So, the infamous shifting issue appeared to be due to the shift pawl being out of adjustment and/or the shift lever going into the spline shaft of the transmission was loose. Dealer did the adjustments, put the bike back together, and all was good...for a while.
About a week or so after picking up the bike, I noticed a good sized puddle of some sort of oil under the bike. Thought perhaps the tranny was over-filled as it was just worked on by the dealer, and it was a very hot day out. However, the problem never went away, so after a few days the bike was back to the dealer.
Dealer looks at it and determines it's the transmission trap door seal that's leaking. Now, keep in mind that this is not your typical leak where it's just an annoyance of spotting the garage floor. Oh HELL NO!!! This is a leak that basically appears to be on the order of being able to drain the entire tranny overnight! Hence, a REAL PROBLEM!!!!!
Was informed by the dealer that the repair would run about $430. Yeah, that's just fuck'n peachy, but at least I don't need to rebuild or replace the fucking tranny!
Dealer calls me the day they are working on it to inform me that once they got into the thing to repair the seal, they found pieces if the shift dogs floating around in the tranny. Now, I'm no mechanic, but this just doesn't sound good! They then proceed to inform me that...yep...you guessed it...the fucking tranny needs to be rebuilt! Or replaced, as that might even be cheaper. I'm not sure, but I think this bike is just out to get me!
Well fucking lucky me, I was able to find a brand new right side drive, 6 speed, hydraulic tranny for $660, and with the 6 hours labor from the dealer to install, I'll have the damn thing fixed for around $1200 out the door.
Let's see, bike has just over 28,000 miles on it, and within a few months it needed a seal fixed, and now this!
UN-FUCKIN-REAL!!!!!!
At least now when I sell it, I can advertise that it has a brand new transmission!
Like I've said before, I love choppers, but I have given up owning them. Maybe if I hit the lotto, or ever get bored enough in my life where I want to work on a project bike, I'd get another one. But until then, no thanks!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Chopper motorcycles...
I love motorcycles in the chopper genre. However, my view is changing. Perhaps it's a matter of the older I get, the less problems I want to have with a bike, and the more comfortable I want
it to be.
Let's start with the problems...
My 2005 Big Dog had the following issues, some of which were just a bit annoying, others were VERY major:
- Big Dog stock exhausts were atrocious. I went thru 5 of them before they owned up to the problem, and were replaced by Arlen Ness pipes
- The front fork seals leaked, and were fixed twice by me, then final fix was done by Arlen Ness.
- The front headlight would constantly break it's bolt, causing it to fall off.
- At around 56,000 miles, the motor needed re-boring as it was burning oil, which was not done until (see the next line)...
- At around 57,000 miles, the oil pump ceased functioning due to a piece of valve guide breaking off inside the motor, and jamming the oil pump
- At around 60,000 miles, the transmission broke a gear in half due to the counter shaft bolt inside coming loose
- The swing arm bolt on the right side broke, TWICE!!! Even though the first fix was using the Big Dog new and improved bolt, it broke within about a year
- Clutch cable broke about 5 fucking times!!!
- At 87,000 miles, the rear cylinder head gasket was leaking, thus in need of replacement. Sold bike at this point.
- Electronics sucked!!! The bike got to the point where it would simply go completely dead while riding, occurring maybe once a month or so. Replacing the crappy ECM fixed it.
There are those that would say that many times a suspected bad ECM would turn out to not be the actual ECM module, but would instead be a connector. Thus, even though replacing suspected ECM fixed the issue, it was really the re-seating, or replacement of a connector that fixed it. To this I say "So fucking what?!??!". OK, that was a bit broad of a statement, so allow me to elaborate.
Yes, it may very well be that a connector was at fault during past times when an owner would either replace the ECM with another ECM, or do as I did, and replace it, and the shitty connectors with a third party solution. However, I look at the ECM thing as being more a total system, not just one individual component. And, as a system, IT SUCKS!
Big Dog chose to use a non-Harley, non-standardized method of electronics, using 5 volt signals running to all the switches and such that in turn tells the ECM module what to do. I suppose the lower voltage is what instigated the use of the little tiny bullshit connectors. Yeah, there's a great fucking idea! Let's use little tiny fucking connectors on a machine that has a rigid mounted, unbalanced 117 cubic inch motor (ie: high vibration), that is also going to be ridden, at times, through the rain (IE: things get wet).
OK, so we have high levels of vibration, and things getting wet. Oh yeah, gee, what could go wrong?. OK, so maybe I don't know shit about anything, but then again, I do know a thing or two about electronics (Bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering Technology), and over 30 years experience in the field. To please the people who want to stick to the notion that the ECM is not at fault most of the time, then let's put it this way: "The ECM SYSTEM is at fault almost all the time!!!".
Now let's move onto my second chopper, the 300RS made by Proper Chopper:
- Bike never did start real well. Never seemed to have the same cranking speed as what I'm used to, and numerous times it would stop cranking with a loud clunk.
- Front fork seal leak (what is it with me and fork seals anyway!)
- Motor pings like crazy under load, especially on freeway when getting on it. Probably not jetted right.
- Voltage regulator fell off while riding due to the flimsy peice of shit sheet metal bracket cracking in half.
- Tire rubs on wire going into tail light bolt on left side due to insufficient clearance. Had to cut a slot in the bolt for the wire to give it more room.
- Paint quality is awful! Looks really good, but something was not done right in the paint procees as pot marks appeared on the rear fender, followed by cracks in the paint on the gas tank.
- Transmission seal leak developed after a few months of ownership
- Transmission shifting issue, with false neutrals, that have now become a fourth gear issue where it sometimes requires several attempts to get it into gear. 3rd gear sometimes has the same
problem.
- At one point the bike kept blowing a fuse, causing it to die. This was due to wire under frame having been worn thru, shorting to frame.
- Speedometer added an extra 17,000 miles onto the odometer. The speedo was also a peice of crap to use. Replaced with Dakota.
So then one realizes that the builders of the bike did some things wrong, such as:
* Regulator bracket
* Wiring placed/installed in such a way that it gets worn thru within a few thousand miles
* Incorrect jetting
* Improper clearance for rear tail light wire to tire
Which then leads one to think: "So what else did they do haphazardly?".
I mean, fuck, they got the above mentioned obvious things wrong, so what else did they fuck up? Maybe the starting issue is due to something they did wrong, like improper alignment of something. Maybe the tranny seal leak was caused by something installed wrong. Who knows? But the above data certainly does not point to a good track record!
And now I'm trying to tackle the tranny shift issue on my own. Holy fucking Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick, what a fucking hassle!!!
I'm looking at the thing thinking: "Oh, I'll just pop out the oil tank which is blocking access to the top of the tranny, remove the top cover, and I'll be there". Oh, fuck yeah, after 2+ hours of pulling shit off, and kicking and screaming!"
It begins with the fact that 2 of the bolts can't be removed for the oil tank because they sit behind an area that you can pretty much only get to by removing the rear tire and splash guard. OK, got that done. Now it will not squeeze out thru the side of the bike as it hits the ground wire going to the starter. OK, got that removed. Still a tight squeeze, but managed to finally get the fucking oil tank out. Remove the 4 screws holding the tranny cover on, and now the fucking thing won't come at as it hits the starter. OK, loosen starter, cuss up a storm again, and the fucking cover finally pops off. At this point I'm thnking it's a miracle that I didn't have to pull the engine, front forks and handlebars!!! FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I'm staring at the key element that lead me down this hell path...the shift pawl! Seems simple enough now, just tweak the adjuster, which is an allen bolt, until the shift pawl is centered...TO WITHIN 0.01 FUCKING INCHES!!!!!" Meaning, you look at the gap on one side of the pawl to the one pin on the shift drum, then look at the same gap on the other side, and adjust so the difference between the gaps is within 0.01". REALLY?!??!!? This is 1/100 of an inch!!! Stack 2 human hairs and that's about the fucking width! I guess I can forget about eye balling this thing! I know, I know...there are feeler gauges and such out there for such a task. However, it seems that there is going to be at least 0.01" worth of slop in the mechanism as you move the thing about. Now only that, but one is suppose to loosen the jam nut, tweak the allen screw, tighten the jam nut, and maintain the 0.01" during all that tightening of stuff?
FUCK!
Yeah, and I can just see it now. I'm going to spend hours, cursing and sweating over this fucking thing, only to get it all re-assembled, only to have it not work! Which means taking to a steep cliff...er...oops!...sorry...got carried away there! I mean, take it the dealer to have them fuck with it. And what's the first thing that they'll do? Probably take it apart to the point where I already had it torn down to.
I'm thinking that I will take the fucking bike to the dealer BEFORE re-assembling it. That way I at least save on the labor of them tearing it down. Let them pull their hair out over this thing, then proceed to charge me an arm and a left nut as with my luck, it's something deep within the bowels of it that's fucked up! Perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic. Maybe they'll look at it, and will say "Oh, there's your problem right there!", and proceed to fix in within minutes, and charge me about $2.99! OK, that's being a bit overly optimistic. Realistically though, I'm leaning towards "I'M FUCKED!".
it to be.
Let's start with the problems...
My 2005 Big Dog had the following issues, some of which were just a bit annoying, others were VERY major:
- Big Dog stock exhausts were atrocious. I went thru 5 of them before they owned up to the problem, and were replaced by Arlen Ness pipes
- The front fork seals leaked, and were fixed twice by me, then final fix was done by Arlen Ness.
- The front headlight would constantly break it's bolt, causing it to fall off.
- At around 56,000 miles, the motor needed re-boring as it was burning oil, which was not done until (see the next line)...
- At around 57,000 miles, the oil pump ceased functioning due to a piece of valve guide breaking off inside the motor, and jamming the oil pump
- At around 60,000 miles, the transmission broke a gear in half due to the counter shaft bolt inside coming loose
- The swing arm bolt on the right side broke, TWICE!!! Even though the first fix was using the Big Dog new and improved bolt, it broke within about a year
- Clutch cable broke about 5 fucking times!!!
- At 87,000 miles, the rear cylinder head gasket was leaking, thus in need of replacement. Sold bike at this point.
- Electronics sucked!!! The bike got to the point where it would simply go completely dead while riding, occurring maybe once a month or so. Replacing the crappy ECM fixed it.
There are those that would say that many times a suspected bad ECM would turn out to not be the actual ECM module, but would instead be a connector. Thus, even though replacing suspected ECM fixed the issue, it was really the re-seating, or replacement of a connector that fixed it. To this I say "So fucking what?!??!". OK, that was a bit broad of a statement, so allow me to elaborate.
Yes, it may very well be that a connector was at fault during past times when an owner would either replace the ECM with another ECM, or do as I did, and replace it, and the shitty connectors with a third party solution. However, I look at the ECM thing as being more a total system, not just one individual component. And, as a system, IT SUCKS!
Big Dog chose to use a non-Harley, non-standardized method of electronics, using 5 volt signals running to all the switches and such that in turn tells the ECM module what to do. I suppose the lower voltage is what instigated the use of the little tiny bullshit connectors. Yeah, there's a great fucking idea! Let's use little tiny fucking connectors on a machine that has a rigid mounted, unbalanced 117 cubic inch motor (ie: high vibration), that is also going to be ridden, at times, through the rain (IE: things get wet).
OK, so we have high levels of vibration, and things getting wet. Oh yeah, gee, what could go wrong?. OK, so maybe I don't know shit about anything, but then again, I do know a thing or two about electronics (Bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering Technology), and over 30 years experience in the field. To please the people who want to stick to the notion that the ECM is not at fault most of the time, then let's put it this way: "The ECM SYSTEM is at fault almost all the time!!!".
Now let's move onto my second chopper, the 300RS made by Proper Chopper:
- Bike never did start real well. Never seemed to have the same cranking speed as what I'm used to, and numerous times it would stop cranking with a loud clunk.
- Front fork seal leak (what is it with me and fork seals anyway!)
- Motor pings like crazy under load, especially on freeway when getting on it. Probably not jetted right.
- Voltage regulator fell off while riding due to the flimsy peice of shit sheet metal bracket cracking in half.
- Tire rubs on wire going into tail light bolt on left side due to insufficient clearance. Had to cut a slot in the bolt for the wire to give it more room.
- Paint quality is awful! Looks really good, but something was not done right in the paint procees as pot marks appeared on the rear fender, followed by cracks in the paint on the gas tank.
- Transmission seal leak developed after a few months of ownership
- Transmission shifting issue, with false neutrals, that have now become a fourth gear issue where it sometimes requires several attempts to get it into gear. 3rd gear sometimes has the same
problem.
- At one point the bike kept blowing a fuse, causing it to die. This was due to wire under frame having been worn thru, shorting to frame.
- Speedometer added an extra 17,000 miles onto the odometer. The speedo was also a peice of crap to use. Replaced with Dakota.
So then one realizes that the builders of the bike did some things wrong, such as:
* Regulator bracket
* Wiring placed/installed in such a way that it gets worn thru within a few thousand miles
* Incorrect jetting
* Improper clearance for rear tail light wire to tire
Which then leads one to think: "So what else did they do haphazardly?".
I mean, fuck, they got the above mentioned obvious things wrong, so what else did they fuck up? Maybe the starting issue is due to something they did wrong, like improper alignment of something. Maybe the tranny seal leak was caused by something installed wrong. Who knows? But the above data certainly does not point to a good track record!
