Admins: please delete if this post is not allowed.
Hi - I tried to list these on FB market place but apparently they don't allow ticket sales.
I am selling two tickets to the Death Cab for Cutie show at the Grey Eagle Casino on June 12. I'm selling them as we are no long able to attend as we need to leave town for a family emergency. I'm selling them here at face value because f**k Ticketmaster gouging ticket buyers.
Price is fixed and payment is via eTransfer. Once payment is received, I will transfer you the tickets via the Transfer Ticket function to the same email account you sent the money from.
See: https://ticketmaster-ca.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9605262578321-How-do-I-transfer-tickets- for more details
Send me a DM if you're interested in purchasing them

Recommended.
Hitman: Codename 47 is the game that started a whole franchise and presented one of games' most recognizable characters: Agent 47. This game has great ideas impaired by technical limitations, both from the technology of the time and the budget, but counters it by having fun gameplay and a flawless story.
It is amazing how intelligent games were back then, detailing storylines and interesting characters displayed with an easy-to-follow presentation. At the beginning of every mission you go to a briefing where you learn about your target and the details surrounding the hit you are going to perform. This is presented all in text and all you have to do is read it. One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the video of the target filmed by an ICA agent - which gives us an idea of how organized the Agency is.
After the briefing you have the mission map and the equipment list of what you want to bring with you in order to complete your mission. So read the briefing, study the map and pay attention to your surroundings - patrolling paths, NPCs you can talk to, different entry points etc. The game almost always gives you several different courses of action, but it is much more linear than its sequels. There is always one strategy that was clearly the one intended by the developers and level designers; if you are having a very hard time in a mission, or if you take much longer than 10 minutes, chances are you're on the wrong track. Missions take around 5-10 minutes to complete, provided you know what you have to do. You might be able to complete missions in a different way, but it will usually be a much, much harder way.
Hitman: Codename 47 is a stealth game and, therefore, discourages shootouts - but they do happen as part of some missions. This one is a feature I like, even if the moving and shooting mechanics are clanky, as killing a few guards shows how heavily protected your targets are. You have to do that in the Ochoa mission and the Rotterdam missions; and I dread how this feature was abondened in later games. Agent 47 was cloned through the DNA of his French Foreign Legion fathers not to be just an assassin, but to be the perfect soldier; so he knows how to handle himself in a firefight.
This game also has some great details, such as the greatest voice line ever uttered in a video game: "I need to use the BATHroom".
You have to chat with NPCs in order to gather intel, so pay attention. Some voice dialog are weird and somewhat funny, but Lei Ling's best voice is in this version. You will mostly hear “He’s packing!” and “This guys is loaded!” at first, but dialogue such as Ort-Meyer's provide needed context.
The most enduring feature of the Hitman series is the collective of creative kills and approaches, and many of those came from movies (as the game itself). The hit on the Chief of Police took the idea of planting the pistol in the bathroom from the God Father. Ochoa's character is taken from Al Pacino's Tony Montana (Scarface) but the mission looks really based in Sniper (1993) - the targets in both game and movie are called Ochoa - and the soldiers really look like a South American drug army.
One of the most creative missions is "Traditions of the Trade" (the best version), where you have to talk to NPCs and have many different ways of killing Fritz - plus an emblematic hit on Frantz.
Ochoa is the most wronged of the fathers in the series: Colombia has a more military feel, already opening with 47 looking like a jungle warrior king in the loading screen and then rappeling into the middle of the jungle by helicopter. Plus exotic natives, leaf physics and Ochoa's threats during the gunfight - that are hilarious. With all 5 fathers having served in Indochina, the jungle setting is a nice touch and should have been remade (albeit smaller and self-contained in one mission).
Cutscenes and loading screens are great: the cutscene of Tzun protecting Lee Hong from Agent 47 and the killing of Fritz Fuchs in the pool or the sauna.
Given this game was first conceived as a Chinese mobster action game, it is no surprise the Hong Kong missions are so memorable. The presentation screen of Lee Hong, the Lei Ling character arc, saving Agent Smith, and getting the jade figurine.
While people make some constructive complaints, some of them are not - like not having a command for dropping a body, even though all you need to do is hit the right mouse button, something I got right the first time I played (back in the day).
This game is not hard if you're well informed but it's punishing; its main flaw being the faulty AI, with an awereness problem and very thick skin. The guards' AI has only two modes - idle and combat - and sometimes they simply "know" 47 is bad news. Nowhere in this game is this more evident than in Ochoa's hit, with guards attacking you for no reason, and that's why so many people hate it.
Add to that the poor knife mechanic where you can easily slit someone's throat with it, but if he moves you go into a thrust mode. One or two strikes is something you can do before being shot, but needing 4-6 stabs to kill a target is simply too much.
Another complaint about the Colombian missions is the "bad design" of the enemy camp, where you need to run all over the other side of the fence to enter the camp; but this is misplaced, as the design both serves to show you the size of the camp with its many guard patrols, showing how well-guarded the drug lord is, and also because you sneaked from behind said camp.
The main strengths of this game are the story and the atmosphere. The soundtrack made by Jesper Kyd is simply amazing and conveys a perfect immersion to the different settings - action, suspense, fear. My favorites are the Hong Kong and Colombian settings, with their exotic themes. Maps are quite big and populated. The henchmen in each mission are also expertly done and genuine: they range from Chinese Triad members to Colombian drug soldiers, biker gangsters and masked gunrunners. The NPCs are also diverse, with bartenders, hotel staff and sex workers. The presentation is near flawless with unique signature kills and different approaches to make the perfect hit, giving Agent 47 a solid entry into the assassination business.

