Rhett Butler

Supernatural and Smallville

2008-11-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Link

Yugioh 5d and season 0

2008-11-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Link

Poison and Politics

2008-11-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

China, milk, imported into USA
Quite sickening isn't it?
Ah the FDA botched it again
Watch video (those are tag words^)

Random College Advice Rant

2008-10-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

My Original Conversation -I feel that I should probably source my own post originals, lest I be accused of plagiarizing my own words (not that that makes a lot of sense to most reading this).

If you can manage a 4.0 for one semester, a university's Honors College is more than happy to accept you as one of their own, even if you have pilates as one of your classes. Virtually every honor's college has multiple benefits and gets you privileges that are very valuable.

An Honor Society under the Greek umbrella is VERY beneficial to you. There are many different types and are unique to your major. Mine is Alpha Epsilon Delta. For a medical school bound student this group is almost vital for my survival. I love it. A leadership in undergraduate medical honor society looks nice on any med school application. In addition I am able to shadow medical doctors and get recommendations. I am able to get volunteering positions. I can make personal contact with those whose influence at a medical college matters, considering many of them take the time to personally talk to us a meetings. I get first hand advice from the experts on the most important things I will need to utilize the make med school and become a doctor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_College_Honor_Societies
Try to start a chapter if they don't have the one you need. I've only founded one chapter for something, though it was in high school. I was the president though I didn't have the funds or authority to do much. It still made my application sparkle, since the philanthropic group is an old and revered organization.

If you are student of science (whatever that may be), DO NOT DO YOUR RESEARCH AT THE LAST MINUTE!!! It's much more beneficial to start early and have several publications under your belt by the time you graduate. The more research you have under one mentor, the better your recommendation will be from that mentor. The mentor is the given recommendation that will give you the best recommendation for so med school or even grad school.

Stay in State, unless you have a decent scholarship to an out of state school, it's a good idea to stay in state.

Transferring Credits, there is method in the madness. Look at the college you will be planning to attend. They may have a transfer equivalence sheet posted somewhere. It would look something like this: http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/tcel/CLGS.HTM#C
If not write, email, or call them to find our their policy. It's best to not play hit and miss like I did with my classes. I lucked out for most of my classes. I took classes at a technical college and they just happened to transfer neatly. I know someone who has been put back two years because of not knowing how all this works. Take classes that are considered difficult or hard to make a good grade in at another college. These courses can then be transferred back as credit to fulfill your requirements and they don't affect your GPA. I'm currently taking classes at USC, which is second only two my primary college in my state (in my opinion). I spent weeks researching and working out my schedule to fit neatly and better my credentials. It's also cheaper to be a transient student there than take the same class at Clemson. You can save thousands by doing it that way, if you do it right.

Usually a university has a preparatory course for freshmen, I found mine useful. It can be useful for some or sometimes its not. That's a hit or miss shot, but you don't lose much by taking the risk. Mine allowed me connections across town that I could have never gotten otherwise.

Studying:
Get the projects out of the way as soon as possible, with the rare exception of opportunities that come on a specific day and you are currently overloaded and rushing will affect the quality of your work. This gives more time for studying. Also DO NOT get behind in a class. Catching up is not a position you would like to have. This is from a guy who has sat down and written up a 19-page chemistry report for nine hours straight starting at midnight to hand it in at 9:30 in the morning. I did well, but I was not in the condition to do much of anything for the rest of the day. I've also done a skit on Germany involving chocolate cake, leprechauns, cyclopes, and 300 Spartan warriors and related them to historical figures after being awake for around 40 hours straight. My group made an A on it though, and it was rather interesting to watch, but I don't recommend staying awake that long. I was more creative, when deprived of my logic and reason.

For the actual studying my general suggestions
1.Make a list of all the different types of formulas you have to learn.
2.Make a list of all the concepts you have to understand and then summarize them.
3.Make a list of all the key facts and data that you have to know.
4.For the formulas, buy a cheap notebook and pen. Get one to three of examples of each type of problem that requires a specific formula. Write the full problem worked out over and over.
5.The concepts you can either repeat in your head over and over, say out loud over and over to yourself, or write them over and over till you have them down.
6.The key facts can be done just like the concepts.
7.Do that every day to so that it is logged into your long term memory, then you cram starting three days before in addition to that.

Some people prefer note cards, but you don't really know it until you can write it from memory when you have been away from it for a day.

Balancing social life with academics:
I'd keep partying to five times a month: clubbing, semi-formals, what have you. It might take some discipline for the more hard core partier, but its a must for the sake of grades. I'd abstain from alcohol and drugs altogether. Contrary to popular belief not every one at the raging parties littered with hundreds of beer cans and multiple kegs drinks. Designated driver is a popular and easy excuse for those of low self esteem, but I prefer the straight I refuse to drink stance. Alcohol is not productive for good grades. Being wasted all the time is the surest way to destroy your GPA. It's a proportional thing mind you. If you are devoted to a club/organization that performs or plays or has regular commitments, be true to it and don't slack with it. If you play a sport attend every practice unless you are sick enough to be in the hospital, and you should be there if you are. Be dedicated and don't waste a coaches time. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be great social times to keep in touch even when you have loads of work to do. You can party and keep a 4.0 during a semester. A relationship conflict or bad break up is one of the killers that can have a major impact on the quality of your work.

I do recommend getting college credits in high school too. I came into my university with 23 hours.

I emphasize quality over quantity. Even though 12 and 21 hours are the same price. I highly recommend not going overachiever with 21 hours. For me the grade is very important. A 3.6 is the average for people entering medical school today. On a side note, I believe dentistry is a 3.8 now. A “B” is hard to pull up, and a “C” is nearly impossible. Overloading is another easy way to destroy the GPA or turn you into a lifeless “Zombie” that comes out only to forage for food as a means of survival. Also every 1 hour credit for lab means 3 hours. Twelve hours really is too few though. I usually go about 16 myself, which means 20 hours with labs included a week.

There are multiple ways to pay for graduate school. You're probably familiar with the concept of there is no such thing as a free lunch. Many programs work under that basic concept. It's either beneficial for them or the community to pay for your schooling. You might have to teach undergraduates, do research, earn them grants, or sufficiently meet some need. So many unique programs exist that I can really only address them generally with my 2500 character limit per post.

Here is a list of stipends for 2007 for the top fifteen paying colleges
http://www.wendychao.com/science/stipends/

If you are going into chemistry or biology or some related field, those would be the best colleges to start looking at.

Cornell the top one on the list currently offers a fellowship to all graduate students in the medical sciences, which includes a full tuition scholarship (tuition, fees, health insurance) and $30,754 each year of the program. So basically you have a $30,000 salary to go to school plus health insurance, if you can get into Cornell's program.

http://biomedsci.cornell.edu/graduate_school/html/70608.cfm#314929

What does this mean as far as taxes?
http://biomedsci.cornell.edu/graduate_school/html/50904.cfm

Uncle Sam naturally takes his chunk. Also if you get additional scholarships that are sent directly to the college they do not help you one bit, since it just goes to fund what they are already giving you. If you have a scholarship that gives you a check to cash in your name, you can get around that little stipulation that just feeds what you already have.

There's just not one system name that could be used to name everything, since this mess isn't made up of one straight forward system. The most general term would be “fellowship”, which is considered tuition waiver plus stipend. “Fellowship” can also describes things such as a medical fellowship which is completely different.

If you were to do a non-science research field such as English or Art History, you would probably get what is referred to as tuition scholarship which is either partial or full. You may also get in addition to that a stipend. In addition there may awards for research, conference participation, or supplemental learning outside of the college. Some of these scholarships and awards may be merit based.

You can also get a fellowship program in religion at Duke that waives tuition and gives you a stipend.

It really depends on what you want to do. Regardless there should be funding on the graduate level regardless of your area of study.

If you built a competitive resume in undergraduate college, finding funding shouldn't be too hard. A lot of colleges do have programs and they all have some level of uniqueness about them.

Advisors:

I guess I have some personal stories on this to tell. I entered college as a pre-med which is a program and not a major, but there was still an advisor for those with undeclared majors in the program. I randomly met him at orientation. I then got into his class, after he suggested it to us on the tour/lecture. It was that university introductory class I was referring to earlier specifically designed for future medical students. I learned a lot of these tips and tricks I'm talking in his class or at least built upon the concepts he went over. He also headed and supervised Alpha Epsilon Delta and that is how I originally got involved with that. He also is very social and got me contacts that I needed and told me where I could find things. He also has a bar within walking distance of where I live. It's been featured on TV, because of the collection of beers. I think there were roughly 864 different types of beers displayed off the top of my head.

The advisor system at Clemson works so that you actually have to talk to an advisor or you can't register for classes. I got around it for one semester through the pre-med advisor.

My advisor for my microbiology major is currently my mentor for research in biomedicine and taught me a lot about the system of research and publication.

It's much better to go to an advisor than not, even if you think you know what you are going to do. Following the basic curriculum is just that basic. The advisors know what works and what helps and what needs to be done and when it needs to be done.

Time Spent:

I too considered staying at Clemson for a brief three years, which I could have easily done, but I decided against it. Getting classes out of the way is merely one thing to contend with in my situation. Patience is a virtue. I'll also have it worked out so the last year should be fully payed after playing with scholarships around campus.

In addition to the Academic Records, I have to consider:
I have an Applicant's essay (this doesn't take much time)
Medical College Admission Test scores (Studying for this takes about two years.)
Extracurricular activities (This takes time to build and work up the ladder.)
Summer Occupations (One more productive summer to talk about)
Life experiences (One more year to talk about)
Experience in the health field, including research or community work (More time again)
Letters of evaluation (More time to get them.)

The extra time allows me to build my resume/application. This gives me one more year to complete research and publish or get an additional publication. An extra year allows me to get a second degree. This also allows me double departmental honors and general honors. This gives me time to spare for studying for the MCAT, which is exceedingly difficult and comprehensive. My thousand plus page study guide demands my attention, time, and respect. I also plan on getting into Beta Beta Beta and Psi Chi, which will take some effort and again time. Without elaborating further, I'm juggling many variables that require time spent outside the classroom. The State Scholarship that I have in my state only goes into full funding the 2nd through 4th year of Clemson. So I plan on using that to my advantage and it will help me in the long run. I may be set back slightly financially initially, but it increases my chances exponentially when all the variables that I was referring are fulfilled.

I realize that my level of preparation is probably going overboard as it is, but I'll talk about the fail safe mechanism built into my plan in the event all of the above fails. There is currently a program that I can use in my state that allows me to become a laboratory technician, and they will wave the entire tuition for me, which is for a 15 month program. This guarantees a third degree for me (BS laboratory technology) and guarantees me two years of work at a medical facility starting at $40,000+. I can then go into medical school following that. I doubt I will have to use my back-up plan, but I usually make a backup plan for the worst. It might pay to have a decent plan B for worst case scenario.

Law of equivalent exchange: You get out what you put into something.
Remember knowledge is power.

Ten dimensions, supernatural, and God

2008-10-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

This was something I posted under my cnet account.

"The ten dimensions are limited in that they express only in variables of time, space, matter, antimatter, and energy. Perhaps this is the absolute end for many people's conception of everything, but I believe in much more than the tenth dot and so my model of everything would be further expanded. It's difficult for the mind to entertain even the idea of the infinite nature of everything as an ongoing model that has no limits and cannot be fully comprehended. Anything past the third dimension would be impossible to view as easily as the what is in front of us. In comparison we would have the ability to perceive in our current form anything past the tenth dimension as a single dot on a grid bearing no length or width could see our world in the third dimension. Basically the eleventh dimension and on would be beyond normal human perceptions. This complicates the nature of comprehending something grand enough that it is impossible to perceive in our present form or understand except in the most infinitesimal manner. People stop at the tenth dimension only because they limit their reasonings to what can be perceived to a known extent similar to the playing card seeing the balloon except they extrapolate by the element of time. Now to address the question of what can be beyond time, space, matter, antimatter, and energy.

By definition we enter into a realm where perceivable reality is in nonexistence since our eyes have the viewing boundaries of a single dot with no width, length, or depth. The boundaries of space, time, and matter do not extend to the eleventh dimension, since it must encompass super real qualities in addition to the natural qualities of the universe as already represented. In essence the new boundaries would allow the nature of the others to be bent or violated similar as to the nature of the universes changed in its laws and constants in the dimensions preceding it. So something existing in the eleventh dimension could exist with us occupying no space and taking up no mass and being capable to manipulate energy to an extent that may violate our laws. Something existing in the twelfth dimension would have power over time, since that would be the dimension following length, width, and height. So what could exist in the eleventh dimension? The first couple of things that come mind are angels, demons, heaven, hell, and souls (and/or spirits). They all have qualities of the eleventh dimension. They are imperceivable while we have the third dimension limitation of viewing. They are not limited by the boundaries of the first ten dimensions allowing them to be above space and matter. A soul can exist within us bearing no mass and taking up no space within our bodies. It would also be imperceivable by our methods of deduction since our perceptions are limited mostly to the third dimension. So what could fill the twelfth dimension that can manipulate space, matter, time, and supersedes all the previous beings and qualities of the eleventh dimension on down? Whatever would be in the twelfth dimension would have great power over all creation existing in the first eleven dimension. This dimension seems only fillable by God Almighty himself."-My original conversation

Question and Answer #2 "vestigial traits"

2008-10-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

I was given ear wiggling muscles, appendix, and fingernails on the fins of manatees.

There is a difference between a fairly harmless malformation of the ear in early development that people are born without and being born without auricular muscles. Those muscles can still be stimulated by electrodes. Most people just lack the neurological connection to utilize them. Many more can but don't know how. The muscles serve as facilities to increase blood supply to the ear, which of course diminishes the danger of freezing among other things.

appendix

It's a herbivore that uses them to dig for plants.

