Being true

I cringe every time someone says John McCain is a hero. Yes, that's true, and so are the rest of his fellow POWs along with those who made the ultimate sacrifice. At some point, we have to stop this hero-worship. McCain did what he was expected to do as a soldier and those who served with him, suffered alongside with him, all acted heroically, but they are not egotistical enough nor power-hungry enough to want to be the POTUSA. And those who served and suffered alongside with him, they have not been among the Keating Five.

Granted that McCain did rehabilitate his political career by transforming himself into the Maverick, was it truly a change from within, or was he just a good politician? He also did another about-face after Dubya got elected in 2000. For lashing out at the conservatives who demonized him to courting their votes. Is this a man stable enough to have access to nuclear weapons that can potential destroy the world? He has done all that he could do to realign himself so that he can win.

I'm all for winning, but only if that person is truly the most qualified person for the job. Imagine the International Olympic Committee giving the gold medal not to the guy who won the race but to the guy who tried the hardest or someone who was a POW. That was John McCain's reason for cheating and ultimately divorcing the mother of his children; the woman who remained faithful to him while he was a POW! His excuse for philandering was that he was suffering PTSD due to his experience as a POW. This is a man, with nothing else going for him in his life, who has been milking POW status for way too long. And among the women who he had extramarital affairs, one of which is the current Cindy McCain, whom he married before he was legally divorced from his previous wife.

If he hadn't been shot down while bombing Vietnam, we would have to examine his Navy career. So in McCain's hands, he lost 4 airplanes and one mishap. Can you imagine what our country would be like if an average Navy pilot caused that many accidents?! I normally don't hold people to such a high standard. I truly don't care if people commit adultery, that's an issue between those within their respective relationships. I only point out his because his party is holding everyone else to such a high standard. Imagine if Obama or Biden had been in the Navy, and they also caused as many accidents AND was palling around with those responsible for the Keating Saving and Loans debacle.

As Chris Rock joked about in his latest HBO special, Dubya has ruined this country to the point that even a black man can run for the Presidency. I hope Obama wins, not just because McCain is unqualified, reckless, and crazy, but because Obama is qualified and he can bring this country together to heal. The Republicans have been ruling this country for too long by dividing us. If these people hate government so much, they should stop running this country and make way for those who truly care.

Hopefully, there will be enough people who recognize McCain for what he is, the failure who is the quintessential politician, which I wouldn't mind if he has truly served this country instead of crashing planes and palling around with the same group of people who have been robbing us.

Free Levi and Sarah

Many in the community think that the only way to get laid is to go through bootcamps and practice a thousand sets. If they just look around, they would see how rampant sex is, even among those ring-wing religious zealots in America! Many are not surprised at all that Jamie Lynn Spears got knocked up, but Bristol Palin... the daughter of the governor of Alaska?! The real tragedy, however, is the poor Levi who inseminated her. If you have missed this, please go join this campaign!

Then this past weekend, that cringe-inducing, face-covering, I-am-embarrassed-for-her Sarah Palin interview by Katie Couric.

Once again, I find myself agreeing with some conservatives, we need to free Palin. We need to send her back to the wilderness of Alaska and let her go kill more moose! To pull her from the backwater of America and shove her onto the world stage, haven't we done enough to the world after years of Dubya?!

Someone said it best, Dubya spent the first 4 years destroying America and the second 4 years destroying the world. I think we have done enough, not just to the world and America, but we must stop torturing that poor Palin. She epitomizes what's wrong with the current administration, the stupidity & bravado of Dubya, along with the secrecy & treachery of Cheney.

What about McCain? I don't consider him a war hero, plenty of people went to war and got captured. Countless prisoners of war have been tortured. He didn't do more or less than any American P.O.W. in Vietnam. To hold him up as a hero while neglecting the rest is simply disrespectful to everyone who served this country. If that isn't enough, this is the same guy who returned to his faithful wife, then proceeded to commit adultery and claimed that his experience as a P.O.W. caused him to do that. Normally, I don't care if who people have sex with, but in his case and those self-proclaimed moralists, I hold them to the same standards that they forced on others. And his current wife was one of many women he had sex with during his adulterous period while he was still married to his first wife. Don't get me started on how many U.S. Navy planes he crashed.

