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Responses to common "explanations" of why there are so many school shootings in America

Sat, 06 May 2023 12:17:33 -0600

Every school/mass shooting in the US brings about a flood of social media posts calling for gun control. And those, in turn, are followed by an entire deluge of responses which attempt to show that mass shootings are not caused by "people who shoot guns", but anything and everything else they hate. Here are some of my responses to the responses...

The solution to all of society's problems...

Wed, 03 May 2023 18:14:29 -0600

I think the way to deal with most societal problems is personal responsibility. If you just keep yelling "personal responsibility!" at people, you will never have to look for or understand the causes and solutions for problems that you've never had to face, and that makes the world a whole lot simpler to understand.

Systemic racism for people who don't believe in systemic racism

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 19:33:36 -0600

First, a disclaimer: I'm not a white guy trying to "explain racism" to the general public; I'm a white guy trying to explain racism to people like me, or at least people like I used to be: on-paper extremely anti-racist, but… missing some key facts. I know many people like that. I went to highschool with them. I was one of them. I still see them on Facebook. Some are in my family. (If you are not in one of these groups, this is not for you. Yeah, it's much too simplified and maybe a little inaccurate, but that's on purpose.)

No Really: What Would Jesus Do

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 07:44:20 -0600

Back in the early 90s my dad brought home some "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do) pamphlets to put around the house. Even though I was still a Christian at the time, I thought it was a bit silly. It all seemed to be focused on things like whether someone said a swear word or showed a bra on TV, and I thought probably Jesus had better things to worry about. In the years after, I slowly lost my religion… and I still thought it was kinda silly and insincere: it seemed like Jesus and religion were only ever brought up to say sex was bad, justify hating gay people (I'm sorry, "hating the sin") or why abortion was always wrong. Not much else. So I just left it there in the past with everything else.

Everybody feels like that sometimes...

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0600

Talking about personal mental health issues is rarely a pleasant thing to do. Whether you talk about depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, or any other non-visible condition, you'll inevitably run into comments telling you it's not unusual, and "everyboy feels that way from time to time". Bonus points if they give well-meaning but unhelpful advice. Extra bonus points if they give condescending unhelpful advice. "Have you tried not feeling that way?" At which point I guess I'm supposed to slap my forehead and wonder aloud why I had never thought of that.

Sat, 07 Jul 2018 08:32:27 -0600

My favorite apps on F-Droid

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 09:50:45 -0600

I often recommend F-Droid to my Android-using friends. F-Droid is an alternative app store which contains only Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). It's great because the apps are almost all not evil. Did you know that a flashlight app doesn't need access to your contacts, location, and pictures? Did you know that every app doesn't need to serve you ads?

Children's book #2

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:04:07 -0600

The need for Straight Pride

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 17:46:59 -0600

You see it every year: when Pride month/day/parade comes around, some (presumably straight) people will ask loudly "Why is there no straight pride day?!"

Transitory

Fri, 18 May 2018 14:04:16 -0600

Lately we've seem to hit critical mass on the transgender issue. As usual, the usual factions have aligned themselves with the usual sides, and not looked back. Unfortunately, even among people who, after a fashion, support transgender individuals, there are a number of problems. In the long and proud tradition of white straight cis men explaining things about persecuted minorities, I am here today to clear up a few things about those transgender folk we keep hearing so much about lately.

Columbus was a product of his times

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 11:24:30 -0600

Columbus was a product of his times...

Seafood Berserker!

Sat, 15 Jul 2017 15:53:10 -0600

Download the app. Explore the source.

Cultural appropriation for people who don't believe in cultural appropriation

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 17:38:51 -0600

"Cultural appropriation" is a controversial topic^{[Citation needed]}. It's one of those topics that cause many people to roll their eyes, and many others (on both sides) to lose their goddamned minds. But, there are (at least) two kinds of cultural appropriation: a silly one and a useful one.

Malice vs incompetence vs...

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 16:49:25 -0600

A few weeks ago I spoke with a mom at a playground. She mentioned that our library does a toddler storytime on Mondays. So the next Monday, when I checked the library schedule and saw nothing about it, I was confused. A quick call confirmed that they weren't doing it this week, or all summer: school is out, so most of the events are geared towards older kids now.

Judgment Withheld

Sun, 28 May 2017 19:48:04 -0600

Recently I had a revelation. My wife was doing a pharmacy internship for a month at a downtown hospital. Because it's downtown, parking is tight, so most of the hospital staff is required to park at a remote parking garage and take a 20 minute shuttle ride to the hospital proper (I assume surgeons and high-ranking doctors are exempt from riding with the commoners). However, my wife gets terrible motion sickness if she's not the one driving. Not "I feel yucky", but nausea so severe it induces a panic attack and reduces her to a puddle on the floor, shaking and shivering for hours.

10 Atheist arguments, and why they (sometimes) fail

Tue, 23 May 2017 07:03:52 -0600

I stumbled across the list Top 10 Most Common Atheist Arguments, and Why They Fail and thought "I've not written about atheism for a while! Why not?!"

An accidental sociological gender experiment

Mon, 22 May 2017 11:34:12 -0600

I recently realized that I had been doing a science experiment! Ok, I haven't recorded any data, and there are no controls, but work with me here. The experiment is on people's expectations of gender essentialism. What's gender essentialism? Gender essentialism is the belief that certain behavioral traits are gender-specific: Men like sports, steak, beer, and fighting. Women like shopping, salads, wine, and gossip. Men are aggressive, women are passive. Etc.

Healthcare

Wed, 17 May 2017 21:56:42 -0600

I have a little story. Once upon a time, I quit my job so my wife could go to pharmacy school and I could be at home with my daughter. We'd live off our ample savings, but quitting my job meant losing our insurance, and we went without for several years. Then I began to get nervous, and found a cheap "disaster plan": it had a highish deductible, but everything after that was covered at 100%, so if I had a heart attack, go cancer, or got hit by a car, we wouldn't have to fork over every penny we had. The plan was about $130 a month for me and my daughter. (My wife was covered through school at about $100 a month.) We rarely went to the doctor/hospital, so it didn't matter too much.

So, our March was pretty terrible. You?

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:21:24 -0600

My little family had a bit of a bummer of a March this year.

App Jacking

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:08:47 -0600

I've now published several Android apps on FDroid. I released them all as opensource apps under the GPLv3. That means other people can see my source code, modify it, and re-release it, or do most anything else.

Doda The Exploda

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:33:57 -0600

Doda The Exploda is a silly pseudo-pun I came up with, which I then turned in to a simple "hidden objects" game for Android.

LaunchTime

Sat, 21 Jan 2017 14:56:44 -0700

LaunchTime is an alternative home/homescreen/launcher for Android devices. Its main feature is a side menu used to organize your apps into common-sense and configurable categories. It also features widgets, text search for apps, a QuickBar, links/shortcuts, unread badges, icon packs, themes, recent apps list, and portrait and landscape support.

Primary

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 20:36:42 -0700

A simple educational practice game for kids and adults.

Computational Demonology for Android

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 12:37:08 -0700

I wrote another mobile app. I wrote it for several reasons:

AudioMeter for Android

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 21:59:41 -0700

A simple (and somewhat inaccurate) VU-style audio meter.

Things that require zero talent

Sat, 12 Nov 2016 13:17:33 -0700

In the same vein as my recent articles, I want to comment on a meme I've seen shared numerous times: It chastises those who think people with talent have talent.

Vote for blurryface

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 13:23:52 -0600

The tortoise and the hare II: The rematch

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 13:30:48 -0600

The tortoise and the hare had a second race, and this time the hare slept 2 seconds less and won.

Change in perspective

Mon, 17 Oct 2016 12:46:50 -0600

When I was 17 or 18, I drove my older brother's 1979 Sunbird home one time. That doesn't sound that cool, but he (personally) had crammed a 400 small block in there. It was the kind of car that put out 100 decibels of low-pitched BLUB BLUB BLUB BLUB BLUB when you just idled down the street barely touching the gas. For teenage-me, it was awesome. I was also fascinated by loud motorcycles and fighter jets. Standard stereotypical teenage boy stuff, I guess.

Columbus was a product of his times

Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:35:13 -0600

"Columbus was a product of his times. Sure he did some terrible things like have thousands of native Americans killed, raped, mutilated, and enslaved, but slavery was the norm then! The Mayans and Aztecs did the same things! Why single Columbus out as a bad guy?"

It’s Incredible(s)!

