Fernapple's Profile

- How do you drink your whiskey? - I take a sip in my mouth and then swallow.

Fernapple comments on May 8, 2021:

Take a sip, yes, but don't forget to swirl it round and suck in air to get the full flavour.

Fernapple replies on May 8, 2021:

@guntis Best practice certainly.

A question to the senate.

girlwithsmiles comments on May 8, 2021:

No, many a true thing said in jest. In my experience if you’re poking fun and misunderstood others often point it out before you get the chance. But will use 😉 to indicate am being cheeky 🙂

Fernapple replies on May 8, 2021:

Yes but does that not take a lot of the fun out of it, surely half the point of being sarcastic/ironic, is getting a laugh when someone does not get it.

A question to the senate.

ToakReon comments on May 8, 2021:

The problem is that a great deal of 'seriously believed bullshit' is so ridiculous that it is completely impossible to differentiate it from sarcasm. You'll often find a total dickhead using EXACTLY the words that a sarcastic non-dickhead would use. In that case unless you happen to know which ...

Fernapple replies on May 8, 2021:

On a planet where poplutation is measured in billions, there are enough people, that no mater how crazy your dream/nightmare, there is someone out there living it.

So Facebook.

girlwithsmiles comments on May 7, 2021:

Needless to say you responded with a strong, ‘no thank you’ ?!

Fernapple replies on May 8, 2021:

Not on offer. But I was able to cancel the "update" with a little effort.

There is an article in the New Yorker that is about UFO's.

Fernapple comments on May 7, 2021:

I would seek medical help. Since, while it may just be possible that visitors will one day arrive here from another solar system, it is so highly unlikely that we, as the only sample we have, will ever reach other star systems, even imagining impossibly advanced technology, it is very unlikely that ...

Fernapple replies on May 7, 2021:

@David1955 I would never have said that UFOs don't exist, in fact such is the human capacity to see things, which are not there, or mistake things for other things that it would be surprising if there were not any. But we are not talking about UFO sightings, but actual contact on the ground. While in the opposite direction if there really were E.T.s out there close by, then you would expect that the first plausable evidence would come not from earth but from astronomy, radio finger prints and the like yet we see nothing, so the opposite goes that you must explain the Fermi paradox.

Attn: Admin I've posted nicely at least six times before, now I'm making a demand: we want a ...

Fernapple comments on May 7, 2021:

Puke, Thumbs down, Bye Bye and Thank You.

Fernapple replies on May 7, 2021:

@Sgt_Spanky We are supposed to have that, the plain face one, why not swap that for a stronger sad face, and keep a neat four additions, to make a three by four group, neat.

Taxonomy is a very subjective business, perhaps the most subjective in all science.

racocn8 comments on May 6, 2021:

Are lies alive? (They spread by infecting their hosts, living as a parasite until they use the hosts body to reproduce...)

Fernapple replies on May 7, 2021:

Ah, basically the R. Dawkins meme theory. I would hold that, yes they are alive, if not organic, since I would define life as anything which replicates and is subject to natural selection. I would in fact go even further than Dawkins and say that, not merely individual units of culture, memes, are alive, but that human cultures as a whole are living parasites of human minds, which evolve to become ever more infectious and dangerous. So that for example. When you see people going to war because of incompatable cultures. What you should in fact see is, two parasites fighting for territory, and using some of their host humans as amunition.

Nature is the best gardener/landscaper I know!

Mooolah comments on May 6, 2021:

I let nature decide how my garden develops. I try not to resist nature & use natural forces to develop the design. Native plants, pollinators, & points of interest all supplied by ecosystem. & each year it is different as plants come & go & multiply. The most rewarding hobby in the world. Habitat ...

Fernapple replies on May 6, 2021:

Wonderful.

ANOTHER KEYBOARD BITES THE DUST.

Fernapple comments on May 5, 2021:

How big are her paws ?

Fernapple replies on May 6, 2021:

@Spinliesel Oh a lot harder to train then. Best get a room with a lock on the door. LOL

“The Christian religion, not only was at first attended by miracles, but even at this day cannot...

Fernapple comments on May 5, 2021:

If you survive life without a logical sceptical brain, that's a miracle.

Fernapple replies on May 5, 2021:

@altschmerz Ah yes but survival implies continuing to live. Do Christians have a life ? (At least a mental one ? )

Has anyone else considered the possibility that religious festivals in the distant past, only ...

Fernapple comments on May 5, 2021:

Sorry, but not a new idea, people have been aware of the obvious cheat for centuries. The ancient Greeks even had a legend about how the Gods were cheated out of the best share. According to which. When the first burnt offering was made, the gods got to choose which bits were theirs and which ...

