Radio Shows Available as Podcasts are Great (as Long as They're Done Right)

I listen to a variety of podcasts.  Everything from techie, to comedy, to skeptical, to freethinking.  Most of the ones that I subscribe to are strictly created as podcasts.  There are others that are originally produced as radio shows (and released several days later in podcast form).

National Public Radio (NPR) has been great about releasing radio shows as podcasts.  I never thought I would be into listening to NPR since I'm not a 50-something Volvo-driving former hippie now residing in Vermont or New Hampshire.  As it turns out, some of their shows have caught my interests.  The first one I subscribed to was 'Car Talk'.  I have learned quite a bit about car repair from listening to Click & Clack through humor to the callers that get on the air to ask questions.  I also kept hearing about 'Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me'.  It was supposed to be  a great radio game show.  I checked it out and now I'm addicted.

My New Avatar Picture!

I've been getting sick of looking at my old picture everywhere I went online.  I took a new picture today and screwed around with it on Gimp.  Enjoy!

The logo contained within is the widely accepted symbol of Atheism.  Click here to read about it's meaning on the website for the American Atheists.

Mine excludes the 'A' in the center as not to confuse me with the administration of their organization.

Blasphemy!

My name is derek martin.  I openly and freely state that religion is ridiculous, and all gods are fictional.  I also state that Islam, specifically, is a barbaric religion, based on the teachings of a false prophet, that promotes ignorance, hate, and violence (including terrorism).  I plead guilty to blasphemy and promise to do so in court if need be.  I do this in direct violation of the UN resolution, and I personally challenge President Obama to rebuke this resolution, or order my arrest.

click here for the story...

My statement above was ripped off of the American Atheist's blog.  Their post can be found at by clicking this link.

I just saw an Infiniti EX35 today (and it is UGLY)

I was driving to the bank today and saw the following vehicle in a nearby parking lot:

Now, there are two things that you'll notice.  First of all, this isn't the actual vehicle (since I don't live in a desert with a mirrored ground surface).  Also, I slightly pizelized the back half of the car as not to spoil the moment.

From the first picture, it appears to be a small suv (or "cute ute").  It's an Inifiniti so it probably drives real nice and comes with a hefty price tag.  No complaints yet.

Now, if you will click here you will see the full image.

Do you see what I see?  The front looks like a very nice sedan (that is riding a bit high).  The roof line looks like it's starting to melt (and causing the back end to slope way too early).  The back end is also supposed to resemble an suv, but unfortunately it isn't nearly tall enough.  The total height of this car (including the roof rails) is 62.6".  My wife is 63" tall.  No offense, but any vehicle that is shorter than her is not a sport utility.  Here is a height comparison of the EX35 to some actual suvs.

Infniti EX35:  62.6"

Honda CRV:  66.1"

VW Touareg:  68"

Toyota RAV4:  68.7"

To be honest, Inifiniti doesn't call this an SUV on their website.  That makes it even worse.  If it's not considered an SUV, then it's just an ugly undersized station wagon that comes with a starting MSRP of $35,450.

[digg=http://digg.com/autos/I_just_saw_an_Infiniti_EX35_today_and_it_is_UGLY]

"Biltmore Who's Who" [Unsucessfully] tries to rip me off

I have great news to share with you fine readers of this crappy website.  It's my turn to leave you little people in the dust as I proceed in the business world on my way to fame and fortune.  At least that's what I gathered when I received the following letter from 'Biltmore Who's Who':

          
      click to enlarge image

I hope that I don't need to explain to you why this is a scam.  Click here to read about the "Who's Who Scam" on Wikipedia.  A company claims to "choose" you to be in their registry of notable people.  They publish your information along with the other suckers' information.  They then convince you to buy copies of their publication at very high costs.  This type of scam is really to appeal to certain people's need for self-assurance.  They feel special knowing that there is a real book on their shelf that has a short biography of them contained within it's pages. Worse than that, I did a search for "Who's Who" at ripoffreport.com and found 172 reports of people being scammed.  Some lost more money than the cost of a book.  Credit card bills will show fraudulent charges for hundreds of dollars.  Calls to these companies aren't returned.  Companies like this are bought and sold almost as if to leave no trace behind. If you received a letter like the one above from one of these companies, I hope you found this page before giving away your credit card information.  If it's too late, call you credit card company and dispute the charges that will show up.  The credit card companies know about these scams and should be able to fix the problems. Maybe I should call this place and let them know that I won't be available to return any more correspondence from them.  My time and money have been tied up trying to help a Nigerian prince escape exile with his billions of dollars. [digg=http://digg.com/comedy/Biltmore_Who_s_Who_Unsucessfully_tries_to_rip_me_off]

'Lie to Me' may be over-the-top but the "House-like" Lead Character is Great.

