YouTube Video: Waking Up to Sam Harris Not Making Sense

Steve Shives puts out excellent commentary, I wish I had the time and strength to watch all of his output. This takedown of Sam Harris is particularly well done. But it is rather long, so I recommend having it in the background to some work, like doing dishes.

I was never a fan of Sam Harris as such. I thought originally he made some good points, even about Islam, and I thought that the metaphor about us striving to reach higher grounds on an imaginary “moral landscape” was very good from didactic standpoint.

Then I learned more about Islam, and I modified my beliefs accordingly. Sam Harris AFAIK did not. I still think that the moral landscape is a good metaphor for moral progress, but that is all.

Luckily Sam Harris, unlike Dawkins outed himself as an asshole before I spent a lot of money on his books.

Content warning: transphobia from 26:25-29:22 (there is also content warning in the video itself, but it is only textual so if you are only listening, you might miss it).

We’ve Been Spring Cleaning

Seasons change and so do blogs. Here at Affinity we’re making a few changes to how things look. The first change you’ll see will be the top section of the left sidebar. We’ve collected all Caine’s cancer related writings and artwork into a new page that will stay permanently attached right where it’s always been only we’ve made it better. We’ve added all  Caine’s cancer related writings that happened between Cancer Chronicles so it’s now a comprehensive list organized by date. We’ve also added Caine’s death notice and the eulogy by her husband and best friend, Rick. Beneath that you will find Caine’s cancer related artwork and then tributes made by members of Caine’s international community. The page ends with a reading recommendation from Caine herself. Comments will be left open on the page and they’ll be  monitored regularly. The page is called Fuck Cancer: Caine’s Journey and it will be posted directly after this one. I hope I’ve managed to capture everything, but if you find any errors or omissions please let me know at affiniysubmissions@gmail.com. The address is always in the left sidebar under the colourful percolating head.

The next change you’ll notice is the addition of the blogging team. Just click on the person’s name and it will take you directly to their introductory profile post. Underneath that you’ll find the addition of our Twitter account following the TNET.

Some of you may have already noticed one of the biggest changes; no more ads. Finally. The ads have been removed from all Freethought Blogs making this a great time to check out the other bloggers on the Freethought Channel, where a lot of talented writing happens. The full roster of blogs is on the left sidebar. A bit farther down you’ll find a list with the most recent postings on the channel.

One last thing. Affinity isn’t just a blog, it’s a community and we welcome you and your submissions with glee. I am happiest when I get to see what’s up in your world so please send us whatever you’ve got to share: trees, flowers, birds, rocks, fish, animals, hobbies, food… anything, really.  We’re a curious bunch and if it interests you, chances are it will interest us. Just use the address on the left sidebar.

 

Mystical Worlds

No, this will not be another black hole post, although if you haven’t seen it yet, quickly:

First ever direct image of a black hole! The supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87 — 6.5 billion times as massive as the Sun! The image is better than I expected!

As tweeted by Katie Mack (@AstroKatie).

Instead, I found some art! Some spooky art that speaks to me, because despite the darkness, they don’t leave me feeling sad – there’s a loneliness that I enjoy because it has strength and conviction. Anyway, may I introduce you to Dawid Planeta – Artist Illustrates His Battle With Depression as a Mystical World of Spirit Animals, via My Modern Met:

A small figure appears throughout the poignant series, perhaps representing Planeta himself. He’s seen wandering through the fog-filled labyrinth, bravely facing the ominous jungle animals who feature glowing eyes that illuminate the darkness. They seem to be guiding him through the deep jungle, “to find his inner strength, find the light and come back with it.” And, Planeta explains, “When he knows who he is, he goes there again, this time without fear. He goes there because it’s a part of who he is. It’s a part of human nature you can’t ignore. You need to know all parts of life, dark and bright.”

Despite the difficulty of dealing with depression, Planeta managed to channel his feelings into creativity. “Depression—it’s not easy to deal with, but when you try, you can stop thinking about it as a weakness and turn it into something brilliant,” he says. “That’s what I aim to accomplish with my art. Things I’m trying to depict are dark, mysterious and frightening, but if you look closely, you will find excitement, passion and joy. Just open your mind and see.”

One example before the cut, for more keep reading:

by Dawid Planeta

[Read more…]

YouTube Video: Turning 2 hex nuts into a Diamond ring

Pablo Cimadevila Álvarez is paraplegic from childhood, after a car run him over at 4 years age. But his mother told him that if he cannot run, he still can swim – so he did. And he went on to  compete in several Paralympics and won several medals.

But besides sports he also designs and makes jewelry and had a smallish youtube channel where he shows his skill, which is really great.

This video of his went viral and his subscriber count exploded at the beginning of this year and very deservedly. Enjoy it – if you haven’t already. And if you had, it is re-watcheable (speaking from experience).

Full Fish Ahead: Part 4

It’s time to check in with Avalus to see what’s up in the new aquarium.

Part 4 – Technically Challenged

You could see it in the last part of Full Fish ahead: I modified the filter inlet tubing. Today I want to talk about what I did and why.

A word of warning: When playing around with water, make sure you have no non-water safe electrical McGuffins running in the splash zone and test, extensively, if your seals are really waterproof (for example overnight in a box).

As you can see, I have a darker background. It is an old towel and will be replaced later on by paper. ©Avalus, all rights reserved

A darker background helps to calm shyer fish and lets their colours stand out. I also cut some of the plants in the middle (Didiplis diandra) to give the other plants between space and light (Hygrophilia Araguaia and cryptocoryne wenditii).

The filter comes with 16 mm hose and an inlet piece that fits the hose. The Problem with this is threefold. One, the Inlet has few large openings, small fish and especially shrimp will get sucked in the filter. It also congests really quickly. Then, just behind the inlet, the water flow is choked and because of the small diameter there is much resistance from the walls, resulting in higher strain in the pump. Also the hose really quickly plugs up from particles sticking to the walls and bacterial mats that will grow. [Read more…]

Wednesday Wings: The Birds of Spring III

An old German children’s song is about the joys of spring, when “all the birds are here already”.

From the list of “blackbird, thrush, finch and starling” you can assume that those birds used to be more migratory or simply tried their luck in the woods back in those days.

There are different thrushes living here, but they are rare visitors to the garden, but can be found in the woods.

©Giliell, all rights reserved

©Giliell, all rights reserved

 

Jack’s Walk

On Guard, ©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s a cold, blustery day here with overcast skies and the threat of rain. I’m trying to stay zen about it, but I’m disappointed. We had three warmish days in a row and I was feeling all springy and cheerful. Now, my cute straw hat with the ribbon is stuck in the closet again and my black, utilitarian tuque is back on my head. Jack is disappointed today, too. We went to the civic center pond this morning and found it occupied by a small flotilla of Canada Geese who did not like the look of Jack at all. As soon as we got near the water they swam quite aggressively toward him and made it perfectly clear that he was not allowed to swim today.  This is the first time we’ve seen geese at this pond, but I know that the two larger ponds nearby are both crowded with geese right now so I think this bunch wanted someplace quieter for nesting season. Jack barked at them a few times, but they didn’t give an inch and he finally walked away. Poor boy. We walked around the soccer fields instead, but the weather was grim and neither of us felt like wagging a tail.