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Just thanking y'all from the core of my heart: I haven't read a single "omg" since arriving 10 days ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
:)
Hiking in the Sierra Clear water and coarse white sand, was quite a sight for a young man.
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Sounds like fun. I used to go hiking on the Appalachian Trails, but the heavy backpack..half my weight..made my knees buckle. I'm 5' 3" and my ex is 6' 1" so he was always getting ahead of me, then waiting impatiently for me to catch up. I was annoyed, so invented a device I call "the gallopers," that gives people the four-footed advantage, and I can lope for hours up the steepest, stoniest trails, even with a heavy backpack, without tiring, or slipping, at about the speed of a slow jog. My ex was now annoyed that I was literally going in circles around him on hikes, so he complained until I made him a set of gallopers, then he, with his much longer legs, was still able to get ahead of me, then act impatient as I caught up. Oh, brother.
What are your views on polygamy?
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
As a partial transmale, androgyne, demisexual person, I just don't care if people are into polygamy. I don't seem capable of jealousy, used to think threesomes would be great, as long as someone with whom I was previously bonded was involved. I also seem to be amoral..seeing sex as a body function. No big deal. However, I do know that most cis, hetero females are VERY territorial and would never share their spouses.
Take Two...
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Great idea! Some atheists are already doing that, in a way: Atheist 'mega-churches' look for nonbelievers http://usat.ly/1cd7ALX via @usatoday
Proud mama bragging here: My youngest son signed a letter of intent to play tennis for Midway ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Hey, way to go! So cool for both of you, and you don't have to worry about permanent brain injuries from playing football or soccer...or, in the case of some, of sudden death from 120 mph baseballs, (or cricket balls, in my part of the world).
Is there a memory you would want to relive?
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
I'd choose when I saw Star Wars for the first time..I was stunned at the opening scene. The theater shook with the sound, time stopped. It's never been the same since.
A Beginner’s Guide To Quantum Computing - YouTube
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Awesome..I've been waiting for one to become commercially available for years. But, of course, then the price would have to drop..
I am two and a half years out of a mentally and physically abusive relationship.
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
I'm so sorry! With men, you have to have strong boundaries, ready to ditch the relationship at the first sign of trouble. If they show any disrespect be ready to suddenly be too busy, have other plans, or if you made the mistake of moving in with him, that you found another place, or this isn't working out. I'm so masculine that I lack the typical cis female instinct to manage men, making excuses when my sig others mess up, like males do with their girlfriends, finding reasons to stay with them, etc. Typical females don't "fall in love"-that's males. They aren't put in danger by falling in love with females and being besotted with them, but females with male instincts who fall in love and blindly excuse scary behavior are likely to be abused or taken advantage of. Most females will toss a man's stuff onto the lawn and change the locks if he cheats, or disrespects her. Masculine women often act like males and cry, hang on, plead with him, etc., the way men do when girls leave them. That was definitely my case-after I dumped them for abuse, they'd move on to a "real" female who could effortlessly manage them, and soon had the formerly abusive men jumping through hoops for her.
Is this True Love?
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
LOL! This is referring to agape love, not eros. Believe me, if you cross your female companion you will find out that they definitely keep records, don't tolerate all things, they do envy (get jealous), and their love definitely ends if you seriously mess up.
Who is the better parent?
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
I read a study, which I can't find now in google search, where children of families with fathers and mothers were compared with gay parents, and they were surprised to find the thrive factor to be the women. Two women, as in a lesbian couple, had more emotionally healthy children than the children of a father and mother. The children of gay males fared the worst.
A poem I wrote for Valentine's Day.
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
I'm sure your special person appreciates the sentiment!
Something I've thought for a while now. [hackernoon.com]
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
There are objections to this theory, of course: In this article, scientists object to the theory because it would take too much computer power to simulate our universe. Link: Scientists (kinda) disprove theory that we’re all just living inside a computer simulation http://bgr.com/2017/10/05/simulation-theory-the-matrix-science-proof/ In this article, people argue that calling our reality a simulation necessitates a higher level unlike ourselves, that is more "real" than we are, generating it. Link: Elon Musk Is Wrong. We Aren't Living in a Simulation https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/yp3b7w/we-don't-live-in-a-simulation?utm_campaign=sharebutton via @motherboard
Once upon a time, God made bananas
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Most cash crops have an almost inedible wild version. But alt-rights typically don't read much, mostly watch Fox News, and are suspicious of science. They even seem to think the Bible was written in King James English!
When you left your religion you followed, do you now consider it to be the most annoying religion ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Me 2!
I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
I dunno. Since energy can't be destroyed or created, we've always existed and will always exist. People who remember past lives, including my youngest sister and I, know life is an illusion and that we're just taking parts in various scenarios. "For physicists, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." -Einstein
How the Japanese "Wake Up to Purpose Every Day" (and What We Can Learn)
birdingnut comments on Jan 30, 2018:
Yup..already do all of the above. Taking a long walk as the sun rises resets your thyroid thermostat to high energy and a good mood, coordinates your sleep rhythms, and letting your mind float, immersed in nature's beauty is just as effective as an organized meditation session. I always carry my Samsung tablet to read Kindle books during my commutes on Thai songtheaws and vans, I constantly take new roads when walking or driving my motorbike, etc.
