I love this painting by George Elgar Hicks. It’s universal across time. People will wait in line a very long time for a check.
These two are from Mr. Atomic of Toledo. A lot of his work borders on trippy. I have a fondness for it especially since he’s a home boy. Technically he is really they but oh well.
I’m going to talking about something other than money, yay! “Just as bad money drives out good” my brain has dug up philosophy to replace cash. That sounds cruel to philosophy but honestly I just love that phrase.
I have to say that I’m not particular impressed by the philosophical arguments for God. I’m not convinced that existence is perfect while nonexistence is imperfect. Why must there be an infinite God to replace an infinite causational series is beyond me. In this case the one infinite with consciousness seems more unlikely than the one without. I can’t assign probabilities to the possibilities that are before me but surely the additional qualifier of conscious makes God less likely. I’m agnostic but from this way of looking at things I move towards there being no God.
On a different note I’m fascinated by the idea of senses. What is it like to feel an electric field like a shark or to experience echo location? It would be the most amazing thing in the world to see into another mind. If one could read minds would that person be overwhelmed by the alieness? Would the mere act of looking result in a new mind? How long would separateness persist in this sci-fi world?
I present a few quotes.
In his 1949 speech, “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?”, Russell expressed his difficulty over whether to call himself an atheist or an agnostic:
As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one can prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think that I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because, when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods.
—Bertrand Russell, Collected Papers, vol. 11, p. 91Though he would later question God’s existence, he fully accepted the ontological argument during his undergraduate years:
For two or three years…I was a Hegelian. I remember the exact moment during my fourth year [in 1894] when I became one. I had gone out to buy a tin of tobacco, and was going back with it along Trinity Lane, when I suddenly threw it up in the air and exclaimed: “Great God in Boots! – the ontological argument is sound!”
—Bertrand Russell, Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, pg. 60This quote has been used by many theologians over the years, such as by Louis Pojman in his Philosophy of Religion, who wish for readers to believe that even a well-known atheist-philosopher supported this particular argument for God’s existence. However, elsewhere in his autobiography, Russell also mentions:
About two years later, I became convinced that there is no life after death, but I still believed in God, because the “First Cause” argument appeared to be irrefutable. At the age of eighteen, however, shortly before I went to Cambridge, I read Mill‘s Autobiography, where I found a sentence to the effect that his father taught him the question “Who made me?” cannot be answered, since it immediately suggests the further question “Who made God?” This led me to abandon the “First Cause” argument, and to become an atheist.
—Bertrand Russell, Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, pg. 36Russell made an influential analysis of the omphalos hypothesis enunciated by Philip Henry Gosse—that any argument suggesting that the world was created as if it were already in motion could just as easily make it a few minutes old as a few thousand years:
There is no logical impossibility in the hypothesis that the world sprang into being five minutes ago, exactly as it then was, with a population that “remembered” a wholly unreal past. There is no logically necessary connection between events at different times; therefore nothing that is happening now or will happen in the future can disprove the hypothesis that the world began five minutes ago.
—Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind, 1921, pp. 159–60; cf. Philosophy, Norton, 1927, p. 7, where Russell acknowledges Gosse’s paternity of this anti-evolutionary argument.
The title here has a taste of irony considering I’m using a UT computer to write this. Anyway, I’m working on getting a job in Alaska or possibly at the local Borders in Toledo. The obvious polar opposite nature of these two possibilities highlights my desperation. I am also continuing to look at starting my own business. I have no resources for this but I still want to get something rolling quickly before the fire in the belly diminishes as my father would say. I lean toward something automated for ease of scale. I plan to get together a few thousand dollars and then just start. I’m hoping with a commitment of time and money on my part those close to me will lend support and I’ll be able to achieve a measure of scale. I’ve been thinking more than usual about where I want to go and the person I want to be. I believe this is truly important since once one starts to move it is very hard to reflect. I see myself as a person of so very many failings but there is hope. I’m young and so I feel time is my strongest ally. It’s funny. One knows that this is a friend that will betray. To paraphrase Bertrand Russell I want to live in a world where emotions are strong but not destructive, where love is plentiful and humane and human are synonymous. Honestly half of that is close to a quote and half is my own. How do you punctuate something like it? Who knows? On that note I’d like to link to some micro loan sites. I love this sort of thing. People are helped and the helper is enriched. It is definitely a capitalist sort of charity that appeals immensely to me. It is the kind of thing I would be interested in if I got back on my own feet. So here they are http://www.kiva.org/ and https://www.microplace.com/.
I got this from the Big Picture at http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/. These consequences are funny but are they really so bad? I think not if one views oneself as a citizen of the world. It leads to a lot of trouble when one doesn’t.
Sometime this year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format:
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. No, they are borrowing it from China. Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline it will go to Hugo Chavez, the Arabs and Al Queda
If you purchase a computer it will go to Taiwan.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala (unless you buy organic).
