...

Yeah, but once you've convinced the GOP of that then you have to go and convince the Dems. It'd probably be more efficient to teach both wings of the party at the same time.

I'm not a bad kisser. It's just that I have an unreliable network connection! Why did they have to use UDP for this?!

I hear slashcode locked your cat in your bedroom as well.

I'm glad you understand all "cloud" technologies and how they relate everyone else's business case and can perform the risk analysis for them. Saves us all a lot of work.

Counter-intuitively, Verizon and Verizon Wireless are different companies. Verizon owns a controlling share of Verizon Wireless, but a huge chunk of VZW is owned by Vodafone. (VZW is actually a DBA (Doing Business As), the company's real name is Cellco Parnership. Go figure.)

Oh, that's very much the case here in the US as well. To the point of being obnoxious.

I still opt for paper bills and mail in checks for the folks who don't take credit cards.

Perhaps it's because someone at Verizon Wireless was bothered at how much they were paying for credit/debit card transaction fees, and figured this was the way to recoup that cost.

Well then, it's a good thing I didn't do that. Please re-read with your comprehension module loaded.

You mean God? That's how the bible refers to him. Also, Jesus was a "he", and according to my doctrinal position Jesus was God, so it's similarly convenient.

Well, it's a fairly tough question to explain, because I don't necessarily share the opinion. :)

I've found the person who does a fairly good job of representing the young-earth-because-it's-critical-to-doctrine side is John MacArthur. You can watch a couple of his sermons where he elaborates, but here's a quickie article he wrote on the subject: http://www.gty.org/resources/articles/A135/creationism

The relevant quote:

If we wobble to any degree on the truth of this passage, we undermine the very foundations of our faith. After all, if God is not the Creator, then maybe He's not the Redeemer either. If we cannot believe the opening chapters of Scripture, how can we be certain of anything the Bible says?

If you're REALLY curious about the mentality behind it, watch this sermon: http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-359/the-theology-of-creation

(Even as I Christian, I have a hard time watching that because I want to throw things at him. :) )

I've found that I've had some very good conversations with fellow Christians who profoundly believe as MacArthur, and I've been thrilled to hear that many of them at least understand and be able to articulate my position, even if they don't agree.

(Hopefully you catch this; it's been a day and you're AC...)

Why are you replying to me? Or did you miss that the text you're refuting was quoted text?

From a fellow Christian, please take this as nicely as possible:

Please stop trying to defend us; you are making it worse. Spend some time actually understanding your opponent's views (you've mischaracterized both science and the evolutionary process while demonstrating some pretty poor logic.) You sound like you've been reading a Bob Jones University biology textbook as your sole source of understanding of evolutionary process. I know this because I've been there before.

As a Christian (closest to Baptist in my beliefs), I personally believe that God had revealed himself to us to the extent he sees fit and necessary.

See a story that Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31. An excerpt:

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Essentially, Jesus said "They have what they need to believe already." You (and even sometimes I) may disagree with that, but that's the stance that the (Christian) Bible seems to take on the matter.

(I have quite a few more thoughts on this, but unfortunately not the time to commit them to a post at this very moment.)

I used to work at the hospital where I was born. In fact, I found myself in the patient database. I was "SHERIDAN, BOY E." I updated the record with the name that my parents eventually decided upon. :)

That's ok, if yours had been posted it would have been a trip. (as in, triple)

http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/11/15/1635240/nows-your-chance-to-apply-as-an-astronaut

This is silly. Either you do screening, or you don't. Complete ineptness of the TSA aside for argument's sake, if you take the concept of operations for the TSA at its face they're not just looking for active and willing attackers, they're also looking for unwitting attackers. (That's why you screen Grandma in her wheelchair -- How does Grandma know nobody slipped an explosive onto her person or possessions somehow without her realizing it?)

If you're allowing military through, why not the 800,000 people with TS clearances? Or police? Or...? And how do you know that the person is a member of the military? And even if they are, it's not a foregone conclusion that they're automatically safe. (Nidal Malik Hasan? Hasan Akba?)

Screen everyone or screen no one. You're hard-pressed to make a rational risk argument if you're not doing that.