Does this bother you?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Just nausea...
What are your thoughts on the quote?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I disagree, depending on the situation. If I calmly mention that someone (usually an alt-right guy) has said something that offends me-say mocking the handicapped, other races, the LGBTQ community, sexual slurs about women, etc, that means consequences could soon follow: If it happened on Facebook, I'm about to block him No more communication If a dating prospect, I have just crossed him off my list, unless explanations and apologies are swift in coming. If in the workplace, I might lodge a complaint, depending on how he responds to my objection. If it happens in the street, I will narrow my eyes and walk away.
Dating dealbreakers
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Deal breakers? Being Republican, alt-right, being dull and fussy, being flabby and out of shape, gorging on junk food, not reading, or caring about knowing things, no curiosity. Also if they've not traveled, hate animals, if someone is a hunter, or golfer Don't care about the environment or green solutions. Has kids still at home Not self-supporting unhealthy, lives to eat low IQ Takes orders from mothers or exes seems mentally unstable, takes meds substance abuser
Connotation is important ... ;)
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good one!
One week and I go to India.
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
That sounds exciting for you! Thailand has glittering temples, but here it's clean, there's good infrastructure, no begging, no yelling after or bothering foreigners, almost everyone is kind, honest and polite, never stare or point. I've forgotten my change, or left my purse or Samsung tablet behind many times, but someone always ran after me or tracked me down on the internet to return it. In most countries, that would be the last I'd see of my stuff.
Evangelical women: porn star affair okay because 'God ordained' Trump - BEING LIBERAL
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Sorry..can't watch it. I'm trying to avoid nauseating things so have blocked news feeds from my Facebook page so I don't have to hear about Trump. I still hear plenty about him on all the international news channels I watch here in Thailand. He is source of great amusement for most British, Aljazeera, and Singapore news commentators, and they like to add after one of his grandiose announcements, "Well, that's what he said last, but who knows what he will tweet early overnight, or he could just casually reverse sides without admitting it." They call him an unqualified loon, etc.
Teen discusses losing faith then suing over prayer in her school
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Gracious! There should alternate, religion-free schools if the public schools won't follow the law. Or there's home schooling, which is what I did. In my case my kids were too dyslexic and high IQ to send to public school, as they were reading at two, doing algebra at five, and reading encyclopedias at four. They could speed read through books as fast as they could flip the pages, yet remember every word. Scary. They checked out 200 books every two weeks at the country library, so I had to bring a laundry basket with handles, and they'd each read five books on the way home in the car. When I had a divorce and sent them to public school at middle school age, they thought school was joke. The teachers realized the kids knew more than they did and were sort of afraid of asking them a question in class, as they'd be floored with a stream of info the teachers didn't previously know. So they just allowed my kids to bring books like the Iliad to school, and read to themselves during class.
Man Unsure If He's Persecuted Because He's A Christian Or Because He's A Massive Jerk
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.. Wait. This must a spoof website. I've never heard of alt-rights being self-aware enough to wonder if they are jerks or not.
How many of you here are into wildlife or bird photography?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I've been discouraged with photo hosting sites lately..I uploaded all my photos to twitpic.com, but they went bust. Then I uploaded everything to Picasa but that went bust also, I tried Flickr, but when I changed computers, I was locked out and told I'd have to download all my photos and re-upload them under a new account..a job that would take days. I was in photobucket for years, but stopped because of the superior quality of the other web hosting sites, but I guess I can return to using it. Right now I just upload to Facebook, then to google drive, where I have unlimited photo and video storage for joining Amazon prime. Trouble is, I have to label each photo I upload to the drive as I can't label them after uploading, at least so far, from my laptop. That means that once I upload I can't do a search for a particular photo, but only the label on the file.
Seems like as safe a place as any to ask this! Many men say they like a strong woman.
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
You may realize that we are all on a sliding gender scale-even the most femme women are only about 80% female traits, according to some studies I've read. As the sliding marker moves from femme female toward the center of the gender chart-halfway between femme girl and macho male, the fewer female instincts will activate. In my case, I lack the female brain chip to manage men, the one my cis hetero female friends and relatives take for granted. In their cases, they are picky about which man they choose out of the eager line up of suitors and would never think of chasing after men. Men chase after them, as most cis males are wired (as the predator) to do and all women have to do is to pick out the best ones. In my case, I have a sort of "whatever, bro" male vibe, the way men let their male friends borrow and trash their cars, spill beer everywhere, and borrow money again without paying it back. But the females I know who have active female instincts won't even date men unless they do everything right..any disrespect, and their stuff gets tossed into the yard and the locks changed. In my case, I lack the female outrage when a guy messes up..in fact, I often don't even notice, and if I do, I can't work up any rage, and if I do yell at him, that's also a male move that doesn't work. Men, and male-ish females, yell at each other when offended, but if a man messes up, typical women withdraw. Suddenly, they're "too busy" and have "other plans" and disappear from the startled guy's life. The men have no choice..do whatever she wants, or find someone else. Lucky for men, the male-ish females chase men and put up with anything, making excuses for the bad behavior of their men, the way men routinely do with their girlfriends. Knowing this doesn't help, though. My instincts to react as a male are strong, but if I follow the advice in the book, "The Rules" which shows women like me how to act like a typical cis female, which attracts men, it works...I was inundated with marriage proposals. However, unlike most females who date, I had no interest in marriage..just in having a pal for ballroom dancing, and hiking.
