g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets
  Blog \Blôg\, n. [Jrg, fr. Jrg. "Web-log".
     See {Blogger, BlogSpot, LiveJournal}.]
     A stream-of-consciousness Web journal, containing
     links, commentary, and pointless drivel.


On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

« ? Blogging Brians # »





Book Plug:

Buy it and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall




 10/6/2003 -  10/8/2003
 9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
 9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
 9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
 8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
 8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
 8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
 7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
 7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
 7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
 6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
 6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
 6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
 5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
 5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
 5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
 4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
 4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
 4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
 3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
 3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
 3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
 3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
 2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
 2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
 2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
 1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
 1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
 1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
 12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
 12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
 11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
 10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
 9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
 9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
 9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
 8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
 8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
 8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
 7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
 7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
 7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
 6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
 6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
 6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
 5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
 5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
 5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
 4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
 4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
 4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
 3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
 3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
 3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
 2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
 2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
 2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
 1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
 1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
 1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001
Friday, July 26, 2002
13:36 - All I know is it's not in my pocket...
http://www.wheresgeorge.com

(top) link
Courtesy of Corsair the Rational Pirate, "Where's George?" is like a useless but lots-more-fun version of SETI@Home; you get to register the serial numbers of your dollar bills, then spend them and watch the site as it tracks their progress around the country.

Wouldn't this just be the greatest thing for those people who like to write silly or inspirational little messages on their bills and release them into the financial jetstream, carrying their sentiments of love and brotherhood and death-to-the-heathens or whatever it is to all corners of the world? Now they can know for sure just how far afield their message is traveling.

Ahh, the Internet.

Anyway, Corsair looks like a linkworthy guy-- he's got an expansion up now on den Beste's recent comments on religion, marriage, atheism, and children, and it's a good read.

Singing and playing instruments and being all happy-happy-joy-joy with people you despise on Earth. Eww.

Anyway. The "why don't you just kill yourself" argument is backwards when pointed at the atheist. Atheists have every reason to want to live as long as they can and experience as much joy (which can be defined as making others happy despite what the religious think) as possible while he is on earth. Since there is nothing else after death you have to have your fun now!

Yeah. Frankly (and I've mentioned this before), who would you rather live with-- the person who is nice to others because it makes him happy and fulfilled to do it, or the person who is nice to others because it means he gets to go to Heaven as long as he doesn't screw up?

It's a variation on that same debate about theft, which I've applied to software piracy: Do you not steal because stealing is wrong, or do you not steal because you fear getting caught? If it's the latter, I'm less likely to trust you than if it were the former. And if a person needs an external set of rules to follow in order to keep on an ethical path, then that person's innate ethics are a lot more suspect to me than someone who is able to demonstrate good ethics derived purely from his own life experience and what makes him happy.

Besides, as I've also said-- pushing one's belief system on others for the sake of reward in Heaven is a little something I refer to as selfishness. An atheist's desire to make others happy is a selfless motivation, and only indirectly does it benefit or gratify the atheist. But the religious person's ethical system, because it is fueled by the desire to go to Heaven, is inherently based on self-interest.

For those religious people who are able to lift their own ethical systems above what their religion teaches, and to act upon them in a way that's independent of how it will be judged by a third party after death, kudos from me. But some people just don't need that substrate. And their lack of it doesn't make them bad people, nor does it make them inherently hedonistic. Quite the contrary.

Anyway, go read it, and don't miss the Twain quote.

Back to Top


© Brian Tiemann