tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18162918411072286402023-11-16T05:22:33.681-08:00Natural InquiryYAY FOR SCIENCE & FREETHOUGHT!!!!!John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-4582247349381986722009-03-24T13:44:00.000-07:002009-03-24T14:10:07.437-07:00Journal 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.msnucleus.org/watersheds/stivers/images/stiver21.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 265px;" src="http://www.msnucleus.org/watersheds/stivers/images/stiver21.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />02/09/09 (this was from hella long ago!)<div><br /></div><div>At the same spot in the park, I spotted a black phoebe, particularaly by the way it wags it's tail. There were a few more around, but the little guy who I was watching was able to nab a couple of insects which was cute (except for the insects of course, such is the war of nature). I'm also going to grab a couple of these interesting pine cones that are always littering the ground near these two trees in thie one spot near the park. They tower over all the other willow trees and their some kind of pine (duh) but I'm not sure what species yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's a much colder day due to the wind chill and I wasn't able to get out for a while because of it. Ah oh, well I'll come back out again as soon as I figure out what kinda pine trees those are.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-87944195276414427912009-03-18T11:26:00.000-07:002009-03-18T11:47:00.821-07:00"The sky isn't blue"-says a creationistI'm on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Youtube</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">alot</span> and I knew before hand that there are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">alot</span> of crazy people out there. I'm also quite aware that over half the people in my country currently deny evolutionary theory, which to a person currently studying evolutionary biology is like denying the sky is blue.<br /><br />So when I encountered a new video denying evolutionary theory, I posted a comment that went something like "To deny evolution is deny a direct <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">observation</span>. It's like denying the sky is blue while refusing to look up." About an hour later, someone posted a reply and I am here posting it in it's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">entirety</span><br /><br />"<strong><em>the sky <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">isnt</span> blue</em></strong> you silly person you, its clear and how is evolution a direct observation when have you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">obsevred</span> a monkey give birth to a human or an animal evolve . evolution is not a true science! science are things you can test,observe its called <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">empirical</span> science which is true science , you believe animals did something millions of years ago that they never do now, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">that's</span> change into another kind of animal then you have more faith than i do. "<br /><br />Yes you read that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">correctly</span> "the sky isn't blue". *blink*<br /><br />Now I could <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">have</span> linked the guy to this page, <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html">http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html</a>, that shows direct evidence of s<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">peciation </span>. I even could have linked him to the wiki page that says ". During <a title="Daylight" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight">daylight</a>, the sky of <a title="Earth" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth">Earth</a> has the appearance of a deep <a title="Blue" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue">blue</a> surface because of the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Air" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air">air</a>'s <a title="Scattering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scattering">scattering</a> of <a title="Sunlight" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight">sunlight</a>."<br /><br />However I'm still numbed by the stupidity rays that are currently being blasted through my computer screen due to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">extremely</span> high radiation level that this comment gives how. If anyone has any suggestions, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">pleeze</span> let me know.John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-32474305990015994722009-03-13T10:58:00.001-07:002009-03-13T11:00:27.465-07:0050 Reasons I Reject Evolution<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; "><div>(For the lawls! I found this online and my day has been made. LOLOLOLOL)</div><div><br /></div>50 Reasons I Reject Evolution<br /><br />1.) Because I dont like the idea that we came from apes despite that humans are categorically defined and classified as apes.<br /><br />2.) Because Im too **** and/or lazy to open a **** book or turn on the Discovery Science Channel.<br /><br />3.) Because if I cant immediately understand how something works, then it must be bullshit.<br /><br />4.) Because I dont care that literally 99.9% of all biologists accept evolution as the unifying theory of biology.<br /><br />5.) Because I prefer the idea that a (insert god of choice) went ALLA-KADABRA-ZAM MOTHAH-FUCKAHS!!!<br /><br />6.) Because I cant get it through my thick logic-proof skull that evolution refers ONLY to the process of speciation, not to abiogenesis, or planet formation, or big bang cosmology, or whether God exists, or where they buried Jimmy Hoffa, or why the sky is blue, or how many licks it takes to get to the center of a **** Tootsie Pop.<br /><br />7.) Because the fossil record doesnt comprise the remains of every single living thing that ever existed on this 4.5 billion year old planet, even though fossilization is a rare process that only occurs under very specific circumstances.<br /><br />8.) Because science has yet to produce any transitional species except for the magnitudinous numbers of them found in the fossil record which dont count because I uh, OOH LOOK! A SHINY OBJECT!!! *runs away*<br /><br />9.) Because I know nothing about Darwin except that he had a funny beard.