Atheist Land!

A neat look at how a virus invades your body!

The LHC is running.

Just got word, the LHC is not only up and running but it had it's first collision. It was met with cheers and champagne.

This is just warming up though. It will be some weeks before they are at full power and the real amazing stuff happens.

Way to go CERN!!

Natural Morality.

Thanks goes out to Antybu86 on youtube. Just a quick look at how/why morality arose.

James Randi speaks about the bible.

Zerospeaks.com has a special love for James "The Amazing" Randi. For starters he is just amazing. Recently "The Amazing" himself sat down to give some of his thoughts on the bible.

Maybe I should...

...start taking a video camera around with me. This type of conversation happens to me all the time.

Pretty self explanatory.

One of the best videos I have seen about humans.

Answers to Maximus Arurealius from youtube.

The challenge from Maximus Arurealius.

The following is his 14 questions and my answers to them. Maximus Arurealius can be found on youtube here.

According to his rules:

"No criticism of the test is allowed. Answer the questions as they are stated. If you disagree with a question you fail that question."

Fine, I will answer these questions without criticizing them.

**Special note, some of the references used below are from peer reviewed scientific journals. If you wish to read them your local university library should have copies available.**

Let's begin.

1. What was the proof and the exact date that evolution was determined to be a fact? If it happened then it would be a historical event on a particular date. Every evolutionist should know this.

This is an excellent question, and one that makes perfect sense to ask. If evolution is accepted by the scientific community to be true then when did that happen? You would think it would be easy to answer, however a set date written in stone so-to-speak may not be quite so easy to pin down. Just like the laws of thermodynamics and the laws of gravity are currently accepted to be laws of the universe which can not be broken (except under extreme theoretical conditions) it is difficult to say exactly when they became laws. One could argue they have always been laws and then they were discovered by humans. Just like evolution has always been a fact of nature even before its discovery. In which case one would need only look at the date of discovery. In the case of evolution it would be Nov 24, 1859. This is the date that "On the origin of species" by Charles Darwin was published.
One could go before that by investigating exactly when Darwin had his epiphany and realized that gradual changes over time could add up and give rise to a completely new species. We don't know the exact day this happened but it was in mid-July 1837 according to his notes.

It gets even more complicated than that. The scientific community through the peer review process is what determines what is accepted as scientific facts through rigorous testing.
So when did the scientific community accept Darwin’s theory and what proof's did they have to justify it? Well the theory of evolution as proposed by Charles Darwin had a hard time gaining acceptance in the scientific community for an obvious reason. Although there was plenty of fossil evidence to suggest that Darwin was right, science could not explain how different traits arose within a species. Sure natural selection explained how beneficial traits would be more favored, but how did those traits get there? And why would they be passed on?
While the debate over Darwin’s theory raged on over the years, a new field of study was emerging in biology. Genetics. The term was coined by William Bateson, and he was one of the first scientists to take the idea of genetics seriously. In 1913 Thomas Hunt Morgan discovered that "genes" were on chromosomes. Frederick Griffith discovered in 1928 that genetic material had the power to alter the make-up of a living thing. It was much later in 1944 that Oswald Theodore Avery, Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty discovered DNA. Now evolution had a way to not only pass on traits, but to give rise to beneficial ones, as well. As the field of genetics was maturing, the acceptance of The Theory of Evolution by scientists was gaining steam. By the 1930's the majority of scientists accepted it as a correct theory to explain biology, or, as we would say, "accepted it as fact.” Although there was now tons of evidence from different areas of science that backed up the theory of evolution, and it was accepted as fact by scientists, it still was not "proven" as we would use the word in everyday language.

In 1982 work done by this man showed by the use of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that we share common ancestry with lower primates. Evolution now had proof.

In 1991 a paper, which you can see here, provided evidence of evolution once again. Chromosome number 2 in the human genome is a result of the fusion of 2 separate chromosomes that are also found in the primate genome. It should be noted that these are only 2 of numerous proofs for evolution.

Thus, we have plenty of proofs that have come from different fields over a long period of time. So when was evolution accepted by the non-scientific community as a fact? One that is worthy of being taught to our students? Well for America it was in the 1960's that the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study pushed to have evolution added to the curriculum in public schools and succeeded. The Supreme Court decision in Epperson vs. Arkansas on Nov 12, 1968 protected evolution being taught in schools as science.

Despite all of this the question is "What was the proof and the exact date that evolution was determined to be a fact?"
The long answer is many many different times. The short answer is:
If you want an exact date and an exact proof, then I would say, Date: April 9th, 2008.
Proof : Watched Evolution Happen over a 20 year experiment.

2. What are the basic requirements that evolution scientists say are necessary for proving evolution?

Well starting with the first one Charles Darwin. He predicted that his theory would be proven by finding transitional fossils in the fossil record. One's that would share the traits of forms it evolved from and the forms it evolved into.
We found a lot more than even he thought we would.

This is the most basic requirement of proving the theory.

Even if we did not have fossils the theory could be proven through the discovery of genetics. So in that case, you would need a lab capable of studying genetic information someone who knows how to look for common ancestry in genetics.

3. How did the bee and the flowers evolve? They depend on each other for survival.

Flowers evolved without the need for bees around 130 million years ago. There are many other methods of pollination, such as wind or hydrophily. Also, non-pollinating insects such as beetles helped.

The bee evolved from the wasp family about 100 million years ago. Then it quickly evolved the ability to gather pollen. Of course when I say quickly we are talking millions of years.

I am reminded of an old married couple. Although they didn't start life out in need of each other’s company, some of them get so used to having the other around that they come to depend on it.

4. Where did natural enemies come from?

Well the short answer is through competition for survival. Specifically the competition of two or more organisms over the same resource. Resource normally meaning food, water etc...

Predation is exactly what you would expect in evolution. The phrase "survival of the fittest" can take a very literal meaning. As the food supply runs thin due to overpopulation or climate shifts, the population of organisms begin to "fight" over the limited sustenance. This environmental pressure can and does speed up evolution in a certain species because now more than ever only the "strongest survive". In many cases some organisms will evolve the ability to feed off another rival organism, thus solving the problem of not having enough food by quite literally eating the competition. As the rival organism now becomes food itself, it is placed under pressure to evolve a natural defense against being eaten.

