Proving the existence of anybody who was born more than roughly 500 years ago, is, at best, problematic.

Finding any evidence of a person who was a nobody from the backwoods of an insignificant country, when they lived two thousand years ago is pretty much guaranteed to be "not going to happen".

A country bumpkin, without political authority, spiritual authority, or money is usually going to be a nobody. 2000 years ago, it would have been a nobody. That is what Jesus was.

That we have biographies about Jesus, is something to ponder. The way you prove that there was no Jesus, is by categorically rejecting any evidence that might support the thesis that there was a Jesus.

Athiest: There is no god.
Theist: There is a god.
Polytheist: There are many gods.

Gnostic: I know.
Agnostic: I do not know.

Claiming a theist is an athiest, becuase said theist appears to doubt the existence of one diety, whilst accepting the existence of another diety, is as illogical as it is irrational, as it is delusional.

The so-called state-of-the-art about the existence of God, starts with the axiom that there is no God, but refuses to acknowledge that as an axiom.

>And I'm pretty sure Buddhists are okay with gay

Whilst there are variations, the primary "Thou Shalts", and "Thou Shalt Not" mandate celibacy.

Of course, those precepts do not apply the masses, becuase they are unwilling to do the work required for spiritual progress, preferring the insecurity of their delusions.

> Mitchell and Cooper were both nuts. In which case how did they qualify as astronauts in the first place?

At least one report issued by Project Blue Book stated that there were cases that they could not explain. The majority of these cases appeared to have been close encounters of the third kind. Both Mitchell and Cooper were interested in those encounters.

To get more information about those encounters, they had to be willing to talk with anybody, about any alleged event. Furthermore, in those discussions, they could have done "damage control", by suggesting avenues of exploration, that were far removed from the cause of the event, but whose research would have been of interest to the military.

> someone isn't going to make more than $18k because that work just isn't that valuable

In some places, the minimum wage is US$15.00 per hour.
For a full time job, that means an annual income of US$30,000.

>Perhaps part of every welfare program should include some money and financial management counseling.

If your gross monthly income is US$1,500:
* Tax: US$180;
* FICA: US$180;
For a take home check of US$1,140:
* Prudence dictates that one spend no more than 25% of one's gross income on shelter, including utilities.
Most landlords insist on a take home check that is at least three times the monthly rent.
* Using the prudent formula, your shelter costs should not exceed US$375 / month;
* Using the landlord formula, your shelter costs should not exceed US$380 / month;

It doesn't matter how good your skills at keeping a budget are, if there is no shelter at a price that either prudence, or landlords will accept is affordable for you, the renter.

As a home owner, the options are slightly better, but even there, property tax can prevent financial prudence.

>How the guys running the fraud bots get anything out of the deal is a bit mysterious

No mystery.

The fraud-click is part of generating a cover story for the individual bots.

The big revenue generation comes after each bot has a credible cover story, and presence on the various social networking sites.

If, as a result of generating a cover story, a competitor of a friend's business no longer advertizers on the Internet, so what?

Bots can handle Captchas more easilly than individuals with accessibility issues.

The only reason your company doesn't have your medical information, is becuase they don't want it.
HIPPA is best described as "your medical data is legally available to all and sundery, upon request."

HIPPA does zero for actual patient privacy, but a lot for security theatre, and medical theatre. It also provides an easy way for some people to make a lot of money, doing absolutely nothing.

The issue is that Apple claims that each app is vetted for potential security issues. By most definitions of the term, "fraud" falls under the category "security issue". Consequently, the discovery of even one fraud app means that Apple is not vetting apps in a manner consistent with what they claim.

I quit submitting bug reports, when I realized that even when I provided precise instructions on how to reproduce the bug, the gatekeepers claimed to not know how to reproduce the bug.

Due Dilligence was never a part of the Creative Commons License.

>No cab company charges $30 for a 1-2 mile trip.

Get Uber at the wrong time, and you can pay far more than that.

In cities with mandatory minimum zone charges, crossing the wrong zones can result in a twenty dollar charge, even though one is only going one mile.

Scratch that. In some places, the effective rate is fifteen dollars per mile, or part thereof.

Aopparently you failed remedial investing 099:
* Appreciation of the asset;
* Income by leasing the asset out;
* A virtually indestructable asset;
* An asset whose costs are 100% tax deductable;
* Low risk;

The only reason Uber and similar firms are a threat to taxis, is becuase they (Uber) currently offer a very rare quality --- good customer service.

>Diamonds are expensive because diamond mining is expensive,

One of the best times of my life was the week at the bay, where the stones were diamonds. Skipping diamonds into the ocean waves is fun.