Blasé is Best

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was ... well, let's call it blasé. I received a large envelope stuffed with crap from my local bank. Apparently, the bank is planning to reorganize from a mutual holding company to stock holding corporation. The mailing included a proxy to vote on the matter along with a prospectus and order form for the purchase of stock. Mind you, I voted against the change from "savings and loan" to "bank." It was one of the few remaining of such institutions. Now, the "bank" appears to need capital. I will read the prospectus, although I am not sure if I will invest any money in "bank" stock. I'm probably better off purchasing gold.

The "condotel" unit was $350 in arrears again last month. I am not certain about how the other "owners" feel about the current situation. I am sure, though, that a lot of them are in deeper shit than I am. For the time being, there is nothing that I can do except to let the dump drain me of my savings. That's the true meaning of the "ownership" society.

The heatwave continues. There's no escape. After my workout at the gym, I decided to take the roundabout way home (term used loosely) via the bus. I rode the Route 56 bus to Ala Moana Center from downtown. I arrived with a few minutes to spare before boarding the Route 24 bus headed for Upper Aina Haina via Waikiki. I alighted at the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I did some quick shopping at Foodland and was able to board the usual Route 1 bus within a few minutes.

When I arrived back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I performed the dreaded laundry chores. Then, I piddled around and made preparations for another blasé urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. Sheesh!

Blasé

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day was marred by the appearance of Les the putz (see the "blog" of February 18th and 24th) while I was sitting in the inner courtyard of the library. He wanted to know if I had read the "born again Christian" tract that he had given me. I did not want to have him "witness" to me, so I abruptly told him that I do not find the Good Book to be entirely credible.

There I was, sitting with two books about Satan, a version of the Good Book, and a book about the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Les the putz felt that he had an obligation to enlighten me with his own "born again" experiences. He mentioned that he repented, accepted Jesus as his savior, and was "saved." I asked him, "How are you saved? The book of Revelation states that we will all face 'Judgment Day' in the end. So, how are you already saved?" I finally mummified the conversation when he told me that the Scriptures are the inerrant utterances of God because it says so right there in the Scriptures. I cannot deal with idiotic circular "logic."

Speaking of Satan, I continued to read the book, "The Birth of Satan," by Wray & Mobley. As it turns out, the characterization of Satan did not fully mature until the "intertestimental" period (from circa 500 BC to 70 AD). Several non-canonical Hebrew books in the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha elaborated upon Satan's presence via writers' embellishments. Thus, the subsequent heavy emphasis on demons and demon possession in the Christian Greek Scriptures (so-called "New Testament") can be understood. Of course, one has to wonder why we do not see an epidemic of demon possession in our times.

The rest of the day was blasé. just the way I like it. I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) and commenced my preparation for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. Incidentally, I completed the clean up of the "blog" a couple days ago. Was it worth it? Nah.

State of Nada (Reprise)

I commenced the day with an early morning walk to Kawaikui Beach Park. I was able to confirm that Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy, is now reliant upon his walker to get around. I am not sure if the walker will be a permanent fixture. Living in the park will be difficult under such circumstances.

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck at 8:50am. Moms was home when I arrived. So was my nephew. He has been staying home from school much more frequently for some reason. Of course, he was already manning the video game console. Moms and I made the usual rounds ... Longs® in Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

I kept moms company until 1pm. Then, I ended up at Koko Head Park.I sat around for an hour or so. I admired the Creation and ruminated on a number of topics. I finally drove to Koko Marina, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I was completely stuffed from lunch. So, for dinner, all I ate was a small vegetable salad sans dressing, a banana, an orange, and a few Oreo® cookies.

On a side note, the sugar ants were in full force again. This morning, the ants launched an offensive from the wall in my squalid room to the trashbag full of rotting food sitting in the second floor common area. Later in the afternoon, the ants launched another offensive from the second floor bathroom. Thousands of sugar ants were involved. In both cases, mass genocide was committed by my slippers (read: slippahs). Oh, the horror!

Matters of Theodicy

Another hot urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... too hot to even think. The itinerary, however, remained exactly the same. At the library, I have been reading the book, "The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots," by TJ Wray and Gregory Mobley. So far, the book has been fairly interesting.

On the way back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing), the Route 1L bus that I was riding on caught up with the bus before it at Aina Haina. The other bus was apparently 30 minutes behind schedule. From what I could tell, all of the passengers were transferred to the bus that I was on. However, the other bus stopped at the same stop where I alighted. I observed the wheelchair ramp operating. Then, Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy, emerged with a walker. I had seen him yesterday at Kawaikui Beach Park, and he was walking around just fine. This morning, I saw him sitting at his reserved picnic table, but I did not see him walking around. So, something happened within the last 24 hours.

Since I am on the subject of the homeless, I was taken aback by what Mista Bumpy recently posted in the message boards:

For example, I had seen this guy a few times sitting in a beat up old beach chair in front of the Academy of Arts place on Beretania St., and I mean he was repellent – he smelled like old piss and rotten armpits. As with many, he was dressed for temperatures of near freezing, even though it was about 75 degrees out there. Everyone was walking way around him and because he was parked right at Der Bus stop, people had to stand way off while waiting for the Bus, he was that bad. At one point, a guy from the Academy came out and gave him a bottled water, which I thought was pretty decent. He was also morbidly obese and his skin had a very unhealthy look to it (he had diabetes, as it turns out and was missing a leg, possibly due to that).

I saw later on one of the local channels that he had died and was a Vet and everything. Jesus, how does some poor fuck end up like that? I mean, if he was in the service, he must have been healthy once upon a time, right? I could not feature this awful, diseased meat-sack as ever having been healthy, or young, or with a woman, of laying around the beach, or anything. And yet he had had a life before disease and really shitty luck knocked him out of the box. In a way, I wish I had stopped to talk to him, at least once. I think that Academy guy sort of knew him and was concerned.

I am sure that the homeless guy in question is the very same guy that I saw sitting at the bus stop in front of the Academy of Arts every day as the bus I rode on passed by. I am not sure if I ever chronicled in the "blog" that I used to see him in the library every day (when I first started hanging out there after I was forcefully emancipated from wage slavery). He would spend all day there. He had a stack of books, mostly current affairs stuff. He always seemed to be talking to himself. He also had a small radio that he listened to. All of his worldly possessions were with him as well. After a while, he stopped going to the library. Then, I began seeing him sitting at that particular bus stop on one of the benches. It became obvious to me that he "lived" there. A few months later. I noticed that he had a walker. Then, a few months later, he disappeared. I had hoped that someone collected him and took him to the homeless shelter. Oddly, just after his disappearance, the bus stop benches were sealed off with the familiar yellow "crime scene" tape. Then, the benches were given a fresh coat of paint. Given what Mista Bumpy stated, I surmise that the homeless guy had probably passed on right there.

