What the Chromebook is Really Meant For — No More Fighting Over the PC at Home

I was considering to get a writing device to work on my writing stuff on-the-go and while I was online searching for one, I came across the Google Chromebook.

Singapore Site for the HP Chromebook

I looked at the pros and cons of the HP Chromebook and saw that it uses the solid state drive(SSD) that I have been hoping to get my hands on for a long time. The latest HP Chromebook is stated to boot up under 7 seconds. It sure is great for beating impatience.

The larger 14" models come with full-size keyboards that are suitable for people like me with big fingers. The keyboard has been described by many to look exactly like the Mac keyboard.

It is quite obvious to any computer geek that the Chromebook as Google explains, is really meant for Internet usage and nothing much else. I shook my head at the reviewers who were brave enough to test them out for working on-the-go and then faced great risks of having their entire documents get wiped off from existence when they encountered many wifi-unfriendly zones.

Many others who reviewed the Chromebook felt that it is suitable for children and students whom they assume have much less things to do on the computer. However, I think they are totally wrong.

I don't think that young children should rely on the Internet but instead rely more on off-line software and games that can be more interesting and fun. The Chomebook is very vulnerable to spills that children are prone of doing, it also has pretty sharp edges that can injure them if they are not careful. These are already two big reasons why parents should not get the Chomebook for their children but instead get the tablet that is more resistant to spills and safer.

The Chomebook also does not come with a camera that is commonly found in a tablet, which can be used to take candid pictures. Childhood is really not fun and complete without plenty of opportunities to capture funny moments.

For students, they really should not be relying on a web-based computer that has so much limited functionality. Students nowadays face so much challenges in the classroom, relying solely on web-based applications is just not sufficient for them to thrive in such demanding environments.

Many reviewers have mentioned the Chomebook's low price tag to be suitable for less well-off students. However, second-hand computers are actually more affordable without the cons of so much limited functionality, and can be easily found at online buy-sell websites.

The Chomebook is after all meant for one main purpose — to resolve family disputes at home on who gets to use the computer.

If a family is large and many members often need to go online at the same time, then getting Chromebooks instead of full computer systems would be the much cheaper solution. Perhaps Google created the Chomebook with such a family scenario in mind? Or for all we know, they wanted more people to go on-line to look at more ads for them.

The Chromebook can also be a useful tool(or a backup) for writers who work long hours on their blogs at wifi zones such as cafes and libraries. But I feel that writers would prefer a keyboard that is more ergonomic.

Even though the Chomebook is affordable, lightweight and easy on the eyes, would I choose to get a Chromebook for my writing? I really don't think so, I would much prefer to get a more functional tablet to do my writing on the go. :)

Update: You can't play fun and free android games on a Chromebook such as Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, Real Racing 3, Boeing Flight Simulator, 8 Ball Pool, and instantly take and upload pics on Instagram on a Chromebook.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/category/GAME/collection/topselling_free
 6WXS3CUU85MZ

The Pictures I Took with an Artistic Toy Camera

This post is for proving that I am indeed as artistic as I claimed to be in a previous post where I wrote about Mac vs PC and why I still choose to use the PC even though I am an artistic person. So I am providing the proof(my burden of proof) in case some people do not believe in the existence of my artistic talents.

I decided to post the nice artistic pictures I took a few years ago when I had my very first camera that also happened to be a toy camera — the type of camera that artistic people often use to take artistic pictures. The camera was a Chinese-Japanese toy camera called the Yashica F521 that deliberately did not have the anti-motion control so taking clear pictures was a challenge. I have since sold it because I wanted to try other types of cameras with focusing lenses. Perhaps I will get a new camera soon to take new pictures since I have recently started blogging.

This is my flickr account.

Here are the pictures..

Mac VS PC — Good Reasons Why I Still Choose PC Over Mac

I have recently been noticing people who use the Mac for their music production and I was wondering why I haven't switched over to using a Mac already since I am just as artistic and stylish like them, and have done much music-remixing and video-editing myself.



The music band Aqua is considered to be technologically-advanced in their early days, their music videos made in 1997 were shot in the widescreen format that is very common nowadays.



