tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6934917460813180522024-09-11T12:11:20.684-07:00Daily thoughts on daily lifeStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-54550675590777338442009-11-09T05:56:00.001-08:002009-11-09T06:58:24.225-08:00

Yay!  Today's random spin on the mystical shuffle wheel came up with "Wasted on the Way" by Crosby, Stills and Nash, off their Greatest Hits album.  The song was originally released as a single in 1982 and was included on their album Daylight Again that same year.  Off to the side there is the music player widget that will now play this song in addition to last Monday's song,

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-45684230910492418642009-11-08T08:15:00.000-08:002009-11-08T08:15:55.236-08:00

I have heard more than one atheist hold up the grand name of "science" as their be-all and end-all in support of their crusade against God.  Likewise, I've heard Christians holding up "the bible" as their be-all and end-all in their crusade for God.  Much of the time I just sit back and enjoy the show: their approaches to the debate in which they engage are so comically similar I can

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-26845935492864147662009-11-07T06:56:00.000-08:002009-11-07T06:56:49.421-08:00

Is it the prospect of experiencing pain?  Is it the thought of never seeing loved ones again?  Is it uncertainty as to whether or not one is going to heaven?  Is it doubt about the existence of the afterlife?  Is the prospect of not existing simply scary?  Is it the thought that our death is inevitable and completely out of our control?  Is it biologically

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-62789175960994220782009-11-06T06:59:00.000-08:002009-11-06T07:03:15.441-08:00

(Continued from Capitalism vs. Communism, part 1, picture found on The Public Choice Capitalist) Last week, I began this discussion by talking about how both communist and capitalist societies deal with resource scarcity.  Today, I want to talk about power: specifically, who holds it?  In communist societies, the ideal is that nobody holds the power.  Everyone does their job, and

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-92141014405075228022009-11-05T06:25:00.000-08:002009-11-06T08:40:26.945-08:00

(Picture taken from johnzQuotes5) Every day I try to think of something relevant and significant to talk about, because every day I want to say something that will make at least one person think critically about some aspect of the world and how they fit into it.  Today's entry was inspired by a post I read yesterday called Something's Broken... on the blog Freedom of Thought.  

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-33066290823464422052009-11-04T07:50:00.000-08:002009-11-04T07:53:01.104-08:00

Is this doll racist? Whether intentionally or not, I think so: it plays upon a derogatory stereotype of black people.  Without any information on the doll and what it's designers were thinking, I cannot say whether or not this was influenced by some amount of racist ideology or whether they just need someone who lives in the real world screening their ideas. Is this picture racist? I'm

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-18419140516548337742009-11-03T09:31:00.001-08:002009-11-03T10:14:38.675-08:00

Is the answer, a) Yes! b) No! c) Well, within reason, I guess... d) That's a stupid question and you're stupid for asking it! Believe it or not, I'm going with (d).  When you think about it, what does the word "right" mean in this case?  I'll consult the dictionary to eliminate some semantics argument: right [rahyt] –noun 18. a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-62628876831288176852009-11-02T06:21:00.000-08:002009-11-02T06:22:37.095-08:00

And thus I begin what may become a tradition of posting and commenting on a particular song every Monday.  Because, let's face it, Monday is never music to our ears, so we need all the help we can get :-) After spinning the mystical shuffle-wheel on my laundry list of songs, todays song has been picked: The Ol' Beggars Bush, by Flogging Molly, off of their album Swagger.  Posted in the

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-21415809165610046322009-11-01T04:34:00.000-08:002009-11-01T04:35:37.397-08:00

            I have a friend Alex; we met freshman year of college as hallmates.  My roommate and I became good friends with each other and Alex, and so, quite naturally, Alex all but lived in our dorm room.  Alex had a funny way of showing his affection: his philosophy on friendship went something like “When you first meet someone,

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-50968413754441916162009-10-31T04:52:00.000-07:002009-10-31T16:33:41.242-07:00

Hello all.  This is Saturday’s update, but I’m actually writing it Friday afternoon: tomorrow will be busy.  To take the heaviness of the last two posts down a notch, I want to talk about something that happens to all of us, and to me about an hour ago: I could not think of what to do.  I have reached a point of pause in a large project I am completing, and I am not scheduled for

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-59977868532598947392009-10-30T05:20:00.000-07:002009-10-30T05:28:14.622-07:00

The range of possible things I could say on this topic is nigh endless, and both your time and mine is valuable.  So, I will begin at the beginning, and end at a reasonable place, and save whatever remainder for another day. At the fundamental core of this debate is the question of human nature.  How do we behave?  How dependent is our behavior upon our upbringing or our genetics?

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-55931873950589282332009-10-29T07:46:00.000-07:002009-10-30T05:27:32.748-07:00

Even just glancing through the front page articles, there's bound to be at least one that touches upon something easy to talk about.  Today, it's an article in The Wall Street Journal about where the responsibility for a person's prescription drug use lies.  The article, by Amy Merrick, first talks about an incident in which a woman suspected of abusing painkillers hit two people at the

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693491746081318052.post-57994882113663354372009-10-28T18:55:00.000-07:002009-10-30T05:29:13.642-07:00

And let's toss the bottle straight into the hull of this barely fledgling blog.  Right now I feel like I have moved into a new house: the site is completely barren, and I can almost see tumbleweed blowing through the space where posts ought to be.  I also feel like a kid in a candy store: as my first blog, I'm eagerly exploring the various options that managing such a site entails. &

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12418513189783202469noreply@blogger.com2