15 Answers To Scientific American Nonsense

1.) The whole law versus theory thing. Go back 50-75 years and you'll find creationists that use that argument, but not today. I doubt that very many people actually use that argument today. I think that Scientific American is using a weak argument that a back woods, Bible thumper might use.

2.) I've actually never heard a creationist use the argument that survival of the fittest is circular reasoning. Maybe some have, but again I don't think you'd find modern scientists using such logic. It would be nice to have some sort of example of this argument being used in journal, philosophy paper, etc.

3.) Yes, most creationists would agree that macro-evolution takes place. The problem is that macro-evolution doesn't prove micro-evolution. We can observe small changes in birds, animals, plants, etc. None of the changes results in an increase of information which would prove evolution. All changes that are observed deal with losses in information. We are still waiting to observe the increase of information which would be observable micro-evolution.

4.) This is really a silly assertion by Scientific American. They admit that most of the papers submitted by creationists or Intelligent Design folks deal with specific and well known evolutionary problems. Our side has more people than yours...silly.

5.) This is a straw man argument. We all know that there are going to be disagreements within any community. I keep waiting for SA to give the knock-out argument, but so far it hasn't happened.

6.) Humans split off from monkeys and they both went in their evolutionary directions. I doubt this is a recent argument. If there are folks using it, then they should stop. Evolutionists should also stop using the argument about humans and chimpanzees being such close relatives. It is the same kind of argument.

7.) I think that the complaint over how life began stems from the fact that some of our ideas are being taught as fact. We can put together some basic "building blocks" in a lab, but we can't say with any assurance that it is even the most likely scenario. However, take a biology class in any high school or university and you'll be told about the primordial soup and that is that. No other options.

8.) I think that the mathematical argument is used to show the odds of life starting and not of evolution. There are so many things that would have to have been just right for it all to have started.

9.) An embryo to a baby to an adult. Solve the micro-evolution problem and then we'll talk about the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

10.) If SA were being honest, they would have framed the argument in regards to the increase of genetic information. We have not found a single example of an increase in genetic information that resulted from a mutation. If there isn't an increase in genetic information, there isn't micro-evolution. There are a few cases in which advantage has resulted from mutation, but none have resulted in an increase of genetic information.

11.) This answers both 11 and 12. Speciation has always resulted within a kind. We don't have evidence of out of kind speciation. Again, where is the increase in genetic information. There are hypothesis about speciation in regards to isolation, but they are just guesses. Give us some evidence.

12.) See 11#

13.) I love the examples given of transitional forms, but SA isn't being completely honest. They bring up Archaeopteryx and then a "flock's worth" of other feathered fossil species. Are these other feathers species transitional forms of Archaeoptyeryx? We don't know. Neither does SA. We were told that we'd have the entire fossil record as evidence for evolution. We've got a few candidates for transitional species and not much more. I like how they threw in molecular biology as proof. Here is the big problem. Where is micro-evolution? There isn't any new genetic information being introduced. No new genetic information means no micro-evolution.

14.) This is for #14 & #15. Whether it be a computer program, a car, house, etc. we assume that there is a creator. We can't assume that the complexity of nature has a creator. Heavens no. We have a entire series of hypothesis that simple forms of mechanism could evolve into more complex forms if given the perfect conditions. When dealing with speciation, splitting a group of organism off and putting pressures on them to reproduce might force them to merge with another kind. We cannot prove it. It is just a guess. We also have some ideas on how light sensitive organisms might have been able to detect light, reproduce and mutate greater vision capabilities. Again, just a guess. We can easily observer mathematical patterns, symmetry, complexity in nature and yet we cannot assume a creator.

Link to the Scientific American article.

I hate reading this kind of stuff because most of the time, the writer(s) are so sanctimonious and pompous. This article was no exception. Phrases such as "far-fetched" and "nothing of intellectual value" are examples, in my opinion, of the politics of evolution. You are not allowed to hold to any other belief. If you do, you believe in fables. I love how they stated that God is an "un-proven" being. Yet, I would offer creation as proof of that creator. I can't because then I'm being unscientific. I'm sticking in my religious beliefs. Oh well. As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.

Dear Kevin Rose...Digg Sucks!

Here are a few quick way to fix Digg. Block any submission to a rawstory, stinkprogress, media matters, crooks and liars, and lew rockwell. Only accept stories from primary sources. No more blogs. Most of them exist just to take in ad revenue. Make sure that a political opinion story is marked as such. There are a lot of dumb people who read opinion and believe it to be fact. Get rid of the mootbats that promote every crazy, left-wing sputum to the front page. Make it a real democracy by taking away power from the few and giving it to the many. Limit the number of Steve Jobs stories. The guy really isn't that interesting. Block any story that has your name on it. It really is kind of creepy how a story about you, usually very lame, races to the front page. Show who has buried a story and why they buried it. Allow us to respond to an individual comment and not the entire thread. Digg used to be cool...

