The Proof: That God Exists There is a hierarchy in Animalia, not only as quantified by the DNA ...

KKGator comments on Jan 15, 2020:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. --Macbeth William Shakespeare

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2020:

Even in the midst of the direst of posts, come the greatest of quotes, which makes me glad I bothered, when I nearly did not.

“If Shakespeare had never existed, he asked, would the world have differed much from what it is ...

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2020:

I think this guy answers the question for me: We are tied down, all our days and for the greater part of our days, to the commonplace. That is where contact with great thinkers, great literature helps. In their company we are still in the ordinary world, but it is the ordinary world transfigured ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2020:

That's the great thing about reading, not only do you get to hear the best of thinkers, but you can listen to the best thinkers of any age not just your own, and hear their best and most carefully chosen thoughts. I can never sit by the fire or at the table with, Shakespeare, Aristotle or Darwin, but I can stand by their desks and look over their shoulders.

Why are people so afraid of using their real name? Why do so many hide behind nom-de-plumes?

Fernapple comments on Jan 15, 2020:

I am in business and a lot of my customers and suppliers are theist, but I retire soon, and had thought of using my real name, But the trouble with that is, I would then have to start all over again. You also have to remember that unlike the UK and BC not every part of the world is as tolerant of ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2020:

@rogerbenham Yep, we make a hobby out of being miserable and arrogant. You are a lot better of in Canada. I live almost exactly on your Bristol to Newcastle line, but in a quite corner, so it is not too bad.

GENNY, the Israeli home appliance that makes water out of thin air, was named the Energy Efficiency ...

Joanne comments on Jan 12, 2020:

Dehumidifiers also draw moisture from thin air. It just isn't drinkable and they aren't energy efficient. I have wondered for years why they didn't have a similar machine for capturing drinkable water. Perhaps the technology was more complicated than I realized--or the desire/need was not strong ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2020:

@Joanne I think that you would also have to add minerals and airate it.

“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest”...

callmedubious comments on Jan 14, 2020:

That might be a good start but the majority will always be ruled by a tiny percentage of intelligent sociopaths and never be free.

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2020:

I think perhaps the sociopaths don't always have to be intelligent. Not thinking of any individuals in particular. LOL

Religion was not created to control anyone or groups of people.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2020:

Very true and I agree with you completely about the origins of religion. But I think that you are constructing a strawman argument about the people who use the 'control' argument. Most of them do well understand the other roles of religion, especially at its origin and in early times, they are just ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2020:

@DavidLaDeau I see. Yes there certainly could be problems with that, especially when talking to ill informed groups. But I think it does not matter so much here in conversations on this site, since most of the members, as with most organized sceptics, are well informed about religion's history, as the comments below mostly show, and are not therefore going make that mistake. It is a bad habit to get into though as you may forget and use it in the wrong context.

Who is solving the biggest problems in the world? Are you part of that? If not... why?

resserts comments on Jan 12, 2020:

I have a rather small-diameter circle of influence. Can I end world hunger? Can I bring peace to the Middle East? Will I be the one to disarm North Korea? Nope. What I can do, though, is help someone I know who has fallen on hard times. I can mediate conflicts between recently separated parents ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

That would be more than enough if everyone did it.

GENNY, the Israeli home appliance that makes water out of thin air, was named the Energy Efficiency ...

Joanne comments on Jan 12, 2020:

Dehumidifiers also draw moisture from thin air. It just isn't drinkable and they aren't energy efficient. I have wondered for years why they didn't have a similar machine for capturing drinkable water. Perhaps the technology was more complicated than I realized--or the desire/need was not strong ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

Actually there is realy no good reason why the water from an ordinary dehumidifier could not be made drinkable. It is basically the same thing. The only down side to this is that it is using a lot of energy.

[youtu.

rogerbenham comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Beautiful! Thanks. What a massive choir!

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

@rogerbenham The Mormons extract very heavy tithes yes, and they have just been caught in a financial scandel, where they had been found sitting on vast sums donated for charity, no doubt earnig interest. They may not be the worst but they are certainly on the short list.

"SOS" message in snow helped save man stranded over 20 days in Alaska

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2020:

If he came to his senses, why in he moving to Salt Lake City ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

@LiterateHiker I know it said he had relatives there, even stranger.

[youtu.

rogerbenham comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Beautiful! Thanks. What a massive choir!

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

@rogerbenham May not be the Mormons, its just that it said the Tabernacle Choir, and usually Tabernacle Choir with 'The' in front of it, refers to the Mormon singers by default.

I enjoy the interchanges of thoughts and feelings with many others on this site.

NoPlanetB comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Never heard of them. :P

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

Yep, you would think that he would choose some prominant people who everyone knows as his stand out four.

Wolf Moon at first light this morning.

mischl comments on Jan 11, 2020:

What's all that white stuff?

