This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the national aeronautics and space administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US department of agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the food and drug administration.
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the national institute of standards and technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my national highway traffic safety administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the environmental protection agency, using legal tender issed by the federal reserve bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US postal service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the department of labor and the occupational safety and health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department.
I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.
(not mine)
Personal
politics
The conflict between religion and science astounds me. The philosophical basis of nearly all popular religions stress the importance of humility. Is there a more humble institution than science? Its foundation stands on the idea that you must give up your preconceptions in the face of evidence to the contrary, no matter how much you may be comfortable in your ways. This idea doesn’t only apply to things like the elemental composition of the corona of distant stars, it goes for anything a thinking creature observes in its environment if it wants to do anything more than eat and fuck and swing from trees.
The power to collectively observe and document our world is an incredible gift, and is responsible for everything humanity has created, from the worldwide computer network with which you read this, to the actual written word language in which this opinion is expressed.
To deny science is to deny that which makes you human.
Quote from forum user the_ruiner of somethingawful.com
Personal
religion, science
As some might have noticed, I’ve recently updated my domain to abirendon.com and I’ve also applied a new wordpress theme, just made a few tweaks but it all seems to be working splendidly and it looks good.
I’ll be posting some guides on setting up and configuring VMWare ESXi, converting VMWare Server VMs to ESXi format, configuring a raid 5 array on an MSA20 via linux command line and hopefully some more interesting pictures.
I’ve also just bought an iphone so I’ll probably be messing around with doing updates on the go.
Home, Personal, Sysadmin, Technology
design, domain, hp, vmware
After many warnings and fears there was in fact many a snow fall in the greater Seattle area… I’ve documented my neighborhood and what has come to pass…
Read more…
Personal
pictures, snow
I’ve been reading a lot of back and forth between atheists and theists regarding the Atheist Bus Campaign, and I feel like the major idea behind the campaign is being lost. This isn’t about being anti-religion or pro anything, it’s about letting people know it’s ok to not have a belief in god, that you’re not evil or immoral if you don’t have a dogma.
Most people are afraid of being left out or disowned by their families and friends if they don’t at least say “I’m christian” or “I believe in Jesus”. People don’t really feel a connection but they say they do because they’re afraid, and eventually it turns into just another bad habit that they pass along to their children. You don’t need to believe in anything to feel alright with the world, or to be moral, god doesn’t make decisions for you and that’s ok.
Read more…
Personal
religion
