Comments by moderndaythomas

Comment #237220 by moderndaythomas on August 26, 2008 at 8:16 am

jshuey

I'll second that. I can imagine a day when reason and enlightenment will have to do more that just converge at a site like this one. I only hope that I'm overreacting some.

2. Pastor Michael Guglielmucci spun gospel of lies

Comment #234977 by moderndaythomas on August 22, 2008 at 10:19 am

I had commented on one of Carroll's books someplace and a Christian had followed up with one of his own. He had said something to the effect that all free thinking Christians should go ahead and read it and that the evidence, to which he was not denying, didn't effect his faith.
Here, I think, he wasn't thinking through the implications of acknowledging evolution and the insoluble relationship that it has with religion.

3. Supernatural science: Why we want to believe

Comment #234946 by moderndaythomas on August 22, 2008 at 9:41 am

The Christians that I know always end their prayer with "God willing". They play it safe here, acknowledging that there are no real chances of miraculous intervention. As a result, if real science fails to cure an organic disease, it then was Gods will.

4. Supernatural science: Why we want to believe

Comment #234583 by moderndaythomas on August 21, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Ghosts don't like me much; I'm much to sceptical for them to be seen with. I have to ask myself, is it the absence of scepticism, or the presence of gullibility that ghosts prefer.

5. Judge says UC can deny class credit to Christian school students

Comment #229282 by moderndaythomas on August 13, 2008 at 10:21 am

Can't say that I didn't see this coming.

6. Optimism in Evolution

Comment #229265 by moderndaythomas on August 13, 2008 at 9:39 am

we are causing animals to evolve just by hunting them.

The travisty here is that these species have not been selected by nature but rather by us. They are then introduced into an environment that is not evolving as they are and still requires their previous traits that had been selected for naturaly.

7. The HMS Beagle Project

Comment #228639 by moderndaythomas on August 12, 2008 at 10:17 am

just looked at the replica.....oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy....I'm giddy.

8. The HMS Beagle Project

Comment #228628 by moderndaythomas on August 12, 2008 at 9:46 am

I got goosebumps.....

9. CBI wants more pupils in science

Comment #228625 by moderndaythomas on August 12, 2008 at 9:41 am

mordacious1

Since most TV shows are stupid, this could be a windfall.

I agree. Hollywood portrays most scientists as evil, or corrupt geneticists these days messing in gods buisness.

10. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #220215 by moderndaythomas on July 28, 2008 at 8:14 am

Appleby

I'm afraid so. Sex is often just not worth it anymore. Too much work (and risk, given the topic) for too little pay-off. Many times, masturbating even feels better. And once you're spent, your blood stops boiling all the same and you can get back to work (or sleep).

I'm afraid that I have to disagree with you there, Appleby. To be sure there are some risks to consider, I've always found that the benefits have always outweighed the costs.
You're talking about the cheap imitation, the quick nickel to the slow quarter. I'm a slow quarter kind of guy.....
It occures to me that there are a lot of Isaac Newtons at this site with a classical education that outclasses mine, but that fall short in the annal's of love.
Please don't take offence, the first chapter of my life was spent in dimly lit bars entertaining drunks until two, all the while nurturing a fruitful short term relationship with the girl that has been watching me all night.
Old habits die hard.

One addendum to the last comment directed at thewhitepearl yesterday. Don't ever change....who you are, I mean.

11. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219759 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 1:58 pm

thewhitepearl
uh huh, Don't confuse, you'll be every bit as intelligent and lovely as ever, but I'll believe this when you post that avatar of yourself in a crumby old pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt (a loose one).

In his best Humphrey Bogart he says "I got your number cookie"

In any case, I'm blowing this Popsicle stand (not a shot kkelly).
Chow.

12. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219738 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Apathy personified

Wow - slow day at RD.net

It's thewhitepearl, we're all reduced to a bunch of clumsy school boys around her.

But then that's probably part of your plan isn't it whitepearl?

13. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219729 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 12:54 pm

kkelly

146, Hey, ever fisted a retarded midget while getting rimmed by a CPR training doll? Then shut it.

Reading this a second time, I'm really amazed. What street corner do you stand on at night?

14. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219727 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 12:49 pm

kkelly you must be self destructive or something, I'm familiar with a CPR training doll and I've never been propositioned by one. But then perhaps I wasn't her type.

15. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219722 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 12:39 pm

Ah. So let it be known then, that a raspberry can either be performed against some other persons skin or solo, as when I frequently run out of smart things to say but still want the last word.
Further more the spelling of said raspberry is as whitepearl said. "pphhhhhhhsuuuuuuuuushbbbb"

Now lets all go spread love and joy, and have lots of crazy sex and make the world a better place....with the exception of kkelly, perhaps.

16. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219714 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 12:18 pm

thewhitepearl.
Ooooooooops, if that's a raspberry, then what is it when you press your lips around your tongue and blow????????

17. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219707 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 12:05 pm

thewhitepearl

Unless it is generated from someone I consider to be superior in intellect.

LOL. I'd a just given him a raspberry, but then I'd be at a loss as to how to spell it.

18. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #219697 by moderndaythomas on July 27, 2008 at 11:41 am

irate_atheist

However, now I'm back, may I respectfully say that - to be honest - I really don't give a shit. However, at this particular juncture, I'm not prepared to clarify my position as to precisely what it is that I don't give a shit about.

irate, you're always good for a laugh!

I agree. Masturbation is underrated. And I think sex is overrated too.

I've been through puberty, so don't get me wrong, I've certainly had my share of self love but.........What????????

19. A Holocaust Denier Hits Manhattan (And Hearts Hitchens)

Comment #219264 by moderndaythomas on July 26, 2008 at 2:33 pm

conned the church's priest into hosting the lecture by claiming he was the leader of an anodyne "book club." "Someone made a reservation to have a discussion of a book. The name was not David Irving.

Con-men, con-men, con-men. What to do about these conn-men? Hmmmmm.

ThoughtsonCommonToad

When I get this reaction I like to point out can you actually state any of his claims and also can you defend what you purport to defend. The results are interesting usually ignorance all round.

There's nothing said in this article worth defending, sure, and an intelligent retort is all it takes. Some light reading shows the facts. Hitler hoped England would sue for peace while he fingered maps of Russia after he already had possession of six countries. This by the summer of 1940, if my history is correct.
Bad guy that Hitler. My mothers father fought this guy in the trenches when he was foot soldier.
How is it that people can follow someone like this.
Could it happen now?
If so, who is it?
Who has invaded someone's country lately?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......con-men.

20. Sydney brothels say Pope's visit will give business a leg-up

Comment #218955 by moderndaythomas on July 25, 2008 at 9:45 pm

Personal repression and religion.
That would make me seek out prostitution...........but then so would my genes.........and the fact that I'm a musician...........and I probably had a drink........and a dollar for the condemn machine.

21. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #218952 by moderndaythomas on July 25, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Wasn't raised religious. Didn't go to church for any other reason than to say good buy to some one or to welcome them to the family.
To this day, and after all this time, faith still baffles me. What's more, the need, no, the childish insecurity that the religious harbour that drives them to enlist others into their faith makes me shutter with rage.

22. Texas Fiction Science

Comment #218949 by moderndaythomas on July 25, 2008 at 9:19 pm

Information contained in the genetic code is just too mind-blowing to have come from anywhere but an intelligent creator. "Where did this information come from?" McLeroy mused. McLeroy would like to see these assertions and more taught in Texas biology classrooms.

"Where did this information come from"? Indeed. Show me the steps to divine creation. Generate DNA formation within six paltry days! Give me something! Anything!
Ignorant shit.

23. Children Are Naturally Prone To Be Empathic And Moral

Comment #210366 by moderndaythomas on July 14, 2008 at 11:02 am

The programming for empathy is something that is "hard-wired" into the brains of normal children, and not entirely the product of parental guidance or other nurturing,

Why this is a surprise, I don't know. We know that this trait is not inessential to our survival, and had to have been present early on in the evolution of our species. Though I suppose that the Christian set fancies themselves the rightful owners of morality.

Drew said:

Your average psychopath is more likely to be a CEO than a serial killer.

I've always associated wealth with a flaw in character.

24. Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway

Comment #210296 by moderndaythomas on July 14, 2008 at 8:19 am

PastorOfDisaster

If I recall correctly, the same thing happened in Australia. Trying to say guns are the cause of violence shows you are clearly not thinking reasonably. If criminals want guns, no laws are going to stop them because guess what THEY ARE CRIMINALS!

So just what has the United States done about criminals if then they don't want to reevaluate their possition on gun ownership?

The main deal with handling and operating firearms is to do it responsibly and safely, and despite many of the far leftists believe, it can be done.

Hello, Wall Mart parking lot?
I can't imagine a place any where on the planet where everyone is reasonable and responsible let alone in the US....REASONABLE?

25. Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway

Comment #209977 by moderndaythomas on July 13, 2008 at 4:59 pm

prettygoodformonkeys said:

I'm talking Young Earth Creationist born-agains, 6000-year-old universe kind of shit. I work in a nest of them, and they all know exactly what I think of their fantasies.

I'm out here on the west coast as well, and I haven't noticed many Young Earthers at my work place. Perhaps they are aware of how poorly I suffer such crap and keep their ideas out of ear shot?

As for the right to bare arms issue, I've always maintained that the day I can drive through a Wall Mart parking lot an a Saturday without encountering one idiot, is the day I shout "let 'em have 'em"!