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

@mischl So is rain.

[youtu.

rogerbenham comments on Jan 11, 2020:

Beautiful! Thanks. What a massive choir!

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2020:

The Mormons have a lot of money to throw at it.

I hurt my back sweeping the yard yesterday, so I a forced to spend today sitting and catching up ...

twill comments on Jan 11, 2020:

I hope you have healed !

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2020:

Yep, did not take long thanks.

Anyone who claims to know what god wants you to do is clearly lying.

Shawno1972 comments on Jan 10, 2020:

They could be lying, sure, but you're leaving out other more common possibilities. For instance, they could be self-deceived - either as a result of mental illness or hallucination or some other delusion. Or, most often, it is because they themselves have been indoctrinated by some 3rd party and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2020:

@Shawno1972 Well it is fun and I do love pedantry. May be me just miss reading him, but the first line did seem to be banal on its own.

Anyone who claims to know what god wants you to do is clearly lying.

Shawno1972 comments on Jan 10, 2020:

They could be lying, sure, but you're leaving out other more common possibilities. For instance, they could be self-deceived - either as a result of mental illness or hallucination or some other delusion. Or, most often, it is because they themselves have been indoctrinated by some 3rd party and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2020:

@Shawno1972 Quite. I am all for nuance, most conflict is about being more willing to argue than take the time to consider nuance. But I think that the nuance here, is that it was Jimben's second line which was the important one, containing his original insight, not the first which he probably wrote glibbly.

Anyone who claims to know what god wants you to do is clearly lying.

Shawno1972 comments on Jan 10, 2020:

They could be lying, sure, but you're leaving out other more common possibilities. For instance, they could be self-deceived - either as a result of mental illness or hallucination or some other delusion. Or, most often, it is because they themselves have been indoctrinated by some 3rd party and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2020:

Nice nuance, but I think that the logical argument 'jimben' makes is still good whatever term you use for falsehood.

Something to perk you up. Seems like we need it reading the posts. [youtube.com]

whiskywoman comments on Jan 9, 2020:

I munch random leaves

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2020:

Can be dangerous, be careful.

They say that too much salt is not good for you, well it certainly seems to have its dangers for ...

yvilletom comments on Jan 8, 2020:

I’m glad Brian Cox has an income source other than Big Bang cosmology.

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2020:

I think that he has quite a range of income sources, here in the UK his face pops up everywhere.

It seems that there are too definitions of religious naturalism, that which I first encountered many...

Allamanda comments on Jan 8, 2020:

I like this! But having trouble with "that which remains revealed in plain sight, is that which is truly is vital." should it have read "unrevealed in plain sight"?

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

@Allamanda Sorry was perhaps trying to be a little poetic, and of course that often means not plain.

It seems that there are too definitions of religious naturalism, that which I first encountered many...

Allamanda comments on Jan 8, 2020:

I like this! But having trouble with "that which remains revealed in plain sight, is that which is truly is vital." should it have read "unrevealed in plain sight"?

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

Thank you, I did not think anyone would even get through it. No, revealed in plain sight, meaning the natural material world.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

resserts comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I might be missing your meaning, and if so I apologize, but doesn't calling the things we value "God" muddy the waters somewhat? No, of course I don't believe in a bearded man in the sky. And of course I have things I value. But my relationship to my values is far different from how people typically...

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

@skado Brace yourself, one of my long boring ones coming up in the next day or two.

Trump properties could become targets for Iran - AOL Finance

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

He has no doubt doubled his insurance, and is rubbing his greedy little hands together with glee at the news.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

@Bobby9 Its called irony.

“Think about it: what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellow men.

MsHoliday comments on Jan 7, 2020:

This just does not even make sense to me.

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

I think it means the same basically as the common vernacular. "Get over yourself." Nothing personal intended.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

resserts comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I might be missing your meaning, and if so I apologize, but doesn't calling the things we value "God" muddy the waters somewhat? No, of course I don't believe in a bearded man in the sky. And of course I have things I value. But my relationship to my values is far different from how people typically...

Fernapple replies on Jan 8, 2020:

@skado I see it more as emptying my basket of seeds to see what will grow, than soldiering, I care not what people do with what grows even if they kill it as a weed, as long as my basket is empty at days end and something grows. But I do try to sow good seed and would never resort to deliberately sowing weeds.

Trump properties could become targets for Iran - AOL Finance

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

He has no doubt doubled his insurance, and is rubbing his greedy little hands together with glee at the news.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@Bobby9 Quite, plus publicity, and of course we do not know what sort of fiddles his accountants can arrange for him. ( I assume he is not bright enough to do it for himself given his previous business record.)

Trump properties could become targets for Iran - AOL Finance

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

He has no doubt doubled his insurance, and is rubbing his greedy little hands together with glee at the news.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@Bobby9 Unless it is overvalued or he gets new for old. Plus publicity.