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 12:15:19 -0600

Here is a shirt I bought for my daughter a few years ago. I picked it up at Goodwill. When I saw it, I said (silently to myself), "Hey, my daughter likes The Incredibles, and she wears clothing, so this is a win-win!" Now, my giant, almost-2-year-old son wears it. But it wasn’t until last week that my wife and I saw something strange about it.

A Rule Change for "Monopoly"

Sun, 25 Sep 2016 14:00:27 -0600

Monopoly. It's a game. Well, it's a game in the same sense that E. coli is a probiotic. And neither is a good way to spend an evening. However, Monopoly is, at the beginning, both egalitarian and capitalistic: every player has the same random chance of hitting it big. It's hopeful, almost, even if it's so slow it makes you wish you had E. coli instead.

Excerpt From "The Trump that got Thunk"

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:24:23 -0600

Excerpt From "The Trump that got Thunk"

Fun fact: "Weight Watchers" and "Chubby Chasers" are different organizations, and have very different meetings.

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:07:08 -0600

Fun fact: "Weight Watchers" and "Chubby Chasers" are different organizations, and have very different meetings.

Oh My God! Left Lane Drivers!

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 13:04:49 -0600

It's the biggest threat our nation has faced in decades.

You probably heard the news if you've been near any website lately: People are driving in the left lane, and it's terrible! They're not only driving in the left lane: they're driving slower than you want them to! <dramatic orchestra hit: bum bum BUUUUM!>

Why do we online? (Also, "online" is now a verb.)

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 07:16:54 -0600

It's been slowly dawning on me that I have no idea why I read news articles. I'm not going to do anything with the information I receive. I mean, I've known who I am (not) going to vote for the last year, or the last decade if I'm thinking generically. Knowing the exact phrasing of whatever crazy thing Trump just said is not going to push me one way or another.

Pokemon Go vs Fantasy football

Sat, 16 Jul 2016 19:51:43 -0600

In a recent Facebook post I compared Pokemon Go to Fantasy football:

I feel that Pokemon Go is a bad thing: Instead of chasing made-up animals, people would be better off putting together the perfect imaginary football team, or explaining to their Facebook friends exactly how their non-favorite candidate will destroy the world.

I was just a one-off, good-natured joke aimed at those who think their particular hobby is less silly, but after thinking about it for a while, I think there's an opportunity here…

New project: Drummy Tummy

Sat, 16 Jul 2016 12:37:58 -0600

I made a new web application. It's a simple drum looper with sounds I extracted from Hydrogen drum machine. Check out Drummy In The Tummy! (It's a dumb name, I know.)

Leprosy? Try These Essential Oils!

Sun, 03 Jul 2016 06:06:30 -0600

Tired of hunks of your body falling off? Don't go to the doctor! Our diligent researchers scoured the web for a few minutes and put together a list of essential oils you can probably use to cure up your leprosy real fast.

Believing only what you can see

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 19:16:53 -0600

"So, you only believe in what you can see, hear, or touch?" It is a (somewhat derisive) phrase you might come across every now and again if you don't believe in the supernatural. It's inevitably followed up with something about believing in love, freedom, or subatomic particles. After all, the reasoning goes, if you don't believe in the supernatural because you can't see it, how can you believe in love, freedom, or subatomic particles?

Is a common food ingredient actually a deadly poison? No.

Thu, 26 May 2016 11:10:06 -0600

Researchers at the University of Kansas have discovered that no common food ingredient is actually a deadly poison, even white flour, sugar, or those with chemical-sounding names. This comes as shocking news to many people, who had assumed most foods were, in fact, life-threatening substances.

Fat websites

Wed, 25 May 2016 08:37:04 -0600

I'm not one to make fun of the overweight and obese (being a member of the group and all), but… while I try to avoid mere cosmetic judging, I think pointing out negative consequences of obesity is sometimes OK. So, that's what I'm here today to do: talk about problem obesity… Your website is just too fat.

Typical mind troubles

Tue, 17 May 2016 10:05:17 -0600

A long time ago, in some class I don't remember anything else about, and in an unknown grade level, I remember the teacher going over the topic of logical fallacies. From that day, I remember mostly the ones with funny names: the "bandwagon fallacy" (everyone believes it, so it must be true!), the "red herring fallacy" (bringing in unrelated), the "ad hominem fallacy" (it's wrong because you're stupid), and lastly "hasty generalization". There's a particular variety of "hasty generalization" which is very important to me.

Am I my own (racist) grandpa?

Sun, 15 May 2016 22:51:09 -0600

No, I'm not talking about Ray Stevens.

A cleaning flowchart for kids

Fri, 13 May 2016 16:40:59 -0600

Practicalities

Tue, 03 May 2016 08:25:48 -0600

"Oh, dear, we are all like that. Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all - the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded. One man knows there is …

Tue, 03 May 2016 05:45:46 -0600

"Oh, dear, we are all like that. Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all - the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded. One man knows there is a hell, the next one knows there isn't; one man knows high tariff is right, the next man knows it isn't; one man knows monarchy is best, the next one knows it isn't; one age knows there are witches, the next one knows there aren't; one sect knows its religion is the only true one, there are sixty-four thousand five hundred million sects that know it isn't so." -Mark Twain

"I'm tryin'" -Me

The Jungle

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 07:13:01 -0600

Introduction to the Jungle.

LOL Fragile Masculinity

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 19:05:02 -0600

Isn't it funny how guys hate to be perceived as gay, even for a second? Anything associated with gayness or femininity is instantly discarded. They won't hug or touch hands. They're even afraid to express emotions or cry! Men are so insecure in their masculinity! LOL!

Yell "FREEDOM!!" a little louder… (repost)

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 11:55:56 -0600

Because, apparently, many state legislators are doubling down on proving how Christ-like they are by refusing to associate with those they think of as sinners, I thought I push the thing I wrote a few years ago back to my front page: Yell "FREEDOM!!" a little louder…

Sail, PBTPBT cover

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 14:36:38 -0600

A touching cover of Sail.

The $50 Lesson (extended version)

Sun, 13 Mar 2016 08:55:16 -0600

Recently, while I was working in the flower beds in the front yard, my neighbors stopped to chat as they returned home from walking their dog. During our friendly conversation, I asked their 12 year old daughter what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day.

A dumb twist on a dumb joke

Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:23:17 -0700

So a guy was hired to help move furniture in Buckingham Palace, but while there he broke his glasses.

There, but by the grace of God...

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:21:51 -0700

This is my third piece in my award-winning[1] "Hey, don't be such a judgey dick to poor people" series. The first was a general essay on not being judgey of those in need, and the second explored the idea of "making bad decisions" specifically. Neither should have been too controversial (though it angered some on other threads who seemed to take it personally), but this one might generate some disagreement.

Tater Hater

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 07:48:27 -0700

I'm gonna be a rap super star!

Proof that my opponents are idiots and/or evil

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 07:12:23 -0700

It's easy to see that my political/personal opponents are stupid, or evil, or both.

I'm writing a crockpot cookbook!

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 11:15:40 -0700

The Needle

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 12:07:15 -0700

Betty: "Hey Joe, what are you doing?"

Joe: "I'm looking for a needle."

Betty: "Why?"

Joe: "I thought maybe a needle would be a good thing to have."

Slow cooker mac 'n cheese

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 20:07:52 -0700

I love my slow cooker. I have a baby who doesn't like me to not pay attention to him, so cooking is sometimes hard. So I use the slow cooker to start meals when he's sleeping. The other day I thought: "Can I make mac and cheese in it?" I googled a recipe, and thought it'd be worth a try, but I modified it enough that it's something new. Here goes:

(Not) Facing the Consequences of Your Actions

Sun, 14 Feb 2016 11:17:20 -0700

If you haven't already, read my last post before reading this. In it, I used some personal anecdotes of the bad decisions I've made and the relatively light consequences I faced. I brought them up to illustrate an important point about assuming poor people made poor decisions to get where they are. In this post, I want to expand on the idea of "making poor decisions".

Giving fish to men

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:41:32 -0700

"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." We've all heard it, and we have a general idea of what it means. As an instruction manual, it gives you two choices for helping people: either do it for them, or educate them so they can do it themselves. There's no third option, but a lot of people add one anyway.

PowerPuff Pork

Sun, 24 Jan 2016 12:11:16 -0700

My daughter and I have been watching a lot of Powerpuff Girls recently, so when I thought of making this, I just had to set this up…

Odds

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:59:36 -0700

People have an odd view of odds. The recent Powerball mania, combined with October's "Bacon causes cancer" fiasco brought to mind a few oddities… (all odds are guestimates)…

Bernie 2016... I guess so?

