North Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its Internet | WIRED

Druvius comments on Feb 2, 2022:

I can see several problems with this. One, he's showing the North Koreans their vulnerabilities so they can improve their cyber defenses. Two, this is likely illegal. Three, I think North Korea is about the last country on the planet one would want to mess with. I also wonder if his story is even ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 3, 2022:

Future headline. "Toxin levels in hacker's car still too high, for safe investigation. Corroner said." LOL

Has anyone here visited the palace at Versailles? Interested in your impression

Mooolah comments on Feb 2, 2022:

I am confident that public toilets were installed since the 16th century. It was built without them & the debauchery which unfolded there made, for a most repugnant history, only bested by their lack of character.

Fernapple replies on Feb 3, 2022:

I am told that the chamber pots, were only changed/emptied twice per week. Can you imagine how it stank !

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

AtheistInNC comments on Jan 31, 2022:

With the advent of technology, all the benefits of religion can be had WITHOUT religion now. The human race won't go extinct without religion at this point. We need to deep six every religion. The sooner the better. Religion kills.

Fernapple replies on Feb 2, 2022:

@Toonman That is right, the product which does not exist is the marketers perfect product. In fact in most theist religions, you don't even get to take delivery of the imaginary product until after you are dead. Not really a surprise they don't get any bad reviews or returns. LOL

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

AtheistInNC comments on Jan 31, 2022:

With the advent of technology, all the benefits of religion can be had WITHOUT religion now. The human race won't go extinct without religion at this point. We need to deep six every religion. The sooner the better. Religion kills.

Fernapple replies on Feb 2, 2022:

@Toonman And of course the purpose of religion is as a marketing and support network for ignorance, given that ignorance/misinformation sells as a product in the hands of the dishonest, and that its supporters/sellers need a marketing method, they are keeping religion alive as their best ploy.

Everyone knows about the transatlantic slave trade from Africa to the New World.

Fernapple comments on Feb 1, 2022:

They simply blended in, especially as Islamic slavery was based on religion not skin type, so that there were white slaves too. Also Islam had a slightly more enlightened view of slavery, which meant that many more won their freedom and blended in with the general population.

Fernapple replies on Feb 2, 2022:

@Matias Oh I dont disagree with Diaco, that is one of the main reasons, I was just adding an extra. You also have to remember that most of the Islamic slave trade was in Africa and conducted by and for the benefit mainly of the North Africans and the Berbers etc. who are of much more mixed race than the true Arabs and former Persians. The original Arab lands soon became a back water within the Islamic empire and benefited very little from the trade therefore maintaining their racial purity was not so unlikely.

Took a bit of trip out in the bush yesterday with my old workmate from the Railways, Thommo, because...

anglophone comments on Feb 1, 2022:

And the local bunyip might cuddle up to him for warmth at night.

Fernapple replies on Feb 2, 2022:

Or the local bunyip may have better taste.

Everyone knows about the transatlantic slave trade from Africa to the New World.

Fernapple comments on Feb 1, 2022:

They simply blended in, especially as Islamic slavery was based on religion not skin type, so that there were white slaves too. Also Islam had a slightly more enlightened view of slavery, which meant that many more won their freedom and blended in with the general population.

Fernapple replies on Feb 2, 2022:

@Diaco No but they did free existing slaves who converted after a given period.

It may be my favorite things to do.

Fernapple comments on Feb 1, 2022:

Why is it that everything I want to do is either, illegal, immoral, or fattening ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

@nogod4me Terrible on the knees, I wonder if that is why they call it the missionary possition, because it causes the same sores as praying all the time.

I was trying to do a search in the "Groups" section of the site.

FrayedBear comments on Feb 1, 2022:

Nothing like learning by trial & error

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

@Robecology Yes I am all of those things as well. But a few weeks ago I ran my van into the garage, but forgot to close the back door on the van first, it opened and hit the wall, now that was pretty stupid and it cost me a lot. Things like that happen all the time to people like me, and there does not seem to be a cure. So I think that I am allowed to be rude to myself now and again.

I was trying to do a search in the "Groups" section of the site.

FrayedBear comments on Feb 1, 2022:

Nothing like learning by trial & error

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

The problem is that there is no cure for stupid, and I am a life long sufferer, just basic treatment to ease the symptoms costs a fortune too.

I was trying to do a search in the "Groups" section of the site.

SpikeTalon comments on Feb 1, 2022:

That function seems to be working okay for me. Have not noticed anything unusual (yet).

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

Yes it is for me now, thanks anyway.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

AtheistInNC comments on Jan 31, 2022:

With the advent of technology, all the benefits of religion can be had WITHOUT religion now. The human race won't go extinct without religion at this point. We need to deep six every religion. The sooner the better. Religion kills.

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

@AtheistInNC Bit stronger than I would have put it, but I can go with that.

I can't wait to hear your answer.

FearlessFly comments on Jan 31, 2022:

42

Fernapple replies on Feb 1, 2022:

@anglophone The extra quarter is not needed, therefore the trinity can never be a part of the universe, and trinitarianism is an error..

Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? - Freakonomics

Fernapple comments on Jan 31, 2022:

Some countries have tried it to a limited extent, ( Holland and Scandinavian counties especially. ) and it seems to work yes. But of course those are countries with fairly good national health and welfare support networks, whether it would work so well in somewhere like the US is another question.

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@rainmanjr Make it happen, and even if you don't succeed, it will still be one heck of a ride. Good luck.