We see examples of this in nature all over the place. However it is in predation that we also see just how often beneficial mutations fail to save a species. Over 99% of all species that have existed on earth have gone extinct. The majority of these were unable to evolve a defense against a new natural predator fast enough to save themselves.

5. When did the first fish crawl out of the ocean and become a tomato plant?

This never happened.

6. What crawled back into the ocean and became a whale?

Raoellids such as Indohyus major which then became Ambulocetids such as Ambulocetus.
And then became Protocetids which at that point they could no longer walk.

So the answer is Ambulocetids and Remingtonocetids such as the Kutchicetus.

7. What did fleas do while waiting around for dogs?

They fed off other animals. Specifically since we selectively bred dogs from wolves, which came from the Canidae family, they fed off them. Fleas feed off of just about every animal, including birds. There was plenty of food around before dogs existed. So to answer your question, they sucked blood and they mated. The same as they do now.

8. How did birds get past the short wing stage?

The answer to this question is: They survived even better then they did before the short wing stage.

Before Professor Richard Dawkins was a promoter of atheism, he was a pretty good teacher.
He addresses this question here.

9. How come there are no fossils of anything with just one eye?
How did they survive until they got two?

Well, animals are bilaterally similar. So we normally evolve something on both sides of us at the same time. This is why we didn't evolve a hand on one side and a claw on the other.
So it would be natural to us to evolve two eyes. The reason we are bilaterally similar is due to the morphological need to orientate towards something, whether it be food or just surroundings. This of course is easily answered by evolving in paired structures, so that input from two dueling senses can give you perspective. In vision we call this depth perception. In hearing we call this sound localization. So we would expect the eye to evolve bilaterally just like anything else. Just like the wing, we would expect proto-eyed animals to survive the same way they did before the eyes started to evolve. And the ones who started to get some vision, even if it was very crude and just a patch of skin that can detect between light and dark, would have had an increased likelihood of surviving and thus passing on that trait.

So we would not expect just one eye to develop. We would expect the evolution of eyes to happen simultaneously on both sides of the body the same as with any other paired structure.

10. What did the first cells use for nutrition since they were the only life?

A single cell organism does not necessarily need the presence of other life to survive. There were many things that could have provided ample sustenance for the first cells, including oxygen, proteins, amino acids, water, etc…
For more information, how cells can create energy.

11. Now that brings up a question. If abiogenesis happened 4 billion yrs ago, why did it only happen once and why isn't it still happening?

There is no evidence to suggest that abiogenesis happened just once 4 billion years ago. We would expect abiogenesis to take place wherever the conditions would allow. Life could have started in hundreds of different places all over the earth many different times and could have been happening for a long time. In fact it could still be happening today. However since current evidence suggests the process takes a very long time, we should not expect to be able to witness it as it happens - despite this, amazingly we have. We have seen catalytic self-replicating peptides form spontaneously... i.e., we’ve seen life form from non life. Granted this occurred under laboratory conditions and there is still a lot of research to be done to confirm these findings.

In another field of study, scientists at Scripps Research Institute watched self replicating RNA sequence itself without assistance and then start to actually compete for resources and evolve new strains. The scientists performing this study were completely shocked by this discovery. Although the RNA sequences can not be classified as life, it behaved just like life would behave. If further research confirms that these RNA sequences can and do evolve just like life, then some of them could eventually evolve into life.

Very very exciting!

Since we still are unsure of exactly how the first life arose on this planet and abiogenesis is still in its infancy, then there is no way to predict how (or where) we should look to try and find modern day examples in nature. It should be noted that the theory of abiogenesis is still being formulated and is not the same as the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution only pertains to life once it has started and is capable of reproduction. The theory of evolution is about how life changes over time. Not about how it begins.

12. Now just why DID the snake lose the legs he worked sooo hard to evolve for millions of years?

We know of several species of snake in the fossil record that still have there limbs such as Haasiophis, Pachyrhachis and Najash. It is the consensus of most evolutionary scientists that snakes evolved from lizards. Now why limb reduction would be beneficial to them is a good question.

There is actually debate on this issue in evolutionary science. This is due to the fossil record of snakes not being quite as thorough as other species. Snake carcasses tend to be very brittle and do not normally survive fossilization intact. Luckily for us we have some living transitional fossils to study, such as the Australian skink.

What is really neat about skinks is that some of them have no legs, some of them have four legs, and some of them have variations between the two. So it is like watching evolution happen in our lifetimes.

Now, the debate on exactly why modern day snakes lost there limbs currently has two main sides: the terrestrial theory, which postulates that they evolved without legs to better move through tiny cracks and crevices such as in rock and to burrow in sand and lose soil, and the aquatic theory, which proposes that they evolved to be better adapted to move through water by not having legs.

Scientists are always looking for the next bright young mind to come and shake up their theories, so if you have an interest in studying snakes, maybe you could be the one to solve this riddle. I think the fact that we have aquatic and terrestrial snakes currently gives merit to both theories and suggests that both transitional stages happened independent of each other in different environments. This is just my speculation.

13. Why did humans evolve the ability to talk and animals didn't.

Non-human animals have evolved ways to communicate. They communicate with calls, scents, behavior patterns etc… So animals can talk to each other in the colloquial sense of the word. In fact studies of just how sophisticated language can be with animals and insects have proven to be rather surprising. Bees, for instance, have the ability to tell the rest of the hive where food is located by a series of “dance moves,” which in turn give the entire hive a “roadmap” of where to find it. Here you can watch one of those dances and an explanation. It is truly fascinating if I say so myself.

Humans on the other hand have evolved the ability to communicate in another way. Spoken language. Vocalization of thoughts.
We don’t seem to be the only species on this planet that can do this. Chimpanzees have been seen “talking” to each other using a series of growls that can alert others of hidden dangers such as snakes.
Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to teach chimpanzees the human language. So why can’t they get the hang of it?

Well first of all, their tongue and larynx are not set up for it.

Second, although they have the areas of the brain to not only generate vocal speech but also understand it, those parts of the brain are not as evolved as ours are.