Why is McCain important, because this senile old man and advisers he has inherited from Dubya are holding these two individuals prisoners. They plucked two poor souls out of their natural environments and are forcing them to do unspeakable acts. The poor kid, Levi, just had sex with a girl and now he has to marry her. The former runner-up beauty queen was happily lording over her little domain and now she has to face national scrutiny.

Please join me in calling your local Republican office, tell them to free Levi & Sarah, send them back to Alaska!

Why she will win...

Sarah Palin, VP-ILK'08!

Learn how to pickup from American politicians

I'm sure you've heard the phrase: "Politics is the popularity contest for ugly people." And popularity contests go, they are about hustling people, by convincing the public that you are the one they should pick, not because what you will do, but that you have appealed to their higher ideals! That's what I've learned from watching these two recent political conventions: the trick to hustle the public isn't about what your plan of actions, but first showing that you have something in common with your audience, and that both you and your audience share common ideals, then they should choose you because you are better at helping them to realize their dreams. Of course, you should never ever get into the specifics or even reveal what your plan is.

If you look carefully into any get-rich-quick scheme, self-improvement, self-help, quick fix method, they all talk about what they will show you how to be somebody, get something, achieve your dreams. But before they do that, they backtrack and talk about their journey, where they have been, and because of the method (or a set of techniques) that they will reveal to you, that's how they have achieved their dreams. If these hustlers are even more evil, they will convince you how others are doing it all wrong, which, by implication, tells you that you have failed because you haven't followed their prescription, and only they are your salvation!

Hustlers are very good at cycling back and forth between evoking what you think you want and slowly revealing to you what you need. They never actually give you a plan of actions, or tell you what you must do to realize your dreams. Because you have been conditioned to reject that, from the early days of your parents telling you what to do to your friends who gathered to give you that intervention, hustlers would slowly nudge you along, constantly dangling bits to bait you to buy in some more. Just look at the levels of access you can buy by contributing to a political campaign, or the levels you can attain in martial arts, Scientology,... and even schooling itself, some levels are necessary, but how to live your life, or how to talk & relate to other people, do you really think you need to learn that from someone else?!

And if they truly are good at what they do, why do they need to make money off you. Why don't fortune tellers make money off their own ability to predict the future? Why don't "seducers" have girls making money for them, like prostitutes do for their pimps? Why don't self-help gurus help themselves and become successful... instead of hawking their wares and plying their skills on the unsuspecting public? All because it's easier to make money from people who -- unfortunately, there's no better word for this -- are stupid enough or easily convinced by these hustlers.

Despite what these hustlers tell you, the easiest way to achieve what they have achieved is to be like them. That's why there are so many community guys wanting to be dating coaches, instead of out getting girls. The sad reality is that looks matters, how much money you make matters, what kind of friends you keep matters, who you know matters, and you don't suddenly transform yourself to become a superstar. Thank god for Sarah Palin, she finally changed the phrase: "Politics is NO LONGER the popularity contest for ONLY ugly people!" because she is the living proof a good hustler: she starts out with good looks, ply her trade as a pageant contestant, dabble in and then slowly climb up the political ladder, convince the public that she's the embodiment of their ideals, but never reveal her sordid past, personal failings and failures. So if you want to get girls, watch and learn from politicians, they are better hustlers than any dating coach.

Self-help gurus: the modern day faeries

I pilfered this from a facebook post that a friend made. The article talks about why we still have crazy beliefs, as in gods, witches, faeries, supernatural powers, and other paranormal phenomena. For the charlatans and hustlers, they promote these for personal financial gains. What about for the rest of us? Why do we still have these beliefs?