Sat, 09 Jan 2016 12:56:02 -0700

How to get wrinkle-free clothes with no ironing

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:07:46 -0700

A Mass-Shooting Flowchart

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 18:16:04 -0700

A Christian Nation PR meeting

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:06:39 -0700

PR rep 1: "We have a problem. We all know this great land of ours is a Christian nation, and we all believe our government should uphold Christian values, but there's a lot of people out there now who disagree. So, we're starting up a PR campaign to convince everybody. Now, how can we really let people know we are a Christian nation?"

The Speechifier

Sun, 15 Nov 2015 08:14:01 -0700

The Speechifier is a speech mangler I'm working on.

How much would you pay for peace of mind?

Thu, 05 Nov 2015 23:14:10 -0700

Look at your life: do you have everything? You have a nice car, a nice home, a nice phone, and nice pants, but do you have peace of mind?

"Voluntary" Islamic prayer in school

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 23:17:56 -0700

You've lived in a quiet suburb in Michigan all your life. You like it there. You have many friends. Your son is on the high school football team. Over the years, there's been more and more Muslims move in, but that's all right: they're nice people and you get along just fine. Recently, the Muslim students began to outnumber the Christian population at your school, but again, that's all right: you're ok with that. Then school hired a new coach for the football team, and he's beginning to seem … not all right.

A conversation about bad apples

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 22:12:07 -0600

Apple Buyer: "I bought a bag of apples the other day and one of them was bad. I got really sick. I'm thinking of complaining to the company, and maybe warning others that sometimes apples can harm you."

Bad cop / bad cop

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 18:48:44 -0600

A story came across my Facebook feed. It was about a black man who wasn't killed instantly by police and therefore there is no police racism problem. In accordance with my diet, I'm posting my response here.

My Facebook diet

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 13:22:53 -0600

I had a problem. Facebook was becoming an un-fun place for me. There was too much content, too much click bait, and too much comment bait. It was taking up too much time, and causing too much anxiety. I guess what I'm trying to say it was too much, in general.

Very aggressive gun control proposition

Sun, 04 Oct 2015 13:12:00 -0600

I don't think the guns-rights people are going to go for this proposal, but I guess you could give it a try.

Proposing that for anyone to acquire and continue possessing a firearm, they need to go through several rigorous, multi-week training courses, be continually and intensely monitored by government officials, and any improper handling, storage, or usage of the weapon is immediately and harshly dealt with via fines, forced labor, or even jail time? Big steps!

This article validates what you've been saying all along

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:16:11 -0600

Those other people: Geez, they're the worst. They believe that stupid thing. Not you: you never really believed it, and now you're more sure than ever that it's the wrong way to think.

Moochers

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 00:46:37 -0600

"Food stamps, WIC, and welfare are OK, but there are too many moochers. The assistance programs are for single moms who are busting their asses, but just today I saw a woman use it for buying frozen pizzas, TV dinners, donuts, and gummy bears, then she took out her iPhone and started gabbing. After that she walked out to her goddamn Escalade and her baby daddy helped her load the groceries! Why can't he pay for the gummy bears? She's probably lying about his income, too. These people are abusing the system, mooching off our tax dollars. Sure, when I was younger I was a single mom, and, yeah, I got a little in food stamps, but I didn't buy crap food with it, and I had the decency to drive a crappy car!"

Mustache-Twirling Racism

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:35:06 -0600

I wasn't going to write about the whole Ahmed Mohamed homemade clock thing, thinking it was yet another social media people-talking-past-each-other-along-party-lines thing, but then an interesting thing happened.

Why I'm renewing the library book

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 11:54:59 -0600

Thinsplaining

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:16:46 -0600

In the online feminist world, there's a concept dubbed "mansplaining". It's where a woman will share something which happened to her, and someone else (canonically a man) will "explain" the experience for her. For example, if dozens of men scarily harass a woman on the street, and she complains about it, someone pops up and "explains" that it wasn't scary or harassment, it was just people being friendly! Mansplaining, or "X-splaining" to keep it gender neutral, is not the passing on of information, it is the condescending denial of personal experience.

"On the fence"

Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:26:38 -0600

Assholes, all of them

Sun, 14 Jun 2015 01:10:58 -0600

Over the years you've blended into your community, in part by taking on the beliefs and behaviors of those around you, and in part by influencing others in your community with your beliefs and behaviors. In your little community, you fit in. You're quietly living your life. You understand the beliefs in your community. You all proudly, if quietly, stand for A and B!

Decreasing Internet tracking

Fri, 22 May 2015 05:26:02 -0600

Ever search for a product on Google, only to have that product later advertised to you on Facebook? Weird, and a little creepy. The explanation is simple, but it's hard to avoid. Here's how I try.

Things that have gender

Mon, 11 May 2015 11:01:37 -0600

Ever wonder what things have gender? Well…

You can never be too careful

Thu, 16 Apr 2015 08:18:48 -0600

Can you believe those irresponsible parents? Letting their children walk around the neighborhood unsupervised!? That's a recipe for abduction, that is. Every year in the United States, somewhere between 100 and 200 children are abducted by strangers. That's, on average, about 1 every 3 days or so. So I never let my child out without me watching. You can never be too careful.

If you know what I mean

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 10:12:47 -0700

A few years ago I thought of making a list of euphemisms that made no sense. Here are a few. I ended these with "if you know what I mean", but "that what she said" would work as well.

Hi anti-vaccination friends!

Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:35:08 -0700

Hi anti-vaccination friends! How are you? Didn't we have fun chatting the other day? I liked those cookies too. Great. But, there is something I didn't mention. I went quiet for a bit when a few topics came up, and later I didn't respond to your related Facebook post, either. That's what I want to talk about.

Monster

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 10:28:28 -0700

A few months ago I went on a little walk. I popped in my earbuds, pressed play, and started out of our apartment complex. Up ahead, I noticed someone had left a bit of trash in the greenspace between the building and the parking lot. A slightly crushed can: Monster Energy drink.

Street harassment video

Sun, 02 Nov 2014 10:17:04 -0700

By now you've probably seen this video of the harassment faced by women on the streets in New York:

Self-labeling atheist

Sat, 25 Oct 2014 11:18:21 -0600

Every once in a while, something odd happens. Ok, I guess odd things happen all the time, but this is a particular odd thing. I'll be in a discussion with someone, and they'll absolutely insist I'm not an atheist. They are positive the term I should call myself is "agnostic". This usually happens right after I explain that I obviously can't be 100% certain and could hypothetically change my mind, given the right evidence.

New law about weight loss plans

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 08:03:43 -0600

I propose a new law. This law would come into effect when a person began a weight loss plan. Consider it a consumer-protection law to curb false advertising.

Stillbirth risk

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:14:12 -0600

My wife is pregnant and due in December. This will be our second child, and everything is going fine so far. With our first child, she didn't have many of the standard pregnancy problems. This time she has swollen feet and ankles, and pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome, and is generally more tired and out of breath. Because I'm a stay-at-home homeschooling dad, it means I hang out with many pregnant women and hear all the intimate and graphic details moms share with each other, and so I know my wife's symptoms fall into the "stuff 99% of pregnant women have" category.

Rationality: an analogy

Sat, 11 Oct 2014 09:14:58 -0600

Almost everyone thinks they're a good driver. Ask them, they'll tell you. Here's a survey which did just that. Most Americans (and, I presume, most people in other countries as well) believe themselves to be "excellent" or "very good" drivers.

The Amazing Powerball Simulator

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 10:42:31 -0600

Watch as you almost certainly don't win!
Be amazed as your losses accumulate!
Marvel as you maintain false hope!

Participation trophies, repost

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:13:56 -0600

I decided I'm going to occasionally repost some of my older stuff that I still like quite a lot. First up: Participation trophies. Enjoy!

English is terrible, part 2 of 100000

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 08:52:36 -0600

"English is great: learn a few rules and you can misspell 99% of words pretty easily." -me

Evaluating studies

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 08:12:49 -0600

Suppose you're on Facebook, minding your own business, when somebody posts a link to an article. This article is about a study, or, more accurately, the article uses the study to support its argument.

A solution to your problems

Sat, 20 Sep 2014 07:07:08 -0600

Down on your luck?

Universal sudo vulnerability

Fri, 15 Aug 2014 07:00:29 -0600

Hmmm, so let me see…

Stop agreeing with me like that

Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:14:42 -0600

Don't you hate it when someone who disagrees with you uses stupid arguments to support their position? Like "Yeah, well, if global warming is true, how come it's snowing outside?!" Or "If evolution is true and we evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?!"

