1. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #200232 by Frankus1122 on June 27, 2008 at 6:11 am

I came to have one last peek before I leave for the summer. To my great joy there was a clearwwoter post!

We had this gem:

What is a piranha's life cycle?
birth-eat-poop-die

What is clearwooter's life cycle?

birth- eat poop-spew poop from mouth-die

Sorry, clearwooter. No LOGIC god for you in heaven. You be worm poop when you die.

2. A War On Science

Comment #200074 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 7:06 pm

It is as clear as God.

3. A War On Science

Comment #200072 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Oh, now I get it.

4. A War On Science

Comment #200068 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Podaar has undergone metamorphosis. A miracle!

I have been wondering about the name 'Podaar'. What's that about?

5. A War On Science

Comment #200066 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 6:51 pm

Comment #200013 by Gregg Townsend

Especially if this site keeps attracting people like me who don't really have anything to say, yet still enjoy saying it.

And the similarities just continue to pile up.

6. God hates Mars

Comment #200063 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 6:35 pm

Comment #199741 by Miller

Astonishing that people with viewpoints like this get a public voice... ugh

Are you talking about this?

I am now intolerant to apples.

Because I think Anna cleared that up.
Sheesh! Some people.

Many things:
Tyler Durden, really? Tyler Durden?
BTW I loved the Phil Gorilla.
Here is the video of the Snickers song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhEQ066WDAA

Comment #199728 by AllanW
You have won the Golden Ticket.
I think it was phatbat that wanted to know which famous person epeeist reminded him of.

Cartomancer:
KFC ?
Okay, I'll admit that once about every year and a half the smell tempts me in. I keep thinking it will be how it looks on the commercial. Then I get the wet greasy things with weird grey-purple veins and sinews and .... yuck.
It takes at least a year before I forget how bad it is.
But I still admire you (just maybe a bit less). ;)

7. A War On Science

Comment #199778 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 10:52 am

Comment #199748 by Oystein Elgaroy

how many adjustable parameters God has. It would be useful to know before one starts to compare explanations.

I was reading an analysis of Hans Kung by J.L. Mackie last night.
There are so many twists and turns and "adjustable parameters" that God could be anything.
That is one of the biggest problems with the concept of God: it is whatever you want it to be.

8. God hates Mars

Comment #199630 by Frankus1122 on June 26, 2008 at 5:17 am

Adamus

I've worked with Down Syndrome kids extensively in my volunteer work, and I find them to be the kindest, sweetest, happiest people I know.

Ditto.
You brightened my day.
I also have worked with a lot of kids with Down's. I have a great big smile on my face right now thinking of the joy which with they seem to go through life.
Last week I was watching one boy pick dandelions. He had a large bouquet of them. He brought them up to his face, inhaled deeply, and then took a bite.
The look on his face was priceless.

9. God hates Mars

Comment #199476 by Frankus1122 on June 25, 2008 at 8:15 pm

My wife went into a corner store to get a chocolate bar and asked if I wanted one.
Sure.
What do you want?
Oh, anything.
She bought me an Eatmore. A fucking Eatmore.
It is not a chocolate bar.
It is a piece of shit with peanuts in it, flattened out to fit in a candy bar wrapper.
Snickers is the best.
Twix is good too.
Zero is a great chocolate bar.

10. God hates Mars

Comment #199448 by Frankus1122 on June 25, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Snickers really satisfies.

Happy peanuts soar
Over chocolate covered mountain tops
And waterfalls of caramel
Prancing nougat in the meadows
Sings a song of satisfaction to the world.


The world.

11. Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher

Comment #199442 by Frankus1122 on June 25, 2008 at 7:06 pm

Comment #199423 by AWhaleOfATale

You realize, of course, you are completely insane.

How do you solve a problem like AWhaleOfATale?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

When I'm with AWhaleOfATale I'm confused
Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am

12. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198895 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 4:32 pm

It was 'Lying for Jesus'.
No side dishes. That was another thread where we were preparing for the party that would be Hell (if it existed).

The feast starts soon after comment 738.
Enjoy.

13. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198872 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 3:26 pm

These are my kind of feminists:

The Gulabi Gang Hate Men, and Rightfully So

14. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198866 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 3:18 pm

Apathy,

Wow, in my few months of posting here, i've been waiting for cannibalism to come up.....

I think Diacanu, Goldy and I ate someone a while ago. It may have been on Fleabytes. Tasty.

15. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198860 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 3:14 pm

Al,
I wasn't looking at context. Just quote mining to piss you off. ;)

But that being said, there did seem to be some pretty broad statements there. (pretty broad- get it? - sorry). And fizhburn was talking about stereotyping.

One of my students just won a speech contest. Her topic was Feminism and Feminazis. She made the distinction between those who believe in and fight for equal rights for all (both men and women) and man hating Feminazis.
I was especially proud when she singled out religion as being a leading cause of the subjugation of women. She went back to the sin of Eve and the value of women in Islam (one tenth a man?).

16. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198849 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Al,

I read a study that showed women were better stock traders than men because they don't get wrapped up in the quick profit on a fast turn around.

I heard a great radio program on male stock traders and testosterone levels affecting and being affected by good/bad trade runs. I can't remember the details. Perhaps a Google search, if you are interested.

17. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198845 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 3:00 pm

fizhburn:

Now can we discuss al-rawandi's stereotyping of "feminists"?

Al rawandi:

Just remember when you go on a wind mill hunt, bring your block quotes.

I realized a while ago that feminists are about as useful as "poopy flavored lolly pops".

And they worry about Title Fucking IX instead. It isn't about the rights of women, it is about getting a pound of flesh from the nearest man available.

Feminism is a lot more liberal sloganeering. It is something for college sophomores to make signs for and march around on campus. No real substance left.

Al,
Are all feminists as described above?

18. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198825 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Comment #198790 by fizhburn

I love how clearmind appeals to "logic".
Hilarious!

No, no. You have it wrong. He appeals to LOGIC.
There is a difference.
You cannot assail the trademarked LOGIC of clearmind.
Please treat all his posts with the respect they deserve.

19. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198772 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 1:09 pm

clearmind:
love the Go but the GUD is the BEST. No joke. Advice foryou to not talk about body parts with students. there is trouble there man! Especially when you talk the veins in the worm. Not good, you know what I mean?
Keep it clean or they think you are atheist. Ha!
GUD is the BEST

20. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #198761 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Who is Go's?

I prefer Gud: the better god.

21. Carlin on Religion

Comment #198674 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 11:02 am

Sorry I fucked up
Your haiku thread a growing
Go back to your poems

22. Carlin on Religion

Comment #198667 by Frankus1122 on June 24, 2008 at 10:58 am

Right now there are plenty of equally-talented young comics coming up.

Patton Oswalt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5UxTR9EOQA
From about 4:00 to 6:00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RE6rdIQBcY&feature=related
From about 5:00 on

Or click on the related links to "No Reason to Complain".

23. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198321 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 2:54 pm

In a free and open forum such as this anyone should be allowed to post whatever they feel is semi-reasonable. tIMEx p is only violating common sense, not common decency. He thinks he is being reasonable. He is annoying because he is not. That guy , richard_dawkins from a few days ago, was just a goofy ass with nothing to contribute but silliness. He was rightfully sent away.
tIMEx p contributes nonsense that we can bounce our own ideas off.
Or you can choose to ignore posts from those people who have in the past posted nothing but nonsense. (Is anyone still reading this?)
I do not like the idea of people being banned because they are hard of understanding. Treat their posts with the respect you think they deserve. Engage them, ridicule them, ignore them. The choice is yours to respond as you see fit.
It should be anyone's choice to post as they see fit.
That's my 2 cents.
Respond, ridicule, or ignore.

24. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198281 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 1:37 pm

decius,
I am all for personal anecdotes about female asses.

Speaking of personal anecdotes, here is a link to a not scientific, but interesting none-the-less article on the topic of animal emotion:
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3702

25. Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies

Comment #198270 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 1:11 pm

ksskidude

I will introduce George to my newborn daughter in about 18 years

CONGRATULATIONS

26. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198261 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 1:01 pm

I could throw in a lot of anecdotal (and worthless) evidence, but let's just say that some people are better inter-specie communicators and the almost unanimous impression which they derive from experience is one of wonder as to how much science appears to lag behind in this field, failing to provide adequate explanations.

Anecdotal often leads to science of worth.
'There seems to be something here. Let's investigate.'
But if you have a dog you know it gets happy and depressed over the same kinds of things that you do. There may be some amount of anthropomorphization going on, but not entirely, perhaps.

27. Sarcasm Seen as Evolutionary Survival Skill

Comment #198242 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Comment #198128 by mordacious1

This is the BEST article I have ever read. The research is brilliant. The money was well spent. These guys should get the Nobel Prize.