26. Thousands Flock to Revival in Search of Miracles

Comment #209458 by moderndaythomas on July 12, 2008 at 10:22 am

I knew and worked with a pathological liar that was avidly involved with the church. Seldom did a word come out of this guys mouth that did not warrant investigation.
An organisation (the church) that not only discourages scrutiny but blatantly squashes it; this guy thrived in it. It was his ideal medium. He later stole a surmountable sum of money from this company and then proceeded to check himself into the psych ward of the nearest hospital where he would receive further sympathy. This guy knew all the angles.

He was a christian by the way, not an atheist.

27. Flatfish Fossils Fill In Evolutionary Missing Link

Comment #209449 by moderndaythomas on July 12, 2008 at 9:17 am

ALL YOU EVOLINS IS STUPID THIS ONLY MEAN THERE IS NOW TO MISSING TRNASITIONAL FORMS NOT JUST ONE LIKE BEFORE!

Sciros, what? You're joking, am I right?

edit: I'm laughing, so you must be.

28. Flatfish Fossils Fill In Evolutionary Missing Link

Comment #208729 by moderndaythomas on July 11, 2008 at 7:27 am

"Most remarkably," he said, "orbital migration, the movement of one eye from one side of the skull to the other during the larval stage, was present but incomplete in both of these primitive flatfishes." For both sets of fossils, the eye had begun the journey but had not crossed the midline from one side of the fish to the other.

Another fine example of science yet again filling a hole that was once empty. Where will the fundamentals go next I wonder?
And as for the necessity, what about the need to avoid the pull and tug of tides and currents? A fish that has less of a profile would certainly be less under the influence of the tides.

29. Harper says new mosque shows 'the true and benevolent face of Islam'

Comment #205606 by moderndaythomas on July 7, 2008 at 1:58 pm

burn0gas said:

p.s. Harper says, "However we define God, it is wrong to kill in his name". Obviously he hasn't read the Quran or the Bible, and doesn't understand those text's definition of God.

No, he has his staff edit everything for content before hand.

30. Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection

Comment #204843 by moderndaythomas on July 5, 2008 at 11:11 pm

Laurie Fraser:

Yep - all genres are good when they're good, even country

My grandfather taught me how to hold the brushes when I was but a wee sod. I'd do my best Max Roach.
Give me a smoky bar (not to smoky these days)my sweet little four piece and a fresh glass of Johnny with ice down by my hats to my left and you'd swear you were watching Clyde Stubblefield...But white.

What's this thread about?

31. When too much Rapture is barely enough

Comment #204839 by moderndaythomas on July 5, 2008 at 10:43 pm

This web site is bound to give me an ulcer. Butcher and his kind scare the shit out of me and if I didn't want to beat the shit out of him, I'd run like hell.
He had that glazed over Stetford wife look in his eyes. Bloody robot.

On a lighter note, I can always hope that they won't want to waste all those perfectly good emails and mix up some cool aid.

32. Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices

Comment #204377 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:49 pm

Satanburiedfossils said:

Wouldn't it save time to just pray for God to supernaturally fill our tanks with gasoline?
Or better yet, a car that runs on Faith.

Yeah, that's methane.

33. Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices

Comment #204375 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:44 pm

j.mills said:

I'm inclined to think he'll camouflage his intervention so cunningly that it will be indistinguishable from the normal operation of the markets...

Wow, you're good. Do my palms next. Will I come into money? Is today a good day to start something new?

Edit: I agree, by the way.

34. Does the Pope wear Prada?

Comment #204373 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:37 pm

mordacious1:

Maybe Victoria's Secret?

Had him pegged for Fredrick's myself.

35. Christians challenge teaching of evolution

Comment #204371 by moderndaythomas on July 4, 2008 at 9:32 pm

We're a Christian organisation so we believe that God made the planet and God made the cosmos

How exactly? Exactly!

36. Science is thrilling - except in our schools

Comment #203835 by moderndaythomas on July 3, 2008 at 7:18 pm

It's as if art classes consisted solely of learning how to perform individual little brushstrokes, without ever stopping to look at a painting by Caravaggio.

It's more than that. One must not forget that Caravaggio, Monet, or Michael Angelo all started out as clumsy novices awkwardly holding their brushes, bits of graphite or coal.
The human need to discover is what's missing from the classrooms.

My daughter wants to become a marine biologist. She's not inspired by what she reads from a text book. She's inspired by reading about the people that slip into the Amazon and swim with the pink dolphins.

37. Former state science director sues over intelligent design e-mail

Comment #203397 by moderndaythomas on July 2, 2008 at 8:01 pm

dr joneZ said:

Even Will Smith has the bloody Scientologists teaching at his new self-funded private school for his own kids

The tragedy of a nation that fails to educate its citizens is that in its place you have celebrities.
Many of whom are poorly educated themselves, or English Lit majors (humor), and are removed from any semblance of reality. Their self tailored, insulated, fashion driven existence allows them to, in effect, disavow the natural world without consequences.
In short, they're flakes.