I just got to thinking how Christians pray to their god and call him father as if he were a parental...

Fernapple comments on Jan 31, 2022:

Toxic parents often raise children who go on to be toxic parents themselves, and if they are Christian they can trace their line all the way back to their God. That's heritage for you. "And don't you dare question heritage, you snotty little sc##t, or I will beat you till you can not stand up ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@AJimboShep82 Would not disagree with that. You made a good post too.

Priorities for next 14 days : No matter what , making sure I have no wear down panties on and ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 31, 2022:

PS. to your healthy diet advice to anyone reading. In order to avoid stones, especially bladder stones which can be nearly as bad. It is important to take the time to pee out and empty your bladder completely when you go, every time. A stone will waste a lot more time in the long term, than a few ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@Pralina1 That is some nightmare work pressure. Take care of yourself first whatever.

Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? - Freakonomics

Fernapple comments on Jan 31, 2022:

Some countries have tried it to a limited extent, ( Holland and Scandinavian counties especially. ) and it seems to work yes. But of course those are countries with fairly good national health and welfare support networks, whether it would work so well in somewhere like the US is another question.

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@rainmanjr No but it does make the argument just a dream.

Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? - Freakonomics

Fernapple comments on Jan 31, 2022:

Some countries have tried it to a limited extent, ( Holland and Scandinavian counties especially. ) and it seems to work yes. But of course those are countries with fairly good national health and welfare support networks, whether it would work so well in somewhere like the US is another question.

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@rainmanjr Best of luck getting that paid for, especially by the Repubs.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

OldMetalHead comments on Jan 29, 2022:

I thought evolutionary mismatch was when evolved traits that used to be beneficial, no longer are, for example, due to environmental changes. What protection does religion provide against that? To answer your question though, I would rather our species become more enlightened, whatever the ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 31, 2022:

@skado No we are not tossing them aside, we are eliminating them far too slowly, as they are block the actions of several very real viable alternatives. Religion has simply become the institutionalization of ultra- conservatism when taken to a criminal level. Nor is the assumption in that religion was the source of learning morality such as "not to steal, kill, fornicate, bear false witness, etc." inorder to cope with life in larger communities correct. There is a lot of evidence that tribal politics and trade neworks, played a much bigger role in the creation of post agricultural morality than religion, and that post agricultural religion came on to the scene only later.

Research Team Finds New Species of Coronaviruses in Some Unexpected Places

puff comments on Jan 30, 2022:

I'm reading this thinking how can a virus be a species? It is not an organism nor sexually reproduce. Did a quick search and found out like pandemic and vaccine, the definition has been changed recently.

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

Yes it is a bit of a mess, a bit like Pluto and whether it is a planet or not. It is all about the mainly subjective business of clasification, whether a virus is alive. Different people have different ideas, and even the official line has been changed. Some say that viruses are just derived broken parts of other things, and not therefore alive themselves, but yet they are subject to natural sellection, which should be a prime feature of life you would think.

SCIENTISTS GENERALLY AGREE…

Fernapple comments on Jan 30, 2022:

There is no direct connection recognized by mainstream science, between genetically evolved traits and almost any aspect of modern religion. The genetic factors which favour religion are merely precursors, which may cause religion to happen. As you say. "There are two schools of thought. One is ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

@ASTRALMAX Quite. You can always spot a phoney by the tails.

SCIENTISTS GENERALLY AGREE…

Fernapple comments on Jan 30, 2022:

There is no direct connection recognized by mainstream science, between genetically evolved traits and almost any aspect of modern religion. The genetic factors which favour religion are merely precursors, which may cause religion to happen. As you say. "There are two schools of thought. One is ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

@ASTRALMAX, @Buttercup There are a few tiny bits of periferal science, behind the so called genetics of religion. Such as a positive error bias, ( We are more likely to assume something is, than is not. ) maybe a instictive fear of snakes, which are major players in a lot of religions, and a tendency to neophobia, ( fear of the unknown ), etc. but not the massive mountain of so called proof that appologists and pseudo science builds on that molehill. Genetic behaviorism deals, in by its very evolved nature, with big clunky crude issues, which are all the slow tick of evolution has time to deal with, not specifics like beliefs, evolution does not perfect it only moves towards it. Just as we have hands with fingers to use and make many tools, and do not have evolved bottle openers and skrew drivers on the ends of our arms, so we have instincts like neophobia, and not fear of gods or hell, neither of which are found in all religions anyway. And the bottom line is, that if religion was genetically programmed, then there would be no atheists or agnostics, not even Buddist atheists believing in karma.

SCIENTISTS GENERALLY AGREE…

Fernapple comments on Jan 30, 2022:

There is no direct connection recognized by mainstream science, between genetically evolved traits and almost any aspect of modern religion. The genetic factors which favour religion are merely precursors, which may cause religion to happen. As you say. "There are two schools of thought. One is ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

@ASTRALMAX Especially if you do not care about exact usages of words, including even "science" and "genetics". Which you may do, especially if you come from the background of religion, where it is acceptable to interpret anything to mean anything you wish, and never mind the confussion it may cause, because confussion is where the narcissim of religion thrives.

Morals don’t come from religion, Some naturally have it while others don’t.

puff comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Empathy is the only moral needed as Gene Wilder said. Is not all religious morality based in empathy?

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

@puff That is very true but only I think as a philosophical ethic, which has entered within most modern theist religions. I would have to qualify that by pointing out that many older religions especially do not contain the golden rule as a tenant, the Aztec religion for example taught kill and torture to appease the blood lust of the gods, while Shinto, many forms of Hinduism and pagan views were largely morallity free, the golden rule is not always a constant of religion.

