TurboFool (Neither, really)

I haven’t posted anything for a while. This was, ironically, worth breaking my silence for:

I just watched a great video by potholer54 on the “controversial” (among people who don’t know wtf they’re talking about) subject of carbon dating and just had to post it here:

It leads me to question these unfortunately common tactics of creationists to explain their ideological viewpoints. In this case the never-failing-to-amuse Kent Hovind manages to quote-mine papers, skew findings to achieve his desired explanation, ignore already well-known limitations of the technology within the scientific community to show what’s already been found and worked around, and ignore direct warnings from scientists over the fact that the results he’d get were KNOWN to not be of what he was trying to find. And yet he goes right ahead anyway and does all of this to “prove” that carbon dating doesn’t work when it’s clearly only HE that isn’t working properly.

Now most assume this guy is just plain dishonest. And given his history of and imprisonment over tax evasion, it’s a fair assumption. But it’s not definitely the case. It’s also entirely possible that this guy is a complete idiot. Yes, yes, he’s a “doctor,” and he speaks in a way that suggests some level of intelligence, but those aren’t proof either. And then there’s the old cognitive dissonance issue where he believes his viewpoint so strongly that he’ll do anything to back it up, justifying the dishonesty to the point where he doesn’t even realize he’s being dishonest. I think it’s likely the first problem or the last, the first placing the blame entirely on Hovind, the last putting more of the blame on the overall concept that’s poisoned his mind so deeply against reality.

At the end of the day, believe what you will, but don’t fucking lie about it to me or impressionable people. Stick to facts, stick to proof, stick to reliable evidence, stick to reality, or STFU. You’re not helping yourself or anyone else by spreading arguments that are provably wrong, and especially arguments that were already proven wrong to you BEFORE you used them. Adjust, learn, adapt, and evolve your arguments as you learn. I know it runs contradictory to your view that the world is nothing but cold stone facts written in an ancient book, but the truth is our survival depends on adaptation, and you know it. Why else would you have renamed “creation” to “intelligent design?” You know your tactics have to change if they’re going to have any shot at success, and this tactic of continuing to use arguments that were disproven is one of them. Move on. And if you run out of such arguments, maybe it’s time to reconsider your position. You know, the way rational people do.

So I picked up Sprint’s Samsung Moment back in December because it was time to move to a modern phone OS. I’ve been a Windows Mobile user since before it was called Windows Mobile (Pocket PC 2002 was my first version), and had several Windows Mobile phone I liked overall and knew well. But I also knew their limitations, performance, and base functionality were not going to be compatible with the general way smartphones were meant to be used. While I won’t buy an iPhone, I’m not clueless about the advantages, and while I could defend Windows Mobile’s reasons for the way it did things until I was blue in the face, there were other matters that were hard to ignore.

So I made the decision to move to Android. I’m a Sprint user, and overall I’ve been very happy with Sprint. They’ve had their moments, and I’ve considered leaving on occasion, but they’ve always made good on their issues and their rates are good. So that narrowed my selection down to only two Android phones. There was just the HTC Hero and the Samsung Moment; no Droid, no Nexus One. And since I’m pretty hard set on having a QWERTY keyboard (or at least was at the time), and the Moment has an 800Mhz processor instead of the more common 600Mhz, I decided to go that route.

Both phones were “crippled” (exaggerating, I know) with Android 1.5. Not that it’s a bad version, but we had phones with 2.0 and some hitting with 2.1 already, not to mention many on 1.6, and yet these two still had a version that even Google was not supporting in half their app releases. That said, Sprint promised an upgrade to 2.1 in the first half of 2010, so I made the jump.

In general the phone was fantastic overall. While it had issues to overcome, its Market apps allowed me to plug in and tie in functions and features that resolved nearly all complaints, and performance was mostly fantastic, although randomly as bad as my Windows Mobile phone at times. Still, it changed the way I used my phone in general and made me pretty happy. Battery life was dreadful, though, forcing me to buy an extra battery, since NOBODY makes accessories for the Moment. It also had an annoying habit of randomly dropping my connection overall, sometimes during a call, but usually while doing nothing. It would pick it back up shortly after, but it would kill anything I was streaming or browsing.

