Monday, September 30, 2013

Fun with #Brighthouse support

Well, not really that much fun, my DVR is acting up and I'm not sure if I am chatting with a human or a machine.

Welcome to Bright House Networks. My name is Ryan, how may I help you?
Charles X: My DVR resets 2-3 times a day picture is tiled and shakey sound is distorted. If I run the wire directly to the TV its clear. (Account/Phone: ##########)
Ryan: Welcome to Bright House Networks live chat my name is Ryan. Thank You for taking your time to contact us and I would be happy to assist you. How are things going so far today?
Charles X: not good, I'd like to used my DVR and it's not working right
Charles X: and I have someone I live with that wants to record something
Ryan: I definitely apologize that it is not allowing you to record. Is there an error that comes up when you try to record?
Charles X: no
Charles X: it resets 2-3 times a day, the picture is tiled, the sound is distorted, some of the channels say unavailable
Ryan: It indicates it is recording and does not record is that correct?
Charles X: can I speak to your manager?

Seriously? Was this guy even reading what I typed? Damn right I asked for a manager. Still waiting from him to call me at the moment. In chat support I should never have the need to repeat myself.

Friday, September 27, 2013

I prefer Ronzoni any way

So Barilla has come out as another business that does like gays.

So of course this means boycott. I always liked Ronzoni better. That's what my mom used, that's what I use and so far that's worked pretty well.

Of course this boycott is considered by fundies to be a "Gaystapo" attack. Janet Mefferd said so!
So does that mean that boycotts of Home Depot, Starbucks, General Mills are the work of the "Christ-stapo"? Or should we call them the "Godstapo"? Gestapo?

Perhaps that's one for the PhilosoRaptor.

Here's what I'd really like to see. Someone fundies don't like, that does something fundies are opposed to, someone like Hugh Hefner or Ron Jeremy, coming out and saying that they "stand for the traditional family" and couple that with some good old-fashioned, Bible-thumping, gay-bashing bigotry. I think such a thing would cause a fundie's head to explode from the conflict. It would be pretty damned funny to see Janet Mefford or Bryan Fischer trying to get people to buy porn.

Of course this does rely on fundies being consistent.

Bryan Fischer Bullies a 16 Year Old Girl

Warning - I have serious fucking rage issues


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Bill Nye is wrong because Beethoven

Yes, Bill Nye is wrong because Beethoven.

Dafuq?

A little background here. Last week on "Real Time" with Bill Maher, Bill Nye was discussing the same lunacy in Texas that I brought up in my last blog (you should check it out, and the video). Bill Nye mentioned a talk he was giving in Texas where people booed him because he said the moon reflected light from the sun. This contradicts the Bible, which says that God made 2 lights. Stuff that contradicts the Bible makes Ray Comfort butthurt. Butthurt Ray Comfort waves his ignorance for all to see.
“He mocks that, and yet you take out what moonlight is in the dictionary, and it says it’s the light of the moon,” Comfort said. “The moon has light, it reflects the sun, (and) “Moonlight Sonata,” just lots of beautiful songs, the moon does.”

Yeah he said that. Called Bill Nye delusional too. Said he believes a lie. Because, you know, a 6000 year old Earth that was created in a week has to be true because a Bronze Age desert myth said so.

Here's a link to the full article and video on The Raw Story.

I'm not sure what makes good, reasonable, intelligent Christians look worse - Idiots like Comfort and Hovind who prey on those who are more ignorant than they are, or hate spewing bigots like Fischer and Labarbera. I've heard Comfort speak out against LGBT's, but it's a side note to his creationist spewing at best.

And that annoys me. Creationists make Christians look really fucking ignorant - the close-minded, can't tell them anything, blind, forceful kind of ignorance. It's not like I expect everyone to be a biology major. I'm not one, but if I am going to talk about something, I try to understand what it is. It's almost comical to ask a creationist what they define as evolution. Most that I have dealt with either don't know or think it is something very different from what it actually is. There's nothing in the field of evolutionary biology that makes any claims about crocoducks or chimps giving birth to humans. Evolution does not explain the beginnings of life or the universe. It makes no claims about the existence of God either. Life went on and people believed in God just the same after we found that the Earth was not flat and not at the center of the universe. And I do think that creationists look just as ridiculous as flat-earthers and geocentrists.

