One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 5, 2018:

A pity the conclusion is missing...

PROJECT GUTTENBERG: Use this link to search for books on-line by tittle or author.

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 5, 2018:

It is an amazing treasure trove.

WYD Nerds?

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 3, 2018:

looks like a prossession of HARIBO gummibears

Amazing!! Sexual Deviants is now the 4th largest group on Agnostic!! Give yourselves a hand(job)!...

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

where do you find these stats?

If alien species existed, do you think they’d want anything to do with humanity or Earth?

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

I think most human concepts of *Aliens* are narrowly imagined as a species of a compatible size. What if Aliens were actually too big of too small to communicate? Ant might actually think of elephants as aliens and vice versa. Most alien fanatasies are just substitutes for religous ideas a sort of atheists' religious friend.

Can men and women just be friends?

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

I remember a very passionate man from Russia once telling me that friendship is impossible if there is sexual attraction. A French lady taught me otherwise many years later and some Chinese ladies made the question appear quite ludicrous. Turn the question around and ask whether lovers can be friends. In this question there is a religious undertone. *Friendship* becomes idealized almost immaculate. Consequently sex potentially tarnishes the friendship. It is not the sex but the way we perceive sex as a claim to ownership thus the feelings of jealous when that friend also has sex with others.

Can men and women just be friends?

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

Yes of course ... Can friends have sex? Yes of course!

looks at the post looks at the doorbell gleefully and repeatedly presses the doorbell

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

That is too hilarious ...

Why are you athiest?

PontifexMarximus comments on Aug 1, 2018:

It is a rather interesting question .. With a touch of irony. All babies are born without religion, language or name. So being a stateless atheist or rather areligious anarchist is actually the natural state of affairs. Later we get shrouded in various magic cloaks that transform us into theists and nationalists, aka patriots,

Just for fun question: Have you ever made love on a beach?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 31, 2018:

Coral beaches are ok with something in between the bottoms and the coral bits.

Just for fun question: Have you ever made love on a beach?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 31, 2018:

Yes ... And in the water...The was one incident that I truly regret ... It was a very hot day and instead of lying on a tropical beach my partner and I decided to follow a water course. At the bottom of a lovely waterfall there was a nice pool with crystal clear water. We wanted to find out where it came from so we climbed up and up and up until we found a delightful rock pool with a bit of shade. I guess we both knew what was going to happen and it did. The water was warm but still refreshing. After the climax I looked at my partner and saw the rather compact result of my ejaculation coming out of her vagina and surpringly instead of floating to the top it floated downward and accelerated. It was already to late when I realised that it was being sucked into to hose that supplied the freshwater to a settlement at the beach further down. Then I realised that my partner had also been watching with bewilderment. Though I felt guilty we still had a giggle imaging the potential consequences.

Alliterations and 'all' about them: [disappearingidioms.com]

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 30, 2018:

Lots of words to say what exactly? I gave up after reading "Dead as a doornail" the third time. Especially the last mention was too much for me.

Would you crucifux me?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 29, 2018:

19 years

Nice to meet you all, don't think this site is really my thing, it was a pleasure meeting you guys.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 29, 2018:

I am sure what's best for you.

Nice to meet you all, don't think this site is really my thing, it was a pleasure meeting you guys.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 29, 2018:

I am frankly devastated ...

Hirsute women, I find them sexy and appealing. What do others think?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 25, 2018:

I definitely prefer hairy pussies to bald ones.

What would you teach your younger self about sex?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 25, 2018:

1/ Sex has got nothing to do with love. Love can be a bonus. 2/ Hygiene 3/ Contraception to be discussed before the action 4/ Any sexual activity should be discussed with the partner. 5/ No guilt if sex happens between consenting partners. 6/ Avoid hurt even if it means dissimulation.

Supernatural VS Atheist

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 23, 2018:

Life is a confusing business. With all due respect the idea of an "afterlife" is somewhat childish.That the conclusion of life is the absence of it is only from a thinking being's viewpoint dissatisfacting. Strangely most people never ask the question of the "beforelife". Just focus on your life and enjoy it while it last.

How do you people feel about prenups?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 23, 2018:

contracts are just bullshit if one doesn't have the means to enforce them.

How long is too long to wait to have sex

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 11, 2018:

It really depends on an individuals background. I venture to say that the vast majority of men seek the company of a woman for her sexual potential. so it should really be a matter of just a couple of meetings to procede and evaluate the degree of sexual compatible.

