Science is cool: The Galactic Center of the Milky Way

 

I think I like vimeo better than uTube.

Technorati tags: Science. Astronomy

Cheesus - I named him first

A Dallas couple found the likeness of Jesus in a Cheetos. They've name it Cheesus. I wanted to point out that the real Cheesus appeared in Houston back in March of 2008. This new Cheesus is second-rate imposter.

Sara recalls the discovery. "I was putting them in my hand and I had eaten most of the ones in my hand, and one was left lying there. And I said, 'Oh my gosh, look at this. It really looks like a person in a robe praying.'"

Um…. I closed my right eye and squinted with my left. I don’t see Jesus. Sorry.

Dan and Sara Bell, the owners of Cheesus II, plan to sell it on eBay or eat it.  They have not made up their minds.

Technorati tags: Cheese Jesus, Cheesus, Cheetos

Tanpopo and beer

I was not ready for an adventure yesterday when I happened into Tanpopo in San Francisco for a dish of ramen noodles. My son and daughter-in-law love the place, so after a long day spent at a crowded museum, I set my world right with an ice cold Sapporo and some quite time with my family. The meal was perfect. I made a mess with my noodles, but I’m so used to it that it did not bother me. My 14-year-old son was mortified, but everything I do embarrasses him, so I did not really care.

I mentioned the word adventure for a reason. I write about the things I do and the people I meet here on my blog. It is one of the favorite parts of my blogging addiction. I get a lot of feedback from people who ask me how I manage to have so many of this little adventures. I want to share something that happened, or actually, something that did not happen, so that those of you who are curious will better understand.

Midway through our meal an apparently infirm old man entered the restaurant asking to use the phone to call his grandson. The staff was reluctant, the old man was persistent. They offered directions to a pay phone instead. I watched the situation closely while reaching for my cell phone. I was not about to let an old man wonder off to find a pay phone. At that moment my wife nudged me and said, “Help him, he needs to make a call.” I knew the nudge was coming, it always comes. And there it is. I help people because I want to help and I am not afraid to act. And, I help people because I know my wife would want me to help, and I want my wife to respect me. I have adventures because I watch people and offer to help those who are in need if I am able. I do it all the time. Sometimes it backfires and I get cussed out, but sometimes it works, and I get a story to tell.

This time, the old man made his own way. His grandson was at the bar already and too deeply involved with the beautiful Japanese girl sitting next to him to notice his grandfather. It was a touching reunion, full of Sapporo and hugs. My beer was good too, but not as good as my noodles.

Earthquake and panic

Well now... I've lived in Los Angeles all my life and I still hate earthquakes. Take the 4.7 shaker that hit at about 8:30 this evening for example. First, my dog starts barking at the sky. I yell for him to shut up. Next, I ask my son, “What is that noise?” He is too busy playing Xbox to answer. The sound is akin to the roaring or jets, or the low rumble of a passing freight train, only the noise is omnidirectional, and unnerving.

When the earthquake finally hit, it was not the side-to-side motion that we’ve come to expect. Instead, we lifted upward and fell back downward in a sharp motion. It was intense. My wife started to scream for my son from the back of the house. I yelled my standard, “Get under the table.” I remembered the Northridge quake where the earth was moving so much we had trouble getting under the table, and then we stayed there a long time out of fear that our house would fall on us. We all met in the dinning room. Everyone was taking at once. It was obvious that the moment had passed. We were all relieved.

I’m known among my co-works for being the fasted man under a table when an earthquake hits. I was ready to repeat the performance, but there was no need. We all took a deep breath and started to guess the size. I called a 5.3. It ended up as a 4.7. I guarantee that I will not sleep tonight. Each aftershock will wake me and keep me on edge wondering if the shaking will escalate into the big one.

My son was back on the Xbox within 5 minutes. He has his priorities straight.

Technorati tags: Earthquakes, Los Angeles

Blogroll Update: Introducing Cycle Ninja

Cycle Ninja is our first atheist Ninja. How cool is that? The author was kind enough to provide an introduction.

In the author’s own words:

My name is Paul, I’m a cradle Catholic-turned-skeptic who blogs about whatever I like.  As the name implies I am an avid cyclist (with more enthusiasm than talent, I hasten to add), but over the past year and more, the focus of my little corner of the web has solidified into its own purpose.  Unlike friends and family, my blog is not devoted to my kids (don’t got nun), my job (hello, Powerball?), or my particular obsession.  My mind is fertile enough that I can’t focus on just one item of interest.  Primarily, my blog is therapeutic.  It gives me a place to get out all of the things I’d like to say, but would get in trouble for if they actually made it to the surface.    Lots of cynicism and sarcasm, but the occasional glimpse of human emotions, too.  Cycle Ninja is heavily influenced by the writings of Andrew Sullivan, and thus the blog is a scattershot of news, politics, atheism, and just general ranting about whatever gets my goat.  And yeah, occasionally bikes.