<br /><br />10.) Because the theory of evolution (which, according to scientists, perfectly explains the richness and diversity of life on Earth) contradicts biblical literalism ya know, flat Earth with a firmament that keeps out the water, talking snakes, people rising from the dead, bats are birds, flamey talking bushes, virgin births, food appearing out of nowhere, massive bodies of water turning into blood etc etc.<br /><br />11.) Because I think the word theory actually means: random stabs in the dark when it really means: "an explanation of certain phenomena that is well-supported by a large body of facts and often unifies similarly well-supported hypotheses" i.e. atomic theory, gravitational theory, germ theory, cell theory, some-people-are-dumb-motherfuckers-theory, etc.<br /><br />12.) Because the fact that science is self-correcting annoys me. Most of my other beliefs are rigidly fixed and uncorrectable.<br /><br />13.) Because I am under the severely mistaken impression that evolution implies someone in my very recent ancestry was a chimp.<br /><br />14.) Because everything appears designed to my mind which was expertly tuned by nature to perceive design, probably as a survival mechanism.<br /><br />15.) Because some secretly fabulous closet-dwelling televangelist (who unironically preaches hate towards gays) told me that evolution is Satans way of leading me away from God.<br /><br />16.) Because that same guy (who was also caught snorting blow off a male hookers shiny naked ass) told me that God planted those fossils to test my faith.<br /><br />17.) Because Im 100% correct about everything 100% of the time and there is 0% chance that some snooty Oxford educated scientist with numerous honorary doctorates could possibly know something that I dont.<br /><br />18.) Because I dont know that fossils are found in sedimentary strata corresponding to their age as one would expect if evolution were true.<br /><br />19.) Because I dont understand why, if we share common ancestry with chimps, there are still chimps. And when someone with more than three brain cells in their head inevitably replies: for the same reason Americans share common ancestry with Brits but there are still Brits, I cant follow the logic. Its just too big a leap. Who am I, Evil Knievel?<br /><br />20.) Because my mom dropped me on my head when I was a baby.<br /><br />21.) Multiple times.<br /><br />22.) On purpose.<br /><br />23.) Because the idea that life evolved naturally over billions of years is infinitely less believable than the idea that an 800 year old man crammed two of every species into a giant wooden boat when the entire planet flooded, an event for which there is absolutely no geological evidence whatsoever and also makes no **** sense at all.<br /><br />24.) Because Jesus totally rode around on a **** t-rex. Hes just that badassed. And also, did you know that t-rexes were vegetarians? Ken Ham says so and I believe it.<br /><br />25.) Because I dont realize that saying microevolution is possible but macroevolution isnt is as **** as saying I can pick my nose for one second but I cannot pick it for 10 seconds.<br /><br />26.) Because the education system failed me miserably.<br /><br />27.) and then took a big wet dump on my face.<br /><br />28.) Because I think that knowing how nature works magically obliterates all of its beauty.<br /><br />29.) Because I didnt know that evolution has been tested and observed in laboratories.<br /><br />30.) Because when confronted with that, I refuse to believe it. Its obviously a scientific conspiracy aimed at turning everyone on the planet into atheists... even though evolution says nothing about god's nature nor whether he, she, it, or they exist.<br /><br />31.) Because Im too **** to realize that Social Darwinism has nothing to do with evolution and is actually a pseudo-scientific bastardization that real science largely rejects.<br /><br />32.) Because the planet and all the life on it was designed for humans kinda like how the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY was designed specifically for the dust-bunnies that may accumulate on the floors.<br /><br />33.) Because I dont realize that if we actually found croco-ducks in the fossil record, it would falsify evolution.<br /><br />34.) Because plenty of respectable people like Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee (who are not scientists) dont accept evolution, and that somehow validates my opinion.<br /><br />35.) Because my mother didnt know not to drink while she was pregnant. She also didnt know not to repeatedly throw herself down a flight of stairs in an attempt to undo the accident of screwing someone who voted for Bush both times.<br /><br />36.) Because I dont know that irreducible complexity has been debunked a frazillion times by a frazillion different people and is no more credible an argument than NEEN-er NEEN-er NEEN-er, Im right and youre wrong.<br /><br />37.) Because I have never seen a duck evolve into a cat over night, despite the fact that such a thing would be contrary to all known scientific disciplines.<br /><br />38.) Because I have no imagination, learning is too much effort, I dont like proven facts, change scares me, and I think deoxyribonucleic acid is something Im supposed to clean my bathroom floors with.<br /><br />39.) Because evolution means that I absolutely MUST reject everything else I know, abandon all my beliefs, and start aping around my house like a **** monkey. OOOh-ooohh-ooohohh -OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!<br /><br />40.) Because I havent put my cave on the market and moved into the 21st century yet. Im waiting for the cave market to rebound from the recent financial meltdown.<br /><br />41.) Because I dont know what an atavism is and if you told me, I still wouldn't believe it. Too weird.<br /><br />42.) Because I dont know that evolution explains methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and also provides the answer in preventing it from turning into a superbug and killing massive numbers of people.<br /><br />43.) Because I dont know that evolution is routinely used in medicine to diagnose and treat certain illnesses such as genetic ailments, bacterial infections, and viral infections.<br /><br />44.) Because I believe there is a strong comparison between designed inanimate objects such as buildings, paintings, and watches (which we know were pieced together from identifiable components by human beings) and living organisms (which reproduce with genetic variation under the effects of environmental attrition).<br /><br />45.) Because I see no significant similarities between humans and apes. *scratches my ass-crack then smells my fingers*<br /><br />46.) Because I think Im too special to have been crafted by any natural process and the entire planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe were created with me especially in mind.