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Weekly Photo #2: China West October 28, 2006

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ChinaWest
For photo number two, I’ve put up a picture I took back in May of 2004 of one of the most prominent spots in Philadelphia’s China Town, the Friendship Arch. I’ve pompously titled this one “China West”.

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No Room for Niceties October 27, 2006

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Over at Evolving Thoughts, John Wilkins has a very well-thought out post up on the debate about religion — or, more properly, on the debate about how to debate religion. The comments on the post are also well worth the read. I dropped my own comment in; I’ve reproduced it below.

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You Can’t Make This Up October 26, 2006

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This was on ArmsControlWonk today, via Pogoblog, — and it’s priceless.

Trailers, drugs, and state secrets. All I need now is a good bourbon.

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= October 25, 2006

Posted by ocmpoma in : economics , add a comment

In chapter 11 of his Basic Economics, on page 183 of the 2004 edition, Thomas Sowell says,

“Someone born and raised in highly favorable circumstances may find it easier to become a brain surgeon than someone born and raised in highly unfavorable circumstances may find it to become a carpenter. But that is very different from saying that brain surgeons are paid ‘too much’ or carpenters ‘too little.’”

Sowell goes on to point out that policies which attempt to help those from unfavorable circumstances become brain surgeons are much more effective, and certainly more beneficial, than policies which attempt to simply equalize their pay. I found this passage a rather cogent and concise illustration of two points that tend to come up whenever I find myself in a political or economic discussion.

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Battle of the Rude Atheism October 24, 2006

Posted by ocmpoma in : atheism , 2comments

There’s been a bit of hubbub over Gary Wolf’s article in Wired magazine, “Battle of the New Atheism”. Wolf’s article is, to me, wrong footed in a most subtle manner. The premise is to find out about the ‘New Atheists’, as he calls those such as Dawkins and Harris who stridently object to religion and supernaturalism. In the end, Wolf concludes that the new atheism is extremist, prophetic, hypocritical, and absurd. His conclusion is founded upon two errors which never explicitly crop up in the text, and also upon a misreading of what, exactly, the point of it all is.

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Weekly Photo #1: Andrew Molera October 22, 2006

Posted by ocmpoma in : other , 1 comment so far

Andrew Molera
This is the first in what will be, at least according to plan, an ongoing series. I’ll be running through my old photos, unless I’ve got new photos to post. Most of them will be landscapes or the like; I’m not keen on taking pictures of people.

So, here’s photo number one, which I’ve grandiosely titled “Andrew Molera”. I took this one years ago (probably early 2002), at Andrew Molera State Park on the California coast. It’s a really nice park, with cheap camping, a spectacular beach where the Big Sur River hits the Pacific, and (obviously) great views of the surrounding hills.

And yes, that is the mandatory Big Sur fog riding on the hillcrest.

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Spirituality? October 21, 2006

Posted by ocmpoma in : supernaturalism , 5comments

I originally wrote this as an essay while an undergraduate. I realize that it makes for a long post, but I figured it could serve as a better introduction than my “Intro” post:

Many people often discuss spirituality, things which transcend “normal” life, things which connect us in some way, which bind us all, which affect that part of us that most would call our souls. I, however, don’t accept any of this as credible. I’m not denying the feelings of others, and I’m not saying that those emotional bonds and connections aren’t important - what I doubt is that they are in any way spiritual. What I doubt is that “spirit” in this sense actually exists at all. I certainly do not believe that there is some sort of transcendent essence, or soul, nor do I believe that we are in fact connected to the world or universe at large.
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Intro October 20, 2006

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I’m not big on small talk or introductions, so I’ll give you a quick run down and then we can both move on.

Age - Too old to be trusted.

Sex - Yes, please!

Location - Mostly Harmless.

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