Tag: announcement

  • #30minutes4covid

    #30minutes4covid

    This hashtag movement might as well be called “30 minutes for the world of tomorrow”, but let’s just say that the spread of yet another deadly virus can be an eye opener for many.

    The intention between the hashtag is to raise awareness about how much we can do with a small donation of our time. I dedicate 30 minutes of my time, every day, to help my brothers & sisters through these trying times, in any way I can.

    When I launched this hashtag, I used the 30 minutes (and a bit more) to write this:

    http://mentatul.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus/^

    #30minutes4covid

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  • After 4 Years

    After 4 Years

    I launched this website 4 years ago, to the day. I probably have less readers than I had back then. Not even my wife reads this anymore. And this makes me very happy. There is no pressure to perform, almost no one to please. I can simply output whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like. The quality I strive to offer comes from a pure honesty to myself.

    Slowly but surely, step by step, Mentatul becomes a wide collection of observations about humanity and ideas for social transformation. With it and through it, I get to grow as a writer and as a person. I am immensely grateful for having the opportunity to do this.

    I don’t care about promoting any message. I don’t care about entertaining anybody or being right. The only thing I care about is writing to the best of my abilities, with an honest and healthy purpose: to do what I can to create a constructive, beautiful future.

    I know that these words will reach exactly those that need to read them, when they need to read them. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to share a meaningful article to fellow beings who are ready to help our civilization take the next step.

    That being said, the past year saw a further reduction in time spent writing here. This is because of my focus on family, which seriously reduced all available time. Then came a rebirthing of my career as a software engineer. But what affected Mentatul writing time the most was the serious prioritization of what has become my main creative venture, Nexus^, which is currently my absolute top priority in my free time.

    The publishing of major articles has so far remained as before, bimonthly. What changed is that articles with recommandations are now bundled in bimonthly posts with a certain theme, thus reducing quite a bit of logistical & writing pressure. I also coded (via C#) a nice application for pre-formatting Weekly Song posts. This brought additional time savings.

    I aim to keep the same frequency throughout 2020, even though aside from Nexus, a couple of promising additional side projects entered my life in the past 3 months. Two of them have a high potential for social impact, so I figured I might as well get in, experience and contribute to movements that I feel will be of great importance in the future.

    I wish you all a beautiful decade!

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  • Three Years and Counting (and Throttling Down)

    Three Years and Counting (and Throttling Down)

    A week ago, Mentatul celebrated its third birthday. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved so far with this website. A collection of meaningful articles is beginning to coalesce into a greater work, which is still far from completion.

    I hardly put any effort into advertising this website. As a matter of fact, I quite enjoy maintaining a low profile. I know that most of what I write is not exactly mainstream. Sometimes, it’s not even easily readable.

    I made mistakes, I learned and will continue to learn… albeit at a slower pace. I’m taking a break from intensive writing on Mentatul, since I have other writing and family duties that absorb a lot of my time. Of course, should my millions of readers think otherwise, please feel free to donate and change my mind :D.

    This change is meant to give me more energy to focus on the most important things I wish to have here, which are the bi-monthly analysis articles.

    Planned changes:

    • No more satire, futurology or travel log articles (unless something really important hits me).
    • Recommendation articles to be bundled into a monthly article.
    • Weekly Song entries to be removed from the main page (and the tag soup), but not from Archives or Categories. The reviews will be accessible via the Weekly Song category or the new main (top) menu entry with the same name.

    What will stay the same:

    • Heavy, bi-monthly analysis articles (this is the main purpose of the website and will not be altered in any way).
    • The weekly song (although the reviews will sometimes be slightly shorter).

    Duration of the break: at least three years (2019-2021), but possibly longer, depending on how my life will look in 2022. Of course, miracles do happen so stay tuned for other announcements.

    See you on the other side!

    Namaste!