Perhaps the main reason I haven't switched over to the Mac is because the Mac just looks too 'happy'. Such a quality is really not the best inclusion for writing non-fiction. I often write non-fiction political and spiritual writing and I always felt that the care-free happy-looking design of the Mac would distant me too far away from the harsh ugly reality, it would be like a culture shock trying to switch back and forth between the two realities. What people say about writers thriving in misery is true. Misery provides deep contemplation that goes on to provide inspiration.

Anyone remember this fairly old movie posted on the left about a writer being kidnapped by a miserable insane woman? And he manages to create great writing during his ordeal? Yeah, that's the kind of restricted misery I am talking about for writers to thrive in their work.

The other reason why I use the PC would be that the good Mac accessories can only be found at a Mac shop. And like true computer geeks, I dislike inadequate support. More accurately, I dislike the lack of adequate support for getting me firmly tied down to my writer's misery.

People reading this would now have a greater understanding why true-blue writers would use PCs and not that merry-go-round fruit novelty called the Mackintosh. PCs provide the lengthy reminder of the cruel harsh reality while the Mac is just similar to some carefree-inducing toy found at Toys R Us — the place for kids living in a perfect world filled with colourful Teletubbies running around hugging one another.

Star Trek demonstrates the divide between the PC and Mac very well. The Federation who uses their bright and happy designer-style computer interface is the equivalent of the sophisticated Mac users.

Sadly, the equivalent of the PC-users have gone extinct in that future time period and can only be found when the Enterprise warps back in time.

I bet many Mac users feel that the PC is just too ugly and dull to match their stylish and minimalistic home deco, but are too sophisticated and politically-correct to never mention it out loud.

Really, the blocky PC design can stand out too much from stylish furniture and deco in the wrong way. It also looks quite rugged and intimidating just like some armour shield thingy being used to fight battles and intimidate opponents. In fact, most hardcore gamers who fight online battles use the PC, the very-functional and scheming people from the corporate world also like to use them.

The guy in the following video should have used a Mac monitor with more rounded edges instead.

The Oh So Boyish Hate on Apple's Retina Display

While I was at the computer store looking at new computers, I spotted something I never saw before in my whole life. A certain computer screen looked kind of weird as though it was a lighted 'dummy' display screen. It piqued my curiosity so much that I walked closer to realize that it was actually a real functional display screen but with surface images that look so colour-intensive that they look like permanent printed images on a shiny plastic surface. The images looked as colour-packed like those colourful buttons seen on shiny Star Trek console panels. Of course, any Trekkie like me would spot such a similarity at once. I was thinking in my mind, "what the hell is this?" as I observe the 'strange anomaly' up close.

An example of Star Trek's colour-rich console panel is on the left. The image is actually a screenshot from a Star Trek app found at the itunes store. Maybe the app could do with a Retina display itself?

The graphic art for Star Trek was actually originally done with the Mac. For Apple to finally venture into super HD with similar colour-intensive graphics sounds almost like a home-coming, or a self-fulfilling prophecy.



I think the touch-screen monitor as shown in the video would have looked more authentic with a glossy surface de la Star Trek.

Well, to be honest, I thought that the computer screen I spotted at the store was simply a High Definition display screen until I later discovered on Google that such a similar high definition screen is called a Retina Display that has been introduced into the consumer market by Apple.

https://www.apple.com/sg/macbook-pro/performance-retina/
Quote from the Apple site that is related to what I said about the graphics looking like permanent print — "the resolution of the Retina display is so high, it rivals the printed page"

Actually, I didn't notice whether that screen came from a Mac or a PC — I mean who still bothers about making such a distinction anymore? However, if such a HD screen came from a PC, I should have noticed it long ago from my many visits to computer stores but I didn't. This means that there is a very high possibility that the computer was using the newer feature of Apple's Retina display. But whatever, if it was a PC it could just mean that the PCs have been copying Apple's practice since Apple was the one who first made waves with the super HD display.

