The first guy is a Mac user.
Macs RULE!

Mm..
Won't play.

In the book of Genesis bioengineering and anesthesia/suspended animation are both referenced.

I coulda sworn this was talked to death 50 or 100 years ago.

That was very enlightening.

I wish my eyes would work better. They are not perfect, more's the pity. Pretty, but I need bizarro glasses.

The shapeshifting eye of the ancient squid is even more intriguing, since it can change from a square pupil to round as the need requires.

Why are chicken embryos, lions embryos, dog embryos and human enbryos so similar for the first several weeks of development, then change to their respective forms?.
Why does a a human has a tail, when adults don't have tails ( except for circus freaks )

Surely the work of God!

/

No matter what side anyone is on, the note under the video is,,, well ,,, noteworthy!

Note:
Belief in God does not preclude belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in God.
Do not trust those who insist otherwise.

no I am not drinking

( a reasonable assumption after reading my last sentence)

Evolution is cool!

Note:
Belief in God does not preclude belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in God.
Do not trust those who insist otherwise.

I could not agree more.

Charles,

Thank you for the note at the end. I've said that for years (well, at least the first two parts).

re: #8 Shug

Why are chicken embryos, lions embryos, dog embryos and human enbryos so similar for the first several weeks of development, then change to their respective forms?.
Why does a a human has a tail, when adults don't have tails ( except for circus freaks )

Surely the work of God!

/

Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny.

I like the new disclaimer.

re: #15 Killgore Trout

I like the new disclaimer.

The words of Stinky Beaumont shall echo down through the ages.

re: #14 ted

Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny.

Phylogeny lacks specificity with regards to the appendix.

Eschew obfuscation assiduously!

re: #15 Killgore Trout

I like the new disclaimer.

He left out turtles, Charles never posts about turtles.

*sulks off*

/

Excellent disclaimer.

re: #14 ted

Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny.

"Why does a a human has a tail, when adults don't have tails ( except for circus freaks"

Vestigial organ.

I think the most elegant argument against intelligent design without the evolutionary process is that you can't take a best guess evaluation of a situation and replace it with an evaluation that states the answers are un-attainable. Presumably the divine is beyond our understanding now and forever since we're not ranked high enough on the divinity scale to understand where God came from, how he does what he does etc.

In other words, it's not an answer, it's a call to stop asking and that's hardly an effective process for gaining understanding.

When does the stampede start?

Belief in God does not preclude belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in God.
Do not trust those who insist otherwise.

Perfect!

Nice _little note at the bottom there. It's a miracle my eyes could read it.

Belief in God does not preclude the facts of evolution.

My daughter has a coloboma in her eye. It makes her pupil look like a keyhole. When she was an embryo the iris didn't close completely, which occurs at the same time that the palate is formed. It is one of the most basic formations during gestation.

Madyln McCann has the same condition.

re: #23 wrenchwench

Nice _little note at the bottom there. It's a miracle my eyes could read it.

Ageism!

Only the non presybiopic shall be in the know

/

Good evening, Lizards!

re: #25 DistantThunder

On a serious note, does it negatively affect her eyesite?

Then, the goofball jerky me wonders if it's helpful when she;s trying to peek through doors !?!?!?!

re: #9 sattv4u2
I agree.

I also think it's kind of fitting they used a blue eye in this video, considering it was a random mutation that caused blue eyes to come into existence.

re: #28 sattv4u2

On a serious note, does it negatively affect her eyesite?

Then, the goofball jerky me wonders if it's helpful when she;s trying to peek through doors !?!?!?!

It could but in her case it doesn't. I didn't realize that the iris is a muscle, but of course it is.

re: #27 goddessoftheclassroom
Good evening, hope all is well with you.

I met a girl once who had eyes that were each half brown and half blue, divided on the diagonal. This was before colored contacts, and she was about 11 years old. She would meet your gaze and hold it until you got your fill. Intense.

re: #30 Sharmuta

I also think it's kind of fitting they used a blue eye in this video, considering it was a random mutation that caused blue eyes to come into existence.

My daughter - not the one with the eye condition - has deep blue eyes, and raven brown hair - a very unusual genetic combination.

I'm not a bible thumper by a long stretch but if the people trying to prove that god is real with religon would just read their bible. It says no man will know and you can only know by faith. So unless your bible lied, you won't be able to prove god exists with science. However, you may be able to cure some really nasty ailments with it.

That didn't take long.

re: #36 EC Marm

That didn't take long.

Huh?

re: #35 shane

I'm not a bible thumper by a long stretch but if the people trying to prove that god is real with religon would just read their bible. It says no man will know and you can only know by faith. So unless your bible lied, you won't be able to prove god exists with science. However, you may be able to cure some really nasty ailments with it.

I find reading it is more profitable than thumping it. Well said.

re: #38 jcm

is thumping a bible as bad as flushing a koran ?

re: #35 shane

I'm not a bible thumper by a long stretch but if the people trying to prove that god is real with religon would just read their bible. It says no man will know and you can only know by faith. So unless your bible lied, you won't be able to prove god exists with science. However, you may be able to cure some really nasty ailments with it.

"It " being science, right. You can cure nasty ailments with science...and cannot prove the existence of a creator with science so don't go crazy trying. right?

for that matter, is fluching a koran worse than flushing meadows ?

re: #41 sattv4u2

for that matter, is fluching FLUSHING a koran worse than flushing meadows ?

PIMF

Richard Dawkins on the Evolution of the Eye:

Speaking of fetal development- National Geographic did an excellent program on human fetal development called In The Womb. I highly recommend it.

This explains why i can drink like a fish.

re: #35 shane

I'm not a bible thumper by a long stretch but if the people trying to prove that god is real with religon would just read their bible. It says no man will know and you can only know by faith. So unless your bible lied, you won't be able to prove god exists with science. However, you may be able to cure some really nasty ailments with it.

I'm not convinced that science hasn't already found God. At least it's proved some things in the bible (archeology and evolution both), but for those who have Faith, it shouldn't matter. That's what faith IS. Believing without proof. Science, on the other hand, demands reason and evidence.

re: #39 sattv4u2

is thumping a bible as bad as flushing a koran ?

LOL! An experiment is in order.
Stand in center of Oral Roberts University and Thump a Bible.
Stand in the center of Mecca and flush a koran.

Here's a Thumper we can all agree on!

Eye color article - quite fascinating pictures

re: #47 jcm

LOL! An experiment is in order.
Stand in center of Oral Roberts University and Thump a Bible.
Stand in the center of Mecca and flush a koran.

okay ,, i'll head to Utah ,, you go to the middle east. Call me !

re: #49 DistantThunder

I still cant get over how fake contact lenses look when over the natural eyes color.

They stand out a mile.

Actually the visual system isn't all that great. Limited peripheral, limited distance, degenerates way too soon, easily spoofed, the list goes on. It is however, a very good compromise. Not what I would call the gold standard for ID. What is interesting though, given the recent news about the cross-cultural ID link-up, is that (and it may have been posted here) there was some "islamic scientist" who claimed no one knew how the visual system worked. Interesting.

re: #48 PSGInfinity

Here's a Thumper we can all agree on!

