Fernapple's Profile

I’m intrigued about something I’ve noticed recently.

Fernapple comments on Jun 7, 2020:

Yes I have seen that, it is hard to say if it is naughty trying to gain points and attract extra attention to dull posts, or just clumsy. Not good form anyway.

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

@Allamanda Yes, not modify the post that's fine. It is comment on your own post, especially first comment.

I’m intrigued about something I’ve noticed recently.

FrayedBear comments on Jun 7, 2020:

If a post has been there for a month and no one has commented . . .

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

If the post has been there for a month and no one has commented, it was probably a rubbish boring post, and I try not to do one like it again. LOL

I’m intrigued about something I’ve noticed recently.

noworry28 comments on Jun 7, 2020:

I only reply to comments that others leave on my posts.

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

That's just as it should be.

If I ask "Do god(s)s exist?

WilliamFleming comments on Jun 6, 2020:

If you define God as the mystery of existence, you get an interesting conundrum. If someone says that there is no mystery of existence then they should be able to explain existence. All of you are theists under my definition.

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

@WilliamFleming Yes but my point depends upon my definition being wrong. I am glad you enjoyed it. Though I do not like quotes from plato much, since I long ago went down the road after Aristotle, and find little value in him. PS. I like your reply to 'middleway', not long winded at all, reworking Einstien that way, although you have to be aware of how much trouble his, "god does not play dice " got him into.

If I ask "Do god(s)s exist?

WilliamFleming comments on Jun 6, 2020:

If you define God as the mystery of existence, you get an interesting conundrum. If someone says that there is no mystery of existence then they should be able to explain existence. All of you are theists under my definition.

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

Yes but if I define an Elephant as and animal with a nose. Then all of you are elephants by my definition.

This is an interesting facial reconstruction of an ancient woman from Gibraltar.

JackPedigo comments on Jun 5, 2020:

Interesting in that she was 30-40 years old. It seems the average age of people in that period was about how old she was so she must have been an old woman yet the reconstruction seems to portray a youthful looking person.

Fernapple replies on Jun 7, 2020:

@JackPedigo You can find those sorts of averages, but they need a lot of careful searching.

An update on my post here [agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Jun 6, 2020:

Wow, wonderful. Hope you manage to get a photo or two.

Fernapple replies on Jun 6, 2020:

@Mark013 they may get atuned to you too.

Well I now see, that after our governments mishandling of and lying about just about everything, ...

Red_Cat comments on Jun 6, 2020:

Perhaps the loss of workers on the Palace of Westminster will result in it finally falling down and staying down. Then we could have government rebuilt in a more central position, say Birmingham or Manchester. Here's hoping....

Fernapple replies on Jun 6, 2020:

Do you really believe that a UK government could ever do anything half way sane. LOL

I've been doing StayHome since early March, and heartily tired of it.

Fernapple comments on Jun 5, 2020:

And you took the trouble to frame it, well done. The answer is just don't get out of the car if there is anyone about, no harm in driving then.

Fernapple replies on Jun 6, 2020:

I'm just very glad I don't live in a small flat in the city.

Why Jesus is white (:

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2020:

Mohamad Ali was alway so bright and articulate, it is in complete and horrible contrast to what happen to him in the end. Of all boxers he was the one who should have survived.

Fernapple replies on Jun 6, 2020:

@IAJO163 Local knowledge. The public figure and the private person. Got it.

This is an interesting facial reconstruction of an ancient woman from Gibraltar.

JackPedigo comments on Jun 5, 2020:

Interesting in that she was 30-40 years old. It seems the average age of people in that period was about how old she was so she must have been an old woman yet the reconstruction seems to portray a youthful looking person.

Fernapple replies on Jun 6, 2020:

It is generally thought that the average age includes a lot of infant deaths, most people who survived childhood probably lived to only a little short of the age they reach today, and they would only have aged a little faster than we do. Certainly that was true of most of the stone age cultures which survived to modern times. Many women would have died prematurely due to the dangers of childbirth.

