Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Wealth and Christianity
A Time / SRBI Public Affairs poll reports that:
61% of Christians in the U.S. believe that God wants them to be financially prosperous.
31% also believe that if you give money to God, he will bless you with more money
21% believe material wealth is a sign of God's blessing
So, if you're poor, it's because God doesn't like you.
61% of Christians in the U.S. believe that God wants them to be financially prosperous.
31% also believe that if you give money to God, he will bless you with more money
21% believe material wealth is a sign of God's blessing
So, if you're poor, it's because God doesn't like you.
Evolution in Action
Charles Darwin observed the finches of the Galapagos Islands and speculated about how they had developed their traits. Thus he developed his theory of evolution.
Now Princeton biologists, Peter and Rosemary Grant are observing the evolution of those finches.
For years, the Grants had observed finches with various-sized beaks foraging for seeds. The large-beaked birds went for the larger seeds and the small-beaked ones ate the small seeds, but in 2003 and 2004 drought reduced the food supply and the larger-beaked finches began to die off. Another variety of large-beaked finches were eating all the big seeds before the medium ground finches could get them. One year later, the Grants observed that the medium ground finches had smaller beaks which allowed them to compete for smaller seeds. Their evolution was fast and dramatic.
Last year our trees were alive with the activity of chickadees and finches, but this year fewer birds are visting our feeders. The count of wild birds is down throughout the county, but no one knows why. We're seeing a lot of hummingbird activity, so many we had to add another feeder. We have a moderate amount of chickadees this year but hardly any finches.
We had an excess of flies this year, maybe because there were fewer birds to eat them? The year before we had an overabundance of spiders. A neighbor made the observation that watching our cycles, he had an idea about how Chinese astrology began.
Now Princeton biologists, Peter and Rosemary Grant are observing the evolution of those finches.
For years, the Grants had observed finches with various-sized beaks foraging for seeds. The large-beaked birds went for the larger seeds and the small-beaked ones ate the small seeds, but in 2003 and 2004 drought reduced the food supply and the larger-beaked finches began to die off. Another variety of large-beaked finches were eating all the big seeds before the medium ground finches could get them. One year later, the Grants observed that the medium ground finches had smaller beaks which allowed them to compete for smaller seeds. Their evolution was fast and dramatic.
Last year our trees were alive with the activity of chickadees and finches, but this year fewer birds are visting our feeders. The count of wild birds is down throughout the county, but no one knows why. We're seeing a lot of hummingbird activity, so many we had to add another feeder. We have a moderate amount of chickadees this year but hardly any finches.
We had an excess of flies this year, maybe because there were fewer birds to eat them? The year before we had an overabundance of spiders. A neighbor made the observation that watching our cycles, he had an idea about how Chinese astrology began.
Meerkats
The second season of Meerkat Manor is about to begin on Animal Planet. If you love cute, cuddly furries, you won't want to miss it.
A report in Science, says that Meerkats are one of three species known to actively teach their young. They say that active teaching is rare even among gorillas and that other intelligent creatures learn by passive techniques like observation.
Previously, humans and ants were the only animals scientists had observed actively teaching their young. They used the following criteria to judge their behavior:
1. Adults change their behavior for the lessons
2. The adults don't derive any immediate benefit from the instruction
3. The babies learn faster than they would without instruction
Meerkat lessons involve teaching their young to manage their most dangerous prey, scorpions. The young are first shown how to dismantle dead scorpions and then they work on live scorpions whose stingers have been removed by the adult. Finally the young are given live, poisonous scorpions to work on while the adults watch.
Researchers say that this discovery suggests that hands-on teaching in the animal world, may be more prevalent that they previously thought.
I think animals are underestimated all the time. I recall a report about researchers who were conducting an experiment on the intelligence of dolphins. They had mixed results until they realized that dolphins communicate with sounds beyond the range of human ears. We continually examine the world with our own biases and limitations and these limitations especially handicap religious nuts and conservatives who can't understand or won't accept scientific methods. Animals and the world suffer as a result.
A report in Science, says that Meerkats are one of three species known to actively teach their young. They say that active teaching is rare even among gorillas and that other intelligent creatures learn by passive techniques like observation.