• I wrote this review on Steam, if you like it give it a thumbs up there.
• A compact guide (by Anamon), the best guide out there.

Eigentlich bin ich 2 Monate auf Testogel. Ich hab bis auf schlechtere Haut und Hitzewallungen noch keine Veränderungen gehabt. Meine Blutwerte hab ich auf Arbeit immer wieder in den letzten Wochen kontrolliert und war jedes Mal bei um die 2μg/l Testo (männlicher Referenzbereich ist ca 3-8). Und das war nur ein paar Stunden nach Auftragen. Angefangen hatte ich mit 2 Hüben, nachdem die Werte nicht besser geworden sind hab ich auf 3 Hübe erhöht.
Mein Endo hatte mir gesagt, dass ich das Gel 15 Minuten nach Auftragen mit Wasser abwaschen soll, was ich seit 2 Monaten auch mache. Jetzt hab ich durch nachfragen in anderen Subreddits rausgefunden, dass Testogel STUNDEN braucht um absorbiert zu werden und dass man das gar nicht abwaschen soll! Im Prinzip hab ich also 2 Monate komplett verschwendet. Mal ganz davon abgesehen, dass das Gel auch verschwendet wurde.
Ich weiß grad nicht auf wen ich mehr wütend sein soll: den Arzt, dass er mir sowas erzählt hat obwohl er eigentlich vom Fach ist, oder mich selber weil ich das geglaubt und nicht hinterfragt hab.