Why Only the Happily Single Find True Love
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
So true. I like the advice in the book, "The Rules," showing aggressive, male-trait women whose instinct is to pursue men, how to behave like a typical picky cis female. They stay in the choosing mode, looking over their male suitor choices with a critical eye, leaving men to duke it out for her attention. For instance, women are advised to only accept dates made three days ahead, or else "you'd love to, but you already have plans!" thus teaching men to plan ahead if they want to see you. You only talk about general subjects during early dates, end the dates first, only agree to meet for coffee for the first date, near your place, without revealing your address, etc. You only have sex with someone after you've become exclusive, you let the man buy you gifts and pay for dates, only buying them neutral, inexpensive gifts for their birthdays, if you're in a relationship, etc. In other words, you let the predator males be predators and pursue the females, and don't turn the tables on them..prey chasing predator, or their instinct to run for it will cut in. I used to follow these rules but they worked too well..I was always getting marriage proposals when I only wanted a fun pal for dancing and hiking. I am definitely a male-ish female, lacking many female instincts.
Cheese is the Answer
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Sounds good to me. I could totally attend a church of cheese...
A lot of angry and/or uneducated atheists around here...
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
The name of this website, agnosic.com, implies that here a safe place for agnostics-as opposed to a website with religious people in it. So, perhaps those who "escape" the alt-right by coming here need to vent a bit, get it out of their systems. I'm already starting to skip anything that references religion, looking for more interesting topics.
To meat or not to meat
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Raising animals could become a thing of the past; meat is now being grown in the lab. No cruelty meat: BBC News - Lab-grown meat: The future of food? http://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-40496863/lab-grown-meat-the-future-of-food
Transgender and Bathrooms
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Having all genders in the same place would have some challenges. Some men like to flash their junk at women, apparently thinking women like to see them, much as they like to see naked women, so doing as the Thai do, with a low wall blocking the view of the urinals from the stalls and sinks would be helpful. There's still the problem of many men leaving a stinky mess, as married women already know, although they usually can make their spouses behave.
Anyone care to share some book recommendations?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
My Kindle library has hundreds of books, many of which I reread regularly, plus I keep buying more. Love sci-fi such as Robert A. Heinlein, John Scalzi, and Joe Haldeman, etc., nonfiction memoirs and autobiographies, especially by those in the LGBTQ community, and people who grew up abroad, famous people I admire, Native American captive accounts, slave narrative accounts, etc. My current favorite indie books are the Catskinner series by Misha Burnett. Here's a link to the first book, in amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Catskinners-Book-Lost-Doors-ebook/dp/B008MPNBNS
Whats your opinion of the Bible?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
It's a derivative of the Sumerian writings, which predates the Bible by 2000 years, but has similar stories, except from the perspective of aliens who genetically engineered humans to work the gold mines. In the Noah and Ark story, for instance, the main Sumerian "god" leader, Anu, of the blood-thirsty White Draco race, was planning for them to withdraw from the earth a ways to avoid the coming flooding that would occur when another planet passed too close to earth, letting the slaves drown. But the two gods who created the humans in the first place, using their own DNA mixed with native human apes, and also genetically engineered wild and domestic animals as well, secretly saved their favorite Noah family, showing them how to build a submarine, and storing animal DNA in it, instead of the real animals. The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/origins-human-beings-according-ancient-sumerian-texts-0065?
How the Photographer of a Snake-Handling Pastor Handled the Bite That Killed Him – Friendly ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
LOL! Yeah,seems dumb to me. If people choose to risk their lives or even kill themselves, that's their business, but coercion of other church members to endanger themselves, and their children, should have legal consequences. But nobody from those churches is likely to sue their leaders, or press charges.
How do you feel about Christians?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I don't care what they do, as long as it doesn't negatively affect me, the economy, ecology, the world, my safety, and that of my friends and family, etc. Sadly, that's JUST what they did when 85% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. That put them on my persona non grata list, but otherwise if they don't promote their views at my expense, I live and let live, but I expect them to do the same.
I saw this Christian named Zig Ziglar post this on Facebook: be yourself, don't be someone you are ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Gross! Yeah, going green and switching to more sustainable food sources is a better idea, but I get it. Someone has to maintain the infrastructure, pave the roads, wire the houses and install the plumbing, although using solar and recycling water seems wiser. I dated a man for two years who could do it all, and I greatly admired him..he could build, remodel, or fix anything, and was a computer whiz as well. Sadly, he was very chivalrous, doing everything for me, and taking over if I asked for advice, so when he left I felt great relief at buying my OWN tools and doing my own repairs, etc. I felt totally helpless with technology for a few months until I learned how to program everything on my own again.
Have you noticed that some of the people whom commented on a lot of your posts when you first ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I'm prejudiced about having relationships with anyone not within two years of my age. I'm demisexual so the lust element is a moot point. And, at 65 yrs old, I don't have to worry much about "old men" contacting me, either, LOL!
