Whether or not you were indoctrinated in religion when you were young and impressionable, if you haven't experienced God the only rational choice is that the question doesn't matter.

As to indoctrination, I think you're putting way too much weight on that. One fellow I drink with sometimes was brought up in a strict Baptist family in Kentucky, yet he is absolutely convinced that God can't possibly exist. Another guy I knew was brought up by atheists, and had a religious experience when he was strung out and homeless.

As to "why Jesus" it's because of what he taught (The Buddha was certainly full of wisdom, I learned a lot about Buddhists when stationed in Thailand). Basically, love everybody. Treat folks like you want to be treated. Don't judge.

I don't think Jesus and Buddha would have had much to argue about except that reincarnation thing, and maybe karma.

You can't reason your way into religion, it has to touch you personally. Someone in 1700 Europe would not be able to reason his way into belief that such things as elephants existed. He's have had to visit Asia or Africa to believe.

God is only invisible to those who choose to ignore him.

I believe you're confusing Vogons with wizards. Too much pipeweed, Gandalf?

All a smith needs is coal, steel or iron, wind, and water. The only tool he would have a hard time building himself would be the anvil, those are usually cast. The forge isn't all that hard to construct (maybe the fan or bellows) and all the other tools are trivial to make.

The only real cost is steel and fuel unless you have your own mine.

I took a blacksmithing workshop in college and one of the things the 74 year old instructor stressed most was that a blacksmith who doesn't make his own tools isn't much of a blacksmith. He taught us how to make all sorts of tools.

Who makes hammers and tongs? The blacksmith. Who writes compilers? Programmers. Maybe I'm getting old but a programmer who can't write a compiler or interpreter isn't much of a programmer (I wrote an interpreter once, years ago).

Why in the world would anybody need POTS in the first place? And why would anybody pay $40 per month for it?

Also, the title is misleading -- TFA says he didn't have cable, only phone and internet. No cable, no cable bill, he had a phone/internet bill.

I don't have cable, an antenna is good enough since TV went digital. I'm paying $40 for unlimited everything on my Android, $46 for DSL (unfortunately that's the cheapest internet available here, cable internet is almost twice DSL and since I live alone, DSL suffices nicely).

Your being an asshole doesn't excuse my being an asshole.

So if I walk into a bar and take my cell phone out of my pocket to show a friendl I should expect people to object?

Of course not, but if you pull it out and point it at someone you can expect a reaction.

I think that what one ought to imagine here is something like a smith who doesn't own his tools, but has access to tools which he does not control

That's a terrible analogy. Like a programmer, a smith can make his own tools. A carpenter would have been a far better analogy.

The same as Nobots.

Beta was just the straw that broke the camel's back, what you're talking about has been bothering me and others for quite some time. Apparently, Ars covered it but I can't find the link.

Try Soylent News. It's full of folks tired of /.'s direction. I'm staying at /. at least for a while, but S/N is refreshing. I'm posting my journals there before here, they can use it and Dice doesn't need it.

Oh, but the REAL reason I'm in such a good mood is someone owed me a shitload of money and paid me back in reefer and I'M RETIRING! Tomorrow is my last day of wage slavery!