12.16.13
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Quote of the Month

Time for another Quote of the Month. I swear since I started doing this, it seems like time flies by, or I am getting old, or something. I had to check my archives to see if I had posted one this month… Lets go with James Madison this time. One of the main men who put pen to our constitution. I have got to see if I can find a way to put the posts in this series in a file somehwere. Anyway, here is James Madison speaking of the “truths” of religion.

“What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society?  In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people.  Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries.  A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not.”         – “A Memorial and Remonstrance”, 1785 

If Madison were alive today I suspect our professional creationists would refer to him as: Strident! Militant! I’d say he hit the peg squarely with the hammer. The one thing that stands the test of time, is the is the intent of religion to subvert human liberties in favor of wealth and power.

http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html

 

12.14.13
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Four Eyes…How Many Headlamps Do We Need On Cars Anyway?

“Hey four eyes” That was a phrase I heard in my youth. You see I needed glasses by age six. I never considered it an insult, merely a fact that I wore glasses. This is however not the meaning of this creed, no its about the proliferation and rapid expansion of a set of “four eyes” that is really beginning to annoy me. What is this source of my four eyes frustration? Your car, or truck. Yes your automobile, that confligration of steel and rubber and plastic, your personal chariot of transportation.

It seems auto makers these days have decided that two headlights are not enough anymore, that four would somehow be better. I am certain if your vehicle is equipped with four lights instead of two, you must just love your new insight into the world of darkness, I bet you can see really, really well. Unfortunatley for every oncoming automobile you meet, you have just blasted them with your four eyes.

In some ways I was fortunate in my youth. I was the offspring off a truck driving family. I was driving a 13 speed semi when I was 12. Heck the first time I ever drove a car was when the roads were a solid sheet of ice, may have been 10 or 11 at the time I can thank my mother for that (thanks mom). I have been through blizzards and downpours and over the mountain, and back again. Along the way I learned from real professionals, what it takes to do get the job done, as safely as possible, and to perservere through rough times, when often all there was were rough times. I also learned, in no small way, to do what I could, when I could, to help someone in trouble, and have the utmost respect for other drivers on the highway. It is this ingrained expectation for respect that drives my frustration with four eyes. Four eyes flies in the face of respect for oncoming traffic. It is offensive, it is an invasion of privacy, it is an overdose of light, where I have become adapted to the output of my own headlamps (two eyes) It is an affront to respect itself. Indeed, if I ever (and sometimes do) accidently leave my bright lights on and hi-beam a driver, I feel like kicking myself in the rear for being so rude to that person. I feel remorse, and would never knowingly, intentionally do that to another driver, I am sorry…

So, four eyes, how do you feel? I hear you plausible arguments, I can see better, It makes me safer, the car came that way… why shouldn’t I use it? I have heard the term mentioned, driving lights. Driving lights? Really? I dont care what you call it. If your “driving lights” are equal in output to your regular headlamps, you now essentially have 4 headlamps, and…please do not insult my intelligence by trying to argue that these extra lights are “fog lamps”…”fog lamps” are amber, not white.

Or maybe, you will want to argue the “its legal” aspect. By the way I talked to a Trooper, apparently it “is” legal, “as long as the headlamps do not exceed 500 ft” (Tn.) I wonder what kind of mouth breathing moron came up with that one? Im going to tell you right now, it shouldn’t be legal at all. There needs to be legislation to level the field, and keep headlamps on vehicles limited to no more than two and standarize the wattage, before some other dingbat, in an auto manufacturers “brain crunch” for new ideas, stands up and yells “I got it!” “how about six headlights?” “Oh how the public would love their new horseless chariot to have six headlights, instead of merely four” “we can call them…ummm, driving…driving lights”…Good grief, where does it end? (silly as this sounds, it has already happened once apparently since we have four eyes now)

So, what if you have a four eyed car, and all of a sudden feel like maybe…just maybe, I have been being a jackass? Maybe my self centered outlook is a little over the top, maybe I shouldnt be so unconcerned that I have been, and still am, blinding everyone I meet? What can I do to reverse the harm I am doing? I’ll tell you what I would do. I would disable the extra lamps to keep them from coming on with the main lights. If I couldnt figure out how to do it myself, Id take it to a mechanic and have it done. If I could not afford to have a mechanic do the job, I would shoot those extra lights out with a bb gun. Yes…I would. In a heartbeat. I’ll bet the job is as simple as removing the bulbs though, or snipping a wire. Easy fix if you are so inclined. (if you are brave enough to snip the wire, please put some electrical tape on the hot side to keep it from shorting out) Another option is to not buy a car/truck so equipped.