And now I'm trying to tackle the tranny shift issue on my own. Holy fucking Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick, what a fucking hassle!!!
I'm looking at the thing thinking: "Oh, I'll just pop out the oil tank which is blocking access to the top of the tranny, remove the top cover, and I'll be there". Oh, fuck yeah, after 2+ hours of pulling shit off, and kicking and screaming!"
It begins with the fact that 2 of the bolts can't be removed for the oil tank because they sit behind an area that you can pretty much only get to by removing the rear tire and splash guard. OK, got that done. Now it will not squeeze out thru the side of the bike as it hits the ground wire going to the starter. OK, got that removed. Still a tight squeeze, but managed to finally get the fucking oil tank out. Remove the 4 screws holding the tranny cover on, and now the fucking thing won't come at as it hits the starter. OK, loosen starter, cuss up a storm again, and the fucking cover finally pops off. At this point I'm thnking it's a miracle that I didn't have to pull the engine, front forks and handlebars!!! FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I'm staring at the key element that lead me down this hell path...the shift pawl! Seems simple enough now, just tweak the adjuster, which is an allen bolt, until the shift pawl is centered...TO WITHIN 0.01 FUCKING INCHES!!!!!" Meaning, you look at the gap on one side of the pawl to the one pin on the shift drum, then look at the same gap on the other side, and adjust so the difference between the gaps is within 0.01". REALLY?!??!!? This is 1/100 of an inch!!! Stack 2 human hairs and that's about the fucking width! I guess I can forget about eye balling this thing! I know, I know...there are feeler gauges and such out there for such a task. However, it seems that there is going to be at least 0.01" worth of slop in the mechanism as you move the thing about. Now only that, but one is suppose to loosen the jam nut, tweak the allen screw, tighten the jam nut, and maintain the 0.01" during all that tightening of stuff?
FUCK!
Yeah, and I can just see it now. I'm going to spend hours, cursing and sweating over this fucking thing, only to get it all re-assembled, only to have it not work! Which means taking to a steep cliff...er...oops!...sorry...got carried away there! I mean, take it the dealer to have them fuck with it. And what's the first thing that they'll do? Probably take it apart to the point where I already had it torn down to.
I'm thinking that I will take the fucking bike to the dealer BEFORE re-assembling it. That way I at least save on the labor of them tearing it down. Let them pull their hair out over this thing, then proceed to charge me an arm and a left nut as with my luck, it's something deep within the bowels of it that's fucked up! Perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic. Maybe they'll look at it, and will say "Oh, there's your problem right there!", and proceed to fix in within minutes, and charge me about $2.99! OK, that's being a bit overly optimistic. Realistically though, I'm leaning towards "I'M FUCKED!".
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Windows programming frustrations...
I like programming, but...
Writing a Windows program using Windows API sometimes can be about as much fun as being covered in molasses, then buried up to your neck next to an ant hill!
Now, that said, it's not really fair for me to rant against something that, due to my ignorance of the subject, makes as much sense as quantum physics, but it's my damn site, so I'll rant at whatever the fuck I feel like!
It's probably obvious at this point that I am currently trying to write a Windows program, and am getting, to say the least, a tad frustrated! That said, perhaps every programmer out there requires a whole day to simply get a fucking button added to their main Window, and then another two days to get the fucking button to actually do something once you fucking click on it! I know if I understood the Windows API more, and general Windows programming, it wouldn't require me to go thru such trials and tribulations, but damn!
It seems every step of the way is more like a stumble, where I slowly grasp just enough examples and information from the web to apply to my program, and sit back and watch it fall on it's face, and the fucking thing will not even compile. On top of that, the error messages from the compiler are about as clear as trying to see thru tar!
One persistent error message was due to the fact that the settings of my project had to use a multi-byte character set instead of unicode. DAMN! How did I miss that one! Pretty bad when you read the answer to the problem, and the answer makes less sense than the original problem!
So, here I am, after three days of coding, and I've managed to get a program running that has one button, one listbox, and clicking on the button actually does something. Of course, it would sure be nice if I could get that fucking listbox to co-operate, with lines of text being written to it, but alas, we are at yet another stumbling block. Nothing another day or so of researching won't fix, assuming I can hold onto my sanity that long.
So here I am, the following day, and I've pretty much given up on the listbox thing. Sort of got it working, but not really the way I wanted it, so I figured I'd move onto an easier way to get my program to function. Basically, dump the stupid listbox, and use the simple TextOut function to simply spit out to the main Window the text that I want to display. Looks like I'm onto something as I don't really need to have a button on my Window. I was going to have the user click the button that would then execute the stuff that I need to run, but I can simply have the stuff run once the program launches. Beautiful! No fucking buttons to deal with, and with my newfound TextOut command, no fucking Listboxes either. I may actually be getting somewhere!
But of course this being Windows programming, it just has to get difficult, doesn't it.
And difficult it quickly became.
One thing I want my program to do is to simply find out how many files are in a given directory. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? I mean, there just has to be a function I can call that's built into Windows that will provide this number to me.
Well, after combing the web for a bit, I have come to the conclusion that this function either doesn't fucking exist, or it does, and I just cannot find the fucking thing!
How ludicrous is this!!!
It's no wonder that there are many people out there that hate programming!
In forging ahead, I created my own function that provides me with the count of files in a directory... hot fucking damn! Now we're getting somewhere! Though at this pace, that place is going to be the insane asylum!
Managed to plod along and got my program functioning, and providing the information to the user as I wanted. However, one more stumbling block! What else would you expect from Windows programming.
One of the things my program does is provide the number of records in a given Windows Event log. Managed to get this all working, but I wanted to refine it a bit. Once thing that is nice to do in any program is error checking. This is done as one should never assume that just because, for instance, a Windows event log should exist, that is does indeed exist. Windows might get rather upset if you call a function that has an Event log name as one of its parameters, when in reality the Event log name does not exist after all. Can be bad news as Windows will at times just go fucking nuts, as it pokes around looking for something, then basically says "ah, fuck it! You want a pointer to an object? OK, here's your fucking pointer!!!!", and proceeds to point to something like, oh, I don't know, an empty spot in memory? Can you say "blue screen of death"? I knew you could.
So, bottom line, error checking it a good thing.
Turns out the one function I use simply opens the supplied Windows Event log, and if it fails, it returns what they call a NULL value. I'm thinking, "Great! Doesn't get much simpler than this. All I got to do after the function call is to check if the returned value is NULL. It it's NULL, then print out an error message, and have the program exit".
But noooooo! Of course it can't be that easy. Wouldn't be Windows if something actually worked as expected!
What happens is that all compiles just fine, and the program runs just fine and dandy. Then, to test out the error checking, I supply a name for an event log that does not exist. Obviously if the function tried to access an Event log that does not exist, it HAS to come back with a NULL value... that's the way it's suppose to work. So, what does my program do? It moves merrily along with a returned value that is not NULL, meaning it was happy to open the Event log that does not even fucking exist! What the fuck, is this thing on crack!
I don't know, maybe another few days of banging my head against the wall will get this resolved. Either that, or an uzi to the fucking PC!
Writing a Windows program using Windows API sometimes can be about as much fun as being covered in molasses, then buried up to your neck next to an ant hill!
Now, that said, it's not really fair for me to rant against something that, due to my ignorance of the subject, makes as much sense as quantum physics, but it's my damn site, so I'll rant at whatever the fuck I feel like!
It's probably obvious at this point that I am currently trying to write a Windows program, and am getting, to say the least, a tad frustrated! That said, perhaps every programmer out there requires a whole day to simply get a fucking button added to their main Window, and then another two days to get the fucking button to actually do something once you fucking click on it! I know if I understood the Windows API more, and general Windows programming, it wouldn't require me to go thru such trials and tribulations, but damn!
It seems every step of the way is more like a stumble, where I slowly grasp just enough examples and information from the web to apply to my program, and sit back and watch it fall on it's face, and the fucking thing will not even compile. On top of that, the error messages from the compiler are about as clear as trying to see thru tar!
One persistent error message was due to the fact that the settings of my project had to use a multi-byte character set instead of unicode. DAMN! How did I miss that one! Pretty bad when you read the answer to the problem, and the answer makes less sense than the original problem!
So, here I am, after three days of coding, and I've managed to get a program running that has one button, one listbox, and clicking on the button actually does something. Of course, it would sure be nice if I could get that fucking listbox to co-operate, with lines of text being written to it, but alas, we are at yet another stumbling block. Nothing another day or so of researching won't fix, assuming I can hold onto my sanity that long.
So here I am, the following day, and I've pretty much given up on the listbox thing. Sort of got it working, but not really the way I wanted it, so I figured I'd move onto an easier way to get my program to function. Basically, dump the stupid listbox, and use the simple TextOut function to simply spit out to the main Window the text that I want to display. Looks like I'm onto something as I don't really need to have a button on my Window. I was going to have the user click the button that would then execute the stuff that I need to run, but I can simply have the stuff run once the program launches. Beautiful! No fucking buttons to deal with, and with my newfound TextOut command, no fucking Listboxes either. I may actually be getting somewhere!
But of course this being Windows programming, it just has to get difficult, doesn't it.
And difficult it quickly became.
One thing I want my program to do is to simply find out how many files are in a given directory. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? I mean, there just has to be a function I can call that's built into Windows that will provide this number to me.
Well, after combing the web for a bit, I have come to the conclusion that this function either doesn't fucking exist, or it does, and I just cannot find the fucking thing!
How ludicrous is this!!!
It's no wonder that there are many people out there that hate programming!
In forging ahead, I created my own function that provides me with the count of files in a directory... hot fucking damn! Now we're getting somewhere! Though at this pace, that place is going to be the insane asylum!
Managed to plod along and got my program functioning, and providing the information to the user as I wanted. However, one more stumbling block! What else would you expect from Windows programming.
One of the things my program does is provide the number of records in a given Windows Event log. Managed to get this all working, but I wanted to refine it a bit. Once thing that is nice to do in any program is error checking. This is done as one should never assume that just because, for instance, a Windows event log should exist, that is does indeed exist. Windows might get rather upset if you call a function that has an Event log name as one of its parameters, when in reality the Event log name does not exist after all. Can be bad news as Windows will at times just go fucking nuts, as it pokes around looking for something, then basically says "ah, fuck it! You want a pointer to an object? OK, here's your fucking pointer!!!!", and proceeds to point to something like, oh, I don't know, an empty spot in memory? Can you say "blue screen of death"? I knew you could.
So, bottom line, error checking it a good thing.
Turns out the one function I use simply opens the supplied Windows Event log, and if it fails, it returns what they call a NULL value. I'm thinking, "Great! Doesn't get much simpler than this. All I got to do after the function call is to check if the returned value is NULL. It it's NULL, then print out an error message, and have the program exit".
But noooooo! Of course it can't be that easy. Wouldn't be Windows if something actually worked as expected!
What happens is that all compiles just fine, and the program runs just fine and dandy. Then, to test out the error checking, I supply a name for an event log that does not exist. Obviously if the function tried to access an Event log that does not exist, it HAS to come back with a NULL value... that's the way it's suppose to work. So, what does my program do? It moves merrily along with a returned value that is not NULL, meaning it was happy to open the Event log that does not even fucking exist! What the fuck, is this thing on crack!
I don't know, maybe another few days of banging my head against the wall will get this resolved. Either that, or an uzi to the fucking PC!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Some people are just fucking idiots!!!
Recently I attended a motorcycle show, and decided to participate in the Victory motorycle demo ride. This involves about 8 people in a group, following a demo ride leader.
Here's where the fucking idiots come into play...
Just prior to all of us hopping on our chosen bikes, the leader explains the rules of the ride. He says it will be about 20 minutes of riding, and involve some freeways.
He stressed the importance of all of us riding in staggered formation, with no passing of the leader, and NO sling-shotting!
After this short lecture, we hop on our bikes and begin our ride.
I'm number two in the group right behind the leader. We get to an on-ramp to the freeway, and this fusktard goes blasting by me on the right, IN MY LANE!!! I'm thinking he's some lame as motherfucker who is not part of our group as it was made clear that we are to remain in a staggered formation, and NO sling-shotting!
NOPE! Turns out it was a guy in our group! This was shortly followed by another guy blasting by me on the left.
Obviously, at this point, I'm a bit miffed!
We finish the ride, and I was chatting with one of the guys that I somewhat got to know prior to us heading out, and he then points to one of the guys that was in our ride, and said something to the affect of "what an asshole he was!".
I told him some idiot blasted by me on the right, and he said it was probably him. This guy apparently was riding all over the place, and constantly revving the engine, and had this guy concerned for his safety. He said he was SO happy when the guy took off and got away from him, as he never knew what this idiot was going to do next!
I mentioned how pissed off I was when he blasted by me, and he added that why on earth would you ride like that, not only disobeying the rules of the ride, but to make matters worse, do it with a group of guys you don't know, and on a bike you've never ridden before!
We both agreed that it's one thing to be stupid on your own, but it's quite another to do it around other people, and risk their lives as well!!!
So, I just don't get it. I mean, if this asshole wants to be macho or something, then fine. Go out on some deserted road, and ride as fast and crazy as you want. That way, if you wrap yourself around a tree, it's only you that gets killed... well... there is that poor tree though.
