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April 30, 2007
old is new - again
It finally happened - someone reinvented Rocket Network
No doubt it will be hailed as a breakthrough, never done before, blah, blah
Actually though, it looks like it might be pretty good!
Good points include gathering people together to enable them to make music again (if they are geographically separated from other musicians), education and 'Foster deep humanity by bringing people together without words and through feelings'.
Not sure about that last one...
I'd love to sign up to it and give it a shot though - it might be usefult to make music with some mates of mine who live in London
*thinks*
hmmm
Posted by dottie at 11:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 26, 2007
New study will no doubt be used to prove that christianity is better than atheism and therby infer that god exists....
...unfortunately, logic and reason rear their 'ugly' heads.
WHERE IS THE CONTROL GROUP??!!
Here's the report on the study.
The important point to note in this report is 'The conflict that arises when parents regularly argue over their faith at home, however, has the opposite effect'
Hmm.
So, what the report is saying is that children from a strife-free home do better than children from a home where there is strife.
Th report seems to be using the chewbacca defence to make its point They are pointing out that children from a religious home that takes part in community gatherings and discussion do better than children from a home run by parents who bicker and seemingly do not attend community gatherings.
Well, fine. But, if you apply logic and reason to that statement what they are really saying is that children from a stable home are better behaved in school than children from a troubled home.
No surprise there then.
Why must the god botherers always confabulate harmony with religion and strife with their ultimate slean swear-word 'godlessness'?
If the study had taken the time to include a family where both parents were humainsts/atheists and were loving and inclusive and compared the teachers feedback on these groups, then, we would have a scientific study.
Posted by dottie at 1:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2007
Quick War Roundup
PNAC statement of principles - way back in old '97
Abu Ghraib should not have been unexpected
UPDATE: a latecomer. but a doozy!
Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
Posted by dottie at 6:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 22, 2007
LOL katz
Cute animal pictures gone wrong
Comments
Mike Scott
Oh man, I was tearing up laughing so hard at this one! Thanks!
Posted by dottie at 10:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 20, 2007
Where were the atheists?
Dinseh d'Souza begs the question - where is atheism when bad things happen?
When he gets a polite, thorough, humane and very moving rebuttal - he continues to shove his foot down his throat notice that in neither of d'Souza's outbursts does he attempt to console those who have lost loved ones.
The lack of empathy stands in stark contrast to 'mapantsula' response, full of humanity, empathy and understanding.
His response to atheists response to his original comment includes the question
I really want to hear what the atheist would tell the grieving mothers.
Well, probably something more comforting than the religious harpy who, while visiting the college to console the grieving proclaimed on live television:
We just have to accept that some of those killed are in hell
Lovely.
I wonder why people like d'Souza think it is OK to co-opt a tragedy like the Virginia Tech massacre to count coup on people who don't hold to the same belief system. When you strip away the rhetoric, what d'Souza has done is vile.
You're a sick puppy d'Souza, a very sick puppy indeed. Turn yourself in so we don't have to hear about you rampaging with a glock screaming about being the tool of god (small g, always a small g..)
Posted by dottie at 8:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2007
We are Virginia Tech
Posted by dottie at 10:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2007
Happy podiobooks day!
Podiobooks is back online and better than ever (wait till I head over to Digg to initiate some 'server testing' ;) )
Pay them a visit - there are some great audio books there!
Posted by dottie at 11:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A bit of perspective
28 Mar 2007 : 273 dead - various incidents (170 killed in the largest) - virtually no news coverage
16 April 2007 : 33 dead - a single incident - front page world wide coverage
Can you guess the difference?
My condolences to all those involved in the tragedies whether loved ones, family or emergency/medical personnel.
Posted by dottie at 10:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 16, 2007
Podiobooks goes Boing!
One of my favourite sources for free audio books (well, donation ware...) has been having some bandwidth problems recently.
Nevertheless, I have enjoyed many fine books while tweaking images and even programming (I find that once I know the programming language it is possible to program and listen at the same time - OK, I miss some bits but that's what the rewind button is for...) - jut check out the podbook roll on the menu there on the right (scroll down a bit...)
