What is it about your partner/spouse that you wish you knew about before getting married/committed ...

Amisja comments on Jan 23, 2019:

I think we decided this had to bloody work because we are both codgers and neither of us has the strength to do it again. I held off for ages, not sure if I dare. If he has faults then don't we all. He texts me to say he's worried about me driving in the snow. He was genuinely relieved when I got ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

I think its called, being grown up. It takes us men a bit longer you know.

So, today I was called emotionless.

Fernapple comments on Jan 23, 2019:

The fact that you are posting on here and thereby talking to people, proves that you are a caring person even if you do not wear your attachments on an arm band, which can often simply mean that people don't mind offending others by showing off. Really cold people do not post on sites like this.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@PalacinkyPDX Non-emphatic and disturbed I too have certainly seen on this site a plenty, ( I think I'm one of them anyway. ) but not cold, I do not think that a truly cold person, and I have known at least one, would be motivated to post on any site. Quite the contrary a lot of the people here seem to be quite heated. Nor would I tell anyone that they were cold without at least knowing them face to face personally.

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@Rob1948 Yes I generally do not get into politics on this site for that reason, because it is mainly US. But I did freely admit that I knew little of its workings and was only looking at general principles. But you are more than welcome to comment on the workings of British politics if you wish any input is useful especially an outsiders.

Are morality and empathy basically the same?

Fernapple comments on Jan 22, 2019:

I am sorry but the statement, "people I find slightly disgusting" is surely a lack of empathy.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@Matias No, not being a saint I do free disgust when confronted with certain people, I just am not being empathic when I do so.

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@Rob1948 The consequences of a very inexpensive idea, especially if you go for only two or three hundred on the jury, (who would be well rewarded) are that the government is held to be more immediately accountable, which forces it to do a better job as well as reducing politics. And no I do not know the details of US government very well, if you look at my profile you will see that I am from the UK. But I do know that representative democracy world wide is simply an outdated hangover from the days of horse drawn carriages, when only the rich and privileged could afford to travel to the seat of government. In the age of rail and even more today in the digital age it is an out dated anachronism. The details of reform are not that important, I only throw that forward as a token. The problem is that if counties such as Europe and the US do not move forward and improve their democracy, they will loose the lead they have in democracy. When that happens they will then loose the lead they have in everything else, since military, economic, social and intellectual leaderships all depend on democracy. This is the thinking of the third world pseudo-republic, defering democratic reform until state security and economic success has been achieved first, without understanding that those two follow from the first, not the other way round. As without those, people will not feel that they, and the things they value, are safe and involved, and therefore they will not invest, pursue enterprise or even reside in those countries. The world has always been led in all by those states which were brave enough to lead in terms of democracy, and every civilization which declined did so for many different reasons, but in every case the rise of unaccountable government was the main factor in their inability to rise to the challenges before them. And yes the people, if trusted with more responsibility, will make mistakes, big ones in the short term at least, but inclusion is the only way they will learn. They will not learn if they are excluded from government, since without that there is no reason for them to do so, and they can happily be irresponsible where there are no real consequences. The current rise of anti-intellectualism in the US and Europe is a direct consequence of exclusion, and it will increase and have dire effects down the line. As to the difficulty of making the law explainable, well I am sorry but that is just something that has to be faced, and it is the incompetence in government which leads to complexity which is one of the things that immediate accountability is meant to address. At the end of the day the sampling of public oppinon will not get you the best policies, but it will get better and more intellegent policies for the purpose of serving the ...

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

@Rob1948 Therre should be no vetting that is the whole point of a jury, the vetting of juries is something which is only done in the courts becausethe sample size is too small and juries are allowed to debate, as I said such juries should be at least tree hundred strong if not a thousand, modern countries can afford such minor costs.. The 9 justices job would be to debate and explain.

Went into town today for some shopping.

LB67 comments on Jan 22, 2019:

You are fortunate to live in such a scenic area.?

Fernapple replies on Jan 23, 2019:

Yes it is beautiful, sometimes it seems like a long way from anywhere but I don't think I will swap.

"How on earth can religious people believe in so much arbitrary, clearly invented balderdash?

Fernapple comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Community is one of the things that the skeptics have yet to build to any great extent. When there is a church on every street and a church coffee shop as well, plus a meeting hall, and a bookshop in every major town, it is a hard uphill battle to equal that. And I do not even think that you can ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@mordant Brilliant. The churches of course exaggerate everything, which they can do so easily because they work in a world where proof is not needed. They are thereby able to plant an exaggerated fear of death so that they can appear to abollish not only mere death but an even more frightening death, and not only loneliness but super exclusion.

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@Rob1948 No it would not be politics but democracy which is the opposite of politics. And why not replace Congress with a jury as well?

Its snowing. Why are boys so good at maintaining internal temps?

Jnei comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Why women feel the cold more: https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-women-feel-the-cold-more-than-men/ :-)

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

When married, I always knew you had to be careful in bed at night, because if you were sharing it with a woman you always knew that if you reached out there was likely to be a cold shock, since there were bound to be two ice cold feet, two ice cold hands, and the paper did not mention but worst of all two ice cold buttocks in bed with you.

