DISQUS

Will you be as gracious to the disappointed McCain/Palin supporters as you're asking your readers to be to you right now?

Will you be as gracious to the disappointed McCain/Palin supporters as you're asking your readers to be to you right now?

Daniel - You're right. Lots of people are too focused on the here and now, and the looking-out-for-number-one. Even some (many? most?) of the people who call themselves Christians, but many (most?) non-Christians fit the bill, too. You clearly understand that following God's rules is difficult.

Writing the whole thing off (and as Satanism, no less!) because some self-described Christians don't live up to the ideal is silly. You read Steve Pavlina -- would you say that Toastmasters is a useless organization (or worse) because some of the people in that group give crappy speeches?

As I understand it (and I'm no expert) Jesus was the only man ever to have lived the perfect life. Everyone else - even those of his disciples who lived with him and saw his miracles first-hand - falls short. As I understand it, the *trying* is the purpose.



Dennis - talking in the whole numbers that I Kings 7:23 does, "three" is the correct approximation of pi. It's as precise as the numbers going into the equation allow.

The dimensions of the circle given are a diameter of "ten" and a circumference of "thirty," - not "10.0" and "10.0". Each of those values contains one significant digit. Because the result of a mathematical transformation cannot be more precise than the least precise value it takes as an argument, the result must contain one (and only one) significant digit.

And pi, to one sigificant digit, really is 3.

The Bible does not say that "pi = 3.0." It says that a first-order approximation of pi is three ("3", not "3.0"). That's true.

Also, the "Tennesee Legislature" thing was an April Fools' joke in 1998. It was Indiana that tried it, but it's a stretch to say that 1897 was "not too long ago."


Significant Digits - http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SignificantDigits....
Indiana Legislature - http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_341.html
And at Snopes - http://www.snopes.com/religion/pi.htm

Daniel - You're right. Lots of people are too focused on the here and now, and the looking-out-for-number-one. Even some (many? most?) of the people who call themselves Christians, but many (most?) non-Christians fit the bill, too. You clearly understand that following God's rules is difficult.

Writing the whole thing off (and as Satanism, no less!) because some self-described Christians don't live up to the ideal is silly. You read Steve Pavlina -- would you say that Toastmasters is a useless organization (or worse) because some of the people in that group give crappy speeches?

As I understand it (and I'm no expert) Jesus was the only man ever to have lived the perfect life. Everyone else - even those of his disciples who lived with him and saw his miracles first-hand - falls short. As I understand it, the *trying* is the purpose.



Dennis - talking in the whole numbers that I Kings 7:23 does, "three" is the correct approximation of pi. It's as precise as the numbers going into the equation allow.

The dimensions of the circle given are a diameter of "ten" and a circumference of "thirty," - not "10.0" and "10.0". Each of those values contains one significant digit. Because the result of a mathematical transformation cannot be more precise than the least precise value it takes as an argument, the result must contain one (and only one) significant digit.

And pi, to one sigificant digit, really is 3.

The Bible does not say that "pi = 3.0." It says that a first-order approximation of pi is three ("3", not "3.0"). That's true.

Also, the "Tennesee Legislature" thing was an April Fools' joke in 1998. It was Indiana that tried it, but it's a stretch to say that 1897 was "not too long ago."


Significant Digits - http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SignificantDigits....
Indiana Legislature - http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_341.html
And at Snopes - http://www.snopes.com/religion/pi.htm

Buy it.

BareBones has always had a free version of BBEdit, even before TextWrangler came out. I started with the freeware version, and bought the full version when they added syntax highlighting in the for-pay version. I've bought every major upgrade since - it's the only for-pay software that I upgrade so regularly, and I've always been happy with the newer versions.

The built-in HTML tools and CVS/Perforce/Subversion integration alone make it worth the price, if you hand-code a lot of HTML.

You'll be encouraging the practice of offering no-charge software, *and* getting some very cool new tools at the same time. You even get a $100 discount for having tried TextWrangler first - check the "cross-upgrade" page.

Buy it.

BareBones has always had a free version of BBEdit, even before TextWrangler came out. I started with the freeware version, and bought the full version when they added syntax highlighting in the for-pay version. I've bought every major upgrade since - it's the only for-pay software that I upgrade so regularly, and I've always been happy with the newer versions.

The built-in HTML tools and CVS/Perforce/Subversion integration alone make it worth the price, if you hand-code a lot of HTML.

You'll be encouraging the practice of offering no-charge software, *and* getting some very cool new tools at the same time. You even get a $100 discount for having tried TextWrangler first - check the "cross-upgrade" page.

ditto on the appearance of "OE" going downwards, but the second thing it looked like was "30" going upwards. The "OE" reading is from the expectations set by the lettering on book spines. The "30" is just me being stupid.

