Skepchick on PZ Myers becoming a Christian

This video is flying around twitter at the moment. I read Skepchick. I did not realize she did video too.

Add me to the list of fat atheist – although I am on a downward trend. Oh noes.

Technorati Tags: Atheism

The Cave Singers

I love the internet. With it, I am almost never bored. I am home alone alone on my last day of the holiday break before I start a mind numbing series of projects at work that will keep me busy for a solid year. I’m shifting between prepping for work and a little play as I move through the day. The play comes from surfing the internet for new music. I would do something more energetic, but I’m sick too.

I found The Cave Singers via a viral marketing video for Deschutes Brewery. Fair warning – the video has a small NSFW scene (@3:15) near the end. It shows a bare-breasted girl diving into a lake. It’s artsy rather than porn.

I like the video. I’ll have to try the beer. I pumped $9.99 into iTunes for The Cave Singers’ Welcome Joy. I’m not sure if that was the filmmakers intention.

Technorati Tags: Music,Beer

Reddit you make laugh

I found this humorous Atheist thread on Reddit this morning. Go ahead, read it. You know you want to.

Technorati Tags: Humor,Atheism

The end is nigh

According to the website We Can Know, Jesus returns on May 21, 2011.

This web site serves as an introduction and portal to four faithful ministries which are teaching that WE CAN KNOW from the Bible alone that the date of the rapture of believers will take place on May 21, 2011 and that God will destroy this world on October 21, 2011. Please take your time and browse through the teachings of Harold Camping, President of Family Radio. Visit EBible Fellowship, Bible Ministries International, and The-Latter-Rain to read and listen to many faithful teachers give scriptural insight on the doctrines that God is teaching His people. Learn about the Biblical Timeline of History, the correct method of Bible interpretation, the End of the Church Age and God's command to believers that they must depart out of the churches. Study the proofs that God has so graciously given in His Word showing us that these dates are 100% accurate and beyond dispute. Above all, please READ THE BIBLE and prayerfully ask God to open your spiritual eyes to these truths. May it please Him to have mercy on each of our souls.

Geez I hope this is bullshit. I’ve already paid for my beach house in July. I’d had to lose that. Do you think they might push the date back?

Technorati Tags: Nutballs,Christians

Pastor Tom Daniels arrested

Well hello then and here again it’s 2011 and it’s looking  a lot like 2010 on the clergy sexual abuse front. Baptist pastor Tom “the six million dollar man” Daniels was arrested for molesting a child under the age of 14. His church is standing by their pastor.

"Until such time as the courts prove Pastor Tom Daniels guilty, we have an obligation to support him and his family," said the statement. The statement also said that accusations such as those facing Daniels need to be tried in the court and not the media.

 Read more: Church board supports pastor jailed in sex case

Ahem… bullshit you fucking hypocrites. I would cut you some slack if it were not for Pastor Tom Daniels being an in your face type moralist. He believes it’s his right to dictate how others should live their lives. He put money and considerable effort into support of proposition 8. So, while he’s fighting to deny rights to gay Americans, he’s also allegedly molesting a child? How does that work?

Pastor Daniels church is the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda. Don’t bother visiting because this is what you will find.

Thank you for visiting the website of the First Baptist Church of Rio Linda!
Unfortunately, our website is currently undergoing new construction and is not fully functional.

Please check back soon for the newly redesigned site!

Of course, you can always email pastor Daniels at pastortom@fbcriolinda.org or his church at info@fbcriolinda.org.

 

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Baptists

It’s time to reset my iTunes play counts

I fired up iTunes for the first time this year a few minutes ago. I kicked the new year off with Buckwheat Zydeco’s album Jackpot! The title cut is shown below. Enjoy.

My iTunes music library contains 74,851 songs. I listened to 14,343 songs during the year. My top 10 plays are predictable.

1. Feel the Vibration, OPM
2. Don’t Push, Sublime
3. God Put a Smile on Your Face, Coldpay
4. Welcome to Jamrock, Damian Marley
5. Chop ‘Em Down, Matisyahu
6. Trenchtown Rock, Bob Marley
7. The Science of Selling Yourself Short, Less Than Jake
8. Rolled Up, Long Beach Dub Allstars
9. DJs, Sublime
10. Karma Police, Radiohead.

