Just listened to a great straightforward interview with Michael Behe talking to John McWhorter on his 07 book ‘The Edge of Evolution’ on bloggingheads.tv (audio quality isn’t great). Apparently there was some controversy and the interview was pulled shortly after being posted but it’s still out there.

It still baffles me how those who oppose ID get away with calling men like Behe ‘creationists’ (implying obviously a biblical origin for their inquiries and all that entails to the uninitiated; literal 6 24hr day creation, young earth, men and dinosaurs co-existing, god of gaps, lack of scientific rigor, and on and on).

The impetus for Behe and so many others I’ve heard as scientists and academics in their field is so obviously not some Christian prostelitising but scientific inquiry, following evidence where it leads, and being willing to put aside scientific presupositions should they be shown to be weak in favour of stronger argument. But this is not how they are ever represented.

It’s also interesting that the ID movement gets it in a sense from both sides. Many Christians view ID as Theistic Evolution, and think these are misguided Christians who are trying to prove Christianity by making concessions with with materialism and empiricism and relying on Science instead of Biblical authority when it seems to me to simply be folks (some of faith, some not) who’re practicing their vocation as scientists and scholars where their intellect and training gives them the unique opportunity to work with and provide insight into some of the most fascinating fields and topics man has the pleasure of delving into; physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, etc… In that sense I don’t seem them poring over the Bible to give them insight on science, nor delving into science to give them insight on the bible, but as scientists just doing their job just like I do my job.

Any perceived connection there may be between their job and faith should be put aside until the evidence they present is looked at on it’s own merits.

(Hat tip: Apologetics315)

‘Oh, just turn the channel if you don’t care for the content’…Has anyone actually tried this? It’s pull-out-your hair, grit your teeth, annoying.

By the time you realize there’s something scary on the screen it’s already too late. 6 year old is yelling ‘Scary!!’ and jumping behind the couch, mom is leaping toward wide-eyed 3 year old to cover his eyes and I’m scrambling for the remote thats slipped off my lap down behind a cushion or on one of the side tables. Amy is yelling ‘Turn the channel! Why aren’t you turning the channel!’, ‘I’m trying!!’ Scrambling and finally find the remote and turn the channel just before it’s over. And were we watching late at night or ‘Scream’ channel?…no Discovery channel at 7:30.

Why is Discovery channel content sponsored by Halloween II and A Haunting in Connecticut anyway? Pisses me off. ‘Daddy I’m going to have nightmares’. Thanks Discovery Channel.

It’s been six or so years since I’ve been in a gym regularly (coincidentally coinciding with the age of my oldest son) but continued lack of exercise and growing mid-section have compelled me to look for alternative ways to get in shape. I like biking so am trying to find more time for that, but I’ve always loved challenging myself with something more anaerobic. Nothing beats that pump and rush of endorphins you get from a great workout.
We didn’t have the space or money for anything elaborate so I looked at options that would allow me a full body workout and versatility within our restricted budget. And it’s worked out swimmingly thanks to Craigslist, Walmart and Canadian Tire.
The bench has incline, decline and flat, the 150lbs of weight is enough to challenge for now, can be added to later if need be, and it all stores out of the way should we need it too. I may get one of those pull up bars that fit in the door for wide grip lat pull ups at some point but beyond that there isn’t really anything I want at this point.
I’m able to do squats and rows and presses and extensions and bench and curls, and variations on each…all for under 400 bucks. I saw an ad tonight for yet another fitness contraption that will be gathering dust in folks basements. Some kind of kneeling-swivelling-’core’-blastery thing. What a waste. Just need a bench, some dumbells and a floor for crunches and the like and you’re set.

My site has languished for quite some time as I’ve focused on work and family and any number of other things. As a result over the last few years somehow Akismet, my Wordpress spam helper, has collected almost 120,000 ‘comments’spams. Wah-wowee…
Anyway tonight I updated my version of Wordpress and discovered this along with the fact that there isn’t really a ‘delete all crap’ button in my pending comments section. After numerous attempts to use what appeared to be a ’select all’ checkbox and ‘delete’ in succession failed to delete all but 20 at a time I figured I’d best find another solution or this would take a long, long, long…long…long time. Ended up up in PHPmyAdmin and doing things much beyond my ken, entering a mysterious SQL query that magically reduced those 119,675 comments to 0.

Hurrah, I’m up to date and comments are back on. I shall do my best to stay on top of things from now on!

The ‘No lowball offers. It’s a waste of everyones time’ and ‘there’s a lot of interest so it’s basically first come first serve’.” I can understand it’s a waste of time to offer $4grand on a $35000 dollar car or something, but a $175 dollar used item? Come on, either declare the price firm or expect to get an offer lower than what you’re asking..and expect the difference to be more than what you would get redeeming a coupon at a supermarket. Just sounds like a cheesy way of getting your full price. ( especially in combo with ‘there’s a lot of interest,)

And what about this first come first serve business?isn’t that implicit in a craigslist sale? Isn’t that based on first response? I always give the first respondents the benefit of the doubt and first priority and if they’re no shows I contact back the next in line. I don’t attempt to give the impression its an all-bets- are-off-free-for-all mad mad mad world dash to my door.
Again as far as I’m concerned that’s old fort craigslist cheese.