Morals don’t come from religion, Some naturally have it while others don’t.

puff comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Empathy is the only moral needed as Gene Wilder said. Is not all religious morality based in empathy?

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

That is true of some religious morality yes, but a lot of it is directed at crushing empathy. The religious ethical justifications for human sacrifice, slavery, religious persecution, racism and social inequality for just a few examples, have all been used to tell people not to employ empathy even against their human feelings.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Evolution does not have intent, there is no evolutionary protection against extinction, evolution does not have foresight, and there is no evolutionary drive for the betterment or protection of the species. Those are the four of the most basic, and simple grade school tenants of modern ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 30, 2022:

@Triphid Redeemable , not unredeemable. Though I am pushing the boat out, more than a little.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Evolution does not have intent, there is no evolutionary protection against extinction, evolution does not have foresight, and there is no evolutionary drive for the betterment or protection of the species. Those are the four of the most basic, and simple grade school tenants of modern ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@Triphid "They create a desert and they call it peace." Peace is for the graveyard. Besides which I beleive that Skado is basically well intended and therefore redeamable.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Religion is the main evolutionary mismatch which is driving us towards extinction. Religion is the main source of support for those wishing to promote criminal ideologies, including and especially anti -environmentalism, anti-science, anti-reason, misinformation, and unethical narcissism. It can...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@skado And I am familiar with yours, but there are others who may not be, and I take an interest in the welfare of others, including the protection of them against misinformation. And I am comforted to know, from experience on this site, that their are others who can and do understand and appreiciate my definition, even if they think that I could be wrong, and I admit it is not perfect. I am however comforted, that I do not have a personal definition which makes such a stretch of the languages usages, that it actually becomes an abuse to the language, though it is in the nature of poor shambolic language that it takes a lot to abuse it. Even though it seems to be quite normal behaviour among appologists, whose use of deceit and cognitive dissonance has presumably grown so deep and familiar that honesty is no longer identifiable, and all the personal instincts based on honesty have been erroded away by the corrosive effect that religion has on the human personality.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Evolution does not have intent, there is no evolutionary protection against extinction, evolution does not have foresight, and there is no evolutionary drive for the betterment or protection of the species. Those are the four of the most basic, and simple grade school tenants of modern ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@Triphid Yes, in the end the short crude, but still true answer is that. If there really was a genetic basis for religion, then there would not be such things as atheists and agnostics at all.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Evolution does not have intent, there is no evolutionary protection against extinction, evolution does not have foresight, and there is no evolutionary drive for the betterment or protection of the species. Those are the four of the most basic, and simple grade school tenants of modern ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@skado Back pedalling again when caught, boy you do spin.

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Jan 29, 2022:

But religion is a very high-level cognitive process; evolution is is only "active" at the lower levels. As analogy, evolution builds the computer and OS but society's programs religion into it... and not before they have to program language, categorization, and a host of other mid-level cognitive...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@skado The middle way is quite correct, evolution only provided at best, a few basic tendencies towards religion, such a positive confirmation bias, or an anthropomorphic interpretations bias, and they only enforced some forms of early primitive religion to appear. There is no direct connection between those genetic tendencies and any modern religion or religious institutions, and no serious scientist thinks that there is. The religious apologists and pseudo scientists who like to make the glib statement that there is a genetic basis for religion proved by science, and then try to pretend that that refers to their modern religions, are just making a huge false leap. Exactly the same false leap that those who try to prove a prime mover for the creation of the universe, and then claim that means their own personal God, make. None of the genetic basis for religion link directly into modern religion and no serous scientist would claim they do. The fact that apologists so often use such bad arguments and think that, science benefits from extra added spin, are just proving to the rest of at least the rational world, and not religions victims, just how much of a destructive effect religion has on the personality. Eroding even the basic, ( and really evolved ) instincts, for feelings such as honesty, so completely. ( Probably by the repeated exploitation of the ill informed leading to an acceptance of deceits as a human norm. )

Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’, just as ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 29, 2022:

Evolution does not have intent, there is no evolutionary protection against extinction, evolution does not have foresight, and there is no evolutionary drive for the betterment or protection of the species. Those are the four of the most basic, and simple grade school tenants of modern ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

@skado I quote. "Religion is evolution’s protection against ‘extinction-due-to-evolutionary-mismatch’" maybe you can argue that into not meaning evolution has intent, and make the case that as usual you were not trying to take advantage of those ill infomed, to get away with spinning. But I would not bother, if you pile the sewage too high it will slip and smell, then everyone will know.

An Aphidlion preserved in Baltic Amber along with several Aphids.

Cast1es comments on Jan 29, 2022:

So how do I go about introducing aphidlions into my garden ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 29, 2022:

"Build it and they will come."

More delays to bring England and Wales into line with Scotland and N.

Marionville comments on Jan 28, 2022:

Let’s hope the legislation goes through asap.

Fernapple replies on Jan 28, 2022:

The real issue is. We can't have people threatening to take away some of the Church Of Englands wedding business, ( The only thing its got left. ) those bishops supply us Tory MPs with loads of hospitality.