How long is too long to wait to have sex

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 11, 2018:

It really depends on an individuals background. I venture to say that the vast majority of men seek the company of a woman for her sexual potential. so it should really be a matter of just a couple of meetings to procede and evaluate the degree of sexual compatible.

How long is too long to wait to have sex

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 11, 2018:

It really depends on an individuals background. I venture to say that the vast majority of men seek the company of a woman for her sexual potential. so it should really be a matter of just a couple of meetings to procede and evaluate the degree of sexual compatible.

What sex toys do people own?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 6, 2018:

What do these plugs do?

How do you recall your past partners, as regards your sexual relationships?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 2, 2018:

From the very limitted sample i had the pleasure to experience everyone was very special. Perhaps i was always surprised to find one who would enjoy sex with me. because i have really nothing special to offer.

How do you recall your past partners, as regards your sexual relationships?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 2, 2018:

i was in my late 50s when i met my best lover ever she was a natural talent in extracting amazing orgasms. She made realise hiw important it is that i know that a partner is fully engaged and willing let go.

After careful examination of all the knowable facts, and deep debate upon the nature of knowledge, I...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Everything is doutable. That's why religions could flourish. Religions were the wells of certainty.

Weltschmerz: World-weariness. Literally, world-pain.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 30, 2018:

It is one of those rather mysterious terms. I guess there is room for a lot of misinterpretation. *Welt* is in fact very close to its English counterpart. *Schmerz* seems more troublesome. You rightly use the term *weariness* and not pain. I would venture to claim that *Weltschmerz* is close to being an antonym to *joie de vivre*.

OK folks, this one's for real: Fuck, verb: To rap with a stick.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 30, 2018:

It is interesting that sexual activities, which extremely pleasurable, have generated to many negative expressions.

Adult Virgins

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 29, 2018:

When i was about 57 a 38 year-old woman insisted on meeting me with intention of convincing me to engage in heavy duty dating with her. Not only did want to get married but she also wanted a child. After some careful questioning she told me that she was still a virgin. She didn't appear to have major physical flaws. But for me her virginity was like a big stop sign. If her virginity was so precious I didn't want to shoulder the responsibility of potential failure. She did get married and had a child within a year of our encoynter. Shortly after giving birth she contacted me and told me that the husband had left and left behind a pile of debt.

So how old were you when you discovered that song we used to dance to as kids "The Electric Slide," ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 29, 2018:

Never even heard about that song ...

Has anybody ever got into the wrong car?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Well ... Recently a friend of mine asked me to drive her some place. Upon arrival i parked the car and we went on to do whatever it was we had to do. So we got back to the car about an hour later. My first attempt to open the car with its electronic key did not yield the anticipated sound of the central lock being released. I gave it a second go and a third and kept pressing the button on the key and i started seasoning my action with some rather spicy language. I have to stress that this happened with my friend and owner of the car present. It lasted a good minute and a half before I finally checked the car. Not only was it a slightly different colour (dark navy vs black) but it was even a differnt brand. I plead temporary dementia but my friend hadnt realised the error either. After this event I thought how lucky we were that no physical contact or even penetration of a key into a lock had taken place.

How much of your sexuality is wrapped up in purely physical things?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 26, 2018:

Well ... After all we are just a bunch of primates. *Carpe Diem* as the Romans used to say before they vanished. And the were right. The Roman Empire vanished as all aspires do. I guess romanticism kicks in when the sexual desire becomes manageable. What the Romans left us with is the bourgeois concept that, to this day, bears their name: romanticism. Nice concept, but ... Perhaps our craving for immoderate gratification comes from the fear that there might not be a future. The human testicles are placed outside the body. Some researcher compared this to having a beer fridge: just in case something comes up.

Meal of the Season: Asparagusfeet in Hamslippers

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 25, 2018:

Das jüngste Gericht?

I’ve recently noticed an interest in being completely dominated in bed while simultaneously not ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 25, 2018:

i guess just telling the partner. Once a lover told me: in bed you are my master. Outside she was a very independent career woman. A good sexual relationship must be mutually gratifying. The importance is to spell things out. But also make sure that *being dominated* doesn't necessarily mean *being abused* unless you desire it.

Fresh lychee Simply wash, peel and eat.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 25, 2018:

Just had one metric pound, your pound +10%, for dinner last night.

Fresh lychee Simply wash, peel and eat.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 25, 2018:

T'is the season ...

Ex priest..... ex nun.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 21, 2018:

Why the opposition between a priest and a nun? Isn't the male equivalent of a nun a monk?

