Leave of absence… For PAX!

August 28, 2008 in diversions | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Discussions and debate have been occurring all over the blog, and while I’m having a blast, I’m going to have to set them aside for a while.

I’m visiting my neighbours to the south for another year of the fabulous Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Yes, that very same video game convention brought to you by the degenerate, immoral, violence obsessed gamers that bring you the annual Child’s Play Charity.

Once I get back, I anticipate a lot of work, so I’ll catch up on all the discussions eventually — but not instantly. Carry on, and have a good time with it!

wil-at-pax.jpg
Photo of Wil Wheaton at last year’s PAX. Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/puja/1260405514/ Used with permission (Creative Commons licensed)

The Pridefulness of Evangelism

August 27, 2008 in atheism | Tags: , , , , | 32 comments

proud-lucifer.jpgThere’s a lot of talk among the pious about pride. They all seem to agree that pride is bad, and that bad people have pride. But what about evangelism? Is it a fundamentally proud position?

For a change, this post isn’t about the origins of the universe or the possibility of God.

I’m going to submit that evangelism is a prideful activity, and that if one believes pride is a sin, that person cannot (in good conscience) evangelize.

Read the rest of this entry »

Beer Fancier. The gentleman’s guide to malted barley, flavoured with hops.

August 27, 2008 in diversions | Tags: , | Leave a comment

derek-beerfancier.jpgThings have been getting hot and heavy on this blog — lots of discussion about the origin of the universe, the purpose of life, and whether or not God exists.

So you know, business as usual.

I’m just taking a brief moment to plug my latest project: BeerFancier.com

It’s a casual beer blog, with a focus on local (Vancouver, BC) microbreweries and specialty craft brews. I don’t know what the numbers are when it comes to people that read atheism blogs and people that have an interest in beer tasting, but if you’re looking for something to read that doesn’t make you want to yell and scream at me, try Beer Fancier.*

But remember, it’s still a new kid on the block, so it might be changing over the coming weeks.

* Beer Fancier may make you want to yell and scream at me if you and I differ strongly on our beer preferences.

John Varley’s “Wizard” plays with the Argument from Design

August 26, 2008 in atheism, culture | Tags: , , , | 11 comments

wizard.jpg

One of the most common theist arguments is the Argument from Design (or the Teleological Argument). I’ve discussed it before, but here’s a quick recap:

The world exhibits elements of design, therefore it must be designed, therefore it must have a designer.

The most basic refutation to this is that if there was a designer, he/she/it would also exhibit elements of design and would, by the same logic, be in dire need of a designer.

John Varley’s 1981 book Wizard takes an interesting approach to the issue.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Verified by Visa” is the worst security feature ever

August 23, 2008 in culture, technology | Tags: , , , , , , | 15 comments

I’m not the kind of guy who falls for those super-obvious identity theft scams. I live online, I work in IT and I don’t really like sports. I’m pretty careful when it comes plugging my credit card into the internet.

But last month, when I was stuck for rail tickets in Europe, I thought I’d slipped up. Turns out, it was just a “security feature.” Read the rest of this entry »

iGoogle OS X Theme

August 20, 2008 in diversions, technology | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

igoogle-thumb.jpg

UPDATE: Now available in the iGoogle Theme Directory.

I created an iGoogle theme based on the the Mac OS X colour scheme. This was just a quick project so that my own iGoogle page would look more like the rest of my computer, but I thought others might want it as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Atheism vs. Agnosticism

August 16, 2008 in atheism | Tags: , , , , | 9 comments

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found that God actually existed.On most demographic surveys that deal with religion, you’ll see many of the major faiths represented, and then a catch-all category for “Atheist or Agnostic.” This contributes to the popular confusion surrounding these identities.

Read the rest of this entry »

Updates:

This blog is updated Sundays. Additional posts might show up on days that are not, in fact, Sunday.

 Subscribe!

Categories

Add to Technorati Favorites