Eventually leaks of 2.1 for the Moment hit, which I ran and was instantly enamored with. Pretty much every remaining complaint I had was resolved and performance went way up. Minor nagging issues remained, though, like GPS would almost never lock on, and stability was iffy.

Now Sprint caught a lot of flack for how much they delayed the 2.1 update. I won’t give them that crap myself. The reality is I can’t imagine how difficult it is to build and ship a stable, functional update to an OS like this. And while they did keep delaying it, in the end Sprint did release the update in the first half of 2010 as promised, and overall it’s great.

But there are a few rather serious catches, and they have me concerned. For one, GPS is still awful. Randomly it will fail to find my location, or take five-plus minutes to do so, or even force me to fully power-cycle the phone before I can get a lock. And then once it does work, it’s extremely flakey. I can be driving along the freeway and suddenly be informed that I’m on a side-street near the freeway and be given directions to get back on the freeway I’m already on. This isn’t terrible on long stretches, but if I’m already near my destination, or on streets, it can completely break my ability to follow the directions. Wasn’t like this on 1.5.

Another bigger issue is what’s being referred to online as data lockup. Randomly, but usually when the phone’s connection is being pushed by large downloads (such as Market updates) or streaming music/video, the data connection will completely lock up. I’ll get the up-arrow on the EVDO symbol locked on, no Internet will work, and then eventually the whole EVDO symbol will disappear and the phone will be without Internet until I pull the battery (shutting down isn’t enough) and then reboot the phone. And then it could be as soon as five minutes after I start it up again before it happens again.

The thing is, no matter how happy I am with Sprint overall, I know their patterns, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these issues go completely ignored. In fact, I suspect this may be the last official update we receive for this phone before Sprint moves their focus to the upcoming Moment 2. And that seems unreasonable to me. Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe we can expect another patch. But after how crazy it was to get this one, I can’t imagine them putting that much more effort into a phone that’s about to be EOLed (end-of-lifed). Which leaves those of us who sunk $200 into this phone SOL until we can afford to sink another $200+ into their next phone once we qualify for an upgrade on this one, and who knows how we’ll be treated then?

This is one place where I have to begrudgingly give Apple some credit for the iPhone. By being the only manufacturer, and by having only one (albeit crappy) provider, they have a lot more control and accountability for issues like this. I’d like to see Google make some efforts to improve matters like that. Even so, I can also imagine this would be less of a problem if it were an HTC phone. They have a better track record when it comes to this sort of thing, and I expect we’d get better support.

We’ll see what happens going forward, and I’m hoping Sprint steps up and manages to do right by their users on issues like this. And I hope Google does a little more to improve the upgrade process for their hardware developers so there’s less random disparity. Meanwhile I have my eye on the HTC EVO 4G. It doesn’t have a keyboard, but it’s going to be a current-gen phone with HTC’s weight behind it. Unfortunately I’m not up for an upgrade again until December, so unless Sprint resolves these Moment issues, I’m going to be stuck with them until then. Prove me wrong, Sprint, please.

I don’t post often enough for my taste or to build up a real readership. This is partially because I rarely have time to put the mental effort into this writing, not to mention formatting and coding, that I feel is necessary.

But im wondering if maybe I’m better off not worrying about all that and should just make use of the various tools at my disposal for writing short, quick, pointed posts. TweetDeck now supports WordPress, I have a WordPress app for Android, Windows Live Writer is so accessible, and WordPress’s own Quick Post feature is nice and simple. I have few excuses for not posting my random musings as they come to mind, even if they’re not link-heavy or full of videos and images. Better than not posting at all.

So let’s see f I can stick to it. Worth a try, no?

So today I made the mistake of using the #atheism hashtag on Twitter. It wasn’t really a mistake, I did it purposefully, and was aware that it brands me exactly as I’m comfortable being branded. What I didn’t expect was the troll I got in response.

He doesn’t fit the classic description of a troll or flamebaiter per se, or at least not MY definition. He’s a calm enough guy who’s simply making the same old tired, illogical, badly-presented arguments. In particular he’s claiming that atheism is, in fact, a religion, and that he has proof of this, a list of 5 gods that atheists believe in, and that we need to stop saying we don’t have belief or that we lack belief.