Fernapple replies on May 5, 2021:

@Surfpirate Just never drink the Kool-ade. Its psycho active.

Wombat? Close enough.

Fernapple comments on May 3, 2021:

Warthog. Its trying to hide its ugly face.

Fernapple replies on May 4, 2021:

@GeorgeRocheleau Just a wild guess.

A tub of margarine fell on my foot three weeks ago and it still hurts.

Fernapple comments on May 4, 2021:

If your feet are not healing well, it is a good idea to get your sugar levels and blood pressure checked. I don't want to worry you, it may be nothing, but it can be a symptom of serious underlying disease, poor circulation and slow healing in the feet are one of the first signs.

Fernapple replies on May 4, 2021:

@barjoe Ah I see. Should have noticed its under Silly Random Fun.

Someone again asked if agnostics are scared to say they are atheists.

Fernapple comments on May 2, 2021:

If god speaks in the forest where no one hears him, what difference does his mere existence make ?

Fernapple replies on May 4, 2021:

@rainmanjr Or is the exact equivalent of does not exist.

He doesn't even want to hear about that "common ancestor" crap...

Fernapple comments on May 3, 2021:

And some apes are good looking, unlike humans, horrible lanky bald things, with just odd tufts of hair, in exactly the places you would not want tufts of hair. Ugh.

Fernapple replies on May 3, 2021:

@bbyrd009 Hair is fine, its just having funny little tufts of it here and there, and bald everywhere else. Especially when they are in your arm pits, up your nose, down your ears and in your groin, plus round your mouth if you are male, all the places that are sweaty greasy and food stained. You think that is good design ? LOL

Can you spot the Copperhead Snake on the path.

Alienbeing comments on May 2, 2021:

I looked, I enlarged and looked again, I don't see a snake.

Fernapple replies on May 3, 2021:

@JohnOwen1 Thanks, I did get it in the end.

Can you spot the Copperhead Snake on the path.

Alienbeing comments on May 2, 2021:

I looked, I enlarged and looked again, I don't see a snake.

Fernapple replies on May 2, 2021:

It is hard even when I looked at the answer below.

I was brought up in a Christian home and became a Christian at eight years old, as time passed i ...

Fernapple comments on May 2, 2021:

Hello and welcome to the site. I think that your first line says it all. Can you really become a Christian at eight ? ! What does an eight year old understand about theology, history, life, and what knowledge did the eight year old you have of the world or any alternate belief systems, to make a ...

Fernapple replies on May 2, 2021:

@NostraDumbass Then they set up a set of impossible guide lines/rules, which you are forced to break. then they tell you to feel guilty, and then they tell you that they have the magic power to make the guilt go away. For a suitable payment in money, arse kissing or sex, of course. Good scam if you can work it, and they do a lot of the time.

I like to watch evangelist performances, nice manipulative psychology lessons.

Fernapple comments on May 2, 2021:

No thank heavens, it is enough that I waste such a lot of time on this site. OK, joke , but yes you can learn a lot from them, and then you start to be aware of just the same methods being used everywhere. Every animal has a special adaption, the hare runs fast, the falcon flies fast, the lion is...

Fernapple replies on May 2, 2021:

@guntis That is the point.

When we see a beautiful flower, bird or tree, and find wonder, we also of course appreciate, the ...

waitingforgodo comments on May 2, 2021:

An ape agape in awe stands to applaud.

Fernapple replies on May 2, 2021:

Some of us are blessed with DNA so good, we can even appreciate alliteration. ( But don't worry its a secret kept just between those of us with the mutation, so I won't tell. )

Is there truly any difference between a "cult" and a "religion".

ToakReon comments on May 1, 2021:

Not really. Both religion and cult have the same basic characteristics. Both are controlling. Both are based on bullshit. Both claim virtue while wallowing in foulness. Both exploit the gullible. It really is a struggle to find a characteristic that either one has that the other ...

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

Here is mine. "A religion is a cult that has managed to get itself political power." Even if that is only in the default sense that political figures have to show it some slight respect.

"an agnostic is an atheist without balls" agree or disagree?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I am an atheist to all the gods of religion, because I can prove to my own satisfaction, that they do not exist. However there are deist gods, and beliefs in possible super-natures, so vague, that their existence or not can not be proved. So that while I am quite certain they probably don't ...

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

@David1955 Worth remembering though the addage. "Wisdom is the willingness to seek nuance." ( Also leg pulling. Since I know you don't need to know that. )

"an agnostic is an atheist without balls" agree or disagree?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

Oh no , not that boring old thing again !

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

@David1955 Very well put.

