Hopeful Transhumanist

I've always been a futurist, and among my many obsessions is the future of the human mind. The idea of teleportation has always been a problem with me, since during the process of transportation, the body is destroyed and reconstituted. In this case, is the body merely a copy of the original? Does the original cease to exist? For that reason, I will never partake in teleportation.

More recently, the show Dollhouse has raised a similar question. If the contents of a human brain can be saved and stored, what are the implications? If the contents of your mind are separated from your body, which part is really you? Are you the container or the contents?

To me, it seems that humankind fights to affirm the cynic's point of view that a good human being is an exception to the rule. Every time I try to find a person or group with which I can agree, I am always disappointed by details and/or certain individuals. Therefore, here is my a-religious screed.

I do not choose to believe in the human notion of god. If a "higher" being is revealed by science, then I will "believe in" that being.
I will make no effort to "convert" anyone to atheism.
I will take no offense at religious belief. That said, I do take offense at efforts to "convert" non-believers through dishonest tactics.

If I was to have a "supernatural" experience (which I have had on several occasions), it will not affect my decision to un-believe, due to my knowledge of mind-altering substances such as fear, guilt, (il)legal drugs, and being alone in the woods surrounded by bears raptors.
But most importantly, if my experience is unprovable or intangible in nature, then it should not be accepted as fact or granted with belief.

I hold that the right to education is the greatest and most unalienable of human rights. Education is the most powerful tool in the human arsenal. At the same time, blind ideology is the worst of all human motivations.

Finally, my respect for others religious beliefs does not extend to instances when beliefs are presented as facts. In those cases, I will use the full power of logic to defend the realm of facts against the realm of beliefs and superstitions.

There was an empty space between emailing and chatting. It was desolate; not important enough for email, and not urgent enough for an instant message. Then came twitter, which allows us to post inane comments and start pointless conversations to our heart's content. No requirement to respond, no requirement to do anything. It is freedom.


Ok, yeah, I just discovered that I actually like twitter...

Galactica as a contemporary version of Virgil's Aeneid?
Awesome.

Where do I start? From the lackluster GOP presidential candidates, to the disaster that was Sarah Palin, to the retardation hitting the fan from Utah to Washington, the past year has seen nothing but fail from Republicans everywhere. To be honest, I like our little two party system. I like having a choice between different ideas. Unfortunately, the current choices are: Liberal Socialism (not too bad in my opinion, and actually still very capitalist), Social Fascists (I'm looking at you Michele Bachmann), and Socially-Liberal Laissez-Faire types (Libertarians, I know you exist somewhere besides the internet). I would mention that Republicans are supposed to be fiscally conservative, but then I remember this guy named Bush.

I will admit that the economy is pure voodoo; no-one has a clue how to fix it once it's broken. Putting aside economic issues, we are left with ideology and social issues. Here's my advice for the future of the Republican party: STOP TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE THEIR LIVES. So simple. The gays aren't going to destroy the country. There is no militant homosexual agenda. There is only the militant ignorant, homophobic, hate-filled agenda. Just stop. Religious people, turn your bible toward the gospels and don't look back. Also, science is your friend, stop trying to pollute our educational system with fairy tale crap.

As for economics, laissez faire has had its way for more than 20 years (Clinton was no socialist). A little bit of socialism got us out of the great depression (Yes it did, look it up) and gave us a good many social programs that we would rather not live without. Give (a little bit of) socialism a try. Obama's not perfect, but give him a chance to impress. Just make sure to give credit where it's due next time an election rolls around, k?