ONE SPECIES - A stirring take on climate change from Isaac Asimov [youtube.com]

Cast1es comments on Jan 27, 2022:

Comparatively speaking , I wonder what is using more fuel , airline flights , or outer space flights ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 28, 2022:

Space flights certainly, though as with all these things, it is complex. For although flying by airliner is seen as the big nasty poster boy of carbon makers, in fact you use less fuel flying, if the distance is greater than five hundred miles, than you would driving in a car, and that comes down to just two hundred and fifty miles if you drive alone and take no passengers.

You may laugh at the early parallel origins of the sex industry and adult toys, perhaps, but the ...

FrayedBear comments on Jan 26, 2022:

Trust you to come up with that!

Fernapple replies on Jan 26, 2022:

Thanks, I do my best to challenge the limits.

Because of the leftist / socialist / Marxist / Communist leanings of most users of this site, I ...

Petter comments on Jan 24, 2022:

You left out humanist, realist, and non dogmatist!

Fernapple replies on Jan 25, 2022:

There is a lot of those about, but I believe you can get a pill now.

Good God Above

waitingforgodo comments on Jan 24, 2022:

Genealogy, cross-stitch, cruciverbalism, phd studies on the explication of divine eternality, foot fetishism, getting high, biblical scholarship with a focus on what you said, conduct classes in prestidigitation, legerdemain, haruspicy and extispicy for beginners, write a children's fairytale on ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 25, 2022:

He tried all those, was not any good at them.

It took me a while to work this one out, but not too sure I have the meaning quite pinned down.

Pralina1 comments on Jan 24, 2022:

I am going to see it like this , based on personal experiences : It’s hard to act joyful and supporting and even just been there when u see friends or family making wrong decisions / steps / actions . I have been to weddings and fairwells and hard conversations where my opinion it was requested ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

I think you nailed it.

What words do you habitually misspell?

Fernapple comments on Jan 24, 2022:

Tion or sion, as in motion and regression, what fool decided that there should be too different ways of spelling that ending, and then went round scattering them about at random, just to create confution/confusion. Bet he was a real pitfall trap for donkeys.

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

@LenHazell53 Sadly yes. I observe that the spelling cult, along with several others is a big prop for Christian fundamentalism, especially in the US. You can block education by keeping atheist, socialist, anti-racist, environmentaist and overseas books out of the schools, but if that fails, then you can still prevent learning by getting all the time used up on decorative skills and pseudo-education, and making people believe that that is what education really is.

It took me a while to work this one out, but not too sure I have the meaning quite pinned down.

Marionville comments on Jan 24, 2022:

I’m not quite sure, but I think I have it pinned down…it’s a convoluted way of saying we take more pleasure in seeing others suffer than we do in seeing them being joyful and happy. I think this can definitely be the case in certain circumstances, and towards certain people.

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

@Marionville Yes that works well. It is sad that I do not have the whole passage and context, only the bald quote.

It took me a while to work this one out, but not too sure I have the meaning quite pinned down.

Buttercup comments on Jan 24, 2022:

I think taking gracefully can be harder than giving, let someone enjoy the act of giving because that's what they want. It's not better to give than to receive, they are complimentary forces that balance.

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

That's a good reading of it I think.

It took me a while to work this one out, but not too sure I have the meaning quite pinned down.

Marionville comments on Jan 24, 2022:

I’m not quite sure, but I think I have it pinned down…it’s a convoluted way of saying we take more pleasure in seeing others suffer than we do in seeing them being joyful and happy. I think this can definitely be the case in certain circumstances, and towards certain people.

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

Yes I think that is right. The other way I thought it may work, is, sympathy in the sense of pity. As in it is more common to feel pity for suffering, than it it to feel pity because you know that all joy is ephemeral and therefore pity is needed even for the joyful. But I think that your reading is best.

What words do you habitually misspell?

Fernapple comments on Jan 24, 2022:

Tion or sion, as in motion and regression, what fool decided that there should be too different ways of spelling that ending, and then went round scattering them about at random, just to create confution/confusion. Bet he was a real pitfall trap for donkeys.

Fernapple replies on Jan 24, 2022:

@LenHazell53 Thank you, that clears up a big problem. So my English teacher at school was wrong then, when we got the lesson about 'tion', which I do remember. quite clearly, its no wonder I can't understand spelling when English teachers don't.

The dorks who accused their opponents of election fraud committed election fraud.

Fernapple comments on Jan 23, 2022:

The dishonest always assume that everyone else is dishonest like them, because they do not have the intelligence to understand the motivations for honesty.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2022:

@anglophone Certainly. Especially if as I was trying to put it, intelligence is not just cleverness, but also includes some aspects of personallity.

The dorks who accused their opponents of election fraud committed election fraud.

Fernapple comments on Jan 23, 2022:

The dishonest always assume that everyone else is dishonest like them, because they do not have the intelligence to understand the motivations for honesty.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2022:

@Paul4747 Yes that's it exactly. It just that. "Evil cannot comprehend good." Is such and old one I was trying to put it in a new way.

I agree perpetual positivity can definitely lower morale and effectiveness. [atpe.org]

hankster comments on Jan 22, 2022:

permitting politeness perhaps, Perpetual Positivity portrays pretentions pinnacle.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2022:

Alliteration and approval are always antithetic, angry anthropoid apes agree, alternative arrangments always allowed.

Richard Dawkins - "What if you're wrong?" South Park - YouTube

DenoPenno comments on Jan 22, 2022:

Wrong about what? The Dawkins character says it quite well in the cartoon. Yet, I meet others who think they would still be a Baptist if they were born in Palestine. They don't get it. Neither do others when I tell them the bible as we know it today came into existence some 300 plus years after the ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2022:

Actually although the idea of a bible was formed some 300 years later, the modern compliation is not even that old, and was still being modified well into the middle ages. While the fundies favourite the King James is only four centuries old.