Fruit flies and common descent (short)

2008-10-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

A fruit fly matures from egg to sexual maturity in about three days (some organisms life spans are about this short that we study.) If we compare their generations to ours, eighty years of studying them would amount to about 500,000 years worth of human generations as opposed to their generations. The female can produce 2,000 eggs at a time. Despite providing every known environmental natural and unnatural condition in our arsenal, we still have fruit flies. There are many such animals that go through generations of passing on genetic information degrees of magnitude greater than our own, yet they don't show that kind of change even though we are basically looking at a very much accelerated process of our own. We can even conjure every conceivable condition on this planet to spawn their evolutionary need to become different lifeforms. Yet we still have them. We have plenty of organisms that we study that naturally select at exceptionally accelerated rates compared to our own, yet they are still the same kind of animal. There are limits to change over time.

Question and Answer #1

2008-10-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Another snippet from my conversations.

"So if God cannot be proven to exist because of our "limited" understanding, we must base his existence on Faith, correct? Conversely, if God CAN be proven... why hasn't anyone been able to? Or, better yet, why doesn't He just reveal himself? Wouldn't that be a heck of a lot easier for everyone??"- atheist

My Reply

To sufficiently answer your first question I would need to ascertain both the meaning of “evidence” and “faith” as you used them, but I will try none the less right now.

The question of believing in God has multiple dimensions and merely believing that a God exists out there somewhere is of course not sufficient for salvation, but I can say more on that later.

Logical dimension:
1. You can believe in God, when you have absolute 100% concrete evidence of God.
2. You can believe in God, when you have a very well educated guess though some answers elude you. You can then take a slight leap of faith to believe in God from there.
3. You can believe in God, when you have a slight inclination to believe based upon various things though several vital questions remain unanswered. This of course takes more faith.
4. You can believe in God, when you have only few reasons to believe, yet many logical obstacles and reasoning’s contradict your views that you can’t even begin to answer.
5. You can believe in God, when you have no logical reason whatsoever and not even a shred of evidence.
6. You can believe in God and fall somewhere in between 1 and 5.

Emotional Dimension:
1. Fear of death
2. Lack of love
3. Desire for purpose
4. Any relevant emotional factor you can think, since I’m not even going to try to list them all.

Psychological Dimension:
1. Rejection by family if openly believed
2. Fear of rejection by the public out of insecurity
3. The appearance of divine wisdom for those of proud natures
4. A endless renewable source of vitality and optimism
5. Monetary gain
6. Other benefits
7. Generally any factor that could influence your nature that would not necessarily influence your emotions , but would be practical therefore appealing to your logic

Spiritual Dimension:
1. God saves your soul from eternal Hell, and you are compelled through the power of the Holy Spirit without regards to the first three dimensions to believe.

Second question:
This assumes that God has never been proven by anyone to anybody. I do not ascribe to this belief. I personally believe that there exists sufficient information for a person to believe in God in a perfectly logical and rational manner. Arguments do not save some; rather it is a miracle from God.
I’ll regurgitate a historical event that may help better understand how something can be proved to a group of people, but not the vast majority:

"In 1535 the French explorer Jacques Cartier and his expedition were frozen in the ice off the St. Lawrence river. 25 of the 110 crew were dead from scurvy and the rest were due to follow. At this point a friendly native American came forward with a potion made from the needles and bark of the white pine, rich in ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. This produced a dramatic recovery. When Cartier returned to Europe and reported to the medical mandarins they were amused by the 'witch-doctor cures of ignorant savages,' and went on with their search for mystery toxins and bugs lurking in the dark holds of the ships. 260 years later, after the British Navy alone had lost over a million men to scurvy, the practice of carrying oranges, lemons and limes on board ship led to the limeys ruling the waves."- World without Cancer by Edward Griffin

Scurvy -vitamin C, pellagra - Vit B3, night-blindness - Vit A, rickets- Vit D, beri beri - Vit Bl, pernicious anaemia - Vit B12.

Each of these has a tale.

Food for thought

Basically some would rather die than look into the truth, when it could easily be verified. Also not all the Indians necessarily knew how to brew all of the natural remedies, but the knowledgeable medicine man would have. You don’t have to have the answers, if you know they are there. You can probably extrapolate the relevant amounts of knowledge to Christian apologists on Face book. Some are very knowledgeable and logical; some merely know such knowledge and logic exist.

Third (and fourth) Question:
Jesus came to Earth and was crucified. He will be coming again. Looking at God the Father, while being alive, causes instant death. The Holy Spirit is a spirit that doesn’t manifest into a representable form. Jesus will come back to reveal Himself to the world, but not before His Second Coming. God cannot be wrong, so He will not go against His word. I’m not everyone, so I really can’t make the judgment for everyone. I find it really easy to believe now, but I now would be in the spiritual dimension though.

Smallville Season 8 Episode 2 Plastique

2008-09-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

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2008-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

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2008-09-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

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2008-09-18T07:24:00.001-07:00

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2008-09-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

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Detective Conan Episode 510 English Sub

2008-09-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

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Detective Conan Episode 509 English Sub

2008-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

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Yugioh 5d Episode 24 English Sub

2008-09-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

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Yugioh 5d Episode 23 English Sub

2008-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

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Bleach 187 English Sub

2008-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

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Naruto Shippuden 75 English sub

2008-09-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

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Naruto Shippuden 74 English Sub

2008-09-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yugioh 5d Episode 22 English sub

2008-09-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

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One Piece Episode 368 English Sub

2008-09-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

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My Rant on Ancestry continued

2008-08-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

Again posts taken from my conversation continued from an earlier post.

Under the original experiment two very different samples of a population were compared for the cars, but the redefining of the population changed the validity of exclusion. This would be the equivalent of just comparing the lineage of Jewish and Arabic people in a smaller redefined population, as opposed to including a sample of a now separately redefined population that has no relevance in determining the lineage of the Jewish and Arabic people in the same way as the electric cars has no validity in determining CO2 emissions of a combustion engine. Generally mutation rates are considered an averaged probability or chance of a mutation occurring from one generation to the next. If it mutates to any measureable degree it is assigned a mutation rate such as 0.0021, which is the assigned rate that leads to the conclusion in this paper. Removing variables such as those with different mutation rates carries its own set of meanings, and it is neither right nor wrong as data will be produced regardless. It is important to interpret this data in light of the process. The process being merely a tool does not make the concrete assertions of the interpretation or conclusion, which actually can be right or wrong.

Mutation rates in an organism can be altered by something as simple as environmental stress. Genetic bottlenecks (or severe changes in population size) and changes in the life spans of a species also can significantly warp the calibration of a molecular clock, which has already been subjectively calibrated based on the interpretation of data in a completely different field of science. Anything that changes the way things naturally select to any significant degree will also be another extraneous factor to consider. The list goes on to include about every variable possible that has been believed to be capable of altering mutation rates or molecular clocks (and maybe even those that have not even been studied). After considering the genetic bottlenecks from Adam and Eve to Noah’s family, the world wide flood, mountains rising, valleys sinking, oceans becoming deeper, paradise being drowned into the uninhabitable wastelands compared to the perfect paradise of Eden, the diet of both humans and their food abruptly changing, atmospheric levels being altered, the intensity of selection after the flood, maybe changes in levels of UV light and different forms of radiation, a couple more acts of God, and whatever else has not been mentioned; the effects on mutation rates would clearly be catastrophic and generate different results if not accounted for in research. The mutation rates would have settled into a different clock so to speak by the time you started tracing the lineages of the Jewish and Arabic people back to a single ancestor. Simply put anything that could have destroyed the consistent mutation rates throughout history did and did it to the extreme.

After periods of sharp increases in mutation frequencies lower viability (lifespans being indicative here) in the lineage ensues. When the lifespans normalized at the rate more or less of what we see today, the split occurred for Jewish and Arabic people. While I may not be ripping off pages from creationist sites, I am deriving what I say from acceptable research done and applying it here for this scenario. I should hope much of what I have said would be common knowledge among other researchers in fields of biology. Of course proof doesn't exist in the physical world around us, and evidence is an extremely arbitrary word.Proof is a property of mathematics. The grass is green assertion maybe supported by evidence, but no proof exists. I use the word “proof” in that sense not just in controversial issues. It is not a disclaimer just a defining of terms.

It depends really on what changes occur. Some subtle changes in cellular chemistry can produce drastic effects on senescence. The mutated Methuselah Gene comes to mind. The stress itself could change the senescence in relation to survival, if you consider alternative views such as the one Vela supernova eruption.

In respect to the genomes effect on senescence and survival, a significant relationship exists between genome size and longevity. Larger genome sizes correlate to longer life spans. Research suggests that the longer cell cycles lead to ultimately longer life spans. The impact upon the genome is believed have occurred in one of two ways in popular creationist circles either the non coding DNA in the human genome performed critical functions at earlier times or that the genome has gotten much smaller as the days were numbered down to around 120 years. In both instances the mark left upon the human genome is huge.

Naruto Shippuden 73 English Sub

2008-08-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

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Bleach Episode 185 English Sub

2008-08-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

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One Piece 367 English Sub

2008-08-27T17:41:00.001-07:00

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Yugioh 5d Episode 21 English Sub

2008-08-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

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The Nature of Experiments in Ancestry as applied to two samples: Creationist reply

2008-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I was in yet another debate involving an article from nature see here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v394/n6689/full/394138a0.html#t1

and the implications presented, when such methods are applied to different samples such as ancestry surrounding Noah's Flood.

It was claimed that it is dishonest to pick and choose the outcome of a single technique as applied to data collected which I agree with, while ignoring that which disagrees with me.

My Response
It is really not any more dishonest than dropping the tri-nucleotide microsatellite DYS388 from an analysis, merely because it indicates a departure from the assumed model of stepwise mutation that they employ. The particular set of methods they use as stated in the article does not account for extraneous variables such as factors that could alter mutation rates. It would be dishonest or ignorant to assume identical methods applied to one sample of people would yield as accurate results in another sample, if significant extraneous variables are left unconsidered, which admittedly they are.

His response:
"If I where doing stats of CO2 emissions from road vehicles, and the statistical methods assumed a uni-modal distribution, then I would be justified in excluding electric cars from the analysis, with the proviso that I must make this clear at publication. This is the equivalent of what they did with DYS388.

If you think that the method is flawed by the issues you raised, then you should not be using it as scientific support for the recent common ancestry of Jews and Arabs. If it is flawed enough that some predictions are unsound, then as it stands, it is not trustworthy for any predictions."

My Response:
These data interpretations would determine whether a uni-modal distribution existed not the experimental methods even though the methods act as the conversion of IV’s to DV’s. The data as plotted in the abscissa and the ordinate would reveal the weakness or strength of the relationship. While the underlying hypothesis of the experiment may make bold assumptions as to the outcome, the experimental methods should do no such thing. Essentially the vehicles running off fossil fuels (or whatever source of energy you did not specify) and the vehicles that are running off of electricity make up two samples of cars, the CO2 emissions differ in each sample, because different variables are involved in how they are powered. This happens also in the previously mentioned example of more recent populations being a sample and the lineage around the time of Noah’s Ark and beyond being a sample. Both samples in both cases are intrinsically different from each other and therefore do not follow identical models of CO2 emissions or genetic mutations respectively. Simply put upon realizing the unique set of factors that govern the outcome of each sample when placed in a function to produce data, it is justifiable to say that extraneous variables distorts the outcome, when it is not accounted for.

My point is not that the method is wrong as applied to the sample in the paper, but that the extraneous factors that exist in the Noah’s Ark sample do not exist in Jewish and Arabic samples and call for a set of methods to account for such differences. When (perhaps if) you realize that the methods are not the problem that distorts the interpretation of the data but the variables that have not been accounted for, you will understand why one set has been logically deduced by the scientific method accounting for variables that would be present in the sample and the other research on the sample for which significant possible extraneous variables are not accounted for is discarded.

Naruto Shippuden 71 and 72 English sub

2008-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

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2008-08-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

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Yugioh 5d Episode 20 English Sub

2008-08-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

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Bleach 184 English Sub

2008-08-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

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Inactivated Hind leg genes of Whales not Proof of Evolution

2008-08-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Those genes happen to code as a whole for hind and fore-limbs. Multiple functions for this specific set of genes exists making the loss of these genes lethal, since the Shh genes act as crucial signaling molecules that are involved in the early development of midline structures. Basically it would die.

Brief Statement on Modern Theories

2008-08-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

The current situation seems to lean to supporting theories that have serious flaws with theoretical phenomenon that have never actually been observed or structuring a theory in such a way that it will never be scrapped short of time travel, which can’t be done. We can even have multiple theories about something all having serious flaws and all being acceptable, as long as there is no definitive proof, which none could ever be given based upon the time frame the theory applies to. It may be relatively easy to scrap something we can test and see with our own eyes fully in the present, but proving something right or wrong definitely that isn’t in the most recent present carries a whole set of difficulties that laws and theories governing forces in the present would not.

The Sequencing of the Entire Genetic Neanderthal Genetic Code: Logical Examination

2008-08-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

So a group plans to sequence the entire genome to compare it to humans.

Recovering an entire 38,000 year old genome from a 38,000 year old bone should be impossible.

Brian Sykes, who is a professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, stated “no DNA would remain intact much beyond 10,000 years.” (Nature August 1, 1991, Vol. 352, p.381)

Not to mention they probably used putative primers that can't reveal human traits in even human DNA.