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  • Mentatul Switched to A2Hosting

    Mentatul Switched to A2Hosting

    After about 13 years with the same web hosting company (IX Web Hosting, over in the USA), it’s time to move on. IX has been purchased by the infamous EIG. I didn’t know exactly how infamous they are, but I did notice when the quality of service instantly decreased to a staggering degree. Not only was the migration of my websites handled in an unprofessional way, with stuff breaking all over the place, but support answering times had increased to more than 48 hours. Sometimes, I’ve waited for 4-5 days for them to answer my tickets.

    This led me to document myself a bit about Site5, the company which presumably had acquired IX. Well, guess what… Site5 is just a cover for a larger entity called EIG. In the experienced webmaster’s world, EIG are known to be among the worst hosting providers. It’s not that the performance is bad, but it’s definitely sub-par with the prices they ask while the answering times, professionalism and support staff attitude is also way below the competition.

    What’s truly wicked about EIG is their insidious and aggressive strategy of purchasing web hosting providers with a good name. They get their customers and unfortunately, many of these customers stay in the EIG world even if they try to switch to another provider, simply because EIG controls a HUGE number of brands (about 70 at the time of this writing).

    To see what all this is based on, please read this review of EIG:

    EIG Review

    Fortunately, this spring when the acquisition occurred, I just had about 4 months left in my contract. During the past week I’ve been busy migrating all my websites over to A2Hosting^, after a review of 2 other web hosts. The migration went fine and A2Hosting support staff & performance is way up there while the price I got for my first 2 years of hosting is really good. Even better, the site is now hosted in Europe.
    I wish A2Hosting stays away from EIG!

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  • About the Recent Changes on Mentatul

    About the Recent Changes on Mentatul

    How time flies. It’s been almost a year and a half since I launched^ Mentatul. So far, this proved itself to be a very beautiful adventure. The website started as a source for objective analysis of important contemporary issues combined with an assortment of subjective musings on art topics (so far, only music). Soon, I added the Recommendations^ category, where I share with readers various interesting or inspiring links that I stumble upon during my online journey.

    However, like any long-term writing commitment, the project evolved. My urge for writing kept seeking new ways through which to express itself. About 9 months after the launch, in September 2016, I wrote the first satire^ article. Afterwards, in November I added two^ new^ categories based on real life adventures that I was fortunate to experience. I began 2017 by adding two^ more^ categories. Here’s a short description of all these recent changes.

    Satire

    I believe that sometimes laughter is the best way to highlight or even handle a problem. I find it very entertaining to write satire. The idea for the first article in the category – about Musk escaping to Mars^ – hit me so hard I just couldn’t resist publishing it. Every now and then some funky thought goes through my head and it’s so good to be able to laugh about it together with you.

    Travel Log

    I’ve been writing travel logs in Romanian for more than a decade but I haven’t published anything. A fascinating day in Scotland^ convinced me otherwise. Even though I published a satire article before the first travel log, this is the category that really opened the door for these recent changes on the website.

    Life Fragments

    Since I already started writing about some of my life via travel logs, I decided to share some funny or interesting things that happened during my days. The storyteller in me needed the exercise long before I launched my literature website (Michael Axonn^).

    One of the “secret” goals I had with Mentatul was to diminish the strength of my inner critic. I’ve more than succeeded in doing this. Branching my writing into these new areas has been one of the things that helped a lot. Even though Mentatul now has two “log” categories, I still don’t consider this website to be a “blog” (it’s a writing project), but I won’t be insulted if you do :).

    Parenting

    I’ve always been fascinated by how much parenting can differ between cultures. It’s also one of the most polarizing topics ever. Now that I am a parent, it’s the perfect time to join the millions of writers that have spoken their mind about that which is the world’s most important responsibility – educating the next generation so that we may survive as a species. I actually started with an article that can be seen as “anti-advice”^.

    Futurology

    This category has been a long time coming. There’s sometimes a sea of ideas swirling in my head – I’m sure many readers know exactly how this feels. I actually had plans to launch individual websites with proposals and solutions surrounding topics such as the Internet of Things^ and Mixed Reality^. Alas, having a day job makes this quite difficult so, ultimately, I turned to Mentatul to publish all my ideas.

