Closet Extremist

Post - Debate Analysis

I think that both of them fared quite well in the debate, due to the fact that they are both going for the "undecided" vote. I think that the President could have gone a little furthur to strengthen his "base", but not too much furthur without pushing voters to his opponent.

AS for the rest of it, I think that Kerry spent a lot more time sounding like a "Polititcian' than the President did. I feel that the Senator spent more time on the statement of "Talking Points" than did the incumbant. Whereas, the President stated quite a bit more "fact" (dates and everything) than did his opponent.

All in all, I'm okay with how the President preformed in this debate, and I had a lot more to say in a positive manner to his statements than I did about the statements made by the Senator.

I'll admit that I'm extremely biased in this election, so I'll be generous and call this one a draw. I'll be interested in seeing what the MSM makes of the whole proceeding.

Channelling Kim du Toit

As I was reading the Knoxville News Sentinel today, I saw an article that would make Kim du Toit do a "Happy Dance" out in the street. I thought I'd share, so here's the whole thing:

Man shoots stepson to halt beating of aunt

Woman, wounded man are taken to hospitals

By BRYAN MITCHELL, mitchellb@knews.com
September 29, 2004

A Knox County man shot his stepson once in the stomach Tuesday afternoon to stop a beating the stepson was giving to his aunt, authorities said.

The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. at a home in the Cabot Ridge subdivision in West Knox County near the Loudon County line.

Matt Hinton was working in a nearby yard when Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at 12615 Ridge Path Lane.

"They flew up here, drew their guns and ran down toward the house," the Irrigation Works employee said.

Sheriff's deputies found Albert Cannon with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. A Rural/Metro ambulance took him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, according to Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison.

Cannon was listed in stable condition Tuesday night.

Ronnie Chandler, no age available, shot Cannon with his 9mm pistol after he was unable to stop Cannon from beating his aunt, Hutchison said.

"No one could stop it, so the stepfather went and got a gun and shot him," Hutchison said.

The alleged assault began after Cannon's aunt, Debra Waggoner, came to the Chandler home to talk with Cannon, Hutchison said.

Waggoner, 48, approached Cannon about the fact that his lawyer had questioned Waggoner's daughter, who Cannon allegedly assaulted last year, Hutchison said. The lawyer had questioned Waggoner's 18-year-old daughter earlier Tuesday at the college she attends, authorities said.

Hutchison said no charges have been filed against Cannon because authorities were unable to speak with Waggoner to determine if she wants to press charges.

Waggoner was taken to Parkwest Medical Center. Her injuries were not life threatening.

Hutchison said no charges will be filed against Chandler, who owns Chandler Greenscapes, a landscaping firm.

"It was obviously self-defense," Hutchison said. "All he wanted to do was stop him from assaulting his aunt."

The sheriff said Cannon would have to find a new place to live.

"His stepfather told him not to come back," Hutchison said.

Bryan Mitchell may be reached at 865-342-6306.

Get Copyright Clearance Copyright 2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.

I think that Mr. Mitchell did a fine job of reporting this piece. He mentioned the type and caliber of the firearm in question, and that the local authorities view this as a "self defense" issue. Gotta love seeing this type of thing being reported properly.

Dang Furriners

I'm just shocked and/or appalled that that there Furriner would have the audacity, the...the... sheer... unmitigated... gall to talk to us folks in THE GREATEST DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD in that fashion. I mean...it's just...He's from EUROPE. I mean COME ON!
(/tongue in cheek)

I personally haven't seen too much of the "Euro-bashing" phenomena that he's talking about, but I'm certain that it's out there. All of his talking points have merit, and are based in fact. I like that in a vitriolic post. I'd like to see some specific examples of the "Euro-bashing" though, so we can all laugh and point at the ones doing it. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of the people who are sending thier bad thoughts over to Europe have also tracked their geneology back to the country of their family's origin. In Europe.

Let's remember people, that without Europe, most of us wouldn't be here.

Dad sent sum pitchers

Aparrently my Dad reads the comments on this site, so he took a few shots of the plate that I did for him. I will now share one with you.