This story reminds me of another recent article about how optical illusions work and because our brains predict the future in order to compensate for the delay in the arrival of immediate visual information. I wonder if a similar explanation on how we fill in gaps within our knowledge by appealing to something magical. This might also explain why many people like to interpret their dreams. The consensus among cognitive scientists and biologists is that dreaming is important in solidifying memories and for our survival; but there is no good explanation for why and what we dream about, and even the basics of how we dream!

I think the price for having the neocortex to facilitate higher order cognitive functions, one defect is our constant need to fill in gaps within our knowledge base. If we don't get enough information or at the speed required for survival, our brain naturally projects ahead and fills in gaps in order for the world to make sense. What we fill in the gap is often ruled by emotions with deeper psychological origins.

As alluded to by a commenter here, in a society where we have turned not only material goods, but our hopes and dreams, ideas, and even our very own happiness into a commodity, we think we can buy and sell them at a price. Not only have we relinquished our reasoning ability, but we are becoming dependent on others to satisfy our own needs. Back in the early days of the industrial revolution, the cure for depression (and unhappiness) was "industry," as in working harder. With the advent of computers, especially with many IT guys sitting around surfing the net all day without the pressure to produce or physical demands, we have more time to indulge in silly hobbies and preoccupy our minds with ideas bombarded into us by marketeers. I thought this might be a uniquely American phenomenon, but I think with more people sitting around instead of doing physical labor, we have become physically, intellectually, and socially lazy.

We now buy into the whole self-hype movement. What I have noticed recently, and I'm not sure if this is unique to the seduction community, have you noticed how many Jews are in the pickup business? Now, before anyone accused me of being Hitler for outting those gays and incarcerate them into concentration camps, just count how many of them are among the top self-hype gurus: Style, RJ, David D, Thunderfag, Swingcat, Sinn, David X, (half-breed) Savoy,... I don't think that there's any Illuminati-type conspiracy going on, but it is interesting to note that such a disproportionately high number of one ethnic group within a particular community. They become such experts at selling dreams and fantasies to guys. What's your explanation for these faeries?

Seduction in the workplace: how to get ahead at work

How to get ahead at work without resorting to giving heads. This came up in my conversations with a friend and then a recent surge of blog entries on how to get a raise at work, how to get promoted, etc. I've "worked" at white-collar jobs all my life so you might need to adapt this to your work situation.

The reality is that almost any work environment is rife with internal politics, struggles for dominance, and basically, the battlefield for modern tribal (office) warfare. Setting aside the issue that our performance is rarely if ever get evaluated objectively. When people interact, their reality is shaped subjectively by their perceptions. So expecting our boss to evaluate us objectively, just because so-and-so is getting paid at such a rate, and since we are doing the same work if not more, we should get compensated at the same rate is a silly, pointless, and definitely ineffective argument with our boss. That's the number one mistake that people make. They expect objective measurement of their work and get rewards based on merits, just as if they were in school even though workplaces are nothing like schools!

Some might suggest that we should take the initiative to start projects, go the distance, and do more than what your boss asked for or expected us to. That's a great idea, until you encounter a superior who thrives on criticizing and belittling their subordinates; you know the type, the kiss-up and kick-down middle managers. Rather than crying fouls and giving in, the trick to deal with them is simple, make them feel important and give them the illusion of power without giving up our own. Sure, we can start a new project. Rather than telling them about it and expecting them to praise us, we get them involved by giving them small tasks to gain compliance, then slowly turn them into our subordinates.

Most middle managers want to be involved into everything, because they don't want to be left out and they usually become managers because they thrive on controlling people. We have to start with the basic premise that if we are to get a raise and/or a promotion, we have to do more than what they asked of us, but instead of just showing them our results, we give them menial tasks that are of no consequence, however, we sell them on the idea that they too are making a difference. This way, I have effectively bypassed their managerial duties of approving or rejecting what I do because I presume what I do is important and critical to our overall success. Two, I don't appear needy in seeking their praise. Three, they feel important because they are involved and not feel left out. Finally, we slowly and gradually make them dependent on what we do and turn power dynamics in our favor.