Ex priest..... ex nun.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 21, 2018:

No problem. As a male I have very distinct preference for females, so I would go for the nun, though if she were a virgin I would have severe reservations. Recently i became acquainted to a former Sino-TIbetan monk who is now a father of twins and works as a barman. By the looks of it he has made a rather complete recovery.

There is also another person trying to join who has an alphanumeric abc123 style site name.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 21, 2018:

What is the potential harm or damage?

Boyfriend is agnostic, I'm an atheist. How to cope with disagreements?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 21, 2018:

How old is your boyfriend?

God hates porn?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 21, 2018:

That's not porn - that's voyeurism.

"What makes Earth feel like hell is our expectation that it should feel like heaven" -Chuck ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

One of the weirdest cults I have come across, Caodaist church, claims that Earth is planet 68. Planet 72 is the last before hitting hell, whereas planet one ... Well you guessed it. So getting to paradise would require a lot of planet hopping.

Would you dare to have sex in a church?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

When I was 7 or 8 my elder brothers dared me to pee in the classy baptismal basin of a old church somewhere lost in the French countryside... I did ... I guess they wondered whether thunder would strike me. I must say the basin was covered in dust and the church was probably abandoned ... Perhaps I should return and wait in the church for a willing woman ...

Would you dare to have sex in a church?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

I could never find an obliging lady and a cozy church at the same time.

Part 2 - Aliens: Are we alone?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

Some article about the endless speculation made me think about the nature of our craving for aliens, which in my opinion is really just a civil substitute for some deity. Interestingly *Giordano Bruno* already speculated about the possibility of life existing on other planets in other solar systems. I posted my question and someone replied to it with a quote from Carl Sagan: UFOism is where religion and science meet. What I find really intriguing is that many people seem to like the idea of a contact with aliens.Why the hell would they be driven by the same ideas as primates on planet earth? Why would extraterrestrial life even remotely resemble anything we know? Perhaps collectively we are driven by a weird phenomenon: We fuck up one place and then look for a new pristine we can fuck up, instead of learning from the mistakes and cleaning up the mess.

Part 2 - Aliens: Are we alone?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

Some article about the endless speculation made me think about the nature of our craving for aliens, which in my opinion is really just a civil substitute for some deity. Interestingly *Giordano Bruno* already speculated about the possibility of life existing on other planet in other solar systems. I posted my question and someone replied to it with a quote from Carl Sagan: UFOism is where religion and science meet.

Religion has contaminated sex.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 20, 2018:

Can sex contaminate or dirty religion? ...

Dating after 50

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Perhaps it's due to my lack of linguistic insight, but I still don't really understand what dating really is.

Progressing through the levels on Agnostic kind of reminds me of Scientology.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 19, 2018:

It is weird how this site puts a hierarchical spin on atheism. It reminded me of the Freemasons strata.

So, my religious neighbour asked me out to lunch last week and I went, with the stipulation that we ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

How important is it to feel needed by her? ... I remember once a guy called me an asshole, not on religious but on ideological grounds. I asked him whether would rescind from this insult. **"NO"** he said emphatically. "Great," I replied, so I don't have to pretend to respect you. Why don't you challenge her on the specifics of hell? Temperatures range, fuel type and consumption etc. and what materials are being used to insulate ***Heaven*** from ***Hell***.

Don’t set the bar too high ;)

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

Which what you suggest shoud be the limit. The bar of the *Four Seasons* in Canton is on the 103rd. Do you think that is too high a bar?

I want to explore a touchy topic.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

Because of a stupid tradition in education. I suffered from it to the point that I was hoping never to have sons.For starters I had two elder brothers, went to an all boys high school and was drafted into a all male navy.

Aliens are often portrayed as being anthropomorphic which is highly unlikely given that on earth ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

If they were the size of viruses or bacteria, we might not even recognise them. Somehow people's ideas of aliens are in line with religious views prevailing in the western cultures. There could be aliens of all sorts from all sorts of different environments. Perhaps some forms could exist in space. Most people come up with very *pedestrian* models of alien/extraterrestrial *lifeforms*. Doesn't that remind people of how humans invented their gods?

Why are nights always the most difficult to get through?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

Nights, natural nights without artificial lighting or brutal stimuli, are the space where our perceptions are challenged in a very different way. Our sight is impeded by the lack of light. The diurnal hysteria diminishes drastically. Perhaps our biological reactions are still and trigger reflexes that seem anachronistic. The skilled hunter becomes more vulnerable. Sleep deprives us of our defence mechanisms.