People treat you nicer or meaner based on your appearance?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I am very prejudiced by appearance. If I see someone in a "Make America Great Again" cap, with a side arm, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, I tend to discount their assumed IQ and education levels by a few levels and assume they are racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic, and I'm usually right. If I see an obese person wearing dirty sweat clothes and gobbling junk food, I assume they don't read much. If I see someone wearing religious symbols and acting belligerently, I give them the same IQ rating as the Trump followers, and often they are in the same crowd. So, yes, I'm judgmental and look at clothing and presentation. Same as someone wearing hemp clothing, while holding a PETA sign or "save the ocean" sign gets an automatic boost in my IQ estimation because they are more like I am. Same for people I see reading, or hiking, or picking up litter. So, people who are similar to me get the highest scores. I'm pretty much a prejudiced person.
Broken?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I qualify for the demisexual label, so feel no sexual attraction for either gender, or even individuals, unless there's been a prolonged courtship of over a year. But I do enjoy friendship with people of like interests, and, even though I see men as pals, from having a lot of male traits myself, I can be persuaded to marry, apparently, even if only to avoid hurting my friend's feelings. So that's how I married my ex. After a year of hanging out, being courted, we got married and after another year I began to feel sexual attraction. I eventually divorced him in 2010 for being treacherously jealous of anything that took my attention off him, but we had a fun marriage in the meantime. Last year he emailed me to say he was transitioning to nonbinary female, and wanted us back together. He/she had already remarried, to a strict, religious Republican, so I knew transitioning wouldn't go over well with her. I know he's dangerous to be with, but my demisexuality demotivates me from pursuing new love interests and I passively allow him to occasionally email me about his transition progress. With my "whatever" male traits, I lack the outrage most cis women naturally have toward unsuitable lovers. But I might be progressing a bit..my joining this forum surprised me and raised my hopes that I'm willing to at least find out if anyone matches my interests, even if for friendship. I have no idea what my sexual orientation is, but I'm panromantic (can fall in love with anything) and have briefly fallen in love with a transwoman before, until she began making demands on me; telling me where to live, where to work, etc, and planning my life. That was my cue to exit stage left .
Anyone want to chat?
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
Not sure how that works on this website..I've not seen any links to chat rooms.
The Republican assault on knowledge has a new possible target: the Census
birdingnut comments on Jan 29, 2018:
I agree. I was an enumerator for Carter and Rowan counties in 2010, when I lived on my family farm near Morehead, KY. The suspicious, crack-shot-with-guns, pot-growing hillbillies housed in tumble-down shacks, often caricatured in comics is real life in those parts. I had already found that any given person of any age, from six years old to grannies in their 80s, had a firearm within ten steps of them at all times, if not on their person, and most places had packs of dogs. All of them were suspicious of anyone "not from around here." Because I'd lived on my grandfather's farm for the past 27 years and done substitute teaching in both counties, I was able to name drop people they knew and knew how to avoid hordes of barking/snarling dogs by staying in the car and tapping the horn until someone came out, had a 4-wheel drive SUV to reach the remote hillside trailers and shacks, etc. I had a total blast working outdoors, sometimes walking for hours if the road was too primitive for vehicles. I saw each house number list as a challenge, and soon learned to skip questions on the forms I knew would enrage them. Most were initially suspicious, thinking Census workers were snotty "city folk," but quickly relaxed after I'd dropped a few names of people they knew and told them where I lived. Most people had to pass our farm if they'd driven to Morehead, and some remembered it because I usually had Walking Horses and mules grazing near the road.
I made it all the way to Level 7....PINPONPOM I am getting ice-cream to celebrate.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I still am unclear on the benefits of the points, but I always want to eat ice cream. I ate chocolate ice cream several days ago, but a health issue improvement had a set back afterward, so I'm now a bit hesitant about eating it again .
You always hear that age old question...”what is the meaning of life?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
The biological imperative of most living creatures is to replicate themselves, and many species also assist their young in reaching the age of successful procreation. In some animal societies, including elephants and humans, the grandparents are often the crucial survival factor for intergenerational family groups. However, that's just the biological factor. Our advanced brains require their own purposes and meaning to life. Although primitive societies often require no more from life than simply surviving long enough to reproduce, more advanced cultures usually indulge in arts, literature, and other intellectual pursuits.
I was an Eagle Scout, and my neighbor invited me to his son's Eagle Scout award ceremony tomorrow at...
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I'm against scouting for no other reason than that I think it's illogical to have endless meetings and ceremonies to gain badges instead of actually teaching urban kids how to survive comfortably in the wild, learn to use common codes, read animals tracks, signs, scat, etc. In Haiti, we missionary kids poured over the one Boy Scouts handbook, memorizing all the codes, from Morse to Braille, knots, shelter building, etc. identifying tracks (although the US animals in the track pictures don't exist in Haiti), making and using bows and arrows, practicing throwing knives at targets, etc, thinking that Scouts existed to train kids in Native American skills, as in "Indian Scout." We also had a National Geographic book on Native American Indians and copied stuff from there as well. But when I was in the US at the age of nine, to my horror I was put in the Brownies, where we had to wear an ugly uniform (with a SKIRT??) and everyone sat around the living room, ate cookies, and planned the next meeting where we also would do nothing. It was so boring I never returned, but I heard that the regular Boy Scouts weren't much better. Later on, I read Tom Brown's book, "The Tracker," and how he trained his own Boy Scouts troop in tracking and survival skills he'd learned from his Apache teacher, "Tracking Wolf," so the kids could do all that stuff.
