This summer I hope to visit Japan again before heading back to the US to visit my mom and meet with bosses for a few days. If I had the time, I would love to go into Mongolia, travel by land into western China and then into Kazakhstan, then take the two day ferry across the Caspian into Azerbaijan (my second home), then take the painfully slow Azeri trains into Georgia and eventually cross into eastern Turkey. That would be a great trip.
This winter I am hoping to explore southern China and visit some places I have never been -- probably Laos and Vietnam.
1. Yankees 2. Phillies 3. Red Sox 4. Mets 5. Mariners -- Arguably the best 1-2 starting pitching rotation in baseball with King Felix and Lee. If Bedard can come back healthy by mid-season, they might have the best rotation in baseball. Great off season signings. If Junior can keep Milton Bradley in check, they will be a powerful team.
"...(W)hen all is said and done, there is not enough good evidence that the story is true. We stop short of declaring it fiction, but regard it as not sufficiently proven. The report about Darwin's change of heart comes from one person, Lady Hope, an energetic Nineteenth Century Christian, while many members of Darwin's family denied it and there is nothing from Darwin's friends, colleagues, his own statements or writings to substantiate it. If Darwin did experience something so dramatic as a conversion to Jesus Christ and a complete revision of the theory of evolution that characterized his life and work, there isn't a shred of evidence of it outside of the claims of Lady Hope."
"Unfortunately, when the full text of the report is examined, there are many inconsistencies that make the story untenable. While it is possible that Lady Hope did visit Darwin’s home in late 1881, this was almost seven months before his death.5 He was certainly not bedridden for six months before his death. Further, there was nothing to indicate that he was always studying the Bible.
On the Down House property, there was a small summerhouse, but it was too small to accommodate 30 people. There is nothing in his writings to indicate that Darwin ever asked anyone to speak about “Christ Jesus.”
Further, it is fascinating what Lady Hope’s story does not say. It does not say that Darwin renounced evolution. It merely says that Darwin speculated over the outcome of his ideas. He never backed away from evolution. Nor does the Lady Hope story say that Darwin actually became a Christian. The story, even if true, merely claims the Darwin was reading the Bible and made a statement about Christ. Nowhere is there a claim of a saving relationship with the Savior.
As soon as this story became public, the denials from Darwin’s family began (as they did after every supposed “conversion story” became known). In a letter to James Howe, Darwin’s son Francis wrote in 1915: “He could not have become openly and enthusiastically Christian without the knowledge of his family, and no such change occurred.”6"
The latter was from a website defending the Bible. This story of Darwin converting is merely a work of fiction.
Thanks Robplum. I appreciate your words and they do ring true. ... I have battled depression since childhood and it was not until I started to focus on what was inside my head that I actually started to defeat it.
As so many other people have told you -- Go to the doctor and get the problem solved. I have Crohn's Disease which led to gall bladder disease. I had one doctor who misdiagnosed the problem for several months. By the time I had surgery, my gall bladder was ready to explode. According to the doctor, it was the worst gall bladder he had ever seen. On a positive note, my gall bladder is on display at some medical university.
Question for you Wall. I am currently doing interval training. I have had pretty good success with it. I am going heavy and shooting for 10 sets in any given exercise. Once I am able to do 10 then I cut 15 seconds off of the interval until I am down to 15 seconds intervals and I close out the cycle with 10 sets with 10 second intervals. The problem that I am having is that any exercises I do for my chest I am plateauing after a few weeks. All other body parts are thriving on this routine, except for my chest, but this seems to happen no matter what the routine is. I am trying to figure out if it is all psychosomatic or if I should vary what exercises I do on a weekly basis or maybe vary the weights that I am using. Any suggestions?
As was stated earlier different cultures consider not getting married by a certain age as a sign of strangeness. I spent two years in Azerbaijan, one being in the remote Naxcivan Autonomous Region, where not getting married by the age of 25 was a sure sign of weirdness. When I arrived in Naxcivan, I was met at the airport by a representative from the university where I would work for that year. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked, "Will your children be joining you?"
I responded, "No, because I do not have any children."
This woman suddenly had a shocked and concerned look on her face and she asked, "What does you wife think about that?"
I responded, "Uhhh...I do not know because I don't have a wife either."
The woman looked at me like I was the Great Satan himself or maybe like my head was on-fire --somewhere between shock and fear, and she asked, "How old are you?"
"38." (At that time.)
"What is wrong with you? Why have you never gotten married?"
"Just lucky, I guess."
I soon discovered in the backwoods of Azerbaijan, being single at my age made me a pariah to most of the citizens, but that was their world and I was merely a visitor.
Living in the States, I grew tired of the materialistic outlook in general. It was too often, not who I was but what I owned that people seemed to value.
Since living overseas and selling or donating most of my worldly possessions, I have found that so many people here like me for me. The women here in China and my former home in Azerbaijan seem to like me because I am nice, polite and treat them well. Frankly, most of the women I dated in the US thought being nice, polite and treating them well was synonymous with being a doormat.
For me personally, I have met internally and externally beautiful women from all races and areas. Still, my personal favorites are from Asia. Granted, some are merely looking for a green card, but I have been impressed with the number of women who love the fact that I want to live the rest of my life here in Asia. I still look for a woman whom I have always searched -- someone I share some common interests with, someone with a personality and an education and more importantly someone I can talk with. I still have not met the "one" but I have been having a wonderful time in the search.