I really don't know what this is about but it's been bouncing around in my head a lot lately.

skado comments on Apr 30, 2021:

We are a two year old who is trying to raise itself.

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

But not trying very hard.

"an agnostic is an atheist without balls" agree or disagree?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

Oh no , not that boring old thing again !

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

@David1955 Yes I like a bit of good debate, if you do too try Skado, he is wonderful for a good debate, You can find him in the religious naturalism group. Having said that, I do not really do the atheist agnostic debate, but like to call myself a broard spectrum sceptic, and while we are talking about boring, he is my usual answer why. ABOUT MUFFINS. I see that the issue of Atheist/Agnostic has been rearing its head again, as it does every few days, so since some people find this a bit tiresome, I thought that a post on muffins would be more interesting. 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 pretence of fake knowledge, and of god given authority, which makes the big difference. Compared with that the differences between atheist and agnostic, even deist, are trivial to the point of vanishing.

"an agnostic is an atheist without balls" agree or disagree?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

I am an atheist to all the gods of religion, because I can prove to my own satisfaction, that they do not exist. However there are deist gods, and beliefs in possible super-natures, so vague, that their existence or not can not be proved. So that while I am quite certain they probably don't ...

Fernapple replies on May 1, 2021:

@David1955 That is OK, I wrote in haste and could have been more plain. But I know you well by now, having read many of your comments and posts, I understand your atheisim and respect it greatly.

What is "a night with ebon pinion" anyway?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

It is that which precedes. "Dawn placing her rose tinted fingers in the sky, over a wine dark sea."

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@bbyrd009 Sorry if you don't like it, but I much prefer Homers pagan dawn just before the reasoned day of Greek culture, to some self centred christian brooding.

The number of new cases leveling off, daily deaths falling and remaining low, the estimated number ...

luckytobealive comments on Apr 30, 2021:

and now post the average flu deaths every year.....

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@luckytobealive Got ya. LOL

The number of new cases leveling off, daily deaths falling and remaining low, the estimated number ...

luckytobealive comments on Apr 30, 2021:

and now post the average flu deaths every year.....

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

Eleven thousand aprox, which is about ten percent of the Covid deaths in the last twelve months. But of course the measures taken against Covid have in all probability reduced the Flu deaths as well, since this has been an exceptionally low year for flu deaths. A bonus if you like.

Who is the originator of the theory that the Covid vaccines are being administered to change DNA?

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

May have been more than one person. It is a fairly obvious stupid joke, that it would not be surprising if several different idiots thought of it. And such is the nature of the inter-net that every stupid joke is going to be taken seriously by someone, and then spread as fact to the gullible who ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@Ryo1 Yes that as I say is the trouble with the way the net works, someones stupid joke becomes a truth to the next idiot. Still probably always was the way. I am told that some girl once told everybody that god got her pregnant, she probably thought that was a good laugh. But look at the trouble that caused.

"Sunday School: A prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents.

Fernapple comments on Apr 30, 2021:

And so that the parents can go home after church for sex. The churches wanted more children to fill the pews, so it encouraged its livestock to breed.

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

@HLMenckenFan It is not just a thought. In the old days, when many of the poor and even middle classes, lived in one or two room housing with large families and worked twelve plus hour days. It was an unspoken understanding, that the church would look after the children on the one afternoon per week they got free, for the purpose of, so called, marital duties.

The most dangerous place on Earth | The Economist

Druvius comments on Apr 29, 2021:

Another horrifying fossil from the misbegotten Cold War. Sadly until we live in a world where the great powers recognize self-determination, situations like this will be cause for disagreement and war. I think the parties involved should sit down and negotiate a settlement, that certainly has to be ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 30, 2021:

Unfortunately the idea of self determination in this case is complicated by the fact that, Taiwan claims that it has the legitimate government of China, and that it is mainland China which is the break away state. And should therefore surender itself to Taiwan.

Is there anything worse than religion's impact on humanity ever?

Pedrohbds comments on Apr 29, 2021:

yes, many things. Ultra nationalism, plagues, tyrannical dictatorships with military and intelligence resources, colonialism, industrialization of slave labor and the list go on.