(click to enlarge)

I'm okay with it, but it's not really what I had pictured in my head. I'll have to practice with the airbrush to get more proficient. Hopefully I can craft some really terrible artwork to post here on my way to becoming the bestest airbrusher there ever was.

It just might be universal.

I was talking with a coworker the other day, and we were discussing things that are (at least) completely irrelevant to the job at hand, or (at worst) just plain silly and/or nasty-dirty. I think w were moving some poolside candles from one shelf to another, so he felt obliged to open one up and take a sniff.

"Oh that's disgusting" says he. (takes another whiff) "God that's terrible" he exclaimed. (One more nice sniff) "that's the worst thing I've ever smelled. Here you smell it."

What is that? I was joking around at Dad's shindig last night, and brought this subject up. Had some fun with it and all, but seriously. What in the world makes a perfectly rational human being, smell something bad over and over, and then want to share it with someone else?

I think that if we can figure that out, we'll be well on our way to understanding the human psyche.

I guess "soon" is relative

So what's been going on Johnny? Well I'll tell you.

Work has been a little hectic, what with inventory and all. The count took place on the 23rd, so we weren't supposed to get any product in the day before. You see, the trucks are unloaded at night, and the product is taken to the floor and set on the shelves during the "third shift". Since everything essentially freezes for the twenty-four hour perios that it takes to count everything in one of these stores, no trucks with new product were scheduled to arrive. Meanwhile, two trucks and 3500 pieces later...

The "Kicker" here is, that due to the seasonal nature of the Garden Center, our product has dwindled down to just a few items that are actually garden related. We are essentially storage for other departments, and waiting to transition into being the Christmas Department. On the two trucks were ten pallets worth of Christmas items. All of this had to be placed into our storage trailers, and "inventory prepped" for the next morning. Now prepping this stuff is not difficult, but it's time consuming. You gotta print these little stickers to put on the boxes that the stuff comes in. The bitch is that a lot of this stuff has multiple bar codes for items in the same box. Different bar code, different sticker. That means a long day.

Inventory day really sucked, because I was not allowed to move anything in the store. You all know that you've picked up some item from one corner of the store, and had a change of heart about it in another part of the store, so you just set it on the nearest shelf and walked off. Normally I am really fastidious about correcting the "errant item effect" and pick the stuff up and either put it where it goes, or take it to a holding area for someone else to put it where it goes. Imagine twenty-four hours of this happening and I can't do a thing about it. It will sure make a department store look like Ass, let me tell you, and there I am, shuffling like a junkie, unable to put it to rights.

So what else? Well, my Dad's birthday was today. Over the last couple of day's I've been playing around with an airbrush that I just got in order to create a gift for him. As you all know he has his new car, but he was getting a little tired of having the dealership's license on the front of the car. I crafted a new one for his last vehicle, and I did the same for this one. The last one stated unnequivically that it was "Ken's PT", but this time Dad wanted something that befitted both his age, and his new jet-setting sportscar lifestyle. It says "Life begins at 60 (mph)", what the hell, I like it, you should too.

So Dad and I went for a ride the other day up on the absolutely beautiful Foothills Parkway. As we were getting ready to jump in his car, he asks if I wanted to drive. I believe I answered with "Hell Yeah" or something along those lines. I drove that fine piece of machinery with assertion, but not to excess (the owner of the car was sitting right next to me). The best part of this scenario is that after I drove his car, he registered nearly a mile more per gallon than when it was just him. So who's the hot dog, huh? Not me.

Anyway's, this is the sort of stuff that I've stored up over the last few day's. More to come...soon.

Still Alive

I just have inventory at work today, so I haven't had much time to post while preparing for it. Back soon.

Paying my Respects

Yesterday afternoon, I was at work, and was reminded by a coworker of something that needed to be taken care of. There was talk of putting it off, but I insisted that we should take care of it right then, so we jumped on the scissor-lift, and went over there to cut it down. You see, we had an American Flag hanging just above the Garden Center gate, and it was getting threadbare.

So here comes the problem. Disposal. My cohort there at work stated that the last one that they took down they burned in a grill, and (thankfully) we had no grill to burn it on. Chris and I folded that flag up, and I took it to my car to ensure that it was taken care of with proper respect.