Unfortunately, Señor Doctorow linked to an encomium'd podiobook and the BoingBoing effect has done the predictable.
Podiobooks, once on the ropes is now down and out for the count.
Hopefully they will be back on-line before too long!
Maybe we should suggest that Cory adds a note that Podiobooks and their authors (who get 75% of everything donated) need some support to buy fatter and longer pipes!
Comments
Chris Miller
We're working like monkeys on crack to get the site back up, believe me. :) It's almost there. Just waiting on the registrar...
-Chris@Podiobooks
Evo
Fat and long pipes are on the way!
Actually, we were in the middle of a less-than-perfect move when Cory linked us. All should be resolved in about 12 hours. And then just to test that theory, I'm going to post a podiobook version of one of Cory's books in a few days. That ought to get another BB link and a full-on stress test for us!
E.
Posted by dottie at 1:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 14, 2007
My Idea of Heaven...
You know the way god-botherers say that the dearly departed are always looking down on us / watching over us?
I always had a problem with that, but I never had a decent analogy to equate to my view of a non-existent state. However, IF there were a heaven - I don't really think my dearly departed would be interested in my bowel movements, long periods of staring into space with a blank expression (and possibly, drool) and the relatively short time I spend getting my accounts up to date.
No.
I like to imagine that simplistic view of heaven that the g.b.'s have is akin to pre-RSS epiphany.
In pre-RSS days, you must remember every site you like and visit it regularly to see what new posts they have made. This incurs yearnings, frustration and no little amount of stress (not to mention wasted time!)
When you discover RSS things change. Often you no longer know what the site looks like - often you don't even know the authors name or even what they do for a living, but you are aware of the minutiae of their lives. Simply put, when they have a moment and decide to share, your RSS aggregator lets you know. No more stress, memory issues or missed minutiae.
I think heaven is a little like that. I can't imagine the dearly departed, detached from corporeal life as they are, trying to recall what fond memories feel like in order to figure out which relatives to check in on.
I think every time we have a 'stepping stone' moment in life, then 'heaven' gets pinged and the d.d.'s get to check it out - vicariously of course.
This metaphor can be stretched to cover other phenomenon:
Ghosts? Trackbacks!
Coma? It's sort of like being 'dugg' spiritually
Possession? A buffer overflow exploit
Deja vu? server glitch - double post...
Burning bush, voice of god, epiphany etc. - just a forum troll dude...
Posted by dottie at 3:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 12, 2007
For the longest time...
... I have wanted to write.
Not be ABLE to write, but just to do.
Specifically, in this context, I always thought it would be great to write about someone's life - someone fictional.
At first it would be easy to invent little escapades and picaresque asides, but gradually, the characters would take on a life of their own.
Some day I know I would find myself chattering away on the keyboard, trying to fashion another adventure for my little invisible friends. I might be ored, or the sun might slant a certain way through the curtains, catch some dust and reveal a sunbeam to me - a vision that would bring me back to a happy moment sitting on a bus on a late summer afternoon, making my way home from a girlfriends house, thinking how things don't get much better.
Memory, being a powerful thing, might kidnap my imagination for a spell, my thoughts might jump rail and the once predictable character that I had come to know and love would start to act as if he had been possessed.
It might be interesting to see if some humanities major could fathom the reasons behind the change of heart - if only humanities hadn't been gutted by post-modernism (where every opinion has boarded the yellow bus and is now considered 'special', worthy and unique, just like every other opinion...) that might be the case.
More likely - you, gentle reader, would knit your brow and ejaculate (in the non-sexual sense) with the phrase 'huh?'
And that would be that - readership null and void, again.
No more late night supper clubs in attendance with nubile young ladies, no moonlight drives with exotic. married women toting unlabeled bottles of alcohol of foreign and unknown providence.
No. That way - the way of the author - lies madness.
I'll just drink cheap wine and surf for porn like the rest of the world.
Good night!
Posted by dottie at 12:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack