Pretty much. 😅

Fernapple comments on Apr 9, 2021:

There are worse things to be. And I always thought car rides were fun.

“We realise the importance of our voices only when we are silenced”..........Malala Yousafzai.

Fernapple comments on Apr 9, 2021:

Sad, but maybe true.

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I became active here. How are you my fellows?🖤🧠

Fernapple comments on Apr 9, 2021:

Hello, we are much the same thank you, but even older. Welcome back, hope you are well.

Believers must be getting more desperate.

Fernapple comments on Apr 9, 2021:

Start talking like a perv., is best yes, they hang up quickly. LOL

I have an EpiPen.

Fernapple comments on Apr 8, 2021:

If it took away some of his pain, maybe he was giving you something that had been very important to him.

Questions to religious people

Fernapple comments on Apr 8, 2021:

Depends on the religion.

atheist something to think about

Fernapple comments on Apr 7, 2021:

Flattery will get you anything.

Anyone up to giving adam and eve some colors?

Fernapple comments on Apr 7, 2021:

Yes but what is he doing to that squirrel ? Perfect.

I wanna be as happy as that lioness. :D

Fernapple comments on Apr 7, 2021:

I am told that they do it for twenty four hours.

SciShow We Had Catnip All Wrong [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Apr 7, 2021:

You should paste this into the cat lovers group as well.

Anyone around to chat?( Preferably near my age)

Fernapple comments on Apr 6, 2021:

Hello and welcome enjoy the site. Don't worry about the time we are a global site, someone somewhere will be awake.

Worthy of sharing even as just Facebook musings.

Fernapple comments on Apr 6, 2021:

How about thoughtful.

My born again Christian younger brother made me promise I'd watch a film called Atheist Delusion by ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 5, 2021:

Link would be helpful. But having seen R.C. before I don't think I will bother.

Deep thoughts...

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

Worse, do they just forget to take the condoms off after use, and walk about all day still wearing them . LOL

Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter Don’t believe every meme you encounter.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

I just made this comment on another post, that I think a lot of people who are looking for ritual mythic origins of easter eggs especially are missing the main plot. I think that Easter egg hunting is a far more widespread and natural thing. Not really having any one ritual origin, though there may be odd records of some societies making rituals of it. In ancient and medieval times, food stores would often start to fall low by spring, ( Hence the Lenten fast is put in that season. ) and the first eggs laid by wild birds in the woods and hedgerows would be a valued burst of high calorie food in a hungry season. Especially for the very poor, whose children would be sent out to look for them. Doubly so, because before modern breeding and artificial lighting, even domestic hens would have stopped laying during the winter, so that the first eggs, even for the rich, would have been a special treat. Easter egg hunts therefore do not really need an origin, they were what everyone did naturally anyway.

The Young Turks SHOCKING % of Americans Can't Afford Healthcare [youtube.]

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

Here is what happens in one of Europe's less wealthy countries, by an American couple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUHpva3Gbk=PLgi-Z0E0r2ALepOZVvtq5HwV02eOGzHX_=24

They have no shame!

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

No one wants to run their fingers over his face !

Narwhal tusks tell a disturbing tale: [arstechnica.com]

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

Sad , but at least it is another piece of evidence.

[arcane-alchemy.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

And all the joys of the season to you. (Especially if you live in the Northern hemisphere. )

Sunday ponder.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2021:

I have heard of "Human Power", though I have also heard the saying that. "All power resides in the hand that rocks the cradle." Whoever that may be.

> "Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

Hello and welcome enjoy the site. No, I think that happiness takes work at least, and may also be genetically determined, and therefore never available to some people.

Such glowing praise...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

That must be fake. Its a really old joke.

