BurnTheShips

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Posts by BurnTheShips

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  34

  My journey to atheism

  by Awakened at Gilead in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've blogged about my path from missionary to atheist on freeminds - see the latest post here: http://www.freeminds.org/blogs/a-gilead-grad-s-guide-to-leaving-jws/from-missionary-to-atheist-how-is-that-possible-part-1.html.

  i haven't shared this aspect of my journey in an organized fashion, so please let me know what you think.... .

  cheers!.

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  BurnTheShips

  It only crashes on Chrome. Works fine in IE and Firefox.

  BTS
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  49

  The Nasa Announcement

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are anyone here excited about what they are going to report today at the astro-biological announcement?

  i keep checking my local-time-zone to est converter :-)..

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  BurnTheShips

  Sorry, for lecturing, I'm a fucking geek. I love this stuff.

  BTS
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  49

  The Nasa Announcement

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are anyone here excited about what they are going to report today at the astro-biological announcement?

  i keep checking my local-time-zone to est converter :-)..

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  BurnTheShips

  1) So, what other elements can be swapped in and out of DNA?

  There aren't many discrete elements in the 4 nucleobases that make up DNA...just oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. These are arranged in varying sequences of 4 nucleobases (adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine) to make up one DNA "bit", or nucleotide. The 4 nucleobase "bits", however, are terminated and attached to other "bits" using phosphate bonds. So in total, that is just 4 elements.

  2) Can a bacteria based on arsenic, or some other element, evolve into a higher life form? If so, what would it look like / act like / be like?

  I don't see why not.

  If so, what would it look like / act like / be like?

  Here is what I am hoping for....

  

  BTS
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  49

  The Nasa Announcement

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are anyone here excited about what they are going to report today at the astro-biological announcement?

  i keep checking my local-time-zone to est converter :-)..

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  BurnTheShips

  I posted this on JWood's thread, I figured I might as well post it here too.

  New Life Form Discovered

  Per Gizmodo, NASA is preparing to announce the discovery of an entirely new form of life:

  Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything.
  
  

  At their conference today, NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe Simon will announce that they have found a bacteria whose DNA is completely alien to what we know today. Instead of using phosphorus, the bacteria uses arsenic. All life on Earth is made of six components: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Every being, from the smallest amoeba to the largest whale, share the same life stream. Our DNA blocks are all the same.

  But not this one. This one is completely different. We knew that there were bacteria that processedarsenic, but this bacteria--discovered in the poisonous Mono Lake, California--is actually made of arsenic. The phosphorus is absent from its DNA. The implications of this discovery are enormous to our understanding of life itself and the possibility of finding beings in other planets that don't have to be like planet Earth.

  Interesting conversation developing in the comments on the Gizmodo story -- people trying to figure out how significant this is, some expressing disappointment that what's being announced is not the discovery of alien life.

  Two points I'd like to make on that.

  1. This is huge. How can anyone not see tthat this is huge?

  2. Of course it's alien life. Whether it developed on this planet independently or it was deposited here by some meteor -- this is alien life.

  To borrow a phrase from our most recent podcast, this is at the very least a "proof of concept" for alien life.

  If it's from this planet, is there some path by which it could have evolved from common ancestors of the rest of the biosphere? If so, how could that have happened? Every other living thing on earth shares the same chemistry -- but not these bacteria.

  And if it's NOT from this planet...

  Let's just say that raises some questios, too.
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  26

  NASA staging breifing on new develops about extraterrestrial life Dec. 2

  by james_woods in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is a link:.

  http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/hq_m10-167_astrobiology.html.

  nasa sets news conference on astrobiology discovery; science journal has embargoed details until 2 p.m. est on dec. 2 washington -- nasa will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. est on thursday, dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

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  BurnTheShips

  http://blog.speculist.com/2010/12/new-life-form-discovered.html

  New Life Form Discovered

  Per Gizmodo, NASA is preparing to announce the discovery of an entirely new form of life:

  Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything.
  
  

  At their conference today, NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe Simon will announce that they have found a bacteria whose DNA is completely alien to what we know today. Instead of using phosphorus, the bacteria uses arsenic. All life on Earth is made of six components: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Every being, from the smallest amoeba to the largest whale, share the same life stream. Our DNA blocks are all the same.

  But not this one. This one is completely different. We knew that there were bacteria that processedarsenic, but this bacteria--discovered in the poisonous Mono Lake, California--is actually made of arsenic. The phosphorus is absent from its DNA. The implications of this discovery are enormous to our understanding of life itself and the possibility of finding beings in other planets that don't have to be like planet Earth.

  Interesting conversation developing in the comments on the Gizmodo story -- people trying to figure out how significant this is, some expressing disappointment that what's being announced is not the discovery of alien life.

  Two points I'd like to make on that.

  1. This is huge. How can anyone not see tthat this is huge?

  2. Of course it's alien life. Whether it developed on this planet independently or it was deposited here by some meteor -- this is alien life.

  To borrow a phrase from our most recent podcast, this is at the very least a "proof of concept" for alien life.

