20 February 2009
17 February 2009
28 June 2008
22 June 2008
09 June 2008
05 June 2008
31 May 2008
22 May 2008
If u look closely.. there's the autographs of Phil Rudd, Angus Young, Bon Scott and Malcolm Young. They gave me this poster at their house in East St Kilda. Angus also gave me a Postmans hat - rather than his usual school cap- worn in one of the film clips
18 February 2008
75 questions to ask yourself.
1. Why not me?
2. Am I nice?
3. Am I doing what I really want to do?
4. What am I grateful for?
5. What’s missing in my life?
6. Am I honest?
7. Do I listen to others?
8. Do I work hard?
9. Do I help others?
10. What do I need to change about myself?
11. Have I hurt others?
12. Do I complain?
13. What’s next for me?
14. Do I have fun?
15. Have I seized opportunities?
16. Do I care about others?
17. Do I spend enough time with my family?
18. Am I open-minded?
19. Have I seen enough of the world?
20. Do I judge others?
21. Do I take risks?
22. What is my purpose?
23. What is my biggest fear?
24. How can I conquer that fear?
25. Do I thank people enough?
26. Am I successful?
27. What am I ashamed of?
28. Do I annoy others?
29. What are my dreams?
30. Am I positive?
31. Am I negative?
32. Is there an afterlife?
33. Does everything happen for a reason?
34. What can I do to change the world?
35. What is the most foolish thing I’ve ever done?
36. Am I cheap?
37. Am I greedy?
38. Who do I love?
39. Who do I want to meet?
40. Where do I want to go?
41. What am I most proud of?
42. Do I care what others think about me?
43. What are my talents?
44. Do I utilize those talents?
45. What makes me happy?
46. What makes me sad?
47. What makes me angry?
48. Am I satisfied with my appearance?
49. Am I healthy?
50. What was the toughest time in my life?
51. What was the easiest time in my life?
52. Am I selfish?
53. What was the craziest thing I did?
54. What is the craziest thing I want to do?
55. Do I procrastinate?
56. What is my greatest regret?
57. What has had the greatest impact on my life?
58. Who has had the greatest impact on my life?
59. Do I stand up for myself?
60. Have I settled for mediocrity?
61. Do I hold grudges?
62. Do I read enough?
63. Do I listen to my heart?
64. Do I donate enough to the less fortunate?
65. Do I pray only when I want something?
66. Do I constantly dwell on the past?
67. Do I let other people’s negativity affect me?
68. Do I forgive myself?
69. When I help someone do I think “What’s in it for me”?
70. Am I aware that someone always has it worse than me?
71. Do I smile more than I frown?
72. Do I surround myself with good people?
73. Do I take time out for myself?
74. Do I ask enough questions?
75. What other questions do I have?
11 February 2008
31 January 2008
16 December 2007
03 December 2007
12 November 2007
27 October 2007
Do you care about your children?
26 October 2007
23 October 2007
08 October 2007
06 October 2007
What Kind Of Brain Do You Have?
LINK
03 October 2007
18 September 2007
15 September 2007
13 September 2007
04 September 2007
Why does faith deserve respect?
Some more videos from Pat Condell
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&ChannelID=119389495
29 August 2007
15 August 2007
03 August 2007
The Meaning of Life
Enlightened self-interest and the common good
The most significant thing in life (the very focus of humanism) is the human being, and by extension, the human race and the environment in which we live. The happiness of the individual is inextricably linked to the well-being of humanity as a whole, in part because we are social animals which find meaning in relationships, and because cultural progress benefits everybody who lives in that culture. [10]
When the world improves, life in general improves, so, while the individual desires to live well and fully, humanists feel it is important to do so in a way that will enhance the well being of all. While the evolution of the human species is still (for the most part) a function of nature, the evolution of humanity is in our hands and it is our responsibility to progress it toward its highest ideals. In the same way, humanism itself is evolving, because humanists recognize that values and ideals, and therefore the meaning of life, are subject to change as our understanding improves.[10]
[from Wiki]
02 August 2007
01 August 2007
25 July 2007
21 July 2007
14 July 2007
Sagan said if a new idea continues in existence after an examination of the propositions, it should then be acknowledged as a supposition. Skeptical thinking essentially is a means to construct, understand, reason, and recognize valid and invalid arguments. Wherever possible, there must be independent validation of the concepts whose truth should be proved. He believed that reason and logic would succeed once the truth is known. Conclusions emerging from a premise, and the acceptability of the premise should not be discounted or accepted because of bias.
Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking which he calls the "baloney detection kit". Skeptical thinking consists both of constructing a reasoned argument and recognizing a fallacious or fraudulent one. In order to identify a fallacious argument, Sagan suggests the employment of such tools as independent confirmation of facts, quantification and the use of Occam's razor. Sagan's "baloney detection kit" also provided tools for detecting "the most common fallacies of logic and rhetoric", such as argument from authority and statistics of small numbers.
Through these tools, the benefits of a critical mind and the self-correcting nature of science can take place. Sagan provides a skeptical analysis of several kinds of superstition, fraud, pseudoscience and religious beliefs, such as gods, witches, UFOs, ESP and faith healing.
_____________________________________________________________________________
# "Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grand children's time ... when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstitions and darkness."
________________________________________________________________________________
# "Is it fair to be suspicious of an entire profession because of a few bad apples? There are at least two important differences, it seems to me. First, no one doubts that science actually works, whatever mistaken and fraudulent claim may from time to time be offered. But whether there are *any* "miraculous" cures from faith-healing, beyond the body's own ability to cure itself, is very much at issue. Secondly, the expose' of fraud and error in science is made almost exclusively by science. But the exposure of fraud and error in faith-healing is almost never done by other faith-healers."
______________________________________________________________________________
"Carl Sagan's message will not be congenial to many in today's society.
An ethic of superstition and refusal to consider evidence as relevant is growing. Some profit from this state of affairs, and seek to foster it. Many others have absorbed part of that ethic. All the more reason to pick up Sagan's readable, enjoyable, compellingly-argued, and very human book."
12 July 2007
08 July 2007
06 July 2007
26 June 2007
16 May 2007
15 May 2007
Some Great Songs
Hell is home ~ Judas Priest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ickXAsstmAg
[ with Ripper Owens]
Squealer ~AC/DC
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7Z4ijIQYYNo
TNT ~ AC/DC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AtYkJ_eyHU
Disturbed ~ Droppin' plates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8duWCzmLo
Ozzy Osbourne ~ Perry Mason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg3xyMN4vn4
Metallica ~ Battery [S&M version]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvqkwvA9i4Q
12 May 2007
Australian Football
21 April 2007
16 April 2007
15 April 2007
14 April 2007
29 March 2007
Led Zeppelin
Another all time favourite song
The Rover
A Very nice version from a Zeppelin cover band.
AC/DC
I've met AC/DC and been to their house a number of times.
I was having a beer with them when Malcolm came home with the brand new Highvoltage album and we all had a listen in their lounge room in St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb.
I'm in a couple of AC/DC Countdown clips.
Look for me in this clip of Baby Please Don't go. My head takes up half the screen at the 50 second mark of the clip. [ Long blond hair]
Metallica
One.
One of the best ever songs, from any band.
The clip is amazing too, leaves you stunned and lost for words.
20 March 2007
Janes Randi Education Foundation.
"AS OF APRIL 1, 2007, we will no longer be accepting unsolicited challenges, but will instead be issuing challenges directly to individuals who have a sufficient media profile and some sort of academic recommendation."
Randi discussing the James Randi Educational Foundation with penn and Teller.
Short clip
16 March 2007
Life On Mars
Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler, is hunting a serial killer when he gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973.
