Philosophy, science, politics, ethics, debate, logic, physics, inventing, directing, writing, skepticism, poetry, art, music, film, 3D animation, just about anything.
Music
Classic rock, moderate modern rock, heavy modern rock, wuss music (light rock, sappy) classical music, jazz, blues, motion picture scores
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Movies
John Woo, chow yun fat, Christopher Walken, Michael Bay, Michael Mann, Some good films I saw recently, LOTR, Equilibrium, Brotherhood of the wolf, 300
"Long I pondered my king's cryptic talk of victory. But time has proven him wise, for from free greek to free greek the word was spread that bold Leonidas and his 300, so far from home, laid down their lives, not just for Sparta, but for all Greece and the promise this country holds. Now, here on this ragged patch of earth called Plataea, Persian hordes face obliteration! Just there the barbarians gather, sheer terror gripping tight their hearts with icy fingers, knowing full well what merciless horrors they suffered at the swords and spears of 300. Yet they stare now across the plain at 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 free Greeks! Ho! The enemy outnumber us a paltry three to one! Good odds for any Greek. This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny, and usher in a future brighter than anything we could imagine. Give thanks, men, to Leonidas and the brave 300! To victory!"
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Favorite Movies
Andy Garcias "The Lost City"
Television
Dont watch too much, but love Smallville, Babylon5, History Channel, Discovery and definately Law & Order, Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, Nova
Discovery Channel's "I Love the Whole world"
Books
Ayn Rand, Aristotle, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Michael Shermer, Richard Feynman, Paul Davies, Freeman Dyson, Isaac Asimov, Tolkien, John Keats, Wistawa Syzmborksi, anything on the history of technology or mechanical devices, structures, etc. Physics, science philosophy... Orson Scott Card
Hear Kate Reading read Atlas Shrugged...
Heroes
Ayn Rand, Aristotle, Richard Feynman, Nikola Tesla, Benjamin Franklin, Duke of Wellington, Engineer / Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alexander the Great, Winston Churchill, Norman Bourlog, John Rabe, Raul Wallenberg...
"All history teaches that there is no substitute for courage. It is the noblest and best of all qualities, and the one indispensable element in heroism in all it's different manifestations. – Historian / Author Paul Johnson from "Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle"
Matus1976 BBC Poll shows that more than 3/4 of people think the free market is ok or great, yet BBC reports this as "Free Market Flawed - says survey" Posted at 6:04 AM Nov 11 view more
About me: "The Road is cleared... We are going back to the world"
Interested in philosophy, science, physics, politics, ethics, inventing, motorcycles, aircraft... Aristotle, Ayn Rand, Richard Feynman, Isaac Asimov. 3D Animation, Movies and music, nearly any genre, art, poetry, living life to its fullest.
I am hesitant to call myself a subscriber of particular 'isms' or groups, but some that I share much of my ideologies with include:
Eudaemonist: Eudaemonia is Aristotle’s philosophy for total human well being, or human flourishing, it is a goal orientated productive life in objective reality of excellence based on reason, passion, and clearly defined values. That ultimate happiness is achieved through productive self actualization. Eudaemonism is a directed life of happiness which comes from acquiring and furthering your values, as opposed to Hedonism which is happiness without purpose (often drug induced) or Buddhism, which is the abdication of all values. Aristotle is one of the greatest human beings to have ever existed, a father of logic, reason, observation in science, taxonomy, politics, poetics, and many of the fundamental ideas which make the world the great place it is today.
Libertarianism: In the most classical liberal sense, I respect and value peoples choices to do whatever they want as long as they do not hurt anyone. Personally though, some might consider me socially conservative as I do not drink(*) or use any drugs and do little to advertise my personality externally, but upon further investigation you’ll find out I am a staunch atheist and humanist and I am content living a rich full inner life through studying, learning, reading, and then most importantly doing.