Basically they are trying to amplify a lot of extremely small chains of about 100 base units long. Last paper in Cell I reviewed said that 378 base pairs long was the borderline of what could reliably be amplified. Amplifying small chains involves a lot of guess work. Now they are just going to multiply their best guesswork times about 100,000,000 and stick it together. They are taking a bunch of fragments all less than 0.0000001% of the DNA and putting them together using individual putative primers and filtering out what looks like contaminated DNA as they see fit using the method they recently created.

YuGiOh 5d Episode 19 English Sub

2008-08-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

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One Piece Episode 365 English Subs

2008-08-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

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Ultimate College Check List

2008-08-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dorm Room List

1) Umbrella

2) Alarm Clock

3) Bed linens

4) Towels

5) Carpet/throw rug

6) Chair/bean bag

7) Cup/mug/glass/plate/bowl/silverware

8) Fan

9) Handi-Tak to hang posters

10) Hangers

11) Iron and small ironing board

12) Laundry bag

13) Laundry detergent

14) First aid kit — Band Aids, pain relievers, cold medicine

15) Microwave (one cubic foot)

16) Plants (real or fake)

17) Radio/stereo

18) Rolls of quarters for laundry

19) School supplies- Be sure to bring lots of lined and white paper, pens, pencils, a ruler, erasers, a calculator, scissors, white-out, a stapler and staples, and a hole punch (they have nifty ones that go in your binder). Oh, and a binder and dividers that you can reuse.

20) Sewing kit — include lots of buttons

21) Shower caddy

22) Telephone and answering machine (bring a telephone book, too) Also bring the telephone cord to plug into the jack

23) Toiletry items/ Soap and plastic soap dish and scrubbing pad

24) TV/VCR/DVD player & TV stand

25) Batteries for TV remote

26) Address book

27) Cell phone

28) Cell phone chargers

29) Computer and printer

30) Blank CDs for the computer labs

31) Computer paper

32) Desk lamp

33) Post-it® notes

34) Power strip/surge protector

35) Stain remover

36) Three-prong extension cords

37) A flashlight with extra batteries — in case of a power outage

38) Bedding — sheets, pillow cases and a few good blankets

39) Bicycle and bike lock — the best way to get around campus

40) Can opener — canned foods are quick and easy to prepare

41) Heating pad — they are hard to find on campus

42) Lots of socks and underwear — enough pairs to get you through wash cycles

43) Organizer/planning calendar — no one will be there to keep your schedule

44) Personal hygiene items — Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hair brush, shampoo, conditioner, floss, mouthwash, etc.

45) Pictures of family and friends — you’ll want a connection to home

46) Posters

47) White board for your door — for messages- Small dry erase board

48) All housing assignment information

49) Backpack

50) Baseball or other cap for bad hair days

51) Bathrobe

52) Bathing suit

53) Belts

54) Blankets

55) Cleaning items-

56) Comforter or bedspread

57) Contact lenses and solutions

58) Cough drops

59) Cologne

60) Ice pack

61) Storage crates

62) Deck of cards

63) Dictionary, thesaurus, writer's guide

64) Envelopes

65) FunTack to hang posters

66) Glue

67) Highlighters

68) Jeans

69) Jackets - light and heavy

70) Mirror

71) Music

72) Nail clippers

73) Pajamas

74) Pillow(s)

75) Q-tips

76) Rugs

77) Shoes

78) Shorts

79) Slippers

80) Sneakers

81) Stamps

82) Sweatshirt

83) T-shirt

84) Duct Tape

85) Thermometer

86) Tissues

87) Tupperware

88) Watch

89) Yearbook from high school as a conversation piece

90) Work-out clothes

91) Salt and pepper shakers

92) Digital music player

93) Hair dryer

94) Paper towels, glass cleaner

95) Toilet paper

96) Dryer sheets

97) Binders, folders

98) Paper

99) Camera

100) Bookends

101) Bleach

102) Trash bags

103) Sponge

104) Hot pot

105) Trash can

106) Board games

107) Sunglasses

108) Sleeping bag

109) Your car

110) Your social security card, driver's license, bank accounts, a credit card for emergencies, etc.

111) Ear plugs and/or a sleeping mask

112) Broom

113) Plunger

114) Bed Spread Sheets

115) Space Heater

116) Waste-Paper Basket

117) Rubber bands

118) Hole punch

119) Notebooks

120) Extra printer cartridges

121) Cotton padding or other cover for mattress

122) Lotion

123) Swiss army knife

124) Shelf and drawer liners

125) Curtains and curtain hardware

126) Light bulbs

127) Furniture

128) Ethernet cord

129) Febreze

130) IPOD

131) eye glasses

132) vitamins

133) dress clothes

134) gloves

135) hat (summer & winter)

136) Jewelry

137) Shirts

138) Sweaters

139) Sweat shirts

140) Labels

141) Modem

142) Bottled water

143) Cereal

144) Juice boxes

145) Peanut butter & jelly

146) Power Bars

147) Ramen noodles

148) Soup

149) SpaghettiOs

150) Knife

151) Oven mitt

152) Pizza cutter

153) Portable water filter

154) Ziploc bags

155) Lysol

156) Room freshener

157) Beach towel

158) Bug spray

159) Cookie sheet, cake pan

160) Cutting board

161) Vegetable peeler

162) Spatula

163) Measuring cups and spoons

164) Pot holders

165) Toaster/toaster oven (for kitchen area use only)

166) Bathroom cleaner

167) Dusting cloth

168) Small vacuum

Polygamy is Wrong

2008-08-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

So I was asked to do a rebuttal of this page on polygamy.
http://www.blainerobison.com/concerns/polygamy.htm

So the argument starts at the Biblical record.

So Lamech is identified as the first polygamist and the author believes that polygamy may have been practiced by others before the flood.

So who was Lamech?

He was from the line of the murderous Cain who had been curse by God Almighty Himself. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. So his descendants were raised away from God.

Is there reason to believe that there were other polygamists?

Genesis 6:1-2: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (KJV)

So the men chose any amount of wives they wanted from where ever they wanted. It seems fair that we both agree that many were polygamists before the flood. They freely lusted after any women they desired and continually had imaginations to get whatever wives they wanted.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” -Genesis 6:5 (KJV)

What did God just finish talking about those men doing and now every imagination was evil continually? Seems obvious doesn't it.

Genesis 6:11-13: The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (KJV)

The line of Cain that started polygamy was wiped out in the flood for being corrupt and wicked.

Abraham is another name listed here.

God promised Sarai and Abraham a child miraculously in their old age, but they went against God, because He didn't do it quickly enough.

“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”- Genesis 15:4 (KJV)

Genesis 16:1-4: “Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”

Sarai thought God Almighty was a liar and told her maid to sleep with Abraham.

“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”- Genesis 16:9

The spoken words from heaven refused to acknowledge the union! If they had, she would be a wife to submit to her husband, not still a maid submitting to a woman.

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”- Genesis 9-12 (KJV)

So the bonds woman is still a bondwoman and not a wife. This is God calling her a bondwoman! She and her son were cast out! She was not a wife.

Her child isn't even acknowledged as Abraham's son. Always as the son of the bondwoman.

Genesis 22:2: And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (KJV)

Esau is mentioned.
“And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.”-Genesis 26:34-35 (KJV)

So the marrying of these two women grieved the monogamous parents. He married another later. Thats pretty much all is said about his sex life.

“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”-Hebrews 12:16

So if the entire biblical account of Esau's sex life amounts to he had several wives and he is called a fornicator, it's safe to say that is the reason. Apparently polygamy is considered bad.

Jacob is considered to have four wives. He may have married Leah first, but he said his vows of marriage for Rachel. This is obvious.

Genesis 46
[15] These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
[19] The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.

The Bible distinguishes Rachel as his wife. No other is called his wife.

“And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:”- Genesis 44: 27 (KJV)

Jacob only acknowledges one wife. Not one of many wives.

Moses is listed among the polygamists. Giving the verses (Ex 2:21; 18:1-6; Num 12:1),

If you actually, look up the verses you will find that Zipporah was Moses one and only wife and she was Ethiopian.

So the kings are then listed:

God hath said

“Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”- Deuteronomy 17:17

An endorsement for many wives? No
Did God say oh I changed My mind and I was wrong? NO

Why in the world does the author think listing a bunch of people who sin make a sin right?

It's allowed but never condoned.

Another verse
1 Corinthians 7:2: ... each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. (KJV)

So I have typed up three pages worth and I still have a lot to say on the topic. I'll list other rebuttals on the subject for further reference.

Here's A Good source for reference on the topic

Another source

Naruto Shippuden 70 English sub

2008-08-08T15:05:00.001-07:00

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Naruto Shippuden 68 and 69 English sub

2008-08-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

Episode 68 & 69

Episode 68

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Bleach 183 English Sub

2008-08-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

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YU-GI-OH 5D episode 17 English SUB

2008-08-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

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One Piece 364 English Sub

2008-08-05T11:25:00.001-07:00

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My Essays Offsite

2008-08-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Stephen Dedalus

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2008-07-31T17:18:00.000-07:00

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2008-07-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

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Detective Conan Episode 507 English Sub

2008-07-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

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2008-07-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

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YU-GI-OH 5D episode 16 English SUB

2008-07-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

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Public Speech Summary

2008-07-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

This was a college Public Speech
Author: Rhett Butler

A large mass of people has gathered together within an arena where only the strong leave victorious, and the colossal force of the battle crushes the weak into submission. A competitor stands alone against overwhelming numbers of challengers, and there can be only one victor. The first command sounds for the competitor to be on guard. He gazes around at the fierce contenders and ponders the extent of their might. The second command is given to inform the competitor that he is next in line for the harsh struggle. His thoughts and feelings surge through him in a nervous pulsation, and he prays that all his training has been worth the all blood, sweat, and tears. Could he be predestined by fate to fail despite infinite perseverance? Can anyone overcome the limitations of his born weaknesses to surpass a genetic superhuman, or does the right of passage to be the best belong to a select few from the moment of conception? Like thunder the final command echoes through the bowels of his soul, he must take the stand and face the moment of truth. What is really transpiring here at this foreboding event? Is the man a gladiator, a fighter, a soldier, or an athlete? Where is this mysterious and ominous location? I was that man, and I was participating in a powerlifting competition. Some of you may be wondering what powerlifting is. How many of you guys have played football and been asked how much do you bench or deadlift? How many of you have played basketball, and been asked how high you can jump or how much you can squat? These explosions of force are the foundation that makes or breaks a power lifter. Powerlifting is a competitive sport requiring a unique training style that has produced feats of strength that tests the true limits of the human body.

Powerlifting is an extreme sport with plenty of competition, and few reign supreme with the luxury of fame and fortune. The hallowed sum of the three core lifts determines the worth of a lifetime of devotion as a power lifter. The training influences every aspect of their lives and forges their bodies as well as their minds. The emphasis that they place on power has lead to accomplishments that defy belief. The astounding feats of strength have raised the bar expectancy for what we are really capable of. As President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is far better to dare mighty things on the platform than to be in those chairs with those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Like these men and women who devote their lives and bodies to breaking the barriers of the impossible against all odds, we should strive to rise to the challenges in our own lives whatever they may be. If we choose to sit out from life and it’s adversities, we will just fade away. I will leave you with some words of inspiration that can be applied to far more aspects of the life than any sport. The great inventor Thomas Edison proclaimed this message, “If we all did the things we were capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.”

My First Experience in the World of Speech and Drama Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.007-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

My first experiences with acting, prop designing, directing, and script writing for a play; began in seventh grade literature class. Mrs. Michelle McCutchen was our teacher; she liked to be called Mrs. Missy. We began to learn about plays and acts in our literature book, so Mrs. Missy came up with the bright idea of having the class divide into groups and create a play from scratch. She could have done it alphabetically, by random selection, or even let us choose our own groups; but we were divided by the color of our clothing. Ashley, Dusty, Karen, Audrey and I wore blue on that fateful day. I begged and pleaded to change my group to no avail.

We were allowed whole class periods to work on this play and given longer than any other group to complete. Days went by with not even a general concept of what we were going to do. We finally developed a title with a week left of time, but we had not story, outline, or clue as to what we would do. The title was “The Four Stooges and Cousin Bit.”

I went home and wrote a decent script and everyone agreed on the script because we would not have one otherwise. Audrey took the script home to change the script so that it would look like everyone wrote it. Keep in mind that Audrey was the girl that got seven questions wrong on a five-question quiz. I took the rewritten script to one of the secretaries at my mom’s business whose name was Angie without even looking at it. I told her to type the script, and she read it before she gave it back to me. She said that she could not understand the story. I looked at the story for an hour in horror. She had butchered my story. In addition to over seventy grammatical mistakes, the story made no sense. I had to reword it to be bearable, but I could not just type up the original because Audrey had it. It was a complete disaster with the ever-looming time limit. I finally got six copies of the script printed for the teacher and us.

At this point there are five days left. We have not rehearsed, found props, or planned either. The situation is now dire. I went as far as to miss the schools dance to work on props, which really upset me. I designed four backgrounds from cardboard and spray paint. I brought bowls, test tubes, and cups for the lab scene. I made little flaming hats for the scene where a few people’s hair caught on fire. I tried to bring anything I could to liven up the scene.

