Disqus - Latest Comments for bplotter

Re: Scripting News: Getting started with Blork

Brent — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:39:25 -0000

Are there instructions for getting and installing blork on a server? I'm not finding them.

Re: Where The Hell Is Matt? - 'Praan' Lyrics by Garry Schyman | Wanderings

Brent — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:10:37 -0000

Yes, it is divine (thank you, Google translate!)

Re: Plavix Clopidogrel Research Review | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:23:38 -0000

Yep, from muscle pain to memory loss. Makes sense. Besides interfering with the production of cholesterol, statins also interfere with the cycle that eventually leads to the production of CoEnzyme Q10 and ultimately ATP, a muscle cell's fuel.

Re: Plavix Clopidogrel Research Review | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:19:46 -0000

So sorry to hear that you had trouble with the drug. Are you taking a statin as well? That can cause muscle issues by itself. Hope you're doing better.

Re: Arithmetic, Population, and Energy - Video of Albert A. Bartlett Ph.D. | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:14:25 -0000

I sure hope you are right. But we must do something soon. The confidence we hold that "technology will save the day" should that day ever come is just too risky.

Re: Low-Carb Diet Plan - Gary Taubes | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:05:46 -0000

Part of the argument goes that the glucose that carbs provide can and are produced by the body from other substances. So some assert that the ingestion of carbs is not necessary.

That is, carbs and sugars are not a necessary nutrient to eat.

I'm more on the side that we eat WAY too many carbs/sugars and our body simply cannot handle it the amounts we typically consume without serious health consequences (diabetes, obesity, etc.)

At the least, our intake of carbs/sugars should be drastically reduced.

Re: Low-Carb Diet Plan - Gary Taubes | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:02:59 -0000

Never being hungry doesn't sound so bad :)

Taubes' book is fantastic. You might also like Mike and Mary Eades Protein Power Lifeplan. The Eades and Taubes are friends so the philosophies coincide. Hope you continue to enjoy the "diet" or way of eating. I'm sure it will serve you well.

Re: Favorite Atheism Quotes | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:57:21 -0000

Not a 15 year old, but I've seen some younger kids get totally crushed when they discovered SC was not real. I suppose there is a lesson in that.

Re: Favorite Atheism Quotes | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:56:21 -0000

Superb! Thanks for sharing that quote.

Re: How to Train a Killer Whale | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:54:29 -0000

Cool! I imagine that must be fascinating, though at time very tedious, work. Hope you have continued success.

Re: Namaste Yoga by Kate Porter | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:46:44 -0000

I feel much the same. The same producers did a show on belly dancing, too, but I didn't find that as interesting for some reason. I guess my heart and body is more in tune with yoga. A kinda interesting book on yoga that out of the mainstream is Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation by Jess Stearn

Re: Pope Equates Saving Gays To Saving The Rainforest | Wanderings

Brent — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:42:52 -0000

Thanks, Nick. Yes, I do think Christ would love a gay person as much as a straight person, but the Church clearly does not feel gays belong in the Church. How is that reconciled?

I disagree with what I think is the Church's position that homosexuality is a sinful behavior that should be avoided. I'm not an authority, but from what I can tell most gay people feel they are born gay, that it's a part of who they are and not merely a behavior. And who they are is NOT inherently sinful.

Imagine how that must feel to a person to feel the Church won't accept them because of who they are, something they had no control over. Though I suppose that's part of the point: the Church thinks the gay person has control. From what I've heard from gay friends, that is not the case.

Re: Why Religion Is a Poor Guide to Morality | Wanderings

Brent — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:27:59 -0000

Thanks, Nick. I do appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughtful reply to my rant.

In partial response, I have to say that I can't agree that just because one person or group believes the communion host is the body of Christ doesn't mean that non-believers should treat the host as a human body.

Desecrating a communion host and desecrating a human body will not be morally (immorally?) equivalent to non-believers. A religious person can believe many things that seem unreasonable to a non-believer. How do reconcile that reality?

Given there are many different religions with many different beliefs, I think we need some other method if we seek to establish a common human morality (is that really possible?)

In any event, moral standards cannot be based exclusively on religious beliefs because we don't all share those beliefs. The golden rule is a common starting point for a moral code, though we can get in argumentative circles with that one (how do we know what another wants?).

Doing our best to avoid harming others is another good start, but even then how we define harm, in what time frame, etc. can lead to more argumentative circles. Even so, I think it's also a good place to start.

I don't know the answer here. I just don't feel the religious can expect the non-religious to share their moral code when it's based on such things as the belief that a communion host is a human body.

