Saturday, May 23, 2009

Walking the high-wire of belief

There are a group of people who think a lot like me. In my time dealing with paranormal people and groups and dealing with skeptical people and groups I kinda find myself caught in-between. I know that there are people in the paranormal camp who will believe in every outrageous claim that comes along and there are those who need some actual proof. The level of proof is where the line is drawn.
In the skeptical camp there are those who will reject any claims that are in anyway paranormal.And of course there are those who realize we can not explain everything because we do not know everything. The level of knowledge that those people think they possess is where the line is drawn.
The problem is where those two lines cross, That is where I reside and neither extreme likes the spot much, some won't even admit it exists.
Beliefs come into play here whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Atheists will tell you their way of thinking is not a religion. That may be true but it is a belief system and it effects what they accept and what they do not in other words, it creates a bias.
In many arguments I hear the logical thinkers ask the paranormal camp 'what are the odds of that occurring?' Well what are the odds we are here as a matter of chance and there is no higher power that had a hand in our creation? Look at how well nature works, from here on earth to across the universe, there are rules, laws, a system, a method to the madness. Scientists talk about there being a certain set of numbers that they must use to explain the theory of everything. It is order, not just a result of randomness that makes what we see around us. Even if we do not know everything yet,what we do know tells us plenty. For every force there is an equal and opposing force so far it continues to be true and even if it were to be shown as incorrect there are enough examples to convince me there is something that exists beyond us here on earth.
The other side of the coin are those who believe in paranormal occurrences and think that some have abilities to tell the future or communicate with spirits of the dead. I've used the number 110,000,000,000 as the number of human who have ever lived, that is not an exact figure, that number is impossible to reach but it is pretty close. If spirits of the dead were somehow residing here wouldn't we likely be over run be spirits? Most investigators or hunters will be found searching a dark cemetery or an old house when the sun has gone down. What is it about the dark that makes us think ghosts prefer it? I think it is the fact that ghosts are an unknown and the dark is where we find ourselves surrounded by things we can not see. That is how the relationship is created.
There is a smaller group who fall between the paranormal fundamentalist and the cynical skeptics. That is where my group of friends and myself stand and fight for our cause. We fend off the extremist from both sides while we attempt to build the middle. We stand for balance and true openmindedness. This is where we will find our answers in the middle of incredible claims of mystical unknowns and the scientific soul-less lack of creator.
In case by writing lacks the talent needed to make my point here, it is balance and it serves us best in every aspect of our lives, from the food we choose to eat to the time we spend sitting in front of the TV to the way we look at our relationships with others, to the way we believe, and what we believe.
The island in the middle where the lines cross and my friends and I stand is not as large as it should be but that will change, it will have to before we can truly move forward in our understanding of our universe because it is balance that keeps us from falling down.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Teaching the Moon

It is a radio.It will scan up/down the bands.It is believed by some that the sounds this radio emits enables the dead to speak to us. All we have to do is believe. It's good to believe in things, it makes us comfortable to have stability and reassurance and that helps us to be happy.There are a couple of reasons people in things. You can believe because of known facts or you can believe because of faith. Faith based claims are usually a result of lack of education or the inability to learn the facts.Believing is believing, no matter the reason it still provides the same comfort. There are some people who choose to remain uneducated because to educate themselves would mean the faith they had gotten comfort from for so long would be gone, useless now that they knew the facts about things. Facts to differing extremes are with us to stay and even if they are shown to be incorrect they are replaced by new facts and result in an even stronger feeling of comfort.
There is nothing wrong with faith unless you refuse to consider facts because those facts threaten your faith. The result of that is stupidity, stupidity being someone who chooses to remain ignorant. If you are to ask others to share your faith then you are spreading stupidity.
 There is a person named Christopher Moon who has one of the radios I mentioned above. He claims to speak to the dead through it...often. he has even had contact with people who were famous when alive here on earth. He also claims to have been 'chosen' , specially, for the task. By who I do not know. That would mean that from the approximate number of human who have lived (110,000,000,000) he won the lottery big time. Chris Moon does not seam to be unique except in his inability to educate himself. To claim to hear voices from a device such as his is to demonstrate his lack of understanding about the brain and how it works. I do not understand why Chris wants to be stupid.It could be because if he were to learn about the way in which the human brain processes information then his voices would not be so clear and he would have to let go of that faith he has been submersed in for so long. Along with that his claim of being unique and along with that any bit of respect he has from his followers. He has already managed to destroy his credibility among the skeptics. In fact he has been making the type of claims that many skeptics do not even give consideration to. It is one of those claims that intelligent people find so silly and unreasonable that it is easily dismissed without much consideration. The most incredible thing about it being the fact someone is even making such claims. The attempt by Chris Moon to try and use this broken radio to serve as his career of choice only shows what type of person he is. If you take the level of stupidity and greed, then add the lack of empathy it paints a picture of a person who is not easy to look at. As a final layer you can add a conceit which he has built all on his own. Convincing others to join in his uneducated rhetoric and then basking in the praise they shower upon him.
 I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how a person like this can be quieted because I believe he causes far more harm than he could ever hope to achieve good. His followers do not seem to need to even consult with him before they speak on his behalf, an indication of blind obedience Chris has allowed others to answer his critics on most occasions, refusing to support his argument because he say people do not like the answers he gives. Chris does not understand there are reasons people do not accept his answers, they are based on his faith. Others do not share his faith because they are educated enough to know his faith is at least questionable. No one who is being reasonable can refute some of the things we have learned about the  brain in recent years. The brain is not a perfect organ, it makes mistakes. The types of mistakes it makes can be pr oven in tests. When you do these tests you will get the same results over and over, take the one we do using this broken radio for example..........

