tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39830872024-03-15T21:41:49.927-07:00Atheist's NotebookSomething else besides religion, but not exclusively. There's probably more written justifying gods existence than
anyone could read in a lifetime. Most of it is politically driven medieval propaganda based on prehistoric
myth. But since God's ultimately a personal matter, anyone can hold god up for scrutiny,
so I'm as much an authority as the next person. This is my Notebook.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-7085803547079446802024-03-09T02:08:00.000-08:002024-03-14T12:09:58.521-07:00About Witches in Society
There are stories about people riding on broomsticks and casting spells that have since been discredited in this age of objectivity where, as more people agree, the more valid it sometimes becomes. That's a hard point to argue against because you're bucking public opinion, when you might have objective evidence that they're all wrong, like this. Then it's your side against the non believers, a Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-3293051616976276302024-02-18T17:24:00.000-08:002024-02-18T17:24:54.250-08:00Wish I could write about weird stuff as clearly as this guy: Shooting Down Souls (good luck with that) Some paradoxical thoughts on the UFO phenomenon from a historian of religions.
From my position I suppose better writing is about motivation (that means it's your fault). In 23 yrs I've received 10 comments that weren't spam, but the blog still averages around 200 hits /mo., Some of the hit Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-47367947907336985022024-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:002024-02-18T18:27:44.696-08:00Terminal stage Junk
In 50 yrs there'll be 9 billion people on earth (or something like that). They'll all be loaded up w/ precious socially relatable representations of their ego (online junk). A few years later the population will start to drop and capitalism will have to compete for our attention w/ it's own cheap or free detritus, we'll not only have our own load of valuable crap, but there'll be crap inflationBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-60177613861950224912024-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:002024-01-19T19:32:36.665-08:00WebinarsFor the benefit of the more ardent Atheist readers: This is a notice of an upcoming series of five webinars for atheists of every stripe, given by secularstudents.org/webinars, between Jan 24 & May 8 2024. Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-63722203052481422102023-12-07T23:46:00.000-08:002024-01-05T20:27:05.653-08:00Free will vs determinism
There seems to be a lot of philosophical discussion around free will (like does it exist) as opposed to everything being determined by previous conditions, including the apparent coincidence of you reading this.
Arguments for determinsim overlook the fact that our brain capacity is limited, so we don't remember the conditions that led us here. And it’s the main argument for the existence of Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-28569362111804862982023-10-28T04:54:00.022-07:002023-12-08T14:57:47.774-08:00a walk in the woods on the full moon. The cats woke me up so I’d scare something away, I guess I did. We stood on the porch, they all stared smugly at something in the bush shadows. Big raccoon maybe. Skunks are pretty tame and they seem to get along up to a point. The moonlight was beautiful and my flashlight wasn’t charged. But I went for a walk anyway.
I could only see where to put my feet if moonlight hit the ground there. TheBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-23750075444500406112023-10-13T17:08:00.013-07:002023-10-22T17:46:47.723-07:00Homeopathy
Homeopathy has a bad reputation for 2 practical reasons:
1. the volume of the actual effective ingredient in the final (diluted) solution can be so low that there is essentially no chance of any atom being present in the end product.
2. The effect of the active ingredient in that solution is claimed to be the opposite of whatever qualities it has in full strength doses, for example, Poison Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-1972483802082555712023-08-01T19:52:00.007-07:002023-08-11T20:58:18.188-07:00More Flash
OK here's another flash (if I can spit it out, covid did a number on my brain & I haven't been able to concentrate for zip):
There's a perceptual association between "spirit" and synesthesia. An Synesthete (someone with Synesthesia) can see colors on or around an object, letter, word, or number. I don't know if some credentialed authority/specialist with a narrower definition would agree, so Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-62663946275986102672023-05-15T01:22:00.001-07:002023-10-13T21:27:12.502-07:00Fernando PessoaNot an Athiest manual: The Book of Discored Part 1 (youtube, 7 hrs 50 min), Ok it is.
Part 2 (also youtube, 7 hrs 20 min) Prose like a dream journal, something to listen to while you're asleep.
Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-80134057183940393152023-04-16T00:20:00.006-07:002023-10-13T21:27:56.577-07:00What to do when you're deadThe Egyptians have one, the Tibetans have one, Catholics do too. There's several called the American Book of the dead; Everyone should have one, so here it is folks:
Bills Book O’ the Dead (Built more on the Tibetan model because their pantheon is less confusing) :
OK you wake up dead. Right off you find the stuff you depended on is gone. No circadian cycles, no physical stuff for memory Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-13438418794534512332023-02-11T10:19:00.005-08:002023-10-13T21:29:10.464-07:00Follow the MoneyWondering who's behind those "Jesus Gets Us" TV ads? Don'r worry, it'll all be obvious some day. You might wake up in a bathtub full of ice with a missing kidney but at least you'll know you helped someone in need. :)
Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-83791262946992601502023-01-25T02:52:00.005-08:002023-10-13T21:29:51.999-07:00The Mental Block
There's an old hippy axiom that everything takes place inside your head. Sort of a narcissistic point of view that turns a totally subjective observation into an apparently objective one, because it's pretty hard to prove otherwise on a daily basis and most people are fine to go along with it so long as they survive when it's over.