In the "blog," I discuss the homeless, not because of any disdain that I have for them, but because no one else seems to care. Countless amounts of taxpayer money has been spent to literally harass the homeless to make them move on. Where are they to go? We live on a damned island. Sheesh! That kind of brings me around to the topics of universal law, justice, and theodicy ... something I was hoping to defer. The findings of my religious research are moving away from the idea that God is the Creator. The reasons for believing, aside from faith, in the Good Book are dwindling. However, I am still very certain that there is a Creator.

The Creator is the source of infinite intelligence and power. The Creator is also quite exacting. The earth was designed to be perfect for lifeforms. The Creator established a complex interactive relationship between all lifeforms including replication and maintenance of the food chain. As for humans, the Creator provided all of the resources for us to survive and thrive. The Creator also gave us an internal moral code (i.e., conscience). However, that's probably where the Creator's benevolence ended. We humans have been left to our own devices. We were given "free will," which we chose to exercise liberally. We opted to choose wrong paths because "free will" allows us to usurp our conscience. Hence, we will eventually end up destroying ourselves. There really won't be a second chance. The dinosaurs of old became extinct (by "natural" causes, no less), but the Creator has not chosen to "resurrect" them. They are species long gone. There is no evidence, aside from religious mumbo-jumbo, that the Creator will spare us of the same demise.

Those who cry out for justice are usually at the receiving end of extreme injustice. We humans were given a moral code and roughly 80 years to live. It was up to us to understand our mortality and to make all of our lives fruitful through compassion and fairness. No one should have had to suffer prematurely, because suffering comes at the end anyway. Humans, however, were just too stupid, too arrogant, and too crafty for their own good. Religions have come about in order to force change on decadent societies using powerful, albeit fictitious, deities as leverage. We've already seen how that has played out.

If the Creator was God, then He would have intervened in our sordid affairs by now. The prophesies should have come to fruition. If we humans were meant to live as spirit creatures in "Heaven," we would never have been initially created as humans. And now, my knowledge quest is bringing me in search of the origin of evil and the forces of evil. Does evil exist, or is it simply a human judgment call through the agency of "free will"?

State of Nada

After a brief visit to Kawaikui Beach Park this morning, I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I only made a brief trip to Foodland in Koko Marina. For lunch, moms served leftover turkey (cooked on Memorial Day), fresh ahi sashimi, homemade macaroni salad, fresh vegetables, and rice. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I was completely stuffed.

I kept moms company until 1:30pm. Then, I spent the obligatory hour at Koko Head Park. The heatwave continued in full force, by the way. I drove to Koko Marina at 2:30pm, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, and performed my usual workout. I made one last stop at Foodland to find something light for dinner. Nada. All I purchased was an Icee® beverage.

I drove back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I eventually scraped up some crap food for dinner. And, as always, I will be engaged in the typical urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. No new revelations today.

Quantum Discovery

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... heatwave! Yes, the ambient temperature was so damned hot that my mind was frying. Obviously, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. I will only mention that the heatwave apparently caused a lot of people to emit sickening odors ... on the bus, at the library, in the gym ... horrid.

I had to pay for my PO Box rental fee this morning at the Uptown Station (in Chinatown). Along with postage rates, the PO Box rental fees have gone up. The line was extremely long. All of the people in line were Chinese. The scene was both chaotic and foolish as several Chinamen were just acting plain stupid. I am too fatigued to detail the stupidity. Frankly, I don't know why I haven't already divested the PO Box. That's $60 per year for nothing. Then, I can avoid the kind of stupidity that I observed today.

Once again, the sugar ants were filing out of the wall in my squalid room by the thousands to the trash bag full of rotting food in the second floor common area. With each passing day, there is more rotting food added to the trash bag. Thus, there are even more ants making the daring food raid. I committed mass genocide with my slippers (read: slippahs) yet again.

My religious research has veered in all directions. I am perusing books about Quantum Mechanics, philosophy, science, genetics, and about Satan. Yes, even Satan. In the March 4th "blog," I mentioned the sparseness with which Satan is mentioned in the Good Book. Now, I am finding a few books in which the authors state the same premise and discuss how Satan became so prevalent in the "good versus evil" dogma. In fact, a common thesis is that the Jews adopted the "good versus evil" theme from the Persians, specifically Zoroastrianism. That makes sense given the fact that the elite Jews were in exile in Babylonia (in modern Iraq) and were freed by the Persians after Cyrus subdued Nebuchadnezzar. Most of the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament") are alleged to have been written in exile.

I had also previously observed that there was an abrupt increase (from zero in the Hebrew Scriptures) in demon possession during the time of Jesus. As it turns out, the non-canonized Jewish books (i.e., the apocrypha) focused much more on demons than the canonized Scriptures. There are indeed many issues with both the Hebrew Scriptures and the non-canonized books. Overall, this presents quite a problem with the credibility of Jesus as the Son of God.

I have enjoyed reading the Quantum Mechanics thesis (i.e., "Big Bang") concerning the origin of the universe. I have read accounts by physicists who are also creationists. The theory makes sense up to a certain point. However, I just cannot see how a blob of infinite mass "exploded" into the perfectly round orbs of stars and planets. Yes, gravity can explain how matter became spherical, but how did those objects acquire gravity in the first place? The answer to that question lies in the center of the earth.

Some physicists also postulate that, prior to the Creation, nothing existed. In other words, there was no space-time continuum. The definition of "space," by the way, is three-dimensional in the space-time continuum. No one has been able to eplain what "nothing" means. After pondering the concept for days, I realized that what we call "outer space" (looking out into the sky) is essentially "nothing." Without any of the physical matter present, it would be a vacuum, infinite, and devoid of light. There is no beginning or end to "outer space." Thus, time does not exist as well. I briefly mentioned the idea in the "blog" of February 25th. What dawned upon me recently is that "outer space" is not at all part of the physical universe. That's right. The physical universe is sitting inside of nothing. It has no connection to "outer space." And, it is the only instance where matter, time, and "nothing" coincide simultaneously.

If we were talking about God, then we would be looking into the soul of God when we peer out into "outer space." In the Good Book, "outer space" is the "Heavens." That is allegedly the domain of the spirit world. In terms of the Creator, we are looking at the pre-Creation, a completely perfect void before anything existed. We think that we can see "outer space," but we can't. We only see the light from distant stars. Without such light, we would see absolutely nothing. And, rightly so. Nothing is there!

Memorial Day 2009

I am actually becoming quite sick and tired of writing for this foolish "blog." Spending the last two days undoing all the errors for a period of 1.5 years has certainly made me more jaded. I was also able to peruse the nauseating content of the "blog." Since I had spent so much time in the faculty computer room at the despicable urinal ... errr, Diploma Mill, I had nothing else to do but compose useless diatribe for the "blog." Who has even read that crap?