Trump properties could become targets for Iran - AOL Finance

Lorajay comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Does he actually own anything?

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

That's a good question. I have heard that a couple of bankers in China own him certainly.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

resserts comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I might be missing your meaning, and if so I apologize, but doesn't calling the things we value "God" muddy the waters somewhat? No, of course I don't believe in a bearded man in the sky. And of course I have things I value. But my relationship to my values is far different from how people typically...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@skado For fun, but mainly in the hope that it may be of some use to someone else in their journey. If they disagree with me or think me foolish, it does not matter, I am far enough down my path not to care about that, as long as it gives them some food for thought or a helping hand on their journey, it is enough even if they tread me down, because now I am on the level fields it will not push me back even if I am trampled on, as long as they gain a step forward by doing so.

The jump from level 7 to level 8 is daunting. 8 to 9 smacks of far too much time on this site

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Its a place to waste time, for those who don't want to put up with all the drama and banalities of proper social media.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@rogerbenham Facebook is a complete junk pile, I am forced to do a few things on it for business reasons, but next year I retire and good bye Zucker Booker.

The jump from level 7 to level 8 is daunting. 8 to 9 smacks of far too much time on this site

bobwjr comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Just remember they are kidding about the dancing girls/ strippers relax you'll get there

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

I heard that if you reach ten, they sell your address and picture to a fundamentalist hit squad.

Can you describe a situation in which you felt very alone?

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

Yes, out on a hike last year, it should have been an easy soft hike on a well used path, so no real danger going alone, and of course I did not bother to tell anyone where I was going, which was really stupid. But three quarters the way along the gorge I was walking though, I found it was blocked by...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@Omnedon Yes still here. Made me aware though, of the dangers of living alone, which I do. Even a minor accident, if it will not let you reach the phone, becomes a serious thing, that people who have family do not have to worry about.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

You see you are writing this on the wrong site, most people on this site do not use the word god just because they don't believe in one, but mainly because they are also too honest to believe in one. God is a word used by dishonest people, (religious) in exactly the way you describe, to give ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@skado Only to negate it.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

Fernapple comments on Jan 6, 2020:

This contradicts your last post. The notion of heathen culture is etymologically oxymoronic. [agnostic.com] You can not have etymology as important in one post, and then mess with it to the most extreme degree in the next.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@skado Then if it means nothing and has no power why use it at all, especially if it muddies the etymology of others words which are clear and much better defined to start with. And also when the use of any word in any circumstance, always lends support to those who do regard it as powerful, by making their sphere larger.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Fernapple comments on Jan 7, 2020:

With hindsight of course we have to say that if the Curies had been a little more fearful, they may have lived a lot longer. Striving to understand can be costly.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@Marionville No I think that they just did not understand the risks in those days. Marie in her later years before the radiation caught up with her, earned extra money, by lending her name to the promotion of health products like toothpaste, with radioactive substances in them.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

resserts comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I might be missing your meaning, and if so I apologize, but doesn't calling the things we value "God" muddy the waters somewhat? No, of course I don't believe in a bearded man in the sky. And of course I have things I value. But my relationship to my values is far different from how people typically...

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@skado I have watched him, quite a lot, and the more I see the more I am nauseated, his creepy demeanor is too much, and his obvious self satisfaction at having conned Toronto Uni. into giving him what is no doubt a very good income, riding on the back of their need to appear inclusive, regardless of the quality of their output is truely sickening. Yes science is certainly moving forward, but fortunately not in Vervaeke's direction. His seventies-ish woo long since looked as dated, as the super engineering science of the sixties, and soon he and his like will hopefully be sidelined. People who are unable to move on, and are still trying to keep alive the long discredited fringe cultures of my adolescent years, (Which most outgrew years ago discussing the marriage of religion and science, with youthful naivety and bloshiness in the common room while the sensible kids played 'pong' in the background.) because they have no real moral compass, and it helps them to delude an good living and a degree of prestige, where they can find people and institutions who are vunerable to exploitation. Life is too short to waste on that sort of shit.

"Great and good are seldom the same man" (Sir Winston Churchill)

IamNobody comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Why do you think he said that?.... Because he was.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

Yes, he was more than a little pleased with himself, I suspect that he said that because he viewed himself as an exception. He also said in the same vane. "It seems to be a providence of nature that a great conversationalist and a great public speaker are never found in one and the same person." You may judge that as you please. LOL

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." H. L. Mencken

brentan comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I couldn't claim to be a globetrotter but I've seen a few places and I'm convinced the IQ level of people is similar everywhere. I think the thing that makes American stupidity more noticeable is that their education system makes many of them arrogant and that seems to make it come across worse.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

I think that, as here in Britain, you have an education system which fails due to political apathy, some of which is no doubt deliberate, and that the US custom of almost never traveling abroard in any meaningful way, adds to poor depth of thinking.

