies then you will probably not win very many seats. This is unfair because if people everywhere are voting for you then it probably means that your policies are more suited to everyone than if all of your voters are concentrated in the rich constituencies.

People say that AV will lead to more coalitions, yes; this however is not a bad thing. This makes the parties think “How can we work with the other parties for the good of the people”. Do you really want a system that gives a majority that you didn’t want, a system where your vote against them is meaningless?

The other advantage of AV is that it makes MPs work harder for your vote. In areas where a certain party wins by FPTP with 30% of the votes this becomes apparent. The candidates have to try and secure the “Second Vote” of the people that didn’t give them their “First Vote” or they might not win.

What this means for you, it is no more confusing when you got to vote. All you have to do is rank the people you would like to win, or not.

By this point you might realise that I am voting YES tomorrow. Now i would like to address some of the points I saw on a “Vote NO” poster.

1. People who vote for fringe parties can have their vote counted more than once.

This does not mean that they get more than one vote. It means that when their first choice is eliminated their vote will be counted again and added to the votes for their second choice. This means that someone will physically count their vote more than once but it will not count more than once.

2. AV is a Lib Dem fix

This is not a rational argument. They are using this because the Lib Dems are out of favour at the moment for breaking their promise on Tuition Fees, a promise that would have caused the tax payer to put the students through instead of them paying it themselves.

3. It is complicated and expensive

This is rubbish. Although it is more complicated it is not more complicated for the voter, just the people counting the votes. You are not going to be asked to do any tricky maths in the voting booth just to put a “1” instead of an “X”. If you can manage it you can also rank the parties you want to win. As for being expensive, they are correct. It is more expensive. Not massively so, it’s not suddenly going to cost us £20 each in taxes. Can you put a price on true democracy? Where more votes would matter than ever before?

Vote YES to AV

Children

Sun, 01 May 2011 19:57:31 +0100

I recently had a dream where I had a baby. I myself didn’t give birth to the child myself, that was my partner whom I do not remember. I do remember not minding and actually being quite happy about the whole thing.

I have noticed that recently, when I was seeing my younger brother and sister (7 and 9 respectively) that I coped much better and that I actually enjoyed taking care of them. Today, I was seeing family. They have two children (1 and 3) I even enjoyed holding and entertaining them.

This comes as a surprise to me because up until quite recently I have found the whole baby/child thing repulsive. Every time I saw a baby or heard one I would find it massively amusing but now I just find myself smiling. It’s a change. Maybe once I find the right person I won’t have trouble with settling down.

But yeah, not for a few years yet.

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Happiness and Haters

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:52:25 +0100

Haters are essentially a good thing. If nobody hates your blog then it simply means that you have not broken out of your niche. When you become main stream and lots of different people start to view your blog you will enevetably get those who don’t like what they read. Rejoyce! You have broken into the vastness of the web.

Haters get no say here. Not here.

Everyone else, please keep sending me your messages.

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Royal Rigmarole

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:41:42 +0100

So yeah, I’m jumping on the wagon. Not the one going to London to watch the wedding but the one traveling quickly in the opposite direction. I, like a huge proportion of the population, am disgusted at the amount of media time and attention this mundane task has received. People get married all the time, the only difference here is that one of the people taking part has been ridiculously privileged and rewarded from birth, for no reason.

What I did like was the buzz. Enough people cared to make the atmosphere pleasant. I walked a bit around my town; I saw at least 4 official road closures for street parties. It always makes me smile when I see people making an effort so socialise with all the people on the street, things should be like they were.

My street did not have a party. I think this was a shame, we don’t really know our neighbours like we should. Do you know your neighbours? Could you have a BBQ and invite them all? It is the curse of living in a reserved country like England. Unless you have a really good reason, you don’t disturb anyone and sometime, not even then.

So to conclude, nobody gives a shit about two people that don’t matter and I want a street party.

Over and out.

Dreamscape

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:45:55 +0100

Last night I had the biggest and most detailed dream to date, or I just remembered more of it that normal.

I have just been away for a week in the Lake District climbing mountains and camping by tarns. I didn’t record any of the dreams I had while I was away and I also didn’t sleep very well. I think that this caused a build-up of lost REM sleep that caused me to dream more than normal. That or my subconscious wanted to make up for the fact that there were a few days missing in my dream journal.