I say predictable because all 10 of these songs are on my “Drive Time” playlist. I turn this on when driving home from work when I’m posted to the other side of LA County and face two hour of traffic. It calms my nerves.

My favorite song for the year… Stand Tall by The Dirty Heads.

Technorati Tags: Music,iTunes

My lost day

January 2nd started well enough. I slept in at my son’s house up in Alameda and then enjoyed a tasty Mexican style brunch at La Penca Azul (formerly La Piñata). We hit the road for Los Angeles at 11:30 am. I knew there was a chance the Grapevine would be closed, but in all the years I’ve made the trip, I’ve never had it close on me. My luck ran out yesterday. The Highway Patrol closed the Grapevine because of snow sometime after I left Santa Nella. The I-5 grew more and more congested as we drove south. I cut over to the 101 via the 198 in driving rain and then took some crazy washed-out mountain road over the coastal mountains only to find the 101 a parking lot for next 150 miles. We finally arrived home at 9:30 pm.

We did not have the worst of it. The northbound lanes of the 101 were bumper-to-bumper for 175 miles starting in Ventura. I’m surprised somebody did not go postal. I spoke with one man at a gas station in Lompoc. He said he was 12 hours into what should be a 4 hour trip and still had a good 4 hours to go. He looked tired and confused.

I was aided by my GPS for most of the way, but I wanted to chuck it out the window at one point as it was stuck displaying “4 hours to destination” for at least three hours. At least we were entertained by the audio book Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry, so the slow trip was not a complete loss.

Technorati Tags: Travel

Photo a day - Street Art in Berkeley

I spent the New Year’s holiday up in the bay area visiting my son and daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with my plans. We were blanked in misty rain for most of the trip. Instead of shooting, we stayed in and played a bunch of games.

This shot was taken in Berkeley on New Year’s day. Some street artist had painted a portrait. I caught it as we were leaving a restaurant. My first of 2011.

Technorati Tags: Photography

Post 1 of 2011 – board games

This is my first post of the new year and I refuse to us it to write another pastor done wrong story. I have 7 sitting in my queue already (thanks for the tips), but I don’t have the mental energy to write them up. No, this time I’m going to write about one of my family’s favorite past times, strategy board games. I’m not a rabid fan mind you, I leave that distinction to my son, but I enjoy playing, especially new games.

This January 1st was typical for use. We watched the Rose Parade, read our various books and played computer games (including Dance Revolution, which I don’t get). We also played board games. It’s a pattern going back many years and years.

We played Kingsburg twice today. I lost horribly the first time around and won the second game by a wide margin. Winning is good.

In Kingsburg…

players are Lords sent from the King to administer frontier territories.

The game takes place over five years, a total of 20 turns. In every year, there are 3 production seasons for collecting resources, building structures, and training troops. Every fourth turn is the winter, in which all the players must fight an invading army. Each player must face the invaders, so this is not a cooperative game.

2- 5 players can play, We played a four handed game. Total play time was about an hour. The game was easy to understand but the tactics are quite involved. I developed a strategy that protected against the yearly invasion at first and then focused on building structures that yielded the most points. The strategy worked only because my son underestimated the resources he needed to fight an invasion.

My daughter-in-law is always a force in these games. She won the first game and had us on the run in the second. Her strategies are always difficult to figure out. Kingsburg is good family fun and only costs about $35. I recommend it.

Technorati Tags: Board Games,Kingsburg

1001 posts and a New Year’s Resolutions for 2011

This post is number 1,001 of 2010. I set a goal of 1,000 posts back in January. I’m happy to see that I hit my target, but it was no easy task. By midyear I was behind schedule to the tune of 250 posts. My travel schedule had put me in China for a good part of the first half of the year so blogging was difficult. Once home, I managed to make my goal by applying the project management techniques I use in the real world – and that gave me an idea. Perhaps I could use my project management skills to improve my heath.

My New Year’s resolution for 2011 is to continue a project I started on October 1st. I think the popular term for what I’m doing is called “eating my own dog food.” I mentor people about how to change habits as part of what I do for a living. I’ve started following my own advice. On October 1, I stopped smoking. I had been a regular cigar smoker for 30 years. I thought quitting would be harder than it was. I only miss it when I’m under a lot of stress.

