The Man

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Daily Life

I don't own a wristwatch. I believe it's impractical to carry one on your wrist all the time when you can just look at your cell phone or the bottom right corner of your computer screen. (If forced to buy one, I would probably go for a Swatch though.)
If I visit a Target store with my red t-shirt on, people keep asking me stuff.
If I am listening to the radio, then I am probably driving; and if a song I like airs when I am about to reach my destination, I usually slow down a bit - just so I will make it to the end of the song. I am almost never in a hurry.

Food

I eat spaghetti a lot - but not before mixing it with yoghurt, corn, and sweet peas. Sometimes I also add brocoli, brussel sprouts and/or albacore fish to the mixture. In the final step, I sprinkle hot sauce, thymes, black pepper, and chili powder on the top of everything - although I know that I will stir them up before starting to eat anyway.
I don't like to have my drinks the American way: extremely hot or extremely cold. For example, I never have any ice in my fountain drinks, and I cannot drink my tea/coffee before it cools down a bit. I also don't like the American way of setting room temperatures: extremely cold in summer, and extremely hot in winter.
I don't eat olives; never did. But if you do, I won't have a problem with that. I don't find them disgusting or anything. I just don't like the way they taste and smell.
I am not the best fan of fake butter on pop corns, but I prefer to have it than not.
I like chocolate. I particularly like mint chocolate. But when in the United States, I do most of my chocolate shopping from Aldi, since German chocolates taste way better than the American ones. My favorite chocolate Aldi carries is Choceur's coffee chocolate. Coffee, by the way, goes great with all sorts of chocolate.
I always add molasses to my cereal meals.
I eat very little meat, because I don't like the idea of eating animals for some time. If our bodies did not need meat at all, I would probably eat even fewer meat meals. I believe we shouldn't be fooling around doing things simply because 'we can.' That includes eating a lot more meat than we actually need without thinking that this is at the expense of the lives of other species that we share the world with. Just because we like the way they taste, doesn't necessarily mean that we have an ethical right to kill them.
I don't feel like I have to smell the coffee to start the day. I prefer tea - Turkish tea that is. Earl grey tea is also just as good. It's not that I don't like coffee; I do. I just prefer tea especially in the mornings.
I almost always have my coffee cold, and with milk. I prefer Colombian or Costa Rican coffee. And among the corporate chains, Caribou's blend is probably the best. The 'Coffee Cooler' in their menu is pretty much my idea of coffee.

Philosophy of Life

Life is about trying to understand what life is about.
I look at my own plate, and pay attention to no one else.
I try hard to surround myself with people I respect, but I have difficulty in doing that since they don't seem to be that many in number. With the same concerns in mind, I try to stay away from those who live their lives without any particular passions or ideals. Although this sounds elitist, it is not. It is just that I don't take seriously the hand-to-mouth existence of those who do not take their own lives seriously in the first place.
I try hard to always mean what I say, and say what I mean, and I expect others to do the same. I don't like indirect expressions.
The concept of 'inquiry' inspires me more than the concept of 'freedom.' Without the former, the latter does not mean much.

Religion

I don't think that God is created in the image of man, but I think all people create God in their own images. In that sense, all religions are merely social constructs.
I believe in supernatural phenomena. However, "supernatural" is probably a misnomer. If something exists, then it has a nature as well as a world of its own. Therefore, it is human-centric to think that such phenomena operate outside of the boundaries of the natural world, since we have limited perception and knowledge of (1) what "natural" is, (2) how relative it can be, and (3) how an actor can or cannot switch from one to another.

Gusto

I like the way professional casinos are designed. Whenever I walk the gaming floor of a casino, I feel like I'm visiting a museum. The only down side, however, is the empty-faced slot-machine-zombies who ruin this unique ambiance. But in the end, it is them who make this whole concept possible. If it was up to people like me who try to act rationally, and have yet to spare even one single quarter to the greedy machines, the casinos would not exist in the first place.
No matter who says what, I believe GM Hummers are really-well-designed cool vehicles.