Just for the record, my personal disdain for excessive light on automobiles, also applies to aftermarket “super headlamp replacement lights”. Those headlamps are overpowered in output, and should not be available to some goof who thinks because he/she can see better, that makes it ok to blast the highway with spotlights…I can tell you it is almost like driving into the sun at times when you meet these people on the highways.

High beams. High beams have been around for decades, they make it so we can all see better. They are also easily switched on and off to keep from blinding other people. C’mon man, if it isn’t broke, dont “fix” it. I can only hope if enough people like me, raise enough cain, maybe the the folks who have the power to fix this problem, will pick up on it, climb aboard, and begin the process of making the roads safer at night. I know when I have been been “four eyed” it takes a few moments for my eyes to readapt, and those few moments of distraction/temporary disablement, it all it takes for disaster to strike. The fact is “four eyes” your ability to see better, and which you attribute to safety, actually makes the rest of us, less safe. Irony. It aint something you do to a shirt.

I’ll tell you something else, I have had enough of this shit. If you are approaching me with your four eyes on, or your super duper extra bright, stare into the sun wattage, aftermarket lights, I am going to flash my brights back at you. You probably won’t be able to tell, but I can confirm it here and now, I will be making a hand gesture in your direction as well. I stand 5’11” and run 215 lbs of worked hard my entire life ornery, you don’t like it, let me know.

12.13.13
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Legion of Christ

I just read this article : http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pope-must-decide-what-do-disgraced-legion

To be honest I’ve never heard of the Legion of Christ (LoC), not being a Catlick, or a pie eyed, goofy grinned, religious type that finds prostrating themselves before their imaginary friend some kind of meaningful pastime… I have been quite aware of the sex abuse scandals that seem to afflict the Catholic institution though. You just about can’t avoid these stories since they are pretty steady in presenting themselves. Usually bi weekly or about once a month you will see another child raper priest hoisted by his lack of morality into the spotlight of Catholic fame. So it was with little surprise I saw this story today, this one goes a little deeper into the well of evil, this is about an entire organization apparently dedicated to the old guard, the sacred rights of pedophiles to do what they do, because well, their child raper priest that used to head of this LoC was so good at bringing in millions of dollars and lots of little kiddies to diddle, that they just can’t quite let his memory go, they still feel a reverence, a dedication to this fucking pervert.

It seems that the Pope has been aware of this LoC’s position, and appointed an overseer to help clean up this mess, but the old guard is slow to change, being more of a cult within a cult, that rather likes its perks, and and just can’t bring themselves to not look back nostalgically at the old days, and they way they like things run. Pretty disgusting. Pretty telling as well. At least some people are becoming disgusted with this kind of perverted leadership and are leaving the LoC. Which is a good start, just one step further…and they would be free. I know religion is probably as tough to get away from as tobacco or heroin, but I know it can be done. 

Rather than do a quote by quote attack on this, I just urge you to read it all at the link. if you have any stomach left for commenting afterwards, feel free.

 

12.04.13
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What’s in a Word?

I have had this nagging thought bouncing around in my skull for a while now, I thought I’d try and write it down and give a good thinking over. Maybe this will be one of those things that kinda sorts itself out. If I’d just confront it.

What is the word of the day? Atheist. 3 syllables. My loose definition of this word would be: “a person, who through careful consideration of the facts, would deny the existence of a god or gods, because their simply isn’t any convincing evidence to convince one otherwise.”

