Are you a humanist?

Word comments on Sep 7, 2020:

I don't like the word "human".

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2020:

Well you don't have to be one if you don't want. PS how is the search for accomodation going ?

Are you a humanist?

Matias comments on Sep 7, 2020:

I did not finish because the quiz is not serious. it is sooo obvious which answer you have to chose in order to be on the good side. (I do not have to do quizzes in order to find out that I am not a humanist - unless you define *humanist* as *trying to be a nice person*)

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2020:

Yes but the point is not to choose the right answer, but the honest one. Very often with these things you will find that they give you a 'correct' or 'good' score, no mater what answers you give, since they are just click bait to draw you in. So I ran it twice, the first time giving honest answers, and the second time making half my answers random. The first time it said, yes you are a Humanist and the second tiime, "Its not for you." So it would seem to be for once and rarely an honest quiz.

Jebus H.

Fernapple comments on Sep 7, 2020:

I think that it is very unlikely that Zuckbook has trained his bots. to understand quotation mark, or that he even cares. Pity you did not quote Goebbels, I think that Zuckbook is using him as a model.

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2020:

@WilliamCharles Thats because he has not put much thought into how the net works, and the reason for that is because he only cares about appearances, the net is a sham.

During the geography class on the Eastern Mediterranean, the teacher asked Little Johnny, "What are ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Venetian. The Phoenicians were noted for inventing phones.

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2020:

@Triphid Forgot that one, though some people do say they were a bunch of phonies. LOL

“If you pluck the chicken one feather at a time, no one will notice, including the chicken” ...

bobwjr comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Yeah the fascist philosophy , and Trump's agenda

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

I don't know Mussolini may have been that smart, but I am not sure Trump is.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

girlwithsmiles comments on Sep 6, 2020:

They probably just realised that you weren’t one of the sheeple :(

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Yep certainly, if you are not going to put anything in the plate.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

SKH78 comments on Sep 6, 2020:

I have gotten lots of contempt from church people because I don't earn enough money, I don't look pretty and I don't wear expensive clothes. I was dragged to snobby churches as a kid and listened to many sermons telling me that poor people are lazy. The well to do have found god's favor. If you ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Yep, even worse, if you pray hard enough and donate enough, god will make you rich, so if you are poor you must be a sinner.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

Willow_Wisp comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Let it go. Japanese bouncers didn't let me in Japanese club's in Japan because I wasn't Japanese. I don't think about it except when reminded of the problem category I call "trivial."

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Oh I did not care, it was just an amusing example of something I have seen so many times before, and it was the complete contrast with the smiling congregation that made it so striking.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

Spinliesel comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Or maybe they were just exhausted from an hour's with of work, singing, and dancing and holding the congregation's attention. That can wear you out. You probably looked content and well-fed and not in need of anything.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Very Christian of them. No this was certainly a sneer, I have seen it so many times before from christians.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

Petter comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Were the priest and warden perhaps in an illicit liaison?

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

I wondered about that, male concubine. Perhaps, chior boys do grow up, and some may be sucked in, (sic LOL) for life.

Is religious belief fueled in part by class prejudice and snobbery ?

anglophone comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Translation: "Why the fuck weren't you in the congregation?"

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

In most cases that would be true, but I was clearly foreign, having said that the churches empire has no boundaries its true.

“Evil isn’t the real threat to the world.

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Stupid, and sometimes just the effect of unforeseen consequences, when even the most intelligent could not be expected to understand what they truly did.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@Marionville And the ones who promote stupid in others, in order to use them more easily.

Are you conditioned? If so in what ways? Please share. [quotes.justdharma.]

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

Why would I not wish to be controlled by circumstances ? I am here to live, and to interact with the world in which I live.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@FrayedBear Yes I think it was R. Dawkins who said that. When the Soviet Union caved in, one of the main reasons people gave for not abandoning the idea of global communism, promoted by the Russian empire, was the whine. "But that would mean we have wasted our whole lives." To which the only answer is. You are not the first or the last, it happens, get over it.

So, if we placed a satellite six hundred billion miles out in space (tenth of a light year)focused ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

If It focused its camera on the microwave background radiation, nearly to the big bang. If it focused it on earth, one tenth of a year for light to reach it, and one tenth of a year for the message to come back to us therefore about seventy days. But since it would have to journey to its position at...