The TV series is named after the David Bowie song "Life on Mars?", which is playing on the iPod in Tyler's car when the accident happens, and on an 8-track tape when he awakes in 1973.
Life on Mars Trailer 1
Another song featured on the soundtrack, in the second episode, is "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings. Initially permission was refused for use of the song by the record company but they sent the episode direct to Paul McCartney. Almost immediately, his assistant phoned back and said 'Paul loves it. You can go ahead and use it'."
14 March 2007
09 March 2007
The Bush Tucker Man
Season 1 Episode 1
In a battered army truck, his home a simple roll of blankets, Major Les Hiddins seeks out and records the different kinds of bush food and medicines used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.
He's a bush survival expert for the Australian Army and travels alone through the vast, almost totally unpopulated lands of northern Australia to carry out his unique job. And despite the solitude he's a chatty, humorous man who is as entertaining as he is informative.
08 March 2007
An Open Letter to Prince Charles
Richard Dawkins
Sunday May 21, 2000
Your Royal Highness,
Your Reith lecture saddened me. I have deep sympathy for your aims, and admiration for your sincerity. But your hostility to science will not serve those aims; and your embracing of an ill-assorted jumble of mutually contradictory alternatives will lose you the respect that I think you deserve. I forget who it was who remarked: "Of course we must be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out."
Let's look at some of the alternative philosophies which you seem to prefer over scientific reason. First, intuition, the heart's wisdom "rustling like a breeze through the leaves". Unfortunately, it depends whose intuition you choose. Where aims (if not methods) are concerned, your own intuitions coincide with mine. I wholeheartedly share your aim of long-term stewardship of our planet, with its diverse and complex biosphere.
But what about the instinctive wisdom in Saddam Hussein's black heart? What price the Wagnerian wind that rustled Hitler's twisted leaves? The Yorkshire Ripper heard religious voices in his head urging him to kill. How do we decide which intuitive inner voices to heed?
This, it is important to say, is not a dilemma that science can solve. My own passionate concern for world stewardship is as emotional as yours. But where I allow feelings to influence my aims, when it comes to deciding the best method of achieving them I'd rather think than feel. And thinking, here, means scientific thinking. No more effective method exists. If it did, science would incorporate it.
Next, Sir, I think you may have an exaggerated idea of the natural ness of "traditional" or "organic" agriculture. Agriculture has always been unnatural. Our species began to depart from our natural hunter-gatherer lifestyle as recently as 10,000 years ago - too short to measure on the evolutionary timescale.
Wheat, be it ever so wholemeal and stoneground, is not a natural food for Homo sapiens. Nor is milk, except for children. Almost every morsel of our food is genetically modified - admittedly by artificial selection not artificial mutation, but the end result is the same. A wheat grain is a genetically modified grass seed, just as a pekinese is a genetically modified wolf. Playing God? We've been playing God for centuries!
The large, anonymous crowds in which we now teem began with the agricultural revolution, and without agriculture we could survive in only a tiny fraction of our current numbers. Our high population is an agricultural (and technological and medical) artifact. It is far more unnatural than the population-limiting methods condemned as unnatural by the Pope. Like it or not, we are stuck with agriculture, and agriculture - all agriculture - is unnatural. We sold that pass 10,000 years ago.
Does that mean there's nothing to choose between different kinds of agriculture when it comes to sustainable planetary welfare? Certainly not. Some are much more damaging than others, but it's no use appealing to "nature" , or to "instinct" in order to decide which ones. You have to study the evidence, soberly and reasonably - scientifically. Slashing and burning (incidentally, no agricultural system is closer to being "traditional" ) destroys our ancient forests. Overgrazing (again, widely practised by "traditional" cultures) causes soil erosion and turns fertile pasture into desert. Moving to our own modern tribe, monoculture, fed by powdered fertilisers and poisons, is bad for the future; indiscriminate use of antibiotics to promote livestock growth is worse.