When a non-believer dies, what can one say instead of "Rest in Peace"?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

Let's face it all the words, strings of words, phrases, sentences or entire eulogies are just there to console the living left behind. One of my favourite family members who was born in 1900 and became a declared atheist after his return from a prolonged WWI said at my mother's funeral: "Sad event. Let's have a few drinks and tell a few jokes. It might be the last time we see each other!" He was dead the next day: Fatal accident on the return journey from the the funeral.

When a non-believer dies, what can one say instead of "Rest in Peace"?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

S/he came and went!

To do after one’s inner voice and conscience, rather than as being told?!

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 18, 2018:

Well ... Allow me share a little story. Beforehand I must say that I got knowledge of this story less than 10 years ago. This might appear to be a trivial detail, but I thinks it's an important one. Let's say I learned about the story about 70 years after it happened. The story is that of a a Jeiwsh family, a couple with their daughter, who ended up in a low security concentration camp near Cologne.This family was facing certain deportation and subsequent death in one extermination camp. One afternoon their maid decided to free them in the most audacious fashion. Armed with 3 overcoats she walked into the camp. On B her way in she flirted with one of the guards and told him that she was picking up her parents who were working in the kitchen. Once inside she searched for her previous employers gave them the coats to hide the infamous ***yellow start*** that was compulsorily attached to the Jews garments and had to be ostentatiously displayed. Once it was the end of the shift the 4 people walked just out. The maid made sure to pass the guards she had flirted with. Several years the Jewish family was hidden one the maid's parents' farm and survived the war. When asked after the war shy she had committed such an act of braver, she just replied that it was her Christian duty. This story is authentic!

Proof of no god?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 17, 2018:

The very question of proof of the non-existence is plain stupid.

Is Atheism a belief system?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I think most agnostics are still living under the regime of religious oppression and most structure their arguments with just one divine dude in mind. All people who believe in gods are *agnostics* since they cannot produce any proof of the existence of their particular gods or goddesses. I usually state that I am nothing and that even the question of the existence of any divine authority even remotely resembling any god as imagined by humans is of no relevance to me. When specifically asked about my belief in "god" which is more likely in a western influenced society, I just reply by the question: "Which ones do you have in mind?" Hinduism offers 33 million. I would challenge anyone to know them all. I am absolutely certain that there is no god that fits any human description. I will even say I know that there are none. Bring me the proof that would stand up in a criminal trial: ***Beyond reasonable doubt!***

Has evolution made us weaker to deal with physical pain?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I guess the Neanderthals didn't have much choice. Though I have no scientific evidence to support my belief, but I have serious doubts that 24 hour drug stores lined their tracks. Even nowadays we cannot really know what the pain perceptions on a individual level are. I express with some certainly that the vast majority of humans and other animals avoid pain unless that have masochisitic propensities. It is largely the knowledge that painrelief is available that dictates our choices. I remember dislocating my lower arm in a fall. I almost fainted and tried, without success, to pull it I order to realign it. On my way to the hospital I just concentrated on the positive: Lucky it wasn't my leg. Crawling to a hospital would have been so much slower and inconvenient. While walking about 2 km, just over a mile in your measurements, I thought about pain a lot and other instance of my own and when I had seen people suffering pain. Civilization has many remedies and we take advantage of them. BTW Christopher Hitchens was very critical of Mother Theresa because she refused to administer painrelief to pregnant women during delivery. Her agreement was that *sufferieng* was a *divine* gift.

The Twelve Worst Ideas Organized Religion Has Unleashed on the World.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I think it is always a good idea to share these contributions.

The Twelve Worst Ideas Organized Religion Has Unleashed on the World.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I think it is always a good idea to share these contributions.

Spain’s New Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is an Atheist – Friendly Atheist

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 16, 2018:

No to god but yes to the monarch who is the monarch by divine grace. A bit of a contradiction!

Spain’s New Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is an Atheist – Friendly Atheist

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 15, 2018:

Interesting contradiction

My dads entire life he was an Atheist.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 15, 2018:

It's not fair, nor is it really worth to carry the burden of the grudge. Just tell yourself the your dad's mind was Teflon covered..

