#10 – You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.
#9 – You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that humans were created from dirt.
#8 – You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.
#7 – Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the male first-born babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" – including women, children, and trees.
#6 – You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods consorting with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.
#5 – You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of the Earth (4.55 billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is about a couple of generations old.
#4 – You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs – though excluding those in all rival sects – will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering, and yet you consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."
#3 – While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor “speaking in tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" your choice of religions to be the correct one.
#2 – You define .01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers, and consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% failure was simply the will of God.
#1 – You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history – but you still call yourself a Christian.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
NERD ALERT!!!
<?song version="1.0" name="XSLT" author="Robin Johnson" stolen_from="JavaRanch"?>
Young man, there's no need to feel blue
I said, young man, here's a language for you
If your data doesn't look like it ought
There's no need to feel so distraught
Young man, if you're going through hell
Trying to transform all of your XML
I said young man, are you listenin' to me?
You can stick that damn ASP...
<xsl:template name="chorus">
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It's fun to program in XSLT!
Every line in your code
Is an XML node
And the program is one big tree
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It works functionally
And it's side-effect free
And the variables don't vary
</xsl:template>
It's a language like no other you've seen
It's got constructs that will make you turn green
It's recursive as a thing that recurs
And it ain't got no procedures
Young man - if you don't know .NET
And you haven't read your Java books yet
There is still time to learn XSLT
It's almost as easy as C...
<xsl:call-template name="chorus"></xsl:call-template>
XSLT!
XSLT!
Young man, young man, there's no need for distress!
Young man, young man, put down that CSS!
XSLT!
XSLT!
XSLT!... etc.
<graphic id="dancers" type="ascii-graphics" by="Fred Rosenberger">
Young man, there's no need to feel blue
I said, young man, here's a language for you
If your data doesn't look like it ought
There's no need to feel so distraught
Young man, if you're going through hell
Trying to transform all of your XML
I said young man, are you listenin' to me?
You can stick that damn ASP...
<xsl:template name="chorus">
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It's fun to program in XSLT!
Every line in your code
Is an XML node
And the program is one big tree
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It's fun to program in XSLT!
It works functionally
And it's side-effect free
And the variables don't vary
</xsl:template>
It's a language like no other you've seen
It's got constructs that will make you turn green
It's recursive as a thing that recurs
And it ain't got no procedures
Young man - if you don't know .NET
And you haven't read your Java books yet
There is still time to learn XSLT
It's almost as easy as C...
<xsl:call-template name="chorus"></xsl:call-template>
XSLT!
XSLT!
Young man, young man, there's no need for distress!
Young man, young man, put down that CSS!
XSLT!
XSLT!
XSLT!... etc.
<graphic id="dancers" type="ascii-graphics" by="Fred Rosenberger">
</graphic>
x ,- |
/0\ \0 |O___ ___O___
-|- /\ | |
| |-' | |
/ \ / \ / \ /
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Electricity
This is called "things fred like's". Fred realized this weekend that he REALLY likes electricity. it not only entertains him, via TVs, Computers and so on... It's also need to cook (to run his gas oven), to open his garage door (well, it's not NEEDED for this, but if you have the door down, and can't find the key to the door to get in to pull the manual release, you DO).
But most importantly, it is needed to run the furnace in the house. no electricity, then the pump that circulates the hot water to the radiators can't run, which means no heat to the rest of the house.
it gets pretty cold in an old house when it's 27 degrees outside.
the people at the Marriott Courtyard were all very nice, and we had a fun swim in the pool, but i'm glad to be home.
But most importantly, it is needed to run the furnace in the house. no electricity, then the pump that circulates the hot water to the radiators can't run, which means no heat to the rest of the house.
it gets pretty cold in an old house when it's 27 degrees outside.
the people at the Marriott Courtyard were all very nice, and we had a fun swim in the pool, but i'm glad to be home.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Darts on TV
We have recorded a few "Dart Tournaments" on our Tivo. It's very fun to watch, and you can't help but think "Meh - I could do that" and start dreaming of quitting your job to become a professional dart player.
But the REAL reason I enjoy watching is because of the "color" commentators. We've seen two shows with the same commentator. He has used such expressions as "You could hear the dadruff fall of a fly", and my personal favorite "IT'S LIKE SPOONING MINESTRONE", all said with a British accent.
