Revelation 3:15-16

One of my favorite Bible passages is the combination of Revelation 3:15 and Revelation 3:16 (English Standard Version (©2001)):

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

In terms of theology and faith, I have significantly more respect for the hardcore faithful, those whose lives truely reflect their belief in whatever their faith is in. If your world contains a creator deity, how can you not let the deity and its existence permeate throughout your life? My respect is not contingent on whether their values or conclusions concur with mine, but on whether their lives are consistent with what they hold to be divine truth.

My reason for disrespecting and dismissing many fundamentalists and other "faithful" is that their faith is, to me, obviously hollow. Too often their extremes are informed by insecurity and personal doubt, leading their faith-inspired action to be predicated not on the assumption and assurance of divine existence, but on their need for self-validization (often at the expense of others, including their fellow faithful). Other times, it is informed by terrestial desires, with a religious justification slapped on to make the achievement of those desires respectable or to cover them up (staining both the desire and the religion). These terrestial desires include the desires for personal growth and angst-relief, where the faith is a base tool, a means rather than an end in and of itself.

The latter is also why I find many if not most of the semi-theosophist beliefs repellent. The faiths are not the same, they do not lead to a universal truth (though many broadly appeal to a common ground on occasion), and they seek and apply significantly different values. The wishy-washy "God is love and accepts all" message that is popular with semi-Christians nauseates me. This message turns something that is supposed to exist on its own (something that is supposed to be real, and often be more real than anything else) to only exist for us, our pleasure, our vanity; the Creator can or will no longer make demands on its Creation, but instead is an amorphus blog that we can appeal to whenever we feel like it.

Mind you, I specify "semi-theosophist beliefs," meaning those beliefs that claim a more specific identity (probably for the convenience of whoevers spouting off) but inject major elements that are not part of that specific faith. For example, the Abrahamic God(s) are staunchly monotheistic and express abhorrence to any other worship, so to claim that they're cool or down with Hindu deities is an outright lie and an absurd one at that.

I have few qualms about those who are and identify themselves as Theosophists, as it is a separate faith that establishes all other faiths as attempts at reaching it (and therefore that all other faiths are not equal to, but subordinate to the Theosophist universal truths). It is not wishy-washy; it asserts its universal truth and does not open for an equality of faiths.

This passage from Revelations reflects my sentiment on this, with the beautiful imagery of the Christian divinity spitting out those who are half-assed about their faith in it. I identify myself as cold, as I claim and hold to be true that the Christian divinity (like all other current human faiths) is a fairy tale. Its god and stories are myths, untrue stories that contain lessions on either true things or things we hold to be true (such as the desirability of the Golden Rule). Whatever reality, "real" truth, the Bible holds is limited to its non-supernatural stories (and even some of them may be untrue, due to either mistakes or intention). At most, it tells us of Jewish history and lessons about humans within an Abrahamic and later Christian value system. We should appreciate as such.

Twitter Follow Fridays

Instead of regularly #FF spamming my Twitterfeed every Friday, I'll be linking to this blogpost. I will update this entry with new #FFs as they come about. It will include all past #FFs. I may also elaborate on them, now that I no longer have 140 character limit.

#FF @AMSbossybear We all belong to Bossy Bear, so it's our duty to follow him on his (mis)adventures.
#FF @AMSbossybear Bossy Bear is King of All He Sees and Hears. We are his subjects and must obey his command to follow.
#FF @AMSbossybear Bossy Bear is King of All He Sees and Hears. We are His subjects and must obey His command to follow Him.
#FF @AMSbossybear Bossy Bear is King of All He Sees and Hears. He recently braved the streets of Amsterdam all by His Royal self.

#FF @MoRocca Regularly provides the humorous insights and observations worth reading (and retweeting).

#FF @AndyTowle LGBTQ news blogger that provides breaking news as it happens.
#FF @AndyTowle LGBTQ news blogger that provides breaking news as it happens. http://www.towleroad.com

#FF @BrianJMoylan Gawker blogger, witty, funny, and poignant. Comments often on LGBTQ issues.
#FF @BrianJMoylan Gawker blogger, witty, funny, and poignant. Comments often on LGBTQ issues. http://gawker.com/people/BrianMoylan/posts/

#FF @GawkerTV Dangerously addictive blog-news focused on video clips.
#FF @GawkerTV Dangerously addictive blog-news focused on video clips. http://tv.gawker.com/

#FF @BrentSpiner Brent indulges in a narcissistic personality disorder worth checking out.
#FF @BrentSpiner Brent (aka Data/Lore from Star Trek:TNG) indulges in a narcissistic personality disorder worth checking out.