Spoken language requires much more than just those areas of the brain, however. A certain sense of self awareness, spatial awareness, and the cognitive ability to understand things on a semantic level are just a few reasons why no other animal on earth can talk on our level.

The short answer is, we evolved the ability to communicate in a new and different way due to the capabilities of our brain and other physical traits. The brains of other animals are not nearly as sophisticated in the areas needed in order to form a complex language. However it needs to be stressed that many animals do communicate in their own way and it is amazing just how good some can be at it.

14. It seems that caterpillars are not in the reproduction business, that the butterflies give birth to caterpillars! So do caterpillars give birth to caterpillars or do butterflies?

Butterflies lay eggs which turn into caterpillars. Caterpillars go through a metamorphosis which changes them into butterflies. Then the cycle continues.
This fun little site talks about it. With pictures!

Did you know? 4.0

The ride of your life. Is your life.

You asked for it. Now here it is!

Richard Dawkins answers. He gives the creationist what they asked for. Evidence for evolution.

Magic Broom!

Why does SpaceX matter?

It was October 4, 1957 and Americans were frightened. They felt unsafe, and second best. This of course was when Russia decided to put a satellite in orbit around earth. It was a monumental achievement. Americans crowded outside that night, on street corners and in front of houses to get a glimpse of something out of a comic book. A man made object traveling high in the sky at 18,000 miles an hour. Once Americans saw it the panic set in. The world now to them felt extremely small. Russia was no longer a continent away, but just half an orbit away on this small rock we call planet earth. If the Russians can do that what was to stop them from dropping bombs whenever they wanted.

Suddenly America went mad for science. It was science after all that was responsible for the object traveling over their heads. So the only logic conclusion was that it was science that could rescue them from it. As they felt small now, science would ultimately make them feel equally as big and superior to the Russians. All that was needed was to increase funding and American determination.
And boy! Did the funding come roiling in! From wikipedia:

Sputnik's success and Vanguard's failure caused such political turmoil in the United States that the period is known as the Sputnik crisis. The Eisenhower administration quickly enacted several initiatives to address the perceived technical shortcomings in the United States. Within a year, the United States Congress passed the legislation creating NASA, as well as the National Defense Education Act, the most far-reaching federally-sponsored education initiative in the nation's history.[citation needed] The education bill authorized expenditures of more than $1 billion for a wide range of reforms including new school construction, fellowships and loans to encourage promising students to seek higher education, new efforts in vocational education to meet critical manpower shortages in the defense industry, and a host of other programs.[3]

See it wasn't just launching a satellite or even getting a man in space that was important. It was beefing up science and education all around. The space race was just the driving force behind it. Folding proteins in a super computer is nice, but the American public does not understand it. Putting a flag on the moon however is a universal symbol all can understand immediately as a sign of achievement. It made Americans unite for a short period safe in their belief that, though they may not understand science, we were the best at it. That translated to very warm beds indeed. Cozy blankets of security. We were safe from the Russians it seemed.

It didn't last long however. The sleeping giant was fast to hit the snooze button once again.

Today you can hear the mumbles on the street. "NASA..." people say "...is a waste of money. Despite the advances being gained from it. This obvious ignorance to science is permeating throughout the American mindset. Science is now under attack in America. Movements have started to get science out of the biology class room and inject theistic philosophy in it's place. "Teach the controversy!". They cry out. Willfully ignorant that the only controversy is the one they have made up. Science funding is under attack from politicians and the public at large. Ask 10 people on the street if stem cell research should be funded by the government and you will get a majority saying no. Science education in our country is "middle of the pack" in quality. Why? It should come as no surprise the obvious realistic answer. Funding of our education system is one of the lowest per student in the world for civilized nations. You get what you pay for.

With the new American war on science growing and gaining steam every day, it should not shock us to see other countries surpassing us now in scientific achievements. Everyday we see newspapers and magazines with stories about stem cell advancements. People are running to china to get stem cell treatments. Iranian nanotechnology may be the best in the world. What is going on? This is the new sputnik. It is a wake up call and Americans are sleeping through the alarm.

So what can American Scientist's do? Well, they are running to the private sector.

Meet SpaceX. Since the late 50's it has been said that going to space is too daunting, too difficult, too expensive of a task for the private sector. Elon Musk and his team of top-notch scientists plan to laugh in the face of all the nay-sayers out there. Not only do they plan to be be a major player in delivering payloads to orbit, but they plan to make a profit off of it as well. Did I mention the best part? CEO Elon Musk said: "I believe $500 per pound ($1,100/kg) or less is very achievable." Holy crap! At prices like that my book club could send something into space.

Despite the criticism, SpaceX not only got off the ground, they made it to space, then successfully delivered the first commercial payload into orbit- a satellite from Malaysia. This is very exciting indeed. And the goals of this company are more ambitious than that. From wikipedia:

On 23 December 2008, SpaceX announced that it had won a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, which guarantees NASA missions worth US$1.6 billion for resupplying the International Space Station, after the Space Shuttle retires in 2010.[4]

So they are going to replace the space shuttle it appears.

This is a testament to the power of the private sector. SpaceX is a fantastic company and a shining example of Capitalism at work. This author can't wait to see the Falcon 9 launch later this year. It will be a monumental achievement for a private company. It will also remind us that science is still very much alive in this country if one is willing to fund it properly.

Perhaps it is time for America to take a lesson from SpaceX. Hard work and proper funding can enable you to overcome even the greatest challenges. Science is a wonderfully fantastic thing, and we have only scratched the surface of our potential to make the world a better place with it. If we truly wish to remain the scientific leader in the world, then we should remember sputnik. It's time to fund science properly, not just to play catch up but to ensure our place at the forefront.

So why does SpaceX matter? That is for you the reader to decide.

Is the condition of the space program in America (government funded vs private) a good measurement of the state of science in general in this country? Why? Why not? Post your Comments Below.

So you want to text and drive?

I drive a motorcycle everywhere I go, and the one thing that gets my blood boiling is looking over at the driver next to me that is texting while driving. Do you not care about your life at all? Well I certainly care about mine!

