My boss is so ignorant about good booze that he thinks Zinfandel is a white wine!
Ah but half of the people I know think that Zinfandel is that pink crap that is for wine noobs. I love Zinfandel (Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel is my cost/quality favorite) but every year some good-hearted but misled person gives me the pink stuff. Sigh...
Well, how environmentally aware of him, especially as *he* pays *his* energy bill. Are you thinking that he should be lauded as an environmentalist for making a shrewd investment?
I would ask why he needs a 6500 ft^2 McMansion. Surely he could make do with less and surely a 6500 ft^2 house has a larger negative environmental impact than a 1500 ft^2 one. That's like Al Gore, lecturing us about how we're all using too much while he and Tipper live in two different houses, one 10,000 ft^2 in Nashville and the other 4000 ft^2 in Arlington and ride around in SUVs. I'll give Al and your dad their "friends of the environment" props when they "walk the walk."
Speaking of retail and bad Xmas gifts, that reminds me of a story.
I was working retail some years ago and as Xmas approached, one of the assistant managers came around looking for donations for the boss's present. Since I was a relatively well-compensated supervisory employee, it was suggested that $50 would be appropriate, so I shelled out the money.
Do you know what the manager "bought" the assistant managers and supervisors? A flippin' bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel (horrible $4 stuff, it went right down the drain). What's worse is that I noticed that the distributor of that brand was offering a "buy twenty cases, get a free case" discount.
I walked into the back stockroom and found a pallet with twenty cases of the crap. It took us seven months to sell all of it, but at least my cheapskate-ass boss didn't have to part with one thin dime.
That blender is off the hook. Did you see the video of it reducing the rake handle to dust? Crap, one of their blenders has a freakin' 20 amp motor. I just bought a hammer drill that can punch through three feet of concrete and it only has a 7.5 amp motor.
Admittedly, I haven't a clue what I would do with a 20-amp blender, but it looks impressive.
FaceTime, a Californian firm that specializes in making such consumer applications safe for companies, found in a recent survey that more than half of employees in their 20s and 30s admitted to installing such software over the objections of IT staff.
In another recent survey, eye drop manufacturer Visine, has released a survey indicating that most marijuana users suffer from bloodshot eyes.
True Story (or so I'm told):
My brother is an ornithologist out West and they were conducting a Lincoln Index study in a suburban area. Every morning they would come in to man the nets and in one back yard a toy breed dog would bark his fool head off. One early morning the yapping was punctuated with a yelp and then silence. My brother looked and a Great Horned Owl was flying off with Fluffy.
As far as I can tell squirrels and opossums have not evolved one iota in that regard. I wish I had a nickel for every time a squirrel cut back in front of my car after already successfully getting across the road. And possums? For the love of God, you almost need a snow plow to clear 'em from the roads around here.
In 2001 bin Laden was obviously the personage with the most impact, but people have come to see Person of the Year as laudatory, so now Time is constrained to pick popular figures rather than infamous ones, even if it's the infamous who mattered more.
Exactly...a classic sellout. Time is a gutless rag that is more interested in marketing than anything else, and they were afraid that they would lose subscribers and advertising dollars.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad probably should have been the MoTY this year, but same deal as 2001.
I'm sorry, but did you *actually* call John F. Kerry an intellectual?
I'm not sure if the parent was trying to say that John Kerry was an intellectual or not.
I guess that if you interpreted the term "intellectual" broadly, you might say that John Kerry is an intellectual, but then you would have to say that George W Bush is one also. I somehow doubt that the parent would argree with that.
On the other hand, Bill Clinton could probably have been more accurately deemed an intellectual than either.
Will the honest questions of an intellectual ever not be a liability? NO
Or will politicians always continue to have to be liars wearing masks of false confidence, grabbing all power available in order to hold onto any power at all? YES
Must the functional brains of our society continue to be the most cruel amongst us? YES
True story:
After begging and pleading with their parents for years, my friend Pete and his older brother finally got BB guns one Xmas.
Of course, the first thing they did was go into their room and had a shootout. Pete's brother nailed him direct in the eyebrow over the left eye. Pete scraped the BB our of his eyebrow, at which point a little fountain of blood began flowing. Pete's first words were "I'm going tell!"
Since they both knew that they would lose their precious armaments, negotiations ensued about how things could be amicably worked out. In the end, Pete settled out of court for the opportunity to shoot his brother in the ass three times.
So that's what they're called. We used to make those when we were kids in the 70s. Only we used granny's prescription bottles--which were made of glass--adding another layer of danger.
And they grew hostile towards me when I had questions about possible contradictions in the bible.
Q: You know what is the hardest thing for most Christians to say?
A: "I don't know."
