Posts by Reasonfirst

17

Getting Fed at Assemblies and Camping Around the Stadium

by mikronboy in

jw
friends

this was the 1963 assembly at twickenham.

i recall the wt deciding no more camping after this due to "immorality" having taken place.. https://youtu.be/lhcl-13dyne.

Reasonfirst

Besides convention food service, there was the problem of getting rid of human waste. All this talk about the (not so) joyfulness of assembling together, brought this long forgotten memory to mind.

It was, I think, a National or international assembly in Melbourne. VIC._ There had been problems in procuring a site, (for some forgotten reason) - so a decision was made to use a greenfield site, and build our own facilities.

Seating etc was easy, and so was the cafeteria, but what about the dunnies? And, here we see the JW genius for shit at work.

Instead of individual toilets, with all the attendant problems of changing full pans (which would fill fast at big assemblies), some genius came up with the idea of big pits, which could be screened with perimeter screening.

Then the most brilliant part of this pre-assembly planning. Instead of individual seats with holes for your bum, there would be long poles so you sit on the pole with your bum hole over the open pit, and have a brotherly chat with your your neighbour, about the wonders of the assembly program.

What a great idea, cheap, labour-saving etc. Gotta say, I made sure I went at home, before I left home, so I only used these pit toilets to pee.

The climax of this assembly experience, is that the inevitable happened. An elderly sister fell backwards into the open pit, and the sisters facility had to be shut down while some brothers were called in to wade through the divine shit and help her out.

If you think I'm making this up, I assure you it's god's truth.

54

Is AI going to change the world?

by Reasonfirst in

jw
friends

had lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the accounting dept.

of one of australia's best universities.

he told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by ai programs, so why teach it.. if his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future.

Reasonfirst

And, today I find this variation on the theme:

Scientists Are Frighteningly Close to Achieving Synthetic Biological Intelligence (msn.com)

17

My report from the "trying my patience" DC

by nowwhat? in

embedded in the cleveland ohio convention.

pre covid attendance was always 7k+ this year 4500.. 37baptised mixed bag.

less then half were children.. as far as patience goes, it can certainly help you be a better person when dealing with others but needless to say, this having patience waiting for jehovah is pure b.s.!

Reasonfirst

Quote: ". Also the drama was about the brothers in Africa having to flee their home and country by listening to the direction from the branch. Jehovah saved them by sending them to a U.N. refugee camp!"

The camp is not named, but for sure B.O.Y.(bloody old yahweh) is sure moulding those African bros.

and ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53e-sdWviRc&t=34s

17

Getting Fed at Assemblies and Camping Around the Stadium

by mikronboy in

jw
friends

this was the 1963 assembly at twickenham.

i recall the wt deciding no more camping after this due to "immorality" having taken place.. https://youtu.be/lhcl-13dyne.

Reasonfirst

Hahaha!!!!

Some Aussie conventions could've been better organised (that's putting it very kindly).

I recall one DA just out of Sydney at Fairy Meadow (a suburb of Wollongong). Make what you will of the 'fairies' in the suburb's name. And, it was on a larger open grassed area

Anyway the Circuit OS, a H.F. James, who been put in charge of the organising the convention, either wasn't given much money for the arrangements, or he believed in doing it cheap. He decided to use hessian bagging to screen off large areas, and much of it blew down on (one very windy days) .

All the seating was in large tents, and on the first day, heavy rain turned the seating areas into deep mud with a particularly nasty smell. We soon found out from the local bros, that the seating area was where a circus using the area couple of weeks before this convention, had tethered the elephants. If we learnt nothing else at this assembly, we learned what elephant shit smelt like. I recall being up to my knees in mud after walking on one spot

The cafeteria was also on grass, with hygiene hassles. The branch overseer, D.H.Held, looked askance to find big red ants under a covered plate on his tray.

Being a JW was (occasionally) fun in those days.

54

Is AI going to change the world?

by Reasonfirst in

jw
friends

had lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the accounting dept.

of one of australia's best universities.

he told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by ai programs, so why teach it.. if his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future.

Reasonfirst

I'm not deeply interested in AI, (I'm much more interested in watching the rise of Asia - and apropos, fascinating rise of what may be the 9th world power,- I wonder what spin will our former loving bros. will handle that ) but a post on Sciencedaily suggests that AI, (just like me) can forget what it previously knew.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230720124956.htm

54

Is AI going to change the world?

by Reasonfirst in

jw
friends

had lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the accounting dept.

of one of australia's best universities.

he told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by ai programs, so why teach it.. if his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future.

