I changed a few things on the site, to make things a little wonky. The biggest change were the drawer dropdowns I used for the navigation. The plugin seemed to take up a lot of the load time, and the experience wasn’t ideal on mobile, so I ditched it. There’s only one navigable page—the “About” … Another Site Design Update
I remember watching the Rocky movies countless times when I was younger, and I never thought the semi-iconic scene in Rocky III where Rocky finally out-sprints Apollo Creed was implicitly homosexual. Watching it now, one has to wonder how much attitudes have changed, such that the filmmakers back then (1982) never thought twice that this … Rocky and Mutual Male Touching
This has probably already been said somewhere, but given what we know from the trailers, other sources, and basic cinematic tropes, I can predict one of the crucial plot element at the Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We know Luke Skywalker is in exile for some reason. He’s in the second trailer (see screenshot above), … Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Ending Prediction
In the last part of John 1, Jesus recruits Philip, who then goes to tell Nathanael about Him. Nathanael is skeptical but does an about-face when he asks Jesus how He knew him. It’s implied that there is some divine foreknowledge on Jesus’ part when He said “I saw you” under the fig tree; presumably, … Quick Bible Study: John’s Nathanael Narrative
Consider this a public service announcement post, since I had some issues with getting my copy of Halo 2 to work, even after doing research online. I have an Xbox 360 E, and they require an internal drive to make original Xbox games compatible. However, the internal drive must be an official Microsoft hard drive, … How to Play Xbox Games on an XBox 360
After upgrading to Windows 10, I saw that the Mozilla Manifesto was directly linked from the Firefox’s default “new tab” screen (for the record, I’m a Chrome guy). With Mozilla’s recent dalliances with progressive politics, I wanted to see if it infected their official statement of purpose. It mostly didn’t, thankfully, but it is rather … Mozilla’s Manifesto Is Eh
The quote below is from Children of the Mind (free pdf here), the last book in the The Ender Quartet series, Chapter 7, page 101. This is part of a chapter of the book that stuck with me, since it describes a material and technological phenomenon in mythical language. “Myth” has been transformed into a … Orson Scott Card’s Myth-Language
After a some comments I made on one of Mike Duran’s post, “Does Christian Fiction Have a Race Problem?”, I was set to write a lot of about the politicized nature of the modern diversity concept. Stefan Molyneux beat me and saved me some writing time, so I’d advise you to watch the video below. … The Diversity Issue
The comments on my last post reminded me of how much scientific “stuff” we really don’t know, epistemologically, so this is just a quick reminder. Since we don’t do experiments ourselves and only learn about them after they’ve gone through many hands and eyes, and through a massive popularization filter (looking at you, I Fucking … What You Really Love
From a letter to William Lane Craig, Craig’s response (bold mine): Your envisioned scenario is quite similar to the objection of the late philosopher J. Howard Sobel. Sobel invites us to conceive of something which, if it is possible, is a dragon in whichever world is the actual world. This is just like your “phoenix … Mad Max(imally)
A cut and paste post while I’m busy finishing up Pale Blue Scratch. I recently finished a staycation and was busy annoying everyone on Facebook with my humdrum, activities in the dense suburbs of Pittsburgh. Here they are, serialized for your pleasure—because what’s more entertaining than what an average white American male does in his … The Staycation Dad Chronicles
See here and here for reference. 1. Inference (2): “If (i) morally good acts are willed by God because they are morally good, then they are morally good independent of God’s will.” – Possibly true, but irrelevant, since there’s other things besides God’s will that morality could rest upon: i.e., God’s power or omniscience. 2. … The Euthyphro Dumb-lemma