That, my friends, is how to get ahead at work. We do more than what they ask, we don't turn around and expect immediate rewards for our efforts, rather than waiting for approval, we get everyone else involved, including our boss. Of course, there are details on what kind of projects, when to start them, how to present them, and market them to a greater community.

George Carlin: 1937-2008

"This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free. So they killed a lot of white English people in order to continue owning their black African people, so they could wipe out the rest of the red Indian people and move west so they could steal the rest of the land from the brown Mexican people, giving them a place to take off and drop their nuclear weapons on the yellow Japanese people. You know what the motto of this country oughta be? You give us a color, we'll wipe it out."

— George Carlin, "We Like War"

Minimize risks, maximize rewards

This is news to me, but not to people in the hedge fund market. Thanks to a friend who told me about this and I then realize how these information / internet marketers work. These guys don't bear the brunt of the risk, and yet, they still profit from those who take risks.

The brief summary of the article is this: The miners of the California Gold Rush didn't make much money, but the people who sold shovels did! Take the classic internet marketeer David D. This guy taught everyone to be "Cocky and Funny." While he pumped out one product after another, more seminars after previous seminars, but he never had to go out to face rejections himself. Or infomercial / TV-celebrities who teach finance, you know them on MSNBC, PBS, e.g. Susan Ozman, Robert Kiyosaki,...

Let's ask ourselves a very simple question, if they are so good at amassing and growing their wealth, why do they want money from us to access their top secret information? Why don't they apply what they preach, assume the risk so that they can reap the reward?! This is similar to the question, that as a kid, I used to ask, why don't psychics use their knowledge to enrich themselves instead of working so hard?! The truth is that it's much easier to tell people what to do and charge us up front, so by the time we have tried and failed by taking risk they suggested, they have taken our money and left town!

Yes, it's a great scam to get on this bandwagon. You can make this work for you too... Don't do what I do here, trying to expose these dirty little secrets, publicly asking the simple and obvious, but often left unanswered questions. Instead, take a look at any risk taking activity, teach people how to do it, charge them money for pointing that out, and just like those who made money during the California Gold Rush, don't go there and mine for gold, instead, be the guys who sell shovels. Instead of taking risk and try to be that next up-and-coming actor, be the agent, or better yet, be the guy who teaches gullible people how to be agents, actors,... And if you haven't guessed it, become a life coach. You don't have to have a successful life, just learn the necessary b.s. skills to tell people how to live their life. This, my friends (as John McCain often says that with his evil grin), is how you can minimize risks and maximize rewards.

Those, who can, do. Those, who can't, teach.

How to be happy... for free!

There's a lot of truth to the expression: ignorance is bliss. I have crossed paths with people in all walks of life and people of varying levels of intelligence. The ones I see most happy are those who accept themselves first, both their own strengths and limitations, especially who are the least intelligent. And worst of all, people are least happy with themselves if they constantly compare with others without the awareness of their own limitations. Even I have suffered through this.

There's no product to buy, no email list to subscribe to, and you definitely don't have to attend any seminar. Several friends over this past week and I had similar discussions. We came to the conclusion the root cause of unhappiness of people is because so many of these unhappy people buy into this whole need to improve. The only people that self-help gurus truly help are themselves... to your base desires, your wants, your envy, your jealousy, and many other traits of social beings that we are and convert us into buying more of their bullshit.

Just as I was writing this blog entry, someone sent me this video. Sure, it can sound condescending and I was a bit annoyed at her style of presentation. The overall message is that we are being pushed, conjoled, coerced,... into consumption. Although this talks about consumption of material goods, in a more insidious way, our consumption of self-help, self-improvement, entrepreneurial guides, and everyone can get rich "information/knowledge" materials is very much the same. We are constantly shown what is possible; the miracle story of how someone became rich and famous, and of course, if we opt-in, subscribe, buy, attend seminars, and enroll in transformation bootcamps, we too can become miracles.