Reasonfirst

Had lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the Accounting Dept. of one of Australia's best universities. He told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the Accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by AI programs, so why teach it.

If his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future. Well, I'm not so sure (as he was) that AI can change that much in our world. (And at near 90 y.o. it's unlikely to change much in my world)

In our discussion we canvassed what sort of work may not be affected by rampant AI? I suggested anything that required manual work (i.e. working with your hands). So today, I tried to see if AI could change catering (an area, where I once worked as a designer). To my surprise, I found:

https://www.scmp.com/video/lifestyle/3127966/robot-restaurant-machines-prepare-cook-and-serve-all-food-eatery-china

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvr0Mz6srSo

It's quite a stretch to say that AI controlled robots can replace humans, but it's a fascinating trend.

Have your thought about these possibilities? i recall a discussion on this site some years ago that had strong arguments against AI.

57

JWs unrecognisable compared to my grandfathers time

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

my grandfather who has been dead for 37 years would not recognise the borganisation today.

he would turn in his grave if he knew the end didn’t come by 2023.. back in the 1970s he really believed in the 75 thing.

he was so disappointed and almost blamed everyone else why the end didn’t come.

Reasonfirst

When I saw and heard Nathan K's talk to elders at Sydney's (then) Greenacre Assembly Hall, (it was then more than half way through the year) none of the anticipated events Freddy F had been predicting had occurred, and Nathan made that point clear, when he said, that there was now not enough time left for them to occur. Nathan was then quite sick, and would die in 1977, disappointment may having been a factor.

As I later reflected on all that Nathan said, I realised that I had bought into a big con - just as the first generation of christians had.

Not many years later I was out

91

Ecclesiastes 9:5 -"the dead know nothing at all"

by aqwsed12345 in

the narrator of the book of ecclesiastes had very little knowledge of many things that jesus and his apostles later preached.

the author does not make statements, but only wonders (thinks, observes, often raises questions, and leaves them open).

he looked at the world based on the law of moses and found nothing but vanity, as the earthly reward promised in the law did not always accompany good deeds and earthly punishment for evil deeds.

Reasonfirst

So many words to say nothing

91

Ecclesiastes 9:5 -"the dead know nothing at all"

by aqwsed12345 in

the narrator of the book of ecclesiastes had very little knowledge of many things that jesus and his apostles later preached.

the author does not make statements, but only wonders (thinks, observes, often raises questions, and leaves them open).

he looked at the world based on the law of moses and found nothing but vanity, as the earthly reward promised in the law did not always accompany good deeds and earthly punishment for evil deeds.

Reasonfirst

Qoting:

Biahi2 months ago

My Bible (The Living Bible), has a footnote for Ecclesiastes 9:5. The foot note states, “ This statement reflects Solomon’s discouraged opinion. It does not, however, reflect God’s truth of the matter.”

--------------------

So the Book of Ecclesiastes, included and recognised as part of the Bible is not "inspired."

How many other bible books are also 'not inspired'?

9

Are you PISSED-OFF with christianity/religion? Watch THE KINGDOM

by Reasonfirst in

jw
friends

if you are pissed-off with christianity and/or religion in general, then you may like this overview of the downfall of the hillsong (pentecostalism) franchise.. it was made by a staff member of sbs an australian tv, who is apparently an ex-hillsong attendee.. the description blurb notes: " marc fennell investigates the successful, but scandal plagued megachurch hillsong, stepping back into the world of pentecostalism that he left behind and asking what happens as the hillsong kingdom crumbles.".

you can find this report on sbs ondemand.. link: https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/the-kingdom/2204846147867.

there are other links on the web to other critical examinations of hillsong's failings, including the failure of pastor brian houston's failure to report his father's (the founder of hillsong) pedophilia.. another australian link is to channel 7's spotlight;.

Reasonfirst

Hi Mum,

Yup, I've met some very kind RC priests, so I can appreciate your point.

Does your comment that said, (quote)" it is not good to paint all Christians or individual churches with the same brush." mean that this can also apply to JW congregations and individuals?

Do you think that some Jws are also good people?