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

@Pedrohbds Yes but I did not say that religion was exclusively evil. Only that it played a part in most of those evils at some time. Though I would add. That religion does tend to evil, (I don't truly believe in absolutes like good and evil anyway.) and is often the choice of evil doers when looking for support, because it is fairly easy to justify good ideas, using reason, appeals to instictive morallity and history, but it is much harder to support evil that way. So that for those wanting to promote evil ideas, religion which does not have any safe guards, such as the appeal to reason found in philosophy, and /or the appeal to evidence, found in real history and science, is the natural tool to use for those with difficult ideas to promote. Especially as it claims absolute authority, (Every criminals greatest wish.) yet its tool for enforcing its authority is an entirely imaginary one, god, which being imaginary can be reimagined to say anything those who control it wish, yet wonderfully from their point of view, without any loss of authority or prestiege. And that is to some degre supported by the fact that most of the really powerful religious movements, base their god on old texts, Bible Koran, etc. which are often highly complex, muddled and capable of almost total reinterpretation, to say anything you wish, however immoral and unsupported. Which no doubt accounts for their popularity and growth, being such useful tools to anyone regardless of their views, is a great selling point. And sadly if the world progresses, as it certainly seems to with better education etc. So that secular morality moves forward and becomes more advanced, while goverments and politics become increasingly the tools with which human use to express compassion for the rest of the human race. Then the trend will surely be for religion to become increasingly the default tool of the evil alone, because that is the only share of the market left to it, its future looks very bleak.

Unearthing the True Origins of the Bible - YouTube

rainmanjr comments on Apr 28, 2021:

So it looks, to me, like Canaanites (and, therefore, IsraELites) broke from Philistine culture both in the practices of circumcision and eating meat (particularly pork). I would wonder if the environmental iron age break came from disease/illness from pork, and other unclean (or thought to be ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

Perhaps. But it actually says that they did not "adopt" the "new" practice of eating pigs which the Philistines brought with them. So it may not include any truly rational reasons, such as health and hygiene, as the appologists would perhaps like to argue. It could just have been zenophobic. "We are not going to adopt the new fangled ideas of these new people who are invading our land."

Is there anything worse than religion's impact on humanity ever?

Pedrohbds comments on Apr 29, 2021:

yes, many things. Ultra nationalism, plagues, tyrannical dictatorships with military and intelligence resources, colonialism, industrialization of slave labor and the list go on.

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

Yes, but is there any one of those things that religion does not have a hand in, or contribute to ?

Logic puzzle

Fernapple comments on Apr 29, 2021:

Yes, because Mary is either married or unmarried. If Mary is married, the married Mary is looking at unmarried Peter. And if Mary is unmarried, then married Paul is looking at unmarried Mary.

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

@Julie808 " If I can help someone. "

Logic puzzle

girlwithsmiles comments on Apr 29, 2021:

If it’s THE Peter Paul and Mary I can find evidence that Peter was married, but Mary wasn’t. But there is also no evidence that scenario is specifically them. So in conclusion, not enough information for a firm decision 😊

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

Yes, because Mary is either married or unmarried. If Mary is married, the married Mary is looking at unmarried Peter. And if Mary is unmarried, then married Paul is looking at unmarried Mary.

Logic puzzle

Tejas comments on Apr 28, 2021:

Yes

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

@bbyrd009 Yes, because Mary is either married or unmarried. If Mary is married, the married Mary is looking at unmarried Peter. And if Mary is unmarried, then married Paul is looking at unmarried Mary.

[jpost.] Egyptian tombs before pharoahs

barjoe comments on Apr 29, 2021:

So age of the pharaohs was after 1500 BC? That means the alleged Exodus in the Buybull took place only 3500 years ago?

Fernapple replies on Apr 29, 2021:

No, you miss read it I think. It say the Hyskos period ended 1500, that was an interuption in the middle of the pharoahonic era.

First flush of green just coming on the trees, and a bright spring sky.

Surfpirate comments on Apr 28, 2021:

We have had a very early spring here in southern Ontari, Canada - the view out my window looks much the same as yours and we are usually 6 weeks behind the UK.

Fernapple replies on Apr 28, 2021:

Has been a very cold spring here. In fact the last month has been colder than most of the winter.

Israel Is the World’s Most Vaccinated Country. Why Are Cases Rising?

Petter comments on Apr 26, 2021:

Vaccines are only part of the solution. Social behaviour is also important, such as stopping large gatherings and ensuring that it is not only Israeli Jews, but also the Palestinians and ultra orthodox Jews in Israel who are vaccinated.

Fernapple replies on Apr 26, 2021:

Plus Israel has about ten times the population density of the USA, in short it is, literally, very crowded. You can hardly realistically compare the two. And also 79 per hundred thousand, while a little higher than the USA is still very low, the sort of low level that most countries would regard as a great success, and clear proof that their methods were working. While only five thousand deaths would be a dream for most countries. And Israel does also have a large uncounted population, which means that their figures are often skewed. If you believe in vaccine or not, these are pointless stats., just given the sort of interpretation usually used to fool the unwary. Not really any better than the old, "more than the usual number of legs" proof.

