I guess the title says it all. I am honestly curious as to why in this world the average human being is so frequently upset, angry, stressed and hateful, especially toward each other.
The other day I heard about a new mowing business in town. Apparently the men that operate it are using stand-over tactics, moderate stalking and intimidation to try and edge the other similar businesses out of town. It terrifies me that there are people around in a small country town like this that feel domination is the only way to conduct business. Especially when up till now, we mowing blokes/handymen pretty much all knew each other, respected the other's operation and often would pass new customers between each other if the other was too busy. Now I learn that there is some nutter out there basically looking to trample that eco-system, the way humans throughout history have trampled eco-system after eco-system.. I find it really disappointing. And utterly sad to look at our race through that lense.
And of course, this is only a tiny sample of the negativity out there. What about road rage, wild out of control parties, beating up police, children and little old ladies? Or gangs of young kids wandering the streets at night? What is wrong with this world? You would think that the years of endless war that the generations prior to mine have seen would have gone someway to shaping a solid awareness of life and other people. Simple respect for your fellow man would be nice.
I suppose all we can do is try our best to live our own life following the path that we feel is the correct one, doing our best to reduce our footprint (carbon or otherwise) and our negative impacts on those around us. And erect a shield around ourselves and our families to try and deflect a little of the hatred. Try to at least try to be one with the universe, instead of constantly going against the flow and butting heads at every turn.
Till next time,
-Damien.
Monday 22 April 2013
Monday 15 April 2013
The Fluoride Debate
This is a copy of a letter I sent to my local Council a couple of weeks back, requesting that fluoride be removed from the local water supply. Have a read, then let me know how you feel about Fluoride.
G'day,
I'm writing to relay my concerns regarding the Council's collective stand of water fluoridation.
I read in the papers that many of you are basically sitting on the fence, undecided on the matter, due to people's neglect of contacting you on the matter. Well, this is my bit.
Now I'm not going to rant on how Sodium Fluorosilicate (Na2SiF6) and Sodium Fluoride (NaF) are both an S6 rated toxin on the SUSMP, poisonous to humans by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact, because I doubt that any of you are really ignorant to this fact. Nor am I going to rattle about whistling dixie over cancer studies, crack-pot theories and claims of other countries pulling fluoride from their water all around the world due to results from longitudinal toxicological studies. The response to these sorts of arguments from most pro-fluoride people is that only a small amount it used and no "solid" proof has been uncovered to find that it causes harm. That is a fair argument, except when you compare this to blatant logic, do a little research and find that this particular S6 rating in the SUSMP include such toxins as Dicamba (Bindi & Clover Killer), Ethylene Glycol (Engine Coolant/Anti-Freeze), various derivatives of Cyanide, Chloroform, Diazinon, Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Sulphuric Acid, Arsenic, 2-Butoxy-2'-Thiocyano-Diethyl Ether, Cadmium, Methanol, Nicotine, Warfarin, Ether, Formaldehyde, Hydrochloric Acid, Lead Compounds, and Malathion (Insecticide). And this is just a sample of the chemicals that I have heard of before. Would you opt to have any of these poisons in our water? Even a little bit? I wouldn't think so. And there are plenty of studies to show that the human body can be effected by the tiniest amounts of contaminant.
No, the point I would really like to make is the fact that this stuff is placed in our water without our permission. Mass delivered, one-size-fits-all medication that I don't need or want to be exposed to. Why do I not have a choice here? Are any of you a Doctor? Dentist? Pharmacist? What about the council employee that checks the dosing system? Does he/she possess pharmaceutical qualifications? No? Then why on Earth are you or any of your employees prescribing medication to me or my family? Because some "experts" said it is "safe" and the State Government told you to that's why. I'm sorry, but if that's your only stand point then I have to disagree vehemently. Are there any statistics to confirm that the percentage of people with bad teeth is so high that it warrants mass-medication?
But, hey, I'm a reasonable bloke. I get the logic of it all. Put the good stuff in so everyone benefits, right? However now that I think about it, I reckon while we're medicating the population, why just stop at fluoride? I'd like to list some other substances I feel should be in our water in order to have a healthy community.
I think you get my point. Please, do your jobs and listen to the community that elected you to your position.
--
Thanks,
G'day,
I'm writing to relay my concerns regarding the Council's collective stand of water fluoridation.
I read in the papers that many of you are basically sitting on the fence, undecided on the matter, due to people's neglect of contacting you on the matter. Well, this is my bit.