Please drop in and welcome our first Ninja to the team.

If you would like to join the blogroll, click here.

Technorati tags: Atheism, The Atheist Blogroll

Blogroll Update: Introducing Fish Tells

Fish Tells, or An Honest Journey Through Mormonism to Intellectual Integrity, was kind enough to provide an introduction.

In the author's own words:

My parents raised me into the Mormon church, including a mission. On that mission to Barranquilla Colombia, a chance encounter with a fellow passerby introduced skeptical thoughts into my brain for the first time. I shelved those thoughts for years, until recently when I moved back to Utah, and those items on the shelf began to fall off and hit me in the head

Follow my personal & spiritual journey out of Mormon doctrine plus the social and family aspects involved.

Please drop in and welcome this fine new blog to the team.

If you would like to join the blogroll, click here.

Technorati tags: Atheism, The Atheist Blogroll

Sublime Reunion - Saw Red feat. Rome & Kat

I needed something to brighten my day. Sublime has a new lead singer, and he's good.

Technorati tags: Sublime, Music, Youtube

Blogroll Update: New Members

We’ve had a few new members join the Atheist Blogoll in the last two weeks. The new blogs are listed below. I’ve started to Tweet each new blog as it is added. Follow me on Twitter if you’re interested.

New Atheist Blogroll Members:

• The Squid Zone
• Discutiendo sobre cristianismo (in Spanish)
• The BEattitude
• Skin Hunger
• The Damned
• The Gay Atheist
• Fish Tells
• Triangulations
• Libertarian Skeptics

I’ll be removing some inactive blogs today. I’d say we are hovering around 870 active members.

If you would like to join the blogroll, click here.

Technorati tags: Atheism, The Atheist Blogroll

Buckeye pastor indicted

Pastor Charles Lawrence Carfrey is a stain, or perhaps I should say that he is alleged to be a stain. No… I have it wrong. Carfrey is alleged to have raped four young girls and to have kidnapped another. I just think he's a stain.

Police believe Hinkley threatened and bullied some of the witnesses in the case and attempted to hide evidence. She refused to comply with a search warrant and fought police when they tried to arrest her, police said.

Carfrey started as a pastor in Oregon in 1990 and moved to Buckeye in 2000 or 2001, police said. He is accused of fondling women and teenagers in both states during counseling sessions.

His pastoral certification also is in question. His degrees are from a diploma mill, officials said.

Seriously, Christians, what the hell? A history of abuse, a make believe degree, and storefront church. What kind of screwed up thinking does it take to become this man’s congregant? I’ll never understand.

Technorati tags: Rape, Kidnapping, Clergy Sexual Misconduct

A problem with Evolution

I attend a long meeting once a month. I sit in the same place, next to the same man, month after month. I rarely talk. When I do it is always because some system is not working or some such. I spend a lot of time listening to some very smart people discuss running our business. Like the man who normally sites next to me. Except, now I’m not so sure because  at a break in the action he said the words, “I have this problem with the Theory of Evolution.” I told myself to let him explain without interrupting. I’ll attempt to translate his argument below.

He said some like this:

I don’t believe in the Theory of Evolution because it does not explain how complex things like the heart and lungs were created. They are just to complex to have appeared by accident. And where are the things we evolved from that are missing hearts and lungs. And how did they appear in the first place? Evolution does not explain how life first appeared, so it can’t be trusted. I can understand how a fingernail might grow longer, but not how a heart developed. And evolution is just a theory, it is just an idea. Other ideas give a better explanation. And Darwin never explained were life came from so...

He went on for a while, but my mind clicked off.

I explained that the origin of life on earth was not covered in the Theory of Evolution.  That if he were interested in that field of study he should look up abiogeneis. I explained definition of a scientific theory and why it is often confused with a person’s best guess at how something works. I even explained the Theory of Evolution in a  general sense. 

He eventually asked me if I believed in the Theory of Evolution. I’ve been asked this so many times that I have an answer memorized. I know when Christians asks this question they are really asking if I believe in Darwin instead of Jesus. I told him, “I accept the Theory of Evolution as the highest order of scientific true. It is the best explanation that fits the facts.” He looked at me in an odd way and shook his head. I am sure he will have more questions next month.