#FF @BorowitzReport Andy is an expert 140-characters-or-less humorist, w/ regular tweeting.
#FF @BorowitzReport Andy is an expert 140-characters-or-less humorist, w/ regular tweeting. He was on fire during 0 follower/following.
#FF @BorowitzReport Andy is an expert 140-characters-or-less humorist, w/ regular tweeting. http://www.borowitzreport.com/

#FF @Hakonbogen Norwegian comic (in Norw.) specialized in absurd statements.
#FF @Hakonbogen Norwegian comic and 8-bit enthusiast who also works with plastic bead art.
#FF @Hakonbogen Norwegian comic specialized in absurdity. His blog, Garlic in Sink: http://hvitlokivask.blogspot.com/ (in Norw.).

#FF @Gawker Premiere Hollywood-DC gossip and news review blog.
#FF @Gawker Premiere Hollywood-DC gossip and news review blog. http://gawker.com/

#FF @I_am_Ozma Excellent, quick reflections; humorous provocateur.
#FF @I_am_Ozma Ozma provides smart reflections and questions on current events that are worth reading and following.

#FF @StephenAtHome Stephen's personal tweets; funny statements from the pundit we know and love.
#FF @StephenAtHome Stephen's personal tweets; funny statements from the pundit we know and love. http://www.colbertnation.com/home

#FF @SarahKSilverman Sarah's unabashed commentary on events and the world around her.
#FF @SarahKSilverman Sarah's unabashed commentary on events and the world around her. http://sarahsilvermanonline.com/

#FF @JoeMyGod LGBTQ news blog that regularly includes the context of aforementioned news.
#FF @JoeMyGod LGBTQ news blog that regularly includes the context of aforementioned news. http://joemygod.blogspot.com/

#FF @ggreenwald Glenn's reflections provide an island of sanity in a mad, mad world.
#FF @ggreenwald Glenn's reflections provide an island of sanity in a mad world. http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/index.html

#FF @ebertchicago Blogger, news linker, and notorious retweeter, Roger's a great find within the Twitterati.
#FF @ebertchicago Blogger, news linker, and notorious retweeter, Roger's a great find within the Twitterati. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/

#FF @donttrythis Adam (of MythBusters) provides silliness and geektastic links.
#FF @donttrythis Adam (of MythBusters) provides geektastic links. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/meet/adam-savage.html

#FF @wilw Pure geekdom from Wil Wheaton, aka Ensign Wesley Crusher.
#FF @wilw Pure geekdom from Wil Wheaton, aka Ensign Wesley Crusher and a guest murderer on Criminal Minds.
#FF @wilw Pure geekdom from Wil Wheaton, aka Ensign Wesley Crusher. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/

#FF @Joan_Rivers Joan being Joan (what more could you ask for?).
#FF @Joan_Rivers Joan being Joan (what more could you ask for?) and with a new season of How'd You Get So Rich? http://tinyurl.com/35ru2ve
#FF @Joan_Rivers Joan's new documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work premieres this week and is receiving rave reviews.

#FF @jackmackenroth Source for LGBTQ news, Project Runway insights, and a whole lot of Twittering :-)
#FF @jackmackenroth Source for LGBTQ news, Project Runway insights, and a whole lot of Twittering. It was also his birthday yesterday! :-)
#FF @jackmackenroth Source for LGBTQ news, Project Runway insights, and a whole lot of caustic Twittering.
#FF @jackmackenroth Source for LGBTQ news, Project Runway insights, and a whole lot of acerbic Twittering.

#FF @rodmccullom LGBTQ news blogger.
#FF @rodmccullom LGBTQ news blogger with frequent updates and discussion.
#FF @rodmccullom LGBTQ news blogger with frequent updates and discussion. http://rodonline.typepad.com/

#FF @badbanana Tim provides delicious bon mots, fun and quirky.
#FF @badbanana Tim provides delicious bons mots, fun and quirky.

#FF @thinkgeek Wonderfully geeky online store and twitterer. And who can resist such adorable monkeys?
#FF @thinkgeek Wonderfully geeky online store and twitterer. Their monkeys called out our would-be robot overlords during Twittergate.
#FF @thinkgeek Wonderfully geeky online store and twitterer. This week, Timmy the Monkey is noting the end of Lost with dress-up.