Sometimes I'm not an atheist, people are so annoying I become an Apatheist.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

I agree, so I thought that a comment on muffins would be more interesting. (Sorry older members you will have seen this before, its just for Dragon Dust. ) Suppose for a minute, and for the sake of argument only, that there is a god, and an afterlife, including heaven and a hell; and that the god chooses whether people go to heaven, or if some go to hell, in fact the whole theist deal. Not only that, but the criterion on which the god makes the choice is based on the type of muffins they eat. ( Note: “eat” not prefer, this is not about free will or anything like that.) People who eat lemon muffins go to heaven and people who eat chocolate muffins go to hell, with limbo for those who don't eat muffins at all, naturally. Would that make a difference to your life ? Would you give up your chocolate muffins for an eternity of joy, and all the lemon buns after death you could ever eat ? Perhaps you would. But there is one vital thing that I forgot to mention about this god, which is that; this particular god, does not tell you about his thoughts on muffins, or how they affect your after life, in fact it keeps the whole thing a big secret just to itself, so that you have no way of knowing which muffins you have to eat. Then in that case, of course, you could not make the appropriate changes to your life, or save your soul anyway. In fact muffins, the gods preferences and even that god, would not impact on your life at all. The point is this. That a gods, souls, the afterlife etc. have no effect on anything, unless that god, or someone who knows, tells you about it, and you therefore have some knowledge of god's cake prejudices. Making this the big difference between religion, which pretends to offer knowledge of god the afterlife etc., and none belief which does not. Which is why the difference between atheists, humanists, agnostics and even deists, is so small and unimportant by comparison, because none claim any knowledge of gods preferences, and it is the pretense of fake knowledge, and of god given authority, which makes the big difference. Compared with that the differences between atheist and agnostic, even deist, and the existence or none existence of god, are trivial to the point of vanishing. And since I can not disprove god, but I can see the nonsense of Bibles and myths, good enough.

I had a GREAT Friday.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

You may enjoy this as well.. https://agnostic.com/group/photography/discussion/586857/avakas-gorge-in-cyprus-a-great-hike-with-a-chance-to-duck-under-the-overhanging-rock-back-in-the

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy: that ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

On the other hand people who are very unselfish, lend themselves to being exploited by those who are more selfish, which is good for neither of them. There is a balance to be struck, its complicated.

Easter Egg Hunts, what genius decided a Sumerian fertility ritual would be a great idea for kids?

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

I think that Easter egg hunting is a far more widespread and natural thing. Not really having any one ritual origin, though there may be odd records of some societies making rituals of it. In ancient and medieval times, food stores would often start to fall low by spring, ( Hence the Lenten fast is put in that season. ) and the first eggs laid by wild birds in the woods and hedgerows would be a valued burst of high calorie food in a hungry season. Especially for the very poor, whose children would be sent out to look for them. Doubly so, because before modern breeding and artificial lighting, even domestic hens would have stopped laying during the winter, so that the first eggs, even for the rich, would have been a special treat. Easter egg hunts therefore do not really need an origin, they were what everyone did naturally anyway.

A list of defense (aka military) spending by countries this year.

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

Russia actually has a tiny economy for such a large country, they can spend a huge proportion of it on military, yet it would still not be much. Russia's armed forces are large, yet many of them are armed with weapons that would be considered hang on the wall antiques in the rest of the world.

Good Friday

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2021:

I am not sure that Jesus was anti-death penalty, quite the contrary, did he not say that the 'Tares' (weeds, metaphorical, lost souls, ) should be put in a fire. Though that does contradict the Christian idea of Hell, since a fire of dry weeds does by its nature, burn quickly and only once, not for eternity.

I love spring! Pics from yesterday.

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2021:

Wow your spring is really advanced, we have a couple of months to get to that stage yet.

Frank Llyod Wright Spire, black and white treatment. Scottsdale, Arizona.

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2021:

Where is this please ?

Everyone hates April Fools’ Day — so why does it endure? - The Verge

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2021:

So does Christmas, and everybody really loathes that. LOL

Who would you be if you were the only person in the world?

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2021:

An endless traveler, in wonder at the flowering of the natural world.

Population Growth, Is It Out Of Control? [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2021:

Yes. Preaching to the converted here.

Good Luck is right!

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2021:

There is one in Selby UK, which says. "North, South, East , West and all other directions."

