ozmandium's Comments
Re: Abusive Border Patrol Agents Nm Checkpoint
And roll down your damn window. No reason for that.
By: ozmandium
Re: Abusive Border Patrol Agents Nm Checkpoint
At the point they say "yes, you're being detained" boom, lawsuit. No reason to be an asshole after that. Follow their instructions while voicing that you don't consent but that you're acting under duress.
By: ozmandium
Re: Shocking Animal Cruelty at Tyson Foods Supplier
I would think the Animal Cruelty flag would apply to content that would glamorize the cruelty rather than condemn it.
By: ozmandium
Re: An Honest Liar: The Amazing Randi Story
Awesome! I can't wait for this to come out.
By: ozmandium
Re: Gay Veteran Confronts Mitt Romney
You're basing the turnout problem on old politics. 10 years ago you would be right. Now, though, the college kids and minorities are already mobilized. Hell, they got him elected in the first place. And don't forget that those that voted him in 8 years ago are now that much older and more mature. I don't think there will be much of an election come November...unless Paul gets the nomination, bwahaha.
By: ozmandium
Re: Republican Tears Up at Gay Marriage Debate
Have you ever noticed how staunch conservatives will fight tooth-and-nail against gay marriage unless one of their kids is gay? It's amazing what a little forced empathy will do.
By: ozmandium
Re: Dan Savage: Why Monogamy is Ridiculous
I suppose it would concern me that we would open that door. I think it's good that it's a big deal with people cheat on each other, especially for married people. At the same time, I think it would be very noble to forgive someone's transgression.
The problem is this: If I can forgive someone once for cheating on me then I can forgive them twice. If I can forgive them twice then I can forgive them three times. At which point do I say that they don't respect me? It really grays an issue which is fairly black-and-white. I would argue that it's right that it's black-and-white.
The problem is this: If I can forgive someone once for cheating on me then I can forgive them twice. If I can forgive them twice then I can forgive them three times. At which point do I say that they don't respect me? It really grays an issue which is fairly black-and-white. I would argue that it's right that it's black-and-white.
By: ozmandium
Re: Neil deGrasse Tyson: Smartest Man in the Room
I forget where I originally hear this but I've always liked it: Anyone who desires the office of President of the United States should be immediately disqualified.
By: ozmandium
Re: Most Polite Robbery Ever Caught on Security Cam
It sounded more to me like he was playing the sympathy card. First it was his kids that need the money then it was that he had rent due.
Regardless, whatever he had to gain by robbing the place, he will pay back ten fold after all the court costs and lost time in jail. The impact on his family will be immeasurably greater.
Regardless, whatever he had to gain by robbing the place, he will pay back ten fold after all the court costs and lost time in jail. The impact on his family will be immeasurably greater.
By: ozmandium
Re: The Atheist's Nightmare: Peanut Butter
Exactly! The key point is that when you question the theory, if you don't have all the facts on the matter, you can end up looking very silly, indeed.
I don't follow religion myself but my wife is fairly religious. This has led to some interesting discussions. The one thing that I have learned from all this, though, is that religion and science are completely independent from each other. Religion has no business explaining how things work just as science has no business applying emotional meaning to their results.
For instance, my wife believe in God and recognizes Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior (that's a completely different discussion, the point here is that she's devout). She's also a science teacher and has no problem at all explaining evolution to her class. Her argument is this:
The scripture states that God created all creatures. Though the traditional interpretation is that he created them all at the same time and fully formed, my wife's interpretation is that he created the rules of our universe and set it in motion which would eventually create all living things in time. Because he is God, when he set this up He could already see everything which would come to be in time, including us (though I doubt that we are the end result of the grand, cosmic plan).
In my mind, evolution is a scientific process which can be explained and understood by man. It is almost certainly flawed, but it is strikingly obvious that it is much more correct than spontaneous creation.
