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Republican To Do List- Why I'm On The Left
chilehead9 comments on Aug 5, 2018:
Sad, but it's true that this is their game plan.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 5, 2018:
Sad, but it's true that this is their game plan.
If He Ain't Treating You Right....
chilehead9 comments on Aug 5, 2018:
This is every bit as true if the genders are reversed, too.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 5, 2018:
This is every bit as true if the genders are reversed, too.
The last two men I was in love with didn't want to love me back.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 4, 2018:
I've been in many relationships where we both loved each other - until one day they just stop, and sometimes give some reason as to why, sometimes not. Both people I've broken up with had many months or even more than a year of explicit statements laying out what I needed but wasn't getting, or what was going on that I just couldn't deal with, but was persisting.
I don't think I'm *that* tough to get along with - my biggest wish is to give someone as much happiness as possible - but the people I've been with didn't seem keen on telling me when they had a relationship-threatening issue with anything, until well after they'd decided it was too late for a change to save things.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 4, 2018:
I've been in many relationships where we both loved each other - until one day they just stop, and sometimes give some reason as to why, sometimes not. Both people I've broken up with had many months or even more than a year of explicit statements laying out what I needed but wasn't getting, or what was going on that I just couldn't deal with, but was persisting.
I don't think I'm *that* tough to get along with - my biggest wish is to give someone as much happiness as possible - but the people I've been with didn't seem keen on telling me when they had a relationship-threatening issue with anything, until well after they'd decided it was too late for a change to save things.
Wait, where is the remote control? ;)
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
Why is the pic called "boats, rocks, and sea"? I didn't notice any of them.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
Why is the pic called "boats, rocks, and sea"? I didn't notice any of them.
May You Fall in Love With ......
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
I've already spent a bit too much time trying to save others, so a little reversal is about due.
So when is this miracle worker going to show up? It's time for her massage.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
I've already spent a bit too much time trying to save others, so a little reversal is about due.
So when is this miracle worker going to show up? It's time for her massage.
Good morning and TGIF
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
https://goo.gl/images/ZqDcyR
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
https://goo.gl/images/ZqDcyR
So bad at flirting...
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
Yeah, this guy's just a little less oblivious than I am.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
Yeah, this guy's just a little less oblivious than I am.
Let's just say I'm feeling a bit shallow today.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
At least they're not a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCWJTul7byA
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
At least they're not a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCWJTul7byA
Pros and cons of asking a friend or colleague to set you up with someone...and go!
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
I've had one that went kinda well, and one that only went kinda *weeeeeeeelllllll....*
So it seems about the same as any other source of dates.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 3, 2018:
I've had one that went kinda well, and one that only went kinda *weeeeeeeelllllll....*
So it seems about the same as any other source of dates.
May i ask you all something why is elon musk getting hate from the left i am a liberal myself and i ...
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
The three things I see him catching shit for currently are:
1) He's overly optimistic with his time estimates and capabilities for the Tesla Autopilot. People are paying $3k/each for it, and not liking what they get - because he overstated what his engineers could deliver and progress has been slow.
2) Some folks thought his attempts to help with the Thai soccer team trapped in the cave was a PR stunt only. He made things worse by calling one of the other people helping with the rescue a "pedo guy" on Twitter, because he was a foreigner in Thailand, and he disagreed with Musk's proposed solution.
3) He's strongly anti-union, he reportedly treats his employees about as well as Steve Jobs did, and donates a lot of money to conservative causes.
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/tesla-official-complaint-worker-conditions-freemont-factory-union-national-labor-relations-board-elon-musk.html
http://fortune.com/2018/07/15/elon-musk-donations-republicans-controversy/
The conservative donations thing very much makes him look hypocritical - he (and his brother Kimbal) talk about sustainability and saving people from mistakes like destroying the environment, and his electric cars and solar panels business back that up: it's something people can believe in, that is doing good. But then he turns around and funds people in the party that is all about denying the environment needs protection, that greenhouse gasses are actually good for the environment, and want to increase oil drilling and fossil fuel use.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
The three things I see him catching shit for currently are:
1) He's overly optimistic with his time estimates and capabilities for the Tesla Autopilot. People are paying $3k/each for it, and not liking what they get - because he overstated what his engineers could deliver and progress has been slow.
2) Some folks thought his attempts to help with the Thai soccer team trapped in the cave was a PR stunt only. He made things worse by calling one of the other people helping with the rescue a "pedo guy" on Twitter, because he was a foreigner in Thailand, and he disagreed with Musk's proposed solution.
3) He's strongly anti-union, he reportedly treats his employees about as well as Steve Jobs did, and donates a lot of money to conservative causes.
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/tesla-official-complaint-worker-conditions-freemont-factory-union-national-labor-relations-board-elon-musk.html
http://fortune.com/2018/07/15/elon-musk-donations-republicans-controversy/
The conservative donations thing very much makes him look hypocritical - he (and his brother Kimbal) talk about sustainability and saving people from mistakes like destroying the environment, and his electric cars and solar panels business back that up: it's something people can believe in, that is doing good. But then he turns around and funds people in the party that is all about denying the environment needs protection, that greenhouse gasses are actually good for the environment, and want to increase oil drilling and fossil fuel use.
I just want to go, how about you?
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
Like this place?
http://www.hicksville.com/joshuatree/motel.html
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
Like this place?
http://www.hicksville.com/joshuatree/motel.html
Good morning peeps! Already had my coffee and off to work!
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
I tried coffee once. I'm not keen to repeat that mistake.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
I tried coffee once. I'm not keen to repeat that mistake.
During sex, what for you is the biggest turn-on, and what is the biggest turn-off
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
On: enthusiasm, and her getting off. Anything that makes me feel *really* desired.
Off: pain (on either side), smoker's breath, starfishing, bad BO, anything that implies this was done just to shut me up.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 2, 2018:
On: enthusiasm, and her getting off. Anything that makes me feel *really* desired.
Off: pain (on either side), smoker's breath, starfishing, bad BO, anything that implies this was done just to shut me up.
I know a lot of people won't respond to a simple message of "hi" or "good morning" on a dating site,...
chilehead9 comments on Aug 1, 2018:
On other sites I get perhaps a dozen messages a week, all of them say "Hi there ;)"
Nearly every single one of those profiles says "what I'm doing with my life: living it." All generic profiles with stolen pictures, being run by bots.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 1, 2018:
On other sites I get perhaps a dozen messages a week, all of them say "Hi there ;)"
Nearly every single one of those profiles says "what I'm doing with my life: living it." All generic profiles with stolen pictures, being run by bots.
I have a crazy question.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 1, 2018:
Since nearly everyone I meet is either in my workplace, theirs, or both, I don't usually feel it's a good idea for me to approach anyone. I'm always doing my best to be positive, friendly, and complimentary to all of my co-workers - regardless of whether or not I've met them before - and the customers that come into my workplace.
Also, given that I work in a children's museum and that essentially every one of my female adult customers is married and has a family, approaching anyone would be a serious career risk.
I frequently start conversations with whomever is around me, but I am a ~~little bit~~ lot dense with respect to other people's interest in me - unless they bash me over the head with it, I'm more likely to assume they're more interested in NOT knowing what's going through my mind with respect to them than actually knowing.
So, of course, if someone were to intervene on my behalf, it would probably speed things up by a good 10 years or so.
chilehead9 comments on Aug 1, 2018:
Since nearly everyone I meet is either in my workplace, theirs, or both, I don't usually feel it's a good idea for me to approach anyone. I'm always doing my best to be positive, friendly, and complimentary to all of my co-workers - regardless of whether or not I've met them before - and the customers that come into my workplace.
Also, given that I work in a children's museum and that essentially every one of my female adult customers is married and has a family, approaching anyone would be a serious career risk.
I frequently start conversations with whomever is around me, but I am a ~~little bit~~ lot dense with respect to other people's interest in me - unless they bash me over the head with it, I'm more likely to assume they're more interested in NOT knowing what's going through my mind with respect to them than actually knowing.
So, of course, if someone were to intervene on my behalf, it would probably speed things up by a good 10 years or so.
What do your partner and you do after making love generally.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
1) Look deep into their eyes and ask, "who are you, and how did you get in here?"
2) Yell at the assembled crowd to bugger off and let us be.
3) Wake up, and go back to dread another day of loneliness.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
1) Look deep into their eyes and ask, "who are you, and how did you get in here?"
2) Yell at the assembled crowd to bugger off and let us be.
3) Wake up, and go back to dread another day of loneliness.
What do your partner and you do after making love generally.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
Cuddle for a little bit, then make love majorly. Cuddle for a bit, then make love corporally. Cuddle and make out for a bit, then make love privately.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
Cuddle for a little bit, then make love majorly. Cuddle for a bit, then make love corporally. Cuddle and make out for a bit, then make love privately.
Who here loves nikola tesla he is awsome he created the modern world i have read five books on him ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
I think he was a bit full of himself, as one was in that time period if one was outstanding in their field. He could have done so much more if 1) Edison had partnered with him instead of ripping him off and alienating him, 2) he'd written down more than just traces of his research - so he could have others working with him on the same projects, and so others that came after wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel, as it were.
Do you think the fake death ray he sold for living expenses was the inspiration for Doc Brown's shoddy bomb casing filled with used pinball machine parts?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
I think he was a bit full of himself, as one was in that time period if one was outstanding in their field. He could have done so much more if 1) Edison had partnered with him instead of ripping him off and alienating him, 2) he'd written down more than just traces of his research - so he could have others working with him on the same projects, and so others that came after wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel, as it were.
Do you think the fake death ray he sold for living expenses was the inspiration for Doc Brown's shoddy bomb casing filled with used pinball machine parts?
[bigthink.com] seems to fit here 7 thought experiments
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
The swampman experiment pairs well with the ship of theseus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
Regarding the violinist, I'd disconnect him right away. Of course, I'd take him to a hospital right after so they could put him on a dialysis machine. I'd also have to hunt down the society of music lovers members and have them all thrown in prison for kidnapping and torture - they didn't even bother asking or bribing me before resorting to such extreme lengths?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
The swampman experiment pairs well with the ship of theseus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
Regarding the violinist, I'd disconnect him right away. Of course, I'd take him to a hospital right after so they could put him on a dialysis machine. I'd also have to hunt down the society of music lovers members and have them all thrown in prison for kidnapping and torture - they didn't even bother asking or bribing me before resorting to such extreme lengths?