Quote from Douglas Adams

JimG comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Douglas Adams was a brilliant author. I should reread his novels soon.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@JimG The other one which gets me is the one where I think it is the “Cricketers” and one of them says, “I think there seems to be something wrong with the robots, they are getting depressed and their hearts do not seem to be in it anymore.” The clever thing being that you the reader knows without being told exactly who is responsible. Plus the one about. “It is the most dangerous thing in the universe” “So why did you send it to me?” “Because I knew you were the only person who would not open the box.” For some reason like being poe faced. Actually when I think back there were hundreds.

Quote from Douglas Adams

JimG comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Douglas Adams was a brilliant author. I should reread his novels soon.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@JimG That's good, there are three bits that get me especially, but I will not be a spoiller, except to say that one is the bit about "behind a door marked Beware of the Leopard." which of course everyone knows.

Quote from Douglas Adams

JimG comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Douglas Adams was a brilliant author. I should reread his novels soon.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

Some of them are among the few books which made me laugh out loud while reading.

Quoting our own members again, a few days ago, in some comments about the early history of Christian...

Diogenes comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Love that!

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

Yes me too, sometimes our members just come out with something really neat.

Is the Atheist Community a Cult? - Genetically Modified Skeptic [youtube.com]

Amisja comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Let me be your charismatic supreme leader, send me all your money ;)

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

Don't listen to her, she is secretly a Lancastrian, she will make you wear clogs and flat caps then force you to eat black pudding until your mind gives in!!!

If you had a time machine would you go back into the past to kill baby Hitler or would you try to ...

KKGator comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Neither. I'd make sure his parents never met. Just like I'd make sure 45's parents never met. If it's just one person, you just make sure their parents never meet. If the person is never born, they don't need to be changed or killed.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@KKGator We would never know, our history could change every few seconds and we would not be aware of it. Now that's a thought that could mess with your mind.

Interesting bit of information technology history:

Fernapple comments on Jan 22, 2019:

It was a bit slow having to carve the letters on to the stone by hand, but still I suppose it was quicker than a land-line in a rural area.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@Elganned Of course.

If you had a time machine would you go back into the past to kill baby Hitler or would you try to ...

KKGator comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Neither. I'd make sure his parents never met. Just like I'd make sure 45's parents never met. If it's just one person, you just make sure their parents never meet. If the person is never born, they don't need to be changed or killed.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

Even if you could delay them from having sex for a couple of seconds a different sperm would probably get to the egg and someone else would be born. The butterfly effect is a wonderful thing and says that if a time traveler went back to the time around Hitlers birth, and did virtually nothing, then the smallest act would still change the whole course of history. Which would also of course, mean that the time traveler would never be born in the first place, so the time traveler could never go back. Its called the time travelers paradox.

Went into town today for some shopping.

MissKathleen comments on Jan 22, 2019:

It is pretty, indeed. Amazing spire!

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

You can go up the tower but only as far as the bottom of the spire, even so the views from there are pretty amazing, and of course it has been climbed without ropes by some fool as a stunt.

Are morality and empathy basically the same?

WilliamFleming comments on Jan 22, 2019:

If what you say is correct, then it seems to me that the legal system is an expression of morality, because laws are supposed to be enforced uniformly and without passion. Of course laws don’t cover every situation, and also laws have to be interpreted—meaning that there are higher principles ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@AmmaRE007 If you have language then culture will follow, give any animal language and it will expand on the emotional and instinctive basic rules that are inherent to it, to make a culture which includes morality. But without those basic drives then there is no reason to develop culture only limitless apathy.

Does unhealthy food make you happy sometimes?

darthfaja comments on Jan 22, 2019:

Sounds like a good plan I’m more interested in what you would eat on the ‘unhealthy binges’ Ice cream is my goto What are yours?

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

Cheese.

Life always passes through fissures.

ronin73 comments on Jan 20, 2019:

As does water.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

They are very nearly the same thing.

Encase you weren't aware....

LiterateHiker comments on Jan 22, 2019:

In case you weren't aware: "Encase" is not the right word.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@Bendog And collect the eggs.

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 22, 2019:

@Rob1948 Yes but the justices can still do all the speaking and present the case, the jury just votes to make it law or not. This way the body becomes accoutable, and you can give the justices an extra power if you like to send any case not passed by the jury to congress or referendum.

The Supreme Court has become political and it was designed to be impartial.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Make it jury led instead. In ancient Athens where they first came up with democracy the highest courts were jury led, and despite more limited resources they had three hundred members, enough to make a good sample of public opinion, not the tiny statistically hopeless twelve we have now.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@Rob1948 Yes but not a random seletion from all parts of society, and nine is not even as good a sample as twelve. Such numbers are riddiculus in mathematical terms.

The devotion of the human dad separates us from other apes | Aeon Essays

nicknotes comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I've watched some nature films and chimps and apes seem to be taking care of their children.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@tnorman1236 Yes that is true, and as I said I have no problem with his view of human fathers. It is only his misrepresentation of apes I think is wrong.

When say I Trump is a winner.

Marine comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I think I would change my name!