I also read a few online articles with some writers thinking that Retina displays are too over-rated, with seemingly unnoticeable difference in definition, and feel that it is a feature that is already available from powerful graphics cards and HD monitors.

The Worst Thing Ever: Retina Display  Really that bad or too critical? -_-"

Why the MacBook Pro Retina display is overkill  Overkill or maybe just more advanced?

But what some of the critics failed to realize about the mentioning of Retina displays is not whether previous PC/Mac graphics and display technology can already support such a HD display feature but whether the computers that are currently marketed in computer stores are already factory-configured to be READY to provide such HD experience to the consumer right after being bought from the shops.

For the computers to be listed as having Retina displays would also have to mean that they need to have the necessary powerful graphics and memory hardware on-board to support such HD feature without slowing down the computer to a crawl. So this is the same thing as mentioning that a computer is "HD-Ready" or has "Intel Inside". So what's the big deal with Apple saying that its computers have "Retina Display"?

Hmmm... I think some egos were too sensitive to any perceivable superiority?

I don't think that the marketing of the "Retina Display" is really Apple's way of saying, "Hey, we have something that PCs don't have — bow to us right now!". What I instead perceive is that it is Apple's way of saying, "Hey boys and girls, this device has very good HD graphics, come and buy this to experience the fun!"

But as always, other rival companies would perceive the mentioning as a threat and strive to deliver a more superior new tech to counter the challenge. Boys with toys de la 'James Bond'... I think I felt a little embarrassed self-conscious to be using a PC.

Samsung Screens May Leave Apple's Retina Display In The Dust

Many critics and haters easily assumed that it was Apple trying to start a HD war when they were just doing business marketing like everyone else to get the HD feature out to their customers. I think many PC users can be too aggressive to assume the wrong things sometimes.

For people to accuse Apple of providing a nice-looking computer feature to customers is the same as trying to accuse Apple of selling something that looks nicer than the PC. I sense some cherry-picking and a little straw man?

Are such HD displays really over-rated as perceived by some critics? There are even articles discussing the vision ability of different people to spot the difference that such displays can make. For someone like me who has a good artistic eye to differentiate between colours and texture, I could easily spot the striking difference many feet away. Perhaps such high definition displays would be more suitable for the artists and designers who are more sensitive to colour and texture. The Mac is after all made for such people. So why haven't I switch to using the Mac? I think I will talk about it in an off-topic post.

I have not been sufficiently impressed with the Apple computer in the past, but now I feel that Apple is finally talking... to me.

IQ Intelligence Scoring -- Lynn's Flawed Cold Winters Theory Can Support Notion that Ugly People are More Intelligent than Good-Lookers?

Lynn's Cold Winters Theory is about a theory that White people living in cold climates have evolved their intelligence over time to deal with cold winters as compared to Black people living in hot climates assuming they don't need to do so.

However, I think that Black people living in hot climates also needed to evolve their intelligence/brains to adapt to other environmental conditions(besides cold winters) such as natural disasters, lack of food and interpersonal conflict. So this theory is heavily flawed and over-generalizing for the entire human population.

Cold Winters and the Evolution of Intelligence
Lynn's theory of the evolution of intelligence does not fit the facts.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201211/cold-winters-and-the-evolution-intelligence

Nations and intelligence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nations_and_intelligence

Lynn's Cold Winters Theory that assumes a specific group of people to be more intelligent than other groups is just as overly-assuming that all East-Asians are more intelligent than all White people.

Race and IQ - The IQ data is out - in Danish television - YouTube.flv..



Are Ugly People More Intelligent than Good-Looking People?

The logic in the Cold Winters theory is similarly bizarre as implying that ugly people have evolved their intelligence to deal with their less favourable physical conditions compared to good-looking people who don't need as much intelligence to survive in life.

We all have heard about the dumb blond jokes and know where such assumptions originate. Even supermodels have been linked to such assumptions that the Beautiful don't need to try as hard as ugly people to survive in life.