Incidentally, one worrying aspect of the hysterical opposition to the possible risks from GM crops is that it diverts attention from definite dangers which are already well understood but largely ignored. The evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria is something that a Darwinian might have foreseen from the day antibiotics were discovered. Unfortunately the warning voices have been rather quiet, and now they are drowned by the baying cacophony: "GM GM GM GM GM GM!"
Moreover if, as I expect, the dire prophecies of GM doom fail to materialise, the feeling of let-down may spill over into complacency about real risks. Has it occurred to you that our present GM brouhaha may be a terrible case of crying wolf?
Even if agriculture could be natural, and even if we could develop some sort of instinctive rapport with the ways of nature, would nature be a good role model? Here, we must think carefully. There really is a sense in which ecosystems are balanced and harmonious, with some of their constituent species becoming mutually dependent. This is one reason the corporate thuggery that is destroying the rainforests is so criminal.
On the other hand, we must beware of a very common misunderstanding of Darwinism. Tennyson was writing before Darwin but he got it right. Nature really is red in tooth and claw. Much as we might like to believe otherwise, natural selection, working within each species, does not favour long-term stewardship. It favours short-term gain. Loggers, whalers, and other profiteers who squander the future for present greed, are only doing what all wild creatures have done for three billion years.
No wonder T.H. Huxley, Darwin's bulldog, founded his ethics on a repudiation of Darwinism. Not a repudiation of Darwinism as science, of course, for you cannot repudiate truth. But the very fact that Darwinism is true makes it even more important for us to fight against the naturally selfish and exploitative tendencies of nature. We can do it. Probably no other species of animal or plant can. We can do it because our brains (admittedly given to us by natural selection for reasons of short-term Darwinian gain) are big enough to see into the future and plot long-term consequences. Natural selection is like a robot that can only climb uphill, even if this leaves it stuck on top of a measly hillock. There is no mechanism for going downhill, for crossing the valley to the lower slopes of the high mountain on the other side. There is no natural foresight, no mechanism for warning that present selfish gains are leading to species extinction - and indeed, 99 per cent of all species that have ever lived are extinct.
The human brain, probably uniquely in the whole of evolutionary history, can see across the valley and can plot a course away from extinction and towards distant uplands. Long-term planning - and hence the very possibility of stewardship - is something utterly new on the planet, even alien. It exists only in human brains. The future is a new invention in evolution. It is precious. And fragile. We must use all our scientific artifice to protect it.
It may sound paradoxical, but if we want to sustain the planet into the future, the first thing we must do is stop taking advice from nature. Nature is a short-term Darwinian profiteer. Darwin himself said it: "What a book a devil's chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering, low, and horridly cruel works of nature."
Of course that's bleak, but there's no law saying the truth has to be cheerful; no point shooting the messenger - science - and no sense in preferring an alternative world view just because it feels more comfortable. In any case, science isn't all bleak. Nor, by the way, is science an arrogant know-all. Any scientist worthy of the name will warm to your quotation from Socrates: "Wisdom is knowing that you don't know." What else drives us to find out?
What saddens me most, Sir, is how much you will be missing if you turn your back on science. I have tried to write about the poetic wonder of science myself, but may I take the liberty of presenting you with a book by another author? It is The Demon-Haunted World by the lamented Carl Sagan. I'd call your attention especially to the subtitle: Science as a Candle in the Dark .
Dave's, Richard Dawkins
... that might make you think.
Ray Mears
Ray Mears wiki link
Over the last decade the name Ray Mears has become recognised throughout the world as being an authority on the subject of Bushcraft and Survival.
Ray's TV shows are enjoyed by many because of his down to earth approach, his obvious love for his subject and the empathy and respect he shows for indigenous peoples and their cultures.
Ray has spent his life learning these skills and is truly a master of the subject he calls Wilderness Bushcraft.
05 March 2007
04 March 2007
01 March 2007
26 February 2007
Me at St Kilda Breakwater. Melbounre behind.
