Caffeine Fiend

For those of you with kids, or those of you who can at least imagine having them, who would you say is someone - be it someone in public life, a celeb or someone otherwise famous, or even a community person - that could be called a role model for them?

Simple question - are people (and I mean both humanity in general but also individual people) essentially good or bad? I'd be interested to know what you believe and why.

For my own part, I don't think I believe in objective "good" or "bad", but I do think there is such thing as social virtue... as for whether I believe people are essentially socially virtuous... it changes every day.

What do you think?

Say the Romans, in their crack down on Christianity before Constantine I got on board, had actually been more successful in their oppression of Christianity as an early religion and -more importantly - all early copies of the bible had been eradicated.

Without this book, what basis would Christianity have as a religion?

You could argue that this didn't happen because God did not allow it to, but lets face it, he's allowed a lot of pretty messed up stuff to happen since to Christians and other innocents without stopping it, so it is fair to assume he doesn't have the most active hand in the trivialities of the world we live in (or he is a bit of an ***).

So Christians, I would be very interested to hear what it is you think would be different about your beliefs had the source of your faith in our time never existed. Or, if you think it wouldn't be affected because your belief isn't founded on the bible as a book, then explain how.

Personally, I think if the bible had been destroyed, then all we would have is a religion based on word of mouth which would have therefore been subject to the effect of Chinese whispers (more than some might say it already has) and probably would not have survived as a result.

Certainly I think it highlights the importance of the book and its contents for the faith...

But enough of me, what do YOU think?

The ear wax in my right ear is a really dark orange colour, whereas the one in my left ear is a normal sort of yellow colour (yes I am aware this is both weird and disgusting, but promise this isn't a wind up). I keep my ears clean by washing them every day (I hate having dirty wax filled ears) and it seems like I have a lot more of this orange wax coming from my right ear than normal wax from my left ear when I clean them... other than that, no pain or discomfort and my hearing is fine in both ears.

I am willing to go see a doctor if needs be, but it doesn't seem like there is anything wrong with me.. it's just a bit weird.

Anyone ever heard of anything similar and is it a problem?

I'm not a morning person, never have been... and I find waking up difficult.

So I have an alarm clock that has a loud and offencive BEEEEEEEP that usually stuns me into wakefulness and scares the hell out of me into waking up enough to get out of bed.

I don't really like waking up this way, and it probably isn't good for you.

Then again, the softly softly approach of a quiet alarm doesn't work either, as it either can be ignored or doesn't wake me up enough to get me out of bed.

My question - what is the best way to be woken up or what method can you use that makes the process less unpleasant?

So, for instance if it were to start to rain then it is because God decided it should rain and made it happen with a click of his fingers... or do you believe that air pressure, cold fronts and other atmospheric conditions are the cause - that regardless of the creator of the weather, it is a system that exists by itself, with countless factors and principles that although cannot be perceived have an outcome you can recognise - and not only this, that it can be proven to do so?

If so, why the problem in accepting evolution?

You can say a system is created by anything from God to the great Space Penguin, but if the system itself has evidence it exists and results of it which can be perceived in countless examples, even if you cant see it happening itself (like you can't see air pressure) surely you have to accept it is real?

That being the case, why do so many people see evolution as an attack on their faith, when really it is explaining a system - not who or what created the system in the first place?

People say I am too fussy... which, to be fair may be true... but I feel that I shouldn't have to sell out my values, aspirations, ambitions and what I want from life (not to mention level of attraction, I don't think it's cynical to believe you shouldn't at least be attracted to the person you want to be with) when it comes to finding someone I want to be with.

Is it enough to settle for an 7 or an 8 out of 10 (I know that sounds awful, I don't score people - honest - but I do think that some people are subjectively a better choice than others for me) or is it right and proper to hold off for what you consider to be living perfection (with the acceptance that you will probably end up alone for a very long long time...)

What do you guys think? Anyone ever found, got and kept a perfect 10... or did you all settle for a B+ and made the best of it?

Oh, and don't get me wrong, I am by no means perfect myself so isn't about someone being of a certain "standard", just being compatible with me and my life.

My weekend plans have fallen to pieces which means sadly I am all on my lonesome this weekend, I don't fancy being cooped up around the house and as I have just put bought it, I don't have a load of money to spend (although I do have a bit)

I am in Surrey but can easily get into London and don't really know the various places to visit except for the museums, which I visited last time I found myself here... I just took a look online at things happening this weekend and nothing stood out, and being alone means it would be a bit rubbish anyway.

Anyone got any ideas? Sadly visiting friends and family is not an option (have already tried).

So if you did anything interesting or exciting lately and it stuck out as something fun I could do, please let me know!

... and it was 129 / 67 (before I did any exercise)

I'm a 25 year old lad, an ex smoker (for a few years), I do a lot of excercise, eat my fruit and veg and have no known health problems. My job is stressful but hasn't been bad lately...

... the gym monkey who did it didn't seem to know anything except that it wasnt a cause for concern, but is it good? Should I be trying to lower it?

I don't mean to get anyone's back up... but I have never understood this so would appreiciate an explanation.

To quote the AA website:

"...Today we are willing to accept the idea that, as far as we are concerned, alcoholism is an illness, a progressive illness that can never be "cured" but which. like some other illnesses can be arrested... "

Is it purely a social factor that makes it listed as a "illness"? That socially, alcohol is more acceptable than say, heroin, so someone who is addicted to it is a victim where as the person with the heroin addiction (which I dont believe is listed OR accepted as an illness either mediaclly OR socially) is generally not accepted as a victim in the same way.