TV

It always makes me laugh when Homer Simpson angrily says, 'Lousy Democrats!'
I don't agree with everything Bill Maher says, but he is probably the only TV personality who won't bore me at all.

Music

Whenever I happen to hear an Alanis Morissette song, I find myself switching the radio channel. Her disruptive music makes me feel like loads of pessimism and discomfort are coming my way.
I used to listen to rock channels such as Southern California's KLOS 95.5 or KCAL 96.7 that played the genre's big hits of the 80s, 90s, and today. But, at some point, due to lack of innovation, it so bored me that I started switching to channels that play all day long only like 10 of the currently biggest pop and hip-hop hits, the examples to which, as of late 2007, may be 'Wake up Call' by Maroon 5, and 'Stronger' by Kayne West.
In order to explore the true potential of a well-written song, one must approach it with utmost attention and respect, instead of treating it as just another piece of entertainment. When I occasionally want to share such good pieces with people around me, they usually do not feel a need to focus. I get so disappointed when they talk or do unrelated stuff when the music keeps playing in the background that I cannot help but express my frustration.

Criminal Justice

I don't have any moral objections to the death penalty. If the law imposes capital punishment on those who kill others coldbloodedly and with no particular concern of self-defense, I don't really have a problem with that. However, if there's even the slightest uncertainty, the defendant should always be given the benefit of doubt. Because once you execute an innocent person, there's no way known to mankind to undo that.
People who are convicted of rape, child-molestation or sadistic activities should be sentenced to life with no possibility of parole - the idea being that they should be isolated from the other members of the society no matter what. The idea of releasing them sounds like padding them on the shoulder and saying, "Don't forget that you promised not to do it again, OK?.. Good boy!"

Other

I believe that sports that involve somersaults (or other sorts of 3-D ups and downs) help enhance the way the human brain functions. I don't have any idea why I believe this or why this would be true - I just do. (If you are too lazy to practice swimming or martial arts, try the amusement parks. If my hypothesis is correct, I can't see any reason why a rollercoaster wouldn't produce the same result.)
If someone handed me $100M, it would bring some comfort to my life, but it wouldn't change my daily schedule.
I believe its pretty unfair to instantly label all marginal groups as cults. Because, in actuality, the average man who works nine-to-five and watches television every day also belongs to a cult. But since he is in the mainstream, he hardly ever realizes that.
If you swear a lot, we will probably not get along well.
I don't understand how people can get really excited only because it is a certain day of the calendar. Anniversaries, birthdays, weekdays or Sundays do not matter to me at all.
If I was to make a different career choice, I would be a musician - probably a very good one.
All the Turkish people who got to know me personally tended to either like or hate me so much. For some reason, there has rarely been a midway between extremes.
I believe that the Zodiac signs matter, but daily horoscopes don't. I am a Virgo, and my ascendant is Libra. I am really happy about both.
I am neither right- nor left-handed. I am lefty, for example, when I play table-tennis, but not so when I play the guitar. I am probably ambidextrous, and just end up using the hand that I started practising with in the first place.
If Madonna was ever beautiful, it was in the video for 'Frozen.'
I like to wake up long before the sunrise, and listen to "very emotional music," such as that of New Model Army, until the first lights of day.
I despise people who spend a lot of money on clothing, jewelery and et cetera. If people cared less about how impressive they look, they would look more impressive to me. To me, the best t-shirt is a basic one with plain color.
I don't have any tattoos on my body, and probably never will. Human perceptions change in time, and I don't like the idea of doing irreversible things to my body. Besides, almost all tattoos look like variations of the same few concepts to me. Original ideas are really rare. The design of the tattoos on Dave Grohl's arms are brilliant though.
Neutering, spaying or declawing animals does not correspond to "loving" them. Animals are not toys, and we don't have a right to play with their natures just to make ourselves more comfortable.