Why Jesus is white (:

Fernapple comments on Jun 4, 2020:

Mohamad Ali was alway so bright and articulate, it is in complete and horrible contrast to what happen to him in the end. Of all boxers he was the one who should have survived.

Fernapple replies on Jun 4, 2020:

@IAJO163 And in some ways a racist thing, a white boy as bright as that, would have been offered many more sellections to rise in life, without having to get his head banged about. Maybe he did coose it freely as his first choice, but did he have as much choice ?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having an account here, it’s that not everyone arrives ...

Omnedon comments on Jun 4, 2020:

How do you mean?

Fernapple replies on Jun 4, 2020:

You may like my reply.

Good ole days

Cyklone comments on Jun 3, 2020:

But, do you remember the iceman delivering, the shit truck picking up the sewage, long drop toilets, newspaper for toilet paper, having to earn a pen licence and icecream in cardboard packs? Not to mention having to chop the wood so mum could cook breakfast

Fernapple replies on Jun 4, 2020:

@Cyklone Redbacks? Those must be a US thing.

Good ole days

Cyklone comments on Jun 3, 2020:

But, do you remember the iceman delivering, the shit truck picking up the sewage, long drop toilets, newspaper for toilet paper, having to earn a pen licence and icecream in cardboard packs? Not to mention having to chop the wood so mum could cook breakfast

Fernapple replies on Jun 4, 2020:

Yes I can. Loved the smell of the fresh pine sawdust we used in the long drop toilet, kept warm twice on cold winter nights by sawing and spliting the wood first, ice cream in cardboard tasted so good, and I can just remember when grandma still had squares of newspaper.

I enjoy being part of this group , being almost two years since I joined.

JohnnyQB comments on Jun 3, 2020:

Oh I think people from the UK have the best sense of humor. I love everything about the UK. My dream is to one day be able to live there. The wonders of social media,,it is so freakin cool, I have been able to meet many wonderful friends from there over the years. I love the names you guys have ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 3, 2020:

Yes but don't love Boris.

What does anyone think of the switch from deciding problems on certainty to deciding mainly on ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2020:

I always did think in probabilities and percentages, mainly because I never believed in absolutes. Absolutes are firstly faith based positions, secondly they are anti-progressive, (nothing more to learn), and thirdly they do not accept nuance, and not accepting nuance is the basis of nearly all ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 3, 2020:

@Mcflewster Yes but I was very young only a junior member, then I started work and was only a postally active member.

What does anyone think of the switch from deciding problems on certainty to deciding mainly on ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2020:

I always did think in probabilities and percentages, mainly because I never believed in absolutes. Absolutes are firstly faith based positions, secondly they are anti-progressive, (nothing more to learn), and thirdly they do not accept nuance, and not accepting nuance is the basis of nearly all ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 3, 2020:

@Mcflewster I nearly forgot what the original subject was, but I guess that in the end it has come full cirle. Because "detailed well researched questions" and "ideaological crusades" are nearly the same as percentages vs. absolutes.

What does anyone think of the switch from deciding problems on certainty to deciding mainly on ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2020:

I always did think in probabilities and percentages, mainly because I never believed in absolutes. Absolutes are firstly faith based positions, secondly they are anti-progressive, (nothing more to learn), and thirdly they do not accept nuance, and not accepting nuance is the basis of nearly all ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 3, 2020:

