Captain_Curmudgeon

As some of you know, I'm a life-long skeptic and, perhaps, closer to Hitchens in my beliefs than most people here at lds.net. But his writing to me -- particularly "How Religion Poisons Everything" -- seems superficial, badly researched, and not very convincing. This may derive from his experience as a journalist. People like Richard Dawkins (a scientist) seem to me vastly superior.

Which is normal when you view one system in motion from another system. So, some relativity expert should be able to show what the relative speed between the two systems is, and, using Hubble's Constant, determine the distance to Kolob.

There's a smiley for that (wonder we don't see it more often):

It's a trick!

There's a recent book: on the whole deal. It's complex, started in 1857, was somewhat related to Mountain Meadow. End result was good, old Camp Floyd.

Here's something I got as a student at BYU: Heresy zero: Believing that Bruce R. McConkie is scripture.

Bible doesn't say donkey. As for what the Bible does say, I've heard many of them talk, sometimes continuously on some TV news channels (one named after another animal mentioned in the Bible).

So, has anyone else been following NOVA, The Fabric of the Cosmos? Watched the last episode, "Universe or Multiverse" just last night and couldn't help thinking that a Multiverse and multiple Big Bangs, etc., seems to be in keeping with what I was taught was Mormon doctrine in my youth.

Here's a thought: if I get a crappy tattoo (it happens) will it be perfected when I'm resurrected?

Believing just this was enough to get Anne Hutchinson kicked out of Massachusetts (although she believed several other un-helpful things as well).

I just take a flesh-colored, mold-able, silicone ear plug, work it into my naval and go as Father Adam.

A whole body tattoo of my whole body only 1 inch to the left. Everyone who looked at me would see a blur.

A charming little bit of music by itself. Pachelbel's Greatest Hit (as Peter Schickele once called it). But a bit of its luster has worn off with constant and inappropriate use. Sort of like if Marie Osmond sang too many country and western songs.

OK, so you're terrified of someone seeing a bottle of wine in your shopping cart but fearless about serving people something that is traditionally made with wine? Or you plan to bore them to death at the dinner table explaining how your sauce was NOT made with wine? Make something else. There are literally thousands of mushroom sauces and many of them do not use wine. Anyone who considers making Beef bourguignon without burgundy would be better advised to leave out the pearl onions and mushrooms as well. Substitute celery and potatoes and call it "Beef Stew". Stop being pretentious.

65. Plan to read maybe half of the ones I haven't.

This used to be called "The Rule of Three" or cross multiplication.I use it about three or four times a week. It's how you scale recipes, figure out how much time and how much gas it will take you to get to Canada, etc. They used to teach this in like the fourth grade.

Did this is 2002 (didn't even come close to finishing) and in 2009. Didn't finish by the end of November in 2009 but I did continue on into December and got a complete first draft. Actually, just finished my daily re-writing session on it ("I, Isaac") and a couple of weeks more will see the completion of the second draft. Couple more drafts and it will be ready to go. So, busy on other things this year. May try again next year -- got a novel idea based on a character (if that's the word) in Thucydides. Good luck with it. It is fun to be working with other writing crazies -- sort of like a month-long all-nighter.

I don't think the Fire is intended to challenge the iPad, or, if it is, it's doing a bad job. It's really a high-end Kindle intended to challenge the B&N Nook, which I think it knocks out in the first round. Or if it does challenge the iPad, then the iPad has got to be the most terrible rip-off in recent history. The manufacturing cost of the Fire has been reported to be $209.63, which means Kindle loses ten bucks for every one it sells. (I'm sticking with my Kindle 3, WiFi, now "Kindle Keyboard.")

Reminds me of something I once heard from a math prof at a BYU Devotional:"Your testimony does not necessarily contain a proof of the Mean Value Theorem." He was trying to convince students that fasting and prayer do not replace attending class and doing the homework in math.

Free for Kindle on Amazon. So, is there some sinister connection between Econolodge and Scientology? Check under your pillows for speakers!

My last two-and-a-half minute talk was a disaster. I had the bright idea of relying on inspiration and two and half minutes before the talk, it hadn't struck. So, I opened my Bible at random and found some passage from Paul which was lumping fornicators with adulterers. Paul was against all of them. Well, I was nine or so and I could lump them together as well because I didn't know what fornicators were. I got up there and did the best I could. Some of my audience were in the dark for the same reason I was and the rest of them were embarrassed. Huge silence while I was going back to my seat, I can tell you. If I ever have to do that again (pretty slim chance), I'm going to be prepared. Here's something I wrote just now. I'm going to see if I can get it tattooed on my arm. Only a White Lie I'm working on a novel about Isaac and in it, Abram tells Isaac that pretending to be Sarai's brother in Egypt was the biggest mistake of his life. Well, superficially it looks like a good thing. He isn't murdered, the Pharaoh gives him "sheep and he asses and menservants and maidservants and she asses and camels" and gold and silver. This isn't generosity. Pharaoh "entreated Abram well for her sake." He thought he was buying a wife or a concubine. And "Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Isn't that good? Well, Abram is very rich in cattle. Too rich. He has so many cattle that there isn't enough browse for all of them "and there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle." Too much of a good thing is too much. So someone is going to have to leave the range and it's Lot. If he hadn't had to leave, he would have stayed with Abram and lived a long and prosperous life as a cattle baron, as Abram did. Instead he goes to live in Sodom. Soon, he has the misfortune to be taken captive, although Abram rescues him. But he winds up offering his virgin daughters to an unruly crowd, having his wife turn into a pillar of salt, and then having sex with those same daughters. And that's because he had to go live in Sodom and leave the range because there were too many cattle because Pharaoh gave so many to Abram because he thought he was buying Sarai because he thought she was Abram's sister. One of those maidservants was Hagar and because she was an Egyptian and a servant, Sarai thought she could bear Abram's child without Abram becoming emotionally attached to the mother. He didn't but Sarai thought he might and blamed him for the whole idea. He had to try to referee a long struggle between Sarai and Hagar and then had to send Hagar and Ishmael, whom he loved dearly ("Oh, that Ishmael might live!"), to what seemed certain death. Murdering his only son and its mother because Sarai couldn't get along with Hagar because Hagar had a child because Sarai thought Abram wouldn't be attached because she was Egyptian because Pharaoh had given her to Abram because he thought he was buying Sarai because he thought she was Abram's sister. One lie that seems to have only a good effect but which turns out to lead both Lot and Abram to heinous crimes, crimes against their own children.

ONLY vampire novel I'm ever going to read and the first. Interesting that in this very first vampire novel the sexual overtones are there and that you have to believe considerable orthodox (non-Mormon) religious mumbo-jumbo for the novel to work. Gimme zombies every day.

Some time ago, I was going to write an additional chapter to SinS, wherein some Mormon missionaries stop by 221b Baker street and straighten the whole thing out, including how Holmes blew the entire case. Details available when I find the edition I used to take notes.

Went there for the Mormon one and spent the time to watch all the "Yahweh or No Way" episodes. Just funny.

lds.net has had some influence on me, but I don't think many here would say that it's a good influence.