Written by Russell Kirkland
This discussion of "Taoism" in classical China will begin with the observation that there was actually no such thing, at least not in the sense that is commmonly accepted among non-specialists. Both in Asia and in the West, many scholars, and their students, have ignored the many advances in Taoist studies since the 1970s, and have continued to cling to outdated stereotypes of what Taoism was/is. In particular, they often cling to simplistic notions about "philosophical Taoism" that now seem unable to withstand critical analysis, in light of recent advances in textual and historical research. The concept of "philosophical Taoism" is, to a large extent, a modern fiction, which has been developed and embraced by people around the world for specific and identifiable social, intellectual, and historical reasons.
Current research reveals that the so-called "Taoist school" of classical times was actually "a retrospective creation": it began as the reification of a Han-dynasty bibliographic classification, and it took its present form in post-Han times, i.e., in the third century CE.
The importance of these facts is that we need to press non-specialists to re-evaluate their commonly accepted ideas of what "Taoism" is. For most of this century, there has been nearly universal agreement among philosophers, historians, and the general public — in Asia and in the West — that "Taoism" could simply be equated with a set of ideas that are embodied (or are perceived to be embodied) in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu. Current research has begun to demonstrate that that common understanding is far too simplistic.
To begin with, it is now clear to most specialists that those two texts were not, in fact, the expositions of two great philosophers, but rather the product of a prolonged period of accretion. That is, each contains ideas from a variety of minds generations or even centuries apart, not to mention different geographical regions. The Chuang-tzu probably originated in scattered jottings of a man named Chuang Chou ca. 320 BCE, and was developed into its present form over the following 500 years. The earlier layers of the Chuang-tzu were apparently composed by someone who had never seen the Tao te ching. For its part, the Tao te ching dates only to around the beginning of the third century BCE, i.e., to several decades after the Chuang-tzu began to be compiled. But once again, there is no evidence that the Tao te ching's compilers were aware either of the ideas of the fourth-century writer Chuang Chou or of the text that eventually came to bear his name. Though the provenance of the Tao te ching is still the subject of debate, one current line of research suggests that it may have emerged from the re-working of oral traditions of a community in the southern state of Ch'u. So far, research has been unable to shed virtually any light upon the identity of its compiler or redactor. And I certainly do not expect to establish that identity here. But what is, in fact, possible is to examine possible evidence of that redactor's familiarity with another ancient text, a text of which few today — even among scholars of Chinese thought or religion — have ever heard. That text is a brief work, about one-half the length of the Tao te ching, entitled the Nei yeh (or "Inner Cultivation").
There is little doubt that the Nei yeh is several generations older than the Tao te ching. It seems to date to some time in the second half of the fourth century BCE. That is, it may have been compiled by a contemporary of Chuang Chou, though again there is virtually no data as to the compiler's identity. The Nei yeh fell out of general circulation when it became incorporated into a larger collection, the Kuan-tzu, sometime before the middle of the second century BCE. After that, it was seldom noted by Chinese scholars or philosophers until the 20th century, and even today its thought and significance have barely begun to be explored.
For instance, though it has never, to my knowledge, hitherto been noticed, the influence of the Nei yeh on Chinese thought was profound and extensive. For example, it is here that one first encounters comprehensible references to the personal cultivation of such forces as ch'i ("life-energy"), ching ("vital essence"), and shen ("spiritual consciousness"). The cultivation of such forces became a central theme in certain versions of modern Taoism, as well as in Chinese medicine. But there is also evidence that the Nei yeh may have profoundly influenced the Tao te ching. In this essay, I attempt to identify basic thematic differences between the Nei yeh, the Chuang-tzu, and the Tao te ching, and to suggest certain interpretive strategies for understanding the relationship among them.
The primary difference between the Nei Yeh and the Tao te ching is signalled by the title of the former. Nei means "internal," and in ancient times yeh meant in one sense "cultivation/production" and in another sense "what one studies." Thus the work's title refers directly to "Inner Cultivation" or "Inner Development." Its contents provide the reader with instruction and advice for applying oneself to a task involving what is inside oneself. That is, it teaches the reader how and why to practice certain specific forms of biospiritual cultivation. In fact, unlike the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh is concerned with virtually nothing else besides biospiritual cultivation.
The Teachings of the Nei Yeh