<br /><br />47.) Because I unquestioningly swallow the ignorant anti-science bullshit spewed directly from the fraudulent **** asses of people like Ken Ham, Ted Haggard, Fred Phelps, and Kent Hovind.<br /><br />48.) Because Im a freethinker and freethinking really means ignoring anything that contradicts what I already believe.<br /><br />49.) Because I dont know what confirmation bias is.<br /><br />50.) Because despite the fact that in all my years of life, I have never seen any magic, I still believe magic is the answer to anything I dont immediately comprehend.<br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case. Quod erat demonstrandum, I **** win. Take that you EVILutionists!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">(on a serious note, to deny evolution is to deny a direct observation, it's like denying the sky is blue while refusing to look up)</span></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-69472931484380577662009-03-06T22:41:00.000-08:002009-03-06T22:45:08.415-08:00Personal UpdateWow, I haven't blogged in about a month! I've been so busy reading and hanging out with friends etc, that I haven't spent as much time on the Internets as usual. <div><br /></div><div>Rest assured I'm back! I'll put up some reviews of the books I've been reading and blab more about science etc. Oh and I finally was able to indentify these two trees near my house by their bark! HA! Take that trees! </div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-73265773414818362162009-02-12T22:52:00.000-08:002009-02-12T23:04:44.470-08:00Happy Darwin Day!Happy 200th Birthday Charles Darwin! (and of course Abe Lincoln) <div><br /></div><div>I dressed as Darwin (white beard and all<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; ">)and my friends and I advertised our club (Secular Student Allaince) in the main quad my college. it went really well, I got alot of laughes and I had only one creationist the whole time!</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-72105473168862431952009-02-11T00:41:00.000-08:002009-02-11T01:22:02.790-08:00The Hudson landing was NOT a miracleAnd the co-pilot agrees with me! <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/10/lkl.hudson.crew/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/10/lkl.hudson.crew/index.html</a><div><br /></div><div>When I heard about the amazing Hudson river landing, I immediately thought to myself, Thank goodness no one was hurt! That pilots must of known what they were doing! And I thought the flight crew and the pilot would get the credit for this amazing achievement. But nooooooooo</div><div><br /></div><div>Bill O'Reilly is a perfect example. He declared it to be a "miracle", that there was no way that these amazing circumstances could have happened by accident and that secular people would give coincidence the credit for the aversion of disaster again.</div><div><br /></div><div>No it WASN'T a miracle nor was it "just chance". The laws of nature weren't suspended, no invisible hand reached down from the sky and helped the plane come to stop, prayer and other superstitious behavior had NOTHING to do with it. Disaster was averted due to the exact opposite. The flight crew relied on their knowledge of both the aircraft and their training. They kept calm in the face of great danger and uncertainty and were able to keep 150 people from catastrophe by relying on reason and experience. Imagine if they had hoped for a miracle. What if the pilot had thrown his hands up in the air and said "Jezuz'll land da plane!" </div><div><br /></div><div>The lives were saved due to the instinct and expertise of the pilot and the crew. This was a a demonstration of the detrimination and tough mindedness of the human spirit, not the imaginary paranoid fantasy that "made" or let birds fly into the planes engines and then reached down to help the plane out because the people had prayed to the right god. This was a human acheivement. Period.</div><div><br /></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-76596632424547068422009-02-10T15:29:00.000-08:002009-02-12T22:50:30.720-08:00Journal #1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.maxwaugh.com/images/skagit06/jay1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 322px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.maxwaugh.com/images/skagit06/jay1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Okays, I'm an amateur birder/hiker and I keep a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">little</span> log of what I see and think about on hikes and I decided to start posting some of it here!<div><br /></div><div>At the park near my house, I saw & was able to identify a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Steller's</span> Jay! I had been hearing a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">particularly</span> loud bird for the whole of the time I was out and luckily the bird finally <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">managed</span> to fly low enough for me to see it. It was much bigger than than the other songbirds in the area and it took me a few <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">minutes</span> to flip through the little field book I carry with me and find him(my thanks to the bird who stood reasonable still this whole time!). </div><div><br /></div><div>About the same time I identified him (it was his beak size and shape plus the feathers on his head that gave him away), he flew to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">the</span> branch that was right above my head and then chased another <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Stellers</span> Jay away!</div><div><br /></div><div>My binoculars aren't that great so smaller birds are harder to look at but I'm pretty sure that there was a finch of some kind near me too. However all the birds took shelter when it started raining again. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">wuz</span> able to find a big tree near the creeks edge and jot down some notes on what I had seen. I could stayed there longer and listened to the rain <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">splash</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">against</span> the creek but I hadn't dressed warmly enough! As I was out, I couldn't help thinking of all the other animals that don't have a home to run to and they have to tough it out in the storm & it started pouring by the time I got inside. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's a curious feeling, knowing that even though nature seems harmonious and at peace with itself, the closer you look, the more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">apparent</span> the obvious struggle and strife becomes. Nature is constantly at war with itself, never resting, never letting up, never displaying anything but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">cold </span>blind indifference. At the same time though, it's so curious why I should get such a feeling of peace whenever I hike. I find it's like meditating in a battlefield, rather perverse indeed. Weird, oh well maybe the my fellow tree huggers who read this will get it! ;)<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-89313661657574470872009-02-04T14:04:00.000-08:002009-02-04T14:39:06.406-08:00A snake as long as a school bus?! WTF?!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaG_fEBfX1wFMrUAjl2nOXO9UZB02MBZ67RmCxjkVKO6Tl9DviJhc7cbrvHZr8fB5XJ2YVxphx8ildmZ7VWHQz91L3UMmOMoh58bCCDblLnySy9s0wNBgPkc29kIyZZVQxu81BYRfbXY/s1600-h/big+snake.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaG_fEBfX1wFMrUAjl2nOXO9UZB02MBZ67RmCxjkVKO6Tl9DviJhc7cbrvHZr8fB5XJ2YVxphx8ildmZ7VWHQz91L3UMmOMoh58bCCDblLnySy9s0wNBgPkc29kIyZZVQxu81BYRfbXY/s400/big+snake.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299066896382889762" /></a><br />Wow! When I was younger, I used to go to pet stores and the people who worked there used to drape milk snakes and king snakes around my shoulders. I would love it (my mom and dad never liked doing it with me though......). My favorite part in the first Indiana Jones movie was when Indy had that boa in his lap when he was in the airplane, so when I saw this article, I immediately felt the little kid inside me go <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">YAY</span>! However, I doubt that I would appreciate a 2,500 lb snake dropped on me (or in my lap for that matter.)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>That's right, this ancient (now extinct) snake was HUGE! Its been <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">apporiately</span> dubbed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Titanoboa</span> and it was dug up in Columbia.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204112217.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204112217.htm</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The discovery sheds light on the development of the Amazon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">rainforest</span> and the "comeback" of the reptiles after the dinosaurs died out, along <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">with</span> simply being an amazing find on its own. I mean come on, imagine tripping over this skeleton in your backyard!. This snake is bigger than the fake snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in that stupid Anaconda movie! Hollywood, religion and imagination have nothing on the unbelievable and jaw dropping <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">brilliance</span> of reality. </div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-70468198584202625172009-02-03T23:50:00.000-08:002009-03-06T23:04:16.243-08:00Book Review: Short and Sweet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.skeptic.com/Merchant2/graphics/books/b111HB_lg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 449px;" src="http://www.skeptic.com/Merchant2/graphics/books/b111HB_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>First of all, Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design is a great book, short and sweet. It's not so much a defense of evolution, but all out assault on the junk science of intelligent design.<div><br /></div><div>Intelligent Design is merely creationism (GAWD DID IT) relabeled. It makes no predictions, isn't being actively researched, isn't falsifiable, and is grounded completely wrong headed assertions about Darwinian theory. For more READ THE BOOK</div><div><br /></div><div>(takes a deep breath) However, Shermer includes several chapters on how science and God occupy different realms and don't effect each other. The two fields should be in harmony, they aren't in opposition. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't accept this, for myself anyway. I don't want to believe anything, I want to know. If I have to rely on "faith" or personal feeling for anything, that means I don't have enough reason or physical evidence to lean on so in that case it's better say that I don't know than attempt to fool myself into believing that I do.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I won't hide the fact that I also get a great deal of annoyance whenever I pass by a church or even the religion section a book store. Pointless speculation with no grounding in reality has no place in the 21st century. A single pair of hands at work beats a billion clasped in prayer. People can believe whatever they want to believe, as long as it doesn't scare the horses or become a problem for humankin but, I would rather have people take comfort in the natural world than on the fantasies that religion commands them to love. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh well, one of my best friends is Christian and I'm sure he'll have something to say about this. lol</div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-55499745553136867432009-01-29T15:53:00.000-08:002009-01-30T03:01:43.097-08:00Looooooooooooooooong reading list (and a personal update)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_b3UuLPmTX2xtFPUe52tqgXe9cOGUcBKYaqMfP1oUHhzGMwCtrqSj3sewQWKGCLUpeLTYpBH-YkFkPxQkmYCfLLorhb3t8bJPw0jvD7ris0PUxEOoXl45_vt1X6g4E6mSTKGhUiGpek/s1600-h/funny-pictures-cat-thinks-statue-is-not-so-smart.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_b3UuLPmTX2xtFPUe52tqgXe9cOGUcBKYaqMfP1oUHhzGMwCtrqSj3sewQWKGCLUpeLTYpBH-YkFkPxQkmYCfLLorhb3t8bJPw0jvD7ris0PUxEOoXl45_vt1X6g4E6mSTKGhUiGpek/s200/funny-pictures-cat-thinks-statue-is-not-so-smart.