Now I'm not going to rant on how Sodium Fluorosilicate (Na2SiF6) and Sodium Fluoride (NaF) are both an S6 rated toxin on the SUSMP, poisonous to humans by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact, because I doubt that any of you are really ignorant to this fact. Nor am I going to rattle about whistling dixie over cancer studies, crack-pot theories and claims of other countries pulling fluoride from their water all around the world due to results from longitudinal toxicological studies. The response to these sorts of arguments from most pro-fluoride people is that only a small amount it used and no "solid" proof has been uncovered to find that it causes harm. That is a fair argument, except when you compare this to blatant logic, do a little research and find that this particular S6 rating in the SUSMP include such toxins as Dicamba (Bindi & Clover Killer), Ethylene Glycol (Engine Coolant/Anti-Freeze), various derivatives of Cyanide, Chloroform, Diazinon, Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Sulphuric Acid, Arsenic, 2-Butoxy-2'-Thiocyano-Diethyl Ether, Cadmium, Methanol, Nicotine, Warfarin, Ether, Formaldehyde, Hydrochloric Acid, Lead Compounds, and Malathion (Insecticide). And this is just a sample of the chemicals that I have heard of before. Would you opt to have any of these poisons in our water? Even a little bit? I wouldn't think so. And there are plenty of studies to show that the human body can be effected by the tiniest amounts of contaminant.
No, the point I would really like to make is the fact that this stuff is placed in our water without our permission. Mass delivered, one-size-fits-all medication that I don't need or want to be exposed to. Why do I not have a choice here? Are any of you a Doctor? Dentist? Pharmacist? What about the council employee that checks the dosing system? Does he/she possess pharmaceutical qualifications? No? Then why on Earth are you or any of your employees prescribing medication to me or my family? Because some "experts" said it is "safe" and the State Government told you to that's why. I'm sorry, but if that's your only stand point then I have to disagree vehemently. Are there any statistics to confirm that the percentage of people with bad teeth is so high that it warrants mass-medication?
But, hey, I'm a reasonable bloke. I get the logic of it all. Put the good stuff in so everyone benefits, right? However now that I think about it, I reckon while we're medicating the population, why just stop at fluoride? I'd like to list some other substances I feel should be in our water in order to have a healthy community.
- 58% of Australians are deficient in Vitamin D; let's put it in the water.
- Or what about Iodine? We are ranked in the top 50 countries deficient in Iodine, so put it in the water.
- People don't eat enough oranges these days; put Vitamin C in the water.
- Vegetables grown in Australian soil are
proven to be low in vitamins and minerals, so put in some
Manganese, Zinc, Vitamin E, Potassium, Vitamin A, a pinch of
Elemental Copper and some Phosphorus.
- In the 2011 Census, it was found that there are 99.4 males to every 100 Queensland females. Females are almost uniformly deficient in Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Folate and most Vitamin Bs; let's put those in the water.
- Then, there's Olive Leaf Extract, well known as a great tonic for colds and general body immunity; in the water!
- Apple cider vinegar; I was only just hearing on the radio the other day that it is good for just about anything, even dandruff. Put it in!
- Ginger; good for circulation. Put it in.
- Ginko Biloba; good for the brain. In it
goes.
- Omega 3 Fish Oil; good for the heart.
Just a drop or two.
- Milk Thistle; good for the liver. Need
some of that.
- Hell, just put a thousand Panadol in the doser every day and we'll never have headaches again!!!!!!!!
I think you get my point. Please, do your jobs and listen to the community that elected you to your position.
--
Thanks,
Damien L. Malcolm
My Youtube Gratitude
Till next time
-Damien.
Sunday 14 April 2013
Aaaarrrrrgghhhh, the youtube dilemma!
Crickey, what a drama! All I wanted to do was upload a short 3D vid from my book to my new Youtube account. Easy? No, of course not. See I had to create a new "channel", whatever that is, and being completely green to the whole shebang, I entered the wrong birth date, didn't I. Well, talk about the world coming to an end; next thing I know a big red screen is flashing in my face saying due to my underage-ness, I've been locked out of my google account and it will be deleted unless I verify my age. Best way to do this is to pay them US0.30c. I spent a half hour trying to find another way, but to no avail. But suffice it to say that I did eventually unlock my account, and managed to upload the video rather painlessly. You can find it here: http://youtu.be/04IBOcyRs6s
And I hope you like it, cause that 1 minute video cost me 30 cents! Boohoo to me.
Till next time
-Damien
And I hope you like it, cause that 1 minute video cost me 30 cents! Boohoo to me.
Till next time
-Damien
Saturday 13 April 2013
G'day
Alrighty then, my very first blog post. All new. Very exciting. Kind of just stalling till I think of something to say... Well what can I say? Up till now, life has been an interesting journey. Won't bore you with all the details (yet) but I will give you a quick scratch.
