September 2008 Archives
September 25, 2008
Shaping Up
I think I'm a tinkerer. I started with a shit design, and just slowly changed it until it didn't look like shit anymore, and now I am happy with it. The banner image is of the Great Salt Lake and--I think--Antelope Island. I stole it off of the internet, but had to Photoshop a dog out of it that was right in the middle, so this particular version of the image is quite unique. I'll find a picture that I have taken that is suitable, but in the meantime I like the Great Salt Lake.So it hasn't been big recently, but a year or so ago the militant Atheists like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins had a fair share of press. I have archived a few good reads that I think you should read if you are interested in religious freedom, or even religion in general.
Rational Atheism, by Michael Shermer
This first letter is something I read in Scientific American when I still had a subscription. Michael Shermer, a scientist and skeptic has a regular column in said magazine. He is basically calling on militant atheists to focus their educational efforts on what is truly important.
The Problem with Atheism, by Sam Harris
This second article discusses how the label "atheist" is not a productive one. Sam Harris imagines a world without religion, and in this world, the inhabitants are not all atheists, because such a concept no longer exists. So if the desire of many atheists is to rid the world of religious superstition and irrationality, then proclaiming oneself as an atheist is in fact contrary to this goal.
Open letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propoganda, by Richard Dawkins
This last letter is more current. It addresses Ben Stein's movie Expelled, and how it is a terribly inaccurate and misleading film (Michael Shermer probably has the most interesting review, as he was interviewed for the movie). This particular letter exposes the disgusting lengths that intelligent design proponents will go to hang onto their personal worldview.
And if all of this evolution and atheism talk is too serious for you, look what I found on youtube: Spanky.
September 17, 2008
Warren Buffet
I found this conversation with Warren Buffet and found it pretty informative. Warren Buffet is one of, if not the richest man in the world. It is nice to see how a man thinks who has basically made all of his money through investing.He talks about general investment strategy, the national debt, taxes, etc. One very interesting revelation was the fact that he pays the smallest proportion of his income in taxes of anyone in his office. He pays around 17%. His cleaning lady pays the most, at around 40%.
Continue reading Warren Buffet.
September 15, 2008
September 2008
I have finally gotten around to rebuilding a website for myself. The old one basically got wiped out when the old server I was using crashed. I hadn't really been updating or writing for awhile, so it wasn't much of a loss.
I think I didn't have time to write anything for the site because I was playing too much WoW. I really only play arena with my brother anymore, so I think that is why I am finally coming back to writing.
I spent a lot of time over the last few days learning the Movable Type blogging system, which I think I like better than the old system I was using: Joomla. The change has required some learning, and template coding, as well as some problem-solving. I still haven't gotten the stupid captcha to work for comments. That should be nice when I finally figure it out. Registering to comment on a blog like this is annoying.
I think I didn't have time to write anything for the site because I was playing too much WoW. I really only play arena with my brother anymore, so I think that is why I am finally coming back to writing.
I spent a lot of time over the last few days learning the Movable Type blogging system, which I think I like better than the old system I was using: Joomla. The change has required some learning, and template coding, as well as some problem-solving. I still haven't gotten the stupid captcha to work for comments. That should be nice when I finally figure it out. Registering to comment on a blog like this is annoying.