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@PondartIncbendog I am assuming an unmanned satelite, since it says 'we' as in collective us. Still if there was a job on offer, and it gives you a chance to get a tenth of a light year from here. Hm, think about it.

I constantly watch/listen to this at least once a week.

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

She needs the sceptic community badly. Its a pity we can't send her a message about sites like this.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@prometheus Guess what. I went, and all credit to the atheist/agnostic community, she already has over two hundred and eighty comments, nearly all offering good advice and support. Did not really doubt she would. Give ourselves a pat on the back ?

I constantly watch/listen to this at least once a week.

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2020:

She needs the sceptic community badly. Its a pity we can't send her a message about sites like this.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@prometheus Thought of that and may do so.

Even as an atheist, I believe that evil exists.

UpsideDownAgain comments on Sep 6, 2020:

All living organisms have an instinctive sense of self preservation and reproduction that supersedes most other concerns. Humans are no different. We have the capacity to realize that we are shooting ourselves in the foot, but the problem is that capacity doesn't always result in actuality. ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

The truly terrible thing, at least from a human poit of view is, that the two main requirements of successful reproduction seem to be, low intelligence and a high level of selfishness. This means that we will probably evolve to be far less social, and far less inteligent, and It may happen quite quickly in just a few centuries. Eventually a point will be reached wjhere we no longer have the intelligence or social unity to overcome even a small problem, then we go extinct, we we have not already. THe sad thing is that by then we may have all but destroyed everything else on the planet. Of course it maybe that we will find a place for gene editing and eugenics, and use those to prevent that. But it is also possible that those things will only ever be available to a rich, technically advanced minority, which means that we will effectively split into two species. We may then survive, but at what cost to the planet.

Coining of the word “agnosticism”: [science.jrank.org]

Willow_Wisp comments on Sep 5, 2020:

The reason agnostics are so rare is because humans are only just now learning to embrace the concept of "I don't know." Look Egyptian and Babylonian math would have been a lot easier if they had a "0" place holder but they weren't that intellectually developed. "I don't know" is a life place ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Good metaphore, a little more work on the text and it would make a good post.

I have access to 4 or more browsers on my computers.

Fernapple comments on Sep 4, 2020:

Try updating Firefox, the latest one shows your most visited sites on the home page with icons, by default.

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

@DenoPenno Could be an issue with your device.

Pedantry

FearlessFly comments on Sep 5, 2020:

I care little for 'cultural norms', but would you say that pedantry is a benefit to Critical Thinking (i.e words matter) ?

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2020:

Yes they do mater and as a means of communication they have to be as exact as possible. To quote myself in the article. "if you wish to set high standards for yourself, at least if makes you happy to do so, then I will praise your precision and your dedication more than anyone." My post is really about not making pseudo gods out of them, which means thinking that they are sources of truth on their own.

I know winter is coming on for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and it been a poor summer, ...

Boomtarat03 comments on Sep 5, 2020:

Hokkaido is a really nice and extremely wonderful place, I've been there several times but never had the chance to see this kind of birds ☺

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

You are so lucky, I would just love to visit Japan, I am so bowled over by its beauty and stories of its wildlife.

So you can save carbon and oil, the cost of a lawn mower, get great exercise, and impress your ...

HippieChick58 comments on Sep 5, 2020:

It looks like an incredible workout. The barefoot look makes me cringe.

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

I was going to comment on the wonderful things it could perhaps do for the figure. But then I though better of it, because the feminists on here might misunderstand. LOL

Having moved away from the Co-operative bank as i lived too far away, I’m thinking about moving ...

AnneWimsey comments on Sep 5, 2020:

Credit Unions!

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

A UK thing, they are like clubs, they give loans to and only take investment from their members, they are none profit making, charge low interest and belong to the members. They are regarded as part of the charitable sector, speciallize in lending to vunerable people, and exist to make exploitive money lending by, what I think you call loan sharks, unviable.

So you can save carbon and oil, the cost of a lawn mower, get great exercise, and impress your ...

Spinliesel comments on Sep 5, 2020:

This is how we harvested hay. We kids walked behind the man with the scythe and gathered it up and tied it together with bunches of green grass and set it up in teepees to dry. The scythe is the most frightening tool on the farm, right behind the bull castrator. Sheep and goats make much more ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

@Spinliesel And this young lady is doing it in bare feet !

So you can save carbon and oil, the cost of a lawn mower, get great exercise, and impress your ...

