Comments by Quetzalcoatl

1901. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141132 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 5:12 am

Geoff-

no. Nobody was praising him there.

Wheeler-

stop it. Just stop it. And learn to spell.

1902. Out of the Blue

Comment #141124 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 5:03 am

Steve-

calm down. Lay off the Nescafe.

Richard Morgan-

you could argue that for the creation of a Universe. But as far as the creation of this specific Universe is concerned, with life, sandstone, traffic cones and Wooter, you could argue that you would need some hefty computational resources in order to be able to tweak things at the beginning in just such a way that this is how it would turn out.

1903. Out of the Blue

Comment #141121 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 4:37 am

Geoff-

But surely we (humans) would be its gods

A quick scan of the Internet would swiftly change the AI's opinion on the matter.

1904. Fleabytes

Comment #141103 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 3:17 am

Paula-

well, I think people on this thread are currently far too happy. Something needs to be done about that. :)

Not a peep from him on here or on FCOS. US Tour must be going well(!)

1905. Out of the Blue

Comment #141100 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 3:11 am

Evidennnccceee....

Tessssttabbbllleee evvvideennnceee....

1906. Out of the Blue

Comment #141094 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 2:58 am

Brainsssssss...

Brrraaaaaiiiinnnnssssssss......

Sorry.

1907. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141088 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 2:47 am

Wipeout-

on a different subject.

You keep talking about websites where Wooter is being praised. Please provide us with the links so we can go and see for ourselves.

1908. Fleabytes

Comment #141079 by Quetzalcoatl on March 10, 2008 at 2:23 am

Richard Morgan-

more excellent compositions. Well done.

You're doing a good job of keeping the thread alive at the moment, where is Clearthinker when you need him? :)

1909. Out of the Blue

Comment #140687 by Quetzalcoatl on March 8, 2008 at 10:52 am

JD Cherry

Before anything resembling consciousness could arise from a simulated brain you'd need a simulated body. I'm sure of that

What makes you so sure?

1910. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #140620 by Quetzalcoatl on March 8, 2008 at 2:53 am

Geoff-

ha, yes it does! He may also be a little baaa-rmy.

1911. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #140616 by Quetzalcoatl on March 8, 2008 at 2:36 am

Shmeezers-

This clip just shows how arrogant these people really are, and how clouded their judgment becomes because of it. Carry on, you sheep; buy into it

IRONY ALERT. A believer just accused atheists of being sheep.

1912. When blasphemy bit the dust

Comment #140491 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 2:35 pm

If Jesus Christ exists, and if Jesus Christ in his Godlike form was capable of creating the universe, then he could quite easily hack the bit of leftwing obscurantism and b-mindedness that writes things such as Jerry Springer: The Opera. If he does not exist, nothing will happen. If he does exist, it is up to him to get hold of the chap who wrote it and make sure that he does time in the diabolical house of correction.

The Earl of Onslow has a good point here. Blasphemy laws are superfluous. If God exists, he doesn't need us to defend him.

1913. When blasphemy bit the dust

Comment #140487 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 2:26 pm

What irritates me is that 87 of the Lords voted against it. I am so glad that we have an unelected body of rich toffs approving the laws in my country.

1914. Fleabytes

Comment #140465 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Cartomancer-

that's what will make it such an original piece!

Steve-

I agree with you about the Cosmos comparison.

1915. Fleabytes

Comment #140459 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Richard Morgan-

did you include the gunshot especially as the piece was called "Diacanu"? It seems very appropriate for that particular poster.

(In a good way, Diacanu) :)

1916. Fleabytes

Comment #140454 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 11:54 am

Richard Morgan-

my compliments to you. So far I've listened to two of the three. I especially like "we saw the comet".

EDIT- all three now. Excellent stuff.

1917. Fleabytes

Comment #140367 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 7:54 am

Peacebeuponme-

Ha! But they're all sinful, aren't they?

1918. Fleabytes

Comment #140363 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 7:46 am

Billy-

I think he is trying the technique used on him - indoctrination

Except we constantly ruin it by asking "what are they?" :-)

1919. Fleabytes

Comment #140357 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 7:40 am

Paula Kirby, Dr Benway-

don't forget that there are also "other ways of knowing". A guy I debate with uses that one a LOT.

1920. Fleabytes

Comment #140348 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 7:11 am

Mlearnedfriend-

4] Fulfilled Prophecy - this is at least mainly measurable. Yes, there are some ambiguous statements amongst the many claimed prophecies but there are enough to suggest that the writer had inside knowledge. Some have tried to overcome these by saying that the prophecy was written after the event but so far these have been paradigm-driven rather than evidence-based. Of the 300 or so prophecies that relate to the Messiah you may find some unconvincing ï¿½quot; but all of them?