The teachings of the Nei Yeh are quite distinct from the ideas that most non-specialists associate with "philosophical Taoism." Its teachings will sound more familiar to people acquainted with the traditions of modern Taoism that focus on the cultivation of ch'i. The Nei Yeh indeed begins with the assumption of a powerful salubrious reality called ch'i, "life-energy." In the Nei Yeh, ch'i is present both within all things and all around them. Within each being, ch'i is centered in the "essence," ching — which Roth describes as "the source of the vital energy in human beings [and] the basis of our health, vitality, and psychological well-being." But the central focus of the Nei Yeh's teachings have to do more with how the individual manages his/her hsin, the "heart/mind." The "heart/mind" is the ruling agency in the individual's biospiritual nexus, i.e., in the entire personal complex of body/mind/heart/spirit). The Nei Yeh's principal teaching is that one should make sure that one's "heart/mind" is balanced and tranquil, without excessive cogitation or emotion. If one can maintain a tranquil "heart/mind," then one will become a receptor of life's salubrious energies, and will be able to retain them; without tranquility, those healthful energies will leave, and one's health, and very life, will become threatened.
In the Nei Yeh, the specific nature and identity of life's desirable energies are still some-what vague. One key term that it uses is shen, "spirit" or "spiritual consciousness." "Spirit" involves perception and comprehension: it is the basis for all higher forms of awareness. According to the Nei Yeh, the practitioner must align his/her biospiritual nexus with the unseen forces of the world in order to attract "spirit" and receive it into one's quietened "heart/mind." One's ability to succeed in this endeavor is called te. Te has often been dubbed a key concept in "philosophical Taoism," but the meaning of the term in the Nei Yeh hardly resembles any of the common descriptions of the term as it is used in the more familiar Taoist texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term te does retain the generic meaning of "the inner moral power of an individual," and even the archaic (Shang-dynasty) concept of te as "a proper disposition toward the unseen forces." But here, te is clearly not a force that is intrinsic to our natures, as many modern descriptions of Te in "philosophical Taoism" would have us believe. Rather, te, like "spirit," is something that we acquire when all elements of the body/heart/mind are completely peaceful and properly aligned. Here we can discern the full meaning of the traditional Chinese explanation that the word te meaning "inner power" may be understood in terms of the homophone te which is the common verb in both classical and modern Chinese for getting or acquiring. In the Nei Yeh, te may be termed "the acquisitional agency," for it is not just what we attract and receive, but that whereby we attract and receive the higher forces of life (e.g., ch'i and shen). What is more, in the Nei Yeh one is told that one's te is something that one must work on each and every day. (Once again, such teachings vary widely from the concept of what Te means in common notions of "philosophical Taoism.") The practitioner builds up his/her te by practicing daily self-control over his/her thought, emotion, and action. One who succeeds at these practices can become a sheng-jen, a "sage." The "sage" is described as being "full of spirit" and "complete in heart/mind and in body."
One might well ask what role the concept of tao plays in the Nei Yeh. The way the term is used in the Nei Yeh does not always coincide with the way it is used in the more familiar texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term tao is actually quite vague: it is sometimes used rather indiscriminately to refer to the salubrious forces of life that the practitioner is working to cultivate. For instance, one passage reads as follows:
The Way is what infuses the structures [of the mind] yet men are unable to secure it. It goes forth but does not return, it comes back but does not stay. Silent! none can hear its sound. Sudden! so it rests in the mind. Obscure! one cannot see its form. Surging! it arises along with me. We cannot see its form, we cannot hear its sound, yet we can put a sequence to its development. Call it "Way."
One also encounters a line that is virtually identical to passages in the Tao te ching: "What gives life to all things and brings them to perfection is called the Way." But otherwise, the term tao is seldom identified in the terms that are familiar to readers the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu. In the Nei Yeh, the term is generally used as an equivalent of its technical terms for the spiritual realities that the practitioner is being instructed to attract and retain by means of tranquillizing the heart/mind.
Thematic Contrasts between the Nei Yeh and the Familiar "Taoist Classics"
Clearly, the Nei Yeh has a specific and identifiable focus, articulated in terms comprehensible to the careful reader. But it is also clear that if we are intellectually honest, the teachings of this text are quite distinguishable from those of the more familiar texts of classical Taoism. For instance, while terms like te and tao appear frequently in all the texts, they are used in different senses in different texts, as well as in different passages of the same text. Neither term is thus a "basic concept" of some general philosophical system: each term carried a variety of meanings among the people who developed "Taoist" ideas across ancient China. We should thus beware the common tendency of assuming that certain teachings of the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu were in any sense representative of a coherent ancient Chinese school of thought, much less normative for identifying "Taoist" beliefs and values in general.
Secondly, it should be noticed that the portrait of the Taoist life in the Nei Yeh is in some ways quite dissimilar to that which we generally encounter in the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu. For instance, the key to life in the Nei Yeh is one's diligent effort to attract and retain spiritual forces named ch'i, ching and shen. While each of those terms does occur here and there in both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, seldom in those texts do we find the specific teachings that are so basic to the Nei Yeh.16 In particular, it is hard to think of passages from either of the more familiar texts that suggest that the thing called tao is a force that can come into or go out of a person, or that one it is necessary to engage in specific practices to get the tao to come or to keep it from going away.17 In the more familiar texts, the term tao generally seems to suggest a universal reality from which one can never really be ontologically separated.