I doubt many would take issue with that definition, some might I don’t know. Don’t care really. What I want to point out is the way the religious treat the word atheist. For the religious, atheist is a word that is usually spoken as a one syllable utterance, with a particular disgusting and venomous inflection. As if just saying the word speaks of the most vile and hated of society. There is no other word I am aware of except perhaps evolution, that would elicit this kind of response. I understand that evolution is a threat to religion. The many sciences that drive modern biology make no sense without it, and the other modern fields of science are constantly making the gaps for them to hide their gods in smaller every day. But atheist was a defiled word way before evolution came along. Atheist has been around for as long as the most popular religions today. All it means essentially is someone simply doesn’t believe in a god or gods.

What then drives this complete hatred of the word or one associated with it? What is it about an atheist that causes such a deep seated, brutish, animal like, caveman kind of emotion? How could one that does not believe in your gods be such a powerful threat? The atheists I know are probably the most well balanced, honorable, and trustworthy people I have ever met, in person, or on the net. They, we, pose no threat to them personally just because of a lack of belief. Is our lack of belief such a strong influence that it has some negative magical properties that I am unaware of? Does it mean that people who wear the badge of atheist are bad people? Of course not.

Like many things, it just doesn’t make good sense when I think about it, I can’t connect with the root cause of these reactions to to the word atheist. I surely do not respond in kind when I hear someone is religious. I may inwardly shake my head, and quickly look for an excuse to be somewhere else, because I really do not want to hear them rambling on about this (to me) stupid belief in things that do not exist, or those wondrous tales that never could have happened, unless you invoke lots and lots of magic to explain away all of the logical inconsistencies. It is a total waste of my time, when I could be doing something constructive. That is all. I have no desire to drink the friggin kool aid, thank you. But I do not hate and despise someone just because of the fact they may be religious. I would, and do, take an issue with the religious that would spread misinformation, lies, and B.S. about science, or evolution, or stating their personal beliefs as fact, and you will see and hear a lot of this. But I still do not hate the religious, just because they are religious. It takes many other influencing factors for me to even dislike or have reason to disagree with someone religious. I do not carry a deep seated resentment against theists. I think they should be allowed their beliefs and customs. I don’t have a hangup with that.

So I am still left with the question, what is it about the word atheist that gets the religious all worked up? I have to surmise it comes from some tribalistic, non tolerance of anything that is different from them kind of issue. I guess the mere existence of an atheist is a threat to them because it shows a chink in the armor of their own faith. It shows that there are people out there, not like them. That an atheist exists at all means they might be pulled into some atheist vortex if they get too close, that would turn them into murdering, raping, baby eating atheists that will rampage and loot, and burn the countryside as they go. This is such a silly and ill informed thought, it isn’t even in the same book that has the definition of good sense in it.

In the end, I am still left with more questions than answers. I often wonder about this phenomenon, trying to understand the negative impact of a word that simply defines one as a non believer in gods. It just seems like one of the many kinds of crazy that exist out there, that may never be reasonably explained.

11.28.13
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All Eyes On Comet ISON

ISON in the previous week has been rapidly approaching the sun, and is currently out of view, having made the turn behind the sun. It is a comet in the “sungrazer” class, and is expected to emerge today, if it survives its close orbit to our solar systems caretaker. No one knows for sure if it will be seen again.

If it does survive, best guesses are it will be spectacular. This past week or so, as it was making its approach, I tried to catch it with binoculars, but I was up too late on my first attempt, then we have had clouds/rain/sleet ever since. Now we have a clear day, and the comet is behind the sun, just my kind of luck. I really hope I don’t end up batting a shut out on this one. 

All I want for x-mas is a killer comet 🙂

11.28.13
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Dino Fossil Sold At Auction, To Be Displayed

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This amazing fossil sold for $650,000. The good news is it will supposedly be displayed to the public, and not lost to some private collection, or relegated as a prop to some idiot creationist organization. I didn’t see any details on when or where it would be displayed, I sure as hell hope this doesn’t fall into the hands of AIG by some unknown quirk. Time will tell.

http://www.newsdaily.com/article/214e320150f3867502f9a50ac1e311e5/huge-dinosaur-skeleton-fetches-650000-at-auction

See here for why it is a bad thing for AIG to aquire genuine fossil specimens: http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2013/10/creation-museum-1.html  In other words an excellent specimen becomes lost to science, and the creationists use it as a prop to make absurd rationalizations, and even outright lies, about its origins.

