I returned from a trip to Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks last week, and while ti was a rough week getting back into the groove of things, I’m pretty much back on track and getting a lot done day to day now. I took about 4 gigs of photos on the trip, half of which are probably “throw away” photos, but the other half are keepers, and a select few of them have made it into my personal collection for the trip. You can get a glimpse of my photos in my gallery.

I added these to facebook and got surprisingly few comments on them. Maybe they aren’t that good, or people aren’t interested in them, but either way, I’m coming to realize that facebook is not a place that fosters creating, only sharing. I am sure a certain level of talent can transcend this barrier, but the majority of facebook users want to write/comment/like things that affect them or things they go through, not appreciate the random, unique, or sublime. I’m not upset about this, just need to come to terms with it. Maybe one day i’ll be talented enough to transcend user’s nominal use of sites and shape how they can use them instead.

And I’m excited…

It seems like every famous person has some how codified the rules by which they live their life. In the next couple of days i’m going to start writing again, and i’ll attempt to do the same for me. I’ll probably take one post of laying them all out, and then following them up with more elaborate explanations of each.

And i’m giving up soda and a crappy diet.

I have a lot of friends who are Atheist.

That’s probably the only fact that will be written in the rest of this post, as it all goes considerably downhill from here. A recent book I’m reading, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, puts it interestingly regarding arguments between atheists and, well, everyone else. You can’t argue with an atheist if you believe in some god or God (or vice versa) because there is fundamentally no common ground to agree upon with which to argue from. To shore up this point, Atheists rule from the view of reason, logic, and skepticism. It’s that last one that is probably the cornerstone. Believers rule from logic, reason, and a single (I suppose it could be multiple) leap of faith.

So to hell with the facts, right? Well I guess we’ll see. But there are two types of atheists that I’ve met, most of my friends are type one: those who believe it and that’s who they are. They might not “get” why people believe in God, but they don’t always push their agenda. The second group consists of people who need to voice their opinion as an atheist and use atheism as a badge of honor or “holier-than-thou” attitude, which is funny if you think about it.

Logically, though, I don’t understand why atheists take issue with believers, as I guess I’ll call them. It kind of skids the agnostic issue, which is a perfectly valid, if non-committal, position.Why do certain atheists roll their eyes at those who pray or thank god publicly? Why do some people get upset when asked to bow their heads in a moment of silence, taking the act not for what it is: a moment of respect, but rather forced prayer? Why do people argue to remove the “under God” from the pledge of allegiance? I know of not one person, though I’m sure they exist (I believe it!) that had a strong opinion on the matter.

The issue that I think atheism boils down to which presents the problem is that of rationality. Not that believers are irrational, but skepticism is king when it comes to atheism. But “What then?”, I ask. It can’t be about conversion, for a person converted to atheism through argument alone is still a believer, but simply a believer in non-belief. Is it education? Is it Anger? Lack of respect? Wanting to feel correct?

A lot of erroneous arguments are made on both sides, two of which I see often are “This country was founded as a Christian nation” and “Religion causes war.” Both are silly arguments, regardless of their substance (which I don’t really think should be acknowledged), but illustrate how heated and biased the arguments get. We can discuss these things without trying to convert or pass judgment, or at least it is in our capacity. Why don’t we?

I really want to know more about the other side of things, but I don’t want to learn it from a person that will dismiss me because of a belief in God. And here is a hint if you’re out there, calling Him “magic” or “Superstition” is not a good way to start off the argument or introduce yourself as an atheist. Much as I’m sure that telling a person they are going to hell, a place in which he or she doesn’t believe, is a good way of saying “Good morning” to an atheist.

I believes all verdicts should be delivered to a judge in the form of a fortune cookie, which must be eaten before the verdict can be read aloud.