I'm constantly amused by the ads that get stuck on my blog page.  I have no idea what I've written that would cause an ad of "Meet Christian Girls Free" to appear on my page, but man I'm glad it's there.  I am SO tired of paying to meet Christian girls.  It's cool that someone is finally offering them for free.

A few days ago, I noticed that the forums weren't working as intended.  The way I "surf" JU is I look on the right to see what the popular articles are, and then I pick one and click it.  If none of those articles seem interesting, I look at the "Recent articles" list and pick one of those.  Once I've read that and responded or delcined to, I look again on the right for something new to view.  The problem was that once I had navigated away from my own blog, if I clicked somet...

A few days ago, I noticed that the forums weren't working as intended.  The way I "surf" JU is I look on the right to see what the popular articles are, and then I pick one and click it.  If none of those articles seem interesting, I look at the "Recent articles" list and pick one of those.  Once I've read that and responded or delcined to, I look again on the right for something new to view.  The problem was that once I had navigated away from my own blog, if I clicked somet...

Thou shalt not proclaim faith as truth.  If it were truth, you wouldn't have to have faith in it.  It might BE truth, but you don't know for sure - therefore the faith.   Thou shalt not argue between religions.  They're all equally right or equally stupid.  The statistics of your faith being correct are pretty slim.  Wwe're talking less than a 1000th of a percent.   Thou shalt chill the fuck out.  If you're right, then WHEEEEEE!  If someon...

My wife spoke to me yesterday over skype chat.  She's in San Diego right now picking up two of our zoo (cats) that have been staying with her parents there.  She's the one that gave me the news that McCain/McSame/McLame/ oh go on...you guys fill in the blanks....had picked a female for his VP.   I pissed my pants laughing.  Very clever.  VERY funny.   You see, I am no longer delusional about the government serving me.  The government has no interest...

Just a little update on life and whatnot.   After a grueling trip that my friend Charlie referred to as "The Great Migration," Mari and I are finally back on home soil in the US of A.  Here's a brief synopsis of what "The Great Migration" entailed.   During the summer months, there is an embargo on traveling with pets.  If the temperature at the departing airport is 85 degrees or higher at the time of departure, or if the projected temperature at the time of arriv...

I don't even have the patience now to find the right category for this, so it goes in misc.  Tough.   Dear reader, this a full on cathartic rant.  You're not likely going to understand what the hell I'm talking about, but it's either this or I start breaking shit.  And since I don't have any shit to break at the moment, the point is moot.  Welcome!  Welcome to my blog!   I'm a musician.  And on occasion, I have to write music.  Ye...

This blog probably isn't going to generate any discourse.  I just wanted to document the recent accomplishment of the drummer in the band I have the privelege of running.  His name is Chris, and he just got promoted to E5!   A little history on Chris.  Naples is his first band.  When he came to the band, he immediately became known as a "punk," which some of us loved, and of course, some did not.  But no one could say shit to him, because the guy can play.&nbs...

I'm not going to say much about it.  the Internet has been a fascinating thing to me since I first started browsing using Lynx (text only) circa 1992 or 3.  There's a lot of rough to slog through for that diamond, but every now and then someone puts an inordinate amount of time into creating something totally preposterous.  So preposterous you just have to give a nod and a smile in their direction.   Just go check out this site and come back and giggle with me.  Th...

I suppose it's somewhat ironic that I'm placing this article in Philosophy->Ethics, but perhaps you'll bear with me to see why.   Let's face something, folks - there's a big debate, on these forums, and just about everywhere else, about what should be taught in a science classroom and what should not.  I have one real problem with the argument from both sides - it is emotionally based.  I find absolutely no use for emotion when discussing something that is "supposedly" sc...

Remember when musicians actually played notes?  Remember when musicians were actually good at the instrument they played?  Remember when they even *played* instruments?  These days to be a musician, musical ability and knowledge is the LAST thing that's important.  Image is far more important.   Fortunately, there have been some very talented musicians in my life time.  Maybe I'm a musical snob, but I like it when musicians actually have musical talent.&n...

With the recent addition of a "Karma" button, I was reminded of a story from my college days.  I am not sure whether I really believe in karma as a functional system that is truly in action, but this story is definitely an example that it's at least possible, and it's something I'm fond of reminiscing about 20+ years later   The year is 1985.  The place is in a parking lot just up a hill from a football field where the University of South Carolina Marching Band practices in ...

I came to JoeUser in September of 2003.  Those that have been here a similar amount of time have seen my "activity" on the site wax and wane with seeming randomness.  My participation has been "random" because I haven't had any goal in mind for my blogging.  I originally joined when blogging was in its infancy and just wanted a place to spew whatever was on my mind.  It has served me well.   Over time, I saw that this wasn't a universal goal.  Some folks actua...

On Erathoniel's blog is an article On Evil , and in the comments, cscoles mentions that "Evil is not working together to make the world a better place." to which Erathoniel responds that that is exactly what *he* believes.  But Erathoniel also states in his article that "Evil is any time man walks away from God, the Creator."  Can those two statements exist peacefully side by side?   There are many belief systems in our world.  The problem is that many advocates of t...

First off.  I won't follow anyone else's idea about how this post should be written.  In fact, I won't follow anyone's idea about anything except my own.  Actually, that's coming daringly close to being a positive since that's true of all candidates, but I admit it.  That makes me look honest.  Hmmm...   Second, I really don't care about 95% of other people.  And I don't believe politics does either, but like we established a moment ago, I admit it. ...