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@Marine An ass puts in a good days work for some hay and water.

When say I Trump is a winner.

Marine comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I think I would change my name!

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

I don't think that Donald could pass himself off as a slim young man even if he did change his name to Judd.

Does the way you accept criticism tell a great deal about you?

Jenelle comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I take criticism a lot better than I take compliments... I’m sure *that* says a lot about me, ha!

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

It says you are a nice, sweet, bright, caring intelligent person, of the best sort.

The devotion of the human dad separates us from other apes | Aeon Essays

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

This certainly has a lot of truth in it, but the author shoots himself in the foot to some extent by supporting it with the completely false idea that male apes of other species do not have any role in caring for infants. This is completely wrong, even though to a degree caring in most of the other ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@tnorman1236 As I said, I am sure that there is a lot of truth in it. It was just that the writer tried to overstate his case by misrepresenting the truth about the other apes, which is not the standard you would hope for in a good achedemic article. He did state at least twice that other ape fathers had no involvement withthe young.

My pond refroze overnight.

Fernapple comments on Jan 21, 2019:

A little open water if you can thaw or break a bit, is really useful to the birds.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@AmiSue Well done. I must admit that I am lucky where I live, the stream which runs through the garden is spring fed, and it comes out of the ground at a constant 50f so that there is always open water for them, even when all the other ponds and streams freeze.

The devotion of the human dad separates us from other apes | Aeon Essays

nicknotes comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I've watched some nature films and chimps and apes seem to be taking care of their children.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@nicknotes The main difference between us is of course abstract language, which means that what one generation learned, can then be passed to the next for building on and thereby enabling progress. This was not even mentioned in the article, which furthers the impression that the author is distorting the facts, to big his insight up beyond its true worth.

The devotion of the human dad separates us from other apes | Aeon Essays

nicknotes comments on Jan 21, 2019:

I've watched some nature films and chimps and apes seem to be taking care of their children.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

Very true, you spotted the same error as me.

Hamamelis mollis the Witch Hazel is coming into flower in the garden now.

beenthere comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Can you tell us a little bit about the seasonal climate at your location right now? Does the UK have climate zones similar to or the same as the US?

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

Yes, some people try to use the US zones for the UK but they work only roughly because being such a small island the weather makes a nonesense of climate to a degree. I am on the border of eight/seven and most of the UK is either eight or seven with some six in the northern mountains. Being on a hill I am colder than some places nearby. We are having night frosts now and thaws in the day.

Hamamelis mollis the Witch Hazel is coming into flower in the garden now.

ADKSparky comments on Jan 21, 2019:

Beautiful. I need to plant a few of them. I have some in our swamp and spice bush. They like it wet.

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

Yes this one is in a damp place and has made a bush twelve feet high with really good form.

Hamamelis mollis the Witch Hazel is coming into flower in the garden now.

Leafhead comments on Jan 21, 2019:

How is it pollinated? The witch hazel here in WI blooms in the dead of January, February in the midst of snow No bugs, no bees. Birds?

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

I googled it and came up with this really interesting clip. For a long time, it was a mystery how a winter-flowering plant would get pollinated. A witchhazel that happens to flower on a slightly warm spring when honeybees are making their first flights in desperate search of food might get lucky. That is not a reliable way to reproduce. It was the renowned naturalist Bernd Heinrich who realized that there was a group of owlet moths (family Noctuidae) called winter moths that are active on cold nights. These moths have a remarkable ability to heat themselves by using energy to shiver, raising their body temperatures by as much as 50 degrees in order to fly in search of food. It is a group of these moths that pollinate witch hazels. The moths that pollinate witchhazel are several species of Eupsilia known as sallows. It would be easy to conclude that this is a case of coevolution - both organisms having evolved to depend on one another. This is probably not the case - Heinrich observed that these moths mostly feed on bleeding sap from injured trees. So, the tree is dependent on the moth, but the moth is probably not dependent on the tree.

Hamamelis mollis the Witch Hazel is coming into flower in the garden now.

Leafhead comments on Jan 21, 2019:

How is it pollinated? The witch hazel here in WI blooms in the dead of January, February in the midst of snow No bugs, no bees. Birds?

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

I have no idea will get back to you.

Thanos and God

Fernapple comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Don't expect logic from religion, it does not do that. It is however fun to research the history of Satan, because the whole story is so wonderfully silly, there are a couple of good videos on U-tube you can find easily. In the Christian old testament he/it/they (may be several) starts as an servant...

Fernapple replies on Jan 21, 2019:

@Brian_Blum THe Christian Bible does contain two accounts of the creation which do not tell the same version of the story! Which helps a lot.

Everyone has an art.

Fernapple comments on Jan 20, 2019:

I would put in a vote for gardening, since it is one of the few which is a science as well, it is the only one which deals with the living environment, in time and space, it teaches humility because nature always messes with your efforts, and it always turns out better than your vision because ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@Varn It does indeed. That's the learning part.

Thoughts about meaning and personal influence in the world.

Fernapple comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Bull central, should be on the Woo page.

