I might become a nudist.

It might be because I am Scandinavian and I am used to the cold weather, but I can not understand how people freely choose to live here. The Queensland summer (yes, it is summer in the southern hemisphere) is killing me with its heat and humidity.

This morning after I had a shower to wash of my lovely film of sweat from my body I got dressed, wearing boxers, socks, trousers and a t-shirt. Followed by having toast and tea with soy milk; in other words, not a steaming hot meal if you ask me. Regardless of that I am now almost drenched in sweat and to put the fan on full blast to cool myself down. keep in mind I have only been sitting on my arse reading news this nice gloomy overcast morning.

I am confident that there are people with the same opinion about the cold weather in Europe now. Regardless of that I find coping with cold easier and practical.
When it is getting too warm you come to a point where you can not undress anymore and your only escape is a fan or an air-conditioner; or a dip in the ocean.
If it starts to get too cold you just turn up the heat or put on another layer or clothes.
I guess that depends what you are used to.

It is more the side effect that annoys me.
I would rather shiver to keep myself warm than sweating profusely to keep myself cool. As sweat makes you stink and feel icky; and for some reason my body can really dish out a large amount of sweat if it wants to.

I can only hope I get used to this heat, as I will be here for at least four years.

Stay cool.

Did everyone suddenly stop procrastinating?

A few years back I remember that a lot of bloggers and self-claimed motivators went on this odd war against procrastination. You would easily stumble over several articles how to not procrastinate and how it was almost the most evil thing ever.
I might have even written a counter article against those who were against procrastination; just to provoke and shed some light on how to always being busy and organised can easily be bad for you.

As an introvert I do not like to jump to conclusions or do anything without giving it a second or third thought. When I do something I want it to be right for me; not right according to people around me. Making second thoughts have saved me a lot; but it has also made me know myself better so I can at certain situations make a quick decision if I have to.
It is kind of like comparing kung-fu and tai-chi. You can be good at kung-fu within a year, but it can take up to 10 years to master tai-chi (citing a martial artist).

In the extreme procrastination can be very bad, as you not only put off things to do, you actually start to completely avoid responsibility. When it comes to everything in life, all extremes are usually bad and will rarely give you the possibility to reap good things from extreme plantations.

This has nothing to do with me being an introvert, but I admit to procrastinate now and then. I do it in a way that it does not affect my life in a negative way. Instead I try to turn it around and use it as a tool. Procrastination has actually made me make better decisions, as it give me that extra time to think about what I was going to do or say.

I think it would be a good thing if more people procrastinated a little bit, instead of working 24/7 and more or less missing out on life, friends, relaxation and destroying their health.
What is your mansion, your high income, your “perfect” life and friends, your cars and your high position in that certain “perfect” company worth if you barely will live until your are 40; and if you do you retire with poor health and wonder where life went.

Personally I hope I can avoid office jobs from now on. I do not care how much money I earn as long as I can afford to have some kind of roof over our heads and can put food on the table; and have an Internet connection of course.

Life has no meaning, but it is up to you to give your own life a meaning; a meaning that you will understand and enjoy. If people around you do not understand the meaning of your life you should not worry; you should only worry if you do not understand your own meaning. In the end, if that meaning is happiness you have understood the meaning of your life on this planet.

Live long and prosper.

I am sweet enough.

Lately my IBS has decided that enough is enough; and I kind of agree. Last year I started to be more daring with food and snacks containing sugar, and it has been very successful. Because of my strict diet I have been able to enjoy things I have not eaten for years. I have enjoyed biscuits, soda pops and licorice.
All I can say the party is over; almost.

I just got a big batch of Swedish salty licorice; which I love. So trying to cut down on sugar is not easy. I am doing okay so far, as I am only allowing myself to indulge in salty licorice; any other products with sugar is a big no-no. Hopefully Lizzie will help me eat all that wonderful salty licorice as she seems to me liking it a lot.

Other than that is not much going on in my life to be honest.
CSN (Swedish student loan agency) seems to be far more lenient than Lånekassen (Norwegian student loan agency); also there are far more studies I can do in Sweden by distance than in Norway, so the choice is not difficult at all. I have asked the Swedish governmental owned job agency what type of education I should choose; as I rather study something that will get me a job, instead of being selfish and wasting time and money on something I can wipe my arse with later. I have enough toilet paper already, I do not need more.

vinter_saAs you can see on your left here, this is what I am missing out on; a nice cold winter with a lot of snow. I can only hope that it will be like this again when we go back to Norway to celebrate Xmas there. Lizzie were lucky enough to walk on an icy lake for the first time in her life before we left Norway; but you have never experienced winter until it drops below -10 degrees Celsius. Who knows, the climate might have shifter so much that it back to the good old days, just a bit colder than we are used to.
Still I find it funny to read news from Norway and Sweden, people complaining about the cold as they never have experienced the cold before. I remember I experienced -30 degrees Celsius only 10 years ago in Norway, and that did not bother me at all. I guess some people just love to complain.

I can only hope that everything works out for me when it comes to work and especially education. I am busy at home doing chores, but I want to go out and earn some money and do something with my life. Not having anything to do, especially when you can not afford to do certain things, you kind of get cabin fever.
It is like I mentioned a while ago. I have no problems finding something to do, but if I am going to do something, I want to stick to it. Being unemployed makes that a bit difficult, because the day I do get a job I will probably have to just drop everything and focus on my job; and I hate quitting!

From experience everything will work out in the end. It is good that I am patient and stubborn.
If only people around me would be more understanding.

Until next time, take care and enjoy 2010.

Note: Photo is taken by: Jarl Morten Andersen; and I am republishing this image according to åndsverkloven (copyright law) § 22 sitat (fair use) and in reference to NRK vs. Mauseth (sorry, but all links are in Norwegian).

Can I publish photos without permission? [updated]

A few years ago, on one of my old blogs which also was non-commercial, I posted an article about graffiti and included a photo I found in a local Norwegian newspaper. In that article I also gave credit to the source, as you always should do.

That newspaper threatened me with legal action if I did not remove that photo. As mentioned, I had given credit to it by referencing to the source of the photo and I was not making any money from it. Still I had to remove it as I was not in a situation that I had time or money to deal with a possible legal action; which would probably be dismissed in court anyway. Seriously, prosecute a non-commercial blog for using one photo?

Today one of their articles (it is in Norwegian) is about the new animal welfare laws in Norway; and apparently they are using a photo of a cat that has been euthanized. The owner of the cat says that, for reasons not given, they had to euthanize the cat due to some type of eye infection, but she said goodbye before they euthanized it, as she found it too difficult watching her beloved cat die.

The question the reader is, and even I am, asking now is; how can they post this photo without doing a background check or asking the owner if it is okay to use this photo commercially?
Judging by how they have acted in this situation, I  need to get permission to use any of their photos, but they can use any photo they like.
I would have included the photo, just in spite, but I am choosing not to in respect of the owner of the cat.

It is amusing watching this media dinosaurs slowly dying out and failing at something they were more or less masters of before. Good riddance if you ask me.

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Random observations by an introverted(INTJ) vegan Linux geek that tries to be a Gonzo blogger who goes by the name, xen.

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