rigney

I'm glad you find such a mundane and unscientific discourse to your liking. I suppose it can be amusing for a fellow with coursework elevating him far above the fray of those of lesser intellect. But some of us are actually caught up in our ignorance to where, "we just aren't sure". Now, with people of your caliber around to help us out and showing us the way;, perhaps we of lesser Gods can become outstanding atheist like you. Since I'm half way there, it should be no problem in convincing me that my wishy washy stance is a lost cause.

Gotta agree with you for the most part. Reading several commentaries posted in the religious part of this forum compelled me to ask the question: "Why the anger?" I can see where people might get upset when someone steps on their belief, especially if they are a positive yea or nay. But being in the middle, I thought being iffy would keep me safe." Naa! Thanks for the input.

Let's just hope this little giant never falls into a near earth orbit? From: Wakipedia.... "Ceres" is the largest body in the asteroid belt and is classified as a dwarf planet. It has a diameter of slightly under 1000 km, and a mass large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical shape. Ceres was considered a planet when it was discovered in the 19th century, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s as further observation revealed additional asteroids. It was again reclassified in 2006 as a dwarf planet.

CO doesn't kill you per-se, but robs a body of its natural intake of oxygen. Just be careful where and how you vent your home. Quote: If we have to buy coal from foreign countries, our energy rates will skyrocket. Millions of homes depend on U.S. coal for electricity. Are you worried that lost coal production will dramatically increase your electrical rates? How would your community be affected if tax revenue and salaries from coal are lost? Are you concerned about the thousands of good American jobs that will be go to foreign countries? We would love to hear your personal story and your answers to the questions asked above. Email your comments, along with your photo, to faces@myfacesofcoal.org.

ydoaPs is 100% right if you are looking for the perfect fuel to power ratio. Then you'll want to use the sun. Cost?, Thats another question? But I believe you were interested in showing your class the negative side of using coal as a fuel? For the most negative method, use Bituminous coal. It's soft with a lot of impurities and oils in it, and it's messy. On the other hand, Anthracite is roughly 96-98 % pure, cleaner to work with and burns much hotter. The most efficient method for using anthracite is to grind it into a powder as fine as, or finer than flour. Then, using tubular air blowers; inject it into the fire box. In such a powdered form the dust can be quite dangerous and very explosive if dispersed into the air. In large generating systems the coal is powdered as needed so as not to have this liability. So don't keep more than a five pound bag of the stuff on hand at any time. Any of your engineering buddies can help with pre-ignition heating of the fire box before injection begins. Then it's just a matter of controls. Looks like fun.

I'll have to give you a: "Bong, Bong, Bong" on that, since I've had relatives and close friends suffereing the dilemma that are gone, gone, gone. And mostly, 'cause we didn't have the money to make up the difference. If you can live another day and can afford it, do it!

I'd like to have that same audacious stance, but I refrain simply because I'm a bit unsure.

For an old fart having no education, is 59 bad?

Be less pragmatic. A closed thermodynamic system, a quantitative measure of the amount of thermal energy not available to do work. A measure of disorder and randomness in a closed system. The tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity? "An inevitable and steady deterioration of a society". (I like this one). But:Take your pick.

That's the sadness of a mortal God with convictions to something he merely surmises.

Noncommittal? Get where? You've got me hands down on both issues guy. Give me a break and tell me what you're talking about, and what your stand is?

What scares me most about some guys is that they talk a mean game, but root from the cheap seats. Noncommittal and keeping their inner thoughts to themselves is their business I suppose. I'm not saying it's wrong, not to bare yourself to the world, allowing it to poke fun at you. But c'mon!, this is among friends. Me!, I'm an AGNOSTIC. Moon, I read you as a total hard line ATHEIST. Jackson33, bless your heart, you're totally RELIGOUS, and I wish that I could share your faith along with some of the other conrtibutors to this post, but I can't. The "Y" in the road?, you'll get there ydoaPs, along with the rest of us. I just hope you and I both have an open mind when we get to that turning point.

ydoaPs, I like your style, but if I may; just where do you stand on the issue? You inject a lot of judgmental conjecture, yet are so aloof as to make me wonder? Are you a religous zelot, perhaps a real die hard athiest or maybe one of us stuck in the middle who don't know which fork in the road to take when we get there? C'mon, let's hear from you and your feelings?