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@josh_is_exciting That's Ok anytime. But I do feel that a lot of my wasted time has been by far the most productive, since that was when I learned what matered and gained wisdom. The world is full of busy people many of whom are doing a lot more harm than good, and a lot of what needs doing is cleaning up the mess created by shallow people who were always too busy to stop and think, or even consider if their actions were harmful or not. He pedals the old idea that all the harm in the world is caused by evil intent, in fact that is rare, by far the greatest amount of harm is done by the folly of well intentioned people. Just look at religion, and then imagine what would happen if all the fundamentalists and others stopped wasting time.

So.

Kintaro comments on Jan 20, 2019:

I tend to like older women than me. Smarter, more experienced women than me. Women that I can grow into or with. Women that complement me. I don't know -- the physical aspect isn't that important to me. (It's important, but not the top priority.) My brother is the exact opposite. He goes ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

I am told that statistically the relationships most likely to succeed are men with older women. Mine have all been with older women and only premature death ended them. Good luck.

Right is right.

Surfpirate comments on Jan 20, 2019:

We all need more people like this. :)

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

Great photos.

Thanks to several weeks of quite warm weather through the new year, the catkins on the hazels are ...

EyesThatSmile comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Pretty! Can’t get that here in Florida.

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

Even so I would swap you a whole week here in winter for half a day in the land of flowers. Enjoy.

Demosthenes for democracy

Fernapple comments on Jan 20, 2019:

Or even that a small group should be more powerful than the people, representative democracy is an oxymoron.

Fernapple replies on Jan 20, 2019:

@Dr650mike Yep same here in the UK. even worse in Europe.

Do you know people who always think they are right? [vox.com]

sewchick57 comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Yes. My mother who is one of the most clueless people I have ever known. But according to her she's an authority on damn near everything.

Fernapple replies on Jan 19, 2019:

Yep. mine too.

What Are Atoms Made Of? - Stated Clearly [youtube.com]

Cast1es comments on Jan 18, 2019:

Can't see it , can't photograph it , how can they confirm this data ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 18, 2019:

In a sense they don't, the models are built by observing the way the atoms and their parts behave to learn the logic of them, but the models are not in any way real they are simply poetic metaphores, used to make the discovered logic available in a way that the human mind can understand. As the narrator says there are better models which you can choose, but they used this one in the video, because it is a simple one. However it should not be thought that any of the models are real in any way. It is as if I knocked on the door of a house and heard a meow come from inside, I could therefore conclude that there was something inside the house which makes a sound like meow. It could be a cat or it could be a speaker on a record player, so if I modeled the house as a box made up of a pair of brackets, ( ) then put inside a thing which makes a meow when you bang on the door, which I call the sound maker, then (sound maker) becomes my model of the house. This is the sort of thing we are talking about, yet they are made to fit exactly the way the atoms are observed to behave but they can only ever be poetic metaphores.

I have decided that I am over this working for a living malarky.

Jnei comments on Jan 17, 2019:

It really is hugely over-rated, and outdated too: it's clear that due to automation there aren't enough jobs to go round and as artificial intelligence takes over more and more tasks there'll be even fewer - so it makes sense to free up all the remaining jobs for those who define their worth in ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 17, 2019:

Re. your last para. How about just calling them Trump clones.

Perhaps the most depressing photo I've ever seen.

Surfpirate comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I would have thought that the great pressure at that depth would have crushed that can flat.

Fernapple replies on Jan 17, 2019:

Maybe it was an open one, then the presure would stay the same inside and out.

I have decided that I am over this working for a living malarky.

242Foxtrot comments on Jan 17, 2019:

Open up a B&B for visiting agnostics!

Fernapple replies on Jan 17, 2019:

@Byrdsfan What about the God Delusion, by Richad Dawkins

One potato, two potato and go!

Fernapple comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Indiana Jones and the lost Potato.

Fernapple replies on Jan 16, 2019:

@Beowulfsfriend Could be that, or, Indian Jones and the Potato of Doom.

One potato, two potato and go!

Fernapple comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Indiana Jones and the lost Potato.

Fernapple replies on Jan 16, 2019:

@maturin1919 That's it, you know I was sure I got it wrong. Thanks. I think I was mixing it up with the "last" potato.

Earliest known lead exposure... [sciencedaily.com]

qpr81 comments on Jan 14, 2019:

wow! so it wasn't the Romans who started this lead exposure....

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

@Donotbelieve Yep. Thats OK so was mine. More seriously though. It seems that the two communities did not share living space because they have been found living separately at the same time in several places. But who knows if there were modern human/ Neanderthal Romeo and Juliets of both sides, who met in the woods far from disapproving eyes, or if, just as sadly perhaps, the communities traded slaves and children.

Britons View Atheists As More Moral Than Believers, Religion More Harmful Than Good

LenHazell53 comments on Jan 15, 2019:

In the UK Christianity will have died in the next few generations. Given the choice children don't want to go to church and if forced stop as soon as they are able. Even young Muslims are turning away or simply paying lip service to their beliefs and almost every Jew I know under the age of 40 ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

There may still be setbacks, such as Blairs creation of so called "faith" schools which are known to have held back the education of many children. We should not get too comfortable yet, there is still much to do.