    In all futurology articles, I invite readers to become participants and share their awesome ideas on various topics. Don’t worry about contributing amazing solutions with huge potential – unless you actually have the capital and tools to turn them into reality (patent applications or actual products). Otherwise, I think it’s better to bring these ideas out in the open, with your name next to them. I would actually be extremely happy if anybody is inspired by an idea of mine and turns it into something beautiful, credit or not.

    It’s still just the beginning

    Mentatul is not even two years old. But in this short time, I already see how the website has started to develop its “personality”. I don’t expect to see so many new categories added in such a short time again, but I might surprise myself.

    For now, my focus will go into perfecting what is. I wish to write well and to offer a beautiful experience to those that visit. I hope that your stay here is enjoyable and, of course, I thank you for being here^.

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  • Season’s Greetings

    Season’s Greetings

    A lot of people are celebrating Christmas these days. Even more are just enjoying an extended weekend. And even more people are happy to be alive. Even more are… simply alive.

    I wish you beautiful days, regardless of what you’re celebrating or doing :). Have lovely times with the family, friends, have fun, play games, do nothing, sleep, take a walk on the wild side :D. I think the only thing that really matters is that you love. Love what you do, love what you have around you, love who you are. And if things are difficult (as sometimes they can be) and the feeling of love isn’t easy to come by, well then I have some for you, in the form of thankfulness:

    Thank you for being here! Thank you for shining the light of your consciousness upon these words. Every single person shines a different light, but all these different, unique colors are still part of the rainbow of love :).

    Here’s a little Christmas carol in my style:

    http://mentatul.com/2016/02/24/infected-mushroom-pink-froid/^

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  • What Does “Mentatul” Mean?

    What Does “Mentatul” Mean?

    The word “mentat” was invented by Frank Herbert and prominently used in his Dune series. The “ul” suffix in this website’s name is the Romanian definite article, added because that is my country of origin. However, I am not “the mentat”, even though my project is named this way.

    Instead, the name of this website pays homage to the concept of a mentat. It is an aspiration of mine. Mentats have always inspired me. When I write analytical works, I am trying to interpret information in the same way I imagine a mentat would.

    In Dune, the mentats are specially trained humans that replace computers, which have been outlawed following a devastating war against the “thinking machines”. Mentats perform strategic thinking, analysis and extrapolation of complex informational patterns. As long as the information provided to them is correct, they will be able to emit good judgments. In other words, if the information given to a mentat is inaccurate, so will be the result.

    Choosing the Romanian word for this website was, in part, a logistical matter. Of course, the “mentat.com” domain name was taken while the “.org” cost two thousand dollars. It is this limitation which has pushed me to inventively make the best of the given set of circumstances. Naming my English project using a Romanian name is a tribute to my homeland, which is a place I love and respect.

    I have lived 26 years in Romania and as such, it is the place which has shaped me and taught me the most. It is a beautiful country which has been through a lot in the past centuries, a subject that I will elaborate upon in some future work. Sweden has been my home for almost 7 years now. Leaving Romania brought much-needed diversity into my cultural background and has helped me in innumerable ways, but I am happy to have started my life there.

    The name of this project is a perpetual reminder for being balanced and fair. In the same time, it is an incentive to acquire as much information as possible about any given subject. I select my sources of information based on reliability and fairness, through a vetting process that takes many months. Unfortunately a lot of publishers can be dangerously biased in matters to which objectivity is paramount. However, fairness inevitably arises when combining information from multiple sources and applying the process of critical thinking.

    By now it’s probably clear that I’m quite determined to do my best to honor the concept of a mentat, which this website is named after. But how does that fit together with the art-related opinion writing that you can read on Mentatul.com? Fortunately (given my desires), this is not a sacrilege. Mentats are humans and they have opinions and preferences in art just like any other human. Of course, they do not allow these to interfere with their profession – which is exactly what I’m doing as well.