The cutting edge of Human Evolution is the integration of science and religion.

Donotbelieve comments on Dec 5, 2019:

Pass

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@JosettePerez In the deep instinctive sense of it being part of human nature to prefer false positives over false negatives, and things like that, no. But in the sense of specific mythology, it tends to disappear already among the educated, and we may still hope that good education will grow and spread, though of course it may not; education could fail and disappear. Times do change, much more slowly than progressives hope and think, but they do change. Five hundred years ago people would have said. "Witches will always be with us." Five thousand years ago people would have said. "We will always be hunter gatherers, agriculture is just a short lived whim for a few speciallists."

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

Fernapple comments on Jan 6, 2020:

This contradicts your last post. The notion of heathen culture is etymologically oxymoronic. [agnostic.com] You can not have etymology as important in one post, and then mess with it to the most extreme degree in the next.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@skado I did not say there was a change in tone, I said contradicts. I posted this at the top but will put it here too, for Ann's benefit, in the hopes she does not already think I am boring enough. You see you are writing this on the wrong site, most people on this site do not use the word god just because they don't believe in one, but mainly because they are also too honest to believe in one. God is a word used by dishonest people, (religious) in exactly the way you describe, to give added authority, to things which do not deserve to have any authority. Most people on this site have already seen that problem and moved on past it.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

Fernapple comments on Jan 6, 2020:

This contradicts your last post. The notion of heathen culture is etymologically oxymoronic. [agnostic.com] You can not have etymology as important in one post, and then mess with it to the most extreme degree in the next.

Fernapple replies on Jan 7, 2020:

@AnneWimsey Oh. He knows what I am. LOL

Plastic Pollution: What are the Sustainable Alternatives [youtube.com]

Cast1es comments on Jan 6, 2020:

When I was small , I didn't have a hair brush , not that it was a big deal . I recall , as plastic became available , that we could actually afford to get one for each of us , where as we couldn't each have a wooden one with boar's bristles . While we have become accustomed to cheap and readily ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

In my youth even drinking straws were made of paper.

The old invasive species problem, may not always be be doom forever.

JackPedigo comments on Jan 6, 2020:

But how do we deal with the most pervasive invasive species of all, humans???

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

I don't know, though it is quite likely something will do for us, we are now one of the biggest and most obvious food sources on the planet, after all. It only needs one small bug to figure out a way past our defences, and antibiotics are failing already.

Had no idea about this use for computers. Very interesting. [curious.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 6, 2020:

Link is very interesting but, does not match your post.

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

@Captain_Feelgood Sorry yes but that is the only line which relates to commputers.

the longer you look

Fernapple comments on Jan 5, 2020:

How did you get a photo of my workshop ? And who said you could tidy up ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

@whiskywoman It is.

When someone says "There is no god" they're idiots! At that point it's up to then to prove that ...

1of5 comments on Jan 5, 2020:

Define god

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

@1of5 That is sad, I am dyslexic, and I love that joke.

God is that "thing" that, to the best of your knowledge, is at the top of your hierarchy of values.

resserts comments on Jan 6, 2020:

I might be missing your meaning, and if so I apologize, but doesn't calling the things we value "God" muddy the waters somewhat? No, of course I don't believe in a bearded man in the sky. And of course I have things I value. But my relationship to my values is far different from how people typically...

Fernapple replies on Jan 6, 2020:

@skado It does not mater what your highest value is. If it is scientific truth, money or kindness, you should call it scientific truth, money and kindness, if only for the sake of accuracy. Giving it the name of a brearded man in the sky, is just an unneeded and sometimes dangerous complication which gets in the way of that accuracy. And metaphorically it is such an old worn out symbolic metaphor, most kids get past that sort of play with words by the time they reach fourteen. It is Orwellian double speak, which does not really work, since words just change their meanings when misused to aline once again with popular prejudice. All that happens is that it makes it harder for people to understand history, if you force the language to change, and with that you loose the most important of all sourses of wisdom, understanding the past.

They say that too much salt is not good for you, well it certainly seems to have its dangers for ...

whiskywoman comments on Jan 5, 2020:

no place else to get these nutrients how bout a salt lick and mineral lick at the bottom

Fernapple replies on Jan 5, 2020:

Yes that is what Killtheskyfairy below said, and it would semm like a good idea, though salt licks are expensive, but there could be another reason. See below.

[thehill.

Fernapple comments on Jan 5, 2020:

No not really that is the usual sad example of gross over simplification. Mexico is a nation state with its own borders and the diplomatic power to use for it people at home and aboard if it wants. And sadly, Hitler though mad and prejudiced, did seem to have some real abilities, such as being able ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 5, 2020:

@AnneWimsey No it bothers me a lot, my remarks were about the future direction things are likely to go. Nuance is everything, the ultimate lose of nuance is, them and us, which is exactly where the far rigth comes from. It is vitally important therefore if you wish to hold on to moral understanding, not to fall into that same trap, no mater how tempting it is to become polar.