This is from a video but still worth quoting.

Cutiebeauty comments on Jan 15, 2019:

But a religious person would say they do know...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

@Cutiebeauty "Way back to the origin of ignorance." That's a good quote too in its own right.

This is from a video but still worth quoting.

Cutiebeauty comments on Jan 15, 2019:

But a religious person would say they do know...

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

Yes. And they have it from their priest, who claimed to know, who got it from his theologist, who claimed to know, who got it from the bible author, who claimed to know, who got it from a prophet, who claimed to know. But unfortunately a claim is not proof no matter how far it goes back.

Earliest known lead exposure... [sciencedaily.com]

qpr81 comments on Jan 14, 2019:

wow! so it wasn't the Romans who started this lead exposure....

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

@Elganned How do you know it was not the other way round.

After several months of masonry work, a first for me, I finally got 4 and a half cubic yards of ...

MikeInBatonRouge comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Now that we are in winter, I have an urge to plant a few winter-flowering camellias. What is the best season for planting them?

Fernapple replies on Jan 15, 2019:

Autumn is best is they are bare root, but if they are potted any time as long as you can water the first summer.

I'm setting up my gardening boxes on my new sun porch .

bigpawbullets comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Nope... not styrofoam. I believe it's vermiculite. Helps control water evaporation.

Fernapple replies on Jan 14, 2019:

If it is irregular in form it will be vermiculite, if it is small round beads it will be perlite.

Do you believe aliens exist?

genessa comments on Jan 14, 2019:

of course there is life "out there." it is probably microbial. the thing is, if you want to define life as something that resembles us, or even other animals, then it becomes less and less likely. life can come into being with the right chemical and environmental conditions. intelligent life... ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 14, 2019:

True, the Drake equation misses out a lot of important details, the leap to eukaryotic cells only happened here once, and could be an almost impossible event, which means bacterial life everywhere.

The dude knew his stuff.

Fernapple comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Perhaps you could say, the Dunning Kruger effect a hundred years earlier, Darwin always seems to have foresight in so many fields beyond what you would expect for the nineteenth century. Though in this case you could even go back to A. Pope and his "drink deep" which perhaps even pushes the idea ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 14, 2019:

@Mokvon Goes back forever does it not. But I do like the Darwin which was new to me. Thanks.

I'd like to request an opt out toggle in the settings menu for the Members section of the front page...

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Always ignore those bits, I sometimes wonder if anyone has ever had a face to face from this site, or if the whole dating, friend finding, thing is just a waste of time for those who are here for the community.

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Kafir Sometimes I am told dating sites etc. prioritise the no hope members first because that way people wont find someone they like early and then go away.

Well the blessed independant state of Oswaldtwistle is cold wet and rainy.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

I always take a holiday by the Med. in mid winter. This year just before Christmas I spent each evening sat by the sea with a coffee, watching a bat flying round a small harbor against a warm sunset. I can never understand why people all rush to take their holidays by the Med. in the summer, where's...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Amisja Yes I know my work is seasonal and I hardly ever get a break from April to September. Well it may be cold and gray tommorow as well, but your lad will soon get well, spring is not far away, the days get longer, you can always look back at all your happy students, because everyone is allowed a little smugness now and again, Oswaldtwistle is oly a tiny distance from some of the loveliest places in England if you can only make an hour for yourself. And in the mean time I ticked the hug icon for you. Ok not much but its the best I can do.

If politicians want to declare war on other nation, how about sending them to the front to lead, ...

Triphid comments on Jan 13, 2019:

The only thing wrong with that idea is that the Kings and Generals were well guarded and protected whilst the rest of their armies slaughtered each other. No, IF any Leader, King, etc, etc, wants to go to war then bring in the very old Leader versus Leader rule and the winner takes all, No ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Marionville Yes you could have, Trump shows up, fifty to one, Trump lasts two seconds, hundred to one, Trump lasts five seconds, thousand to one, Trump wins, "We don't give odds on that."

If politicians want to declare war on other nation, how about sending them to the front to lead, ...

Triphid comments on Jan 13, 2019:

The only thing wrong with that idea is that the Kings and Generals were well guarded and protected whilst the rest of their armies slaughtered each other. No, IF any Leader, King, etc, etc, wants to go to war then bring in the very old Leader versus Leader rule and the winner takes all, No ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Marionville Not sure. I think that Trump ver. Putin would be over in about two seconds. Would love to see what odds the bookies tried to give though.

Good writers are those who keep the language efficient.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

True as far as it goes; but fortunately you do not need to be a good writer to be an interesting person, and sometimes a little bit of extra effort in the reading is well rewarded. Otherwise it would be a waste of my time, and a lot of other peoples, being on this site.

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Marionville Yes, and you know that I am just being naughty, because I like to be that now and again, especially with the ladies; ( Ambiguity intended. ) and it is true that the quality of the posts on this site at least, usually though not always, directly match the quality of the prose. But as a wise lady once told me. "It is the inarticulate children who need your love the most."

We are lucky here in the UK, in that the climate means that we can grow and naturalize Snowdrops, ( ...

MissKathleen comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Pretty!