I've got a few pictures of the event in the extended entry if you're interested.

Here's the little pyre I built for it.

I just lit the fire here.

Got it burning pretty good here.

I don't have my uniform anymore, but I still know how to do a hand salute.

I allowed myself to take one shot of "Old Glory" on the pyre.

Here's the aftermath.

I don't know about you, but one redneck patriot in his back yard, sure beats the hell out of burning it on a grill.

WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO

James Wilhoit!!!! The guy who missed an extra point with a minute and change left on the clock, making it 28 to 27 Florida. He's the kid who kicked a 50 yard (that's right a FIFTY yard) field goal with just a few seconds left on the clock.

Special teams steps up and makes a key stop on the kickoff return, thereby securing the win at 30 to 28 Tennessee Victory! What a fine ball game! Lot's of risks taken. Lots of mistakes capitalized on. This was a Helluva fight that went right down to the wire. Just the way football should be be.

Just go ahead and break out that marker Tammi, I believe you're gonna need it.

(Cry's a few tears for Tammi and Boudicca. As their shame subsides, remember that there is Love. I'll not disown you, as long as you don't disown me.)

Nevertheless...IN YOUR FACE!!!!!! ;^)

Quandary

I've got a problem here people. You see, my local cable provider has WGN on channel 7, and the Cubs just started a game against the Reds. as I've stated before, I'm a Cubs fan, so I'd really like to watch the game. But I have duties.

Channel 8 is WVLT. The "W" is for "East of the Mississippi", and the "VLT" is for "Volunteer". As in The University Of Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols are having a little contest this evening with the Florida Gators (who are gonna lose). As a member in good standing of the Rocky Top Brigade, there's no way I can miss this game. I'm not sure that death would be a good excuse to miss this game.

(Moises Alou just spanked a Solo shot out of the park! Woot!)

Sorry about that. As I was saying...I Love my Cubbies, and I don't get a chance to see them play nearly enough, but tonight, I'm just going to have to "take one for the team" and watch some "Oblong Ball". I am happy that the channels are right next to each other, so I can switch between them with ease during commercial's and such.

Tammi and Eric have a side-bet going as well, so I'll have to make sure that I have my "gloating" post ready for when Tammi loses. Should be fun.

***UPDATE 9:42 PM Gators 21 Volunteers 14 at halftime. Cubs 5 Reds 6 in the Top of the 8th 2 outs 0-2 is the count with runners at first and second. I think I feel an Ulcer coming on.

***Update 10:10 PM Cubs lose 5 to 6. Dambit! Tennessee just stopped Florida's first drive in the second half. Maybe something will go good today.

***UPDATE 10:45 PM Tie ballgame. 21 to 21. The Vols defense woke up and stopped them short. The Gators missed a key field goal, and TN took control. Eric Ainge threw a pinpoint pass to the front corner of the endzone to score the touchdown. WooHoo!

Flip-Flopping Schedules

I hate it when my schedule is changed on a regular basis. I am the type of person who is used to getting out of bed an hour or so before I head out to work, and it doesn't matter particularly what time I'm supposed to be there. I've been known to wake up at 2:00 in the afternoon, so I can be at work by 3:00, as well as waking up at 4:00 in the morning to be there by 5:00 AM. Recently, however, my schedule has been flopping by three hours seeemingly every other day. Needless to say, my body-clock is having a bunch of trouble keeping up.

I was scheduled to be at work at 10:00 AM this morning, but yesterday my boss asked me to come in at 7:00 AM this morning. Needless to say, I didn't make it. What I wouldn't give for a steady schedule right now. Off to work.

How to make yourself seem stupid.

As I'm walking through the store today, I was stopped by a man who asked to see a manager. The other employee who was walking with me, asked him what he needed before I got a chance to, so the customer said to him: " I'm trying to find out if there's a Notary Republic available." My cohort directed him to the back of the store to find a manager, while I bit my tongue in order to keep from laughing in his face, or generally saying something that would make him feel like an idot.

Dictionary.com says that a Notary is:
2. (Eng. & Am. Law) A public officer who attests or certifies deeds and other writings, or copies of them, usually under his official seal, to make them authentic, especially in foreign countries. His duties chiefly relate to instruments used in commercial transactions, such as protests of negotiable paper, ship's papers in cases of loss, damage, etc. He is generally called a notary public.