Not everyones cup of tea but obviously a passion, and a what a display. [youtube.com]

BitFlipper comments on Jan 4, 2020:

I'm a docent at our local botanical garden. The desert room is one of my favorites.

Fernapple replies on Jan 5, 2020:

Well done, that is just the sort of thing that is on my bucket list for retirement.

Name one good thing that comes from the Christian beliefs.

twill comments on Jan 4, 2020:

Original Christian beliefs only? or does this also lnclude beliefs copped from other religions, civilizations, philosophies? Besides the belief in one god, there ain't much original there

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

None of it is original.

Name one good thing that comes from the Christian beliefs.

Sgt_Spanky comments on Jan 4, 2020:

RobGraham below is right. You have to admit the history of religious themed art, architecture, music etc... is spectacular, especially from the Catholics. Beyond that, there's that whole living forever after you die thing too. That part's not real but it sure makes them feel good while they're ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Yes but that whole living forever thing justifies a lot of neglect and contempt for this life, from the environment, to vast amounts of time and materials wasted. ( Metaphorically. Picture a Christian sitting in the great guilded cage which is a cathedral, for hours on end, with an iron clap on his leg causing him pain for penance. While outside his horse goes neglected and badly shod, for want of the blacksmiths bill and a small bit of that iron.)

Live near Philly enjoy searching for answers in spiritual realms including existential and non ...

DenoPenno comments on Jan 4, 2020:

What is non dimensional contact?

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

You don't meet two men in zion (misspelled) called Al, perhaps?

Am I wrong?

Happy_Killbot comments on Jan 4, 2020:

[sarcasm] When talking about supernatural beliefs with you friends, always make sure that it is apparent that you are attacking them and not their beliefs. Do this by explicitly saying it up front. Never let them have a word in edge wise, and most importantly, do not listen to them and what they ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Boy! That man has the patience of a saint, and I don't believe in saints.

They say that too much salt is not good for you, well it certainly seems to have its dangers for ...

Killtheskyfairy comments on Jan 4, 2020:

This freaked out my cat. She kept trying to help the ibex with her paw. Why can’t they leave some at the bottom so they don’t have to climb? Or is this just fun for them because I don’t see a pile of dead ibexes at the base?

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Yes you would think that a few cheap salt licks from the agricultural merchant, could be left out each year. But having said that of course, perhaps the climbing ibex are a tourist attraction.

They say that too much salt is not good for you, well it certainly seems to have its dangers for ...

mordant comments on Jan 4, 2020:

This video is great sphincter exercise!

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

It is certainly that, well put.

A suggestion - could members limit themselves to one a day, or a few a week?

Robecology comments on Jan 3, 2020:

@Allamanda One what a day....? And why?

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Sexual partners I suppose, though cutting down that much would be a big ask.

“I know of no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too desirous ...

brentan comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Maybe societies suffer, even fall apart, when they realise their belief system - culture - whatever you want to call it, is full of shit.

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Yes I agree, in fact in many ways that is a major factor. For example, the Roman empire fell apart, mainly because many people stopped believing that rulers and politicians far away in Rome, were supposed to mean more to them than their local leaders.

Not everyones cup of tea but obviously a passion, and a what a display. [youtube.com]

dede18 comments on Jan 3, 2020:

I'll be walking very carefully in that garden ... once, long ago, I pulled back a curtain with fast flip motion, unaware that my mom had a very spiny, prickly cactus in the windowsill. The shock as my forearm slammed into it was horrific, almost electric! Ever since then I give all cacti a wide ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 4, 2020:

Me too.

Kentucky Woman says her strict Christian parents subjected her to FGM at age 5.

TheMiddleWay comments on Jan 3, 2020:

I don't thing FGM is legal here in the states, is it? I mean in this story, the utmost secrecy was demanded by the parents... not quite the thing you'd do if you thought it was legal. And for that reason, I don't think this is widespread but secret. It just doesn't sound like the kind of thing ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 3, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay The UK brought in laws against it, and It is widly held that the laws have done virtually nothing to stop it. Because it is done in such in secret anyway, the victims are ashamed to come forward, the victims are intimidated by religion, and families often take children abroard to have it done, and therefore for several years there have been zero cases brought before the courts.

A little New Year excitement for me! First turmeric harvest and this is one spadeful!

Fernapple comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Wow I love Turmeric and it is so good for you. Do you grow ginger as well.

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@Allamanda Yes my mother used to do that, but sadly my cooking and time for cooking don't reach that far.

His self-righteous papal prickdom assaults one of his flock.

Cutiebeauty comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Why would you call the woman a cunt?