In addition, the practices commended in the Nei Yeh are much more clearly physiological in nature than we are accustomed of thinking of Taoist practice as being. Indeed, one of the reasons that some of the teachings of the Tao te ching have become domesticated in Western culture is that the public believes those teachings to involve no regular, definable practices that involve one's physical existence. According to such beliefs, the Taoist life is essentially stative: it never involves specific practices that carry historical or cultural baggage, and certainly never involves any work.
It should also be noted that the Nei Yeh never presents the spiritual life in terms of "practicing wu-wei." Here, the Taoist life is not a stative life of "just being," or of "being spontaneous," but rather a very active life of specific practices, practices that must be carefully learned and properly performed if one is ever to come into possession of such elusive forces as tao. In this framework, the Taoist life involves personal responsibility, dedication to a life of constant self-discipline, and conscientious daily practice. Moreover, this practice involves the purification and proper ordering of one's body as well as one's "heart/mind." It would be excessive to say that the Nei Yeh teaches a "Taoist yoga," but it clearly does assume that the spiritual life involves practices that also have physical components, even extending to moderation in eating. I thus refer to such activities more broadly as "biospiritual practices."
Neither the Tao te ching nor the Chuang-tzu are so clearly focussed upon biospiritual practices. While they do contain passages that allude to such practices, their writers (or at least the editors) have many other teachings to convey, teachings that are generally absent from the Nei Yeh. For instance, as Rickett observed long ago, the concepts of yin and yang are nowhere seen in the Nei Yeh. Modern beliefs egregiously exaggerate the centrality of those concepts in the Taoist tradition. In reality, the concepts of yin and yang were never specifically Taoist. The terms do appear in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, though in quite minor roles. But the world of the Nei Yeh is a world quite devoid of yin and yang.
Other differences between the Nei Yeh and the more familiar texts seem not to have been remarked upon by other readers. For instance, there are few teachings in the Nei Yeh involving issues of government. Though modern conceptions commonly associate Taoism with the life of the individual rather than with social or political concerns, such was never really the case. Social and political concerns always played an important role in Taoism, from classical times into the later imperial period. The Tao te ching, for its part, contains dozens of passages discussing the problems involved with ruling a state. Indeed, some respected scholars have long characterized the Tao te ching as "a handbook for rulers." Such a characterization is actually something of an exaggeration, but the point here is that the Nei Yeh displays little interest in issues of government.
In addition, the Nei Yeh differs from both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu in that it never critiques or ridicules the beliefs or practices of Confucians. Once again, there is a common misconception that "Taoism" arose as a reaction against Confucianism, and that Taoists always clearly differentiated their teachings from those of the Confucians. However, there is nothing in the Nei Yeh that criticizes Confucian teachings. In fact, there are clear and unmistakable continuities between the teachings of the Nei Yeh and certain elements of the teachings of the 4th-century Confucian known as Mencius. What is missing from the Nei Yeh is the Confucian emphasis upon saving society by reviving within one's personal life the principles of proper moral/social behavior known as li. The reader of the Nei Yeh is taught how to align him/herself with the forces at work in the world, because doing so is necessary for one's personal well-being. There is little trace of a belief that one is responsible for changing society. On the other hand, those who held such beliefs are neither faulted nor mocked. So while sections of both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu were composed by opponents of Confucianism, such sentiments are not found in the Nei Yeh.
Another theme conspicuously absent is the idea that the ideal society is a small-scale community without civilized technology or complex socio-political institutions. That idea is most familiar to the modern audience from the 80th chapter of the Tao te ching, though there are other examples in the Chuang-tzu. Several scholars have recently begun referring to such ideals as a distinct "phase" or "voice" of early Taoism, to which they refer as "Primitivist." But as some of those scholars have already noted, the Nei Yeh is completely devoid of such ideals. Thus, the Rousseau-esque idea that Taoism consists of a rejection of civilization in favor of simpler ways of living is inaccurate. It would seem that a person could follow the teachings of the Nei Yeh within nearly any social context, and that it never occurred to the text's compilers that any one type of social setting might be preferable to any other. The Nei Yeh does not, therefore, provide the antidote to the Industrial Revolution that Westerns have sometimes claimed to find in "philosophical Taoism."