Spinliesel comments on Sep 5, 2020:

This is how we harvested hay. We kids walked behind the man with the scythe and gathered it up and tied it together with bunches of green grass and set it up in teepees to dry. The scythe is the most frightening tool on the farm, right behind the bull castrator. Sheep and goats make much more ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

Having said that, which is certainly true. I used to love using one, there is and almost sensual pleasure in sweeping through the grass.

Could the Big Bang be wrong?

nicestuff comments on Sep 5, 2020:

What intrigues me is the future of the universe. If the universe is sufficiently massive, then the expansion will eventually halt and the universe will shift into reverse gear and begin contracting, leading ultimately to a Big Crunch. The universe at the end of the Big Crunch may presumably be in ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

The big crunch or the big freeze are I believe the two main possible outcomes. But I am also told that even if they do eventually take place, then it will only be in the very far distant future, and that there will be billion upon billions of years in which the universe will be the cold universe inhabited only by black holes before then.

So you can save carbon and oil, the cost of a lawn mower, get great exercise, and impress your ...

FrayedBear comments on Sep 5, 2020:

My first job for the borough parks department when 14 or 15 included learning how to use & sharpen the English scythe which is held into the shoulder & pivoted around the front of the legs by moving with the lower arm only. Here in Australia I eventually acquired a European style similar to that ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

Yes I have done some sything myself but nothing like that in the videos. That young man is Olympic Gold medal standard. I guess unless you have done some you can not really understand how good it is. While the quality of the young womans work is just outstanding, truly beautiful, (The work and the young lady both. )

At least 42 cases pertaining to blasphemy were registered across Pakistan in a single month, ...

yamaha45701 comments on Sep 5, 2020:

Back in the late 70s, a friend was there on business for 6 months with his wife. He traveled through a number of other countries. He remarked that Pakistan was, by far, the most sour, no one smiling on the streets country he had ever seen. He told me people just did not seem happy, unlike other ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2020:

In a theocracy, which it virtually is, religion has to generate misery, otherwise it can not pose as the power which will rescue you from misery.

Why do we like distant train whistles?

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2020:

Good question. Right now anything that reminds me of travel makes me sad.

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@dannydreamer Quite, which is exactly what I am missing now, the lockdown in the UK is much more restrictive.

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ - The Atlantic

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2020:

The question for me is not why he says these things, because it is plain to see that he is a worthless individual, but why do millions of Americans continue to support him, no matter what?

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@David1955 You also perhaps have to take into account the effects of, capitalist consumer culture. In order to make the greatest possible profits, many Americans it seems, have been conditioned to see their happiness and own personal worth as entirely dependent on what they buy. That certainly promotes a toxic individualism in those who fall into the trap.

Can an atheist be a proud Secular Christian?

creative51 comments on Sep 3, 2020:

Secular Christian is an oxymoron. Sort like being a sensitive murderer.

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Yes thats alright, I understood, the last comment was just for fun. Good answer.

Can an atheist be a proud Secular Christian?

creative51 comments on Sep 3, 2020:

Secular Christian is an oxymoron. Sort like being a sensitive murderer.

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Good answer. But would the Pope agree with that, is it not a prime tenet of Christian theology, that every thing a Christian does is a Christian act.

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ - The Atlantic

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2020:

The question for me is not why he says these things, because it is plain to see that he is a worthless individual, but why do millions of Americans continue to support him, no matter what?

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@David1955 That may be very true.

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ - The Atlantic

David1955 comments on Sep 4, 2020:

The question for me is not why he says these things, because it is plain to see that he is a worthless individual, but why do millions of Americans continue to support him, no matter what?

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

Someone already answered that on this site today. https://agnostic.com/post/530810/lbj-had-it-right-explains-trump Though I would add. That to a degree the problem is also with the metropolitan political establishment, who stopped even giving the impression that they were listening to the white working class, perhaps because they were affraid of appearing to play that very game. But of course not listening, or even apprearing not to listen, soon gives the impression of contempt, and nothing makes people want to look down on others quite as much, as feeling they are looked down on themselves. It is a self reinforcing cycle.

Can an atheist be a proud Secular Christian?

creative51 comments on Sep 3, 2020:

Secular Christian is an oxymoron. Sort like being a sensitive murderer.

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Does that mean then that the Pope believes that, if he dies while taking a shit, he won't go to heaven.

Pedantry

TheMiddleWay comments on Sep 3, 2020:

I've been called a pedant innumerable times in my life because, as a teacher, I like being through in my explanations. I also often excuse myself for being pedantic when I know my explanation will be too long but, in my opinion, necessary. In your opinion, how can one give a through explanation ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 4, 2020:

As stated. "if you wish to set high standards for yourself, at least if makes you happy to do so, then I will praise your precision and your dedication more than anyone." Indeed if the person used as an example in the first paragraph had, as I say, used more pedantry at the begining the problem would not have occurred Precision is not pedantry or not as I am using the word in this article, which is not being exact, but rather failing to be aware of what is relevant and what is not, and therefore confusing cultural norms with truth. It is perhaps very much the same thing as, believing that words have meanings not usuages. (Though there is more to it than that.)

Trumpers vs isis

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2020:

One lot are going left to right, and the other lot are going right to left ?

Fernapple replies on Sep 3, 2020:

@FrayedBear Yes but I look up to the pole star, you look up to the southern cross. And if you look down a well in Aswan on mid summers day, you don't see any shaddows, which means that Cliffe Richards backing group never played Africa.

Trumpers vs isis

Fernapple comments on Sep 3, 2020:

One lot are going left to right, and the other lot are going right to left ?

Fernapple replies on Sep 3, 2020:

@FrayedBear Thank you. Though I should perhaps add that, at least one of them is going the wrong way. Since surely they are both headed to the far right.

An old story.

MissKathleen comments on Sep 1, 2020:

Wonderful story. I have never encountered ANY drunkards who “made their way forward very carefully” anywhere, and I question the ability of an elephant to “wander silently...into the trees softly and quietly”. But I do think you ARE “a good judge of wisdom”.

Fernapple replies on Sep 2, 2020:

@MissKathleen No I did not miss the compliment, but I did forget to thank you for it, sorry, so thank you. Though comments not written literally, may get replies that are not written too literally.

An old story.

MissKathleen comments on Sep 1, 2020:

Wonderful story. I have never encountered ANY drunkards who “made their way forward very carefully” anywhere, and I question the ability of an elephant to “wander silently...into the trees softly and quietly”. But I do think you ARE “a good judge of wisdom”.

Fernapple replies on Sep 2, 2020:

Alchohol can wear off quickly, and has different effects on people, however it is just a story, in some less PC versions of the story they are not drunks but blind men, I went with drunks though because it makes the story work better, though that is not all that important. However the one thing that many people who know wild elephants say that is most notable about them, is their amazing skill of moving silently through the forest, and disappearing quickly without trace. I have read that several times from different sources.

Life in Lockdown

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2020:

Yep can't argue with that, though you did miss out beer.

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2020:

@FrayedBear No one needs a husband or wife either, if they are content and occupied, but its good to have insurance in case you do run out of things to do.

"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone ...

WilliamCharles comments on Sep 1, 2020:

A-yup.

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2020:

And that says it all.

Landscapes — 1: On the Moralana Scenic Route, South Australia, 1987.

Fernapple comments on Sep 1, 2020:

Do you know by any chance what the blue flowers are in one, please ?

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2020:

@Coffeo Thank you that is really interesting, at first I thought they were perhaps Blue Bonnets, Lupin.But then I though no they do not look right or in the right place.

[rawstory.

LenHazell53 comments on Aug 31, 2020:

Error 404! The page you requested does not exist or has moved.

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2020:

@sassygirl3869 Not really, it could have been taken down for legal reasons ahead of the trial. Defence will claim it is not possible to get a fair jury who have not been perjudiced by seeing things like that. Actually they probably still will, and he will be set free on that technicality to the joy of the extreme right.

A harrowing report on a raped, pregnant, ten year old girl. [english.elpais.]

HippieChick58 comments on Aug 31, 2020:

Sorry, I can't even read stuff like that, It would break my heart and make me mad, and my anxiety is sky high anyway. 5 years ago I would have read it. 5 years ago we didn't have Bunker Bitch and I didn't have granddaughter.

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2020:

The main points you have to know, so as not to read the sorry details, is that she did get an abortion. But that she had to cross a state border, aided by her grandmother, to do so, because a judge and the doctors in her own state were too intimidated to award her one there, despite it being legal.

I'm glad to have found this community! It is good to have access to like minded individuals.

ZantiMisfit comments on Aug 31, 2020:

Welcome to the Community! "Enter freely of your own will and leave some of the happiness you bring." -Stoker :)

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2020:

Love that quote.

