Both of Us .org

A really astute observer found an interesting example of how white people "find" things in flooded grocery stores and how black people "loot." (Links removed after they went dead)

My sensibilities have been ruffled lately when it relates to the 'debate' pitting I.D. vs. Evolution. I have been trained as a scientist since my undergraduate days, well over a decade. I strive to interpret my work experiments and the world around me using scientific method. In short, I may observe something from day to day and make a hypothesis as to how it came to be and why it exists. As time goes on, my continued observations may result in the hypothesis changing to suit the basic facts and reality.

On the planet today we have an incredible diversity of life and one hypothesis that has developed to explain all this life is evolution. The scientific community has been debating the merits of evolution for some time, but much of the basic premise of the theory has stood the test of time.

Now comes along Intelligent Design. Who is to say that evolution is correct, is it not possible that some mighty intelligent being (i.e. God) put everything in motion to yield the results we have today? The question itself is not offensive, as I am sure many of us have pondered this possibility. What is offensive is that lately I.D. is being treated as a science.

Several front page articles in major newspapers have made a point to present a 'fair and balanced' account of evolution and I.D. After reading these articles, one likely interprets there is actually equal scientific merit to both sides. Hardly! Scientists have been actively testing the theory of evolution through work in the fields of molecular biology, paleontology, geology and biochemistry. Where do we see active research in terms of I.D.? Good question, there is scant tangible material to perform scientific study on.

The one pro-I.D. argument I have read, deals with the complexity of the cell as studied via biochemistry and molecular biology. People are actively studying the cell. Some observe it is incredibly complex... so complex that its origin cannot be explained without introducing an intelligent intervention. This is a scientific keystone to the argument for I.D. My friends, this argument is flim flam at best. All throughout recorded history we have had groups of people that have observed wondrous and amazing things only to conclude they must be supernatural. However, time and time again the purveyors of scientific thought have successfully figured out how or why these amazing and wonderful things exist. I am confident the mechanisms of science, when used correctly, will successfully explain many of the mysteries we have today.

In the end, I.D. is merely creationism repackaged for the 21st century. The power structure as it exists, with the neo-cons in alliance with the religious right will continue to thrust I.D. as science and the short attention span public might readily accept it. Are Americans gullible enough to swallow this? Likely yes.

I recount a humorous tale involving the brother of a very good friend of mine in high school. He was an honor roll student a year older than me and bound for college. He was also fully indoctrinated in religion. He was convinced in the bible version of Earth history. When confronted with the science of dinosaur bones, isotopic dating and earth geology suggesting the Earth is billions of years old as opposed to slightly under 10,000 years. He quickly retorted that God put the bones in the ground, aged them to appear old, and gave us misleading clues about plate tectonics. I still laugh when I write about this today.

I would have loved to have been there to see Jesus riding that T-Rex... he must have been one hell of a righteous dude!

After a minor amount of prompting by my better half, I am back at the blog and hoping to find some inspiration for something to post. I have not posted for a few days and have been pondering about what I will or not be blogging about. I mentioned to JB earlier that I wish to be ultra careful when I post anything of a political, scientific or social issue. Foremost in my mind when blogging my opinions, is to correctly use facts and truths. I have read numberous blogs on both the right and left and have witnessed what each side is capable of doing to the other when facts are mishandled or half truths are posted. Basically one is putting themselves out there to be scrutinized to death. There is a dark side of blogging. Thankfully at this point in the history of our blog, there are few readers, and therefore little chance of anyone taking me to task about anything I post.
Today most of what occupied my mind was a possible interview I may give next week in Upstate New Jersey, and also hurricane Katrina. Katrina did its damage, but it appears that New Orleans was spared the catastrophic flooding. You will have to wait until next week to learn about the outcome of my interview however. We now both primp and preen a bit to get ready to go out to a local pub to play Quizzo. Just the two of us tonight, wish us luck.

JSP just made the most delicious home made tortilla chips. He buys inexpensive corn tortillas, fries them in oil and seasons them. These chips are so much better than the ones available in stores. We covered them in cheddar, green onions and salsa with garlic on them, and then we totally indulged... mmm I feel delicious.

Soon JSP and I will be going to the Asian market across the street to stock up on vegetables and other basics for the week.

I will be doing a food update each weekend throwing in some thoughts about cooking and eating well, while living in a country that seems obsessed with processed food and putting corn syrup in everything.

We had delicious sushi at a moderate price last night at Wasabi House here in Philadelphia, located at 13th and Locust. We enjoyed the sushi very much and it was a treat to eat out, since we cook at home most nights. We had originally planned to eat at another sushi bar, but we were disappointed to see it had closed and had been replaced by a bakery cafe.

There are lots of cooking shows and we sometimes watch some of them to get new ideas, one show in particular we really enjoy watching. There is this crazy woman who makes us laugh every time. She is a total quack but very entertaining. Her show is on PBS but it reminds me of a public access TV train wreck, but you just can't help but watch. (Warning the blinking elements on her web page are irritating and might drive you insane.)

This was really special moment for me and JSP. We danced together at my sister's July 29 wedding. Another special moment for us was standing together in the family photo.

I have to give credit where credit is due. The two images at left are drawings of JSP and I done by our friend Cees Vermandel in Holland. (Removed and replaced with other images on September 10, 2005 at the artist's request.)

The paintings below were done by JSP and I as credited.