Top 5 TV Shows

5.) Rescue Me - The show has come close to jumping the shark a couple of times. It looks like one of the more annoying characters has been killed off. That should make this next season more interesting.

4.) The Sopranos - It isn't as good as it used to be, but it still has it's moments. I'm hoping that a few more favs get whacked before everything is said and done.

3.) The Shield - Best written...Best acted.

2.) Survivor - There are still enough twists and turns to make the show enjoyable.

1.) 24 - The show has reinvented the Cliffhanger.

NOTE: I've dropped Battlestar Galactica from the list completely. I stopped watching the show. I would have to say that the rescue at the beginning of the season was probably one of the best moments in TV. It was everything that Star Wars Episode III should have been in regards to being dark, gritty and thrilling. The boxing episode...Stupid. Apollo getting fat...What? It has turned into a Soap Opera. The characters are not very likable. I think the Cylons are more human than the humans.

Bill Mahar: "I'm dumber than that Tim Robbins guy."

Come on Bill. No wonder you didn't make it in stand-up. You couldn't come up with anything original. Admit it. You "borrowed" your latest rant from Tim Robbins. I think stinky Alex Baldwin wrote something similar on the Huffington site a few months ago.

Tim Robbins: "I'm a dumb guy"

At least he knows his own IQ score.

Colts...Er...Bears...I mean Colts...Bears?

I don't know who will win the game tonight. I will tell you this: It will either be the Colts or the Bears that emerge as Super Bowl Champions. I hope that helps.

DEMOCRAT!

Democrat Democrat Democrat Democrat: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/29/AR2007012901845.html

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Classless!

Did you see the end of the game? Did you see Manning moving through the crowd to get a handshake from Mr. Classless? Bill totally dismissed him. Maybe the Chargers were right. Maybe the Patriots are lacking in class. They sure showed it tonight.

I think that the Patriots have moved from being a team that is confident in themselves to being full of themselves. It was fun for a while to watch them break Manning's heart. At times tonight, it just seemed cruel and excessive. The Patriots expected that they were going to win the game. They kind of looked like they thought they deserved to win the game. Like it was their right. All things come to an end.

Blowing an 18 point lead was priceless. Mr. Classless could use a little humility. Thankfully, he got a big helping of it tonight.

Poor Marty!

So, does Marty lose his job over this one? Probably. Does he deserve to lose his job? No. All of the talk this morning surrounds his 5-13 record in the Playoffs. He's too uptight, he out coaches himself, etc. I think a big part of the problem is the fact the he is a great motivator. During the regular season, he is able to motivate his teams to play at a little higher level. They win all of the games that they are supposed to win and sneak by with a couple that they shouldn't have won. The Denver and Cinci games come to mind. Both teams decided to have a meltdown when playing the Chargers. Once you get to the Playoffs, motivation alone won't win any games. Every team has stepped up their game. San Diego looked average because they are average.

They'll fire Marty and either promote Cam Cameron or they'll find some other "hot" prospect. The first place schedule and the coaching change will leave San Diego at 7-9 next year.

Here is the Problem With Football Polls...

Polls are opinion. In everyone's opinion this year, Ohio State was the best football team in the nation. Well, everyone was wrong. Not wrong in the sense that Ohio State lost to a Florida team on botched field goal or a fumble. Wrong in the sense that Ohio State should not have been playing in the title game. Ohio State should have been the team left out of the BCS championship. They should have been in the Rose Bowl playing against USC. A rematch between Florida and LSU would have been a better game. Boise State and Florida would have been interesting too.

Terry Bowden said that Ohio State lacked emotion. Emotion accounts for the personal fouls that Ohio State had early in the game. Ohio State was supposed to be better than Florida at every position. Last night's win wasn't David vs. Goliath. It exposed how fraudulent the BCS is. If there were a 4 game playoff, Ohio State would have been out the first round. FOX has the BCS through 2010. There is nothing in their contract that prohibits the BCS from changing to a plus 1 for a 4 team playoff. FOX has paid billions for this, they should demand changes.

Predictions for the New Year

Added 1/2/2007
Added 1/8/2007
Added 1/22/2007

1.) The Broncos will get into the Playoffs and make a serious run. They will come up short against Baltimore in the AFC Championship. Baltimore will beat the Eagles like a drum. WTH? The Broncos didn't show up. Shanahan was out-coached in a game that was meaningless to the 49ers. There is always next year, right? Denver needs a dominant pass-rusher from the defensive tackle position. Denver should get a decent pick in the draft and they should have a more favorable schedule. Colts and Bears? I didn't think the Colts would get it done. Especially after that miserable performance against the Chefs. It was nice to see the Patriots tank in the 2nd half.