Tell us about an experience you have had climbing a tree.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
I had a pet iguana that I would take to the small park across the street, and I'd perch him on one of the long, horizontal branches of a tree there so that he could sun himself. I'd sit nearby and read for a while, and every so often deliver him a snack of a small carrot stick or a broccoli floret or two. It was good times.
Then one day I had to run back to the house to use the restroom, and when I came back... he had moved to the next tree over. And he was 25 feet off the ground in a 35-40 foot tall tree. The tallest ladder I could procure was perhaps 20 feet. And, of course, as soon as I had climbed the ladder, and started climbing the tree to retrieve him... he edges up onto a branch that wouldn't support my weight. So down I go, and begin waiting for him to move to a more accessible part of the tree.
That wait took three days. And the neighbors got a big kick out of seeing me verbally chastising a five and a half foot long lizard for being difficult.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
I had a pet iguana that I would take to the small park across the street, and I'd perch him on one of the long, horizontal branches of a tree there so that he could sun himself. I'd sit nearby and read for a while, and every so often deliver him a snack of a small carrot stick or a broccoli floret or two. It was good times.
Then one day I had to run back to the house to use the restroom, and when I came back... he had moved to the next tree over. And he was 25 feet off the ground in a 35-40 foot tall tree. The tallest ladder I could procure was perhaps 20 feet. And, of course, as soon as I had climbed the ladder, and started climbing the tree to retrieve him... he edges up onto a branch that wouldn't support my weight. So down I go, and begin waiting for him to move to a more accessible part of the tree.
That wait took three days. And the neighbors got a big kick out of seeing me verbally chastising a five and a half foot long lizard for being difficult.
How do you feel about offering to pay on the second or third date as a woman?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
The more I think on this topic, the less I like the way it's been done for pretty much all of my life. I could see it being more practical (in a diminishing way) from the 40s through the 70s, when it was less common (or even acceptable) for women to hold jobs or have their own money. Conversely, and in an increasing way, there's an unconscious subtext when the guy pays for everything - that the woman then "owes him" and should be more inclined to put out, even if things aren't going so well between them, to even things up.
Sure, when I did it, my thoughts were that I was making a nice gesture for at least the first three dates, and that it was just the way things were always done; but now I worry that by trying to appear generous, I was actually making them feel like I wanted them feeling indebted to me.
Am I way overthinking this?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
The more I think on this topic, the less I like the way it's been done for pretty much all of my life. I could see it being more practical (in a diminishing way) from the 40s through the 70s, when it was less common (or even acceptable) for women to hold jobs or have their own money. Conversely, and in an increasing way, there's an unconscious subtext when the guy pays for everything - that the woman then "owes him" and should be more inclined to put out, even if things aren't going so well between them, to even things up.
Sure, when I did it, my thoughts were that I was making a nice gesture for at least the first three dates, and that it was just the way things were always done; but now I worry that by trying to appear generous, I was actually making them feel like I wanted them feeling indebted to me.
Am I way overthinking this?
Mediation is over and I’ve changed my status to ‘divorced.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
She lost someone that cared for her, and was able to treat her decently and fairly in even difficult adverse conditions. You, on the other hand, lost someone that was incapable of seeing your value, can't control their immature impulses, and readily sinks to the most petty level available.
Metaphorically speaking, you lost a bucket of crap while she lost a suitcase full of diamonds. And she's happy about it.
Her boyfriend is getting the punishment he deserves - it'll just take a little while for that landmine to go off and vaporize his nuts.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
She lost someone that cared for her, and was able to treat her decently and fairly in even difficult adverse conditions. You, on the other hand, lost someone that was incapable of seeing your value, can't control their immature impulses, and readily sinks to the most petty level available.
Metaphorically speaking, you lost a bucket of crap while she lost a suitcase full of diamonds. And she's happy about it.
Her boyfriend is getting the punishment he deserves - it'll just take a little while for that landmine to go off and vaporize his nuts.
Interesting article for this group.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
There was a Reddit user who analyzed Trump's speech patterns pretty well about two months ago - his analysis made quite an impression on me, even though he has since deleted his comment (it even made the bestof subreddit).
The gist of it was that it seems that Trump is unable to talk about any subject in objective terms at all. Every time he describes something, he has to include how it relates to him. He cannot say "that tree over there," but instead must say "that beautiful tree" - including his opinion on it. He once recounted how an 80 year old man fell and was injured during one of Trump's events at one of his properties, and he was going on about the "beautiful marble floor" and how it was getting covered in "all this disgusting blood".
Even when talking about people, he's got to include something about how he perceives their relationship to him - it's "crooked" this person, or "very fine" that person. It all ties back in to the narcissistic nature of his personality - there's no one in the universe nearly as important as him as far as he's concerned, so everything and everyone only has value by way of how he sees them. And he has no problem with lying to people, since they are only worth anything if he can get them to serve his needs - their feelings, needs, and desires are immaterial.
It does dovetail nicely with the way that this guy summarizes his behavior as erratic, impulsive, and reactive. The part about being without principle or direction only makes sense when you don't know from where his principle and direction is coming from.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 31, 2018:
There was a Reddit user who analyzed Trump's speech patterns pretty well about two months ago - his analysis made quite an impression on me, even though he has since deleted his comment (it even made the bestof subreddit).
The gist of it was that it seems that Trump is unable to talk about any subject in objective terms at all. Every time he describes something, he has to include how it relates to him. He cannot say "that tree over there," but instead must say "that beautiful tree" - including his opinion on it. He once recounted how an 80 year old man fell and was injured during one of Trump's events at one of his properties, and he was going on about the "beautiful marble floor" and how it was getting covered in "all this disgusting blood".
Even when talking about people, he's got to include something about how he perceives their relationship to him - it's "crooked" this person, or "very fine" that person. It all ties back in to the narcissistic nature of his personality - there's no one in the universe nearly as important as him as far as he's concerned, so everything and everyone only has value by way of how he sees them. And he has no problem with lying to people, since they are only worth anything if he can get them to serve his needs - their feelings, needs, and desires are immaterial.
It does dovetail nicely with the way that this guy summarizes his behavior as erratic, impulsive, and reactive. The part about being without principle or direction only makes sense when you don't know from where his principle and direction is coming from.
In you opinion and in your experience, what is important to you when you are intimate with your ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
It's important to me that they have at least as great a time as I have, if not better.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
It's important to me that they have at least as great a time as I have, if not better.
Ok.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Were I in your place, I'd be inclined to believe his story about the phone - once. I was really late in letting a cell phone into my life (I was 35), so I don't really think I'm as attached to their use as most people are. But still, the idea of going 12 hours straight without having my phone at my side (while not having the person of my dreams at that same side) makes me uncomfortable. That's how I keep in contact with my work, with my family, with job prospects, etc.
So the idea of someone going two days without checking their phone, especially when they're about to go out of town and they have social plans still being arranged... is harder to believe.
But, being a guy, I am one of the poster children for being dense on subtle social and interpersonal clues. So my advice is based on how I want people to behave in their dealings with me, your mileage may vary: be blunt. Call him up and say, "I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if there's something I should have picked up on, but I'm a little confused right now. I still think we had a great time the other night(s) and I'm into the idea of seeing more of you, but you seem a bit distant and withdrawn. If you've changed your mind, just let me know and we can go our separate ways with no hard feelings. Otherwise, if you still want to to build on what we've started, bring me up to speed on what your thoughts are."
With phrasing going something like that, there's no downside for him to just tell you the truth, regardless of which way he's leaning - and save both of you some time.
Good luck.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Were I in your place, I'd be inclined to believe his story about the phone - once. I was really late in letting a cell phone into my life (I was 35), so I don't really think I'm as attached to their use as most people are. But still, the idea of going 12 hours straight without having my phone at my side (while not having the person of my dreams at that same side) makes me uncomfortable. That's how I keep in contact with my work, with my family, with job prospects, etc.
So the idea of someone going two days without checking their phone, especially when they're about to go out of town and they have social plans still being arranged... is harder to believe.
But, being a guy, I am one of the poster children for being dense on subtle social and interpersonal clues. So my advice is based on how I want people to behave in their dealings with me, your mileage may vary: be blunt. Call him up and say, "I don't know if I'm being paranoid or if there's something I should have picked up on, but I'm a little confused right now. I still think we had a great time the other night(s) and I'm into the idea of seeing more of you, but you seem a bit distant and withdrawn. If you've changed your mind, just let me know and we can go our separate ways with no hard feelings. Otherwise, if you still want to to build on what we've started, bring me up to speed on what your thoughts are."
With phrasing going something like that, there's no downside for him to just tell you the truth, regardless of which way he's leaning - and save both of you some time.
Good luck.
There was some discussion earlier about dating sites, which reminded me of a cautionary tale that ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Lying or Cheating's a deal breaker for her, yet she voted for someone that has cheated on everyone he's ever been in a relationship with, and can't seem to go a single day without lying about things that are very easily fact-checked.
If mental gymnastics built muscle, I'm sure she would have been an Olympic medal winner.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Lying or Cheating's a deal breaker for her, yet she voted for someone that has cheated on everyone he's ever been in a relationship with, and can't seem to go a single day without lying about things that are very easily fact-checked.
If mental gymnastics built muscle, I'm sure she would have been an Olympic medal winner.
Make up Sex or Missed You Sex?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"make up sex" always seemed to feel like getting "you're forgiven, but I'm still going to make you pay for it sex" regardless of who was at fault - so my vote is for any other category.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"make up sex" always seemed to feel like getting "you're forgiven, but I'm still going to make you pay for it sex" regardless of who was at fault - so my vote is for any other category.
I was chatting with a gentleman last night.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"Something that is available to me any time at my convenience has suddenly become more important to me than keeping much of my attention on this conversation." That seems like a bad way to continue things, but it's still better than "someone just showed up IRL and I need to spend some time on them while continuing our chat," or "I'm chatting with 5 or 8 other people, so I need more time to keep things organized."
