Pope's Astronomer Would Love To Baptize an Alien 308

Posted by samzenpus on Monday September 20, 2010 @12:12PM from the where-do-you-keep-the-head-on-this-thing? dept.

Ponca City, We Love You writes "The Guardian reports that Guy Consolmagno, curator of the pope's meteorite collection and a trained astronomer and planetary scientist, says he would be 'delighted' if intelligent life was found among the stars. 'But the odds of us finding it, of it being intelligent and us being able to communicate with it — when you add them up it's probably not a practical question.' Consolmagno adds that the traditional definition of a soul was to have intelligence, free will, freedom to love and freedom to make decisions. 'Any entity — no matter how many tentacles it has — has a soul.' Would he baptize an alien? 'Only if they asked.' Consolmagno dismisses the ideas of intelligent design as a pseudo-scientific version of creationism. 'The word has been hijacked by a narrow group of creationist fundamentalists in America to mean something it didn't originally mean at all. It's another form of the God of the gaps. It's bad theology in that it turns God once again into the pagan god of thunder and lightning.'"

White House Correspondent Tweets His Heart Attack 77

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday September 07, 2010 @03:11PM from the dedication-to-the-job dept.

Tommy Christopher, who writes for mediate.com, has reporting in his blood, so much so that he livetweeted every part of his recent heart attack. "I gotta be me. Livetweeting my heart attack. Beat that!" and "This is not like the movies. Most deadpan heart attack evar. Still hurts even after the morphine," were among his updates as he was rushed to the hospital. Christopher is now in stable condition after recovering from emergency surgery.

Comment First step is a doozy (Score 0) 371

by mickisdaddy on Tuesday August 03, 2010 @01:34PM (#33126416) Attached to: The Bus That Rides Above Traffic

One thing I noticed is it does not show how people get on and off the bus. The pics show the doors and it is quite a distance to the ground.

Comment Re:Bad joke (Score 0) 284

by mickisdaddy on Thursday June 10, 2010 @09:07AM (#32522486) Attached to: AT&T Leaks Emails Addresses of 114,000 iPad Users

All businesses post the hours they are open at the entrance. If the owner forgets to lock the door at the end of the day and you enter after hours you are still tresspassing (entering unauthorized). Also businesses are still private (not public) places. A door is an acccess control mechanism. With AT&T leaving the 'access control mechanism' unlocked it does not leave them off the hook for what happened, but what Goatse did can still be considered unauthorized access of a computer system.

Comment Re:apolitical? (Score 0) 857

by mickisdaddy on Monday May 17, 2010 @12:27PM (#32238952) Attached to: California Moves To Block Texas' Textbook Changes

Sorry that should be "is" not "are".

Comment apolitical? (Score 0) 857

by mickisdaddy on Monday May 17, 2010 @12:20PM (#32238826) Attached to: California Moves To Block Texas' Textbook Changes

Since when are public school governance apolitical?

Comment Re:Surprised? (Score 0) 582

by mickisdaddy on Friday June 12, 2009 @11:15AM (#28308663) Attached to: Teen Diagnoses Her Own Disease In Science Class

I had my thyroid removed 6 years ago and had to start taking thryroid pills. I started having symptoms of the thyroid hormone being off, but my doctor said the levels were fine. He wanted to give me medicine for depression, insomnia, etc rather than try adjusting my thyroid meds. I fired his but right then and there.

Comment Re:How do I get a reasonable level of respect? (Score 0) 902

by mickisdaddy on Wednesday June 10, 2009 @09:54AM (#28278883) Attached to: How Do IT Guys Get Respect and Not Become BOFHs?

Then there is the government estimates. If they say next month it means next year. I have learned that instead of relying on the expected time frame that it happens when it happens.

Comment Re:Huh? (Score 1) 118

by mickisdaddy on Thursday August 21, 2008 @12:25PM (#24691003) Attached to: Timing Technology Behind Olympic Record Results

That is not what I said. What I said is that the US is not the only corrup government.

I know that there is corruption in my government. It sickens me some of the things that go on. We have a president with a bad approval rating and we have a congress with and even worse approval rating, but when it comes to the voting booth then same idiots get re-elected.

I am seriously considering voting 3rd party in this presidential election.