Karl

They just stopped whilst I continued to kick out the beat. They had lost their way quite badly. I ran a solo and then gave them a stick count and got them back on track. It happens a lot if players are concentrating on their bit and ignoring the rest of the band. It's a must that you can play your instrument with the broader view. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes as long as the piece itself holds together. Once people get focused on their part, then the danger is that if they bum it, then they lose the thread completely. The drummer has to keep on going or the entire thing stops. The drummer is really the key to the whole thing-the structure over which everything else is draped. You should give it a go JD.

I'm not the body conscious sort. As long as I'm fit, strong and don't have a paunch, that will do. I never got into all that body building stuff, someone did drag me along to a gym when I was in my early 20s with the aim of turning me into a muscle man, but I had enough after one session and quit. Much rather do something physical such as caving, rock climbing, walking or mountain biking. I had a hankering to become a regular paraglider, got my licence, but decided it wasn't my thang. Anyway must start getting the bike ready for the trip up. It's five hours or so and likely raining which makes it tiring.

Not pedal cycle, but motorcycle :-) I walk at least 3 miles every day and often 10 miles 3 days of the week. A bit further on weekends.

The banking system is knackered, completely zombified and acting as an outlet for printing presses. Have a look at Deutche bank-it's gonna blow captain. It will make Lehman look like a drinking fountain next to a geyser. Banks are manoeuvring to keep close to the monetary spigots where they can shelter a bit longer. I've forecast this four years out. I was spot on with commodities. By the end of this year expect properties to have lost 20% at least and some much more. This sucker is imploding and the Central Banks are just jawboning the market. Gold has shot up as have gold stocks. Japan is in serious trouble as is the super tanker of China. The yen to dollar rate is close on parity, when it finally gets there then there is no more carry trade-which is why Carney is injecting liquidity, the code for allowing the banks to lend at zero interest in order to pick up the tab. I might be wrong, maybe they get another throw and chuck it in the long grass, but from where I'm sitting it looks like 2008 all over again, but this time it's a long hill and no brakes. The hill is 10 times as high and a lot steeper. I was going to suggest something here prior to Gold lift off after Brexit, but held off. Anyone that has any cash in banks should get it out and convert as much into PM as they can afford without leaving themselves without cash. Then you might think of stocking up on tins and essentials. If what I think is coming down the pipe occurs, this will be one hell of a shock for those not sufficiently prepared. Even if it doesn't happen this time, it's nailed on to happen in the next two years, so worth doing something now.

It's a book and a film out of Gibhli studios. If you want a treat of a film then get Spirited away. It's a Japanese animation. Howls moving castle has doors which go to different places and the castle moves around in a kind of 4th dimension. Both films have similar themes, with spirited away being far better IMO. Stosh would love them.

LOL that was funny JD. Now you know why I am the way I am here. It's not that I want to win or upset anyone, completely the opposite, but I'm on a charge and I really don't care what people think of me, I'm just plain old annoying, outspoken me. After several years of trying the referendum happened and after several months of campaigning the Brexit happened. So, it can be done.

I don't make any money currently, but my junk works just fine :-) Mind you that's what they said about my eyes 5 years ago 30/30 vision and now I'm reduced to glasses for TV and reading glasses. I play guitar-not too well, but I get by. I have a Taylor big baby acoustic which sits by me at all time. Also have an electric thing which is much easier to play, but a lot louder through the Marshall amp. I play drums as well-sorta. Can play a fair few of the standards, but I get bored quickly. Been in a couple of start up bands chopping sticks for hours whilst they figure out how to play their guitars :-/ then played to an audience whilst they lost where they were and I grimaced for 10 hours filling the space with an impromptu drum solo, it was more like a minute, but gawd it felt longer. I like al, the really fancy prog rock stuff, but it's so far beyond me I might as well try brain surgery or quantum mechanics. Anyway life is still good, we are debt free, my wife is in a decent wage and I shorted the pound with a bit of bullion. Tommorrow off to Scotland with 20 bikers for a few days.

Stosh will happily substitute 'and'

Is that the Atlantis in an alternative dimension like Howels moving castle ?

I'm not too bad, I walk regularly and lift weights-although stopped recently due to neck pain. I'm a hypochondriac and an incessant worrier :-) hey, a man has to have hobbies, but mine is a full time job. The tinnitus is due to suspected Ménière's disease which isn't much fun. Blood pressure is well under control. I have nasal drip, occasional asthma and eczema. Then I had something else to do with my eye that has left a small blurry spot and destroyed some of the dark vision. None of this is serious, just frustrating really, just like many others. I don't like being older. Funny how you can have a life of no smoking, limited drinking, plenty of exercise and a good diet, but it doesn't prevent things deteriorating. I've had two friends die-one at 50 and the other at 65 which brings it home. Parents are still going strong at 80 and both still work so there is hope for me yet. I don't know what I would do if my wife died, I think it's better not to try and forecast too far ahead. It's not easy if you are a worrier, but you cannot live life thinking about the worst aspects of tommorrow.

Yes, the last gasps on the way to the marathon finish line. Just keep taking the tablets, and by heck there are a lot of them these days. Then the creams, potions, inhalers, nose drops.

No, no, it's all mental construct, consciousness manifesting the illusion of reality. I'm not writing this I only imagine I am. Oh it's so brilliant, I can shove this needle into my eye and that pain is pure illusion and that ambulance I've just called for. Ow ow this illusion hurts a lot.