* - I recently started drinking a little bit of red wine, because of my families history of heart disease, the French Paradox, and the recent studies regarding resverstrolAyn Rand / Objectivist: Very influenced by Rand in her views on personal empowerment and values, her staunch moral stances which are reconciled so beautifully with secular humanism and rationality. I also found her views on sex, love, and emotions to be the most valuable yet made in the world. Rand gets a lot of bad rap, but it’s usually from people who’d rather you not be influenced by her because they want you to do something for them, instead of for yourself. I strive to live now a life of rational self interest (which is neither exploitative, indifferent, or pejorative towards others) and focused on furthering all my deepest values.
Minarchist: Some form of government must exist, in its most basic form, to protect people from foreign threats, establish rule of law, and be the final arbiter in disputes. But thats about all it should do.
Anti-communist: If there is one group that has not received the condemnation it has earned it is the communists. While 'Nazi' invokes a vile disgust in every reasonable person, few think much of Communism, yet soviet communism has killed 170 million people this century, almost 10 times as many people as Nazism, and every communist country has been nothing less than a brutal dictatorial hell hole. While communism is mostly defeated, countries still remain and millions of people still live in their brutal oppression.
Freedomist: The only just government is one which protects the civil liberties of individuals. End Tyranny everywhere, the western world is the freest, richest, and most militarily powerfully and it sits idly by yapping about moral relativism while pumping billions in aide into dictators pockets and ignoring horrific oppression and brutality at the hands of illegitimate governments that 1/2 the worlds population still suffer in. Bring liberal constitutional market based democracies to all people of the world. Any assault on freedom on any individual in the world is an assault on the very concept of freedom. No one is free unless everyone is.
Vietnam:The Vietnam War was a just war, the soldiers who fought and died in Vietnam tried to bring and protect freedom to a population of millions. The Vietnam war was won and over in 1973, with Noble Peace prizes handed out, but congress withdrew all material and financial aide from the people of South Vietnam, condemning them to invasion and enslavement by North Vietnam. Though they fought valiantly and bravely for nearly two years with no help from the United States, eventually the people of South Vietnam succumbed to the continual onslaught from the Soviet and China backed communist armies of North Vietnam. See my web page "Free Vietnam"
Atheist: More accurately a weak atheist, in that there is no evidence suggesting as a simplest explanation that the universe was created by an intelligent being and no such being routinely interacts in our personal lives. We are alone with ourselves and must make our own purpose in life.
"Crescat scientia vita excolatur"
Extropian: Extropians embrace the opposite of entropy. If entropy is random decay into disorder, extropy is directed movement toward more order. Extropians embrace the use of technology to better ourselves, to extend our lives, to expand our freedoms, and to conquer aging, disease, and death in general.
Scientist: First and foremost I denounce mysticism. Objective reality exists and science is the progressive effort to create an ever more accurate description of it. Our technology and formulas create ever better devices and predict ever more accurately the way the universe works. I am not, however, a Dawkins esque materialistic determinist. I am more spiritual and religious in the truest and most proper sense for humanity.
Optimist: The world is not about to end, we are not all on the verge of starvation and environmental self destruction. Population growth rates continue to decline in every developed nation as women are giving more freedoms and standards of living increase. All across the world there are more people living in free representative countries than ever before, fewer people starving to death, and more people living longer, healthier lives than ever before. This pace is not as fast as it could or should be, but it is getting better.
Inventor: One of the last of a dying breed (or first of a new generation) The inventor is the man who asks “why” of the universe, and lets nothing and no one stand in his way. The inventor is responsible for all the great things that make our lives enjoyable today, and for all the free time that allows us to enjoy art and poetry and music. Currently my focus is on mechanical systems, power transmission systems, etc, with an eye on some major technological innovations relating to transportation technologies. I have many designs and projects I have been working on for many years and have been steadily accumulating all the knowledge I need to make virtually anything I want to.
Capitalist / Free Markets: If man has a right to life, than he must necessarily have the right to acquire and keep the material necessities for life – property. The first thing the worst regimes of the world have always done was to make the private ownership of property, and in the worst case, food, illegal. Even the worst of the right wing dictatorships still left people able to provide and maintain their own existence. The Pol Pot’s, Stalin’s, Mugabe’s, Ho Chi Minh’s, Kim Jong Il’s leave even peaceful people no chance to survive because of their totalitarian control over property. The crimes Marxists and socialists blame on capitalism are almost always due to the state intervention of markets. A proper nation should have a constitutional separation of trade and state just as it has a constitutional separation of church and state. The extent with which a nation and it’s people prosper is to the extent which it leaves people free to trade with each other and enforces an equally applicable rule of law.