I understand that when something becomes available on the free market, it is fair game for whomever has the deepest pockets. It is just such a shame that a fossil that holds so much potential for future study, can be lost to shameless organizations that would make a mockery of it. I hope in this case it remains preserved with integrity. At this point the only information on where it went is to an “unnamed institution”  Let’s hope for the best.

11.27.13
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Some Things Bug Me

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I apologize for the terrible pun in the title. Sometimes I just can’t help myself. In this pic the bug is moving down the step railing on the deck.

Back in the summer, (or spring, I forget now) I was outside on the deck preparing to light up the charcoal grill for some fantastic something or other (I don’t remember that tidbit either). As I was waiting for the freshly lit coals to attain the fully engulfed white-ness that ensures that they are ready to go, as well as assuring me they have burned off all of the lighter fluid, I noticed something. It looked like a piece of bark that was flip flopping around with the slight breeze. I didn’t pay too much attention, till I realized it was moving indepently of the light breeze blowing. So now with my curiosity engaged I had a closer look. What I saw left me amazed.

There was some kind of insect, trying to cross a point in the deck where the deck railing meets the stair rail, and over time some shrinkage had created a bit of a gap. I assure you when I built this deck, it was well measured and cut, I’m a bit anal in that regard. Anyway here was this odd looking bug, that by all appearances had built itself some very barklike camouflage on its back. It almost looked like some sort of bark paste that had been applied to its back. I have never seen a critter like this before, and I have been outside observing bugs and things since I was a young lad. So this really got my attention. I called out the family to have a look, and grabbed a camera for some pics.

The night before there had been quite a storm, with a lot of wind and rain, a deluge. The deck is under a trio of oaks, all White Oak. So I assume (and purely speculative) these bugs were washed out of the trees. Which might also explain their camouflage, as the color and texture of this camo would leave them virtually invisible if they were stationary anywhere on the bark of one of these trees. Also noted when they feel threatened they go full stop and hide underneath their camouflage.

Then I thought, I wonder if there are any more? So I started looking, and I found 2 more, both were between where the slats running up the stairs end, and the 4×4 post at the top of the stairs begins at the top of the deck. Both were caught in spider web. One was dead, the other was twirling in circles with the breeze, flailing to be free. I freed the little guy, and let him go. But not before getting a few pics as he twirled. In one of these shots you can see the earwig like pincers.

I have been trying here and there to figure out what these things are, I first thought is some sort of earwig, given the aforementioned pincers of the twirling one, and have to admit I wasn’t sure which end was front or back. I had no idea of this specific species or their numbers so I didn’t keep one. Armed with my pics I set out on the net to see if I could identify them. Still nothing solid. Here is a shot with the 2 caught in web, the one in the forefront displays the pincers, this is the underside of the critter. The other (dead one) is further back, and not a part of the closest one. A little blurred but the pincers can be seen.

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Then todayI found this link that shows a similar insect with camouflage here: (adult upper left, larvae lower right) http://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/green-lacewing-larvae-use-corpses-as-camouflage/  It doesn’t look like my insect in color, though it does in design. This lacewing larvae uses dead carcasses of its victims, aphids, as cover. I have yet to see anything that resembles an earwig or a lacewing that has a bark colored camo.

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Then I found this pic here: http://www.gardensafari.net/english/locusts.htm

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Another lacewing larvae, this one is a really close resemblance at first glance, but you can tell what is on its back more closely resembles dead bug carcasses, mine did not have this appearance that I could see at first. But I am surely no expert, and honestly the thought never occurred to me that this camouflage could be dead aphids, so I wasn’t looking for them. After some more looking at my pics I am beginning to think that just maybe those are dead aphids, and these are indeed lacewing larvae with their trophy victims upon thier backs. Maybe the bark like color, is because the aphids they are eating have this coloration. More speculation, and honestly thats all I have at this point. So I am leaning towards the lacewing larvae, but still really am not sure. All I can say is these are the kinds of things that interest me. Which may be indicitave of my inner geeky-ness, but my failure to identify them this late after the fact surely must represent my laziness.