How do you tell religious people that you're an atheist?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 15, 2018:

Call yourself a *pastafarian*

How comfortable are you with the word "Atheist" ?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 15, 2018:

Belief is a tricky thing. Most us would believe that we are who we are told we were. We all came without labels nor were batteries included. All beings are born without religion, nationality, language nor name. Yet after intense conditioning we react to our name being called out, Some people jump to their feet when they hear the melody of "their" anthem. The seeds of believing before knowing are implanted in the tender infant brains and later become harder to eradicate. I don't stand up for an anthem unless someone threatens my physical integrity with a nasty instrument. Even hardened atheists think they have to stand.

Meaning of existence

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 14, 2018:

Well, there is no absolute meaning, but you should persevere in seeking it. That is the meaning; like in the saying: "The journey is the destination."

So, my wife and I have six sons.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 14, 2018:

Very interesting comment my daughter,28, hasn't got the "disgusting" yet but nasty comments on her figure she is petite and very well proportions: 45 kg/158 cm (whatever that translates into in your world). She works with a girl who is 4 years her junior, of similar, but slams a whopping 130 kg on the poor scare. What is nowadays labeled "big and beautiful" used to be called "fat". I am fat, 74 kg/163 cm, and I admit it.

I'm always amused by how people react when I tell them I don't believe in god.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 14, 2018:

Just pluralize god and tell people that you don't believe in gods because there are far too many: Hinduism offers 33,000,000 very colourful deities. You can explain that statistically every of those gods and goddesses has a constituency of about 230 dudes. This is higher that the number of dentists per any given population. So these gods can give a lot of attention to each individual. Whereas the god of the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims have only one per 2.5 billion. Impossible to get an audience if you don't know a top rabbi, a pope or an ayatollah. And even these dudes might find it difficult to get a few minutes 1-2-1. by the time the divine instructions reach the subscriber it would be very dilluted indeed just like homeopathic remedies. Send them to check out the godchecker website. You might also want to check out Caodasim, a sort of Christian pluritheistic version **a la vietnamienne**

If you could were offered free lessons in a subject of your choice, what would you want to learn?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Treating, bending and transforming bamboo.

This post is to greet new members to g:66.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Whenever I have an encounter with a biblebasher I just ask a simple question: " What is the food of the highest nutrional value mentioned in the bible?" Guess what after asking probably more than 50 morons telling me something about the bible not a single one gave me the correct answer: ***LENTILS***

The FACT is, our United States Congress has NOT authorized any military intervention whatsoever in ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 13, 2018:

We need to form a United Peoples' Assembly ... The nations have fucked us over.

When posting German recipes (of which I obviously have a ton), will it be necessary to convert all ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Is that a metric ton?

Noah's ark

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

Where was the vessel registered? British Virgin Islands? Panama? ...

Noah's ark

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

Not just the animals but also their fodder, toilet paper, and tons of deodorant. What about the water?

A street in my hometown, Nuernberg, Germany

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

Just a couple of days ago a lady on a village told me that her son is studying in Erlangen ... But it took me some time to figure out the name ... I said Nuernberg ... Her face lit up... Oh, this happened in a Chinese village.

Suicide: a cowardly move? True or false?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

I think it is a rather courageous act.

The following is the story behind my nickname, taken from my musings on walking the Camino de ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

I like the charming shaman with a business card ...

Did anyone else ever fantasize about creating a community of non-believers?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

What are **eminently qualified freethinkers**? Sounds very elitist. And you are stuck with a very bourgeois notion of education. Your fantasy seems to be very controlled. I like the idea of a freethinkers' community, but your's has a few elements of an Anglo-vegan gulag.

Did anyone else ever fantasize about creating a community of non-believers?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

I stopped reading at **Elon Musk** ... Why would you want to invite him?

World peace?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

Recently a German federal court upheld a conviction of a driver who had adorned his bumper bar with a sticker ***Soldiers are killers***. It didn't even say ***Fuck the armies***

World peace?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

For far too long the military have been as untouchable as the religious folks.

World peace?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

I lost faith in the concept because there is no circuit breaker in sight. Any economy is primarily a war tool. Wars are inbuilt into the concept of nation states. War starts at any garden gate. Because we know about the unfairness of owning, we are permanently scared of loss and thus prepared to allow *the sate authorities* to exercise its privilege of the monopoly of violence. Though behind the scenes international mercenary corporations have always been involved. The entertainment industry does its utmost to maintain the postion of the myth of an *honorable* warrior class.