I'm fond of Thumper Trucks.
(they find oil)

re: #49 DistantThunder

oooh, sectoral heterochromia, thanks DT!

re: #50 sattv4u2

okay ,, i'll head to Utah ,, you go to the middle east. Call me !

ROFL, how generous of you!

re: #51 Buster Bunny

I still cant get over how fake contact lenses look when over the natural eyes color.

They stand out a mile.

I always wanted blue eyes. My optometrist let me try the blue ones once--and it was the weirdest feeling looking at myself--it wasn't me any more.

I never wanted blue eyes again.

re: #43 ted

Nice shirt.

re: #47 jcm

LOL! An experiment is in order.
Stand in center of Oral Roberts University and Thump a Bible.
Stand in the center of Mecca and flush a koran.

I was at Oral Roberts U in late 2007 - it was somewhat depressing - they've fallen on hard times since the scandals, and it was pretty deserted. They've leased out office space in the tower, and the parking lots are relatively bare even with a couple of Call centers there.

I'm listen to this right now.Does Science Condemn God?

Why was Helen Keller such a bad driver?

Because she was a woman

re: #49 DistantThunder

Eye color article - quite fascinating pictures

Thanks for that! I can finally settle on grey as my eye color.

re: #59 BBev

I linked that a couple days ago- I thought it was pretty good.

re: #61 Shug

Booooooo!

re: #47 jcm

LOL! An experiment is in order.
Stand in center of Oral Roberts University and Thump a Bible.
Stand in the center of Mecca and flush a koran.

Flush Toilets in Mecca?

LOL !

You kidder

re: #60 Shug

Why was Helen Keller such a bad driver?

not her fault. She had one of the 1st hybrids !

re: #63 Sharmuta

I linked that a couple days ago- I thought it was pretty good.

wow I'm I late. I couple of days?.

re: #61 Shug

thpppppppppppppptttttttttttt

re: #60 Shug

Why was Helen Keller such a bad driver?

cmon .. blind girls are fun .. tell them you've left a message tattooed on your body for them to find ... in raised ink.

Best time you'll ever have.

re: #63 Sharmuta

I linked that a couple days ago- I thought it was pretty good.

What a relief ! I'm hazel.

re: #67 BBev

Yeah.

re: #68 MandyManners

thpppppppppppppptttttttttttt

didja get any on ya ?

re: #51 Buster Bunny

I still cant get over how fake contact lenses look when over the natural eyes color.

They stand out a mile.

Many years ago, I worked with a woman from South America who had dark hair, dark eyes and tanned-looking skin. She started wearing dark blue contact lenses: did she ever look freaky. It was just too unnatural.

re: #58 Thanos

I was at Oral Roberts U in late 2007 - it was somewhat depressing - they've fallen on hard times since the scandals, and it was pretty deserted. They've leased out office space in the tower, and the parking lots are relatively bare even with a couple of Call centers there.

I'm not one who has a lot of sympathy for Christian Leaders who go off the rails. I do feel for the victims of those leaders.

re: #73 Josephine

Many years ago, I worked with a woman from South America who had dark hair, dark eyes and tanned-looking skin. She started wearing dark blue contact lenses: did she ever look freaky. It was just too unnatural.

you must be a woman, or else you wouldn't be looking at her EYES !

Why are there instructions in braille at drive thru ATMs?

you get used to the rant of this ID movement ....

But .. aside from the FACTS .. wheres the EVIDENCE?

/bwah hahahahaha

re: #70 DistantThunder

What a relief ! I'm hazel.

I go by Rick.

When my daughter was born, she was 3 weeks overdue, and then I had to be induced.

After she cried a bit she looked at us with the most penetrating gaze as if to say: I was stuck in there, what took you so long? We were so moved by what we felt communicated through her eyes.

Eyes are the window to the soul.

re: #70 DistantThunder

Well- it say this for grey eyes:

Visually, gray eyes often tend to appear to change between the shades of blue, green and gray.

And I've often said I had blue-grey-green eyes.

Also:

Under magnification, gray eyes exhibit small amounts of yellow and brown color in the iris

I do have that.

So- now I'll finally be able to stop pondering my eye color, and it's all thanks to you, DT!

lucky for me i'm irredeemably complex.

re: #76 BignJames

Why are there instructions in braille at drive thru ATMs?

ADA

re: #52 dual_boot_brain

Actually the visual system isn't all that great. Limited peripheral, limited distance, degenerates way too soon, easily spoofed, the list goes on.

You're telling me.

I've got a congenital defect in my left eye and now I probably have macular degeneration in my right eye.

re: #76 BignJames

Why are there instructions in braille at drive thru ATMs?

geeez ,, pay attention ,, see #60 ,, Helen Keller DRIVES !

re: #80 Sharmuta

Well- it say this for grey eyes:

I do have that.

So- now I'll finally be able to stop pondering my eye color, and it's all thanks to you, DT!

Wow, who would have thunk it...?

My left pupil is more dilated than my right. The doctors also can't get my left leg to reflex.....I'm defective....but still amazing.

re: #75 sattv4u2

LOL!

Actually we are getting to the stage with high tech that very soon blindness will be a past event.

There are people plugging electrodes into nerve areas of the brain to get a 'pseudo' pic for the brain to see.

This is the start of something even bigger.

My blue eyed daughter insisted on getting startling blue contacts. The optometrist thought it looked absurd as did I, but she used her own money to pay for it.

re: #88 Buster Bunny

Actually we are getting to the stage with high tech that very soon blindness will be a past event.

There are people plugging electrodes into nerve areas of the brain to get a 'pseudo' pic for the brain to see.

This is the start of something even bigger.

You're very right. And evolutionary science has played a big part in the advances that have led us to this point.

re: #53 jcm

I'm fond of Thumper Trucks.
(they find oil)

But didn't Queen Nancy ban them?

Thugo still at it....
*not surprised*

Chávez party revives plan to lift presidential re-election limit

Venezuela's ruling party today said it would seek to reform the nation's constitution to allow the president, Hugo Chávez, to seek indefinite re-election.

Proposed changes to end the two-term limit for presidents will be presented to the Venezuelan national congress after state elections in November. If approved, the amendments will go before the national electoral council and will then be put to the voters in a referendum.

Chávez has said he needs more time to establish socialist economic principals in the Latin American country.

I think those whose faith is challenged by evolution would do well to focus on consciousness, not evolution. Evolution is well-supported by scientific evidence. The problem of consciousness is what keeps me in the agnostic camp, more or less, rather than being a full blown atheist. Science, as far as I know, cannot yet account for self-awareness. Artificial intelligence (computers, robots, etc.), despite what you see in science fiction movies, is not self-aware.

re: #90 Charles

You're very right. And evolutionary science has played a big part in the advances that have led us to this point.