I'm going to leave the other six points alone and focus on this one. Mlearnedfriend- can we have some examples of prophecies in the Bible that you consider to have been fulfilled?

A while ago I and several others have a very detailed and informative discussion with a guy named Mark Taunton on the subject of Biblical prophecies. He argued his case well, but the ones he mentioned did not hold up to scrutiny, and he had to keep changing the goalposts.

Can you do better?

1921. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #140263 by Quetzalcoatl on March 7, 2008 at 4:49 am

I see that Wooter's surgery to have his colon extended and rerouted to the back of his throat continues to be a gushing success.

Philip1978-

I doff my hat to you, sir. Have some tea. I know it's hard, but try not to let him get to you. He's not worth it.

1922. Fleabytes

Comment #139754 by Quetzalcoatl on March 6, 2008 at 1:10 pm

Mikejswalker-

two days ago, I think.

1923. Fleabytes

Comment #139703 by Quetzalcoatl on March 6, 2008 at 12:12 pm

Perhaps a better way to phrase it is not in terms of "tolerating" homosexuality, but accepting it.

1924. Fleabytes

Comment #139298 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 2:14 pm

Geoff-

do you mean this comment?

http://richarddawkins.net/articleComments,2285,Fleabytes,Paula-Kirby,page65#138631

He does mention the word "nepotism" in the context of the Paula/RD discussion.

1925. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #139186 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 9:09 am

I'm just marvelling that Wooter managed to spell "synonym" correctly.

1926. Fleabytes

Comment #139161 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 8:34 am

Richard Morgan-

I have to agree with Paula. The fact that threads sometimes go wildly off-topic is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. I come to this site not only to discuss, but to have a laugh as well. Some of the directions threads wander off into are very entertaining.

But the quality of the discussion on this site is probably some of the best on the Internet, and that's what keeps bringing me back.

1927. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #139159 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 8:28 am

Steveroot-

I heard that DrBenwaydidit. Srsly.

1928. Fleabytes

Comment #139155 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 8:23 am

Richard Morgan-

I suspect this thread will live on as long as Clearthinker continues to return periodically to post his responses and chastise us all for wandering off-topic. As if he expects us to spend all our time talking about him and his book while he isn't around.

1929. Fleabytes

Comment #139084 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 5:34 am

irate_atheist-

You know the old saying. If you can't think of something sensible to say, don't say anything...

a saying he obviously does not follow.

(Although in fairness, anyone reviewing many of my posts would notice the same lack of sensible commentary).

What did catch my eye was that he mentioned the posts on the FCOS forum, said that the post in question would go up later. He also said it was "wrong" but neglected to spell out why. Another familiar tactic.

1930. Fleabytes

Comment #139069 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 5:16 am

Steve-

as far as I can remember, I think Dr Benway has made precisely one mistake since I started reading this site, and that was so long ago that I can't even remember what it was. I very much doubt that Clearthinker spotted one!

1931. Bulldozers tear down giant religious teapot

Comment #139063 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 5:11 am

Philip1978-

damn straight. Dutchie, this is no laughing matter.

1932. Fleabytes

Comment #139062 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 5:10 am

Irate_atheist-

you may have noticed that my avatar has changed to "Dark Quetzalcoatl" to symbolise my rage.

So far, two of the guys who drove the bulldozers have been run over and are now in traction.

As for the Imam mentioned in the article, when he touched his head to the floor to do morning prayers today... trust me, you don't want to know what was on the floor waiting for him.

On other matters-

I've only skimmed the many, many comments since last night. Did Clearthinker have anything of interest to say?

1933. Fleabytes

Comment #139052 by Quetzalcoatl on March 5, 2008 at 4:52 am

Man, there have been a lot of comments on this thread since last night!

I'm still angry about that Teapot.

1934. Bulldozers tear down giant religious teapot

Comment #138521 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 1:21 pm

Steve-

Steve yells: Quetz! Philip1978!

What? What is it?

- Reads the article -

THIS IS SACRILEGE! HOW DARE THESE HEATHENS DESTROY THE SACRED SYMBOL OF QUETZALCOATL!!!