Is there more to this than meets the eye, or is is social standards that are inconsistant.

And again, Im not trying to annoy anyone or wind people up. I simply just don't understand.

Thanks for answers.

The world is now a post apocolyptic landscape, the cities shattered by war and the roads empty. There is no government, there is no television, all the shopping malls are shut.

Survival is the primary aim for your band of land warriors, armed with nothing but crude weapons, bandanas and leather jackets and the desire to survive. They travel the land looking for supplies initialy before salvaging the remnants of technology to re-establish a new, better civilisation.

Take us through your strategy for surviving the bands of bandits, mutants and dangerous creatures that roam the deserted wastelands of the new world. How would you survive? How would you establish order? What laws would you impliment? Where would you go?

Best answer, with lengthy consideration of the problem and sound strategy to survive (whether it be Mad Max meets the Stand, or a harem of hot amazon women following your every whim) wins 10 points and my unquestionnable loyalty when the fall of Man finally happens

I'm not talking about cheating, I just want to know if you feel society is now blasé about people being promiscuous and having casual sex with different people, or do if you feel either yourself or that society still demands that sex should ideally be in a relationship of some sort?

Obviously there is the aspect of STD's and unwanted pregnancy, but assuming all precautions are taken care of and it is done in a responsible manner and all parties are consenting adults and all the usual boxes you would want ticked.

So forgetting that aspect, I just simply ask if in this modern world of ours, there is a line between being sexually liberated and the village bike, and if either or both ok as far as you see it?

Im not advocating either side of the argument, I think I fall somewhere in the middle myself... (I think the best term to desrcibe me is "flawed romantic"). I'm just interested in hearing people's thoughts and if they would like to volunteer it, where they stand on the issu

as well as see the same reflected in the mirror reflected in the mirror you are looking into, and then the same in THAT mirror and so on again and again and again....are you glimpsing eternity?

I think there may be something wrong with my brain this overcast friday morning to be coming up with thoughts like this

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/emw23135...

Please see above linked article.

My own belief is that this surge in Wicca could be partly due to the counter culture as a response to the Christian right and their own surge in power in the USA under the Bush administration, although there is probably a lot more to this than that (thoughts appreciated).

I am interested to hear how people think the more radical and fundamentalist aspects of BOTH religions will manage to cope with one another, particularly as co-existence would probably be rather strained.

What does everyone think? Will they learn to live and let live or will it end in a bloodbath? (or more likely, somewhere in the middle).

I heard a rumour that someone disrupted the remembrance service at the Cenotaph yesterday by shouting during the 2 minutes silence. I've not heard anything in the press (although maybe it was a conscious decision so as not to give whatever this persons agenda was publicity.. a bit unlike our infamous tabloids though to take the moral high ground) so remain unsure.

Does anyone know if it was true, and if so, who did it and what they were doing it for? The thought someone would do leaves a dirty taste in my mouth and makes me quite angry that someone would show such disrespect to people who sacrificed everything for us.

Or failing that, when was the last few notable occasions where this happened?

I'm thinking true Dawn of the Dead style here, as in one idle Tuesday the world falls apart, society crumbles and you, and maybe a few others, are left to your own devices to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world.

Do you have what it takes? What would YOUR plan be? Where would you go? How would you equip yourself?

I just nailed this big wasp that was coming right at me with a good few blasts of wasp spray, thereby earning me the undying love from the damsel in distress I share an office with. (if ever there was a moment to do the "Hail to the king, baby" line from the Evil Dead, it was then. What a wasted opportunity.)

But as I watched Mr Wasp quietly slip away, with a few extra blasts as it lay there to make it as quick as I could (I called them “control shots”, and I could tell the damsel dug it.) I had a thought. Reassured that he didn’t have the faculties to worry about who was looking after his babies or lamenting his wasted life as a hive drone or wishing he could have finished his novel, I wondered, what exactly what was the spray doing to him? And more importantly, why wasn’t it doing it to me? Our Damsel said she hopes it was a genetically modified nerve agent, but I feel that's a bit extreme, as well as quite unlikely this side of the iron curtain.

Can someone enlighten us?

If you were Satan, the great deceiver, who's greatest trick (along with Keysor Soze) was convincing the world you didn't exist. What would be a great way to get things as bad as possible?

Firstly, I would pretend to be God. Powerful and intimidating yet deliberately mysterious. I'd get people to argue about my true nature, how to please me and so on, you know, find ways to split themselves again and again, create an "us" and "Them" mentality that would give them soemthing to fight for so that lots of suffering spills out across humanity endlessly, then, I'd provide just about enough evidence in the real world, to make people question it all, effectively add a third party to this debate so its another side to fight.

But that would be only the start, I'd make it a very tough regime to keep in my favour, against peoples inherent natures and so on. I'd find a way to segregate people for how they live & the choices they make, giving people an excuse to punish them & make them suffer.

I realised something after this weekend when a few (in hindsight mostly trivial) events in my life sent me into a real spiral for a few days and some crazy notions crossed my mind, that I might have a bit of a problem. I thought everyone has moments of feeling down... but I think for me it's more than just a cute personality quirk. If it wasnt before, it is now... I think it's a problem and I dont think I should ignore it anymore.

I have a few questions - as these are intense but brief bouts that come and go and last only a few days, what would be the best approach to getting some sort of help? Its non emergency, and Im coping, I just want to deal with it while I am still coping. Should I go to my GP initially perhaps?

Would I have any say in the treatment I got? I dont want pills if I can help it.

Would getting help necessarily become something that people I know around me would have to find out about? I want to deal with it, but privately.

Thanks in advance for your help