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"Something that is available to me any time at my convenience has suddenly become more important to me than keeping much of my attention on this conversation." That seems like a bad way to continue things, but it's still better than "someone just showed up IRL and I need to spend some time on them while continuing our chat," or "I'm chatting with 5 or 8 other people, so I need more time to keep things organized."
Why do so many chases after that warm tingling feeling you get when you initially fall in love?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Optimism and the prospect of being wanted/desired.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Optimism and the prospect of being wanted/desired.
Single isn't a status.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"without depending on others." <-- such an effective tar-baby trap there.
Humans are social animals, and while we can make decisions all on our own, each of us depends on the whole of society for our survival, on many different levels. I'll avoid the larger trap of where that touches politics, too.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
"without depending on others." <-- such an effective tar-baby trap there.
Humans are social animals, and while we can make decisions all on our own, each of us depends on the whole of society for our survival, on many different levels. I'll avoid the larger trap of where that touches politics, too.
Do you have a rule when meeting someone online on how long you will talk/text before you meet.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
If they make a decent enough impression when chatting with me online, I don't see any reason to wait - anything they lied about in the first hour is something they could continue lying about for the rest of the year.
Any relationship we make is going to take place in person, not by text/phone - so I prefer learning about them in person.
Then again, I'm also a tall, fit, non-rich male - so I don't have to worry about someone trying to take advantage of me, kidnapping, or other tomfoolery.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
If they make a decent enough impression when chatting with me online, I don't see any reason to wait - anything they lied about in the first hour is something they could continue lying about for the rest of the year.
Any relationship we make is going to take place in person, not by text/phone - so I prefer learning about them in person.
Then again, I'm also a tall, fit, non-rich male - so I don't have to worry about someone trying to take advantage of me, kidnapping, or other tomfoolery.
Are You Single? What Kind of Single?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
I wish that was a joke.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
I wish that was a joke.
Has anyone of you ever experienced chemistry with someone that was so strong you can't figure out ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Yeah. And she broke my heart twice. That second time might have broken the part off my heart that made the chemistry with her possible.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
Yeah. And she broke my heart twice. That second time might have broken the part off my heart that made the chemistry with her possible.
Men and women What's the oldest age limit and what's the youngest age limit of a relationship that ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
The youngest I think I could sustain an actual relationship with is 35, and I wouldn't approach anyone younger than that. If someone a little younger were to approach me, I might be persuaded to try - if they had more depth than I perceive most people in their 20s to have these days (whether they are in their late 20s or early 30s).
For the upper limit, I'm a bit less tolerant - I haven't given up on my desire for having a child, despite my last two serious LTRs lying about their desire to and ability to have a child, respectively. So at the risk of appearing hypocritical, I'd only go as old as 46. If the child consideration was somehow rendered moot, I'd consider people a year or two older than me.
Once, in my 20s, I had a LTR with someone who was 8 years older than me, and we held it together for about 4 years before she decided to end it. This can give you insight into my lower limit, above.
And, of course, if the Singularity arrives in time... then I won't have an upper limit, and the lower limit will climb a bit higher. For obvious reasons.
For a physical relationship only, probably anyone between 24 and 55, with a margin of error based on sparks being present/absent.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 29, 2018:
The youngest I think I could sustain an actual relationship with is 35, and I wouldn't approach anyone younger than that. If someone a little younger were to approach me, I might be persuaded to try - if they had more depth than I perceive most people in their 20s to have these days (whether they are in their late 20s or early 30s).
For the upper limit, I'm a bit less tolerant - I haven't given up on my desire for having a child, despite my last two serious LTRs lying about their desire to and ability to have a child, respectively. So at the risk of appearing hypocritical, I'd only go as old as 46. If the child consideration was somehow rendered moot, I'd consider people a year or two older than me.
Once, in my 20s, I had a LTR with someone who was 8 years older than me, and we held it together for about 4 years before she decided to end it. This can give you insight into my lower limit, above.
And, of course, if the Singularity arrives in time... then I won't have an upper limit, and the lower limit will climb a bit higher. For obvious reasons.
For a physical relationship only, probably anyone between 24 and 55, with a margin of error based on sparks being present/absent.
Does anyone recycle?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Where I live, the waste management company (the one that operates the garbage trucks on behalf of the city) sorts through the trash to pull out the recyclables. If you own/rent a house, you get a separate bin for recyclables. If you're a business or rent an apartment, there's no separate bin and you let their people sort through the trash to pull that stuff out.
I prefer having my own bin, as I think I can find more of the stuff that can be recycled than people sorting through my trash. That, and I think that after cardboard and paper have been soaking in the stuff in the rest of the trash, it's not likely anyone is going to want to recycle it. But since I'm in an apartment, it's not really an option for me.
There's a recycling center a few blocks away, but they're really limited in what they'll take - so what little plastics and aluminum I can take to them will get there, but storing it up in the meantime is difficult in my very tiny apartment.
I think a more worthwhile pursuit at this point is to put pressure on companies to stop selling goods in non-recyclable packaging. An idea I had was that we might convince the companies to ship all their products to the supermarkets in containers like 55-gallon drums (for stuff like dish soap/laundry detergent, for example.) You could buy re-usable aluminum containers for a few bucks, and the store could have a machine to dispense product into the containers instead of shelving with boxes/bottles. You use the supermarket club card (or equivalent) to operate the machine, so it knows how much of which products you dispensed by the time you get to the register. The containers could have a high deposit/recycle value, so if yours gets damaged, a replacement would cost you little-to-nothing.
With that sort of distribution model, we could cut down on packaging use by about 90% or more, and the manufacturers would save a bundle on getting their products transported to the stores.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Where I live, the waste management company (the one that operates the garbage trucks on behalf of the city) sorts through the trash to pull out the recyclables. If you own/rent a house, you get a separate bin for recyclables. If you're a business or rent an apartment, there's no separate bin and you let their people sort through the trash to pull that stuff out.
I prefer having my own bin, as I think I can find more of the stuff that can be recycled than people sorting through my trash. That, and I think that after cardboard and paper have been soaking in the stuff in the rest of the trash, it's not likely anyone is going to want to recycle it. But since I'm in an apartment, it's not really an option for me.
There's a recycling center a few blocks away, but they're really limited in what they'll take - so what little plastics and aluminum I can take to them will get there, but storing it up in the meantime is difficult in my very tiny apartment.
I think a more worthwhile pursuit at this point is to put pressure on companies to stop selling goods in non-recyclable packaging. An idea I had was that we might convince the companies to ship all their products to the supermarkets in containers like 55-gallon drums (for stuff like dish soap/laundry detergent, for example.) You could buy re-usable aluminum containers for a few bucks, and the store could have a machine to dispense product into the containers instead of shelving with boxes/bottles. You use the supermarket club card (or equivalent) to operate the machine, so it knows how much of which products you dispensed by the time you get to the register. The containers could have a high deposit/recycle value, so if yours gets damaged, a replacement would cost you little-to-nothing.
With that sort of distribution model, we could cut down on packaging use by about 90% or more, and the manufacturers would save a bundle on getting their products transported to the stores.
Sulking.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Smoking. Anything commonly attributed to the current Republican agenda (for instance: racism, sexism, rejecting solid scientific evidence, victim blaming, a lack of empathy or compassion.)
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Smoking. Anything commonly attributed to the current Republican agenda (for instance: racism, sexism, rejecting solid scientific evidence, victim blaming, a lack of empathy or compassion.)
Hello.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Welcome! I think you're going to make a lot of friends here.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Welcome! I think you're going to make a lot of friends here.
Good Friday Eve
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Thanks, but I'm going to insist that you keep ALL the coffee - yours and mine.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 27, 2018:
Thanks, but I'm going to insist that you keep ALL the coffee - yours and mine.
scythe
: an implement used for mowing grass, grain, or other crops and composed of a long curving...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 25, 2018:
It's a Mr. Death. He's a reaper!
chilehead9 comments on Jul 25, 2018:
It's a Mr. Death. He's a reaper!
"Pluviophile.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 24, 2018:
The pluviophiles here would like this site, then: http://www.rainymood.com/
chilehead9 comments on Jul 24, 2018:
The pluviophiles here would like this site, then: http://www.rainymood.com/
This is what I want.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 24, 2018:
I'm not looking for a perfect person, I'm looking for a person that's perfect for me.
A few times so far I've felt I've found someone that was "close enough", and found out that they weren't... and twice I've found people that I DID think were perfect for me who later decided that I wasn't for them.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 24, 2018:
I'm not looking for a perfect person, I'm looking for a person that's perfect for me.
A few times so far I've felt I've found someone that was "close enough", and found out that they weren't... and twice I've found people that I DID think were perfect for me who later decided that I wasn't for them.
How do you people feel about prenups?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 23, 2018:
The more assets/net worth between the people getting married, the more one makes sense. And there's plenty of people out there that are afraid the person they are so attracted to is actually a con artist who is about to take at least half of everything they have spent their life building up.
The more the person you're in love with seems "too good to be true", the worse that feeling gets - though it could just be love.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 23, 2018:
The more assets/net worth between the people getting married, the more one makes sense. And there's plenty of people out there that are afraid the person they are so attracted to is actually a con artist who is about to take at least half of everything they have spent their life building up.
The more the person you're in love with seems "too good to be true", the worse that feeling gets - though it could just be love.
So i'm a member of another dating website, and with the religion question, you can choose whether ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 22, 2018:
Some people have a greater tolerance for people with different beliefs, as long as those people also have a tolerance for different beliefs. I could totally be in a relationship with someone that follows a religion - as long as they don't ever expect me to attend services, give their church money, or concede that any of it might be true without actual evidence. So it'd be a bit harder for them to be with me.
It's not my preference, but I see it as an opportunity to build my skills for coping with the fact that you cannot change someone else to suit your desires/needs/prejudices. The closest you can come is to be the motivation for them to make the change in themselves.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 22, 2018:
Some people have a greater tolerance for people with different beliefs, as long as those people also have a tolerance for different beliefs. I could totally be in a relationship with someone that follows a religion - as long as they don't ever expect me to attend services, give their church money, or concede that any of it might be true without actual evidence. So it'd be a bit harder for them to be with me.
It's not my preference, but I see it as an opportunity to build my skills for coping with the fact that you cannot change someone else to suit your desires/needs/prejudices. The closest you can come is to be the motivation for them to make the change in themselves.