Here is a challenge.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 12, 2018:

The *owner's manual of a 1953 Russian pumpkin harvester*, the ***Voynich manuscript***, the *Cincinatti's waste water treatment regulations*, the *medical history of Hildegrad von Bingen*, *Rudolf Diesel's* ***Solidarismus***, *Karel Capek's* ***Rossum's Universal Robots***

Scientific Knowledge, Belief, and Faith

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 11, 2018:

Very interesting ... Do you ever take out your rubbish, trash ot garbage whichever expression you might employ to describe refuse? The learned man that you are must therefore know what garbage is, must he not? I have been a garbo (Australian term for a rubbish collector) for over 3 decades. I certainly did get my hands dirty. I even claim to have at least working knowledge of gravity. Though I do concede that our respective definitions of *black holes* might not at all describe the same dark places. In your black holes there might even be light which just cannot be seen from the outside because even photons cannot escape. My black holes even allow slow aromatic compounds to escape an spread their nauseous stench. I have no knowledge of chemistry but I know when something stinks. Though I am ignorant as far as the bio-chemical processes are concerned, I know when something stinks. I can also differnteate between odours that are emanating from solvents or hydrocarbons. Having lived with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds I had to learn that there are indeed distinct body odours between such groups. I must confess that I thought that this was merely a racist idea. Only personal exposure taught me that there is truth to it. For me true knowledge is something I have experienced. But back to my professional background as garbo. Even after 30 years I still don't really know what garbage really is, idem for weeds.

There are scientists doing research on religion (anthropologists, cognitive and social ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 11, 2018:

I wonder whether a Japanese anthropologist in Borneo comes to the same conclusions as his Kenyan counterpart or his colleague from Iceland.

There are scientists doing research on religion (anthropologists, cognitive and social ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 11, 2018:

I suggest you watch a ***documentary*** in which African anthropologists visit Australia and explain the mysterious chicken cult which culminates in a frenetic chicken dance by entranced (pissed) dancers perform this bizarre ritual to honour the chicken god.

There are scientists doing research on religion (anthropologists, cognitive and social ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 11, 2018:

Are you sure of this or is this just your assumption?

Hello fellow writers.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 11, 2018:

Congratulations ... Good Luck and Bon courage

I'm learning self promotion for my fiction writing.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Gid luck!

Defenestration: The act of throwing someone out of a window.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Perhaps you'll get a chance to give a demonstration. Just make sure it's not a modern sliding window mounted from the inside.

Defenestration: The act of throwing someone out of a window.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Actually the term means taking out the window.... coincidantly by using a person's body as a sort of wrecking ball to achieve it.

Why do you reject the idea of religion?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

The older I grow the more I am convinced that only children and mentally challenged people can believe in religions. But over the years I also realised that for too many people seem to be defending other ideas with religious zeal and fervor. Fanaticism is the ugliest expression of submission and it exists amongst sports fans and nationalities. Often there are phenomena that are sacred: religions, sports and matters military.

Do you fear people at your kid's school, neighbors, coworkers will find out that you don't believe ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

It sounds as if you were surrounded by Torquemadas.

Do you fear people at your kid's school, neighbors, coworkers will find out that you don't believe ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Not so long ago I entered a junk food outlet run by Muslims. When I ordered some fries they asked me whether I wanted chicken salt with them. I replies, as I often do when I don't like something, "It's against my religion!!" Strangely enough they asked me what religion I belonged to. They seemed underwhelmed by my reply: "The one that is opposed to the consumption of chickens."

Do you fear people at your kid's school, neighbors, coworkers will find out that you don't believe ...

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

What would the penalties be if they found out? If people drop you, they would not be true friends anyway.

Musty smelling books. Any advice?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Good ventilation and UV light should help and if that is not practical try ozone treatment.

Musty smelling books. Any advice?

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 10, 2018:

Good ventilation and UV light should help and if that is not practical try ozone treatment.

I want to change my name.

PontifexMarximus comments on Jun 9, 2018:

When my first daughter was born on a faraway island we, her mother and I, decided to give her a name that would always remind her of her place of birth: HOUAILOU (pronounced: Wyloo). At the time we didn't know that she would grow up in an English speaking country. I even had to go to court to obtain the right to give her that name. The compromise was that it had to be preceded by an *legally authorised* name i.e. Judeo-Christian or Islamic. To piss off her Nazi grandfather I picked Rebecca. In high school she shortened it to LuLu. Later, after getting sucked in by some sect, she really despised the name and tried variations of Rebecca for a while. Marriage gave her the option to erase any nominal connection with her heathen father. I alway hated my name because of its triviality. But I got over it though I still like using Felix as a *nom de plume*.