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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/03/21 in all areas

  1. This seems to be a perennial idea - that things are ever becoming more themselves, and distinct from other things. Things which were tolerated in the past are not tolerated now, and things tolerated now will not be tolerated in the future. Alcohol is a case in point. Some people will tell you that alcohol was always forbidden to God's people, and that "wine" in the Bible actually refers to unfermented grape juice. This is utter nonsense: Noah did not get drunk on Dr. Welch's Grape Juice. Neither would the guests at the wedding at Cana have talked about "serving the inferior wine later, once everyone was drunk" if what Jesus had turned the water into was non-alcoholic grape juice. On the day of Pentecost, no one would have claimed the disciples were "drunk on new wine" if "new wine" were 0% proof. "Wine", in Biblical times, was alcoholic. On the other hand, if you say that God instituted a new commandment for the "Latter Days" - that idea I can respect. I can understand how the distinction between the Saints and the World has widened, and the "middle ground" where one could be both a wine drinker AND a disciple has now disappeared.
    2 points
  2. Vort

    Dark Matter

    DARK MATTER/ENERGY ALTERNATIVES (For those who find the idea of "dark matter" and "dark energy" to be waaaaaay too convenient and random, like putting a thumb on the scale) Multiple overlapping "dimensions" or simultaneous coexistent realities where only gravity is observable between them Gravitational mass varies by distance (i.e. MOND, where mass m is actually m=μ/a0) There is a fifth fundamental force, weaker than gravity at interstellar distances and below, but becoming dominant at galactic distances and larger Gravity fairies messing with us I'm thinking that 1 doesn't pass muster. I'm partial to 2 and/or 3, though I don't discount the possibility of 4.
    1 point
  3. Vort

    Dark Matter

    No, wait. that doesn't work. If we are experiencing the gravitational effects of three "parallel dimensions" on a large scale (to account for dark matter), why wouldn't we experience it on a small scale (e.g. our solar system)? Answer: We would. Which means that we should expect to see different celestial objects exhibiting varying gravity despite having the same "local" (intradimensional) mass. If we don't see that, it either means that the multidimensional theory is false or else that each dimension has almost exactly the same localized structure—each star in Dimension A corresponds to an equally sized star at that location in Dimensions B, C, and D. This would mean that the gravitational attraction of the "parallel dimensions" is already baked into the universal gravitational constant G. In which case we still haven't accounted for any "dark matter", and the multidimensional idea doesn't give us any value. (Rather, it posits that there are four overlapping dimensions, each of which contains exactly the same particles in exactly the same positions doing exactly the same things. Which, in effect at least, means there is only one dimensional reality in which those particles exist, because why bother defining four absolutely identical overlapping realities?)
    1 point
  4. Vort

    Dark Matter

    I like the idea, but how could it be tested?
    1 point
  5. I believe Fox News 'was' a lone light house at one point. More and more actual conservatives are switching over to alternatives: NewsMAX, OAN, or independent Shows like: Beyond the Noise, War Room Pandemic, etc. Fox News first stabbed conservatives in the back with the Chris Wallace presidential debate, then with the premature election results for Arizona on Nov 4th, then, then, then, etc. Commentators like Sean Hannity can be found elsewhere, like the 'Patriot' channel on SiriusXM, etc. so no need to watch Fox for him. So, to answer your question: I've been to Fox's website maybe twice ever. The only place I can find something that appears to be soft porn/swimsuit is in the 'Entertainment' section of the site. It all appears to be trash from TMZ. Why is it on Fox? I don't know. I'm not sure how long it has been on their site. Is this recent or has it been this way for a while?
    1 point
  6. Jamie123

    King Kong vs. Godzilla

    Looks like I was partly right: It puts me in mind of "Tinribs" - a comic strip that appears in a very unpleasant British magazine called Viz. Young Tommy Taylor has an "incredible robot companion" built for him by his "brilliant professor" father. No one ever notices that Tinribs (as the "robot" is called) is nothing but a cardboard box on a skateboard with a few baked bean cans and the voicebox of a talking Barbie doll. All Tinribs ever says is "I'm Barbie and I love you very much!" Confession time: Once, many years ago, I was in my front room reading Viz, when I noticed two pristine-looking girls with black name badges heading up the garden path. I hid the magazine behind the couch before answering the door. I first of all thought was that they were Catholic nuns (in modern dress), but they told me they were Latter-day Saints. That was the first contact I ever had with any of you guys.
    1 point
  7. I'm very worried about China...as well as the decline of the US. One of these days, if we're not careful, China is going to break all Western security systems with their quantum computers. We seriously need to start teaching quantum technologies to our students, and stop saying "meh" about it just because "it's hard".
    1 point
  8. "Exploded" is a slight exaggeration. It started to emit smoke. My dad was worried the house was on fire, till he realized the source of the smoke and turned the TV off. He said "Don't worry, the house isn't on fire. It's just the TV" - which was cold comfort to me, who would gladly have seen the house burn to the ground if only I could have watched Godzilla. This was in the days when TVs were always going wrong. You expected a visit from the TV repair man at least once a month, though sometimes my dad managed a successful "repair" himself by hammering the TV cabinet with his fist. (He had trained as a radar technician in the Royal Air Force.) I liked it when the TV repair man came. I used to stand behind him and watch him working (which I'm sure he loved). The insides of the TV always fascinated me - especially the valves. I loved valves. The record player had valves in it too, and I sometimes used to get them out and play with them - pretend they were spaceships etc. (In case you don't know what a valve is, it's something a bit like a light bulb, that performs the same function as a transistor in modern electronics.)
    1 point
  9. Vort

    King Kong vs. Godzilla

    It's the hand that gives Tinribs the uncanny resemblance to Tom Servo.
    0 points
  10. Vort

    King Kong vs. Godzilla

    Looks like a servo mechanism of some sort.
    0 points