Where it gets interesting, though, is that he mainly avoids making the arguments themselves, only referencing the fact that he has them. Why? Because he has a convenient eBook available for sale on his website that has all those answers! And it retails for only $4.99, which is actually quite reasonable. $4.99 is almost inexpensive enough to be worth me buying just to read his arguments which I’ll likely immediately recognize from decades of others making the exact same tired arguments, along with nonsensical ramblings full of logical fallacies. Then I’d have the ammunition with which to refute his claims directly and show him how flawed they are, assuming he’s capable of following an intelligent argument.

And right there is where I realized this guy’s hidden brilliance. Regardless of whether he believes his claims (I have no reason to doubt that he does), and regardless of whether I and many more knowledgeable folks can rip said claims to shreds, is irrelevant. Why? Because the moment he’s successfully baited us into wanting to read his evidence to dispute his inanity he’s made $4.99 off us (minus fees, of course). At that point we could prove he’s one of the worst authors on the planet and has no skills whatsoever in philosophy or theology, and he’ll still have proven that what he lacks in those fields he makes up for in marketing strategy. Much like Brian Dunning once pointed out, sure you can make a better hamburger than McDonald’s, but you can’t make a better business. It’s not about the product, it’s about the selling of said product. And this guy deserves some credit for that. I can make a better argument than he can, but at the end of the day, which of us has made $4.99 off the other?

I’ve purposefully avoided linking to the person in question, but if you’re interested in checking out what he has to say, look to my Twitter feed. While I personally don’t wish to financially support his flawed arguments or deceptive practices, I won’t prevent you from doing so. He is pretty clever, and perhaps some may feel he deserves a few bucks for that. So be it. Now, should he wish to send me a FREE copy of the eBook and prove this wasn’t his strategy and he really does want open and honest discussion of the subject, I’d be happy to review it here. But I’m not paying for the privilege of arguing with him. I’m not that big of a masochist.

EDIT 5/18/10: I realize I’m doing nobody justice by not providing some link to this guy’s chatter, especially since he’s apparently still at it, even if he left me alone when it was clear I wasn’t buying (his book or his BS). So check out his Twitter feed to see what he’s up to.

This song is full of profanity, and it’s likely to piss off a lot of people, potentially including people I know and love dearly. I apologize to them in advance, but I do not, can not, and will not apologize for the content or meaning of the song which I, instead, support with every inch of my being. It’s full of profanity (hence my title), and so is my follow-up. Easily offended? Leave now.

Tim Minchin’s one of my favorite musicians and comedians. He’s funny and honest (which tend to go hand in hand) and has no problem calling an idiot an idiot, and we need more of that. In this case he doesn’t hold back one bit, and I thank him for that.

I don’t respect this authority figure just because a bunch of other supposed authority figures got together and voted that he was the guy who should be the leader of their church. I know as a non-Catholic I can’t possibly understand what it’s like, and how important he is, and how infallible he’s supposed to be. He’s a motherfucker who covered up for and protected child-fuckers. Children were RAPED by men who they and their parents TRUSTED, who they were supposed to trust more than anyone else by the very design of the motherfucking organization, and this trust was violated. And then, when the motherfuckers who violated their trust and bodies were called out on it, even bigger motherfuckers like the current Pope (then a a Cardinal) protected them from prosecution and hid their motherfucking crimes.

So no, I don’t understand your church, and I don’t understand why you feel the need to protect this man when you’d be crying for blood if a cop or a judge or the mayor either fucked your kid or covered up for someone who did. I’m sorry I don’t understand it and I’m sorry I never, ever fucking will. There is no damn bloody excuse for this no matter who this man thinks he is, has been told he is, or has been divinely inspired to be that allows for this.

And in the off chance that I’m fucking wrong, and he is divine, and this is all part of the plan, well you know what? Fuck the motherfucking plan, too. Yes, I’m an atheist, and contrary to what people who can’t comprehend atheism believe, no that doesn’t mean I hate your god, or that I’m angry at him. It means I simply do not believe he exists. None of your evidence has managed to convince me so far. But just for a moment suppose you managed to do the trick. You managed to find the evidence, display the miracles, push the boundaries and prove to me that, holy shit, it’s all true. If the religion you reveal to me to be reality happens to be one in which motherfuckers like this are RIGHT and JUST in their actions, and your god condones this evil prick’s actions, you’ll only have managed to convince me of your first opinion. Because that’s a god I could hate, loathe, revile, detest, and vow my life against. That’s a sick, twisted deity, and one that doesn’t fit your descriptions of a loving, just god. At that point I’d be more interested in taking my chances with the devil.