What people don't realize is that miracles are like that for a simple reason, they are VERY RARE occurrences! But in this whole pyramid scheme of repackaging try-and-true ways of becoming successful, we are sold again and again the same bullshit because those hustlers know how to spin the same thing in countless ways! Again, people should go back to doing what has high probability of success than what is possible. We are better off being happy with what we have than trying to strive for these silly goals. One of those goals is that you can work from home, at your leisure, and you can take time off whenever you like. I know plenty of people who work from home, and guess what, they are no happier than people who work in the office! In fact, they tend to be worst off because they lack that human interaction with others.

Life is filled with uncertainties, if we don't choose to be the rock, to be centered, to be happy with who and what we are; we will continue to float in this ocean of filth, constantly rocking back and forth, buying into more bullshit and remain unhappy. No products, no workshop, no book, nothing else matters if we don't make the conscious decision to be satisfied, to accept, to be fulfilled, and to be happy with what is now.

Going online and off the wagon to find love

Most people live a very mundane periodic Groundhog Day existence. That's why so many find ways to escape. They can range from going on vacation, getting drunk/high, taking workshops/seminars, to going online; these are just various forms of spicing up their lives.

I recently had a discussion with a friend about the popularity of Eckhart Tolle, Oprah, self-improvement, wealth-building seminars, seduction workshops, to reading blogs like this one. This goes back to our inherent biological drive for novelty, to find something new, to be different, and to be that special unique snowflake. Day in and day out, most of us pretty much repeat the same activities/tasks everyday. On the one hand, we find comfort in doing the habitual, but on the other, we also have this deep seated yearning for something different, and may be it's better. Are there more to life than just this?!

Some seek answers in spirituality, others in religions, and many more in certain sets of beliefs. If I can trace this phenomenon to one thing, it's another of our biological drive, that we are, after all, pack/herd animals. So we often participate what is already out there rather than creating something unique. That's why, at a fundamental level, almost all activities in life are about popularity, winning the approval of the group. And for many people, when they have failed to win that approval, whether the love that one desired to being the popular person that everyone talks about, they often turn to other ways to fulfill that need. Many engage in chemical means of escaping, e.g. alcohol, narcotics,... to go into state that is free from the current reality and to absolve responsibilities from one's behaviors and conduct. This is why women drink to have fun and of course, to hook up with random strangers. Almost every culture has a way of allowing this: alcohol, smoking, dances,...

What drove me to blog about this was another article about how people are now finding love online. Then I thought, being online, this activity is yet another way for people to escape. This is why it's proliferating so quickly. So instead of dragging ourselves to go out, people are getting online to get their fixes. This would include finding that special someone. Someone who will appreciate us, someone who gets us, someone who we can relate to and have this amazing connection with.

The reality is that we are just satisfying two biological needs. Our desires to be popular, to seek approval, and for something new, something different.

We don't value what is free

That is just horseshit. Another favorite that I get from idiots is, "You get what you paid for." There are so many brainwashed dumb asses out who have bought into the marketing speaks. Is everything free bad? Do people truly don't value what is free?!

We don't have to look far away or to imagine something hypothetical. The two most influential persons in our lives, they gave us advice for free, they might even have fed us, and raised us to be who we are today. For most of us, these two individuals might have even biologically conceived us and gave us life. Guess what, they did all that for free. Are they useless? Do we NOT value their advice?!

There are always exceptions. But in a world that is flooded with marketing bullshit and everyone seems to be brainwashed to believe that free is bad and we don't value "stuff" unless we have paid for them. I'm sure I'm not the first, but I'll have to call bullshit on it.

Although I don't have experience with prostitutes/escorts, but from what I gathered, the best sex that people can have is still free... not necessarily with your typical Spitzer girl. So, stop drinking the Kool-Aid, and wake the fuck up!