On the informal side, I own two houses and do 3D animation work from home. I am also currently designing and building a motorcycle and perpetually reading anything related to the topics above. I like watching movies, but only ones I rent or own typically. I enjoy taking motorcycle rides, traveling, I hope to move to Las Vegas in the near future (or New Hampshire...) Writing articles, debating on forums, challenging my own ideas and growing and developing them and myself in general. I enjoy eating out, going to shows, drawing, designing and hanging out with my friends or family often.
Michael
AOLIM - matus1976
Web: www.matus1976.com
Ergonomic add on Desktop – www.ergoslope.com
Humanities insurance policy – www.lifeboat.comErgonomic Add on Desktop
If you spend a lot of time at a computer and suffer from wrist or arm pain you might be interested in the ErgoSlope, an ergonomic add on desktop
www.ErgoSlope.com
The ERGOSLOPE
- is a curved ergonomic sloping desktop
- is notched to allow the user to pull right up into it.
- supports your elbows and arms and allows you to lean back and work in comfort
- attatches to your existing desk in seconds
Motorcyclist The freedom of an open road on a motorcycle is an incredible experience. Motorcycling makes getting from one point to another something you actually enjoy and look forward to. Motorcycling immerses you in your environment, you smell the cook outs, feel the cool ocean breezes, sense the temperature difference as you cruise into a valley.
Show your motorcycling spirit with style through this bumper sticker graphic I made:
Bill Richardson was asked this morning on Fox News if he thought it was a bad idea to sit at the table with North Korea, given their history. His answer, summarized but not quoted here was basically this: The United States has exascerbated the problem by verbally including North Korea in the Axis of Evil. Also that we needed to sit down with them because their weapons could fall into the wrong hands. BTW...FYI Mr. Richardson, the hands of North Korea could not be more wrong if they wanted to be.
Had you noticed by chance ( rhetorical of course...no reply necessary) how so many socialists groups are now fully supporting ( topically) the beautiful revolution trying to take place in Iran!!! Change...freedom, when it seems like only months ago, I was hearing the same old thing about how we shouldn't force freedom ( huh???) on anyone, and that we should embrace our cultural differences. Even if it meant women living beneath tents their entire lives. How and when did Iranian change and revolution become a part of their agenda? Why does this suddenly become 'their' plight. Seeds of democracy anyone? Every man wants and deserves to be free.
Thanks again for your INCREDIBLY INSIGHTFUL blog comment on my page. You've hit the core issues and problems of charity with DEAD-ON accuracy. These self-proclaimed "rationalists" and "skeptics" should take a few lessons from you and aspire to YOUR level of critical thinking.
Truth — a woman, nothing better: guileful in her shame: what she most wants, she refuses to know, raises a warning finger ... To whom will she yield? To force alone! — So use force, be hard, you who are most wise! you must compel her the abashed truth ... for her felicity compulsion is needed — — she is a woman, nothing better ... Nietzsche
So recently Obama admitted to making a "mistake" for having chosen Tom Daschle to be nominated for HHS Secretary. So when his predecessor, Bush, screwed up, people said he was "incompetent" and "stupid". Can I now call Obama incompetent and stupid for screwing up? Or would that just make me a racist?
Hahaha! I never quite could put my finger on what it was that made me dislike the movie so much, and you nailed it in like two sentences. Thanks! How are you? Oh and I am crazy, that was just a given :P
Freedomist: The only just government is one which protects the civil liberties of individuals. End Tyranny everywhere, the western world is the freest, richest, and most militarily powerfully and it sits idly by yapping about moral relativism while pumping billions in aide into dictators pockets and ignoring horrific oppression and brutality at the hands of illegitimate governments that 1/2 the worlds population still suffer in. Bring liberal constitutional market based democracies to all people of the world. Any assault on freedom on any individual in the world is an assault on the very concept of freedom. No one is free unless everyone is.
See animation at
