Archive for February, 2007
Do You Have Free Will?
This might sound crazy right now, but maybe it won’t after you think about it for a while.
Do you have free will?
I think most everyone would quickly answer “yes” to this question without giving it much thought.
You are probably thinking that you could dedide to do anything that you want right now, so you have free will, right? Decide to stand up right now and do 7 upside down jumping jacks to prove that you have free will.
Now I ask you if a coin sorter has free will? A coin sorter takes a coin and drops it into one tube that contains the same coins, it makes a simple decision about what to do with each coin. You could eassily modify that coin sorter to skip the dime tube so that all the dimes were mixed in with the pennies. So of course the coin sorter does not have free will, right? Maybe your brain is a machine just like the coin sorter, but a lot more complex. You can afterall modify the brain to do specific things at specific times. Think of someone being hyptnotized. If that person is told to do something everytime a specific word is mentioned, do they have free will at that point? Certainly not, their brain has been programmed to do something, and they cannot just decide they aren’t going to anymore. You probably are thinking that you have free will everywhere else in your life besides the little bit of re-programming a hyptnotist could do, but could you completely resist being hyptnotized all together. If you had free will, you would be able to resist the attempt of any hyptnotist, wouldn’t you?
I got this idea becuase I read the blog of Scott Adams, He has written several times about the lack of free will. The hyptnotist example was my own idea. He argued that a brain surgeon could modify your brain to restrict you ability to do certain things, just like modifying a simple machine to do (or to not do) specific things. The brain is just a much more complex machine.
Have I convinced you that you do not have free will? At least made you wonder and un-sure?
Scheduled love
My favorite holiday would have to be Valentine’s Day because I just never know what I am going to screw up. Trying to guess what I’ve done wrong is becoming entertaining for me. Let me start by saying that I love my wife and that she is a wonderful, intelligent, and beautiful woman. It is becoming abundantly clear that I am cerebrally challenged. Like the time she told me that since funding was low we shouldn’t buy each other anything for VD, we should just spend the night together. Walked right into that one. There had to be at least 30 minutes of ‘I can’t believe you didn’t at least buy me flowers’ and a couple of ‘ you don’t even love me, do you?’. I wanted to say ‘Not right now’, but she was too busy calling her mother or sister (they needed to know how big a douchebag I am) to hear me. Great night. Once we finally got to bed, the sex was worth all the pain I had endured. Thank God for wet dreams. This year I played it a little safer. Even though I got the same speech as the year before about money and no gifts, I made chocolate-dipped strawberries, bought flowers (turns out they were Daffodils-this will be important shortly), and her favorite candy. I also made her dinner, rented a movie she had wanted to see, and got a nice bottle of wine. Who am I kidding. Like any women needs wine on VD. If I could only bottle all the whining I’ve heard… I apologize for the digression. I’d be surprised if anyone sees what I’ve done wrong this year (besides the fact that nothing extravagant was done). The flowers I bought her are poisonous to dogs. I can’t win, I don’t even try win anymore. No, VD is about learning from the past and making new mistakes each and every year. Just like the other VDs (e.g., syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia), pleasure goes with pain. I can’t wait until the next scheduled love day.
Day by Day
If you don’t yet follow this cartoon, you will. http://sigarmsnews.com/dbm83/l.html?35505&84986 or http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/ Either link should get you there, I just wanted to give credit to the guys that turned me on to it.
Zero’s Programs for Social Reform part III - Holiday Special
Even as I look at the words “Holiday Special”, they look somewhat strange. With all the complaining that goes on around here about the way other people celebrate holidays, it makes me wonder, why do we celebrate holidays at all? Why not just toss this shit out the window? For starters, I’ll give you one reason why we should get rid these worthless holidays.
New Year’s Day - It’s just an excuse to not go to work with a hangover.
Martin Luther King Day - He’s been dead for years, and people are still pissed off about it.
Groundhog Day - Hell, someone shot one of those poor little furballs a few years ago, obviously, someone doesn’t like it.
Valentine’s Day - Single people get jealous and couples have to buy each other shit.
President’s Day - Does that mean we have to honor all presidents, or just Washington and Lincoln… frankly, I can’t say much of anything good about the current excuse for a president.
St. Patrick’s Day - An Irish excuse to get drunk.
April Fool’s Day - An excuse to piss people off and laugh about it because it’s just “April Fools”.
Easter- Who shall triumph? A man on a cross or the Cadbury Bunny?
Cinco de Mayo - A Mexican excuse to get drunk.
Mother’s Day - Many of the early psychoanalysts would look at the relationship one had with his/her mother as a possible explanation of their problems.
Memorial Day - Although usually an excuse for watching WWII movies, it was originally intended to remember the death resulting from Americans killing Americans in the Civil War.