"Groningen Images" 2004 - painting by JayBee

"Onze Koningin" 2003 - painting by JSP

"Green Blob" 2003 - painting by JayBee

"Pregnant" 2003 - painting by JayBee

I have been listening to the comedian David Cross (read an interview with him here.)

While listening I have been scanning small paintings (1 foot x 2 feet) with my document sized scanner. I then piece them together in Photoshop and erase the seams... and it is slow and tortuous. Yes I know people somewhere are hungry and I am complaining about using tech gear.

No great plans for the weekend yet, but the thought of going out to the Jersey shore is tempting if the temperature gets toasty.

I am considering asking my friend Glen Better Angel if he can help me with information regarding creating a listserve for my family members. I think it would be a good way for my siblings and thier kids to communicate with each other and me.

A friend of mine started his blog a while ago and you might find it interesting. Check out Guarding the Henhouse.

I decided to contribute to what is quite popular these days among the liberal bloggers - Friday Cat Blogging. In my opinion, my cat Tegan deserves to be highlighted at least once a week on this blog. Short history, I have been taking care of Tegan since the Winter of 1995. At that time I acquired her from the Golden Valley Human Shelter in Golden Valley Minnesota (Suburb just West of Minneapolis). They told me the approximate age of Tegan at that time was about 6-9 months. No longer a kitten in size, but certainly friendly and playful when I was interacting with her. I took her home with me that day and for over 10 years now she has been a very happy and affectionate pet-mate. As I compose this post, Tegan is basking in the morning sunlight shining through our back door....just begging me to come over and kiss, cuddle and play with her.

Yesterday I mentioned that I had downloaded Google Talk and while I was able to get it loaded up, my friend Cees in Holland that I was trying to talk with on it had problems logging into it but we did try the new version of Yahoo! Messensger with voice chat and found that it was roughly equivalent to Skype, but didn't sound quite as crystal clear. One reviewer found Google Talk underwhelming, if you are interested check out: Behold Google Talk! A Mini-Review.

It just turned 1:00 AM and instead of sleeping next to my friend and confidant I am awake adding links to this blog and mucking around on the web. I found a few interesting things. I'll start with the bad news and go to the good news.

World News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "PARIS (Reuters) - A fire tore through a six-storey Paris apartment block on Friday, killing 17 people -- some of them children -- and injuring 30, French officials said."

Falwell falters over faulty web towers: "A MAN who started a web site parodying the views of self styled evangelist Jerry Falwell can carry on ripping into him, the San Francisco Chronicle reports."

So in short: Fire in Paris = bad. Showing the stupidity of religious fundamentalists =good.

(Edited on August 27, 2005) More on the Paris story is here.

Another glorious day of weather here in Philadelphia. One of my friends in the Netherlands, Remco, e-mailed me this morning and remarked how crappy the Dutch weather is this past month...rain or clouds and temperatures trying to break 20 degrees Celsius. Both JB and I have commented several times, one aspect of living in Holland we will not miss is the weather. I like my Summer weather - Summer-like and ditto for Winter. Thankfully Summer lasts quite a bit longer here in Philadelphia than it does in either of my past homes (Groningen, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Oskhosh).
I am debating how much politics and news is appropriate to discuss here. There is rarely a day that I do not look through the NY Times, Washington Post and an assortment of liberally slanted blogs. I think it is very important to be mindful of the happenings of the world around us. Too many of us tend to get caught up in the tiny bubble of reality we surround ourselves in and thus fail to acknowledge the struggles of peoples both near and far. I will try not to be overly preachy when I bring up issues that I have found to be important and I will try to give you as much information as possible to help you formulate your own opinions (i.e. links and references whenever possible).
For today I will bring to your attention some creeping fascism in America. The American Legion, holding a convention in Hawaii, had these choice comments:

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu.
He explained, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies."

The entire article is here - American Legion Declares War on Protestors -- Media Next?

interestingly, in a very nice catch at the blog "Whiskey Bar", this same group of veterans had an entirely opposite opinion of war when confronted with another military deployment...this time by Democrat President Bill Clinton. Whiskey Bar - Aid and Comfort

My day has gotten off to a sluggish start but I was happy to email a series of photos to several family members and chat with my European friend Cees. I enjoyed a series of emails from several men that I know talking about things like body image and Indian summers. A rumble in my belly suggests I should go eat something.

I put together a collage of several photos from the past two weeks, and I am reminded of the good fortune I have in terms of having a wonderful family.



Articles about tech at Slashdot feature news on Intel and WiMax in Australia and a Robotic Bat With Echolocation are notable, but nothing earth shaking. At The Inquirer we learn aboutthe Dish netowork's marketing stunt and how to get free satellite TV in exchange for ten humiliating years.

I downloaded the new beta of Google Talk which seems promising, let's see if it can replace my daily use of Skype to call across the Atlantic Ocean for free.

My belly rumbling has resumed, so that's it for me this afternoon. Hmm, I think I'll have some Italian bread with brie...

Greetings from South Philadelphia. It is mid evening and the sun has set. The planets and the stars are in the sky. The warmth of the day remains as it is a cozy 23 degrees Celsius. Yes, Celsius, because we are all Metric on your ass. Anyhow, this is the start of a blog from two men who have been living together for almost 4 years and have been in love for about a year longer than that. Check out our blog from time to time to read about views, rants, perspectives etc. about anything and possibly everything. Peace everyone.