I was off to Kahala Mall on the bus this morning at 8:45am. I was at the bus stop since about 8:20am, but I had apparently missed the desired bus. Obviously, I spent time at Barnes & Noble®. I departed at noon, returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I did not make the mistake of either driving my Nissan® Frontier truck or spending time at Koko Head Park.

I piddled around in my hot squalid room until 1:40pm. Then, I walked across the street to the bus stop. I rode the bus to Koko Marina. I performed my usual workout at the gym, shopped at Foodland, and rode an incredibly crowded Route 22 bus back to Slob Manor. I was back in my stuffy squalid room by 5pm, just in time to begin my urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. Incidentally, I still have five more months of the "blog" archive to clean up.

Sonambulent Sunday

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday fulfilled a sonambulent prophesy. Exactly what does "sonambulent" mean? When I was returning from my jaunt to town, I stopped off at Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I purchased some imitation crab poke for dinner, along with a box of Quaker® Granola, and pint of Häagen-Dazs® ice cream. Naturally, I ate the whole pint of ice cream while I waited for the next bus. When I arrived back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) 100^o F. I consumed a lot of water. By 5pm, I noticed that my stomach was feeling queasy. I should have known better.

(Ice Cream) + (Lots of H₂O) = Montezuma's Revenge

I had to quickly grab a toilet seat cover/shield from my stash and walk briskly to the filthy restrooms in Kawaikui Beach Park. After my intestines were suitably cleaned out, I meandered back to Slob Manor only to discover that two thick lines of sugar ants were filing out of two adjacent walls in my squalid room. I followed their path to the trash bag full of rotting food sitting in the second floor common area. I had to commit mass genocide with my slippers (read: slippahs).

Another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening awaits. I will be spending more time cleaning up the "blog." There was a period of over one year that the Blogger® spell checker was not functional. So, that's part of the mess that I am cleaning up. Of course, with no one reading the "blog," I am simply wasting time.

Sad Saturday

I was on my way to Kahala Mall on the bus this morning at 8:30am. Once again, I spent time at Barnes & Noble®.When I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at noon, I washed my Nissan® Frontier truck. I departed for Hawai'i Kai at 1:30pm. My intention was to drive to Koko Head Park and find shaded parking in order to wax my truck. As to be expected, my plans were foiled. The park was filled with people. The shaded parking was all taken. I drove around Hawai'i Kai and wasted my precious petrol for no particular reason. Overcome by boredom, I finally decided to return to Koko Head Park. I was finally able to find parking under a shower tree. The tree, however, was shedding tiny flowers and pollen. I completed the wax job at 2:45pm.

I drove to Koko Marina, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, and performed my usual workout. Afterward, I purchased a hot meal (i.e., local-style bento) at Foodland. I drove back to Slob Manor to prepare for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

Overall, the day was lousy. I was quite fatigued because I was up very late last night. To take my mind off of everything else, I decided to clean up the "blog." I had to deal with the shower tree while I was waxing my my Nissan® Frontier truck. I also got a slight sunburn while washing the truck. My workout at the gym was mediocre. Then, of course, there has been no rain for weeks until tonight.

I will be cleaning up the "blog" again this evening. The "blog" is, after all, my last testament and legacy. Sadly, the "blog" is my sole accomplishment in life. And, it is completely useless. I may also clean up the original journal sites later on. What else do I have to my name?

Fractured Friday

I was on my way to Kahala Mall at 8:40am this morning. I found shaded parking, then meandered over to Barnes & Noble®. I spent a bit of time in the café perusing a few magazines and sipping a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I met moms at the front entrance to the mall at about 11am. Moms had an appointment with her physician for an annual checkup.

Moms, myself, and my Nissan® Frontier truck ended up at Koko Marina. We ate lunch at Zippy's, then shopped at Foodland. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I kept moms company until 1:30pm.

I spent about an hour at Koko Head Park. I then drove back to Koko Marina, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) in anticipation of another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. We all know what that entails. Sheesh!

The other day, I noticed that the Chinaman's work boots were gone. He usually leaves them outside the front door. I thought that he had gone back to work. He has been laid off for some time. However, when I was throwing out my trash in the rubbish bin, I saw that he had dumped his work boots. I surmise that the Chinaman is going to be making a career change.

Torrid Thursday

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day, aside from the heatwave, was redundant. Perhaps the heat is affecting everyone and everything. The sugar ants are now invading the second floor bathroom sink and commode. The sugar ants also invaded my water cup that is sitting on the squalid desk of my squalid room.

I commenced the morning with a walk to Kawaikui Beach Park. I noticed a fat ho' sitting at the picnic table with Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy. I was not able to ascertain whether the blob in question was Fats, the stupid tub o' lard that I had a run-in with yesterday afternoon on the bus.

The rest of the day was the same ol' shit. You know the drill. I should note that I seem to be befriending a lot of senior citizens lately, even at the gym. As I get to know them, though, I find that they have tidbits of wisdom that I can glean from them. I also always run into the bus driver who services the Route 1 run in the evenings. When I used to go to Kahala Mall every night, I would always end up on his bus both ways. He comes in at 3:45pm, just as I am ready to leave. I shared the Fats incident with him.

The bus ride back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) was not marred by the presence of Fats, thank goodness. I am not certain if I could stomach the sight of that blob, especially before dinner. However, heavy traffic near Kahala Mall delayed the bus by 40 minutes. I finally arrived at 5:30pm, just in time to perform the dreaded laundry chores. Then, I will enjoy another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

A brief update of my library research is in order. I completed reading the book, "The God Theory," by Bernard Haisch. I am now contemplating whether I should read Frank Tipler's book, "The Physics of Immortality." There's a small amount of Quantum Mechanics embedded in the discussions. As an engineer, I had to take a variety of Quantum Physics classes. Having such knowledge enabled me to better visualize the authors' theses. Of course, my own conception of the origin of the universe and the nature of the Creator was very much in sync with the authors. Unfortunately, I am not in agreement with their viewpoints about evolution and resurrection.

For now, I am simply diverting my attention from the more tedious task of discerning the true communication from the Creator. I will say that Haisch has provided a wonderful explanation of what the Creator entity could be, given that such an entity does not exists or originate in our space-time continuum. Haisch also offers a plausible explanation for the origin of the universe using Quantum Mechanics. Any would-be-readers should pay close attention to his discussion about "light."

I spend most of my days in contemplation or observation. I am now particularly attuned to the works of nature. Although I follow the same moronic routine, I spend a lot of time observing the natural surroundings (e.g., plants, trees, ocean, birds, stray cats, etc.). I attempt to become one with the Creation. However, I see just how far detached we humans really are. Evolution cannot explain our origin. At this time, though, it is my belief that the entire ecosystem (i.e., plants, animals, trees, insects, fish, etc.) of the earth had to be created concurrently, albeit on a small scale, and nurtured until proto-genesis was complete. The heavy interdependence of those species precludes any other notions. The Creator's "fingerprints" are quite obvious. That's also why I believe that we humans have an ancient oral tradition directly attributed to the Creator. That's my spiritual quest.