So if we have here a form of Taoism that is fundamentally disinterested in social issues, would it be correct to say that it is basically more concerned with our place in the universe? Well, in a certain sense, yes, but it is important to note that the Nei Yeh is also unconcerned with many of the cosmological issues with which modern readers are often so fascinated. For example, there is no real discussion of cosmogony in the Nei Yeh. Other Taoist texts sometimes discuss the origin of the world, in terms that sometimes seem to combine poetry with philosophy. But the Nei Yeh contains no such passages. It alludes to no "Non-Being" from which "Being" comes, and it posits no eternal reality ontologically prior to, or separate from, the present world — no "noumenon" to contrast with the "phenomena" of life as we know it. The closest thing to a cosmogonic passage in the Nei Yeh would seem to be its opening lines:
[The vital essence (ching) of all things — This is what makes life come into being: Below, it generates the five grains, Above, it brings about the constellated stars. When it flows in the interstices of Heaven and Earth, It is called "spiritual beings"; When it is stored up inside [a person's] chest, He is called "a sage."]
But here we are clearly dealing with a life-force that operates within the world, a force of generation that is spiritual in nature, and can be localized either within independent spiritual beings or within a person who successfully collects and stores it. But there is no suggestion here of any noumenal reality that has an ontological existence separate from the reality of which we are all a part. "Being" does not come from "Non-Being," and the composers show no interest in constructing any cosmological theories. These facts are brought home most clearly when we encounter the term tao in the text, for as noted earlier, in the Nei Yeh the term tao clearly refers to a transient reality that a person needs to attract and to retain. It is not some universal transcendent that one attains by developing some "mystical gnosis" qualitatively distinct from normal experience.
Nor is there any discussion in the Nei Yeh of the theme of "change." There is little trace, for instance, of the notion that there is un unchanging cosmic force beyond the world of change. Nor is there a poetic image of a sagely person who blissfully flows or drifts along with life's ongoing processes. The latter idea may be present in passages of the Chuang-tzu, but there is nothing like it in the Nei Yeh, any more than there is in the Tao te ching. In the Nei Yeh, one neither transcends change nor adapts to it: there is, in fact, no mention of life as a process of change or flux. Rather, the Nei Yeh teaches that there is a salubrious natural force, or set of forces, that are elusive: they are not ephemeral — they are enduring — but they do not stay in one place unless a person has transformed him/herself into an efficient receiver and receptacle for those forces. A good analogy for them might be radio waves, which are constantly flowing around and through us, but can only be held and put to use by a device that is properly tuned. To extend this metaphor a bit more, the Nei Yeh seems to suggest that we are radios that were all properly designed, and were originally fully functional; but now we experience interference in the form of excessive activity in the heart/mind, and we need to re-tune ourselves to eliminate that interference and begin functioning properly again. For these reasons, it would be correct to say that the Nei Yeh requires self-corrective activity, just as the other Taoist texts do, but that the Nei Yeh's model for understanding and practicing self-correction is fairly unique.
The Nei Yeh also gives the lie to yet other misconceptions of Taoism, including some held by thoughtful philosophers. One such misconception is that Taoist teachings are deeply iconoclastic, antinomian, even revolutionary. According to this view, the basic thrust of Taoism is to jolt the individual into a realization that he/she should reject traditional beliefs and values, condemning them as the artificial constructs of an oppressive society. This interpretation of classical Taoism is not just the conceit of 1960s Hippies who saw it as a condemnation of "establishment culture." Generations of Westerners — Americans in particular, perhaps — have read the Tao te ching, and parts of the Chuang-tzu, as a post-Enlightenment gospel of individual freedom, freedom from the uncomfortable aspects of "Society" in general, and of Western culture in particular.
One version of this modern concept of Taoism can be seen in certain recent analyses by the respected philosopher Chad Hansen. Hansen seems to perpetuate the notion that Taoism is essentially an attempt to undermine acceptance of "convention." He argues that the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu both begin from a "linguistic skepticism (which) arises against a background assumption that language is a social mechanism for regulating people's behavior." Speaking of the composer of the Tao te ching, Hansen says, "His political and practical advice is almost invariably the reversal of conventional political and moral attitudes. He reverses conventional values, preferences, or desires..." Why? "All learning of distinctions comes with dispositions to prefer one or the other... (But) trained discriminations are not a constantly reliable guide to behavior. Culturally motivated preferences based on those distinctions are, on the whole, unreliable. And they control us in insidious, unnatural ways." While Hansen may be partly or wholly correct in his assessment of the role of culture in forming individuals' dispositions, it is dubious whether that assessment was present in the minds of the Taoists of classical China, particularly in the mind in the compiler of the Tao te ching. Most of Hansen's "Daoist theory of knowledge" is woven from certain themes in Chuang-tzu, where such issues do indeed seem to be addressed. But such intricate treatment of "knowledge," "language," "convention," etc., are not found in the Tao te ching, which addresses concerns that are quite distinguishable from those of the compiler(s) of the Chuang-tzu, especially a variety of moral and political concerns. And in the Nei Yeh, there is no trace of any critique of the relationship between culture and knowledge or desire. The Nei Yeh does not critique "conventional society" and urge us to reject it, nor does it critique language, nor does it urge us to beware socially-inculcated valuations.