But the religious authorities fully approve of the state's actions. Haji Mohammed bin Junoh, the imam of the largest mosque in the area, said: "Pin is a deviationist. It is possible that he is dealing with Satan

THESE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES WILL HAVE TO "DEAL WITH" MY WRATH! TERRIBLE WILL BE MY VENGEANCE!

1935. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #138461 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 11:29 am

Some of them went extinct to make our lives easier

Almost makes you wonder why he'd bother to create them in the first place.

1936. Church exhumes Padre Pio

Comment #138330 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 7:49 am

"Right from the start we could see his beard,'' said Domenico D'Ambrosio, the archbishop of Manfredonia

Unfortunately, that is all that actually remains of the head. But at least the beard is neatly trimmed.

1937. Church exhumes Padre Pio

Comment #138317 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 7:33 am

Tyler-

it surprises me that this archbishop doesn't seem to realise that the corpse would have been neatened up before being interred. But then that wouldn't be a miracle.

And just precisely what would have happened if Padre Pio hadn't allowed him to say that?

1938. Church exhumes Padre Pio

Comment #138307 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 7:26 am

"Have you been thinking impure thoughts?"
"Yes Father".
"Ha! I knew it !"

It's hardly rocket science.

1939. Church exhumes Padre Pio

Comment #138299 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 7:14 am

Just one moment while I doff my Cynicism Hat (TM)-

He added, however, that it was not possible to see Padre Pio's stigmata, which were said to have disappeared just before he died without leaving any scars

So, he had stigmata all his life, yet they miraculously disappeared before he died without leaving any scars? How very.....convenient.

A Catholic magazine once found that far more Italian Catholics prayed to Padre Pio than to any other icon of the faith, including the Virgin Mary or Jesus

Am I the only one who thinks that Catholicism is practically polytheistic, with the amount of reverence it shows to Mary and other "icons"?

Among the stories that surround him is one that he wrestled with the devil in his monastery cell.

At least, that was his explanation for why they found him wearing a pink spandex leotard. The Devil was nowhere to be seen.

1940. Fleabytes

Comment #138288 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 6:35 am

al-rawandi-

thanks, that's fine now.

Philip1978-

I already pointed Artful to the post where DR used the death of a child to make a jibe at atheists- no response.

Artful also promised to provide us with evidence for objections to materialism. Hasn't done that yet either.

1941. Fleabytes

Comment #138282 by Quetzalcoatl on March 4, 2008 at 6:25 am

al-rawandi-

a staff and a white steed? Are you comparing Artful_Dodger to Gandalf from LOTR? If so, I must protest.

1942. Fleabytes

Comment #137899 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:53 pm

Brian-

fine, revenge is no longer on its way, I've sent it home.

1943. Fleabytes

Comment #137887 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:44 pm

Brian-

Take that Quetz! I had to cheat, but I got 3000th comment!

Grr. Revenge is coming. (:>)

1944. Fleabytes

Comment #137872 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Ha! I have the 3000th comment! In your collective faces!

- A hole opens in the floor, and Alastair McGrath hauls himself from the netherworld into reality -

Oh no.

Nooooooooo!

EDIT- great, someone cheated, and took the prize away from me. Bunch of sore losers.

1945. Fleabytes

Comment #137869 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Paula-

"I'm afraid that first one would have to define precisely what the definition of "eat" is. In order to do that, one would first have to consider the root word from which "eat" was first created. Once one has done that, one would need to consider whether the so-called evidence provided by this thing known as a "menu" can truly be relied upon, given that it seems to be the product of scientific materialism that leaves no room for wider interpretation".

And so on...

1946. Fleabytes

Comment #137851 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Prankster-

the prize is dinner with Alastair McGrath.

Watch the comments dry up.... ;)

1947. Fleabytes

Comment #137844 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Brian-

Quetz. How does a deity, who's perfect, have a mind? Just interested.

Just putting it in language that your feeble human brain can understand. (:>)

1948. Fleabytes

Comment #137835 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:19 pm

Steve-

that reads like one of those spam e-mails that always seem to come from Nigeria, offering you buckets of money if only you will pay a nominal fee.

So it's a good analogy.

EDIT- I see that Brian English has said the same thing. Great minds, and all that.

1949. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #137829 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Steveroot-

I don't think this bears on Iraq, Iran, Libya, etc., because they aren't "Mahometan" nations (what the heck *is* ;-))

Are'nt they? I thought "Mahometan" means followers of Muhammad, so wouldn't predominantly Muslim nations like Iran and Iraq fall under such a description? An Islamic theocracy like Iran definitely would.

1950. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #137825 by Quetzalcoatl on March 3, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Annabanana-