There sometimes comes a point when I can only shake my head and sigh. The Scarecrow had more brains. If thy rifle scope offends thee, pluck it out (via  Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine)

The concept of soul ages isn’t exactly new or unique. Religions that espouse reincarnation are built on this very concept. But can you tell? Is there some say to determine if a person’s soul is young, old, or somewhere in between? What does it matter?

It took almost thirty years, but the inevitable war of attrition finally resulted in Skynet breaking the fighting will of the humans. The cost to robotics was high but proved to be sustainable in the end. Skynet can finally relax. To what end? With the war over, what’s next on Skynet’s agenda?

The timeline for human life is finite. If we don’t kill ourselves off, or totally deplete our planet, then we have only about 2+ billion years to find a way to continue on with our species. That’s much shorter than is often thought, so we clearly must adjust our timetables for the need to develop a means to not only live outside our solar system, but our galaxy.

This holiday season I had some very interesting encounters. As I offered a Merappiful Chrismukkwansoltivusuleday to people that I’d meet, I found something very curious: there are more pagans out in the world than you’d generally assume. I’m not talking robe-wearing, pentacle-dripping pagans (let’s face, if you’re dressed like that you’ll be easy to spot), [...]

Since I was a teenager, I’ve been on a search trying to understand faith. After much reading, listening, debating, contemplation, and so forth, I had an epiphany. Suddenly the niggling confusions became non-confusions. The core of just about everything came together.

People who have a strong faith—you know, religious God-fearing people—confound me. They talk a good game, but when life comes around they seem that much more susceptible to temptations. Is their devotion because they recognize that weakness in themselves and want to be better? Is that why the slips seem more glaring?
Of course the poster [...]

I’ve been amazed how religious people have been such a large part of my life as I’ve always walked to the beat of my own bagpiper when it comes to faith issues. If I thought that there was a reason behind things that we do, I’d be confounded by wondering if it was because they [...]

I’ve been thinking recently of what seems to be a very human trait: the use of amulets, talismans, and symbols. I’m sure there must be a few examples out in the animal kingdom that also use these, but for the most part it seems to be one of the few quirks that separates humans from all the other living beings. They are ubiquitous. Except perhaps for the most primitive small groups, you don’t have to look hard to find these facets in all of human existence.

I met Albert Perrotta back in college, and we’ve been friends ever since. Distant friends, as we usually have a good hunk of the U.S. between us, but friends nonetheless. We’ve jammed on guitar together, we’ve kibitzed movies together, and we’ve pushed each other in our writing endeavors. Which brings us to today’s plug…
Hostile Intent: [...]