Last Saturday at Farpoint I went to dinner with some friends and their pre-school aged daughter. As we drove up York Road, the preschooler pointed to the west. “Look! A water tower! It’s so small!” I’ve worked in the area for the past ten years. Yet this was the first time I’d really noticed theContinue reading “Musings on a Water Tower”
Tag Archives: Philosophy
The Philosopher’s Arms
A few days ago I discovered a new BBC podcast, The Philosopher’s Arms. “Podcast” is, I should say, a misnomer. The Philosopher’s Arms is a BBC Radio 4 series, just finished with its third run of episodes, that the BBC has made available as a podcast download. And just what is The Philosopher’s Arms? ThisContinue reading “The Philosopher’s Arms”
On a Place in the Universe
Some cosmic thoughts for a Saturday morning, taken from a Serbian proverb: Or as Carl Sagan puts it: Cosmic!
On Random Facebook Philosophizing
Today has been a great day for comments on Facebook. Usually there’s no reason to ever remember a comment made on Facebook — Facebook is such a transient thing, after all — but today I made two that I thought with pithy and important and worth remembering. The first has to do with GameStop. DeusContinue reading “On Random Facebook Philosophizing”
On Why Slate Gets Atheism Wrong
Slate today asks a provocative question — Which is worse for evangelicals like Rick Perry — being an atheist or a Muslim? Writer Brian Palmer answers “atheism.” And while I agree with his answer, I disagree with his reasoning. Writes Palmer: “The ancient and medieval Christians wouldn’t have had much to say about pure atheism,Continue reading “On Why Slate Gets Atheism Wrong”
On Philosophies and Birthday Wishes
The son of a friend of mine had a birthday recently. This is the (slightly edited) text of the e-mail I sent him. As you are turning twelve, I wanted to give you two pieces of advice. First, cherish the coming year and live every day as if it will never end. You are twelve,Continue reading “On Philosophies and Birthday Wishes”
On a Winter Night’s Thoughts
Monday night when I left the office, about ten minutes to six, I stepped out of the office building’s glass doors into the early night and there, ahead of me in deep space, was Orion, his mighty belt running from just slightly above the horizon to perhaps a fifth of the way to zenith. TheContinue reading “On a Winter Night’s Thoughts”
On Time, In a Bottle
I hate wearing a watch. I have two, presently. One, the one I wear daily, is a Lord of the Rings watch; on its face is a map of Eregion, and the only number on the face is 9, written using Tengwar script. The other, a Fossil watch, was given to me several years ago;Continue reading “On Time, In a Bottle”
On Early Morning Atheist Philosophy
It’s another scorcher of a day, and I’ve started it out with coffee… And reading about atheism! :spock: Posted just a few days ago, Greta Christina writes about 6 (unlikely) developments that could convince her to abandon her atheism and believe in god. She has a good list, but really only the first — anContinue reading “On Early Morning Atheist Philosophy”
On Painful Wisdom
Note to self. Do not laugh like that when your sinuses and bronchial passages are clogged and are in serious need of Drano. You will hurt something, your nose will go all caddywumpus, and you will start hacking like Grignr the Ecordian in some stygian abyss. That is all.