About ten years ago I met my wife, and I mean that exactly as it sounds because I knew we would marry from the moment we met. Not long after that we began having children; rambunctious little bundles of joy/terror. I spent the first few years working jobs fairly low on the Scale of Crap, mainly a bit of shit-kicking for various types of crazy-person. In fact, upon reflection, I have never really had a good boss (including now, the boss being me!).
Four years ago, I kick-started a small Handyman/Mowing business in my local town, hoping that it would supplement the part-time job I had at the time, and maybe one day it might grow. Well, a month later I had a choice: part-time job or the business. Ten points for guessing the one I picked. Ever since then I've been happily maintaining a full-time business and haven't had time to breath from dawn till dusk, five days a week.
And all this while, I had been on-and-off writing. You see, in the background, writing had somehow permeated my entire life in one way or another. When I was 15 I had an idea for a story, and only for me own amusement, began writing it. Ahh, the fond memories I hold of madly scribbling in pencil in my A4 pad as the train rocked back and forth on the way to school, with my fellow students poking fun and giving me odd looks.
Fast forward to a point a few years and half a lifetime later, and there's me with a finished book 1, a paragraph on book 2 and three quarters of book 3. I did send the synopsis of Saviour away to a couple of agents but had no luck getting hooked. "There's just no market for this type of novel at the moment," they'd say. Bull-dillies, I said. Then one day, I googled "free ebook publishing" and whammo. A week later, I was a published ebook author. A month later I found out you can publish into paperback too, FOR FREE. And, as they say in the classics, the rest is history. Then I realised I'd better hurry up and get into book 2!
Now, four months later, I'm still in awe that I can actually pick up and hold a copy of Winchester: Saviour, the book that's been with me for literally half my life. It hasn't sold a million copies, or a thousand or even a hundred. And heck, it probably never will. But who cares?! I'm a published author with 1 five star rating (thanks Mr Palmer, whoever you are), a family man with 4 kids and a beautiful wife, and a managing director of an incredibly successful small business that I have to keep holding back so I'm not working nights or hiring staff! My world is complete.
Thanks for reading my first blog post. I look forward to posting further and hearing your thoughts too.
Till next time,
-Damien.
PS, feel free to check out my facebook pages:
Follow me here http://www.facebook.com/damienlmalcolm
Or like the Winchester Series http://www.facebook.com/WinchesterSeries
About ten years ago I met my wife, and I mean that exactly as it sounds because I knew we would marry from the moment we met. Not long after that we began having children; rambunctious little bundles of joy/terror. I spent the first few years working jobs fairly low on the Scale of Crap, mainly a bit of shit-kicking for various types of crazy-person. In fact, upon reflection, I have never really had a good boss (including now, the boss being me!).
Four years ago, I kick-started a small Handyman/Mowing business in my local town, hoping that it would supplement the part-time job I had at the time, and maybe one day it might grow. Well, a month later I had a choice: part-time job or the business. Ten points for guessing the one I picked. Ever since then I've been happily maintaining a full-time business and haven't had time to breath from dawn till dusk, five days a week.
And all this while, I had been on-and-off writing. You see, in the background, writing had somehow permeated my entire life in one way or another. When I was 15 I had an idea for a story, and only for me own amusement, began writing it. Ahh, the fond memories I hold of madly scribbling in pencil in my A4 pad as the train rocked back and forth on the way to school, with my fellow students poking fun and giving me odd looks.
Fast forward to a point a few years and half a lifetime later, and there's me with a finished book 1, a paragraph on book 2 and three quarters of book 3. I did send the synopsis of Saviour away to a couple of agents but had no luck getting hooked. "There's just no market for this type of novel at the moment," they'd say. Bull-dillies, I said. Then one day, I googled "free ebook publishing" and whammo. A week later, I was a published ebook author. A month later I found out you can publish into paperback too, FOR FREE. And, as they say in the classics, the rest is history. Then I realised I'd better hurry up and get into book 2!
Now, four months later, I'm still in awe that I can actually pick up and hold a copy of Winchester: Saviour, the book that's been with me for literally half my life. It hasn't sold a million copies, or a thousand or even a hundred. And heck, it probably never will. But who cares?! I'm a published author with 1 five star rating (thanks Mr Palmer, whoever you are), a family man with 4 kids and a beautiful wife, and a managing director of an incredibly successful small business that I have to keep holding back so I'm not working nights or hiring staff! My world is complete.
Thanks for reading my first blog post. I look forward to posting further and hearing your thoughts too.
Till next time,
-Damien.
PS, feel free to check out my facebook pages:
Follow me here http://www.facebook.com/damienlmalcolm
Or like the Winchester Series http://www.facebook.com/WinchesterSeries
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