I like how "dmeissler.com" and "grep understanding knowledge" take up the same amount of horizontal space.

I like the logo you have as your favicon. I don't know what it means, but it is visually appealing.

ditto on the appearance of "OE" going downwards, but the second thing it looked like was "30" going upwards. The "OE" reading is from the expectations set by the lettering on book spines. The "30" is just me being stupid.

I like how "dmeissler.com" and "grep understanding knowledge" take up the same amount of horizontal space.

I like the logo you have as your favicon. I don't know what it means, but it is visually appealing.

This is the reason for the "use multiple sources" approach - for any type of research or decision-making.

Any time you rely 100% on a single source for your facts, you're going on faith.

Whether it's wikipedia, britannica or the local TV news.

This is the reason for the "use multiple sources" approach - for any type of research or decision-making.

Any time you rely 100% on a single source for your facts, you're going on faith.

Whether it's wikipedia, britannica or the local TV news.

Getting a vanity plate doesn't really further your goal of "not standing out" - but if you like the plate, then don't sweat it.

I have to say - I doubt anyone will think it was a random assignment, given that it's pronounceable (if not an obvious word to most).

I wonder if you'll get zoologists sharing penguin stories, too. You'll *definitely* have to let us know if that happens!

Getting a vanity plate doesn't really further your goal of "not standing out" - but if you like the plate, then don't sweat it.

I have to say - I doubt anyone will think it was a random assignment, given that it's pronounceable (if not an obvious word to most).

I wonder if you'll get zoologists sharing penguin stories, too. You'll *definitely* have to let us know if that happens!

I suggest The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook.

...over the last fifty years, by almost all objective standards, things have improved in the United States and Europe. At the same time, surveys of satisfaction and happiness have not changed since the 1950s. Why, Easterbrook asks, have objective measures of well-being increased while overall satisfaction and happiness have remained constant?

I suggest The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook.

...over the last fifty years, by almost all objective standards, things have improved in the United States and Europe. At the same time, surveys of satisfaction and happiness have not changed since the 1950s. Why, Easterbrook asks, have objective measures of well-being increased while overall satisfaction and happiness have remained constant?

Yeah, it's kind of a crap shoot, sometimes.

In the long run, though, this kind of thing seems to work itself out. To the detriment of (in this case) the kids who have to go to school in the meantime...

The other cool thing about how we do it here in the US is that it can be "just" Kansas that tries out the ID thing. The other 49 states can watch and see how it goes and take the lesson from it without having to be subjected to it.

That said, I'm glad my kids don't go to school in Kanasas...

Yeah, it's kind of a crap shoot, sometimes.

In the long run, though, this kind of thing seems to work itself out. To the detriment of (in this case) the kids who have to go to school in the meantime...

The other cool thing about how we do it here in the US is that it can be "just" Kansas that tries out the ID thing. The other 49 states can watch and see how it goes and take the lesson from it without having to be subjected to it.

That said, I'm glad my kids don't go to school in Kanasas...

But sometimes the locals in control of the schools come out to fix things.
The PA school board who endorsed ID got voted out yesterday - all of them.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/09/evoluti...

It's not so bad as it looks.
Local involvement is key.

But sometimes the locals in control of the schools come out to fix things.
The PA school board who endorsed ID got voted out yesterday - all of them.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/09/evoluti...

It's not so bad as it looks.
Local involvement is key.

The next presidential election is three years away. Don't wait for that.
Pay that kind of attention to your local (and congressional) elections between now and then.

It ain't all up to the President.

The next presidential election is three years away. Don't wait for that.
Pay that kind of attention to your local (and congressional) elections between now and then.

It ain't all up to the President.

Carl: s/cat/toddler/g as well.

Carl: s/cat/toddler/g as well.

"Dorito Syndrome" - so *that's* the word for it...

"Dorito Syndrome" - so *that's* the word for it...

How about your option #1, but we wait until things won't go to hell
when we leave?

I believe #2 is not possible. The media loves a disaster - "If it
bleeds, it leads" is a given. (isn't it?) I do not believe that the
American military would be able to get CNN, NPR, the BBC and Al
Jazeera (not to mention all the bloggers) to "pretend the Iraqis are
in charge."

You allow that leaving early and letting it all go to hell would "make
the sacrifices of everyone killed nearly worthless" and then go on to
say that we should help them build an anti-American government if
that's what they want.

Wouldn't that also diminsh the sacrifices of the coalition dead and of
the innocents deliberately targeted by the "insurgents"?

I mean no offense to you - I know this is a topic that gets emotions
going very easily. If I worded something poorly, please believe my
purpose is to understand your view of the situation. ("grep
understanding" and all.)