There are many species out there that kill and eat their victims, but I have to wonder how many of those parade around with those victims upon their backs? An even more intriguing question in my mind, is how do they stack these things on their backs? I read that they have these stiff hairs they use to impale their victims upon, but clearly these things get stacked pretty high, and it must be an amazing feat to continue stacking dead carcasses. I would like to see that done.

Guess if there is a moral to this story, it is to always let curiosity be an engine, to seek out new knowledge.

11.23.13
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Jerry Coyne, In Murray Ky. 2

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I will tell you it is difficult to get a pic of Prof. Coyne that isn’t blurry, or undignified in some manner. He moves around a lot, and gestures with his hands. As a result I only got a few that were focused well, or didn’t catch him forming some word that left him with mouth agape, or lips pursed. There were a few pics that focused ok, but his arm was moving with a blur. I only got 2 pics out of several, that I would deem publishable. This is the one I went with. Even this one isn’t as well focused as I’d like, but you take what you can get. It’s strange, and I know this is cliche, but I thought he would be taller. I also kept getting the odd impression, that if he was wearing a Fedora, he would resemble Indiana Jones. I in no way mean any disrespect here, it is just one of those odd human tendencies to associate new things with things you already have an impression of…Oh, anyone who follows JC’s website will know about his boot thing, so I made sure to get a shot with boots.

No trouble finding the event this time, as in my post on the first talk that outlined the drama we had to endure, I knew exactly where to be this night. I did not see my airplane tossing friends this evening.

The talk was everything I was expecting, and I must admit I am in agreement with most of it. How science relies on peer review, falsification, converging lines of evidence, and having the tendency to throw out that which has proven to be no longer credible. All of these things religion does not have going for it. In fact religion is the exact opposite, it lies in a static state for the most part. Their supposed truths unreachable, non falsifiable, and lacking any tangible evidence of their existence. He also elaborated on the never ending assertions from theoligans who consistently, and often self refutingly, attempt to either reconcile religion with science, or try to put religion upon some pedestal, untouchable, unknowable by science. I thought he did a magnificent job of making his case.

The Q & A after the talk, was interesting. One of the first question-eers was a gent sitting on my left, who announced that he was a Dr. and a x-ian (though being a medical Dr. shouldn’t one be aware of evolving viruses?), then he proceeded to stammer and stumble about, trying to ask a question that I never did really figure out myself, but JC, grasped some intent of a question in there and refuted the guy handily.  There was another self proclaimed believer who admitted he accepted evolution, but maintained a belief in god, JC let him know, in as nice a way as possible, that was an untenable position. That is probably the biggest thing I took away from this, that JC has an incredible ability to make, what many would consider crass remarks about religion, but he has the capacity to do it in a very non confrontational way, almost with a smile on his face, that left me very appreciative of his style. I have great respect for someone with an ability as that. Myself, I would likely descend quickly to a “you are full of shit, and you know it, and you have no evidence whatsoever to back up your claims” kind of response. Which I know is not a diplomatic way to handle these touchy subjects. So I gotta hand it to him, he has the gift.

In one of his replies to a question I don’t remember this morn, JC touched on the free will argument. This is one I am slow to warm up to. I understand that we are all subject to physical laws, and neurons firing back and forth in our brains, and I find it interesting the modern studies that show scientists can predict the way a person will answer a question, before the subject actually answers the question. Fascinating. I just have trouble believing this concept of free will, is an illusion, when I thought my whole lifetime I had the ability to choose. That is a hard one to accept. I am a determinist for the most part, feeling that most situations (non social) are unforseeable, unknowable occurence of events. We have to duck and jive to stay alive. The boulder that falls from the mountain, and crushes a man, no one saw that coming. Fate has no concience. The earthquake or the tsunami has no remorse, and no choice in its effect on us puny humans. These things happen, the best we can do is try to stay out the way. Or survive the event.