Doc. ineffectual is a word characterizing a surgeon makes a mistake during an operation, an umpire, with a wrong decision; or a teacher instructing a class negativly. Using coal as a fuel, other than the atom is probably the most effective method we have of producing eletricity, since there isn't enough water or positive wind power to do the job. Rather than demean the process of using coal as a fuel, teach them the value of increasing their knowledge of its use.

I like your stand on the issue since it's similar to mine. So, why the anger when God is in question, and so mush consternation? What happens down the road when; "empirical perfection" ceases to instill the mindset that there is absolutely no God? And what if, What if, becomes again, only "What if?"? That in itself scares me more than to find out at this very moment there is no such thing as God. Everyone can, and should believe as they see fit since our stay here is such a short span. Perhaps in a few life times our solar system and even the Milky Way may be explored to its fullest. But even in mans wildest thoughts, I don't believe there is a way of ever escaping this galaxy.

So apropos!. "Faith" is an intrinsic force of nature, not a fiat of some religious or atheistic doctrine. Nurturing determines its use. As to our progress of today?, makes me wonder how the first "up-rights" ever managed?

So, you're saying; I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. Not much of a choice is there? Well, I've seen some of the better places on this earth, and some I would much rather forget. Is this my dichotomy? Yes! And also the flux that keeps me noncommittal, while allowing me to hope for something better? Yet, I just hope that I'm not so naive as to think I won't have friends in low places, if things don't work out.

Not possible? Since I have no idea what the statement relates to, perhaps you can give me a better understanding of your meaning.

My question was simple: Why the anger? I'm an agnostic, plain and simple and don't have an axe to grind with either the religious believers or nonbelievers since I'm somewhere in the middle. Does taking that stand make it a loaded question? Am I some sort of a passive wishy washey, almost theist or atheist as you indicate? Not on your life. I merely asked a question to which I saw several responses making sense. At this time my stand on the issue has no significant meaning what so ever. But, if you would like to ask me questions about my initial question, fire away and I'll try answering them as best I can. But if you can't assess the issue as stated, then leave it be. I'm happy with the answers I've seen so far and may even get something beneficial from them.

Somehow religion always gets dragged into the mix. But I simply responded to the fact that infinity, like the universe is something that needs to be studied further before making such a conclusive statement! You and AJB probably know more about math than I will ever remotely comprehend. But the actual study of the one, our universe; is only beginning. To me, I believe it is cyclic; has been here forever and will remain as such.

No!, maladaptive is something that is a part of anyone, whether it be pathological or psychopathic, both of which, all of us possess to some degree. As I said, I'm an agnostic and have friends in both camps, religious and non-religious. It's just that none of them have ever been so adamant in their convictions as some I've heard here on the forum. And no, atheists don't band together to kill people, it's usually maniaclal religious nut cases.

No, I don't believe these are visceral platitude(s) or those of a recently converted apostate grieving over some lost love or a friendship gone bad. It must be something more ingrained and deeper than that. When I hear it from some of the guys on the forum, I really wonder at their problems?

"Math" and I are not the best of friends AJB, but saying infinity is not realized in nature, is a bit steep. Using reletivity, Einstein put the entire world on hold. This, while a new breed go looking for unanswerd questions to his total philosophy. You may even be one of those guys?

Why is there such venom and seemingly overt hatred displayed when a person denounces their belief in any religion, or a God in this forum? Can anyone be that wise, or is atheism the answer to 98% of the worlds problems? Being an agnostic, I don't want anyone destroying my last possible chance of escape, should things go wrong. Since I don't believe a more enlightened scientific view of our world is the cause of such a mind set, would someone kindly explain it to me.

The lazy eight, infinity and co, continuum; are symbols having nothing to do with math or God. Yet, both simply imply, "without end". The lazy eight could have been used to describe both, since each is a continuous pen stroke. No, the guy laid it on its side to confuse us. In drawing the symbol infinity for the first time, did he meant just that, without end? Or was it meant to represent, continuous cycle?