And the above is the BEST post I have ever read. Keep up the good work mordacious1 !

28. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198205 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 11:24 am

Quine,
I appreciate your posts. I do learn so much from you and others.
(BTW- I got depressed over your jesus camp link the other day. I had seen many clips of the movie but not ones where there were so many children crying and 'speaking in tongues').
I actually get excited when the likes of tIMExpiper posts because I know there will be a Rev. Dark response.

There seems to be nothing to be learned from tIMEx-p but we can't let drivel stand. We have to be the Anti-Jesus Camp Camp.

29. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198195 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 10:52 am

Let's make him answer some of ours for a change :)

The smiley is key.

Do you have any ideas about how to confront this creationist attitude?

I think I may treat him as I have been treating clearwooter for the past while: with sympathy. Treat him as you would a drooling, slobbering mentally retarded person. I may be wrong about the drool and slobber but as for the rest of it his posts speak for themselves.
He is retarded in his thinking. Or perhaps I should say he has an intellectual disability.

tIMEx piper, you are a specimen to be studied. Your thoughts are of the same value as the lab rat.

30. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198142 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 9:21 am

tIMExpiper,

You are still permanently stuck with the ridiculous idea that mutations produced this sensitivity.

And your not ridiculous idea is ....... drum roll....... goddidit.


Thank you and good night.

31. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198117 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 8:38 am

tIMExpiper,

No, actually you guys are very encouraging with the things you say and the pulp you quote from your apologists.

The 'pulp' you are referring to is the peer reviewed papers of the 'apologists', also known as the best scientific minds in the world. To whom you are somehow able to claim superior knowledge.

But what you are saying here is that you have to believe in something untenable if that is the only thing available.

No. I am saying that this Theory is a robust one that explains the way the world actually works amazingly well.

You are saying that you don't like it because it does not fit into preconceived notions.
If you do not like the explanations that the Theory of Evolution provides you need to provide an alternative which will be subject to peer review.

There are a few problems with your approach. You want to attack the ToE on scientific grounds, using scientific evidence. However, you have none. You say things such as, 'I just can't believe it.' Not scientific evidence.
All the science points to the truth of the ToE. If there is evidence which is contrary to some currently understood aspect of the theory, the theory changes to fit the evidence. That is how the science works.
You use half-truths or misunderstood ideas to back up your claims. Example: Alluvial flood plains have silt deposits therefore there was a world-wide flood.
That is one way of misinterpreting the data if you have a preconceived notion to defend. Or you could conclude that alluvial flood plains have silt deposits because that is how you define an alluvial flood plain.
You claim (without evidence) that the ToE is a bad theory and doesn't stand up. This is wrong as evidenced by the 'mountains of evidence'.
You will not put up your own theories to the same scrutiny because you know they do not stand up under any circumstances.
With the same validity that your personal incredulity carries I can say of your Flood theory, "I just don't believe it."
You have Nothing versus Nothing.
However, I can attack the Flood theory on scientific grounds. There you have Something versus Nothing.
All the scientific evidence (and even historic evidence) points away from the idea of a global flood.
To conclude: you are wrong on so many levels.

32. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #198081 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 7:02 am

As I was reading through the last few pages of posts regarding natural/unnatural selection the free-will/determinism dualism popped into my head.
Is that relevant in this discussion?

Then BE said:

Free will means the will is free, it doesn't mean that the will is free to will without a cause. :D

33. Award-winning comedian George Carlin dies

Comment #198052 by Frankus1122 on June 23, 2008 at 5:43 am

I heard on the radio this morning a snippet of an interview with Carlin. He was asked how he would like to be remembered.
His reply: "He's dead? He was here just a minute ago."

With all respect:


Shit.
Fuck.
Piss.
Cunt.
Cocksucker.
Motherfucker.
Tits.

Tits? That last one shouldn't even be on there. Sounds like a snack. Tater-tits.


One of my students gave me a box of tissues this morning as a year end present (I cried during a movie we watched in class). They may come in handy.
:( and :)

34. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197792 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 5:24 pm

Steve,
I was thinking of exactly this TED talk but I could not remember the name of the man who gave it.
Thank you.

EDIT: Interesting how the great and not-so-great minds can arrive at the same place. :)

35. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197780 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 4:55 pm

Goldy and Quine,
Was it you guys that talked about 'transcending' our natural selves a while back?