There are yet other distinctive features to the teachings of the Nei Yeh. For instance, unlike the Tao te ching, it has nothing to say about issues of gender. There are several passages in the Tao te ching that commend a "feminine" attitude or behavior, such as humility or yielding. Such passages appear to imply that what is wrong with our normal attitudes and behavior is that they are excessively "masculine." Such ideas, however, are seldom seen in texts like the Chuang-tzu, and they are likewise absent from the Nei Yeh. The compilers of the Nei Yeh do teach that there are attitudes and behaviors that we should forego, but there is no gender imagery associated with them.
In this connection, one might ask whether the three texts share the same intended audience. Were any or all of them intended specifically for men? Well, one may infer that when the reader is given advice presumed useful for achieving political goals, the reader was presumed to be male, since, in ancient China, political participation by women was not an option (except for a spouse or immediate family member of a man who held a position of authority). As mentioned earlier, the Nei Yeh is comparable to most sections of the Chuang-tzu in that the reader is seldom assumed to be someone attempting to engage in political rule. It is also true that in ancient China women seldom achieved literacy, so one could argue that any written text was intended only for men. But such reasoning ignores other possibilities, such as that of a family or group that included both men and women, all interested in learning how to live from a text that few of them could actually read themselves. One should also note that the Nei Yeh (like much of the Tao te ching) is composed largely in verse, and that some scholars believe that certain sections "may have been borrowed from some early Taoist hymn."28 We must bear in mind that though ancient China did produce some written texts, it was still largely an oral society, in which most people of either gender acquired and dispensed information and advice primarily, if not exclusively, by word of mouth. The Nei Yeh is almost certainly a text containing teachings that originated in an oral tradition. And there is little in the content of those teachings that would seem to be either more or less practiceable by members of either gender.
Another distinctive feature of the Nei Yeh is that it seems to lack the idea of "Heaven" (T'ien) as a benign guiding force in life. Both the Confucians and the Mohists shared some version of that idea, reflecting more generally held beliefs that dated back to at least the end of the second millennium BCE. Today such ideas are not generally associated with Taoism, for Taoists, by modern definition, believe in an impersonal reality called "Tao" that transcends all other realities, including "Heaven." Such is not entirely the case, of course. Several chapters of the Tao te ching speak of "the Way of Heaven" (T'ien-tao or T'ien-chih-tao), a beneficent force that seems to have will as well as agency. But there is little trace of such ideas in the Nei Yeh.
Finally, we should address the issue of morality. Are the teachings of the Nei Yeh concerned solely with internal self-cultivation? Is there any evidence that the practitioner is ever to give any thought to anyone other than him- or herself? This is a key question, because virtually all modern interpreters, Chinese and Western alike, have accused Taoism of being inimical to the idea that a person should be concerned about others:
{Taoism pictures the person as a wanderer in the void, and perceives his happiness to lie in drifting with the stream, unanchored by the network of demands and responsibilities....[In Taoism, the] happiness one is concerned with is one's own, logically independent of the happiness of others....[The] follower of the Way is necessarily a loner....}
Elsewhere I have attempted to demonstrate that such accusations are wholly inaccurate, at least in regard to the Tao te ching. That text enjoins the reader to practice "goodness" (shan), which involves extending oneself toward others impartially so as to benefit them. In the Tao te ching, the Taoist life is one in which one achieves self-fulfillment as one is selflessly benefitting the lives of others.32 Do we find such ideals in the Nei Yeh? I can find little evidence of them. There are a few passages for which one might be able to make an argument that the reader is to think of providing benefits to others, but none that seems clearly to express such ideals. Certainly, as compared to the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh lacks any clear moral concern, and does in fact give the overall impression that "the happiness one is concerned with is one's own."
Conclusion
It is clear that the Nei Yeh is quite distinct in content from either the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu, despite the texts' many similarities. The Nei Yeh, we should recall, was earlier than the Tao te ching, and could even be interpreted as an example of "the earliest Taoist teachings." The Tao te ching shows clear evidence that its compilers were deeply concerned with the social and political issues that concerned members of other schools of thought, particularly the Mohists and Confucians. One could thus reasonably even characterize the teachings of the Nei Yeh as "original Taoism," and the teachings of the Tao te ching as "applied Taoism." Though the Tao te ching may have, in some sense, emerged from the same general tradition that produced the Nei Yeh, its compilers were interested in the issues of living in human society as much as, if not more than, they were interested in the practice of "inner cultivation." Further attention to the differences among the assumptions and concerns of all these texts should provide greater insight into the divergent communities that produced such materials, and of the divergent models of the Taoist life that they envision.