#FF @YahtzeeCroshaw The man behind Zero Punctuation: http://tinyurl.com/3kdj4t. His 27th birthday was last Sunday. Birthday-follows!

#FF @BPGlobalPR Unofficial public relations Twitter account for British Petroleum. Frequently informs and shows us how #BPCares.
#FF @BPGlobalPR Unofficial public relations Twitter account for British Petroleum. Frequently informs and shows us how #bpcares.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @ConnerHabib Funny and enjoyable porn actor. Frequently links to NSFW photos of what he's doing.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @ConnerHabib Hot, humorous porn actor. Interacts well with fans and followers. And such a cute face!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Michael_Brandon An energetic, humorous, and ever so perky twitterer, Michael is well-worth following.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Michael_Brandon A spunky twitterer and porn star whose "Monster" is a size-queen's fantasy incarnate.
(#NFF =Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Michael_Brandon Super hot and super sharp porn star. Host of http://xxxmichaelbrandon.com/ibp.asp (NSFW)
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Michael_Brandon Winner of the Lifetime Achievement 2010 Grabby award! Congrats to Michael & Monster!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @meetthebreeder Engaging sexual exploits blogger, with humor and a sense of deviousness.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @meetthebreeder Engaging sexual exploits blogger, who includes reflection and shows his caring side as well.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @meetthebreeder Engaging sexual exploits blogger, who includes reflection and shows his caring side.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @meetthebreeder Engaging sexual exploits blogger with a caring side. http://mrsteed64.blogspot.com/
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @meetthebreeder Engaging sexual exploits blogger with a reflective side. http://mrsteed64.blogspot.com/

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Kind of dangerous, but highly provocative sex and sexual exploits blogger.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Kind of dangerous, but provocative sex and sexual exploits blogger whose birthday's tomorrow!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Kind of dangerous, but provocative sex and sexual exploits blogger.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Kind of dangerous & provocative sexual exploits blogger http://iblastinside.blogspot.com/
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Kind of dangerous & provocative sexual exploits blogger: http://iblastinside.blogspot.com/
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @IBlastInside Provocative sexual exploits blogger now on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/iblastinside

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @studfucker Dominant and reflective man. Sexual exploits blogger: http://studfucker.dreamwidth.org/

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @XavierMuscle Cute and sweet bodybuilder who's getting ready for an upcoming show.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @XavierMuscle Cute and sweet bodybuilder.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @XavierMuscle Cute and sweet bodybuilder. http://www.xaviermuscle.com/bio.html

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JoshGriffinxxx Hot and funny, it's also his birthday-week! Birthday follows FTW!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JoshGriffinxxx Hot and funny fellow.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JoshGriffinxxx We must ally ourselves and end his kitty-punching ways!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JoshGriffinxxx Hot fellow who has gotten serious with @AnthonyPalaz88. New-cute-couple-follow FTW!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Josh_Griffin Cute fellow, recently changed his ID to be sans "XXX" and, oddly, received flack for it.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @USJOCK Regular/semi-regular free-spirited cammer.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @USJOCK Regular/semi-regular free-spirited cammer and blogger.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @USJOCK Regular/semi-regular free-spirited cammer and blogger http://camjock.blogspot.com/

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Provides a perspective on porn that's provocative and much-needed.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Twitterer who shines much-needed attention to discrimination in porn on the production-side.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Porn actor who shines much-needed attention to discrimination in porn on the production-side.
(#NFF = NaughtyFollowFriday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Porn actor who shines much-needed attention to discrimination in porn on the production-side.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Provocative porn actor who has started blogging, at: www.chasecoxxx.com/blog
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Provocative porn actor who recently started blogging, at: www.chasecoxxx.com/blog
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @JuicyGigolo Provocative porn actor now in Paris who recently started blogging, at: www.chasecoxxx.com/blog

