Ephemera

Moderator: We're here today to debate the hot new topic, evolution versus Intelligent Des---

(Scientist pulls out baseball bat.)

Moderator: Hey, what are you doing?

(Scientist breaks Intelligent Design advocate's kneecap.)

Intelligent Design advocate: YEAAARRRRGGGHHHH! YOU BROKE MY KNEECAP!

Scientist: Perhaps it only appears that I broke your kneecap. Certainly, all the evidence points to the hypothesis I broke your kneecap. For example, your kneecap is broken; it appears to be a fresh wound; and I am holding a baseball bat, which is spattered with your blood. However, a mere preponderance of evidence doesn't mean anything. Perhaps your kneecap was designed that way. Certainly, there are some features of the current situation that are inexplicable according to the "naturalistic" explanation you have just advanced, such as the exact contours of the excruciating pain that you are experiencing right now.

Intelligent Design advocate: AAAAH! THE PAIN!

Scientist: Frankly, I personally find it completely implausible that the random actions of a scientist such as myself could cause pain of this particular kind. I have no precise explanation for why I find this hypothesis implausible --- it just is. Your knee must have been designed that way!

Intelligent Design advocate: YOU BASTARD! YOU KNOW YOU DID IT!

Scientist: I surely do not. How can we know anything for certain? Frankly, I think we should expose people to all points of view. Furthermore, you should really re-examine whether your hypothesis is scientific at all: the breaking of your kneecap happened in the past, so we can't rewind and run it over again, like a laboratory experiment. Even if we could, it wouldn't prove that I broke your kneecap the previous time. Plus, let's not even get into the fact that the entire universe might have just popped into existence right before I said this sentence, with all the evidence of my alleged kneecap-breaking already pre-formed.

Intelligent Design advocate: That's a load of bullpoop sophistry! Get me a doctor and a lawyer, not necessarily in that order, and we'll see how that plays in court!

Scientist (turning to audience): And so we see, ladies and gentlemen, when push comes to shove, advocates of Intelligent Design do not actually believe any of the arguments that they profess to believe. When it comes to matters that hit home, they prefer evidence, the scientific method, testable hypotheses, and naturalistic explanations. In fact, they strongly privilege naturalistic explanations over supernatural hocus-pocus or metaphysical wankery. It is only within the reality-distortion field of their ideological crusade that they give credence to the flimsy, ridiculous arguments which we so commonly see on display. I must confess, it kind of felt good, for once, to be the one spouting free-form bullshit; it's so terribly easy and relaxing, compared to marshaling rigorous arguments backed up by empirical evidence. But I fear that if I were to continue, then it would be habit-forming, and bad for my soul. Therefore, I bid you adieu.

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(I stole this. I hope Rizz forgives me -- it's too good not to share.)

Posted by Hitch at 07:09 PM | Permalink

Here's a collection of Halloween themed games to get you in the spirit this weekend. (...and certainly not to play at work when no one is looking.)

Halloween Games

Posted by Hitch at 09:30 PM | Permalink

Posted by Hitch at 09:24 AM | Permalink

I had one of those seriously not fun evenings on the computer last night. I’m still not sure, but I may have paid the price for practicing unsafe computing. It was majorly pooched and may have been the result of viral interactions.

Basically, I didn’t have Explorer. Not Internet Explorer – I don’t use that – Windows Explorer. I had to figure out how to do anything without that. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to limp around and get it to do enough that I could work on fixing it.

The Windows Recovery System worked every bit as well as you would expect from Microsoft… It made things much worse, without improving the situation at all. After attempting to use that to correct the problem, I had no display at all. But I could tell from the sound that it still wasn’t working correctly. That added another 60 – 90 minutes as I figured out how to undo what it did.

To make a boring story shorter, I eventually got Explorer back and things mostly seem to be working. So far two programs have required quick and painless re-installs in the aftermath of this. I have no idea how many more things like that I’ll find before things are 100%. But if Murphy has anything to say about it, I’ll have brand new problems before I find and correct all of the ones I currently have.

Posted by Hitch at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

• Before you go out and invest in yellow spandex:   How to be a Superhero
• Battle of the ages:   Helvetica vs. Arial
• A perfect illustration of how a man's mind works:   Mise à nu . 2005 . Reynald Drouhin

Posted by Hitch at 11:14 AM | Permalink

I get bored with desktop wallpapers pretty quickly. I change mine a lot. I frequently gank images off Earth Science Picture of the Day to use as my wallpaper. I like landscapes. So... I've been playing a game for several hours and when I finally shut that down to do something else, I look at my desktop. My first thought... "It's still daylight?" I don't know why I expected the jpeg to change, just seemed like it should.

Posted by Hitch at 12:41 AM | Permalink

Okay, you’re a guy. That means you hate playing dress-up. But somebody wants you to go to a Halloween party. How do you get away with not wearing a costume? The answer, the generic, universal costume for guys who hate costumes -- namely a plain black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, and shiny black shoes. How is that a costume? Accessories.

Start with a pair of black Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and a fedora – you’re a Blues Brother.

Okay, lose the fedora and change the style of sunglasses a bit and you’re a Man in Black.

Really update the sunglasses to something modern and add an earpiece and suddenly you’re an Agent from the Matrix.

And now you can add a pair of blue latex gloves and you’re an Alliance Operative from Firefly.

I’m sure with a little thought even more variations are possible. But it’s easy to see that ordinary clothes can qualify as at least four different costumes.

Posted by Hitch at 12:33 PM | Permalink

An article I read the other day: ‘Rocket racing league’ gets its start

Which sounds kinda neat.

...however, it seems ripe for disaster, and I hope that wouldn't become one of the main attactions of this sport.

Posted by Hitch at 11:32 AM | Permalink

(Thanks to Pixie.)

Posted by Hitch at 12:48 PM | Permalink