I once had a coworker come up to me and say.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2021:

A wise teacher once said. "You should make a habit of looking up at the sky for ten mins every day, it is good to keep grounded in what is really happening." But I don't think that, 'wise teachers' are found in bible class.

That never stopped anybody.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2021:

Look at two thousand years old he can watch what he wants, and good luck to him if he still wants to watch porno at his age.

2nd dose of the vaccine yesterday.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2021:

Good if your system responds strongly. I got the fever too, but mine was very strong for about four hours, did not get any other symptoms though.

Study: Religious children are less able to distinguish fantasy from reality

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2021:

If you don't teach them critical thinking skills, it follows. And how can cults teach critical thinking skills ?

Good thing Glob saw which houses were marked with blood.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2021:

Although he could not bring himself to do it in person, he employed a satan, to do it for him. Which is odd because christian theology has him falling out with the one and only Satan ( capital 'S') over the garden of Eden mess up quite a bit earlier. So it seems like he had to forgive the satan, cause you just can not get good help..

Conservative Christians are driving more Americans away from religion altogether A new book ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2021:

Sorry, the link does not seem to lead to the said article.

“My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2021:

No that is just the definition of someone who is young, billy is showing his age.

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2021:

All 'isms' contain that feature, it is just that conservatism is that and nothing more.

Hello! I haven't been on here in a long time it seems. How's everyone doing?

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

Welcome back, we are pretty much the same.

Wait, what? This could lead to an interesting shopping experience.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

Bit more humour on the same lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOnM-8ICiKk

I've discovered I am still in overachiever.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

Managed to keep the same weight. But I would not worry too much, it will come off when the lock-down ends, and besides as Socrates said. "You can't have too much of a good thing."

The joke that runs on and on...or doesn't.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

I have a tricycle, exercise, transport, fresh air, and fun. Ten thousand years since the invention of the wheel, and some people still have not caught up. In joggers cases literally. LOL

There should be a category just for Hitch. Hitch

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

Start one if you want.

Don’t ask, “Is it an option to be happy?

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

Only two things. Freedom from that which makes you unhappy, and then the power of appreciation. The first is actually a lot harder than it seems and quite rare, the second is easiest found through education, so that is very rare.

Grunge Here's What It Was Really Like To Pioneer On The Oregon Trail [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2021:

How long did it generally take ?

Don't you love some fruity salad?!

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Does a blueberry muffin count as one of my five a day ?

What IS your problem?!

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

The secret of life and happiness is appreciation. The truly happy are those who can value the things they have seen before.

Good morning and happy Caturday :D

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Yep, cats probably have more sense, they just sit comfy and sooner or later, all life come to them.

Now the news makes more sense.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Where's Gandalf when you need him.

Does religion work without magical beings at its center?

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

I forgot the big one, but a new member reminded me today. The one big religion without a deity, is 'Art. Especially, high art, the belief that use of certain crafts and media can put you into contact with higher wisdom and truth. And like all religions it has a priesthood, ( critics etc. ) it collects power, respect and money from the gullible, and it is used to give authority and respectability, to often inhuman ideologies, which would struggle to earn respect without it.

Magic candle

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Nothing. thought it may be one of those colour eye sight tricks but no nothing.

Think of a number.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Already done it on your last post.

Hair of the dog tail.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

OK, so I think, from the maths alone, that the letter which he addressed to himself was " i ", but am at a loss as to the name of the dog, unless it was "me" or Holmes, since " instruction to rotate ninety degrees ", would be a strange name for a dog.

"People don't want to hear the truth, because they don't want to see their illusions destroyed.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

Almost a tautology.

True fact

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2021:

" A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle." Old feminist saying.

"Yeah, I'm having one of those days..."

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2021:

Lean out of your car window, and yell at a complete stranger. "Hey, long time no see, can't catch up now but i'll be seeing you at the weekend anyway." Then drive off. If you bump into a small child being pushed in its pushchair by its mother, give it a big cheesy grin and say. "I bet you are having a great day out with grandma, arn't you. "

There are pro's and con's here, but as Monsanto et al do not oppose it, I suspect not a good ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2021:

Sorry the link did not work , and got a warning about contaminated link from my search engine.

