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Blogging gap filled

2006-01-23T14:45:00.000-05:00

Blogger was a nice stop-gap for a few weeks, but then I got into WordPress. I thought I'd hate how I can't customize the themes at wordpress.com, but all the nice features they have more then make up for it. Go ->

Re: Lies About Science and Religion

2005-11-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

There's an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Hobbes asks Calvin if he believes in God. Calvin responds "Well, if there isn't, someone is out to get me!"
Apparently, this self-named "logicnazi" does not agree with Calvin's statement.

"...it isn't an acceptable move to say that you believe in science but you don't think it is the whole story. This just redefines the notion of science in question to complete triviality."
No, it doesn't. Basically, your argument is that there can't be a force that disrupts normal scientific progression of events, because that would allow any wacko out there to claim whatever they want about magic, palm reading & speaking with the dead and get away with it logically. This cannot be true, as some people are obviously just saying whatever. Therefore, either some (but not all) of the religious nuts are telling the truth, or all of them are wrong.
I doubt that the latter is correct.
I know that science works. I don't think we understand a lot of it (evolution, for example), but I know its true. However, I do believe that there are some supernatural factors that can (and sometimes do) override the way the universe normally works. Supernatural events are not scientific. They cannot be scientific, simply because they don't fit within the realm of science. However, this does not mean that they are false or that they don't exist.
Take your example, Jesus rising from the dead.

"...I'm saying that if you hold that we have good reason to believe jesus [sic] rose from the dead despite the generally observed medical fact that people don't get up after they are dead you should be upfront with your position that the scientific evidence isn't always the best guide to the truth."
Jesus rising from the dead is unscientific. It was a supernatural event. In essence, it is a physical manifestation of an element of the spiritual realm. Not a ghost, but the power of God to heal, save and deliver.

Science occurs all the time. Supernatural events, by the very definition of the word, do not occur 24/7 in the natural progression of things. Nor do they reduce science to triviality, unless "science" means being able to explain every single physical phenomena. They always come from, or lead to, spiritual happenings. Unless God or another spiritual force performs directly or works though a person to create the event, it won't happen. These events don't just pop up on every street corner and they almost never change the basic rules of science. However, since God set science in motion, it's perfectly reasonable that He should be able to disrupt it occasionally.

Now, you have two options. You can dismiss the whole idea of a "spiritual realm" as bogus and try to explain everything with science, or you can try to figure out which group of religious "nuts" are telling the truth.
Your choice.

Library visit yields shocking discoveries of mismanaged computer systems

2005-11-29T22:45:00.000-05:00

I went to the Collin's Hill library for the first time in over six months on Saturday.

The first thing I noticed was the new, revamped computer system.
Before I go into the details of how it's changed, first let me explain what it used to be like. In the old days, or, about a year ago, you'd go up to a terminal, click one of six buttons (five of which being electronic card catalog functions) do a search, and click the home button to return. I think they used Windows 2000 computers with some sort of locked down shell. I remember the term "Galileo" was used to describe the software. Anyway, it seemed pretty decent. Most of the system key shortcuts were locked down and "It just worked!"

But now...
To start the session, you must first enter your library card PIN. It's like a 20 digit number. Ok... This completed, instead of merely loading a locked down card catalog application, some of the terminals launch a copy of Internet Explorer with the web catalog as a homepage and some of them drop right to a Windows XP desktop. This, imho, A Bad Thing. There are so many ways you can mess up the computer for other people. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete will bring up a log-out dialog, allowing you to disable the PIN entry screen. Also, simply using Internet Explorer to read spam messages in a Yahoo mail inbox has been known to unleash viruses upon unsuspecting patrons.

Anyway, after the web browser/desktop has loaded, a small window appears at the top of the screen with a distracting ticking clock counting down from 15 minutes. This is to encourage people to get on, find the books they are looking for, maybe quickly check email, and get off. It would work great for that, too, but it is just horrid for people like me. With the old systems, I'd find an open terminal, spend 30 seconds looking for a book, then vanish into the shelves to return 15 minutes later with another search. Not so with the new system. After you've ended the session, you cannot use that terminal again for 24 hours. This means on a busy day, even if the terminal you used half an hour ago is free, you'll have to trek all the way across the library looking for a new one.

All the terminals in the library display some sort of application framed by a Windows XP "Luna" border. Even the single-task systems like the printer and checkout, whose programs were clearly meant to be run fullscreen. What's worse, the window border lops off about 32 pixels of the application view, a bad thing since most of the programs have an OK button near the bottom. You can only see the top half of some of them.

On a positive note, this branch is starting to phase in RFID tags. That means all you have to do to check out it dump a stack of books on a special plate on the table and stick your card into a slot. Instant checkout. In theory, anyway. In practice, there are still a few bugs. Your stack can't be more then 9 books high, or the ones on top won't be read properly. Some books also have missing or bad metadata on their tags. However, they only started this system a month ago, and within a year I expect the problems will be ironed out.

Now, if only they'd use Linux...

An explanation

2005-11-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

[mirrored from http://www.gecko.f2o.org]

First off, I love WordPress, and I love how I can pretty much do just about anything with f2o.org. However, f2o's database goes down a ton. At least once every day, it's offline for 20 minutes or so. Sometimes it's gone longer.
Now, I understand that this hosting is free and all, but seriously! I'm getting close to 200 hits a day now. That means at least 3 people a day are getting a "WordPress cannot connect to the database" message. I mean, I'm thrilled that people like reading what I write, but I'm still a student short on cash. I can't afford to get good, paid hosting where I can call people up and complain when the blog goes down.

I'm not ready to give up on f2o yet, though. I'm adding some ads in the sidebar to help support them, and I've got a "mobile" blogger site as a backup for when the database is unavalable.

So, yeah. If you see an error here occasionaly, drop by the mobile and see whats new. Chances are, I'll have something interesting there to entertain you.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome

2005-11-18T18:18:00.000-05:00

This space has now been claimed at the lair of teh Fremz0r!
j0 have been warned.