I am in many ways the same, but I am more aware of the real world now and I am alot more "real"...and far less judgemental (i hope).
maximumtool
JoinedPosts by maximumtool
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36
Are YOU a Better Person Now That You're Out of the Organization?
by minimus inthey say that you're like a dog returning to its own vomit.
do you think that you're a better person now than you were as a witness?
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Another fossil link found
by Caedes inhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7736786.stm.
the earliest turtles known to live in water have been discovered on a scottish island.. the 164 million-year-old reptile fossils were found on a beach in southern skye, off the uk's west coast.
the new species forms a missing link between ancient terrestrial turtles and their modern, aquatic descendants.
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maximumtool
I always find it amusing how someone will start a thread discussing something they find interesting regarding evolution, and then a basic discussion will emerge from people who have taken the time to actually intellectually invest in understanding what evolution actually is and what it actually means. These people in turn understand what evolution doesnt mean, and what it actually isnt...
And then, interspersed in the actual discussion are these individuals who have no clue what evolution is and isnt, and what it does and does not mean, who just insert completely unrelated and entirely inappropriate points and have no idea how completely irrelevant what they are saying even is. And these individuals never seem to learn why what they are saying is so ridiculous...
They regurgitate the same misunderstood or irrelevant garbage over and over and over again, someone will attempt to explain to them why what they are saying is either wrong, inappropriate or irrelevant, and they will just ignore it. They come on a board and ask a question, someone answers it, and they just dont learn from it. It never ceases to simulataneously amaze and amuse me...
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Gas @ $2.50 a gallon
by wha happened? ina month ago i read that gas might hit $2.50 a gallon.
i laughed.
well super is now 2.49 in los angeles.
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maximumtool
Man, if I was an airline I would be getting ready to hedge the living crap out of my next decade worth of oil, if I could swing it...thats what SouthWest did a few years ago, and its why they kicked everyone ass for about six years. In the late 90's early 00's, everyone else was paying for oil at market price, still low compared to today, and they were paying 1/3 to 1/2 of that...its how they were so profitable and everyone else was barely getting by, or not at all.
While great, this decline is temporary. Unless we have shifted alot of our reliance to other energy sources, as soon as this recession is over prices are going to skyrocket. The window to move away from oil before its too late is open right now...
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New Bond Flick.....
by yknot inhas anyone seen it?.
sis and i noticed that divx has it uploaded.. http://66stage.com/movies.php?pl=div2&url=qzrgqcbcuaku&w=320&h=240.
is it worth 106 minutes of our time?.
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maximumtool
I liked it, though, as someone else said, it really is Casino Royale 2.
I personally think Daniel Craig is awesome, and there is some cool technology at play in this one (though no real gadgets for Bond to blow things up with).
The movie is really just an action movie though, and not a James Bond movie. It definitely could have used a better villian, or team of villians, but I still liked it.
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"Created": Are we artificial life forms?
by cameo-d inif we are created beings and not a product of a natural evolution of something....and since we are told that we are created beings...... does this make us an artificial life form?.
and what exactly would an artificial life form be intended for by its creator?.
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maximumtool
Caedes,
While it seems we agree, I think you misunderstood what I was saying, and perhaps the clarity of my post suffered from what may have been over-eagerness to make a point. You said:
"No, our definition is that the supernatural cannot be measured in any way. As soon as a measurement can be made of a supernatural force then it becomes natural by definition. It could be argued that merely our scientific techniques are inadequate but since no-one can come up with an experiment to even prove the existence (never mind measure them) of supernatural forces then it not arrogant to assume they do not exist."
The point of my statements regarding natural/supernatural was not to debate whether "supernatural" events actually occured, which I did state (though I can see how it could have been read in a way not intended), but really that the definition "supernatural" was in itself inappropriate at all times, because the word is merely a reflection of our lack of understanding regarding the true scope of the natural world. As you correctly pointed out, we may simply lack the techniques to prove or disprove something that someone may be referring to as "supernatural".
My point is that it is arrogant to presume that we are qualified to attach a label of "natural/supernatural" to anything. We should recognize that if it is exists in this universe it is simply "natural" and that our own understanding/"techniques" are what require adjusting and reclassification. Case in point, in analysis your own statement quoted above, we do not have the ability to "measure" many aspects to the universe at the particle level, and we have yet to create many of the "scientific techniquies" to explain many of the things we assume to be there. Looking at your own statement above, if what you say is correct regarding the line between natural/supernatural, these particles would then qualify as "supernatural", correct? Of course we both know that that is not the case. So it goes far beyond that...but either way, the use of the term "supernatural" is inappropriate at all times, because it really is just a flawed attempt to arrogantly explain something we have no explanation for. It's an intellectual cop-out. Instead of labeling something as "supernatural", what we should be doing is acknowledging via our use of language that our lack of understanding is a reflection of our own shortcomings, and this "supernatural" phenomina is just as "natural" as the next thing...