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

I will put up another photo when they are in full flower, it is a photo of a very special place that will amaze I hope.

Interesting bit about the early mammals, just in that gray area where classification shows its ...

EyesThatSmile comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Long name for a little critter. Interesting. Thanks.

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

First law of classification. "The smaller the critter the longer the name."

We are lucky here in the UK, in that the climate means that we can grow and naturalize Snowdrops, ( ...

Lavergne comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Up here in the TN mountains, the Siberian Iris does really well and naturalizes like crazy. I always hold my breath waiting for that flush of color in spring - they're one of my favorites..

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

Lovely photo, we can grow those here too but they do not naturalize with quite the zest and enthusiasim that the snowdrop does.

Good writers are those who keep the language efficient.

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

True as far as it goes; but fortunately you do not need to be a good writer to be an interesting person, and sometimes a little bit of extra effort in the reading is well rewarded. Otherwise it would be a waste of my time, and a lot of other peoples, being on this site.

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@Marionville So if you saw an arm sticking out of a hole in the ground, waving a paper with the word HELP! writen on it. You would think, you should clarify what sort of help you need, and then you would walk on ?

Finch's Bite Is 320 Times More Powerful Than T. Rex's [livescience.com]

Fernapple comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Interesting, but the essay about early mammals, which I found a link to at the bottom of the page was even more so.

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@phxbillcee No that is a good point will do if I can.

Considering both the collapse of ancient societies due to resource scarcity and climate change, and ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

It is almost impossible to predict the future, even ten or twenty years ahead let alone eighty plus, while we must assume the worst in order to act in a responsible way if we can, the one certainty is that almost no predictions ever prove correct. The whole thing could be thrown out by a huge range ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@MojoDave You hit my point exactly, but have said it better and more succinctly.

Earth with no water

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Pretty and interesting, but I am sorry to say that it is a distortion in which the highs and lows have been exaggerated to a great extent. The difference between the highest mountains and the deepest trenches is only about ten miles. On a globe of just over eight thousand miles diameter most are ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 13, 2019:

@magicwatch Yes I would have used snooker ball but with most of the members on this site being from the US, Ithought that it was kind to go with pool.

What makes you happy? Different things make people happy... Let me hear your thoughts....

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Knowing that I have done something useful, as when I see a customer smile. Sorry it may sound cheesy but it really is what make my day.

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@PalacinkyPDX Thank you.

If you hear someone speak with a heavy, southern, country accent, do you instinctively think they ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Only if its a cockney accent.

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@Amisja Yorkshire, Cambridge and Lincolnshire in that order. Read My bio if you like, I think you will find it fun, and you will have a better handle on me when you want to put me in my place. PS I read yours.

If you hear someone speak with a heavy, southern, country accent, do you instinctively think they ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Only if its a cockney accent.

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@maturin1919 Yes I know, and the chance to bait both Americans and Londoners both at the same time was too good to miss.

If you hear someone speak with a heavy, southern, country accent, do you instinctively think they ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

Only if its a cockney accent.

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@maturin1919 It does in the south of England.

Have you ever expressed an opinion or stated something that proved highly unpopular?

linxminx comments on Jan 12, 2019:

I'm well-versed in being the lone voice, getting the "blinking eyes," or cricket-chirping silence as people don't know how to respond to something other than the status quo. I speak out a lot about our current mindset related to the education of our young people, which I feel is actually ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

In my days a very long time ago, it was. "We want you to learn to think for yourselves." But the funny thing was, that we knew deep down inside which teachers really wanted you to think, and they were the ones who never used the phrase.

Considering both the collapse of ancient societies due to resource scarcity and climate change, and ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 12, 2019:

It is almost impossible to predict the future, even ten or twenty years ahead let alone eighty plus, while we must assume the worst in order to act in a responsible way if we can, the one certainty is that almost no predictions ever prove correct. The whole thing could be thrown out by a huge range ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@Greymattersuit The issue of a global pandemic is not a quip, it was just an example of how hard it is to predict the future, and I do not intend it to belittle the threats you list, nor will any pandemic drive us to extinction that is not how they work, that idea is silly and was certainly not what I meant. Quite the contary, I merely throw it in as another threat. And it should not be dismissed because there are already signs that our ability to provide quarantine is breaking down, there may not be effective anti-biotics soon, there is an increasing anti-medicine movement and as global resources lessen, sea levels rise etc. there will be increasing uncontroled migrations and famines which always raise the risk, nor should you count on things like the WHO being able to survive themselves, plus an increasing threat from planned bio-engineered pathogens. The fact is that we have enjoyed a short period of a century or so when we managed, thanks to rapidly improving technology and the exploitation of massive resources, to escape for infection for both our selves and our food supplies. That period will come to an end maybe soon, and so possibily will medicine as an effective force in human life. I am not an anti environmentalist. and do think that atll of the things you list are serious threats, and would like to see a sustainable world. In the short term, perhaps twenty years most models are good; but when once you begin to get beyond that then the effects of chaos begin to take hold. And governments who trust in such models are simply either trying to delude people that they have an understanding of the future, which they don't, or are themselves being taken in by a profit making futureology industry, who wish to sell as much of their product as possible. In my youth when still in the education system I had the chance to observe the working of a government think tank, which aimed to foresee the future, and made a number of predictions, some of which I do not remember, but only forty five years on I do remember that the predictions made for the next half century were very consistent, they were all wrong.