Carl Sagan speaks.

Thanks to Eddy Goombah for this video. Your a great voice of reason in this world Eddy, and I am proud to call you a friend.

Linda Hamilton is an ANGEL!

I still have tears rolling down my cheeks as I am writing this.
The following video has people pretend to need medical assistance by falling down on the street. I encourage you to watch this video to the end. Linda Hamilton is a true human being, an angel. She reminds us what it is like to truly be a human being. This ladies and gentlemen is humanity at it's finest. This woman is a role model for the rest of us.

Just a reminder from Zerospeaks!

Watch what your children do on the internet.
They may post videos of themselves online and then have people laugh and make fun of them.

Origin of life

Human ancestry,

HAHA!

Meet Geerup!

Abiogenesis made easy.

So what does science say about how life began?

-Note- This has little to do with evolution.
This is about life from non-life. The theory of evolution only applies after life has already started.

This is NEATO!

So a guy on youtube got sick of all the crappy musicians on youtube posting videos of themselves playing crappy music. So he figured he would splice the crap together and try to make something cool. IT IS!!!

Now Christians are trying to sell to Atheists.

Adam on his atheism.

I'll choose vegas over psychics like this.

Second Facepalm award.

This facepalm award goes to the morons that you see in the video below.
If you watch this and don't understand why, then you get a faceplam award as well.




For those didn't get it, allow me to spell it out for you.

It's called "towing"

This is when a pilot must be a pilot.

Nice job!

Although I am just a student pilot, In my opinion the pilot here did an excellent job landing the plane as safe as could be done. Luckily he didn't have to hang it in a tree.

I want every christian to see.

*update video removed, I placed a link to it instead.

What you are about to see will shock you. I warn you do not press play.
Unless your a christian. I want christians to see where superstition leads them. Burning witches.
The following video is of a tribe recently converted to christianity.
They suspect some follow members of the tribe are witches.
So they burn them.

I wish I was making this up.

and YES! christians have done this to people thousands of times. You sick superstitious bastards.

Christianity is the worst of the modern religions.

HERE

Well........ about Obama...

I don't like cops.

I don't like cops.
Here is one reason why.



Cops tend to use the taser too much.




15 tear old girl beat by cop.



Couldn't wait to use the taser.

We got our Power bill today!

Tax season!

I bring the first ever Zerospeak.com FacePalm award.

And the first winner is.

Because Spacex is Awesome!

Some good news finally.

Tesla took 711 orders today for the new Model S the second most advanced all electric car on the planet. What is the most advanced?" you ask? Well, that is the roadster. Did I mention the roadster is faster than a porsche, a lotus, and a dodge viper? Yep it is. And 240 miles on a charge.

The Model S will be a 50 grand car, all electric of course, 4 seater and 300 miles on a charge. You heard me right, 300 miles on one charge, and it can fully charge in 45 minutes. The 50 grand is quite steep, but it is half the price of the roadster. Not bad for a company that didn't exist a few years ago.

As the roadster is coming off the assembly line as fast as they can make them, and the Model S is next in line to hit the road. I wonder if GM can ever come up with an excuse for making an electric car that only goes 40 miles on a charge and it runs on GAS!

Now I am not much for conspiracy theories. But when you say it can't go farther than 40 miles on a charge because of battery limitations, and in the 90s you were making the ev1 and it would do 150 miles on a charge... well... you lose your credibility.

American people, yes this is what GM has been saying. They figured you would just forget that they had a better electric car in the 90s so they could sell you an electric car that runs on gas. Once again not a conspiracy theorist, but something is not right.

So why is it they canceled, recalled, and destroyed the ev1's? If they already had an electric car, why stop making them? Well they claim it is because nobody wanted to buy them. Yet Tesla Motors has been selling them faster then they can be made. They have a 2 year waiting list currently.

GM you don't deserve a bailout, you deserve to go bankrupt and learn a lesson. Give the consumer what they want or go out of business.


*disclaimer*
-I am not nor never will be a tree hugging hippie. I hate "save the earth" people and don't really care about "green" technologies. However I do care when a major corporation is lying to all of us right to our faces and then they go to congress and beg for money. Seriously, it is like they think we are stupid.... well no comment.

And people wonder....

People wonder why our country is going to shit.

Amazon is banning books (might as well burn them!).
They blamed it on a glitch just like last time they tried to get away with some crap.
So amazons book approval system is glitching isn't that right Mein Furor!?

I am sure google news will be all over this, after all amazon has outgrown bookstores in popularity. So everyone will be talking about this right?

Nope, they have much more pressing matters....

Obama got a puppy.

So far I have seen 12 articles about this.
Google trends has reported a spike the size of my ego on searches about Portuguese Water Dogs.

This country is finished.

Heil Hitler amazon!

Before you pass judgement you should know....

Before you get angry at the somali pirates, you should read an eye opening article.

You are being lied to about Pirates.

If this article is accurate. The somali pirates have my support. In spirit, not in action.

Standing still in a moving world.

To get some insight into what this is, and what it means. Read my last post, the one below this one.

About ... "Standing Still"

Within the next hour I am going to post a video of a performance art piece that I did Sunday. I will not explain what the piece means. Art is supposed to mean something different to everyone. However I will say this.

About 10 minutes into it, just after I had to stop the video, due to youtube time limits, children walked up to me. After 10 minutes of people walking by during which I and the person filming could hear people whispering to themselves, "Why is that guy standing there?". Children walked right up to me and asked "What is here? And why are you here?" I had to fight the smile with all my might. It took all my strength to try and remain in character. They continued to ask. "So I don't get it? What does it mean? Why are you standing here?". It was at this point that I wanted to reward the children for being so curious. Not to mention showing courage. As grown ups, seeing something out of the ordinary decided to stray away. (not seen in the video is people going around so that they did not have to walk near me. And adults by the coffee shop and easter bunny growing more and more worried. Talking amongst themselves and pointing to me. It is because of this that I consider the piece to be a great success.)

It was children, that saw something that was different in the world, for just a moment and not being scared to question it, with boldness and eagerness. Wanting to learn something, to get some insight.