Wasted Wednesday

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... first, an early morning visit to Kawaikui Beach Park, then, the usual bus ride to town. I chatted with the retired guy for the duration of the ride. I see him on the bus every Wednesday. He does yardwork at his sister's home in Kuli'ou'ou. The homeless guy who owns a bicycle was also on the bus. He asked me if I had any spare change, but I had none to offer him.

At the library, I shifted the focus of my research to begin the search for the Creator. Mind you, I have tried to restore faith in the "Good Book." However, the discrepancies that I have detailed in the "blog" are too compelling to ignore. I will provide a list of books soon.

Nothing exciting happened at the gym. The liquid soap dispensers have been replaced, if that's any consolation. The bus ride to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) was disturbing. A fat bitch with a lot of luggage came tearing through the back of the bus. In the process, the fat ho' rammed her crap into my legs while saying nothing. "Watch it," I said to the obese loser. The ho' gave me a lot of "lip." Fats also hurled a few racial slurs. I noticed that the bitch's luggage was filthy. I suspected that "it" was homeless. "Clean yourself up," I told the filthy lardball. The idiocy continued throughout the entire trip. I also reversed my game plan and became sarcastically condescending. I could tell that the mental midget was ready to lose it. Finally, the fat toad pulled a soiled Bible out of the filthy luggage. The ho' began prophesying to me, so I called Fats the "bus messiah." Oh, the whole affair was just too stupid. Both Fats and I looked like idiots. Frankly, I could care less. The incident was simply a cathartic reaction.

Every afternoon, when I return to my squalid room, I am overcome by nausea. I mean the latter figuratively, not to the point of "delivering street pizza." I still have too many useless possessions literally lying around (on the floor). I have done absolutely nothing to remedy the situation. I suppose that the real issue is the despicable "condotel" unit and my Nissan® Frontier truck. Both the latter and former are anchors around my neck, dragging me deeper and deeper into debt. I keep talking about "freedom" and the exodus, but I am only giving "lip service" to myself. Time is rapidly running out.

Tuesday Tidbits Revisited

Last night, I suffered from a bout of Montezuma's Revenge thanks to the $2 marked down hot meal (i.e., local-style bento) that I had procured from Foodland and eaten for dinner. I suppose that the four hot dogs that I consumed for lunch didn't help matters. I have been eating much worse than usual. I am wondering whether my pathetic life-style is finally getting the best of me. Hence, I have resorted to eating crappy food to compensate. I also now stock ice cream and crappy Oreo® cookies for snacks. Isn't that something?

While reading one of the ridiculous forums at the Pure T 'n A site, I happened across a thread that referenced the Fleshlight® Forums, the message boards for the infamous Fleshlight® device. The members of the board are known as "FLyers." All I can say is that there is some interesting reading in those forums.

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day has surpassed any expectations of the mundane. At the library, I continued my religious research. I concluded the reading of Bart Ehrman's book, "Lost Christianities." Frankly, I have no idea where I will go next with the project. I have become extremely disillusioned, although I cannot seem to find a way to articulate my frustration and despair. So, I must continue to defer any comments.

For lack of much else to discuss ... I have seen the African-American homeless guy at the library for over a year now. At first, I wasn't sure if he really was homeless. He always arrived at the library cleanly dressed, although he had a backpack that was simply too full. A few months later, he replaced the backpack with one of those useless luggage with the rollers. At that point, I was sure that he was homeless. Within a month, I noticed that the rollers were so worn out that the luggage made a huge racket when he rolled it around. A few days later, he acquired a handtruck and strapped the luggage to it. After a while, I think that he just gave in and quit the ruse. He now has a shopping cart with a piece of blue tarp covering it. The shopping cart is usually parked in front of the library every day. Today, he was napping under a tree with the shopping cart next to him. I often observe him carrying a large dilapidated cardboard box into the library with him. I surmise that he keeps his change of clothes in there. The guy is probably still in his twenties. He's sprouted a bit of gray hair. He's just another face in the crowd.

The only excitement at the gym was my discovery that someone had vandalized almost all of the liquid soap dispensers. In fact, all that remained were the wall mounts. Fortunately, I was able to find only one dispenser that had some blue-colored water in it so that I could wash off.

Once back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I engaged in the same benign routine (i.e., prepare dinner, clean my squalid room with my humble dustpan and brush, etc.) prior to another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

Another Mundane Monday

The morning commenced with my discovery of a major sugar ant invasion in my squalid room. Thousands of sugar ants were attacking my stash of granola and granola bars, all of which were in boxes. The plastic packaging was intact. I had to commit mass genocide upon the unsuspecting ants. Not a pretty sight.

I finally departed for Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck at 9am. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I made the usual rounds ... Longs® In Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina. Moms served hot dogs for lunch along with fresh vegetables. Moms ate a slice of lasagna that she procured at Foodland. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert.

I kept moms company until 1:30pm. Then, I spent an hour at Koko Head Park. I ruminated about life and deliberated my options for the future. I drove back to Koko Marina after 2:30pm, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) in anticipation of another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

Observations

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday ... ho-hum. Same old routine in town. Outside was hot and sunny when I entered the gym. Upon leaving the gym, I was delayed by a sudden rainstorm. Earlier I had decided to make a side trip to Ala Moana Center, but I was having second thoughts when I saw the rain. I patiently waited until the weather cleared up. After all, I am in no hurry to be anywhere.

I rode the bus to Ala Moana. I meandered to Foodland to see if I could purchase a bento. This was the whole purpose of my trip to Ala Moana, since the Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center had disappointed me for the last few weeks. I was able to procure a Yakitori Bento. Then, I rode the Route 23 bus back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) via Waikiki. I was surprised to find that I arrived back at the dump at the usual time. Not that it mattered.

I made a few observations while I was riding the bus this afternoon. I saw a large number of homeless along with a bevy of shopping carts (full of personal possessions) in Ala Moana Park. I am not sure where the homeless migrate to at night since the park is now closed to the public after 10pm. And, Fudgepacker Park (read: Kapi'olani Park) in Waikiki has also been closed nightly for "cleaning." I am seeing more of the homeless camping in various bus stop shelters. The concrete benches in the bus stop shelters have been replaced with little concrete stools in order to prevent the homeless from sleeping on them. However, even bus riders disdain the stools. At one bus stop, someone had rolled one of the stools some distance from the bus stop shelter.

While passing through Waikiki, I noticed that all of the same tacky shops are still there. I had thought that many would have closed down. Most of the stores were fairly empty from what I could tell. Many of the hotels had "Vacancy" signs lit up. How are they all staying in business? The streets were not crowded with people. Of course, Ala Moana Center was very crowded. People were spending money like there's no tomorrow.