That said I also feel creationists do a disservice to Christianity. For instance, if you take the book of Genesis metaphorically, it still holds meaning regardless of what science tells you. Taken literally, it's an episode of The Flintstones gone horribly wrong.

Seriously Ray Comfort, stop making my friends who happen to be Christian look bad.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Shouldn't science be in science books?

In case you were not aware of it, I'm a trekkie. I like the show. I like the movies. I like the games. I go to the conventions. Usually in costume. I've got pictures of the cast, figures, posters, models, thongs, upper thigh massager, and I have them all autographed.

But as much of a fan as I am of Star Trek, I would never demand that kids in public school learn how a warp core works, or the Ferengi rules of acquisition, or how to speak Klingon. Mind you these might make for some cool and interesting electives, but definitely not the material for required courses.

Just the same, as my stage name may imply, I like Ancient Greek mythology. But I would find it rather silly to teach Poseidon's role in the tides in a science class or teach the Iliad and the Odyssey as factual history rather than folklore.

I bring this up because the biggest nerds of all, fundamentalist Christian creationists, are trying to weasel their ridiculous franchise into the public school classroom. At least that's the case in Texas. It's bad enough Rick Perry appointed a young earth creationist to the board of education. That started the quality of education in Texas on a downward spiral. Lowered science standards, Revisionist history, creationists tried to get religious supplemental materials added. They failed, didn't stop them from trying again. Now they are asking so called experts that just happen to be creationists to evaluate new science books.

Here's what one of these experts had to say-
 I understand the National Academy of Science's [sic] strong support of the theory of evolution. At the same time, this is a theory. As an educator, parent, and grandparent, I feel very firmly that ‘creation science’ based on Biblical principles should be incorporated into every Biology book that is up for adoption.
Someone who clearly does not know the definition of the word "theory" as it applies to science should have nothing to do with deciding which science books are used to teach science. Such things are best left to real scientists. I'm not even going to get in to the "just a theory" argument. I'm just going to beat the next person that brings it to me with a dictionary. Maybe they will learn by osmosis. Probly not.

Here's what another "expert" had to say-
Text neglects to tell students that no transitional fossils have been discovered. The fossil record can be interpreted in other ways than evolutionary with equal justification. Text should ask students to analyze and compare alternative theories.
 Another one from the ignorant "no transitional forms" crowd. For fuck's sake, every fossil and every currently living thing is a transitional form. For an alternate theory to be valid, there has to be evidence, it has to be tested, and it has to stand up to a peer review. Otherwise at best it barely qualifies as a hypothesis.

The only things that should be taught in a science class are things that are science. That which was found by use of the scientific method. That which has been tested and stood up to scrutiny to be the best explanation. That's how it works. The earth is 4 and a half billion years old. Evolution is the foundation for modern biology. There is overwhelming evidence that supports this. It has been tested over and over by scientists in fields that relate to it. It is important that kids understand the difference between evidence and faith.

Look, I understand. I was disappointed as a child when I found out that Star Trek was fiction and the crew was actors. It totally changed the way I looked at Star Trek, but didn't make me like it any less. And as an adult it was pretty cool to go to Trekkie conventions and get their autographs. Speaking of which I really need to get George Takei's autograph. Maybe I can get him to sign my boobs. I'm digressing.

I also understand there's still a lot of butt hurt going around because Christian teachers cannot force prayer on their students. It's that pesky First Amendment. But if it is any consolation, kids are perfectly allowed pray on their own. Also, people of non-Christian faiths have to play by the same rules. Repackaging your creation myth as an alternate theory is only going to make kids more confused when it comes to science than Wesley Crusher waking up naked in Tasha Yar's bed.  

Now you might be wanting to ask why I am so concerned. I don't live in Texas. I care. I care about kids. I care about education. I care about America. We are not going to advance much if we question science every time it contradicts a bronze age myth. Another reason I am concerned is because the State of Texas buys a lot of school books. So many that book publishers use Texas as a standard. So this is not just a problem in Texas, but a problem for the rest of America as well. Standards should be going up, not down. Maybe this is why the aliens are not talking to us.

But what really breeches my warp core is that there is also a political agenda behind this as well. What kind of a PetaQ sacrifices education for a chance at having a generation of holy warriors to fight in a fruitless culture war?