Evolution

It's still happening ... ;-)
I know it doesn't work on an individual entity but it is clear that this fella's genes have an advantage that will be passed to the next generation ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7410421.stm

Yes I read my horoscope

But only the one on The Onion, mine (Scorpio) for today had some interesting advice, I already knew that but it doesn't hurt to repeat it ;-)

Scorpio October 24 - November 21

Remember: Just because you read it in a book doesn't mean it's true. There's no such thing as a "John Updike."

http://www.theonion.com/content/horoscope/may-27-2008

Crucufied frog?

Yup it's offensive to some.
Apparently a crucified frog is being exposed for the opening of a museum in Bolzano, Italy and off course certain people are offended.
The piece is by German artist Martin Kippenberger and it offends so much that the curator of the museum must hand out leaflets explaining the art.

Behold, "Fred the Frog Rings the Bell"
http://artscenecal.com/Announcements/0704/LagunaMsm0704.html

I think he's a lot cuter than the original version, with that pint it looks like he's plastered and just chillin' ;)

Some news sites:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3362095,00.html
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=7343

Osteopathie

Juist in de krant gelezen dat ze voor de rechtbank gaan eisen om erkend te worden ...
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/de.redactie/binnenland/080527_osteopaten

Ik vind het een beetje vreemd want gaan ze dan niet ook eerst echt moeten bewijzen dat hun ding werkt ...

Het laatste van de volgende pagina op de Skepp site (de brief van een osteopaat aan Skepp) vond ik wel interessant:

Veelvuldig manipuleren of kraken zorgt ervoor dat de ligamenten uitgerokken worden of beschadigd waardoor de gewrichten onstabiel worden.

Dit is natuurlijk ook een teken aan de wand ...

Wim Betz: "De niet bestaande obstructie van de stroom van het hersenvocht moet dan ook nog geregeld worden langs het andere uiteinde van de wervelkolom, door het staartbeen of heiligbeen te manipuleren. Dat doen ze dan met een vinger in de aars of de vagina. Voor alle zekerheid heb ik gezocht op welke datum dit nummer van de "Mutualistische Weergalm" geschreven werd, en het was niet op 1 april."

http://www.skepp.be/artikels/alternatieve-behandelingen/osteopathie-wetenschap-of-kwakzalverij
 

Atheist book on-line

Following up on the last post (the one with the French song)

I went looking for the author and landed on his site where he seems to have published a book:
http://www.le-monde-pluriel.eu/content/0/30/
(English version: http://www.le-monde-pluriel.eu/content/0/48/)

I like his video's and will be looking out for his material, on the site there's a possibility to donate (paypal), buy the book, CD or DVD

Dieu

Pas mal :-)

Little tidbit

I've bought new office furniture, my old computer table was bought about 13 years ago and though still fully functional our new home allowed for a much larger desk and some needed extra cupboards.
So after going through some office furniture books and trying out some designs in 3D and just because they're so damn easy the winner was IKEA.
Now about 80% of our furniture is IKEA (our house does look like the start of Fight Club ;-) ) so I know how their stuff works and for the most part it is very straight forward and I can do almost anything on my own (which I like, so I can set the pace myself) there is or rather as it turns out to be was one thing I always dreaded, cupboard doors.
The old system involved screwing a base inside the cupboard (sometimes needing to unscrew in order to screw it in right side forward)
Fixing the hinge on the doors with screws (cannot be done wrong)
And then the fun begins, you have to balance the hinges over base while holding a screw driver and and a few screws and try to screw the hinges to the base and then see if the door is straight, if not unscrew each hinge a little and slide the hinges back or forward and then there are other screws that can move the door sideways, I was never really satisfied with any of the doors with this system, they either tough each other when closed or scrape the cupboard or are crooked.
The new system is an immense evolutionary step forward, the base has no more right or wrong side so just screw it in.
The hinge has a way of getting fixed to the door without real screws, it has a plastic thing that I think works like a plug, the "screw" has to be turned only once.
And the best part, the hinge snaps into the base with a spring loaded system, no more sliding, balancing with a screwdriver ... there are still 2 adjustment screws embedded in each hinge (which the manual now amply explains how to use them) but on the 8 doors that I have installed nothing needed to be adjusted.
So bravo to IKEA, thanks for making life a little easier !

Those hinges rightly have a fan webpage, this looks like the new hinges, though the base still seems to have a front side and the hinges only have to be pushed into the doors no screws at all, maybe there's a difference with EU and US versions, still the best part is the snap action at the end:
http://www.ikeafans.com/FAQAssemblyDoorHinge.htm

Holy warriors in the US armed forces

While I feel rather secure about the religious freedoms here in Belgium and Europe I am becoming anxious about the things in this video and the crap happening in Holland (just recently the ARREST of a cartoonist!).
Those religious nuts seem to be setting up a war that will be unavoidable because all the brainless "regular" religious people do not think about it and give religion a free pass, where are all those "non violent moderate" voices???

Gregorius nekschot - de verboden cartoons.

is this really so bad that the artist had to be arrested?

Why?

Just a little thing I was thinking about.
Why are hospitals never (or rarely) haunted.
You'd think with all the people dying there'd be at least a few dead people in every hospital that hang around or do the spirits always go home (car, bus?)
I guess believers in those things still like/need hospitals.

UFO sightings...

This picture was (seriously!) sent to me with a story about orbs and flying merkaba's and children being able to see "invisible things" (the sender is an Aura Healer)
It took me about 3 seconds to figure out what it was.

It was great weather for BBQ's last weekend and a lot of wine flowed, you'd think the person would be sober a few days after when she's sending emails around ...

Suggestion I'll have to tell my wife

If Sunday mass would allow some time at the end for questions and answers I might join her once or twice (and I think once or twice is all that I'd be allowed in ;-) )

Pak ze wanneer ze jong zijn!

Religie moet geindoctrineerd worden of 't werkt niet, dus gaan ze nog maar es achter de kindjes aan ...

Jonge gelovigen krijgen eigen website

Een kleine snippet van de site

commentaar bij bijbelverhaal van de week

Wat een moeilijke woorden gebruikt Jezus hier weer. Maar zoals gewoonlijk maakt Hij een vergelijking zodat we beter zouden begrijpen wat Hij zeggen wil.

... 

Wat een zever, hij zou beter gewoon gezegd hebben hij wou zeggen en er geen doekjes om winden maar de boodschap van de site is duidelijk, probeer maar niet na te denken over wat er staat, wij zullen dat wel voor jouw doen ...
Die site gaat bij mij in de "te superviseren" lijst en m'n dochter zal aangemoedigd worden om niet zomaar de verhaaltjes aan te nemen van een organisatie die kinderverkrachters herbergt en wel te lezen wat er echt staat (wanneer ze natuurlijk oud genoeg is voor het materiaal dat in de bijbel staat, ik schat zo rond de 15 jaar gezien het bijna pornografisch en extreem gewelddadig karakter van dat boek)

The difference

To be on the same level as science 2 independent religions had to have started a few thousand years ago on both ends of the world and write essentially the same book with at least a few divine proclamations that are EXACTLY the same.
Even today if a muslim would write down a vision of god and it could be verified that a christian writes down the exact same vision (with no links between them) there would be at least something to study and a solitary little feather in the evidence cap of believer.

Scientists on the other hand do this regularly, most large advances (evolution see Alfred Russel Wallace) were discovered independently, the first discoverer or the more media savvy discoverer gets full credit but it does not mean that others did not come to the same conclusion without knowing that the discovery had already been made.

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