Look at the picture below, what do you see? The round shape of the moon? Where is the circle? Its in your mind. Are our eyes the only senses that fool us? Have you ever heard of phantom limbs? People who can still feel pars of their body despite  having lost them. Our auditory senses do the same thing.Those who are listening to the box, please educate yourselves.
Blogged with the Flock Browser

Monday, May 11, 2009

Rates Go Postal

Bad news everyone....the price of a stamp to mail a letter is going up $.o2. A letter.....you know, when you write with a pencil or pen on paper, fold it up, stick it in an envelope,write an address on it, seal it, put it in the big blue box and it goes to another person of your choice anywhere in the United States.......Yes that is what those blue boxes on the street are for......no they are not just for decoration.......What?! Well you better stop throwing your trash in there.
Anyhoways, this massive rate hike is supposed to help keep the postal service afloat. I have another idea, I got it from the newspaper companies. Raise the cost of a stamp to $7,435.91 that way they will have more than enough cash to stay in the black.They will even be able to do some hiring and think how nice all those remodeled post offices will be.And sending a hand written letter will be even more meaningful than it is now. If someone spent that kind of cash to send you a letter wouldn't it show how much you meant to that person? Guys wondering what to get the wife on your anniversary? Don't worry about giving me any credit for the idea, I enjoy helping others. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first about the idea but then I figured if the newspapers can do it then why not the post office? The newspapers must have a reason for doing the old rate hike thing over and over. Sure to a layperson it seems stupid cause common sense would seem to indicate raising the price of something that has shrinking demand would hurt sales. But you need to realize you obviously are just ignorant of the newspaper business if they didn't have some kind of secret trade knowledge then what they are doing would be just stupid.....What? A newspaper, you know stories written on paper and sold.......oh never mind.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

I am currently.....

It's all the rage--FOLLOW ME! Watch or hear about every damn thing I do. Excuse me i am goin to take a piss right now. ok i'm done and now, after shaking it i am buttoning my pants. Who the hell wants to hear about that? I guess everybody cause it seems like everyone is getting into the act.Aren't we the people who have always screamed about our right to privacy? I think maybe our need to have people pay attention to us has won out. Pretty soon there will be a camera and microphone you can put on in the morning and your website will provide a live feed so anyone can check on what you are doing and saying at any time during your day.I am not saying it is wrong or bad but it just seems odd how we want to keep big brother out of our business yet we are broadcasting all our business to the world over the net.
I wonder where the twittering and facebooking will lead us.The technology we have is leading us somewhere and it is doing it more and more quickly. The amount of information we share and the speed at which we can do so just gets faster and faster. I read some where that social and cultural as well as technological change is occurring at a faster and faster rate.They say there will come a time when people's lives consist of nothing but change. If you think about that it boggles the mind.Oh shit!..... I have been sitting hear writing and i never changed my status on the net GOTTA GO!!!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Get off The Pot

Hi think about the following things please
There is no real prescription drug recycling program in most places.You can take your old or unused dope to the sheriff's department maybe but wouldn't it make more sense to be able to return old or unused medication to the pharmacy where you got it or to any pharmacy for that matter? This isn't the biggest problem on the planet but it seems like something we could easily put in place. The current preferred method seems to be the toilet. Test have shown that some of these drug do not get filtered by the water treatment plants,yes the amounts are very small but I would think the amount will continue to rise and I don't want to take whatever meds your deceased grandma was on..thanks.
I heard today that a poll showed 56% of Californians are in favor or legalizing marijuana.Across the nation an ABC news poll showed 46% in favor and 37% against I guess the other 17% were too stoned to answer. Ok...what are we waiting for? We are waiting for politicians to get the testicular fortitude to start the ball rolling. Why do the ignorant and uptight morons seem to have the most effect on the programs and laws we put in place? I think the intelligent and informed portion of the population need to stand up and quit being so damn passive.Lets get a handle on things people.Reality check. How damn dumb is it to have alcohol as a legal substance and outlaw weed? Anyone with a fricken brain can figure out if you can accept one you sure as hell should be able to accept the other.Shit a walnut could figure it out.