Hair of the dog tail.

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2021:

The name of the dog was god, because that is dog backwards and the whole leads backwards, and the letter said nothing.

Oh dear, how sad, too bad, never mind 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😝 "Religious disaffiliation ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2021:

The more the moderates leave, the more it is left with only the mad loony fringe in charge, which in turn drives more moderates away, and so on, in a self renewing and growing cycle.

Just out of curiosity ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2021:

Every other thing that I can think of, is just a sub-set of gullibility. The trouble is that we have a huge range of technologies, language, media and arts, which are able to generate falsehoods far beyond the natural levels of deception that any animal would encounter in nature, so we have no evolved defenses, against the effects of culture as a whole not just religion.

Anyone who’s read “The Handmaid’s Tale” will find this article singularly disturbing.

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2021:

Good. Nobody needs more humans.

Okay and just for the sheer hell of it.

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2021:

Are you saying, that god is going to turn us into turtles ?

Speak for yourself! I like my babies bar-b-qued & marinated in green vomit!

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2021:

Yes, but that is not compulsory is it ? I mean I can still spin my head if I want to, can't I ?

"It must be stressed that there is nothing insulting about looking at people as animals.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

To think that we are better than animals, is firstly to make the assumption that there is something you can be, which is better than being an animal.

I just got banned from FB because this info that I posted, below, is allegedly false/fake.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

Don't need to fact check it, it sounds near enough to how I remember it, for a working hypothesis, and having known you a while now, I am happy to take yours word on this. ( But that does not mean you can sell me that second hand car yet. ) lol

It's all about how lucky you get I used to work with a guy whose father was a preacher.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

And as proof of his gods goodwill towards him, he can always offer his great success. If anybody doubts him.

Yesterday, i came across a beautiful piece of analysis that described well, very well actually the ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

Yes, it is funny how prophets always seem to have their visions, after going with out food and spending time at high altitude.

Can you spell Cognitive Dissonance, boys & girls?

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

I am borderline autistic, so I can't spell it, which is kind of sad. But at least I can't do it either, which is a great blessing, so I think I am happier on the whole.

“The chain of marriage is so heavy that it takes two to bear it; sometimes three.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

I always liked the. " To be perfectly happy, a man needs both a wife and a mistress. That way when the wife thinks you are with the mistress, and the mistress thinks you are with the wife, you can finally get time for your hobby."

“You’ll never decide what you want until you’ve decided who you are”.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2021:

That's even harder than, what you want.

Adorable Photo of a Hare Wins Nature Photography Contest

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2021:

Some great images. I also like the red fox in the city lights.

Lost and found in the UK.

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2021:

I am claiming the tree. Does anyone want to marry me for a half share ?

Cretaceous Plankton-Eating Shark Had Long, Wing-Like Fins: [sci-news.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2021:

On its way to becoming a ray perhaps. But I wonder if we will ever know for certain.

Male bees have the wildest mating ritual. [vm.tiktok.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2021:

Yes, it perhaps does not say that for honey bees, all this takes place while flying a top speed, (Only the fastest drones get the queen, who flies away at top speed to test them.) fifty feet of the ground, and that the reason the drone dies, is mainly because his penis rips his entrails out when he leaves it behind. But at least it is one of the few rituals where the losers get to live, and the winners die a horrible death.

Happy Atheist Day.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

And wishing you a happy day too.

Atheist Day is celebrated on March 23rd.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

Happy 'A' day to you too.

After the whelming support for my previous contribution on religion I felt it only fitting that I ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

Like the song, and your version is clever, took some work that. But I would not plan a career in lyric writing just yet, if you rate financial security.

“All truth passes through three stages.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

And I think that someone then added. " And fourthly the wrong person is credited with its discovery."