Anyway, it was a blend of pedal powered go-carts, my little sister, rockets, magic, merlin and lecture theatres. It was all quite wonderfully weird but does make you think, how on earth did I not question this reality whilst I was in it?

I shall right this one up, because it was so detailed I believe it is worthy. Check back here soon for the craziest story you are ever likely to read.

A Deipnosophist's Dreams

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:22:47 +0100

Do you dream? How often do you dream?

Everybody dreams, every time they go to sleep. You will dream maybe 2 or 3 times in a normal night. If you answered less than this, it’s because you can’t remember them not because you don’t have them. If you would like to rememebr your dreams then the best idea is to keep a dream journal. This is what I am doing as of last night.

I objective is to be able to have lucid dreams, where I am concious that I am dreaming and able to control the dream much the way they do in ‘Inception’. I have no idea if this is truly possible but if it is, I want it.

I have read back the dreams I have had a few days later, some of them are really crazy. I may post one or two here in the future, they’re pretty funny. Let me know if you want me to post them.

Anyway, even if I never manage to lucid dream, I will still have a book full of random stories all of which read like an acid trip. I might right them up properly one day.

"The definition of Communism somewhat differs depending on where you look. It does not require people to become mindless drones, devoid of personality and individuality."

It should be pointed out that when people say Communism, they tend to mean Marxism. Marxism, however, does require people to give up all economic freedom for the sake of collectivism, and in essence does create a system that punishes individuality, because (as the previous anonymous poster pointed out) absolute conformity for the greater good is required. In the same way utilitarianism punishes minorities who don't conform to the wishes of the majority, Marxism punishes individuals who don't conform to the same economic and social ideals. In essence, devoid of personality? Not necessarily, but devoid of individuality? Almost certainly yes.

Of course then you get yourself into the debate as to what is most important, because saying Marxism doesn't work because it punishes individualism relies on the assumption that one puts individualism before numerous other factors. Many would argue that the upholding of basic liberties and freedoms is the hallmark of a good society, whereas others would argue that equality of outcome and equal distribution of goods is, but this is a whole other debate that is probably best to avoid getting into.

(I'm not the same poster as the last one, by the way)

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:59:36 +0100

Communism not against the individual but it is the only real celebration of individualism possible and It aims to achieve this through positive freedom. Under communism people are supposed to have the liberty and the capability to do whatever they wish, as long as this does not inhibit the liberty and capability of others to do the same.

1) Education doesn't have to be paid for at the point-of-service (to borrow the term usually applied to healthcare), and can therefore be funded privately via loans which can be paid pack after education is complete. University education in the UK is currently partially funded in this way for most students, and although the state functions as the loan provider, this is by no means necessary.
2) While it is apparent from the relative performance of the healthcare systems used in the world (past and present) that this is one of the few areas where a state monopoly (or at least state dominance) is superior to a privately controlled system, it is nonetheless possible to run both.
2.1) As of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act 1986, ambulances and hospitals must provide emergency medical treatment to anyone who requires it, regardless of their ability to pay
3) If people need services that the state provide (i.e. they exist for the greater good) then there must be a demand for them. If they are not provided by the state then this demand does not go away, and it therefore benefits individuals to fill those gaps – there is no need for taxation to make up for a lack of goodwill towards others as self-interest leads them to work for the “greater good” without coercion.
4) Not really much to do with the rest of the post, but it would feel wrong to leave the statement that communism is “perfect in theory” uncontested. As the most extreme form of collectivism, communism requires all individuals to act for the “greater good” of the collective. Since there can only be one “greater good”, absolute conformity to the collective opinion is required, forcing individuals to give up liberties as essential as freedom of thought. As this situation (which is repulsive to the individualists who make up the majority of the post-enlightenment West) is required for communism to exist, I certainly wouldn’t call it “perfect in theory”.
I should also add that I don’t wish to contest the idea that the world is better off with taxes, simply the idea that it would not be able to function without them.

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:18:11 +0100

1)The education system, for higher education, used to be free. Completely funded by the government. Then it became heavily subsidised. Now, from 2012, almost the full cost of the education is being shown to the student. They loan system does work. It allows students to borrow money to pay for their education. It however does not allow you to borrow all the money that you need. I’m unsure increasing the amount this is done is a good thing. If the loans for all education are to be like the ones currently available for university students then you would not need to pay them back until you earn more than £xx,xxx per annum. I don’t think we should increase the amount of money being borrowed that needn’t be paid back.