Considering both the collapse of ancient societies due to resource scarcity and climate change, and ...

SaucyCheryl comments on Jan 12, 2019:

I'm thinking a financial collapse and World War is going to get us first

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@Greymattersuit Yes that is very true, but it is perhaps not good to look to the past too much, one thing that history teaches is that no two wars are alike, it is quite likely that the reasons for fighting wars in the twenty first century will be things we can not yet imagine. It is also most likely that as resources run out, then wars will have to be small scale and often internal, this may be begining even now with the proxy wars. Wars could also occur over things like genetic technology, and orbital space. While there are real signs that we are heading for a new dark age and that religious doctrine will be at the top of the agenda, when you combine that with the fact that the lines between wars and terrorism are becoming increasingly blurred, and that it will be harder to maintain nation states in a world of more limited resouces, while technology will become increasingly available to terrorists, especially bio-tech so that the next war could easily be a germ war fought between religious sects. While the possiblity of global pandemics should not be underated, since both humans and our food plants are now the biggest resources available to any creature which can learn how to exploit either, and that may well trump anything we can plan before it happens.

Considering both the collapse of ancient societies due to resource scarcity and climate change, and ...

SaucyCheryl comments on Jan 12, 2019:

I'm thinking a financial collapse and World War is going to get us first

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@Greymattersuit Do not agree there are many more reasons for war than just resource scarcity.

It seems that being atheist or agnostic is now looked at as a type of religion

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

It is a line of BS pushed by theists, whose next move is usually to try to change the burden of proof from, prove there is a god, to, prove there is no god. They think that if they can force an acceptance of atheism/agnostic as a religion, then you have to prove your faith in your religion just as ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 12, 2019:

@KissedbySun Good variation on the , one god more argument. Must try to remember that one.

It seems that being atheist or agnostic is now looked at as a type of religion

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

It is a line of BS pushed by theists, whose next move is usually to try to change the burden of proof from, prove there is a god, to, prove there is no god. They think that if they can force an acceptance of atheism/agnostic as a religion, then you have to prove your faith in your religion just as ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

@irascible When you write a work of fiction, you can of course make your hero as smart as you like. So somebody really messed up.

The secret is safe with me?

snytiger6 comments on Jan 11, 2019:

Or, could it be that we actually did land people on the moon?

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

@starwatcher-al Yep that was big-foot in boots.

Shouldn't we be more eager to get there?

DavidLaDeau comments on Jan 11, 2019:

The only way we could have evolved is if we feared and avoided death long enough to reproduce. Fear of death is what keeps us living, religion helps many of us to deal with that fear, it does not reduce it.

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

Sorry I think that religion sets out to make that fear worse in quite a purpose full way, with threats of hell and judgement, so that it can control people more.

Biological genetic evolution can only react and never foresee.

RichCC comments on Jan 11, 2019:

I haven't thoroughly studied the data but I've read that of all species that have existed on Earth, 99.9 percent are now extinct. Biological evolution tries a lot of things and the vast majority them don't end successfully. I'm starting to think our 'intelligence' trick may be headed that way. ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

Your comment really needs a well thought out reply and I will get back to you if I can think of more. But I will say, for now, that one of the most interesting new things that will happen in the near future, is going to be the new technology of genetic engineering, and our power to design babies. It will happen whether we like it or not, because you can never keep the technology cat in the bag however much you want to. But if it goes well then it could save us from the slow decline that modern civilizations sellective preasures will force on to us. The glib, "To be a genetic successful breeder means being too stupid to understand how contraceptives work, and that makes stupid the future" will have to do for now as an example. But I would imagine that many will value intelligence in their own children, especially irronically many anti-intellectuals. (It is different when they are your children.)

What do you believe in?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

in the sense of a religious belief, nothing. in a practical sense, i believe my guy loves me, and i believe a good number of things that require long explanations and are subject to revision with the advent of new information. i believe my right to swing my arm ends where your nose begins, and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

@genessa I made the funny of course because it does sometimes, at least from here, seem that Trump is more like a Walt Disney creation than anything else. Yet I have always though that there were two sorts of evil doing people. The Hitler type who may be mad and quite without compassion, but who really believe that what they do is for the best. And the Stalin type who know that they do harm, but still keep doing it anyway, because they are content to be selfish. I hope you slept well last night and that I did not contribute to keeping you up too much.

Do you want to be buried or sprinkled?

Jnei comments on Jan 11, 2019:

I'd far rather be buried, so that all the various bacteria and who knows what other organisms can immediately start work on returning the various stuff currently making up by body back into the food chain, just as has happened to the vast majority of things that ever lived and ever died. Nature has ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

If they take you to the zoo, ( my choice ) then one less goat will have to die to feed the lions tigers etc. and no smells in the woods.