I need a study that shows lack of an emotional bond between mother and child results in a trust ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 21, 2018:
This might be striking me this way because I spent the last half hour reading stuff involved with our current political turmoil and the anti-science overtures in this country right now, but it seems like you are putting the cart before the horse.
More precisely, shouldn't you be asking for studies that look at the results of a lack of a close mother-child bond, rather than specifying what the results of the study should be?
That said, here's something that may meet your needs:
http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-97328-000
chilehead9 comments on Jul 21, 2018:
This might be striking me this way because I spent the last half hour reading stuff involved with our current political turmoil and the anti-science overtures in this country right now, but it seems like you are putting the cart before the horse.
More precisely, shouldn't you be asking for studies that look at the results of a lack of a close mother-child bond, rather than specifying what the results of the study should be?
That said, here's something that may meet your needs:
http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-97328-000
I can't resist this one probably stolen off fbuk.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 19, 2018:
I read this a few minutes ago, and I'm still cringing hard.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 19, 2018:
I read this a few minutes ago, and I'm still cringing hard.
How can we as a nation accuse Russia, China and numerous other countries of being an aggresser?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 17, 2018:
Two wrongs don't make any thing right. An important aphorism to keep attached to the previous one is: all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. My point being that regardless of how far we've fallen from our own idealistic standard for behavior, that doesn't excuse us from the need to call out bad acts and actors when we identify them.
While I think it's very telling that the US has been involved in wars and military engagements for 92% of its existence, and that we spend more on our military than the next 12 largest military spenders in the world combined, I do think that it is important that we do *something* to dissuade other nations from following the path of "might makes right".
We need to pick ourselves back up, stop engaging in wars without declaring war (the last time the US declared war was in 1942 - Austria-Hungary), and really take a close look at what we're doing any why.
We've sold ourselves (as a nation) on the story that we're a force for good, but how long has it really been since that was true? Many of the South American nations despise us because of our covert actions to destabilize their government (even the democratic ones), usually because there's some sort of profit motive involved for one or more of our large corporations. Our State department got involved to prevent Haiti from instituting a minimum wage over $.21/hour, at the behest of Hanes, Levis, and Fruit of the Loom. That the biggest real reason we invaded Iraq was to plunder their oil only has the barest pretense of and excuse draped over it - much of what we've done there qualifies as war crimes.
There does need to be a force in the world to moderate the ambitions of Russia and China, but until we get our affairs in order and root out the Business Plot's successful second attempt from our government, we'll be doing it all on our own - since we are rapidly losing the respect and trust of **all** of our allies, and that is happening independent of Trump stabbing them in the back.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 17, 2018:
Two wrongs don't make any thing right. An important aphorism to keep attached to the previous one is: all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. My point being that regardless of how far we've fallen from our own idealistic standard for behavior, that doesn't excuse us from the need to call out bad acts and actors when we identify them.
While I think it's very telling that the US has been involved in wars and military engagements for 92% of its existence, and that we spend more on our military than the next 12 largest military spenders in the world combined, I do think that it is important that we do *something* to dissuade other nations from following the path of "might makes right".
We need to pick ourselves back up, stop engaging in wars without declaring war (the last time the US declared war was in 1942 - Austria-Hungary), and really take a close look at what we're doing any why.
We've sold ourselves (as a nation) on the story that we're a force for good, but how long has it really been since that was true? Many of the South American nations despise us because of our covert actions to destabilize their government (even the democratic ones), usually because there's some sort of profit motive involved for one or more of our large corporations. Our State department got involved to prevent Haiti from instituting a minimum wage over $.21/hour, at the behest of Hanes, Levis, and Fruit of the Loom. That the biggest real reason we invaded Iraq was to plunder their oil only has the barest pretense of and excuse draped over it - much of what we've done there qualifies as war crimes.
There does need to be a force in the world to moderate the ambitions of Russia and China, but until we get our affairs in order and root out the Business Plot's successful second attempt from our government, we'll be doing it all on our own - since we are rapidly losing the respect and trust of **all** of our allies, and that is happening independent of Trump stabbing them in the back.
Blatherskite
(also bletherskate)
1.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 16, 2018:
Your definition says it's a person, yet your example says it's a verb.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 16, 2018:
Your definition says it's a person, yet your example says it's a verb.
And he is right
chilehead9 comments on Jul 15, 2018:
And yet there are plenty of people who live their life in a way that equates to: they get in the car, start it, then they grasp the rear view mirror tightly with both hands, and press down on the gas pedal. And they're surprised when twisting the mirror doesn't do anything and they get into a crash.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 15, 2018:
And yet there are plenty of people who live their life in a way that equates to: they get in the car, start it, then they grasp the rear view mirror tightly with both hands, and press down on the gas pedal. And they're surprised when twisting the mirror doesn't do anything and they get into a crash.
My favorite latin phrases:
Malum in se: something that is wrong or evil in itself (murder, rape,...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 13, 2018:
Noli illegitimi carborundum - don't let the bastards grind you down.
Carpe potus - take a drink
Carpe jugulum - seize the throat
chilehead9 comments on Jul 13, 2018:
Noli illegitimi carborundum - don't let the bastards grind you down.
Carpe potus - take a drink
Carpe jugulum - seize the throat
Cavil v.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 13, 2018:
Petty, as in a movie studio requiring someone to grow a mustache instead of having the makeup artist put one on the actor?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 13, 2018:
Petty, as in a movie studio requiring someone to grow a mustache instead of having the makeup artist put one on the actor?
Are you a loyal partner?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 11, 2018:
What's the point of even having a relationship if you're not?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 11, 2018:
What's the point of even having a relationship if you're not?
Is there a cure for religion?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 11, 2018:
"Tricking" people into anything will generate nothing but ill will towards the person doing it, with extremely few exceptions, and certainly no shortage of violence.
The only way to rid a mind of religion is for them to do the actual work to dig themselves out of the cognitive hole they have sunken/been sunk into. Humans are extremely good at self-deception - even if it's little stuff like "I'm not that overweight", or "it's for their own good." We are story-telling animals and our lives are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we are going to do. It allows us to do many things that would otherwise be impossible for us to accomplish and survive things that would otherwise have wiped us all out long ago. But it also allows us to commit atrocities in order to preserve those stories, and let us believe that we were right in doing so.
We'd need to do more than just educate everyone, we'd also need to remove a lot of the emotional damage that drives people to cling onto these stories of deities that make them feel better about what they've done and what has been done to them, and the need to have much more control over the world around us than we actually have. Knowing a super-powerful being that can change the uncaring facts of reality in favor of the person holding the belief is a way of coping with something that has damaged them previously or is in the process of doing so. Damage done to a person is often damage that is perpetuating - the damaged person will inflict damage upon others.
For example, I once read about the Stockton, CA school shooting, and how afterwards the children were asking their parents to buy them toy rifles so they could play the "Purdy game" - Purdy being the name of the shooter. The kids were replaying the events of that day over and over again, but each time they would change the story a little bit. More of the wounded kids would survive, then all would survive, then he would be unable to hurt any of them, and then there was a version of the game when the kids killed him instead. They tell stories to cope with the trauma and make it less damaging/hurtful to them, and it allows them to move on.
But things like that, and the commonly reported statistic that most child molesters were themselves molested as children, illustrates that our coping mechanisms sometimes cause the damage to reproduce and even get worse (an abuse survivor that goes on to abuse hundreds of others, for example). Likewise, the damage child abuse and religion cause are often related and occur in the same building.
So, rather than tricking or forcing people into reality, we should do what we can to educate and HELP (and heal) them into reality.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 11, 2018:
"Tricking" people into anything will generate nothing but ill will towards the person doing it, with extremely few exceptions, and certainly no shortage of violence.
The only way to rid a mind of religion is for them to do the actual work to dig themselves out of the cognitive hole they have sunken/been sunk into. Humans are extremely good at self-deception - even if it's little stuff like "I'm not that overweight", or "it's for their own good." We are story-telling animals and our lives are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we are going to do. It allows us to do many things that would otherwise be impossible for us to accomplish and survive things that would otherwise have wiped us all out long ago. But it also allows us to commit atrocities in order to preserve those stories, and let us believe that we were right in doing so.
We'd need to do more than just educate everyone, we'd also need to remove a lot of the emotional damage that drives people to cling onto these stories of deities that make them feel better about what they've done and what has been done to them, and the need to have much more control over the world around us than we actually have. Knowing a super-powerful being that can change the uncaring facts of reality in favor of the person holding the belief is a way of coping with something that has damaged them previously or is in the process of doing so. Damage done to a person is often damage that is perpetuating - the damaged person will inflict damage upon others.
For example, I once read about the Stockton, CA school shooting, and how afterwards the children were asking their parents to buy them toy rifles so they could play the "Purdy game" - Purdy being the name of the shooter. The kids were replaying the events of that day over and over again, but each time they would change the story a little bit. More of the wounded kids would survive, then all would survive, then he would be unable to hurt any of them, and then there was a version of the game when the kids killed him instead. They tell stories to cope with the trauma and make it less damaging/hurtful to them, and it allows them to move on.
But things like that, and the commonly reported statistic that most child molesters were themselves molested as children, illustrates that our coping mechanisms sometimes cause the damage to reproduce and even get worse (an abuse survivor that goes on to abuse hundreds of others, for example). Likewise, the damage child abuse and religion cause are often related and occur in the same building.
So, rather than tricking or forcing people into reality, we should do what we can to educate and HELP (and heal) them into reality.
Is the EM drive dead?
[news.nationalgeographic.com]
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
Without fuel? Then what would something equipped with that kind of drive use to generate the power to run it? The proper terminology for this article would be "reaction mass".
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
Without fuel? Then what would something equipped with that kind of drive use to generate the power to run it? The proper terminology for this article would be "reaction mass".
Have You Saved Someone's Life?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
Good going, she's so lucky you were prepared and knew what to do.
I've saved a few lives - I worked my way through college as a pool lifeguard, so I've had to rescue people that overestimated their swimming ability in a serious way, and I even had to rescue someone who was mentally handicapped (mid 20s) and whose caregiver directed them into the deep pool. This individual walked out into the middle of the pool where the water was well over his head, so I went in and was carrying him to the side while telling him to relax and he'd be OK. His caregiver at the side tells me, "Don't bother talking to him, he doesn't understand speech."