An aged (wo)man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clasp its hands...

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2020:

Happy birthday. The sweetest of chestnuts do not ripen till last, and wear the most tattered garments, it is the kernel grown inside that counts.

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2020:

@MissKathleen Its me, just wrote it.

Aliens; why should we "listen" for them? Have they ever visited us?

Fernapple comments on Aug 31, 2020:

Good read thanks.

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2020:

@Robecology Don't worry, it only went up last night, so most people wont have seen it yet.

OK, Solve this puzzle:

altschmerz comments on Aug 30, 2020:

How about Indonesia?

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2020:

Good bet.

7 Things that PROVE God is Real is an article written six years ago by J.

Sgt_Spanky comments on Aug 30, 2020:

Can't get enough of these Xian arguments in favor of God? Here's an additional **6 Things that PROVE God os Real**, article written by Lesli White. A couple of them overlap with the 7 Things article so there's really only 3.5 new things here. ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2020:

I think the first four, i.e. the wonders of nature, kind of prove that god, at least the god of the 'buy-babble' does not exist. How could the stupid dick in the book, who does not even have basic social skills and can not write clearly, design those things.

7 Things that PROVE God is Real is an article written six years ago by J.

KKGator comments on Aug 30, 2020:

Those who profess a belief in deities are often truly impossible to reach with logic or reason. They like their delusions and are loathe to give them up. Many of them will go to great and ridiculous lengths to protect them. I do not take any of them seriously, and seldom even bother to listen ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2020:

@Sgt_Spanky Well im mainly with KKGator, but ten out of ten for patience, if you can still manage it well done.

What is something (besides religion) commonly believed to be true that is actually not?

RobinGray comments on Aug 30, 2020:

Modern decorating practices: Gray and white = classy (boring and conformist) Brightly colored by individual taste = bad (express yourself!)

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2020:

@RobinGray Wow , beautiful.

What is something (besides religion) commonly believed to be true that is actually not?

ZantiMisfit comments on Aug 30, 2020:

The idea that you need a romantic partner to be a complete person. There's plenty of people who are happily single and plenty of miserable people in relationships.

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2020:

Hey , I got two legs, two arms, two hands and three eyes, I am a complete person.

Then there is this....

Fernapple comments on Aug 30, 2020:

Groan.

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2020:

@MissKathleen Each to their own. I thought it was very contrived, not that it was not so bad it was almost funny, and the groan was meant with affection..

I posted this in another group, but thought it would go well here too.

Sticks48 comments on Aug 28, 2020:

""Badgers!, We don't need no stinking badgers!" :) How very cool to get that close to them.

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2020:

European badgers don't smell that bad. Sorry it just another reason to leave the states.

So where did that water in the oceans come from?

barjoe comments on Aug 28, 2020:

If they still believe the literal story of Noah's Ark, no amount of scientific evidence will change their little minds. Interesting piece.

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2020:

If it does not agree with the buy-bable, then that just shows you how wrong science is, so you had better not have your vacinations.

The crooked owners of Hobby Lobby continue to fight returning STOLEN artifacts to Iraq.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2020:

The peasant who steals a goose from off the village green, is a criminal. The lord who steals the green from under the geese, is a great public servant. The people with the money get to write the rules.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@Gwendolyn2018 Thank you.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 No it was Admin who gave me the info. The three or four before he starts came out earlier, see the top of the page.

A new substance, solid hydrogen.

RoyMillar comments on Aug 27, 2020:

sounds like an amzing substance if it can be commercially produced

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

That is one of the big 'ifs'.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 Admin said that he had four, so far. That is in part why I made this post, because I did not want to go first.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 Being one of the boring long winded an pompus, I have sent one in. It is fairly serious, and rambling, though I did try to make it a bit of a story, some of them find stories easier than none fiction I am told. So we will see what happens.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 Can't argue with that. Sorry, one sentence reply.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 Since there is going to be little difference, that I can see, between these articles and a normal post, It is possible that this is just a trap, to get the long winded, boring and pompus moved into a ghetto away from normal members. LOL

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@WonderWartHog99 The standard format for text on 'this site' not a national or international agreed standard format. Basicaly I do not think that the writers are being asked to format the text themselves, at all, except for inserting photos.

Is human morality (ethics) hard wired or is it a learned behaviour? Or an a adaption of both?