It also says that a Republic is:

1. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president.
2. A nation that has such a political order.

I'm starting to think that there's no such thing as a "Notary Republic". I hope someone corrects him on this. I couldn't, because I just know I'd have been a wiseass in the process. I guess good customer service can sometimes be defined as: knowing when to keep your gob shut.

Fine then.

Okay Harvey. Seeing as how I couldn't please you with my other "boobie" picture, I'll just have to get drastic. Remember, you asked for this:

(click to enlarge)

(click to embiggen)

Yeesh. The stuff you have to go through to please some people.

Once again. Happy Birthday Harvey. May your spankin's be delivered by a 58 year-old Scandinavian Construction Worker named Olaf.

Whatever floats your boat.

Aparrently the old blog-pappy Harvey has an even worse fetish than Evil Glenn. Penguin Porn I can understand, but how could you want to do unspeakable things to this little cutie?

To each his own I guess, but I still think it's a little creepy.

Happy Birthday Harvey. I hope you get many spankin's on your special day.

Opportunity of a lifetime

Folks, I'm hear to tell you about an opportunity that you just can't miss out on. This could potentially be the one thing that will change your life for the better. Earth shattering! Ground breaking! Terra crumbling! ...I'm running out of expletives!

You have Five days, to take advantage of this, so act now!

Yes friends. You actually have the chance to become a blog-sibling of World Famous blogger, Johnny - Oh. I know you are giddy with excitement over this chance, but just collect your wit's, come up with something at least as brilliant as what I'd come up with (shouldn't be too hard) and get your submission's in to Harvey.

Don't delay. Act today.

Am I growing up?

Just checked my email, and found a message in there from someone who wanted to put an advertisement on this here blog. That's kinda cool, and more than a little flattering. Unfortunately, the product that they wanted me to promote was not the type of thing that I could espouse the use of. Mostly spying and password/email stealing software.

I must be "growing up" in the blogosphere if people are wanting me to promote their products through this site. Maybe I'll get an offer that I can actually take up someday. That would be cool.

Us

They took from us an innocence we never really had. They took from us a symbol of our prosperity. They took from us the lives of innocent's. They took from us the people that went to save them. They took from us the lives of those that went to avenge them.

They took from us our ability to respect their defferences. They took from us our ability to think of them as regular humans. They took from us our ability to forgive. They took from us our ability to think of them as friends.

Through their ignorance, and faith, they were able to take so much from us, but we will still remain. After all their efforts to shunt us from the face of the Earth, we'll still be what we are, and we'll remember.

Rember that we are the most forgiving people on this planet. Remember that after the ceremonies, the pain subsides. Remember that to take our retribution will require some sacrifice. Remember what we all felt on that day. Remember that we are all humans despite what our upbringing is. Remember our fear.

But most of all, Remember that the guilty must pay. For all the things that they took from us.

Please to forgive.

I just picked up the Firefly DVD set from work, and I am glutting myself on it. Really good stories, and they just strike a chord with me. Anyway, back to watch disck 2. I'm loving it.

TWGT 3

If you've never delved into one of my "The Whole God Thing" posts, well that's what TWGT stands for. This time, I'm just going to put my thoughts out on the main page and see what happens. As always, these are my own opinions and observations. I'm not trying to "convert" anyone, I'm just talking it out. Feel free to comment, but if you are disrespectful, I'll be displeased with you.

Marty "chimed in" in the comments to this post and brought up a very interesting concept. The idea that God created man in his own image. (BTW, the imagery he puts forth is quite striking. Mirrors. I liked it a lot.)

I'm not exactly sure that the Judeo-Christian Mythos is the only one that posits this idea, but I've never heard of another that does. You've got to admit that it's very elegant. In Marty's "Mirror", he sees Man talking to God, and I see Man talking to his Reflection. From the point of view of my atheism, I see that instead of God creating Man in his own image, it's quite the reverse. Man created God in his own image, in order to create a certain familiarity with God. I mean, even though "He" is an abstract, "He" wouldn't work as effectively if he were an "unfamiliar abstract".