The goal of my art is to get someone to just take a moment and think. That is all. There is no great mystery or hidden meaning to it. If you see it and it makes you think (if only for a moment) then it was a success. But when the children not only think, but question! Well... I think we could all learn something from children.

The world is not a scary place. It is a beautiful playground full of wonder and mystery.

I was going to lean over and tell the children "Exactly! you should always question the world around you. Never stop. When you get older and you see something that seems not right, never be scared to go right up to it and start asking questions about it. As you age do not forget this magic and wonder that is inside all of us. The magic, of seeking answers."

Sadly before I could, security showed up and made us leave. Apparently adults had become scared of a man standing still and reading a book. THINK OF THE CHILDREN! Is what people today cry out. well....

I was.

I really enjoyed performing this for you, even if it made no sense to you at all.

I will school Cameon once again....

If it was anybody else I would not spend so much time on this foolishness. But I believe Cameon is sincere in her feelings. Deep down she just wants to do the right thing. So do I.


Cameon, decided to write in response to my response.
What follows, is what I type in notepad as I read her
response:

No, I was not cute, I was quoting your website.
Especially since I said "Let me post the definition
of that word for everyone AGAIN! Straight from your
website."

"Your" being YOU (your site) CAMEON. DUH!

Do you see how that works cameon? I actually said I am
copying it from your site. And now in your article you are
saying that I tried to give you the vocabulary lesson
when it was you originally that tried to give me that lesson
and I was pointing out that I was already aware of the definition.
So aware, that I was not afraid to copy the definition you gave,
and repost it on my site.

Moving on...

Any slang word is only offensive, if you are offended by it.
However, when you are offended by it being used, by it's definition
then you just sound silly. This of course is what is wrong
with America right now. NO! I am serious. Certain people in America
believe right now that they have the right to not be offended
by someone else. THAT IS WRONG. Freedom of speech means that
I have the right to call you whatever I want to call you.
If you don't like it, then you don't have to listen.
That ladies and gentlemen is freedom of speech.

Take care of it while you have it, because you will no longer have
freedom of speech within my lifetime. Oh, you think I am
lying? Believe it or not, but I am about to post a video
of me getting kicked out of a mall, for standing still and
reading a book. Not a joke. I have the video to prove it.
So go ahead and listen to cameon, but you see where that leads
you. Even when you use the word as it is defined, she says it
is wrong. So according to her logic, doing something she
deems as wrong is wrong. And must be stopped.

Ok , you completely miss the point.
I will quote you AGAIN!

He brings up the point about how if I think of mentally challenged people when I hear the word retarded,
that's my problem. And he's right, although I don't consider
it a problem. I consider it a privilege to fight for
these kids and what they represent.


That's wonderful Cameon, but once again you are talking
about a certain group of *insert whatever name you wish to call them* kids. I am not. I did not mention them, EVER. AT ALL.
You did, and you still do. So once again, this is your problem.


You say retarded as if it's a bad thing, but does it sound like these
kids are so bad off to you?


Again, with the kids, I am talking about Texas and education.
Drop it.


Not because of the people in Texas, but because of the negative
connotation you gave the word. Because of your lack of understanding to the word.

Really Cameon? Yes it is negative, they are slowing education. I believe it is YOUR negative connotation you are giving the word even now that is the point. I have never on my blog associated the word retarded with the "kids" you are speaking of. It is you that is insisting that we associate that word with them. So it would seem to me that you are trying really hard to make the word to be a slang word for a type of person.

Let's look at the definition one more time,
STRAIGHT FROM CAMEONS WEBSITE AGAIN!

To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede.

Holy shit sticks! What is wrong with me using the word according to that definition? After all, it is the definition that even you except. You must have, you posted it on your website.


You say retarded as if it's a bad thing, but does it sound like these kids are so bad off to you? Most definitely not. So yes David,
I do get offended when you say that these people in Texas are retarded. Not because of the people in Texas, but because of the negative connotation you gave the word. Because of your lack of understanding to the word


At this point do you really believe that to delay or impede (especially when the subject is education which it was and is) is a bad thing? If you do I now call you retarded. For you are slower than the common person who understands already, that I am using the word correctly and have not used it as a slang for whoever you are talking about.


I could argue about the fact that it seems as if you would only like your idea of evolution taught in schools because that is what you believe. (David is an atheist)


First, evolution has nothing to do with atheism. Now...
Does everyone see how she did that? Right at the end she tacks on that I am an atheist as if it is relevant to our current situation. Which it is not. What does me being an atheist have to do with the education system in America? Or the definition of the word retarded, and it's proper usage? NOTHING! It is a high school debate tactic. Attack the character of the person you are debating, and the crowd (you the reader) will be more inclined not to listen to them.
Nice Cameon, Nice.


Well, David, why not teaching the children all of the things that could have happened and then let them choose on their own?

Oh my holy...
Did you actually read what I wrote? If we teach them "all of the things that could have happened" that would include ; God, Allah, the Flying spaghetti monster, the native American story, Zeus, Krishna, Baal... etc... I could keep going. It would include over 70 thousand different stories. The reason why we don't teach 70 thousand different creation stories in SCIENCE class is because, we have one working SCIENTIFIC theory, that has been proven time and time again, to be correct. In fact, things like the flu shot were created using it...
That one working theory, evolution, is testable. Which means (let me spell it out for you)that the kids can learn evolution ONLY and then grow up (or not, some kids are doing science research) go into a lab, and TEST evolution. If they find a problem with it then they will be the most famous scientist of our time. Especially since no scientist has found a problem with evolution for over a hundred years. Oh a slight few have claimed they did, but then after further review (by the scientific community) they were found to be wrong. This is what is known as peer review. I say I found out this shit by doing this test! Then a lot of other scientist do the test and see if they can see the same thing. If they find problems with it they report them.

So as you can see. Evolution belongs in science class. God belongs in philosophy, or theology, or history.


To close, I do not want to stop anyone's belief system.

I want to teach them science. And then we can go into a lab and do science!

Telling them "God did it!" is not science. We can't go into a lab and test it.

Now what is wrong with someone learning science in science class and religion at church?

That is all I want.