@Mcflewster No that is pure book learning I am sorry to say, inspired in part by a friend who worked in the military on chemical and nuc containment, who inspired me to read up about it. But having said that, I am not in theory 'organic' or any thing like that, but I just don't find I need to use chemicals much. The odd patch of tough weeds on uncultivated ground may get a splash of Glysophate, that's about it. Slugs, weevils, aphid and whitefly etc. are all delt with using nematodes, or parasitic wasps, just because they are cheap, easy to use and last longer. People who buy into easy short cut answers, like the organic label, are asking for trouble, its very silly. Pure distilled water is inorganic, got to be dangerous, but botulinum is organic. So which would you rather have in your glass ? The organic movement sold the idea that traditional, (which is what they really meant,) is safe, while something that has been tested in a lab, and run through, in most countries, national safety standards, must be dangerous. " Cause yer known, guys in white coats are always being paid by some conspiritors, like, an' tellin' yer like there ain't no edges on the planet. But fred yer know 'e says 'e found this stuff in a cave you can spray on yer tomatoes, an people bin usin it fer years, 'e says its organic, an calls it white lead, or somethin like." It is in short, just a sub-set of the anti- science and anti-intellectual movements. And it has much to answer for, including poisoned soils in vineyards, so toxic they are classified as dangerous waste. (You see copper/heavy metal products, because they are old fashioned, are safe and organic ! ) Until the police catch you, that is. And some appalling animal welfare cases, where animals with perfectly curable ailments, were denied perfectly effective drugs and other cures, because they are not organic. Or even in the worst cases, because you do not use vets at all, if you are organic. If people want to buy into pseudo-religions like the organic movement, to save themselves the trouble of thinking and enquiring into the true origins of their food. Then like all people who buy into religion, looking for easy lazy answers, they will be fleeced and led round the mulberry bush, and end up acheiving exactly the opposite of what they intended in many cases. And yes I am well aware that there have been many disasters involving, high tec farming and food production, including DDT, nicotinoids, salt build ups from irrigation, over use of antibiotics etc. etc. and that therefore mainstream food production does need to be held up to scrutiny, and that the organic movement especially in its early days did much good, but the time for mindless idealogical crusades is over. (Was in my youth, half a century ago a long time ...

What does anyone think of the switch from deciding problems on certainty to deciding mainly on ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2020:

I always did think in probabilities and percentages, mainly because I never believed in absolutes. Absolutes are firstly faith based positions, secondly they are anti-progressive, (nothing more to learn), and thirdly they do not accept nuance, and not accepting nuance is the basis of nearly all ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 2, 2020:

@Mcflewster Poison certainly works in continuums. The 'lethal dose' term is based on the idea that, a small dose will make a few people ill and perhaps kill a very small number, even a dose large enough to kill some will still leave some unaffected. A very large dose kills everyone, but the term lethal dose is technically used for a dose in the middle of the continuum, which will kill half the people/animals/plants, because that is usually the point where everyone feels some effect.

What does anyone think of the switch from deciding problems on certainty to deciding mainly on ...

Fernapple comments on Jun 2, 2020:

I always did think in probabilities and percentages, mainly because I never believed in absolutes. Absolutes are firstly faith based positions, secondly they are anti-progressive, (nothing more to learn), and thirdly they do not accept nuance, and not accepting nuance is the basis of nearly all ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 2, 2020:

@AmyTheBruce Yes it does tend to be part of growing up, that you lose the absolutist views of youth. But of course the main point of religious indoctrination, is to keep people in a life long child like state, so that they are easy to exploit and don't question.

From Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy ([rep.

Storm1752 comments on Jun 1, 2020:

Of course there is SOME evidence of SOME kind of 'god,' but it is not conclusive or definitive. So as an agnostic I cannot state FOR MYSELF there is definitely a 'god.' I'm atheist of a PERSONAL ENTITY, but agnostic about 'god' as an impersonal force, so the general proposition is still pending ...

Fernapple replies on Jun 1, 2020:

@redbai Oh there is quite a lot of evidence. The christians for example consider that a book called by them, The Bible, is evidence. It is just that a book with no known authors, editors, compilers, dates of publication, or orginal copies. Which was made up over time by several committees from a large number of previous books, each with none of the same, made by many different authors, many of whom were probably using old hearsay. Is just about the worst evidence you could possibly have. It is better however when debating with theists to conceed that there is evidence, and then attack its quality, than to claim there is none. Because they are expecting you to claim that, and are ready to ask you to prove there is none, when they know that proving a negative is near impossible. Conceeding that small point throws them.