But the REAL reason I enjoy watching is because of the "color" commentators. We've seen two shows with the same commentator. He has used such expressions as "You could hear the dadruff fall of a fly", and my personal favorite "IT'S LIKE SPOONING MINESTRONE", all said with a British accent.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
my new job
I started working for BJC last week. not having a job sucks. having one may or may not suck.
it's too early to tell, but so far, this one is pretty good. Stacey loves my benefits, and the office iteself is pretty nice. i'll try and post photos soon (in a geological sense of the word).
it's too early to tell, but so far, this one is pretty good. Stacey loves my benefits, and the office iteself is pretty nice. i'll try and post photos soon (in a geological sense of the word).
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
My daughter, the Artist
So last night, Stacey and i were watching Miami Ink on TLC. We enjoy the artwork, the people are great, and it's always interesting.
Naturally, Olivia has seen much of the show too. So, in the middle of the show, Liv came over to the couch where i was sitting, my are resting on... well.. the armrest (how clever of me!!!). this put my forearm right at Liv's eye level.
She got some of her pencils and crayons, and decided she was going to 'tattoo' me. she made me roll up my sleeve and everything, as she colored it in.
What really made it noteworthy was that at one point, she went and got a piece of paper (an envelope, i belive) and used it as a 'transfer', just like the artists on the show do.
Maybe when she grows up, she can give me a real tatt!!!
Naturally, Olivia has seen much of the show too. So, in the middle of the show, Liv came over to the couch where i was sitting, my are resting on... well.. the armrest (how clever of me!!!). this put my forearm right at Liv's eye level.
She got some of her pencils and crayons, and decided she was going to 'tattoo' me. she made me roll up my sleeve and everything, as she colored it in.
What really made it noteworthy was that at one point, she went and got a piece of paper (an envelope, i belive) and used it as a 'transfer', just like the artists on the show do.
Maybe when she grows up, she can give me a real tatt!!!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
apologies to anyone with delicate sensitivites
so the other day, i was in my kitchen. Stacey and Liv were just outside the door, in the family room, out of sight.
now, i had to... well... pass gas REALLY badly. i had hoped to be able to sneak it out, but this was not meant to be. i let out a long, LOUD, obnoxious sound.
my wife, ever the tactful one, yells in from the other room "WHAT was THAT noise??!?!!?". i think she thought i had just launched myself into orbit.
ala Rodney Dangerfield in "CaddyShack", i replied "Somebody must have stepped on a duck!".
my darling daughter, in all innocence, says "Where is the duck? Can i see the duck?". i, while trying not to laugh, said "He must have flown away".
for the rest of the day, Liv kept asking about the mysterious duck that was in our kitchen that afternoon.
now, i had to... well... pass gas REALLY badly. i had hoped to be able to sneak it out, but this was not meant to be. i let out a long, LOUD, obnoxious sound.
my wife, ever the tactful one, yells in from the other room "WHAT was THAT noise??!?!!?". i think she thought i had just launched myself into orbit.
ala Rodney Dangerfield in "CaddyShack", i replied "Somebody must have stepped on a duck!".
my darling daughter, in all innocence, says "Where is the duck? Can i see the duck?". i, while trying not to laugh, said "He must have flown away".
for the rest of the day, Liv kept asking about the mysterious duck that was in our kitchen that afternoon.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Trust me, it's funny (if you're a java coder)
- Chuck Norris serializes objects straight into human skulls.
- Chuck Norris doesn't deploy web applications, he roundhouse kicks them into the server.
- Chuck Norris always uses his own design patterns, and his favorite is the Roundhouse Kick.
- Chuck Norris could use anything in java.util.* to kill you, including the javadocs.
- Chuck Norris can hit you so hard your web app will turn into a swing application, and a very bad swing application containing lots of icons of human skulls.
- Chuck Norris demonstrated the meaning of Float.POSITIVE_INFINITY by counting to it, twice.
- A synchronize doesn't protect against Chuck Norris, if he wants the object, he takes it.
- Chuck Norris doesn't use javac, he codes java by using a binary editor on the class files.
- Chuck Norris' java code never needs to be optimized. His code is so fast that it broke the speed of light during a test run in Sun's labs killing 37 people.
- When someone attempts to use one of Chuck Norris' deprecated methods, they automatically get a roundhouse kick to the face at compile time.