"Sports": a one-sided conversation

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:49:10 -0600

Person: Oh, you live in [city]? I bet you [sports joke about city team].

COEXIST

Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:02:42 -0600

40 Answers From A Particular White Person

Fri, 20 Jun 2014 09:01:12 -0600

OK, so there's this Buzzfeed article 40 Questions All White People Need To Answer. Since they explicitly say "All White People", I figured I (a white person) better answer the questions before they send the lawyers after me.

The tube personality test

Sun, 01 Jun 2014 18:02:44 -0600

I can tell what kind of person you are by what you do with the cardboard tube when the foil runs out:

"Gender neutral"

Fri, 30 May 2014 07:55:01 -0600

Admit to being a fan of "gender neutral" parenting in certain company and you'll likely receive a few patronizing glances and eye rolls, and stories about how their kids are true boys and true girls who like nothing but gender-appropriate play, toys, books, clothing, and TV shows, and there's nothing wrong with that or the way they were raised, Goddamnit!

Plural pronouns and group identifiers, part 2

Tue, 13 May 2014 09:31:07 -0600

Hi kids! Today's topic is "over-generalization"!

Mother's Day (with disclaimer)

Sun, 11 May 2014 08:46:19 -0600

The left lane is for passing

Sun, 20 Apr 2014 09:36:37 -0600

I know the left lane is for passing. That's what I'm doing. What you're doing is being dangerous.

Boys are more destructive

Sat, 19 Apr 2014 08:56:03 -0600

In one of my homeschool Facebook groups recently, someone asked the question (paraphrased because the original contained personal anecdotes, etc.):

She expected this video to be amazing, but she never expected this.

Tue, 15 Apr 2014 07:52:58 -0600

You wont believe the amazing, mind-blowing, up-lifting, weird reason why this text teases everybody into watching this video…

Finding Nemo (and killing him)

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 05:07:39 -0600

We watched Finding Nemo again not too long ago, and I couldn't help but make this mental connection.

Should I buy it?

Tue, 01 Apr 2014 08:57:25 -0600

A helpful flowchart.

Meat puppets on chemical strings

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 06:23:37 -0600

Suppose I, without your knowledge, began giving you a drug. This drug, say, reduced your serotonin levels by a certain small amount[1]. Over a few days, things might begin to change for you. You might experience reduced energy. You might experience reduced motivation. You might have appetite changes and your previously-stable weight might start to change. You might not be able to bounce back quite so quickly from minor annoyances and depressed moods. Maybe you're not quite as enthused about your favorite shows, or your favorite sport, or anything, really.

Gentle skepticism

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 08:33:41 -0600

At least once a day, someone I know will post something to Facebook which I'm 99.9% certain has been proven wrong. Several times a day someone will post items that I'm fairly certain would fall apart under a 5-10 minute Google hunt. You might suppose that I, being the ever-vigilant skeptic, would be the first to comment, tearing their post apart.

Defining masculine

Sat, 22 Mar 2014 09:07:03 -0600

Quick! Define "masculine". What makes a man masculine? It seems like it should be pretty simple: "masculine" means having the qualities of a man! So a "masculine man" is a man who has the qualities of a… man? That definition seems kinda circular, and probably not very, uh, useful. Get more specific, maybe? What qualities? Broad chin and shoulders, muscular, rough, tough, aggressive, strong, fit, leadership, sports, fighting, fearlessness, bravery, emotions limited to anger and pride, something about steaks and expensive cars(?)… The universal signs of manhood!

Things that make me think of songs

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:33:24 -0600

Ok, pretty dumb, I admit, but I think it every time I do this.

How'd I do?

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:44:33 -0600

How'd I do

"You don't have insomnia."

Thu, 06 Mar 2014 08:55:34 -0700

A one-act play.

When life gives you lemons...

Mon, 03 Mar 2014 01:39:43 -0700

Down on your luck? As they say: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

On not trusting the experts

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 18:07:29 -0700

As I mentioned in a few other articles, I am often suspicious of the medical world. Ben Goldacre has a great book called "Bad Pharma" which goes into great detail in describing the problems with clinical studies, medical research, and the pharmaceutical industry. I'd recommend it for everyone, because it's, you know, important. People shouldn't blindly trust what their doctor says, and doctors shouldn't blindly trust what the drug companies and the FDA say.

Respect your elders

Sat, 01 Mar 2014 03:47:37 -0700

Legal Marriage, Civil Unions, and Slippery Slopes

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 03:21:08 -0700

Ok, one more article about gayness. One of the favorite arguments against same-sex marriage is that if same-sex marriage or civil unions are allowed, it's a slippery slope: allow it and then other forms of marriage must be allowed too. Things like sibling and group marriage. That what this article is about. Some really go for gold and make arguments like "If two guys can get married, I could marry my dog!" Since a dog is not person or capable of consenting to agreements much less signing contracts, I'm going to chuck all those who make that argument in the dustbin and call it a day.

Yell "FREEDOM!!" a little louder...

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:28:56 -0700

So, the "gay discrimination law" thing. A lot of social conservatives are pushing laws in various states that make it OK for businesses to refuse service to gay people if it violates their religious beliefs. Some are worded differently, but all would allow such things.

The no-nonsense guide to decluttering your home.

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 08:52:53 -0700

Like many people, you probably have piles of stuff cluttering up your home. I know I do! So, I spent a lot of time contemplating the problem, and have hopefully come up with a solution.

Harry Potter and the Several Mildly-Amusing Alternative Titles

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 18:04:12 -0700

I've read the first two Harry Potter Books so far. They seemed rather… I don't know, maybe they're just not for me? I've started number 3, but haven't been able to make myself read more. Anyway, rather than write a review, I thought I'd give a list of possible alternative, more accurate titles:

Do you suffer from nostalgia?

Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:42:42 -0700

Nostalgia is a mental disorder affecting between 80 to 90 percent of the population of the industrialized world. Nostalgia affects the memories and emotions of sufferers, making them believe certain things were better in the past.

Skeptical Zen 103: merely wrong

Mon, 03 Feb 2014 10:46:28 -0700

Idiots! Morons! Sheeple! How can they think that?! Are they stupid? Those dipshits!

"Being correct" isn't always the same as "knowing"

Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:05:08 -0700

If you gave me a math problem such as 5 + 5, and I say "10", you'd say I was right. Easy peasy. Then you ask me to solve 4567738 ÷ 652534, and I almost instantly say "7". You take the time to do the calculation and see that the answer is, indeed, 7. It's possible I might have quickly calculated the answer, but did I? I did get it correct, but how?

Skeptical Zen 102: pattern matching

Sat, 01 Feb 2014 13:55:29 -0700

Human brains are build for pattern matching. Suppose your brains often sees that A and B occur together. So when it detects A, it will expect that B will be there too.

Skeptical Zen 101

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 08:57:52 -0700

I've been familiar with Hanlon's razor in one form or another for many years. Basically:

God, can I ask You a question? (the implication)

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 09:15:07 -0700

Me: God, how come my car wouldn't start today?

Boys and girls are different: A scientific study.

Wed, 22 Jan 2014 20:49:53 -0700

Hypothesis: Boys and girls are innately behaviorally different.

"Useful" Subjects

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 22:04:41 -0700

"Kids should learn all kinds of things, like geography, classic literature, ancient history, world history, American history, economics, philosophy, world religions, art, theater, music, Latin, French, iambic pentameter, haikus, sentence diagramming, and algebra."

"Works for me", part 2: almost anecdotes

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 21:19:58 -0700

My second attempt at fighting anecdotes… with anecdotes….

Useful Subjects

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 07:12:39 -0700

"Kids should learn all kinds of things, like geography, classic literature, ancient history, world history, American history, state capitals, economics, philosophy, world religions, art, theater, music, Latin, French, iambic pentameter, haikus, sentence diagramming, and algebra."

These are a few of my free-vorite things: Digital Media Viewers/Players

Sat, 04 Jan 2014 13:23:34 -0700

I thought I'd begin a series on my favorite free/open-source software. This one deals with software for handling videos, music, and photos. Some of these are Linux-only, but many of have Windows versions as well.

Ear worm...

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 19:32:37 -0700

i before e except after c

Fri, 27 Dec 2013 08:10:02 -0700

Remember: it's "i" before "e" except after "c". Simple!