Father’s Day - Tribute to men… if you cut the women’s day, you’d better severe this one too… besides, men have been the source of many of this countries problems since its conception.
Independence Day - How many other countries in the world are happy the United States won the Revolutionary War?
Labor Day - Would not work be better celebrated by working instead of taking the day off?
Columbus Day - Don’t get me started… the man inadvertently attempted to commit genocide.
Halloween - Because no one can make his or herself a bigger freak on this day than I am every day of the year and especially on this day.
All Saints’ Day - What constitutes a Saint?
Veteran’s Day - Another day to celebrate man killing their fellow man in war.
Thanksgiving - Simple… cut this and there’s no more Black Friday…
Christmas - Since no one can agree on the “true nature” of Christmas… fuck it.
New Year’s Eve - The year’s over, let’s get shitfaced.
Ok, I know I didn’t cover every last one, but I don’t have time. The big one to pay attention to in this list is Christmas. People don’t seem to agree on reason’s to celebrate holidays… Christmas and many others. And if people can’t agree on why they should have a day to relax and spend a day however they choose, why do we even bother? Why don’t we just take random days off instead? People or groups can decide whatever days they want off, and at least, they might get to spend that time together. Ok, forget this, its all a stupid idea. Here’s what I really want to say.
Quit complaining about how and why people celebrate holidays. It’s futile and a waste of time. For one, yes, people have the freedom of speech, so they are entitled to use it. However what gives anyone the AUTHORITY to dictate how and why and in what manner and for what reason and purpose or if people shall celebrate holidays? Short version, if someone believes that he or she knows the truth and the way and reason to celebrate any holiday, they’re full of crap and wasting people’s time trying to convince other people of his or her position. So, stop bitching, and whining, and complaining when the next person doesn’t celebrate like you, or even if the holiday is worth celebrating. The day is yours, do what you will, if necessary don’t get caught, but take a holiday and make it whatever you like, and let everyone else do the same.
Trying to make a difference.
Anyone here have student loans? Anyone here been screwed over by your consolidation company or more specifically Sallie Mae? I know I have.
If you have delt with Sallie Mae and you have had a good experience with them, I would be amazed. Saying I hate this organization is a gross understatement.
Anyway, I just want to share this site with all of you. I have hardly checked it out yet, but I heard the guy who started it talking on NPR (I think) the other night. He, like many others has been taken advantage of by this BIG business.
Currently, the legislation is against us - the borrowers. The site details this legislation much better than I can, so I will let you read for yourself.
PLEASE READ - http://studentloanjustice.org/problem.htm
william
Hunting is not a sport.
Hunting is not a sport, at least not to me. The word sport (according to Merriam-Webster) has several definitions. I will put forth the two that seem fitting for the use of the word when referenced with hunting: 1 a : to amuse oneself, 2 a : to mock or ridicule something.
I will explain why hunting is not a sport to me. Hunting is the act of pursuing an animal with intent being to kill the animal. Anytime death is involved, amusement should not be involved. Anyone who has a true appreciation for life and the amount of resources it takes for an animal to get to the size and age it is when you kill it, would not find joy in killing it. I do appreciate the life of the animals I hunt, and I understand that the odds are against them.
I think that there is a disassociation between many hunters and the act they are committing – specifically, the taking of a life.
Think of the animal as an infant, how hard it was to survive with so many other animals trying to find it and kill it for dinner. Think of the elements that the animal has had to endure from freezing winter days to blazing summer days. Think of the parents of that animal and what they had to do to keep that critter alive until it could fend for itself.
It is a miracle when an animal reaches maturity with so many after its flesh.
I’m not trying to tell anyone they shouldn’t hunt, I just want everyone to appreciate the fact that they are taking a life that in many cases would have went on for years after, it shouldn’t be for amusement and it shouldn’t go without that recognition.
What I want from hunters is this, next time you have that deer in your cross-hairs – think about that deer when it was a fawn, think about it when it was interacting with its mother and siblings, understand that the deer would have been in that area day after day, picture it’s bedding area will empty this night – and then pull the trigger, and then understand how easy it just was for you to remove an animal from its home, to kill it in 1 second by 1 pull of the trigger.
The next time you are hunting pheasants and you see them running, think about the raccoons and skunks that are after them as eggs and chicks, and the hawks and coyotes that are trying to kill them daily – and then when it is trying to fly away from you to spend 1 more day eluding the others, pull the trigger and end it’s life – its so easy.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a hunter. And this is not to say that I don’t enjoy certain aspects associated with hunting. The time spent with my family and friends out in the field, and the adrenaline rush that comes when I see my prey. I also like carrying a weapon in the field. I do go out with the intent of killing my prey, but do not confuse that with me liking to kill – that is the worst part about the hunt for me – ending somethings life.
Hunting is not a sport, it is a natural, sacred part of life.