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 Best not to be too vernacular on an international site, sometimes. LOL

"Natural selection will not remove ignorance from future generations." - Richard Dawkins

Fernapple comments on Jan 2, 2020:

It may increase it, the human brain started to shrink after the agricultural revolution.

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@brentan There are a lot of sources, but it probably was in Sapiens yes. I think that Dawkins in this case predates Sapiens, but I have heard the idea mentioned in an interview with Alice Roberts.

His self-righteous papal prickdom assaults one of his flock.

Cutiebeauty comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Why would you call the woman a cunt?

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 Sorry Geoffrey, but the C word is usually a slightly sexed one. LOL

His self-righteous papal prickdom assaults one of his flock.

bobwjr comments on Jan 2, 2020:

He later appoligized and she grabbed him jerking hi him forward almost a assault and he is human

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 No the infallable Pope was abolished some years ago, which does mean that you can ask how something divine can change if you like, but you can not ask the Pope to be infallable.

A little New Year excitement for me! First turmeric harvest and this is one spadeful!

Fernapple comments on Jan 2, 2020:

Wow I love Turmeric and it is so good for you. Do you grow ginger as well.

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@Allamanda Yes only in curries I am sorry to say, though I do also use it mixed with mayo as a salad dressing.

Instead of all the usual New Years resolutions: What is one inhibition you wish you could lose?

resserts comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Excessive risk aversion. I should have quit my job years ago, gone back to school, started my own company… but the illusion of security provided by a weekly paycheck has been difficult to overcome.

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

I hope this is a help. I spent years in that position, eventually though, I did pluck up the courage to leave and start my own company. It was easy for me perhaps because I have no family. But the irony is that I have been working for myself now more than thirty years, some ups some downs. However within a year and a half of me leaving, the company I worked for was bought out and closed down, and there is now a housing estate where the offices and factory used to stand. The weekly pay cheque is no certainty. So the only thing I lost was the handshake cheque, which would have been useful to a new business, but probably not as much as that eighteen months experience and growth.

"It is man's intelligence that makes him so often behave more stupidly than the beasts.

powder comments on Jan 1, 2020:

It's the written word, the ability to record ideas and discoveries, that sets us apart more so than intelligence. Who says we are the only species that has intelligent, abstract thought? Proof please.....but there is no proof as we can't even sense or measure our own. Perhaps if say elephants or ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2020:

@powder Yes but that is fine on the positive side, what I mean is that spoken language alone could create cultures, and that is enough to "fuck things up" as you put it. Writen language certainly helps to preserve good ideas better, but for bad ideas to spread you only need spoken.

"It is man's intelligence that makes him so often behave more stupidly than the beasts.

powder comments on Jan 1, 2020:

It's the written word, the ability to record ideas and discoveries, that sets us apart more so than intelligence. Who says we are the only species that has intelligent, abstract thought? Proof please.....but there is no proof as we can't even sense or measure our own. Perhaps if say elephants or ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

Even the spoken word and verbal culture, it does not need to get as far as writing. And language is both our greatest gift, and the creator of our greatest sorrows.

Conservative Radio Host Ridicules Anne Frank: 'I Don't Get My Wisdom From Teenagers'

JayOleck38 comments on Dec 31, 2019:

I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

Hope the feeling is mutual as well.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year/Decade.

Organist1 comments on Jan 1, 2020:

Send that kid to law school!!! :-D

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

I think she will go when she wants. Its her destiny and no stopping her. LOL

Interesting for me as I used to live there (around 1980) but a good explanation of Stone Age ...

tinkercreek comments on Dec 31, 2019:

That is great! I had no idea there were 3 stages of stone age, or that it began SO far back.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

@Allamanda THat's sad, never admit to being British. LOL

Interesting for me as I used to live there (around 1980) but a good explanation of Stone Age ...

tinkercreek comments on Dec 31, 2019:

That is great! I had no idea there were 3 stages of stone age, or that it began SO far back.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

That in itself is interesting and shows the cultural differences across the Atlantic. Because in my day at least, the three stone age eras were taught in UK schools at the most basic level. And few would forget because they were taught in interesting ways.

What gave you joy in 2019?

ATDayHiker comments on Dec 31, 2019:

Your post made me go back and check my FitBit stats for the year. I only had 18 hiking trips with significant elevation gain, but I managed a total of 42,000 feet for all of those hikes. The hiking mileage was probably about the same as yours, but FitBit gave me a total of 2500 miles for the year ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

That's one good looking hiking companion.

The hospital clerk asked my religion before a medical procedure.

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 31, 2019:

For that purpose yes. They need to know if there are any ethical concerns that might need to be addressed. I am surprised there wasn’t a ‘no religion’ category.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

@freeofgod Oh that's not so good, in this day and age that should be there. Yet we have had terrible trouble in this country even getting Atheist Agnostic on the census forms.

Who has noticed in the last day or so there has been a resurgence of Islam bashing.