Many Xtians get hostile/uncomfortable under circumstances like that. We ignore a bunch of the Bible like a crazy aunt because we're not sure what to with it. Why? I think that we're afraid that if we admit that there are apparent contradictions we will be begin an uncontrolled slide into unbelief. The fact is that most of us have a very tenuous grip on our faith even though we are loathe to admit it. I don't think that there has ever been a day that I haven't questioned my beliefs at least once.
I guess that it's no wonder that more people have a problem with Christians than with Jesus. But like I said, we're a flawed bunch--but probably no more, no less than the rest of the gen-pop.
Your background is interesting although it is exactly opposite mine. I was raised in a completely nonreligious (yet strangely moralistic) family and came to believe this stuff while in my thirties. One of the things that may have been good about my background was that I was able to read the Bible as an adult without a bunch of preconceived notions. As a result, I don't have the additional burden of wondering whether I believe just because I was taught to.
You're not coming off as snarky at all and I find the subject fascinating.
I currently am fairly bitter and dismissive towards them. I see them as judgemental hypocrites overly interested in how other people live. I ascribed to them low and bitter motives. In short, I have a fairly low opinion and hostile attitude towards Christians.
In all fairness, the first sentence is probably related to the second. Christians who are "overly interested in how other people live" are easier to notice (and unbiblical) than the ones who are merely going about their business trying to be the best follower of Jesus that they can be. For example everyone has heard of the God hates fags "Christians," but very few have heard of my college math professor who just lived like a Christian and influenced people with his good deeds and humility.
Your statement put things in a new perspective. If Christians truly feel most of the time that they personally don't measure up, it becomes easier to have a more generous attitude. Their attempts to force their rules on me become more understandable. Their hatred of others is more comprehensible considering their self-hatred. Their hypocracy is much easier to stomach since there is no choice, given the unreasonably high standards set.
From my POV, the fact that Christians don't measure up would be *less* of a reason for hatred and *less* of a reason to force rules upon others, but admitting that one is a hypocrite *should not* be tantamount to self-hatred, although it often is. Jesus did not say to "hate your neighbor as you hate yourself," which sadly is what often happens to Christians who fixate on rules and neglect the central message of Christianity, which is mercy.
As Christians, we need to understand that in the Garden of Eden, the tree that God forbade humans to eat from was not the Tree of Knowledge, but rather the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I believe that we were not were simply not equipped to judge others, which is why Jesus warned against it and why the primary object of his criticism was against the Phariseesinstead of the sinners.
Okay, I guess I'm off on a rant--I better pack it in.
This article further supports my theory that the field of psychology is bunch of bull-shit. Neurology is a science. Psychology is a bunch of philosophers conjuring up imaginary diseases to reinforce everyone's imaginary "problems"
If by the "field of psychology" you mean the classification and description of "mental disorders" that have no known physical pathologies, I am in complete agreement with you. Many of the things in the DSM cannot be determined by any physical means, including an autopsy. Many are "diagnosed" by a self-report questionnaire, which is well-known to be an extremely flawed proposition. That isn't science, that's voodoo. But hey, at least it sells pharmaceuticals.
However, there is *plenty* of scientifically valid and interesting research in the field. I studied the psychology of motivation (task persistence, incentive vs. punishment, etc) which has a ton of work that is both useful and rigorous.
No need to spend the emotional energy on pity for me--while our belief is that we're shitheels, we get a free pass in the end. Not that I have a lot of respect for "fire insurance" Christians, but the way I look at it, it beats the mess out of "life's a bitch and then you die" nihilism.
Are you joking? A "full-blown neurosis?" That's ridiculous. Nobody is going to get fixated on the internet.
I would expand on my argument but I'm at work and I have to get a lot of stuff done. I'm chatting with s3xygurl15, buying Xmas presents on Amazon and selling my old Xbox on eBay. I also need to email my mom to see if she can bring me some ramen noodles or mac-n-cheese, since I won't have time to eat later 'cause I'm needed on a WoW raid in an hour.
The knight was probably just trying to convince his mother (or king) that they were in the "end-times" by exagerrating the carnage. The statement is right out of Revelation 14:20.
Speaking as a Christian I can say that all Christians are hypocrites. In all fairness though, it is much more difficult to avoid hypocrisy when one's ethical system is imposed from without or is codified. Christianity's ethical system is generally thought to be based upon the insanely high standard of Matthew 22:37-40.
Personally, I'm in noncompliance most of the time.
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My boss is so ignorant about good booze that he thinks Zinfandel is a white wine!
Ah but half of the people I know think that Zinfandel is that pink crap that is for wine noobs. I love Zinfandel (Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel is my cost/quality favorite) but every year some good-hearted but misled person gives me the pink stuff. Sigh...