The day arrives. Naturally they forget to bring props. One person was only assigned the task of filling a cup with sand from the sand box, which he said that he forgot to do. Karen walks in on a leash, which had absolutely nothing to do with the story. I probably was expecting too much when I thought that they would at least read the script. With the lack of key props, the play became a game of bad charades even with the background for the scene. When it came for someone to yell bang or yell, they would zone out and not realize it was his or her line. I would end up doing the sound effects because I could not openly direct because it was a live performance. This looked badly performed mostly because everyone was allowed to read straight from the script. They did not seem to know what to do with the props even though it was in parenthesis on the page. To make matters worse, all of this footage would be immortalized on film that we would have to watch the next day. Lucky for us the camera guy named Michael was either asleep or totally zoned out. Only the last part of the play made it on film. Directly after ending the play, I flipped out. I started yelling about their lackadaisical attitude towards the play and their irresponsibility towards collecting props. I finished by rebuking their acting. Get this! Mrs. Missy did not realize that we had finished the play even though she was reading the script as we performed! The grade I received was so low that it lowered my average five whole points. My friend Thomas created a story line about a talking pie and a trip back in time and beat every group in the class. He pulled the idea off a Simpsons show. The important difference between my play and his was preparation. They knew early on what they were going to do and rehearsed the play. I learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Performance favors the prepared.

Shoney's Critique Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.006-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

Our ninth grade composition class decided to go on a trip to Shoney’s. We had to complete a critique of the restaurant’s food, service, and atmosphere. I personally observed my surroundings and the quality of the service. I tried to give an honest opinion of what I really thought. The food’s quality, service merit, and the atmosphere’s class was gaged and graded by my personal opinion.

I tried a total of fourteen different foods on the breakfast buffet. The hash browns were pretty good because they were not to moist and not to dry. I sampled the apple pie squares, which were quite delicious due to the crisp taste of apple and sugar. I partook of the sausage, which was only average in taste because of a suety flavor. I entreated myself to the biscuits, which were so good that they would almost melt in your mouth. I examined the savor of the bacon, which could have been a little crisper. I ate the chicken even though it tasted like shrimp, which is unacceptable. The rice was spicy, yet it had certain piquancy. The grits with that yellow creamy sauce was bitter tasting and bologna was fair even though it was a little greasy. I forced down the sodden blueberry muffins, which were too moist, gushy, and soggy. The mushroom stir-fry had an oily taste, but was one of the better foods on the buffet. I endeavored the eggs even though they were creamy and awful. The salsa may have been spicy, but its content of tomato sauce was too high. The pancakes had a sweet flavor yet they seemed to be a little bitter and the sweet tea was average because it tasted like city tap water.

The service was good in some areas, but in others it needs definite improvement. It took approximately one minute to be seated, which is a good thing. It took two minutes to attain a waiter; this is acceptable. I was able to get a straw within seconds of asking. It took twenty minutes to get a refill on tea and after that one refill I never received another one. Halfway through my meal I got my meal, when I expected to get it only when I was done with my meal.

The atmosphere had both good and bad points. Nineteen pictures of the most dull and lifeless sort that I have seen in a restaurant in a long time lined the walls. The television in our room was not even turned on. The walls were not quite as bad because they had some color. The seats were comfortable to an extent and the table was plain. The restrooms had an African motif and self-flushing toilets. The restroom and the room I was seated in were sanitary. The arcade was the best part of Shoney’s atmosphere even though it had a small variety of games.

In conclusion of my visit to Shoney’s, I would like to give an overall opinion. The food was below average because of many different bad tasting foods. The service on some things was good and others it was bad. The atmosphere was acceptable for three reasons: the African motif in the restroom, the sanitation of the environment, and the arcade. The only reason that I would return would be because of the arcade. I am mostly upset about the bad tasting food.

Remember the Titans Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.005-07:00

In the movie Remember the Titans, differences play an important roll and it is those differences that can turn into bloodshed and sorrow if those differences are not put aside. Coach Yoast does not like the idea of some black guy taking his head-coaching job. Coach Yoast finally decides to work under Coach Boone as defense coordinator. The football team goes through camp, which is extremely painful. They resolve their racist opinions and managed not to kill each other. Coach Boone finds out that if he loses a game, he loses his job. The team won thirteen games and they became state champions.

The theme of Remember the Titans was that disagreement and differences turn to hatred and hatred causes bloodshed and separation of a unit. While the team was at Gettysburg, Coach Boone taught the team about the battle that took place. It was people’s differences that led fifty thousand people to their deaths. They fought the same battle the team fought among themselves. They could not survive if the black players and the white players did not live as brothers. Coach Boone did not see eye to eye in the beginning on how the team should be run. Through much tribulation, they began to respect and see each other as equals. The players were driven by three a day and four a day practices. They not only learned to respect each other, but they learned to love one another as brothers.

Hatred destroyed lives and almost destroyed the team. Coach Yoast’s little girl said it best, “Before your disagreements turn to hatred, remember the Titan’s.”

Coach Boone taught the lesson “survival of the fittest.” He demanded perfection in every way. He tried to train them for life as well as football. He taught them that hatred killed his family and hatred is what would tear them apart. Coach Yoast said, “There is a fine line between tough and crazy and you are flirting with it.” Coach Yoast taught that humans have physical limitations. He gave up on his place in the Hall of Fame and he accepted the role of assistant coach. This teaches the players humility, honesty, and endurance of hardships when things do not go one’s way.

Burtier’s accident teaches the team to love one another. Burtier was affected from the waist down. Julius Campbell comes in to visit him. Burtier has formed a bond between Julius and himself. They no longer care what color skin they have. They recognized each other as brothers. This is realized when Burtier says “Don’t you see the family resemblance.” Burtier’s accident teaches that it does not matter what a person looks like on the outside, but it is a person’s soul that matters. They all came together in loving unity to support Burtier.

In Remember the Titans, the differences of the players, the lessons learned, and the unity of the players make this a spectacular movie. Some of the players are white and some are black. They learn to respect and cherish each other. The coaches teach the lessons of hard work, honesty humility and the destructive power of hatred. The players were unified and cared about each other. They came together to support Gary Burtier in his hour of need. Yoast’s little girl said it best, “Before your disagreements turn to hatred, remember the Titans.”

First Impression Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.004-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

A person’s outward appearance when you first see them is generally reliable but not always. Actions that have been conducted or spoken upon one’s first meeting are even less reliable. Appearance and actions are the two key aspects of a first impression.

A person’s clothing does not always reflect who a person is. A greedy king covered in diamonds and gold is not nobler than the shabby looking, kind hearted peasant.

The actions someone performs at first encounter may be nothing more than an act. Some guys will walk up to physically enticing girls and make gestures of kindness but in reality they are black hearted and cruel.

Only a long made observation can tell whether a person is good or bad. It takes a lifetime of being with someone to know and understand who or what that person is. First impressions are the most unreliable view one can have. William Haylift said, “First impressions of a person are often the truest.” My point of view is that first impressions are the most false.

When I was a very Young Lad Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.003-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

When I was a very young lad, I lived near the ocean. I fondly recall my house and places around me. I left my home when I was about seven years of age. When I return to that place, I try to remember what my life was like back then. Its seems to bring a desolate and empty feeling to try to look back in time to remember where I was, who I was, and what were my feelings towards my place in life back then.

There was a big T. V. in the living room. A brown recliner, a blue sofa, and a peculiar circular chair surrounded the set. My favorite spot to sit in the entire room was on the floor about two feet from the television. The house was usually neat and organized. I had a personal playroom that was located next to the den. The area measured out to be about ten feet from the television. The house was usually neat and organized. I had a personal playroom that was located next to the den. The area measured out to be about ten feet wide and about twenty feet long. Buckets of toys were scattered across the room and I also had a football chest big enough that I could fit into it. The sun deck was on the way to our back yard. A metal fence encompassed the area. A concrete walkway led to our mailbox in the front yard.

I was an average child back then. My grades were nothing to brag about. My level of discipline amounted to the rank of a conventional juvenile. I socialized with people quite often. I spent about as much time away from my house as in it. I almost always was somewhere. I was outside a lot, but I still managed to find time to play video games.

I took very little consideration of my place in life back then. It was probably do to my lack of intelligence. I was generally happy all the time. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents during that period of my life because I did not have to go to school until I was five or six years old. I believe that there was less than five times in my life that I did not go with one of my grandparents to a church. I spent more time in my early adolescence in a church than the later part of my life. I miss my going to church more than anything else.

I retain the thought of Sunday school and what we did there. We had little books where we wrote verses and played games such as crossword puzzles with Biblical names. I was the loudest singer in the choir in the past. I put the microphone as far away from me as my arms could extend and sang loud enough for the whole church to hear.

Tragedy of Julius Caesar Letter Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.002-07:00

Dear Caesar,

I dreamed a horrible and most dreadful dream that has told me that you shall die! O’ my love, I warn thee not to go to the Senate. I have need of thee to be close to me so that your presence may calm my soul. I pray you shall not go for I have foreseen a grave and bloody death, I love you too much to let you die, and I wish not to mourn my life away at the thought of my lost love.

Please, for my sake if o other, take heed to my dream. I have dreamed of a statue in your likeness that hath flowed with blood. It poured all about and the greedy Romans were upon the scene. They washed and bathed their hands in your blood. The greedy Romans took pleasure.

I love thee and cherish thee with all my heart! Doest thou love me? If you love me even a little, you will not go. Listen not to the murderous, plotting voices of your fellow Romans. You only have to stay with me today, just this one time to prove that you have any love for me.

If you should leave today, I would mourn all day at fear that consumes my soul. The omen that has been told to you is true. I know it is with all my heart. I love you far too much to let you go to certain death. Please, do no leave me if you have any love for me. My mourning would leave an everlasting scar upon my heart.

It was in my dream that you would die if you go. I plead and beg of you not to go to the Senate. I shall mourn till your return even if you never come back. If you love me do not go and leave me. It is my concern for your safety.

Love,

Calpurnia

Through the Tunnel Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.001-07:00

Jerry and his mother take a vacation near the beach. They both take a trip to the beach several times during the vacation. One day, he swims away from the beach. He spots a group of boys that are diving off a rock.

At the beginning of the story, Jerry swims near the boys who are playing. He is acting a little shy and timid, while he watches them. The boys noticed him and allow him to come to where they we swimming. He tries to dive off like they did. The boys eventually dive and swim through a tunnel in the water. Jerry is too scared to try it.

Jerry later trains his body to go longer without air. He trains himself to endure the pain from his nose bleeding. He becomes more confident in his body. His mind is no longer afraid of the challenge. He finally dives in the water and bravely faces his fear.

Jerry leaves behind the fear of the challenge. He is no longer shy or timid and is now bold in what he attempts. He has lost all interest in the challenge. He gives into what his mother wants at the end of the story. He will now only face new challenges with a bold and determined attitude.

Jerry began as a very timid by. He was too scared to go through the tunnel. He trained day after day with all the determination that he could ever need. He pushed himself through pain and torture. He prepared himself mentally and physically. He mastered the tunnel and never cared about it ever again.

Simon Birch Essay

2008-07-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

Faith is a person’s trust in God. It is confidence in what cannot be seen or physically felt. True faith is complete trust. There are many people with faith and without faith in the movie, Simon Birch. Some of the people have little faith and some have a lot of faith. There are several ways that they show that they have faith or absence of faith.

Reverend Russell was once asked if God had a plan for everyone. Due to his shortage of faith, he could not give an answer. He seemed to lack faith in his own life because he was not sure that God had a plan for him. Miss Leevy was a very bitter person who picked on the weak and innocent. She showed how little faith she had by condemning Simon’s faith.

Rebecca showed a great deal of faith by standing up for Simon’s faith. She knew what faith was and would fight Mrs. Leevy and who-ever else to defend her faith. Her son, Joseph, was lacking faith when she died. He did not believe in God. It took Simon’s death to establish faith in Joseph.

Simon Birch showed the greatest faith of all. He stood up for his faith in God in front of the whole church. He knew God’s first priority was not the church’s bake sale or the camping trips. When Russell tried to dissuade him and make him apologize for his faith by putting him in a corner, Simon proudly said, “Faith does not have a floor plan.”
It was as if he meant to say boldly, “ The Lord is my helper so what manner of man shall I fear?” He always wanted to be an instrument of God and was told that one day he would be a hero. He helped Joseph find his father and aided Joseph in the saving of the children. Simon got the children to listen to him because of the way that he looked. God had made him small for that reason and by doing what he did; Simon was God’s instrument. Simon possessed great faith because it was what kept him alive and from delving into despair.

Faith is the belief in what not is seen. Miss Leevy and Father Russell lack faith because of what has happened in their own lives. Father Russell made a woman pregnant. While Mrs. Leevy’s past is unknown, her bitter attitude reflects on it. Rebecca has great faith and stands up for people who display their faith. Joseph’s faith grows from nothing to a great faith, but it takes the death of his mother and best friend for him to get his faith. Simon has the greatest faith of all. His last act of faith saved many children but at the cost of his life. He showed the greatest faith by dying for it.

Rhett K. Butler- Desriptive Character Essay

2008-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Author- Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

In Gone With The Wind, Rhett K. Butler is my absolute favorite character. At the Wilkes barbecue, Rhett gives Scarlet his devilish stare and a grin of treachery. Scarlett hears about how this man has ruined a woman’s reputation and shot her brother in a duel. Captain Rhett Butler bids for Scarlett at the bazaar. He mocks and taunts her because he is neither a gentlemen nor an honorable captain of the Confederacy. He tried to destroy Scarlett’s girlish ideals by fancy gifts of elaborate sort. While Sherman makes his attack on Atlanta, Rhett strolls through town with his ornate suite and buggy. After the war ended, Scarlett asked for a loan on the condition that she did not involve Ashley in anyway. Rhett saves the whole Ku Klux Klan by creating a very undignified alibi. Since Scarlett’s second husband dies, Rhett decided to marry her and says it is just for fun. Ashley hugs Scarlett and Rhett gets mad and drunk because he wants her to forget Ashley. Rhett’s child dies and Rhett goes back to Charleston to search for something that stills holds value in his life.