If god were real, the god of the bible's death toll would be 3 to 20 million people and quite a few ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 21, 2021:

Small qualification. The plagues of Egypt, god sent a satan, (there may be more than one ) to do the job for him. So they both did it.

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@Triphid I think that the Maat rules were more ethical guidelines for intellectuals, than actual laws that would have impacted much on a peasant tradition, maybe the hypothesis is still good. I will try to find my source again, you have to be very careful when dealing with biblical related history, you can easily get apologists posing as real historians, even when dealing with generally good sources like the BBC.

Am I the only one who has adverse reactions to some posters but instead of blocking them, I continue...

Fernapple comments on Apr 24, 2021:

Never blocked anybody, I came to learn and the weirder they are the more I learn, and the more I think they need help sometimes.

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@Gwendolyn2018 Oh I love the ones who wont give up especially, nice long debates.

Coat them with chocolate and give them out for Halloween?

Fernapple comments on Apr 24, 2021:

Its very true. The secret is, that you can not buy a Brussels Sprout. You have to grow your own, by the time they reach the shops, all that was once good about them is long gone, they keep good for a couple of hours at most after picking.

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@AnneWimsey No a fresh sprout is a completely different thing to a shop bought one.

A man I deliver parts to still thinks that Trump is really president and going to reappear at any ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 23, 2021:

The one question that conspiracy theorists alway never seem to think about is. Yes, but why would anyone do that anyway?

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@Sticks48 Yes I especially like it when they say that 'science' and 'Darwinism' are conspiracies, and then have to come up with an explanation for why, which are often truly comical, and usually dissolve into. "Its all the devils work." In the end. Which then I supposse leads to the old question of, what motivated the devil in the first place anyway, given that he knew god personally, must have understood the master plan, etc. But that is just too crazy I just don't want to go there.

This is an old film of K.

JackPedigo comments on Apr 23, 2021:

Verrry interesting and brings back a memory of a long ago trip to an avian sanctuary. The man who ran it had lots of interesting stories. He would make an annual trip to Alaska armed with a portable, battery run incubator and some clear nail polish. The natives had hunting Geese as a part of their ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

Great story, thank you. I used to know a farmer near here who had an imprinted swan which followed him around its whole life, I don't think that he ever found a way to break the bond.

A man I deliver parts to still thinks that Trump is really president and going to reappear at any ...

Beowulfsfriend comments on Apr 23, 2021:

There was a time when people like that were taken to the hospital.

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

But then the right wing families decided that , keeping mad children in hospital, or making the state build hospitals, was just too expensive, (for them anyway). So the they hit on the idea off. We will just turn our mad, uncontrolable and unwanted children out on the streets, tell them they are free, and let the liberal left pick up the pieces if they want to.

If god were real, the god of the bible's death toll would be 3 to 20 million people and quite a few ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 21, 2021:

Small qualification. The plagues of Egypt, god sent a satan, (there may be more than one ) to do the job for him. So they both did it.

Fernapple replies on Apr 24, 2021:

@Triphid Perhaps not, that is actually, in part, the point, because the Jews did not have the same cultural tradition of only feeding the eldest that the native Egyptians did. It may even have been that tradition, and event, that more than anything started them off seeing themselves as a distinct people. It is only a theory I relate second hand, but it does work rather neatly.

This is an old film of K.

GeorgeRocheleau comments on Apr 23, 2021:

I loved his book, King Solomon’s Ring. He had some great stories in it about his studying rooks, very intelligent birds, related to crows. Since rooks are black, they would respond to anything else that was also black. He resorted to wearing a red devil suit to study the birds.What his neighbors ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 23, 2021:

Yes it was one of the first 'proper adult' books I read. The stories in it are the stories of my childhood. I was no doubt given fairy stories and other childrens lit. as a child like all others, but it is the stories of the naturalists, Lorenz, Fabre, and a very British one 'Romany' which stood out, somehow they were just so much better than the banal fictional lit we were fed by the schools especially. They helped you to understand the romance of reality, and when once you had fallen under the spell of that as a child, you would never be seduced by the banal fantasy of things like the buy-babble.

If god were real, the god of the bible's death toll would be 3 to 20 million people and quite a few ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 21, 2021:

Small qualification. The plagues of Egypt, god sent a satan, (there may be more than one ) to do the job for him. So they both did it.

Fernapple replies on Apr 23, 2021:

@Triphid I have heard a theory that the last plague, the killing of the first born, could have been Ergotism. Since the Egyptians of the time had a tradition that in times of famine, only the eldest child was fed with grain or bread. The others had to scavenge. And therefore if the grain was infected with the Ergot fungal poison, the eldest children would be the ones who died.