Though I don’t have the formal education on this, like some do, to point to primary sources, but Medieval thought in general held sin, especially blasphemy, to cause actual harm in the physical world. This puts a different spin on witch trials and inquisitions, since committing blasphemy could be considered no different than assault. One … Of Blasphemy and Trigger Warnings
I ignore such salacious, morally complicated stories as the Kim Davis fiasco, but the bleating on Facebook has been hard to ignore. I have little true opinion about it since it has no direct bearing on my life, but it does serve as a working example of competing loyalties that demand full allegiance. As a … Separate the Church and the State
I read an old post of mine by chance the other day on how we know our religious beliefs are true. While that question is badly worded and doesn’t really ask the right thing, I had a whole series of thoughts that just ended up as one simple one after reading it again. An extreme … Quick Thought on Universal Positivism
I have no dog in the evolution debate because I’m not a biologist nor a theologian, but I do have loosely-held ideas—intuitions, really—not based on scientific study by nature but still relevant and true (to a degree) to me, internally. This article on the romanticization of “natural” food, from the leftoid Jacobin site, provides an … The Culinary Argument Against Human Evolution
Inspired both by Ed’s posts about riding out in Oklahoma County and by the fact that I finally took Functional out on a non-commuting ride this season, here’s a very photo-heavy post of the route I did with some friends/in-laws. For the Pittsburgh area, it was a very flat ride with some nice views along the … Photos: Allegheny Valley Bike Ride
Carl Sagan, as usual when it came to epistemology, was wrong. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” is applicable when speaking of empirical, falsifiable claims. Fine when you’re dealing with the hard sciences, or if for some reason you’re a positivist (impossible to be one, so we won’t go there today), but achieving a functional navigation … Evidence is Not Enough
I’m not too keen on photos of myself, but Hot Metal Studio did a great job of making me appeal to…myself. The session was for the new book’s author photo, but this isn’t the one I’m going to use.
Growing up with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as a favorite movie, I got the impression that slavery was all about capturing young able-bodied children for mine work. Roots sat on the head-end of my timeline but if I saw that I’d have additional prejudices about slavery. Most of us who have grown … Doubleplusungood Thoughts on Slavery
There are about four stop signs near my house on the way to the bus stop that I generally ignore. Two of them literally have no consequence if one is obedient to them or not. I guess I should explain that I’m riding my bike when I fly through these, but some people have a … The Epistemology of Road Signs
Bear with me if you’ve never seen Castle in the Sky, or you’ve forgotten it. Some time ago, on Facebook or on some message board had mentioned the odd interest the pirates took in Sheeta’s presence on their ship. If I had a clip of the relevant scenes, I would link them here, but it’s … Castle in the Sky – Sheeta and the Pirates
I listen to a playlist of video game music at work or when I’m writing. Like film scores, most of it is designed to be unobtrusive enough to help someone maintain focus on something else. There are two songs in my playlist that intruded into my attention the other day though, through tiny idiosyncrasies like … Getting Trolled By Video Game Music
I’ve been on vacation for the week, visiting family in Massachusetts, so there haven’t been much activity. The week preceding vacation I was working on finishing up a redesign of the Mission to El Salvador site, so there was even more time away from the ol’ blog. Here’s a photo of the Whitin Reservoir in … Photo: Whitin Reservoir – Douglas, MA
God’s not in the business of sticking around only to cover up for your stupidity or hubris, though I am sure there are provisions sent that can account for that. To a certain extent God honors what a church body corporately focuses on—their “mission,” if you will—at least insofar that the body adheres to God’s … “Look at Me. I Did It Too.”