He put this person in this pool and didn't bother to tell any of the staff about his "condition". I suspect he was trying to find a way of putting his charge out of his misery in a way that would plausibly be called an accident.
I also spent several years volunteering as part of the First Aid Service Team for the American Red Cross - while that was mostly applying band aids and treating blisters at community events, there were a few incidents at events like the Rose Parade where we had to summon an ambulance to avoid having to call the Coroner.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
Good going, she's so lucky you were prepared and knew what to do.
I've saved a few lives - I worked my way through college as a pool lifeguard, so I've had to rescue people that overestimated their swimming ability in a serious way, and I even had to rescue someone who was mentally handicapped (mid 20s) and whose caregiver directed them into the deep pool. This individual walked out into the middle of the pool where the water was well over his head, so I went in and was carrying him to the side while telling him to relax and he'd be OK. His caregiver at the side tells me, "Don't bother talking to him, he doesn't understand speech."
He put this person in this pool and didn't bother to tell any of the staff about his "condition". I suspect he was trying to find a way of putting his charge out of his misery in a way that would plausibly be called an accident.
I also spent several years volunteering as part of the First Aid Service Team for the American Red Cross - while that was mostly applying band aids and treating blisters at community events, there were a few incidents at events like the Rose Parade where we had to summon an ambulance to avoid having to call the Coroner.
‘For the first time since Reagan began stacking the court with originalists like the late justice ...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
It's not surprising that of all the people at all qualified to be nominated for the post, Kavanaugh is the one that has gone on the record as one that is opposed to the idea of a sitting president being tried for any sort of crimes. Considering Trump's inevitable impeachment for his violations of the emoluments clause and unending ethics violations, letting the defendant pick a judge that will go easy on him is a pretty significant conflict of interest.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 10, 2018:
It's not surprising that of all the people at all qualified to be nominated for the post, Kavanaugh is the one that has gone on the record as one that is opposed to the idea of a sitting president being tried for any sort of crimes. Considering Trump's inevitable impeachment for his violations of the emoluments clause and unending ethics violations, letting the defendant pick a judge that will go easy on him is a pretty significant conflict of interest.
What are you most looking for in a relationship? Just your 1 Thing
chilehead9 comments on Jul 9, 2018:
A deep connection.
Though, of course, it won't work if they're not a great sexual partner, or if they view me as a paycheck generator.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 9, 2018:
A deep connection.
Though, of course, it won't work if they're not a great sexual partner, or if they view me as a paycheck generator.
Men/Women, Is sex a requirement for an enjoyable romantic relationship?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 9, 2018:
It is a requirement for me. But since it's such an important yet secretive part of the human condition, there's so many places where people can develop hangups about it, and the way people react around it is, at least to outside onlookers, quite bizarre and irrational.
But really, you get into a relationship with a person so you can give and get the things that you both need and you can't (easily) give/get elsewhere.
A sexless relationship can be healthy and successful, but only if that VERY closely reflects the needs and the desires of both participants
chilehead9 comments on Jul 9, 2018:
It is a requirement for me. But since it's such an important yet secretive part of the human condition, there's so many places where people can develop hangups about it, and the way people react around it is, at least to outside onlookers, quite bizarre and irrational.
But really, you get into a relationship with a person so you can give and get the things that you both need and you can't (easily) give/get elsewhere.
A sexless relationship can be healthy and successful, but only if that VERY closely reflects the needs and the desires of both participants
My kind of doctor.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 8, 2018:
Not actually the way things work. That, and being in good cardiovascular shape reduces your resting heart rate - so you would live longer. In case you were wondering.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 8, 2018:
Not actually the way things work. That, and being in good cardiovascular shape reduces your resting heart rate - so you would live longer. In case you were wondering.
Favorite Desserts
chilehead9 comments on Jul 6, 2018:
Before: ice cream
Now: Bread pudding, followed closely by pineapple upside-down cake and banana cream pie.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 6, 2018:
Before: ice cream
Now: Bread pudding, followed closely by pineapple upside-down cake and banana cream pie.
Jim Bakker: God Personally Told Me He Sent Donald Trump to Delay the End Times – Friendly Atheist
chilehead9 comments on Jul 6, 2018:
Why would he not say shit like this? There are zero consequences for any made up BS if they include Gob in their story, and regardless of how crazy it is, some followers will hear it and send him a check.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 6, 2018:
Why would he not say shit like this? There are zero consequences for any made up BS if they include Gob in their story, and regardless of how crazy it is, some followers will hear it and send him a check.
Do you celebrate 4th of July or is it just another ordinary day to you?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I'm puzzled by the fascination people have with fireworks - I see hundreds of people around me dropping a few hundred bucks on these things, just to literally burn it all up in an hour or less. For much less, there's plenty of organized, professionally constructed fireworks displays all around.
Of course, I live just a miles from Disneyland and can see the display from the sidewalk outside my apartment every day of the year.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I'm puzzled by the fascination people have with fireworks - I see hundreds of people around me dropping a few hundred bucks on these things, just to literally burn it all up in an hour or less. For much less, there's plenty of organized, professionally constructed fireworks displays all around.
Of course, I live just a miles from Disneyland and can see the display from the sidewalk outside my apartment every day of the year.
Who wants to go riding a bike with me this weekend?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I'd be totally down for that - if I wasn't 988 miles away from Portland. Since I'm only up to about 30-50 miles per day at this point in the season, I don't foresee making it up there in time.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I'd be totally down for that - if I wasn't 988 miles away from Portland. Since I'm only up to about 30-50 miles per day at this point in the season, I don't foresee making it up there in time.
Could we find the immortality in our life time?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I think it's very possible. While I think that Ray Kurzweil is a trifle optimistic about the time frame, I do have to concede that he's done a hell of a lot more research on the topic than I have, and more of his predictions have come true than mine.
It's not quite guaranteed immortality, but there's a few organizations working on finding a cure for aging - which means we'd be able to live for possibly hundreds of years in pre-middle-age bodies until an accident, war, or crime ends us. Most notable are the SENS foundation (Studies Enabling Negligible Senescence) and Google's Calico (CAlifornia LIfe COmpany)
http://www.sens.org/
https://www.calicolabs.com/
We also have Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan (his wife) laying $3 Billion down with the goal of managing and ending *all* forms of disease by the end of this century.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/21/mark-zuckerberg-priscilla-chan-end-disease
With all of that stuff going on, we don't even need to count on the Singularity arriving before we see humanity reaching the point where we can add about a year of healthy life to our lifespans for each year that passes.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I think it's very possible. While I think that Ray Kurzweil is a trifle optimistic about the time frame, I do have to concede that he's done a hell of a lot more research on the topic than I have, and more of his predictions have come true than mine.
It's not quite guaranteed immortality, but there's a few organizations working on finding a cure for aging - which means we'd be able to live for possibly hundreds of years in pre-middle-age bodies until an accident, war, or crime ends us. Most notable are the SENS foundation (Studies Enabling Negligible Senescence) and Google's Calico (CAlifornia LIfe COmpany)
http://www.sens.org/
https://www.calicolabs.com/
We also have Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan (his wife) laying $3 Billion down with the goal of managing and ending *all* forms of disease by the end of this century.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/21/mark-zuckerberg-priscilla-chan-end-disease
With all of that stuff going on, we don't even need to count on the Singularity arriving before we see humanity reaching the point where we can add about a year of healthy life to our lifespans for each year that passes.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews Delayed a Flight (Again) by Refusing to Sit Next to Women – Friendly Atheist
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
It wouldn't have been difficult for them to purchase adjoining seats, that way the only people they would be sitting next to were their fellow sexist morons. They pull stuff like this so they can call attention to themselves and effectively shout, "Look! Look at how devout and special I am!"
Of course, when they return home, they can stand up in front of all their fellows and say, "Look! Look at all the ridicule and oppression I had to endure, and I still held my ground! I'm a better religious twit than you guys!"
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
It wouldn't have been difficult for them to purchase adjoining seats, that way the only people they would be sitting next to were their fellow sexist morons. They pull stuff like this so they can call attention to themselves and effectively shout, "Look! Look at how devout and special I am!"
Of course, when they return home, they can stand up in front of all their fellows and say, "Look! Look at all the ridicule and oppression I had to endure, and I still held my ground! I'm a better religious twit than you guys!"
The formal intellectual position on belief in supernatural beings is agnosticism.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
"The formal intellectual position"... Did a majority of intellectuals get together and sign some kind of position statement? The default position for any assertion should be that it is false until there is some proof or other reason to believe it put forward. Gnostic means to have knowledge - in other words, some kind of proof. So a gnostic theist is someone that believes there is at least one god, and they have proof of it. And of course, agnostic means without knowledge/proof (regardless of for or against).
We don't have gnostic atheists because it's not really possible to prove a negative, especially when one of the prerequisites for the subject at hand is that it is outside the boundaries of the physical universe and completely untestable. For more on this point, look up Russell's Teapot.
What's your position on giant, undetectable, 60-foot-tall dragons that sneak up behind people and give them shoulder massages? My point here is that it's ridiculous to demand we take an agnostic position on this. There's no proof that such beasts exist, and the number of equally ridiculous things that we would also need to give equal consideration is ludicrously large.
What someone asserts is true without any proof at all can just as easily be dismissed as false with an equal amount of proof. Stating your position as "Is there any proof?" and/or "I remain unconvinced" isn't some kind of affront to others, as your concluding sentence implies. I contend that theists' demands that we accept their beliefs as fact without any proof at all is an affront to sensibility and rational thought. That they have a long history of threatening, torturing, and killing people that don't accept their beliefs as fact makes me unwilling to be charitable to their position in any way, shape, or form. Doubly so when we take into account their actions towards people that have presented actual proof that some of their assertions were contradicted by the physical world (Galileo, for example).
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
"The formal intellectual position"... Did a majority of intellectuals get together and sign some kind of position statement? The default position for any assertion should be that it is false until there is some proof or other reason to believe it put forward. Gnostic means to have knowledge - in other words, some kind of proof. So a gnostic theist is someone that believes there is at least one god, and they have proof of it. And of course, agnostic means without knowledge/proof (regardless of for or against).
