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dhunay.blog
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Still Need Gin Vermouth and OlivesThis past week, NASA's Opportunity rover sent back hints of salty water on the surface of Mars. Opportunity's twin rover, Spirit, is getting ready to dig a trench in order to investigate soil that sticks to its wheels, suggesting the fine-grained material might be moist. The brine (salty-water mixture) would only be small amounts of water mixed with salt, which can exist in liquid form at very low temperatures.
And in other related news, frozen bacteria from Antarctica, estimated to be between 5 to 8 million years old, were brought back to life simply by warming them up. NASA folks also participated since they think this can give them better clues on where to look for life on Mars.
Are we getting closer to proving that life does exist on other planets? What would be the impact to our culture if we find life on Mars? Would people start questioning their faith?
So many questions, but regardless of the impact to us, I for one am looking forward to the day we find life outside of our planet.
BTW...read this one...many folks were stranded when keyless locks failed or their car computers malfunctioned in Las Vegas. What do you think caused this? Area 51?
# posted by Nav : 10:49 AM
Monday, February 16, 2004
Got it figured outI'm not one to spend time thinking about morbid thoughts, but recent events had me thinking about what my final resting grounds would be. Burial? If so where? Cremation? If so, what to do with the remains?
Many folks leave it to their religion to help make such decisions. I've never been one to leave many decisions to religion. So what do to?
How about a space burial? Celestis is the name of a company that is offering space burials for some $11K USD. Isn't this nice, like there is not enough garbage in space already.
I'm surprised they don't have a unique take on the art of cremation involving the Sun. I'm sure they'll be adding that service to their portfolio as soon as they come up with a big enough sling shot.
# posted by Nav : 7:50 PM
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
SparkI'm sure I'm going to spark some serious debate with this next topic and probably even receive a few flames. But if you know me, then you know that I cannot resist.
Earlier this week I was having dinner with a friend when the topic of religion came up. Being that both of us liked to get into debates we immediately got into it. Here are some highlights from the conversation.
1. Atheism simply means the absence of belief in any gods. Obviously, a baby cannot be born already believing in god anymore than she can be born already believing in Santa Claus. Clearly, all people are born atheist.
2. Being atheist says nothing about a person, other than the person does not believe in the existence of any gods. Being atheist does not indicate whether a person believes in free enterprise or socialism. It does not indicate whether a person is moral or immoral.
It is highly probable, however, that an atheist in North America has much higher standards of morality and ethics than a religious person, because in North America, religion is so pervasive throughout society that a person has to commit some serious mental effort to decide to be atheist. A person who puts that much effort into thinking is likely to have objective, rational morals and ethics and be committed to his morals and ethics.
I don't know if law enforcement maintains statistics on the religion of criminals but I predict very few murderers are atheist. Let's suppose the population is 10% atheist. I predict that much less than 10% of murderers are atheist. Whatever the true percent may be, it's likely that the corresponding percentage of atheist murderers in prison is much lower.
It is not mere coincidence that the mafia has its origin in the same country as Catholicism. Any religion that teaches a person that he can commit any kind of crime and then simply go to confession to have it OK'd and washed out of his conscience is inviting the formation of a mafia and will lead to general deterioration of morals and ethics.
3. In the battle between pro-life and pro-choice, who is committing the murders? Is it the people who believe a woman has the right to control her own body? No! It is the people who claim to be interested in human life! The religious wackos who claim to love life are the ones committing the murders. When is the last time you heard about a pro-choice advocate murdering a pro-lifer? It's pretty clear who really loves life and who merely loves his religious superstition.# posted by Nav : 9:23 PM
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Smart MoveHave you heard that the most searched event in the history of the Internet is: "Janet Jackson's breast"?
And just in time for the release of her new album.
Planned? I think so.
# posted by Nav : 9:34 PM
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