But to do so in a group of people you don't even know!!??!??!?! Are you really that fucking retarded? Uh, yeah, pretty much, huh?
He was a much younger guy than the reast of us, I'd say in his twentys. I guess at that age you have more balls then brains.
Just un-fucking-believable!!!
Should have gotten off my bike and bitch slap the dumb-ass!
Guess it will just make me that much more appreciative of the guys I ride with, as we are all very responsible, good riders, not putting our buddies in danger.
Here's where the fucking idiots come into play...
Just prior to all of us hopping on our chosen bikes, the leader explains the rules of the ride. He says it will be about 20 minutes of riding, and involve some freeways.
He stressed the importance of all of us riding in staggered formation, with no passing of the leader, and NO sling-shotting!
After this short lecture, we hop on our bikes and begin our ride.
I'm number two in the group right behind the leader. We get to an on-ramp to the freeway, and this fusktard goes blasting by me on the right, IN MY LANE!!! I'm thinking he's some lame as motherfucker who is not part of our group as it was made clear that we are to remain in a staggered formation, and NO sling-shotting!
NOPE! Turns out it was a guy in our group! This was shortly followed by another guy blasting by me on the left.
Obviously, at this point, I'm a bit miffed!
We finish the ride, and I was chatting with one of the guys that I somewhat got to know prior to us heading out, and he then points to one of the guys that was in our ride, and said something to the affect of "what an asshole he was!".
I told him some idiot blasted by me on the right, and he said it was probably him. This guy apparently was riding all over the place, and constantly revving the engine, and had this guy concerned for his safety. He said he was SO happy when the guy took off and got away from him, as he never knew what this idiot was going to do next!
I mentioned how pissed off I was when he blasted by me, and he added that why on earth would you ride like that, not only disobeying the rules of the ride, but to make matters worse, do it with a group of guys you don't know, and on a bike you've never ridden before!
We both agreed that it's one thing to be stupid on your own, but it's quite another to do it around other people, and risk their lives as well!!!
So, I just don't get it. I mean, if this asshole wants to be macho or something, then fine. Go out on some deserted road, and ride as fast and crazy as you want. That way, if you wrap yourself around a tree, it's only you that gets killed... well... there is that poor tree though.
But to do so in a group of people you don't even know!!??!??!?! Are you really that fucking retarded? Uh, yeah, pretty much, huh?
He was a much younger guy than the reast of us, I'd say in his twentys. I guess at that age you have more balls then brains.
Just un-fucking-believable!!!
Should have gotten off my bike and bitch slap the dumb-ass!
Guess it will just make me that much more appreciative of the guys I ride with, as we are all very responsible, good riders, not putting our buddies in danger.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
You can't fix stupid...
In the wake of the terrible tragedy in Newtown, I've seen various political figures announcing that more laws and regulations are required, one being that firearms must be properly stored.
Gee, really?
Are you fucking kidding me?
The mother of the maniac who went on the shooting rampage was stupid beyond belief, as she KNEW her child was a bit "off base", suffering from Aspergers disorder, and yet kept a fortress of firearms out in the open for anybody to take. It's a shame that her stupidity was the result in not only her own death, but 26 others.
Getting back to the proposed new gun laws, do these people really think that a law is going to automatically fix everything? I can see these numb-nuts now, thinking "Hey, we got to make sure that people secure their guns in order to prevent any further shootings, so... I have an idea... let's make it a law that you have to lock up your guns. Yeah, that'll fix it!"
So, let me get this straight...
You have an INCREDIBLY stupid person who does not even have the common sense to lock up her own guns EVEN THOUGH THERE'S AN OFF BALANCE KID IN THE HOUSE, yet we expect this same dumbass person to follow a law?!??!??!?
Sorry people, but you just can't fix stupid.
But of course these political morons have tons of data to support their thinking, right? I mean, geeze, we have laws against a slew of illegal drugs, like LSD, Crack, Meth, etc,... and nobody EVER ends up possessing an illegal drug, right? Oh... they do. Oh damn.
There are laws against speeding, and drinking and driving, and therefore nobody ever does those things, right? I mean, there are laws, and everybody obeys them, right? Oops, wrong again.
So yeah, let's pass a law that says every gun owner has to properly secure their guns, and then everybody will magically do it, BECAUSE NOW IT'S A LAW!
Fucking idiots.
And how on earth can anybody decide that a law needs to be passed concerning something as common sense as securing your guns so your kids can't get them! Christ, what's next, passing a law that says we must all breathe? Yeah, I can see it now, as one day someone will be thinking "Man ol' man, good thing they passed that law about breathing, because for a second there I thought about not taking a breath!"
When is this country, or at least the political people out there, going to start using common sense? But then it's not really about common sense, is it. It's all about the politicians trying to win a popularity contest, and justify their existence.
No wonder I gave up voting.
Gee, really?
Are you fucking kidding me?
The mother of the maniac who went on the shooting rampage was stupid beyond belief, as she KNEW her child was a bit "off base", suffering from Aspergers disorder, and yet kept a fortress of firearms out in the open for anybody to take. It's a shame that her stupidity was the result in not only her own death, but 26 others.
Getting back to the proposed new gun laws, do these people really think that a law is going to automatically fix everything? I can see these numb-nuts now, thinking "Hey, we got to make sure that people secure their guns in order to prevent any further shootings, so... I have an idea... let's make it a law that you have to lock up your guns. Yeah, that'll fix it!"
So, let me get this straight...
You have an INCREDIBLY stupid person who does not even have the common sense to lock up her own guns EVEN THOUGH THERE'S AN OFF BALANCE KID IN THE HOUSE, yet we expect this same dumbass person to follow a law?!??!??!?
Sorry people, but you just can't fix stupid.
But of course these political morons have tons of data to support their thinking, right? I mean, geeze, we have laws against a slew of illegal drugs, like LSD, Crack, Meth, etc,... and nobody EVER ends up possessing an illegal drug, right? Oh... they do. Oh damn.
There are laws against speeding, and drinking and driving, and therefore nobody ever does those things, right? I mean, there are laws, and everybody obeys them, right? Oops, wrong again.
So yeah, let's pass a law that says every gun owner has to properly secure their guns, and then everybody will magically do it, BECAUSE NOW IT'S A LAW!
Fucking idiots.
And how on earth can anybody decide that a law needs to be passed concerning something as common sense as securing your guns so your kids can't get them! Christ, what's next, passing a law that says we must all breathe? Yeah, I can see it now, as one day someone will be thinking "Man ol' man, good thing they passed that law about breathing, because for a second there I thought about not taking a breath!"
When is this country, or at least the political people out there, going to start using common sense? But then it's not really about common sense, is it. It's all about the politicians trying to win a popularity contest, and justify their existence.
No wonder I gave up voting.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Being laid off sucks!
Being laid off really sucks, and on more levels than I ever thought to imagine!
There is some psychological mumbo jumbo about how people become who they are thru their jobs, or perhaps it's more that their jobs define them. Seems ludricrous until you experience losing your job. It's at that point that it really hits you how true it may be.
No job is perfect, but if you are in a job like I had where there was enough stuff going on that kept you stimulated, with the oppurtunity to learn more and grow, it's amazing how your life really does become your job. Nobody likes to commute to work, and face the traffic, and the general annoyance of it all, but you learn to deal with it. It becomes a part of your life.
Then there's the pressure of needing to accomplish certain tasks while at work, but again you figure out a way to overcome it, and even feel good about attacking the problems, and stress at hand. It becomes a part of your life.
Of course there are the people too that you deal with on a daily basis. People that you work with every day, asking you to do things for them, and at times you are asking them for things. Personalities can clash a bit, but it all becomes a part of the day. You grow to accept it, and even feel good about the interactions. It's an oppurtunity for growth, and it becomes a part of your life.
Then there's the obvious, which is the consistent income. It pays the bills, and also pays for the things that one likes to buy, be it an object, or perhaps a nice vacation. It becomes a part of your life.
So the job is not just a job. It really just becomes your life. In a sense I guess it does, or at least can, define who you are. Your life revolves around your job, and with any luck, revolves in an overall positive way. It stresses you, but stresses you to be better... to grow... to learn... and to flow down a postive path.
Then one day you are told that your position has been elimated, and it's all over. You collect your things, say your goodbyes, and walk out the door... leaving it all behind.
Not just the paycheck, but the people that you interface with 40 hours a week, the work itself that you have applied yourself to in the best mannor that you could muster, and the future that you were thinking was going to be there for you.
All gone in one fell swoop.
It's no wonder that losing a job rates as one if the top stressful things that can happen to someone.
You get the rug pulled out for under you, but yet you are to forge ahead and simply get a new job, all the time the clock is ticking.
Unemployment hardly meets the financial demands that one has become accustomed to. Aside from that, the whole routine is no longer there. The growth within the job, both on the level of learning the products and becoming a better employee, and the connections with people.
It's all gone.
I guess if one finds a job that is more rewarding than the previous job, then it's all a moot point. One can truly move one, and simply look at the past as a springboard to the now bright future. Ideally that's what happens, and at times it does.
But in the mean time, while one is unemployed, it's a very shakey future, as there is no control.
Sure, one can beat on the doors, and put themselves out there, but it really is a very insecure path. And maintaining a high level of esteem can be tough. I mean, damn... I'm now on the streets with thousands of other people looking for a position in a company that will not only pay the bills, but will bring me the satisfaction that I once had.
And during the journey to find that position, one begins to reflect on ones life, and to look inward.
I mean, just how much of my happiness is tied to the income? Can I forge ahead with my chosen field to the point that I'm willing to do it for far less money than before? Do I need to give up and change careers? What sacrifices am I willing to make?
All this because of the short little phrase "your position has been eliminated".
No... sorry... but it was NOT just a "position"... it was MY LIFE!
A day to day life of doing the best I can for the success of the company, and for the success OF ME! A daily caring of doing the best I know how, regardless of how imperfect it may have been at times. Day to day rising to the occasion, and overcoming the inner barriers to excel... and MANY times feeling good about succeeding.
"your position has been eliminated".
WOW, really! That's it?
Back to sqaure one as they say. Not what I had in mind, but there it is.
FUCK!
There is some psychological mumbo jumbo about how people become who they are thru their jobs, or perhaps it's more that their jobs define them. Seems ludricrous until you experience losing your job. It's at that point that it really hits you how true it may be.
No job is perfect, but if you are in a job like I had where there was enough stuff going on that kept you stimulated, with the oppurtunity to learn more and grow, it's amazing how your life really does become your job. Nobody likes to commute to work, and face the traffic, and the general annoyance of it all, but you learn to deal with it. It becomes a part of your life.
Then there's the pressure of needing to accomplish certain tasks while at work, but again you figure out a way to overcome it, and even feel good about attacking the problems, and stress at hand. It becomes a part of your life.
Of course there are the people too that you deal with on a daily basis. People that you work with every day, asking you to do things for them, and at times you are asking them for things. Personalities can clash a bit, but it all becomes a part of the day. You grow to accept it, and even feel good about the interactions. It's an oppurtunity for growth, and it becomes a part of your life.
Then there's the obvious, which is the consistent income. It pays the bills, and also pays for the things that one likes to buy, be it an object, or perhaps a nice vacation. It becomes a part of your life.
So the job is not just a job. It really just becomes your life. In a sense I guess it does, or at least can, define who you are. Your life revolves around your job, and with any luck, revolves in an overall positive way. It stresses you, but stresses you to be better... to grow... to learn... and to flow down a postive path.
Then one day you are told that your position has been elimated, and it's all over. You collect your things, say your goodbyes, and walk out the door... leaving it all behind.
Not just the paycheck, but the people that you interface with 40 hours a week, the work itself that you have applied yourself to in the best mannor that you could muster, and the future that you were thinking was going to be there for you.
All gone in one fell swoop.
It's no wonder that losing a job rates as one if the top stressful things that can happen to someone.
You get the rug pulled out for under you, but yet you are to forge ahead and simply get a new job, all the time the clock is ticking.
Unemployment hardly meets the financial demands that one has become accustomed to. Aside from that, the whole routine is no longer there. The growth within the job, both on the level of learning the products and becoming a better employee, and the connections with people.
It's all gone.
I guess if one finds a job that is more rewarding than the previous job, then it's all a moot point. One can truly move one, and simply look at the past as a springboard to the now bright future. Ideally that's what happens, and at times it does.
But in the mean time, while one is unemployed, it's a very shakey future, as there is no control.
Sure, one can beat on the doors, and put themselves out there, but it really is a very insecure path. And maintaining a high level of esteem can be tough. I mean, damn... I'm now on the streets with thousands of other people looking for a position in a company that will not only pay the bills, but will bring me the satisfaction that I once had.
And during the journey to find that position, one begins to reflect on ones life, and to look inward.
I mean, just how much of my happiness is tied to the income? Can I forge ahead with my chosen field to the point that I'm willing to do it for far less money than before? Do I need to give up and change careers? What sacrifices am I willing to make?
All this because of the short little phrase "your position has been eliminated".
No... sorry... but it was NOT just a "position"... it was MY LIFE!
A day to day life of doing the best I can for the success of the company, and for the success OF ME! A daily caring of doing the best I know how, regardless of how imperfect it may have been at times. Day to day rising to the occasion, and overcoming the inner barriers to excel... and MANY times feeling good about succeeding.