Rhett is gifted with the suave and dashing looks, which is the envy of almost every Yankee girl. His hair is short and jet-black. The mustache on his face curves around his sardonic smile. His hazel brown eyes give a piercing look. The hands of this man are both strong and steady and it is his hands that make him one of the best “shots” in the country. His lips are firm and have caressed many women’s lips. His muscular body far surpasses any man around and his skin is tan and rough. All his handsome and masculine features far surpasses the gentlemen of Atlanta.

Rhett Butler usually insults someone and mocks him for his amusement. He is a blockade-runner for profit. He buys from the Yankees and sells to the Confederates. He pressures high-ranking Yankees into getting him out of jail because they helped him get supplies for the Confederates. He is a great thinker who knows the best way to make money is in the tearing down of a nation. Rhett once said, “They have factories, shipyards, coal mines, and a fleet to bottle up our harbor and starve us to death. All you have is cotton, slaves, and arrogance.” He tells the cruel, honest truth and mocks them, when he says, “It appears that I’m ruining everyone’s brandy, cigars, and dreams of victory.”

While Sherman’s army is coming, Rhett steals a horse and a buggy at the cost of almost getting shot. He drives to where Scarlett was staying and gives a mocking comment. He guides the horse through fire and explosions with a calm co-ordination.

When Scarlett falls down the stairs after Rhett and her were arguing, is the only crisis in which he ever worries. He worried because he loves her.

Rhett K Butler is suave and debonair with his natural charm. He is not a gentleman in any way, shape of form. He is gifted with a certain ability to mock and insult in a very irritating manner.

In a crisis, he is both calm and quick thinking, when lives are at stake. In the end, despite his wealth, looks, and talents, he is left looking for something that still holds value in his life.

Shawshank Redemption Essay

2008-07-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Author- Rhett butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

Norton was the warden at the Shaw shank Prison. He displayed several character traits throughout the movie, The Shawshank Redemption. He opined a belief in the method of discipline developed at the jail. The warden displayed knowledge of the Bible even though he lacked understanding. When he discovered Andy’s ability, he became greedy, impudent, and dishonest.

Every time that a new batch of convicts came to prison, the warden and head guard would address them. Norton started each speech with stating a belief in discipline and the Bible. Discipline was shown when the head guard hit a man because he asked about eating, yet the warden did not do anything.

Norton knew the letter of the law, but missed the heart of the law. His favorite verse was “The light of the world”, which is ironic because he spent his life away from the light. When Norton inspected Andy’s room, he said that he did not approve of the poster, which showed that he knew what was good for a person. He showed charity by letting Andy write letters that he would personally send for him. He also showed a trait of reason by saying that the only way people saw prison funding, was for more concrete and more bars. When he found out about Andy’s financial skills, he took full advantage of the situation. He got Andy to do everything from stock managing to shoe shining.

He was very protective of Andy because he wanted to use him for his own personal gain. He sent Andy to solitary confinement for a month because he could possibly get out of prison by Tommy’s testimony. Norton asked if Tommy would swear before God Almighty before the court. Tommy said he would testify, but Norton decided to have him killed. Norton signaled for the guard to shoot the man. He said that it was hard to know what the right thing to do was.

He made the wrong choice by killing Tommy and making Andy stay. Norton was like a seed cast among thorns. When the seed sprouted, it was choked by the thorns. Norton said that he believed in the Bible. He knew the letter of the law, but missed the heart of it. He was like one who believed the word yet was choked by the riches of the world. Norton let the concept of being rich consume him. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. The same is true of those who would risk everything to become a rich man.

Radio Essay

2008-07-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Author- Rhett butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

In the movie Radio, many character’s lives are changed as a result of the relationship between Coach Jones and Radio. Coach Jones’ sacrifices for Radio altered the relationship of his family, team, and community. When Coach Jones was a kid, he ran a paper route and heard a noise. He went to the house where he had heard this noise. He found a mentally retarded kid under a house that was surrounded by barbed wire. He gazed into the boy’s eyes and never did anything about it. Radio was Coach Jones’s second chance. He finally stood against the odds because he wanted to help him.

Coach Jones had ignored his family because of his football team and Radio. Mary Helen felt like Radio was loved more than she was. Radio helped bring Coach Jones closer to his family. Coach Jones learned that family was more important than football. At the speech in the barbershop, Coach Jones made that clear.

Harold found his team gathered around a tool shed and found Radio all tied up. He made the team run sprints for hours and allowed Radio to help with the team to make up for the team’s little stunt. Radio was seen as a distraction by the parents, but Jones decided to help Radio anyway. He believed that a person’s life is far more important than a silly school football team. He finally decided Radio was more important than the team and was willing to give the team up for Radio.

Jones’ relationship with the school changed. The principal got irritated and a guy got called into examine everything Radio did. When the community was in the barbershop, the people got mad for Coach Jones giving his attention to Radio instead of the team. The school was what was helping Radio and Harold refused to take him out of it. Harold decided to quit his coaching job if they made Radio leave.

Some hated radio and he was made “fun of”. Radio was eventually loved by many. Radio was loved by the school and tried to take the blame for those who did not love him. The football team bought him a jacket to make up for how he was treated. Coach Jones helped to make this all come true. He sacrificed his time, attention, and almost his job to help Radio be loved just like one of us.

Stephen Dedalus: Joyce’s Advocate (Mistakes are the portals of discovery)

2008-07-25T13:17:00.001-07:00

Author- Rhett butler
Grade Level- Twelfth Grade

A man of genius makes no errors; his mistakes are volitional and become portals of discovery. Such a man of genius lies within the character of Stephen Dedalus who is really the advocate of James Augustine Joyce. During the twentieth century, Joyce’s innovative literary technique using a continuous flow of consciousness rather than characterizations through a physical reality enabled Joyce to project his views and personality into the main character of the novel, Stephen Dedalus. Dedalus came alive because both Dedalus and Joyce’s life were developed through similar realities. They both possessed a dutiful mother likened unto the Virgin Mary and an irresponsible, reckless father who became a symbol of freedom from coarse and rigid religious restraints. Their developments were further harmonized through the Jesuit teachings at Clongowes Wood College and the gradually progressing financial instability of their families. The gradual decline of financial status influenced them to take part in an adulterous act with a Dublin prostitute. Prompted by the colorful events in his life, Joyce explored the prejudices among family, alcohol, politics, and religion existing in both the Irish and Catholic communities. In the novel A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, an imaginative young boy undergoes transcendence over the course of his life brought about by life’s obstacles. The young artist comes to reject family, pleasure, politics, and religion because he believes that aesthetic beauty is the highest and most wonderful meaning in life. Stephen Dedalus undergoes difficulties with family, pleasure, politics, and religion till he rejects them completely in order to pursue a worthier passion of aesthetic beauty.

The religious and political controversies within Stephen’s household shape his artistic views about life.Mary Joyce, his mother, instructs him in the values of godliness and the proper reverence towards piety, and she encourages a devout life of Catholicism. While his mother rears Stephen in the rigid principals of the Catholic Church, his father Simon Dedalus teaches his son to only adhere to a superficial code of social conduct in his pursuit of freedom. Because Stephen is exposed to simultaneous moral and immoral upbringings, he feels that he has gained a superior position in life, which allows him to artistically examine the world surrounding him. In addition to this philosophical debate, political controversies ensue at the annual family Christmas dinner between Aunt Dante, Mr. John Casey, and Simon Dedalus. A disagreement commences concerning the Catholic Church’s involvement in politics and the late Irish nationalist, Charles Stewart Parnell. Casey and Simon believe that the Catholic Church violently ended his political career, and sent him to an early grave. While they attack the absolute authority of the church, Dante stubbornly holds to the immaculate authority of the priests without braving a single question or though against the pronounced men of God. These unsettlements within Stephen’s family spark his disapproval of his family.

Stephen’s alcoholic father unknowingly torments him and influences him to seek out promiscuous women. The father and son take a train to Simon’s old medical university, and the anatomy theater that they attend enlightens Stephen about his withheld sexual desires. The sudden inspiration that occurs within him produces a violent tumult of changing emotions that go unseen by his unseen father. These feelings are exacerbated by his father’s drunken revelries of youthful flirtations at the local pub. After their stay at the pub, they venture on to collect Stephen’s winning essay money, which he spends on his family. Despite his philanthropic attempt to unite his family in peace, the result is the same discord among blood relatives. His frustrations with his father and his family lead him to seek the adulterous comforts of a Dublin prostitute.

Stephen’s perspective towards life is heavily affected by the political controversies abounding throughout the novel concerning the Irish and the English.He has made several conclusions about the Irish’s humility and subservient nature. The Irish customs allows them to be easily controlled; this is clearly seen when Stephen converses with the dean of the university only to discover that even the Irish language belongs to the English.These ideals heavily influence his development as an artist as he realizes that he must first escape the bonds of his Irish ancestors. The hope of escape from bondage is sealed within his artistic ability to write. He has chosen to write in a unique style that brings glory and truth to the Irish, while remaining autonomous to the English.

The ideals of Protestantism, agnosticism, and Catholicism provide multiple views for the developing young artist.Early on he is taught that it is foolish to mingle or consort with those of the Protestant faith. Like most of his rigid teachings he never truly understands the true meanings or reasoning behind these measures. His father teaches agnostic principles that are earthly in nature and directly contradict the teachings of Catholicism. Catholicism being the root religion of the Irish is the dominant religious influence in his life. The sermon of Hell and its many torments converts him from an adulterous being into a confessed sinner. He seems to become an example of a sinner who loves much, because he is forgiven much. Stephen becomes a seemingly reformed man of God ready to pursue a life in the priesthood until he becomes like the seed that is cast among the thorns. He believes for a time and has roots, but he is choked by the deceitfulness of the world and its worldly pleasures.

Stephen finds solace in his the simple beauty of a woman and mythological ponderings. The beauty of the innocent girl wading in the crystal clear water represents an angel of purity and youth. He views her as an idol worth his worship. As his mind drifts into a world of endless imagination, he reflects upon the myth of Daedalus, and the existing similarities between himself and the famous artificer. The mythological genius designed wings from earthly matter to escape imprisonment. The imperishable heavenly being with wings was constructed from worthless matter on earth. He believes like Daedalus that he can forge a new soul to rise higher toward better ideals. His work will become an imperishable being and both his literature and himself will become a new creation.

Stephen has severed his emotional relations with his family’s ideals as members of his family have long since done to each other. He has gained a multitude of knowledge from his delving into the truths of alcohol, money, and prostitution. He has learned that worthless pleasures are futile vexations of the spirit. The politics existing in Europe inspired Stephen to break the bonds of his ancestors and overcome the oppression by the English. He casts away his brief devout nature, because he believes that he can no longer follow the rigid lifestyle that he has designed for himself. Instead of devoting his life to family, pleasure, politics, or religion, he has chosen to devote his life to the pursuit of artistic beauty.Art means much more than a simple acknowledgment of beauty to both Stephen and James. Through the eyes of James Joyce art is the deep-rooted longing of a man to express himself and to record the reactions of his character to the world he lives in. Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic pleasure is acceptance of that pattern.

Father of the Bride,Father of the Bride Two- Comparison/Contrast Paper

2008-07-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Author- Rhett butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

In the movie Father of the Bride, there similarities and differences in relations to Father of the Bride Two. The first movie follows a story centered on the wedding of Annie and Brian. George, Annie’s father, could hardly believe that his daughter was getting married. He was ill tempered and cranky when it came to bills; he would just grit his teeth and moved on with the sessions. The second movie starts several months after the wedding. Annie gets pregnant and Nina, George’s wife, gets pregnant about a week later. George goes through tough times that were far more difficult than the wedding. All the characters stay the same for the most part, but they do learn how to deal with things much better than before.

In the first movie, Annie gets home after being away for several months and tells her family that she is going to be married to a guy the family has never met. George flips out over the whole ordeal. He dreads meeting the in-laws even more so than he dreaded meeting Brian. In the second movie, George finds out that Annie is pregnant. He gets irritated with Brian, but he does not show his anger to Brian just like he failed to do in the first movie. A week later, Nina gets pregnant; George faints, even though he did not faint in the first movie. He over reacts in both movies. When he prepares for the babies being delivered, he loses sleep over it, when he only worried about the weddings. He worried during both events, but only collapsed in the second movie. The baby shower was a gift of apology from George for selling the house, when the wedding was forced on George. The babies being born were an event similar to the one during the wedding. There were difficulties in both such as George falling asleep on the way to the hospital and the snow that almost killed the flowers and forced the swans inside.

The wedding was expensive, but the baby shower and the room were expensive also. George only overreacted about the cost of the wedding. George learned in the second movie to control his anger. He threw the shower as an apology. He also learned to open the bill after fully appreciating something and letting the thought soak in his head. When George sold the house, he wanted to move away and get a better life, but when he tried to get it back. It took a self-transformation to sign the check. He was no longer the cheapest man on the planet from that day forth.

George could hardly believe that his little girl was finally going to get married at the age of twenty-two. Mr. McKenzie gives up Brian with somewhat of a lackadaisical attitude. In the second movie, George has to let go of the easy life, when Nina bears a child. In the first movie, Annie and Brian get into a fight about a blender. In the second movie, they get into a fight about moving. They have not stopped arguing over silly little things, but Brian knows how to deal with the situation better as time passes. In the first movie, George would have liked nothing more than to get rid of him, while in the second movie he is like a member of the family.