I saw a documentary of an older married deaf couple who received ear implants. They both felt that the sensory input was overloading to their brains. They would have to unplug it part way through the day.

I've been able to learn how to tune out fighting children, TV, doorbells, and rap music - don't even hear it.

re: #79 DistantThunder

When my daughter was born, she was 3 weeks overdue, and then I had to be induced.

After she cried a bit she looked at us with the most penetrating gaze as if to say: I was stuck in there, what took you so long? We were so moved by what we felt communicated through her eyes.

Eyes are the window to the soul.

When my daughter was 2-3 weeks old, we visited my mother.

My daughter gave me a look and my mother, from across the room, said, "Whoah! What was that?"

I said, "She's hungry." (She wasn't crying.)

My mother said, "That's the most intense look I've ever seen!"

My daughter didn't look upset; her face wasn't scrunched up. My mother never forgot it.

re: #93 Bacchus's daddy

I think those whose faith is challenged by evolution would do well to focus on consciousness, not evolution. Evolution is well-supported by scientific evidence. The problem of consciousness is what keeps me in the agnostic camp, more or less, rather than being a full blown atheist. Science, as far as I know, cannot yet account for self-awareness. Artificial intelligence (computers, robots, etc.), despite what you see in science fiction movies, is not self-aware.

I recommend that you read I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter (the same guy who won the National Book Award for Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid).

Well - I had a tumor in my max. sinus that went way bad. had to take out my eye. if they were so damn easy to 'build' then why can't i find a dr. to give me an eye that i can see out of?

IMO - this was a better blog when it was about politics, you know covering the Jews - God's chosen people.

re: #94 DistantThunder

I saw a documentary of an older married deaf couple who received ear implants. They both felt that the sensory input was overloading to their brains. They would have to unplug it part way through the day.

I've been able to learn how to tune out fighting children, TV, doorbells, and rap music - don't even hear it.

Survival skills. _heh

re: #95 Josephine

When my daughter was 2-3 weeks old, we visited my mother.

My daughter gave me a look and my mother, from across the room, said, "Whoah! What was that?"

I said, "She's hungry." (She wasn't crying.)

My mother said, "That's the most intense look I've ever seen!"

My daughter didn't look upset; her face wasn't scrunched up. My mother never forgot it.

There really is something to that communication. Science shows that it is registered by the receiver in the limbic system of the brain. That how we
"feel the love."

re: #96 Salamantis

I recommend that you read I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter (the same guy who won the National Book Award for Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid).

I am intrigued by anything on the subject. Could you give a very brief description of the book?

re: #97 Big Boots that's BOOTS

It's a perfectly good blog now too. It's all about anti-idiotiarianism.

re: #93 Bacchus's daddy

I think those whose faith is challenged by evolution would do well to focus on consciousness, not evolution. Evolution is well-supported by scientific evidence. The problem of consciousness is what keeps me in the agnostic camp, more or less, rather than being a full blown atheist. Science, as far as I know, cannot yet account for self-awareness. Artificial intelligence (computers, robots, etc.), despite what you see in science fiction movies, is not self-aware.

I think the story of the Garden of Eden is about human consciousness.

Can I get a WTF?

WTF?

WTF

WTF, WTF?

re: #94 DistantThunder

I saw a documentary of an older married deaf couple who received ear implants. They both felt that the sensory input was overloading to their brains. They would have to unplug it part way through the day.

I've been able to learn how to tune out fighting children, TV, doorbells, and rap music - don't even hear it.

Perhaps it is because of their age and they were deaf for a long time. We have a neice that has had a cochlear implant since she was two. She hates to have it off.

re: #97 Big Boots that's BOOTS

Well - I had a tumor in my max. sinus that went way bad. had to take out my eye. if they were so damn easy to 'build' then why can't i find a dr. to give me an eye that i can see out of?

IMO - this was a better blog when it was about politics, you know covering the Jews - God's chosen people.

All this science stuff ends up in the political arena via stem cell legislation, and universal health care funding priorities.......

WTF

re: #47 jcm

LOL! An experiment is in order.
Stand in center of Oral Roberts University and Thump a Bible.
Stand in the center of Mecca and flush a koran.

I thought Oral Roberts was FULL of Bible thumpers.

So instead, go to Mecca and thump a Bible, then (if you survived) go to Oral Roberts and Flush a Koran.
End result? The resident plumber at Oral Roberts will treat you as badly as the radical Islamics (assuming you survived).

re: #100 Bacchus's daddy

I am intrigued by anything on the subject. Could you give a very brief description of the book?

Read about it here:

[Link: www.amazon.com...]

re: #103 Charles

Can I get a WTF?

It's got 9 posts in 11 months. Must be a deep thinker....
/

Now reviewing comment history.

re: #111 Salamantis

Thanks.

?

re: #98 Charles

Survival skills. _heh

Absolutely....Sanity Savers.

re: #113 Stinky Beaumont

So you do do woodwork.

re: #110 JeremyR

I thought Oral Roberts was FULL of Bible thumpers.

So instead, go to Mecca and thump a Bible, then (if you survived) go to Oral Roberts and Flush a Koran.
End result? The resident plumber at Oral Roberts will treat you as badly as the radical Islamics (assuming you survived).

I'm back from ORU.

re: #116 DistantThunder

I'm very noise sensitive. I always keep earplugs handy in case I need to tune out. That's why I love back country skiing, when you stop you can only hear your pulse. It's fantastic.

There's been a debate raging in deaf communities the past few years because of the efficacy of the ear implants. Many are resistant to it, and think they are losing their culture entirely. ASL is a different language, and if you've ever been with Deaf people fluent in it the communication flow, syntax, and expressiveness is very much different than speaking in an oral language. Much more intimate.

Some parents are refusing implants for their children, and you see other groups of Deaf people bemoaning the fact that some speakers who use the implants are now "Losing their signing" and have to resort to "spelling in sign language".

re: #107 Pvt Bin Jammin

Perhaps it is because of their age and they were deaf for a long time. We have a neice that has had a cochlear implant since she was two. She hates to have it off.

I think it could have to do with the filtering mechanism of the brain not having had to prioritize the sounds. My husband teaches survival skills and one of the exercises is to sit blindfolded in the woods, and make note of the sounds. Most of the people misstate the number of planes flying overhead (we're near Fort Dix, and a small commuter airport) Their brains just automatically tune it out.

re: #117 wrenchwench

So you do do woodwork.

He makes his own cluebats, deleted sticks, and banning clubs.

re: #99 DistantThunder

There really is something to that communication. Science shows that it is registered by the receiver in the limbic system of the brain. That how we
"feel the love."

It's amazing.

After a while, I became frustrated with my husband. Why wasn't he doing more to help me with the baby?

One day, as I was feeding her, he said, "How did you know she was hungry? She wasn't crying. How did you figure it out?"

We talked about it and we realized that I was picking up on, and responding to, subtle cues that he couldn't see or feel.