I’ve mentioned it before on here plenty of times, but I note the not-very-groundbreaking, Voltairean idea that a disbelief in God will necessary a man to find divine attributes in the physical or abstract—not metaphysical—universe (as such, Volataire’s quote is more accurate if we put “find” instead of “it would be necessary to invent him.”). … Being Necessary to Create God
It bears repeating: God doesn’t owe you a damn thing. That He doesn’t owe you anything doesn’t mean He doesn’t offer anything. It’s self-evident in many ways that, if you are reading this, there are some things He’s already given to you, and continues to give. There’s a reflection of this duality in the two … How to Stay Sane
If you’ve already read the post title, do I need to provide a spoiler warning? Marnie, who turned out to be Anna’s grandmother, had told her about her life at the mansion and her relationship and life with Kazuhiko during one of Marnie’s bed-ridden bouts with her chronic fevers (note that Marnie’s caretaking duties put … When Marnie Was There – Ending Analysis
I’ve been reading Chasing the Dragon and read up a bit on Kowloon Walled City. Here’s a blog post that claimed KWC was an anarchy. Sort of: However, for about 50 years after the end of World War II, there was an experimental, if you will, Libertarian paradise, just outside of Hong Kong, known as … Kowloon Walled City Was Not An Anarchy
I, perhaps for the last time, switched and customized the theme here at the blog, using WordPress twenty twelve as a base. I tried to get rid of as many barriers as I could, experience-wise, especially if you on a mobile device. There are more details on my UX portfolio page, for those of you … Theme Updated and Customized – Fire When Ready
Story here, if you haven’t caught wind yet. Right now there are obvious choices being talked about: Susan B. Anthony (universal suffrage is silly), Eleanor Roosevelt (wife of a former head bureaucrat) or local favorite: Rachel Carson (malaria lover). I personally have little interest in who is picked save for one reason. However, these items … Ayn Rand Should Be On the New Ten Dollar Bill
Serfs in Santa Monica can’t make agreements with other serfs to have them stay over their house because of arbitrary rules…rules that were created by lords who have nothing to do with the potential transaction. From Forbes: The Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica has instituted the nation’s toughest regulations on short-term rentals like Airbnb. … The Serfs May Not Talk Amongst Themselves
A very non-serious post. I scrounged up from different sources these three desktop backgrounds that feature the intro screen for Xenoblade Chronicles, that shows the different times of day. I had to do some Photoshop work on them to get the positioning, proportions, files size, and colors mostly coordinated between pictures. I think they’re aesthetically … Xenoblade Time of Day Desktop Backgrounds
“Digression is the soul of wit. Take the philosophic asides away from Dante, Milton or Hamlet’s father’s ghost and what stays is dry bones.” -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 Hello all! Despite the lack of emails the last month or so, things haven’t been quiet regarding Pale Blue Scratch. A week ago I submitted my draft … An Excerpt – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #9
This article raises some interesting questions. How far should a scientific discipline go in its theories of “the possible?” before it stops being a science? For all it’s been romanticized, no one mentions the study of science can be an exhausting rat race with professional jealousies and money grabs. I’m willing to believe that half … Physical Limits
If you’re ever in a position to “do good” for a large amount of people, take stock of the people who would make this happen. You may find you’ve been airdropped into the middle of unsavory individuals of questionable character. Some brutal plainspeak from abolishgovernmentnow.com: You are the selfish ones. You care nothing about the … Stop Trying to Make the World a Better Place
Back in my day, I had an outspoken atheist professor who said at the start of every semester that if we didn’t like something in his class: “Tough shit. Suck it up or leave.” I didn’t care because he was funny and was good at learnin’ me logic and philosophy, and I actually got to … The Occident Is Doomed
The commons room of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.
I’ve come to appreciate writers that don’t characterize immoral actors in their work as complete devils. Things that are considered immoral now, but commonplace in past times, is often depicted as being perpetrated by people of ill-character and worth. I’m willing to believe people who perpetrated bad “institutions” (nearly everyone) in the past were normal … Bad Guys and Ancient Knowledge
Haven’t read or watched the solution yet, but I would flip over the 8 to see if it’s blue and then the green card to see if the number is NOT even. The premise is saying all even numbers yield blue on the other side. It doesn’t say if blue cards could or could not … Another Logic Test To Make You Feel Inadequate
I’ve seen Shadow Work: The Unpaid, Unseen Jobs That Fill Your Day blogged about and linked from many sources the last few days: Shadow work includes all the unpaid tasks we do on behalf of businesses and organizations. It has slipped into our routines stealthily; most of us do not realize how much of it … Why We Do Shadow Work
Pittsburgh is very hilly and very overcast. The correct combination of these two things can yield some great sky and cloud photography. This isn’t great photograph per se, but it could have been with the right equipment and not a so-so phone camera. The right photographic “raw material” is there. This was taken during the … Photo: Pittsburgh Sky
A breather post in between marathon writing sessions and some serious future posts. I bought a mountain bike off of Craigslist last week: a late-80s-to-early-90s Specialized Hard Rock. Functional has been in the shop for the past few weeks getting a tune up, so I thought it’s a good idea to finally get a backup … I Bought A Bike
Another drive-by post. There’s too many great bits of information on here to call one out, so I would just read the entire piece. In the context of this particular quote, I don’t find the debate about evolution vs. creation very relevant. Most of the debate originates between pushy scientists who really want to disprove … Natural vs Supernatural Concepts in Ancient Hebrew
After a bunch of plugin and theme updates, and a WordPress update, the WordPress 2015 theme I was using wasn’t playing well. That is, if you consider not showing any posts at all as “not playing well.” So I switched to the 2011 theme, which always seemed a little more stable to me than other … Switched to WordPress 2011 Theme
Friends! It’s been a while. Things are progressing as planned with the actual book. Short email this time around. I wanted to show the last two quote images. See them below. More emails coming soon!