There are many differences and similarities between the two movies in relations to events, expenses, and hardships. George freaks out over the wedding, but gives the baby shower as a gift. George is filled with the same paranoia when meeting the in-laws as with finding out about the pregnancies. George would rather not pay for an extra hotdog bun in the first movie. In the second movie, George pays a hundred grand for something that should be his. George changes from his cheap self to a careless spender. He still made jokes about the cost of things such as the wedding or the ridiculous idea of his wife having a baby. George no longer has to talk with Brian for an hour to build him up after an argument with Annie. Brian and Annie still quarrel over little things, which will probably never change. These two movies show us how we may change and our conditions change, but some things never change.

Gone With The Wind- Short Story Continuation

2008-07-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Author-Rhett Butler
Grade- Ninth Grade

Rhett leaves Scarlett to be alone. Scarlett decides that it is too depressing to think about that tragedy today. Scarlett goes to Tara by train. She knows that she still has to raise both Wade and Ella. She believes in her heart that Rhett still loves her deeply. She mails a letter to a school in Charleston to enroll her children. Since she sold the mills and does not use convicts anymore, she sends a letter to Archie.

After Rhett left Scarlett, he went to Charleston to visit his mother. Rhett told his mother and sister about his life in Atlanta. His sister asked Rhett about Scarlett. He tells her that he loved her deeply, but Scarlett could not get that “wood-headed” Mr. Wilkes out of her head. Rhett continued his stories about his life for about a week and decided to write a letter to England. He requested that his cotton should be sold for a dollar for every pound of cotton. With that money, Rhett bought an elaborate house near the Charleston harbor.

Archie is willing to do some work for Scarlett if she will keep to her promise of never using convicts again. Scarlett gives Archie the job of transporting Wade, Ella, and herself to Charleston. Scarlett devises the plan of buying a house in Charleston near the school so she can look for Rhett. Archie drives all of the people to Charleston.

They eventually enter the town and find the house to spend the night. Scarlett believes she can go to Rhett’s mother’s house and get directions to his house.

Rhett gets very drunk at a bar that is similar to Bell Watling’s house. He begins to ramble on about his life. Rhett says to himself, “What is left for me in the world? These frivolous women have lost their luster. They are such simple-minded fools that they do not even comprehend the sense of logic I possess. Scarlett was a woman that actually had a brain that could thing realistically, but she lacked a woman’s heart. I liked to think of Bonnie Blue as Scarlett when she was a little girl. She was untouched by war and I could make her happy. Scarlett never once loved me and the honorable good-for-nothing Mr. Wilkes was her only desire.”

Scarlett finds someone to watch her children and leaves her house to visit Rhett’s family. She finds out that Rhett had sworn them to secrecy, but they tell her that Rhett still loves her despite what her said. She goes and buys food for the house and starts to think and talk to herself. She says, “Where, oh, where could he be? Fiddle-Dee Dee, where could I find Rhett?”

Scarlet finally decides to look around all the undignified bars. To avoid being recognized, she covers herself with a black cloak with a hood to hide her face. She waits till the sun fades, to start searching. She checks several bars. She keeps checking until the time is midnight. She finally reaches the last lewd bar in Charleston. She tries to open the front door, but it is locked. She walks down an alley to look for a back door.

As Scarlett walks quietly down the alley, she hears some footsteps. She stops and turns around. There is nothing. She starts walking again. A shady figure emerges behind Scarlett. The person lifts a pistol and points it at Scarlett.

He gruffly says, “Stop where you are. Take your hood off.” Scarlett slowly pulls off her hood. The man says, “Missy, give me all your money and valuables!” Scarlett tosses her bag of money from inside her cloak. She reaches for her gun and quickly points it at eh man. The man sees her raise the gun and he fires. Scarlett falls to the ground. Someone comes behind the man and shoots him in the back.

Scarlett sees the person, but her vision is blurred because of the pain. The guy runs to her and rips a piece of cloth form his suit. He wraps it around the wound. He says, “Scarlett, Scarlett, can you hear me?” Scarlet replies, “Rhett…is that you?”

Rhett says, “Do not worry, it’s only a wound to the shoulder. I’ll get you treatment.” Scarlett blacks out.

Scarlett wakes up three days later in Rhett’s mansion. Rhett says. “I see that you’re alive and well, my dear.”

Scarlett replies, “Rhett, I… I came looking for you and …I was shot.

Rhett sardonically says, “Could you still hold to your confession of love for me?”
Scarlett replies, “I do Rhett. I really do,” Rhett confidently says, “I believe a cancellation of divorce papers is in order.” Scarlett says, “Do you rally mean it?” Rhett replies, “I decided long ago, you were the only girl for me.”

Rhett and Scarlett stay married. Scarlett has another girl named Virginia. Rhett and Scarlett raise Wade, Ella, and Virginia, and they live happily ever after.

Finding Forrester Essay

2008-07-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Author-Rhett Butler
Grade- Ninth Grade

In the movie Finding Forrester, there were many things or ideas of great importance to several individual souls. Each person found something that was important to him and worked for it. Some valued pride and self-importance, while some felt that integrity surpasses the selfish process of worshipping one’s self. Some were just looking for a meaning to life so that their soul may finally rest in peace when they die. Jamal Wallace, William Forrester, and Professor Robert Crawford were faced with the same questions of what was important.

Jamal Wallace was, once upon a time, just a boy who made average grades in the classroom and hardly made anything worth praise until he received back some test scores, which showed a high degree of intellectual magnitude. He was given the chance to go to a school for his athletic abilities even though it was said to be because of his test scores. He told William he was going to go to this school, yet he worried about Professor Robert Crawford.

Lessons were learned in abundance with Forrester. Jamal became a better writer through learning to write with his heart and revise his work with his mind. He also learned the value of integrity and righteousness through his constant visits. He showed that he had integrity towards life by not revealing information about his friend and had a feeling of self-worth in academics because he missed those shots on purpose. Jamal’s value laid in integrity and doing the right thing.

William Forrester believed that people should leave him alone, so he went into hiding for a long time until a boy named Jamal found him. He had begun to teach what he knew about life and what was important. William thought life never worked out in the end, until he realized that he should venture out into the world despite his family dying and his book. It took a boy named Jamal to teach him the value of a life that has not yet fully lived and the value of friendship. There was wisdom in his bitter words, which proved very effective. He seemed to find importance in helping and teaching Jamal, because day after day he tutored and disciplined him. He went on a journey back to where he grew up to find out about the importance of the winter season of his life.

Professor Robert Crawford was a bitter and dangerous person in the sense that he would try to ruin a lad’s life just for his own satisfaction. He could not understand Jamal and his gifts, so he saw him as a threat that should be dealt with firm and swiftly. He had a quality of pride and self-worship that easily angered him when he was challenged.

The thought of Jamal being more learned in literature was far more than Robert could understand, so he sent him out of the room. Professor Crawford was a bitter and a static character to the end because he kept trying to thwart Jamal’s efforts even after William read Jamal’s paper. He never succeeded in ruining Jamal, but he remained constant in his values. He cared only for himself and it was his thinking that he was better than everyone that was important to him.

Jamal Wallace found out that integrity was the most important quality to have. He was willing to sacrifice his credentials in order to keep his promise. William Forrester learned that the most important thing in his life was what has not been lived and friendship. He showed this by going back to Scotland. Robert Crawford found that his quality of being better than most was the most important concept to him. He showed this by being infuriated when Jamal succeeded in defeating his “airs of greatness”. Each person found out what was important to them and found ways of proving the worth of what they valued in several different and unique ways. People have asked themselves what the most important thing to them was and the multitude of answers was as vast as the grains of sand upon the earth.

Dead Poet's Society Essay

2008-07-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Author-Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

The story is centered on a boarding school for boys. Mr. Keating is the new literature teacher. He is the original creator of the Dead Poet’s Society. A group of boys recreate the society and conduct meetings. Since Neil likes acting, poetry, and literature, he gets into a play. His father does not like the idea so Neil kills himself because he cannot be an actor. The group of boys all has to make a choice of whether or not to make Mr. Keating the scapegoat but in the end the school makes Mr. Keating a scapegoat because the teacher’s do not want the school’s reputation to be ruined.

Cameron joins the society of his own free will. He knew that it was everyone’s free choice to recreate the Dead Poet’s Society. When a little pressure is applied to him, he starts to look for someone to blame as long as it is anyone but himself. I doubt I have ever seen a more cowardly, lily-livered, and spineless act in my entire life. Cameron should make any decent person sick to his or her stomach. In his cowardly act, he says, “It is too late for the Captain, but you can save yourselves.”

Todd’s choice is a little better. I personally believe that he did not have to sign the paper. I would have torn that paper in pieces and blown it in the principles face. I do not think that is disrespectful; it is justice. I could not care less about what Todd’s parents or principal did. Who really cares if I am not as talented as my brother? I sure would not care. I am mot as shy as Todd is because I have not been oppressed like that my entire life. I am not as shy as Todd is because I have not been oppressed like that my entire life. The one thing that I actually like about Todd’s choices is the time that he stood on the desk and said, “Oh Captain! My Captain!” Overall, I like Todd’s decisions at second best.

I liked Charlie’s motives best of all. I was hoping someone would hit Cameron hard. The only part I disliked about how he did things is how little damage he did to Cameron. If someone’s going to get expelled over a punch, He should make it count. I do not think Cameron got hit hard considering how quickly he got up so quickly. All he got was a bloody nose. Cameron definitely deserved it. I was glad there was at least one person who did not sign that deceitful form. I respected both Charlie Dalton and Mr. Keating because they were the two people who were really willing to put up a fight. They walked on the road less traveled. They swam against the flow and they thought for themselves.

I would stand up for what I believe and the truth. Mr. Keating was totally innocent. I think Cameron was a spineless coward because of his decision. Todd should not have signed those papers, but I am proud of how he stood on his desk and said, “Oh Captain! My Captain!” I liked the punch in the face Charlie gave Cameron and the decision to not sign the paper. I would have definitely chosen Charlie’s choice because I do not believe that an innocent man should be made a scapegoat to carry the sins of others.

A Walk to the Jetty

2008-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Author-Rhett Butler
Grade Level- Ninth Grade

“A Walk to the Jetty” is about Annie’s childhood. She was born and raised near the Caribbean. She completed many tasks and endured many hardships throughout her childhood. It was these experiences that prepared her for leaving home.

Annie had been an apprentice to a seamstress called Miss Dulcie. Miss Dulcie was very hard on Annie. When Annie was told to sweep up all the threads, pins, and needles on the floor, it never pleased Miss Dulcie. When Annie had gotten the exact button or thread, she was told to get, the seamstress still complained. Annie’s experience with Miss Dulcie prepared her for the harshness of life that would follow leaving home.

When Annie was five, her mother gave her a small basket with three pennies in it. She told her to go to the chemists shop and buy a penny worth of senna, eucalyptus, and camphor leaves. She bought all of them and returned to her mother. Her mother then thanked her for her service. Annie was then prepared to get a job after she left home.

At the age of six, Annie was given a bank account. She had a little, grey book that held the information regarding the account. She deposited six pounds, ten shillings, and two and a half pence over the period of her childhood. She was never allowed to withdraw her money till she was about to leave home. This experience taught her how to manage her money after she left home.

Annie was finally prepared to leave home. She could deal with life’s cruelty. Completing a task was not a problem for her determined soul. She could manage her money and learned to save it instead of spending it on unimportant things. These are the life’s lessons that prepared her for life after she left home and made leaving home no problem at all.

A Walk To Remember

2008-07-25T12:25:00.002-07:00

Author-Rhett Butler

Level- Ninth Grade

After reading the novel A Walk To Remember, many characters change. Jamie’s influential personality and illness affect these changes. Hegbert is the minister of a church and is Jamie’s father. Landon is known for being somewhat of a bad kid because of a few minor things like hanging out at a graveyard during the night. Eric is Landon’s best friend and is a very athletic jock. Margaret is Eric’s girlfriend for the most part. Landon’s mother is sweet and kind and his father is a congressman. Each of these characters is in some way changed by Jamie. Landon believed she was “The angel who saved us all.”

Eric used to be a bad boy. He drank, partied, and did some other bad things. Jamie always thought that forgiveness had transforming properties. This was finally realized when Jamie was sick and Eric stopped to pay a visit. Eric gave Jamie a heart-felt apology. He told her that she was the most wonderful person that he had ever known. He started to cry and sniffle then he hugged Jamie. Margaret did the same thing. Margaret was a girl that would usually be found with a boy behind the bleachers. She showed that she has changed by crying for Jamie. He also collected over four hundred dollars for the orphanage. Jamie’s illness caused a change in the hearts of both Eric and Margaret.

Landon’s mother finally starts to get involved with Landon’s personal life. Jamie also healed the wounds between Hegbert and Landon’s father. Jamie had brought Landon and his father together. Landon’s relationship with his father grew stronger till his death. Jamie’s illness brought families together and helped bonds within a family to form.

Hegbert and Landon’s father did not get along well. Hegbert said that Landon’s father’s occupation was heathenism. The fathers eventually put aside their differences aside and lived in peace. Hegbert looked tired all the time and he fretted whenever Landon came over. Hegbert often felt the need to be alone. He stopped giving heed to his rules such as not allowing boys in the house. He became physically, mentally, and emotionally worn down. Jamie’s leukemia made him start to act like this but she did manage to bring the families together.

Landon and his friends used to hide behind trees and shout, “Herbert is a fornicator”. He used to be someone who would try to embarrass Jamie. He grew to love her and realized what a wonderful person she was. He was beginning to put his faith in God. Landon started reading the Bible. Landon finally learned that if you put your trust in God, you would always be right in the end. Landon started praying for a miracle. He changed from someone who was irritated with her presence to a good person who enjoyed her company. He cared deeply for her and realized that he could not live without Jamie so he married her. Jamie’s influence had the greatest effect of all on Landon.