We don't have gnostic atheists because it's not really possible to prove a negative, especially when one of the prerequisites for the subject at hand is that it is outside the boundaries of the physical universe and completely untestable. For more on this point, look up Russell's Teapot.
What's your position on giant, undetectable, 60-foot-tall dragons that sneak up behind people and give them shoulder massages? My point here is that it's ridiculous to demand we take an agnostic position on this. There's no proof that such beasts exist, and the number of equally ridiculous things that we would also need to give equal consideration is ludicrously large.
What someone asserts is true without any proof at all can just as easily be dismissed as false with an equal amount of proof. Stating your position as "Is there any proof?" and/or "I remain unconvinced" isn't some kind of affront to others, as your concluding sentence implies. I contend that theists' demands that we accept their beliefs as fact without any proof at all is an affront to sensibility and rational thought. That they have a long history of threatening, torturing, and killing people that don't accept their beliefs as fact makes me unwilling to be charitable to their position in any way, shape, or form. Doubly so when we take into account their actions towards people that have presented actual proof that some of their assertions were contradicted by the physical world (Galileo, for example).
Do you like to fly?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I do, but these days I forego it until such time as the TSA is either reined in or abolished. I don't need someone yelling at me that I'm taking too long (with full hands) to get my belt off, I don't need someone telling me that the cup of tea I'm drinking is forbidden because it could possibly hold some kind of liquid that I'm not drinking, and I don't need people constantly trying to convince me that terrorists are after me, when I'm 1000 times more likely to be killed by a "patriotic", gun-toting American.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
I do, but these days I forego it until such time as the TSA is either reined in or abolished. I don't need someone yelling at me that I'm taking too long (with full hands) to get my belt off, I don't need someone telling me that the cup of tea I'm drinking is forbidden because it could possibly hold some kind of liquid that I'm not drinking, and I don't need people constantly trying to convince me that terrorists are after me, when I'm 1000 times more likely to be killed by a "patriotic", gun-toting American.
Can a dog really sense diabetes?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
Not just dogs: https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/bad-breath
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
Not just dogs: https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/bad-breath
Should I go for full custody of my child?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
You should do what's best for your daughter. And based on your description, it's not even a close contest.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 4, 2018:
You should do what's best for your daughter. And based on your description, it's not even a close contest.
I'm curious why religious people join sites like this.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
If you can accept that they believe the stuff in their bible is true, then it makes sense that they think they have a duty to at least try and save us from a horrible fate. And, of course, they cannot accept the possibility that they're wrong about the bible.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
If you can accept that they believe the stuff in their bible is true, then it makes sense that they think they have a duty to at least try and save us from a horrible fate. And, of course, they cannot accept the possibility that they're wrong about the bible.
Melania Trump...such grace...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Grace, class, and beauty.
Well, half out of three isn't as bad as he could have done.
http://www.india.com/photos/news/naked-pictures-of-donald-trumps-wife-melania-trump-revealed-by-new-york-post-go-viral-on-internet-76748/nude-photoshoots-of-donald-trumps-wife-melania-trump-have-been-revealed-by-new-york-post-76750/
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Grace, class, and beauty.
Well, half out of three isn't as bad as he could have done.
http://www.india.com/photos/news/naked-pictures-of-donald-trumps-wife-melania-trump-revealed-by-new-york-post-go-viral-on-internet-76748/nude-photoshoots-of-donald-trumps-wife-melania-trump-have-been-revealed-by-new-york-post-76750/
Would you want a Christian God to be real?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
"a Christian God" - which one?
But seriously, no. The whole idea of eternal torture, regardless of the offense, sickens me. The capricious and vindictive nature of the more popular villain in the bible (I'm referring to "God" here) makes me want nothing to do with him, and to be as far from him as possible.
The bible-thumpers assert that their God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and exists outside of time. Yet, when he saw that people weren't behaving the way he'd intended, his solution wasn't to fix them, it was to drown all but 8 of the humans on Earth and send them all to Hell for a little bout of eternal torture.
He makes a bet with regards to his most devout follower at the time, and asks the Devil to torture this follower and kill off his entire family in hideous, painful ways. To test him. And this is the being they say is the embodiment of pure love?
He allows people to repent and avoid going to Hell for raping, torturing, and murdering hundreds of victims, yet blaspheming the holy spirit is the one and only "unforgivable sin". Truly, I say unto you: Fuck that guy.
Yeah, I would jump at the chance for an eternal life in a very, very pleasant place. As long as none of the beings portrayed in the bible are there.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
"a Christian God" - which one?
But seriously, no. The whole idea of eternal torture, regardless of the offense, sickens me. The capricious and vindictive nature of the more popular villain in the bible (I'm referring to "God" here) makes me want nothing to do with him, and to be as far from him as possible.
The bible-thumpers assert that their God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and exists outside of time. Yet, when he saw that people weren't behaving the way he'd intended, his solution wasn't to fix them, it was to drown all but 8 of the humans on Earth and send them all to Hell for a little bout of eternal torture.
He makes a bet with regards to his most devout follower at the time, and asks the Devil to torture this follower and kill off his entire family in hideous, painful ways. To test him. And this is the being they say is the embodiment of pure love?
He allows people to repent and avoid going to Hell for raping, torturing, and murdering hundreds of victims, yet blaspheming the holy spirit is the one and only "unforgivable sin". Truly, I say unto you: Fuck that guy.
Yeah, I would jump at the chance for an eternal life in a very, very pleasant place. As long as none of the beings portrayed in the bible are there.
Annoyed Camera Guy Smacks Down Christian Preacher - YouTube
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
That look on his face is him wrestling with whether or not to accept the reality that he's just trying to use his religion to justify his own petty biases and hatreds, and his mistreatment of people that (as far as he or anyone there that day can tell) do not deserve the kind of pronouncements he's handing out.
He's awfully brave if he thinks he's got the his holy 800 pound gorilla backing him up, and more hesitant when that gorilla might not agree with what he's doing.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
That look on his face is him wrestling with whether or not to accept the reality that he's just trying to use his religion to justify his own petty biases and hatreds, and his mistreatment of people that (as far as he or anyone there that day can tell) do not deserve the kind of pronouncements he's handing out.
He's awfully brave if he thinks he's got the his holy 800 pound gorilla backing him up, and more hesitant when that gorilla might not agree with what he's doing.
I'm probably the outlier here, but I think fireworks are overrated and over done.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
It's insane to me that so many families in this country spend hundreds of dollars on fireworks - something that they'll light on fire, then throw in the trash a few minutes later. They might as well just set the money on fire. Going to an organized fireworks display just makes so much more sense: much better fireworks; much, much less expensive; less chance of setting yourself or your home on fire. At least, as long as you're not going to the display in San Diego back in 2012 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anzhjj6Fu74
Then again, I live near Disneyland and can see a top-notch fireworks display every night of the year. If I cared much for them.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
It's insane to me that so many families in this country spend hundreds of dollars on fireworks - something that they'll light on fire, then throw in the trash a few minutes later. They might as well just set the money on fire. Going to an organized fireworks display just makes so much more sense: much better fireworks; much, much less expensive; less chance of setting yourself or your home on fire. At least, as long as you're not going to the display in San Diego back in 2012 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anzhjj6Fu74
Then again, I live near Disneyland and can see a top-notch fireworks display every night of the year. If I cared much for them.
What is/ are your favorite movie(s) of all time?
Mine is The Dark Knight.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Small sample of music: Lament by Ultravox, Steal My Sunshine by Len, Screenwriter's Blues by Soul Coughing, Sweet Love Hangover by Love and Rockets, 2Wicky by Hooverphonic, Maddest Kind of Love by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Wished For You by Squirrel Nut Zippers, Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo, Time by Pink Floyd, Bring Me To Life by Evanescence, Satisfaction Guaranteed by The Firm, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies
Movies: Three Iron, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, What Dreams May Come, Cloud Atlas, Amazon Women on the Moon, The Meaning of Life
Books: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross, Implied Spaces, Metropolitan, & Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, Storm Front by Jim Butcher
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Small sample of music: Lament by Ultravox, Steal My Sunshine by Len, Screenwriter's Blues by Soul Coughing, Sweet Love Hangover by Love and Rockets, 2Wicky by Hooverphonic, Maddest Kind of Love by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Wished For You by Squirrel Nut Zippers, Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo, Time by Pink Floyd, Bring Me To Life by Evanescence, Satisfaction Guaranteed by The Firm, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies
Movies: Three Iron, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, What Dreams May Come, Cloud Atlas, Amazon Women on the Moon, The Meaning of Life
Books: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross, Implied Spaces, Metropolitan, & Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Agnostics are the bisexuals of the philosophical community.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
It sounds like you're confusing being bisexual with being indecisive. There's people that like like chocolate and hate vanilla, others that like vanilla and not chocolate, and still others that like both.
You're not going to win as many people to your point of view if you make them defensive by being ignorantly offensive about their (or their friends') sexuality
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
It sounds like you're confusing being bisexual with being indecisive. There's people that like like chocolate and hate vanilla, others that like vanilla and not chocolate, and still others that like both.
You're not going to win as many people to your point of view if you make them defensive by being ignorantly offensive about their (or their friends') sexuality
What is the main reason why you became a non-beliver or a believer of anything spiritual?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
There's no proof for any of it, and no way to test any of it to rule it out or prove it.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
There's no proof for any of it, and no way to test any of it to rule it out or prove it.
I joined this site because of the Title, Agnostic.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
They have to pick a name for the site, and agnosticsandatheistsanddoubtingbelievers was a bit harder to remember. But the site caters to all of those categories, to provide a service to people not served by the sites like christianmingle or equallyyoked. Every user has tags on the popup when you hover over their name: atheist, agnostic, antitheist, skeptic, secularist, etc.
"just asking for my own benefit" - was there a question in your post? Because there weren't any actual question marks.
In the words of Monty Python: Well I've always said, There's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes in anything or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBBlRB1HH2g
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
They have to pick a name for the site, and agnosticsandatheistsanddoubtingbelievers was a bit harder to remember. But the site caters to all of those categories, to provide a service to people not served by the sites like christianmingle or equallyyoked. Every user has tags on the popup when you hover over their name: atheist, agnostic, antitheist, skeptic, secularist, etc.