Dropping in quickly again to mention Just Thomism’s post on the Catholic Church’s socio-economic policy, as stated in its catechism: The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with “communism” or “socialism.” She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of “capitalism,” individualism and the absolute primacy of the … Catholicism’s Social Teaching
Dropping in here for a moment between writing PBS and living a normal work-family life. Upon a recent visit to amazon.com I saw one of their “recommended books”: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. Despite something of an embarrassing cover featuring a photo of that Nazi treasure hunter … Two Books of Note
“At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.” -Willa Cather Have you ever gone camping overnight? There’s an astounding lack of electricity in the wild, unless you bring batteries with you. But that’s where this illustration point ends … About Sleep and Light – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #7
I’ve said it before on here. Other, more adept and well-known writers have said similar: a non-belief in God requires, philosophically, that one must find or apply Godlike attributes to something else. It’s an accidental side meaning smuggled in Voltaire’s famous quote: “If God didn’t exist it would be necessary to invent him.” Related to … When Living is a Crime
“I let my past go too fast No time to pause If I could slow it all down Like some captain whose ship runs aground I can wait until the tide comes around” -Rush, “Time Stands Still” Though in Pale Blue Scratch there isn’t any time-travel—or is there?—the idea of a machine that allows for … About Time and Travel – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #6
I don’t mean to brag, but tThis is the third year in a row I haven’t gotten sick—not the flu or anything else. This is even with living in a small house with a wife and two kids who all got sick, and with a 9-5 type of sit-down desk job. There was a time … Time To Brag About Not Getting Sick Again
Here’s a neat bit of imagery I noticed at the end of the Halo: Reach game. Some backstory (and spoilers, obviously): your player-character arrives on the scene in the beginning of Reach, on the planet Reach, as the replacement for the Spartan’s recently-KIA sixth member. Hence, your player’s name is Noble Six. The end of … Imagery in Halo: Reach
Short answer: no. Longer answer: watch video. Guest speaker’s at my church last Sunday, Austin Hohn. Jesus is God from Discovery Christian Church on Vimeo. To be clear, I think you can get some vague idea of what Jesus’ divinity was because, as the famous phrase goes, “words mean things.” I think Chalcedon is about … Can You Understand Jesus’ Divinity Via Enlightenment Reasoning?