Fernapple comments on Jun 10, 2020:

Since all higher social animals show some forms of morality, which is to a degree certainly hard wired, the real question is. Why would humans be the exception ? Everything has to be hard wired at the bottom of it. As Marionville below says. "Human survival from out earliest ancestor's time has ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

@Atheist3 No, evolution by natural selection can be and perhaps usually is a factor causing extinction. Competition between members of the species, will often drive it to develop extreme adaptions, until a point is reach where even a slight change in the environment, which are not even remotely catastrophic for most species, will cause extinction.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

Sgt_Spanky comments on Aug 26, 2020:

Is religious satire and parody allowed? I've got some good ideas if it is.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

I think you can submit anything, you just have to be not too sad if it gets kicked out.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

David1955 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

I may be wrong, but I'm guessing this magazine will have a lot of long posts recycled, particularly from the more hobby horse enthusiasts around here. Know what I mean?

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2020:

Yes that was my worry, especially as it seems that the articles may be published on the main feed as well.

If you are elected as the leader of your country, what is the very first thing you would do for your...

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2020:

In the UK. Bottom line from which everything else stems, create a more accountable democratic government system, starting by replacing of the house of lords with a proper second chamber.

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2020:

@Jetty Very efficient actualy. No other country has corruption organized so well, that it is not only legal, but built into the political system, and lauded as a great national institution.

Has anyone put forward an article for the new magazine yet ? Just wondering.

WonderWartHog99 comments on Aug 26, 2020:

## I suspect there hasn't been a surge of people who want to write illustrated, epic 5,000 word opus so someone else can lay claim on the copyright and not get paid for it. There wasn't anything said what format to upload the stories in. Microsoft Word? Note Pad? Twelve point comic san surf? Are...

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2020:

The format is the standard site format, just like a standard post. The final editing and formating to be done by the appointed editors.

Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone' [bbc.com]

Fernapple comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Yep, just two countries left now where it still lingers. And I don't suppose it has anything whatever to do with those two countries being extreme theocracies with strong anti-progressive agendas. (That's sarcasm by the way.)

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@FearlessFly Quite.

Holy Hate: The Far Right’s Radicalization of Religion

Triphid comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Yes it sickens me to the core that Christianity and Islam in particular see themselves as being 'the One True Religion with the One True God' and MUST make everyone else the same as them and will, so often, use whatever means necessary to force their insane beliefs on everyone else. And yet the ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

Its the fact that religions does not require you to offer an iota of proof, that makes it attractive to the criminal with insane beliefs. Not to bore you, but my comment above goes deeper.

Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone' [bbc.com]

Fernapple comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Yep, just two countries left now where it still lingers. And I don't suppose it has anything whatever to do with those two countries being extreme theocracies with strong anti-progressive agendas. (That's sarcasm by the way.)

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@FearlessFly Yes but, why did OBL choose those countries as a hide out anyway ? Not trying to white wash the CIA, but sometimes neither the victim nor the perp. has anything to be proud of.

Sister Mary was in the laundry doing the washing for the convent, when she spilled the liquid soap ...

Gnarloc comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Alms, not arms.

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@Gnarloc I was going to say that maybe they had a gun dealership , as a sideline.

Things I do in the middle of the night.

barjoe comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Talk show hosts may or may not be idiots, the fact they aren't schooled in physics shouldn't make that the case. That' just your assessment

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@barjoe I think I will stick with F###ers then. Unless that annoys celibates.

THE EVOLUTION OF MORALITY: Recently while roaming through YouTube, looking for a good ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Is god moral because humans made god in their own image, or are humans moral because god made humans in its own image ? Its basically a chicken and egg argument. But since the existence of morality in none human animals is clearly demonstrable, it is plain that god is not needed for morality, ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@Green_Soldier71 Thank you.

Ever just feel like Fannie Lou Hamer said, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Green_Soldier71 comments on Aug 25, 2020:

What's wrong hankster?

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

People come and go, and come back again on this site. Sometimes they are ill, or busy, rarely they don't come back at all and we never know, but most come back.

Things I do in the middle of the night.

barjoe comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Talk show hosts may or may not be idiots, the fact they aren't schooled in physics shouldn't make that the case. That' just your assessment

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@barjoe No that one is not PC either, since imbecile was once a medical diagnosis. Which was taken out when people started to get upset by it. Twit is good, as is fool, but idiot is maybe not really acceptable any longer, because of its original classical meaning, which is being brought back.