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” – Mark Twain

October 1st was the start of what I call my “get healthy” project. I’m using my project management skills and the skills I normally teach to others to eliminate bad habits. I put together a project plan to guide my efforts. The plan covers all aspects of my health and fitness. My goal is optimal health. My approach is to identify bad habits and eliminate or replace them with good habits. I have a lot of bad habits.

For example:

• Oct 1 – quit regular smoking (elimination)
• Nov 1 – quit regular drinking of diet soda (replace with water)
• Nov 15 – reduce alcohol consumption to 2 units per week (elimination)
• Dec 1 – quit junk food breakfasts (replace with oatmeal or like food)
• Dec 15 – Take meds as prescribed (new habit)

Jan 1 starts with a new habit – the daily walk. On Jan 15th I move on to eating moderately at lunch and dinner (no heaping portions or seconds). And so the process goes. I change one habit every 15 days or so. I have 30 habits already targeted over the next year and I’m sure to add more as I move through the year. My plan is in Microsoft Project. I review progress several times a week. Zen Habits offers some good advice for how to successfully change your habits. .

I’ve found failures to be just as important as successes when trying to learn how to improve, especially when it comes to changing habits. It’s not an easy task, and I’m sure every one of us has tried to quit something and failed, or tried to do something positive and failed. The key, of course, is to not just give up after failure, but to reset your resolve, to analyze what went wrong and why, and to plan to overcome those obstacles the next time.

One primary success factors is simply defining things correctly. I did not quit smoking altogether, I quit smoking on a regular basis. If I smoke a cigar again it will not throw me back into the “smoker” category, nor will I feel like a failure. It’s been three months without smoking and two months without diet soda, so I'm not abusing the definition, I’m framing the definition so that a small lapse is not a major failure. I learned this by looking at past failures where small lapses tanked big efforts.

Another success factor is keeping track of what I’m accomplishing. I smoked an average of 5 cigars a week. That’s 5 cigars x 14 weeks for 75 cigars avoided and $490 saved. For diet soda I avoided 22100 mg of salt and a whole bunch of artificial sweeteners, plus I’ve picked up 10 8oz glasses of water per day (up from less than 1). Every can of soda avoided moves me toward a better me. Over time, the numbers become impressive and helps keep you focused on your goal..

I’ve noticed some health benefits already. I breath a lot easier now that I do not smoke. Eliminating diet soda caused me to shed a lot of water weight (diet soda is loaded with salt). Eating oatmeal has knocked my cholesterol down by 28 points (it was already good, now its even better). I’ve even lost some real weight too. The biggest change is adapting to life with less caffeine. Cutting the diet soda’s also radically cut my caffeine intake. I now look forward to my morning cup of coffee like a drug addict looks forward to his heroin fix. I think reducing my caffeine intake has helped tame my lifelong battle with insomnia. I now have trouble staying awake once the day winds down.

I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that I could make these changes on my own. I think watching my dad die had something to do with changing my mindset.That and the absolutely awful time I had in China (where my every public appearance was an ordeal.). Plus, when it comes to my work life, I follow everything I teach. I know making changes to small habits can result in amazing outcomes. For example, I taught an employee how to handle a help requests from VIPs. The process is simple. Listen to the request and then repeat it back to the requestor – seek agreement. When back at your desk, send an email acknowledging the request and make a commitment about its resolution. Notify anybody on your team or in your chain of command who needs to know about the commitment. Follow up each day until the task is complete and keep your team informed. And then when done, follow up again a week later to make sure everything is working ok. This little change of habit radically changed how the employee was viewed by the leaders of the organization he supports. It works every time.

Happy new year everyone.

Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts,Resolutions

Nutball Alert: Atheist Neil C. Reinhardt

I get mail from atheist nutballs too.

Neil C. Reinhardt is officially an Atheist nutball. Anyone who sends me an email offering helpful advice while criticizing all atheists is suspect to begin with. I could tell he was slapping at me because of my unfavorable coverage of the Tea Party. I did not realize he was a rabid Tea Party apologist, although a simple Google search would have confirmed it. Check out Neil C. Reinhardt shows his true colors.