Fairy Penguins return from the sea to nest here at night.
25 February 2007
Penn & Teller BULLSHIT!. Great TV show.
Penn and Teller debunk various paranormal or otherwise bizarre phenomena (e.g. alien encounters, ghosts, alternative medicine, end-of-the-world alarmists, myths about sex, feng shui, creationism, self-help gurus, ESP, diet program claims, communication with the dead, etc.) through interviews and hidden cameras etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Season 1
1. Talking to the Dead
2. Alternative Medicine
3. Alien Abductions
4. End of the World
5. Second Hand Smoke / Baby Bullshit
6. Sex, Sex, Sex
7. Feng Shui / Bottled Water
8. Creationism
9. Self-Helpless
10. ESP
11. Eat This!
12. Ouija Boards / Near Death Experiences
13. Environmental Hysteria
Season 2
14. P.E.T.A.
15. Safety Hysteria
16. The Business of Love
17. War on Drugs
18. Recycling
19. The Bible: Fact or Fiction?
20. Yoga / Tantric Sex
21. Fountain of Youth
22. Death, Inc.
23. Profanity
24. 12-Stepping
25. Exercise vs. Genetics
26. Hypnosis
Season 3
27. Circumcision
28. Family Values
29. Conspiracy Theories
30. Life Coaching
31. Holier Than Thou
32. College
33. Big Brother
34. Hair
35. Gun Control
36. Ghost Busters
37. Endangered Species
38. Signs From Heaven
39. The Best
Season 4
40. Boy Scouts
41. Prostitution
42. The Death Penalty
43. Cryptozoology
44. Ground Zero
45. Pet Love
46. Reparations
47. Manners
48. Numbers
49. Abstinence
23 February 2007
19 February 2007
13 February 2007
What kind of atheist are you?
"You scored as Scientific Atheist.
These guys rule. I'm not one of them myself, although I play one online. They know the rules of debate, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and can explain evolution in fifty words or less. More concerned with how things ARE than how they should be, these are the people who will bring us into the future.
Scientific Atheist 92%
Angry Atheist 58%
Apathetic Atheist 58%
Spiritual Atheist 50%
Agnostic 50%
Militant Atheist 25%
Theist 17%"
http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=162436
09 February 2007
Flinders st Station Melbourne
The Eureka tower in the background is the tallest residential building in the world.
06 February 2007
05 February 2007
30 January 2007
Star Trek news
01.11.2007
Abrams: First Draft Done
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Abrams was still mum on the details of the plot of the film currently referred to as "Star Trek XI." But he assured that it is designed for both established fans and newcomers to the franchise.
''On the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying,'' Abrams said. ''For people who've never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don't know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind.''
Abrams spoke to the magazine in New York last weekend while taking part in the New York Times Arts & Leisure Weekend.
The script is being developed by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who worked with Abrams on "Mission: Impossible III," and prior to that, Alias. Besides Abrams, the project is being produced by Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof.
There is still no official word on casting or a director, though talk has been very strong that Abrams will direct himself.
Abrams further told EW that he is very anxious to move forward. ''I can't wait to do this,'' he said. ''It is an absolute thrill to work on this project. We really are still like, 'How the hell are we able to do this?'''
See the full article at this EW.com link.
"Star Trek XI" is targeted for release in 2008, and filming is expected to start this year.
28 January 2007
What does your drawing say about YOU?
The results of your analysis say:
You tend to pursue many different activities simultaneously. When misfortune does happen, it doesn't actually dishearten you all that much.You are a direct and forthright person. You like to get to the core of the issue right away, with few signs of hesitation.
You are creative, mentally active and industrious.
You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.
More Photos of The Alpine National park on my web page.
More information on The Alpine National Park.
27 January 2007
Bushfire smoke In Melbourne
I took this photo while on the WestGate bridge heading into the City. Normally you would see tall city buildings in the background.
More photos of Melbourne on my web Site