There has got to be something in the mannerisms of God that Man can identify with in order to instill Faith. Different societies can arrive at this in different ways, but the effect is just the same. "Faith can move mountains", but you have to have a little something to have faith in before anything happens. It's very difficult to get someone to hold their faith in something that is completely unknown to them. Therefore, Man is God's image. I think Man is Man's image, and I take the whole Diety thing out of the equation. Little to have faith in there, as we all know the falleabilty of the human species, but there it is.

In order to for Religion to perform the good works that it can do, it has to motivate its followers in some way. The idea that God is just like you, is a good way for people to "buy into" your Religion, and therefore to carry out your good works. Sometimes the works aren't so good, ie: The Crusades (Nothing more than a religiously spurred land grab), but for the most part, they really Are good, for the wrong reasons. Hey, whatever it takes to motivate people right? Meanwhile, Iraq...

I had another frequent reader email me their thoughts on the subject (because they wished to remain anonymous) that came at the situation from the other side. This person was raised atheist, and after a number of years has gone out to explore spirituality. They wound up being about half-Episcopalian, and half-Buddhist. A little confused I feel, but still reaching out for that particular "Meaning" that I espoused upon in my last post. Not wrong, and not a bad thing, but it smacks of someone who needs a little something to help them through their day. Something to make it all "Mean" something. Maybe if you are doing everything you can to ensure that you live your life in accordance to the Golden rule, then you'll sleep a little better at night without all of this atonement that you are imposing on yourself.

People need to have a "higher power" in order to lend a certain validation to their lives. I mean There's got to be a point, doesn't there? No there doesn't. All you can do is own up to your mistakes, and resolve to never make them again. You don't need to "Give yourself over" to a higher power, merely recognise what is within yourself as "Godly", and act accordingly. It's not easy, but you don't have to lie to yourself to get there.

As a finale to this post, I would like to state that I have nothign but respect for Religions in general. They have done a lot of good throughout history, as well as a lot of evil. There are a majority of folks out there who are doing the "Lord's Work" that are making a positive difference on our society, and I'd like to thank them for their service. All the Hypocrite's can Kiss my Ass.

Someone deserve's a Spankin'

Just my way of saying happy birthday to blog sis' Boudicca. Many more I'm sure.

Living vicariously through my parents.

My cousin and his parents went on over to the 'Rents houseboat today, and they all went for a nice ride. Sadly, I had to work, so I wasn't able to join in the festivities, but I did get the chance to see them for about 45 minutes this afternoon. It was nice to visit for at least a little while. He'll be hading back down there either tomorrow or the next day. I hope he has a house left when he gets there.

Anyway, my Dad works for a large multi-national consumer electronics company, doing phone technical support for technician's actually fixing broken product. He was one of the guy's "actually fixing the product" more often than not over the last twnty-five odd years, so he's pretty frickin' good at his job, and makes decent money at it. Mom doesn't have to work, and they still are able to have a few nice things. Cool I say. They deserve it after raising three kids, and especially since one of them was me.

Since my Dad works for this big corporation, he is sometimes able to get a few "freebies" and/or "deep discounts" on some really cool stuff. This evening he presented me with such an item. It is about 3 inches long, by 1 inch wide, by 3/4 inch deep, and it's a digital camera/64 Mb digital storage device. Way cool! Plugs right into a USB port. The USB port allows the thing to charge up, and also act as another Hard Drive on the machine. Looks like I'll actually have a way to capture some special moments in my life for myself, as the previous pictures I've shown you have been taken by my roommate's digital camera. Now I can do it myself. Neato!

For most of my formative year's, we had very mundane vehicles. A few interesting ones, like the 14 foot poerboat that I learned to water ski behind, the pop-up camper that we used to to take family camping outings in, and the motorcycles that my Dad, Mom and I have owned. For the most part though, we've had transportaion that was just that. Transportation. Mostly van's and sedan's that could carry the five of us and the dog. Rudimentary. Utilitarian. Not without character, but you had to get past the utilitarian aspects to notice it. Meanwhile, this whole time my Dad has been dreaming of boats and sports cars.