In alphabetic order, there is a religious method and a scientific method to acquire knowledge.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

There are not overlapping magisteria, partly because there is much in the middle, morality for example, but mainly because religion by its nature is imperial, with claims to all knowledge, so that it does not recognize boundaries. Gould, famously tried to promote the idea of non-overlapping magisteria, but he made the mistake of seeing things only from his point of view within science, which very readily recognizes boundaries, and failed to see that, it takes two to respect a border.

In alphabetic order, there is a religious method and a scientific method to acquire knowledge.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

I have always thought that there is a scale of knowledge. First is science, which is first hand personally obtained evidence, filtered by the experimental method and the review of others. Next is personal first hand experience, keeping close to the experimental method, but without the filters. Thirdly, for some things you can not have experimental research, and for those things you should try at least to apply the rules of reason and logic, which is philosophy. Which, if it is good philosophy, will defer to and respect science as a starting point, where that is available. If it conflicts with the first two it is just bad philosophy. Fourthly, the advice of accepted authorities. Fifth where none of that can work, you can use the advice of others, taking as big a sample as possible, ( democracy ) but that is quite weak, and sometime called the 'ad populum' fallacy. And sixth when all else fails, you must use faith. Often called blind faith, or religion. But it is best to keep this to a minimum. Personally I have never found any problem in understanding , which required me to go as far as six, beyond the most basic, "I think therefore I am. " level. The problem with religion though, is that it tries to promote six to the top of the list, with its own limited versions of four and five. ( Perhaps because there are some who want to be authorities, and control the 'ad populum', without putting the work in.)

Can anyone help me escape religious groups.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

There may be a help with understanding here. https://agnostic.com/discussion/583799/mormon-church-indoctrination-https-youtu-be-zmhfr8damfg

Mormon church indoctrinatIon [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2021:

Like someone said, an evil cult hiding in plain sight.

Death.

Fernapple comments on Mar 21, 2021:

It is perhaps best that we only leave memories and stories behind, too much of a legacy, could be a burden to future generations. My big passion is my garden, and I spent years making it, yet I hope that when I die, it will be dug over, and someone will make a new one. Like the sign outside the nature reserve says. " Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

(That's) How the believing (person) sees you when you say you're an atheist.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2021:

Nobody would believe that, I never looked that good.

Turkey regresses on another social issue. [reuters.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2021:

I traveled widely in Turkey some years ago, it was a beautiful country, with wonderful friendly warm people, and a largely secular outlook, which was leading it away from the troubled culture of the Middle East. The new theocracy, is leading them back into the darkness. And its power has been built, by using tax payers money to bribe the right wing reactionary parts of the population with carefully targeted spending which benefits only them.

Good character is not formed in a week or a month.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2021:

Yep. Gave up on that project years ago.

Just a silly, fun play on words...

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2021:

Is that a literary take on it, or a piece of literature ?

[youtube.com] Scotty, the donkey,

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2021:

We met this wild one in the nature reserve on North Cyprus. My friend had been told they would beg food of tourists, so she took some best quality apples from the hotel breakfast bar, to feed them. This one wanted to get in the car and come home with us.

Every last bit.

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2021:

Yep, I will buy that.

Even animals can be

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2021:

Sometimes Brown Bears get together with Polar Bears and you get mixed species cubs. ( Not relevant just interesting. )

Funny story but true.

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2021:

Sounds like she may need your support one day.

Do you shine your shoes?

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2021:

Best shoes yes, working shoes usually wear out first.

How would you change this sign? All I need is black paint. Ideas?

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2021:

Change it to goddess, yes, but add a heart symbol between the words.

I attached a picture from a chain of truck stop dinner.

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2021:

Wisdom is about nuance.

A New String of State Bills Could Give Religious Organizations Blanket Immunity from Any Wrongdoing

Fernapple comments on Mar 17, 2021:

So America is going to become divided between the theocratic states, and the ones who want to continue with civilization. Happy country. Take care and lock your doors at night my friends.

Margaret Thatcher

Fernapple comments on Mar 17, 2021:

That tends to be true in life in general. And yes men do know it, we we are just too brass necked to care.