Nothing fancy-pants this time around–just another email with some quote images. I don’t even have a quote under the email title! But there is some actual news to share: there will soon be a first-draft chapter of Pale Blue Scratch available online soon. It’s called “The Flights at Bridge Zero,” and yes, the chapters have … Images. And Words. Part 2 – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #5
I posted about Bertrand Russell’s teapot argument a while back, but it’s been resurrected to my attention recently by some random blog post I read that voiced support of his argument in passing. In reading the post (it was more of a quasi-academic article than something linkable, and I have no idea where I came … Update: Russell’s Cosmic Teapot Argument is Still Bad
“The role of the artist is to not look away.” -Akira Kurosawa I first saw that Kurosawa quote on Mike Duran’s blog. After I finished writing my first book which will never be released, I had searched for “swearing in Christian fiction” and Mike’s blog was one of the first results returned. The quote is … Images. And Words – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #4
When there’s as decent amount of accumulation of snow or ice, especially on the street, and it rains, parts of the snow or ice on the ground melt and some doesn’t. It depends on the thickness of the snow/ice, how dirty it is, the grade of the hill it’s on, the type of ground it’s … A Possible Metaphor
Just Thomism talks about the Kalām Cosmological Argument, one that I’ve been iffy on: If the universe were ten minutes old, it would make sense to say it was not around 11 minutes ago, but this doesn’t mean there is a physical meaning to “eleven minutes”, and without this physical meaning it makes no sense … Criticism of the Kalām Cosmological Argument
Not a huge post, but a break from all this blubbering about the book is nice. Aldous Huxley. I’ve posted this one before but they were of lower quality: Cristina Fernandez: Fran Lebowitz: H.L. Menken: Ian Fleming: John Maynard Keynes: Kurt Vonnegut: Murray Rothbard: Road Dahl: Stephen King. That’s Drew Barrymore with the match: William … Photos of Smoking Writers – Back from the Dead
“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” -Henry Ward Beecher Even though Pale Blue Scratch will be a self-published book, I won’t be skimping on cover art. My friend Marcia Furman will be depicting one of the devices in a watercolor sketch for book cover. … Of Art and Light – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #3
The Ghost Box is Mike Duran’s third full novel, about Reagan Moon, a journalist of the paranormal who gets caught up, to put it mildly, in some otherwordly happenings in SoCal. I don’t dabble too much in modern science fiction or paranormal (see below), so I can only really competently comment on Moon’s first person … Book Review: The Ghost Box
I normally pay no attention to legislative news because, as Michael Corleone said, politics and crime are the same thing. Inordinately fixating on the schemes of social deviants does not reside in the realm of the sane. But since the issue of net neutrality has some personal impact as a software engineer, I have some … Net Neutrality is a Bad Idea
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your art.” -Gustave Flaubert The protagonist of Pale Blue Scratch, Elisabeth, is known by her colleagues to be a bit of a impulsive decision-maker. This trait is somewhat at odds with her vocation as a professor, journalist, and member … The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #2
Here’s the official back cover copy for Pale Blue Scratch, which got sent out to those of you on the email list last Monday morn. It’s no Amish Vampires In Space, but what is? “I would disassemble this body and cast it onto the coronal burn of the sun if it means I get answers.” … Pale Blue Scratch Email #1 – Back Cover Copy
There’s a sticky post at the top of the site (or go here) where you can sign up for the email list for my new book, Pale Blue Scratch. It’s currently being drafted but will soon be advancing to the later, less unattractive stages. Most of what I send out on the list will be … Feign Interest in My Writing and Sign Up For My New Book’s Email List
There are honest movie trailers and then there are honest movie posters. Here’s my honest movie poster for Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Now get me some bath tokens! Edit: The “bath house is a brothel” theory is contentious. It’s irrelevant to the story at large; just a point of interest. Edit II: This poster is … Honest Movie Poster: Spirited Away
If you’re my friend on Facebook you’ve seen me briefly whine about Scarlett Johansson’s role in the Americanized, live-action version of Ghost in the Shell (GitS). As I’ve said on there, I don’t care much about race qua race in most contexts, but within the GitS fictional world it matters a lot. Since both movies, … Scarlett Johansson’s Race and Ghost in the Shell
I don’t write about music on here often even though I have a large background in it. There is something I wanted to note in the ceremonial passing of 2014 into 2015. Our yearly New Year’s Eve tradition is to blast the Wii with the new release of Just Dance. This past New Year’s was … Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” is a Weird Song
A few months ago I read an excerpt of Wright’s Awake in the Nightland and it delivered the creep factor of Kubrick’s 2001 with a hint of Lovecraft’s pantheon in its first pages. I don’t know much about Wright but as an ex-atheist, current Christian, he expresses irritation with spiritually didactic literature in a Castalia … John C. Wright Doesn’t Like Preachy Novels
I posted these questions on Facebook and didn’t receive much response, though I should’ve known that site isn’t the greatest medium (*rimshot*) to field science questions that aren’t in meme format. I came across the article linked below while doing book research, and it’s actually an excerpt from a book called Transcending The Speed Of … Is There an Ether or Isn’t There?