- The java.lang package originally contained a ChuckNorris class, but it punched its way out the package during a design review and roundhouse kicked Bill Joy in the face.
- Chuck Norris never has a bug in his code, EVER!
- Chuck Norris doesn't write code. He stares at a computer screen until he gets the progam he wants.
- Code runs faster when Chuck Norris watches it.
- Chuck Norris' binary edited classes ignore Java bytecode verifier.
- Chuck Norris methods doesn't catch exceptions becuase no one has the guts to throw any at them.
- Chuck Norris will cast a value to any type just by staring at it.
- If you get a ChuckNorrisException you'll probably die.
- Chuck Norris is the only one who can use goto and const in Java.
- Chuck Norris can compile Java code in .NET Framework, obviously just by staring at it.
- Chuck dont need to catch an Exception because Java is afraid of the "flying tornado kick" at the moment it throws
- Chuck Norris's code can roundhouse kick all other Java Objects' privates
- Java visibility levels are public, default, protected, private and "protected by Chuck Norris", don't try to access a field with this
last modifier!!
- Chuck Norris eats JavaBeans and Roundhouse Kicks JavaServer Faces!
- Chuck Norris can divide by 0!
- Garbage collector only runs on Chuck Norris code to collect the bodies.
- Chuck Norris code uses agressive heap natively
- Every single line code of Chuck Norris runs in real time. Even in a multi threading application.
- When a CPU load a Chuck Norris class file, it doubles the speed.
- Chuck Norris can execute 64bit lenght instructions in a 32bit CPU.
- Chuck Norris implements "Indestructible". All the other creatures implements "Killable".
- Chuck Norris only program Java web applications to get a .WAR in the end.
- Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked a Java class very hard. The result is known as a inner class.
- Chuck Norris can do multiple inheritance in Java.
- JVM never throws exceptions to Chuck Norris, not anymore. 753 killed Sun engineers is enough.
- Chuck Norris doesn't need unit tests because his code always work. ALWAYS.
- Chuck Norris extends God.
- Chuck Norris workstation has so memory and it's so powerful that he could run all java applications in the world and get 2% of resources usage.
- Chuck Norris codes generics since 1.3.
- Chuck Norris' classes can't be decompiled... don't bother trying.
- Chuck Norris doesn't deploy web applications, he roundhouse kicks them into the server.
- Chuck Norris always uses his own design patterns, and his favorite is the Roundhouse Kick.
- Chuck Norris could use anything in java.util.* to kill you, including the javadocs.
- Chuck Norris can hit you so hard your web app will turn into a swing application, and a very bad swing application containing lots of icons of human skulls.
- Chuck Norris demonstrated the meaning of Float.POSITIVE_INFINITY by counting to it, twice.
- A synchronize doesn't protect against Chuck Norris, if he wants the object, he takes it.
- Chuck Norris doesn't use javac, he codes java by using a binary editor on the class files.
- Chuck Norris' java code never needs to be optimized. His code is so fast that it broke the speed of light during a test run in Sun's labs killing 37 people.
- When someone attempts to use one of Chuck Norris' deprecated methods, they automatically get a roundhouse kick to the face at compile time.
- The java.lang package originally contained a ChuckNorris class, but it punched its way out the package during a design review and roundhouse kicked Bill Joy in the face.
- Chuck Norris never has a bug in his code, EVER!
- Chuck Norris doesn't write code. He stares at a computer screen until he gets the progam he wants.
- Code runs faster when Chuck Norris watches it.
- Chuck Norris' binary edited classes ignore Java bytecode verifier.
- Chuck Norris methods doesn't catch exceptions becuase no one has the guts to throw any at them.
- Chuck Norris will cast a value to any type just by staring at it.
- If you get a ChuckNorrisException you'll probably die.
- Chuck Norris is the only one who can use goto and const in Java.
- Chuck Norris can compile Java code in .NET Framework, obviously just by staring at it.
- Chuck dont need to catch an Exception because Java is afraid of the "flying tornado kick" at the moment it throws
- Chuck Norris's code can roundhouse kick all other Java Objects' privates
- Java visibility levels are public, default, protected, private and "protected by Chuck Norris", don't try to access a field with this
last modifier!!
- Chuck Norris eats JavaBeans and Roundhouse Kicks JavaServer Faces!