Funny how we went from the word retarded to religion.

What does this say?

What does this say about me?
How deeply was I emotionally fucked up by being raised in a southern baptist church?

Well, I just had a moment of realization.

Earlier today, I decided to become a performance artist. This is not a momentary, on a whim thing. I have decided fully, this is what I have always wanted to do.

I already have several pieces in mind. Actually a whole list, because (frankly) I have always wanted to do this, I just never knew it. It is amazing how quickly all the ideas I have had and stored away (not knowing where to put them) has started to come out of me.

Anyway.... to the point.

One of the pieces involves me getting booed off a comedy stage intentionally. If you don't get that, then go away. I don't want you anywhere near my website, or art. Just leave now. You will probably never get me, and it will only frustrate yourself to try and get me. *ahem.... anyway moving on.

So, I had another idea. I wanted to intentionally get not only booed, but thrown out of a church! A big church. I started to smile, as I thought this was funny and exactly the type of art I wanted to do. But then. I realized that I was afraid. Seriously. Stone cold, shiver down my spine afraid of being in front of a church audience. I however, am not afraid of being in front of an audience anywhere else at anytime. Nor am I afraid to be booed off a stage. This should show you how traumatized I am of the church setting.

Right about now, some person reading this is thinking, "that makes sense, an atheist feels uncomfortable even at the thought of being in front of a church crowd... That's because the holy spirit is telling him it is wrong. Praise Jesus!"

If you are one of those people, I would just like to say, go away. Don't ever come near my site again. You are a moron.

This one is for Joel.

Not to insult him, he is probably the most intelligent person I know.

Is this real?

a quick update,.....

Job interview today!

I got a job interview at the Discovery Institute today. They need a new evolutionary researcher.

I really hope I get the job!

I told you this was a bad idea.

In the "we need to make money off of every single person who listens to a single song" hysteria that has engulfed the world since the Napster fiasco. The latest news to come along is more incredible then even I can believe.

A woman who plays music for her horses, is being told that she must pay royalty fees in order to broadcast her music. I am dead serious.

In the defense of the recording industry (PRS) that is telling her to do so, they say it is not because of her horses (that would be too profitable, imagine charging every horse for every song he/she hears) NO! it is because she has 2 (count them) two employess that may hear the music. So... she is classified as public broadcast.

Holy Shit! Everyday, I am amazed that the human race continues to consider themselves intelligent.

For the morons reading this that don't understand.... Basically, if you play some music at work, and your coworkers can hear it... you need to pay a royalty fee for broadcasting it. Does it sound stupid to you now?

URGENT!

This is how I see the world.

Poor Cameon....

So Cameon over at, this cute little blog here, decided to call me out on Texas being retards.

Wow, she immediately shows that she doesn't know what she is talking about with her first gripe with me. To retard, means as you said, to slow. This originally comes from a musical term. Get it? To slow the music? It was then later adapted to express a slowed thinking process.

I stand by calling Texas retarded. And they are acting retarded still. Let me post the definition of that word for everyone AGAIN! Straight from your website.

To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede.

That sounds exactly like the people I am referring to Cameon. If you don't get it then that is another issue entirely. Texas, by making this decision is slowing the progress of the American school sytem and the education of children. Literally they are, retarding the education in Texas. I do not use words carelessly, and I in no way was referring to mentally handicapped persons. If you see the word retarded and immediately think of a person that is your issue not mine.

Moving on...

Her second petty attempt to make an argument against what I said was;
... what makes Texas stupid for wanting to eliminate evolution from the textbooks? Isn't it the same as banning teachers from talking about God ...

Dude... Seriously? God does not belong in science. You can debate god all day in other classes like, theology or philosophy. In fact I LOVE TO DO THAT, but god does not belong in science.

To end. There is NO weak spots in evolution. It is a more solid theory than the theory of gravity, but I don't see Texas making a fuss about that.

** in case you didn't click the link above. The Discovery Institute, a christian propaganda machine, and strong arm against reason and logic. Has won. Creationism now has a backdoor way to enter the classroom in Texas. They (Texas school board) is now officially retarded in my book.
But at least now we can sue them if they wont teach the TRUTH.

Texas, your embarrassing yourself.

So now Texas is going to make themselves look like complete morons to the rest of the civilized world.

This is just the latest in a long stream of states who one by one, start to act mentally retarded, and then have second thoughts about it.

What am I talking about? Well, the good ol' boys, down in Texas. Thinks it a gud ideer to keep them bibles and throw away them text buuks. They don't need no stinkin dinosaws lessens, because they no jesus made things the way they are, 6000 yrs ago.

Let me translate into non-retarded (even for a monkey) language. The Texas school board is planning to vote on a new curriculum which will shun evolution. I suppose now we can teach the truth.

On a serious note, If Texas does this, there will be no end to how retarded they will look to the rest of us. Not to mention kids coming out of the schools there will seriously be lacking in necessary biology training. Worse case scenario
is the same for the Texas students as the religious nut jobs in our country. If they choose to reject evolutionary theory, the chances of them getting a good job, based on evolution, such as medical, would be almost 0%.

I'm going to bed, I don't know why but I have been slightly more grouchy then normal lately. The stupidity of the average American is really starting to rub me the wrong way. They want to reject science, then run to it (hospital) when their life is in danger.

Random thought today,

I think the movie Idiocracy has a good point, and I think there is more truth to it than we want to admit.

The second ride of 2009

I give you the edit of our Skyline Drive ride.
Unsung zero music used without permission, MWAHAHAAHAHAH!!!

...and just when I thought it was over.

Just when I was done, and I mean completely done, with it. This grabs my attention.
For people my age or older, I give you a final look at chocolate rain.

The greatest statement I will ever make.

Speaks for itself

Zero, shows his face.

Is Atheism a bad thing?

This video is for Angela,

Apparently she seems to think Atheism is a bad thing, because it "consumes" us.




So I ask You, does it?

Humans can acheive miraculous things...

Thank you to Jan Verhoeff on whose blog I found this video:



Although she originally posted the awe and wonder that this video made her feel of "God's creation," this video for me (and should be for you as well) is a reminder of the amazing things that humans are truly capable of accomplishing through science, reason, and technology. (not flying planes into buildings because an imaginary being told them to)

Just a quick update on free speech.