Fundamental attribution error

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:48:53 -0700

Have you ever gone to a grocery store the day before a big winter storm is supposed to hit? Did you see all those idiots shopping in a panic? Some are even picking up three loaves of bread and two gallons of milk! I mean come on! It's not like this is the end of the world! You live in a major metropolitan area: You don't need to stock up and go into survival mode.

My Unitarian Universalist diary entry

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 09:46:16 -0700

For a while I've wanted to take a peek at what the Unitarian Universalists were up to. I've been hearing about them for quite a while, and heard that they have many non-religious and non-theistic members. We're new in town and haven't met many people, so I was hoping that it'd be a neat way to hook up with some relaxed and interesting people. Also, they offer some kids' programs on religious education that would be great for my daughter, and a good place for her to play, do crafts, and meet other kids too. She seemed interested, especially in the "play" and "other kids" part.

Mr Rush

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 13:54:49 -0700

Just a silly thing.

What if it really were that simple?

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 12:52:12 -0700

In my adult youth (my 20s and early 30s), I was involved in my fair share of "philosophical" discussions. Some might say more than my fair share. Many of those discussions involved religion because it has been (and still is) such a force in the world. After coming to the conclusion that there probably were no gods, and stating so, those discussions often contained statements like:

Traffic rants

Sun, 24 Nov 2013 08:41:56 -0700

If legislators want to get serious about traffic safety, here's a list of traffic violations to crack down on:

My Black Friday pledge

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 21:46:20 -0700

This Thanksgiving evening and Friday morning, I pledge to not go out and buy things I don't need. I won't buy a crockpot for 10 dollars, or a large screen TV for 500. I won't buy the latest toy that my child will lose interest in after an hour. I won't buy any new electronic gadgets that waste my money and time. I won't buy any over-priced kitchen toys to make a mediocre cup of sugary coffee.

Freedom of choice and food labeling

Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:28:24 -0600

Most Americans haven't been told about some of the ingredients that are in the foods they eat. Some very large companies are trying to hide the truth about how their plants are grown. The FDA is so far refusing to force companies to label these products.

Plural pronouns and group identifiers, part 1

Sat, 28 Sep 2013 09:17:55 -0600

Several years ago, a friend updated his Facebook status with a link to a news article about how some group of Muslims was offended by being portrayed badly in media or something similar. My friend's comment on the story was very close to: "When they start worrying about offending us by crashing planes into buildings, then we can start worrying about offending them."

Your possessions are a gas

Sat, 28 Sep 2013 06:41:11 -0600

Your possessions are a gas

Homeschool Socialization, Part II

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:52:00 -0600

How does a homeschooled kid ever get socialization? Homeschoolers are extremely tired of it, but it's a common question. I still don't understand why, exactly, but it's common. As I detailed in The magic socialization of public school, "public school socialization", especially for the younger kids, is really not all people think it is. But how does a homeschooler's social life compare?

Natural cures generator

Fri, 13 Sep 2013 04:26:53 -0600

You don't need medicine. You need natural cures!

"My Little Pony is a show for girls." An imaginary/compilation conversation.

Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:58:47 -0600

Hit a worker, get a $10,000 fine

Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:02:59 -0600

"Girls are people" books for young kids

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 06:55:32 -0600

"Dad, how come in most stories, it's a boy that does stuff?" said my daughter last year sometime. "Well, uh, because for a long time… Um, well, you see… hmmm…" I'm not sure what I eventually got out, but I vowed to try to find books where it was a girl who went out and did things. I know there are lots of them out there, but they're not easy to find. So I thought I'd list the ones I have personally vetted and read to my daughter.

Norse myths unit study, part 1

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:01:12 -0600

Last night we watched Thor as a family. So today we ended up talking a bit about the Norse myths: about Jotunheim, Asgard, and Earth; Odin, Loki, and Thor, etc. She's six, so we didn't get too deep, mostly just answering questions and looking up pictures online. Later in the day I picked up a library book (D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths), but we've not yet looked at it.

The health benefits of...

Thu, 15 Aug 2013 14:32:37 -0600

Walk through any grocery store and you'll see thousands of products shouting their dubious health benefits at you in bold face type and lots of exclamation points. With the jars of peanuts labeled "gluten free", frozen chicken nuggets labeled "good source of protein", coconut oil with a "trans-fat free" sticker, and everything labeled "all natural", it's easy to become cynical… but, no more! I have a great product that's pretty darn awesome. Have you considered the health benefits of…

Rethinking Copyright

Sun, 04 Aug 2013 16:18:03 -0600

I've always been a strong supporter of copyrights. I haven't downloaded songs I didn't buy. I haven't torrented movies I didn't purchase. I haven't downloaded books I haven't payed for. I've been pretty hard-line. My view is we should try to reward the creators of the content we enjoy, and hopefully they will make more.

Our daily homeschool schedule

Sat, 03 Aug 2013 07:36:10 -0600

I thought I'd never be one of those spreadsheet schedule people, but I didn't want to have our day be completely unstructured either. I just hope this isn't too much structure:

Our fall school plan

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 01:15:48 -0600

We're fast approaching our new "school" "year". Sorry for all the quotes, but what we do isn't exactly school, and we don't go by years. But in any case, we're planning the next year of education.

Atheism in a pamphlet

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:07:45 -0600

In our neighborhood we don't get too many door-to-door religion salesmen, but they do happen by every once in a while. Recently it was the Mormons. Previously we've had Jehovah's Witnesses and various shades of evangelicals. Most of the time the encounter is very brief: I simply very politely tell them I'm not interested and/or don't have time, and send them on their way. But last year I hit upon a cool and funny idea: send them home with some of my literature. So…

My ADD-colored memories

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:39:14 -0600

There's a bit of misunderstanding or denial about ADD/ADHD. The opinions I see online range from "It doesn't exist: the kids are just daydreaming and need to be spanked more", to "It doesn't exist: the kids are just acting normally and need to be taught differently". Though my sympathies lean toward the second, I propose a third opinion: "It does exist, and the kids need to be taught differently."

Saying "Da" to not freaking out

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:22:38 -0600

Because Facebook shows you other people's likes, I came across this video, labeled 'Ukraine is saying "Yes!" to God. Again.' It was posted by a ministry that distributes Bibles throughout Eastern Europe. The video itself is harmless, just a bunch of random Ukrainians saying "Da" (yes), presumably in response to a question about God (the video never says it explicitly, for some reason). Nothing really to object to: I realize believers exist. But the Facebook comments… hoo boy…

The 'R's

Tue, 28 May 2013 10:10:45 -0600

I had a discussion the other day with another homeschooling parent about how much of the 3 'R's we should be teaching. While the 3 'R's are important, my list is a little longer…

Sunday visitors

Mon, 27 May 2013 16:31:09 -0600

I had an interesting encounter the other day. I thought I'd chronicle it here because it perfectly encapsulates my approach to religion…

New Math Worksheet Generators

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:08:14 -0600

I just finished up a few new math worksheet generators:

Printable greater than, less than, equal to worksheets

Printable "plus what?" worksheets

Printable place value / unit blocks worksheets.

Printable "complete the pattern" worksheets.

And of course: All games and worksheets

Secret code worksheets

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:15:08 -0600

Hi. I made a generator for secret code worksheets. Enjoy!

Objective morality

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:02:06 -0600

Just for a minute, imagine a world where there is no objective morality. No God or gods, no Great Spirit, no reincarnation, no cosmic consciousness, no universal oneness, no karma, no angels, no demons, no supernatural elements at all. Imagine a world where, because those entities don't exist, they can't be the source of morality, and therefore there is no objective basis for our morality. What would this imaginary world look like?

Homeschooling stereotypes flowchart: 3 attempts

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:19:28 -0600

Lately I made the mistake of commenting on a few negative articles about homeschooling. It's always a mistake. I'm not going to change anyone's mind; I'm just going to raise my blood pressure after beating my head against the same tired and refuted arguments. The commenters asserting negative ideas about homeschooling are not interested in counter opinions from people who actually know more than one homeschooling family. They have an anecdote about "this one kid in college" who blah blah blah.

"Skeptic" is not an insult

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:53:23 -0600

I've noticed some people seem to have an odd definition of "skeptic". "Oh, he won't believe that, he's a skeptic." Or "I showed him the news article, but he won't believe it: he's a skeptic." They seem to use "skepticism" and "skeptic" as an insult, and it seems to mean a person is close-minded.

We turned out OK (except for all those problems)

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:47:32 -0600

As parents, we make thousands of decisions every day which affect our children. Some of theses decisions are very simple and some are complex. Some are active decisions, and some are passively made by just taking the "default" action. Even not acting at all is a decision. And no one ever wants to get called out for making the wrong parenting decision: after all, making wrong decisions is what bad parents do, and I'm not a bad parent!