Minority of Good-Lookers Leads to Rarity of Intelligence Expression

Perhaps there are many good-looking people who are intelligent but don't get a high chance to get spotted for their intelligence in many areas in society because such areas usually contain lots of ugly people, so the minority good-looking ones would find it much harder to get well-spotted even if they express their intelligence alongside with the ugly-looking people. This could be the reason why there are so few good-lookers spotted in many key intelligent areas in society.


Logical Fallacies in Correlating Intelligence with Superficial Features

There are many good-looking people that are more intelligent than people who are born autistic and ugly, so the theory that puts ugly-looking people to be more intelligent than good-lookers is inconsistent and flawed.

Ugly people can also undergo plastic surgery to look like supermodels yet such a procedure cannot lower their intelligence during the process. So one's superficial good-looking appearance cannot be correlated to one's mental intelligence.

Gangnam Style TOP Plastic Surgery, Best Before and After - South KOREA SEOUL


But one can counter such an argument by saying that a bigger brain that creates an average-looking face would be more intelligent than a good-looking streamlined face that is formed with a smaller brain size. But yet there are research showing that brain size is not related to intelligence.


Conclusion:

I think intelligence can be found in a group of ugly-people as well as in another group of good-looking people. Stupidity can also be found in a group of ugly-people as well as in another group of good-looking people. Stupidity is as wide spread in different physical forms as intelligence also is wide spread in different physical forms.

Assuming that there is a direct correlation of intelligence with physical appearance would not be accurate to realize the truth of how things really are.

The non-material nature of mind does not have to be closely linked to the material nature of the body.


Can Intelligence Evolve in Nature?

There is still the unanswered question of whether Intelligence can evolve over time in nature. No one can really know because the genetics of humans on Earth might have been altered by alien beings so there is no clear way to test for a correlation between Intelligence and environmental factors.

5000 Homeless People in Denmark? — Another Video Reveals More About Denmark's 'Happiest' Status

There are 5000 homeless people in Denmark? Their welfare system and high tax rates are obviously not very effective in bringing the gap between the poor and the rich.

Denmark Can Be Funny too — Denmark's Version of 'Peter Chao'

The video is part of a satire show made in Denmark called "Det Slører Stadig"(It Blurs Still) that is about the funny portrayal of non-locals. It had me fooled, at first I thought there was a real reporter from Dubai. That's the power of good acting.

http://translate.google.com.sg/translate?hl=en&sl=da&u=http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Det_sl%25C3%25B8rer_stadig&prev=/search%3Fq%3DDet%2Bsl%25C3%25B8rer%2Bstadig%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DiwH%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Drcs

Other clips of the satire show can be found here —
http://www.youtube.com/user/detslorerstadig/videos

Funny Stuff — What Girls Want For Valentine's Day — By Peter Chao

OMG, this latest video by Peter Chao is so funny. Canada does look to me to be happier and less uptight than Denmark.

Danish Debunking of Oprah's Views on Denmark

Someone just posted a debunk video on YouTube a few days ago about Oprah and Denmark. It contains lots of video footage from Denmark TV.

Debunking Oprah's claims about Denmark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmhX-dT78XY

Getting The Full Dirt on Denmark, The 'Happiest Nation' in the World

Denmark was mentioned to be the "Happiest Nation" in an international survey while also having the highest taxes in the world. As I examined the Danish culture closely, I managed to understand the true nature of their kind of "Happiness".

World's happiest nations are... (Top 10)
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/09/business/earth-institute-world-happiness-rankings/

The Happiest (and Saddest) Countries
http://www.livescience.com/39489-the-happiest-countries.html


Very Flawed and Subjective Global Happiness Survey

The international survey to gauge people's level of "happiness" was actually very flawed, because firstly, the interpretation of the Happiness emotion is very subjective and people from the different countries interviewed might not be referring to the same emotional state when the survey was conducted. My definition of Happiness is based on freedom/liberation. Secondly, it is not the same group of people who are measuring Happiness across different countries therefore there is no real comparison and measurement of the same thing. Therefore, the global Happiness survey is pretty much asking people of different nationalities what they feel of something that is only found in their own country.