So apparently this "rapist and communist bitch" (and for the record I have talked to a lawyer and I have the right to voice my opinion about someone in quotation marks. If they demand my site or post's from this site get taken down, I have a real legal case against them. So I welcome that)...

*ahem.. So apparently this "rapist and communist bitch" will say publicly that they are all for free speech. Then brag about how the "rapist" fights for our right to have free speech. Fine. Behind closed doors however things get interesting. They flagged my video on youtube to have it taken down. Which I can except that, I posted his phone number and may have stepped over the line, but this is just adding to the numerous demands that anything negative about them be removed from facebook immediately.

This is the exact opposite of free speech. I don't like what some people say about me, but I don't demand that they not be able to speak. They have the same right as I do to defend the point of view they hold and try to knock mine down. Logically and fairly.

I have made my play. Fairly. They just want to silence people who say things they don't like. Where exactly does this sort of mentality stop? Next thing you know nobody will be able to say anything anybody else does not like, and then my friends we will be living in a very silent nation.

The facebook pages of these people is something that they opt into. If they wish to make them private then so be it. But as long as they are public, they can be found through a link or google search. So I can post them here. Now go take a look at censorship in action. and..... a "rapist and communist bitch"

"The rapist"

zerospeaks.com proves god...

What is free speech?

I can write this blog while completely drunk and still teach people what it truly means to have free speech.

So let us recap what happened, Here is my summary. I just got word today that these same losers, aka, "rapist and communist bitch" (notice that is in quotation marks (opinion) and not stated as fact, which makes me immune from any lawsuit from these people) called Cameon and spoke with her dad. I am glad her father realized that these people are completely nuts, and don't have a clue what they are talking about legally. This gets back to the core of what this is all about. Apparently these complete and utter retarded (Inbred hicks if you ask me) ignorant (typical) americans. Anyway... these people really believe that if you say something bad about them, then it should be either; a:censored, or b:illegal. I don't know if I have to tell you this or not reader, but NO IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO INSULT SOMEONE ELSE.

Cameon gives her take on what happened here.

I could spend a million hours trying to type out to you why it is important to protect speech, and why you should never EVER be allowed to censor speech you do not agree with (or hate). But I thought, I would instead give you another interpretation of free speech.

Like here.

Remember, the moment we no longer say anything to offend anybody. We will no longer have anything to say.

Thoughts from great minds.

"It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianity and theism produce hardly any effect on the public; and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science." [Darwin]

"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities." [Voltaire]

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism." [Einstein]

"Faith means not wanting to know what is true." [Nietzsche]

"I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life – our desire to go on living … our dread of coming to an end." [Edison]

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." [Lincoln]

"Religion is a byproduct of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?" [Arthur C. Clarke]

"Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies." [Thomas Jefferson]

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile." [Kurt Vonnegut]

"Religion is based . . . mainly on fear . . . fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. . . . My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race." [Bertrand Russell]

Common sense 101

I am going to post 2 videos. If you can not put the two together and see what I am trying to say then I am at a loss for words. The best I can do is try to explain everything (from now on) like I would explain it to a child.





Thank you Jref.

Specifically Jeff.

The trial of the Century.

I know you want to watch American Idol and eat McDonald's. I know you want to shop at wal-mart and be left alone with politics and laws, and such... You are of course the typical American, and as long as it works you don't care about the details. Well...

The details in this one case is important. The Pirate Bay is under attack. A trial is now under way to decided whether or not it will still be legal. This effects you whether you know it or not.

If you use the site directly then you know what I mean. If you have never heard of the site then you use the site indirectly.

There is good news on the battle front. The king kong defense. Which (as of this writing) is being made fun of by the defendents. This will no doubt go down in history. ME IZ KING KONG I CAN HAZ TORRENTZ?

and a child would say....

Introducing religion to a child of 4? Be careful, you may scare him for life.

Joaquin Phoenix is a genius.

I am not going to give it away. It is not for me to ruin the greatest joke since the 1980's. I will say however it is about time!

I will give you a hint however. The act, ladies and gentlemen, is us. How we react, and how we perceive things is the point.

Just wait to see it unfold, you will either get it or you wont. Love it or hate it. In the meantime me and Alicia will be sure to see the Tony Clifton show next time we are in vegas.

Today marks Charles Darwins 200th Bithday.

To celebrate one of the greatest thinkers in the history of man.
Zerospeaks.com is bringing you the following clips from a National Geographic Documentary on just why Darwin is so gosh darn important. According to Richard Dawkins himself.

Ya know... I'd hit that!

I don't know why Chris Crocker is such a threat to so many people.
Let me make a stance!
I do not watch Crocker vids, I do not google him. However I understand what he is.

He is a TV/TS who is trying to garner attention. He is trying to become famous the only way he knows how. Should we shun him for that? NO!

He wants to be a pop star, and who can shun him for that? Who hasn't wanted the same thing at one point or another.

Finally, I don't think his music is that bad, (compared to other pop music feces) and in a weird way... ya know...I'd hit that!

Conclusion...maybe?

Cameon posted her response. Now I will return the favor in an attempt to bring this matter to a close in a respectful way.

Cameon, you sound like an agnostic. However, (and this is the point of this post)no matter what you choose to believe in this life, I hope that you will never allow yourself to be labeled. Such as "I am with this group". A prime example of why this is a bad idea can be seen with our countless politicians today. They declare they are republican or democrat, and then back bills when they know they should not. For the good of the party, they declare.

What I am saying is that no matter what happens in life or the philosophy you choose to invest your mental capacity towards, don't accept the label that comes with it.

I would only say this to a few choice people I know. People who have the intelligence to understand what I mean. In other words, you have earned my respect as a thinking person, unlike the many brainwashed Americans that flourish in today's under-educated, wal-mart, fast-food, American Idol society.

To close I would like to post this:



Philosophy is everywhere. If one would just stop for only a second, and think.

Response to objections raised.