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @AustinWilde Naughty, wild, and humorous.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @AustinWilde Naughty, wild, and humorous porn actor. He's gorgeous to boot!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @AustinWilde Winner of Best Newcomer 2010 Grabby award, alongside @SamuelColtXXX!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Funny and self-depricating (and a bit of a fashionista).
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Suffered from food-poisoning this week. Help him recover with some Twitter-love!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Consumer of kittens (after @JoshGriffinxxx has tenderized them) and maybe a furry.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Who has returned whole and well from his adventures in Mexico with @MrDimarco.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Porn actor & fashionista who predicted the return of the ascot way ahead of anyone else.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Funny and self-depricating porn actor (and a bit of a fashionista).
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Funny and self-depricating porn actor who's also an Aldous Huxley fan.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @SamuelColtXXX Winner of Best Newcomer 2010 Grabby award, alongside @AustinWilde!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Travman69 Overall hot fellow with a gorgeous (but seldom seen) face.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Travman69 Overall hot fellow with a devilish smile and eyes that'll leave you like putty in his hands.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Travman69 Hot sexual exploits twitterer (who I wish would twitter more :-D ), who's also way cute.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @robromoni Winner of TLA's Twitter-Maniac: Most Profilic in the Biz award.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @robromoni Big-time twitter, and all-around hot goofball.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @robromoni Big-time twitterer.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @RaceCooperxxx Poor fellow went to the DMV, then had to go to Canada, and then return to the DMV
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @RaceCooperxxx Has presumably returned from Canada and has either faced or is ready to face the DMV.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @DieselWash Porn actor who's a frequent YouTuber (with behind-the-scenes footage).
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @DieselWash Winner of the Best Supporting Actor 2010 Grabby award!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @StreetMuscle501 Sexual exploits blogger who's had a tough week waiting in lines. Give him some love!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @WolfHudsonXXX Porn actor also known as The King of Kink. Frequent Formspring responder.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @WolfHudsonXXX Porn actor also known as The King of Kink. Funny fellow. Frequent Formspring responder.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @dirsteele Former porn star, now director Chris Steele has joined Twitter! Give him a big welcome!
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @dirsteele Porn director Chris Steele whose recently released Jersey Score, a porn parody of the MTV series.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @dirsteele Porn director Chris Steele whose Jersey Score is making headlines http://tinyurl.com/32t69qt
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @dirsteele Former porn star, now director Chris Steele who has been "making porn so [we] don't have to."
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @dirsteele Porn star, now porn director Chris Steele who has been "making porn so [we] don't have to."

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @nakedsf Good-looking sexual exploits twitterer and a responsive Formspring user: ask him some questions.
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @nakedsf Sexual exploits twitterer. Ask him some questions at: http://www.formspring.me/nakedsf
(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @nakedsf Sexual exploits twitterer. Help ask him some questions at: http://www.formspring.me/nakedsf

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @BubbleJock Sex and sexual exploits twitterer, painter who's trying to reach 2,000 followers by week's end.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @Beefymuscle Sex and sexual exploits twitterer who won the 2,000th follower race with @BubbleJock.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @MichaelLucasNYC Michael's Men of Israel won the Best International Movie 2010 Grabby award this week.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @randyblue This week, Randy Blue won the Best Web-Based Porn Site 2010 Grabby award.

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @tristanjaxx Poor fellow has to deal with the DMV this week. Show him and his gorgeous mug some love!

(#NFF = Naughty Follow Friday) #NFF @MatthewRushXXX Gay porn star with a smart sense of humor. http://matthewrushxxx.blogspot.com/

Our second property on Nesodden

My parents bought the property about twenty years ago, following the bursting of the 1980s housing bubble and the subsequent collapse in property values. Their primary interest was to prevent others from buying it and developing it in a way that would reduce the view from our house. Owning it also let us remove view-blocking trees at our discretion.















It's a forested property, featuring a single red cabin, variation in elevation, and many trees (including a wild cherry tree). The soil is fertile and home to many blueberry bushes and little creatures.















In recent years, my mother started thinking about building a second house. It would be on this second property and it is intended as a relatively cheap way to ensure a separate house for my brother and myself without having to spend unnecessary amounts of money buying a new property with a house (especially during the current housing bubble).

We have hit two obstacles in building this house: first, the municipality put a moratorium on future construction and development until it had finalized a development plan for the community; second, an archaeological sampling of the property found pieces of worked flint, evidence of Stone Age human habitation. Elaborating on this second point, archaeologists theorize that this part of Norway was inhabited by the Nøstvet culture and that this property was beach front property approximately seven thousand years ago (the land had been suppressed by the prior Ice Age and has since risen significantly).


Area currently protected for further archeological investigation.









The first-mentioned obstacle is the most significant one though, and early this year it came to a close when the municipality ended the moratorium (it has not yet finalized its development plan, which it has taken several years to work on thus far). We are now seeking to have the property as a whole released from its status as being of archaeological interest (which also prevents us from starting construction) and are pushing for an excavation to be done as early as possible this summer.