I think that generally speaking we cannot get out of the fact that we are a part of the evolutionary process. Our self-awareness of that process however, is unique as far as we can tell. We can indeed direct the path of our species to a certain extent. Is that part of the process itself? Are we able to intelligently design ourselves?
Does the genetic manipulation of other species -something we have been doing for millennia- count as rising above Natural Selection? What difference does it make if we do it to other species or ourselves?

I was at a kids' party all afternoon so my brain is a bit frazzled. I hope I am making sense.

36. The Flea Delusion

Comment #197773 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 4:38 pm

And perhaps we could have the broadway show of Cartomancer's book done up by Diacanu.

37. The Flea Delusion

Comment #197772 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 4:35 pm

Richard Dawkins wrote:

There are no testimonials from Oprah and Deepak. The testimonials are from Woprah Onfray, Chopak Deeprah, Onchel Milfray, Frolic Crancis and Archbishop Osmond Tupu.

Sorry about that chief.
The image on my screen is not all that clear. I had to zoom in and it became even fuzzier.
The book is a joke. And as I said a true flea.
Cartomancer's proposed book looks far funnier. Then again he is a man of true intelligence and great wit.

38. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197596 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 11:08 am

is it a condition that the interface between my faith and science is a no go area that I'm not allowed to talk to you about?

That is what we talk about here.

We think it is unjustified and untenable to bring supernatural beliefs into a discussion about science.
You have said God is beyond your comprehension, and yet you believe. Quine asked 'Why?'

There was talk around this subject before somewhere. If you have Faith, you believe without evidence. But why do you believe in Yahweh over Allah or Krishna?
In order to answer that you need to provide reasons. If you are providing reasons you are using reason and logic to answer a question of faith which is beyond reason.

It is a conundrum.

Either you go with reason and logic consistently and forgo claims of the supernatural or you revert to completely arbitrary unsubstantiated faith where there is no reason to choose one god over an other.

Let's talk. Fart away! :)

39. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197568 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 10:35 am

So, my question is, how do I and the people on this thread share the same community, or are we destined to be forever enemies?

I think this has been answered by me and by Steve: believe what you want but keep it private if it comes from a 'supernatural' source.

Now, can we be friends? :)

40. The Flea Delusion

Comment #197565 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 10:30 am

From what I was able to read from the back cover (testimonials from Oprah and Deepak) it does not look like a serious book. There are many references to it being extremely funny.
It looks like a true flea; exploiting the title of Dawkins' book to make a quick buck.

41. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197561 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 10:23 am

Jethro,
As I said here: 8381. Comment #196644 by Frankus1122,
There is no problem with you believing in God as long as your God stays outside the universe.

He can create it and sit back and watch.

If you think He starts tinkering after that you need to show how you know this and how He goes about doing this.
If you think God wants you to behave decently (and what is decent is generally agreed upon by civilized society - slavery is bad; stoning people for adultery is bad, etc.), then okay.
If you think God wrote down rules for behaviour (slavery is okay; stoning people for adultery is good, etc.) then we have problems.

For the most part we do share in community and share the planet. We only run into problems when you claim supernatural knowledge and then try to impose the consequences of that knowledge on the rest of us.

I think this last point is crucial.

Science tries to discover the nature of things. The results of scientific inquiry is generally open to refutation. Anyone can come along and say, "No, this is not so." But they need to provide an alternative theory. They need to show where the methodology was incorrect and provide a better alternative.

You can't really say the same thing about religion.

So, as long as your God remains outside the universe we are okay.
Do you have objections to this?

42. Christianity 'could die out within a century'

Comment #197483 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 8:30 am

Comment #197372 by Stacey

Yeah, maybe. But how many people will look at this film and say, "WTF? These people are crazy!" as opposed to those who will say, "It's about time we had this type of educational camp for our children."?

On the other hand I do agree thee is a danger that stupids will win out. Maybe I just don't want to believe it is so. :)

43. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197463 by Frankus1122 on June 22, 2008 at 6:36 am

Irate,

Does this mean Bishop Nazir-Ali won't be attending the Pride Parade in Toronto either?



And bugaboo, I like it.

44. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197360 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Comment #197353 by Quine
Ouch!
It must really start to sting. Getting spanked by real science again and again and again.

But txp is our TIMEX watch.

I just had a bunch of popcorn myself. I took my kids to see 'Get Smart". Hence the "Sorry about that chief" remark earlier.