1. It's easy! Apatheists don't need to worry about various daily issues such as whether this or that is a sin, what will happen when I die, can I ask God for a Mercedes-Benz, etc. Apatheists enjoy life and find time to come up with their own personal values.
2. It's natural! Apatheism is so basic, even non-human animals and plants practice it. "Observe how the lilies of the field grow, they do not toil nor do they spin." That's because they do not care, either.
3. It's honest! Think about it -- if most people really believed in the god(s) they pretend to worship, they wouldn't act the ways they do. That's because they aren't really that interested. They're lying to themselves about their beliefs, or hedging their bets in the nearest, most popular religion "just in case." Apatheists, on the other hand, are completely aware that their religion won't do a damn thing for them.

source: http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Ginohn/cetera/apatheism.html

el oh el

Now that someone with my ideals now occupies the White House, it is interesting to see people react to the new balance of power. Namely, I speak of the religious conservatives for whom I keep a special place in an area I won't mention. Contrasting with the Bush-era "pray for the president" call for unity, the same people are using the bible (what? no! how?) to justify praying AGAINST the new administration. It's not like I put much stock in prayer (and it's not like I expected any less), but the hypocrisy is so blatant that I cannot help but laugh.

In this case though, calling Barack Obama "evil" or "godless" smacks of rascism. Yes, good, old-fashioned rascism. Calling Bill Clinton, Al Gore, or John Kerry "godless" doesn't offend as much, because none of them ever put much emphasis on religion. Obama, on the other hand, has made numerous and substantial efforts to underline his (christian) faith. The gall it takes to reject Obama's devotion to his god (supposedly the same as other christians) because he doesn't hold the exact same political views in only two areas (guess!) astounds me. The only explanation is that his church doesn't do "it" right. Whoever cares to define "it" gets a gold star.

I could continue, but it will suffice to say:

Gay marriage is coming to a town near you! If you don't like it, don't get gay married.

Also, if you think that god is on your side, he's not. (if he/she/it exists at all, of course)

Here's some pics from around my new house:


(at the end of the street, looking left)


(my house, we will live on the second floor. yes, our balcony :)


(end of the street, looking right-ish)

Not so long ago, I subscribed to the pro-life position on the abortion issue. There are many reasons why I have changed my mind, this is one of them:




They say that humans are smarter than computers, but apparently both can get stuck in an infinite logic loops. I guess some people are more prone to stack overflow than others...
Some people have a built-in logic loop breaker, it's called NOTBEINGANUTJOB.

Kerrin and I found an awesome apartment in Salem, MA. 3 bedrooms, full bathroom, huge living room, with a view of Salem Harbor. It's a four family house, and we have the 2nd floor front apartment. The rent is $1000, which may sound high to you Washington people, but that's pretty low for being in New England. Hopefully, weather willing, we will sign the lease on Monday and move in on or before February 1st. Pics to come.

Sadly, tonight was the last (slightly disappointing) episode of Stargate Atlantis. I say slightly disappointing because it was only 1 hour long, and the story took 40 minutes to set up. This left 20 minutes for the rushed, cliche conclusion... Haven't they ever heard of a two-part finale? They certainly don't have a problem with doing 3-part season premieres.

Anyway

Sci-fi is going to start filming the third entry in my favorite cheesy franchise. It's called Stargate Universe, and it will premiere this Summer (probably). The premise is something like ST Voyager, where they are stranded on the other side of the universe (they can get around much faster in Stargate), and they have to take the slow way home. So we'll see how bad/good it turns out.

I just got a 1 Terabyte hard drive for backup purposes. I'm in the process of transferring all my valuable information before I do a major re-install of windows. w00t!

Ok people, I need your help, let me know what you think!

click to visite le site.

Thank you bassplayer1231/benpop for the reminder that the pope is a bastard: http://is.gd/d3di

Also, here is an interesting article about research that discovered that women are becoming just as common on the MMORPG scene as men. And they maybe be even more hard-core than their male counterparts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7796482.stm
Way to go! Now male gamers can feel less pathetic.

Yikes

Hey everyone, I'm no stranger. I changed my username to blackwave.
http://blackwave.livejournal.com
The old link should still work, but it will redirect.

The Boston Globe did an article about the train that I take every day:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/08/aboard_the_camaraderie_express/?page=full

I know a couple of the people interviewed

I agree with the "It's like a bar, if jails had bars" comment :D

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States!

WE WON OHIO!!!

The question is now, how much power will he get in the Senate and House?

SQUEEEE!!!

Stay tuned for more jubilations