bascule

As long as you have a dosimeter you'll be fine. Walking around there without a dosimeter is like being a blind man stumbling around a metal foundry.

Honestly, do you get off on trolling? I don't see what keeps you coming back after having been banned like 5 or 6 times...

How can you falsify any hypothesis about abiogenesis if all evidence was obliterated billions of years ago?

Well, that was a dizzying post, with too much focus on unsubstantiated hypothesis and too little upon the important characteristics of early life. The hypothesis put forward by Dawkins in The Ancestor's Tale is one of autocatalysts (substences which catalyze the production of themselves) giving way to "RNA world" (in which RNA stores both heredity and acts as a catalyst) which gave way to progenotes (harnessing DNA and proteins to use in conjunction with RNA) which lead to the formation of the first prokaryote which comprises the common ancestor of all life on earth.

Yes... the wind blows, a house shifts, and the floorboards creak, perhaps in repetition in such a way that it sounds like an invisible person is walking through your house. There are innumerable similar circumstances that can create the illusion of an apparition.

I've attended since DC11. This is going to be a weird year since they are moving from the Alexis Park, which is a resort/conference center, to the Riviera which is a full blown casino. Anyway, if you have questions about Defcon you might try hitting the forums: http://forum.defcon.org/

I have a lot of trouble finding girls who can understand or appreciate me. This has lead to a lot of bad first "dates" (if you even want to call it that) and a few one night stands. It gets pretty frustrating. I've never been in a long-term relationship. Maybe someday... just gotta find the right person.

This story is so close to my own personal view of eschaton and universal rebirth in a cyclical/oscillating cosmology it's uncanny.

That's a statement I can't take seriously without a source. Iran got the equipment and designs they needed from A.Q. Khan' date=' the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb (who stole it from Europe in the '60s). They got the ICBM technology from North Korea. Well, there's a lot of practical implecations of nuking Israel too. First, there's the Palestinian population, and second, Jerusalem, which is also a Muslim holy city. They'd be using a uranium core fission bomb, which means it'd be only Hiroshima sized, or larger, so they'd probably just nuke one primarily Jewish city which is not Jerusalem. One would hope such an attack would no be responded to with a MAD policy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecund_universes Yeah, this idea is just so awesome, and finally I know the proper term with which to describe it!

Ghosts exist inside of people's heads, and nowhere else. About 6 months ago I went to Bingham Hill Cemetery, a pioneer cemetery which dates back to the 19th century. This is reputably "haunted" and people have reported "when you go there late at night you can people screaming and babies crying and feel cold hands touching you." Well, we went there late at night (which, yes, per the sign in the linked photos is tresspassing). Know what I felt? Nothing. Know what paranormal experiences I had? None. No ghosts. No people screaming. No cold hands touching me. No crying babies.

Kierkegaard is about the only existentialist I like. A lot of what you are is what you tell yourself. As a simple thought experiment, sit there and tell yourself "I am pathetic... I am pathetic... I am pathetic..." over and over and see what kind of thoughts develop. Next, try telling yourself "I am incredible... I am incredible... I am incredible..." instead. There's a really amazing, palpable juxtaposition between the two experiences. Evolution has given us brains that like to focus on what's wrong with our lives. We take what's right for granted because focusing on what's right would detract from looking out for problems. Now that we live in a modern, organized society where we aren't constantly under the threat of death, this mode of thinking isn't particularly beneficial. When you're feeling down, try spending some time telling yourself that you're an incredible person (over and over until you believe it) and focusing on everything right in your life that you're thankful for. If this doesn't work, I'd suggest seeing a psychologist.

Yes, amazing how mullahs have never used their non-existent nuclear weapons in the past. Iran is threatening to wipe Israel off the map. Repeatedly. They're working on nuclear weapons and 6,000km range ICBMs. Do you really trust them not to use nuclear weapons once they have them? It's 4200 kilometers from Tehran to Paris. 4400 km to London. 4800 km to Madrid. The 6,000km range of the Shahab-6 will allow them to strike anywhere in Europe, if they so desire.

Slate is also running a cool article: "Were the Missile Strikes in Pakistan Illegal? - The laws of war, explained"

LOL, freaking awesome, and so very true...

And here I was expecting a link to http://theonion.com

I think the opposite assumption (i.e. development of clothes minimized the selection advantage of having hair; losing hair meant less time picking out parasites, more to spend on constructive activities, gathering food, etc) makes quite a bit more sense. That's not true at all!

In other news, a new Zogby poll (you know, the guy who called the 2004 presidential race for Kerry? Whoops) comissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org (take that for what you will) shows the majority of Americans would support impeaching Bush for the domestic spying program: http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12528

I definitely prefer Birkenstocks to socks Dunno about that

Yep, that is precisely the crux of the argument against Intelligent Design. ID isn't science, it's an enormous argument from incredulity, the "God in the Gaps" argument. The whole thing is based on a logical fallacy. Science is based on logic.

I conceed: In times past, there have been giant apes such as Gigantopithecus Large versions of species we did not expect to exist have been discovered, such as giant feral cats in Australia that were previously presumed to be panthers However, lacking any kind of hard evidence, as a skeptic I tend to conclude NO. For enthusiaists of soft evidence however, enjoy this animated GIF: Yes, nor is there for manticores, vampires, Zeus, griffins, leprichauns, fairies, or unicorns.

Fabric of the Cosmos is an awesome book. We see, time and time again, special and general relativity being tested by more and more novel experiments, each time showing that Einstein was right. The author of this article clearly has no respect for any of that, nor any clue about what he's describing, citing the "twin paradox" like so many idiots who have posted that in the physics forums in a vain attempt to "debunk" SR. I would consider this article indicative of the anti-science sentiments which run throughout the Evangelical community.

Also, Slate has a story on Russ Tice, the NSA whistleblower who's likely to be the star witness in the case. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622232.stm

It wasn't intended to be a snide remark, and I assumed doG was joking. I thought of making the same joke myself. I'd request a source on the physical configuration of these bunkers you allege, but really you're just a boring person to discuss anything with and I'm quite close to putting you on ignore.

Yes, I did. Having fun trolling?