45. Who Owns the Argument from Improbability?

Comment #197356 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 8:43 pm

It's obvious: as more scientific information comes to light, the more people like Richard panic

I was thinking just the exact opposite.
It is the religious world view that is crashing down in front of your eyes. You are making valiant efforts to save a view of the world that just doesn't fit any more.

But the truth will win out.

The Theory of Evolution and science in general get stronger and stronger. They become more and more accurate models of the structure of the universe. There are some areas of disagreement. They are investigated and argued about and science progresses. We rewrite our books as new knowledge comes to the fore.

This does not happen in the religious world view. You have a book that has all the truth and it never changes. Ha! You have a book riddled with errors that never changes. The errors get bigger and there are more of them as time goes by. But you keep publishing the same book with the same errors. Is that any way to live your life? Really?

46. Christianity 'could die out within a century'

Comment #197351 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 8:22 pm

I was just thinking that the current wave of creationist/ID nonsense is the death rattle of the particular brand of religion from which it comes.
Creationism and ID is nonsense. Neither proposes anything worthwhile in terms of the advancement of science or knowledge. I believe truth will win out.
What happens to all those who so vehemently believe that the Bible is the literal word of God when it is proven not to be? I mean if we survive for another hundred years we will have progressed so much further scientifically (hopefully). Those that claim the Earth is 6000 years old and that God created all life as it is now will be seen as flat-earthers even more than they are now. Won't that crumble their faith even further? How could you believe any of what the Bible says if it is demonstrably so false?

47. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #197350 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 8:07 pm

txp,

At the theory level, mutations and selection are supposed to work hand in hand. But when you really try to apply that idea, it looks stupid. Doesn't it?

Um, no.

In fact, the opposite is true. It looks elegant and beautiful. And it works.
What looks stupid is you.
Sorry about that chief.
What worries you is that if you are wrong about this (and you are) your whole world view comes crashing down. There is no authority in the Bible any longer. You are on your own to figure things out. But it is not so bad. There are a lot of people out here who have done a lot of the work for you.
However, if you insist, you need to come up with something that will not only challenge but replace the current theory of how life evolved. It needs to be as good as the Theory of Evolution for explaining and predicting how life came to be as it is and where it may go.
Could your theory predict where Tiktaalik roseae would be found?
Can your theory explain how oil was formed? You posted something about synthetic oil being created in a lab but no detail as to how the oil deposits around the globe were formed.

You have quoted a source that states:

What happened were some major mutations

Good. You, I think, question how those mutations came about. I think you would suggest, although you don't explicitly state this (embarrassed perhaps), that God made the mutations happen so the "Neos" could have corn to eat.
Why would you think that?
What evidence do you have?
It really makes no sense for an all powerful being to go about making what he wants to happen happen in such a way that looks as though he was not there at all.

Your world view is being shattered in front of your eyes.

48. Louisiana's Latest Assault on Darwin

Comment #197121 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 6:49 am

As a rising star on the conservative right, mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain, Mr. Jindal may have more than science on his mind.

It is funny that I just posted something saying basically this on another thread.
He doesn't care about the science. He doesn't care about the children in the schools. He doesn't care about the truth. He cares about votes and political power.
Cynicism back on apparently.

49. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #197119 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 6:40 am

Comment #197108 by Steve Zara

It may be, however, that such subtleties would be lost on a politician!

All the talk of the harm to US science and harm to the world of science in general will be lost on the politician. They care about votes and staying in power.
The appeal should be to how this will affect his re-election chances. However, it will probably be good for him to vote for this legislation in terms of staying in power.
Integrity in politics is only seen in the light of how it will affect the retention of power.
Cynicism over.

50. PZ Myers - Science and Atheism in the Blogosphere

Comment #197115 by Frankus1122 on June 21, 2008 at 6:25 am

Goldy:

This site is a drug. I'm hooked.

I know what you mean. As I said earlier I will be without Internet access for most of the summer. Although I will most definitely enjoy my time with my children in the wilds of north-eastern Ontario, it may seem a bit like rehab at first.

As to the point of these threads and blogging:
I was thinking it could be like adding straw to a camel's back.
RtG and txp and the like must at some point get overwhelmed by the evidence against their position. And if not them, then the others who silently observe.
If all one hears is the rantings of the preacher on Sunday about the evils of Darwinism they have here an alternate source of information. If they are truly honest with themselves about discovering truth they have a source of it here.
I prefer the "naive optimism" of Steve.