So, included with the new camera were a few pictures of life at their place that I intend to share with you. The first two are of the living conditions at the latest homestead.

(click to enlarge)

This is the "Starboard side" of their house, looking from "bow to stern".

(click to enlarge)

Here's the controls in the "living room". There's a flybridge on top where they can drive the "house" as well. Pretty damn cool.

The rest of the pic's will be in the extended entry.

Like I said, my Dad has been dreaming of having a sportscar for as long as I can remember. He's lusted after Corvettes. He's dreamed of MGB's. He has just wanted something that would go fast and look cool doing it. Preferably a "two seater" just so he and his "best girl" can ride around in style. A couple of year's ago, he started out to get what he wanted and purchased a Chrysler PT Cruiser.

It was a decent compromise. A lot of style with a little bit of practicality. (That statement pretty much epitomises my Dad.) He got the Cruiser with a standard transmission, and very few amenities, but it was fun to drive, and it could haul a few things in the process. He decided recently that the Dodge Magnum would be better vehicle, as he was tired of changing the gears manually, and he wanted to get something a little newer and a little cooler. They had a bad experience at the dealorship, so he didn't bring one of them home.

Last weekend, I got a call from them out of the blue, and they said that they were going to drop by for a few minutes. I figured that they had gone to another dealership, and gotten a Magnum, so I sat out on the front porch and waited for one to pull up. I got a nice surprise when they pulled up in this:

This is a Chrysler Crossfire.

The "head on" view.

The little section just below the back window, and above the Chrysler "Wings" raises up to become a rear spoiler at 55 miles an hour. Neato!

This is the view you can expect to see if it's out there on the road.

My Dad finally has his sportscar, and I'm just tickled to death for him. Be careful with this thing Dad, but not too careful. Gotta be able to have some fun with it too.

Dimmer switch.

As it happens, we have no regular "Customer Welcomer" available on Saturday's, so the duty fell to me. Now you would think that standing beside a door all day saying "Hi" to people ocming in, and checking receipts of people going out would be kinda boring. It is. But that's not to say that it's all bad.

I noticed the phenomena early in the morning. Shortly after that, I noticed it again. After awhile it seemed like every sixth person was suffering from the same affliction. What could be the cause? Was it the temperature? No it was warm and humid today. Barometric pressure maybe? Gee, I left my pocket barometer in my other britches. Maybe it's because it was overcast? What are you a meteorologist now? Get on with the story. Right.

Actually, I think it had something to do with the whole "It's Saturday and I'm not gonna dress up, I'll just wear a T-shirt" paradigm. You see, every third person of the female persuasion that walked past my door, had her "Bright's On". The "sweater Puppies" were wagging their tail's. Their "Pipples were Nerky".

I'd just like to send out a hearty "Thanks Much" to all the ladies out there who "Perked up" my day. If I had control of the "Dimmer Switch", there'd be a LOT more like them.

Stupid Hurricane!

Making me worry about people I've never even met. Thank goodness they are all bloggers, and at least have someone to post for them, or have gone to places where they're safe, and can tell us so.

Anyway, Tammi is okay. Drunk, but okay. Boudicca is doing fine. She's keeping in touch with her Dad, who is updating us. Frank J. Just frickin' split town.

Meanwhile, my cousin (who lives in the Tampa area) is up "visiting" his parents for awhile. I understand that he has filled the excess area in his "irreplaceables" trailer that he towed up here with portable generators to take back with him after the evacuation is lifted. I think they're going to need them.

Anyhow, this is my way of saying that I'm thinking of all the folks down there, and I hope that things work out okay.

Not Wrong, just different.

So I'm hanging out over at the Straight White Guy's place, basically kicking his butt at pool, so he changes the activity to guitar pickin' (Something that he just knows he's better than me at). It's all good, but we had a little debate over the use (or lack thereof) of using a pick while playing.

Me, I'm generally Pro-Pick, whereas Eric generally eschews the little piece of plastic used to strike the strings. First off, he is a "Finger Pcker". Don't read anything into that, as it doesn't mean anything "dirty". It just means that when he plays, he uses different fingers of his playing hand to strike different strings. I can't do that.