Seriously, next time I hear someone promulgate that bullshit, I will send that dumbass to meet Ayn Rand. Another parasite on society that I wouldn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole, even when she was alive. That woman has done more harm to this world than Microsoft. She created a generation of secret admirers who are destroying our countries today. Before anyone label me a pinko-communist, seriously examine the miserable existence of Ayn Rand and tell me we can learn from her. Furthermore, I have yet to meet a decent human being who admires her. If you have or think you are a decent human being who also admires her, step up and prove me wrong...

Self delusion and the Secret

Someone sent this to me and I started seeing the similarity between it and the Secret.

Briefly, the article says that conservatives tend to be happier because they find ways to rationalize for the way things are rather than start with the premise of things are wrong and they must be improved. In many ways, I see this as "The Secret." The secret is really about reframing one's perception and thus, changing our interpretation of what we observe. Instead of seeing reality, say you accidentally lose a leg, which happens quite a bit to many children (and adults) around the world in many war-torn countries. Oh, I didn't lose a leg, I lost some weight! Actually, for those religious conservatives, they would see this as god's will. What's more, they interpret this as god's way of testing their faith, and so they have to step up to meet that challenge!

Is this a good way to view life? Or is it our duty to correct their self-delusion? I personally don't see a problem with it, diversity in opinion is a good thing and if this is how some people find peace and comfort in order to accept their station in life, why not?!

The malaise

I didn't realize how bad things are out there until I went out to spend my economic stimulus check like any (mindless) patriotic American should be doing. That's when I discover that fashion is so blah and entertainment sucks. Seriously, think back, what was the last good movie you saw in the theater? Juno?! And fashion, it looks like we have finally ran out of ways to put stripes together for collar shirts. I suspect the war we are fighting is draining our creative energy.

We should be grateful for the war, for sending young Americans to die for nothing. That's right, we are fighting over there, so we can pay more for gas here. I'll go back to pursuing my American dream... knock me out and let me dream.

While I was in hibernation...

I often joke how I've learned more about history by watching TV than what I studied in books. One of the great figures in our American history that few recognized is John Adams. Definitely go check out the HBO's 7-part series: John Adams. This series dramatizes the hardship, growth, prosperity, finally, achievement of becoming the POTUSA, and of course, the inevitable decline of the man.

One dark page in our 20th century World History that most forgot is the rape of Nanking. Check out the acclaimed movie that was released last year. I'm not sure the atrocities committed by one side within a single war is a reflection on the psyche and cultural values of one particular group of people. It does make me wonder...

The girlfriend experience

I started writing this a few days ago, because I was so disturbed by what I saw. So I talked to a few friends about this topic... surprisingly, guys seem to be more against it and girls seem to be much more pragmatic about it. This started when I came across this C4 program: My Boyfriend The Sex Tourist.

The first part of the program showed guys going to these essentially brothels in a South American country where they have a selection of girls to pretend to be their girlfriends. That didn't bother me as much as how many of these guys resemble guys I've met in the community. The obligatory fat old guy, the ok-looking but creepy guy, and an effeminate guy who is in denial. All old, all desperate, all obviously come across as people who not only lack female companionship but also male buddies.

Because of my past history dealing with these losers, my opinion on the whole exploitive nature, how we are basically outsourcing sex. I was quite tolerant of people in the past, not just out of obligation but because I truly felt that everyone deserves a chance. Then I came into contact with these losers en masse in the community. My opinion gradually changed because I feel some of these people should not breed for the same reason that they can't be part of the herd.

I think it's fun to socialize with people, connect emotionally and physically. But the psychopathic nature of these guys, how they pick out vulnerable groups of girls... from underage to recent arrivals (i.e. FOBs) because then, it's a HUGE DHV for them to be either adults (who can get them beer, saw Superbad?) or as "Americans" (who know what's going on). Everyone can use more sex... but we have to draw the line somewhere, from the legal age (or we end up with more Britney's baby sis situation) to banning importation of sex workers. Seriously, if guys can't pick up girls their own age (i.e. above legal age) or girls who have similar background (similar awareness, intelligence, education, profession), then what do we have?