I am a vet of the US Army. I did my four years of service because at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. During my time in I began to question the reasons of everything we had to do. Often times, we did things to fill the day and prepare for war. The 9-to-5 that recruiters promise you often turn out to be all day and all night. I became very sick while I was in and the Army "doctors" misdiagnosed the medical condition. The condition should have killed me. As fate would have it or merely dumb luck, I was sent TDY to a military post that had no Army hospital and as my condition worsened I was sent to a civilian hospital where I had to get emergency surgery to save my life. This was a typical screw up by the medical staff at Ft. Bragg. Sure, I get a few hundred dollars a month because I am "disabled". It is a small pittance for a condition that I will have for the rest of life and it should have never gotten so bad that I had to have surgery.
Things to remember:
You are "government property" when you are in service. Prisoners often have more rights.
Your main job is to kill.
Recruiters are akin to used car salesmen -- they will make you think you are getting a sweet deal but you will probably get a lemon.
The VA will try to cut off your benefits at their whim. It has happened several times to me and it is a fight sometimes to get your "entitlements".
My suggestions:
Read "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dulton Trumbo. If you do not like to read, rent the movie. Although I do love the film, the book is so much better.
Go to school, get a skill and then go to developing third world country and actually make a difference. Since living overseas and teaching, my life has become much simpler and much more rewarding.
Take my suggestions or leave them, but ultimately the decision is yours.
First, define "God". It often appears that almost everyone I meet seems to have a different definition of what is "God", even atheists. Is "God" some big guy in the sky that controls everything? Is "God" the formless positive force in the universe? Is "God" the universe itself? Or is "God" something else?
Second, once you define your "God", do not take offense at me for questioning the possibility that such a "God" could possibly exist. I will admit that some definitions of "God" have made me seriously consider the possibility that such a thing could exist.
As far as me, I do not say one way or another. As one Zen Buddhist once told me, "Less time should be spent debating the existence time, and more time should spent on doing good in the world." I am trying as best as I can to just make the world a better place now.
The peak of Mount Bandera in central Washington. Incredible views of Mount Rainier and a place that is not too heavily frequented by hordes of people.
The Monomie Park in the Naxcivan Autonomous Region of Azerbaijan had this incredible panoramic and scenic view of Mount Ararat and the Azar River separating Naxcivan and Iran. At the time I was the only Westerner living there and spent a lot of time in that park, reading books and checking out the view. I will say that Ararat is more incredible the closer you get to it.
The mud volcanoes located south of Baku, Azerbaijan. It literally feels like you are stepping into another world with bubbling mounds of mud surrounding your every move.
The Five Buddha Summit of Mount Qianshan near Anshan, Liaoning, China. I went there in the middle of winter and aside from a few Buddhist monks I had the place all to myself.
Something to add to all of the advice. Buy a notepad and keep track of everything you do in the gym. You should record, the number of sets, the number of reps, the amount of weight and the rest time between sets. Do not worry if other people can understand it, as long as you understand it is all that matters. I love my training diary as it shows progress over time. Each week, I look back at what I did the previous week and improve upon it.
I love to lift, but, Wall, you would put me to shame in the gym. My personal bests are a 400lb bench, 560lb squat, 1300lb leg press, 250lb military press, 335lb bent-over row, 175lb straight bar curl.
You will have to cut me a little slack as those bests were done a few years after having a surgery to save my life. (I have Crohn's Disease.) Now that I am older (42), my current personal bests are a little less and I have had to modify how I lift due to another surgery and several injuries. Still, even with the less than adequate gyms here in Shenyang, China, the gym is an important part of my life.
When I lived in Azerbaijan, Galatasaray was extremely popular there. When I visited Turkey, my hotel was a few blocks away from their stadium, but no matches were scheduled when I was there.
I am planning on going to Harbin this winter for the ice festival. It is about 8 hours away by train from Shenyang. I have a few students from there who have invited to the city, so I am planning on going.
With that being said, I like the Liaoning province where I am currently. I consider Anshan a hidden gem with Mount Qianshan and the Jade Buddha Temple located there. Then there is Dandong with a section of Great Wall and the bridge that goes halfway to North Korea. Dalian has a mixture of Russian, Japanese and Chinese influences.
I have been to 12 so far. Aside from the USA and Canada, I have been to Hong Kong twice, China (twice as a tourist and currently living there), Thailand twice, Cambodia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan (I lived there for two years) and Japan.
Each place has its own unique features and things that I loved about it and things that I hated about it. Egypt was my least favorite although the history was great, many of the people had one focus and that was to rip me off. I love the China, although the pollution and traffic drives me crazy, the people are generally wonderful. Azerbaijan is now my second home.
This winter, I hope to make it to Vietnam, Laos, southern China, and Japan. Hopefully, next summer, I will make it to Mongolia.
ShutterMantis Forum Posts (21)
RE: which country you wish to travel?
This summer I hope to visit Japan again before heading back to the US to visit my mom and meet with bosses for a few days. If I had the time, I would love to go into Mongolia, travel by land into western China and then into Kazakhstan, then take the two day ferry across the Caspian into Azerbaijan (my second home), then take the painfully slow Azeri trains into Georgia and eventually cross into eastern Turkey. That would be a great trip.This winter I am hoping to explore southern China and visit some places I have never been -- probably Laos and Vietnam.