Things I do in the middle of the night.

barjoe comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Talk show hosts may or may not be idiots, the fact they aren't schooled in physics shouldn't make that the case. That' just your assessment

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@barjoe Sorry, stand corrected, write in haste repent in church.

Things I do in the middle of the night.

Marionville comments on Aug 25, 2020:

He’s also rather gorgeous I think! Did you know he was once in a pop/rock band called D-ream? Here he is on keyboards, https://youtu.be/4uSMCtmG__o

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

Sorry but I think that there are a few million other women in line ahead of you.

Things I do in the middle of the night.

barjoe comments on Aug 25, 2020:

Talk show hosts may or may not be idiots, the fact they aren't schooled in physics shouldn't make that the case. That' just your assessment

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

Sometimes they are also playing stupid to make the questions that they think, perhaps rightly, that the morons who make up their viewing public would ask.

Would you like us to have an Agnostic online magazine?

Fernapple comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Why limit it to articles about non-belief, to make it more interesting why not have a limited number of sub -sections , maybe only five or six, such as politics, science, lifestyle etc. Don't allow huge numbers of groups, but do allow people who want to read, to access it selectively through the ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@MarkiusMahamius Not quite it would after all be more in depth, and sellected for quality. Which is why I was asking if it would be more visible to none members, since it would perhaps be more of a flagship.

Watching a movie tonight, and it strikes me, it takes a very brave man to tell what he thinks is the...

Fernapple comments on Aug 14, 2020:

Every fiction exists in a fictional world, where the laws of nature are altered to accommodate the fiction. And every fiction comes with the hidden agendas of its creator, which existed within the fictional world within the mind which created it. It is therefore twice removed from reality. ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

@LuckyOne3 The greater mass of nearly all human culture. Take for example the old argument used by sceptics against theists. Quoted by WilliamCharles only today in the quotes group. "I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." .Stephen F Roberts The vast majority of human cultures contain a few small important truths. Like for example. It is not a good idea to have children with your siblings. But it does not mater one jot, if that is told to you by Zeus, Yahway, or the institute for national genetics, and the history of all those institutions is all but irrelevant to the fact. Yet 99.99% of education is spent on learning about human culture which is a different thing in every town, village and church, so that in the end so much time is spent on that that the truths people really should know are lost, to many. So that you can live in a world where people can emerge from their states education system, without any real understanding of genetics, but the knowledge that Zeus married his sister. This is a little gift enjoy. https://www.langspace.com/en/video/10563044547495615

Sister Mary was in the laundry doing the washing for the convent, when she spilled the liquid soap ...

Gnarloc comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Alms, not arms.

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2020:

Thank you I forgot that, not a word I often use. Put right.

PARTISAN WARP BUBBLES, TRUMP LIES AGAIN, AND OTHER NEWS AND LINKS: [united-cats.com]

barjoe comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Acceptable? I can't believe that poll. I'd like to see the question they actually asked and how it was worded. I can't believe anyone would say 175K deaths was acceptable.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2020:

@barjoe Yep. There was once a British comedy show, where a government minster is asked to approve a survey, with two alternate questions. 1. Do you think that the government should introduce national service, to give young people purpose and discipline? 2. Do you think the government should give young people free weapons, and then let them loose on the streets ?

PARTISAN WARP BUBBLES, TRUMP LIES AGAIN, AND OTHER NEWS AND LINKS: [united-cats.com]

barjoe comments on Aug 24, 2020:

Acceptable? I can't believe that poll. I'd like to see the question they actually asked and how it was worded. I can't believe anyone would say 175K deaths was acceptable.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2020:

The the part of the pole quoted was just the republicans, and even that was quite a small margin.

I'm not a very fashionable sort, but i hope eating liver never becomes trendy.

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2020:

Ah, pate on crackers, with a little cream cheese and a glass of dark stout.

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2020:

@barjoe OK smart ass, I was being poetic. LOL

“I don’t need you to remind me of my age.

Pralina1 comments on Aug 23, 2020:

And a mirror . Damn it . Someone was complimenting on my boots few months ago . “ nice boots , where u got them from “? And I had to say , oh , they are 15 yrs old . Then I realized , the girl who asked was 22sh . To her , I must look like a velociraptor at least 😂.

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2020:

I have socks older than your friend.

“I don’t need you to remind me of my age.

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2020:

Right foot.