"your position has been eliminated".
WOW, really! That's it?
Back to sqaure one as they say. Not what I had in mind, but there it is.
FUCK!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Unemployment form... why does it have to be confusing?
As someone who has recently been laid off (biting my tongue... got to remain professional), I have had to fill out the Unemployment Insurance application. Being the computer savvy person that I am, I went to do it online. Seems easy enough, right? I mean, Christ, what all do they need to know? Employment and salary history, and that's about it, right?
Well, yes, that is about it, but of course being something tied to the government, they had to make it so confusing. "How?" do you ask?
For starters:
They say you must enter any pay due to you from unpaid vacation hours. OK, this makes sense, and right there on my paystub is the vacation hour balance. Great! I'll just enter that number and be on may way. But NOOOOOOOO!!!!
It also asks for a date range. A date range for vacation that I will never take... REALLY?
I don't enter date range as it makes no sense to, and I figure I can leave it blank and I'll continue. Oh, but NO! I try to continue and it says that I MUST enter a date range. Once again, I'm staring at the screen thinking "A date range for vacation that I will never take?... WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I'm baffled, and of course clicking on any help link does nothing but raise my blood pressure. I then Google it, and find that in California, you really don't need to enter the upcoming vacation pay as it's not considered income. So, I end up leaving it blank. I continue to forge through and enter my past year's salary by quarter. Becomes really fun when you've had a pay raise occur mid quarter. Now, is it me, or is it fucking nuts that I have to tell the people my quarterly income... the SAME people who have received from my employer ABOUT ME what my pay has been down to the penny? Oh well, I'll play their game, and will fill out all the details they ask for.
I send it off, thinking all is done correctly.
But NOOOOO! It gets better!
I receive an email from HR of my previous employer stating that I had entered the wrong company as my employer. I'm staring at the email in disbelief! I mean really? I entered the wrong company? Every fucking day for almost 2 years I stare at the sign on the front of the building with the company's name, and somehow I entered the wrong company name? I then look at what the email has provided me as the correct company name, and it's nowhere near what I entered. It appears that the company name should be the name of the place your paycheck comes from. WHAT??!??!?!? I mean, WTF?!???!?!
Unfucking believable!
What really gets me is that the the neanderthal's that conjured up the unemployment application are probably still employed, and making more money that I'll ever see.
Well, yes, that is about it, but of course being something tied to the government, they had to make it so confusing. "How?" do you ask?
For starters:
They say you must enter any pay due to you from unpaid vacation hours. OK, this makes sense, and right there on my paystub is the vacation hour balance. Great! I'll just enter that number and be on may way. But NOOOOOOOO!!!!
It also asks for a date range. A date range for vacation that I will never take... REALLY?
I don't enter date range as it makes no sense to, and I figure I can leave it blank and I'll continue. Oh, but NO! I try to continue and it says that I MUST enter a date range. Once again, I'm staring at the screen thinking "A date range for vacation that I will never take?... WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I'm baffled, and of course clicking on any help link does nothing but raise my blood pressure. I then Google it, and find that in California, you really don't need to enter the upcoming vacation pay as it's not considered income. So, I end up leaving it blank. I continue to forge through and enter my past year's salary by quarter. Becomes really fun when you've had a pay raise occur mid quarter. Now, is it me, or is it fucking nuts that I have to tell the people my quarterly income... the SAME people who have received from my employer ABOUT ME what my pay has been down to the penny? Oh well, I'll play their game, and will fill out all the details they ask for.
I send it off, thinking all is done correctly.
But NOOOOO! It gets better!
I receive an email from HR of my previous employer stating that I had entered the wrong company as my employer. I'm staring at the email in disbelief! I mean really? I entered the wrong company? Every fucking day for almost 2 years I stare at the sign on the front of the building with the company's name, and somehow I entered the wrong company name? I then look at what the email has provided me as the correct company name, and it's nowhere near what I entered. It appears that the company name should be the name of the place your paycheck comes from. WHAT??!??!?!? I mean, WTF?!???!?!
Unfucking believable!
What really gets me is that the the neanderthal's that conjured up the unemployment application are probably still employed, and making more money that I'll ever see.
People against gay marrriage.. WTF??!?!?!
It just never ceases to amaze me when people get so upset about gay marriage. I mean, really? Personally, for all I care, a person can go marry a goat! I'm serious!!! Why? Because if a man were to marry a goat, it would have ZERO affect on me! If it has no effect on me, then why give a shit?
Yet we have all these people getting all bent out of shape because there are gay people out there who would like to have the right to get married. I guess a lot of the resistance comes from the Christians who think it is immoral. To that I've got two words... FUCK YOU!. If your're a Christian, and are abhorrently against same sex people gettng married, then you know what? Then don't marry someone of the same sex!
However, just because YOU don't think it is right, does not make it wrong for anybody else! I think it's wrong that these extremist Christians have their heads so far up their ass that they can't even think straight, BUT, I am not going to do anything to make it illegal for these idiots to have their stuck up, outdated, and stupid ideas, as that is their right. Isn't that what America is really about? As was once said, "I may not like what you say, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it".
So, if two adults, who happen to be gay, want to get married, THEN LET THEM! BIG FUCKING DEAL!!! Of course the Christians get their panties all bunched up over this because they believe it goes against God's will. SO WHAT? It's YOUR belief, NOT everyone elses, so leave everyone else the fuck alone! Just because you believe that the bible says something does not automatically make it right!
If you are going to say that whatever the bible says is true, then stick to it. I guess anyone who ever worked on Sunday should then be put to death (Exodus 31:15). So let me ask you this... what day do you want the mass executions to commence? Probably most people in America have worked on Sunday... shame on you... off to the execution you go! Hey, I didn't right this shit, but there it is in the bible, so off you go!
Oh, and by the way, are you going to be selling your daughter into slavery? Says that too in the bible, Exodus 21:7-11. I guess we could setup a special section in eBay for this. I mean, what the heck, might as use our advanced technology to help spread God's will, right? Not sure what a fair price would be though. Perhaps we can rely on the ol' supply and demand scheme.
So, bottom line is this... if you want to cling to the bible for some sort of eternal bliss, or meaning of life, then fine! By all means, do that. If that's what it takes for you to feel fulfilled, then go for it. However, KEEP YOUR STUPID BELEIFS OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES BUSINESS!!! You have NO right enforcing YOUR beliefs on others... PERIOD!!!
By the way, this whole rant came to be after reading about Jane Pitt's letter against gay marriage. So, if you want to see idiocy at its finest, just Google that.
Yet we have all these people getting all bent out of shape because there are gay people out there who would like to have the right to get married. I guess a lot of the resistance comes from the Christians who think it is immoral. To that I've got two words... FUCK YOU!. If your're a Christian, and are abhorrently against same sex people gettng married, then you know what? Then don't marry someone of the same sex!
However, just because YOU don't think it is right, does not make it wrong for anybody else! I think it's wrong that these extremist Christians have their heads so far up their ass that they can't even think straight, BUT, I am not going to do anything to make it illegal for these idiots to have their stuck up, outdated, and stupid ideas, as that is their right. Isn't that what America is really about? As was once said, "I may not like what you say, but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it".
So, if two adults, who happen to be gay, want to get married, THEN LET THEM! BIG FUCKING DEAL!!! Of course the Christians get their panties all bunched up over this because they believe it goes against God's will. SO WHAT? It's YOUR belief, NOT everyone elses, so leave everyone else the fuck alone! Just because you believe that the bible says something does not automatically make it right!
If you are going to say that whatever the bible says is true, then stick to it. I guess anyone who ever worked on Sunday should then be put to death (Exodus 31:15). So let me ask you this... what day do you want the mass executions to commence? Probably most people in America have worked on Sunday... shame on you... off to the execution you go! Hey, I didn't right this shit, but there it is in the bible, so off you go!
Oh, and by the way, are you going to be selling your daughter into slavery? Says that too in the bible, Exodus 21:7-11. I guess we could setup a special section in eBay for this. I mean, what the heck, might as use our advanced technology to help spread God's will, right? Not sure what a fair price would be though. Perhaps we can rely on the ol' supply and demand scheme.
So, bottom line is this... if you want to cling to the bible for some sort of eternal bliss, or meaning of life, then fine! By all means, do that. If that's what it takes for you to feel fulfilled, then go for it. However, KEEP YOUR STUPID BELEIFS OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES BUSINESS!!! You have NO right enforcing YOUR beliefs on others... PERIOD!!!
By the way, this whole rant came to be after reading about Jane Pitt's letter against gay marriage. So, if you want to see idiocy at its finest, just Google that.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Power of prayer... are your f**king kidding me???
Recently on a site I visit regularly there was a thread going on about a person who was in an accident, and was basically on the verge of not making it. Thankfully, he pulled through, and appears to be on the road to recovery. However, when I read through the thread and saw things said by many people, I could not help but to think "WTF!!!!!". The things said that got me going were:
"The Lord at work through the power of prayer"
"God is GREAT and the power of prayer does work"
"There is MUCH POWER in Prayer"
"we have an awesome God to thank"
You have GOT to be kidding me!!!
I mean, really, "power of prayer"????
Gee, you know what? Maybe if god was so great, and influential on us, then perhaps the accident that caused all these grave injuries would not have occurred in the first place!
Oh, but I suppose these people would say "Well, nobody was praying before the accident, so obviously god would have nothing to do with it".
Hate to burst your bubble, but god (assuming there is one), has NOTHING to do with what happens to us on earth!
How can ANYONE believe that prayer works, and going beyond that, go to the extent to say "power of prayer"?
Where's the power of prayer when a child goes missing, and hoards of people pray for a safe return, yet the child turns up dead, and brutilzed by some monster of a guy? Or when countless people will pray for the recovery of a person in the hospital, and they die anyways?
Of course when this occurs, the delusional people will say something like "Oh, the lord works in mysterious ways, and I guess he wanted that person so badly, so he took them."
REALLY? And the only way for god to take a poor innocent child off this earth was to have them kidnapped, brutalized and then killed by a monster? What the hell kind of sadistic god is that?
Gee, I don't know, but if god wanted to take a child, wouldn't having them pass away peacefully in their sleep be much better?
People, give it up already! There is NO power of prayer!!!
Now if praying somehow soothes you, and brings you comfort and peace, then by all means keep it up. In this sense, praying to some would be like meditation to others. But when you make the insane statement that prayer is powerful, and helps with the recovery of a person as god answers the prayer, then you are fooling yourself.
People pray all the time for things, and it really gets me when THE ONE TIME something they pray for finally occurs, they run around saying "See! I KNEW prayer works!". Yeah, right! It would be like me praying for rain every day, and FINALLY the day arrives when it DOES rain, and then I say "See! My praying worked!".
Yeah, no shit Sherlock! Of course BY CHANCE, it WILL rain SOME DAY! Just like, BY CHANCE, a person will pull through a difficult time, and heal.
In my view, praying is nothing more than a nice gesture. I mean, if I was gravely ill, and someone told me that they would be praying for me, I would simply say "Thanks". Why? Because it's a nice gesture, and why on earth would I choose to be upset over something that is being put out to me in a loving way. Of course, in my heart, I would know that the prayer is totally useless, but I would also know that the person who feels differently than I about it is at least being supportive.
So for all the people who prayed for the person after his tragic accident, I'm thinking: "How great that there were so many supportive people with kind hearts to be hoping for a good recovery! We need more caring people like these!"
But "power of prayer"? Nope, sorry, aint buying it.
"The Lord at work through the power of prayer"
"God is GREAT and the power of prayer does work"
"There is MUCH POWER in Prayer"
"we have an awesome God to thank"
You have GOT to be kidding me!!!
I mean, really, "power of prayer"????
Gee, you know what? Maybe if god was so great, and influential on us, then perhaps the accident that caused all these grave injuries would not have occurred in the first place!
Oh, but I suppose these people would say "Well, nobody was praying before the accident, so obviously god would have nothing to do with it".
Hate to burst your bubble, but god (assuming there is one), has NOTHING to do with what happens to us on earth!
How can ANYONE believe that prayer works, and going beyond that, go to the extent to say "power of prayer"?
Where's the power of prayer when a child goes missing, and hoards of people pray for a safe return, yet the child turns up dead, and brutilzed by some monster of a guy? Or when countless people will pray for the recovery of a person in the hospital, and they die anyways?
Of course when this occurs, the delusional people will say something like "Oh, the lord works in mysterious ways, and I guess he wanted that person so badly, so he took them."
REALLY? And the only way for god to take a poor innocent child off this earth was to have them kidnapped, brutalized and then killed by a monster? What the hell kind of sadistic god is that?
Gee, I don't know, but if god wanted to take a child, wouldn't having them pass away peacefully in their sleep be much better?
People, give it up already! There is NO power of prayer!!!
Now if praying somehow soothes you, and brings you comfort and peace, then by all means keep it up. In this sense, praying to some would be like meditation to others. But when you make the insane statement that prayer is powerful, and helps with the recovery of a person as god answers the prayer, then you are fooling yourself.
People pray all the time for things, and it really gets me when THE ONE TIME something they pray for finally occurs, they run around saying "See! I KNEW prayer works!". Yeah, right! It would be like me praying for rain every day, and FINALLY the day arrives when it DOES rain, and then I say "See! My praying worked!".
