Insignifica

I've noticed that just about

I've noticed that just about all of my recent posts have had religion (typically Christianity) at the heart of the topic. For those that don't know or haven't figured it out, I'm amazingly fascinated and frightened by Christianity and it's adherents (especially the more hardcore believers). I make no bones about what I believe, and this often leads to hurt feelings. That's not why I'm in the game; but expression my opinion (which is a minority opinion) is important to me. I quite enjoyed this quote from Douglas Adams in an interview with American Atheist:

I don’t accept the currently fashionable assertion that any view is automatically as worthy of respect as any equal and opposite view. My view is that the moon is made of rock. If someone says to me “Well, you haven’t been there, have you? You haven’t seen it for yourself, so my view that it is made of Norwegian Beaver Cheese is equally valid” - then I can’t even be bothered to argue. There is such a thing as the burden of proof, and in the case of god, as in the case of the composition of the moon, this has shifted radically. God used to be the best explanation we’d got, and we’ve now got vastly better ones. God is no longer an explanation of anything, but has instead become something that would itself need an insurmountable amount of explaining. So I don’t think that being convinced that there is no god is as irrational or arrogant a point of view as belief that there is. I don’t think the matter calls for even-handedness at all.

I tend to look at it that way too...until you can provide proof (and I'm talking about real proof, not a book that claims to be true via divine right), why should I believe you at all? Why is something "important" like religion taboo to insult, but if you told me you could fly (with faith being needed to see you do it), I could call you crazy without fear of being labeled "insulting"?

Thoughts?

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense from Scientific American.

I deal with creationists every day online - it's pretty sad. I hate thinking that this many people are really that bad at logical thought and the scientific method.

HATE MAIL! Yes, folks, yours

HATE MAIL!

Yes, folks, yours truly has received some hate mail from a fan of the site, referring to my posts about the recent court decision about the pledge of allegiance. I'm posting the email and my response here for everyone to enjoy. Remember, feel free to email Tom at tomtorg@imbris.com, so he can know how you feel about the recent court decision and his letter.

Subject: U.S. Pledge
From: Tom Torgerson (tomtorg@imbris.com)

You are a pitiful excuse for an American. Your site is pushing communistic. Why don't you and all of your other liberal loser pals get the hell out of this country that you so freely mock. Remember, oh uninformed and uncapable one...you mock this country because of the freedoms that people like me have fought for all over the world.

I abhor you and people who think like you. You make me feel like it is you whom I should have been fighting against...not for.

May God (yes...the ONE and ONLY God) save your soul. And may He bring intelligence to your little pea brain.

With disgust and disdain,

Tom

--

Tom,

Thank you for your letter expressing your feeling about me and my website. While I disagree wholehearted with both your opinions (on me and the website) and what I assume is your political stance, I am glad you have the forum to express them (email, and now insignifica.org).

To me, that is what's so great about being an American - not the flag, not the pledge, but our rights. You and I both have the right to free speech...a right so important, so intertwined with what it means to be an American that our founding fathers felt it belonged in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They realized that criticism of the government was not only legal, it was important and encouraged in order to keep those in charge in check, and to ensure for all Americans that their rights would not get taken away.

You strongly discuss various aspects of me (which, I'm sure, you really know very little about) in your email. Thank you. I'm glad I could have such an impact with so few words. However, I have to take issue with some of them:

You are a pitiful excuse for an American. Your site is pushing communistic. Why don't you and all of your other liberal loser pals get the hell out of this country that you so freely mock.

First and foremost, and as I stated above, the ability to criticize my government is not only my right, it's my duty as an American. Expression of a non popular opinion hardly makes me a "pitiful excuse" or is a reason to leave. Second, my "site" is a collection of data files and images. It can't be communistic; even the information in those data files, while embodying my liberal leanings, is not communistic. A person or government can be; however, I consider myself more socialist than communist.

Remember, oh uninformed and uncapable one...you mock this country because of the freedoms that people like me have fought for all over the world.

While I respect your opinion, I fail to see how I'm uninformed (unless that means not agreeing with you) or incapable (after all, my message got to you). While I respect your choice to fight in the armed forces of the United States, I don't see how any fight you could have participated in (unless you are old enough to have fought in WWII) affected my freedoms. I mock, as stated above, because I can and should.