Progress on Retardo Montalbán is going well. I should have a editable draft finished very soon. I don’t like being silent here for too long but I also despise meaningless posts, so here’s some things to mitigate that. You are currently viewing WordPress’ 2015 default theme with very little modifications on my part. I have … I Still Live
Yes, it’s fine, in this modern day, if you want to emphasize the St. Nicholas version of Santa Claus. It’s also a fine thing if you want to play up the Sunblom version of Santa Claus as well. I don’t find rejecting either one as particularly bad, but what I object to is rejection of … The Christian Case for Santa Claus
Taking a quick break from Retardo Montalbán to mention this. Science-lite articles using “science says” verbiage are bothersome reification fallacies, since science doesn’t “say” anything; people do. On the other hand there’s a different kind of fallacious appeal smuggled through, since using “science says” doesn’t exactly invite criticism of whatever “it,” as an object, says. … There’s No Arguing With Disembodied Concepts Labeled “Science”
I’m already sort of breaking my “no more posts until the book is done” rule already, but this was too delicious to pass up: “The Case for Idolatry: Why Evangelical Christians Can Worship Idols”. Secondly, and even more significantly, we need to read the whole Bible with reference to the approach of Jesus. To be … Coming Out of the Idolization Closet
Not that I am particularly prolific on here, but I’m going to be taking a shortish break from posting while I finish up the first few drafts of Retardo Montalbán. There will be more drafts while Jill does her editing thing but that writing won’t be as rigorous or demanding…unless the bean bang completely misses … Taking A Short Break
You can buy it on Amazon. Here’s a list of things you can do with the paperback that you can’t do with the electronic version: Read 17 more stories Hold it Throw it Hide it from your babysitter Hide it from any babysitter Steal it* Steal it from Kevin Bacon** Bite it Do nothing with … Bored in the Breakroom Print Paperback Is Out
Good thoughts from Ed’s latest post: One of the biggest problems I run into is this knee-jerk reaction that our cultural substrate is the human default. It seems nobody wants to understand that what we have today is an anomaly, an intellectual tradition more radically different from all others than any of the rest are … Salvaging Some Knowledge
EDIT for all the people finding this post: I didn’t write the quoted text myself. It’s found at the page linked below, on the 16personalities.com site. I specifically picked the negative section because lots of personality quizzes give glowing praise as results, and the 16personalities site is one of the only ones I found that … Myers-Briggs Test Results: INTJ – The Conceited, Nit-Picking Sociopath
I received an email asking to promote the results of a poll, as seen in this post from the Daily Beast. Even though I’m actually doing what was requested by linking to it in this post, I responded to the email and declined because I’m not into charities I’m not personally involved with, and because … A Stupid Poll About Writing
I am currently on the first draft stage of Retardo Montalbán, and I have onboarded Jill Domschot as the semi-formal editor of the project. We have a verbal agreement for services and payment, where I will remite payment at the end of her editing duties. So this public post carries with it the accountability factor—mostly … An Update on the Works In Progress
When you see a beautiful chalice, it has a double beauty. If it’s well made, it has beauty for what it is. But if you know what it is, it also has beauty because you know what it’s meant to be filled with. The present world is like a chalice. God has made it as … N.T. Wright on Christian Art
Once in a while, Relevant Magazine will post something not so completely drenched in Millenial Christian cheese sauce that it’s worth noting. Via Wintery Knight, “What If Having an Extraordinary Life Isn’t the Point?“: Some have grown tired of the constant calls to radical change. They are less sure they want to jump on the … Living In Taupeville
Jill’s post about the simpy interpretation of this survey of the hierarchy of values among religious people gave me agita—not anything Jill said but the fact that a self-styled smartypants can’t process the inapplication of the simplicity of surveys*. This is a roundabout way of saying people and their belief systems are too complex for … The Paradox of Obedience
Spurred to action by squinty eye strain and this thread about Google Drive not having a dark theme like Gmail does, I tinkered with the CSS on the Typo theme I use here to make it mostly dark with a not-quite-white text, bucking the design trend of Apple and every website in existence that relies … Dark Is the New Black
At the Altar Bar in Pittsburgh – September 22, 2014.