    I hope I managed to properly communicate this domain name’s origin, meaning and what it signifies to me. I now find it quite fortunate that I was “forced” to choose the Romanian translation as the name of my project. I’m publishing these words exactly one month after launching Mentatul and already my relationship with this name, and the symbolism behind it, is strong and healthy. I feel good when publishing here and I hope you also feel good while being here.

    For more information about this project, check the About Page^.

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  • Micro Biography

    Micro Biography

    A person is a perpetually changing collection of life experiences playing upon a genetic tapestry. Rather than struggling to explain or define who I am, I’ll try to offer a bit of insight regarding how I came to write these words. There are two reasons why I wish to share this information.

    First, I feel that by enumerating some of the major events that have shaped my life, I’m encouraging a personal connection with you. Secondly, my past is a factor in choosing the topics I write about.

    This is part of a series detailing the intellectual pillars of my craft. The other two are:
    “Why Am I Writing?”^, which details my motivations.
    “Mission Statement”^, which details my purposes.

    Now… where am I coming from and where am I heading?

    Early steps

    Imagination played a very important role in my childhood. I became my own story-teller quite early. As a teenager, I started writing several novels before being completely absorbed by another passion of mine.

    This other passion barged in my life around the age of 6, when I interacted for the first time with a computer. It was a mesmerizing experience for the child that I was. Computers back then weren’t common at all and I think that the event took place at a perfect age, an age when I perceived that screen as a sort of magical, wonderful device. This feeling, this enthusiasm is as fresh in my mind as it was back then.

    A few years later, after I first set eyes on computer games, I felt an irresistible attraction towards technology. Everything else came second. Not only did I become a gamer, but I also took my first steps in game design, using pen and paper. Later on, I focused towards becoming a software developer – this happens to be how I’m currently making a living.

    Music was another early passion, even though I eventually settled for listening rather than creating. My father introduced me to bands such as Pink Floyd, ZZ Top and Dire Straits. Later on, childhood friends got me into rave and metal. I eventually made my way to all sorts of genres and artists from around the world.

    My parents got divorced when I was 7, after some rather rough years. What followed wasn’t easy either. Emotionally, my mother had the duty to put me back together again after a rather difficult childhood. She did so with fantastic love and diligence, given the handful that I was. This is worth mentioning because the seeds of love she planted in me are a powerful influence in my art.

    The gaming years

    Dune 2, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, WarCraft 2, Mortal Kombat, StarCraft, Diablo 2, Heroes 3 and Baldur’s Gate 2 are just a few of the games in which I invested copious amounts of time. Yes, I used the word “invested”, not the word “wasted”. My gaming time was an investment, one which has proven its value more than once, socially, professionally and artistically. Along with music, this was a refuge through a stormy period of my life.

    These years also brought a renewed interest in electronics. I was always a tinkerer and my computer became the perfect learning ground. Soon, I was upgrading my systems and making good use of any hardware-related information that was available to me.

    The technology years

    After my father’s translation of Dune was published, it became, and still is, my all-time favorite book. I did surprisingly little reading as a child, and even less as a young man. To say that I couldn’t stand the educational system is an understatement. I dropped out at the first chance I had, which was at the start of University, when I got my first full-time job as a C# coder.

    As an employee, I became even more interested in computer hardware. While programming software for various companies, I devoured news about processors, storage and pretty much anything concerning computers.

    Eventually, I became so engrossed in this that I found myself publishing my first few articles on The Inquirer, a British tech website. A year earlier, in 2006, I published articles that could fill two books while covering the Formula 1 season. It’s a sport I’m no longer interested in – and I plan to explain exactly why at some point in the future.

    In 2010, I moved to Sweden together with my girlfriend and begun work at my second game. Without a full-time job to slow me down, this was guaranteed to be a success, since I had lots of time to put into the project and an artist to help me. After two years of working 12 hour days, I realized the project has no chance of being done in the third year and got a full-time job. The game I was working on, Alien Invasion, never made it past the pre-Alpha stage.