- Chuck Norris can divide by 0!
- Garbage collector only runs on Chuck Norris code to collect the bodies.
- Chuck Norris code uses agressive heap natively
- Every single line code of Chuck Norris runs in real time. Even in a multi threading application.
- When a CPU load a Chuck Norris class file, it doubles the speed.
- Chuck Norris can execute 64bit lenght instructions in a 32bit CPU.
- Chuck Norris implements "Indestructible". All the other creatures implements "Killable".
- Chuck Norris only program Java web applications to get a .WAR in the end.
- Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked a Java class very hard. The result is known as a inner class.
- Chuck Norris can do multiple inheritance in Java.
- JVM never throws exceptions to Chuck Norris, not anymore. 753 killed Sun engineers is enough.
- Chuck Norris doesn't need unit tests because his code always work. ALWAYS.
- Chuck Norris extends God.
- Chuck Norris workstation has so memory and it's so powerful that he could run all java applications in the world and get 2% of resources usage.
- Chuck Norris codes generics since 1.3.
- Chuck Norris' classes can't be decompiled... don't bother trying.
Friday, July 21, 2006
LEROOOOYYYYY JENKIINNNNSSSSS!!!!!
watch this, then read the following:
George W. Bush: OK guys, the Middle East has given us a lot of troublein the past, uh does anybody need anything off Iran or can we bypassthem?
Dick Cheney: Uhh, I think Israel needs something from this guy.
Bush: Oh, does he need the Holy Land? Doesn't - isn't he a country now?
Cheney: Yeah, but that will help him look better, he'll have more land.
Bush: [sighs] Christ. OK, uhh well what we'll do, I'll run in first, uh gather up all the insurgents, we can kinda just, ya know run them allout with our guns. Um, I will use Vague Threats, to kinda scatter'em, so we don't have to fight a whole bunch of them at once. Uhh, when my guys are done, uhh, I'll need England to come in and send his guys too, uh so we can keep them scattered and not have to fight too many. Um, when his is done, Poland of course will need to run in and do the same thing. Uhh, we're gonna need Propaganda for our Marines, uhh so they can, uhh, win, uh so we can of course get them down fast, cause we're bringing all these guys, I mean, we'll be in trouble if we don't take them down quick. Uhh I think this is a pretty good plan, we should be able to pull it off this time. Uhh, what do you think Donald? Can you give me a number crunch real quick?
Donald Rumsfeld: Uhhh.. yeah gimme a sec... I'm coming up with thirty-two point three three, repeating of course, percentage, of survival.
Bush: That's a lot better than we usually do, uhh, alright, you think we're ready guys?
Israel: All right chums, I'm back! Let's do this! LEEROOOOOOOY JEEENKIIIIIINSSS!!! [runs into Lebanon]
-Short pause-
Bush: [incredulous] ... Oh my God he just ran in.
Cheney: Save them!
Bush: Oh jeez, stick to the plan.
Rumsfeld: Oh jeez, let's go, let's go!
Democrats: [sarcastic] Stick to the plan chums!
Cheney: Stick to the plan!
Bush: Oh jeez, oh ****...
Cheney: Gimme propaganda, hurry up.
Rumsfeld: Shootin'!
Karl Rove: They're saying I can't spin! I can't spin, am I slipping, guys? I can't spin!
Bush: What the?what the hell?
Rove: I can't spin this!
Cheney: Oh my God...
Rumsfeld: The soldiers just keep dying! More dying!!
Bush: I don't think you can spin with this **** going on!
Cheney: Oh my God!
Israel: We got em, we got em!
Ehud Olmert: I got it! I got it! [muffled shouts]
Poland: Poland's down. Poland's down.
Rumsfeld: Oh my God..
Bush: Goddamnit Israel!
Cheney: Goddamnit...
Hezbollah: Israel you moron! [various put-downs of Israel amongst the Middle East]
England: I'm on it.
Germany: It's on Germany.
Rumsfeld: This is ridiculous.
England: I'm down, England down. Goddamnit.
Germany: Germany is down.
Bush: This is the millionth time we've failed at this, God!
Cheney: Rove, spin us! Rove, spin us!
Rumsfeld: Why do you do this **** Israel?
Rove: I'm trying!
Israel [crying]: It's not my fault!