I just finished watching the second episode of FOX's new series 'Lie to Me'.  I must say, it hasn't jumped the shark yet. Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) runs an operation where he and his staff make a living from telling if people are lying.  You would normally think of a small office suite that is pretty plain-looking.  The staff would be a few boring people.  Things around the office would seem quiet.  You would be poorly mistaken when it comes to "The Lightman Group".  They have set up shop in a large office complex.  The decor is white and modern.  They have several conference rooms and offices that look like they belong to a large-scale design firm.  The high ceilings are needed since almost every room has a huge screen to project images and video onto.  The other walls are artfully decorated with photographs of people's faces (along with discriptions of what their facial expressions are saying).  I'm sure there's decent money in what they do there, but it doesn't seem to be able to finance this over-the-top setup. Aside from my "complaints" about the unlikely workplace, Dr. Lightman is the new generation of the "cool boss that breaks the rules".  His predecessor is obviously Dr. Gregory House (of 'House').  House is still on the air and this show is in no way a replacement.  I just catch the drift that FOX realized what they were onto with House and wanted to milk the idea for a little more.  Dr. Lightman is an ace when it comes to finding the truth.  He will use uncommon methods of lying and deception is he needs to.  He did this a few times in the recent episode.  He took an old man's cane, threw it down and called out in pain.  Elder abuse?  Nope.  He did it to bring the old man's family member out of hiding.  Another example was his way of teaching his staff a lesson about the uselessness of  a polygraph.  He gave a victim some Valium to calm her down so she could tell lies.  In the long run, it worked out when a witness of the procedure actually admitted to his own wrongdoings.  If these types of actions don't just scream out "HOUSE!", then I don't know what will. I'll keep watching and enjoying the show for the time being.  Plus, I see a blossoming relationship that may be growing between two of the staffers.  When all else fails, throw in some bedroom action.  FOX knows that this will keep the viewers coming back. In all seriousness, though, I am learning quite a bit about visual cues that people give that show anger, frustration, sadness, etc.  This part is completely true since they are based off of the real-life scientific discoveries of Paul Ekman. If you have missed the first episodes of the show, click here to see them on Hulu. [digg=http://digg.com/television/Lie_to_Me_may_be_over_the_top_but_the_House_like_Lead_Ch]

18 [sheltered, brainwashed & ignorant] Children and Counting

There are several hit "way-too-many-kids shows" on TLC currently.  The one I have the most issues with is also the largest family.  It's the documentary-style story of the Duggar family. Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar just had their EIGHTEENTH CHILD on December 18th, 2008 and I don't see them slowing down any time soon.  Here is their reasoning behind having all of the kids:  Michelle was on birth control when they first got married.  She stopped taking it so they could have their first child.  She resumed the birth control.  She then had a miscarriage.  Their Christian doctor told them that birth control posed a risk of miscarriage.  She stopped birth control and they decided to go about their business and allow the lord to decide when they should have children. Ok, so that's their choice to believe.  I don't have a problem with that.  It starts getting weird when you watch the show and see exactly how they are raising the children.  They home-school all of the children with a gentle mix of bible teachings and "regular" education.  This causes the kids to be sheltered from regular life and forced to be best friends with each other. The parents are very open about their conservative Christian values and beliefs.  I feel that they are sincere in the choices that they have made.  Things change when they show interviews of the kids.  You can tell that they have been deeply brainwashed.  They are asked a question and it's almost like their answers are being read from a script that has been ingrained in their mind since infancy. They act very strange too.  The boys all dress similar and the girls all dress similar.  As a cost-saving measure, the children cut each others hair (and hence, share the same hairstyles). From watching a few episodes of the show I catch a bad vibe about what will happen to these kids when they grow up and get out into the 'real world'.  Things can go very bad very quickly to someone that has been so sheltered.  All it would take is one of them to get into a bad situation later in life and not know what to do when someone hands them a shot glass or a joint.  In one episode the parents visited San Francisco and walked around with looks on their faces that made it seem like they were from the 1800's.  The father pointed to glass pipes in a head shop and said "That's some interesting glassware".  He had no idea what he was looking at. It's not all bad, though.  The family makes their money by owning some commercial property that they rent out.  They are obvious great teachers to the kids when it comes to making a good living.  They also do all of their clothes shopping at thrift stores.  These parts of the show are actually quite satisfying to watch.  Most things you see on TV show the average American family living above their means and running up credit card debt. This last part doesn't completely reverse the bad stuff.  I think they would be better off if they relaxed some of the rules and allowed the kids to attend public school.  They would get a good education and also be exposed to the stuff that kids need to be exposed to. [digg=http://digg.com/television/18_sheltered_brainwashed_ignorant_Children_and_Counting]

