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More About Me

I'm passionate about

finding what's good in this world

An idea worth spreading

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
-Einstein

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Anything intellectual, please!

My TED Story

I need a dose every week.

Comments

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• A comment on Conversation: Is it possible to live a modern and sustainable life in 30-40 GJ/person/year energy consumption? This is almost 1/10th of that used by US.

  May 30 2011: I will write my opinion and then get into reading your example.
  I believe we can. It wouldn't even require a hugely significant change in life (if adapted as a whole, or you have the resources to do so). By this, I mean: recycle, use public transport/your own body to go to places, buy energy efficient equipment and only use them when necessary, flush only when necessary, try to grow some of your own herb & vegetables, and most of it could be achieved by creating energy efficient households that: are built with earth sustaining materials, have things like solar panels and kinetic energy, with space for gardening and the such.. Currently, I'm living a rather wasteful life (Western life) but I do recycle, buy used clothes as well as pass my clothes on, flush only when needed (at home), turn off electrical equipment, buy organic and I do grow some of my own herbs.
  
  My personal ideal would be to make enough money to create a close to self-sustained building with my own water well, and garden area, in nature.. we can all dream :) lets see what happens with the world first.. Fukushima, US hyperinflation, wars and all other things considered..
  
  After reading your article, I must say you are an impressive man. I hope that society can learn from examples, such as yourself, and become more self-sustained, much less wasteful and harmful to society.. however, the way things are with LDC's aspiring to be more Western and increase 'GDP' and with CO2 emissions being historically the highest ever last year... its hard to see this happening.. Perhaps if we get more examples, such as yourself.
  
  Keep up the good work and spread your methodology and ideas further!

• A comment on Conversation: When working, would you be willing to exercise and work at the same time if there were no impact on work productivity only burned calories?

  May 30 2011: I would love to live in a world where health was a primary focus, and that food wasn't transfatty/full of sugar and where you could exercise while working.
  
  I would support this idea, though it would have to be integrated with showers/different clothing and an innovative way of doing this, as otherwise it would go against corporate hygiene policies and such.
  
  Good idea though! work on it :)

• A comment on Conversation: Wealth and power have been our conventional measures of success. What definition will better sustain us now and how can we move into it?

  May 30 2011: I'm trying to find the true meaning of success at the moment, as well.
  What I can say so far is that it's about self fulfilment and of the likes,
  and that wealth and power should/could only be byproducts of this.
  Even then, it's not necessary.
  
  as it seems that often power and wealth is
  acquired more and more through connections you are born into or one you force
  yourself into by playing a game that by all means is not fair or very productive.
  Those with high levels of money and power are at times at the worst end of the
  spectrum (in terms of doing harm to society, pushing for their own interest and
  thus contributing to the inequalities/pollution of this world)
  
  so in conclusions, money and power are not the true virtues of success - far from it
  A focus on being a good person, with a large venue of experiences and a positive mind
  will take you a hell of a lot further in being successful than any hunt for power and money ever will.
  
  Please convey that to your mother :)

• A comment on Conversation: Have you reinvented yourself, or started a movement?

  May 30 2011: I'm in the process right now. I've come to realise that I need to rediscover myself and transform into someone more in-tune with the earth and my own self. I want to embetter and improve my abilities and clear my mind. This is all a process of self-actualization, which I believe takes a life-time to truly achieve.. but it is easier to get there and truly be a good person, who makes an impact, if you can correct your path. Better diet, better thinking, better actions.
  
  It is difficult, but in my mind, definitely worth it!

• A comment on Conversation: What kind of power can a film have?

  May 30 2011: They can have a large impact on individuals, which then trickles down to society. Unfortunately, it is decided for us what gets into the movie theatres and what gets the good reviews.. so, in this sense, I believe that many films will actually have no impact or even a bad impact (rather than good, which is what we want). I am in anger over all the new movies that are mainly reflecting a large chunk of what 'society' has manufactured to be lately: lots of glitter and effects, but no real content.
  
  On the other hand, the best movies can cause people to think about their actions more carefully, inspire change and intellectual discussion. It's the best of feelings when you walk out of the theatre and actually want to discuss the impact the movie had on you. I personally try to go back to the movies that inspired thinking, or to those where the story and directing was truly artistic.
  
  Lately, I haven't been very impressed with a lot of the movies I've seen, though.. and I'm afraid that it may have the same fate as music. Lots of popular crap and the gems are hard to find, or very few and far apart.
  
  Lets hope not.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What 3 things did you learn while you were in a near-death experience?

  May 30 2011: I was in a near death experience in the army. It wasn't a matter of millimetres or fractions of seconds, but there was definitely a threat to my life. During the incident, I just felt my hole body and mind hoping to prevent the situation and luckily, I managed to do so. Right after, I had to continue with the military practice so I obviously didn't have much time to stand there and think, but.. afterwards, I had this strong feeling of how instantly you can be swept off this planet. A feeling of perhaps respect to that factor, and a deeper understanding that life must be respected. (to our knowledge, you only have one).
  Additionally, it reinforced my ideas that war and killing in the name of war are dread-some and horrible affairs. I luckily only had to do my service as a conscript and mainly my activities were safe.