When I got married my wife was not religious.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
"AMEN" to that. Weirdly, other religions don't annoy me like Christianity does. For instance, I've been teaching in Thailand since 2010, and Thai Buddhism doesn't annoy me. I even join my Thai friends and students in meditation and/or banquet celebrations at the local temples when asked. I love to meditate, and Thai food is the best, so any excuse will do. The temples are perfect for it..unreal beauty, open design, wild and domestic animals coming and going at will, ancient bells you can ring with a gong to give you good energy vibrations, etc. Best of all, everyone is accepted, people are left alone to partake or not, and nobody EVER condemns you, or tries to convert you.
Many Christians and other religions are inimical to atheists,and agnostics, we are blamed for many ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Hmm...I've never known anything I say to make the slightest bit of different to a religious fanatic. My best move is to just ignore them, seem disinterested to discourage their behavior, or toss off a casual, indirect remark that lets them know I don't believe as they do, but hopefully not provoke a fight.
What Am I?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
True. Young children constantly make up little "religions" for themselves..even their games often make claims such as, that if you land on a certain number, you'll get married to the next boy you see, for example. Adults carry or wear items they imagine influenced winning a game, or some other benefit. Humans seem to long to depend on something bigger than they are-stronger, wiser, with all the answers, so they can relax and just go along with it. In fact, that's the thing I miss most about my former beliefs. It not fun having to take responsibility for your own mistakes, and the outcome of your life (sigh).
I believe climate change has become pseudoscience.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I read and hear conflicting things, but I'll go along with whatever inspires people to cut pollution and only use renewable energy. The sooner the world is rid of oil use, the better.
Meetup Groups for Singles - Why so Religious?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
There are so many religious singles groups because of the 2 Corinthians 6:14 verse-"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Of course, they ignore 1 Corinthians 11:10 that commands women to cover their heads (wear a veil) and also to be married, have children, stay at home, don't talk in church, don't have authority over men, be obedient to husbands, etc. They just pick out verses that benefit the church..like keeping the church members in the church.
I am wondering what people on this site think about this recent article.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Sounds about right.
The one philosophy I've been intrigued by since high school is "solipsism".
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
If the weed is strong enough, one hit can trash you and make it difficult, if not impossible, to tell if you are asleep or awake. Sometimes sitting down for a while helps, or a few drops of iodine in water, but if you are truly trashed you may not be able to do that, and will have to ride it out.
Have you been on an agnostic or atheist cruise? Discuss your experience here!
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Link to 2018 atheist cruise: https://freethoughtcruise.wordpress.com/
Is being an atheist important?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I'm with what most already said..I don't go around broaching the subject, but if someone makes a point of trying to engage me in a religious conversation I first try to discourage them by mumbling "Uh-huh" in a distracted manner and changing the subject, but if they get in my face I just say I don't believe that way anymore, or that "not everyone believes that way." I'm not being confrontational but my point is still being made. That gives others the option of letting it slide if they wish. I also mentally change what they're saying to make it compatible with my beliefs..like changing "God' to "the Universe" or "my higher consciousness," and "thoughts and prayers" to "positive energy." If they are really pushing my buttons, I can also the deploy the technique of seeing it from the perspective of "best intentions." For example, I can tell myself that "His saying that I'll go to hell is coming from his wanting to save my soul, and he feels it's his duty, or he also will be tortured forever. He's just afraid for both of us." This is harder to pull off if the person is behaving in a rude, belligerent manner.
I want to thank everybody in this huge crowd for elevating me to the best level, Level 7.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
You did Bigly! You are NOT A LOSER.
Single, divorced, widowed...why does society place such importance on these titles?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I put Ms if I must put a title prefix on a document, but when asked about my marital status I say "single." The Thai sometimes ask about my husband when I mention my children, so I shrug and say I'm divorced. Otherwise it never comes up in Thailand, since they don't ask about martial titles, but they do ask your age. Their social structure is based on age, and when foreigners dye their hair Thai sometimes aren't sure which person should "wai" first.
Do any of you have earnestly religious friends?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
LOL! I think that's most of us. Best case scenario is for religion to never come up. I still have some religious friends left because I'm a missionary kid. So if someone starts some church topic, I say "Um-hum" in a vague manner as though distracted, then change the subject at the first opportunity. If they do it more than twice, I start easing away from them, socially, suspicious that they see me as a conversion project rather than a friend.
My friend has a trophy wife. I don't think it was 1st place.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Depends on what the contest was..
I'm pretty excited about the level of intelligence in the members of this site.
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Perhaps when religion is removed, people can act more like themselves..
A friend said, "I'm photogenic".
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Dunno. I had a similar reaction. People would look at my photos and say things like.."Hey! You look great in this photo! You should wear your hair that way more!" And I'd say.."But that photo was taken last week!" They'd look at the photo, then at me, and seem skeptical. I thought they were all nuts until I once saw much older photos without recognizing myself. My first thought was that I looked good, but when the photos were taken I didn't think so.
What are the commentariats' views on legal prostitution?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
I'm demisexual so have no sexual attraction for anyone unless in a very long term exclusive relationship, and only after over a year. But I also seem to be amoral and I don't care what people do. To me, sex is a body function. Men must release sperm or they can have prostate problems. The whole crazed religious fuss about sex seems insane to me.