Speaking of legalizing the illegal, prostitution. Can anyone answer how many years we have been trying to stop the business of prostitution? We have failed to have any real effect, yes we have succeeded in moving it around. If you watch the show COPS you can see what I mean. Those idiots go out and do some sting and then proudly say "we have made this area safer" Well I seriously doubt the effect last long and I can tell you that it is going to take far more than some cop dressed as a hooker and a bunch of guys who like to take people's cars from them before they have even been shown to be guilty of a crime to stop people from wanting to sell or purchase sex.
Why do we so often repeat the same actions again and again expecting different results? It's as if we think the laws of nature are going to change one day. The fact is we are as a group.. stupid, and too many are that way on on their own too.
I wrote a letter to rush limbaugh today....you wanna see it? ok......here it is. Yes I know it won't do any good but I have this habit of doing things despite the fact they are pointless, it makes me feel better.

I wonder Rush, if when you drift off to sleep at night do you ever for one second consider the effects your rhetoric has on people?As you slowly drift off and your brain prepares itself to clean its slate and start anew do you ever think that perhaps you are doing people wrong? Is your ego so needy that you must feed it at the expense of others?
If not that then does the lack of responsible behavior you demonstrate ever cause you to pause, just for a second?

I think there are many points of view in the world and just because they are different it does not mean one of them has to be wrong. You are entitled to your opinion on things just as everyone else but when a person has reached the point where they can effect the opinions of others then some care must be taken when that opinion is shared. Even more importantly the reasons and manner in which a person makes those opinions public should be considered.
Your public bashing of the president has been nothing less than plain and utter stupidity. I really had very little to do with politics in the last 8 years or so because I knew president Bush was a storm we would have to ride out. I had no opinion of Obama before he was elected. I have formed it as time goes on and I observe his actions and words.
Guess what. I did the same for you Rush.Your mouth is to fast, it outruns your brain. This country is not in good shape right now it needs to heal and it needs to regroup. Your comments about wanting the president to fail were the stupidest four words you could have uttered. Go ahead and disagree with whoever you wish but do it with some respect, and some consideration of the effects.Your attempt to clarify your position made you sound like a closet racist and was not even a little convincing. I think you said what you meant the first time.
Your a rich man Rush, you have reached a mark that many men only dream of. You have money and you have an audience.Why not use your good fortune to try and cause some positive change?.
There are some people who need this recovery to work Rush. Their happiness depends on it. Just because the manner in which it is being done doesn't please you does not mean you have the right to try and stop it from working. If what is being done now does not work then we are all screwed, there will not be time to try again.
What we don't need is you creating drama just to keep your ratings up. It is not the time for being an ignorant fool. I saw a quote from you about Obama praying to himself, look at your website. Your nothing short of a cigar smoking whore for advertisers and self worship.
The bottom line is this Rush, you can not win.Intelligent people will not allow it and if you don't tone it down then all you are going to manage is to fuck over a bunch of people just because you like to be the popular kid in class.
You are no better than most people Rush you just got lucky and instead of considering that fact you mistook it for some kind of holy power. Quit being and idiot and act responsible for every one's good.
Have a wonderful day,
-Reap

That goes for you too.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Here Piggy Piggy Piggy

It is upon us. The wretched horror of a pandemic. I have heard it talked about since I was a youngster. They said one day it would come and it would cause the suffering of millions.It will be a living nightmare they said. It would spread across the country and indeed the world incredibly fast and no one would be safe. There would be no where to hide from its effects, you could try, but it would be to no avail. Yes it is here ladies and gentlemen it is......The media coverage of the swine flu.Christ are we all really so damn paranoid? At least this shows we are becoming a little numb to the drama that the media boils up because if everyone was to take the media coverage at face value then there would be looting in the streets and the national guard would be out enforcing curfew.Don't get me wrong it is a serious thing this swine flu or whatever they have chosen to call it now. But I think the serious part is that this is a shot across the bow. We better wake up and we better be careful cause all it takes is a mutation and a little cross breeding and we are in serious trouble....maybe. I have heard a couple of theories on how a pandemic that kills a significant portion of the human race would be a very unlikely occurrence.Those theories make sense but I wouldn't bet the numbers of lives that would be lost if incorrect on it. That being said could someone please tell the media to shut the hell up.I mean the news of the first American to die from it was on every network, it was like they all were shouting fire in a movie theater because someone turned on a flashlight. That fatality was a kid visiting from Mexico and he had other health problems. There was no one who was going to say that the kid had passed away from swine flu and be certain about it.And what is with the masks? WASH YOUR HANDS! and lay off picking your nose for a couple of weeks, and be polite by covering your face when you cough or sneeze. I think we should all go to the old full proof training method for those who don't cover their mouths when they should....a slap upside the head. So from this point on lets all resolve to do this...whenever you see someone picking their nose,coughing or sneezing without covering their mouths or wearing one of those masks(especially those idiots who leave their nose or mouths exposed while the other is covered) Give them a nice hard quick slap upside the head followed by "What the fuck is wrong with you?!Be considerate of others!" And if they mouth off pop em again and say "don't make me tell you again" this will result in those people having a flashback to childhood and cause them to reply with something like "yes ma'am" or "yes sir". Or it will result in your getting the hell beat out of you but at least you won't be beaten by hands someone has been sneezing all over.That should be of some relief to you, now go home and watch the news, we still have famine and locust to look forward to.