Scott Klarr Jr

Oct 03, 2008 Great quotes: Thomas Paine, Profession of Faith 1794

Thomas Paine was a man who got his name etched deep in American history; He was a revolutionary intellectual who had influenced both the American and French revolutions. This excerpt is of his formal profession of faith in his book "The Age Of Reason." Paine was a deist in terms of religious faith which greatly separated his idea of "God" from more traditional cults such as Christianity. There are a few parts of this excerpt that are worthy of memorizing, but the most powerful phrase that just happens to also be my favorite is "My own mind is my own church."

Oct 03, 2008 Great quotes: Ralph Emerson, The American Scholar 1837

This is an excerpt from Ralph Emerson's 1837 speech entitled "The American Scholar." The problem he was addressing is still as evident, if not more pronounced today than it was 171 years ago. You can read the full speech Here

Sep 30, 2008 Where is God's snowflake machine?

Probably the most common argument that creationists use in defense of their crazy delusions is that if something looks designed, and its not designed by humans, then there is no possible other explanation except that an invisible all-powerful god did it; and of course that god is always the Christian god, never Zeus or Mithra, but I digress.

Sep 24, 2008 Book Review: Night Fall by Nelson Demille

Although it is fiction, Night Fall is based around hard evidence and questionable conclusions regarding the tragedy of TWA flight 800, an airliner that exploded off the coast of New York in 1996 killing over 200 passengers. On the fifth anniversary of the crash, former NYPD detective John Corey, now an FBI Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force agent, attends the ceremony with his wife of the same occupation. Having taken part in the investigation, she attends every year in remembrance of those who died. The government concluded that the crash was a result of mechanical failure. Many people knew that was a lie, including his wife.

Sep 24, 2008 Book Review: Suspect by Michael Robotham

Joe O'Loughlin has seen better days. Making a living in London as a psychologist with his wife and daughter, he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is about to be wrongfully accused of murder - destroying his reputation, friendship and marriage in the wake. With the evidence stacking against him, O'Loughlin is forced to go on the run or face possible life in prison. With time running out, O'Loughlin must piece together the puzzle to clear his name and catch a killer before its too late.

Sep 24, 2008 All about radiometric dating - and you thought there was only carbon dating

Radiometric dating (often called radioactive dating) is a technique used to date materials, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates. It is the principal source of information about the absolute age of rocks and other geological features, including the age of the Earth itself, and can be used to date a wide range of natural and man-made materials. Among the best-known techniques are radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating and uranium-lead dating, however there are 18 or more different radiometric dating methods. By allowing the establishment of geological timescales, it provides a significant source of information about the ages of fossils and the deduced rates of evolutionary change. Radiometric dating is also used to date archaeological materials, including ancient artifacts.

Sep 23, 2008 Book Review: Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

I recently started watching the TV show Bones and quickly became a fan. I noticed in the beginning of each episode during the intro credits that it was based off novels by Kathy Reichs, and having liked the show, I decided to check out the novels. Deja Dead is the first novel in the series and so I figured it would be the best place to start.

Sep 23, 2008 Evolution IS a blind watchmaker - Simulation of a watch evolving

There are two famous arguments that creationists yield concerning a watch and its maker. First, they assert that if you find a watch on the beach, you KNOW its made by a person because of its complexity, and that this somehow "proves" that God designed everything in its present form. (so if i show a creationist my leather wallet, they should be able to tell me the NAME of the person who hand crafted it, right? After all, they can draw the name "God" from nowhere!?) The other is that if you smash up a watch, put the parts in a box and shake it about, creationists somehow think that evolution predicts the watch will put itself back together again. Unless your five years old or mentally retarded with a caretaker, I don't understand how you can even survive with that logic, but I digress.

Sep 21, 2008 Religion logic vs scientific logic cartoon

Sep 16, 2008 My atheist symbol - Cursed is the man who lives life blindly

I wanted to create some sort of design that would incorporate multiple religious symbols in a way that is blasphemous to any of the corresponding religions. I had a couple ideas and after a while I came up with this design which I really like. It incorporates symbols for christianity, hinuism, judaism, yin yang, sikhism and thelemaism.