I abhor you and people who think like you. You make me feel like it is you whom I should have been fighting against...not for.

You hate people who think differently than you? Why fight for the rights of all Americans (and for America in general) if you feel that the rights shouldn't extend to Americans you personally disagree with? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of your fight?

May God (yes...the ONE and ONLY God) save your soul. And may He bring intelligence to your little pea brain.

I don't happen to have monotheistic spiritual beliefs, and I assume, by your emphasis, that you do. I respect that. However, resorting to personal insults is hardly a way a gentleman or logical thinker wins an argument.

In closing, Tom, I'm very glad you wrote to me this evening. It pushes me even harder to self publish on my website, and gives me a good feeling that my words are strong enough to elicit response for folks I've never met and who have likely never visited insignifica.org before. For your information, I'm posting your letter and my response to my website for you and the rest of the internet population to read and learn from. Thank you again for your letter.

Sincerely,

Michael Doss
michael@michris.com

It seems there's a lot

It seems there's a lot of very strong opinion about the recent circuit court ruling about the pledge. Look for a long essay about the ruling, the pledge and my thoughts in the coming days...I've seen TOO many of the same, tired arguments against the ruling online to just let it pass us by. May the decision last longer than the time it takes for the first appeal to go through...

Wow! Pledge Declared Unconstitutional -

Wow!

Pledge Declared Unconstitutional - For the first time ever, a federal appeals court Wednesday declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of the words "under God" added by Congress in 1954.

This is fantastic news. I happen to agree (shocking!) 100% with the decision. There are plenty of other reasons I dislike the pledge of allegiance, but the "One Nation Under God" part doesn't deserve to be in our schools. Not only does it assume theism, it assumes the Christian god and not others. While no one is forced to say it, I've had plenty of teachers who wouldn't put up with kids not saying it, not to mention the peer pressure of a 10 year old not standing when the rest of the class is, and he having to explain himself. It's also true that NOT saying the pledge turns you in to a protester, whether you like it or not, which is unacceptable.

Welcome /. visitors. Good day

Welcome /. visitors.

Good day to my regular readers also.

Leave a note. Let the world know:

Boy, this is sick: Young

Boy, this is sick:

Young survivor describes Texas bus crash - 'I really feel God protected me'

Four other people were killed on the bus, and everyone was injured. But God "protected" her. What about the other poor bastards, Kimber Ray? Where was your God for them? Or was it "their time"?

Bullshit, my friends. Bullshit.

From my "My Yahoo!" page:

From my "My Yahoo!" page:

Whew, glad I know about what Martha Stewart has to say about herself. Not like there's anything else important happening in the world.

Do notice that Chris has

Do notice that Chris has finally updated Chris's Corner (it's off to your right, there), and he's done so with a mad vengeance. Until he gets off his ass and builds (or has me build) his own blog, he wisdom is limited to the corner.

For those interested, the camera

For those interested, the camera used to take the Wild Animal Park pictures is a Kodak DC3800 2.1 Megapixel. A couple sample pictures are here and here. This is the medium setting, there is one lower quality and one higher quality. I think it takes a fine picture.

This weekend, I went to

This weekend, I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (among other places in SD). This is a picture of me with a lorikeet.

Click for a larger image.

Waxing poetic tonight. I don't

Waxing poetic tonight. I don't want to sleep...looking for old friends online. Looking for alter egos online. Reading old books and listening to new music.

Friday is the solstice. Happy Solstice!

I'm wearing a white shirt

I'm wearing a white shirt and eating pasta with tomato sauce. Updates coming soon.

UPDATE: One small spot, hardly noticable. Could have been worse. Trouble averted.

Jess is taking part in

Jess is taking part in a 24 hour blogathon for charity - she's giving to Doctors Without Borders (on of the charities from the First Annual Michael Doss Charity Dinner). Help her to raise some money!

I finally broke down and

I finally broke down and joined 24 Hour Fitness this week. I've considered joining a health club for ages - I'm a little tubby, and I believe, as many do, that the dues I pay will inspire me to get out there and get my heart rate up. My real inspiration, however, will be that my friends all now work out semi-regularly, so I'll have someone to go with. Now was the time because Adam, long time 24 Hour employee, finally had some deals for his friends.