[sciencedaily.

RichCC comments on Jan 22, 2022:

My only question is -- was it better because the Roman Kingdom lasted long enough (~600BCE to 467CE => ~1100years) so that they had time to learn it or did they get lucky with the materials (volcanic ash + lime + seawater). Maybe both. I also vaguely remember they were remarkably sophisticated ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2022:

They also used lighter aggregates in the top part of the Pantheon's dome, and harder heavier better weight barring stones lower down.

Was traveling through the Badlands stopped off at Devil's Tower to camp, learned how it got its name...

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2022:

Hello and welcome I hope you enjoy the site. ( Photo would be nice. ) PS Why are you named after a horse ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2022:

@jlynn37 I think that the music group was also named after the horse.

Ending religion lessons in schools leads to overall decline in belief but not morals | Religion | ...

skado comments on Jan 18, 2022:

Yet another voice that has mistaken fundamentalism for religion. “non-denominational ethical teaching” IS religion, from a scientific perspective. Denominationalism is just an artifact of a pre-global world. Ethical teaching is ethical teaching. Wherever humans are modifying their ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 18, 2022:

@skado As you rightly say. "There is no scientific consensus as to what precisely constitutes a religion." Nor I think is there any such thing as a valid scientific perspective. To accuse TheMiddleWay of setting up a strawman of religion, by using as evidence a strawman of science, is just too ridiculous for words. There may indeed be a science of folklore, because folklore is a real thing which is within the realm of scientific study, but the definition of the word religion is a philosophical, etymological and epistemological issue, not a scientific one. And for what it is worth, I will throw in my own philosophical definition of religion, which up to date has served me well, with few anomalies or exceptions. Which is that. Religion is is the use of fake authority, whether that authority comes from "god worship", "folklore" an old book or ritual, it does not matter. It only matters that religion equates almost exactly, (Please note the almost. ) to the fallacy of proof by authority, especially when that authority offers no justification of its worth. Which is a poor starting point for any "ethical teaching" even the "non-denominational " sort, if that is even possible. It is notable that Nationalism, Fascism and Marxism have been called religions in the past and certainly all have on occasion fallen well within your definition of. "Wherever humans are modifying their instinctual behaviours, by cultural means, for the purpose of social cohesion and coordination, religion is happening. " And I need not dwell on the history which happened in the most fundamental expressions of those, proofs by authority. The Point of which is. That religion like all false authority is of most use only to the promoters of evil, if you wish to modify instinctual behaviours in good directions there are real and well tested means, such as science, philosophy, and epistemology available, which not only serve just as well, but are much more suited to the honest and well meaning, and do not require the morally degenerative dangers of close association with fake authority and the bad company which follows in it wake.

Ending religion lessons in schools leads to overall decline in belief but not morals | Religion | ...

FvckY0u comments on Jan 18, 2022:

So the German constitution after WWII mandated religion be taught and in that time it's been changed to not mandate it and teach something different than religion. that's good progress from where they were post war. I'd like to see that kind of progress in the states.

Fernapple replies on Jan 18, 2022:

@LenHazell53 Yes that was my experience too.

Ending religion lessons in schools leads to overall decline in belief but not morals | Religion | ...

LenHazell53 comments on Jan 18, 2022:

Schools are supposed to impart knowledge, other than the knowledge that religion exists and did so in the past, which could be covered in the study of history and literature, there is in my opinion no place for religion in schools. Furthermore given the "bloody" history of religion the moral well ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 18, 2022:

Yes I have heard that one too. I have also heard that he said that, theology is the only subject in which the objective is not to move the study forwards.

“Brevity is the soul of lingerie.

Fernapple comments on Jan 17, 2022:

Love D. Parker but..... Nah. Loads of fabric to be crushed and crumpled and fumbled through. Big Victorian bloomers, with drawstrings at the waist and above the knee. Complimented by a lace up chamice top, nice and fine letting a little bit of a hint of nipple shape show through, and a v line ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 18, 2022:

@MsKathleen I can't tell you that ! There are some things......

And the rich get richer [bangkokpost.com]

Druvius comments on Jan 16, 2022:

Funneling money upwards is what the world's economy is designed to do. The ridiculous thing is there's plenty of money for everyone to have a good life, as well as fabulously wealthy people. Some countries do that, the US doesn't.

Fernapple replies on Jan 17, 2022:

And you keep people working seven days a week all year, so that nobody gets to leave the country, and find out how good it is in the rest of the world.

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

Fernapple comments on Jan 16, 2022:

Our wealth when we are poor, our friends when we are lonely, warmth when we are cold, water when we are thirsty. The fact is, that we are not very good at appreciating anything until its too late.

Fernapple replies on Jan 17, 2022:

@Pralina1 That's wonderful. Well done.

A good overview of one of the most interesting, and beautiful, at least to my mind, of all animal ...

Beowulfsfriend comments on Jan 16, 2022:

In all my outdoor activities over 60 years, I've only ever ran into one. It was catching a mouse.

Fernapple replies on Jan 16, 2022:

I often see them in England, especially by the road side, often with prey. Once I was lucky enough to see a family of kittens playing together.

A good overview of one of the most interesting, and beautiful, at least to my mind, of all animal ...