Yeah, no shit Sherlock! Of course BY CHANCE, it WILL rain SOME DAY! Just like, BY CHANCE, a person will pull through a difficult time, and heal.
In my view, praying is nothing more than a nice gesture. I mean, if I was gravely ill, and someone told me that they would be praying for me, I would simply say "Thanks". Why? Because it's a nice gesture, and why on earth would I choose to be upset over something that is being put out to me in a loving way. Of course, in my heart, I would know that the prayer is totally useless, but I would also know that the person who feels differently than I about it is at least being supportive.
So for all the people who prayed for the person after his tragic accident, I'm thinking: "How great that there were so many supportive people with kind hearts to be hoping for a good recovery! We need more caring people like these!"
But "power of prayer"? Nope, sorry, aint buying it.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Atheists and morals
The one thing that really gets my goat is when I hear a religious person say that without religion, a person would have no morals. We are therefore much better off in this nation having religion.
Give me a f**king break!!!
You know WHY atheists have morals, and know right from wrong? It's from something called common sense!
Common sense would dictate that ones actions should be done to not only please yourself, but to also NOT harm others. An atheist would realize that we all must coexist, and so why do things that might result in hate, or retaliation from others. An atheist also realizes that man has urges that are at times destructive, and therefore can feel good about overcoming them.
Also, to say that being religious provides morals is ridiculous, as one just needs to look at how many priests having committed rape, or religious nuts who have bombed abortion clinics, at times killing innocent people. Yeah boy, those religious imposed morals sure helped there, huh?
As I've said many times before, and will say again... if one wants to have a religion, then more power to you! If believing in what you have faith in brings you peace, happiness, compassion, or whatever else it is that you seek, then great! Have at it. There are many intelligent, compassionate, religious people out there that are good to have within our society. It's the idiots that point the finger at us atheists as if we are evil that really gets me going, and to whom I'm addressing these rants to.
Give me a f**king break!!!
You know WHY atheists have morals, and know right from wrong? It's from something called common sense!
Common sense would dictate that ones actions should be done to not only please yourself, but to also NOT harm others. An atheist would realize that we all must coexist, and so why do things that might result in hate, or retaliation from others. An atheist also realizes that man has urges that are at times destructive, and therefore can feel good about overcoming them.
Also, to say that being religious provides morals is ridiculous, as one just needs to look at how many priests having committed rape, or religious nuts who have bombed abortion clinics, at times killing innocent people. Yeah boy, those religious imposed morals sure helped there, huh?
As I've said many times before, and will say again... if one wants to have a religion, then more power to you! If believing in what you have faith in brings you peace, happiness, compassion, or whatever else it is that you seek, then great! Have at it. There are many intelligent, compassionate, religious people out there that are good to have within our society. It's the idiots that point the finger at us atheists as if we are evil that really gets me going, and to whom I'm addressing these rants to.
Friday, October 9, 2009
We are NOT a Christian Nation!!!
Some people will insist that the founding fathers were Christian, therefor the constitution is a Christian document.
This makes no sense to me, as what does one's belief have to do with the documents they write? It would be like an atheist writing a children's book, and even though the book is written for children to enjoy, and nothing else, it is none-the-less an atheist book because it was written by an atheist.
Sorry, but this makes no sense to me.
But as it turns out anyways is that at least several of the founding fathers were not even Christian in the first place.
The key founding fathers are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Several of the these peoeple considered themselves to be deists or held beliefs very similar to that of deists.
American Founding Fathers who were especially noted for being influenced by deism include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Cornelius Harnett, Gouverneur Morris, and Hugh Williamson.
Other notable Founding Fathers may have been more directly deist. These include James Madison, John Adams, possibly Alexander Hamilton, Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine (who published The Age of Reason, a treatise that helped to popularize deism throughout America and Europe). Elihu Palmer (1764-1806) wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his Principles of Nature (1801) and attempted to organize deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York.
Then there's the fact that god is not mentioned in the constitution. Not only that, but it was stressed that the government would not have any influence on the people's religious beliefs, as they wanted freedom of religion. So, if we are suppose to be a Christian nation, with the constitution enforcing such religion, then how can there also be such a significance on freedom of religion?
I suppose someone grasping at straws to validate their Christian view could bring up the fact that the pledge of Allegiance mentions "under god".
However, this is ludicrous as the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a LONG time after the constitution was formed. Not only that, but the original Pledge of Allegiance had no mention of god, and was:
"I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
The "Under God" phrase was not officially incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.
I suppose a desperate person could then state that our currency has "In God We Trust", thus making us a Christian nation.
However, "In God We Trust" first appeared on a United States coin in 1864 during strong Christian sentiment emerging during the Civil War, then became the official U.S. national motto after the passage of an Act of Congress in 1956.
So there you once again have some religious zealots dreaming up the phrase and throwing it onto our currency many, many years after the forming of our nation.
Why is it so important for some Christians to say that we are a Christian nation in the first place? Are they that insecure in their beliefs that they need to know that the entire nation is on their side?
What's far more important than being a Christian nation is being a nation of no particular religion! Isn't this truly in line with what our founding fathers had in mind? Did they not stress the importance of complete freedom, be it freedom of speech, a fair trial, or freedom of religion? To say we are a Christian nation is to totally negate the original concept of what our founding fathers had in mind.
So, enough with this Christian nation crap! We are a nation formed to have the freedom of religion, whatever that religion may be, or to even be an atheist!
This makes no sense to me, as what does one's belief have to do with the documents they write? It would be like an atheist writing a children's book, and even though the book is written for children to enjoy, and nothing else, it is none-the-less an atheist book because it was written by an atheist.
Sorry, but this makes no sense to me.
But as it turns out anyways is that at least several of the founding fathers were not even Christian in the first place.
The key founding fathers are Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
Several of the these peoeple considered themselves to be deists or held beliefs very similar to that of deists.
American Founding Fathers who were especially noted for being influenced by deism include Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Cornelius Harnett, Gouverneur Morris, and Hugh Williamson.
Other notable Founding Fathers may have been more directly deist. These include James Madison, John Adams, possibly Alexander Hamilton, Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine (who published The Age of Reason, a treatise that helped to popularize deism throughout America and Europe). Elihu Palmer (1764-1806) wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his Principles of Nature (1801) and attempted to organize deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York.
Then there's the fact that god is not mentioned in the constitution. Not only that, but it was stressed that the government would not have any influence on the people's religious beliefs, as they wanted freedom of religion. So, if we are suppose to be a Christian nation, with the constitution enforcing such religion, then how can there also be such a significance on freedom of religion?
I suppose someone grasping at straws to validate their Christian view could bring up the fact that the pledge of Allegiance mentions "under god".
However, this is ludicrous as the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a LONG time after the constitution was formed. Not only that, but the original Pledge of Allegiance had no mention of god, and was:
"I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
The "Under God" phrase was not officially incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954.
I suppose a desperate person could then state that our currency has "In God We Trust", thus making us a Christian nation.
However, "In God We Trust" first appeared on a United States coin in 1864 during strong Christian sentiment emerging during the Civil War, then became the official U.S. national motto after the passage of an Act of Congress in 1956.
So there you once again have some religious zealots dreaming up the phrase and throwing it onto our currency many, many years after the forming of our nation.
Why is it so important for some Christians to say that we are a Christian nation in the first place? Are they that insecure in their beliefs that they need to know that the entire nation is on their side?
What's far more important than being a Christian nation is being a nation of no particular religion! Isn't this truly in line with what our founding fathers had in mind? Did they not stress the importance of complete freedom, be it freedom of speech, a fair trial, or freedom of religion? To say we are a Christian nation is to totally negate the original concept of what our founding fathers had in mind.
So, enough with this Christian nation crap! We are a nation formed to have the freedom of religion, whatever that religion may be, or to even be an atheist!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Moon conspiracy idiots
Might as well touch upon these lunatics (no pun intended) while I'm on the conspiracy trend here.
There are actually people out there that truly believe that we never went to the moon! No sense hashing through all of their so called "evidence" as this can all be located on the WEB with a Google search. Let me just say though that every bit of their "proof" has been put to the test and shown to be, if anything, proof that we DID go to the moon.
Now, don't get me wrong, as I think it's good that people are willing to question things, and not take everything at face value. But the moon conspiracy people are holding onto their beliefs regardless of all the data that goes against their belief.
It's as if they think that the United States one day awoke and then launched a rocket to the moon with 3 astronauts, and succeeded over night. Well, not quite guys! It took us in the neighborhood of 10 years to develop the technology to get there! Being 52 years old myself, and growing up in the era of the space race, I can attest to this fact.
Since the Russians put the first satellite, Sputnik, into space back in 1957, the space race began. The United States then launched its first satellite in 1958. The first human in space was by the Russians in 1961, soon followed by Alan Shepard of the United States. From that time on, the United States was feverishly making strides to get into space, and get to the moon. Many space craft were launched, and were improved upon from the old Mercury/Gemini days on up to the Saturn V. Finally, nine years after the first American in space, we landed on the moon.
So, this is not something that occurred over night. It took many years of development, and several lives (Many Russian cosmonauts, and 3 Americans that were killed during an Apollo 1 test).
Some will think that we did not have enough technology back in 1969 to accomplish such a feat. However, we are really talking basic telemetry here, and even the archaic computers back then were capable of this.
Some will then say that we never went to the moon back then because we are not going there now. That's ridiculous, and a look back into history will plainly show why we stopped going, and a look into our present mindset will show why we are not going now.
Going to the moon proved to be VERY expensive, but we were determined to beat the Russians to the moon, and fulfill president Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade (1960's). Once that was achieved, we went back a few more times, but it became apparent that once the drive to get there was gone, and the financial obligation became too much, we ended all trips to the moon. Then the space shuttle was developed to replace the expensive, aging Saturn V rocket, and our focus became one of using space travel for scientific gains.
So, it's not for lack of technology that we don't go to the moon now, as much as it's just not financially feasible.
Certainly is an interesting notion that we perhaps never went to the moon, but I firmly believe that we did, and so far there is NO evidence pointing to the contrary!
There are actually people out there that truly believe that we never went to the moon! No sense hashing through all of their so called "evidence" as this can all be located on the WEB with a Google search. Let me just say though that every bit of their "proof" has been put to the test and shown to be, if anything, proof that we DID go to the moon.
Now, don't get me wrong, as I think it's good that people are willing to question things, and not take everything at face value. But the moon conspiracy people are holding onto their beliefs regardless of all the data that goes against their belief.
It's as if they think that the United States one day awoke and then launched a rocket to the moon with 3 astronauts, and succeeded over night. Well, not quite guys! It took us in the neighborhood of 10 years to develop the technology to get there! Being 52 years old myself, and growing up in the era of the space race, I can attest to this fact.
Since the Russians put the first satellite, Sputnik, into space back in 1957, the space race began. The United States then launched its first satellite in 1958. The first human in space was by the Russians in 1961, soon followed by Alan Shepard of the United States. From that time on, the United States was feverishly making strides to get into space, and get to the moon. Many space craft were launched, and were improved upon from the old Mercury/Gemini days on up to the Saturn V. Finally, nine years after the first American in space, we landed on the moon.
So, this is not something that occurred over night. It took many years of development, and several lives (Many Russian cosmonauts, and 3 Americans that were killed during an Apollo 1 test).
Some will think that we did not have enough technology back in 1969 to accomplish such a feat. However, we are really talking basic telemetry here, and even the archaic computers back then were capable of this.
Some will then say that we never went to the moon back then because we are not going there now. That's ridiculous, and a look back into history will plainly show why we stopped going, and a look into our present mindset will show why we are not going now.
Going to the moon proved to be VERY expensive, but we were determined to beat the Russians to the moon, and fulfill president Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade (1960's). Once that was achieved, we went back a few more times, but it became apparent that once the drive to get there was gone, and the financial obligation became too much, we ended all trips to the moon. Then the space shuttle was developed to replace the expensive, aging Saturn V rocket, and our focus became one of using space travel for scientific gains.
So, it's not for lack of technology that we don't go to the moon now, as much as it's just not financially feasible.
Certainly is an interesting notion that we perhaps never went to the moon, but I firmly believe that we did, and so far there is NO evidence pointing to the contrary!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The 9/11 conspiracy crackpots
It never ceases to amaze me the crap some people will adhere to. Case in point is all this talk of the 9/11 attacks being a planned government job instead of a true terrorist attack. Give me a break!!!
There was a show on recently that discussed these crackpots, and on it were one of the people responsible for the film "Loose Change" which "documents" the 9/11 conspiracy. Just gotta love it when the guy says "Oh yes, many people saw a commercial airline flying towards the Pentagon at a very low altitude and fast speed, but nobody really knows what flew into the Pentagon.".
Gee, I have an idea, perhaps what flew into the Pentagon WAS THE COMMERCIAL PLANE PEOPLE SAW FLYING TOWARDS IT!!!
Sheesh!
There's no point in me rehashing all of the fictional content of Loose Change, and all of the bogus "science". For instance, one thing they will point out is that as the building collapsed, you can see what appears to be small explosions blowing out of the side windows. They then go on to say how this must be from the explosives that were planted there in order to bring down the building. Uh, yeah, OK. Gee, don't you think that a collapsing building, especially of that magnitude, would be forcing out A LOT of air as it crushed the floors? And just where is that air going to go? Oh, gee, maybe it will find the path of least resistance AND GO OUT THROUGH THE WINDOWS! DUH!!!
