I just found out today. Norman Borlaug died yesterday. He was the greatest human being who ever lived, and you probably don't even know who he is. His work saved an estimated 1 billion people from starvation. To quote Dr. Carl Sagan, "Why are there no monuments to this man?"

I was gonna wait until International Blasphemy Day to say this: Norman Borlaug was a better man the Jesus. Seriously, one billion. That's 1,000,000,000. It takes about 32 years just to count that high. Sorry Jesus, you got some catching up to do.

Suck on that, various people.

I saw Harry Potter today. . . starring an atheist. . . on a Sunday.

Imagine that...

http://twitpic.com/au99s
My birthday is only 7 days from the President's birthday.
Thanks to Pharyngula

Inaugural post... fail.

Just my luck... my first post and I mess it up. In the spirit of intellectual honesty, I'm going to leave the original post the way it is, and post here the one I meant do do in the first place. Does that make this irony? Anyway here's a do-over:

I took 2 quick horoscope quizzes on Facebook. Here are the results:

• You have a measured and serious view on life, but like to have fun as well. You are highly competitive and can be jealous and envious although never showing anyone these emotions. You are financially aware and do not overspend on things you do not need. It is hard for you to open up emotionally and talk about what is bothering you. You are fascinated by different forms of escape and when used in a healthy way love television, movies, music and books, but addiction is also common to drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. You are fierce when it comes to protecting yourself and loved ones. You are a faithful lover, but can be secretive and controlling. You enjoy the pleasures of table and bed. Strengths: Serious – Steadfast – Sexual Weaknesses: Depressive – Worrying – Escapist .
  
  
• Frank and open in demeanor like that of a child you are often accused of having a superficial or naïve view on life. You are constantly rediscovering the world around you and like to express your observations with others. You love spontaneity and liveliness but it is important to you that others regard you as mature and responsible. You often have a highly private personal life and like to have time to be alone. You can fall into spells of depression but prefer to work it out on your own rather then seek professional help. You have a strong belief system. You demand a lot of understanding from you personal relationships. In romantic relationships you need to freedom to be yourself without any restrictions. You like people down to earth and with a good sense of humor, the ability to put things into perspective and a life of his or her own. Strengths: frank – spontaneous – dynamic Weaknesses: Naïve – Transgressive – over idealistic .

Ok so now that I got this put up the way I meant to, I challenge you to look these two horoscopes over and see if you can guess which one ... Ok screw it. Neither of these is my horoscope. In fact, look again at the very first sentence: You have a measured and serious view on life, but like to have fun as well. That's one of the classic techniques of writing a horoscope: basically you start out saying one thing, but by the end of the sentence you end up saying the exact opposite. I recommend reading The Onion. Their horoscopes aren't any more accurate, but they are a lot more entertaining.

Things that I believe

1. You have the right to say whatever you feel like saying. And if it's based on a reasoned argument or a well-supported opinion, I'll probably take seriously whatever it is you have to say. On the other hand, I have every right to ignore you, too.
2. You don't have the right to silence someone who offends you, or who you disagree with. You still have the right to, I dunno, not listen? Change the channel?
   
3. You have the right to believe whatever you want. You have the right to practice those beliefs without interference from anybody else, as long as that practice doesn't endager anybody or break any laws.
   3a Your right to believe ends when your beliefs put the health, safety, or even the basic freedoms of someone else in danger.
   
4. You have the right to tell me I'll suffer eternal torment and damnation for not believing in exactly that which you believe (again, see #1). I might ask you for proof. If you fail to provide such proof, I'll probably just ignore you.
5. I believe that science, knowledge, education, logic and reason will lead to a better world than religion.
6. The moon landings were not faked.
7. There's probably no giantgantic conspiracy involving McDonald's, Microsoft, Disney, Time Warner, Wal-Mart, Nike, the WTO, NAFTA, NATO, NORAD, the Vatican, the Jews, Coca-Cola, and the Hallmark Corporation; all making up one huge, evil cabal to control our lives.
8. I'll go out on a limb and say there are probably aliens somewhere else in the universe, but they're probably NOT landing here and anal probing midwest farmer hicks.
   
9. Whatever sexual shenanigans that happen between 2 (or more) informed, consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes is fine by me, and probably none of my business.
   
10. Speaking of sex, I belive Sex Ed should teach all about abstinence... as well as puberty, biology, STDs, masturbation, pregnancy, abortions, and protection.
11. I think all drugs should be legal. And I will probably still never use them, anyway.
    
12. You're welcome to teach Intelligent Design(id est Creationism) in science class- as soon as you can prove it.
13. Harry Potter won't teach your kids how to be a witch any more than Star Wars will teach your kids how to be a Jedi.
14. The Pledge of Allegiance should be to the Constitution, not the Flag. And drop the "Under God." It was only added in the 50s to separate us from the godless Communists.
15. Evolution is just a theory. So is gravity, the atom, the germ, electromagnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics...
16. If commit murder, you don't get executed- that gets you off too easy. Instead you spend the rest of your life in hard labor working for the benefit of the society you wronged.
    
17. I think we should give up stem cell research, as soon as the Vatican comes up with a cure for cancer.
18. I think half of all of the ginormous, multi-million dollar megachurches should be converted into homeless shelters, complete with living facilities, fitness centers, kitchens and classrooms.
19. The other half should be converted into facilities for scientific research.
    

Inaugural post

I took 2 quick horoscope quizzes on Facebook. Here are the results:

• You have a measured and serious view on life, but like to have fun as well. You are highly competitive and can be jealous and envious although never showing anyone these emotions. You are financially aware and do not overspend on things you do not need. It is hard for you to open up emotionally and talk about what is bothering you. You are fascinated by different forms of escape and when used in a healthy way love television, movies, music and books, but addiction is also common to drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. You are fierce when it comes to protecting yourself and loved ones. You are a faithful lover, but can be secretive and controlling. You enjoy the pleasures of table and bed. Strengths: Serious – Steadfast – Sexual Weaknesses: Depressive – Worrying – Escapist .
• You have a measured and serious view on life, but like to have fun as well. You are highly competitive and can be jealous and envious although never showing anyone these emotions. You are financially aware and do not overspend on things you do not need. It is hard for you to open up emotionally and talk about what is bothering you. You are fascinated by different forms of escape and when used in a healthy way love television, movies, music and books, but addiction is also common to drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. You are fierce when it comes to protecting yourself and loved ones. You are a faithful lover, but can be secretive and controlling. You enjoy the pleasures of table and bed. Strengths: Serious – Steadfast – Sexual Weaknesses: Depressive – Worrying – Escapist .

Now... which one do you think is mine??