(He's an excellent father. But the primary caregiver has a built-in advantage at the beginning.)

re: #103 Charles

Can I get a WTF?

no ,, but I can rent or lease you one

(yes,, i'm a filthy capitilist)

re: #120 Thanos

There's been a debate raging in deaf communities the past few years because of the efficacy of the ear implants. Many are resistant to it, and think they are losing their culture entirely. ASL is a different language, and if you've ever been with Deaf people fluent in it the communication flow, syntax, and expressiveness is very much different than speaking in an oral language. Much more intimate.

Some parents are refusing implants for their children, and you see other groups of Deaf people bemoaning the fact that some speakers who use the implants are now "Losing their signing" and have to resort to "spelling in sign language".

Thanks. Didn't know that.

re: #119 Killgore Trout

I'm very noise sensitive. I always keep earplugs handy in case I need to tune out. That's why I love back country skiing, when you stop you can only hear your pulse. It's fantastic.

I'm the same way. I have to sleep wearing ear plugs.

There are more technical, phenomenological studies...The Context of Self, by Richard M. Zaner; The Field of Consciousness, and |Marginal Consciousness, by Aron Gurwitsch; The Phenomenological Mind, by Shaun Gallagher and Dan Zahavi...but I Am A Strange Pool is a good layman's overview...

re: #12 Sgt.Slappy

I could not agree more.

Note:
Belief in God does not preclude belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in God.
Do not trust those who insist otherwise.

With the suggestion that it might be worded in the positive:

Note:
Belief in God CAN include rational belief in evolution.
Belief in evolution CAN also include belief in a rational God.
Those who insist otherwise seek to hide their fear and ignorance.

re: #125 Charles

Thanks. Didn't know that.

Yes--as a matter of fact, I believe that some child rights organization sued some deaf parents because they refused to allow their child to get the implants.

re: #119 Killgore Trout

I'm very noise sensitive. I always keep earplugs handy in case I need to tune out. That's why I love back country skiing, when you stop you can only hear your pulse. It's fantastic.

I'm sensitive too that way. My blonde daughter has a interesting problem: in one ear she can hear her own breathing. It is caused by the shrinkage of the part of the inner ear to allow a tiny gap. One of the treatments is to barely inhale something slightly irritating like black pepper, so that it plumps up the tissue and clothes the gap. There really is no cure.

WTF are all the WTF's for? I mean WTF gives?

re: #120 Thanos

I don't know sign language, but I did learn the sign alphabet in first grade, and still know it. It has come in handy more than once.

Well it looks like we are not the only people so divided over this subjet.. pewforum.org

Both major political parties have a problem with their approach toward religion, in the eyes of many Americans. More than four-in-ten say that liberals who are not religious have too much control over the Democratic Party, while an almost identical percentage says that religious conservatives have too much influence over the Republican Party.

re: #103 Charles

Can I get a WTF?

Are you WTF'ing my #102?

re: #123 Josephine

It's amazing.

After a while, I became frustrated with my husband. Why wasn't he doing more to help me with the baby?

One day, as I was feeding her, he said, "How did you know she was hungry? She wasn't crying. How did you figure it out?"

We talked about it and we realized that I was picking up on, and responding to, subtle cues that he couldn't see or feel.

(He's an excellent father. But the primary caregiver has a built-in advantage at the beginning.)

You would enjoy the book: A General Theory of Love written by 3 psychiatrist who looked at the neurological responses associated with attachment, affection and love. We humans are amazing.

#93: Bacchus:

Good point - in fact, consciousness is not scientifically measurable or provable.... that's a hint on the rest of this conversation. The belief in consciousness is not scientific.

Getting even that idea through to people seems to be a major problem... and is at the root of misunderstanding of most of the people here in terms of the battle over ID vs. evolution (and I mean the real ID - not what many purport it to be).

re: #127 Salamantis

There are more technical, phenomenological studies...The Context of Self, by Richard M. Zaner; The Field of Consciousness, and Marginal Consciousness, by Aron Gurwitsch; The Phenomenological Mind, by Shaun Gallagher and Dan Zahavi...but I Am A Strange Pool is a good layman's overview...

Umm...Strange Loop

PIMF

re: #134 Josephine

Nope... #97.

re: #101 Honorary Yooper

Yeah, but when i eat i like my peas separated from my corn separated from my potatoes.

IMO - this as a better blog in the morning when it is all about boobs, you know G-ds chosen hood ornaments. :~)

dontcha just love how charles likes to stick his evolutionary fairy tale nonsense in the eyes of us believers all the time now?.......get it? eyes?.....Thank you. Thank you. I'll be appearing this Friday at Carolines. Tickets $10 in advance. $15 at the door.

WTF?

Can I get another WTF?

re: #131 JeremyR

WTF are all the WTF's for? I mean WTF gives?

I think somebody made a rather nasty mess on one of the aisles up above. I went through the comments, and aside from mine, I didn't see anything obvious...

re: #119 Killgore Trout

I'm very noise sensitive. I always keep earplugs handy in case I need to tune out. That's why I love back country skiing, when you stop you can only hear your pulse. It's fantastic.

Killgore, I am, too.

re: #139 Big Boots that's BOOTS

That's too much starch.

re: #134 Josephine

Are you WTF'ing my #102?

No, it's the idiot in #97.

WTF? Fairy tale eye-building believer evolutionism?

re: #125 Charles

Thanks. Didn't know that.

It's been a very contentious debate to the point of challenging allowing some implant students to attend deaf universities.

re: #120 Thanos
So true. I have a niece on my side of the family that grew up signing. She is totally into the deaf community but at least works well with hearing people, interprets for the local police etc. She was in shock when she heard about our neice, on my husbands side, who was having the implant. The girl with the implant is 17 now. She finally too American Sign Language at a community college. Originally, her parents were afraid if she learned to sign, she would get lazy about her speech but now that she is older, think it is a good thing for her to know.

re: #76 BignJames

Why are there instructions in braille at drive thru ATMs?

That's because the ATM manufactures use the same keypad and front panel for all of their ATM machines. There are both walkup ATMs in banks and stores, plus the drive thru ones. It saves the manufactures a lot of money by not having two sets of parts in their inventory that do the same thing.

re: #143 Charles

I gave a pre-emptive WTF. Does that still count?

re: #143 Charles

I'm all out.

re: #141 sbvft contributor

dontcha just love how charles likes to stick his evolutionary fairy tale nonsense in the eyes of us believers all the time now?.......get it? eyes?.....Thank you. Thank you. I'll be appearing this Friday at Carolines. Tickets $10 in advance. $15 at the door.

Who died and made you Pope?

Please, don't believe in evolution. It does not require faith. It is part of a science.

You can believe, or choose not to believe in god. You should not believe in a science, you should accept that science is itself an evolving understanding of the universe about us.

re: #147 Honorary Yooper

No, it's the idiot in #97.

Oh, THAT one... I wuz wonderin' about it...

re: #141 sbvft contributor

This blog is free candy, sbvft contributor. If you don't like this topic, no one's forcing you to read it.

