Lost in Translation

Here's how I do it. 1) Buy whole beans and grind them yourself. I have a small Cuisinart grinder that does the trick. 2) Add 1 heaping teaspoon of coffee for every 4 ounces. 3) Pour boiling water into the press. Don't wait too long after you hear the kettle whistle. 4) Gently stir the coffee and water. 5) Wait 4 minutes. This is important. Four minutes - no more, no less. 6) Apply the plunger and pour. You can then add milk or sugar or whatever to taste. I'm partial to half and half.

I bought a new French press. Simple, elegant, efficient.

This is the essence of it, but not everyone lives and learns. Some live in fear, which manifests as denial, or anger, or nihilism, or fanaticism - and all are really just means to alleviate the fear of the unknown. Evil captures that fear and twists it to its own end. Evil is the little voice that whispers ever so softly, planting hurtful ideas in the minds of men.

Perhaps there is a truth behind the myriad myths?

I don't know. The kind that sucks things in. I'm imagining light as it flees the massive star at the center of a black hole. The photons travel outward and arrive back at the singularity. One could say they travel in an arc. One could also say that space is bent and a "straight" line extends from the singularity right back to the singularity. It's from the latter description that I say a black hole is like a hollow sphere.

What would a black hole look like from the inside? It seems that the inside of a black hole would look like a hollow sphere. The inside rim of the sphere would radiate a vast and bright light and the center of the sphere would contain a sort of particle cannon, continuously blasting particles randomly towards the inner wall of the sphere.

Ban everyone for a few days, I say! Replace the forum with a gif of a cartoon hamster running on a wheel, preferably with circus music.

I think we are confusing "evil" with "ruthless", as in "Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs." (Ch. 5 DDJ). A ruthless person sees the path to the greatest good and takes it even if the path appears muddied. His actions yield the greatest good even though people don't understand and may call him evil. Such is the path of the sage. By comparison, true "evil" doesn't care about the greatest good. It cares only for itself. Thus a sage and a demon may (at times) behave the same, but the sage is always serving good whereas the same cannot be said of the demon.

VERY important point. When I was a teenager I implicitly understood this. I thank Robert Heinlein for that knowledge. This was, in great measure, why I chose the join the Army when I was 19. I consider that the first of many "rights of passage" in my life.

Essential knowledge for the 21st century male.

Label or not, Satan (and others of similar function) is (are) the embodiment of evil. If you try to connect to the embodiment of evil on an energy level it will not be empty. What it will be and how it will affect you can be debated, but something is definitely there. I strongly advise people to not dismiss evil like this. It is real. Label or not it has an underlying will. To blind oneself to evil by making it out to be just a label is dangerous in the same way that crossing the street without looking both ways is dangerous.

I don't believe that evil people, or people who do evil deeds, see themselves as evil. It requires goodness to see evil. There are many people who grow weak and fall short of their ideal selves. They engage in evil behaviors and know it is evil, hence the guilt and repentance. But the truly evil sleep like babies.

As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced?

Does it really?

I have found that when I am tense I curl my fingers into a kind of fist. Likewise I have found when I straighten my fingers it relaxes me. The mind drives the body, but the body also leads the mind. So, make it a point to SMILE! It really will cheer you up.

I just don't go there anymore. There's nothing left to learn there.

It's important to understand that not everyone will like you, and you will not like everyone - and that's normal. Don't waste your time trying to please people you can't please, and don't waste your time surrounding yourself with people you don't like. That's just crazy making.

It's about knowing yourself. People who know themself don't lie (to themself) about themself. People who don't know themself are stuck in the middle, unhappy and unable to please others. It's a bad place to be.

You may enjoy re-browsing my thread on the advantage of evil from a few months ago.

If you like Simon Baker (and who doesn't, right?) then check out a series called "The Guardian" from 2000-2002. In my opinion that is among the best television content ever produced.

What's the point of it all? Can this decline be stopped by our actions or is simply a cathartic release on our part?

Table waiting and bar tending basics.