Oprah in Denmark

From a TV segment where Oprah visited Denmark, the Danes mentioned their source of Happiness as coming from many areas. They value group gatherings, contentment, a sense of financial and social security as the main factors of their Happiness. Oprah interviews one of the Danish women and asks whether Denmark practices socialism and she said no.

Oprah Visits Denmark Part 1
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTM5OTcwOTMy.html

Oprah Visits Denmark Part 2
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTM5OTczMTI0.html

Women Around the World
http://www.oprah.com/world/Inside-the-Lives-of-Women-Around-the-World/1


60 Mins on Denmark

The young Danish students interviewed in a 60 Mins interview might seem very confident and speaking too soon on not requiring much money to feel happy, but wait till they get older and enter the workforce and start a family would they fully realize the importance of money as crucial for basic happiness.

And The Happiest Place On Earth Is...
Morley Safer On Why The Danes Are Considered The Happiest People On Earth
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/and-the-happiest-place-on-earth-is/


High Pollution-Contributing Rate From Meat-Eating

Denmark is among one of the heaviest consumers of meat in the world ranked at 9th and 11th places in different reports. The meat industry is one of the heaviest production of pollution, green house gases and suffering to animals. Although cycling is one of the main modes of travel for the Danes, I don't think it can offset much of their contributed pollution that comes from animal farming. It seems that cold cut meats are very convenient and matches very well with their staple of dark rye bread, but such a convenience comes with a huge expense at the planet's ecosystem.

(Denmark ranked at 9th place)
Ranking of 171 Countries by Per Capita Meat Consumption (MC), 2005
http://vegetarian.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004716#III

15 Michelin stars for Danish restaurants
http://usa.um.dk/en/news/newsdisplaypage/?newsid=3303c4dc-8218-407b-82fd-169a22b865f3

Meat: Making Global Warming Worse
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1839995,00.html


The No.1 Ranking for Cancer Rate in the World

Grilled red meat shops are popular in Denmark and Denmark has the highest number of meat-cooking grills per capita. This high consumption of red meat correlates with Denmark having the top spot for the rate of cancer for all countries in the world, which seems too high of a direct correlation even if their free medical system allows more people to be detected from the life-threatening disease. The exercise the Danes get from cycling don't seem to be able to offset the effects of the toxins that come from eating cooked meat.

(Even a Danish Professor from the Department of Public Health at a Danish University has advised on the cutting down of red meat)
Barbecue season: cut down on the red meat.
http://skt.au.dk/en/current/article/artikel/grilltid-skaer-ned-paa-det-roede-koed/

Cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 1st in the world
Data for cancer frequency by country
http://www.wcrf.org/cancer_statistics/cancer_frequency.php

Denmark Leads the World in Highest Cancer Rates
http://tissuepathology.com/2014/02/07/denmark-leads-the-world-in-highest-cancer-rates/#axzz2t9ip1yZs

Why is Denmark the cancer capital of the world?
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8277418/Why-is-Denmark-the-cancer-capital-of-the-world.html

bladder cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 9th in the world
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/bladder-cancer/by-country/

breast cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 9th in the world
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/breast-cancer/by-country/

colon-rectum cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 6th in the world
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/colon-rectum-cancers/by-country/

lung cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 6th in the world
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/lung-cancers/by-country/

ovary cancer rate per 100,000 ranked 11th in the world
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/ovary-cancer/by-country/


Denmark Having One of the Highest Alcohol Death Rate at 4th Place

Alcohol death rate per 100,000 ranked 4th in the world
www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/alcohol/by-country/

Youth Drinking Culture in Denmark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDLo4V2iob4



Denmark Ranked 11th in the World for Suicide Rate(Data is for 2005)

World suicide rates by country(per 100,000)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/suiciderate.html

(January 15, 2014)
Rising number of suicides on train tracks
http://cphpost.dk/news/rising-number-of-suicides-on-train-tracks.8320.html

Happiest places have highest suicide rates says new research
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/happiness-and-suicide-rates

Putative Effect of Alcohol on Suicide Attempters: An Evaluative Study in a Tertiary Medical College
http://www.ijpm.info/article.asp?issn=0253-7176;year%3D2012;volume%3D34;issue%3D4;spage%3D371;epage%3D375;aulast%3DBhattacharjee