When it comes to social circumstances I tend to lean towards a neccessitarian point of view. During the Q & A, I asked this question last night, it comes off as a joke, and there was a good laugh in the room, but in all seriousness, if we have no free will…how does a man answer his wife to the question: ” do I look fat in this dress?”  I made a comment recently at Mak’s blog “Random Thoughts” http://maasaiboys.wordpress.com where I posited the same question on a post about free will, and followed with: “Social situations can and do pivot on decisions made in the here and now. Social situations can end in a moderately upset wife, or a nuclear war, depending on the situation. (admittedly sometimes a moderately upset wife borders on nuclear war) So, I truly believe in fate, in that it is an unkowable, unforeseeable, circumstance of events. I also believe that using great wisdom (which I would think an opportunity for free will) when faced with social settings, a cautionary way to proceed through life.”

This is how I have to see things at this point in time. As much as I would like to buy into the science behind “free will is illusory”, it just defies my perception so broadly, it is hard to accept, for now. As always I am open to new evidence, and logical arguments.

…as I understand it, both of the talks were recorded and will be made available at either youtube or here http://www.secularmsu.org/  how soon, I have no idea. I do know, at last nights talk, the mic used was having multiple issues of failing for some reason, and when it was working, when JC turned his head away from the mic, his words became unintelligible, I was close enough I could hear most of what was said, but last nights recording may have some difficulties with audio.

That wraps up my experience with the Jerry Coyne talk at Murray State University. I really enjoyed the event, and I thank JC, as well as SecularMSU.org  for putting on this talk. Usually these things happen so far outside of my location, it would take an endeavor similar to an Arctic expedition for me to attend. It was indeed fortunate, and fateful, that this even occurred a mere 40 min drive from home. Again, thanks Prof. Coyne, and SecularMSU.org

11.22.13
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Jerry Coyne, In Murray Ky.

I did manage to catch most of Prof Celing Cat’s talk last night, although it was not without its problems. First, it was difficult for me to find pertinent information concerning its location. The info, that I caught on WEIT (Why Evolution is True website run by Prof. Coyne) was just a poster detailing one of his two talks, one Thursday, the other Friday. The poster I remember seeing said the talk would be at Freed Curd Auditorium. I was unaware that the poster I saw was for the Fri. night talk, not the Thurs. night talk. So from the get go I had problems. Searches on the internet, and Google Earth gave me nothing to go on either. Google turned up no address for Freed Curd Auditorium, and Google Earth showed no building designated as such. I figured what the heck, I can find it.

Murray State is a pretty big campus, and at least eight or nine people I approached had never heard of Freed Curd Auditorium, as it was quite evident by the blank stares I recieved, then the accompanying dialogue confirming this fact. I finally accosted an individual who directed me in the right direction. With Freed Curd Auditorium found, it was a ghost town. I mean no one around, and it was ten minutes till 7:00 when it was supposed to begin. So I was a tad confused. Not the first time…quite probably not the last.

Then, there were a couple of students out in the hall. They appeared to be of Iranian, or Pakistani descent (or any number of countries in the region), given their middle eastern appearances, and their conversing in (what I assume was) Arabic. They were out in the hall, with a tape measure, marking lines for something, I didn’t pay too much attention at first, I was more concerned with the talk that wasn’t going on here. So I waited around a few minutes hoping someone would show up with some sort of explanation, and none was forthcoming, but in that time it occured to me that these guys of middle eastern descent, out in the hall, with a measuring tape, in this day and age, I had the slight notion they could be up to no good out there, gathering intell or something. So when I went back out into the hall to look about for people that weren’t showing up, I noticed the two students had been joined by a third, of oriental descent, and they had paper airplanes. Yes, paper airplanes. One guy was standing maybe two or three feet from a corner in the hall, and he was tossing planes, that when thrown, went around the damn corner, and down the other hall. Being a bit of a nerdy geek kinda guy, I recognized the paper plane design, and asked to look at one. It had been modified somewhat from the design I am aware of, and I had to ask “how in the heck did you get these to fly around the corner? One student looked at me with a big grin and said “engineering.” I was damn impressed. So I stood there for a few minutes watching these guys toss airplanes around the corner, and one of them was taking notes. I had a moment, right then and there, experiencing a moment of clarity, seeing they were just kids having fun, but also doing serious work at the same time, and I must admit I both relieved and jealous at the same time. Anyway…