Neil’s first email was helpful yet disturbing:

Hello MoJoey,

I like your blog!

I suggest IF you are not a member of the "Freedom From Religion
Foundation" you contact them (link below) and get a copy of their great
monthly newspaper "Freethought Today"

It usually has two pages contaning MANY cases of where some member of
the Clergy is doing something illegal and/or wrong.

And of course, IF you are not a member of it, I hope you join as the
more members, the more they can accomplish,.

As you are in the LA area (as I am) and IF your not a member of
"Atheists United", (link below) you may enjoy their monthly meetings
and/or various functions.

I am a member of both to those as well as "American Atheists" (link
below) and the "Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers" (link
below)

Sadly, I find MOST Atheists ONLY use rational thought, critical thinking
skills and little things called "Facts" on the existence of one, or more
gods,   On nearly any other subject, they, just like the far right
Christians who deny evolution is a fact, simply deny any facts which
prove they are wrong.

At least the Christians have a valid reason for being stupid and denying
facts as they were programmed to do so.  The Atheists who do it (and it
is, sadly, MOST Atheists, have NO valid excuse for acting very
stupidily.

I Thank You for your time
Please, Take Care!
Neil C. Reinhardt
310-978-2785

"A 76 year old Pro Iraq War Agnostic Atheist Activist, 101st Airborne
Vet and  an Iconoclastic, Philosophizing, Beach VolleyBall Playing
Grumpy Old Son Of A Beach!"

I really love Nature's Immune Boosting Healing "miracle" I've been
drinking and using topically since September of 1979 when I was 62.
(Studies show Noni Juice boosts your immune system over 150%!
Even after over 13 years of my use, Noni Juice Still, Just Totally
AMAZES Me!

I read Reinhardt’s email and responded with this:

Hi,

Thanks for the email. I'll join the Freedom From Religion foundation. I think I might enjoy the magazine.

I must admit you are the first Atheist Tea Party member I've ever met. What draws you to them?

I'm a libertarian myself and find the Tea Party a bit over the top.

Instead of answering my question, Reinhardt seized the opportunity and attacked. I love the hasty generalizations.

Hello Mojoey

You are welcome, I just got ffrf's latest
edition yesterday.

MOST Atheists ONLY use Logic, Reason, Knowledge, Facts and Critical
Thinking Skills ON the existence of one. or more gods.  On ANY other
subject, MOST Atheists have their heads so far up their asses it is a
wonder they can still breath.

They are either TOO LAZY to get off their ass and do the research to get
sufficient facts to assure they know what they are talking about AND/OR
they are just TOO DUMB to be able to comprehend what the information
they (supposedly) researched
actually means.

Sadly, and based on your comments on the Tea Party, it seems you are a
one of them.

I can assure you there are quite a few CONSERVATIVE Atheists who support the Tea Party's basic tenets. MOST Atheists are TOO LAZY to find out what they are OR to do ANY research into it OR what types of people are Tea Party Supporters

Hell, I will bet YOU have NO clue what the Tea Party's basic tenets even
are and yet here you are making negative comments about them.

Which is VERY SAD!

Being a libertarian is like being a communist for the very simple reason
neither system will ever work in the REAL world where people have
different needs, desires, drives, motivation., etc., etc, Such systems can ONLY work IF EVERY person IN the system agrees to it,will put forth effort to accomplish it AND will be satisfied with the
results.

Such systems are doomed to FAILURE as long as people are the way people
are.

Please, Take Care!
Neil

P.S. In an effort to edify you, I am going to forward some e-mails. One
of which is why I feel I am more qualified to comment on things than
many others are.

Well… At this point I told him I thought he was nuts and asked that he stop corresponding with me. Threats, petty name calling, boasting, and emails attesting to his manly accomplishments soon followed. I made a police report after he threatened to shove a cactus up may ass. I also told him it was unwise to threaten me as I lived just 20 miles away. He and had been kind enough (or dumb enough) to leave his phone number and enough information to figure out where he lived in his emails.

I did not realize he was 76 years old, although it would not have changed my approach. I don’t feel bad about egging him on because he is uncivil to the point where I am wondering if he has brain damage. And I did egg him on. It’s easy to do the immature and the elderly.