LiterateHiker comments on Jan 16, 2022:

Gorgeous animals. A fascinating video. Thanks for posting. **Raccoons on the Rampage, August 1986 ** "Raccoons on the Rampage" the sign said at the trail head. We laughed. With my mother, my husband Terry and I backpacked two miles to the Pacific Ocean, camping in tents. In the middle of ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 16, 2022:

Great story, but you can't but admire them for doing what comes naturally so well.

I like this photo.

Fernapple comments on Jan 14, 2022:

Looks like the Shambles York. Google that for a bit of fun.

Fernapple replies on Jan 14, 2022:

@Ryo1 Yep. I think that it originally meant the street where the butchers work, but Google street view shows it really well and lets you take a walk down it.

This is my first attempt at a meme. I think it's pretty funny.

puff comments on Jan 14, 2022:

Artist? Do one for Gates

Fernapple replies on Jan 14, 2022:

@JennyRad Not really, we are all artists, some of us performance artists, and some of us very bad performance artists.

Sam and Seneca, religion has been a scam from the beginning!

racocn8 comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Not only has science surpassed the Bible, but our conventional morality has greatly surpassed the morality in the Bible. The tragedy is that religionists believe they must remain morally degenerate as part of their religion, embracing slavery, patriarchy, bigotry, ad nauseam.

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2022:

Or they want to be morally degenerate, and see religion as a good way to justify it.

How much was Hitler and the Nazis influenced by the occult?

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2022:

The main point of Nazi ideology was to build on already existing features of the mainstream culture. That's how you push people into doing extreme things, by making them seem to be just banal extensions of what their existing culture was leading to anyway. The main religious influences were ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2022:

@Lorajay Perhaps, though I don't think that Trump was in the same league as Hitler, or has anything like the political skills, more a second rate Mussolini.

I've heard from numerous people that they find atheists to be assholes.

Apunzelle comments on Jan 11, 2022:

😂😂😂 Yes, there are absolutely some assholes on this site. Methinks they’re the too-vocal minority. 😄

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2022:

The sound of farting carries a long way.

We will lose everything we love, including our lives — so we might as well love without fear, for ...

Marionville comments on Jan 10, 2022:

Love is to me an instinctive reaction to certain people and things…I’m not really able to control that emotion, as it’s triggered automatically. I can’t understand the quote as fear plays no part in whether we feel love or not..or am I misunderstanding the meaning of it somehow?

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

And of course the quote also means that we should not bother about fearing the end, while we are loving, because that other emotion only dilutes the love.

As a contributing member of an international group known as “The Brights.

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2022:

For all that we know, evolution is a mindless mechanical process, it has no purpose, nor is it the purpose of anything else. Anymore than a rock rolling down a hill, has the purpose of getting to the bottom. The only person who could say if evolution has a purpose, is someone who received a ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

@JackPedigo Evolution will quite happily settle into stasis and change nothing if the environment remains constant, and there are no internal preasures such as sexual selection. Evolution only moves when pushed by the environment, just as the rock going down the hill only moves because of gravity, or momentum. Indeed in real terms you could say that there is no such thing as evolution, only natural sellection acting on random mutation. Evolution is only a word humans give to the end results of such things, a shorthand abreviated way of summing up, but convenient lazy shorthand should not be confused with real actions.

We will lose everything we love, including our lives — so we might as well love without fear, for ...

Marionville comments on Jan 10, 2022:

Love is to me an instinctive reaction to certain people and things…I’m not really able to control that emotion, as it’s triggered automatically. I can’t understand the quote as fear plays no part in whether we feel love or not..or am I misunderstanding the meaning of it somehow?

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

Some people avoid things that they may love, for fear that they may fall in love and then lose. So to that extent you can control love.

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”……………John Milton.

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2022:

Pass on both. Thank you.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

@Marionville I can not leave the subject. Because you may think that I am exagerating, but that really was the Yellow Belly culture here, at least for the older generation in my youth. The villages were ruled by Nora Batty (remember her) style matriarchs, who were large and stout, the men were small slight and meak, they really did walk behind, and only spoke when the matriarchs told them to, and then not much. The ladies kept almost all the money, and they often had accounts books for the ordinary household expences, and humour or any sort of levity was certainly frowned on. Even today when I do public speaking I always adjust the talks in some of the more rural areas of Lincolnshire by leaving the jokes out, since I know that any attempted humour will only get frowns.

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”……………John Milton.

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2022:

Pass on both. Thank you.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

@Marionville Well next thing you know the youngsters think that if they can do humour, then they can just go out and do whatever they like and buy things, like money is for spending. Then before you know where you are, you end up like them fools across the river in Yorkshire, where everybody has got a social life, and men start to want to do talking, instead of leaving that to the women !

“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven”……………John Milton.

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2022:

Pass on both. Thank you.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

@Marionville I come from the red neck country of East Lincolnshire, an' we don't let no metaphores in here, bringing their complex, nuances with them and showing off their irony in public. Next thing you know the kids will be doing humour.

Can anyone still remember the "flash mob" which was very fashionable before the pandemic, I wonder ...

AnneWimsey comments on Jan 10, 2022:

I participated in one for charity! The rehearsals & doing it were a blast!

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

Well done, now that's fun.

Since Narcissus and his followers seem to be theme of the week I thought I would have five cents ...

yvilletom comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Naecissus “pined away and died”? No, he died of happiness, or love. What’s better than dying of either of those? Dying while in orgasm, ok.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2022:

I did a double check with several sources including Larousse, wiki and Greek mytholoigy.com. and no, according to most versions of the myth Narcissus did not die a happy death. Just the opposite, he died of frustration, because he could not ever touch the image of himself he saw in the water. And the death was given to him as punishment for rejecting the nymph Echo, a death usually attributed to Nemesis.