I ate the Yakitori Bento for dinner and enjoyed every bite. I was finally able to perform the dreaded laundry chores at 7:30pm, while I waited four hours until a certain Chinaman finally unloaded his clothes from the machines. Mind you, his laundry was done before I arrived back at Slob Manor at 3pm. Well, with the dreaded laundry chores completed, I can look forward to another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. Sheesh!

Even More Numbness

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... can you say, "Same ol' shit"? Nothing out of the ordinary transpired. When I finally returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I discovered that my squalid room was like a heated oven. I had to defer my plan to grill panini for dinner. Instead, I called upon my reserves of Reser's® frozen burritos. Sad, but true.

Last night, I installed Ubuntu Tweak on my beloved Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. I'm quite impressed with the utility, although I maintain a mostly default configuration of Ubuntu Linux. The best part is that ubuntu Tweak has allowed me to easily install newer versions of existing software by updating my repository list. Thus, I was able to finally update to the new version of Transmission (bit-torrent client).

My psychological numbness continues, although there really is no sound explanation for it. Perhaps all of the pathetic news about the economy (i.e., peon-slave perspective), the musings of the myriad disappointed Obama supporters, the uncanny resemblance to the Shrub years (i.e., same wars, same torture crap), all of that is just numbing my mind. In addition, my continued religious research is not faring well for the Good Book.

Well, that only leaves another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening to look forward to, if that is any consolation at all. I'll spend all evening with my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. Perhaps I will listen to my House Music library in order to further numb my senses. Yes, as I said before, that's as good as it gets.

More Numbness

An early morning jaunt to Kawaikui Beach Park, and then I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck. I made a quick stop at the Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center in order to purchase two boxes of Quaker® Granola. Moms was home when I arrived. So was my nephew. He was busily manning the video game console. No surprise. Moms and I only made the rounds in Koko Marina ... Foodland and Zippy's. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I also briefly assisted moms in finishing up the yardwork. I am not sure why moms insists on doing yardwork since the house is now owned by my bro. That's a story for another time.

I departed at 1:30pm and spent about an hour in Koko Head Park. At one point, three young Asian hotties appeared out of nowhere and sat at one of the picnic tables further down from where I was sitting. When I finally drove back to Koko Marina, I had difficulty finding shaded parking. After ten minutes of cruising around in a circle, I managed to find parking. I walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) to prepare for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

Numbness

Chant with me ... "Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ..." Yes, the same itinerary, the same routine, was met with dulled expectation. Nothing out of the ordinary transpired. I was neither relieved or disappointed. Numbness is becoming the state of my affect.

This week marks the end of my second full year of emancipation from wage slavery. I look back now and realize that I simply traded one form of slavery for another. Currently, I am enslaved to poverty. There is no escape from human tragedy.

At the library, I am continuing my religious research. I am back to reading Bart Ehrman's books since a few titles have been returned. I am also contemplating the reading Christopher Hitchen's book, "god is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."

As for the evening, chant with me ... "Another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening ... another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening." Sheesh!

Even More Brevity

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day was marked by absolutely nothing important. And, we already know the drill. I only deviated from my usual routine when I restored my monk haircut at the Institute of Hair Design. Once I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) this afternoon, I performed the dreaded laundry chores. Then, I prepared myself for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

I can relate only a few useless tidbits of nonsense in lieu of anything of substance:

• I have only seen Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy, at Kawaikui Beach Park. The homeless guy who owns a bicycle must leave very early in the morning. The ranks of the homeless must be increasing. I have seen shopping carts filled with personal possessions lined up at every regional park. The number of homeless who hang out at the library has decreased. Of course, with the nicer weather, there are many other places to hang out.
• The gym has watered down the liquid soap in the showers so much that the result is simply blue-colored water. I now have to carry my own liquid soap, which adds to the weight of my gym bag.
• I am wondering just how long before I end up with a life-threatening ailment. I have been using nitrate-laced deli-cut meats in my panini. As poor as I am, I cannot afford non-poisonous food.

As I mentioned yesterday, I should set the exodus as my main priority. I am not sure if Hawai'i is setting itself up for a meltdown. Tourism is at an all-time low. Hotel occupancy has dropped even lower than that of the "September 11th" event. However, several new hotels are either being constructed or renovated. The various local governments are allegedly running out of money, so the latest plan is to increase property taxes and the transient accommodations (read: tourist) tax. Oddly, consumer spending is reminiscent of the boom times. I have no idea where people are getting the money. Unemployment is supposedly up, but there really is no trace of suffering. Only the homeless and I seem to be "scraping the bottom of the barrel."

More Brevity

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... absolutely nothing new. Same itinerary. Same benign activities. Same crappy food. Time is slipping by, but I have no apparent desire to deviate from the mundane.

This morning at Kawaikui Beach Park, I observed two ladies, one in a wheelchair, cruising around. They stopped to chat with Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy. Finally, they arrived at the bench which I was sitting upon. Turns out that they are members of moms' church. In fact, one of them knows moms. They were out doing ministry work. After our brief chat, I wondered why I could not have that same kind of blind faith. Oh, to just believe that Good Book is an oracle from God! And, to believe that Armageddon and the resurrection is just around the corner!

Faith is an amazing vehicle in religious worship. Faith can overcome all obstacles to belief. One can, therefore, accept "truth" without evidence. I really have no faith in anything these days. Nothing makes sense. Wrong is right. Down is up. Lies are truth. Frankly, I cannot understand why I do not take the exodus much more seriously. I should be doing everything in my power to prepare to flee at a moment's notice. Instead, I am wasting lots of money and "kickin' the can" (i.e., wasting time). Maybe I'll just waste so much time and money that I end up homeless and destitute. Oh well.

Brevity

I commenced the morning with a walk to Kawaikui Beach Park. I am surprised to see the number of people who stop at the park to smoke a few cigarettes. At 9am, I I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Hawai'i Kai. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I made the usual rounds ... Longs® in Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina. We ate lunch at Yummy's. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Once again, I spent some time at Koko Head Park. At 2:15pm, I drove to Koko Marina, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening. Is there more to add? Not really.

Ahead of Myself

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was the same as always. Nothing exciting occurred. I simply went through the motions of routine in a zombie-like state. When I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I performed the dreaded laundry chores. That's about as good as it gets.

Although I have not completed my religious research, I must admit that I am very close to mummifying the situation. I had shifted the focus of my research to the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament") in order to see whether Christianity had any solid foundation to rest upon. The Hebrew Scriptures really did not come into being until the 4th century BC, which means that, in all likelihood, the Scriptures were compiled, edited, and redacted by the priest-prophets (who were also scribes) in that time period. We are looking at the likes of Jeremiah, Ezra et al. The roughshod compilation was probably based on other existing texts which were largely based on tribal oral traditions. We have no guarantee that any of it was Divinely "inspired." The Hebrew Scriptures "canon" was not established until as late as 2 AD. As one can imagine, there was a deluge of document candidates (i.e., the apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha) awaiting approval. The process was quite similar to the questionable derivative of the Greek Scriptures (so-called "New Testament") "canon."