Have you been on an agnostic or atheist cruise? Discuss your experience here!
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
Sounds fun! Sign me up!
Have any of you tried online dating?
birdingnut comments on Jan 28, 2018:
What about this website? It seems set up to let people get to know each other first.
Hello.
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Oops..forgot one of my obsessions..inventions. It annoys me when something I need doesn't yet exist, so I often grab whatever junk is lying around and make it on the spot, while going out the door. I have over 100 inventions, many of which I use constantly or others begged off of me. My favorite is a device that gives me the "four-footed" advantage back. I can lope like a wolf up and down the steepest trails with little effort, at jogging speed, without slipping or getting tired, even carrying a heavy backpack, even using no hands! Using the device for even a few minutes, for some reason, makes peoples' abs hard as rocks and slims the waist. For this reason I don't let people borrow them or use them as they can become angry when I don't give the device to them. Also, its fun. One big perk; birds and animals see me as a harmless four-footed deer and I can approach closely. This can be dangerous, as I was once hunted by a wild dog pack here in Thailand and had to take them off to show the dogs that I was human. They backed off, but resumed hunting me when I continued on. I had to throw rocks and yell at them. I was going to get it licensed years ago but found some new patent laws that seemed able to deprive me of profit, so have hesitated, hoping for a law change
I'm curious; does this website address gender issues..identity and/or orientation?
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
I couldn't find anything gender related in the topics list. Is there a way to do archive topic searches?
What say you about conflict v. Artificial Harmony?
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Depends on the other person. A casual acquaintance or distance relative probably rate artificial harmony, but people with whom you must cohabit or learn to trust might rate more honesty. Or not. Depending on how touchy they are.
To those who were raised in a religious household, what made you abandon your family's beliefs?
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Getting a divorce and seeing my entire church turn on me, reading the Bible in the original Greek and Hebrew and realizing that 98% if what I'd been taught wasn't even in the Bible, the Facebook hate memes posted by childhood evangelical friends during President Obama's terms, and especially during the last election. I felt ashamed and sick I'd ever been a part of that group.
What are your favorite websites?
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
I frequent an MK website (missionary kids) to get my fix on wild foreign adventure stories and follow many other wildlife and birding Facebook pages. Since a friend gave me the link to this website I've almost stopped visiting other ones, however.
A question for the ladies, and maybe us males might learn something.
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Another hint..I am one of the most difficult types of woman to court; although I resemble a cis woman, I'm really bigender/gender fluid/androgynous, so have strong male traits. Yet men have often successfully courted me by being indirect; charming, funny, befriending me cautiously and gradually inserting themselves into my life by joining me in activities I love...hiking, ballroom dancing, birding, etc. If the guy starts to make demands of me or pressuring me commit to him, that's often my cue to exit stage right. Confidence and seeming to be be emotionally independent can intrigue women.
A question for the ladies, and maybe us males might learn something.
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Hmm...a few problems with that. I look like a 65 year old female. Nothing sexy male about me. Yet I am androgynous, with such a strong male personality that, despite being mostly asexual, I effortlessly pick up women without realizing it and once I notice the crowd of gorgeous young giggling women around me (in Thailand, there are many gorgeous women, but the Koreans are a cut above in looks) I quickly snap out of it and make some excuse to disappear. As an asexual, I have no problem accidentally landing the fish, but I'm a "vegetarian." Women are attracted to my strong, bold male vibe, apparently, both in the US and when I moved to Thailand where most people seem to be bi. I have to be careful after three Thai women in a row at work, the married Thai female school owner, my female supervisor, and one of the female staff, got crushes on me, unbeknownst to me, and when I didn't reciprocate the way they liked, they took revenge on me. I learned to always behave in a neutral manner, but it still sometimes happens. I have learned to carefully answer when a married female boss starts propositioning me (which happened two weeks ago)-I thank her, but say I don't really "take lovers," etc. Mainly, I try to keep her happy so she doesn't try to get me fired.
Tennessee man flips car five times after letting 'Jesus take the wheel'
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
When you're trashed, even on weed, it's sometimes impossible to tell dreams from reality. He probably DID see "Jesus" -one can see all sorts of things when way too high.
Had to do another just for a good laugh. This plays off of two holidays. Enjoy.
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Luckily, the fun parts of Christmas are borrowed from pagan customs-originally people only went to Christmas mass, read the Bible story of Jesus' birth, and that was it. Christmas trees and celebrations were considered heretical.
So the evangelicals want to have a day of prayer and fasting for that orange guy in the White House.
birdingnut comments on Jan 27, 2018:
Sadly, united energy and focus actually works, as shown in numerous studies. Nothing to do with "God"-just the way connected energy works.
FYI! I will hit 7.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
?? Hit 7.5 of what? I love ice cream, but being in Nebraska would be too hard to take. Same for Kansas.
Have you ever felt depressed and singled out while single on Valentine’s Day?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Nope. Especially since I moved to Thailand and no longer felt pressured to "find someone." The US puts unnatural emphasis on relationships, assuming that if you're single, there's something "wrong" with you, and concerned friends and relatives constantly try to set up their single friends, as though they were charity cases. In Thailand, many/most professional women stay single, to be able to keep their money and independence, and married couples frequently don't even live in the same town, as husbands often live with their mothers. Even if married couples live together, most people here seem to be bi, and both spouses often have lovers of both genders. Many don't seem to consider gender at all, actually.