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297040267258160706" /></a><br />Okays, I'm taking a super easy load this semester and I'm gonna have a ton of free time for the next few months. In the fall I'm going to be taking math & SCIENCE classes again, but I can't wait till then so...................I'm going to devote the time to the many books that I haven't finshed or even started yet. Specifically the SCIENCE books, and even more specifically, the biology books (Imma geek!). Seriously, I've thrown most of my $ at buying pop science books and old textbooks and I'm going to use the next few months to get a shit load of reading done. <div><br /></div><div>The list includes:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Origin of Species</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Selfish Gene</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Endless Forms Most Beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Evolution: What the Fossil Record Says and Why it matters</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Extended Phenotype</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Beak of the Finch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Why Darwin Matters</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Dragons of Eden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Ancestor's Tale</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Blind Watchmaker</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ever Since Darwin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Darwin's Dangerous Idea</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Your Inner Fish</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">What Evolution Is<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">I've almost finished some of them, haven't even opened others. I'm gonna try and post reviews of the books when I get down with them. (First one will be on </span>Why Darwin Matters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">, it's the shortest!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>I doubt I'll be able to finish the whole list but the more I get out of the way, the more prepared I'll be for my bio courses in the summer & fall. I feel kinda lazy because I'm just reading popular science books, but I feel these books are good place to start. I can't wait to take real science classes again in the fall. SCIENCE, I miss you so! (I apologize if your geek detector just went haywire) I have soooooooooooo much to learn.....lets start with the basics! If you guys want to suggest any books, feel free to. </div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-28207916027692451642009-01-21T01:58:00.000-08:002009-01-21T02:05:17.317-08:00Adaptation>Mutation in Human evolution<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090116073211.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090116073211.htm</a><div><br /></div><div>CLICK THE LINK AND PREPARE FOR THE AWESOME!</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah yeah yeah, I know only evo bio majors and such will get a kick out of this HOWEVER, this article deals with our own evolution. I'm espcially excited because adaptation is what I'm focusing on right now. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; ">"We are on a crest of a wave showing that adaptation is a lot more prevalent than we thought"</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-63089712295914631552009-01-14T02:19:00.000-08:002009-01-14T02:43:05.764-08:00"...no evidence for evolution" *facepalm<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr5EXoAGWzTWV3GMBtf8bmss4sHOq97CV-l443hWSHAJYGuwOZCDi2k5zehHFIdC97XHy5kQ3xpANIiuZu7cp9XdUj1JtZD94xP7-QVVxPNrQ6Xtaohz1qKAX8aEMc1Rf79ZqYXBYNRk/s1600-h/facepalm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr5EXoAGWzTWV3GMBtf8bmss4sHOq97CV-l443hWSHAJYGuwOZCDi2k5zehHFIdC97XHy5kQ3xpANIiuZu7cp9XdUj1JtZD94xP7-QVVxPNrQ6Xtaohz1qKAX8aEMc1Rf79ZqYXBYNRk/s320/facepalm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291093703003857778" /></a><br /><div>Now I wish I could laugh at the breath taking stupidity of some of the people out there but I guess because of my major....................I just have to facepalm*</div><div><br /></div><div>I was told by a creationist that there was "no evidence for evolution" and to provide evidence for it since I was the one making the claim that evolution was, you know, A FACT.</div><div><br /></div><div>I posted a rather annoyed response, basically asking him WHICH part of evolution did he need help with? Natural Selection? Genetic Drift? Gene Flow? Mutations? All of these don't count? I mean seriously! Come on! </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh well, I have to make this funny somehow................(thinks really hard)........I'll get back to you!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-87613013159911893452009-01-13T00:58:00.000-08:002009-01-13T02:03:09.741-08:00YAY Dan Dennett!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dhyphenhyphen7a-ExQ1uBAL2eCHGdp4Gr-8KVaTnbHWsVkIrrjxkylhV4LVZiv-fVGiLWJyrOYKtipdXgmH1cofiM3keURbQfVPR2qSOGG0yba5x-oNr685cXFxlw-h_1mDeZDueEmjhLNdlvVn8/s1600-h/Daniel_Dennett_in_Venice_2006.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dhyphenhyphen7a-ExQ1uBAL2eCHGdp4Gr-8KVaTnbHWsVkIrrjxkylhV4LVZiv-fVGiLWJyrOYKtipdXgmH1cofiM3keURbQfVPR2qSOGG0yba5x-oNr685cXFxlw-h_1mDeZDueEmjhLNdlvVn8/s320/Daniel_Dennett_in_Venice_2006.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290700751566612834" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Okays</span></span></span></st1:state></st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, My friends and I went on a mini road trip down to Stanford to see Daniel Dennett give one of the Presidential Lectures. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Short Version: It was AWESOME</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Slightly Longer Version: First of all he's a huge guy! Like around 6 1/2 feet or something! And I'm a huge dork so when I went up to him to get my copy of</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Darwin's Dangerous Idea</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">signed, I stuttered and tripped all over myself when he was signing book. However I did say to him that it was people like him and Dawkins who got me into science in the first place. (I was an atheist before I read either of them)I never noticed how poetic science and nature are, well at least until I stumbled across these guys in my local Barnes and Noble. Now I can’t get enough of them, hence the major.<br /><br />But his lecture blew me away! Titled "The evolution of why as an answer to free will" it was about how free will can co exist with a completely secular outlook. </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I hate having to reduce it but think of it like this: The saying “free as a bird” isn’t as meaningful as “free as a human”. We’re the only creatures that are able to apply cognitive reasons to our actions. Birds and dogs etc are ruled by instinct more so than we are. </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The power we have to reflect, to question, to invent, to imagine, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">is</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> freedom, at least according to Dr. Dennett. Did we come about by the mere physical laws of the universe? Yes. Did any intervening higher power (Skyhook? No. Crane? Yes) help us out? No. However, we our no longer as bound by instinct and nature as we used to be strictly because of the evolution that brought us about! I was smiling the whole time….