Chemistry

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 05:59:18 -0600

One of the cool homeschooling parents in our group puts on a chemistry class for young kids. I'm the first to admit that teaching chemistry to 5- and 7-year-olds is probably not really "teaching them chemistry" as most people think about it. You can explain atoms, electron shells, covalent bonds, and chemical reactions all you want, but it will not really "stick". But that's not really the point.

Bad day of homeschooling

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:53:51 -0600

I had big plans for the homeschool today…

Money and denominations

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:00:01 -0600

Just a quick little note. The young one and I were playing Dino Store for a bit this morning and I could see it was winding down. So I came up with what I thought might be a quick little one-off activity/game involving coins. I laid out pairs of groups of coins side by side, and the goal was for her to figure out which group had more money. …

Sledgercising

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:34:31 -0700

A few months back I stumbled across The Slovelglove workout. It seemed like an interesting idea, but I didn't like the name. So I call it "Sledgercising". I had a few notes/thoughts on it, thus, this article.

Mystery multiplication

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:21:14 -0700

Something happened and I can't explain it: therefore the answer is something which is many orders of magnitude more unexplainable than the original mystery.

I'm not part of his mission

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:40:29 -0700

So I'm just your normal, every day, non-religious homeschooling parent. I'm a bit liberal in areas, a bit libertarian in others, and maybe a bit conservative in a few fiscal areas. Then I come across this:

Non-conventional diets

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:55:15 -0700

Many of my friends and acquaintances fall into the "non-conventional diet" bucket (by "diet" I mean way of eating, not necessarily a weight loss diet). I'm generally OK with that. I don't see much evidence for most of it, but mostly I don't worry about what other people eat or don't eat. I myself have tread down the non-conventional path a few times.

The Plan

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 03:16:53 -0700

Congressional pay raises

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 09:31:10 -0700

This is disgusting!

Call me unimpressed

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 04:45:31 -0700

Every few weeks I'll see someone mention/promote some new documentary which promises to solve America's health and/or weight problems. These "documentaries" are all quite similar and follow a simple format:

Step one: Find several fat and unhealthy people who eat the "Standard American Diet".

Step two: Get them to eat a different diet and to exercise.

Step three: Incredibly, they lose weight and improve their overall health!

Step four: Profit.

Rules I (try to) follow

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:49:27 -0700

This is list of rules I try to follow when interacting with kids. These are not peer-reviewed child-raising techniques, just little odds and ends I've read, heard, observed, or thought. Some are undoubtedly pseudo-psychology. Some are probably hippie-talk nonsense. Some of them might be helpful, some useless, and maybe some are actually harmful. Maybe they're all meaningless, I don't know. I'm mostly talking out of my ass here, but I think they could be important, so I'm sharing.

Correction

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:20:48 -0700

Surely you've seen this floating around:

The magic socialization of public school

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 11:53:21 -0700

It's odd. In the past few weeks I've received several strange real-life comments from real-life people. Some worried about all the "socialization" my homschooled daughter could miss. Others said something like "homeschooling is OK as long as you ensure the children are properly socialized". And "I knew this one person who was homeschooled and he was so shy and had no idea how to act in social situations!"

Craft engineering

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:12:25 -0700

I put together an event for our local homeschool group. The general idea is that kids can try their hand at building stuff. I called it "Craft Engineering". The original idea was to build bridges or towers, but because the ages ranged from 3 up to 12, and because I didn't want to prescribe how to build the things, the kids built pretty much what they wanted. Oh, and it wasn't a competition, just a fun time.

I like my...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:21:16 -0700

I like my (women/men) like I like my coffee:

Chimp Math

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:19:47 -0700

I whipped up a quick math game for my daughter. Not very flashy at the moment, but it has chimpanzees. Chimp math

One holiday decoration to rule them all

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 03:10:32 -0600

Making Halloween decorations with daughter. Thought I'd cover a few more…

Debate #1 summary

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:21:09 -0600

I spent all evening not watching the debate. I went grocery shopping, read some more of my book, made popcorn, and played a board game with my daughter and her friend. However, merely not watching the debate shouldn't keep me from summarizing it:

Participation trophies

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 07:40:43 -0600

[Scene opens: a middle-aged coach paces slowly in front of gathered children, shout-talking in General Patton style.]

OK, children! Listen up! I understand that most of you are here not because you want to be, but because your parents or teachers told you you had to be. But regardless, you're here, and we are having a race: a competition. This is where 7-year-old strives against 7-year-old, and abilities are tested. This is where heroes are born.

Health studies and you

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 10:31:03 -0600

The way many health studies are done makes them not very useful. The way they are reported on is even worse. You see this nearly every day, then you never hear about it again. Ok, you will hear about those studies again on the Dr Oz show because he blows, but generally the study behind the news headline "It's official: Bacon is good for you!" will not hold up for long. That's partially because a lot of these studies depend on self-reported data.

"It works for me"... doesn't

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 03:36:56 -0600

Here, I fight the power of anecdotes with… an anecdote? Ok, it sounds silly, but bear with me…

Live and let live?

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:13:54 -0600

I hope this is my last word on the Chick-fil-A issue, but I doubt it will be (see the previous article). I want to let it drop, but I keep seeing people who misrepresent the issue pretty badly. Many claim to want to find "the middle ground", and who basically say "let everyone be". That isn't really possible.

Chick-fil-A

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:05:03 -0600

Just so I'm not misunderstood or misrepresented on this issue, I thought I'd write it out in a full-length article rather than be limited to a "pithy" Facebook status.

Night of keeping up with the kids

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 03:19:13 -0600

Back when I had cable, about once every few weeks I'd put it on MTV2 or Fuse and watch the top video countdown. It was one way I tried not losing complete touch with "kids today". Since I ditched cable, I am left with listening to the local alternative radio station. So I'm not at a complete loss, but there are many pop songs people talk about which I have never heard. So, in an attempt to keep with the times, I decided that I'd start watching the top music videos on Youtube. I grabbed a few double-shots of bourbon (neat, just how the kids like to do it) and got to watching…

Reverse gambling

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:06:25 -0600

After quitting my job to stay at home with my daughter, we lost our medical benefits. The insurance plan we had through work was OK, I guess, but it still cost hundreds a month just for having the plan, and there were still plenty of small and large payments we had to make after doctors visits and the few ER/hospital trips we had to make over the years. So it was never great, and now that I don't have the company's group rate helping out, it's much worse.

I'm with you! Oh wait, not that far.

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:22:42 -0600

I often find myself in an awkward situation. Awkward to me anyway. Ok, I find myself in many awkward situations: it's kind of my thing. But this specific kind of awkward situation happens when I find out the person I have been agreeing with for the past hour/month/year has gone way too far down the rabbit hole. I don't mean they are crazy, just that they have some ideas or theories which they hold dear and which I find completely unsupportable. Though it can and does happen in many area of life, I'll pick an example from the world of medical beliefs, because I run into those quite frequently, and I find them the most frustrating.

Graph Diagram of Information and Data Chart

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 18:23:17 -0600

From now on, I will assert anything I want. When asked for evidence, I can point to this graph. It clearly illustrates my point, whatever my point may be…

It's a mom's world

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:08:04 -0600

I've noticed this ever since our daughter was born. Many times when I try to do a little research on any parenting topic or visit any parenting forum, it's assumed the reader is the mom. This became even more apparent with my recent decisions. In doing (secular) homeschool research, there's a pattern I see many times: It's simply assumed that the stay-at-home parent is the mom. It's assumed that the mom does the homeschooling. It's assumed that the dad doesn't clean, cook, or do laundry, etc. It's assumed that the mom cares and the dad dismisses. It's assumed that the dad doesn't help out with the kids, or if he does, it's in some trivial way or it's some sort of minor aberration to a universal rule.

My "diet"

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:30:47 -0600

Over the past 3 years, I've slowly reduced my weight by about 50 pounds. About 20 of it was in the first year, and after that my weight gradually shifted down to my current (still a ways over-) weight. What's that? Oh thanks, I do look awesome! How'd I do it, you ask?

God: An Autobiography

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 06:28:05 -0600

"Mainstream" knowledge

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:30:10 -0600

Two things:

Sandra’s seen a leprechaun

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:15:01 -0600

Sandra’s seen a leprechaun,

Eddie touched a troll,

Laurie danced with witches once,

Charlie found some goblin's gold.