For example, I don't read the Tour de France threads, and my scales are still green and shiny. Get over it.

re: #143 Charles

Can I get another WTF?

you've convinced me ,,, heres some of FREE WTF's

WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF

re: #143 Charles

Can I get another WTF?

I'll call Mandy

re: #127 Salamantis

There are more technical, phenomenological studies...The Context of Self, by Richard M. Zaner; The Field of Consciousness, and |Marginal Consciousness, by Aron Gurwitsch; The Phenomenological Mind, by Shaun Gallagher and Dan Zahavi...but I Am A Strange Pool is a good layman's overview...

Thanks, I think I will put that on my Amazon-order list. I haven't read much rigorous science or philosophy on the subject in the last 5 years.

re: #145 Josephine

Killgore, I am, too.

Okay, I know many Lizards won't believe this, but I SWEAR this is true.

I first started having to sleep with ear plugs when we rented a house that was (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating) haunted.

I heard footsteps and other weird noises and couldn't sleep. Other strange things happened in that house, too. I'll be happy to share the stories if anyone is interested.

Waffle
That's
Finished

re: #139 Big Boots that's BOOTS

Yeah, but when i eat i like my peas separated from my corn separated from my potatoes.

do you punish a pea if it strays into corn territory?

re: #160 Shug

I'll call Mandy

Tell her to bring her Cluebat®

re: #132 Sharmuta

I don't know sign language, but I did learn the sign alphabet in first grade, and still know it. It has come in handy more than once.

I was immersed in a Signed Language situation professionally, and quickly learned the difference: the signs imitating spoken English are generally eschewed, disparaged by the ASL community, and sign a sentence like this: You too late, no understand bad you

American Signed Language, ASL, does ONE gesture to sign: Pffft! (disdain, serious social misstep and misunderstanding on YOUR part!)

This is a VERY touchy subject among hearing-impaired in America...

re: #157 Palandine

Precisely why I don't read them anymore - every day, it never changes. Same old same old. And now, back to the BHO thread! Something that matters to an extent!

People's brains lack pain sensors...brain surgeons often keep their patients awake during surgery, so that they can get feedback on what they should and should not mess with when dealing with a clot or tumor...some areas can be stimulated, and the patient will move a particular part of his/her body...other areas can be stimulated, and particular perceptions or memories will arise...the brain is the physical substrate of the mind just as certainly as DNA is the physical substrate of traits...Mind should be a verb, not a noun, for minding is what the brain does...

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom

Okay, I know many Lizards won't believe this, but I SWEAR this is true.

I first started having to sleep with ear plugs when we rented a house that was (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating) haunted.

I heard footsteps and other weird noises and couldn't sleep. Other strange things happened in that house, too. I'll be happy to share the stories if anyone is interested.

I could never do that. Then the ghost could sneak up on you. Eek, creepy. :)

re: #165 Honorary Yooper

Tell her to bring her Cluebat®

it'll be a waste on this snert

re: #140 EC Marm

IMO - this as a better blog in the morning when it is all about boobs, you know G-ds chosen hood ornaments. :~)

What about the previous penis (4000 nerve endings)/clitoris (8000 nerve endings)threads?....now that some evolutionary stuff right there

re: #118 jcm

I'm back from ORU.

Silly you, thats a Ralph Nader approved hunting arrow.

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!

re: #156 PSGInfinity
Just cuz you don't have a sense of humor you don't have to be nasty....i've got feelings too.

re: #125 Charles

Thanks. Didn't know that.

There's many getting dissapointed, some are still fighting but a lot are giving in. Which means that the resistant ones have fewer and fewer folk to converse with as time goes on. Here's a sample blog:

[Link: blog.deafread.com...]

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom

Lived in one, too. And most people that came by, saw weird things, too, without the stories being mentioned beforehand.

re: #169 Palandine

I could never do that. Then the ghost could sneak up on you. Eek, creepy. :)

Our ghost was not an evil or scary presence--I would have moved if I felt that it was.

re: #174 Big Boots that's BOOTS

Just cuz you don't have a sense of humor you don't have to be nasty....i've got feelings too.

so do your peas and corn ,, let them mingle, man, for gods sake !

Creationists often cite the human eye as a wonderful, nearly perfect structure that must have been designed by God. In reality, the human eye is a deeply flawed design, and if it was created by a deity, that deity is an incompetent engineer. Steven Den Beste explained this in great detail a few years ago: The Human Eye: A Design Review

My own eyes certainly were not intelligently designed. I have needed corrective lenses since I was ten years old, and now that I am middle-aged, I need bifocals too. On top of that, I have glaucoma, which would inevitably lead to blindness, except that my optometrist detected the disease very early, and my ophtalmologist prescribed eyedrops that have stopped the disease in its tracks.

The "intelligent design" of my eyes has so far given me nearsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia, and glaucoma. Medical science has corrected all these flaws and enabled me to live a normal life.

The score so far: God 0, Science 4.

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom
In my dreams I'm in an expensive restaurant with a beautiful woman. The waiter is vaguely familiar looking. As we finish our soup and set our spoons down he comes and retrieves the bowls, smiling the entire time. I suddenly realize it's JESSE JACKSON and I wake up. Every time.

re: #164 sattv4u2

do you punish a pea if it strays into corn territory?

apparently you've never seen mashed peas.

re: #176 6pat6

Lived in one, too. And most people that came by, saw weird things, too, without the stories being mentioned beforehand.

{6pat6}

re: #158 6pat6

Geez, hasn't the ID/evolution dead horse been beat enough?

Not as long as people like you refuse to ride the empirical evidence to its destination.

re: #179 Sundog

The score so far: God 0, Science 4.

perhaps ,, but all God has to do is win ONE !

re: #135 DistantThunder

Thank you for the recommendation! I have hearted your comment for future reference.

After my daughter was born, I realized that we are hard-wired to love and care for our infants. Of course, our own experiences can enhance or damage that response.

As I rocked my baby, entire lullabies would come back to me; songs that my mother had sung when I was very young and that I hadn't heard since. It's amazing. It also points out how destructive Islamic brainwashing is if it can subvert our natural tendencies to nurture our young.

re: #183 Salamantis

I personally don't give a shit either way, so there.

re: #181 Buster Bunny

apparently you've never seen mashed peas.

apparently, you've never seen me COOK !

If the eye is such a sensitive 'compound' object ....

why are pron mags airbrushed?

re: #138 Charles

Phewwwwwwwww! Thanks for clarifying!

re: #166 Karridine

Well- all I can say is in two instances I was able to communicate with the sign alphabet where if I hadn't known it, there would have been no chance to communicate. In one of those instances, it was a deaf girl I met at a beach in Florida. A storm rolled in suddenly, and her and I were stuck in the bathroom waiting out the storm. She told me she was going to be stuck at the beach because her ride wasn't coming back for hours, so instead my uncle brought her home and all because I knew the sign alphabet.

Washington's own (hangs head in shame) Patty Murray responds to GWBs Saturday address.