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2020:

@Marionville Damaged ligament in.

looking for female communication. friendship, dating, or e-mail pal.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2020:

Hello and welcome enjoy the site, and if you have time check out the groups there is something for everyone. Though it has to be said that the dating side of the site is not one of its strong points, it is perhaps better to enjoy the social side of the site, and you never know you may be a lucky ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2020:

@Green_Soldier71 Beware the site pedant. "The female of the species, is far more deadly than the male." LOL (Written with the deepest affection, I really love a good bit of pedantry.)

Question for you all concerning the terms atheist and agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Aug 22, 2020:

Basically I am agnostic, but I am happy to call myself atheist, soft atheist, humanist, none theist, none believer, in fact any label you like. Because this question comes up every now and again, so I prefer to write about something more interesting. ABOUT MUFFINS. I see that the issue of ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@LiterateHiker Yes, well I keep the Muffin story on a file to copy and paste, I always think that new members deserve a reply, even though we may have seen it all before.

A note to all of you who continue to doubt me (re: consciousness)

Fernapple comments on Aug 22, 2020:

Hello jeff glad you are well. So which Dead thinker/philosopher/scientist are you making a mockery of today ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@JeffMesser Sorry if not then, can you then provide the list of people who peer reviewed this hypothesis ?

A note to all of you who continue to doubt me (re: consciousness)

Fernapple comments on Aug 22, 2020:

Hello jeff glad you are well. So which Dead thinker/philosopher/scientist are you making a mockery of today ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@JeffMesser I can write to a acknowledged expert on Newtonian physics, or on the life of Newton himself. But that's beside the point because I am not proposing any hypothesis.

A note to all of you who continue to doubt me (re: consciousness)

Fernapple comments on Aug 22, 2020:

Hello jeff glad you are well. So which Dead thinker/philosopher/scientist are you making a mockery of today ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@JeffMesser Ever thought of writing to a live one, and asking if your hypothesis has any relevance to their work ? Then you could post their reply.

Question for you all concerning the terms atheist and agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Aug 22, 2020:

Basically I am agnostic, but I am happy to call myself atheist, soft atheist, humanist, none theist, none believer, in fact any label you like. Because this question comes up every now and again, so I prefer to write about something more interesting. ABOUT MUFFINS. I see that the issue of ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@JeffMurray Thank you. And it is always good to meet people who take care with their reading, and know how to show appreciation.

Well, it happened. Someone that I respect is a Qanon believer. It's so fucking dumb. I just can't.

VeronicaAnn comments on Aug 22, 2020:

What is that? I never heard of that before

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

@BufftonBeotch It is said that not all flat earthers are serious. But how do you tell the difference.

Well, it happened. Someone that I respect is a Qanon believer. It's so fucking dumb. I just can't.

VeronicaAnn comments on Aug 22, 2020:

What is that? I never heard of that before

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2020:

Its a fringe political cult, who practically worship Trump.

been sorting through my files and thought I would share .

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2020:

I like it, this is not as good, but here you are.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2020:

@Redneckliberal Just in a field near where I live, Lincolnshire, UK.

Is human morality (ethics) hard wired or is it a learned behaviour? Or an a adaption of both?

Fernapple comments on Jun 10, 2020:

Since all higher social animals show some forms of morality, which is to a degree certainly hard wired, the real question is. Why would humans be the exception ? Everything has to be hard wired at the bottom of it. As Marionville below says. "Human survival from out earliest ancestor's time has ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2020:

@Atheist3 No natural selection does not insure, species survival, all natural selection is at the genetic or individual level. The idea that species are favoured by natural selection is considered discredited.

Endless jokes about... 😂

OnlyAGhost comments on Aug 20, 2020:

Well, that takes all the fun out of playing golf. 🤣

Fernapple replies on Aug 20, 2020:

It takes a lot of fun out of a lot of other things as well.

Really getting tired of the sites spell check telling me words are misspelled when they are not.

LenHazell53 comments on Aug 20, 2020:

The spell checker on this site uses so called "American English" (there is no such thing, it came about because Webster was a fucking moron who could not spell, but insisted on writing a dictionary anyway) Therefore the "Spell checker" registers all words containing -ou- as a final vowel sound as...

Fernapple replies on Aug 20, 2020:

I try to follow US spelling on this site if possible, since it is American centric, and when in Rome. And I really don't care, if throws someone off center/centre, on how a litre/liter bottle of color/colour is spelled/spelt, its all one flavour/flavor to me, but dam/damn it gets hard sometimes, it just looks so odd.