Oh, but gee, I'm sorry, I'm using logic there, just as so many scientists, engineers and experts have done in the past in explaining the tower collapse.
It's actually good to see people questioning the government, and looking at all the possibilities. I also have to say that the film Loose Change appears to be a very well made film, especially when you consider that it was made by a high school student. Good work indeed. However, it is pure fiction the way it presents the "evidence". A well made film, but none-the-less gets people to view the incident in the wrong light. It's like the JFK film by Oliver Stone. It's very well made, and pulls you into the plot and keeps you entertained, but many of its content is pure fiction! There is no magic bullet, even though the film will lead you to believe otherwise. Pulling off 3 shots in the allotted time is VERY doable, and Oswald was indeed an expert marksmen, yet he is not shown that way in the film. A good film, but many liberties were taken with the facts. Just as Loose Change, many of the facts are twisted and false conclusions are drawn just to show the audience a slanted conspiracy viewpoint.
Now, let's just say for the sake of argument that our government wanted to create a false terrorist attack in order to get us into a war with Iraq. Would they have needed to create an attack as devastating as the 9/11 attack? Couldn't they have simply planted a few bombs under a bridge someplace, blown it up, then yelled, "Oh my god, look at what those terrorists have done. Now we just have to go in after them."
But no, instead they choose to not only take down ONE of the twin towers, but BOTH of them, and using 2 commercial airliners to boot. And as if that wasn't enough, they then launch an airliner into their own building, the Pentagon! Oh wait, there's more. That's apparently not enough, so they also had plans to send yet another plane into the capitol. That one missed it's mark though due to the brave people aboard it.
Oh yeah, right, this makes complete sense. Again... SHEESH!!!!!!!
Sometimes things really are as they seem, especially when it is so painfully obvious. In this case, planes crashed into the twin towers, causing intense heat due to the jet fuel, enough to weaken the steel and bring the buildings down. The resulting collapse of the twin towers damaged building 7, and even though it was not hit by any planes, sustained enough damage to also collapse. Then a plane flew into the Pentagon, and another into a Pennsylvania field due to the actions of the people on board.
That's it!
If only these conspiracy people would spend even one tenth as much energy that they spend on this conspiracy crap and put it into something useful. Perhaps looking into how another terrorist attack can be thwarted, or in finding Bin Laden.
There was a show on recently that discussed these crackpots, and on it were one of the people responsible for the film "Loose Change" which "documents" the 9/11 conspiracy. Just gotta love it when the guy says "Oh yes, many people saw a commercial airline flying towards the Pentagon at a very low altitude and fast speed, but nobody really knows what flew into the Pentagon.".
Gee, I have an idea, perhaps what flew into the Pentagon WAS THE COMMERCIAL PLANE PEOPLE SAW FLYING TOWARDS IT!!!
Sheesh!
There's no point in me rehashing all of the fictional content of Loose Change, and all of the bogus "science". For instance, one thing they will point out is that as the building collapsed, you can see what appears to be small explosions blowing out of the side windows. They then go on to say how this must be from the explosives that were planted there in order to bring down the building. Uh, yeah, OK. Gee, don't you think that a collapsing building, especially of that magnitude, would be forcing out A LOT of air as it crushed the floors? And just where is that air going to go? Oh, gee, maybe it will find the path of least resistance AND GO OUT THROUGH THE WINDOWS! DUH!!!
Oh, but gee, I'm sorry, I'm using logic there, just as so many scientists, engineers and experts have done in the past in explaining the tower collapse.
It's actually good to see people questioning the government, and looking at all the possibilities. I also have to say that the film Loose Change appears to be a very well made film, especially when you consider that it was made by a high school student. Good work indeed. However, it is pure fiction the way it presents the "evidence". A well made film, but none-the-less gets people to view the incident in the wrong light. It's like the JFK film by Oliver Stone. It's very well made, and pulls you into the plot and keeps you entertained, but many of its content is pure fiction! There is no magic bullet, even though the film will lead you to believe otherwise. Pulling off 3 shots in the allotted time is VERY doable, and Oswald was indeed an expert marksmen, yet he is not shown that way in the film. A good film, but many liberties were taken with the facts. Just as Loose Change, many of the facts are twisted and false conclusions are drawn just to show the audience a slanted conspiracy viewpoint.
Now, let's just say for the sake of argument that our government wanted to create a false terrorist attack in order to get us into a war with Iraq. Would they have needed to create an attack as devastating as the 9/11 attack? Couldn't they have simply planted a few bombs under a bridge someplace, blown it up, then yelled, "Oh my god, look at what those terrorists have done. Now we just have to go in after them."
But no, instead they choose to not only take down ONE of the twin towers, but BOTH of them, and using 2 commercial airliners to boot. And as if that wasn't enough, they then launch an airliner into their own building, the Pentagon! Oh wait, there's more. That's apparently not enough, so they also had plans to send yet another plane into the capitol. That one missed it's mark though due to the brave people aboard it.
Oh yeah, right, this makes complete sense. Again... SHEESH!!!!!!!
Sometimes things really are as they seem, especially when it is so painfully obvious. In this case, planes crashed into the twin towers, causing intense heat due to the jet fuel, enough to weaken the steel and bring the buildings down. The resulting collapse of the twin towers damaged building 7, and even though it was not hit by any planes, sustained enough damage to also collapse. Then a plane flew into the Pentagon, and another into a Pennsylvania field due to the actions of the people on board.
That's it!
If only these conspiracy people would spend even one tenth as much energy that they spend on this conspiracy crap and put it into something useful. Perhaps looking into how another terrorist attack can be thwarted, or in finding Bin Laden.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Bible just doesn't make any sense
Being an atheist and never attending church as a child, I certainly cannot attest to really knowing anything in the bible. However, one cannot but at least hear of some of its writings, and absurdities.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge. Apparently god had this tree sitting in the garden where Adam and eve are frolicking around, and told them not to eat from it. A snake then speaks to Eve and convinces her to eat from it, after which Adam does the same. Shame on them for disobeying god, so they are condemned to be ashamed of their nakedness, and not live forever.
WOW!
So let me get this straight. God creates a tree of knowledge. God creates Man. Man disobeys God's will and is then punished.
Um, excuse me, but wasn't it God that was responsible for this whole mess to begin with? If he created Man, and Man then ventures out due to temptation, then wasn't this trait inherent due to God's creation? Doesn't appear to me that God was so perfect after all, and created a defective being. Then when this defective being messes up, he condemns Man instead of thinking "Oops! Dang, I could have sworn Man wouldn't have done such a thing. Hold on Adam and Eve, I'll get back to you once I figure this thing out. Sorry about that."
Let's not even get into the whole rib from one to create the other, a talking snake, and the fact that the bible would have all of us put to death if we so much as say God's name in vain.
And to think that there are actually people out there that take the literal interpretation of the bible.
Seems to me if one was to embrace the bible AT ALL, then one would need to view it through symbolism. Perhaps the snake just represents the temptation that all Man feels at times. The tree represents that which is not only good, but also evil, as everything has two sides to it. To know of good is to know of evil, just as one cannot know of light unless they know of darkness. It's a two edge sword. Perhaps the message isn't that one should never partake in knowledge, in as much that one must be very careful as learning good also means learning of evil, and thus one must choose wisely.
Of course none of this helps with making any sense of the fact that god apparently punished Man for trying to learn.
Come to think of it, maybe god is the devil, and vice versa. It's god that appears to be the dictator, and wants us to be blindly following him like sheep, whereas the devil wanted us to expand our horizons and learn.
Or perhaps the bible has been misinterpreted by so many people all along.
I just don't know. What I do know is that the people who take this to the extreme, and really believe that the universe is only 6,000 years old, and that dinosaurs didn't really exist, and that there is no such thing as evolution (at least on the level of viruses and other lower like forms), need to get help.
Let's start with the tree of knowledge. Apparently god had this tree sitting in the garden where Adam and eve are frolicking around, and told them not to eat from it. A snake then speaks to Eve and convinces her to eat from it, after which Adam does the same. Shame on them for disobeying god, so they are condemned to be ashamed of their nakedness, and not live forever.
WOW!
So let me get this straight. God creates a tree of knowledge. God creates Man. Man disobeys God's will and is then punished.
Um, excuse me, but wasn't it God that was responsible for this whole mess to begin with? If he created Man, and Man then ventures out due to temptation, then wasn't this trait inherent due to God's creation? Doesn't appear to me that God was so perfect after all, and created a defective being. Then when this defective being messes up, he condemns Man instead of thinking "Oops! Dang, I could have sworn Man wouldn't have done such a thing. Hold on Adam and Eve, I'll get back to you once I figure this thing out. Sorry about that."
Let's not even get into the whole rib from one to create the other, a talking snake, and the fact that the bible would have all of us put to death if we so much as say God's name in vain.
And to think that there are actually people out there that take the literal interpretation of the bible.
Seems to me if one was to embrace the bible AT ALL, then one would need to view it through symbolism. Perhaps the snake just represents the temptation that all Man feels at times. The tree represents that which is not only good, but also evil, as everything has two sides to it. To know of good is to know of evil, just as one cannot know of light unless they know of darkness. It's a two edge sword. Perhaps the message isn't that one should never partake in knowledge, in as much that one must be very careful as learning good also means learning of evil, and thus one must choose wisely.
Of course none of this helps with making any sense of the fact that god apparently punished Man for trying to learn.
Come to think of it, maybe god is the devil, and vice versa. It's god that appears to be the dictator, and wants us to be blindly following him like sheep, whereas the devil wanted us to expand our horizons and learn.
Or perhaps the bible has been misinterpreted by so many people all along.
I just don't know. What I do know is that the people who take this to the extreme, and really believe that the universe is only 6,000 years old, and that dinosaurs didn't really exist, and that there is no such thing as evolution (at least on the level of viruses and other lower like forms), need to get help.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Cost to California for Michael Jackson's funeral... Why?
Please don't get me wrong here, as I have no intention of disrespecting Michael Jackson. He was a very talented person and a terrific entertainer. In a way, an American icon. It's also very sad whenever someone passes away, especially someone as giving as Michael, and someone loved by so many.
My objections are ONLY directed to the fact that the state of California, of which I live in, will be out $3+ million to provide police and other support for his memorial service.
Why?
Why are we, a financially strapped state, already in debt to the extent that we are cutting government jobs, and school programs, flipping the bill for this? Why doesn't AEG pay for this? They were the promoter of Michael Jackson, and stands to actually gain money from his death.
Someone once said that his memorial service could bring a lot of money to the hotels and other businesses in the area, but so what? Me, Joe blow tax payer, will not see a cent of that money. Yet part of my tax money is being used for this.
How 'bout instead of spending $3 million on this service, we put it into our school system? Or for that matter, why don't the people who sacrificed their lives in Iraq get such a service?
This just makes no sense to me.
Michael Jackson certainly deserves to be remembered, and many people feel the need for closure, and to mourn. However, isn't that a very private thing? Do we need a multimillion dollar service, especially at the tax payer's expense?
Michael Jackson, may he rest in peace.
My objections are ONLY directed to the fact that the state of California, of which I live in, will be out $3+ million to provide police and other support for his memorial service.
Why?
Why are we, a financially strapped state, already in debt to the extent that we are cutting government jobs, and school programs, flipping the bill for this? Why doesn't AEG pay for this? They were the promoter of Michael Jackson, and stands to actually gain money from his death.
Someone once said that his memorial service could bring a lot of money to the hotels and other businesses in the area, but so what? Me, Joe blow tax payer, will not see a cent of that money. Yet part of my tax money is being used for this.
How 'bout instead of spending $3 million on this service, we put it into our school system? Or for that matter, why don't the people who sacrificed their lives in Iraq get such a service?
This just makes no sense to me.
Michael Jackson certainly deserves to be remembered, and many people feel the need for closure, and to mourn. However, isn't that a very private thing? Do we need a multimillion dollar service, especially at the tax payer's expense?
Michael Jackson, may he rest in peace.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Religious nut Ken Ham... what a moron!
It's idiotic garbage that Ken Ham spews out that keep rational people running as far away from religion as they can get! In particular I'm talking about his writings that state:
"However, scientists do not dig up anything labeled with those ages. They only uncover dead dinosaurs (i.e., their bones), and their bones do not have labels attached telling how old they are. The idea of millions of years of evolution is just the evolutionists’ story about the past. No scientist was there to see the dinosaurs live through this supposed dinosaur age. In fact, there is no proof whatsoever that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old. No scientist observed dinosaurs die. Scientists only find the bones in the here and now, and because many of them are evolutionists, they try to fit the story of the dinosaurs into their view."
In reading the above statement from Ken Ham, I get an image of Archie Bunker (of the old TV show "All in the family") saying something like this, but then I think to myself that even Archie Bunker could not possibly utter something this stupid!
So Mr. Ken Ham is basically saying that because the dinosaur bones have no labels on them stating how old they are, we therefore have no idea how old they are, and we are dreaming up a story about their age to fit our evolutionists’ idea. Excuse me? What about carbon dating, which is a scientific method of dating objects and has been proven to be at least somewhat accurate! This obviously blows apart his statement of "...no proof whatsoever that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old". It appears that Mr. Ham believes that scientists are just a bunch of people who are all feeding into a grand conspiracy to trick the world into believing their side of the story. Never mind all the proof, huh Mr. Ham?