Some girls told me it's a mutual exploitation thing. Like any business transaction, is it mutual and fair? How do we decide if we don't have some arbitrary rules? Do children need protection? What about mentally handicapped adults? What about adults who are not as culturally aware?

Do these people need our protection? Or do we need to exert some self-control and not exploit vulnerabilities in others?! Most pickup methods are used for fun and games, because they can be used in social situations. But the psychopathic nature of these guys, they use them to exploit... I guess that's when I draw the line, from being a social guy who gets girls to being a hustler.

P.S. If you want to be good with women, get this book.

Compliance and a stronger frame

I don't get many "Aha!" moments nowadays. Probably due to old age or lack of cortical activities in my cerebrum. One side effect of being unreactive is that I often just don't give a shit and like water off a duck's back, I go on without wasting karmic energy on most things. Or as one friend advised, erase these negative people from my life and my thoughts. How is this related to pickup?

We probably heard that most interactions are the collisions of frames, whoever has the stronger frame wins. As shown with those who are good with women, they tend to be quite good at manipulating people, as in both men and women, in general. By good with women, I, of course, meant that getting them to comply, which could range from the beginning of the interaction, getting them to hook into the conversation, accepting and reciprocating kino, to further along in the interaction to venue change, and ultimately, accepting and enjoying the cock.

How is this generalized to manipulating other men? This started as my observation that those who tend to violate other people's boundaries, pushing the interaction further than most are willing, tend to get the results they desire. Then I saw the same observation repeating over and over again, from stories and experiences of many, that people complained (not just out of jealousy) that guys who are good with women are quite adept at manipulating and extracting favors from those around them. Most men are bred and raised to be followers, they feel that they must give up something to gain something else. They simply don't see value in their existence.

I personally find this revelation quite alarming. Do I want to continue down this road in order to be good with women? I've seen many who have failed, and they ended up as passive aggressive whiners, or in general, they become gossipy girlie boys who simply complain, or try to get others to comply when they simply don't have that strong frame to force onto others, or worst yet, lie and pray that others might give in. Can this set of dominant behaviors be controlled, i.e., turn on and off at will? The sad news is that I suspect that it has a more biological basis, that once the switch is flipped, there's no turning back.

P.S. For those who want specific techniques, this post on Sinn's blog on being a closer is MONEY!

What makes us tick

I'm a bit behind in my move and left my server (computer) at my old place. So I brought along a laptop to the new place so I don't get internet withdrawal. Normally, I prefer my thinkpad with its trackpoint that I so fondly use to move the mouse pointer around... Since its wireless is a bit flakey, I brought along the other laptop, with the touchpad instead.

I could go write a long rant'n'rave about how much I prefer trackpoint over touchpad. But I digressed, I made the best of the situation and learned to customize the touchpad properties, like its tapzones, etc. This got me thinking. I'm one of those guys, when I install programs, I almost always choose "Custom." When I am about to double-click something the first time, I would use the right mouse click to see what other options there are. When I get my hands on a new gadget/toy, I want to figure out how it works, what I can do with it. When I meet someone, I want to figure out what makes him/her tick.

Perhaps that's why my mentor a few years back suggested I devote a small part of my life to doing research, figure how stuff works, and then incorporate that into my practice. Before I started clinical work, I was busy tinkering with computers, applying math I learned to doing simulation, which got me into graphics to visualize results of simulations, then user interface design so that I could manipulate objects and "programming" simulations, and eventually, I started learning how to use scripts to bring modular programs to work and communicate with each other.

Why this tangent and how it relates to PU? I wouldn't say I was happy with my dating life, I certainly have had gf's before and I was not a complete social retard. Then I join the community thinking I was going to learn more about picking up girls. Surprisingly, I learned about a great deal of human interactions. Sadly, most of it from the politics between guys trying to out maneuver each other, basically, guys were too busy seducing each other instead of out getting girls.