"just asking for my own benefit" - was there a question in your post? Because there weren't any actual question marks.
In the words of Monty Python: Well I've always said, There's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really doesn't know whether he believes in anything or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBBlRB1HH2g
Is the Trump presidency a gift in disguise?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
While I view the coming blue wave to be an unintended gift from the Trump mis-administration, I don't think it's in a disguise. I think that what it's wrapped in is not false, but actually hateful, hurtful, and counter to what decent human beings actually stand for.
I see this past week's election win (NY) by a democratic socialist, taking the seat of a moderate democrat, to be a good sign.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
While I view the coming blue wave to be an unintended gift from the Trump mis-administration, I don't think it's in a disguise. I think that what it's wrapped in is not false, but actually hateful, hurtful, and counter to what decent human beings actually stand for.
I see this past week's election win (NY) by a democratic socialist, taking the seat of a moderate democrat, to be a good sign.
What’s the worst or most boring job you’ve ever had?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Worst job was working for a timeshare company, telephoning people that had entered their contest to tell them that they'd won something. From the description, you'd think that the people I was calling would be pleasant. Nothing could be further from the truth. I call them, remind them that they filled out a contest entry form, and that they had won something - they had only to show up, listen to a 30-60 minute sales presentation, and then pull an envelope out of a bucket to determine which of the five available prizes were theirs. The level of hate that was directed at me during each and every call was stomach-turning. I think I lasted all of three days there.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 2, 2018:
Worst job was working for a timeshare company, telephoning people that had entered their contest to tell them that they'd won something. From the description, you'd think that the people I was calling would be pleasant. Nothing could be further from the truth. I call them, remind them that they filled out a contest entry form, and that they had won something - they had only to show up, listen to a 30-60 minute sales presentation, and then pull an envelope out of a bucket to determine which of the five available prizes were theirs. The level of hate that was directed at me during each and every call was stomach-turning. I think I lasted all of three days there.
Oh, FFS.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 1, 2018:
Quite the coincidence that in the post I viewed immediately before this one, I posted a list of traits of cults.
chilehead9 comments on Jul 1, 2018:
Quite the coincidence that in the post I viewed immediately before this one, I posted a list of traits of cults.
When is a cult not a religion?
chilehead9 comments on Jul 1, 2018:
Here's a list of traits shared by most cults, as compiled by some Ph.Ds that study cults and their behaviors. I'm sure you can adapt them to all kinds of political groups and other forms of ideology. If your question was "when is a religion not a cult", my answer would simply be: never.
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
‪ Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
‪ Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
‪ The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry) leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
‪ The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
‪ The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
‪ The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
‪ The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
‪ The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
‪ Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
‪ The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
‪ The group is preoccupied with making money.
‪ Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
‪ Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
‪ The most loyal members (the true believers) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no...
chilehead9 comments on Jul 1, 2018:
Here's a list of traits shared by most cults, as compiled by some Ph.Ds that study cults and their behaviors. I'm sure you can adapt them to all kinds of political groups and other forms of ideology. If your question was "when is a religion not a cult", my answer would simply be: never.
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
‪ Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
‪ Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
‪ The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry) leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
‪ The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
‪ The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
‪ The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
‪ The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
‪ The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
‪ Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
‪ The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
‪ The group is preoccupied with making money.
‪ Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
‪ Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
‪ The most loyal members (the true believers) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no...
Why do people think bad things that happen to people are part of god’s plan?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Because they cannot deal with the thought that the world isn't just and fair in some manner, and their inability to change that. If they think that there's an afterlife where someone that got a raw deal here will get ten times as many good deals gifted to them, then the world doesn't seem so bad and they can continue on with the least change to the way they normally do things.
Thoughts and prayers are so much easier than making a sizable donation to cancer research or to getting a medical degree and working on a cure.
Of course, it's also outside of their thought processes to consider what effect their "god's plan" comment will have on someone that doesn't read from the same book of fiction they do. Or perhaps they did think of that, and feel that it is deserved for not believing. Any god that tortures people with diseases like that certainly doesn't deserve respect (as in admiration, as opposed to how you'd respect a . 45 pointed at your head), much less worship.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Because they cannot deal with the thought that the world isn't just and fair in some manner, and their inability to change that. If they think that there's an afterlife where someone that got a raw deal here will get ten times as many good deals gifted to them, then the world doesn't seem so bad and they can continue on with the least change to the way they normally do things.
Thoughts and prayers are so much easier than making a sizable donation to cancer research or to getting a medical degree and working on a cure.
Of course, it's also outside of their thought processes to consider what effect their "god's plan" comment will have on someone that doesn't read from the same book of fiction they do. Or perhaps they did think of that, and feel that it is deserved for not believing. Any god that tortures people with diseases like that certainly doesn't deserve respect (as in admiration, as opposed to how you'd respect a . 45 pointed at your head), much less worship.
A Jury May Have Sentenced a Man to Death Because He’s Gay. And the Justices Don’t Care.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I see a twisted parallel between the major religions beliefs and our society in general with respect to dealing with crimes. The prevailing opinion seems to be that once someone has been found guilty (or even just accused), anything that befalls them is justified. It's not enough to get the person to stop committing crimes, not enough that they do all they can to make amends to society for what they did, not enough to rehabilitate them and make them productive and respectable members of society again - these folks in our society have a NEED to see people punished, to see them suffer, and to take away any semblance of humanity they might have.
As if the only thing necessary for this person to be happy would be to engage in sex with someone of the same gender. Never mind the lack of consent on his part, or the violence that goes with it. I'm guessing that these same jurors would be fine with sending a female offender to a men's prison - if they thought that it meant she'd be raped daily and beaten badly if she didn't comply with her rapists' instructions. Regardless of how much pleasure that would give the convicts administering said rapes and beatings.
How we treat our prisoners, the convicted and the accused going through the justice system says a lot more about us as a society and as a people than it does about the offenders. We should have a definite and clear purpose for what we're doing when we imprison someone. Punishment for its own sake says terrible things about us: it's just torture porn for people with sadistic tendencies. Taking away someone's freedom will stop them from committing **most** crimes (but we still have murders, assaults, rapes, and drug use in our prisons... hmmm), so that can be one reason for it. Having the offender pay restitution to their victim or the victim's family serves a purpose of at least partially making up for committing the offense. Rehabilitating the offender so that they can rejoin society and contribute to the well-being of all without re-offending would be the highest and most noble thing we could aspire to with respect to our justice system (which is what Netherlands does, and has just about the lowest recidivism rate in the world).
But not the USA. Our policy is one of gleefully torturing these people for as long as we can stomach it, to take their physical and mental health, and all their worldly possessions and even their humanity away from them, and even when they are released we deny them most opportunities for making a living and to positively contribute back to society.
Pretty much every politician these days runs on a platform of "getting tough on crime" - as if we've been treating them too well in the past. They are just tapping into our society's rotten core of sadism, ...
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I see a twisted parallel between the major religions beliefs and our society in general with respect to dealing with crimes. The prevailing opinion seems to be that once someone has been found guilty (or even just accused), anything that befalls them is justified. It's not enough to get the person to stop committing crimes, not enough that they do all they can to make amends to society for what they did, not enough to rehabilitate them and make them productive and respectable members of society again - these folks in our society have a NEED to see people punished, to see them suffer, and to take away any semblance of humanity they might have.
As if the only thing necessary for this person to be happy would be to engage in sex with someone of the same gender. Never mind the lack of consent on his part, or the violence that goes with it. I'm guessing that these same jurors would be fine with sending a female offender to a men's prison - if they thought that it meant she'd be raped daily and beaten badly if she didn't comply with her rapists' instructions. Regardless of how much pleasure that would give the convicts administering said rapes and beatings.
How we treat our prisoners, the convicted and the accused going through the justice system says a lot more about us as a society and as a people than it does about the offenders. We should have a definite and clear purpose for what we're doing when we imprison someone. Punishment for its own sake says terrible things about us: it's just torture porn for people with sadistic tendencies. Taking away someone's freedom will stop them from committing **most** crimes (but we still have murders, assaults, rapes, and drug use in our prisons... hmmm), so that can be one reason for it. Having the offender pay restitution to their victim or the victim's family serves a purpose of at least partially making up for committing the offense. Rehabilitating the offender so that they can rejoin society and contribute to the well-being of all without re-offending would be the highest and most noble thing we could aspire to with respect to our justice system (which is what Netherlands does, and has just about the lowest recidivism rate in the world).
But not the USA. Our policy is one of gleefully torturing these people for as long as we can stomach it, to take their physical and mental health, and all their worldly possessions and even their humanity away from them, and even when they are released we deny them most opportunities for making a living and to positively contribute back to society.
Pretty much every politician these days runs on a platform of "getting tough on crime" - as if we've been treating them too well in the past. They are just tapping into our society's rotten core of sadism, ...
Death. Do you fear it?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
We have evolved to try and avoid dying whenever and wherever possible. At this time I don't look forward to doing it again.
I also have an optimistic suspicion that during my lifetime we may find a cure for aging, and people will be able to (generally, barring accidents and murders) live for as long as they want to. That being said, I also think that most people may reach a point (after a hundred or so years) where they feel they have a need to end their own lives, because our brains aren't assembled in a way that living that long and accumulating that much life experience has been a factor, and things just might not continue working in a sustainable way. That will probably be the next big project for mankind, after we solve the problem of aging.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
We have evolved to try and avoid dying whenever and wherever possible. At this time I don't look forward to doing it again.
I also have an optimistic suspicion that during my lifetime we may find a cure for aging, and people will be able to (generally, barring accidents and murders) live for as long as they want to. That being said, I also think that most people may reach a point (after a hundred or so years) where they feel they have a need to end their own lives, because our brains aren't assembled in a way that living that long and accumulating that much life experience has been a factor, and things just might not continue working in a sustainable way. That will probably be the next big project for mankind, after we solve the problem of aging.
When did you start to identify as an atheist/agnostic?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
If you mean by publicly identifying as such, it was after my wife ran off with one of our friends. I didn't think there was any remaining benefit to putting up with the flawed arguments, or of "going along to get along".