They also want the president to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a stockpile set aside for emergencies — and work with Democrats to crack down on Wall Street traders who are driving up oil prices by buying huge quantities of oil just to resell at a higher price.

It's the STRATEGIC Reserve, not the consumer reserve. It's for wartime, and we've got one now, and a new front on the horizon.

She really is the dimmest bulb in the Senate. I've met her and there is nobody home.

I'm finally here - my house in sparkly!

Now, where do we stand? I thought the video quite interesting.

re: #76 BignJames

Why are there instructions in braille at drive thru ATMs?

My wife, a shooting victim, is legally blind. Her DL specifies a mechanical aid, which for her is blind spot mirrors, but it does not say so on her card. I always tease that she should keep her white cane handy to show to the officers. She has to pass a rigerous exam every year to keep driving.

re: #147 Honorary Yooper

No, it's the idiot in #97.

Thanks; that's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.

S/he dinged you up for this response, too. Weird.

re: #155 kafir

Please, don't believe in evolution. It does not require faith. It is part of a science.

You can believe, or choose not to believe in god. You should not believe in a science, you should accept that science is itself an evolving understanding of the universe about us.

The problem is that science requires its own faith-based assumptions. Nothing wrong with that. But, we want to remember that we're in the lab called the universe. Since we can't see beyond the lab door, we don't - can't - know what the artificial constraints really are. So, we should put a little asterisk over much of what we know - neither obsessing about nor entirely forgetting it's presence.

re: #175 Thanos

There's many getting dissapointed, some are still fighting but a lot are giving in. Which means that the resistant ones have fewer and fewer folk to converse with as time goes on. Here's a sample blog:

[Link: blog.deafread.com...]

I remember the controversy recently about a deaf couple genetically screening their unborn child for deafness, they wanted a child who was like them.

re: #188 Buster Bunny

If the eye is such a sensitive 'compound' object ....

why are pron mags airbrushed?

To hide the stretch marks and scars where the silicone was implanted?

re: #191 jcm

Murray needs to be tossed out in the next election. Another DC fool.

re: #191 jcm

Washington's own (hangs head in shame) Patty Murray responds to GWBs Saturday address.

It's the STRATEGIC Reserve, not the consumer reserve. It's for wartime, and we've got one now, and a new front on the horizon.

She really is the dimmest bulb in the Senate. I've met her and there is nobody home.

And the reserve was filled with 40 dollar a barrel oil?

so what they dump it and refill it with 140 dollar a barrel oil?

Patty is in the back pocket of Big oil!

re: #154 Honorary Yooper

Who died and made you Pope?

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom

Okay, I know many Lizards won't believe this, but I SWEAR this is true.

I first started having to sleep with ear plugs when we rented a house that was (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating) haunted.

I heard footsteps and other weird noises and couldn't sleep. Other strange things happened in that house, too. I'll be happy to share the stories if anyone is interested.

re: #168 Salamantis

People's brains lack pain sensors...brain surgeons often keep their patients awake during surgery, so that they can get feedback on what they should and should not mess with when dealing with a clot or tumor...some areas can be stimulated, and the patient will move a particular part of his/her body...other areas can be stimulated, and particular perceptions or memories will arise...the brain is the physical substrate of the mind just as certainly as DNA is the physical substrate of traits...Mind should be a verb, not a noun, for minding is what the brain does...

Speaking of the brain: while my husband is in Chicago running a class, I asked him to pass by and photograph the church where my grandparents married, and the nieghborhood where they grew up. I went to google, maps " Street View" and saw not only the church, but also my own childhood home, and was able to "walk" down the street house by house, and I remembered all the old facades.

Surprisingly, I found myself in tears when I "stood" in front of my grandparents home that I remember. Because it is a street level view, i was flooded with memories as if I was really there. The memories were just spontaneously downloading - wow - it was incredible.

re: #164 sattv4u2
I usually try to not have peas on the days I have corn.

re: #194 Josephine

Thanks; that's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.

S/he dinged you up for this response, too. Weird.

Yeah, that was weirod. Sock puppet anyone?

re: #171 DistantThunder

What about the previous penis (4000 nerve endings)/clitoris (8000 nerve endings)threads?....now that some evolutionary stuff right there

I actually heard that wonen's climaxes were at least 4 times as powerful, not just twice as strong...

There's even more to it, though; the more kids a woman has, the more nerves are stimulated to grow in her clitoral complex (which includes the G spot), and the more intense her orgasms become.

Also, each successive male orgasm in a sex session is weaker, while each successive female orgasm is stronger.

The world is SOOOO unfair!

re: #145 Josephine

Huh, I assumed it was a guy thing. I'm a single guy and I noticed I've become more sensitive since I started working at home. On a good day I don't have to hear anything at all.

Where's our resident expert on epidemiology? Or is that something else?

Just asking

re: #203 Salamantis

That explains why my ex wife faked orgasms 4 times better than I did

Anyone else notice that Rudy may be running for Governor of New York? I'll bet Paterson never saw that coming.

/ I snuck that one past Realwest an hour ago.

re: #195 PSGInfinity

The problem is that science requires its own faith-based assumptions. Nothing wrong with that. But, we want to remember that we're in the lab called the universe. Since we can't see beyond the lab door, we don't - can't - know what the artificial constraints really are. So, we should put a little asterisk over much of what we know - neither obsessing about nor entirely forgetting it's presence.

So if we can't see it with a Mark I Mod I eyeball we shouldn't take it as fact?

How about all those electrons running around in your computer. Little current fluctuations making up zeros and ones and it come out on your screen. You can't observe any of it directly, but can observe the effects.

"Has there ever been a society which has died of dissent? Several have died of conformity in our lifetime."

- Jacob Bronowski

re: #203 Salamantis

I actually heard that wonen's climaxes were at least 4 times as powerful, not just twice as strong...

There's even more to it, though; the more kids a woman has, the more nerves are stimulated to grow in her clitoral complex (which includes the G spot), and the more intense her orgasms become.

Also, each successive male orgasm in a sex session is weaker, while each successive female orgasm is stronger.

The world is SOOOO unfair!

Speaking from experience and 6 kids, I think you're right.

re: #136 alan2

#93: Bacchus:

Good point - in fact, consciousness is not scientifically measurable or provable.... that's a hint on the rest of this conversation. The belief in consciousness is not scientific.

Getting even that idea through to people seems to be a major problem... and is at the root of misunderstanding of most of the people here in terms of the battle over ID vs. evolution (and I mean the real ID - not what many purport it to be).

I think you and I might be on the same page, although I don't believe ID vs. evolution should be even a debate. I think evolution should be accepted science (and shouldn't threaten the faith of those who have faith(s)). However, I think the problem of accounting for consciousness within science, is a potential problem for those with a strict materialist view. 'Consciousness' is one of the things that keeps me a little bit on the fence regarding the whole "God" question. I think that religionists who futilely quarrel with science over evolution, would be better served if they concentratd on consciousness, and how it remains, to some extent, inexplicable by modern science.

re: #203 Salamantis

I regard those items as making up for my lack of upper body strength, and being much slower than most men while running.