Fernapple comments on Dec 31, 2019:

There is a little yes, but Islam is, or should be, as open to bashing as all the rest of the Abrahamic rubbish, for those who like bashing, though I am not fond of it myself. There are however two questions which have to be addressed, which are, is Islam a more threatening and intolerant religion ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2020:

@Storm1752 Happy to let you bash. All three of the Abrahamic religions have a portion of fundamentalists, who are prepared to use violence, and to find the justification for that in their holy texts. But in Judaism the violence is limited mainly to law enforcement, therefore internal, and to the territorial claims on a small part of the middle east and therefore limited. While in Christianity they are mainly metaphorical, i.e. Jesus. “I come to bring the sword.” Is almost certainly a spiritual sword rather than a metal one. So that it takes extreme interpretation to make that into an instruction for aggressive violence and conquest. Islam alone comes with instructions for violent conquest, on a global scale if needs be, and its creator and early leaders set examples of just that. In that case, there is a clear instruction to violence in the texts, and the extreme interpretation, is required by those who wish to see it as merely a spiritual and metaphorical war. Some do, but that is a hard push against history and the real intentions of the religions creators, while the violent fundamentalists find easy justification.

RICHARD HAWKINS COMMENT. somebody as intelligent as Jesus would have to be an athiest.

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 30, 2019:

Someone s intelligent as Dawkins should realise Jesus is not a historical character!

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

@Geoffrey51 Sorry my mistake, I don't usually look for irony on here. And there are a few who like to Dawkins bash.

Are you truely agnostic or an athiest in hiding?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 31, 2019:

Right children can you spell non sequitur?

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

New members have a right to ask the same old questions. And sometimes yes, they do get so carried away in excitement, that they may ask two questions at once. We have all done it.

Are you truely agnostic or an athiest in hiding?

TristanNuvo comments on Dec 31, 2019:

Ah, the tired old Agnostic vs Atheist rhetoric. ,.....Yawn.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

New members.

Here we are at the end of another year and another about to begin.

Fernapple comments on Dec 31, 2019:

Not really true anymore since BC was replaced by BCE. But I agree the equinox would be better, and new year does not fit the solstice either, it was just a date in the Roman calender fitted to the ancient South European agricultural cycles, Roman tradition and the whims of the Emperor Augustus, ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

@Sofabeast Sadly yes, but it has to be pointed out to narrow minded people, that they live on a planet with a global culture today, and that if they wanted to live in a medieval village, they have missed their chance by a few centuries.

RICHARD HAWKINS COMMENT. somebody as intelligent as Jesus would have to be an athiest.

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 30, 2019:

Someone s intelligent as Dawkins should realise Jesus is not a historical character!

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

Sorry, but I think that someone who has a large part of his life in the study of religion, would be well aware of the arguments about the possible fictionality of Jesus, the statement is made as it is because the reality of Jesus is not really relevant. The statement works both for a historical Jesus and for a character in historical fiction called Jesus. As in. "Someone as intelligent as Einstein would have been a tea drinker." "Someone as intelligent as Sherlock Holmes would have been a tea drinker." Both work equally as well.

The hospital clerk asked my religion before a medical procedure.

RobinGray comments on Dec 31, 2019:

Should there have to be another category? Seriously stupid!

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

In this context I do not think that there needs to be another category no, certainly not for any practical reason. But I understand that some agnostics and atheists are sensitive about their ideas being classified as a religion, because under some circumstances that is used by theists, as a lead in to the argument they use, that, there is no such thing as not believing.

The hospital clerk asked my religion before a medical procedure.

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 31, 2019:

For that purpose yes. They need to know if there are any ethical concerns that might need to be addressed. I am surprised there wasn’t a ‘no religion’ category.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

There may have been a 'no religion' as she only stated that atheist was there, not that there were no other secular beliefs listed.

The hospital clerk asked my religion before a medical procedure.

skado comments on Dec 30, 2019:

If you have to fill out a form that asks the color of your car, and you happen to have a white car, you put “white” in that space, even though white is not a color. You don’t ask the DMV to make a new space on the form for “Acoloration”. It’s not the hill to die on.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

@KKGator Great line must remember that, it will make a quote.

Why Does Cold Weather Kill Your Phone? [youtube.com]

glennlab comments on Dec 30, 2019:

I never thought that you could dumb down freshman chemistry, I was wrong.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

The question, why should you need to dumb it down, needs to be asked.

This shows the change in Arctic sea ice. Especially for those of you still in denial. [twitter.com]

Fernapple comments on Dec 30, 2019:

Link seems to lead to a lot of comments, but no actual content.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

@ToolGuy Could not see a video.

“Unfortunately, however much we may deplore something, it does not stop being true.

Marionville comments on Dec 30, 2019:

This is self evident I’d have thought!