Everyone except Jacob Dunningham from the University of Leeds Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-44019038372479079442022-10-23T18:42:00.022-07:002023-01-09T23:08:21.936-08:00About OwlsWhile gypsying in Kentucky, my VW van began to loose compression from driving out from Calif. So I pulled the engine to fix the valves. In 1973 Jim Crow was still alive and well in Kentucky and I discovered there was no distinction between migrant Hippies, and White Trash. I don't recommend being either one. To keep focussed and avoid the grimmer aspects of being stranded deep in redneck country Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-51655355706987399542022-08-12T10:46:00.000-07:002022-08-12T10:46:04.362-07:00free willBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-9195800582920751362022-08-01T23:03:00.014-07:002023-10-14T00:50:46.212-07:00Pervasive AI Humanitys big problem with AI is that whatever it does, it subliminally represents private interests and there's no defence or control. Its main potential, outside of pure science, is to influence groups or individuals: teachers, voters, soldiers, foreign governments, consumers, so they approve or disapprove of a product, project, or political issue. The problem is that its influence has no Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-90717621048693952572022-07-23T12:54:00.013-07:002022-07-25T01:46:46.667-07:00Why People Collect Butterflies
A (sort of) Irish Folk story and approximation of an extravagant fib my grandfather told me when I was about 5 or 6:
Long ago when the world was young, butterflies collected People, and kept them inside the crystal facets of their eyes. The People couldn't remember what they did before, because they were fed only upon the finest alcohol, but they still had feelings (one or two anyway). Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-76277299090706142182022-07-14T15:56:00.001-07:002022-08-13T17:21:11.003-07:00On doing the right thingOK I get it, whosoever reads about atheists won't believe in DIY wind generators. (Bah, 'Sumatta you people!)
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mathew 5:10)
A note to evangelists: that doesn't mean being a pain in the ass gets you into heaven.
Righteousness is where hatred and guilt come from. It's both the cause and effect Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-69210013876137055292022-05-20T01:40:00.021-07:002022-07-25T01:43:19.275-07:00DIY Wind Generator Plans
Cripes. This has to be the least popular post I've ever put up or everybody is bummed from Covid. 13 hits in the last month. OK I'll re-word the blerb:
Free Dragonfly Wind Generator Plans (link). Off-the-shelf parts available from most hardware stores, 9 ft dia. self feathering, Guaranteed to survive winds to 80 mph when properly balanced and the field is energized. 10mph cut in. 40mphBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-89473295271454028522022-03-13T23:32:00.009-07:002022-07-24T11:54:04.315-07:00Friends
1. There’s a religion called Sufism where everybody is looking for someone called “The Friend”. The Friend is subjective but the ideal is to be worthy of them in the objective world. To say it’s pretty hard is an understatement because well, you live here too and you know how it is, some people are just psychos who live off other peoples good will. It’s hard to turn the other cheek if you knowBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-73593528381334427412022-02-12T22:07:00.052-08:002023-10-13T21:36:10.938-07:00DIY Elevator
Elevator Design
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Winch
Track or guide Rail
Brake
Some electronics, simple or fancy
Potential problems
Three similar designs are used here. One indooor stair-lift, one indoor vertical elevator (Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-62873139108799264342022-01-12T13:02:00.003-08:002022-01-12T13:08:16.105-08:00Best Creation Story! (from Oglaf.com)Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-67897780162982061012021-12-28T20:08:00.001-08:002022-10-27T19:49:39.315-07:00TricorderA high def. Tomograph scan that determines molecular makeup and identifies proteins. Making it possible to identify localized immune response and thus what kind of infection without invasive procedures.
AI can presently identify proteins and advise combinants, all it needs is a sensor: a high definition tomograph, which currentlly exists. The future has to start somewhere.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-64219678207489850172021-04-23T11:38:00.000-07:002021-04-23T11:38:12.604-07:00Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-39504874068560160472021-02-19T16:00:00.010-08:002024-02-01T00:20:14.827-08:00Aircooled VW Oil Beeper
VW oil light
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In a previous incarnation, I VW gypsied for 20 yrs and never once abandoned my bus (I did learn to fix it a lot though). These hacks are my own inventions, the oil beeper saved my engine many times when the oil was simply low, once when the pressure plunger stuck, once when a valve cover dislodged, and once when a sump bolt fell Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3983087.post-53618395196123633402021-02-17T18:18:00.029-08:002023-10-13T21:58:43.850-07:00Aircooled VW Speedometer Adjustment
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This How2 was the product of necessity. My '66 VW bug speedometer started squeaking and chattering and eventually stopped working after it ate 3 VW speedometer cables. A new (rebuilt) one costs $225 (incl. core charge). A used one cost $25 to $130, but it's the principle of the thing. I couldn't find any how2 online advice at the time, so Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16312596293696392614noreply@blogger.com0