So Cameon decided to write a post in response to my letter to my mom. Which I welcome her to do at any time. This is how free exchanging of ideas work. This is how the peer review process works. This is what has made scientific debate such a good system for thousands of years. I submit my thoughts or ideas on a subject (including if applicable data from experimentation) and someone else tries to find holes in my logic. They attempt to knock it down with logic of their own. They fact check me so to speak. This is how science works.

Cameon starts out with a "story" however I think it would be better to call it an analogy. It is about a barber who allows a long haired man to continue to have long hair because the man will not go to the barber for help. Immediately Cameon is giving a flawed argument, her analogy is all wrong to this situation. My initial argument was that we can not see or test the concept of god, much less see god himself. The barber is a physical being that actually exists and everyone knows he exists, you can see him, you can see his shop etc... So her "story" is not applicable here. It is just touching.

Deep down Cameon knows that her argument is flawed, which is why in her next paragraph, she talks about things we can't see but still believe in. Like wind. She is trying to suger coat her barber argument to make it sound like it in fact does apply in this situation. It still does not. Every example she gives like wind can be detected through some means, a device can be constructed to measure wind speed etc... The excitement (fight or flight syndrome) can be measured in the brain during "butterflies in the stomach" etc...etc..etc..

Her aunt then gives her a touching and comforting thought. God needs people to come to his kingdom to be with him. So he allows them to die. That is very very sweet. We will forget entirely the fact that if god "needed" or even "wanted" something it would completely destroy the concept of god being perfect and therefore god himself; let's move on. The idea that people go on to a magical place after death is another thing that can not be tested , observed, recorded, or seen in any way. Not even the affects of said transition can be observed, like wind moving trees.

She then tells something that truly pulls at your heart strings. It is a common story to be told by people who believe in god. Someone had cancer and a miracle happened and the cancer was *poof* gone. I have heard thousands of these stories, and what do the doctors say? Something entirely different. No magic, no miracle. Cancer is a very weird thing. Sometimes a human can be so overcome with cancer that they have days to live and then suddenly, the cancer goes into remission. We don't know why yet, but it is something we are trying to figure out so that we can make it happen more often, instead of just saying "god did it, nothing to study here!" By studying how some people can survive and others can not will help us improve cancer treatment for future generations and may possibly one day lead to a cure. SEE!, by asking questions you can help in this life, you can save lives.

The doctors refuse to say sometimes things happen we can't explain. They instead say, we can learn how to explain it if we try! This is how we have modern medicine today. Penicillin, vaccinations, cancer treatment. Millions of people alive today including me and Cameon, that would be dead right now without someone asking, about things we could not in the past explain but now can.
That is how I feel Cameon.

and, I love you too Cameon.

Went for a ride the other day.

I love experiencing life. For as an atheist I know it is the only life I will ever have. Just one shot, so you better enjoy it.

Reply to my Mom.

I love my mom, and she only wants the best for me, and from her perspective the best for me includes believing in a god. Specifically the one that she believes in. She sent me an e-mail today giving a heart wrenching tale of an atheist who in his final weeks of life found god. I can respect that, however I did take a moment to respond to her and let her know how I feel. Here is that e-mail. :





We all cope with death in different ways. This person chose to believe that he was not dying for no reason at all. Most of us do make that choice. I however, have long since decided that believing in something to make you feel better is not something I want to take part in. I can assure you that when I am on my death bed I will not look for an imaginary savior, but a good doctor who can possibly help me. I do not have time to devote to things that cannot be seen, heard, or tested.

The concept of god is infallibility. That is "incapable of failure or error; ; "the Catholic Church considers the Pope infallible"; ... according to wordnet.
In science if a theory were infallible then it would be useless and not workable. It is the equivalent of answering the question "how do plants grow?" with "they get larger." Then no one is allowed to contest that answer. Nor, add too it, take away from it, or modify it in anyway. It is the one and only answer that can be given. If we tried to apply answers like this to the real world, all that we have, everything that makes our lives better (and saves millions of lives as well) would be useless. If your mechanic said, "A car runs because a hidden force makes it run.", would you expect him to be capable of fixing your car?

I know what you are thinking, this has nothing to do with GOD!! Of course it does. When someone dies, or if bad things happen, people say "It was God's will." Now, tell me where there is room to inquire further? If I were to ask, "What is god's will? How does it work? What is the criteria of his will? What are the rules it follows? How is God's will implemented? What force does God's will take to interact with things in the universe to make God's will happen? " I would not only be shunned for asking such things but I would get angry looks. I know! It has happened to me before. We are not allowed to ask such things about god because he is above questioning, he is, as I said before, infallible.

Now let us at last go back to the mechanic metaphor. What if, after your car stopped running, the mechanic (without even looking under the hood) tells you, "It was the hidden force giving out, you lost the hidden force." And you start to ask, "Can we get it back? What makes this force? Can I buy this force? Is there something we can do to fix this force? How come the guy down the street still has this force and I don't?" Without even a moments hesitation, your mechanic holds up his hand and says, "Whoa! Sir, we aren't meant to know such things, it is just the will of the force."

Now hopefully, you can see my point.


I love you too mom,

Most Valuable possesion, is worthless.

My most valuable possessions are completely worthless. They do not exist in the physical world, and would not be worth anything to anyone else but me. Nevertheless I consider them to be the greatest items in my collection.

This of course brings up questions of what is physical worth vs. digital worth. Also questions of "what is value?" spring to mind as well.

Those answers will not come today, Techdirt has been debating that topic for years and are not even close to figuring it out.

No, I will just post them here to show them off.



Thats right, this is photos of me with Penn and Teller. Shot with a crappie camera phone, but to me they are worth more than gold.

Now if someone could arrange a photo with me and James Randi, these would drop to second best. Not trying to insult Penn and Teller, I'm just saying...

Just a quick vid I like...

Thank you Thunderf00t for making this vid, for people who are keeping score that is...

Moving on.. at high velocity...

So what is the ultimate experience of man taking flight?
What is the ultimate extreme?
For over ten thousand years man has dreamed of doing just what you are about to see.
Do not turn away, I promise the video you are about to see will amaze you.
It starts slow but has a huge finish.

Humans can do amazing things when they try.