If you mean by internally recognizing that I didn't believe and was no longer trying to deceive myself into believing, it was a few years earlier. I had been trying to build some logical support for my continued belief to strengthen it, and each attempt led me closer to concluding that it was unsupportable at all.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
If you mean by publicly identifying as such, it was after my wife ran off with one of our friends. I didn't think there was any remaining benefit to putting up with the flawed arguments, or of "going along to get along".
If you mean by internally recognizing that I didn't believe and was no longer trying to deceive myself into believing, it was a few years earlier. I had been trying to build some logical support for my continued belief to strengthen it, and each attempt led me closer to concluding that it was unsupportable at all.
Am I the only atheist that doesn’t smoke pot?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
No, you're not.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
No, you're not.
Would you have a wedding with religious aspects incorporated in it?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I may bend a little bit and allow something, if we both are really attached to the particular venue, and the people that own it made it mandatory. Maybe. I can not promise an absence of exaggerated eye rolling in that case.
I can't really foresee having a meaningful relationship that reaches the point of marriage with someone that is so addicted to the blight of religion, considering my utter lack of respect for it.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I may bend a little bit and allow something, if we both are really attached to the particular venue, and the people that own it made it mandatory. Maybe. I can not promise an absence of exaggerated eye rolling in that case.
I can't really foresee having a meaningful relationship that reaches the point of marriage with someone that is so addicted to the blight of religion, considering my utter lack of respect for it.
Atheists Are Murderers - Debunked (Jordan Peterson)
[youtube.com]
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Where would this guy be if he didn't have his straw men and his air of indignant superiority? And seriously, he's basing a large chunk of his argument on the misapprehensions of fictional characters made by someone over 125 years ago that didn't know any actual atheists?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Where would this guy be if he didn't have his straw men and his air of indignant superiority? And seriously, he's basing a large chunk of his argument on the misapprehensions of fictional characters made by someone over 125 years ago that didn't know any actual atheists?
Recommendations of books, science articles, websites or some material which gives you more ...
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Hard to believe no one's recommended this yet:
www.reddit.com/r/atheism
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Hard to believe no one's recommended this yet:
www.reddit.com/r/atheism
This pale skinned redhead is finding this heatwave a trial.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I used to work as a lifeguard. During that, my doctor put me on meds that made me sunburn easier. Level 50 would protect me for almost three hours.
More recently, I've been taking my bike rides in the middle of the night, because the summer daytime heat gets to be too much. Though this year the city has taken to locking up the access points to the bike trail and some gates across the bike trail at sunset to keep out the homeless.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
I used to work as a lifeguard. During that, my doctor put me on meds that made me sunburn easier. Level 50 would protect me for almost three hours.
More recently, I've been taking my bike rides in the middle of the night, because the summer daytime heat gets to be too much. Though this year the city has taken to locking up the access points to the bike trail and some gates across the bike trail at sunset to keep out the homeless.
Can anyone do this in only four words?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
They completed each other.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
They completed each other.
At the current rate of joinage Agnostic.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
The cake is a lie!
Will there be neurotoxin? You bet.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
The cake is a lie!
Will there be neurotoxin? You bet.
What position do you sleep in?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Horizontal. Beyond that, I don't know: I'm asleep and not paying attention.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Horizontal. Beyond that, I don't know: I'm asleep and not paying attention.
Incest: Immoral or Moral?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
It's irresponsible on the genetic level, because knowingly creating a life that is very likely to have all kinds of recessive defects expressed is not a good thing. Unless you can be tested and have all the genetic drawbacks ruled out.
On an emotional level, it's a breakdown of the normal dynamics of the brother-sister relationship. Usually there's a lot of unspoken or even only unconsciously known power dynamics (among others) in that relationship, and adding that intimate wrench to the gears is likely to cause some larger issues. If you break up with an unrelated BF/GF, they can leave and that's the end of the story. If the BF/GF relationship with a sibling goes wrong, family reunions will never be the same, and you can't easily just cut that person out of your life.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
It's irresponsible on the genetic level, because knowingly creating a life that is very likely to have all kinds of recessive defects expressed is not a good thing. Unless you can be tested and have all the genetic drawbacks ruled out.
On an emotional level, it's a breakdown of the normal dynamics of the brother-sister relationship. Usually there's a lot of unspoken or even only unconsciously known power dynamics (among others) in that relationship, and adding that intimate wrench to the gears is likely to cause some larger issues. If you break up with an unrelated BF/GF, they can leave and that's the end of the story. If the BF/GF relationship with a sibling goes wrong, family reunions will never be the same, and you can't easily just cut that person out of your life.
are you afraid of death?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
The last time I died, it was like taking a nap. The hard part was what they did to me after I was brought back.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
The last time I died, it was like taking a nap. The hard part was what they did to me after I was brought back.
Humility and atheism
How do you all feel about humility?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
"Humble" before god. Yet this god loves you specifically, and created the whole world and the Universe for just mankind.
Versus seeing the scope of the Universe and realizing that we are an insignificantly small part of it, and the overwhelming majority of it has no indication we've ever existed at all, and likely never will.
The first is called humble, yet is pretty much the opposite.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
"Humble" before god. Yet this god loves you specifically, and created the whole world and the Universe for just mankind.
Versus seeing the scope of the Universe and realizing that we are an insignificantly small part of it, and the overwhelming majority of it has no indication we've ever existed at all, and likely never will.
The first is called humble, yet is pretty much the opposite.
Attractive parts
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Females: the back of the neck and the inside of the knee.
Males: latissimus dorsi
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Females: the back of the neck and the inside of the knee.
Males: latissimus dorsi
What is the main reason why you became a non-beliver or a believer of anything spiritual?
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Because the more I thought about any of those ideas, the more I realized that they were nothing more than desperate attempts to shoehorn real life events into an explanation that is overly simplistic at best, and malicious and counter-reality at worst. In short, "spritualism" or anything "mystical" is just an attempt to assert control over something that is well beyond any semblance of our control. It doesn't work, but it makes us feel better about ourselves.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 30, 2018:
Because the more I thought about any of those ideas, the more I realized that they were nothing more than desperate attempts to shoehorn real life events into an explanation that is overly simplistic at best, and malicious and counter-reality at worst. In short, "spritualism" or anything "mystical" is just an attempt to assert control over something that is well beyond any semblance of our control. It doesn't work, but it makes us feel better about ourselves.
Why are Americans spending too much time at work? | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian
chilehead9 comments on Jun 28, 2018:
Why do we think that supervising other people doing the actual work that is the reason for a business existing is worth several times the compensation earned by the people being supervised? Employees in the US are several times more productive than they were 50 years ago, yet the wages they earn today get them less than what those workers back then could buy with their wages. The CEOs that funnel more of the company's profits into their own pockets then blames their "lazy, unproductive" workers for the inability to pay them a living wage. While they are pulling down more than 100 times the average worker's income, sometimes even 500 times that.
Why do we accept a lower standard of living in other nations as an acceptable means for boosting our own? The US Dept. of State actively worked to help Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Levis, and Dockers to prevent Haiti from increasing their minimum wage above $0.22/hour back in the oughts. The President of Levi Strauss currently pulls in over $10.5 million a year, and there's at least 5 other executives there making millions in pay. Why do we accept corporations treating people like this? Of course, those same executives then hold these cheap foreign workers over the heads of their US-based employees to spur them on to accepting more and more inhumane conditions here.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 28, 2018:
Why do we think that supervising other people doing the actual work that is the reason for a business existing is worth several times the compensation earned by the people being supervised? Employees in the US are several times more productive than they were 50 years ago, yet the wages they earn today get them less than what those workers back then could buy with their wages. The CEOs that funnel more of the company's profits into their own pockets then blames their "lazy, unproductive" workers for the inability to pay them a living wage. While they are pulling down more than 100 times the average worker's income, sometimes even 500 times that.
Why do we accept a lower standard of living in other nations as an acceptable means for boosting our own? The US Dept. of State actively worked to help Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Levis, and Dockers to prevent Haiti from increasing their minimum wage above $0.22/hour back in the oughts. The President of Levi Strauss currently pulls in over $10.5 million a year, and there's at least 5 other executives there making millions in pay. Why do we accept corporations treating people like this? Of course, those same executives then hold these cheap foreign workers over the heads of their US-based employees to spur them on to accepting more and more inhumane conditions here.
What is your response when people threaten you with religious punishments? (i.e. Hell/Jahannam)
chilehead9 comments on Jun 27, 2018:
You have to ask yourself just what such a place was created for. What does their supreme bean gain from having a place where people/souls are tortured for all eternity? If there's no escape from it, it's certainly not for reforming anyone. This God person has got to be one seriously screwed-up mental case to get so much pleasure from inflicting so much pain and torment on others, even if he's delegated the actual torturing to others so it seems like his hands are clean. But isn't he the one that judges who ends up in which place? Or did he at least spell out the guidelines to his delegates that take care of that chore for him?
Eternal torture for using his name incorrectly, or for sleeping with someone before you marry them. That's like cutting your child's arm off because they forgot to take the trash out one time - the punishment is so many orders of magnitude worse than the offense. I consider that a far greater crime than anything any human has done in the entire time there have been humans. The worse the punishment, the less their god deserves to be obeyed or respected.
Confronted with that, they just might start to realize that everything in their religion is based on scaring people into doing what they're told.
chilehead9 comments on Jun 27, 2018:
You have to ask yourself just what such a place was created for. What does their supreme bean gain from having a place where people/souls are tortured for all eternity? If there's no escape from it, it's certainly not for reforming anyone. This God person has got to be one seriously screwed-up mental case to get so much pleasure from inflicting so much pain and torment on others, even if he's delegated the actual torturing to others so it seems like his hands are clean. But isn't he the one that judges who ends up in which place? Or did he at least spell out the guidelines to his delegates that take care of that chore for him?
Eternal torture for using his name incorrectly, or for sleeping with someone before you marry them. That's like cutting your child's arm off because they forgot to take the trash out one time - the punishment is so many orders of magnitude worse than the offense. I consider that a far greater crime than anything any human has done in the entire time there have been humans. The worse the punishment, the less their god deserves to be obeyed or respected.
Confronted with that, they just might start to realize that everything in their religion is based on scaring people into doing what they're told.
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Atheist, Secularist, Skeptic, Freethinker
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