Oh, and you know those commercials for fitness clubs, and everyone there is thin, in shape, and rather attractive? Impossible, you think? Though unlikely, it seems the location I worked out yesterday IS that club. Damn. Lots to look at.

I like pie.

I like pie.

Aren't you glad this isn't

Aren't you glad this isn't your school's mascot?

I am.

Oh, hello. Happy Monday. I

Oh, hello. Happy Monday.

I haven't been updating much lately. No particularly good reason, just haven't.

Congrats to Matt, who figured out that "A one-legged delusional midget helps a man made out of light run an imaginary casino - In return the man helps the midget" refers to an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine entitled "It's Only A Paper Moon". The guest star involved is James Darren, 50s teen idle who starred in the last two seasons as sentient hologram Vic Fontaine, and the "midget" is the character of Nog. Interestingly enough, Matt is a friend of mine I met while working at Atrenet, and he also took the class I taught at UCSC about Star Trek in Popular Culture. I'm not sure what his prize will be...I'll think of something good.

Honorable mention to Joe, who got the correct answer after playing 20 questions with me. Thanks to whoever I stole the "midget" description from on Trek Today.

Wil is getting shit for

Wil is getting shit for posting/agreeing with this.

I happen to agree with Wil and the article. If "liberal" means defending human rights, just call me a bleeding-heart leftist liberal pinko commie. Thank you.

You know, a lot of

You know, a lot of people say basketball at its best is like jazz ... in which case, [Shaq is] a big fat tuba playing, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

As posted on Fark,

As posted on Fark, the above image holds new horror in regards to this story.

The Plot: A one-legged delusional

The Plot: A one-legged delusional midget helps a man made out of light run an imaginary casino. In return the man helps the midget.

Name the show, the episode, and the main guest star, and win a prize. Really.

As a Southern California sports

As a Southern California sports fan in the Los Angeles area, please:

Thank you.

(Put it on your website! Just copy the following code:

Enjoy!)

Why didn't anyone ever tell

Why didn't anyone ever tell me that e^(i*pi) + 1 = 0? That's awesome!

Eh, hello. Mad propz to

Eh, hello.

Mad propz to my Angels. Great come-from-behind (twice) win last night, great game. It's a good time to be a fan.

Chex Mix Bold Party Blend is very delicious. It does, however, give you very bold breath.

Next week a "Girl's Night" has been planned, meaning the husbands and boyfriends of those girls need to have a "Men's Night" out. I'd like to make it a grand evening. Suggestions?

A partial eclipse of the

A partial eclipse of the sun combined with late afternooon timing will result in a crescent sunset on June 10th. Awesome.

For those interested, my Saturday

For those interested, my Saturday was filled with adventure. I decided about 10a to go for a bike ride, riding 4 miles to meet the group and watch them play softball. We then did lunch. The weather was spectacular, so I rode on down to the Huntington Beach pier, then down the beach past the Newport pier to the Balboa pier. All fine and good, though I'm noticing I'm starting to get a little rosy, and should probably get out of the sun. I rode down to the end of the balboa peninsula, took in the natural beauty (if you're local and haven't been, or you're visiting, the Newport coast is spectacular).

Unfortunately I acquired a quick leak in my rear tire, ending my ride. No problem, I thought. I was just starting to burn anyway, and needed out of the sun. I'd walk to a bus stop. I walked the bike the mile back to the Balboa pier, locked it up, and watched a bus roll away. I decided to walk to another stop - they're all over around here. I took a ferry (I was on a peninsula) to Balboa island, then walked from there to the mainland over the bridge. I then walked a few more miles to PCH, and found the bus stop I needed. I was, at this point, a little redder than I would have liked, and was glad to be out of the sun. For those keeping track at home, the mileage was as follows:

Bike: 15
Foot: 5
Bus: 14

My burn isn't severe, but my arms and face are redder than usual, and it does hurt. Oddly enough, my feet and legs don't hurt, but my arm muscles do. Not sure why. They hurt more when I sneeze or cough. Weird. Anyway, that was the Adventure! for the weekend.

All my money talks about

All my money talks about God. I don't like that.