Ah yes, everything is a mental construct, I mentally forgot to make a mental note about that. Now what did I say again ?

There are no need of coconut trees on unpopulated island so they don't grow there, come to think of it there arent any unpopulated islands there just seems like there might be.

Yeah, we'll be careful what you wish for. There are some obstinate posters in here - not moi of course :-)

Not for me :-) to find myself in some new place without my, wife, iPad, motorcycle and guitar would be purgatory. I'm happy here and when I'm not happy here I don't want to be anywhere else.

Oh I'm not squeamish about being dead, after all, your dead so that's an end to it. It's the dying I don't like. Mind you, the getting old I don't care for much either. I remember when I could tell the difference between the print on a real Rolex and a fake, now there is just a blur at the end of my wrist. I've got a whistling sound in my ear and have taken to saying 'what did you say?'. I have high blood pressure. I lost my sense of smell completely and fret about all kinds of things related to that, such as being unable to smell smoke, gas, my wife's perfume, freshly baked bread. Having no sense of smell makes food bland. The subtlest spices and flavours are lost on me. Even wine just tastes of alcohol. I fear having a stroke or a heart attack, or getting altzheimers, or going blind. I don't like spiders much either. Moan, moan, moan.

And that's the best way. I don't begrudge them that sort of clique and enforced dogma, it just doesn't suit me. Eventually those that don't sit well will work there way out from the nest.

Yes I've got TSOW and many others by Yogani. I've been an acolyte, but a slightly uneasy one. That unease grew and as I changed from AYP to Objectivism I began to realise that it had become an enormous rift. I had thought they were an open minded lot into all this esoteric new age stuff that others rejected, but then I challenged it. I challenged several decisions as a mod, particularly with regard to other forums which were carefully watched for dissenters. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of effort devoted to squashing criticisms of AYP, until eventually this spiralled into the forum itself. It became clear that a clique had developed which I resolutely refused to join. Eventually I could no longer remain a mod as it had become akin to a propaganda policing role of which I was becoming both criminal and enforcer. The dichotomy forced me to resign in order that I could operate more freely and let others mod my posts. Quite quickly I discovered that I had fallen so far from grace that I had become a problem needing to be resolved. At first Yogani acted exactly like the owner of a store, but as the years went by he took a more active role either directly, or through his disciples. I didn't see the point of it getting nasty- which was where it was headed-so I agreed to leave voluntarily. I can still post, but I promised not to interfere. The editor of my first book remains a strong advocate of Yoganis methods and thought I was having a momentary blip, rather than a complete refusal of the ideology. It actually helped me to make the transition to objectivism more quickly than perhaps I would have, so, some clouds do have silver linings ;-)

Sometimes the enthusiasm gets taken for aggression.

That cancer is Kantianism. The philosophy that finally tipped the world from reason back to mysticism. A better paradigm is more/less freedom. The far right has always been the far left in everything but some minor dabbling about with ownership of the means of production. Amazing that both groups still fight. The actual battle is between the Mystics. The far left are essentially atheistic muscle Mystics and the far right religious, intrinsicist Mystics. The left trying to control the body, the right trying to control the mind. This is why republicans are essentially fascistic Christians and the democrats are socialistic atheists. Sins of the body predominate socialism everything is about labour, effort, dress. Sins of the mind occupy the Facists, burning books. Yet, we see the same elements at work in both groups because they are essentially one and the same. The intent is to strip man of identity and create a sacrificial beast of burden that only thinks for the good of the cause and only labours for the good of the cause.

Yes it is and I'm happy to keep it that way. It stops me leaning the bike until the handlebars touch the road ;-)

Defined A ? It's axiomatic you cannot ask for proof of proof. Proof is dependent on A being A, on reality. I don't think you are able to understand what you are actually asking. Every time you utter a statement it is an absolute, it is also absolutes that you depend on within that statement and its absolutes that you rely on to prove the validity of your statement. A + A = ? Twice the quantity of A, which is 2A. It doesn't matter if we define the thing that A represents, we don't need to define A. It needn't be A it could be the sound of a coin dropping, or a ripple in sand. We might look at elephants and define them in different categories. We might see one as elephant as male, small, Indian, darker. This might be the conceptual class we choose, but as we chunk up, we reach a common definition for an elephant (I will let you define an elephant) which excludes certain features which don't exclude it in that class, or include it in another. We could then say 'an elephant' and 'another elephant' but it's easier to use a conceptual representation of 2 elephants. Now you may argue that it isn't an elephant, because you think the name is unnecessary, but you have to admit there IS something and that you must categorise it as having a specific identity and nature. You can see it isn't a tree, or the sky. If you couldn't then we would be unable to discuss anything. Even words would have no difference from jars of jam, or fruit flies. You would see only a chaotic muddle of lights, sensations, smells, tastes and sounds to which you could ascribe nothing, you could not even see yourself as seperate in any sense. The fact that you are writing and arguing presupposes that none of that is true.

Eventually you will be threatened with a ban. I promised not to return and was as good as my word. Rarely look at it these days, every time I have they are all busily praising Yogani and saying how wonderful everybody is....right up to the time you disagree.

:-) if we take away the objects the events should still occur ;-)