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2019:

Not to a lot of people it seems. It is the big difference between the religious mind and the secular. To the secular mind truth is truth, however much it may differ from what you want to hear. To the religious mind truth is anything which confirms what you want to hear, regardless of evidence.

How open-source software took over the world [cnbc.com]

Fernapple comments on Dec 30, 2019:

Page would not download due to many very large adverts. Sorry.

Fernapple replies on Dec 30, 2019:

@FearlessFly Thanks.

Why do Christians get threatened and terrified by Atheists?

Marionville comments on Dec 29, 2019:

They are afraid that their whole life has been built on a lie...a false premise, and that thought is too unthinkable for them to contemplate. The anger and denial are perfectly understandable in that context, because to believe that what we say is true would bring the whole edifice of their life, ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2019:

Very true. But that is one hell of a long sentence. LOL

It seems that if you believe in evolution that it’s kind of hard to believe in the Abrahamic ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 29, 2019:

The belief in Genesis as a literary concept is not what the early church fathers considered. Augustine certainly consider most of the bible to be allegory which is the great irony. These guys were the fundamentalist thinkers that began the systematic approach to Christianity. Bearing in mind ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2019:

Yes but Augustine is only a small sample of one of the early church fathers, we simply don't know what most of the early christian leaders thought, because they left no records.

At least she has good taste in Whiskey.. 😋 [sun-sentinel.com]

Fernapple comments on Dec 28, 2019:

It says website not available in Europe. Sorry.

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2019:

@Captain_Feelgood Ah, explained thank you. " It's a shame the system there can't find better people to hire for these jobs." Perhaps. Though would better peoople want those jobs ? And do they pay enough ?

Even though I am an atheist, I recognize that we have had great theologians, whose thoughts are ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 28, 2019:

The established churches don't have to make ground. Evangelicals have to sell themselves, and dogma sells, because it appeals to our base instincts like, laziness, I don't want the bother of thinking, and hate, I want to blame someone else.

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2019:

@wordywalt It take a millenium at least.

Do you think we'll ever reach a point when atheists are the majority and when?

Geoffrey51 comments on Dec 28, 2019:

Hope not. How dull would that be. They would still start fighting as is evidenced here on this site.

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2019:

As someone once said. If ever one single ideaology came to represent the views of the whole world in unity, then it would imeadiately have to split into the orthodox and the reformed versions, so that people could continue fighting.

I have a loquat tree, and with the need for pollination I feed the bees to keep them coming back.

Fernapple comments on Dec 27, 2019:

Great. But it is generally thought better to feed bees with white sugar, there is some evidence that brown can give them bowel disorders.

Fernapple replies on Dec 27, 2019:

@glennlab Check out a beekeeping website if you have time, they usually have instructions for bee feeds.

"Love, Friendship, Respect and Admiration, are the emotional response of one man, to the virtues of ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 27, 2019:

Seems a little obvious and banal really, it has to be said.

Fernapple replies on Dec 27, 2019:

@SeekingWisdom Sadly true.

Today's Factoids: Phobias Somniphobia: Fear of sleep Caligynephobia: Fear of beautiful ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 27, 2019:

Is there a word for, can't get enough of any of those ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 27, 2019:

@LenHazell53 That's a good one, though it was the things themselves rather than the phobias that I wanted more of. I don't need more belly buttons personally of course, one is enough for my present needs. But I was kind of hoping to bend the rules a little, and get them as a package with the beautiful women.

The Saint-Bernard Catholic Church was constructed between 1910 and 1942.

Fernapple comments on Dec 27, 2019:

That is always a difficult one. In the UK we have many old historic churches, which can be a joy to visit, or some times just shelter from the rain when out walking. You feel that having benefited from and enjoyed the architecture, you should give something for is upkeep, especially as many of them ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 27, 2019:

@Robecology Yes that's the conclution I reached, so I don't give them anything now. Yet it would be a sad lose if all those beautiful old buildings fell to bits or were changed into private homes, so that only a few got to enjoy them. Still a small price for world freedom.

Dave Daubenmire: I Went to a Zoo and Saw How Interracial Marriage Is Wrong | Hemant Mehta | ...

mordant comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Sometimes I think these idiots can't be that stupid and are just parroting what keeps the $$ flowing in. Cynically pandering to people's prejudice and fear and willful ignorance associated therewith. After awhile though they do start to believe their own BS, and it becomes hard even for them to ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2019:

The old shock jockey trick, still keeps the money rolling in, but there still has to be a lot of stupid out there, because you have to be pretty lacking to fall for old tricks like shock jockeying.

I would like to know more about how we view ourselves.

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Curious. Friendly, Good humoured. But you have to have the negative as well. Hyperactive, and can't concentrate. Thoughtless. Pedantic. That's why you have to have these as well.

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2019:

@Donotbelieve One step ahead of me as always. (Its the can't concentrate thing.) LOL