So these videos have been flooding the skeptical community lately, but the latest parody from SNL brought it to the forefront for me again and I thought it was time to post these videos for myself. They’re both just too good, in very different ways, not to pass along.

First off, we have this, er, gem from ICP. Comments to immediately follow…

Okay, so let’s get the obvious out of the way first: holy fucking shit are these guys dumb. Listen, I have nothing against ICP. I also have nothing for ICP. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard their music before, but I know they have a huge, fanatical following, and I can only guess this is due to some level of talent. Heck, they seem to be able to put together a mildly catchy beat and rhyme words in this song, so I’ll give them that.

What they’re apparently incapable of is any level of truly intelligent thought. In this case they’ve decided to take all the majesty of the universe (and kudos to them for appreciating it) and boil it all down to magic. They go through a long list of random (and sometimes truly peculiar) elements of our world, and ascribe them to magic and miracles, as opposed to crediting them to everything we know they actually are. They also throw in UFOs, which is even more random, what with the lack of compelling evidence for their existence and all. Then again, they seem to have no interest in or respect for evidence.

See, according to Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, see they don’t want to talk to a scientist (it’s unclear if this is only on the subject of how magnets work, or on everything), because “y’all motherfuckers be lyin’, and gettin’ [him] pissed.” Apparently their definition of “lying” includes telling the truth based on cold, hard facts and evidence. Magic and miracles to them are the only truth, and anyone who bothers to explain it is clearly a “motherfucker” and is just trying to confuse their feeble minds. How deeply, deeply sad.

I strongly suggest you check out Rebecca Watson’s beautiful shredding of this video by theorizing a world in which one of these two Clowns isn’t a clueless dipshit and actually answers the other one’s questions intelligently. It’s hilarious and easy to understand, and manages to prove how badly people like these two “musicians” have been screwed by education in this country.

Now the new video that touched off my desire to blog about this one is SNL’s completely brilliant parody. Yes, yes, SNL’s been hit-or-miss over recent years, and I won’t argue that. But occasionally they hit the nail right on the head, as they did here:

The sad part is, the parody is not THAT much stupider than the actual video. Almost any of what went into SNL’s version could have been slipped into the original unnoticed. Their definitions of magic and miracles had THAT low of a threshold, that I wouldn’t have been surprised if clocks landed on their list.

Anyway, as funny as this all is, and damn is it funny, it’s just another wake-up call that if two people like this can manage to escape education on the simplest levels of science, our country needs a lot of help. Schools need to promote science at a much higher level than they are now, and the scientific METHOD most of all, so our future voters and leaders understand that science isn’t just a collection of opinions, but a technique for finding truth. As long as it’s believed to be an ideology, which it most certainly is NOT, it’s too easy for fools like this to consider it an optional opinion and dismiss it. And when they’ve got as many followers as they do, they influence a lot of minds to believe the same clueless garbage. Looks like it’s time to get to work, folks.

Oh, and for those viewing the auto-repost of this on Facebook, click the View Original Post link at the bottom of the Note to see this on my actual blog, with the embedded videos intact. Facebook doesn’t display them.

EDIT: Further courtesy of Skepchick, and specifically the comments, we have these gems:

• Apparently even MTV knows more about science than ICP.
• Cracked proves once again to be an invaluable source of humorous skeptical content
• And lastly, FuckingMagnets.com

All right, so I’m a geek. This is well known, and nothing I hide. Still, there are moments my geekdom sinks (or soars?) to new levels. This is one of them. Below you’ll find a video I literally teared up over, and no it’s nothing remotely sad. I’m just a big frakkin’ geek, and hearing a kids’ chorus beautifully cover the incredible Jonathan Coulton end-credit song to Portal (one of the few games I not only beat, but have replayed after doing so) was a bit too much for me.

So sit back and enjoy. If you’re not a geek or haven’t played the game, you may not get this, but it’s still funny listening to these kids performing the lyrics, and much funnier if you understand them. It’s one of the most wittily-written games ever, and the song plays so well into it.