For a new beginning - mission statement

Dear all,

this is Alan again... I have neglected the blog for few years, but now I am back.

I have decided that I will post regularly. The topics that I will cover will be economics and human behavior, history, current affairs, paleo diet, working out, Dvorak layout. Unfortunately, tangential references to some people's religion, such as the cult of Mythras, will have to be made from time to time... they insist.

I will be brief. Just like you, hopefully, I have a life and I enjoy it. I will not bother you with what I ate this morning, the weather in New York, or the composition of my breakfast. If any personal details are revealed it is because I think that they are related to the point I want to make and would add color to my point.

I tell the truth and will not lie. Ever. I might not tell you some parts of truth that I find, since it might shock you (economist are known for spoiling other people's mood at parties, so I won't do that), but in any topic I attack, my full perspective will be

In fact, for at least 20 years I wanted to write a book (and I will) about life. One book. It would be a good thing to have for the next generations. It seems to me that the truth is out there, but it's hard to find. I have found big chunks of truth in many books and I wanted to squeeze all this wisdom into one book to make it available to humanity (not for free of course... stay tuned). This blog is free of course, but I use it for my own selfish reasons, namely to practice writing for my book and crystallize some of my thoughts. As the romans said: "verba volant, scripta manent" (from Caius Titus - words fly, but writing stays).

I like history and I read a lot. I have a long commute to work, which I use to read the pearls of wisdom that I accumulated in my library. I hope that you will accompany me in this journey.

Explanation for references to Mythrans

My intention is to avoid religious discussions on my blog, as much as possible, since, in general no good can come out of it, especially when discussing the monotheistic persuasions.

For this reason, discussions of dogma will be avoided as much as possible in this forum. However, in evaluating some people's behaviors and actions, the religious motivation can not be denied. Moreover, it can explain most of the behavior that seems so outlandish to the rest of us.

I personally find the lack of proof for the existence of the supernatural sufficient to reject this hypothesis. However is not my business to change other people's minds and stay out of other people's business as long as religion is their private business.

I try however to be objective and want to look at things as if I were from a far away planet with 24/7 access to earthly issues.

For this reason, I will call the religion that makes the headlines all across the world, the cult of Mythras (the real cult of Mythras is extinct since 5th century).

But which is the cult of Mythras? If you read the newspapers this morning, perhaps you noticed that one of the followers of Mythras has committed some atrocities against other people. Mythrans are those who are always get upset at non-Mythrans for the faintest transgression, while they themselves put no boundaries to their behavior.

Now you know who I am talking about.