This led me to my conclusion that we need to be careful when using religion as a moral guide. While there is much wisdom to be found in religious beliefs and morality, there are many points that seem open to debate (e.g., communion hosts, whether homosexuality is a sin, etc.)

Re: End of Faith - by Sam Harris | Wanderings

Brent — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:16:33 -0000

Well, I think we still rely on faith more than we care to admit. I'm thinking of our faith in medicine. At some point I have to surrender and have faith the docs know what they are doing and that the treatments will work.

Science would be the new faith if we even knew what science was. Right now, we just rely on journalist's reports of science, which are often not very good. An excellent book describing some bad science is Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. In that book, he describes how reports on "scientific results" and the actual results of a study are often quite different. So putting our faith isn't that justfied, given how it's reported.

Re: Depression Learning Path | Wanderings

Brent — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:56:19 -0000

I have to believe that suicide is NOT every necessary to resolve a depressed condition. I just can't accept otherwise. Though I appreciate how the depressed person can feel it's the only solution, that restricted vision is a big part of how depression manifests, and I have to believe it can be shifted or change using therapy. So while I agree that psychological pain can be serious and pervasive, I have to believe a shift of perspective, some cognitive shift can lead out of the pain.

Re: Barry Kibrick Goes Between the Lines | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:21:25 -0000

Barry does have a wonderful show, though he's a bit hard to track down. You might try what I think is his twitter page: http://twitter.com/bookshow

Re: So You Want To Convert To Buddhism | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:18:40 -0000

They way I figure it, if you beliefs (religious or otherwise) help you live a better life, more power to you. Just because something isn't true (and how can all or any religious beliefs be true) doesn't mean it's not useful. Glad the Buddhism is working for you.

Re: Redirecting Drupal to Root Directory | Wanderings

Brent — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:04:26 -0000

Thanks, Inferno. Glad the mini-tutorial helped. I keep that stuff around more to remind myself of the info when I need it again, but am very glad it helps others, too. Thanks for advice on the bookshelf. I should use something automated, but have been lazy. Take it easy! Brent

Re: Priscilla Wolfe-Jones Zupp - Obituary | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:16:28 -0000

Yes, we did our best to stay by her side for the duration of her illness, especially when things looked grim. Hard to let her go....

Re: Closed Caption Missing on HD Channels - Solution Found! | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:15:28 -0000

You're most welcome! Glad it helped.

Re: Low Cholesterol Diet | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:12:26 -0000

Can you let me know what your diet consists of? I can share what I've found. This page is a bit outdated. I've learned a lot the negates quite a bit. So let me know what you typically eat and I may be able to comment based on the bit of reading I've done. Best of health to you!
Brent

Re: Thank You for Smoking Movie - Truthful Satire? | Wanderings

Brent — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:09:14 -0000

Totally agree that the media should not promote smoking in any way to kids, young adults, etc. Though I do notice cigarette placement in lots of films, which is disturbing. Oddly, if I remember right, you never see the main character in this film smoke...not sure you see anyone smoke, which is interesting.

Re: Why Religion Is a Poor Guide to Morality | Wanderings

Brent — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:28:49 -0000

Thanks, Ned, for taking the time to comment. I guess it's when faith displaces the rational that I get uncomfortable. So when the desecration of a symbol is considered more serious than injuring or killing a real human, that's when I take exception and conclude that the Church is not a great guide to morality. A symbol could be anything to anyone, but a human life is real and tangible. So in my mind it is irrational to value a symbol over human life in the hierarchy of sins.

But I suppose that really missed the point. The morality of the Catholic Church is based on a belief in God and Christ. I'm saying that since not everyone believes in a God, or the same God, or necessary one God, then morality needs to be based on something more general or common to all.

So basing a morality on the prevention of human suffering seems a much more feasible approach. It's not perfect, of course (one persons pain is another's pleasure or rite of passage), but it's better foundation than one group's belief in God.

Love your point about turning the other cheek, and I would add that faith is only one of the reasons one might choose to turn the other cheek.

Re: Psychological Mandelbrot Formula | Wanderings

Brent — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:07:30 -0000

That essay is much better than my ramblings above. Thanks for sharing...and apologies for my ramblings. I probably shouldn't have published the page. I think I was hoping it would be a seed for further work. It's more like a sneeze than any kind of well formed presentation :)

Re: House Hold Tips | Wanderings

Brent — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:05:12 -0000

Haley is great, isn't he? I love his tips and his whole approach.