If you buy a car it will go to Japan and Korea.
If you purchase prescription drugs it will go to India
If you purchase heroin it will go to the Taliban in Afghanistan
If you give it to a charitable cause, it will go to Nigeria.
And none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America. You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer (domestic only), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.
This my reply to Lucky Fox, commander of a squad of the same name, after he sent me a rather disheartening message.
I had a really nasty reply to a previous message all cooked up but I don’t see the point beyond it being mildly entertaining. What was said to me wasn’t as gentle as some make it out to be. I simply don’t agree with many parts of Lucky Fox’s game play. Chromehounds is one of the best games I’ve ever played. However, it is only a game and the way I wanted to play deemphasized winning. Lucky Fox wasn’t as good as many of the other squads and so I felt there was little harm in playing in a way which would reduce the chances of victory in the sense of mission complete. There was victory in the sense of fun. I tried to point out that losses shouldn’t be viewed as being all that bad if one handicapped oneself by playing roulette or running an exposed pit. I didn’t find much agreement with the squad on this point. I became frustrated since the game uses a dictatorial style of leadership in which my views could never have much weight. I’m not saying the squad’s viewpoint was wrong. I simply had an opinion that was in the minority with little chance of my style seeing the light for long. I extended a good will gesture by giving the squad several virtually free wins. Rama mentioned how you thought I talked Chec into starting some infighting. I had nothing to do with that. He was probably just bored and knew I had no hope of winning anyway. This is not some underhanded attempt at worming my way back into the squad. I don’t want to play the way it does. I won’t mind being part of the discussion group if Chec and the rest of you would allow it. Of course it is up to you to decide if my crimes are so weighty as to not warrant being allowed.
I went down all of Cheltenham without a coat today. It was a blast. I figure it’s important not to become too deadened to experience so I went for it. My own Polar Bear Club is active. Recruiting new members. The job search continues. I’m writing from a UT computer and I just put in an application to Abercrombie for a management position. Will anything come of this? Only the lovely lass known as Future can tell and she is holding her cards tight.
Well I’m done with UT after four and a half years. I got a 3.2 gpa for the semester and 3.5 cumulative. I even managed to pass auditing. I was so worried since in the mixed up world of my college a C- is failing for a course in one’s major. Tonight is Christmas Eve so hopefully tomorrow will be a blast. I bought a few gifts for everyone. Nothing huge but at least I made the effort. For me the whole event is purely time with the family since I’m agnostic on the matter of faith. My graduation party was well done. My favorite things abounded. Jazz, pizza and pop were of course three of the big guests. I leave you with the greatness that is Lost by A7X.
I’m sending out my resume to a financial services company around here. I also just wrote a play that I had made and had performed within 24 hours at UT. Sweet, no? The play will be added to the My Work section on this site. “Don’t call it a comeback. I’ve been here for years. Rocking my peers. Raining down like a monsoon. Listen to the bass go boom.”
It has been a long time since I last wrote here. Much has changed and much has not. I’m closer to complete destitution than I was. “Over, under, round and round soon your feet won’t touch the ground.” Yet, there is hope. My graduation from UT approaches and with it freedom. There is going to be a jazz party when I’m done. I’ll need to see if I can find a cheap cd player. I’ll just crank it to the max. There is a definite chance I will move away from Toledo then. I might go somewhere in the desert or possibly to North Canton. I want to find out if my brother would like to go. The answer will most likely will be no given the amount of time he put into finding a job. Toledo is certainly not conducive to the search. I’m both happy and jealous that he managed to get the greatest of minimum wage jobs. He will be working at the movie theater and gets around thirty free tickets a month. This is a golden perk for a low level job. I’ve been reading more often lately. I’ve grown sick of how addictive X-box is so I’m moving on. I am about finished with The Snowball. There were some nice moments in it but my favorite Buffett book is still Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. I’m also nearly done with Katherine Graham’s A Personal History. I really would like to get a book on Hetty Green next. I think I’m going back to the old legends. I went to Murphy’s, a local jazz place, with Chris. I bought one ridiculously expensive Smirnoff Ice. The music was enjoyable. The Sarcastic Mosquitoes was the band that played. It’s good to write. It keeps things from passing in a blur and reminds me of what I’ve done and felt.
Nonpersonal News Now The stock market has crashed. Stocks are off around forty percent from their highs. Google wasn’t exactly cheap at thirty six to forty times earnings but at twenty one times we can work with it. Mr. Buffett has been doing a lot of preferred stock deals. He did one with GE and one with Sachs. The government has been passing around the cookie jar. Even if you have crumbs on your hands you get another go.
Note to self check out Fifty Cent: Blood on the Sand.
A Bed For Morpheus 