</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(Wow, I just bastardized a great lecture. BUY HIS BOOK)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Anyways, for a better understanding of his ideas on this subject check out his book </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Freedom Evolves</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For his wonderful book celebrating and discussing the philosophical implications of the theory of evolution; check </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Darwin’s Dangerous Idea</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. And for his thoughts on religion check out </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Breaking the Spell</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After the lecture ended, one of my bolder friends rushed up to him to get a group photo. I’ll post as soon as we brighten up the image a bit, it’s kinda dark. NO IT’S NOT PHOTOSHOPPED lol.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was so happy to see him! Read his books! Go! Do it!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-69767537657487669022009-01-01T22:47:00.001-08:002009-01-01T22:47:01.591-08:00DMCA abuse by the Immoral<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/CqXMRzkq37g' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/CqXMRzkq37g'/></object></p><p>YAY! Check out my blog about it below!</p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-39076038976144613342009-01-01T22:38:00.001-08:002009-01-01T23:04:12.764-08:00Words cannot express the awesome<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/CqXMRzkq37g"><embed height="'350'" width="'425'" type="'application/x-shockwave-flash'" src="'http://youtube.com/v/CqXMRzkq37g'/"></embed></object></p><p>The titans of Youtube's scientific and freethinking establishment have banded together and created an Alliance against censorship and DMCA abuse. These guys have always been my heroes, but this...............is simply beyond words.<br /><br />Seeing people so passionate about free inquiry and intellectual disscussion is simply wonderful.<br /><br />Pardon me while I pimp for their accounts:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/user/Thunderf00t<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/DonExodus2<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/cdk007<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/AronRa<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/potholer54<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/AndromedasWake<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtantDodo<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/ThetaOmega<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/djarm67<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/dprjones<br />http://www.youtube.com/user/DMCAabuse<br /><br />Hopefully this will send a message to any and all sulking creationist trolls who would rather suppress knowledge and drag not only themselves but others into a intellectual abyss that there's a group who will is more than willing to put up a fight about it. XD!</p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-80867801294612586122008-12-30T01:09:00.000-08:002008-12-30T02:16:45.910-08:00Majoring in evolutionary biology is a "waste of time". WTF!?!?!?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHTPDC6yXtIljp-UfyeO4AoO7i2VQidDUDBDKhrtbdmrfdB_auGdDltfc99uy3YkWwP6TndiQHBtuklU4JeNg6tgLjUn6TUyxNcrJGC4KMg0kMBAvzcRfyv4x3cJnFUz2lgFrmQlPmhY/s1600-h/Archaeopteryx.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285521785842391490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHTPDC6yXtIljp-UfyeO4AoO7i2VQidDUDBDKhrtbdmrfdB_auGdDltfc99uy3YkWwP6TndiQHBtuklU4JeNg6tgLjUn6TUyxNcrJGC4KMg0kMBAvzcRfyv4x3cJnFUz2lgFrmQlPmhY/s320/Archaeopteryx.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>A lesser known creationist on the Youtube's posted a vid saying that he was going to make a Q&A vid. Wondering what he might say I put, "Is me majoring in evolutionary biology a waste of time?" I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I would get, but I think I got my hope's up. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>He read my question near the end and then very nonchalantly "yes I think so" and moved on to the next one</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>He didn't thump his fist and get all fundie on me. He didn't squirm in his chair say "Well you be careful because your professors might indoctrinate you with Neo Darwinist thinking.... " He just said eh...yeah and casually tossed ALL the research and potential discovery in one of the most prominent fields of biology today in the trash.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Quick Lesson on History: When Darwin first published the Origin of Species, he pointed to the fossil record for evidence. The fossil record was weak but just a year after Darwin published his most famous book, one of the most well known transitional fossils was discovered; Archaeopteryx. However, Darwin was very up front up about the problems with his theory (including about the fossil record which was actually strong enough to convince even the causal naturalist of the power of Darwin's idea) and that our knowledge on how traits were passed down through generation and the laws of variations was very limited. It wouldn't be until the early 20th century that the field of genetics took off and paleontologists were pushed in the background. As Richard Dawkins puts it, </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><em>"If every fossil were magicked away, the comparative study of modern organisms, of how their patterns of resemblances, especially of their genetic sequences, are distributed among species, and of how species are distributed among continents and islands, would still demonstrate, beyond all sane doubt, that our history is evolutionary, and that all living creatures are cousins. Fossils are a bonus. A welcome bonus, to be sure, but not an essential one. It is worth remembering this when creationists go on (as they tediously do) about "gaps" in the fossil record. The fossil record could be one big gap, and the evidence for evolution would still be overwhelmingly strong. At the same time, if we had only fossils and no other evidence, the fact of evolution would again be overwhelmingly supported. As things stand, we are blessed with both."