While we're at it, let's apply Mr. Ham's "logic" to religion itself, shall we? So he states that because no scientist has ever actually seen a dinosaur, and because fossils have no labels telling us how old they are, then we cannot possibly accept any fact about them, regardless of all the data we have on them. OK, fine, so let's apply this to the bible. No scientist has ever seen anyone write the bible, therefore by his same "logic", it appears that we cannot know anything about it, and cannot be certain of when it was written, who wrote it, what it was based on, so on and so forth. So basically his "logic" that blows apart science also blows apart religion and the bible. Of course no scientist has ever seen god either, so of course this means by Mr. Ham's "logic" that we cannot then know that one exists.
Mr. Ham has it all totally backwards. He believes that scientists already have a preconceived notion as to how things are, and then fabricate data in order to support it. Nope, sorry, that's not the way it works. Scientists first analyze the data, and then based on their findings, come up with a theory that matches the data. A good scientist is also always ready to put any theory to the test, and will see how any further data either fits, or does not fit the theory. So when Mr. Ham states "...fit the story of the dinosaurs into their view", he is being ludicrous! The scientists do not have a "view", and they do not have a "story". What they have is cold, hard, proven data that points to a theory that is based purely on data and observations.
As if the above statement from Mr. Ham wasn't idiotic enough, he then goes on to say:
"As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth almost 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals (including the dinosaurs) occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000!), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right (and it is!), dinosaurs must have lived within the past thousands of years."
So here we go again. The bible is apparently "right", regardless of the fact that their is no proof, and I guess it's "right" because he says it is. Of course this then means that science is wrong, regardless of all the proven data and facts that they have. Interesting that the whole concept of creationism and the bible is "right", though it has no proof or data to back it up, and all of science is wrong, though it has all the data and facts that one cares to view. This guy also truly believes that the dinosaurs are only a few thousand years old! Are you serious? Oh, but that's right, I keep forgetting that all that scientific carbon dating and such is just all nonsense.
It's people like Mr. Ham that I have a problem with, and it's a shame that someone like this spews out all this nonsense, and actually wants to be taken seriously, as it gives religion a bad name. I have no problem if someone wants to believe in god, and hold the bible dear to them so as to go through life with meaning. By all means use the teachings in the bible in order to be more compassionate, and loving towards your fellow man.
However, when someone this radical steps up to the plate, and states that every literal interpretation of the bible is fact, and anything that goes against it is wrong, even in the face of cold, hard scientific data, then that's where I have to draw the line.
Being an atheist I am of course going to side with science. But I'm also not just siding with science, but am siding with the data and facts that we can all view and come to a conclusion about. That said, for all I know, there is a god. However, I am not about to believe in such a far fetched concept just because a book was written thousands of years ago by many generations of people, and based on, for all I know, just their imagination!
That said, is it any more credible that we all evolved from a few cells of life swimming around in the primordial soup a billion years ago? Granted, that does sound far fetched, but for me, so does the idea that some supreme being created it all, then stepped aside to allow us to run amuck and screw everything up. The thing is, there is more evidence to prove evolution than creationism, regardless of how hard it is for one to get their brains wrapped around it.
I guess the bottom line for me is that if you are going to be religious, and accept the bible, then at least also accept the fact that science makes sense, and though they don't have all the answers, you really cannot ignore the data.
"However, scientists do not dig up anything labeled with those ages. They only uncover dead dinosaurs (i.e., their bones), and their bones do not have labels attached telling how old they are. The idea of millions of years of evolution is just the evolutionists’ story about the past. No scientist was there to see the dinosaurs live through this supposed dinosaur age. In fact, there is no proof whatsoever that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old. No scientist observed dinosaurs die. Scientists only find the bones in the here and now, and because many of them are evolutionists, they try to fit the story of the dinosaurs into their view."
In reading the above statement from Ken Ham, I get an image of Archie Bunker (of the old TV show "All in the family") saying something like this, but then I think to myself that even Archie Bunker could not possibly utter something this stupid!
So Mr. Ken Ham is basically saying that because the dinosaur bones have no labels on them stating how old they are, we therefore have no idea how old they are, and we are dreaming up a story about their age to fit our evolutionists’ idea. Excuse me? What about carbon dating, which is a scientific method of dating objects and has been proven to be at least somewhat accurate! This obviously blows apart his statement of "...no proof whatsoever that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old". It appears that Mr. Ham believes that scientists are just a bunch of people who are all feeding into a grand conspiracy to trick the world into believing their side of the story. Never mind all the proof, huh Mr. Ham?
While we're at it, let's apply Mr. Ham's "logic" to religion itself, shall we? So he states that because no scientist has ever actually seen a dinosaur, and because fossils have no labels telling us how old they are, then we cannot possibly accept any fact about them, regardless of all the data we have on them. OK, fine, so let's apply this to the bible. No scientist has ever seen anyone write the bible, therefore by his same "logic", it appears that we cannot know anything about it, and cannot be certain of when it was written, who wrote it, what it was based on, so on and so forth. So basically his "logic" that blows apart science also blows apart religion and the bible. Of course no scientist has ever seen god either, so of course this means by Mr. Ham's "logic" that we cannot then know that one exists.
Mr. Ham has it all totally backwards. He believes that scientists already have a preconceived notion as to how things are, and then fabricate data in order to support it. Nope, sorry, that's not the way it works. Scientists first analyze the data, and then based on their findings, come up with a theory that matches the data. A good scientist is also always ready to put any theory to the test, and will see how any further data either fits, or does not fit the theory. So when Mr. Ham states "...fit the story of the dinosaurs into their view", he is being ludicrous! The scientists do not have a "view", and they do not have a "story". What they have is cold, hard, proven data that points to a theory that is based purely on data and observations.
As if the above statement from Mr. Ham wasn't idiotic enough, he then goes on to say:
"As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth almost 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals (including the dinosaurs) occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000!), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right (and it is!), dinosaurs must have lived within the past thousands of years."
So here we go again. The bible is apparently "right", regardless of the fact that their is no proof, and I guess it's "right" because he says it is. Of course this then means that science is wrong, regardless of all the proven data and facts that they have. Interesting that the whole concept of creationism and the bible is "right", though it has no proof or data to back it up, and all of science is wrong, though it has all the data and facts that one cares to view. This guy also truly believes that the dinosaurs are only a few thousand years old! Are you serious? Oh, but that's right, I keep forgetting that all that scientific carbon dating and such is just all nonsense.
It's people like Mr. Ham that I have a problem with, and it's a shame that someone like this spews out all this nonsense, and actually wants to be taken seriously, as it gives religion a bad name. I have no problem if someone wants to believe in god, and hold the bible dear to them so as to go through life with meaning. By all means use the teachings in the bible in order to be more compassionate, and loving towards your fellow man.
However, when someone this radical steps up to the plate, and states that every literal interpretation of the bible is fact, and anything that goes against it is wrong, even in the face of cold, hard scientific data, then that's where I have to draw the line.
Being an atheist I am of course going to side with science. But I'm also not just siding with science, but am siding with the data and facts that we can all view and come to a conclusion about. That said, for all I know, there is a god. However, I am not about to believe in such a far fetched concept just because a book was written thousands of years ago by many generations of people, and based on, for all I know, just their imagination!
That said, is it any more credible that we all evolved from a few cells of life swimming around in the primordial soup a billion years ago? Granted, that does sound far fetched, but for me, so does the idea that some supreme being created it all, then stepped aside to allow us to run amuck and screw everything up. The thing is, there is more evidence to prove evolution than creationism, regardless of how hard it is for one to get their brains wrapped around it.
I guess the bottom line for me is that if you are going to be religious, and accept the bible, then at least also accept the fact that science makes sense, and though they don't have all the answers, you really cannot ignore the data.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Loose/Lose and other idiocies
I understand the fact that we all make grammatical errors, as very few of us are English majors. We also usually don't want to take the time to proof-read everything we write to ensure that it is 100% grammatically correct.
However, there are some errors I see consistently that makes me wonder if people ever made it through the 4th grade!
A prime example is with the word "loose". More times than not I see people using the word "loose" when they mean to use "lose". It's as if they don't even know that the word "lose" exists! They will write something like "I hate to loose a game." Or, "I hate loosing." Come on people! It's "lose a game", and "losing"!!!
While we're at it, what's with the improper use of "there" instead of "they're", or "your" instead of "you're". Just gotta love it when you see something like "There going to the store" and "Your an idiot". Sheesh!
Do these people truly believe that "your" can be short for "you are", or "there" for "they are"? If so, we need to send some of them back to school.
However, there are some errors I see consistently that makes me wonder if people ever made it through the 4th grade!
A prime example is with the word "loose". More times than not I see people using the word "loose" when they mean to use "lose". It's as if they don't even know that the word "lose" exists! They will write something like "I hate to loose a game." Or, "I hate loosing." Come on people! It's "lose a game", and "losing"!!!
While we're at it, what's with the improper use of "there" instead of "they're", or "your" instead of "you're". Just gotta love it when you see something like "There going to the store" and "Your an idiot". Sheesh!
Do these people truly believe that "your" can be short for "you are", or "there" for "they are"? If so, we need to send some of them back to school.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Scientology crap
Scientology has its roots in Dianetics, which in turn is based on what is called the "engram". Scientology would have you believe that this "engram" was discovered by L. Ron Hubbard, and he used it while in the military to rid himself of his medical problems.
However, for starters, it turns out the theory of the Engram, and the basis of Dianetics, was not first conceived by him... though that is certainly what he wants everyone to believe. Check out the following about his "engram" that a search on the web will yield:
"The term engram was coined in 1904 by the German scholar Richard Semon, who defined it as a "stimulus impression" which could be reactivated by the recurrence of "the energetic conditions which ruled at the generation of the engram."
Semon's concept was re-used by L. Ron Hubbard when he published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. He conceived of the engram as a form of "memory trace", an idea which had long existed in medicine. According to Dr. Joseph Winter, a physician who collaborated in the development of Dianetics, Hubbard had taken the term "engram" from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary, where it was defined as:
"a lasting mark or trace .... In psychology it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture." He had originally used the terms "Norn", "comanome" and "impediment" before alighting on "engram" following a suggestion from Winter."
Sure enough, search through the online Dorlans Dictionary and you'll find this definition of an engram:
"a lasting mark or trace. In psychology, it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture."
So fact number one... L. Ron Hubbard did not discover engrams as he would like people to believe. He basically grabbed an old existing term and then proceeded to create a religion around it.
So here we have a man who lied about his military experiences, lied about his past health issues, lied about his college education (IE: He claims to have attended and excel in his studies at George Washington University, see:
http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/hubbard-gwu.html
and see the image Transrcipts.jpg). Then this known liar proceeds to create a religion based on the engram. This was postulated way before L. Ron Hubbard came along, yet he claims to have discovered it. Then if you delve more into Scientology, it becomes clear that the whole thing is closer to pure science fiction than any kind of science. And what do you know... he's a science fiction writer!
All Scientology has done is make L. Ron Hubbard a rich man, and swindled people out of their money.
If the people really want to show us that Scientology is based on science, then show us! Show us the proof. Show us the evidence. Show us SOMETHING! But of course they don't, and they won't. Why? Obviously they won't show proof because they can't. All of it is based on the ramblings of a liar who couldn't even pass 2 years worth of college courses, and yet we are to swallow it all without question because to do so would be to question the man who created it all, and of course he could not be wrong!
How is it that people can totally accept something from a liar and a swindler? If you knew that a car salesman was crooked, and could not be trusted, would you buy a car from him?
Yet here we have L. Ron Hubbard, an obvious, blatant liar, who stole a concept way before his time and wrapped a religion around it, and sold it via his grand bogus stories. Then people bought into it, and gave away all their money, making Hubbard a rich man.
And think about this... the people in Scientology who have reached the level of OT (Operating Thetan), will have you believe that they can leave their bodies at will and float about, looking down at everything. Fine, that's just great. So why on earth aren't any of these people collecting their 1 million dollars? What $1 million you ask? The million dollars that James Randi offers to anyone who can prove the occult, psychic or supernatural powers. See his site at: http://www.randi.org/site/
So come one OTs, go on over to Mr. Randi's place, float around out of your body and prove that you can do it, collect your million and go home and buy all the auditing that you can! What are you waiting for?
Yeah, and I can just hear them now. "Well gee Jeff, I won't do it because I don't want to feel like some circus side-show act, and don't want to be questioned about my claims to the point that I have to prove it". To that I say "OK, so in other words you cannot do as you claim, so shut the fuck up!". Tell you what, let's say that I tell you that I can lift 2,000 pounds over my head. You then say "Hey, there's 2,000 pounds sitting right there, so go ahead and show me". I then refuse, and perhaps use the same reason that you use about going to the lab and proving your claims.
Are you going to walk away from me believing that I can do what I claim? Of course not. And now imagine that not only did I not choose to do my feat, but I chose not to do it in lieu of making a million dollars. WOW, come on, OBVIOUSLY a person makes such a choice BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY CLAIM!