Previously, humans and ants were the only animals scientists had observed actively teaching their young. They used the following criteria to judge their behavior:
1. Adults change their behavior for the lessons
2. The adults don't derive any immediate benefit from the instruction
3. The babies learn faster than they would without instruction
Meerkat lessons involve teaching their young to manage their most dangerous prey, scorpions. The young are first shown how to dismantle dead scorpions and then they work on live scorpions whose stingers have been removed by the adult. Finally the young are given live, poisonous scorpions to work on while the adults watch.
Researchers say that this discovery suggests that hands-on teaching in the animal world, may be more prevalent that they previously thought.
I think animals are underestimated all the time. I recall a report about researchers who were conducting an experiment on the intelligence of dolphins. They had mixed results until they realized that dolphins communicate with sounds beyond the range of human ears. We continually examine the world with our own biases and limitations and these limitations especially handicap religious nuts and conservatives who can't understand or won't accept scientific methods. Animals and the world suffer as a result.
UFO Sighted During Apollo 11
Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to walk on the moon, talked about a UFO he and his crew saw during the Apollo 11 mission. NASA covered it up. See it for yourself: video of the British documentary.
Kansas School Board Evolved
Conservatives lost control of the Kansas School Board, nine months after they threw out evolution in the classroom. Moderates now hold a 6 to 4 majority and will probably encourage teaching evolution again.
Too late to save their state's reputation.
It isn't clear whether the knuckle-draggers will take control of the board again in the future. Kansas is a very red state which makes it difficult for them to join us in the 21st century.
Too late to save their state's reputation.
It isn't clear whether the knuckle-draggers will take control of the board again in the future. Kansas is a very red state which makes it difficult for them to join us in the 21st century.
Will Catholics ever join us in the 21st century?
The Vatican's chief exorcist, Rev. Gabriele Amorth, sees the devil lurking everywhere. He was recently quoted in The Week magazine:
"Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness - the devil."THEY STILL HAVE AN EXORCIST!!!!
News from Pastafarian HQ
We are now working on a Pirate Fish belt buckle. We chose this project to work on due to popular demand.
We are still taking requests, so let us know what products you'd like us to make next. We read every email we get, so keep them coming.
You can find an email link on Ring of Fire's web site or you can email me directly using kittylover at gmail.com
Thank you.
We are still taking requests, so let us know what products you'd like us to make next. We read every email we get, so keep them coming.
You can find an email link on Ring of Fire's web site or you can email me directly using kittylover at gmail.com
Thank you.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Random Acts of Kindness & Disjointed Thoughts
A missing Ben Lomond woman's body was found Friday by hikers in a wooded area several miles from her abandoned car. She was a Polish immigrant who worked as a cashier in the town's only supermarket, so a lot of people knew her at least in passing and our small community was saddened and we felt vulnerable. A monster was among us.
We were relieved to hear Saturday that the police have a suspect in custody. He was a co-worker of hers and he has been accused of sexually attacking at least one other woman whom he threatened with death.
And so tonight, I feel sad and out of focus, but this afternoon we went to the store to get a few groceries and noticed that our cashier was wearing a button with a photo of George W. Bush. It's kind of unusual to meet up with Bush supporters around here, so I listened in when another customer in line asked where she got her button. Then I noticed the phrase under the photo that read, "He's not my president."
The cashier and those of us in line to check out held a spontaneous anti-Bush rally in the check-out aisle after the cashier said she hadn't even liked him before he invaded Iraq and that he's an idiot. We all agreed.
We went into town (the city of Santa Cruz) and got stuck in traffic at an intersection. At first we couldn't figure out why people were opening their car doors and exiting their vehicles until we noticed that a dog was loose in the street and people were determined to stop traffic until the dog was securely out of danger. Witnessing these acts of kindness, made my day.
At the garden shop, I stopped to talk to a woman who was driving an electric flat-bed truck. She said it costs about $7,000 but the city of Santa Cruz gives a generous rebate (I think she said it was in the amount of $2,000) and you can get a tax credit from the state. It has a range of about 30 miles which is sufficient around here.
Gasoline prices are falling rapidly lately. Have you noticed? Anyone want to be bet they'll go up again AFTER the election?
Speaking of the election, want to bet that afterwards the pundits will all be saying that it proved that the polls were wrong again and the country loves Gee Dubya. (Thanks to Diebold and pundits who can't or won't tell the truth.)
When do you suppose the terror threat will go up? A couple of weeks before the election? Maybe as much as a month before?
We were relieved to hear Saturday that the police have a suspect in custody. He was a co-worker of hers and he has been accused of sexually attacking at least one other woman whom he threatened with death.
