Things are going to get worse

“Things are going to get unimaginably worse, and they are never, ever, going to get better again!”

 

Supposedly by Kurt Vonnegut

Day in the Sky success!

DitS turned out well. I haven't blogged about the hours of frustration, anger, frustration, resignation, frustration and drama this has been since early in March. EAA suddenly decided that the risk to their Young Eagles program was too much and wanted out. DitS organizers couldn't understand the reasoning and was ready to claim discrimination against special needs kids. Most still don't understand the issues. The result was no flying by anyone. But a lot of kids got to hang out around airplanes, we had a bunch opened up for them to sit in, NASA had a cool display with solar telescopes out. It turned out very well. Not a lot of EAA 119 volunteers but that is ok. We got enough Cisco people to help set up. I ended up setting up the entire ramp myself in the morning because I dreamed about it all the night before. I was at the airport before 7am and before the ramp crew, so I just did it. I am paying for it today, I ache everywhere. I took no pictures during the day so these are from Mary and Dean.

Day in the Sky agony

Man, this has been a tough couple of months. EAA calls and says, "don't be part of DitS! YE insurance doesn't cover it!" We ended up calling off the flying part of DitS. I hope the event this weekend goes off ok with only static display planes.

Sunday Sacrilege: That other thing we don't believe in

We do not have immortality, but that also means we can throw away the irrelevant crutches of god-belief. We've walked successfully without them — cast them away, stand as a proud human being and meet fate without the wishful delusions of faith. That's why this thought is a sacrilege — it says that we have no need of priests or gods or persistent ghosthood, ideas that have only hobbled us.

PZ is talking about the rest of what we don't think exists. A soul. Life after death. Forget the god thing, not believing in a soul is much more fundamental in atheism. People believe in reincarnation and ghosts because they think there is a soul that is separate from our bodies and brains. More wishful thinking I believe. But I understand it more, it is hard to see how we can cease to exist when our brains die. What happens to our thoughts. It is hard to think that our thinking self will actually stop.

The meaning of Easter

We don't regard as heroic the soldier who throws the fellow next to him on top of the grenade, and we especially condemn the soldier who first pulled the pin on the grenade, then smothered the explosion with his bunkmates body.

I had never tried to figure out the logic of Easter. Not having really ever been Christian, I've never had to. Jesus being tortured to death for our sins and then going to heaven somehow saves us? Of course only if you accept him as your lord and savior. Or not. Depending on which variety of Christianship being promoted. But to really peel back the layers and examine the logic from PZ's post here, wow. How messed up is this?

1. Eve and Adam screw up in God's eyes. Not in mine, she was curious and wanted knowledge, what is wrong with that?
2. We are all fallen and need to be forgiven for Eve and Adam's sins. Really? How am I at fault? That is some lawyer God has.
3. God sends his son to earth knowing he would be sacrificed. Wow. Daughters, know that I would no do that to you.
4. The son knows he is going to die, but also knows he is going to heaven, no question. Not really that much of a sacrifice. Makes it kind of hollow.
5. Jesus gets tortured to death, sort of, walks away and is never seen again. We are told to accept Jesus as our savior to get the forgiveness for our sins, the original ones being the ones committed by ancient ancestors.

So god gets pissed, throws his son at us to be sacrificed, and we are supposed to praise him and his son who knew it wasn't going to hurt.

Amazing.