    The writing years

    After starting my first full-time job in Sweden, I did a lot of soul-searching. The almost-unhealthy partnership with technology stabilized to more acceptable levels. My girlfriend, who in 2013 became my wife, is partially to thank for this. I began investing more time into writing and also resumed reading literature – a welcomed change after a decade of intensely parsing the news.

    Most of my free time in the last couple of years consisted in personal development of all kinds: meditation, introspection, sports and workshops. I also began to seriously consider my intellectual diet: games, music, movies… everything that gets inside my brain. It goes without saying that I’ve been taking better care of my body as well.

    And here I am, as ready as I’ll ever be. The writing years begin now. Sure, I’ll maintain my day job for some time to come, and I’ll continue keeping a watchful eye on technology. VR gaming, I’m looking at you! But other than that, I officially consider myself as a new student of this world, doing his homework in the public space. And now, with my first opinion or analysis^ piece on Mentatul, let the writing begin!

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  • Mission Statement

    Mission Statement

    Art needs no purpose. Yet, the project that I am launching now is a joining between artistic endeavor and a wide range of intent. If I were to choose a single word that should define Mentatul’s trajectory, that word would be “change”.

    Before my adventure starts though, I would like to set out some guidelines for performing my craft. These will become the beacons for everything that I shall publish and I will strive to follow the route that I envision.

    This is part of a series detailing the intellectual pillars of my craft. The other two are:
    “Why Am I Writing?”^, which details my motivations.
    “Micro Biography”^, which covers the essential history that brought me here.

    Now… what is my purpose and how do I want to achieve it?

    Respect the people; they are your brothers and sisters

    I see each and every one of you as a dear sibling. Honestly. With every word I will write, I will remain aware of the fact that, like me, other beings have dreams, have endured hardships and probably have a long way ahead of them still. Humans and their activities and culture are a source of great inspiration and motivation for writing. This demands not only a respectful approach, but also a sense of wonder at the unfolding story of this Universe.

    Since I don’t usually write for myself, I must carefully consider my audience. Although I value my independence as a writer, I must also value my readers’ time. That is why I will attempt to keep my entries short and pleasant to read.

    Take sides; take all sides

    I’d like to give a name to this approach: “generalized-subjectivity”. Rather than being objective and detached from the various actors and matters I will cover, my attitude will be one of complete involvement.

    This style is meant to strengthen the emotional connection with a certain subject and promote compassion in my writing. Not only will this ensure objectivity, but it comes with the added benefit of encouraging a positive discussion that respects all sides.

    Language is more than a tool; words are eternal advocates

    In my view, respect must also be given to the medium that allows me to share my thoughts. Language gives thoughts a form. In order for that form to be both beautiful and expressive, I will need to explore and improve my vocabulary. Only so will I be able to discover how to use words in the most effective and harmonious ways. And because words have a tendency to outlast their writer, it is my responsibility to see that my writing withstands the test of time. However…

    Don’t fear being wrong; write with passion, learn

    Mistakes can and will happen. During my previous online publishing stints (upon which I touched in the third part of this series), I have adopted a perfectionist attitude towards my art. This has hurt my literary output while providing almost no long-term benefits. I’m too much of a perfectionist to simply become sloppy this time around, but I will definitely put a few doors between me and my inner critic.

    There are certain risks that arise from having a passionate style of expression, especially in the case of analytical writing. However, when necessary, these risks will not stop me from being intense. I can’t conceive writing about a subject unless I’m very interested in it. Even so, one guideline that I will always have in mind is that I should aim to find the balance between passion and fairness, between being categorical and maintaining a polite, respectful tone.