And so tonight, I feel sad and out of focus, but this afternoon we went to the store to get a few groceries and noticed that our cashier was wearing a button with a photo of George W. Bush. It's kind of unusual to meet up with Bush supporters around here, so I listened in when another customer in line asked where she got her button. Then I noticed the phrase under the photo that read, "He's not my president."
The cashier and those of us in line to check out held a spontaneous anti-Bush rally in the check-out aisle after the cashier said she hadn't even liked him before he invaded Iraq and that he's an idiot. We all agreed.
We went into town (the city of Santa Cruz) and got stuck in traffic at an intersection. At first we couldn't figure out why people were opening their car doors and exiting their vehicles until we noticed that a dog was loose in the street and people were determined to stop traffic until the dog was securely out of danger. Witnessing these acts of kindness, made my day.
At the garden shop, I stopped to talk to a woman who was driving an electric flat-bed truck. She said it costs about $7,000 but the city of Santa Cruz gives a generous rebate (I think she said it was in the amount of $2,000) and you can get a tax credit from the state. It has a range of about 30 miles which is sufficient around here.
Gasoline prices are falling rapidly lately. Have you noticed? Anyone want to be bet they'll go up again AFTER the election?
Speaking of the election, want to bet that afterwards the pundits will all be saying that it proved that the polls were wrong again and the country loves Gee Dubya. (Thanks to Diebold and pundits who can't or won't tell the truth.)
When do you suppose the terror threat will go up? A couple of weeks before the election? Maybe as much as a month before?
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
New Pastafarian Stuff
New at Ring of Fire aka Pastafarian HQ:
Jolly Pirate fish lapel pins arrived yesterday along with FSM keychains and Pirate fish keychains.
New also are FSM flags and Pirate fish flags in two sizes: large with grommets and small ones on sticks.
Our new chrome OM symbol car emblems are in and they turned out nicely.
We also have some new wooden chests in various sizes and wooden boxes; trinket boxes topped with a brass Pentagram or an OM symbol; also a wooden chest with two drawers decorated with Pentagrams.
Privateer organic tea has arrived in two flavors: Gunpowder (rolled green tea leaves) are especially appropriate for the discerning Pirate. Also available is Jasmine. They are packaged in sealed canisters with our own private labels designed for Pastafarians.
We might have other new products I forgot to mention, so please stop by and see what's new.
Pastafarians' most important holiday is Talk Like a Pirate Day on Sept. 19. Don't furget or ye be cursed.
Jolly Pirate fish lapel pins arrived yesterday along with FSM keychains and Pirate fish keychains.
New also are FSM flags and Pirate fish flags in two sizes: large with grommets and small ones on sticks.
Our new chrome OM symbol car emblems are in and they turned out nicely.
We also have some new wooden chests in various sizes and wooden boxes; trinket boxes topped with a brass Pentagram or an OM symbol; also a wooden chest with two drawers decorated with Pentagrams.
Privateer organic tea has arrived in two flavors: Gunpowder (rolled green tea leaves) are especially appropriate for the discerning Pirate. Also available is Jasmine. They are packaged in sealed canisters with our own private labels designed for Pastafarians.
We might have other new products I forgot to mention, so please stop by and see what's new.
Pastafarians' most important holiday is Talk Like a Pirate Day on Sept. 19. Don't furget or ye be cursed.
Mickey Mouse Version of 9/11 Tanks
Apparently I wasn't the only one who didn't watch Crap-tasia (thanks D.K.):
Think Progress Path to 9/11 Trounced By Football, Ties CBS Rerun:
Think Progress Path to 9/11 Trounced By Football, Ties CBS Rerun:
"Apparently, there isn't a big audience for myths about 9/11. Preliminary ratings information show that Path to 9/11 was not only trounced by Sunday Night Football, it only managed to tie a rerun of a CBS documentary about 9/11"
Saturday, September 09, 2006
News of the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: "News Flash --- The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been nominated for the 2006 Quill Awards in the Humor category! These awards are chosen by the public, so it is very important that everyone vote here. Thank you very much. "
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thought for the day
"Deer hunting would be fine sport, if only the deer had guns."