Well, how environmentally aware of him, especially as *he* pays *his* energy bill. Are you thinking that he should be lauded as an environmentalist for making a shrewd investment?
I would ask why he needs a 6500 ft^2 McMansion. Surely he could make do with less and surely a 6500 ft^2 house has a larger negative environmental impact than a 1500 ft^2 one. That's like Al Gore, lecturing us about how we're all using too much while he and Tipper live in two different houses, one 10,000 ft^2 in Nashville and the other 4000 ft^2 in Arlington and ride around in SUVs. I'll give Al and your dad their "friends of the environment" props when they "walk the walk."
Speaking of retail and bad Xmas gifts, that reminds me of a story.
I was working retail some years ago and as Xmas approached, one of the assistant managers came around looking for donations for the boss's present. Since I was a relatively well-compensated supervisory employee, it was suggested that $50 would be appropriate, so I shelled out the money.
Do you know what the manager "bought" the assistant managers and supervisors? A flippin' bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel (horrible $4 stuff, it went right down the drain). What's worse is that I noticed that the distributor of that brand was offering a "buy twenty cases, get a free case" discount.
I walked into the back stockroom and found a pallet with twenty cases of the crap. It took us seven months to sell all of it, but at least my cheapskate-ass boss didn't have to part with one thin dime.
That blender is off the hook. Did you see the video of it reducing the rake handle to dust? Crap, one of their blenders has a freakin' 20 amp motor. I just bought a hammer drill that can punch through three feet of concrete and it only has a 7.5 amp motor.
Admittedly, I haven't a clue what I would do with a 20-amp blender, but it looks impressive.
FaceTime, a Californian firm that specializes in making such consumer applications safe for companies, found in a recent survey that more than half of employees in their 20s and 30s admitted to installing such software over the objections of IT staff.
In another recent survey, eye drop manufacturer Visine, has released a survey indicating that most marijuana users suffer from bloodshot eyes.
True Story (or so I'm told): My brother is an ornithologist out West and they were conducting a Lincoln Index study in a suburban area. Every morning they would come in to man the nets and in one back yard a toy breed dog would bark his fool head off. One early morning the yapping was punctuated with a yelp and then silence. My brother looked and a Great Horned Owl was flying off with Fluffy.
Wow...I guess that I should have included the blah, blah blah for you Mr. Obvious.
As far as I can tell squirrels and opossums have not evolved one iota in that regard. I wish I had a nickel for every time a squirrel cut back in front of my car after already successfully getting across the road. And possums? For the love of God, you almost need a snow plow to clear 'em from the roads around here.
I agree...but I wouldn't want to be the one to stand up and say that at a PETA meeting.
The Law of Unintended Consequences in full effect: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=14562
In 2001 bin Laden was obviously the personage with the most impact, but people have come to see Person of the Year as laudatory, so now Time is constrained to pick popular figures rather than infamous ones, even if it's the infamous who mattered more.
Exactly...a classic sellout. Time is a gutless rag that is more interested in marketing than anything else, and they were afraid that they would lose subscribers and advertising dollars.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad probably should have been the MoTY this year, but same deal as 2001.
Did you attend the seminar? Maybe you can make it to one of the upcoming events.
I'm sorry, but did you *actually* call John F. Kerry an intellectual?
I'm not sure if the parent was trying to say that John Kerry was an intellectual or not.
I guess that if you interpreted the term "intellectual" broadly, you might say that John Kerry is an intellectual, but then you would have to say that George W Bush is one also. I somehow doubt that the parent would argree with that.
On the other hand, Bill Clinton could probably have been more accurately deemed an intellectual than either.
Will the honest questions of an intellectual ever not be a liability?
NO
Or will politicians always continue to have to be liars wearing masks of false confidence, grabbing all power available in order to hold onto any power at all?
YES
Must the functional brains of our society continue to be the most cruel amongst us?
YES
Well, you asked.
True story:
After begging and pleading with their parents for years, my friend Pete and his older brother finally got BB guns one Xmas.
Of course, the first thing they did was go into their room and had a shootout. Pete's brother nailed him direct in the eyebrow over the left eye. Pete scraped the BB our of his eyebrow, at which point a little fountain of blood began flowing. Pete's first words were "I'm going tell!"
Since they both knew that they would lose their precious armaments, negotiations ensued about how things could be amicably worked out. In the end, Pete settled out of court for the opportunity to shoot his brother in the ass three times.
So that's what they're called. We used to make those when we were kids in the 70s. Only we used granny's prescription bottles--which were made of glass--adding another layer of danger.
Probably nitpicking but barbiturate withdrawal can apparently also be fatal.
I for one welcome our new BSoD robot overlords.