Denmark Ranked 4th in the World for Anti-Depressant Consumption

The OECD Warns on Antidepressant Overprescribing
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/side-effects/201311/the-oecd-warns-antidepressant-overprescribing

(January 7, 2014)
Antidepressant regulations tightened following suicide
http://cphpost.dk/news/antidepressant-regulations-tightened-following-suicide.8243.html
(A comment from a Danish reader)
"Calvin Bernhardt — Denmark is facing some serious problems with a large population of distraught young people. You can't put everyone on Prozac. People need a purpose in life."

It seems like drug medication for ADHD is also on the rise in Denmark--
(April 15, 2013)
Boom in number treated for ADHD
http://cphpost.dk/news/boom-in-number-treated-for-adhd.4970.html


Highest Household Debt in the World

Denmark has the highest household debt in the world, no doubt their high taxes and 25% goods and service tax being some of the main contributors. While their high tax rate has enabled Denmark to have the supposed smallest rich-poor gap in the world, I perceive the small gap to represent the bridge between those in financial debt and those who are not.

World-Beating Debt Burden Is No ‘Serious Threat’ to Denmark
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-06/world-s-highest-household-debt-burden-probed-by-danish-council


A Nation of Complainers

The Danes complain about many things including their high taxes. One Dane even has written a book just to thoroughly complain about his country having many people suffering from narcissism and collectivism. You will get to read about some of the most horrible and miserable Danes that he observed first-hand in Denmark.

Denmark the most awful nation on earth. Collectivism's biggest propaganda hoax.!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp55UI_TbbU


His Facebook Profile
https://www.facebook.com/TheWayOfFreedom?hc_location=stream

Facebook Page of His Book
https://www.facebook.com/ManipulismAndTheWeaponOfGuilt

His YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/TrueSocialismTV/videos


Does Denmark Practice Socialism?

I have heard some Danes commenting that Denmark is a socialist society but I am quite confused by all their different descriptions and how it doesn't fit in with the definitions mentioned elsewhere. I do not think that all Danes practice socialism, but the kind of welfare state management does make it a good foundation for socialism, collectivism and communism to occur, whether or not their government and some of its citizens officially declare to be supporters of such practices. Denmark does have a Socialist People's Party in the Government.

Danish PM Blindsided as Ministers Quit in Goldman Spat
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-30/goldman-deal-on-danish-energy-splits-copenhagen-coalition.html

Welfare State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state


Denmark Described to Be Horrible

A Social Anthropologist on Denmark
http://www.partapuoli.com/Texts/A_horrible_place.htm


How a Welfare State Such as Denmark Can Fail For Some Citizens

To survive well in Denmark, one has to take good advantage of the free education and free medical care to later on earn a good salary. If one doesn't take advantage of the free education in Denmark to study up to the university level, one could end up with a comparatively low-paying job and end up in financial debt and social welfare as one starts a family, which could then lead to the consumption of anti-depressants, alcohol abuse and suicide.

Some Danes have claimed that Denmark has the smallest gap in social disparity. However, this small gap only seem to apply on the financial aspect. For other areas like mental health, physical health and Happiness, there seems to be a very large gap between 2 distinct groups of Danish people — a gap that seems to be the largest in the world.

Margaret Thatcher on Socialism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHGCz6xxiw


Since not everyone in society has high-enough intelligence to complete a university degree, there would always be people who would not be able to gain high education and end up with a much lower-paying job compared to the rest of the population. Therefore, the welfare method practiced by Denmark is not a foolproof solution to reduce social disparity in the areas of income, mental health and happiness.

Race and IQ - The IQ data is out - in Danish television - YouTube.flv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Fdl9Kmhgs



Money is Not All That Matters

High taxes in Denmark seems to create a widening in the people who feel happy/contented and those who feel miserable. Perhaps, it is true that financial security from having money does not necessarily lead to happiness(or emotional well-being) but mainly support a sense of financial security and contentment.