Jamie’s was a kind, sweet, and honest soul. The forgiveness she showed others who made fun of her and did not want to be around her was so amazing that it brought out the most deep and heart felt concern in the most seemingly heartless people. Sympathy for her illness brought Landon’s father home and a bond grew between Landon and his father. Jamie and Landon’s love for each other brought Hegbert and Landon’s father together. Landon used to be a bad kid but when he got to know Jamie he became a really good person. Jamie changed all these people which really was in the “Lord’s Plan”.

Bleach 181 English Sub

2008-07-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Part 2/3

Part 3/3

Water- Drugs, Poison, Satire

2008-07-24T17:20:00.001-07:00

There is so much truth in this.

Some more truth
Fluoridation

One Piece 362 English Sub

2008-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Full

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Full

YU-GI-OH 5D episode 15 English SUB

2008-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Part 2/3

Part 3/3

Alleged Light Year Problem Refuted and Why the Sun is so Simple to Measure

2008-07-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

They use the parallax method to measure the distance to the sun. It has limits for its ability of direct observation. Basically anything beyond 500 light years using this method is undependable for accuracy. That's why they have other methods, but those methods to not take into account several possible interfering factors ranging from gravitational time dilation to white holes. This of course goes into some of the most complex observations of known and theoretical physics. From personal experience, I have come to the conclusion that very few things in life are really simple.

Short explanation of the Parallax, Luminosity, and Cepheid Variable Stars methods.

The short and simple Christian explanation of the universe that accounts for progressive red-shift and cosmic microwave background radiation in a Biblical model of the universe, as well as explains the alleged light year problem. (You could just skip down to "a new Creationist cosmology")

Swoon Theory

2008-07-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Swoon Theory simplified-

Jesus was beaten and driven through with nails in the wrists and feet, suffered a crown of thorns, whips of the Cat o' nine tails, and had a spear thrust into His side.

He revived.

He pushed a several ton boulder uphill, defeated multiple armed and lethal Roman soldiers completely unarmed, and then proceeded to walk several miles to show to the apostles that He had conquered death.

Bleach 180 English Sub

2008-07-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Bleach 180 sub 1/3 - MyVideo Schweiz

Part 2/3

Bleach 180 sub 2/3 - MyVideo Schweiz

Part 3/3

Bleach 180 sub 3/3 - MyVideo Schweiz

Full

Online Videos by Veoh.com

YU-GI-OH 5D episode 5 English SUB

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Part 2/3

Part 3/3

Naruto Shippuden 66 English sub

2008-07-15T09:05:00.002-07:00

.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Detective Conan Episode 506 English Sub

2008-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Part 2/3

Part 3/3

Aspiring Doctor Resources

2008-07-14T16:58:00.001-07:00

To Be Updated

Medical Student Resource Guide

Salary Survey

Best Blog on Salaries for Doctors

One Piece 361 English Sub

2008-07-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Part 1/2

Part 2/2

Bleach 179 English Sub

2008-07-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Part 1/3

Bleach 179 english sub part 1
Uploaded by ss42004

Part 2/3

Bleach 179 english sub part 2
Uploaded by ss42004

Full

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Talk Origin Claim CH710.1 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

1. The author failed to mention that those people would face a long suffering death in a Peruvian prison, where the average life expectancy is only two years if they said those were legitimate artifacts that they were illegally selling.
2. For same reason as number one.
3. Fakes were made of the real artifacts that included advanced technology.

Rebuttal 1

Rebuttal 2

Source
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH710_1.html

Talk Origin Claim CH711 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

There are numerous reasons why to believe that it refers to dinosaurs. Look at some of my other posts on the subject using the search bar to the right of this post on the blog.

They said the tail was a what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Not only does this defy every respectable and educated opinion on the subject, but also it is completely groundless and baseless. This is probably the most unintelligent and devoid of proof argument on the entire site.

Rebuttal

Click on tail and cross reference with strong's dictionary

Compare it to the ancient Hebrew

Another Reference

And yet another Reference

Source
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH711.html

Talk Origin Claim CH710 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

So the author claims that no artifacts documenting the existence of dinosaurs exists.

Like this one

Triceratops

That isn't a vague dragon. Most third graders can pick that one out in a book and name it.

Here's some more

Here's an online art gallery of them

Art gallery

An article and more

Here's an entire archive devoted to this subject

Rebuttal for Talk Origins comments on the first two links

Another Rebuttal

Source
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH710.html

Websites and Pages Devoted to Debunking Talk Origins

2008-07-09T20:17:00.001-07:00

I plan on Updating this list as I come across them. This is not supposed to represent the complete force against Talk Origins. As always I plead Fair Use.

Entire List of Claims Challenged

Sword And Shield

Talk Origin Claim Claim CH181 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

So the claim is completely true again, and they don't even deny it. Of course popularity means nothing in terms of truth. The popularity of a theory doesn't equal truth if the tenants cannot be proven beyond doubt. It goes both ways. Even educated people are just people, when they have no proof. Even the experts on the PhD level willingly admit there exists serious and even fatal flaws in reigning theories. When it comes down to it an opinion is an opinion no matter what matter of man it comes from. Also the author seems to cluster all of Christianity together as anyone that claims to be a Christian is a Christian. That is an absolutely absurd assumption.

Much is done in the name of Christianity

"21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."- Mathew 7:21-23 KJV

Sources
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH181.html

Talk Origin Claim CB000 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Of course there is no law of abiogenesis with biological and physical constants that can determine scenarios through fixed equations and mathematical computations based upon observed data. There is something however known as "cell theory" that states that living cells only come from pre-existing living cells. Thus life only comes from life under the natural conditions of science.

Rejecting cell theory is like rejecting the theory of gravity. I mean come on, that is like totally the closest thing to a fact. Cell theory has been accepted by scientists before Darwin's Origin of Species was even published. That must mean it is true as true can be. (If you don't read sarcasm into this, you haven't been in this discussion as long as I have.)

Sources
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CB/CB000.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

Talk Origin Claim CD011.4 (Logic Analysis)

2008-07-09T17:49:00.001-07:00

Live seal dated 1300 years old. (Antarctic Journal vol. 6 Sept-Oct 1971 pg. 211)

They don't even try to refute the claim. They just give excuses for the lack of dependability. Environmental factors such as water and diet can cause a 130000% error. Everything that is in the same food chain as aquatic organisms then is subject to error or any other environmental factor. Potentially every result could be wrong if such factors can cause such great experimental errors.

Source
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CD/CD011_4.html

And Further Reading

Very Nice Information
Also Good Information

Disclaimer

2008-07-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

To my knowledge, everything I post is protected by fair use. I'm not a lawyer, and I have no formal education to the particulars. If you feel that something is not cited properly to your satisfaction after claiming ownership, it will be taken down as soon as I read your message or if you have ownership and just want it down I can do that too. The email for the link to this blog's e-mail should be found in the link "view my complete profile". Also I have no income, credit, or money that you could sue me for.

Watch Anime

2008-07-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

To be updated

Anime 4 Fun

My current view of the Theory of Evolution

2008-07-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

What we can observe in our labs is slight changes usually in the form of resistance to disease, malady, or illness of some sort. We can find harmful, neutral, and beneficial mutations but the changes lack the grandeur and infinite elasticity that many would like to assign to the theory. The extrapolation is that the simplest fully functional organism gained numerous biological mechanisms to develop far beyond what the level of change we can produce through experiments into every life form on Earth. The theory would seem more realistic as a whole if it just included the reality of what we can observe instead of what we think happened a long time ago and can never know with the same assurance as what we observe now. It's a more down to earth approach I suppose. We aren't going to eventually evolve into the X-men or become super humans in every aspect of our minds and bodies in a never ending betterment with no biological limits attached. The amount an organism changes is just limited. It's not the oh so lustrous version where we are the dominant entity in the universe spawned by millions of years of evolution struggling to become the superiors of all other organisms.

The Four Horsemen

2008-07-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

A world renown group of atheists that have many controversial arguments against God. I plan on updating these rough sketch profiles at a later point.

Richard Dawkins

Degrees
B.A. in zoology (Oxford)
MA (Oxford)
PhD (Oxford)
D.Sc. (Oxford)

Occupation
Zoologist, Biologist, Author

Personal Website/Webpage
http://richarddawkins.net/

More detailed profile http://www.nndb.com/people/281/000024209/

Daniel C. Dennett

Degrees
B.A. in philosophy (Harvard)
PhD. In philosophy (Oxford)

Current Occupation:
Professor of Philosphy at Tufts University

Personal Website/Webpage:
http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm

Sam Harris

Degrees
B.A. In philosophy (Stanford)

Occupation
Non-fiction Writer

Personal Website/Webpage
http://www.samharris.org/

Christopher Hitchens

Degree
PPE (Oxford) Third-rate Honors

Occupation
Author
Journalist
Pundit

Personal Website/Webpage
http://www.hitchensweb.com/

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Harris_(author)#cite_note-Segal-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Dennett
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins

Meet Rhett Butler

2008-07-06T20:34:00.002-07:00

Greetings to one and all. My blog is finally open. I hope this shall be a long lasting and fruitful endeavor upon my part to educate and influence the world. The search engines are finally picking up my blog, somewhat thanks to digg. This blog may move if I decide to move to my own domain instead be a freeloader here at blogger.

So why choose the pen name Rhett Butler?

First of all Rhett was chosen as my name by my mother for the dashing charm and empowering personality as played by Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind.

The origin Rhett means:

Enthusiastic
-http://www.meaning-of-baby-boy-names.org.uk/first-name-meanings-r/meaning-of-rhett.htm

Butler- Officer of high rank and responsibility

-http://www.ancestry.com/facts/butler-name-meaning.ashx

So Rhett Butler means Enthusiastic Officer of High Rank and Responsibility

I dabble in a bit of everything. My main interest is in medicine and physiology as far as my career. I'm in the process of getting to be a licensed surgeon. Of course I have decided to complete a Phd as well as an MD, since I can do that and I truly love to learn.

I have many interests: Apologetics, Science, Computers, Politics, Education, Socializing, just to name a few though I don't have time to talk with each individual in the world.

I plan on getting up a series of rebuttals for interested Christians, since most seem to love my work. In my spare time I converse with scholars and scientists on such said topics and have a preference for them on those discussions though I like to talk with everyone as long as they are respectful and I have the time. Forgive my poor formatting and unprofessional citations, since I'm doing this for free and out of the goodness of my heart.

I hope to learn much more than I teach.

There should be a link to my email on my profile. Feel free to submit questions to that. Don't spam it though. I made the email for this blog specifically.

I'm a bit of a detective as well on anything I don't know.

“With a keen eye for details, one truth will prevail.”-Detective Conan

Doctors Against Evolution

2008-07-06T00:54:00.003-07:00

Organization of Doctors that Reject Darwinian Evolution

I thought this was a rather interesting organization, since I want to be a doctor myself.

God Delusion, Zeitgeist, Antimatter, Prophecy

2008-07-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

Ultimate 747 argument- Atheist

Our concept of what complexity is extends mostly to matter. We can understand complexity in terms of matter and can infer a creator for the matter. We cannot however conclude that a designer must exist for an unknown power that exists beyond the scope of matter. God is a spirit not a physical entity. Cause and effect do not exist out of time. What Dawkins is trying to do is warp a creationist argument into an argument against God.
So basically the argument goes something like:
1. Everything that shows evidence of design requires a superior designer.
2. God shows evidence of design.
God therefore must require a god superior to Himself, but an infinite number of regressions would require an infinite number of gods, therefore God would not be possible under the premise.
We can substitute God for Dawkin’s multiverse.
1. Everything that shows evidence of design requires a superior designer.
2. The universe shows evidence of design.
The universe requires a (designer) multiverse superior to itself. This implies an infinite number of universes, so no universe can exist.
Wait, what?

A supernatural being by no means needs a naturalistic explanation for existence, but one who believes in only the natural should have natural explanations. The 747 argument would only be valid if God required a natural explanation involving matter. Since God exists outside of time, He had no beginning. The argument that doesn’t hold any validity to God makes extreme difficulties for an atheist.

Here’s the creationist original from Hoyle:
"The popular idea that life could have arisen spontaneously on Earth dates back to experiments that caught the public imagination earlier this century. If you stir up simple nonorganic molecules like water, ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen cyanide with almost any form of intense energy, ultraviolet light for instance, some of the molecules reassemble themselves into amino acids, a result demonstrated about thirty years ago by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey. The amino acids, the individual building blocks of proteins can therefore be produced by natural means. But this is far from proving that life could have evolved in this way. No one has shown that the correct arrangements of amino acids, like the orderings in enzymes, can be produced by this method. No evidence for this huge jump in complexity has ever been found, nor in my opinion will it be. Nevertheless, many scientists have made this leap-from the formation of individual amino acids to the random formation of whole chains of amino acids like enzymes-in spite of the obviously huge odds against such an event having ever taken place on the Earth, and this quite unjustified conclusion has stuck. In a popular lecture I once unflatteringly described the thinking of these scientists as a "junkyard mentality". As this reference became widely and not quite accurately quoted I will repeat it here. A junkyard contains all the bits and pieces of a Boeing 747, dismembered and in disarray. A whirlwind happens to blow through the yard. What is the chance that after its passage a fully assembled 747, ready to fly, will be found standing there? So small as to be negligible, even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole Universe." (Hoyle F., "The Intelligent Universe," Michael Joseph: London, 1983, pp.18-19)

“When the gospels were written, many years after Jesus' death, nobody knew where he was born. But an Old Testament prophecy (Micah 5:2) had led Jews to expect that the long-awaited Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. In the light of this prophecy, John's gospel specifically remarks that his followers were surprised that he was not born in Bethlehem: 'Others sai, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ shall cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?'