- "The Ancestor's Tale"</em></div><br /><br /><div><em></em></div><br /><br /><div>Anyway, it's an understatement that the evidence for evolution is overwhelming. It's old hat to quote Theodosius Dobzhansky ("Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution" ). And it's also a waste of time to try and educate creationists on the knowledge that they've gone out of their way to ignore (seriously I don't know how they can use the SAME arguments over and over AGAIN.) These people couldn't care less about science. If I had asked if majoring in biology a waste of time, he would probably have said that he had no comment or something. If I had said that I'm majoring in cosmology (which completely refutes ANY scientific standing for a literal interpretation of the Bible also), he wouldn't have cared. It's just that I happened to mention evolution.....</div><div> </div><div>One of the reason's why I'm a science major is because I'm tired of this. I'm sick and tired of letting creationists get away with being willfully ignorant of science and pushing that ignorance onto other people. There's no way to say this grace fully: I hate it and I want to educate myself to the point where I should be able to convince anyone no matter how fundamental that evolutionary biology is ANYTHING BUT A WASTE OF TIME.</div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-41231204475603226252008-12-25T01:38:00.000-08:002008-12-25T02:34:40.657-08:00WOW!<a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Family/public_schools_are_evil.htm">http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Family/public_schools_are_evil.htm</a><br /><br />All I did was type evolution into Google and then as a joke I typed in "evil" and I get the above website.<br /><br />OMG, We share the country with these people? These people are actually alive in the 21st century? I'm kinda rattled by this stuff but right now all I can do is at least try to have some fun with it<br />From the above website:<br /><br />"The Bible teaches that humanity is sinful, prone to evil and self-destruction. History itself proves this. Look at all the hundreds of millions of people who have been killed over the centuries in bloody war" <em>yeah I wonder how many of those wars have been fought for purely religious reasons...........</em><br /><em></em><br />"The teaching of evolution is evil, it is a deliberate attempt to shake the faith of young people in a Living and Holy God. Teaching young people that they are animals (mammals) is evil. The Bible teaches that we are not animals, we are human beings (1st Corinthians 15:39). Deliberately educating young people without including God is evil. This is what is so wrong with the public school system...it's what they don't teach."<em> uhhhhhhhhhhhhh so accepting the mere facts of nature is evil? I guess the germ theory of disease is evil too because it's really God punishing us for our sins, either that or it's the Devil and his witches hiding under your bed, waiting to get you sick right?</em><br /><em></em><br />"Children are robbed of faith in God in public schools. Instead, children are taught that they evolved from "stardust" which somehow formed into a planet, and then life just happened." <em>yeah and the poor kids aren being also taught that gravity is a FACT TOO. THIS HAS NEVER BE PROVEN, IT'S JUST A THEORY! BUT IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT GODLESS SCIENTISTS ARE CENSORING <strong>THE HOLD THEORY</strong>, that merely advocates that life is simply too complex to held down by materialistic gravity alone and wishes to say that an "intelligent holder" is keeping us from floating into space!! (and for the record "evolved from stardust" (complete bastardization of cosmology and biology btw) is closer to what the Bible actually does say, you know the part where man was created directly from dirt......)</em><br /><em></em><br />"Public schools will show a Harry Potter movie, but never anything about Jesus. How wicked! How evil!" <em>errrr, I actually read the Bible in my public school, we spent alot of time on it............oh yeah BURN HARRY POTTER, HE"S WORKIN FOR THE DEVIL, he may be fictional now, but you just wait, one day when GAWD judges all the heathens, he'll force J.K. Rowling to admit that she wrote Harry Potter to makes kids lose their faith and tolerate each other........and to make kids GAY!</em><br /><em></em><br />One could go on and on about how incredibly stupid whoever wrote this site is but I think I'll finish up with<br />"Every child should be taught the Ten Commandments. Every child should be taught faith in God............"<br />and then a little later...............<br />"The best education is SELF EDUCATION. Do your own homework and THINK FOR YOURSELF! "<br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><em>LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</em></span><br /><br /><em></em>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-82631565951597242382008-12-17T04:31:00.000-08:002008-12-17T04:39:19.020-08:00Talk orgins is down.........never fear!Probably one of best resources on the Interwebs for qulaity info about the theory of evolution is having some technically difficulties at the moment.<br /><br />However, I dug up some websites that are also very helpful<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://evolution.berkeley.edu/">http://evolution.berkeley.edu/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/">http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.biologycorner.com/quests/evolquest/index.html">http://www.biologycorner.com/quests/evolquest/index.html</a><br /><br />They aren't much but they should be enough till talk origins comes back!John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-80849207534221789362008-12-15T13:09:00.001-08:002008-12-15T13:09:04.445-08:00Dennis vanEngelsdorp: Where have the bees gone?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/3GXlvP4kLHg' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/3GXlvP4kLHg'/></object></p><p>Finally TED comes through for me! Usually the vids are interesting but a little out there but this one really hit home for me!</p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-10684275701091653962008-12-12T17:00:00.000-08:002008-12-12T17:16:29.581-08:00A odd twist on the wheel of fortune!Okays, so if you know me then you that I ride me little bike everywhere (aka chick magnet). But today, I walk out in the backyard where I keep it to find that it has been thrown against the back fence. The kick stand was broken off, the handle bars were bent, the chain was dislocated, and in it was generally beaten up.