In my case, I think a double amputee on crutches could out-run me.

re: #194 Josephine

Thanks; that's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.

S/he dinged you up for this response, too. Weird.

I'm the "idiot"- thanks for clarifying, now I know. Some of you guys do eat your young. Weird.

re: #207 EC Marm

We can only hope!

re: #190 Sharmuta

Well- all I can say is in two instances I was able to communicate with the sign alphabet where if I hadn't known it, there would have been no chance to communicate. In one of those instances, it was a deaf girl I met at a beach in Florida. A storm rolled in suddenly, and her and I were stuck in the bathroom waiting out the storm. She told me she was going to be stuck at the beach because her ride wasn't coming back for hours, so instead my uncle brought her home and all because I knew the sign alphabet.

Oh, EXCELLENT, Sharm!
THIS is the intention of all language, all human creativity and endeavor, that we use it TO HELP fellow humans... yes'm, and I've used my rudimentary sign language (and French and Lao and Russian) to HELP others on occasions! Good on you, Sharmy! :D

re: #203 Salamantis
My wife claims that it's G-ds way of making up for, and forgetting, the pain of childbirth.

re: #174 Big Boots that's BOOTS

Just cuz you don't have a sense of humor you don't have to be nasty....i've got feelings too.

Sense of humour? Moi? Unneeded. There is no humour - only humours...

OT

Hey all, my oldest son ships off to Ft. Knox bext month and today the US Army sent him and other combat MOS recruits to a 1-day training camp...where they had a little village built and Muslim actors in their face. Everyone was armed with airsoft guns.

In one mission, they had to find the kidnapped CO and after an ambush on which my son had to shoot a 12 year old who jumped out with an AK-47, they found the CO...with bombs strapped to him.

so they shot him....lol

I wish I coulda gone, just to see my boy in action.

Some parents are refusing implants for their children, and you see other groups of Deaf people bemoaning the fact that some speakers who use the implants are now "Losing their signing" and have to resort to "spelling in sign language".

WTF? An entire sub-culture built around a defect that, in primitive nature, would likely result in a early death. What arrant, self-absorbed nonsense!

I can just imagine the child, now a twenty year-old, announcing the desire for an operation to change gender.

"No problem," the parents respond in sign language, "just be sure you don't get a hearing implant. Wouldn't want you to lose your identity."

Again I say...WTF?

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom

I'm not even remotely superstitious (aside from a few OCD's when under stress) but I was afraid of my own basement for the first few years I owned my house (it's very old). Go figure.

re: #201 Big Boots that's BOOTS

I usually try to not have peas on the days I have corn.

if I were you, I'd stick to green Jello

re: #211 Bacchus's daddy

I think you and I might be on the same page, although I don't believe ID vs. evolution should be even a debate. I think evolution should be accepted science (and shouldn't threaten the faith of those who have faith(s)). However, I think the problem of accounting for consciousness within science, is a potential problem for those with a strict materialist view. 'Consciousness' is one of the things that keeps me a little bit on the fence regarding the whole "God" question. I think that religionists who futilely quarrel with science over evolution, would be better served if they concentratd on consciousness, and how it remains, to some extent, inexplicable by modern science.

They do have a machine that measures consciousness that they use in the operating room. It is a way to tell how far under the patient is with anesthesia. They wanted to use it on "what's her name" who was starved to death because she wasn't conscious enough.

The real problem is more succinct than ID morons running amok on here.

We are reaching a plateau in American culture where the progress is being stifled by the pseudo moral arguments of the all too powerful 'faithful'. Yes, we are entering unexplored territories, but as America we always did.

The whole stem cell argument faced the same decomposition as the OJ Simpson trial. Sure it was possible to have a guilty black man, but he shouldnt have been tried as being black .. more as guilty .. or not guilty.
The same argument now faced stem cells. Sure they were good and offered the possibility of doing marvellous things .. but at what cost .. and do we end up still being human at the other end?

The questions need to be posed here .. and dealt with here. Or the work, the time, and the science will go where its most appreciated. Elsewhere.

And your grandchildren will remember that you once had that opportunity.

/Bunny out.

re: #213 Big Boots that's BOOTS

LGF- it's a tough room.

re: #218 Maximu§

It sounds hard.

BTW, how goes the war of the crows?

re: #218 Maximu§

Sounds like a more serious version of that scene in Men in Black where Will Smith shoots the cutout of the kid instead of all the monstrous aliens.

Much love to your son. Sounds like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

re: #162 goddessoftheclassroom

Okay, I know many Lizards won't believe this, but I SWEAR this is true.

I first started having to sleep with ear plugs when we rented a house that was (and I'm not kidding or exaggerating) haunted.

I heard footsteps and other weird noises and couldn't sleep. Other strange things happened in that house, too. I'll be happy to share the stories if anyone is interested.

I'm totally interested. Maybe we need an "America's Most Haunted" thread, though. (LOL.)

I've just been over-sensitive to noise since I was a teen. It has something to do with being prone to headaches, I think.

But, just today, my daughter walked into the kitchen and I screamed. My husband joked: "It's your mother's first day around people."

He and I have been together 17 years. If I don't hear him come into the room, and I suddenly realize someone is there, I'll jump and scream. He'll say, "Hello, I'm your husband, I live here."

If I ever see a ghost, I'll keel over from a heart attack.

re: #224 Sharmuta

LGF- it's a tough room.

Wear a helmet.

re: #168 Salamantis

People's brains lack pain sensors...brain surgeons often keep their patients awake during surgery, so that they can get feedback on what they should and should not mess with when dealing with a clot or tumor...some areas can be stimulated, and the patient will move a particular part of his/her body...other areas can be stimulated, and particular perceptions or memories will arise...the brain is the physical substrate of the mind just as certainly as DNA is the physical substrate of traits...Mind should be a verb, not a noun, for minding is what the brain does...

Absolutely! And this never ceases to fascinate me. I've read accounts where the sstimulation of a certain part of the brain will cause the patient to actually sense the aroma of an orange or a rose.

re: #225 Dianna

It sounds hard.

BTW, how goes the war of the crows?

The war goes on, but I'm not worried....I have a tin full of pellets and I'm a crack shot.

re: #220 Killgore Trout

I'm not even remotely superstitious (aside from a few OCD's when under stress) but I was afraid of my own basement for the first few years I owned my house (it's very old). Go figure.

PLEASE ask me to tell my stories, or at least the best one!

re: #230 Maximu§

Good.

Just remember, they're waiting.

I'd like to know the evolution of kissing. Did it start out with men biting women on the back of the neck?

re: #201 Big Boots that's BOOTS

I usually try to not have peas on the days I have corn.

Do they both give you tracers?

re: #231 goddessoftheclassroom

PLEASE ask me to tell my stories, or at least the best one!

