Untimely meditations
One man's thoughts, observations and rants
Welcome to the personal blog of Joop Beris. I blog about a wide variety of topics, ranging from atheism to information security and lots in between. I welcome feedback on my articles but there are some guidelines. Feel free to share articles you like by using the sharing buttons but please give me credit if you want to share something. Also, check out my privacy policy and other legalese.
Please note that the things I write here do not represent the views of anyone else but me. I do not represent an organization or a business and I have nothing to sell. My views do not necessarily coincide with or represent those of my employer. Just throwing that in there for legal reasons.
Below you’ll find the most recent things I’ve written. Feel free to check them out, leave a comment and share them with others who might be interested.
Latest posts
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8 years
8 years ago today, December 15 of 2011, the world lost Christopher Hitchens. Although there are probably some people who didn’t mind to see him go, especially those in religious circles, I do miss him. Readers of my blog will know that I admire him, though not always agree with him. It saddens me that…
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The best teachers…
The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see, a quote by Alexandra K. Trenfor. Very true and very inspirational for all people who train, educate or raise.
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Vegetarian
The last couple of months, I have been considering a lifestyle change. Part of that includes more exercise but also healthier living in general. Part of that is a change in diet and even adopting a vegetarian lifestyle. There are several reasons why being a vegetarian is appealing to me but also several reasons why…
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Advice for life
In 1999 Baz Lurhman released a spoken word song with the title “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” The song is in the form of a fake commencement speech and is based on an essay by columnist Mary Schmich with the title “Advice, like youth, probably wasted on the young“. I’ve always liked this song for…
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Virus
In the iconic 1999 film “The Matrix” there is a scene where Agent Smith, while interrogating Morpheus, compares humanity to a virus. Consuming all resources in an area and then moving on to another area and then another again. There is definitely some truth to this analogy. I had a stark reminder of that last…
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Zwarte Piet
Each year the discussion rages again in the Netherlands: Zwarte Piet, innocuous expression of Dutch tradition or horribly racist? In this post, I give you my opinion on the matter. Insofar as it can be heard among the din of arguments pro and contra “Zwarte Piet”.
Recent comments
I have a question. I believe life is valuable because you have a soul and are a unique person, precious.…
I used to believe in god until my life went downhill. Your reasons are actually good.
Joop, Hope you are well. It is amazing to me the gullibility of people. How can educated people believe in…
Those analogies don’t hold up, I’m afraid. Like marriage or choosing to have children. Or moving to someplace new because…
“What can be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.”
Christopher Hitchens
Author and journalist
You seem to have multiple questions but let’s take them one at a time, shall we? I believe life is…