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I'm a Great Brit ("pom") living and working in Sydney, Australia. Nice isn't it? I took the second photo myself on a lovely walk to Greenwich.
Still fond of England's green and pleasant lands though (especially Yorkshire, origin of Thorps since the Vikings, and best place for a pint of Tetley's with pork scratchings in a cosy old pub):
It's enough to make you want to burst out into a rousing chorus of Jerusalem (William Blake's socialist poem):
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
— best sung at the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall or Hyde Park, just before Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance (Land of Hope & Glory) & Rule Britannia.
Or for a great alternative, listen to U2 sing about Jerusalem, "With a Shout".
I'm good at seeing patterns ("I have special powers"!) – maybe sometimes when they don't really exist – but most (not all) of my ideas & forecasts seem to hit the mark, although I often expect them to happen much sooner than eventuates (my Mum always said I was "a child of the future") — you could say I suffer from premature extrapolation! 😂
But I'm an engineering-scientist by education, so although there's no substitute for good judgement in strategy, I pride myself on trying to adopt opinions based on evidence and welcome any challenges to my ideas on this site, especially if supported by facts.
My full name means:
Carrier of Christ
(v. D&M if you follow the links, but don't take it all literally and see meaning in every twist & turn of life like I do!)
from the little (Viking) village (possibly descended from Xena, the Viking Warrior!),
but my family only ever uses my second name when I've done something outrageous — "Oh, David Christopher!"
And yes, sometimes I show all the subtle diplomacy of a Viking invader!
This makes me laugh:
However, despite the religious name (well aren't they all?) I've always been an atheist, but after much trauma in 2014 and the most incredible events through 2015-16, with a lot of crazy thinking about free-will vs fate that led me to a redefinition of God to align with plausible science (or 'The Force'), I would now say I'm a passionate agnostic. Although technically (according to Jewish custom, but not scientifically) I’m considered to be Jewish (via Mum's Mum from Latvia), and an Aspie Jew at that, just like Einstein – who I'm probably related to, along with several million others (which might explain why Jews have won 20-25% of all scientific Nobel prizes) – as well as another great Aspie Jew — Jesus! (according to this article 😉). Supposedly that superstar of the first century (if he actually existed) was the "seed" of King David who would return at some point to resurrect David as an "Extraordinary Strategist" and "Wonderful Counselor/Advisor to Government" (Principal Advisor?!) — or perhaps more realistically than resurrection, as a descendant of one of Jesus' two children that The Lost Gospel identifies (which I find quite persuasive reading so far, and though this review says it's speculative rubbish, that hardly lowers its credibility compared to the Bible!).
And apparently the superstar of the 20th century that the masses also crowned "The King" – I refer of course to Elvis – was probably also both a Jew (via his mother's Lithuanian descendants) and one of many famous Aspie achievers (& the name Elvis is also – like Thorp – of Scandinavian origin, meaning "all wise").
So the King of the Jews has returned and lives forever — appearing regularly in Australia since I arrived! (in line with his birthday, which just so happens to be the same as for my Aspie-ish ex wife & her twin)
So many patterns/connections — maybe that explains my Elvis obsession! 😉
Anyway, despite my heritage, about the only Jewish custom I've retained is making chicken soup!
I also have French ancestry. I love France; strangely the churches & statues of Jesus on the Cross fascinated me as a child on holidays, but now I just like the culture (buildings, cafes, wine & croissants) when I return to visit where family lived near the claimed settling point of Jesus' descendants — though this thesis is universally disputed by historians, scholars and, not surprisingly, the Catholic Church, and probably not assisted by the authors' own belief that to solve historical problems "it is not sufficient to confine oneself exclusively to facts"! But I get their point and I think Einstein would have agreed, as he is quoted out-of-the-blue in a relevant article that emphasises the repeated occurrence of the number "22" as it relates to Mary Magdalene (& which, by a remarkable coincidence – as the 'radical atheist' Douglas Adams would say – just happens to also be my birth date).
Well so much for deep & meaningful religious patterns.
Here's what the internet says about me: 😏
But I think I prefer this other interpretation of "David"
(from: http://www.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=Daffid ):
"Best lover, this guy really knows how to show a woman a good time.
David is the adonis of the male world, he's the alpha male, the main man.
This man is a million times better than any Adrian. Every girl should have a David, they wont go back once they have had a piece of David.
That guy with all those women must be a David"
by Daffid February 02, 2010
😂
Here's me in 2010, on the "London Eye" (a good day for "blue-sky thinking"!):
And this is me in 1996 as a young revolutionary Doctor (note the tie) — getting my Ph.D:
(Of course I didn't know then that "the Doctor" had a future as a "Time Lord" — "thinking outside the box" to revolutionise the science of time & gravity!)
OK, enough rambling on
(Hallelujah you scream? or sing, and sing again).
Here's some quotes, music links and other stuff I like (including a lot from Einstein that I relate to):
Today’s world is dominated by cautious pessimists,
but the future is determined by reckless optimists.
– by me!
– a team effort led by Rob Siltanen for Apple's "To the Crazy Ones" advert that launched their "Think Different" marketing campaign.
(often mis-attributed solely to Steve Jobs or Jack Kerouac)
(I never give up, which is what the following Chinese characters mean.)
Invincible Me:
The Dalai Lama condemns those who commit violence in the name of any religion:
Once you are involved in bloodshed you are no longer a genuine practitioner of Islam...
All major religions carry the same message, of love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, self-discipline.
These are the common ground on which we can build genuine harmony, on the basis of mutual respect, learning & admiration.
See more from Einstein on my other sub-pages, especially "Universe" & "The Mind & ToE".
Napoleon (though perhaps misattributed): Never attribute malice to that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.
Churchill:
Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
Democracy is the worst form of government; apart from all the alternatives.
The Americans will always do the right thing… after they’ve exhausted all the alternatives.
(I think maybe this applies to all democratic governments!)
François de La Rochefoucauld:
There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not.
Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.
Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.
The desire to appear clever often prevents one from being so.
There hardly exist faults which are not more pardonable than the means by which one tries to hide them.
Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise.
Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding.
People always complain about their memories, never about their minds.
We confess to little faults only to persuade ourselves we have no great ones.
Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them.
and not least, when chasing your dreams and flying (or "falling with style"), by Buzz Light-year:
To infinby, and beyond! (as my beautiful little boy used to say)
Talking of which, here's something from my other son, my pride & joy:
So Don't Cry Daddy, soon my trials will be over, and although it does sometimes seem that time goes slowly (especially when things are 'heavy'), I think the time is near for the final curtain and – If I Can Dream – the return of the King (of the jungle) — back from the dead with his child (in the ghetto) and ready to sock a little to you all with some favourites that gel with me:
After so much heartbreak, perhaps it's time for a little less conversation, or maybe it's time to patch it up baby?
You were always on my mind
– that's the wonder of you!
You don't have to say you love me,
but if I were Elvis, maybe you would love me??!
'cos I can't stop lovin' you!
(Great band but watch out for the hypocritical, war-supporting piece of $#!t! So much for the War album's messages of peace. Wish I hadn't shown such reverence in the acknowledgements to my PhD thesis now.)
And finishing, naturally, with the master lyricist, John Lennon (apparently helped by Yoko, although there are other views on this):
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted.
The more I see, the less I know for sure.
(so what I came up with - The more I learn, the less sure I am of anything - is not quite as brilliantly original as I thought!)Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.
If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be as one.
Contact me via LinkedIn or my business web site, "PrincipalAdvice.com", or Twitter @dc_thorp
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