I posted this in the garden group, but thought it would go here as well.

HumanistJohn comments on May 31, 2020:

Great photos! And th perspective/viewpoint of #2 is quite original. Good artistry.

Fernapple replies on May 31, 2020:

Thank you.

This is a native Peacock butterfly (you can see why) photographed in the garden last summer, on my ...

HumanistJohn comments on May 31, 2020:

Wonderful! Most butterflies are plant-specific ( at least that's for species in eeastern Virginia).

Fernapple replies on May 31, 2020:

Yes I think thast the peacock is plant specific, at least as a caterpillar, on stinging nettles.

Robbery with violence, sometimes life is just not fair. [youtube.com]

dede18 comments on May 29, 2020:

ouch! he slaps poor squirrel over and over ... bully!

Fernapple replies on May 30, 2020:

Yes I did think that the squirrel was getting a lot more slaps than were really needed, just to drive it off the fruit.

Some thing very fast, but I am not sure if slowing down the film helps that much.

JackPedigo comments on May 28, 2020:

Very interesting. Funny, but just a few minutes ago I finished watching a PBS Nova video about the top predator bird in the world, the Eagle. I wonder how the two would compare head to head (or wing to wing).

Fernapple replies on May 29, 2020:

A lot smaller than an eagle of course. In the middle ages it was a cruel sport, I have read, to set a falcon to attack a heron, the mismatch in size and speed making it a fairly balanced combat it was said.

Remarkable findings on Neanderthal genes - [mpg.de]

Fernapple comments on May 28, 2020:

That and red hair too so they say.

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

@Allamanda Don't ask me, I am just a large framed very pale white, with big bushy eyebrows and more body hair than a grizzly bear. What would I know. LOL

Congrats to all the happy, beautiful couples, fuck you to all the haters and bigots in the world.

PondartIncbendog comments on May 27, 2020:

Gravity sucks after sixty. Everything gets closer to the ground.

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

Yes but does your penis get longer, or do your legs get shorter ?

I am super happy that I don't find Texas rattlesnakes in my Oklahoma bluebonnets.

glennlab comments on May 27, 2020:

There should be a female around too waiting for the winner of the battle

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

@glennlab Great, thank you.

Accountable Media [newsweek.com]

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2020:

And I suppose that he gets to define what 'conservative' is.

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

@Gatovicolo No they won't but of course the protection will only extend to the conservatives who follow Trumps lead, and the others are kepping their heads down.

The sad emoticon in main reaction emojis. I want it back. That is all. Thank you

Sgt_Spanky comments on May 27, 2020:

The emoticon choices were stupidly amended to preclude any negative responses as if people don't experience sadness or anger -- which had to be lobbied for to be brought back -- or disagree with one another which is why there has never been a thumb's down to choose from along with a thumb's up which...

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

And sad is not even always negative, it can be sympathetic.

I am super happy that I don't find Texas rattlesnakes in my Oklahoma bluebonnets.

glennlab comments on May 27, 2020:

There should be a female around too waiting for the winner of the battle

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

Is it a battle or a mating dance ?

I'm tired , I just pressure washed for 3 hours and I am only half way through.

Sticks48 comments on May 27, 2020:

What were you washing?

Fernapple replies on May 28, 2020:

@Lorajay Pressure washing does give you a great sense of something achieved, instant and very visible effect. But you should really treat patio, deck and fence as three jobs, then you get three times the boost and only a third of the work. LOL Take care.

A picture is worth a thousand words

ZantiMisfit comments on May 27, 2020:

I didn't know you can tell a person's religious beliefs just by looking at them.

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@Hastur Yes I did not search I am going from memory. I am only guessing that a search would find them. Or of course the maker of the meme could have collected them over a long period. Not hard to go another pic of angry chistian, copy and save .