If god were real, the god of the bible's death toll would be 3 to 20 million people and quite a few ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 21, 2021:

Small qualification. The plagues of Egypt, god sent a satan, (there may be more than one ) to do the job for him. So they both did it.

Fernapple replies on Apr 22, 2021:

@Triphid Yes of course. I am mixing up the plagues of Egypt, with that of David. But it is still given as seventy thousand.

Saving the world one corndog at a time.

Fernapple comments on Apr 21, 2021:

World wide the commonest street/house number to include a letter is 12a. Wonder why?

Fernapple replies on Apr 21, 2021:

@Gwendolyn2018 To quote a lot of your former presidents. "I know nothing. I never met the owner of 12a. I do not recall any such conversation. You can have full access to my telephone records, as soon as you obtain the correct documents. I have no memory of this. There are no such tapes. Nothing like that ever crossed my desk. I am was kept in the dark as much as everyone else."

(Forewarning: This idea would only be good IF no one cared about the patterns of darkness and light.

Fernapple comments on Apr 20, 2021:

Yes but the problem is more basic than that. The real problem is that there are not an exact number of days, the time it takes the earth to rotate, in a year. So that if you make the seconds line up with the days, they will not line up with the year, and if you do make the seconds line up with the ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 21, 2021:

@EarnestEccentric Have you looked up the difference between a sidereal day and a solar day ? I think that would interest you.

Ockham’s razor, Russell’s teapot, and the lottery paradox.

p-nullifidian comments on Apr 20, 2021:

And as a nullifidian (one who is without faith or religious belief), I am amazed at how some find it important to make a strident distinction between the 'agnostic' and 'atheist' labels. If our beliefs are informed by our understanding of the facts (i.e., knowledge), then I see no reason why one ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 21, 2021:

That always make sense to me, and I have heard it said many times. Unfortunately of course careful thoughtful nuanced ideas do not make headlines, because of course there are a lot of people who have an interest in promoting misunderstanding.

Its an ill wind they say, and some even gain from Covid. [youtube.com]

Marionville comments on Apr 18, 2021:

Interesting....I live in Northern Ireland and only yesterday saw a fox run down my lane. I know there are foxes around because when we kept hens we’d regularly lose one or two to a raid. but I rarely see them in out in broad daylight. They’re beautiful creatures, especially the cubs and I ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 18, 2021:

We had a young one in our garden that would take food from you.

Scientists paint best portrait yet of closest known fast radio burst Two new studies paint a ...

Cast1es comments on Apr 18, 2021:

How can scientists come up with so much information , based so so little actual data ? They look at stars , billions of light years away and , because the color appears to be reddish instead of bluish they can say whether it's approaching or leaving us behind and at what speed , and what the basic ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 18, 2021:

@Robecology There is no proof that FRBs are not natural, in fact there are a couple of good hypothesis that would make them completely natural. While if you enter good conservative figures into the drake equation, you will find that it says we are almost certainly nearly alone, in the galaxy at least.

Only a 10-min.

Fernapple comments on Apr 18, 2021:

I know what you mean. Though I am more of a woodland than coastal person, for my green fix..

Fernapple replies on Apr 18, 2021:

@Ryo1 I am in Lincolnshire, the wolds are lovely, the blackthorn is in flower and the hedges are greening, but I am just waiting for the cold north east wind to stop.

I got my second covid shot today.

Ryo1 comments on Apr 18, 2021:

Hi there. If your body is reacting to the vaccine as you describe, doesn't that mean that your body is working hard to build resistance, which is a good thing, no?

Fernapple replies on Apr 18, 2021:

Yep, I think that is true.

'Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right' - Ricky Gervois

altschmerz comments on Apr 17, 2021:

That quote offends me.

Fernapple replies on Apr 18, 2021:

Just because you make jokes, it does not mean you are funny. LOL

The wild Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa, is in flower in all our hedgerows at this time.

tinkercreek comments on Apr 17, 2021:

Sorry about that beautiful Arum - has there been any recovery?

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

Not yet but I think it will, all summer is ahead.

The Epicurus Dilemma.

Fernapple comments on Apr 16, 2021:

I think that the last one is the weak one, since we do not know what the qualifications for godhood are, who is to say that willingness and ability are needed. But it works fairly well.

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

@Basem Quite.

For all the theists out there posing as agnostics and calling me a Gnostic Atheist.