It seems that being atheist or agnostic is now looked at as a type of religion

Fernapple comments on Jan 11, 2019:

It is a line of BS pushed by theists, whose next move is usually to try to change the burden of proof from, prove there is a god, to, prove there is no god. They think that if they can force an acceptance of atheism/agnostic as a religion, then you have to prove your faith in your religion just as ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

@pasha-one-nine Then they often use the . "So you think you are smarter than god." Line. Actually I think that my next door neighbour but one's nine year old is smarter than their god.

What do you believe in?

genessa comments on Jan 11, 2019:

in the sense of a religious belief, nothing. in a practical sense, i believe my guy loves me, and i believe a good number of things that require long explanations and are subject to revision with the advent of new information. i believe my right to swing my arm ends where your nose begins, and ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

Does Donald Trump really exist then ? I thought he was just something you Americans made up.

I'm looking forward to meeting nature lovers

SkotlandSkye comments on Jan 11, 2019:

As opposed to “nature haters”? Define nature lover vs. nature haters? Are people who deny climate change while supporting rampant consumerism considered “nature haters”? What are the criteria to be considered a “nature lover”?

Fernapple replies on Jan 11, 2019:

Could be that his meaning is that if you reject the supernatural you are by default a nature lover, since that is all that remains. But you are quite right, that believing only in nature does not mean that you will certainly love it. Or it could be that he is hoping that some of the members will be nature lovers, or perhaps it is just a fishing trip.

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

1. depends on what counts as higher consciousness, and higher than what. 2. atheism itself? i have evidence all around me that it does not. however, the things that lead to atheism may also lead to higher consciousness, dependent on what that is. g

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@genessa Good night.

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

1. depends on what counts as higher consciousness, and higher than what. 2. atheism itself? i have evidence all around me that it does not. however, the things that lead to atheism may also lead to higher consciousness, dependent on what that is. g

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@genessa Yes it is true that unblocking does not mean that you will follow the unblocked path. But the original post that we were asked to vote on, did say "can" not "does". However I do agree with you that, having seen a good sample of atheist opinion on this site especially, it does not seem by any means that there is an exceptional lot of higher level appreciation going on. I am easily set going on this issue mainly because I have had a couple of runs in with a woo pedlar/peddler on this site, over this point. So I will leave it at saying that while atheism may not lead to more appreciation of the natural world, religion certainly is a bar to it. RSVP since your comments are always interesting.

Well said!

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2019:

Lacks a coma, I think.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@MST3K, @MojoDave See my reply above to MST3K, I think that explains what I mean. But I make no claim to certainty.

Well said!

Fernapple comments on Jan 10, 2019:

Lacks a coma, I think.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@MST3K Could be, that is what i thought at first, but it seemed like a clumsy way to say that. Then I thought that perhaps it means that thinking is better than believing, (especially given the site we are on) in which case it is missing a coma after anything. Who knows you could use it either way.

A Few Random Thoughts About Cosmic Black Holes Every now and again a thought about this or that ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Black holes it is now thought, do lose a small amount of mass over a long period of time. You really do need to study the physics a lot more deeply before you post on the subject. There is a hypothetical time towards the end of the universe called the time of black holes. There are several good ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@johnprytz Sorry read it a second time and you did mention that.

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

1. depends on what counts as higher consciousness, and higher than what. 2. atheism itself? i have evidence all around me that it does not. however, the things that lead to atheism may also lead to higher consciousness, dependent on what that is. g

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@genessa No, but my point is, which I could perhaps have made more plain. That if you are not distracted by religion and woo, then you can give more of your attention to the natural material world, and the gifts that it has to offer. If I go down the garden and look for fairies, then I miss the chance to look into the heart of the flowers and appreciate the elegant beautiful structures of their sexual organs for example. It is perhaps not atheism in a possitive sense but the distractions you leave behind.

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

genessa comments on Jan 10, 2019:

1. depends on what counts as higher consciousness, and higher than what. 2. atheism itself? i have evidence all around me that it does not. however, the things that lead to atheism may also lead to higher consciousness, dependent on what that is. g

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

Perhaps just, we are not distracted from learning to appreciate the natural world.

Do you think atheism can lead to higher consciousness?

Mokvon comments on Jan 10, 2019:

Only in as much in that when we free ourselves from a restrictive ideology are minds can have the time and energy to find deeper meaning. So maybe.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

True, we are not distracted from learning to appreciate the natural world.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

He was either very careful and very clever, or he was suffering from the Dunning Kruger effect.

Fernapple replies on Jan 10, 2019:

@THHA Yes I was taking him very literaly, which is a little unfair to him, since I am sure that what he meant was that he had tried to lead a fair and ballanced life. Yet in part the reasoning was that it does point out an interesting way in which Roman culture differed from ours, since of course it would not be possible for someone to say something like that today without raising sniggers.

Cricket- What's up with that sport?

Fernapple comments on Jan 9, 2019:

Its very like baseball, except that there are only two bases and you run back and forth between them until you are out, instead of round the diamond in the same way as baseball. There being two batsman on the field all the time so the bases are always loaded. The main other difference is that the ...

Fernapple replies on Jan 9, 2019:

@Moravian Not like rounders either. Rounders is actually the oldest game from which the other two were evolved.