<br /><br />I call my dad to inquire as to why this happened, and he tells me that he did it because I forgot to take out the trash again. He then tells me he has to go. I'm standing there completely shocked and sad that this has happened. I mean, I've been having a really lousy week (been sick, problems with my bank, unable to pick up some meds I need to function) and now this happens! The worst part is part is I'm thinking to myself that I'll have to ask my dad to fix my bike because he's been telling me all my life that I'm "mechanically inept" and that I suck at fixing anything. I'm really upset for a while now, when suddenly it occurs to me, wait a minute, why can't I fix my own bike? Why can't I figure it out? WHY!? So, I diagnose all the problems my bike has (hopefully anyway lol) and I log online to see what I can. It turns out that ALL of THEM are within my capabilities of repair. I find the right tools, I'm keep a cool head, I remain focused, and I stick to it and within no time, I'm ready to go! THANK YOU SCIENCE!<br /><br />I know a large part in this story is my change in attitude towards myself and my outlook. The more and more science I read, the more I want to learn, the more I want to be able to figure things out. Now six months or a year ago, it would probably be alot different. I probably would gotten really upset, and I would have cried and moped for a while. But I'm better than that now. If I can fix my bike (yeah yeah yeah those are simple problems but maybe I can fix now the even harder ones!!) who knows what I can do?! Honestly I haven't felt this optimistic in a very long time. YAY FOR SCIENCE AND FREE INQUIRY!John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-51188983996203375432008-12-10T04:58:00.001-08:002008-12-10T04:58:03.256-08:00Darwin's Rottweiler ;)<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/6YzS32RfHMY' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/6YzS32RfHMY'/></object></p><p>I was an atheist before I read Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion", but Dawkins was the one who first got me interested in science. His love of scientific inquiry and his desire to understand and view the world as it really is rubbed off on me, particularly his passion for biology, the science of life. It's because of great men like Dawkins and Carl Sagan and Charles Darwin that I'm dedicating my life to science, who showed me that science can be inspiring and that I'm very lucky to have been born in this time, a time where knowledge and scientific achievement are taking off as never before. And the more we know, the more awesome reality becomes. Science is indeed the poetry of reality. :) </p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-16969897779671834082008-12-09T01:32:00.000-08:002008-12-09T02:00:38.317-08:00Stepping down for a semesterOkays, so I've talked with my friends and we've decided that I should step down from my VP position in the Secular Student Alliance for the next semester. I've got some personal junk that's getting in the way of me doing my best to help move the clubs agenda along and until I get it under control, I'll be taking a less prominent roll in the club.<br /><br />I'm kinda sad about this, but I know it's for the best.John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-59364166487741146212008-12-05T12:32:00.000-08:002008-12-05T12:41:28.017-08:00New Planet Discovered by some kids my age!!!!<a href="http://www.astronomy.com/asy/objects/images/ogle2-tr-l9b.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 800px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 533px" alt="" src="http://www.astronomy.com/asy/objects/images/ogle2-tr-l9b.jpg" border="0" /></a> A couple of kids in the Netherlands discovered a new planet and its about five times as huge as Jupiter. Now to get an idea of how huge that is, Jupiter has about 2 and half times the mass of ALL the other planets in the solar system combined and this new planet makes Jupiter pale in comparison. AWESOME!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=7711">http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=7711</a>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-62861587113125207592008-12-05T02:52:00.001-08:002008-12-05T02:52:45.408-08:00A more eloquent view of the situation on YouTube<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/-RAEWdCz0eY' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/-RAEWdCz0eY'/></object></p><p>YAY for FREE SPEECH!</p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1816291841107228640.post-32696890237821460792008-12-05T02:48:00.001-08:002008-12-05T02:48:40.038-08:00Youtube's censorship and the douchebags who support it<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/AaVFuIcPf-A' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/AaVFuIcPf-A'/></object></p><p>So, as of the second of December 2008, YouTube will be "algorithmically demoting" videos that contain swear words and sexually suggestive content (aka women without burkas). No matter how they dress it up, YouTube will now be picking and choosing what videos get the top rated and favorited slots, despite the combined votes of the viewers. With these policies we might as well not vote at all now and just let YouTube tell us what to watch and what to shun.<br /><br />A marketplace of ideas needs a free and open forum in which to operate in so the opinions in question can be properly examined and critiqued as the people see fit. If this means putting up with annoying illiterate people who swear too much or showing too much skin so be it (mature people shouldn't care about these things anyway). A democratic system is dead if an invisible hand begins to even slightly subvert the voice of the people and in this case, it's dead on YouTube.<br /><br />There are a few people who are applauding this move such as the person in the vid. Personally, I believe any person who doesn't voice concern about YouTube's censorship is taking their own freedom of speech for granted and is a complete and total fool. But I gave this fool a slightly larger forum for him to voice his stupidity by posting his vid on my little blog, so more people can be thankful they have some more sense than the drooling little muppet above and also to outrage them that this kind of foolishness actually exists and needs to be fought against. (I usually try to not be as crude as this but this seems like a no brainer to me)<br /><br />SPEAK OUT AGANIST CENSORSHIP! TELL YouTube: http:http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=AEX3_7h40mk<br /><br /></p></div>John Flynn, Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12241360803937757872noreply@blogger.com0