Cheney: Who's reporting on this?
Bush: We do have the media here, don't we? [everyone dies] Think I need the media?
Rove: Yeah but I don't think we know a sympathetic reporter.
Bush [noticing everybody is dead]: ... Oh God...
Everybody: Oh for - [sighs] Great job!
Cheney: Israel, you are just stupid as hell.
Hezbollah: Idiot.
Israel: ... 'Least I got revenge.
George W. Bush: OK guys, the Middle East has given us a lot of troublein the past, uh does anybody need anything off Iran or can we bypassthem?
Dick Cheney: Uhh, I think Israel needs something from this guy.
Bush: Oh, does he need the Holy Land? Doesn't - isn't he a country now?
Cheney: Yeah, but that will help him look better, he'll have more land.
Bush: [sighs] Christ. OK, uhh well what we'll do, I'll run in first, uh gather up all the insurgents, we can kinda just, ya know run them allout with our guns. Um, I will use Vague Threats, to kinda scatter'em, so we don't have to fight a whole bunch of them at once. Uhh, when my guys are done, uhh, I'll need England to come in and send his guys too, uh so we can keep them scattered and not have to fight too many. Um, when his is done, Poland of course will need to run in and do the same thing. Uhh, we're gonna need Propaganda for our Marines, uhh so they can, uhh, win, uh so we can of course get them down fast, cause we're bringing all these guys, I mean, we'll be in trouble if we don't take them down quick. Uhh I think this is a pretty good plan, we should be able to pull it off this time. Uhh, what do you think Donald? Can you give me a number crunch real quick?
Donald Rumsfeld: Uhhh.. yeah gimme a sec... I'm coming up with thirty-two point three three, repeating of course, percentage, of survival.
Bush: That's a lot better than we usually do, uhh, alright, you think we're ready guys?
Israel: All right chums, I'm back! Let's do this! LEEROOOOOOOY JEEENKIIIIIINSSS!!! [runs into Lebanon]
-Short pause-
Bush: [incredulous] ... Oh my God he just ran in.
Cheney: Save them!
Bush: Oh jeez, stick to the plan.
Rumsfeld: Oh jeez, let's go, let's go!
Democrats: [sarcastic] Stick to the plan chums!
Cheney: Stick to the plan!
Bush: Oh jeez, oh ****...
Cheney: Gimme propaganda, hurry up.
Rumsfeld: Shootin'!
Karl Rove: They're saying I can't spin! I can't spin, am I slipping, guys? I can't spin!
Bush: What the?what the hell?
Rove: I can't spin this!
Cheney: Oh my God...
Rumsfeld: The soldiers just keep dying! More dying!!
Bush: I don't think you can spin with this **** going on!
Cheney: Oh my God!
Israel: We got em, we got em!
Ehud Olmert: I got it! I got it! [muffled shouts]
Poland: Poland's down. Poland's down.
Rumsfeld: Oh my God..
Bush: Goddamnit Israel!
Cheney: Goddamnit...
Hezbollah: Israel you moron! [various put-downs of Israel amongst the Middle East]
England: I'm on it.
Germany: It's on Germany.
Rumsfeld: This is ridiculous.
England: I'm down, England down. Goddamnit.
Germany: Germany is down.
Bush: This is the millionth time we've failed at this, God!
Cheney: Rove, spin us! Rove, spin us!
Rumsfeld: Why do you do this **** Israel?
Rove: I'm trying!
Israel [crying]: It's not my fault!
Cheney: Who's reporting on this?
Bush: We do have the media here, don't we? [everyone dies] Think I need the media?
Rove: Yeah but I don't think we know a sympathetic reporter.
Bush [noticing everybody is dead]: ... Oh God...
Everybody: Oh for - [sighs] Great job!
Cheney: Israel, you are just stupid as hell.
Hezbollah: Idiot.
Israel: ... 'Least I got revenge.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Those wacky Japanese...