Donald heard a mermaid sing,

Susy spied an elf,

But all the magic I have known

I've had to make myself.

-Shel Silverstein

I was a homeschooled kid

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 10:29:16 -0600

I was a homeschooled child. I am shy, socially awkward, somewhat self-centered and have a very hard time making friends and fitting into groups. These are hallmarks of the homeschooled. Ask anyone, they'll tell you. Sometimes you don't even need to ask: they'll tell you anyway. There's only one problem: I lied. I wasn't homeschooled. I went to private grade school (Catholic) and public high school.

Carrot Hummus Dip

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:15:46 -0600

Basically, this is just hummus but with carrots (and water) in place of the chickpeas. The hard part is getting the right amount of fluid to make it work. I didn't measure anything, so all amounts are very approximate.

My favorite homemade cleaner

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:22:50 -0600

I'm a fan of making my own cleaners: I hate the way most store-bought cleaners smell, and to be honest, I am a little scared of what's in them. But before I get into my newest (and, I think, best) homemade cleaner, a quick rundown of the older ones:

My advice to new parents

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:07:29 -0600

Several people I know have recently given birth, so I thought I'd put down some things I have been thinking about for a while. Namely, the topic of advice. As a newish parent myself, I know there is a fine line between "giving helpful and timely advice", and "annoying the crap out of a new parent with useless scaremongering". My usual advice is "do not give or receive parenting advice", but I thought I'd take a minor detour around that for a bit. So now, because I know you care what I think, here is my advice:

Children's religious stories

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:25:40 -0600

My daughter is somewhat interested in the Greek myths. She loves hearing about the gods and goddesses and their exploits from some of the more famous stories. It's easy to find books written for kids on the subject too: simpler story structure, illustrations, and the more gruesome bits ever-so-slightly glossed over. I saw three or four suitable books in a single trip to Half Price Books. These books present just the stories as stories and do not try to editorialize or moralize. Also, the stories are pulled out of the source material and re-written to be religiously-neutral, and they do not necessarily follow the rhyme and meter of, say, Homer's texts.

Garage sales

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:12:11 -0600

Many people love garage sales: You can drive around and find great deals on baby clothes or that potato slicer you've been wanting for so long. Many times, the things offered at a garage sale are items that once served a purpose, but life changed for the owner and now the item is no longer needed. However, there's a darker side to garage sales. Garage sales can also showcase all the misguided purchases a person has made. It is for this latter case that I present this chart…

A life-changing event, 5 years later

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:11:02 -0600

Two weeks after the birth of our daughter, my life changed. OK, my life changed at the birth of my daughter, too, but every parent has that story. This story is different. Other people may share it, but fewer. It is less common and, therefore, maybe of some interest to a few people out there. Or maybe nobody. Maybe it's just me. Who knows. Maybe I'm not actually interested either? I'm digressing: the topic of this article is television.

Why didn't I think of this craft before?

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:55:40 -0600

A few days ago I was refereeing/entertaining/being-entertained-by my daughter and the neighbor boy at the craft table in our garage. They were doing their usual thing of telling each other little kid things, drawing pictures with silly captions, and messing with some stickers. The neighbor boy suddenly stopped and asked me: "How do you make stickers?"

Childhood safety

Sat, 26 May 2012 19:58:08 -0600

I'm always trying to walk the line between being completely laissez-faire and being a helicopter parent. I love being laissez-faire and letting kids explore and figure things out by themselves, but I also have a very vivid imagination, and can always visualize what would happen if things went slightly wrong. That visualization usually ends up with a child screaming and a trip to the hospital. I try to remind myself those scenarios are unlikely, and continually repeat to myself "it'll be OK". However, serious childhood injuries do happen, and certain acts and situations do increase their likelihood. So, I came up with a few mental guidelines to keep me focused on the important things:

Doctors are just in it for the money

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:22:12 -0600

Pffff! Doctors. Am I right? All in it for the money. Making up diseases and "disorders" so they and their pharma-buddies can sell you the "treatments". Half the time the they sell you something that makes you sick so they can sell you something else to make you feel better. Not a single doctor ever considers nutrition and fitness as a cause for worry. Oh, they may publicly "recommend" eating fruits and vegetables and getting daily exercise, but they don't really mean it.

Cut the psychoanalysis, Freud

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:06:55 -0600

One of the more annoying things about parenting is that if anything about a family's situation is "different" in any way, suddenly that is the "cause" of everything about the children. And by "different", I mean "different than the observer's situation".

It's craziness, but it's our kind of craziness.

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:04:25 -0600

I have a secret to tell: [Deep breath]… I'm transgender…

Marriage is like a garden

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:35:48 -0600

In many ways, having a successful marriage is much like having a successful garden.

Crunchy mom (with a penis)

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:52:00 -0600

Over the years I've slowly become acquainted with the term "crunchy" mom, AKA "granola" mom (AKA "hippie"). You probably know a few, even if you aren't aware of the name "crunchy".

Ritalin / Ritalout

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:05:27 -0700

Recently I had discussion about Ritalin. This is not just about that discussion, but about the topic in general. I am not a doctor (but neither are most of the people making the objections), just some bloke with a computer science degree who tries to take a skeptical and science-based approach to everything. Oh, and I read a lot of sciencey stuff. And health stuff. Definitely a lot of sciencey health stuff. So take this for what it's worth.

Rules to live by

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 07:48:24 -0700

When I entered college, I was a Rush-Limbaugh-listening, homophobic, conservative, Republican Catholic. When I left, I, er, wasn't. This was an engineering/science-based college with limited "Humanities" requirements, so very few of my professors every really tried to inject any "liberal bias" into things. It was just that over my college years, I saw that many other people thought, believed, and acted very differently than I did, but they weren't the horrible creatures I imagined them to be. They were just people who thought different things than me. This was very eye-opening and caused me to constantly re-evaluate what I thought, but more importantly, why I thought it.

Polar bear in a snowstorm

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:08:29 -0700

I've seen these a lot, had to do one…

Two theories of morality

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:30:24 -0700

While there are certainly more than two, these are the two theories of morality which concern me most. If I lived in India, "Theory 1" might be about reincarnation or seeking Nirvana, but living in this part of the United States at this time, it has to be the whole God/Jesus/Heaven/Hell thing.

Lazy unemployed occupiers

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:42:04 -0700

I have a steady job with great benefits and a good paycheck because I am not lazy like those unemployed people…

Border crossing dumbassery

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:40:59 -0600

Seen on Facebook:

Dear Google

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:04:09 -0600

Please stop helpfully ignoring my search terms. If I take the time to type 5 words into the box, the pages listed should contain all 5 of those words. Not 4, not 3: 5. Why are you deciding that I didn't really mean those things I typed? Or, at least tell me when you do it. You've changed, Google. You've changed.

Reminder about American Atheists

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:50:06 -0600

Just a reminder to everyone: Although the organization called American Atheists has the word "atheists" in its name, it is not an all-inclusive group. In fact, American Atheists only has a few thousand members, and, depending on how the survey questions are worded, there are anywhere from several million to several tens of millions of atheists in the United States. So, when the group named "American Atheists" does something ridiculous, keep in mind that literally 99% of atheists (myself included) in the USA are not in that group, and are not necessarily represented by its actions and views. That is all.

Chopracubra

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:58:04 -0600

Chopracubra (noun, also spelled chopracabra): a semi-mythical beast which haunts the science world with its meaningless sayings and misuse of science terms. It is said to be most active in the late afternoons where it can be found on daytime TV talk shows pretending to know stuff it could not possibly know. It is said to have a distinctive call, which consists of vocalizations like "quantum", "spiritual", and "awareness".

Literally, "chopracubra" (chopra-cubra) means "woo blower". Scientists debate whether the Chopracubra actually exists, or is simply a manifestation of desires in the quantum-entangled chi of universal Karma Dharma woodely doo.

Half whole wheat focaccia

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:54:20 -0600

Very light and soft focaccia bread. I synthesized this from a few different recipes I found on-line.

A Quick Guide to Evaluating Other Religions

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:24:26 -0600

…

The Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:58:46 -0600

Somehow this makes sense …

Simplifying technology

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:33:14 -0600

What things should look like, part 1.

The Ice T Party

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:50:59 -0600

The Ice-T Party is a grassroots movement to restore our government – and our rap – to greatness.