I personally feel that the same is true regarding assigning labels of "artificial" to forms of life, whether we are attaching the label to ourselves as a lifeform or any other. We know so little about what constitutes life in the first place that for us to attempt to attach some narrow or vague label to one form as opposed to another is premature at best, and we would be arrogant to attempt to do so.
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"Created": Are we artificial life forms?
by cameo-d inif we are created beings and not a product of a natural evolution of something....and since we are told that we are created beings...... does this make us an artificial life form?.
and what exactly would an artificial life form be intended for by its creator?.
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maximumtool
Not to offend anyone, because I really do not want to, but the idea that we should somehow feel that we are qualified to claim that some lifeform is "artificial" and some other life form is not is really the height of potential human arrogance.
And though I dont personally think that this conversation was started with a direct intent to be "arrogant", the simple fact that we as a species as small as we are feel justified in literally discussing it is, in my little stupid mind, a demonstration that we think we are far more then we actually are.
It is like when one of us humans says that they have had an experience and they describe it as "supernatural". Not to debate whether the experience happened or not, but what makes us think we are qualified to draw the line on "natural" as opposed to "supernatural"? Isnt the real issue that merely our definition of nature is inadequate? "Angels", "Demons", "Ghosts" or "Flying Spaghetti Monsters", wouldnt they be "natural" as well if we simply understood things a little bit better?
The same is true in this case...regardless of our belief in the involvement of a direct creative/guiding influence in the cause of our existance, after all Natural Selection is just such a thing (it simply isnt "intelligent"), I dont believe that we are properly qualified to make the case truly either way regarding if one life form is "artificial" as opposed to another in anything that wouldnt be either a biased fasion or we would be taking a stand based on niavete.
Just my thought...comments?
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Gas @ $2.50 a gallon
by wha happened? ina month ago i read that gas might hit $2.50 a gallon.
i laughed.
well super is now 2.49 in los angeles.
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maximumtool
Gas is $2.35 or so for regular in NY...
But anyone saying that gas prices have dropped because Obama got elected doesnt understand the economy at all.
While I, like everyone else am thrilled prices have dropped, this is like a cancer patient losing weight. Someone may have struggled to lose 25 lbs or so for years, but finally losing it cause you have cancer is not the way you want to get it done.
The same is true of gas prices. They are dropping cause oil futures contracts are being secured for next to nothing (compared to a few months ago). That has absolutely nothing to do with oil compaines in this country since they are responsible for very little of the oil traded on the global market, which is where we (like every country out there who uses free markets) buys/secures their oil. The reason oil is dropping is because (1) our currency has improved in value relative to other currencies (that isnt all good by the way - trade exports suffer), and (2) because global demand is dropping cause we are going into a massive global recession and we will probably have several regional "depressions" throughout the world.
Case in point: Citi just cut 53,000 jobs today. That is 53,000 people that are going to be using less gas cause they arent commuting every day. That reduces demand. Replicate that hundreds to thousands of times in the country that uses 25% of the oil on this planet and prices will plummet. Since the price of a barrel of oil is traded based on future need, that is why the price is dropping. It is nothing more complicated then that...
So yes, I am glad that oil/gas prices are going down, but again, this is like someone who has cancer finally losing weight. Its the icing on a big piece of sh*t.
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Favorite dopey, cheesy metal bands, songs...
by avishai inmanowar... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjhnwao6dn8.
musically, there pretty good, and eric adams can sing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scljmnrmlnq.
but lyrically, god, they're dumber than spinal tap!
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maximumtool
Here is a classic...it aint cheezy, but it fu*king rules!!
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maximumtool
The idea of eating cloned animals doesnt bother me in the least.
Interesting conversation in this thread. I wish I knew enough to intelligently engage in the discussion. Guess I will be a bystander from here on out!
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IMO ~ The Great Tribulation and Armageddon
by Flash inimo - the great tribulation:.
occurs when religion is attacked.
it appears to be a destructive power apart from god but without his intervention 'no flesh would be saved' on earth (matthew 24: 21 and 22).
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maximumtool
Well said Pahpa...for some reason, every generation has people that really want to believe that they are living in the "last days", and that things can not possibly get any worse and that God, whoever that may be depending on your belief, just has to step in. Cause he just has to....cause it cant get any worse. Billions of people have believed this, and not one of them has ever been correct...
And regarding the flood of Noahs day, what do you mean "Wha???" For one, that is not even a word. Second, not believing something that is as fundamentally stupid as the idea of the flood of Noahs day is not denial, it is common sense and a display of intellectual integrity. I used to believe in the flood just as much as you do now. But the same critical thinking skills that I applied to other areas of my life were somehow lacking when I thought about, and believed in, the flood. It's not denial, it's accepting reality.