Open mind

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Posts by Open mind

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  34

  Aortic Stenosis

  by Mall Cop in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  eight years ago before simon changed over to this site, i was known as blueblades.

  i mentioned back then 7/21/03 that i was diagnosed as having a narrow aortic valve.

  well, the time has come to update all my friends back then and now.

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  Open mind

  Nice to hear from you Blueblades. I really enjoyed your older posts under your former moniker.

  I wish you a successful surgery and recovery.

  om
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  10

  JW s in Cali

  by criticalwitness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is their a different set of laws for jw in california?

  it seems to be so much more lax as opposed to other parts of u.s?

  from beiang able to get tats the parties oh mean gatherings lol just seemed dif anyone else notice?.

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  Open mind

  Bethelites don't call it "Cali-Pornea" for nothing!

  om
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  52

  How many here smoke?

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't and am very unlikely to after seeing my father dying of a smoking related lung disease (even though i would like to try a high quality cigar).. but i am curious to see how many people take up smoking after leaving the org.. .

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  Open mind

  I tried a cigar in the $5-7 price range. Didn't like it very well.

  A year goes by. My wife joins me in my escape from the JWs, so I figured we'd try a more expensive one together.

  Dunhill, in the $20 price range. We enjoyed the first few puffs, but it gets stronger as the cigar gets shorter.

  That was a couple years ago. Maybe we'll try another one together at some special occasion.

  om
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  18

  Thinking, Fast and Slow

  by DNCall in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

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  Open mind

  Thanks for the recommendation, DNCall.

  Have you ever read any of Michael Shermer's work?

  He doesn't talk about System 1 & System 2 but he does talk about how our brains are wired for quick pattern recognition. Early humans who ran when they saw stripes in the bushes survived even though 99 times out of 100 there wasn't actually a tiger ready to pounce. Those whose brains weren't as good at pattern recognition got culled by fat & happy tigers.

  Here's a link to a brief essay he wrote in Scientific American a while back:

  http://www.michaelshermer.com/2008/12/patternicity/

  His most recent book is

  The Believing Brain
  From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths

  I've got a signed copy that says: "To Open Mind, Yours "in faith", Michael Shermer"

  I guess you can tell I'm a fan.

  om
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  25

  If Sparlock is wrong...

  by TD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...then what else should a jw parent forbid under the same rationale?

  jehovah hates magic).

  i started a mental list and it boggles the mind.

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  Open mind

  Roughly half of all Disney material.

  om
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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  Open mind

  "Chink" is absolutely NOT ok on the US West Coast in my experience. Asians, not just the Chinese, who get called this take it about the same as African Amercans do to the "N" word.

  om
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  14

  a grunt's bethel experience

  by jnrtigbfxd0 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this was pretty easy actually.

  so what if i sit down for a second?

  same in the air-conditioned room where we made the foreign language orders.

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  Open mind

  Thanks for taking the time to share this.

  What are you up to now?

  om
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  61

  Summer reading

  by mrsjones5 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok folks, it's that time of year.

  school's out, the kids are running around (well actually staring at the video screen), the days are longer and the night are cool.

  with the lazy hot days of summer ahead what's on your reading list?.

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  Open mind

  Just finished "This Book Will Save Your Life" by A.M. Homes. (How could an ex-JW resist a title like that?)

  Before that, "Kafka On the Shore" by Haruki Murakami.

  om
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  40

  Just some personal ramblings. Move on if you want to argue.

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, first of all: i like the earth, the polar bears, the whales, and any other part of the planet that someone wants to help.

  i appreciate any efforts that people exert.

  the planet is going through global warming and pumping exhaust from automobiles and factories and other sources does contribute to the global warming.

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  Open mind

  Here's to health and healing.

  Great post Jerry.

  Looking forward to the campfire in Tahoe.

  om
• 
  28

  Zydeco Bounce

  by snowbird in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i went to a party and the dj played this by t k soul.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv12lojxa6c.

  the dancing was fantastic - from little child to granny and gramps.. loved it!.

  sylvia.

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  Open mind

  Doin' a dance here on the West Coast.

  Fortunately no cameras are running.

  Thanks for brightening our Sunday Sylvia!

  om