A janitor came down the hall, so I saw a chance to inquire about this talk that I could not find, and he didn’t know much either, but he was nice guy. I told him about how no one seemed to know the location of this auditorium, and he let me in on the secret. This bi domed building that I saw in the Google Earth search, is nicknamed the “Dolly Parton” building. He told me not to tell anyone he told me that, but I guess the cat is out of the bag now. So a tad dejected, we left (I had one of my sons, and a friend of his with me, my wife didn’t make it having had a rough day at work, and my youngest son decided to stay home with her and keep her company, and we would all go tonight to the next talk) So we left the building. As previously mentioned  I had noticed from my Google Earth search, that this building had 2 domes. having found that Freed Curd Auditorium was in one of them, I though maybe the other dome would have the talk. So we walked around this fairly large building, in the dark, with a light rain falling, and finally got to the other dome, and it turned out to just be a bedecked entryway. At this point I was ready to call it and just go home. My son said something about not giving up yet, so when we went back towards the car, we looked in on on Freed Curd again, it was still empty. Upon leaving the building, I saw there was another building across the way that had a kiosk of sorts with posters all over it in the entryway, so I walked in and looked. There was a poster there for Fridays talk, but nothing about Thursdays talk. Figures. So we went inside, and I asked a lady who worked in a shop there if she knew anything. Finally after much asking and searching, we had found someone to direct us to the talk. It  was in a building called Mason Hall, and not too far. We arrived at the talk 20 minutes late, Prof. Coyne was well under way, so we walked in quietly and found a seat.

As it turns out, his talk pretty much covered stuff I already knew, but I knew my brat and his friend were soaking it up. I have read Coyne’s book Why Evolution is True at least 3 times already, and have searched the talk origin archives, as well as picked up a few things here or there on the subject of evolution. Prof. Coynes talk touched on a lot of material in his book, so the talk for me was a tad boring, but it was a pleasant experience, being there, and hearing it from quite literally, the man who wrote the book. The best part of the talk for me, came after the talk was over, and Prof. Coyne took some questions from the audience. Then I got to see the real guy inside come to life, and he spoke enthusiastically in his replies. I should also mention the students asked very good questions, and JC’s replies were concise, to the point, and obviously from the heart. Yep, glad we went. Even after all the hugaballoo trying to find it. After the talk and  Q-A session JC said he would sign books. Yay! I had brought my copy of WEIT but did not know if he would be available to sign books after, and dared not ask during the Q-A, because those students were asking such good questions, and I could not bring myself to ask the one question I had, because it was a purely selfish one. So I was elated to see that he would indeed sign books. Trouble was I left it in the car. So I had to hustle out, half jog half walk to the car, and hopefully get back in time. I was in luck there were still a handfull of people waiting with books that needed signing when I got back, and I got in line. JC greeted me with a “glad you came” I replied with a “it was my pleasure.” I had seen him ask the person in front of me if they had a cat, so I infomed him that I did indeed have cats, and he drew me a cat pic to go with the autograph. But I had to suffer the indignity of a meow. Yeah, a meow. He said something about there being a secret word, and I was dumbfounded, so I looked around for some help, but no one else appeared to notice the predicament I was in, and JC finally said “it’s a meow, you gotta say meow” So, I reluctantly let out a lightly spoken meow, in a questioning manner, and he seemed pleased I passed the test, and drew my cat.

I took a couple of pics during the talk, neither of them came out, they are out of focus. Stupid auto focus got the persons head in front me focused in, and not my target. I will shoot for more pics tonight, and make sure there are at least a couple that are in focus, will post them next time.

At least, I know exactly where to find his talk tonight. I wonder if my airplane tossing frinds might be there…