Can anyone still remember the "flash mob" which was very fashionable before the pandemic, I wonder ...

Pralina1 comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Omg . This is great ! No I never seen anything like this b4 or knew about it !!! Oh wow

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

@Lauren Great one.

Since Narcissus and his followers seem to be theme of the week I thought I would have five cents ...

Rockitflash comments on Jan 9, 2022:

A great post! I loved reading the Greek myths in high school, I should revisit them.

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

Richer and more diverse than the theist myths of the three Abrahamics. They also ask questions rather than assert authority I find.

Since Narcissus and his followers seem to be theme of the week I thought I would have five cents ...

yvilletom comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Naecissus “pined away and died”? No, he died of happiness, or love. What’s better than dying of either of those? Dying while in orgasm, ok.

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

Well that is a perfectly legitimate way of reading it. Not the one taught in schools though, perhaps for obvious reasons.

Since Narcissus and his followers seem to be theme of the week I thought I would have five cents ...

Beachslim7 comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Where do you come up with this crap? Seriously? Narcissists are people who have no emotions such as fear, or empathy. They don't care about people's goals or life in general. They live to manipulate and get a reaction out of people. They are emotional vampires not content unless they get you...

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

@Austin-Cambridge Sorry but this is very nearly my best crap. LOL

Since Narcissus and his followers seem to be theme of the week I thought I would have five cents ...

Beachslim7 comments on Jan 9, 2022:

Where do you come up with this crap? Seriously? Narcissists are people who have no emotions such as fear, or empathy. They don't care about people's goals or life in general. They live to manipulate and get a reaction out of people. They are emotional vampires not content unless they get you...

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

Yes I am well aware of that, the point of this post was to highlight the costs of that behaviour to the narcissits themselves.

Father Fractures Pastor’s Skull After He Caught Him Touching Son Inappropriately. | ThatViralFeed

PondartIncbendog comments on Jan 8, 2022:

So did he hurt the pastor?

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

No, that's not where pastors keep their brains.

Pope suggests pet owners without children are selfish | TheHill

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2022:

If you can't get converts, because your ideals are broken and bankrupt, you just have to breed victims.

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

@Pralina1 Thank you, I think the same of you, nailling everything beautifully. Let us hope that this site may long continue.

Sending Life to the Stars: Scientists Contemplate Launching Tiny Lifeforms Into Interstellar Space...

Robecology comments on Jan 8, 2022:

Many don't know the geologic history of earth. Our oceans were formed largely due to unusually large collections of comets...mostly large chunks of H2O ice - bombarding early earth - billions of years ago. Scientists have recently conjectured; could these chunks of ice at one time belonged...

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

@phxbillcee The other problem with panspermia as a solution to the origin of life, is that it still leaves you with the problem of abiogenisis, but just moves the problem back in time and to another planet.

If a Christian tells you.

Matias comments on Jan 8, 2022:

No it isn't. there are people you are toying with nihilism as a kind of intellectual game. But those whose have to *live* as nihilists get depressions

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2022:

I don't think that is always so. I am a very happy nihilist for one.

60+ Social Media Sites You Should Know About (Updated 2022)

TheMiddleWay comments on Jan 8, 2022:

Half of those are shut down or have a vanishingly small presence. And calling WhatsApp and flicker as social media is stretching the term social media to irrelevance

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

What makes this site so good is not just the content and the people, but the format, the look of the page the way it works, and things link up. I have found no other social media that compares. Some one did tell me what platform it runs on, but I forget now.

AGNOSTIC.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2022:

Maybe it would be a good idea to establish a FB page/group for former Agnostic.com members ahead of time, FB is not so nice, and it may never be needed, but could be done.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

@HippieChick58 It just say not available. Sorry.

AGNOSTIC.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2022:

Maybe it would be a good idea to establish a FB page/group for former Agnostic.com members ahead of time, FB is not so nice, and it may never be needed, but could be done.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

@HippieChick58 Thank you, no idea the name ?

AGNOSTIC.

Fernapple comments on Jan 8, 2022:

Maybe it would be a good idea to establish a FB page/group for former Agnostic.com members ahead of time, FB is not so nice, and it may never be needed, but could be done.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

@Lorajay I would have to think about that, there may be far more able people than me, but if it came to a crunch.

AGNOSTIC.

skado comments on Jan 7, 2022:

Not an unreasonable guess, I'd say. Best to collect other means of contacting those we wish to stay in touch with.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

@Lorajay, @SpikeTalon Could work, sounds interesting well done. Though maybe also it would be a good idea to establish a FB page/group for former Agnostic.com members ahead of time, FB is not so nice, and it may never be needed, but could be done.

AGNOSTIC.

skado comments on Jan 7, 2022:

Not an unreasonable guess, I'd say. Best to collect other means of contacting those we wish to stay in touch with.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2022:

@Lorajay Maybe it would be a good idea to establish a FB page/group for former Agnostic.com members ahead of time, FB is not so nice, and it may never be needed, but could be done.

Please consider this post a online petition to change the image on the entry page to this web site.

altschmerz comments on Jan 7, 2022:

Is this the picture you're talking about? (I had to log out to access it.)

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

Oh yes I remember that now. I think it is a case of. " If you know where there is a better hole, you go to it. "

Google “askew”. You can thank me later.