David1955 comments on Apr 16, 2021:

Oh I thought we got rid of DangerDave the primary theist here in agnostic sheep clothing crying out gnostic atheist all the time. Don't tell me he's back. Or are there more like him? Is it any wonder these days that when someone tells me they are an agnostic I am immediately wary until I feel ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

@David1955 Sad to say, some people have a need to feel that they are somehow special. And if they lack social skills, have failed in relationships, can not make a worthwhile social contribution and are alone. (And needing to be someone special, will help you become all of those things.) Then one of the few things that will help you keep the delusion of being special, is thinking that you have some great knowledge and wisdom, not given to others. While to make you special it has to be, way out and extreme, and to keep your, way out, views safe, you have to shut yourself off completely from any form of critical thinking. So that, they will wriggle, squirm, shout, and offer any insult to others or the world at large rather than face admitting even the least vestage of critical thought, or the benefits of doubt into their world. I have just wasted a lot of time on one such, who I though could be redeemable to some degree, but, no chance.

The Epicurus Dilemma.

Fernapple comments on Apr 16, 2021:

I think that the last one is the weak one, since we do not know what the qualifications for godhood are, who is to say that willingness and ability are needed. But it works fairly well.

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

@Basem Interesting, it was this argument that really got to the Christians as well. Since Epicurus then continued to conclude that, if God is good then, you have nothing to fear from god, since a good god will always respect any attempt to do good, and forgive human weakness if you fail to do good. How could he not, and still be good ? This made the Christians invent the doctrine of. "God fearing Christian." In which an irrational fear of god, was a needed qualification to be Christian. Rejecting rational thought in favour of irrational fear, was the best they could do.

For all the theists out there posing as agnostics and calling me a Gnostic Atheist.

David1955 comments on Apr 16, 2021:

Oh I thought we got rid of DangerDave the primary theist here in agnostic sheep clothing crying out gnostic atheist all the time. Don't tell me he's back. Or are there more like him? Is it any wonder these days that when someone tells me they are an agnostic I am immediately wary until I feel ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

I always found the irony, that he managed to make a gnostic belief system out of agnostsism quite wild, and that he then went around accusing everyone else of being gnostic, despite pedaling the most extreme certainties of his own. Well wild aright , but he got boring in the end. He said when he left, that he was going, because he had gathered enough data on atheists from this site, for the book he was going to write. Wonder if anyone will ever read it ?

The Epicurus Dilemma.

Fernapple comments on Apr 16, 2021:

I think that the last one is the weak one, since we do not know what the qualifications for godhood are, who is to say that willingness and ability are needed. But it works fairly well.

Fernapple replies on Apr 17, 2021:

@LenHazell53 Well yes but only if you allow religions to define god. While not a deist, I would still respect that view, at least as much as religion.

If you go far enough into religion, you will find science.

Fernapple comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Relativist bullshit. If that was true, then why was science ever invented in the first place ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 16, 2021:

@skado Sadly I think that I am your only taker, at least here. But anyway had enough for now, bye.

If you go far enough into religion, you will find science.

Fernapple comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Relativist bullshit. If that was true, then why was science ever invented in the first place ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 16, 2021:

@skado So why bother to mention it at all ?

Someone mentioned how beautiful this garden was and I looked it up.

AnneWimsey comments on Apr 15, 2021:

I browsed Everything! So Amazing! & they did it all themselves while fully employed at first! Thank you for posting this, i just enjoyed the heck out of myself!

Fernapple replies on Apr 16, 2021:

@AnneWimsey I don't think so, it is a very common name in the UK.

Can evil be good, or good be evil?

Fernapple comments on Apr 15, 2021:

Good and evil are absolutes. And like the vast majority of absolutes, they do not exist, ( Or at least not absolutely. This being a nuance.) when people talk about an absolute, they are saying. "I do not accept nuance or qualification in this mater." But accepting nuance and qualification are ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 16, 2021:

@Word Then that is a nuanced use of evil, which is fine.

Someone mentioned how beautiful this garden was and I looked it up.

AnneWimsey comments on Apr 15, 2021:

I browsed Everything! So Amazing! & they did it all themselves while fully employed at first! Thank you for posting this, i just enjoyed the heck out of myself!

Fernapple replies on Apr 15, 2021:

Try this as well. https://perennial.org.uk/garden/york-gate-garden/

If you go far enough into religion, you will find science.

Fernapple comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Relativist bullshit. If that was true, then why was science ever invented in the first place ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 15, 2021:

@skado Oh, that again. LOL

When is it a plant, when a wildflower and when a weed ?

Heidi68 comments on Apr 13, 2021:

I guess most would call my front yard a giant weed bed but I love it. Clover, tiny little white flowers, adorable tiny purple flowers, dandelion and a tiny bit of grass.