2.) AI and Carmelo will get along splendidly. The Nuggets in 5 against somebody...

3.) The Democrats will be mired in scandal. Someone is going to put 2 + 2 together and begin investigating "who knew what and when" in regards to Foley and the Interns. Throw in Obama and his developing Intern mess. The Democrats are already excluding the Republicans from the first 100 hours. Didn't they say that they were going to be less partisan? Watch your pocketbooks. The Dems are back in power. The Democrats promised, during the campaign, that they were going to have a 5-day work week. Um...They changed their minds. They are sticking to a 4-day work week. The extra day off gives them more time for thinking of ways to raise our taxes. I worked about 50 hours last week. If I were using the Democrat method of counting hours, I would have only put in about 16 hours. The Dems promised 6(?) bills in the first 100 hours. They are claiming that they passed the bills in the first 46 hours. The problem is that they had actually been in session for over 100 hours (not counting the day they took off to watch the college football games). Their reasoning is both funny and sad. They said that they were only counting the time that they were passing the legislation in question. Say what you say and mean what you say. We shouldn't have to parse everything you say and understand every little nuance.

4.) Iraq turns a huge corner. The doom and gloom MSM wants to focus on our losses. If estimates are correct, the bad guys have lost 20 - 30 times the numbers we have. At some point, the tide turns in a big way. It will be undeniable. I'll even say that in the 2008 elections, Iraq will not be an issue. Everyone is talking about a "surge." We send more troops and make one big, final surge and push the bad guys out. They should have been thinking about this a few years ago. Anyway, the Dems are talking about not giving the President more money for Iraq. Notice that they are not saying that they will cut spending in Iraq...Just not more money. Either way, I hope the "surge" works. Iraq will turn a corner this year.

5.) Vista will bomb. There are those who will buy because it is new. There are those who will get it because they bought a new computer. Gone are the days when people lined up outside of Best Buy to get the first copy. We won't know until January 30th. Companies that have enterprise licensing were given an advance copy. We have it. Have not done much with it. The tech staff treats it as a novelty. Get used to saying, "Ubuntu." I have it installed on two of my computers. I showed it to friends and now 2 of them have it. One even got rid of Windows completely. There is nothing in Vista that isn't already in another OS.

6.) The NFL will stream their games to the Americas. I'm not going to pay $300 dollars for it though. I just want A-la-cart. The other option for the NFL Network will be to lower their price so it gets carried on every cable provider on the planet. Streaming is still better because I hate cable.

7.) Jay Cutler and Vince Young duel it out in the AFC Championship next season.

8.) Download any TV program you want. For FREE. All of the networks wake up to torrent.

9.) CBS News dumps Katie for some big-name conservative. The ratings go through the roof. Katie rescues their terrible morning show.

10.) WiFi. Somebody is going to do it for cheap. Maybe Google does it for free. Wouldn't be great to be able to stream video in the car? Google should get into the gig. How cool would it be to have Google maps give you directions, plot traffic jams, get you to Starbucks, and let you talk on the VOIP? Let me add...I just got a new phone with the Broadband network and the TV capabilities. Wireless companies would be better served to give away those features or to make them a lot cheaper. WiFi is still better. Google is building a big server farm in North Carolina. I wonder what they are going to use it for? Maybe WiFi? There is also that powerline Internet stuff they purachased a while back.

CU Should Play Hand Grenades

There are no moral victories in college football. Too bad, CU had a chance. They just couldn't put the finishing touches on a great game. It goes to show something that I have always complained about: there is an East Coast bias in the football rankings. Georgia isn't a #9 team. CU proved that. It would be interesting if collge football went to an NFL type schedule. Conferences would rotate playing each other. If Georgia had to play OU, CU and TX for their non-conference...FSU played Rice on Saturday. Enough said.

Denver Broncos - 2 Bad Games...14 Remaining

There are a couple of things that are really bugging me so far this season. The first is that the Broncos stink right now. The offense is pathetic and the defense is bending just a bit too much. We can talk all day about the defense not allowing a touchdown in two games, but a couple of those field goals could have easily been turned into touchdowns and Denver would be 0-2.

The second thing bugging me are the comparisons between last year and this year. Denver was in dire straights last year in the San Diego game. Champ Bailey picked off a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. Denver went on to win 8 or 9 straight after that. That was a very emotional moment that lifted the entire team. Nothing like that happened this past Sunday. The game winning field goal didn't come as a result of a turnover or some other momentum changing play. Nobody on the team elevated his play and changed the game.