Now with that said, I do have to admit that there is SOME redeeming things in Scientology. There communications course can actually get one to be more in tune with conversations, and less caught up in one's own "reactive" mind. I would also tend to believe that there is some merit to the engram theory. However, to wrap this all up into a religion that takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with claims that NOBODY can prove is ridiculous! One could probably setup some sort of small class or work group, incorporate the basic concepts taught in their communications course, then even put the engram to use, but with SCIENCE instead of all the hocus-pocus that L. Ron Hubbard puts onto it, and you'd have a very viable "product"... and it would probably all be done within a few weeks and at the cost of only a few hundred dollars!!!
However, for starters, it turns out the theory of the Engram, and the basis of Dianetics, was not first conceived by him... though that is certainly what he wants everyone to believe. Check out the following about his "engram" that a search on the web will yield:
"The term engram was coined in 1904 by the German scholar Richard Semon, who defined it as a "stimulus impression" which could be reactivated by the recurrence of "the energetic conditions which ruled at the generation of the engram."
Semon's concept was re-used by L. Ron Hubbard when he published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. He conceived of the engram as a form of "memory trace", an idea which had long existed in medicine. According to Dr. Joseph Winter, a physician who collaborated in the development of Dianetics, Hubbard had taken the term "engram" from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary, where it was defined as:
"a lasting mark or trace .... In psychology it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture." He had originally used the terms "Norn", "comanome" and "impediment" before alighting on "engram" following a suggestion from Winter."
Sure enough, search through the online Dorlans Dictionary and you'll find this definition of an engram:
"a lasting mark or trace. In psychology, it is the lasting trace left in the psyche by anything that has been experienced psychically; a latent memory picture."
So fact number one... L. Ron Hubbard did not discover engrams as he would like people to believe. He basically grabbed an old existing term and then proceeded to create a religion around it.
So here we have a man who lied about his military experiences, lied about his past health issues, lied about his college education (IE: He claims to have attended and excel in his studies at George Washington University, see:
http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/hubbard-gwu.html
and see the image Transrcipts.jpg). Then this known liar proceeds to create a religion based on the engram. This was postulated way before L. Ron Hubbard came along, yet he claims to have discovered it. Then if you delve more into Scientology, it becomes clear that the whole thing is closer to pure science fiction than any kind of science. And what do you know... he's a science fiction writer!
All Scientology has done is make L. Ron Hubbard a rich man, and swindled people out of their money.
If the people really want to show us that Scientology is based on science, then show us! Show us the proof. Show us the evidence. Show us SOMETHING! But of course they don't, and they won't. Why? Obviously they won't show proof because they can't. All of it is based on the ramblings of a liar who couldn't even pass 2 years worth of college courses, and yet we are to swallow it all without question because to do so would be to question the man who created it all, and of course he could not be wrong!
How is it that people can totally accept something from a liar and a swindler? If you knew that a car salesman was crooked, and could not be trusted, would you buy a car from him?
Yet here we have L. Ron Hubbard, an obvious, blatant liar, who stole a concept way before his time and wrapped a religion around it, and sold it via his grand bogus stories. Then people bought into it, and gave away all their money, making Hubbard a rich man.
And think about this... the people in Scientology who have reached the level of OT (Operating Thetan), will have you believe that they can leave their bodies at will and float about, looking down at everything. Fine, that's just great. So why on earth aren't any of these people collecting their 1 million dollars? What $1 million you ask? The million dollars that James Randi offers to anyone who can prove the occult, psychic or supernatural powers. See his site at: http://www.randi.org/site/
So come one OTs, go on over to Mr. Randi's place, float around out of your body and prove that you can do it, collect your million and go home and buy all the auditing that you can! What are you waiting for?
Yeah, and I can just hear them now. "Well gee Jeff, I won't do it because I don't want to feel like some circus side-show act, and don't want to be questioned about my claims to the point that I have to prove it". To that I say "OK, so in other words you cannot do as you claim, so shut the fuck up!". Tell you what, let's say that I tell you that I can lift 2,000 pounds over my head. You then say "Hey, there's 2,000 pounds sitting right there, so go ahead and show me". I then refuse, and perhaps use the same reason that you use about going to the lab and proving your claims.
Are you going to walk away from me believing that I can do what I claim? Of course not. And now imagine that not only did I not choose to do my feat, but I chose not to do it in lieu of making a million dollars. WOW, come on, OBVIOUSLY a person makes such a choice BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY CLAIM!
Now with that said, I do have to admit that there is SOME redeeming things in Scientology. There communications course can actually get one to be more in tune with conversations, and less caught up in one's own "reactive" mind. I would also tend to believe that there is some merit to the engram theory. However, to wrap this all up into a religion that takes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with claims that NOBODY can prove is ridiculous! One could probably setup some sort of small class or work group, incorporate the basic concepts taught in their communications course, then even put the engram to use, but with SCIENCE instead of all the hocus-pocus that L. Ron Hubbard puts onto it, and you'd have a very viable "product"... and it would probably all be done within a few weeks and at the cost of only a few hundred dollars!!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Octuplet mom - what a loser!!!
Most people out there have probably heard about the unemployed, single woman who gave birth to 8 kids after getting In Vitro Fertilization.
There are numerous issues I have with this idiot.
First of all, she's barely surviving on her own minuscule income when she decides to have more children, EVEN THOUGH SHE ALREADY HAS 6 KIDS!!! On top of this, she's living with her mom!
Then she participates in the In Vitro Fertilization. As if that alone is not stupid enough, she finds a dumb-ass doctor who implants 6 embryos into her instead of the usual 2. Well, low-and-behold, 2 of the embryos split, and thus the 8 children come popping out.
Now just to show how stupid this woman is, when asked about how she feels about receiving welfare, she states:
"She doesn't regard that as welfare, but as payments available to people with needs."
Uh, hello? Isn't that basically the definition of welfare?
What a stupid moron!!!
Then there's the fact that she can't pay the exorbitant hospital bill for the prenatal care and delivery of the 8 children, which totals about $1 million!!! I have an idea! Have the dumb-ass doctor who implanted her with the 6 embryos, instead of the usual 2, to pay the hospital bill!
Here's an idea... take this stupid bitch off welfare, and if she can't get a job and properly support her 14 kids, then take them all and put them into foster care where they could perhaps go to a family who CAN support them.
It gets even better! There are rumors floating around that this ding-bat had plastic surgery sometime after having the 6 kids! Now I'm not much on putting much weight on rumors, but this rumor sure has strong evidence of being true. Just check out the WEB site:
http://www.celebitchy.com/35708/
It's VERY obvious she had both a nose and lip job. So not only does this woman take advantage of collecting welfare so she can support her kids, but she then get cosmetic surgery! So let me get this straight... she can't afford to feed her kids, but yet finds the money to put into plastic surgery? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
Sheesh!!!
It's no wonder our state, California, is broke when we have to support stupid morons like this! Don't even get me started on the money we waste by ensuring that the Spanish language is available every time you dial a service! I have another idea people. When you come into this country to become an American, LEARN THE FRIG'N LANGUAGE!!! Don't expect us to shoulder the burden for YOUR problem!!!
There are numerous issues I have with this idiot.
First of all, she's barely surviving on her own minuscule income when she decides to have more children, EVEN THOUGH SHE ALREADY HAS 6 KIDS!!! On top of this, she's living with her mom!
Then she participates in the In Vitro Fertilization. As if that alone is not stupid enough, she finds a dumb-ass doctor who implants 6 embryos into her instead of the usual 2. Well, low-and-behold, 2 of the embryos split, and thus the 8 children come popping out.
Now just to show how stupid this woman is, when asked about how she feels about receiving welfare, she states:
"She doesn't regard that as welfare, but as payments available to people with needs."
Uh, hello? Isn't that basically the definition of welfare?
What a stupid moron!!!
Then there's the fact that she can't pay the exorbitant hospital bill for the prenatal care and delivery of the 8 children, which totals about $1 million!!! I have an idea! Have the dumb-ass doctor who implanted her with the 6 embryos, instead of the usual 2, to pay the hospital bill!
Here's an idea... take this stupid bitch off welfare, and if she can't get a job and properly support her 14 kids, then take them all and put them into foster care where they could perhaps go to a family who CAN support them.
It gets even better! There are rumors floating around that this ding-bat had plastic surgery sometime after having the 6 kids! Now I'm not much on putting much weight on rumors, but this rumor sure has strong evidence of being true. Just check out the WEB site:
http://www.celebitchy.com/35708/
It's VERY obvious she had both a nose and lip job. So not only does this woman take advantage of collecting welfare so she can support her kids, but she then get cosmetic surgery! So let me get this straight... she can't afford to feed her kids, but yet finds the money to put into plastic surgery? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!
Sheesh!!!
It's no wonder our state, California, is broke when we have to support stupid morons like this! Don't even get me started on the money we waste by ensuring that the Spanish language is available every time you dial a service! I have another idea people. When you come into this country to become an American, LEARN THE FRIG'N LANGUAGE!!! Don't expect us to shoulder the burden for YOUR problem!!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The latest Bigfoot hoax... and the ultimate in stupidity!
I don't know how many people have heard of this event, but about a week ago some guys from Georgia claimed to have found the body of a bigfoot, and they were having a huge news conference in Palo Alto, California to announce their great find to the world. The one guy goes on and on to describe how he and his buddy stumbled upon it deep in the woods, and they proceeded to carry it out and place it in a freezer for later examination. He then went on to say how they were having its DNA analyzed and several scientists examine it.
Then lo' and behold, just as the thing was thawing out a couple days later with people there to examine it, it's soon discovered to be nothing more than a rubber gorilla suit frozen in a block of ice!!!
Now imagine the gall of these two jokers to go to these lengths to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, but it gets better! Not only are they guilty of being low lifes with no credibility or integrity, but they actually sold this thing to the one Bigfoot researcher for some undisclosed amount of money! So now we're talking about a criminal act. And get this... the main guy that did this is a policeman in Georgia!!! Needless to say, his captain is drawing up the papers to have the guy fired. Now if they can even find the guys! That's right, him and his cohort have gone into hiding. Wow, what a surprise, huh?
Below is a comment I posted on some other blog site about this "stunt":
As if it's not bad enough to perpetrate a hoax of this magnitude, but to actually do it in order to make money truly makes it a criminal act!
They sold the monkey suit packed in ice for some amount of money to the poor sap that paid them for it, and claimed it was the legendary bigfoot. Then on top of that they participate in a news conference where the idiots tell the huge lie of how they discovered it. They then proceed to take the money and run!
I'm was glad to hear that the idiot was being fired!
Think about it... he didn't just pull a prank that everyone can laugh at... he committed a crime by fraudulently claiming he had someone that was worth something and took money for it! So not only does the guy have NO credibility or integrity, but he's also a criminal!
Sorry dude, but you're out! And just what the heck was this guy thinking? He not only just threw his job away, but most likely his entire career as a policeman. At this point he'd be lucky to become a Walmart greeter!
I imagine he'll be spending A LOT of time in the woods now, as he certainly can't afford to be seen in public, and scrutinized for being the total moron that he is!
I only hope they find these two jokers and sue their asses off! Not so much for perpetrating a hoax, but for actually doing it in order to dupe someone and take his money! These two clowns have GOT to rank right up there with the stupidest people on the planet! I mean, Christ, imagine being a police officer and pulling off a stunt like this... a criminal one at that! Guess he can just kiss his whole career goodbye!
Then lo' and behold, just as the thing was thawing out a couple days later with people there to examine it, it's soon discovered to be nothing more than a rubber gorilla suit frozen in a block of ice!!!
Now imagine the gall of these two jokers to go to these lengths to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, but it gets better! Not only are they guilty of being low lifes with no credibility or integrity, but they actually sold this thing to the one Bigfoot researcher for some undisclosed amount of money! So now we're talking about a criminal act. And get this... the main guy that did this is a policeman in Georgia!!! Needless to say, his captain is drawing up the papers to have the guy fired. Now if they can even find the guys! That's right, him and his cohort have gone into hiding. Wow, what a surprise, huh?
Below is a comment I posted on some other blog site about this "stunt":
As if it's not bad enough to perpetrate a hoax of this magnitude, but to actually do it in order to make money truly makes it a criminal act!
They sold the monkey suit packed in ice for some amount of money to the poor sap that paid them for it, and claimed it was the legendary bigfoot. Then on top of that they participate in a news conference where the idiots tell the huge lie of how they discovered it. They then proceed to take the money and run!
I'm was glad to hear that the idiot was being fired!
Think about it... he didn't just pull a prank that everyone can laugh at... he committed a crime by fraudulently claiming he had someone that was worth something and took money for it! So not only does the guy have NO credibility or integrity, but he's also a criminal!
Sorry dude, but you're out! And just what the heck was this guy thinking? He not only just threw his job away, but most likely his entire career as a policeman. At this point he'd be lucky to become a Walmart greeter!
I imagine he'll be spending A LOT of time in the woods now, as he certainly can't afford to be seen in public, and scrutinized for being the total moron that he is!
I only hope they find these two jokers and sue their asses off! Not so much for perpetrating a hoax, but for actually doing it in order to dupe someone and take his money! These two clowns have GOT to rank right up there with the stupidest people on the planet! I mean, Christ, imagine being a police officer and pulling off a stunt like this... a criminal one at that! Guess he can just kiss his whole career goodbye!
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Chopper ride
Nice wooded area heading out of Booneville towards the coast.