I made a promise to some friends that I would update this thing more often, and this is the first post to that effect.

I was discussing Creationism vs Evolutionism with one of the afore mentioned friends, and we hit upon some interesting points.

1. There is a lot of hate between the two camps. There are many people who get entirely too irrational about the subject; Creationists saying that Evolutionists are trying to undermine their religious institutions, and the Evolutionists calling the Creationists stupid for believing in fairy tales. I'm not saying that these arguments are representative of either side, but the people making these comments seem to be the ones who get the most press.

2. Evolution is still a scientific theory; it is not proven and it is not law. Many people seem to forget this fact. While there is a lot evidence pointing to evolution as a verifiable natural process, it still has not entered into scientific dogma, and there are many people working on the problem. From a purely scientific standpoint, it would be acceptable for evolution to be proven false, as that would end the debate, and allow us to further our knowledge of the world. Unfortunately, people seem to be more concerned with being right rather than factual.

3. The ideology of Creationists and Evolutionists are inherently different. Their basic assumptions about the whole issue are not the same. An Evolutionist is looking for something that can be objectively and independently verified. They are looking for an experiment that can be published and then duplicated by anyone in the world with the equipment and inclination to do so. Creationists, on the other hand, operate on faith. They are have no need of independent verification because having faith in God and the Bible does not require it. This is not to imply that scientists are without any sort of faith, or that devout people are foolish for their beliefs, just to point out that the ideology is different, and that causes problems.

Some thoughts on political parties.
As I've said before, I can't always remember what I've talked about on this page, so I apologize if I repeat myself. If you know me personally, then you know that that is pretty much how I operate in real life anyway.

Political parties are not interested in finding the best man for office. They are not even interested in finding the best Democrat or Republican or whatever for office. They are interested in the person most likely to get elected, whatever his qualities. The only reason that issues matter to the party at all, is that issues affect your ability to get elected. If a study was done proving that penis size affected your chances, you can be damn sure that every presidential hopeful would find himself in a room with doctor, a ruler, and his pants around his ankles.

Overheard in my Literature 275 class

A student mentioned that she was dying to ask the professor if he held any kind of religious beliefs at all, because shed couldn't tell.

It's true; from his lectures you really don't get any kind feel for weather or not he has any, but that doesn't bother me.

I wanted to ask her, "If he was Christian, would that make him a better professor? Would he be a worse teacher is he was an Atheist?"

Just an interesting question. Not sure why I didn't speak up. Maybe I'll ask next week.

Marriage (Mine)

I'm still developing a.... an image, if you will, of myself as a married man. It's still hard for me to grasp that she doesn't care if screw up, because she loves me. It's strange that I should forget that, as it's the same way I feel about her.

I'm also learning that just because I love her very much, does not mean that I'm always happy with her. We're human, above all, and we get upset with each other. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not at all. But we always come out of it.

A casualty of the information age.

That's how I describe myself, at the moment. I was thinking about how I was tired of being sold shit, and how difficult it can be to research something on line, and I decided the two were related.

I feel that almost all advertising is deceitful. Every time I see an ad, I think, "Where's the catch?" Most of you are probably thinking, "Well, duh," but I don't think the point is addressed enough. While ads may not lie outright, as in passing off cubic zirconia as natural diamond, by it's very nature seemingly, there is always a kernal of dishonesty, of chicanery, double-dealing, fourberie, fraud, hanky-panky, highbinding, or sharp practice. To quote Tolkien, it's "wicked, tricksy, false." Either by omission or clever word choice, they attempt to lead you astray.

It can't be good to be this cynical, but growing up with the glut of information we have these days has sent my bullshit detector into overdrive. It doesn't help that I find myself right a lot of the time.

Some examples:
I was investigating a bartending academy that opened recently in town. The comely young woman explained that, normally, the cost is $599.00, but because they've had such a need for students, they're currently offering classes for only $349.00. I needed to act quickly, she told me, because that special price was scheduled to end tomorrow. At this point, the BS radar went 'ping,' and I told her I'd think about it. (Not that I had six hundred or three hundred fifty or even fifty dollars to give her at that point.) I asked around and, sure enough, the 'special price' had been scheduled to end for several months now.

RC Willey, a furniture chain for those readers lucky enough to not live within range of their incessant advertising, advertised a sale where, quote, "Absolutely everything in the store is on sale!" Then at the end of the broadcast the announcer quickly added that, "A very few items not included in this sale." You can't have it both ways.

Mor, another furniture chain, has had a sale going on "Today, Tonight and Tomorrow Only!" since they opened in town, two years ago. The deal never really changes, only the name of the sale. I rest easy every night knowing that I will probably never have to pay money down, interest, or delivery fees at Mor, OAC.

Political ads are a whole category of dishonesty to themselves.

So everything I'm presented with I regard warily. I see the man begging on the corner and wonder if really does need money or is just lazy. There's a collection cup on the counter at work for a little girl who needs an unfathomably expensive operation. I know the girl's need is genuine, but I wonder how much of the spare change in the cup actually makes it to her family. The cup does say dose that 100% of the funds go directly to Annabelle, and that is comforting, but I still can't bring myself to trust them.

Somebody wants me to "click here to receive a free prize." I have never once clicked one of those.

This other person wants my email address to sign me up for a newsletter, and I want to know who else is getting my address.

Even my employer is trying to sell me something. Not a product, but we have these five 'core values' that are basically trying to trick me into being a good little employee. (I'll save my thoughts on those gems for later.)

As jaded as I am, ads still work on me from time to time. Case in point, I tried one of BK's new chicken sandwiches the other day because mostly I thought the commercials were funny.

I understand that whining about advertising being double-plus un-good is like whining about an elm tree shedding it's leaves in the fall; it's just the way things are. But the elm tree doesn't make me wary of almost every one I meet.

I wonder what all this cynicism is doing to us.