...and their tv prank shows.
i laughed so hard, my stomache hurt. i bet you'd never get away with this in the U.S.A. You'd be slapped with a lawsuit faster than you could blink.
i laughed so hard, my stomache hurt. i bet you'd never get away with this in the U.S.A. You'd be slapped with a lawsuit faster than you could blink.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
holy moly!!!
i can't believe crap like this exists. i'm all for love, peace, believing you can do stuff... but in 24 weeks i can get a "Clairvoyant Practitioner Certification"???
and Reiki Healings? $50 for 30 minutes of someone not touching me?
and now they have Dodecahedron (scroll down) power. is that 5 times better than Pyramid power? or wait, does pyramid power use a 5-sided pyramid, so dodecahedron power is only 4 times, stronger... i get confused...
and Reiki Healings? $50 for 30 minutes of someone not touching me?
and now they have Dodecahedron (scroll down) power. is that 5 times better than Pyramid power? or wait, does pyramid power use a 5-sided pyramid, so dodecahedron power is only 4 times, stronger... i get confused...
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
ok, if you're not a geek/programmer, this may mean nothing to you. but one of the google software geeks recently made this post. kind of scary.
for those of you who don't want to read code, here are the highlights...
there are many standard algorithms (or techniques ) developers use. It's similar to cooking... you have to know a few basic things, like how to make a white sauce, a red sauce, etc. from these basic concepts, you build upon them your masterpiece.
imagine if somebody today found out that the way you make a white sauce could, possibly, sometimes, in a rare case but a case that could start happening more and more often, cause the mixture to EXPLODE!!!!!
that's kind of what is happening here. a binary search is a quick way to find something in a list of sorted records. now that we're getting to the point where we want to search billions of records (think google), the binary search sometimes blows up.
the fix is pretty easy, and pretty trivial. but nobody realized there was a problem until a few weeks ago.
it kind of shakes your belief that you really know and understand anything...
for those of you who don't want to read code, here are the highlights...
there are many standard algorithms (or techniques ) developers use. It's similar to cooking... you have to know a few basic things, like how to make a white sauce, a red sauce, etc. from these basic concepts, you build upon them your masterpiece.
imagine if somebody today found out that the way you make a white sauce could, possibly, sometimes, in a rare case but a case that could start happening more and more often, cause the mixture to EXPLODE!!!!!
that's kind of what is happening here. a binary search is a quick way to find something in a list of sorted records. now that we're getting to the point where we want to search billions of records (think google), the binary search sometimes blows up.
the fix is pretty easy, and pretty trivial. but nobody realized there was a problem until a few weeks ago.
it kind of shakes your belief that you really know and understand anything...
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Muppets
i have been a big fan of the Muppets ever since i first saw them. Jim Henson is, IHMO, one of the most underated artists of the 20th century. few people, if any, have had such a huge impact on so many people.
How many of us learned to accept ourselves as we are ("Bein' Green"), leanred the alphabet, or how to co-op-er-ate from Jim and his creations???
How many of us learned to accept ourselves as we are ("Bein' Green"), leanred the alphabet, or how to co-op-er-ate from Jim and his creations???
Penn Jillette, part deux
my previous post about Penn (see "This i believe" down below) sparked quite a debate between one of my closest friends, my wife and myself. we engaged in a lengthy email discussion about whether Penn is smart, egotistical, or possibly both.
well, for father's day, my wife got me season one of BullSh*t . i watched two episodes last night, and i stand by my statement. Penn is a smart man (as is his silent partner Teller).
this is a series where P&T take on some of the biggest cons of our time. in episode 1, they talk about psychics who claim they can can speak to the dead. Penn makes some scathing remarks about these M-Fs (his term), who are basically corrupting peoples memories of their loved ones, simply to make a buck.
i HIGHLY reccomend the series, even after watching only 2 episodes.
well, for father's day, my wife got me season one of BullSh*t . i watched two episodes last night, and i stand by my statement. Penn is a smart man (as is his silent partner Teller).
this is a series where P&T take on some of the biggest cons of our time. in episode 1, they talk about psychics who claim they can can speak to the dead. Penn makes some scathing remarks about these M-Fs (his term), who are basically corrupting peoples memories of their loved ones, simply to make a buck.
i HIGHLY reccomend the series, even after watching only 2 episodes.
Friday, June 16, 2006
i almost feel bad for the guy... but not really.
another article on Uri Geller. this one also made me laugh. specifically, this quote:
"So in conclusion — this man enjoys fame and, I presume, wealth, because he has a slow, inefficient, and unreliable method for accomplishing a task that no one needs done. He gets invited to TV shows to demonstrate this completely substandard method of performing this useless task."
