Heavy rains threatened to flood the small town, and the authorities asked the residents to evacuate. Old Abe refused and sat on his front porch while his neighbors packed up. Abe’s friend Bill asked, “Why aren’t you packing, Abe? Didn’t you hear a flood is coming?” Abe replied, “I have faith in God. He loves me and will protect me.” Bill shook his head and left town. The rain continued to fall, and the waters continued to rise, but Abe stayed on his porch, though the streets we...

"I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen F Roberts Stephen's quote has become rather popular, especially among athiests, because it points out that there are a great many religous beliefs, and none of them form a majority. The people at adherents.com have collected data (last updated 2002) about the adherents of popular belief sy...

Recently someone on JoeUser asked me to explain how I adopted my personal belief system. That is not a tale I wish to tell, primarily because religious debate bores the hell out of me. I don’t like trying to change other people’s beliefs, and I appreciate the same respect. I especially resent such attempts by people who came to their beliefs through inertia rather than consideration. That being said, let me tell you that I am a mechanist, a type of atheist. That’s not an easy thing...

I find this just bizarre... Link Anyone out there with some insight into what might be going through these girls' heads?

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake." - Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956), Chessmaster

Words are easy. That basic phrase has formed one of the foundations of my personal philosophy for many years. In those years I have shared this theme with a number of people, and I have heard many interpretations. Here I am going to explore a couple of the variations that I have imaged thus far. Words and Action Originally the phrase “words are easy” came to me after I learned that a girlfriend had been lying to me about a number of issues (the primary one being fidelity). At th...

“You can’t put a bag over personality.” - unknown

I find the work of Immanuel Kant very interesting. In his Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals he discusses the moral value of actions. In the first two sections of that work he proposes some ethical propositions that have often returned to my mind in the twelve years since I first read them. The first of these propositions differentiates praiseworthy behavior from moral action. “To be beneficent when we can is a duty; and besides this, there are many minds to sympatheti...

So I was thinking about running for President of the United States of America, but I needed some platform to tempt the votes. It occured to me that if I promise tax cuts on all chocolate I could get a large percentage of the female vote. And if I promised an NFL sports package in every home I could get a large percentage of the male vote. White House, here i come!

So I was thinking about running for President of the United States of America, but I needed some platform to tempt the votes. It occured to me that if I promise tax cuts on all chocolate I could get a large percentage of the female vote. And if I promised an NFL sports package in every home I could get a large percentage of the male vote. White House, here i come!

Imagine if you will...the leader of the fifth invader force speaking to the commander in chief... "They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely meat." "That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?" "They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't ...

Imagine if you will...the leader of the fifth invader force speaking to the commander in chief... "They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely meat." "That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?" "They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't ...

"The average person thinks he isn’t." - Father Larry Lorenzoni