Tin minte ca a fost tinuta greva la STB pentru conditii mai bune in transport cum ar fi autobuze moderne, reparatii ale vehiculelor si sinelor de tramvai ( not so fun fact , a doua zi dupa ce au dat shutdown la greva am vazut un tramvai care fumega mai ceva ca un tren pe aburi, probabil astepta cuminte sa ia foc saracul vatman mai avea umpic si plangea) si totusi greva asta a primit un feedback foarte negativ aici fata de ce-a a profesorilor.
Care este diferenta dupa parerea voastra?

SCOOP! A new listing on NRCAN website appeared today!

Specifications	2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD (Import)
Range	497km
Motor	291kw
Recharge time	10h
City kWh/100 km	17.4
Highway kWh/100 km	18.2
Combined kWh/100 km	17.8

My bet: $64,900 selling price to get provincial incentive in Quebec
https://fcr-ccc.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/en#VehicleReport/28595

Travelstart is a leading online travel agency that offers a wide range of flights, hotels, and car rentals at competitive prices. They have a team of experts who are always on hand to help you find the best deals on flights, and they offer a variety of features to make booking your travel as easy as possible.

Some of the ways that Travelstart can help you find cheap flights:

• They compare prices from a wide range of airlines and travel agents to find the best deals.
• They offer a variety of filters to help you narrow down your search, such as price, departure and arrival times, and airline.
• They allow you to book flights in advance, which can help you get the best prices.
• They offer a variety of payment options, including credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal.
• They offer a 24/7 customer service team that can help you with any questions or problems you may have.

Book Cheap Flights
If you are looking for cheap flights, Travelstart is a great option. They offer a wide range of flights at competitive prices, and they have a team of experts who are always on hand to help you find the best deals.

Tips for finding cheap flights on Travelstart:

• Be flexible with your travel dates. If you can, try to fly on weekdays or during the off-season.
• Consider flying into a smaller airport. Sometimes, you can find cheaper flights if you are willing to fly into a smaller airport that is located further away from your destination.
• Book your flight in advance. The earlier you book your flight, the more likely you are to get a good deal.
• Sign up for Travelstart's email alerts. This will allow you to be notified of any special deals or promotions that are available.
• Use Travelstart's price comparison tool. This tool will allow you to compare prices from a variety of airlines and travel agents to find the best deal.

Book Cheap Flights

Posted this over in the Austin subreddit, but was recommend to ask here.
By any chance, would anyone here have any insights on hotels downtown that offer free parking for motorcycles?
I’ll most likely be riding up later next month for a wedding, and I know some properties don’t charge for motorcycles. Preferably, something that is a Marriott or Hilton property near the convention center, but so far the only luck I’ve had is the Tommie in terms of offering free parking in their garage.
Thanks in advance.

We are coming to Bangkok for 4 nights this summer and wanting to stay in the Sukhumvit area. What are the best hotel recommendations?
Budget: ~$150 USD a night
Hoping to stay somewhere near nightlife and BTS/MRT stations so that we can explore the rest of the city. We've looked into Banyan Tree, Grand Centre Point, and a couple Hiltons. Any other suggestions?
Edit: Is it worth staying near Terminal 21?

https://twitter.com/ChiefPeggTFS/status/1664091309307580416?s=20
https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/public-safety-alerts/safety-tips-prevention/home-high-rise-school-workplace-safety/smoking-safety/
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/974d-tossed-butts-start-fires-poster-350x541.jpg
"Lit cigarette butts can smoulder for hours before starting a fire.
Tossing your butt off the balcony may feel like the easiest way to get rid of your cigarette, but it can also be the easiest way to start a fire.
When you flick a lit butt off a balcony, you probably assume it will land on the street below. Not always. The wind can blow your cigarette butt onto another balcony where it can land in a dry flower pot, on combustible material or in between outdoor couch cushions. And before you know it, your building could be on fire.
Stop fires before they start. Make sure you put your cigarette butt right out when you’re done smoking. And don’t toss your butt off your balcony."

Anyone else just have a corner of monster because they couldn't fit all their cans in one place?

When I had just turned 19, I had been drinking with a friend. I was a lightweight and I had consumed several shots. We were walking to a club when a guy approached us with his name buddy. He was giving me compliments right away, calling me beautiful, etc.
We went back to his hotel with him stupidly, hoping to party some more. the guys friend took my friend down to the lobby while this guy and I were alone. I remember the room being blurry, the lobby was spinning. He started making out with me and then this happened:

1. Ordered me to take my clothes off
2. Covered my mouth with his body
3. Told me to perform a bunch of sexual acts on him without asking explicit consent
4. Told me to relax and when I didn’t, he kicked my legs apart and penetrated me.
5. Told me to say things to him about how I wanted it
6. Picked me up and pushed me against a wall
7. Took photographs of me while I was in bed
8. At one point I started bleeding bc I was a virgin and I told him I was bleeding but he kept going
9. When his friend got back, he told me to flash his friend
10. My friend and I tried to leave and he angrily said no I’ll take you back in the morning
11. When my friend and I got into bed with him to sleep for the night, he reached over and fingered her while touching my ass
12. I literally had to run away with her in the night

I don’t know if this was rape or not

This is a monthly post intended to discuss all things COVID-19 travel-related such as testing, ArriveCAN, quarantine, border restrictions, proof of vaccination, and more. Starting today, we will be redirecting all questions about travel here.
------
Before posting you can also check the following resources to obtain the latest official information:
ArriveCAN: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan.html
Border Information: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/menu-eng.html
Quarantine Act: https://orders-in-council.canada.ca/attachment.php?attach=41037&lang=en
Testing: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada
Travel Restrictions: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada
___
Still can’t find a response to your question and don't want to wait for someone to respond? Please check all the previous Travel flaired posts.