Matthew and Luke handle the problem differently, by deciding that Jesus must have been born in Bethlehem after all. But they get him there by different routes. Matthew has Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem all along, moving to Nazareth only long after the birth of Jesus [...]. Luke, by contrast, acknowledges that Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth before Jesus was born. So how to get them to Bethlehem at the crucial moment, in order to fulfil the prophecy? Luke says that, in the time when Cyrenius (Quirinius) was governer of Syria, Caesar Augustus decreed a census for taxation purposes, and everybody had to go 'to his own city'. [...]

Except that it is historical nonsense, as A.N. Wilson in Jesus and Robin Lane Fox in The Unauthorized Version (among others) have pointed out. David, if he existed, lived nearly a thousand years before Mary and Joseph. Why on earth would the Romans have required Joseph to go to the city where a remote ancestor had lived a millenium earlier? [...] Moreover, Luke screws up his dating by tactlessly mentioning events that historians are capable of independently checking. There was indeed a census under Governor Quirinius - a local census, not one decreed by Caesar Augustus for the Empire as a whole - but it happened too late: in AD 6, long after Herod's death.”

"The God Delusion" by Prof. Richard Dawkins, p93-94

I’m not surprised that several two thousand year old documents somehow didn’t survive the fall of Rome to the present. Most of the archeology that I have read about says that under Augustus that a census was taken at regular 14 year intervals, though some censuses fall in between those years. The Res Gestae Divi Augusti refutes the argument that there was no census taken within a decade of Jesus. It actually places Jesus at the exact time the Bible says. Imagine that. A census back then would have taken time to complete more so than today, since an empire is rather spread out and transportation was at best horse back. We even have documents that tell us how those censuses were conducted and some of the regulations involved. We just don’t have the actual census. It’s very plausible to say the least. Jesus was most likely born during the year of Jubilee, which according to Jewish tradition required the returning to ancestral land even if there was no such decree. This would also explain why there was no crib for a bed, since it would have been really crowded in Bethlehem at that point in time. I would also imagine that plenty of the Davidic line lived in Bethlehem or there about. Papyri found in Egypt would give a legal explanation for their journey as opposed to a traditional one. The taxes were most likely a result of Augustus’s military maneuvers in the Pisidian highlands. None of the earliest skeptics raised this issue--those closest to the events in question. Even the Roman Emperor Julian ("The Apostate") who could access to all the records, and had every reason to use every weapon against the Christian proclamation did not raise this issue. Luke was also a very reliable historian. So either Luke was right or the most educated skeptics were profoundly stupid. Of course there are several ways to address this alleged problem in addition to the way I presented. Regardless after all the facts are presented and all the theories are presented, no evidence for a contradiction exists. Fox happens to neglect mentioning several archeological finds when he first proposed this, all of which contradict his hypothesis. At best his argument is an argument from silence, but runs into the same problem that I did when answering. I found several answers to this problem and I couldn’t disprove several of them, so they could all be equally valid. We can conclude with confidence that one of them was valid from the silence of the skeptics who had full access to the records and decrees of the time.

"I would be interested to hear what your response to the overwhelming similarity in Christian myths and beliefs and polytheistic religions that predate it."- atheist

My overall response would be as it’s often presented, it is very deceptive and misleading. My long response sounds something like this video:

Video

1. Every particle must have an anti-particle. Gamma radiation is produced when they come together to form nothing. Very little anti-matter is in existence compared to matter, and there should be equal amounts if it came into being from nothing. Also it couldn’t hide anywhere away form matter because there would be gamma ray bursts that would be very noticeable. Defending the opposite belief of the universe as being an eternal entity creates even more numerous problems.

2. The FAQ website for this one prophecy in relation to time

Strong Biblical Prophecy

There’s even more to say on this one prophecy not related to the time.

“And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.” Leviticus 26: 8

They would have supernatural strength against the world. How else could less than a million Jews fight off a war with a combined population of over twenty million people from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordon? Unlikely odds to say the least and a defeat would have destroyed the credibility of the Bible for all eternity. I remember my teacher saying that the skeptics believed that it could never possibly happen. All odds were against such an event, but they seem to not say much these days.

These prophecies were made before Israelites were dispersed around the world. There are six more characteristics just on this one prophecy: Jacob's descendants would regain control of Israel, Israel would be re-established as a united nation, the second Israel would be more impressive than the first, the people of Israel would return to "their own land", God would watch over the people of Israel, and the fortunes of the people of Israel would be restored.

Sources
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/the_god_delusion4.html

Neanderthal Mitochondrial DNA

2008-07-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

It is first assumed that the Neanderthals lived over forty thousand years ago, yet they possess testable DNA. I am skeptical of this to say the least.

1. Brian Sykes, who is a professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, stated “no DNA would remain intact much beyond 10,000 years.” (Nature August 1, 1991, Vol. 352, p.381)

2. In a published review of the chemical stability of DNA, Tomas Lindahl (1993) noted, “Deprived of the repair mechanisms provided in living cells, fully hydrated DNA is spontaneously degraded to short fragments over a time period of several thousand years at moderate temperatures”. http://www.detectingdesign.com/fossilizeddna.html

I pulled some articles of some experiments that I will question in this post.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4986668.stm - Neanderthal yields nuclear DNA

1. At 45,000 years old, the extracted DNA should not even exist, so if it exists as they say, more than likely it would fall under ten thousand years of age or somewhere in the young earth creationist time line.

2. “0.03% of the Neanderthal's entire DNA” So we are only comparing 3/10,000 of its DNA to ours, which says 99.97% incomplete of a full comparison. Not necessarily inaccurate data, but more needs to be done.

3. “This might suggest that little interbreeding occurred between our own species and the Neanderthals.”- We can still inter breed with humans of every ethnic background, but we can’t interbreed with other primates to produce offspring. So we could breed with them and they probably existed with us. Sounds human to me, even if it isn’t what we define as modern human.

We have some facts

-DNA from a group labeled “Neanderthal DNA”
-DNA should only be able to last a few thousand years
-DNA suggests possible interbreeding between “Neanderthals” and less modern humans

Interpretation
Biblically what is referred to as Neanderthals could be human. It is feasible to say that the group more commonly grouped as Neanderthals were one of the main branches of Noah’s descendants and some died after Babel while others interbred with the other main branches. As far as comparative anatomy against humans, the anatomical differences could be explained by numerous factors including natural variations and diseases such as arthritis and rickets, which resulted largely due to cultural diets and environmental factors. According to the speaker, they had music, art, and other rituals, buried their dead, and cared for handicapped. These characteristics and activities seem more like humans created with intelligence than primitive beasts. The small genetic variation could be explained by groups interbreeding among their selves rather than being exposed to the larger gene pool of the others thus putting them out of the genetic range of modern humans after many generations. I’m sure my hypothesis could use some fine tuning, but for the most part it sounds plausible.
DNA decomposes into smaller compounds that require less energy and are more stable, which is why being exposed to water or oxygen exacerbates the problem.

Bryan Sykes, “The Past Comes Alive,” Nature, Vol. 352, 1 August 1991, pp. 381–382.
“Many scientists still consider this idea [that DNA could last longer than 10,000 years] far fetched, but Poinar points out that not long ago few people believed any ancient DNA could be sequenced. ‘When we started, we were told that we were crazy,’ he says.” Kathryn Hoppe, “Brushing the Dust off Ancient DNA,” Science News, Vol. 142, 24 October 1992, p. 281. http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/ReferencesandNotes66.html#wp1014586

To clarify any bit that could be sequenced, which is more than just the whole strand. I am willing to bet “any” means “any”.

“Mitochondrial DNA analysis of a Neandertal skeleton found that the sequence differed from modern humans in 22 to 36 places, while the differences among modern humans are from 1 to 24 places.”- http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/re1/chapter6.asp

I do not see a major conflict with such a small difference in DNA. Even our anatomy is widely varied today across the world, and we could have lost some physical traits over the last thousand years or so.

.03% does give a lot of information, but I would like to see a bit more done if possible.

Actually I could not find a single study that refuted my information on DNA breaking down

Sources for the following in “Cell”
1. “Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans”
As well as this one from “Cell”
2. “Facts and Artifacts of Ancient DNA”

“the Neandertal sequence of the 378 base pairs of hypervariable region I of mtDNA, deduced from several short overlapping products of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).”-2

That’s about 0.0000001% of our DNA compared here. You were right, 0.03% does seem like a lot now.

The hypervariable region varies a LOT in modern humans. It’s why it’s called “hypervariable” Not that it was even in such a large chunk to sequence originally. “very small number of template DNA fragments, which was on the borderline of what can be reliably amplified”-2

“Thus, the amplification product was composed of two classes of sequences, a minor class represented by three clones that is similar to the human reference sequence, and another class represented by 27 clones that exhibits substantial differences from it.” -1

Two out of the thirty trials they were completely identical. One time there was only one difference.

“amplifications were performed using primer that are specific for a 104 bp product of the putative Neandertal sequence and that do not amplify contemporary human sequences.”-1

Putative means “assumed” in this case. In other words they tried their best not to get anything similar to modern human dna. Still 4 out of the 14 were identical to modern human DNA.

So for the third attempt at supporting evolution….

“When the primer (L16,209 and H16,271), which had previously resulted in a product that contained both the putative Neandertal sequence and contemporary human mtDNA sequences (Figure 2) were used in amplifications from this extract, 15 of the resulting clones yielded a DNA sequence that was identical to the experimenter (A. S.), while two yielded sequences that differed by one and two substitutions from the reference sequence, respectively. However, when primer specific for the putative Neandertal sequence (NL16,230 and NH16,262) were used, 5 out of 5 clones yielded the putative Neandertal sequence ( Figure 2, extract C). Thus, while this third independent extract contains a larger amount of contemporary human DNA, probably stemming from laboratory contamination, it confirms that the putative Neandertal sequence is present in the fossil specimen.”-1

So when they used human primers they got completely human results, seventeen out of seventeen times. When they used their assumed primers, they got results that were not human. They could not get results that were not human unless they used a primer, which could not produce human results even in human DNA. Originally I did not believe such dishonesty was involved, but apparently I gave the scientists a little too much credit originally. After reading this, I am much more convinced that they are human. I read more than the abstracts and if these are the results, the abstracts were highly corrupted for the sake of funding most likely. I do see clearly.

“Among the 27 nucleotide differences to the reference sequence found in this segment, 25 fall among the 225 positions that vary in at least one of the human sequences.”-1

Only two nucleotide differences that did not vary in at least one human sequence were observed. So we lost like .000000006% of our genetic variation over time. I would not argue that.

“Thus, although the distributions of the distances overlap, they suggest that the insertion of a portion of the mtDNA control region to chromosome 11 may have occurred after the divergence of the Neandertal and modern human mtDNA gene pools. This is compatible with the notion that the Neandertal sequence diverged from the lineage leading to the current human mtDNA gene pool well before the time of the most recent common ancestor of human mtDNAs.”- 1

This is compatible with my original hypothesis, but it’s more or less using a different time frame and using different labels.

Sources from Cell
1. “Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans”
2. “Facts and Artifacts of Ancient DNA”

Dinosaur, Bible, and Rebuttals

2008-07-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
-KJV Job 40: 15-24

No living animal matches those descriptions. A dinosaur does. How can that be if all the tests are completely accurate? It's impossible for him to have known about such creatures if they really lived that long ago so how does he know? It reminds me of when they found dinosaur DNA and couldn't figure out how that delicate DNA lasted millions and millions of years.

Taken from real argument (paraphrased)

Since dinosaurs are born from eggs, they would not have navels.- Atheist

“The word rendered “navel” in the King James Version of the Bible derives from the Hebrew term sharir. Scholars have suggested that the term originally meant “firm, hard,” hence, denoted “the firm parts of the belly” (Gesenius, 1979, p. 850). In Job 40:16, it thus means “sinew, muscle” (see Brown, et al., 1906, p. 1057; Harris, et al., 1980, 2:957).” -http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2179

Bones should be not harder than ours.-Atheist

Bone density varies greatly. Some people are fully capable of breaking concrete blocks and bending bars of steel, while others would break their bones trying. In this case I could easily liken their bones to brass and iron. Have you ever seen the bones of an Ultrasaurus? How strong do those bones have to be to hold up a hundred ton animal? It’s like a walking suspension bridge.

"Like a giant suspension bridge the front and back legs support the entire bulk of the body.The backbones of the Brachiosaurus resemble the "I" shaped steel beams used in construction. These bones had hollow grooves in the sides making them lightweight but strong."
-http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/behemoth.html

Please comment on any problems, this one is quite old.

Other Christian Resources #1

2008-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Two Chix Apologetics

Acts 17

Tektonics

4 truth

Carm

Damaris

Leaderu

Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

Lee Strobel

Evangelical Theological Society

Come Reason

Problem of Evil

Paul Copan

Gary R. Habermas

William Lane Craig

Norman Geisler

International Legacy

Answering Infidels

Jews for Jesus

Biblical Archeology

Soulation

Creation the web

Be Thinking

Origins

Stand To Reason

With All Your Mind

Risen Jesus

Skeptical Christian

Reclaiming The Mind

Christian Think Tank

Alpha and Omega Ministries

Christian Colligation of Apologetics Debate Research & Evangelism

Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics

Please Convince Me

Peter Kreeft

Southern Baptist of Texas

Reasons

Christian World View

Proof that God Exists

Paul R. Shockley

Religion Time Map

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

Apologetics Press

Ancient Biblical Documents

2008-07-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

Greek New Testament

Early Christians Writings

Interpreting Ancient Documents