The Poep's Latest Move, And Other Stories

I have a bit of a mixed bag for you all today. Happy 2013 folks!

December 2012 was quite a rough patch for me. I spent a lot of December flat on my back - that was not nearly as much fun as you might think. 

So You Think You're A Good Person?

Self-acceptance -  the acceptance of the person we are, with whatever defects and flaws - imperfections - and even our perfections, determines who we are and who we become. How can we work towards becoming anything else if we don't even know who we are now? How can you chart a course from A to B if you don't even know where A is, or where B is in relation to you? If you don't even know what your own strengths and weaknesses - and character flaws are - how can you know what to work on, and where to improve, and what to leave behind?

Whatever we are now, we all began as something else. Personally, I'm far more partial to the view that "I am what I choose to accept I am", and "I am what I want to be". 

I am what I am. Nice sentiment that. But is it that simple? 

South African Roulette

Today the world has been rocked by the good news that South African scientists have developed a gel, which if applied inside the vagina or anus of the female, will prevent HIV infections in women up to 39% of the time. 

 

While this sounds like an astonishing achievement, and a positive move in the fight against the pandemic sweeping Africa, this raises a few interesting points and questions for me.

Accepting Diversity

I find people amazing, fascinating. 

 

Don't you think it is incredible how there are so many of us, and yet each of us is still unique as an individual? Variety is the spice of life, or so the old saying goes. We are all basically the same biological organisms, but each of us is still different and unique enough to look distinctive, and have our own lifetime of experiences that make us into unique individuals, each with our own identities, thoughts, feelings, opinions and achievements.

It is this fact that makes Human society so wonderfully diverse. And yet sometimes we get tired of people who disagree with us, or with what we feel is the "right" or "only" way to do things, sometimes this diversity frustrates us. But place us in an environment where everybody looks, sounds and lives the same way - do we not soon find ourselves longing for a touch of individuality?

If My Grandma Had Wheels, She'd Be A Wagon

Immortality.

 

No, not that spiritual guff. Put your wallet back in your pocket, I'm not asking for donations. 

I'm talking about physical immortality.

Yeah. Right.

Some people, and there have been quite a few, believe that if we were supposed to live forever, we would have evolved to do so. Hmm that is an interesting proposal. Suppose that we ...eventually - er, did?  

 

Perhaps I might add that if we were supposed to travel thousands of kilometers to watch grown men from all over the planet kicking a silly little ball around, we would have evolved to include jet engines in our biology. Or, if we were meant to barrel down highways at sixty kilometers per hour, we'd have evolved some sort of organic wheels. 

 

No? 

 

Okay then - well, back to the topic of physical immortality.