You may say that I've created a God of the Margins here and you may be right. Everybody, though, needs something to give meaning to their existence, even Atheists. For me, I find meaning in the beauty of the natural world when I am out in the woods or looking up at the sky. I find meaning in the goodness of others. Humans are unique from all other known beings in that we have the ability to act altruistically towards those that we share no connection with. Each of us has the potential to help another person (or animal) that we have never known and will never never meet with no benefit to ourselves. Though this is an extremely rare occurrence (some would argue that humans never act without benefit to themselves), the fact that the potential exists is humbling. The point is that these things give meaning to my life just as other things give meaning to yours. If some of us choose to call these things "God" then I have no problem with that, so long as they don't try to use God to explain the 'how' and 'why' these things happen.
I don't follow religion myself but my wife is fairly religious. This has led to some interesting discussions. The one thing that I have learned from all this, though, is that religion and science are completely independent from each other. Religion has no business explaining how things work just as science has no business applying emotional meaning to their results.
For instance, my wife believe in God and recognizes Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior (that's a completely different discussion, the point here is that she's devout). She's also a science teacher and has no problem at all explaining evolution to her class. Her argument is this:
The scripture states that God created all creatures. Though the traditional interpretation is that he created them all at the same time and fully formed, my wife's interpretation is that he created the rules of our universe and set it in motion which would eventually create all living things in time. Because he is God, when he set this up He could already see everything which would come to be in time, including us (though I doubt that we are the end result of the grand, cosmic plan).
In my mind, evolution is a scientific process which can be explained and understood by man. It is almost certainly flawed, but it is strikingly obvious that it is much more correct than spontaneous creation.
You may say that I've created a God of the Margins here and you may be right. Everybody, though, needs something to give meaning to their existence, even Atheists. For me, I find meaning in the beauty of the natural world when I am out in the woods or looking up at the sky. I find meaning in the goodness of others. Humans are unique from all other known beings in that we have the ability to act altruistically towards those that we share no connection with. Each of us has the potential to help another person (or animal) that we have never known and will never never meet with no benefit to ourselves. Though this is an extremely rare occurrence (some would argue that humans never act without benefit to themselves), the fact that the potential exists is humbling. The point is that these things give meaning to my life just as other things give meaning to yours. If some of us choose to call these things "God" then I have no problem with that, so long as they don't try to use God to explain the 'how' and 'why' these things happen.
By: ozmandium
Re: Good Cop, How a Cop Should Behave
Despite what you might see on ebaumsworld, this type of interaction is what you get from police most of the time. If you run, get an attitude or otherwise act like a dick to a guy in uniform, you will probably get the same back. Most police, however, are just people like you and me. If you see them as a person, rather than a badge, and treat them as such, you will never have bad contact with them.
By: ozmandium
Re: Daylight Saving Time Explained
I think that it's another case of "It's always been that way". People are sometimes so resistant to change that they will cling to tradition no matter the personal costs.
By: ozmandium
Re: Hellfire Missile Hitting a Tank
Hate to be THAT guy but that is not a Hellfire missile. The Hellfire is deployed from a helicopter, airplane or boat. While it has been tested as a Humvee-mounted upgrade to the TOW it is definitely not able to be shoulder-fired. What you are seeing there is the Javelin Missile system which is a hella-cool, shoulder-mounted, heat signature tracking missile which is able to completely destroy a T-72 russian tank with a simulated full load of munitions with the missile launched in Indirect mode. In other words, the missile hits straight from the top where there is the least amount of armor and thereby ignites the explosive charges the tank carries to fire it's main gun which rips the tank apart from the center.
By: ozmandium
Re: Ken Block's Gymkhana Four
I never cared for Gymkhana (I always read that as "Gimmick-hana"). Sure the tricks are neat and all but I don't understand the point. It's one thing to be able to cut a donut around a trashcan but another thing entirely to use that in a race to cut time off your lap. I'm more impressed by someone that can string those tricks together in order to get from point A to point B quicker than the last guy.
By: ozmandium