Tejas comments on Jan 6, 2022:

Google "do a barrel roll" too

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

It offered me six other tricks as well. Think I will save those for a dull night.

Do you often find people reading their own assumptions into your posts?

skado comments on Jan 6, 2022:

I think that’s just the way people are. Always.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

@puff That's fine. I worked out exactly what you meant quite easily, sadly, it is only really the borderline trolls who will not trouble to think about what you mean.

Do you often find people reading their own assumptions into your posts?

hankster comments on Jan 7, 2022:

it's tricky to respond on target when knowledge is really limited. When we add the condition that folks are working from a toolbox of what they themselves think they know about, or want to believe for the sake of thier heart or the need to be correct there's lots of chances for facts to get bent or ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

@towkneed PS. To my last. You also need to be very careful about your first line/title, a lot of people will not read beyond that, or will only scim beyond that. So using clever tricks like inverting what you said in your first line, is asking for trouble. And above all else. Never, NEVER, Never, attempt irony.

Do you often find people reading their own assumptions into your posts?

skado comments on Jan 6, 2022:

I think that’s just the way people are. Always.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

@puff Sorry, I am not being critical, but you really do have to be careful about what you type, that's one reason for the failings. If for example you read your second sentence again, I think that you will find that it says, that there is no communication on this site, and not, what I think is what you intended, no, "body language". As I say I am not being critical, we all do it, I have done it hundreds of times, but it just goes to show how easily misunderstandings happen. You have to try to make sure every sentence and paragraph is plain and clear with no possibilities for misunderstandings, even if that means writing in a very long winded style, of the sort you would use when writing to dyslexic ten year olds. ( There are quite a few dyslexic ten year olds on this site, not just me. ) You will still get misunderstood, but that reduces the numbers.

Do you often find people reading their own assumptions into your posts?

p-nullifidian comments on Jan 6, 2022:

Most of us, maybe all of us, seem hardwired to immediately react to what we read. It is only upon a rereading, and a reflection on the original comment (and more importantly our response), that we can better gauge our emotional—intellectual balance when posting to the site.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

And a lot of people wont bother with all of that.

My gay house guest went back to California Wednesday and today he sent me flowers.

Julie808 comments on Jan 7, 2022:

Those are beautiful! How nice that he felt like showing his gratitude for your hospitality. I suppose many don't. Maybe he felt it is customary to tip housekeepers and staff places, so thought it would be less awkward to leave/send a gift for you as his host. Very sweet indeed!

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

I think that would be it. Its a very silly unspoken rule that you tip people of lower status, but give gifts to your social equals. I would probably do that and respect the rule, but still think to myself, what a really funny world.

How many wpm can you type ?

Spinliesel comments on Jan 6, 2022:

In which language? We did not learn to type in high school. My school was a prep school, and we were told that we would have secretaries for that task. (Crazy giggles and laughs) I taught myself typing with Mavis Beacon but did not get very far. My 12 -year old granddaughter types better and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2022:

My experience was even worse than that, I would have loved to learn typing a school, (Sixties early seventies.) but we were told by our (Christian of course.) headmaster that, typing was for girls only. He also closed down the agriculture and rural studies section of the school, because to his mind there was no use in the modern world for all that, what we would now call "green" or environmental stuff.

New research shows gene exchange between viruses and hosts drives evolution: [phys.org]

racocn8 comments on Jan 5, 2022:

Bacteriophages are totally different from disease viruses.

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2022:

The article is mainly about eukaryotes, and sets out to explain how similar things have been found to take place in eukaryotes as well.

We have had an unusual mild spell this last couple of weeks, and the garden is full of life.

MikeInBatonRouge comments on Jan 4, 2022:

It has also been freakishly mild here in southern Louisiana, south central USA. I have dahlias, scarlet sage, and Stokes Asters blooming, along with my roses, and it is freakin' January! Starting to see a smattering of light freezes, though. Poor confused flowers! ( All sideways pics, no less)

Fernapple replies on Jan 5, 2022:

Our Dalias and roses have certainly gone, since we did have a cold spell earlier. Great photos though, I think that it is the first time that I have seen an overview of your garden.

I am hosting a gay Christian scientist in my b&b.

MyTVC15 comments on Jan 4, 2022:

Anytime a stranger offers you something for free they are going to try to sell you something. It is called marketing.

Fernapple replies on Jan 5, 2022:

Take the freeby and then say no thank you, it always works for me. LOL

The conflict between the huge human population and nature, is bound to affect the larger predators ...

Sticks48 comments on Jan 4, 2022:

Unfounded fears are a driving force behind many of humanities biggest fuck ups.

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2022:

If not most of them.

Hello just joined, mainly to ask if anyone has ever followed this Utube channel.

Diaco comments on Jan 3, 2022:

That poor cat! I don't think a cat can be happy with an unstable situation like this, hopefully she is an exception. seems they have a great bond and Nala accepted this lifestyle, from the kittenhood. Super Interesting though!

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2022:

Yes I thought that. His claim is, that she was a stray saved by him, and they certainly seem to have a bond.

A rabbi has the column featured in this article, but his rhetoric is the same as that of Xtians.

nicestuff comments on Jan 2, 2022:

Another lapse of logic (in the answer A; *nowhere near logic*) from the same column: Q: My take is that God is a man-made invention, and as such everyone is free to create their own personal god and dogma to match. Let me know what you think. I am betting that I am right. – From D A: And I ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Yes but "mainstream" is only another word for "ad populum".