Monthly Archives: July 2005

Philosophical Evolution

Posted on by

I was reading this article on CNN last week, and I started thinking about evolution and some of the points in the article.

In Washington state, when students ask teacher Faye Haas about the role of a higher being in the origin of life, she tells them: “That’s religion, that’s a belief, it’s not science theory.”

Genius! She is exactly right (although I’m going to take it in another direction). All theories about the origin of the universe are philosophical in nature–they are beliefs. Even beliefs that presuppose a naturalistic beginning.
In order for it to be a “science” it must be repeatable. It must be explainable. It must be observable. And as far as I can tell, the origin of the world does not meet any of those criteria.
The article continues:

“The thing about a (scientific) theory is it’s supported by a large body of evidence,” said Haas, a former biology instructor who teaches high school chemistry in a suburb of Seattle. “To spend half the time talking about things that speak against it doesn’t make any sense.”

I love how the writer adds “(scientific)” into the article to help clarify how “scientific” the theory of evolution must be. He (or she) gives creedence to the theory by adapting the quote.
Mainly, however, this brings to mind the absurdity of their argument. Haas purports that speaking against what is “acceptable” doesn’t make any sense. If people never spoke against science, the world would be flat, the universe would revolve around the earth, leeches would be an effective cure for disease…and the list could go on.
So I wonder…if you can’t say with absolutely certainty–what’s the harm of teaching both sides?

The U.S. Is Generous

Posted on by

So I keep hearing about how the United States gives less to the poor of the world than does Europe. However, that is not true–by percentage of GDP, the US Government does give less to the poor. However in terms of actual money, we give much more to help end poverty.
Perhaps even more telling is that American citizens give FIFTEEN times more than do our European counterparts. Read about it here…
I guess we are really putting out…not just clamoring about what someone else needs to do.

Basketball, Night Five

Posted on by

My dominating performance last week (joking) was followed by a dominating team performance this evening. We thrashed the opponents. We won by over 30 points. They were a bit dejected–and honestly, I would too if my team was 0-5.
My Stats
Points: 2 (1/2 shooting)
Rebounds: 6
Blocks: 2
Minutes: 24
Steals: 0
Fouls: 3
Not a bad night…not a good night either; but quite frankly, my “skills” weren’t needed for us to win. (Which is always a good thing)

Introducing BlogSwap

Posted on by

I am pleased to introduce BlogSwap — an idea for livening up your blog. If you, like me, struggle to come up with new and creative material for your blog, well, this is for you (do I sound like an infomercial yet???).
Here’s the deal–you write in someone else’s blog once a week (we’ll say Saturday for now). You both write at the same time and you cannot read what the other individual wrote in your post until you are both done. You never know if they’re going to be nice (like me) or mean (and ridiculous) (ahem, Sweaters). That’s the mystery of it all.
Of course, the only real rules are that you can’t be too mean, and you can’t be dirty. Ya know, kids may read this…
If you’re interested in joining the party (David, Myself, Janae have agreed to far), leave me a comment or send me an email – amaddox at gmail.com.
Oh yea, thanks to Brian Bailey for the idea…. Similar idea (except mine is for humor and not for greater learning…)

Janae my Love

Posted on by

Today was fun. I hung out with the coolest girl ever. Her name is Janae. If you don’t know her, you should. She might be one of the funniest people I know.
Dearest Janae,
If you are reading this, Let me count the ways I love thee…..1, 2, 3, 4, 5……just know that I’m tired of counting and that I really enjoyed hanging out with you today.
Anyways, I went to Galveston today with JANAE, David, Ryan, and Erin and I peed in the ocean….a lot. It’s a cool feeling. Then, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. I played ski ball a lot and I lost to my love, Janae. I tried really hard to beat her, but she is just far too superior. After all that, I realized that I smelt kind of bad, so I took a shower and it didn’t help. But, we all met up again to watch Hitch. I cried during it because…..I need a Date Doctor. Oh Hitch, please come and help me!
After the long day, I went home and dreamed of Janae. I miss her so much already that it hurts. Oh Janae…..until we meet again.
Sincerely,
Retard
Editors Note: My blog was hijacked.

True to Yourself

Posted on by

Have you ever heard the phrase “Be true to yourself?” I have and cannot, for the life of me, understand it.
The notion is absurd–if you’ve ever gotten to know people–they’re rotten, selfish jerks who are more concerned about self than others. Sure, there are “selfless” people, but deep down, there is a lot of selfishness in them.
And the selfish thoughts are natural…that’s part of being a human being. But that is exactly what I want to get away from…being a selfish human being. We have been provided with a great help that allows us to be crucified with Christ not “true to myself.”
So don’t be true to yourself…put on the things of Christ.

Slingshot

Posted on by

I found this on Terry Storch’s blog — and it seems awesome. I’d love to see it in action.

Introducing the Slingbox — a groundbreaking piece of hardwired ingenuity that will literally transform the way you watch television. The Slingbox enables you to watch your TV programming from wherever you are by turning virtually any Internet-connected PC into your personal TV. Whether you’re in another room or in another country, you’ll always have access to your television.

Check it out here.