Monthly Archives: July 2011
In an earlier post, I wrote that:
The problem for any honest theist is,
“What if it isn’t true?”
The problem for any honest atheist is,
“What if it is true?”
Ultimately both represent ways of looking at the universe. There is no factual conclusion, no proof, about either one; both are matters of faith and belief.
Science can argue all it wants that the Logic and Scientific Method is superior to believing in an ineffable reality but given all we do know and all we don’t know, in the end it is still just a worldview.
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13 Comments | tags: atheism, big bang, deism, Heisenberg Uncertainty, infinity, quantum physics, spacetime, spirituality, The Matrix, theism, Yin and Yang | posted in Basics, Philosophy, Religion, Science
Now that Sidebands have turned 21 they can have alcohol, so…
Seems that just about everyone has a “perfect” margarita recipe. Not wanting to be left out of the crowd, I’ve decided to give you mine, a recipe based on the incredibly inexpensive, wondrously potent, double margaritas my friend, Nancy, and I used to drink at El Coyote in Hollywood long, long ago. Even back then, it was hard to believe that much punch came in a glass for only $1.95 USD.
It took me years of experimenting, and several false trails, to find a similar taste and potency, but finally I stumbled on the “secret” … pineapple juice!
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4 Comments | tags: drinks, El Coyote, lime juice, margarita, orange liqueur, pineapple juice, tequila | posted in Sideband
For the record, here’s a way to make some very tasty popcorn:
Firstly, start with good gourmet popcorn. Orville Redenbacker‘s is pretty decent, although I have noticed that it sometimes creates a bunch of smaller, broken pieces. You definitely don’t want the stuff that comes in a one-pound bag for 39 cents. The thing about good popcorn is that it all pops. When I cook up a batch of Orville’s, it’s usually the case that there’s only a few kernels that don’t pop.
And it’s not uncommon to find none!
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2 Comments | tags: Mrs Dash, olive oil, Orville Redenbacher, Parmesan cheese, popcorn, snacks, Whirley Popper | posted in Sideband
My contribution to the latest internet meme:
Nuf sed, yeah?
2 Comments | tags: Facebook, Google+, humor, Spock | posted in Sideband
The previous article contains a bit of doggerel I wrote as an informal writing assignment on a current events/blogging site I inhabited for a while a few years back. One of the other regulars sometimes held online “parties” complete with musical playlists (suggested YouTube and other musical links) and multiple, simultaneous conversations. Basically a kick off article followed by a very long, branching tree of comments.
We all had to refresh the article a lot to see the new comments, but it was fun. Especially as the evening wore on and some of us got a bit tipsy. (All from the safety of our homes, I point out. Virtual online parties: no one drives home!)
Anyway, in the course of one such evening, the “poem” below popped out of my mind. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN was just beginning its testing, and the “it’ll destroy us all” fervor was at its peak.
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5 Comments | tags: CERN, hadrons, Large Hadron Collider, poetry, quantum physics, quarks | posted in Sideband, Writing
A few years ago, I spent some time blogging and commenting on another site that wasn’t really a blogging site, per se.
It was supposed to be a news-related site, and all blog posts were meant to be about current events (which could include book and movie reviews among other topics). Naturally long-time users found a lot of latitude in what constituted current events. One of the reasons I dropped off was the poor signal/noise ratio, but the main reason was the sense of restriction imposed by the current events policy.
One of the big regulars was a guy who liked to stage writing exercises for those interested. He would offer a topic and we would all dash off a blog article related to that topic. Below is my contribution to one such exercise. The topic was to write a piece from the point of view of our car. I’m no poet, but I thought this turned out rather well.
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3 Comments | tags: car, Ford Fusion, Jeep Cherokee, poetry | posted in Writing
Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.
The Pillsbury Dough boy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.
Dough boy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects: Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch were all there.
The grave site was piled high with flours.
Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Dough boy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.
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Leave a comment | tags: humor, Pillsbury Dough Boy | posted in From My Collection, Sideband
I’ve been a computer programmer for 33 years. Some of my early work is still stored on punched paper tape! And if this computer programmer has a particular skill, it is probably in the area of debugging.
Those who know me know I suffer from a life-long hearing defect and have, thus, grown up being pretty good at figuring stuff out based on scant evidence. This is precisely one of the required skills for debugging, and let me just say that I’ve gotten very, very good at it over the last 33 years.
But for the first time, I have an actual bug in my machine. An honest-to-god, six-legged thing crawling around in my machine.
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10 Comments | tags: bugs, debugging, Grace Hopper, insects, LCD display, SONY, VAIO | posted in Computers
You may have heard the punchline, “Ready when you are, Mr. DeMille!” Sometimes, around people familiar with the reference, it’s abbreviated to just “Ready when you are!” (In a quote-y kind of voice.)
Of course, it’s dubious this it ever really happened, and it’s not a parable joke — there’s no moral behind it (except maybe don’t count your chickens). Still, it’s a pretty good joke! In fact, it’s one of my favorites, and I’ve used the punchline many times.
For your dancing and dining pleasure, here it is:
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16 Comments | tags: Cecil B. DeMille, humor, jokes | posted in Movies, Quotes, Sideband
The title of this Sideband, “And Maybe the Horse will Sing,” comes from a story told by the ancient Greek philosopher Herodotus.
This is a parable about hope and possibilities; about how you never know what might happen even when it seems that all hope is lost.
This is a story of a thief, Nasrudin, who was caught at his thievery and, by the laws of his land, sentenced to die.
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Leave a comment | tags: hope, horse, humor, parable, singing, singing horse | posted in Quotes, Sideband
Logos con carne 