And they grew hostile towards me when I had questions about possible contradictions in the bible.
Q: You know what is the hardest thing for most Christians to say?
A: "I don't know."
Many Xtians get hostile/uncomfortable under circumstances like that. We ignore a bunch of the Bible like a crazy aunt because we're not sure what to with it. Why? I think that we're afraid that if we admit that there are apparent contradictions we will be begin an uncontrolled slide into unbelief. The fact is that most of us have a very tenuous grip on our faith even though we are loathe to admit it. I don't think that there has ever been a day that I haven't questioned my beliefs at least once.
I guess that it's no wonder that more people have a problem with Christians than with Jesus. But like I said, we're a flawed bunch--but probably no more, no less than the rest of the gen-pop.
Your background is interesting although it is exactly opposite mine. I was raised in a completely nonreligious (yet strangely moralistic) family and came to believe this stuff while in my thirties. One of the things that may have been good about my background was that I was able to read the Bible as an adult without a bunch of preconceived notions. As a result, I don't have the additional burden of wondering whether I believe just because I was taught to.
You're not coming off as snarky at all and I find the subject fascinating.
I currently am fairly bitter and dismissive towards them. I see them as judgemental hypocrites overly interested in how other people live. I ascribed to them low and bitter motives. In short, I have a fairly low opinion and hostile attitude towards Christians.
In all fairness, the first sentence is probably related to the second. Christians who are "overly interested in how other people live" are easier to notice (and unbiblical) than the ones who are merely going about their business trying to be the best follower of Jesus that they can be. For example everyone has heard of the God hates fags "Christians," but very few have heard of my college math professor who just lived like a Christian and influenced people with his good deeds and humility.
Your statement put things in a new perspective. If Christians truly feel most of the time that they personally don't measure up, it becomes easier to have a more generous attitude. Their attempts to force their rules on me become more understandable. Their hatred of others is more comprehensible considering their self-hatred. Their hypocracy is much easier to stomach since there is no choice, given the unreasonably high standards set.
From my POV, the fact that Christians don't measure up would be *less* of a reason for hatred and *less* of a reason to force rules upon others, but admitting that one is a hypocrite *should not* be tantamount to self-hatred, although it often is. Jesus did not say to "hate your neighbor as you hate yourself," which sadly is what often happens to Christians who fixate on rules and neglect the central message of Christianity, which is mercy.
As Christians, we need to understand that in the Garden of Eden, the tree that God forbade humans to eat from was not the Tree of Knowledge, but rather the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil . I believe that we were not were simply not equipped to judge others, which is why Jesus warned against it and why the primary object of his criticism was against the Pharisees instead of the sinners.
Okay, I guess I'm off on a rant--I better pack it in.
This article further supports my theory that the field of psychology is bunch of bull-shit. Neurology is a science. Psychology is a bunch of philosophers conjuring up imaginary diseases to reinforce everyone's imaginary "problems"
If by the "field of psychology" you mean the classification and description of "mental disorders" that have no known physical pathologies, I am in complete agreement with you. Many of the things in the DSM cannot be determined by any physical means, including an autopsy. Many are "diagnosed" by a self-report questionnaire, which is well-known to be an extremely flawed proposition. That isn't science, that's voodoo. But hey, at least it sells pharmaceuticals.
However, there is *plenty* of scientifically valid and interesting research in the field. I studied the psychology of motivation (task persistence, incentive vs. punishment, etc) which has a ton of work that is both useful and rigorous.
It must be horrible to live like that.
No need to spend the emotional energy on pity for me--while our belief is that we're shitheels, we get a free pass in the end. Not that I have a lot of respect for "fire insurance" Christians, but the way I look at it, it beats the mess out of "life's a bitch and then you die" nihilism.
Are you joking? A "full-blown neurosis?" That's ridiculous. Nobody is going to get fixated on the internet.
I would expand on my argument but I'm at work and I have to get a lot of stuff done. I'm chatting with s3xygurl15, buying Xmas presents on Amazon and selling my old Xbox on eBay. I also need to email my mom to see if she can bring me some ramen noodles or mac-n-cheese, since I won't have time to eat later 'cause I'm needed on a WoW raid in an hour.
Yeah, I'm confused about that too. Truthfully though, it's not even that funny.
The knight was probably just trying to convince his mother (or king) that they were in the "end-times" by exagerrating the carnage. The statement is right out of Revelation 14:20.
Speaking as a Christian I can say that all Christians are hypocrites. In all fairness though, it is much more difficult to avoid hypocrisy when one's ethical system is imposed from without or is codified. Christianity's ethical system is generally thought to be based upon the insanely high standard of Matthew 22:37-40.
Personally, I'm in noncompliance most of the time.