'Tis the season for reason

At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.   -Anne Nicol Gaylor (Co-President of Freedom From Religion Foundation) www.ffrf.org

I Still Celebrate Christmas (even though I don't believe in Santa or Jesus)

There's a lot of conflict among atheists when it comes to the Christmas question.  I read (and listen via podcast to) a lot of "freethought" material.  There are the 2 extremes of how atheists deal with Christmas. Far on the "anti" end of Christmas is Tom Flynn  He's the senior editor of "Free Inquiry" magazine and author of "The Trouble with Christmas".  He does absolutely nothing for Christmas and even treats December 25th as "another day at the office".  He has even mentioned his feelings on the "Merry Christmas" greeting heard by complete strangers this time of the year.  He responds with something to the effect of "That's OK, I don't celebrate Christmas". If that is one side of things the absolute opposite is easy to figure out.  Picture the storybook Christian family that participates in all of the traditions of the season.  They do everyhing from cutting a tree down and decorating it the whole way to going to church Christmas Eve for the nighttime service.  Picture if you will, they have a teenage son (or daughter) that has reached that age of critical thinking.  This teenager may have changed their feelings on religion but certainly won't be coming out as an atheist at the age of 14.  That would upset mom and dad way too much.  So, they continue participating in every facet of the holiday with their parents. I feel that my wife and I fall right in the middle of things.  We love this time of the year.  We love setting up our plastic Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving.  We love outlining the house in little white lights.  We love (not really) shopping for gifts.  We love the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday.  We don't have any kids yet, but we are still setting the foundation of our family's traditions that will live on for years to come.  I always say that we celebrate "Santa Christmas" instead of "Jesus Christmas" because it is sooooooo much more fun this way. The interesting thing about "Jesus Christmas" is almost none of it is original to Christianity.  Most people don't realize that many of the Christmas traditions have been around longer that Christianity.  The only part that directly comes from Christianity is the midnight mass.  The rest comes from other sources (mostly Pagan).  Aside from the presents, it seems that most people like decorating a tree the most.  The celebration of the evergreen is from the fact that it's the only tree that stays green year round (and thus giving promise for springtime to arrive).  That was a foundation of Winter Solstice celebrations long before people say that Christ lived.  I don't believe that he did, but that's another post for another day. This is getting long and I need to stop before I ramble on anymore.  I normally don't write posts of this length but you may consider it your Christmas present.

I am Appreciating the low Prices of Gasoline!

I bet you haven't heard that (or a similar comment) from anybody else. I believe that this is because we live in such a pessimistic society.  Think about the comments that you hear from people regarding news, the weather and politics. It seems that somewhere around 90% of comments that people make about these three topics is negative.  It's rare to hear someone talk about how the cold weather is so nice because it makes a warm house feel so much better at the end of the day.  You almost never hear a comment about the good things that our government does.  If you watch the news, they may give the feel-good story about a cute litter of orphaned kittens being raised by a golden retriever.  However, this story will follow the reports of local shootings, auto accidents and burglaries. A big thing everyone was complaining about several monthes back was the high cost to fill up at the gas station.  Now, the prices are down and people are complaining about something else instead of commenting that they can fuel up the whole tank for less than $30. I saw regular unleaded go for $1.789 earlier today.  Now that's great stuff. To find the best prices in your area, go to www.gasbuddy.com and they'll tell you who has the cheapest gas.  The data comes from people just like you and I.  I drive by the local station in the morning and report to the website how much they are charging.  If more people use this site, we will have much more accurate listings of local stations. By the way, I LIKE the weather today.  It helps me appreciate my warm hat and gloves.