Let me get to the punchline. If the Hebrew Scriptures are suspect, then there is no basis for Christianity. Neither Jesus or the Gospel writers lambasted the Hebrew Scriptures. Rather,they embraced the latter and even quoted verses! If the Hebrew Scriptures have diminished credibility, then what does that say for the Greek Scriptures? Believe me, I am quite numbed by shock as a result of the discoveries. And, as can be seen, Islam collapses as well.

I have not been able to properly reflect on the idea that the Judaism/Christian/Islam religious empire is a total joke ... a bad joke upon all of humanity. That is way too big for my puny brain (in the oversized cranium) to comprehend. I ruminate on all of the foolish comments that I read on the various Christian ex-[domination] Web sites. What a joke! Why are those fools worried about simple doctrinal issues when the entire Christian faith may be suspect? I see people like moms who have devoted almost their entire lives to a bogus religion. They have myriad hope. They pray incessantly. They modified their lives to seek righteousness. They made numerous sacrifices. Yet, in the end, nothing may happen. Their reward may be no different than the evildoers' punishment. I can safely say that, if I don't throttle back those kinds of thoughts, I am going to end up insane.

I am not intentionally attempting to sound like an atheist or an agnostic. I still firmly believe in the Creation. However, I am no longer certain about the Creator's intentions. Why was the universe made? Why were complex biological and ecological systems placed on the earth? Why were self-aware humans created? Unlike the animals, humans had to be nurtured for a significant period of time to insure that procreation could continue. We were not given the gift of instinct, so we had to be trained. Thus, there was an oral tradition. However, I have no idea what happened to it. Is part of it still embedded in the Good Book, or in various myths and legends?

I am also beginning to revamp my beliefs about evil as well as pain and suffering. However, I do not want to get too ahead of myself.

Hi Ho, Ho Hum

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day passed without incident. Perhaps, that's because my whole attitude towards humans has slightly changed since I learned of the possibility that the Creator has left us to our own devices. I am still a misanthrope, but I no longer regard humans as "sinners."

At the library, I continued to read Daniel Silver's book, "The Story of Scripture." As I mentioned before, Silver's book is primarily about the origin of the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament"). Silver, by the way, was a Rabbi (before he passed on). That's probably what makes the book a surprising read. Although Silver has not explicitly stated that the Hebrew Scriptures are less than "inspired" (not from the hand of God), there is almost no other logical conclusion. As I near completion of the book, I should have more comments.

According to the Feedjit® Live Feed, about 99 percent of the visitors to the "blog" are searching for babe pictures. And, out of that number, the majority are still looking for Lindsay Meadows images. Even though baby has retired, she is more popular than ever. Yowza!

Ultimate Zero-Sum Game

I walked to Kawaikui Beach Park at 7:30am this morning. I spent about an hour there. I did nothing except to stare blankly at the ocean and the horizon. At odd moments, I glanced at the birds chirping in the trees and the various feral cats roaming around. I tried to make sense of the creation, but the concept alludes me at this point in time.

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck at 9am. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I only visited Foodland in Koko Marina. For lunch moms served fresh grilled salmon steak, lamp-baked chicken, fresh vegetables, and rice. For dessert, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream. A little while later, my nephew and two of his friends arrived home early from school. So, I had to cut my visit short.

I drove to Koko Head Park to spend more time in a comatose fashion. I meandered around the park, shuffling about like a moron. I found a wallet and a cell phone sitting on one of the benches near the basketball courts. I had seen three guys shooting hoops earlier. I brought the items to the park office. About 20 minutes later when I was ready to leave, I saw the same three guys drive back into the park. They parked just ahead of my Nissan® truck. I asked them if one of them had lost a wallet and cell phone. One of the guy, looking frantic, affirmed that he was the owner. I told him that his stuff was in the office. As I drove off, they waved.

Back at Koko Marina, I found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I was stuffed from lunch, so I only ate a green salad, a pathetic Reser's® frozen burrito, and an orange. A fitting meal for a mendicant nomad (read: monk). The evening? An urban nomad kind-of-an-evening, of course.

I will make one short obligatory comment about the Good Book. From what I have gathered, the Good Book was never composed to become Scripture. The Good Book is also not Holy. That's another reason why I donated the cheap edition of the New Living Translation to the library. Emblazoned on the cover were the words, "Holy Bible," in gold lettering. The Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament") was written, edited, and redacted by a group of Hebrew priest-prophets. Later, its final "canon" was established by the Jewish religious order, much in the same way that the Greek Scriptures (so-called "New Testament") "canon" was. Obviously, the hand of the Almighty was not involved. I am doing my best to not blaspheme the texts. All I can say is that, from my own research, the authors of the Good Book never intended that its contents become Holy Scripture. Rather, tribal oral tradition was being preserved to its best possible recollection.

In view of the possibility that the Creator is not God (i.e., YHWH¹) and has, for all intents and purposes, left humans to their own devices, I have become rather anxious. I am speaking of high anxiety. I am actually not at all certain about what to do. I do not want to go all-out Hedonistic. It is far too late in the game for that. However, knowing that I have little time left before I cease to exist, I must engage in some kind of meaningful pursuit. Obviously, we are now speaking of "real time" meaning because neither meaning or purpose will extend to posterity. Once my neurons perish, so will my meaning and purpose perish. This is the ultimate "zero-sum game."

Philosophically speaking, I will have to revisit the concept of "good and evil." I will also need to rethink the idea of justice. We are physical beings living in a physical and material world. We cannot cross into another dimension. We are forced to accept the unidirectional heuristic of time. Pain and suffering also cannot be avoided or deferred. Both are natural states for our existence. Our soul (i.e., spirit or life force) is intricately tied to neuronal and dendritic connections in our brain, both of which are physical and biological systems. Once we lose those connections (e.g, by injury or natural causes), we essentially experience the fragmentation of our soul.

Well, the Creator has not made any attempt to communicate with us. Had the Good Book actually been the conduit of communication with the Creator, then we would know of our final disposition. However, we have already seen that such communication ceased at least 1,900 years ago. There has been no further communication directly or through a medium ever since. Prophesies remain unfulfilled. Billions and billions of souls have come and gone since then. As the earthly mausoleum fills up, there has been no indication concerning redemption, salvation, justice, or resurrection. Eventually, we must conclude that the Creator had no further intentions with regard to the transience of human life. We are highly sophisticated lifeforms, but we are not worthy of much more. We only have the marked and humbling awareness that our end is coming.