From My Inventions (free pdf here): I was about twelve years old when I first succeeded in banishing an image from my vision by willful effort, but I never had any control over the flashes of light to which I have referred. They were, perhaps, my strangest experience and inexplicable. They usually occurred when I … Nikola Tesla Was A Weird Guy
If you would permit me a wholly web development-related post, I recently finished a translate jQuery script for my friends’ charity site, Mission to El Salvador. Technically, the script doesn’t translate the English to Spanish, but it replaces the English text and (sometimes) HTML markup. I was forced to do it this way because WordPress … Using jQuery To Translate Websites
One additional thought related to this post. The idea of universal suffrage as an absolute is a strange one if you are one to consider the state as a morally legitimate entity. I, for one, do not believe it is, so this argument is moot but I’m arguing this on a statist’s logical terms. If … Addendum to “Universal Sufferage” Post
I was tagged by Jill Domschot, who wrote Anna and the Dragon (read my review here), to write a post on what I’m working on. I barely talk about current book stuff so I badgered asked her to tag me when she was soliciting to be badgered asked for participants on Facebook. 1. What am … What I Am Working On
See here for the original post. To clear up any confusion, it’s important to make the distinction between gnostic and agnostic atheism. Gnostic atheists—the specific ones I addressed in the post—specifically claim knowledge of God’s non-existence. I take “knowledge” in the vaguely epistemic sense. Agnostic atheists claim a non-belief in deities but are open to … Addendum To “Correct Religion” Post
It’s a common question but there’s a lot of philosophical assumptions behind it, much like the loaded question logicians have pointed out. One has to take a step back to really address it properly. Julie Borowski, who isn’t much of a skeptic from what I can see, asked this on her personal Facebook page. I … “How Do You Know Your Religion Is the Correct One?”
I’m currently vacationing in Massachusetts, home to Elizabeth Warren and her corporo-fascism. A new Cheerios commercial portrays a competent dad. Interesting for its novelty but especially attention-starved social justice warriors are going to Tumblr the new paradigm. The Folly of Scientism – “Advocates of scientism today claim the sole mantle of rationality, frequently equating science … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 8
Vox Day posted recently about female suffrage. Talking about “their votes are equally incompatible with the long-term national interest as the other classes of current non-voters”: This can be done using a variety of metrics, including what Shelles describes as another possibility to the only way. Just to give one example, if the reason children … Suffer(age) the Little Children
While reading The Not So Wild, Wild West: Property Rights on the Frontier, I came across one of the earliest forms of stupidheadedness in the American government, concerning property: On March 3, 1889, [President] Harrison announced the government would open the 1.9 million-acre tract of Indian Territory for settlement precisely at noon on April 22. … The Cockamamie Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889
I made good use of the “Listen To Metal” stickers I helped Seth with. This was placed next to a map of the Pittsburgh subway system. When I checked last it was taken down. I have no idea what the pink smudge on it is: On a Pittsburgh Steelers promotional poster: On a pillar on … Photos: Listen to Metal Stickers
I made a silly video of a polar bear “dancing” to a Meshuggah song. Ed links to an interesting article about the HTML5 canvas tag and a possible use/misuse to track client-side activity. We something of an ongoing discussion on how to resolve it (somewhat) with user-defined javascripting. Germany government might revert to typewriters for … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 7
From the Examiner: Have you ever heard the claim “all smart people are atheists”, or maybe its inverse: “people who believe in God are dumb”? It’s quite a pervasive urban legend, and one which I’ve known is false for a long time, but I didn’t realize just how false until the other day. I recently … 8 Out of the 10 Highest IQ People on Earth are Theists
“Nice” people might be immoral. Also, any casual observer of human nature already knew this. No need for a study. [HT: Jill] The cupcake bust. Easy credit = bubbles. As if this never happened over and over again in the past. How families lose a lot of money in a few generations. Your band does … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 6