Coconut milk ice cream

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:08:08 -0600

It tastes great, you can serve it to your lactose intolerant and/or vegan friends, it's easier to make than ice cream because it requires fewer ingredients, and the ingredients will last a long time before you decide to make it. This last one is my primary motivator. I like to make stuff. Food is one of those things, but the mood may strike at any time and I don't want to leave the house to go to the store when it does. Heavy cream or raw eggs will last a week or three in the fridge, but a can of coconut milk will last years, so it is easy to keep on hand.

Oversimplifications of medical conditions

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:06:43 -0700

I recently watched an older episode of South Park which dealt with Alcoholics Anonymous. Knowing what I know about AA, I fully support the mocking of this organization and its "treatment" methods, and South Park did many things right in said mocking:

Unscientific American Issue 1

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:17:42 -0700

The Real Dictionary

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:51:24 -0700

A few terms which are misused in common language.

Censored Cartoons

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:38:19 -0700

I remember when I discovered that the cartoons I had watched as a child where censored for content on modern networks. I thought "What's wrong with people? I watched those as a kid and suffered no ill effects." The censored parts are not really that bad. Here's some of the more egregious examples of cartoon censorship:

AudioFeels

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:51:52 -0700

AudioFeels

Beatallica

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:09:36 -0700

Basically "Metallica plays the Beatles".

Giggly man commands

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:24:34 -0700

In the Unix/Linux/gnu world, there's a command called "man". You use it to get the help page (manual) of other commands. For example, if you wanted to know all the options for the directory listing command "ls", you'd type "man ls".

OnlineNewspaper Gazette

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:53:11 -0700

The OnlineNewspaper Gazette was a satirical newspaper in the same vein as The Onion or The Daily Show. It had a short run from May 2001 to Oct 2002, which is actually pretty long in internet-years. It featured articles created by me and several of my talented friends and family. The original webhost was Thamus.org, then Craptaculus.com, and now finally Quaap.com.

Some Older Features

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:57:42 -0700

Some Older Features

Quote of the day

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:39:40 -0700

"I'll give you my thesaurus when you disengage it from my frigid, unanimated metacarpi."

Evaluating movies by M Night Shyamalan

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:35:02 -0700

Pseudo-code for evaluating movies by M Night Shyamalan

Rating system expansion

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:47:55 -0700

Ratings on the content of movies, TV programs and video games are generally a useful thing: they give parents a little bit of information about whether the content is appropriate for their children. Notification about the violence content of a movie is useful to parents. Knowing ahead of time that a movie contains graphic depictions of sex with donkeys, likewise.

The Wikipedia experiment

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:35:09 -0700

Though I use it all the time, I often make fun of Wikipedia and its supporters for several obvious reasons, including terrible writing and a "patchwork" feel to the articles that arises from too many editors. But the main problem is that, as a source of reliable information, it, well, blows. When confronted with these negative opinions, the defenders of Wikipedia always tell me that incorrect information, lies, and vandalism are "corrected within minutes" and that it's just as accurate as other encyclopedias.

Evaluating religions

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:42:38 -0700

Pseudo-code for evaluating religions

Factcheck.org and the Clinton Surplus

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:45:34 -0700

I am a huge supporter of Factcheck.org. They provide a great service which roughly corresponds to the efforts of Snopes.com, but instead of random urban legends, they look into the words and writings of the political world.

Hey, Big Spender!

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:19:48 -0700

While I've seen much hoo-ha recently about Obama's "record breaking" budget and deficit, and much bemoaning about it from those of the Republican persuasion, I don't recall any of them complaining about the previous 8 years when the budget increased massively and the debt doubled.

GoDaddy, you stupid ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:22:46 -0700

GoDaddy and the American Healthcare System share at least one quality: People think it's great, until they need to actually use it.

Computer aging program

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:53:51 -0700

Using the latest and greatest formula and algorithms, I've spent some time and put together this computer image-aging program. It's surprisingly accurate, and should age nearly anything (not just people). Just use the form to select the image to age, set the subject's current age and the number of years to age, and click go.

Prescription Drug Name Generator

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:22:31 -0700

Find out important information about America's (soon to be) most popular drugs.

Skeptic's toolbox

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:14:44 -0700

Just a few sources to check out before believing or repeating (especially repeating) an "amazing" claim

Arguments that don't make it

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 06:40:28 -0700

I recently had a conversation with a friend about religious beliefs. This friend brought up some of the reasons why he believed his religion was true. I didn't think they were good enough reasons to justify belief in a god, and since I had asked for reasons before, I thought I'd list some of the more common arguments and why I don't buy them. Note that this friend did not make all of these arguments, and I did not make all these responses.

Why I am an Infidel

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 05:38:00 -0700

I often use the label "atheist" to describe myself, and even though some tend to add meanings at will, most people have a general idea what that means.

Things that aren't funny: Part I

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:22:09 -0600

Jokes about how white people are just so darn white.

Rebuilding New Orleans

Sat, 17 Sep 2005 12:26:08 -0600

When I heard of the plans to rebuild the destroyed parts of New Orleans, I was overcome with the warm fuzzies. Here were people determined to rebuild their lives and houses no matter what the current and future costs to you and me. God bless them.

Evolution in Kansas II

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 05:37:51 -0600

(Continued from Evolution in Kansas.)

Evolution in Kansas

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 16:15:55 -0600

Dear Scientific Illiterates,

Supersize yourself

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:52:13 -0600

I finally watched Supersize Me. It taught me so many things, I can see why people love it so much.

What words mean: "atheist"

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:14:25 -0700

"I am an atheist."

Is that a toe on your head?

Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:19:13 -0700

For someone who tries to live as myth-free as possible, it can be fairly rough going sometimes. As an exercise, pretend someone told you he believed that all humans have a toe growing out of the tops of their heads. If you don't immediately vacate the area, I can see the line of conversation going something like this:

Old stuff

Tue, 11 Mar 2003 02:51:09 -0700

Old stuff

Quaap.com

Responses to common "explanations" of why there are so many school shootings in America

The solution to all of society's problems...

Systemic racism for people who don't believe in systemic racism

No Really: What Would Jesus Do

Everybody feels like that sometimes...

My favorite apps on F-Droid

Children's book #2

The need for Straight Pride

Transitory

Columbus was a product of his times

Seafood Berserker!

Cultural appropriation for people who don't believe in cultural appropriation

Malice vs incompetence vs...

Judgment Withheld

10 Atheist arguments, and why they (sometimes) fail

An accidental sociological gender experiment

Healthcare

So, our March was pretty terrible. You?

App Jacking

Doda The Exploda

LaunchTime

Primary

Computational Demonology for Android

AudioMeter for Android

Things that require zero talent

Vote for blurryface

The tortoise and the hare II: The rematch

Change in perspective

Columbus was a product of his times

It’s Incredible(s)!

A Rule Change for "Monopoly"

Excerpt From "The Trump that got Thunk"

Fun fact: &quot;Weight Watchers&quot; and &quot;Chubby Chasers&quot; are different organizations, and have very different meetings.

Oh My God! Left Lane Drivers!

Why do we online? (Also, "online" is now a verb.)

Pokemon Go vs Fantasy football

New project: Drummy Tummy

Leprosy? Try These Essential Oils!

Believing only what you can see

Is a common food ingredient actually a deadly poison? No.

Fat websites

Typical mind troubles

Am I my own (racist) grandpa?

A cleaning flowchart for kids

Practicalities

&quot;Oh, dear, we are all like that. Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all - the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded. One man knows there is …

The Jungle

LOL Fragile Masculinity

Yell "FREEDOM!!" a little louder… (repost)

Sail, PBTPBT cover

The $50 Lesson (extended version)

A dumb twist on a dumb joke

There, but by the grace of God...

Tater Hater

Proof that my opponents are idiots and/or evil

I'm writing a crockpot cookbook!

The Needle

Slow cooker mac 'n cheese

(Not) Facing the Consequences of Your Actions

Giving fish to men

PowerPuff Pork

Odds

Bernie 2016... I guess so?

How to get wrinkle-free clothes with no ironing

A Mass-Shooting Flowchart

A Christian Nation PR meeting

The Speechifier

How much would you pay for peace of mind?

"Voluntary" Islamic prayer in school

A conversation about bad apples

Bad cop / bad cop

My Facebook diet

Very aggressive gun control proposition

This article validates what you've been saying all along

Moochers

Mustache-Twirling Racism

Why I'm renewing the library book

Thinsplaining

"On the fence"

Fun fact: "Weight Watchers" and "Chubby Chasers" are different organizations, and have very different meetings.

"Oh, dear, we are all like that. Each of us knows it all, and knows he knows it all - the rest, to a man, are fools and deluded. One man knows there is …