So in answer to some of the questions he’s never bother to ask – I’m 50, a vet, and as big as a small bear. I’ve attended a dozen Tea Party get togethers in several states. I find the movement incomprehensible and anti-intellectual. I also find it overly concerned with the legitimacy of President Obama and focused on Christian social issues. So yes, I’ve done my homework. The Tea Party is nuts and so are the people who attend the stupid meetings. I made my mind up based on facts and direct observation. The Tea Party is full of your type – angry irrational old men. Now go away.

Technorati Tags: Nutballs,Tea Party

I'm a giver, not a taker

Do you want to know what a liar looks like? Check out this pastor’s attempt to spin her arrest in a positive ligh. Pastor Sandy McGriff is laying it on rather thick. Pay not attention her arrest record of use of alias. No, she belongs to god.

 

Technorati Tags: Clergy Misconduct

Related articles

• Hey, that pastor is a thief (mojoey.blogspot.com)
• Pastor McGriff is a Con Woman (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (thechapel.wordpress.com)
• Total Depravity: The Pastor as Thief Edition (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)

Ever eat at Pink's?

It started off as a desire to have a good hot dog. I won’t eat a Nathan's hotdog. It’s a long story involving Las Vegas, whisky, rum, and tequila. Let’s just say… well no, never again. So Pink’s is really the only option if you are looking for a good hotdog here in beautiful Los Angeles. But to eat at Pink’s takes a commitment. In my case it’s a 45 minute drive through LA traffic, plus a 2 hour wait in line, and then a fight for seats. You’ve got to want it real bad. But its worth it. Pink’s dogs are yummy.

The menu is interesting. I had the Guadalajara Dog ($3.85)– relish, onions, tomatoes, topped with sour cream. and a Mild Polish Dog (4.30) - mustard, chili onions. Oh, and a side of heartburn.

I don’t normally order the sides, the fries and onion rings are good but I’ve never been able to eat more than a handful without getting an upset stomach. They are too greasy for me. I was tempted to order a side of bacon ($1.40) just because I could, but passed in favor a a bottle of water and 3 orders of onion rings (for my guests).

Pink’s has problems. For instance, the seating is insane. With limited tables and a large crowd people hog tables an hour or more before they will be eating. This ties up tables so lots of people end up standing up to eat. I watched a guy sit a table for an hour without eating. He was sill waiting when my party left. The only advice I can give is be aggressive. Fight for your table or you will end up trying to eat a messy chili dog while standing, which is not fun.

The other problem – they don’t make a So Cal street dog. Street vendors all over Los Angeles make a bacon wrapped hotdog smothered in grilled onions with hot peppers. It’s the unofficial hotdog of So Cal (and I love them). I guess you could order one because they will make anything, but it pains me to see them missing from the menu.

Pink’s is a cash only business. So bring cash and quarters (to pay the parking meters). Pay a visit the next time you are in town. They are open until 2:00 am weeknights and 3:00 am on weekends. Its about 100ft north of Melrose on Le Brea. Just look for the insane line.

Technorati Tags: Foodgasm,Hotdogs,Foodies

The New York Times - 2010: The year in Pictures

The New York Times – 2010 The Year in Pictures. I look forward to this collection every year. The New York Times always puts together a good collection. Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: Photography

My best photos from 2010

I put together a collection of my best photos each year. These are the best from 2010. It was not a good year for me from a photography standpoint. I worked way too much, and even though much of my work took place in China, I was too busy working to focus on shooting. I hope 2011 is better, but I doubt it will be. I’m already looking at 40 weeks of travel and couple of hard projects.

My favorite picture from the year was taken in China.

I have an eye for the odd and ugly in the world. I need to spend more time exploring and shooting if for no other reason than I am happy when I’m doing it. Spending more time shooting is one of my goals for the new year, plus shooting the wildflowers. We’ve had a lot of rain this year, that means a great desert wildflower bloom. I’m off to Joshua tree in spring.

Toomanytribbles has a great yearly photo retrospective up. She has a good eye and an aesthetic sense that elude me. I always enjoy her work.

Technorati Tags: Photorgraphy