2) While it is true that the health service would continue to function if it were privatised. It would not serve those in less fortunate financial circumstances to the same degree as everyone else. While you are correct that it is possible to run both, only one way does not entrench class divide.

2.1) As it should be. However, how do the hospitals pay for the emergency medical treatment? If the only people who needed the emergency treatment were unable to pay would it continue to exist? or would it disappear due to a lack of funding? The cost of these things are funded out of the money paid by the richer people needing health care. This is not abolishment of taxes but hiding it.

3) Although people may fill these gaps with a service to fill their own pocket. It is going to be at the expense of those requiring that service. If a few hundred people attend a service that is funded by everyone in that town then the cost goes almost unnoticed. However, if an individual, working for personal gain, is providing that service and the money is no longer coming from the masses then it is coming from the few who need that service. This either making the service unusable for the poor or the cost far more apparent for those who have no other choice. Also, if a company is set up to fill a gap left by the state post tax abolishment do you think it will be not-for-profit? The service will, of course, be more expensive because the users are paying to line the pockets of the provider.

4) The definition of Communism somewhat differs depending on where you look. It does not require people to become mindless drones, devoid of personality and individuality. (This however was not part of the original discussion)

You have some really good arguments and I think you are right. The world would not cease functioning but would function to a lesser standard and therefore is hardly worth consideration.

"Without taxes, the world would stop." - Not necessarily.

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:54:35 +0100

Genuine, non-aggressive interaction. wow. This is an interment first! Thank you for your comment, and yes, I think you are correct, to a small degree.

Society would be fine if there were no taxes but only if humanity wasn’t so deeply flawed.

At the moment, taxes pay for compulsory education (up to A levels). This education allows people to get better jobs and in turn to pay their taxes so that the next generation can be educated. If there were no taxes, you would have to pay your own way through the school system. It would only take one weak person in your family to get addicted to something or to require expensive medical care for you to be unable to put your children through school. As soon as that happens they get badly paid jobs due to them being uneducated. They are then unable to pay for their children’s education therefore starting a cascade of uneducated people.

Taxes pay for medical care. Without them we would be like America where the doctor will check your wallet before checking your pulse. This is not what I want for my children. A world where people are denied medical attention because they can’t afford to pay it is not a world I want to live in. If you think about it it’s just another way of saying “let’s kill off the poor folk”.

Taxes help us by taking the money needed for our general welfare away from us before we can waste it or lose it. By paying your taxes you are contributing to the greater good which is something that people would not do if they were not forced to.

Essentially you are right. Without taxes a world would not stop. But it would need to be a world full of genuinely nice, strong willed and healthy individuals.

It’s a bit like communism. It is perfect in theory. But only in theory.

Note to haters:

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:52:00 +0100

If you do not like my blog, do not read it. I am willing to answer any questions not full of hate or written in complete capitals. I will read every message and I will mentally rip you shreds instead.

This is my blog, you will not ruin this, you have no effect on the world.

Go stew in your own insignificance Haters because the world can do without you.

WHERE IS YOUR FACE? WHOS THE ANONYMUS ONE NOW? WHAT IS USEFUL ABOUT TELLING ME I NEED TO BE MORE LIKE YOU? YOU USE BIG WORDS SO YOU SEEM BIG I SAY WHAT I MEAN. I DONT NEED YOU TO TELL ME TO REACH OUT TO DEAF PEOPLE I PREY FOR THE HOMELESS AND I PAY TAXES SO THEY CAN BUY POT AND SIT ON THEIR ASSES

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:32:00 +0100

Lets answer your questions first:

My face is on the front of my skull, just where it has always been.

I’m not sure who the anonymous one is, it’s not me and it’s clearly not you. Andy McNab perhaps?

Good god, I wouldn’t wish anybody was more like me. What use would that be? We need a range of people in the world to make it function. Every tier of society is important along with every person.

I like my words, some of them are big, yes. I however do not think that it makes me “BIG”. I would say it makes me articulate.

If you don’t need me to tell you to reach out to deaf people then it means you already are. A big thank you from me and my deaf friends. Many of them, along with myself, would like to shake your hand for doing such a noble thing.

I’m very glad that you pay your taxes as it is a legal and moral obligation. Without taxes, the world would stop.