I know that it is still early in the season and that benching Plummer won't make this team any better. Cutler is a good QB and hopefully someday will be a great QB. I do believe that Cutler couldn't make them any worse. Something changed in the AFC championship last year and Plummer has not been the same since then. He is holding on to the ball too long and forcing passes. Had Plummer played like he did for most of the season, I still think that Denver would have been holding up the Lombardi trophy instead of Pittsburgh.

I still stand by my comments last week that Denver will struggle over the next few games because of Plummer. At 1-4 and with the season on the line, I don't think that Mike Shanahan will have a choice.

Rock and Roll Part 2 - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I asked for some help to pick a new Broncos celebration song. Well, it turns out that a new song isn't necessary. You see, when you don't score any touchdowns, you don't need a song to celebrate.

By the way, I read in Sunday's Denver Post that the cheerleaders picked Denver's new touchdown song. Why are the cheerleaders picking the song(s)? Nobody watches or pays attention to them. They don't have any say in this. It should have been left up to the fans to choose a new song.

By the way part 2. The Broncos actually paid the VooDoo Daddys (whatever) to change the lyrics to "Go Go Broncos." Lame.

The perfect song was and will always be, "Rock & Roll Part 2." Since the NFL (No Fun League) has outlawed the use of that song, we still need to find a suitable replacement.

The Denver Broncos...Blech!

The only bright spot from Sunday's loss was Jake Plummer. I'm being totally serious. I have been worried over the past couple years because the real Plummer has been missing. He's finally back. Well, I think he was back in time for last year's AFC Championship. If memory serves me correctly, I believe he had a few picks and fumbles in that game too. Plummer really stunk it up on Sunday. The sad fact is that even with all of Plummer's mistakes, Denver still had a chance to come back in the game.

Here's what I think is going to happen: Denver is going to have a big week against the Chefs [intentional misspelling]. Denver's opening day loss will soon be forgotten and folks will quickly jump on the, "They started the same way last year" bandwagon. They'll go into New England and get clobbered. Jake will have another 3+ turnover game. Then, they'll come home and get beat-up by the Ravens. They'll hardly manage any offense and Plummer will throw a few more picks. Cutler will relieve Plummer late in the Ravens game and will be named the starter against the Raiders. Cutler will struggle against the Raiders, but Denver will find a way to win.

Denver will play out the season and finish 9-7. No playoffs...

I Remember 5 Years Ago Today

I had just finished reading the sports page when the phone rang. It was my mother. She told me to turn on the TV because a small plane had crashed into the WTC. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit the second tower.

CNN Pipleline is replaying their coverage from 9/11. I'm watching as intently today as I was 5 years ago. Enough said.

I'm Done With Digg

I mean it this time. I know what you are saying, "You said this before." I sort of said this before. I complained that the new Digg was too liberal. A month after my complaint, liberal stories still move to the front page within minutes of being submitted. Conservative stories are quickly buried for being inaccurate. If you express a viewpoint that is contrary to the reigning liberal view, you are called names, profaned, and mod'ed down.

Digg used to be fun. It was a good place to find new and interesting technology stories. Now it is nothing more than a playpen for the anti-Bush crowd.

Once again, no Digg.

Steve Irwin's Death Was Filmed

I found this on Drudge this afternoon. I think everyone has said at one time or another that they would like to die doing what they love. For me that would be watching the Denver Broncos and eating Colorado Mudd (chocolate cake mixed with vanilla ice cream <- My own invention by the way...). I seriously doubt that Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, anticipated that he would be killed by one of the animals that he was studying and that his death would be captured on film.

I have found the written acounts of his death to be very disturbing. I would never want to see what happened. I'm hoping that Steve Irwin's family feels the same way and destroys this footage.

Steve Irwin...R.I.P.

CU Football 2006 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: Online streaming. Even though the web site said that streaming was available to Colorado residents, I was able to watch the game over the Internet. It wasn't too bad to be honest. The quality was decent and the audio was the radio play-by-play. It was the stadium scoreboard camera, so the angles were tough on a few plays. I hope they do it again.

The Bad: CU's offense outside of the very first play of the game. I'm guessing that the coaching staff would have run that play no matter what the defense had presented. It was a way for them to say that this season was going to be a little different. From that point forward, everything that had changed (coaches, personnel, attitude, etc.) pretty much looked the same as it did in the last 4 games of the 2005 season. Some folks are already saying that this will be a transitional year. Basically, that is giving Coach Hawkins a free pass. CU has talent. They had enough talent to beat Montana State. This is a team that looks like it was preparing for the CSU Rams and not the Bobcats. Talent alone will not win any games, but it should have won this one.

The Ugly: I'm afraid that this is a picture of the rest of the season. I didn't think that Hawkins was going to walk in and bring CU back to National prominence this year. I did think that he would put together a team that played with a little compassion and would always be competitive. The CU team that played on Saturday was neither.