If Denmark doesn't get its act together, it could decline very soon due to rising rates of cancer, alcohol deaths and debt. Denmark has a very similar population size compared to Singapore, yet Singapore doesn't have the kind of health and debt problems that the Danes face. Perhaps the tropical weather in Singapore made most of the difference.


What Kind of Happiness in Denmark?

Positive Psychology groups Happiness into 4 major types: Hedonic(pleasure), Chaironic(spiritual), Eudamonic(purpose, greater good) and Prudential(flow in life)Happiness. It seems that the Happiness found in Denmark comes mainly from the Hedonic type that comes from feeling safe, and eating and drinking in the company of others, something the Danish refer to as "hygge". I don't think their cold gloomy weather would contribute much to prudential happiness but can serve to restrict it.

But Denmark does have some amount of good artistic expression seen in their modern architecture and music. Even though Danish society can serve to induce depression, cancer and suicide like all other nations in the world, I think there can still be some exceptional Danes that could thrive even in Danish society by overcoming the restriction and feel truly Happy by achieving liberation and freedom.

The Art of Danish Hygge
http://www.visitdenmark.com/en-us/denmark/culture/art-danish-hygge

Happiness can be created responsibly as well as through apathy and indifference. I think if the Danes start to become more responsible to their health and seriously restrict the consumption of grilled red meat and alcohol, their rates for cancer, anti-depressant usage, suicide and alcohol death would greatly decrease.

Every country in the world has its own good and bad aspects. Denmark's ranking to be the happiest nation in the world might seem to be an exaggeration and over-generalization.


Update: Someone just posted a debunk video on YouTube a few days ago about Oprah and Denmark. It contains lots of video footage from Denmark TV.

Debunking Oprah's claims about Denmark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmhX-dT78XY

The first introductory post for this blog

I recently wrote about the social and political climate in Denmark while debunking its status of being the "happiest nation" in the world from a global ranking that I also explained to be heavily flawed. What I wrote was endorsed by a Danish book-writer and that got me thinking about sharing what I write to more people.

I am currently 32 years old(but still look 22 due to great health) and living in tropical Singapore. I first got into serious writing in the local newspapers about local politics in the early 2000s most notoriously dealing with Free Speech and government negligence of handicap accessibility in key public areas. I stopped writing and dealing with local politics after a few years and moved on to research about the meaning of life and Happiness that was spurred by the huge increase in books with such topics in bookstores. I later self-published my findings to experience self-publishing that was becoming popular a few years ago.

While in 2007, I assisted a local international school's debate team to win the finals at a national debating tournament that was telecast on national TV.

The research in the meaning of life that ended in late 2007 eventually got me heavily interested in Spirituality in the following year. Since then, I have been researching about the greater spiritual reality and have accumulated lots of insights that most people are not aware of. I realized that what most people on this planet knows about spirituality is only at the surface level, there is a much greater spiritual reality that is beyond the public's knowledge. My level of consciousness has since then evolved into becoming more powerful to handle the bigger picture of reality.

Throughout the last 5 years, I have also researched and accumulated lots of information on other topics such as nutritional health, anti-aging methods, weight-loss methods, natural cures for various diseases, sports nutrition, nature of various emotions, positive psychology, sociology, sexuality, energy-saving methods, money-saving methods, Intelligence, flaws in IQ-testing, culture, vegan cooking, art, video-making, video-editing, music remixing. I have also recently debunked lots of flawed diets, faulty scientific studies, false social notions etc and I hope to publish them all in this blog.

My hobbies are: listening to music, making art, beauty appreciation, making fan music videos, spiritual exploration, spending time with nature, exploring new cultures and trying foods from other cultures, and investigations in the supernatural as well as UFOs and aliens.

I have had experiences during my dream-time state of encountering different species of aliens as well as being assisted by spiritual beings in my own life. Such experiences no doubt have enabled me the ability to relate to other people's encounters of such similar experiences and made me somehow of a believer in such beings.

I hope this new writing journey will bring me closer to my goals of experiencing more of the greater spiritual reality while getting more out of life, and I wish to share such a journey with the readers who would visit this blog.