Amazing history

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2020:

Good term. We should bring that back, along with 'Spiv' for those who are profiting. Do you have, spiv in the US or is it just a UK term ?

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@silverotter11 A (I think) purely British slang word for a blackmarketeer, who dresses, talks and acts in a flashy vulgar in your face manner. Like you would say 'pimp fashion' but specifically a seller of shady goods.

A picture is worth a thousand words

ZantiMisfit comments on May 27, 2020:

I didn't know you can tell a person's religious beliefs just by looking at them.

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@Hastur No I have seen some of the photos before in news items, all the ones I have seen before are certainly christian. It would not be hard to do an online search for images of angry christians, why fake it when doing it for real is just as easy. Having said that it would be equally easy to do that for any group, villify them and ignore the well behaved ones, this is certainly propaganda.

Amazing history

Fernapple comments on May 27, 2020:

Good term. We should bring that back, along with 'Spiv' for those who are profiting. Do you have, spiv in the US or is it just a UK term ?

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@bobwjr Covid profiteers, especially the trumpians.

“Let children learn about different faiths, let them notice their incompatibility, and let them ...

Robecology comments on May 26, 2020:

Dawkins is so polite....so much a gentleman. I've been reading his book "An Apetite for Wonder"....written by a Dawkins many years ago. Here's a favorite meme of his I often share;

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@Robecology Great clip. Though I think given that I am not sitting there under pressure, that an even better answer to that is just. "Do you know anything better?"

“Let children learn about different faiths, let them notice their incompatibility, and let them ...

Robecology comments on May 26, 2020:

Dawkins is so polite....so much a gentleman. I've been reading his book "An Apetite for Wonder"....written by a Dawkins many years ago. Here's a favorite meme of his I often share;

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

Yes I love Dawkins too. Funny there are a lot of appologists who say he is arrogant and a snob, guess that making personal insults is the best they could come up with. And if he is arrogant, well some people are entitled to be.

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.

Fernapple replies on May 27, 2020:

@Mofo1953 Yes they did. Because if art is not existent as a material measurable entity, then belief in it must depend upon faith.

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.

Fernapple replies on May 26, 2020:

@Mofo1953 Thank you for the ad populum, it would be lovely to think that I was an original, but sadly it is not the case, the idea is not mine but a traditional one, long championed in art philosophy, especially by people like Kahlil Gibran and Ernst Gombrich who famously said. "There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists." And. "The first thing you have to remember about art is that no such thing exists."

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.

Fernapple replies on May 26, 2020:

@Mofo1953 What has truth got to do with it ? The talk was about art.

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.

Fernapple replies on May 26, 2020:

@extantpoet Some of it is, but I am not merely say that art is about religion, I am also saying that art, at least high art, is a religion, perhaps with many of the vices that come with that.

Don't blame the politicians who are trying to keep us safe; blame the covidiots who don't care about...

Fernapple comments on May 25, 2020:

Yes but the politicians are to blame, in part, for the covidiots.

Fernapple replies on May 26, 2020:

@josephr That was exactly it. Plus their inablity to earn respect, which means that there is little for political adivce. Their undermining of sciences cedibility when it suits them, etc.etc.

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.

Fernapple replies on May 26, 2020:

@Mofo1953 Art is an idea so nebulus and vague that it is quite capable of being defined in many different ways, all of which may be true. Certainly Websters difinition, while perfectly true is far too short to even begin to express all that art is. My point is to show the very real dangers of art to those who approach it without showing caution, as such I think that it is very valid, and I am sorry that you can not see that. But then to me that is only confirming evidence, since it is exactly the sort of blindness that those deeply lost in religious indovctrination always exhibit. Ask yourself. If art is not a religion then why does the term "artistic truth" exist?

As a young catholic school girl, I tried so hard to believe.

Mofo1953 comments on May 25, 2020:

I am also choked up by art of all types, not just religious but also secular, that's a sign that all humans appreciate beauty. Has nothing to do with religion.