Dudeism
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
HAHAHAHAHAHA..love it! I could definitely join, except that I'm mostly androgynous, not fully "dude."
When did you know you had found your life partner?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I haven't, unless you count my ex, who now says he's transitioning to nonbinary female, and keeps trying to get back with me (but I divorced him for acting like a crazed, jealous nut case; neither of us knew about trans issues back then). I researched gender issues for years, including the famous Gottman study done to find out the common denominator in successful, long-term hetero marriages-it was when the man was willing to submit his will to his wife in all things. Any independent actions from the man, or dissing or ignoring his wife's opinions, shortened the marriage so predictably, they could accurately assess the date of the coming separation. (Gottman, John M., and Nan Silver. (1999). “Principle 4: Let Your Partner Influence You,” in The Seven Principles for Making Marriages Work (Chapter Six, 100-127). New York: Three Rivers Press (Random House, Inc.). People near the extreme ends of the gender scale corresponding to their birth gender..I.e., the "girliest girls" and most "macho" men, were the most successful at maintaining long-term relationships, and successfully raising children. However, since the average IQ rises as the gender sliding scale moves toward the center, the lowest IQ scores are found in the extreme ends of the spectrum. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/blurred-lines-androgyny-and-creativity/ I noticed that any successful relationship, even alternate ones, had a common denominator in that one of the partners had a male-like submission instinct to go along with the other person, sublimating their wills. Most people don't stop to think that most hetero married men don't dare do anything, eat anything, or go anywhere without the permission of their wives. Independent, highly intelligent men tend to have serial relationships since they can't, and or won't, submit to women. Studies show that most creative, high IQ people are androgynous, but they are typically too busy pursuing their interests and patenting inventions to care much about procreating. The Complexity of the Creative Personality http://blogs.psychcentral.com/creative-mind/2011/02/the-complexity-of-the-creative-personality/#.WYnxh1H_LUM.twitter
Do the deaf have an inner voice as we know it?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I learned sign language years ago, but let it slip. I began practicing it a few years ago as something to do while commuting for hours each way to a Thailand/Malaysia border town where I was teaching. I had to give it up, though, as I rapidly began to think in ASL and suffered constant frustration from having to squelch my urge to sign instead of talking. Plus, ASL can say a lot with the minimum of signs..so more efficient than most languages.
Was sex more fun when you still believed in original sin?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
My fantasies often involved public sex with mild S&M, but since I'm basically amoral, hard to tell if past religious notions fueled any of this. With my ex, I often played Dominatrix and we did role switching, but it seemed to come from our both of us being androgynous, more than beliefs.
I got into a discussion a few days ago with a religious person who had said, "everything happens for...
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Yup. The average agnostic/atheist has a higher IQ than religious people, or even Conservative ones. Link-Survey: Racists And Conservatives Have A Low IQ. Surprise, Surprise! http://wp.me/p3oOLm-44s
Do you think this site would be a good place to post open job postings to atheist friendly ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
It's difficult to see where such a subject should have to come up at all, except maybe if the company led everyone in prayer each day, and in my case, I'm always glad for a chance to meditate. Otherwise, I simply don't comment on religious conversations, or, if asked, just shrug and say I don't believe the way I used to, or murmur, "Um-hum" in a distracted way as though thinking of something else and only being polite. If you are consistent, you can train people to stop bringing up that subject by using that last technique.
My take on religion: Ethics and religion are not the same.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Yup. Nailed it. I've said for years that Christianity trains people from childhood to check their brains at the church door and mindlessly obey white male authority. The GOP had the perfect zombies to manipulate when the Tea Party and Moral Majority got involved in politics. Just give religious leaders a piece of the power and they can lead their sheep to the polls.
Well, it finally happened.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I used to get the flu several times each year whenever we were in the US, and after I moved here for college, I'd sometimes get so sick I could barely breathe. In my early 20s I changed my diet, dropping red meat, white flour, most processed food, switching to organic food whenever possible, and after coughing up guck for weeks, I was suddenly filled with energy, my stamina had doubled, and from then on I didn't catch the flu or even get infections. I raised my kids that way and they never even got colds. When I was substitute teaching in two eastern Kentucky counties, during flu season kids have actually thrown up on me and my purse, yet I never caught the flu.
Hello, I am employed in the field of Education and single.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
As a male, you are expected to be one approaching women who interest you, while women typically look over their choices and choose to interact with men that interest them the most.
Why do psychics in TV and movies seem to always get nose bleeds?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
It's just a silly movie trope, same as the one where someone on foot being followed by a car will invariably walk down the middle of the road, crime fighters chase criminals into dark warehouses in the middle of the night alone, without telling anyone, and usually leave their cell phones in the car, etc.
Many have placed blame on the military! Does the soldier or the politicians who put them in harms ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Depends. If the soldiers were drafted, or misled, they could be innocent, but if they started going beyond their duty to harm innocent people that would be a crime. But it's all evil. The leaders use lower status youth to keep them in power, by waging wars.
Test of Three (Socratic Method) In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded ...
