Random Observations about...
July 2009

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I work for a relatively successful software company. Recently, one of my co-workers joked that really, if you think about...

The Origin of the Flat Earth

Interestingly, the modern idea of a historical "flat earth" was actually created by atheists: No one before the 1830s believed...

Detecting Religion in Atheists

What is "religious" is a largely subjective question which varies from individual to individual. Something which is not a "religious"...

What's at Stake in the Intelligent Design Debate?

The answer to that question largely depends upon who you are. But the important thing to note is that there's...

Preindustrial Sleep Patterns

Walter A. Brown MD, Psychiatric Times: In the course of gathering information for his book, At Day's Close: Night in...

A "Friendly Atheist" on Ideological Discrimination

For no particular reason, I'm reading a blog called "Friendly Atheist", and notice a few things. First, I note, he...

Wikipedia Hilariously Non-NPV on Intelligent Design and God-Related Science Issues

Like the New York Times, Wikipedia is fairly reliable on uncontroversial subjects. Curious about boron or the capital of Wisconsin?...

Megan McArdle on the Moon

Four years before I was born, man walked on the moon for the first time, the most magnificent single...

Who's Into Intelligent Design?

Here are the academic credentials of some of the prominent scientific supporters of Intelligent Design I've encountered: Michael Behe -...

Ron Paul: 9/11 "Truther"

For any of my beloved friends who might possibly, for a fleeting moment, have any lingering doubts about whether they...

Honduras: The Best Votes Software Can Generate!

Via babalu (via InstaPundit): A Catalan newspaper is reporting that Honduran authorities have seized computers found in the Presidential Palace...

Scientific Myths: Ockham's Razor and the Copernican Principle

"Occam's razor" (a maxim meaning "don't add unnecessary entities", basically) was very much in vogue while I was in college....

John Cougar: Free Speech for Me, Not You

Perfunction, quoting political philosopher John Mellencamp. I don't think people fought and gave their lives so that some guy can...

ObamaCare in One Easy Lesson

Via InstaPundit: "I'm Barack Obama, and I favor more competition in health insurance." [....] It will come as a surprise...

Sotomayor is Deeply Offensive

For weeks now, a good fraction of what NPR has covered has been Sotomayor. And ever single story I've heard...

What Do Yoga and Scientology Have in Common?

A: They're both religions and not-religions, depending on which is most convenient at the moment. The New York Times: Citing...

Architects and Nudity

Last year, my gal and I toured the local "Parade of Homes" -- built conveniently within earshot of Bandimere Speedway....

Upon Finding the "Thomist" View of ID... Incomprehensible

... and that's putting it mildly. And apologies in advance to any of my (two, most likely) semi-regular readers that...

Iranian Clerics More Pro-Democracy Than Obama

Times Online: Iran's biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent...

UN Does the Usual Regarding Honduras

The UN has been on the wrong side of almost every issue in history -- effectively, if not verbally. It...

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir

Daily Mail: Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir were perhaps the most influential couple of the 20th century. Their legendary...

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