This is how I witness. What about you?

Technorati tags: Atheism, Science

Pastor convicted of raping 14-year-old

Pastor Yves Jerome was convicted on sexual assault charges. He raped a a 14 year old girl from his church who he was baby sitting.

As police investigated her disappearance, they found a picture she drew for a class project with the word "Abuse" and a depiction of an adult man asking a girl to marry him and her response, "I'm only 14," the affidavit said.

The girl returned home, and later told police Jerome came downstairs from his home into the basement apartment she shared with her family and forced her to have sex with him two nights in February 2007. At the time, the girl's mother was on a trip to Georgia and had asked Jerome to look after her children.

Pastor Jerome is likely to spend the rest of a short an painful life in prison.

Technorati tags: Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Rape, Pedophiles

Ex-youth pastor gets plea deal

In yet another story of Christian hypocrisy, former youth pastor Charles Miller admits to child pornography charges.

Miller -- who remains in federal custody -- has signed a plea agreement admitting that he knowingly received photographs of "an actual minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct" via the Internet.

Thankfully, he goes down for a 15-years stretch in federal prison.

Technorati tags: Clergy Sexual Misconduct, Youth Pastors, Pedophiles

Things that make me feel good

There are a few things that I do that make me feel good about being alive. They don't happen often enough, but when they do happen, I live off the memories for a long time. I collected two good memories today.

My wife returned from an appointment this morning to tell me the local Boys and Girls club of Buena Park was having a recycling drive. She asked me to take up our cans. I’ve been slowly working my way through a mass of cans for a few weeks now. When I started the task, I had 40 bags waiting to be crushed. I had a system. Crush the cans until I fill a 30 gallon plastic trash can, then go collect my $30. In the process I was cleaning out the garage too.

I grabbed the eight remaining bags and drove to the Boys and Girls club. I was greeted by five enthusiastic children who competed with each other to carry the sticky bags. I was overwhelmed with their sense of joy. The cans were important to them. They were grateful for the donation. It made me feel good. There were smile all around. It also made me add the club to my list of charities. They do good work.

The second thing I did today was volunteer to work at a US Post Office food drive collecting donations for the Second Harvest food bank of Orange County. I worked with a team of 6 people from my wife’s employer to fill a semi-trailer with donations brought in by postal workers from the local community. We had to transfer food from postal trucks up to a loading dock and then up into a semi-trailer. It was backbreaking work. After three hours, I could barley lift my arms. But it felt good and the people involved were great. I’m ready to do it all over again (after I recover).

My day was great. On top of these great memories, I won two skins in a great game of disc golf at sunrise. it is evening now, and I’m moving through a six-pack of Dos Equis at a fairly good clip . I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.

Technorati tags: Charity

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An end to abstinence only education?

I was reading Politico this afternoon when I saw a post by Ben Smith titled, An end to abstinence only, in black and white.  The main point made me so happy that I clapped my hands.

In reference to a passage from the President’s budget:

This Budget eliminates funding for Community-Based Abstinence Education, the mandatory Title V Abstinence Education program, the Compassion Capital Fund, and Rural Community Facilities.

Did I just read the last gasp for federally funded abstinence only sex education programs? I sure hope so.

Technorati tags: Sex Education, Religion, Faith Based, Obama

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Nutball Alert: Colleen Hauser

Collen Hauser is the latest in a long line of religious nutters who are willing to sacrifice a child in pursuit of their faith based, or in this case, “traditional healing” methods. Her son has Hodgkisn’s Lymphoma. The mother and son are refusing chemotherapy out of a misguided belief that traditional remedies gleaned from the Internet and via a Native American religious organization called Nemenhah.

"Danny clearly made up his mind. He's not doing it,'' Colleen Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, Minn., testified on the opening day of a trial over whether a court should order the boy into medical treatment against the family's wishes.

They plan to refuse treatment even if ordered by the court. Which means when Danny Hauser dies from the disease, Colleen Hauser will be able to practice her insanity in prison.

What does the State do in a case like this? Take custody of the child away from his parents and force the treatment? Colleen Hauser is crazy simply for forcing this decision on others. Not to mention the damage she is inflicting on her child.

I have a proposal. Why not compromise? Let Danny have the chemotherapy and treat him with a traditional herbal remedy too? Heck, it’s even called medicinal marijuana. Everybody wins!

Technorati tags: Religion, Traditional Medicine, Nemenhah

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