Fernapple replies on Apr 14, 2021:

That's my sort of garden.

When is it a plant, when a wildflower and when a weed ?

tinkercreek comments on Apr 14, 2021:

They look like beautiful and happy companions!

Fernapple replies on Apr 14, 2021:

That was my thought exactly.

If you go far enough into religion, you will find science.

Fernapple comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Relativist bullshit. If that was true, then why was science ever invented in the first place ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 14, 2021:

@skado Very good. Bring forth your science then.

When is it a plant, when a wildflower and when a weed ?

Robecology comments on Apr 13, 2021:

The definition of weed is any flowering plant (dicot or monocot) that reproduces by itself and appears to grow in exces". How womeone please explain to me how Cannabis aka Marijuana aka "weed" got the name "weed"?

Fernapple replies on Apr 13, 2021:

@Robecology Thank you. That was interesting, metaphorical for the way the culture associated with it spread.

Something to keep cosmology fans out of mischief for a while.

Fernapple comments on Apr 13, 2021:

No, not quite. I think that most of what the author says about the failings of modern culture, the arts and the rise of relativism is very true, and the article is well worth reading for that alone. But I think that it is a little narrow and limited a view, to pin it all on Albert and ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 13, 2021:

@yvilletom Yes that is true. It also occured to me, that one reason why the writer does not mention Freud is probably just a mater of age. She is very young, (relative to me,) and perhaps does not remember Freud's huge direct effect on Western culture quite so well. Since while Einstein is still very current in cosmology, so that his name is up there to be attached to his legacy. Freud seems now like a distant memory, perhaps because his work was even more fake, and is therefore no longer at the heart of any science even medicine, to keep it current. Yet of course his indirect legacy is still strong even though it is nameless. Only an old man like me perhaps, remembers when Freudian was used as an actually byword for phoney intellectualism and pseudo-science.

When is it a plant, when a wildflower and when a weed ?

Robecology comments on Apr 13, 2021:

The definition of weed is any flowering plant (dicot or monocot) that reproduces by itself and appears to grow in exces". How womeone please explain to me how Cannabis aka Marijuana aka "weed" got the name "weed"?

Fernapple replies on Apr 13, 2021:

The popular definition used over here in the UK is. "A weed is any plant in the wrong place." But we do use the term, common weed, by which we mean any plant which is often found in the wrong place. It is very judgemental, and the plants don't get a fair hearing by any means. LOL I do not know how Cannabis got the name, "weed" I would love to know.

When is it a plant, when a wildflower and when a weed ?

Buttercup comments on Apr 13, 2021:

It's all in your mind, I keep a bee friendly yard so dandelions have moved from weed to desirable volunteers. Like my cilantro, arugula, mint, oregano, daffodils, and potatoes which come back on their own every year. I once had some very persistent kale which I suppose was a weed because I only ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 13, 2021:

Sounds lovely, Do share photos if you can.

I posted this in the gardens group but think it has a conservation value too.

AmyTheBruce comments on Apr 13, 2021:

This strikes me as more a question of philosophy than of gardening or conservation. But do you really want to wax philosophical about this, or would you rather hear stories of rogue gardeners, embracing a wild aesthetic? We have tired of our front lawn. Perfect green, mowed grass is ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 13, 2021:

I love it, that sort of waxing lyrical is exacty what I like. I hope it all goes well for you and the wildlife. Do share photos if you can.

If you go far enough into religion, you will find science.

Fernapple comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Relativist bullshit. If that was true, then why was science ever invented in the first place ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 12, 2021:

@skado I regret to say that Western civilization seems to be the place where we live, unless you have a bunker on an offshore island somewhere ?

I'm certain this is not the first time a human has noticed this, especially during the era before TV...

Fernapple comments on Apr 12, 2021:

Would not work in the U K since we write the dates differently, day, month, year, from the small unit to the largest. It always seemed strange that America jumps around.

Fernapple replies on Apr 12, 2021:

@EarnestEccentric Yes I usually use US, but I put America this time, because I did not know if the habit of printing dates like that was continent wide or not. But of course Canada probably follows Europe at least.

Have you ever noticed how Spring even makes a rainy day look good?

Fernapple comments on Apr 12, 2021:

I envy you. Here in the UK we are starting to suffer a drought, and yet have had more frosts this last week than all winter, a truly horrible spring, bring on summer.

Fernapple replies on Apr 12, 2021:

@EarnestEccentric Thanks.

Oh for when we can travel again, you don't have to go far, other peoples gardens are good enough, ...

Robecology comments on Apr 11, 2021:

Sorry; I get this; Video unavailable This video contains content from LDS, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.