This piece is licensed Creative Commons: Attribution. Please re-use however you like as long as it is non-commercial and with Attribution to Sarah Pierce. http://albinobloodsugar.deviantart.com If you are interested in using this commercially, please contact me through notetoself.net.

For more information about the Flying Spaghetti Monster, see the links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204717621
http://www.venganza.org

(Quoting Sarah)
…. The reason we want to know about this question is because we are familiar with how the principle works coming from an understanding of evolution.

The great thing about science is it is predictive. It makes concrete “prophecies” if you will. Things like “if x is true, then y must also be true.” Evolution, being a vast and thorough theory has made and fulfilled many predictions. An example:

Evolution declares that snakes evolved from lizards. A specialist in venom asked the question, “Where did venom come from? How did it evolve?” If snakes came from lizards, then lizards must have some of the compounds required to be venomous. Only two lizards out of 5,000 are known to be toxic: the gila monster and the bearded lizard. It was assumed they maintained some highly acidic bacteria in their saliva that was corrosive to most organisms. The question of where venom came from required an answer congruent with evolution, else the theory would be in trouble. Accepting that evolution is true the answer must necessarily lie in the glands of lizards. He looked exactly there and found that it was not strong bacteria causing toxicity in these two lizards, but a simple, slow venom. These are the older, simpler compounds that were concentrated and strengthened in snake venoms. What’s more is every lizard is equipped with these compounds, which function as digestive aids! Viola!… See more

Another example of how the theory of evolution is predictive is with a hawk moth and the madascar orchid. Hawk moths and orchids co-evolved so tightly that these moths feed only on this flower, and the flower is pollinated only by these moths. This is ensured by the depth of the cavity in the flower that holds the rich nectar. The depth is matched only and exactly by the length of the moth’s proboscis. This method is so successful that species of these two genus have been sectioned off into unique pairs; you can tell what species of moth is present in the region by the flower, and vice versa. One orchid was discovered whose nectar cavity had receded 12″ deep, and no moth was yet discovered whose proboscis could reach it. The search was on, and lo, 40 years later, it yielded an as yet undiscovered hawk moth species meeting exactly the specifications predicted by evolution; a moth with a 12″ mouth.

It works retroactively too. This is a flounder: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0012/164001/flounder.jpg It has both it’s eyes on one side of it’s body. It’s a bizarrely asymmetrical animal that has had evolutionary biologists scratching their heads for years, including Darwin himself. It seemed implausible that a fish would gradually move its eye over its head for such a pointed purpose with no benefit in between. A fish having the same morphology and genetics with an eye moving halfway around the head *must* exist. The problem was shelved until the Heteronectus Chaneti fossil was found. There was no reason to believe such a thing existed, except that evolution demanded there be one. It was the logical conclusion that must necessarily be true by extension if evolution is also true.

In this way evolution has made countless predictions that are very specific. These animals must exist in a specific location and a specific era with specified traits. If it’s a fossil it can’t be found in the wrong rock or the wrong continent. The predictions are concise and consistent with the theory, and many bushels of them have been vindicated. It is this cycle of theory and predictive hypothesis that I have not been able to fathom applying to creationism, and I was hoping someone could bridge the gap in my imagination.

P050809PS-0297, originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream.

.. but we all know our Pres is a Reformed Pastafarian and knows the true way is that of the ninja.

- Touched by His Noodly Appendage

just youtube him.

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I went a step further to protect my browsing security and set up Squid proxy using my home Ubuntu server so that all my web traffic will be directly between my machines as far as any local firewall can tell. Using that, I can access anything that my personal server can access and do so without being restricted by local network blacklisting.

My latest addition to this setup was to use the Dropbox service to give me direct, local access to all my recent or frequently used files AND give me a persistent Firefox profile across all my machines (PC, Mac, and Ubuntu). That part is pretty cool. This synchronizes my plugins, cookies, passwords and sessions. I close Firefox at home, then I open it to the same tabs at work, preserving session logins.

Aight, I should either be doing homework or doing something about my geek addiction.

• RSS

• Wikis

• Zombies

looks just like what happens in my room.

i imagine that it possibly happened in some of my past relationships too. (ponder ponder)

so, my thought branched to something i consciously decided several years ago when considering my personal state and what i wanted in life. i determined that i lacked one thing i needed more than anything else, confidence. my personality was “nice” but lame without confidence, and that disabled my interactions with others. i wanted to be recognized with more respect, to have the attitude that could get me whatever else i wanted. ……. fast forward, and i have it, and it’s good for me even if i may occasionally come across as an asshole.

then, now what? … what’s the next step that i choose and begin to build? i looked through my files again and my cluttered room and my hobbies and my many unpolished skills, and i instantly knew i needed focus. i know a little about alot, and i’m all for that, but i’m deciding to shift now towards fewer, more concentrated paths. what are these going to be? i have an idea, and i’m watching with all of this in mind. this will be the end of this cycle of the wave. clean out and refresh.

::EDIT::

a friend asked me about how i forced myself to get self confidence. this was my answer.

i’m trying to remember the precise moments that i consciously stepped up…. i definitely did a little focused searching (of the google type). i did some aggressive putting myself out there in challenging social situations to get used to it (speaking with the “upper class girls” without cowering, joining an improv class and several other group classes). investing myself in creative/productive groups like scul and my glitchhouse really helped me understand that i’m capable of designing and manufacturing. interacting with my role-models helped me get over some of the mental block that they’re somehow in an unreachable class of human. contemplating the insignificance of humanity in relation to the universe really helps calm my social insecurities. i’ve been observing and pondering what motivates people in various circumstances. from that, i’ve started consciously manipulating (not in a bad way, really) situations to get what i want. i even practiced facial expressions with a video camera to understand what others see. i, at first, saw myself as embarrassingly affected. i’ve unlearned some of those annoying traits, and i’ve gotten over most of the others since i know that everyone has some.

i think the one most valuable exercise i’ve found is to always be aware of my image when around others. i’m constantly developing control of my presence. i look in the eye of the person whose attention i want, and i give a smug (read “confident”) smile and shake their hand with purpose. whether or not this image is truly what i think it is, i feel like it’s honest, and people don’t seem to question it.

i’m thinking of taking some “communications” related classes soon. maybe i’ll be a vlogger someday. ; )

Bryan, I guess it’s my turn to come visit.