When confronted with any novel situation/object, I tend to do a distant meta-analysis of it. The only conclusion, as I just discussed with another friend about people in the community, is that guys who are in this have no other life experience except this. Perhaps this is their only transformative experience. Since they only have work or school before, the only thing they can apply to any social situation is to go back to their same old behavioral patterns, politics. They don't go out to have fun with other people, but constantly scheming, planning, comparing, calculating, competing,... with each other, while they have missed the real goal of PU community, we are supposed to share what we learned, develop some techniques based on our experience, and ultimately, we are in this to get girls. As misogynistic as this may sound, the tip of our knives, the barrel of our guns, and the glans of our penises should not be pointing at each other, instead, they should be directed toward the vagines... or the anoos... of the female kind.

If guys do NOT set aside their anti-social tendencies that got them into the community in the first place, they will never get to have friends, uh, "reliable wings." I think the next phase of the community is not about having more natural game, it's about having a more organic game, one we don't just go in oozing out our agendas and projecting neediness. If guys are frustrated, figure out how to relieve their problems elsewhere, going out is about having fun being social. Be a man, a straight man, go get girls, not guys.

Self-discovery

For those who work at Google, I would like to learn about their algorithm, of deciding what ads to serve. To amuse myself, I have deliberately blogged about different subjects that interest me and in some ways, give people of a glimpse into how my mind works and what goes on in it. Due to the obvious abundance of posts here about pickup/seduction/dating, Google adsense suggested many ads related to that topic; however, it has shown an interesting twist.

The advertisers for one particular niche market must be using similar adwords and are willing to bid more money for them. I don't know whether those who are drawn to it have more disposable income to spend on this or they are more prevalent than what Kinsey reported. There seems to be an over-representation of ads for "Do you know if you are gay?", "How to seduce straight men (for gays)",... I was starting to question my sexuality, yes, I have a very weak frame! Gay jokes aside, I wouldn't be able to swallow this bite of food in my mouth had I not seen these ads right after I refreshed my page, "Secrets about men, for women", "How to catch him and keep him",... Damn, I'm not that gay after all!

I wonder how much more Google and other cookie monsters know about us than ourselves. I'm quite sure our beloved government is tracking us, but corporations, they are a much bigger evil that I worry about. The constitution was drafted in an era when the biggest fear was King and his henchmen; today, who we are as individuals and what can be profited from us are all determined by corporations. So join up blogger, let this wonderful company get to know you, make a few easy bucks, and show me your secrets!

Dumb idiots

Whether we like to accept or not, everyone is a racist, discriminatory, and as much as we would like to deny, we all prejudge each other to some extent. What Don Imus did was wrong, but he was fired for the wrong reason. I doubt that the CBS executives actually let him go because of what he said, but to use what he did to cover up the real reason, Imus is old and not bringing in the revenue like he used to do.

After the political correctness movement of the 90's, most of these idiots did not get smarter, but they simply don't verbalize the same idiotic thoughts going through their heads. Al Sharpton and his ilks managed to silent those idiots, keeping them dumb doesn't mean they are not acting out their same racist, prejudiced, and discriminatory thoughts. Shutting them up and making them clean up their language have not and will never stop them from acting out their thoughts and beliefs.

There are countless number of reasons why people do not like each other. As long as we can separate and categorize people into groups, people will inevitably find an excuse to be fearful, leading to envy and/or hate,... of different groups.

The solution isn't to shut them up; if we want to slowly correct this problem, I would encourage idiots to verbalize their thoughts, then I can expose them for who they truly are. What's interesting is that many of these idiots, in actuality, recognize their own inadequacies and stupidity, which they would normally blame on others. So they tend to keep their mouths shut now, not out of fear of offending others, but be afraid that they will be exposed for their insecurities. I make it a point to bait them, tell racist jokes, antagonize them, keep tempting them, eventually they will show their true color.