"So in conclusion — this man enjoys fame and, I presume, wealth, because he has a slow, inefficient, and unreliable method for accomplishing a task that no one needs done. He gets invited to TV shows to demonstrate this completely substandard method of performing this useless task."
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Mass Suicide attempt
This cracks me up... Note that this is from about 2 years ago, but i think it's still relevant, what with all the woo-woo "medicine" out there that's more popular than ever.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
step 1
we bought liv a swing set today. while she was napping, i went outside and started putting it together. after a solid hour of non-stop work, i'm proud to state i finsihed.... Step 1. and i was tired.
i kept working, and after about 3 hours, had it together enough that there was 1 (of 3) swing on it, and liv was able to... try and get on the seat, but kept falling off the back of the seat, landing on her derriere. fortunatly, there has been a lot of rain, and the ground was pretty soft.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
But of COURSE!!!
This makes perfect sense. It's logical, fair and easy. So i'm sure we'll never implement it in this country.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
TTDC
TTDC, or Trevis Thomas Dot Com, is a great site. Trev is a former colleague of mine, and was in my wedding. he is quite amazing. after being overweight for much of his life, he recently lost over 150lbs on his own. no health clubs, no weight loss clubs, no fad diets... he just ate less, and moved more.
but the web site is more than that. it's its own little community. we fight and argue, we share stories, we talk about news and politics and religion. we share when good thing happen (wedding, babies, buying a house) and when bad things happen (getting fired, a loved one passing). it's a really neat group of people, who i would consider my friends. even thought most of them i've never met.
but the web site is more than that. it's its own little community. we fight and argue, we share stories, we talk about news and politics and religion. we share when good thing happen (wedding, babies, buying a house) and when bad things happen (getting fired, a loved one passing). it's a really neat group of people, who i would consider my friends. even thought most of them i've never met.
you know you're in trouble when...
i was reading some source code my team is going to modify. deep in there, is the following commnet:
/* Oh, this algorithm is too complicated, but it is the only way I could think of... */
it then goes on for 26 lines explaining the algorithm. i get lost on line 7.
the code is worse.
/* Oh, this algorithm is too complicated, but it is the only way I could think of... */
it then goes on for 26 lines explaining the algorithm. i get lost on line 7.
the code is worse.
James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi has become my personal hero. his JREF is truly a wonder to read. Mr. Randi has been looking for evidence of anything supernatural for a long time... 30 years? possibly more. he is so determined to find it, he's put up $1 million u.s. to ANYONE who can provide the evidence.
he's tested hundreds of folk who claim to have supernatural abilities. mind reading, spoon bending, dowsing (an ever popular favorite)... NOBODY has ever been able to produce when the rubber meets the road. now, this does not prove that the person does not have the ability - it just shows that on that day, for that attempt, they failed. and they often fail dramatically.
i saw a video of him testing some dowsers in australia (when his prize was $10k, with a few other folks contributing to make the total $40k). before the results were announced, ALL said they were confident in their success rate, predicting between 80-100% accuracy. the actual results were announced to be around 12%, with 10% being expected by chance. then they all started with excues, including sunspots.
people claim the money doesn't exist. people claim Mr. Randi cheats. people make all kinds of excuses to NOT be tested. but nobody ever, not even ONCE, had actually produced when tested under proper conditions. that has to make you wonder, doesn't it?
he's tested hundreds of folk who claim to have supernatural abilities. mind reading, spoon bending, dowsing (an ever popular favorite)... NOBODY has ever been able to produce when the rubber meets the road. now, this does not prove that the person does not have the ability - it just shows that on that day, for that attempt, they failed. and they often fail dramatically.
i saw a video of him testing some dowsers in australia (when his prize was $10k, with a few other folks contributing to make the total $40k). before the results were announced, ALL said they were confident in their success rate, predicting between 80-100% accuracy. the actual results were announced to be around 12%, with 10% being expected by chance. then they all started with excues, including sunspots.
people claim the money doesn't exist. people claim Mr. Randi cheats. people make all kinds of excuses to NOT be tested. but nobody ever, not even ONCE, had actually produced when tested under proper conditions. that has to make you wonder, doesn't it?
things i like
this is my blog of things i like. videos, web sites, jokes... mostly it's a collection of things that i find interesting and want to remember. i hope anybody who reads this finds them interesting, too.
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