    Challenge to discussion; it is a source of progress

    Communication has the power to cure fear. By ridding ourselves of fear, we can truly blossom. The project I’m launching now is more than a creative outlet, it is a community. I would like to give you the opportunity to speak and the space to challenge everything you read here. You can engage through quick comments, brief engagement on social media or by joining the Forum.

    Even more, as Mentatul progresses, and once I have made the relevant steps, there are also plans for involving a Wiki into the project. The usefulness of this will become obvious soon enough.

    Encourage readers to dig deeper and keep an open mind

    One of the most fundamental aspects of existence, I believe, is the fact that almost everything we take for granted is not what it appears to be. No matter how hard I could try, there will be flaws in my reasoning. I therefore beg of you, reader, to search for other points of view. Explore the fountain of knowledge that is our society and never stop questioning. Always keep with you some of the curiosity of a child.

    At times, I will write very short entries, suggesting an article or offering some tidbit of information I considered worthy. Sometimes, I’ll do it without even the slightest comment, waiting for your reaction. It is my hope that your stay here will be inspiring and moving. With all this in mind, I shall now craft.

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  • Why Am I Writing?

    Why Am I Writing?

    Today, I am setting off on a beautiful journey. I’ve been preparing myself for this adventure ever since I was a child. Now, it is finally time to untie the ropes of my sky-ship and rise into the unknown.

    But before I take this most important step in my career as a writer, I would like to take some time and reflect upon what I consider to be the three pillars of my craft: motivation, purpose and history. In other words: why am I writing, what do I wish to achieve through my art and what are those aspects of my history that brought these words in front of your eyes.

    With great honesty and care, I will describe what each of these three pillars mean for me. It all starts with motivation and this is the subject of my first writing in this new part of my life.

    I have analyzed the other two pillars of my craft in:
    “Mission Statement”^, which details my purposes.
    “Micro Biography”^, which covers the essential history that brought me here.

    Now… why am I typing this?

    I love it

    What could be simpler and more honest than this admission? Yes, I love writing and the way it enhances the conscious experience. I love putting thoughts together and witnessing the reflections they summon in the mirrors of our minds.

    Words are chameleons made of thoughts. They can be surgically precise or wonderfully abstract. Lawyers use them like weapons through courtroom battlefields while artists nourish the imagination with their magical power. There are very few things indeed that I enjoy more than passing a mental image onwards, bringing concepts out into the open or contributing to worthwhile discussions.

    I love sharing my creative energy

    The emotion of love is fundamental to human existence and, by extent, to my own work. This is why the word is so prominently featured in this text. I have received very positive feedback regarding my writing. It is natural to love doing something good and to share it with people who can appreciate.

    It is also a fact that I have an ample supply of creative energy. It’s not something I sought or worked for. But I feel it is respectful to use my talent in a way that can benefit my brothers and sisters, something that I will strive to do the best I can.

    Despite my intentions, whenever I write something, especially if it’s a work regarding the world we currently live in, there is a risk of making mistakes. And this leads me to the next point.

    I am curious to discover more and to discover myself

    Through the reactions I get to my writing, I can refine and adjust my opinions. A deep desire for learning is the chief motivator here. I think that understanding and accepting criticism is a vital part of a person’s evolution and my goal is to be someone whose judgment can be relied on.

    By giving shape to my thoughts, I encourage a process of self-discovery and analysis. It is almost therapeutic in nature and can trigger profound changes. Events in the surrounding world are the weathering forces that shape one’s mind. Inspecting these events is a source of knowledge.

    I believe in change

    Before even daring to propose that my writing could change anything in the society I live in, I wish to embrace and take part in the healthy changes that must first take place in me. However, this will not be a chaotic selection, because consciousness is here to judge which changes should happen, and which assumptions are meant to be removed.

    Ultimately though, one of my motivations is to contribute to the public dialogue towards improving the world I am a part of. I feel that the most effective way I can bring about positive change is to write in a patient and understanding manner, guided by compassion and love. And this is what I will set out to do.

    [ax_fbimg imgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/201601WhyAmIWriting.jpg’]

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