¹YHWH, the tetragrammaton representing Yahweh, Jehovah, Ieovah, the name of the God.

Human Condition

"In other words, according to Jung, what we call 'good' and 'evil' need each other and in our binary thinking are opposite poles which in reality comprise the whole of the human experience; one needs the other for completion, and particularly for the transformation of consciousness. This is why Jung adamantly declared that 'Mental illness is the avoidance of suffering.' He was not referring to meaningless anguish but suffering which we endeavor to make sense of so that our genuine human purpose may be revealed to us." -- Carolyn Baker

Another cloned urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... you know the drill. Only Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy, was at Kawaikui Beach Park this morning. Later, Pete waited with me at the same bus stop. I have never spoken to the guy. What I find amazing is that he's been living in the park for over six years.

At the library, I commenced reading the book, "Story of Scripture: From Oral Tradition to the Written Word," by Daniel Silver. This is another obscure book, but very much worth reading. Since there are zero legitimate readers of the "blog," I won't go into any detail.

When I finally returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I performed the dreaded laundry chores. Then, I prepared for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening, for what that's worth.

Life is becoming much more surreal for me as each day passes. My foray into religious research has opened up a real can of worms, so to speak. The idea that billions of followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam could be basing their faith on a foundation of Scripture rooted in a priest class war is unnerving as it is. Yet, for each one of us as individuals, the problem become more intense. Gone are any hopes for a life beyond the piddly 70 years we have on the planet. The injustices will never be made right. The evildoers will never pay for their actions. The meek will not inherit the earth.

In effect, humans will have been left to their own devices, to do as they please, with no ramifications for their actions. And, that's exactly what we've been doing. Gone, too, is hope of any kind. We are just a small blip on the timeline of history. Once our physical bodies pass on, our soul will vanish along with our memories. I guess we can really call it what it is ... the human condition.

Blind Faith

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... a carbon copy of yesterday. I should report that there are only two homeless guys residing at Kawaikui Beach Park. Just Pete, the pipe-smoking homeless guy, and the homeless guy who owns a bicycle are left. I cannot say that I envy their situation. However, they are living far more cheaply than I am. And, they have far more freedom than I do. By the way, this morning, I was sitting at the concrete picnic table in the picture below.

At the library, I completed reading Richard Friedman's book, "Who Wrote the Bible?" I am pretty much convinced that the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament") has been compiled from a variety of original sources (which no longer exist). I find the scenario of priesthood rivalry that he proposed to be quite plausible. However, we have come full-circle to the beginning.

The Hebrew Scriptures are unique because the latter comprise the only book of history from that era. Thus, there is almost no way to verify its contents except archaeologically. However, if "document hypothesis" is correct, then the priest-prophets took great liberties to edit and revise the Scriptures. Thus, we are simply left with faith.

I am surprised that the NLT (New Living Translation) Study Bible has included quite a bit of information about Biblical scholarly research. However, such information has been dismissed as "speculative." I had much more to discuss concerning the matter. Why bother, though?

The bottom line is that there is no way to verify that the Hebrew Scriptures came directly from the Almighty. From all indication, that does not seem likely. There is the possibility that some portion of the Scriptures may have been handed down by oral tradition from the Creator. So, in essence, extreme faith is what is required to "believe." I am afraid that I am not capable of blind faith.

Mind Games

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day commenced with an early morning walk to Kawaikui Beach Park. I spent about 30 minutes there. The rest of the day followed the patented urban nomad itinerary. No details are necessary.

At the library, I continued to read Richard Friedman's book, "Who Wrote the Bible?" I must say that I have been quite affected by what I have read so far. Although Friedman stops short of questioning the actual validity of the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament"), there is really very little leeway concerning the latter. To anyone who is truly interested in novice Biblical research, I recommend Friedman's book as the absolute starting point.

I will also note that I have been researching the available rebuttals to Friedman's work, most of which originate with hard-core fundamentalists or apologists. I do not believe that most Biblical scholars are determined to prove the Good Book to be a joke. Were it not for Biblical scholarship, we would not have the level of understanding about the Scriptures that we do now. For the time being, I have avoided atheists or pure agnostic commentaries for obvious reasons.

Mind you, Friedman has provided his own thesis concerning the context of the Scriptures and when (and why) they were written. He has also postulated the political and religious climate that existed at that time. While I found the material quite entertaining, I intentionally kept it separate from my own assessment. Just on the basis of "documentary hypothesis," I became almost totally convinced that the Hebrew Scriptures are not the purported infallible word of God. I am, however, impressed by the extensive genealogy in the Hebrew Scriptures, which leads me to believe that there is probably a strong basis that a reliable oral tradition (originating with the Creator) exists below all of the editing and redacting that was performed later.

Of course, "documentary hypothesis" is adjunctive support for my strong belief that the Hebrew Scriptures are not totally "inspired." The Jewish prophet-priests indicated that the kingdom of Israel would be reunited and restored under a Davidic king for eternity on earth (not Heaven). That has been the premise of the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants with the Almighty. The prophesy never came to be. Ezekiel's prophecy of the permanently restored Temple was also a no-show.

The coming of Jesus was supposed to mark the fulfillment of the Hebrew prophecies with Jesus installed as the Davidic king in Jerusalem (in Heaven). We have already discussed that both Jesus and his Apostles preached an urgent message that the Kingdom of God was very near. Yet, over 1,900 years have passed, and there has been no Second Coming. The Christian church then metamorphosed into some kind of apostate monstrosity to compensate. Still nothing happened.

I am further inclined to comment that Revelation should not have been included in the Good Book "canon" (although the point is moot given the previous discussion). Revelation was included only because its author was thought to be the Apostle John. However, the prevailing belief is that the author is a guy named John, a Christian who was exiled to Patmos. Mind you, the bulk of Christian prophecy is from Revelation. Scary, isn't it? In my own research about Revelation (documented in the "blog"), I found that almost the entire content was undecipherable. In addition, most biblical scholars have equated Patmos John's rantings with the Roman Empire. In that context, Revelation makes sense. Incidentally, the Straight Dope site has an interesting five-part discussion about the origin of the Good Book.

Although I will continue to soldier on with my research of the Good Book, I also understand that the time has come for me to begin discussing the ramifications of a possibly discredited Good Book. First of all, the existence of the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam comes into question. How does that affect the billions of "believers"? Then, we must contemplate the real identity of the Creator. Finally, we must look at the philosophical implications concerning concepts such as justice and hope insofar as humanity is concerned. On a personal level, I have to wonder what exactly is my soul, and what is its ultimate destiny.

Blind Vision

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai at 8:45am this morning. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I made the rounds in Hawai'i Kai ... Longs® In Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina.