Do tell.

re: #227 Josephine

I'm totally interested. Maybe we need an "America's Most Haunted" thread, though. (LOL.)

I've just been over-sensitive to noise since I was a teen. It has something to do with being prone to headaches, I think.

But, just today, my daughter walked into the kitchen and I screamed. My husband joked: "It's your mother's first day around people."

He and I have been together 17 years. If I don't hear him come into the room, and I suddenly realize someone is there, I'll jump and scream. He'll say, "Hello, I'm your husband, I live here."

If I ever see a ghost, I'll keel over from a heart attack.

I'm easily started, too. My students love to sneak up behind me, but my scream almost makes them wet their pants.

re: #234 Bacchus's daddy

Do they both give you tracers?

No, I think he just wants to poop green, and then see all the corn.

re: #227 Josephine

I'm totally interested. Maybe we need an "America's Most Haunted" thread, though. (LOL.)
...
If I ever see a ghost, I'll keel over from a heart attack.

In Sacramento, we had 'something' that would walk up the front stairs, across the porch, insert a key in the front door, open it and walk in...

Then dissolve!

re: #230 Maximu§

Do you have a crow problem? I so you should know that a crow hates an owl, Seriously. Get one a few of those owl decoys and the garden center (the one with the rotating heads work best). Remember to move the decoys about once a week and the crows will leave you alone.

re: #213 Big Boots that's BOOTS

I'm the "idiot"- thanks for clarifying, now I know. Some of you guys do eat your young. Weird.

Never mind all that, Boots. Your comments are clever.

re: #218 Maximu§
They do that kind of training in the little town I grew up in. The local paper has to print a little warning to the locals that they might see native Afghanis walking around in and near the town.

re: #229 NemoParticularis

Absolutely! And this never ceases to fascinate me. I've read accounts where the sstimulation of a certain part of the brain will cause the patient to actually sense the aroma of an orange or a rose.

A fascinating brain book is: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat about different injuries and diseases to the brain and the social, and emotional, and visual manifestations.

re: #233 DistantThunder

I think it was mothers pre-chewing food for infants.

OT
What is missing here?

re: #240 Cognito

Never mind all that, Boots. Your comments are clever.

Indeed- very clever about the no peas on the same day as corn. I mean, if that's not the height of clever comments, what is?

re: #244 Typicalwhitey

OT
What is missing here?

Won't touch that one, myself.

re: #233 DistantThunder

I'd like to know the evolution of kissing. Did it start out with men biting women on the back of the neck?

Just remember when you're kissing....
It's a 30 foot tube with a pile of sh*t at the other end....

*ducks & runs*

re: #245 Sharmuta

Indeed- very clever about the no peas on the same day as corn. I mean, if that's not the height of clever comments, what is?

I think it's sarcasm, Shar.

re: #244 Typicalwhitey

A smile on the Army guys face?

re: #222 DistantThunder

They do have a machine that measures consciousness that they use in the operating room. It is a way to tell how far under the patient is with anesthesia. They wanted to use it on "what's her name" who was starved to death because she wasn't conscious enough.

But machines can only measure quantitatively, they cannot account for qualia.

re: #97 Big Boots that's BOOTS

Well - I had a tumor in my max. sinus that went way bad. had to take out my eye. if they were so damn easy to 'build' then why can't i find a dr. to give me an eye that i can see out of?

I was wondering that just the other day. As the discussion, er, already discusses, we have cochlear implants now, artificial ears. So, where *are* the artificial eyes? Coming along, I expect. Mom is going in for a cataract operation next month, but there is also macular degeneration, so the improvement expected is only modest, at best. So, where *are* the artificial eyes? Let us Google:

2005
[Link: www.sciencentral.com...]
very basic functionality

2008
[Link: www.guardiannewsngr.com...]
estimates still five years away

2002
[Link: www.wired.com...]
Believe it if you will.

Let's say a decade away from general availability.

re: #245 Sharmuta

Indeed- very clever about the no peas on the same day as corn. I mean, if that's not the height of clever comments, what is?

Any analogy can be dragged down to mediocrity, if explained enough.

re: #226 Palandine

Sounds like a more serious version of that scene in Men in Black where Will Smith shoots the cutout of the kid instead of all the monstrous aliens.

Much love to your son. Sounds like the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

I raised him to be a Man....My Momma said (maybe this may not be the right place for this), but she said she will pray to the Good Lord everyday for him and to have the Angels surround him and protect him

She prayed the same for me when I was in the Army.

re: #236 goddessoftheclassroom
Be careful about the ghost stories. The Pa. real estate disclosure laws are such that you are supposed to inform prospective buyers about that stuff. I kid you not.

re: #248 Honorary Yooper

I think it's sarcasm, Shar.

I thought it was contrarianism.

re: #248 Honorary Yooper

I think it's sarcasm, Shar.

No, I actually liked Boots' comment. And the name gave me a chuckle. Two out of two ain't bad.

re: #168 Salamantis

And yet, many years ago, I had a lumbar puncture. The doctor-in-training (I'm in Canada, remember: they train on us and then go to the U.S. to get the big bucks) put two holes in my spine: without my permission, he took extra for a study he was doing.

As soon as the procedure was done, he told me to get up and help him carry all of the vials of spinal fluid to the desk. He did not have me lie down in the hospital and he did not tell me to lie down once I got home.

Long story short: I was in a lot of pain, couldn't stand up, couldn't have my head on a pillow in bed. Three days later, the neurologist told me: "The holes in your spine haven't closed; you're leaking spinal fluid, which is what cushions your brain; so your brain is sagging in your head."

I know the brain isn't supposed to feel pain but I was in a lot of pain. I also had an awareness that I was dying. (Luckily, I didn't die.)

gotta go the party just arrived....weeeeeeeeeeeeee

tonight its pink lemonaide and vodka

re: #254 EC Marm

Be careful about the ghost stories. The Pa. real estate disclosure laws are such that you are supposed to inform prospective buyers about that stuff. I kid you not.

CAlifornia too.

The basic problem that people have with self-conscious awareness is grasping the qualia problem. How do scientifically empirical and objective things like wavelengths and differential air pressure translate into subjective experiences such as hearing sound pitches and seeing colors? And will there ever be a way to ascertain whether, when I run into the same wavelengths and differential air pressures that someone else does, we subjectively experience the same kinds of subjective perceptions of them or not?

Science tends to deal with quantia; that which is intersubjectively public (external) and can objectively be measured. How does quantia translate into qualia (the subjective qualities of private internal apprehendings)?

re: #255 Sharmuta

I thought it was contrarianism.

Usually it is, but I think Cog was simply being sarcastic there in #240.

re: #253 Maximu§

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

Eyes are nothing but toes that can see.

re: #255 Sharmuta

I thought it was contrarianism.

I thought it was an Amish/ Vegitarian Invasion !

re: #261 Honorary Yooper

Usually it is, but I think Cog was simply being sarcastic there in #240.

OK, maybe I was wrong. (see #256)

re: #261 Honorary Yooper

No he wasn't.