Me, I use a pick. It just feels more right to me. That, and I like the sound of a guitar just ringing out. A pick will give you a "crisper" sound when you strike a chord, but it will also excentuate your mistakes. Using your finger, causes the guitar to be slighltly muted. The sound is much "softer". If it's the style of paying that Eric normally does, it will turn out quite nice, as he generally play's Notes. Me, I play Chords, because it's what I know. I understand the concept behind what he is doing, but I just can't seem to make my hands mimic those motions. Maybe I should actually practice or something.

I realize that if you've never played a musical instrument, the concepts described above will be foriegn to you. If they are, learn an instrument. Doesn't matter if it is a Cello or a Jew's Harp. Just learn to play something. It'll teach you what you don't know, and what you don't know is a lot.

So what instrument do you play?

Litritchure.

I'm here to tell you. Alex writes so good it'll make you talk like Yoda. I'm just sayin'. Go read it if you aren't already.

TWGT ctd.

I'm back to continue my whole religious thing, As I stated in the previous post, these are my own observations, and are not meant to cause harm or angst to anyone. This is something I've got to get out of my system, and I have no idea how many more posts it will take.

Once again I will put my thoughts into the extended entry. If you're not interested, just check out the links to your right.

The Bible

As we all know, it's the best selling book of all time. With good reason too. I've read it several times, but not very recently (I need to fix that). I think that everyone can agree that the Bible was not written by God, but by people. Most of them very, very, wise people, or maybe just a couple thousand years of good editing makes them look that way.

Allow me to point you to a story by the Reverend Joe McKeever. Good story, plenty of examples of real world scenario's, and backing up his point with quotes from the Bible. This book is chock full of sayings and stories that apply to life, in general. It is also full of things that contradict one another. I'm no Bible scholar, so I'm not going to go into specifics about what verses and where they are in the book, but that is a really good indicator to me that the book was written by several authors over a period of time. The lessons ain't bad, but they didn't come from God.

God as a basic human need

I find it interesting that every different society 9talking olden days here) each arrived at their own concept of a higher being. Whether it be Paganistic (This statue or rock or mountain holds the power of our future.) or Mystic (The all seeing all knowing Diety or Dieties), each community came up with something to explain things that they didn't understand, and give them justification for being. Even the most primitive of society's seem to find a need for a higher power.

Nearly every person I meet, always looks at me askance when they learn that I am an atheist. The expression that crosses their faces says to me "How in the world can you not believe in God?". Is there something in the human psyche that makes us just have to have a higher power above us? If so, then I am an aberration, as I need no such power to get me through my day.

In General

As should be obvious by now, I contend that God is a creation of man. Is there absolute proof of this? Well no. However, everything I have seen and read about religion and history points to God as a means to an end. Essentially, a way to control a populace. "Because it's wrong to do that" or "Because you should act in this manner" do not carry as much weight as "God says it is wrong" or "God wants you to act this way". Human beings are generally contrary towards one another. If someone comes up and starts to tell you how to act or live your life, then (for the most part) the first thing you will do is ask him who they think they are to tell you what to do. If someone in a ceremonial garment comes up and says the exact same thing to you, but adds God as the justification, it's a whole lot easier to swallow. Kind of a "don't hate the messenger" dynamic. The message is no longer coming from some guy, it's coming from a diety that is much wiser, stronger, even better than any of us lowly human's could ever be.

I didn't have any kind of "defining moment" that caused me to decide that there wasn't a God. As I outlined in my first insallment, I have been a doubter since I was very young, and I described myself as an agnostic for year's. About five year's ago, I realized that by calling myself agnostic, I was selling myself short. I was providing myself an "easy out" as it were. At least I was allowing for the possibilty of God in case I was wrong. I changed over to "athiest" due to the fact that I don't believe in God, and haven't for at least twenty years. According to my own philisophy, there isn't even a chance that there's a God, so I stopped referring to myself as a "could be" believer. It was hypocritical to call myself an agnostic, and once I realized what I was doing, I quit it.

I've made quite a few sweeping generalization's here, and I haven't covered every angle, but I've been as honest as I can be. If anyone out there would like to get a clarification on any of my points, or would like my take on a point that I didn't cover, just leave me a comment, and I'll get to it in another post.