—William S. Gilbert (lyricist of legendary songwriting team Gilbert & Sullivan, 1836 - 1911)
—William S. Gilbert (lyricist of legendary songwriting team Gilbert & Sullivan, 1836 - 1911)
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Faith Based Waste
The Week Magazine:
"... Madonna approached the nuclear industry with a plan to clean up nuclear waste by washing it in a 'magical' Kabbalah fluid. "
"... Madonna approached the nuclear industry with a plan to clean up nuclear waste by washing it in a 'magical' Kabbalah fluid. "
Bush-Is-An-Idiot
AlterNet: The Bush-Is-An-Idiot Camp Grows:
"This was a reference to a recent segment on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC show during which Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, posed the question, 'Is our president an idiot?' After playing a montage of video clips showing Bush at his tongue-tied worst ('Fool me once, shame on you -- fool me -- you can't get fooled again'), Scarborough said that a former close aide to President Bush had recently told him that Bush is 'intellectually shallow and one of the most incurious public figures this man has ever met.' Scarborough claimed that Bush is 'getting worse instead of better' and that when it comes to presidential stupidity Bush is 'in a league by himself.' He added, 'I don't think he has the intellectual depth.'"Wow! Even Republicans (who are also slow) are beginning to notice that the chimperor is nekkid
The Wisdom of Chief Seattle
"If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts soon happens to man."
—Chief Seattle (1786 - 1866) in a letter to U.S. President Franklin Pierce
—Chief Seattle (1786 - 1866) in a letter to U.S. President Franklin Pierce
Mickey Mouse Rewrites History
By now you've heard about ABC's "docu-drama", The Path to 9/11, a right-wing TV series which blames Clinton for 9/11 instead of Bush and Rice who failed to act on Richard Clark's warning about Bin Laden's determination to strike in the US (a presidential briefing giving to Rice and Bush a few weeks before the attack on the twin towers).
Hey folks, Osama bin Laden is still alive 5 years later. I suppose that's Clinton's fault too? And it must have been Clinton who invaded Iraq and took the focus off finding the terrorists? Yeah, that's the ticket.
More here....
Hey folks, Osama bin Laden is still alive 5 years later. I suppose that's Clinton's fault too? And it must have been Clinton who invaded Iraq and took the focus off finding the terrorists? Yeah, that's the ticket.
More here....
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Condi Rice: Secretary of Stupid
The Bushites have been trying to compare Bush to FDR and the Iraq war to World War II. Now Condie "Full of Lies" Rice goes all the way back to the U.S. Civil War:
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Condi: Anti-war = Pro-slavery: "Secretary of State Condi Rice equated advocates for ending the Iraq War with those who would have allowed slavery to continue in an interview with Essence Mag: "I'm sure there are people who thought it was a mistake to fight the Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would hold..."
Atheist vs God & the Post Office in Lompoc
Lompoc, California is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, where major employers are the Vandenberg Air Force Base and a federal prison complex, so you might expect to see "God Bless America" posters around town. Even the post office had one, but no more. A local resident, Matt Hughes succeeded in having that very poster removed from public view at the Lompoc post office.
The poster featuring a large American flag with the slogan "God Bless America", had been placed on a wall above the area where clerks serve customers. Hughes pointed out that the promotion of religion is the business of churches, not government offices.
Initially when Hughes complained, the supervisor told him, "It's not coming down. You can complain to Washington if you want, but it's not coming down." The postmaster overruled the supervisor.
Thanks to AZgoddess and Dada for checking up on me and inviting me to come back to blogging. It felt good to be missed.
The poster featuring a large American flag with the slogan "God Bless America", had been placed on a wall above the area where clerks serve customers. Hughes pointed out that the promotion of religion is the business of churches, not government offices.
Initially when Hughes complained, the supervisor told him, "It's not coming down. You can complain to Washington if you want, but it's not coming down." The postmaster overruled the supervisor.
"I'm delighted that it's down. I think there's no reason that a government facility should have the largest word in the customer services area be the name of some people's deity," Hughes said. "For some people, their god is named Jehovah or Allah. Some people worship Buddha. Some people worship the flying spaghetti monster. But the Christians and Jews have named their god, God with the capital G, and that's whose god was listed in the post office. If there is a god, I would wish he would bless everyone - not just America."Read the article in the Lompoc Record here: God Bless America poster pulled by Neil Nisperos/Staff Writer nnisperos@lompocrecord.com.
Thanks to AZgoddess and Dada for checking up on me and inviting me to come back to blogging. It felt good to be missed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)