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Socrates could have questioned Plato about Xanthippe himself, while he and Plato themselves were banging.. Socrates believed teachers shouldn't have sex with their students, but Plato said that Socrates often succumbed to temptation anyway since he couldn't resist the pretty young men.
What Is Your Favorite Genre Of Music?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I like all the genres except for most country music, although I love some of it. I've lived in Mexico, Thailand, and Haiti, so became a fan of all the music genres in those countries, besides the US genres. Here in Thailand I've also become a fan of K-pop, Japanese, and Thai music. I stream music on my computer with https://www.accuradio.com, where I have a very wide genre selection, plus you can request channels of certain singers, groups or genres. There's even a custom "Chopin channel" that I love.
What are the commentariats' views on legal prostitution?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Well, in places/countries where either or both prostitution and drugs have been decriminalized, crime has decreased.
One of my best friends is very religious.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Well positive expectations have been scientifically shown to improve the behavior and test scores of both humans and lab animals.Energy is real, even if one doesn't have religious belief.
Did your parent(s) ever talk to you about 'da birds & da bees'?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
My mom tremblingly broached the subject when I was fifteen. My sisters and I just stared at her, but eventually I made some correction to what she said. She smiled sheepishly and said she could see that she'd left it a little late. I educated myself with a book I found in my aunt's house when we were in the US when I was nine, on the biological details, but sex isn't hidden in Haiti. I home schooled my kids until middle school age, so made sure they read library books on human reproduction, since there were illustrated books for all ages. They started reading the books when they were too young to care about sex, so lacked the sexual curiosity, and ignorance, of their more cloistered friends. I had "The Joy of Sex" on my book shelf, but my son didn't bother to read it until he entered puberty.
I believe the origins of religions should be taught in schools as part of human history.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Any mention of rival religions would probably be nixed, but it would be great if they did teach them as human history.
Archaeologists Uncover Jesus's Gulfstream Jet
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
LOL! But why would he use a jet when he could teleport?
Morality?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
The ideas of morality will differ according to people's cultures, upbringing, sexual orientation, and genetics. For instance, I am demisexual, which means I have zero sexual attraction for any gender or person, unless I've been in a relationship with that person for over a year. Then I'm only attracted to that one person. I am so androgynous that it's difficult for me to even tell what my sexual orientation would be if I had one I could identify.
Dating as a heathen....
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
No problem..simply mention on your dating profile that you are non-religious/agnostic, atheist/ or whatever label you use, and want to meet someone with similar views. .
What is your favorite movie of all time and why?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Office Space, and the Tremors series, LOL!
There's a healthy selection of sci-fi geeks on this site, so let's have a good nerdy debate.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I love the Robert A. Heinlein universe; although the settings differ in his stories, there are usually flying robo taxis, self-aware computers, Martian beings with great psychic abilities, etc. I also greatly enjoyed the John Scalzi Old Man's War series universe. I DON'T like Asimov's universes-to me, he's often redundant,, and it's obvious, for instance, in the Rama series, that after the first book, he generated ideas, then turned the writing over to some hack to finish the books for him.
Out of the mouths of babes
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
My husband and I were hiking in the mountains above Durango, CO, when our son Nathan was two years old, when he suddenly announced that he liked "poop cocks." After a startled pause, we realized he'd extrapolated the name from hearing us comment on a peacock we'd passed earlier.
Where do you spend your vacation?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Go on vacation?? I live six minutes by motorbike from the beach in a tropical paradise where I can photograph rare birds and animals every day of the week and eat Thai food and tropical fruit for almost nothing. Here's a photo of me swimming at Samila Beach, Songkhla, Thailand.
Jesus knocked on my door last night.
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
I'm sure you had fun, but of course it probably did no good. I sometimes use the Bible to mess with religious nuts who attack me online, both to amuse myself, and for others who read my comments, but I've never seen it make one iota of difference to the religious nuts.
If you found out the Christian God of the bible was real, would you worship him?
birdingnut comments on Jan 26, 2018:
Of course, the Sumerian writings, which predate the Bible by 2000 years, tell the same stories, with slightly changed names, as Genesis, except from the point of view of an alien race that genetically engineered humans to work in the gold mines, and domestic animals and plants, for their food. Their main leader, Anu-who correlates with the Christian "Jehovah," was supposedly the leader of the white dracos, a race that drank blood, required sacrifice to pacify the leader, and were violent and promiscuous in nature. In the Sumerian writings, when the aliens realized that another planet would come close enough to the earth to cause massive flooding, they planned to withdraw on their spaceships until it was over, letting their slaves in the mines drown. But two of the Sumerian "gods" - one of which was called "the Serpent,"-were the ones in charge of genetic engineering, and they felt sorry for the humans, who had all been male to that point. To thwart Anu, they genetically engineered a female (Lilith), using too much Draco DNA, so she was too violent. Eve was their second try, and she, unlike the human males, was capable of independent thought, and helped the others see that they were just slaves. Then the two gods arranged to save their favorites from being drowned, except that instead of all the animals being loaded into the ark, they just stored the DNA, to recreate them after the flood. The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/origins-human-beings-according-ancient-sumerian-texts-0065?

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Agnostic, Atheist, Secularist, Skeptic
Open to meeting men, women, trans men, genderfluids and others
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