Lunch was courtesy Panda Express® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. As moms and I sat outside by the marina to eat lunch, I heard some distinct quacking noises. I then saw the same two ducks waddling over to our table. I threw a couple of chili peppers to the ducks from my Kung Pao Chicken entrée. The ducks rushed over to the chili peppers. I saw them chewing on the chili peppers but, within a few seconds, they spit out the peppers. However, they seemed to enjoy the rice that I gave them. Those silly ducks!

Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I kept moms company until 1:30pm. I then spent a relaxing hour at Koko Head Park. I was essentially the only person in the whole park. I really did not want to leave. However, I had no choice. I must always follow the urban nomad itinerary. I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck back to Koko Marina. I found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) where an unexciting urban nomad kind-of-an-evening awaited me.

I actually experienced some semblance of piece of mind today. I was not privy to any form of stupidity. I dropped off some useless crap in the Goodwill drop box, which made me feel as though I am still on track with the exodus. I experienced intermittent moments of deep contemplation about the meaning of life, especially one without any knowledge of the Creator. I tried to avoid pondering my plight as a trapped slave, but that was not possible after I transferred money from my investment accounts to my local bank to cover all of my expenses of enslavement.

I realize how easily we humans fall into the trap of the everyday routine. We move about mindlessly, fulfilling all of our mundane tasks that only serve to distract the mind. We follow human institutions and beliefs that often has us locked in slavery of one kind or another. Human bondage brings no reprieve, nor does it satiate the innate quest which serves to justify our existence.

As for me, I am at the point where I can barely contain my anxieties. The urban nomad life-style allows me to hover within the core of dereliction - the losers, the homeless, the poor, the destitute - in such a way that I vicariously become one of them. I observe. I learn. I relate. I abhor. I regret. I pity. There's something tragically flawed about humanity. I have seen the hopelessness. I have lived the inequality. Not much makes sense. However, for a brief moment I had peace of mind.

Expenses & Foolishness

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was made meaningful only when I caught a glimpse of the hottie gym trainer. I was on the chest press machine when baby suddenly appeared just a couple feet away. Baby was busy working with a gym member on the adjacent machine. Yes, baby was looking hot ... El Diablo hot.

On the way back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) on the bus, I had to yell at a bunch of punks who were jumping around and bumping into me. I made one stopover at the Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I was not able to secure a good bento. So, I settled for a few Reser's® frozen burritos and a pint of Dreyer's® ice cream. My spending continues unabated, but I seem to spend money of food (and snacks) rather than useless trinkets.

I performed the dreaded laundry chores once I was back in my squalid room. The weather was extremely hot, so my squalid room was like an oven. At 6:30pm, I felt as though I was about to suffer an attack of Montezuma's Revenge. So, I trotted over to Kawaikui Beach Park as fast as I could. I made my way to the filthy restrooms. In the distance, I could see the homeless guy who owns a bicycle. He was walking his bike toward the restroom as well. We converged at the front entrance. I chatted with him briefly. Then, both of us ended up occupying the two available stalls. The beach park was nice and cool compared to my squalid room. I meansered about for a little while. Then, I reluctantly walked back to the dump. As for the evening ... same ol' shit.

Bad Joke Ubuntu

Late last night, I heard a clicking noise coming from my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. I recognized the sound immediately. The hard drive heads were being aggressively parked. I then recalled that there was an ACPI daemon update just a day or so ago. I quickly scanned the power management scripts, but nothing was changed. So, I had to revert to the old ACPI daemon using Synaptics Package Manager. The process itself was quite obscure, not like other operating systems. Frankly, I still do not see Ubuntu (or any other flavor of Linux) winning over many mainstream users.

I still experience many other problems with Ubuntu Linux. Sometimes the problems disappear, only to come back again at a later date. The Gnome® desktop still randomly freezes with any media player. The LCD screen brightness control rests itself all the time. After a year of using Linux, I can still say that it is a bad joke.

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... same ol' shit. At the library, I found Richard Friedman's book, "Who Wrote the Bible?" So, I have commenced reading it. Friedman posed a quite a few questions that he planned to answer in his treatise. I should mention that he only focused on the Hebrew Scriptures (so-called "Old Testament"). One question stood out: Were the Hebrew Scriptures meant to become the Bible as we know it? In other words, was that the intention of the authors? I will be quite interested in the answer.

Escape from Freedom (Reprise)

I was on my way to Kahala Mall at 8:45am this morning in my Nissan® Frontier truck. I ended up at Barnes & Noble® as to be expected. I purchased a cup of decaffeinated coffee and browsed the store.

I left for Hawai'i Kai at 10:45am. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I only made the rounds in Koko Marina ... Zippy's for lunch and Foodland. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I kept moms company until 1pm.

I spent over an hour at Koko Head Park before driving back to Koko Marina. I was able to find shaded parking. Then, I walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) to prepare for another urban nomad kind-of-an-evening.

There is a reason why I launched into another diatribe about the "Original Sin" yesterday. The entire Good Book focuses on one underlying theme. Can you guess what that theme is? Did you say, "sin"? Human propensity to "sin" is the result of first human pair's decision to eat the forbidden fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad. Ever since then, humanity has gone downhill. Compare that to the condition of the "heavenly" creatures (i.e., archangels, seraphim, and cherubim). They apparently exist for eternity with no propensity to "sin." However, there is the entity called Satan, who apparently has an army of "heavenly" creatures who have also turned away from the Almighty. Satan is known as a liar or deceiver. Sometimes he is called "Devil." Yet, there has never been any mention that "sin" overcame Satan. Are "heavenly" creatures even capable of "sin"?

The spirit world is, no doubt, much different from the physical and material world that we reside in. I would assume that "sin" in the spiritual world would be close to impossible because there are no physical construct (or limitations). A spirit creature couldn't covet, steal, or murder. The only likely "sin" is deception or a philosophical diversion from the Almighty. However, such an act is never labeled as a "sin." Spirit creatures are indestructible unless the hand of God comes upon them. Not being constrained by either time or space, do spirit creatures have memory? Do their perceptions span a window of one instantaneous moment or over the whole gamut of eternity? Obviously, I cannot answer those questions in any certainty. However, the answers are relevant to understand a spirit creature's ability and propensity to "sin."

Well, I really need to evaluate my precarious situation soon. I am not at all pleased, to say the least. Frankly, I do not want to return to wage slavery. I have enjoyed my limited freedom. However, I am still trapped. There's little wonder why the government bailed out the banks and other financial institutions, that is, the nefarious entities which are responsible for enslaving the entire population of the world (except for a handful of the elite class).

Although I have been seemingly distracted by my on-going religious research, the exodus still remains a top priority. In all honesty, the latter research will be instrumental in determining my future. I do not have much productive time left on the planet. If the Good Book proves to be nothing more than a myth, then my life experiences in the last few years will have to be of greater meaning. I certainly do not plan to go "hog wild," nor will I attempt to make up for lost time. I only need to seek fulfillment.