I didn’t quite catch the meaning of the last part of your message, I assume it means that you do some sort of work at a shelter for homeless people. Again a very noble activity. A big thank you from me and the rest of humanity.

You are a very angry person. However, directing your hate at me will get you nowhere. If you don’t need me telling you anything, I suggest that you stop reading my blog. I am touched, that even though you hate the subject matter, the writing keeps you engaged and coming back for more.

I look forward to the day you muster the courage to write your own blog for others to critique. When the day arrives I will be an avid reader because your heart seems to be in the right place.

The Deafening Silence

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:21:58 +0100

Last Friday I went to a deaf pub. It was a normal evening and I really enjoyed myself.

The pub was packed, everywhere you looked you could see people and movement. But, at the same time, you could hear the gentle music being played in the background. I am not used to seeing so many people make so little noise. It was weird to say the least.

I need to point out here that I do know sign language. I’m doing night class in the stuff and loving every minute of it. Everybody in the deaf community is kind and accepting to the many mistakes one makes when starting out in a new language. They are just happy that someone is making an effort to communicate with them.

I think that everyone should make an effort to learn sign language, to make deaf people a true and equal part of our society. With people from other countries we can always hide behind the lazy excuse “Well, they’re coming to England, they should learn English” or “I’m only here for a week, I’ll just find someone who speaks English”. You can’t do that for deaf people, you either learn their language or they get ignored completely and cut off from the world.

As a nation, we are willing to be accommodating (most of us) so long as it takes no effort on out part. Originally we were happy to offer jobs to immigrant workers because we were too lazy to do those jobs ourselves or we deemed them too demeaning. We accept physically disabled people because that only requires us to sign a petition for ramps to be put in at the library or for us to park slightly farther from Tesco. That, however, is where we draw the line. We, as a nation have decided that we are not going to learn sign language. We have decided that accommodating a whole sub-culture is too much effort.

It wouldn’t take much to add sign language to the curriculum. If we teach it to kids while they are young it will help to teach them acceptance. While they are young they pick up language so easily you can barely say you’re teaching them. Teaching sign language to a child also encourages it’s motor skills to develop meaning that they will be a more coordinated and collected person later in life. Knowing more than one language promotes organisation and makes learning extra languages much easier, even later in life.

I will continue to learn sign language as long as i can find someone to teach me. I will teach my kids sign language, if I’m blessed enough to have any.

What are you doing to reach out?

Euphemistic Prepositions

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:26:00 +0100

By this is mean the slang we user to define relationships and activities within relationships. They are generally used by or when concerning a younger person.

For example, “going out”. This can be replaced completely in every sentence by the word dating, but we don’t. Is it out natural British reserve coupled with the awkwardness of teenage love that denies us the use of this common word. Our Britishness stops us from saying were dating because we don’t want other people to realise that they aren’t and should therefore somehow feel bad. As a teenager we are reluctant to relinquish our childhood by dating, a very adult activity in the sense that it is looking for someone to marry. With relinquishing our childhood comes adulthood and responsibility and the general end of fun.

There are many more examples of Euphemistic Prepositions. For example, “Making out”, “Getting off”, “Doing it” “Get in!” etc.

Each of these commonly used phrases is used predominantly by younger people reluctant to say in blatant terms, I have found someone’s company I enjoy. We are in a relationship, we kiss passionately and have intercourse. I think some time in the future I might like to marry this person.

These phrases are used by people, however subconsciously, that are immature and un-willing to grow up.

The other thing that annoys me is people who say, one day into a relationship, “I love you”. You obviously don’t you massive idiot. You may well do, sometime in the future, but you can’t, not already. You might have a strong sense that they are awesome and that you very much enjoy their company. Love is a very strong word that encompasses a deep desire to be with someone at any time no matter what mood either of you are in and regardless of what is happening in either of your lives.

Younger people tend to drop “I love you” into a relationship far to early. It ruins everything or it doesn’t and then become a completely meaningless phrase. People do it for a need to feel more adult than they are, mature, older people love therefore if I love then I am mature and grown-up. No. This is a concious lie to yourself, you must know that you don’t know them nearly enough to say you love them. You may indeed love spending time with them, but that is different.

So there it is, people who are too scared to grow up use euphemistically vague phrases to describe intimate acts and people who want to seem more grown up than they are tell people that they love them when they clearly can’t.