  If it's from this planet, is there some path by which it could have evolved from common ancestors of the rest of the biosphere? If so, how could that have happened? Every other living thing on earth shares the same chemistry -- but not these bacteria.

  And if it's NOT from this planet...

  Let's just say that raises some questios, too.
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  91

  Creationist Theme Park: "Ark Encounter"

  by leavingwt in

  1. social
  2. current

  say hello to ark encounter.. .

  kentucky governor unveils plans for creationist theme park complete with full-sized ark.

  .. a joint project between beshear and answers in genesis -- a christian organization that also built a similar attraction, the creation museum -- the park will reportedly cost at least $150 million and create 900 jobs, according to the news release.. beshear's spokesperson kerri richardson declined to comment beyond what was in her office's news release on the project.. the amusement park, named ark encounter, will include all the modern recreation amenities, including: a full-sized wooden ark, a "walled city much like was found in ancient times, a replica of the tower of babel with exhibits, a first-century middle eastern village" and even outdoor parking.

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  BurnTheShips

  a full-sized wooden ark, a "walled city much like was found in ancient times, a replica of the Tower of Babel with exhibits, a first-century Middle Eastern village" and even outdoor parking. The park is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.

  I can't wait for the wet burka contests!

  BTS
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  11

  Can science and religion coexist peacefully?

  by kowalskil in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  can science and religion coexist peacefully?

  this is a good question to start an interesting discussion among scientists, theologians and sociologists.

  see how this question was answered by many smart people at my website:.

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  BurnTheShips

  Dear Dr. Kowalski,

  You have picked an excellent forum to ask your question. This question is frequently discussed here, and there are a variety of views.

  My personal view is that religion conflicts with science only when it has specific, testable dogmas regarding the natural, physical world. Where it does not attempt to do this, there can be no conflict. Religion should limit itself to questions of ultimate meaning and moral value.

  Unlike religious beliefs, science does not deal with this realm. It deals with the natural, physical realm. Every concept held is always subject to further review in the light of new empirical evidence. Science collects empirical facts, and upon this constructs laws and theories to explain the facts.

  Where the two areas can be harmonized, good things can result.

  Human beings seek to know what is true about the physical world; for this the methods of science were slowly refined over many centuries.

  Human beings also seek for the meanings of the things they see. They seek for guidance in how to live their lives.

  For this, humans have repeatedly engaged in what we is called religion. Here too, we have seen refinement over many centuries, although also halting and uneven.

  We have little evidence of participation in these two great quests in any species but our own. These are two uniquely human enterprises.

  Where one enterprise fights or attempts to destroy the other, the strife erects a hindrance towards human progress. In times and places where religious regimes have sought to undermine science in order to protect dogma, humanity has suffered. In times and places where scientistic regimes have sought to undermine religion and spirituality, humanity has suffered as well. In centuries past, my ancestors suffered under the former. In more recent times, my family has suffered under the latter--totalitarian communist states (which is why I live in the US).

  To deny either aspect of human nature is to make us less human.

  I like what Albert Einstein once said: "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."

  Incidentally, I have emailed you at your .edu address on the subject of cold fusion, which fascinates me.

  BurnTheShips
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  19

  Have YOU Sold Any Of Your Gold Jewelry And If So, How Did You Do It?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you sell it to these guys on tv commercials and send it in the mail?.

  did you sell it locally?.

  were you satisfied with what you got?

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  BurnTheShips

  A Cuban without gold is like a fish without scales. I like my bling.

  There is even a link pattern known as "Cuban chain" lol.

  http://www.cubanchain.net/

  BTS
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  33

  I stopped going to the Kingdom Hall

  by FloridaPerry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in late 1976, i had just turned 17. everyone in my family dropped out over the next few years, except a a brother who has been going strong his whole life.

  my mother went back a couple of years ago and i live in the same town as she does and she keeps talking to me about it.

  reading this forum, it sure brings back a lot of memories.

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  BurnTheShips

  Hey! I'm in Florida too. Stopped going almost 4 years ago.

  BTS
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  11

  How Old is Christianity?

  by ProdigalSon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i thought this holiday season, a time when christians all around the world celebrate the birth of the sun on december 25th, if they actually know why they are doing this?.

  a few years ago, my biggest moment of awakening came while i was listening to a 2-hour interview between jeff rense and the occult expert michael tsarion.... tsarion was spilling the beans on who wrote the bible and why, and how our brains and dna were "unplugged" which was the real reason for the "fall of man".. meet the very first monotheistic god in religion.... the egyptian, solar deity "ra", also known as "aten".. http://www.google.com/search?q=atenism&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-us:official&client=firefox-a#sclient=psy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=yep&rls=org.mozilla:en-us%3aofficial&source=hp&q=atenism&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=58f24a67740fa236.

  remember prince and the super bowl halftime show in 2004 with his egyptian ankh guitar?.

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  BurnTheShips

  The principles of Christianity are not new or where they invented by Christ, perhaps he expanded on them in regards to certain things and took them to the next level

  PSac has kicked correct squarely in the gonads. What is good and true, is good and true, regardless of who says it, where they said it, or when in history they said it.

  In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.

  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+1&version=NIV

  BTS