38. Your Brain Lies to You

Comment #201195 by moderndaythomas on June 29, 2008 at 12:15 pm

TeraBrat.

Stupid stuff really. No one else should bother to read it.

Too late. You're supposed to put that stuff at the top.

39. Your Brain Lies to You

Comment #200829 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 9:42 am

TeraBrat.

If I were American, I'd vote for the man. His position on keeping church and state separate sounds promising. As I had said weeks ago, he all but told the church to piss off.

40. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #200807 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 8:59 am

Bonzai

I realize that I'm generalising here. And getting a little help irregardless of the presence of faith when you need it is never a bad thing.

But if you're needy you're needy, and those that ardently seek religious guidance for purpose and identity, will no doubt consider other sources of guidance.
And a psychiatrist that accomodates these belief engines will have more immediate success with their patients. But what about the long run?

41. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #200785 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 8:39 am

On further contemplation (beer-less I might add) I have to wonder about the degree that one must take this as a serious sample of the general population.

"several recent studies have found that religiosity is often associated with improved mental health outcomes such as quicker recovery from depression. Now most training programs teach developing psychiatrists about the potentially beneficial influence of religion and spirituality on patients' mental health."

I don't feel the need to, or have ever felt the need to see a psychiatrist. I'm confident and at peace with the idea of solving my own problems.
And I've seen some shit!
I'm also sure that many others are too.

My point is this. Are the religious then more likely to consult a psychiatrist than the agnostic or atheist?

Are they more needy and misguided?

Are they the more likely to seek others to guide them?

I think that the answer would most probably be yes.

Then having said that, would it be in a psychiatrists best interests to correct this problem?

42. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #200776 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 8:22 am

Almost all physicians agreed that religion and spirituality often give patients a positive, hopeful state of mind. More than 75 percent of psychiatrists and non-psychiatrist agreed that religion "often or always" helps patients cope with their illnesses.

Ignorance is bliss.

I find my solace in a hot meal and a frosty mug of Alexander Keith's. Then on contemplation, I take measures to improve things.

The Simpsons help too.

43. Texas Supreme Court rules church can't be sued in exorcism

Comment #200770 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 8:14 am

Won't be long before we're burning women at the stake again. A few more failed crops, a more resistant strain of bacteria, diminishing education. Hope you girls can run fast.

I'm going sailing.

edited for terrible spelling.

44. The $10,000-a-Month Psychic

Comment #200766 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 8:07 am

A big Hollywood producer says Day advised him in 2006 to pass on a can't-miss animated film, predicting it would bomb at the box office.

I make these predictions all of the time! I gotta get my name out there.
Does any one have a "plumb bob" that I can borrow?

45. Your Brain Lies to You

Comment #200759 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 7:59 am

qomak said:

they believe that thousands of years ago when people were much more ignorant and superstitious miracles happened and got narrated perfectly after generations.

Ken Miller has to find his own compromise in order to call himself a biologist and a Catholic. Miracles do not fit into this and consequently, to Miller, the Biblical references are nothing more than metaphor.
If he wants to call himself a Catholic, he can call himself a Catholic so long as this doesn't clash with the ultimate facts of science.

He seems to pull this off, but to the average persone, the evidence for evolution is not taught against creation because of its religious status.
Even if the evidence were given, it would have to be in bite size portions and the receiving party would have to take it on faith just as they do the Book of Genesis.
One source tells me this, one tells me that, which one do I "believe"? Which one helps me out in my time of need?
To the poorly informed there is no contest here.

46. Your Brain Lies to You

Comment #200748 by moderndaythomas on June 28, 2008 at 7:39 am

Apparently, it pays for consumers of controversial news to take a moment and consider that the opposite interpretation may be true.

Here's something that will never be uttered from the pulpit.

ideas can spread by emotional selection, rather than by their factual merits

This is not news, I not only have to worry about saying the wrong thing about Christianity in general public, but also about such things as Horoscopes, and Big Foot.
A gal in my line of work usually avoids having lunch at the same time I do because I ask embarrassing questions.
Upon passing her when she was having a bad day I couldn't resist asking her "It's not Friday the thirteenth or a full moon, what are you going to blame it on now?"

I'm such a jerk.

edit: not really, we're fine together, she just avoids reading the horoscopes in front of me, and I clench my teeth a lot when people are wrong.
Pick your battles.

47. A secular world is a sane world

Comment #200554 by moderndaythomas on June 27, 2008 at 9:47 pm

I like here how Pat doesn't attack a person's chosen brand of faith so much as the political and social power that has been allowed religion.