Interesting, don't you think?

Taken from "Letters To A Christian Nation" By Sam Harris.

More than 50% of Americans have a “negative” or “highly negative” view of people who don’t believe in God. 70% think it important for presidential candidates to be “strongly religious.”

“A person who believes that Elvis is still alive is very unlikely to get promoted to a position of great power and responsibility in our society. Neither will a person who believes that the holocaust was a hoax. But people who believe equally irrational things about God and the bible are now running our country. This is genuinely terrifying.”

44% of Americans think Jesus Christ will return in the next 50 years. (22% are “certain” that he will, another 22% think he “probably” will.)

“According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.”

Only 28% of Americans believe in evolution (and two-thirds of these believe evolution was “guided by God”). 53% are actually creationists.

“Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of the earth, more than half of our neighbors believe that the entire cosmos was created six thousand years ago. This is, incidentally, about a thousand years after the Sumerians invented glue.”

87% of Americans say they “never doubt the existence of God.”

“Had the residents of New Orleans been content to rely on the beneficence of the Lord, they wouldn’t have known that a killer hurricane was bearing down upon them until they felt the first gusts of wind on their faces, but a poll conducted by The Washington Post found that 80% of Katrina survivors claim that the event has only strengthened their faith in God.”

28% of Americans believe that every word of the Bible is literally true. 49% believe that it is the “inspired word” of God.

“We read the Golden Rule and judge it to be a brilliant distillation of many of our ethical impulses. And then we come across another of God’s teachings on morality: if a man discovers on his wedding night that his bride is not a virgin, he must stone her to death on her father’s doorstep (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).”

80% of Americans expect to be called before God on Judgment Day to answer for their sins. 90% believe in heaven. 77% rate their chances of going to heaven as “excellent” or “good.”

“In the year 2006, a person can have sufficient intellectual and material resources to build a nuclear bomb and still believe that he will get seventy-two virgins in Paradise. Western secularists, liberals, and moderates have been very slow to understand this. The cause of their confusion is simple: they don’t know what is like to really believe in God.”

65% of Americans believe in the literal existence of Satan. 73% believe in Hell.

“It is terrible that we all die and lose everything we love; it is doubly terrible that so many human beings suffer needlessly while alive. That so much of this suffering can be directly attributed to religion—to religious hatreds, religious wars, religious delusions and religious diversions of scarce resources—is what makes atheism a moral and intellectual necessity.”

83% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. (11% disbelieve. 6% don’t know.)

“The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.”
* Statistics cited come from PEW, Gallup, and Newsweek. All commentary is by Sam Harris

How To Bypass 4j Firewalls

Figured people should know. There are a couple ways to accomplish this, I'll go from 'least complicated' to 'most complicated'.

1. Get a teacher's password and S/N.

Good luck with that. Rumor says there are some floating around. If you would like, you could message me and I could talk to... Rumor.

2. The https trick.

On sites that have logins (like facebook, for example), when you type in the url, change the
http://... to https://...

This won't work on all sites, but most site with logins (otherwise known as secure [the 's' in https] hypertext transfer protocol) should work.

3. Find a proxy site.

I put this one third because although in theory it's the easiest way, most of the proxy sites on school computers are blocked. I have yet to find one that isn't, but I'm sure there's one out there.

4. Use TOR/Vidalia.

TOR/Vidalia is a program that allows you to bypass any firewalls, pretty much anywhere.

The problem with TOR and Vidalia is that there is a portable version, but only for Windows.

That means that if you have a Windows laptop/desktop available at school and you have a flash drive with the portable version on it OR the installed version on the computer, you can run TOR and firefox to bypass all the proxies. The browsing speed will be somewhat slower, but it's worth it if you really need to get pass the firewalls.

If you are trying to use TOR on a mac, here's what I'd do.
a) Get a mac that is not school property and install Vidalia.
b) Install Vidalia on a school computer that DOES NOT have an admin password prompt when you install things. Hint hint: The laptops prompt you for a password, but just hit 'accept' with nothing in the password field and it will breeze you through anything you want to install. After using Vidalia, DELETE THE ENTIRE PROGRAM FOLDER FROM THE APPLICATIONS DIRECTORY.

5. Use a remote access site.

The last and most complicated way I am going to address in this is the remote access way.

There are a number of sites out there in the interwebs that allow you to remote access your home computer and surf the web through it, effectively bypassing any firewalls that are blocking your internet access. My personal favorite is LogMeIn, which only asks for a quick download on your home computer and the one that you are accessing your home computer from (e.g. the computer at school).

This option is another one that requires you to download something to the school computer, so I repeat that The laptops prompt you for a password, but just hit 'accept' with nothing in the password field and it will breeze you through anything you want to install. Some school computers are like that, some are not. Make sure to check. The whole walk through process is available on the site, so I'm not going to go into detail.


There you go. I'm sure there are other ways, if you hear about or know of others, feel free to contribute.

"This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike."
-The Hacker Manifesto

iTunes Is Horrible.

The most widely popular media player out on the internet right now is iTunes. iTunes, in case you've lived under a bear for the last decade, is Apple's attempt at a slick, streamlined media interface that allows quick and easy access at your iThing.

I'll give Apple props at the fact that it does do that; as long as "that" is "talk to your iThing. Anything with a lowercase 'i' before its name can contact iTunes, and transfer whatever iJunk you want to it. So whoopee for that. But other than that, iTunes is a piece of bloated crapware.

Why, you ask? Why, is iTunes so godawfully bad?

File organizing.

iTunes, unlike most other media players, has an inferiority complex to... regular organizing (for example, organizing music by folders) so it feels that it needs to create its very own music database. So if you try to organize anything without notifying iTunes first, it will freak the f*ck out. And don't even try to use the iTunes organizing function, because apparently Apple believes that a bunch of folders in absolutely no f*cking order whatsoever is really f*cking spiffy.

Windows =/= Mac

I'm not talking about how Windows is different from Macs, or even how iTunes is different on Windows vs Macs. No, my qualm is that on Windows, iTunes runs SO FREAKING SLOW that is simpler just to drag the freaking files to the freaking iThing. Seriously.

DRM to all infinity.

Yeah, so maybe this issue is a little bit old, as they recently have changed the DRM restrictions on songs purchased off iTunes Store, but it still grinds mah gears. With the DRM restrictions, Apple could choose what you do with stuff you bought from Apple. You could be charged with copyright infringement if you got a new computer.

iTunes is ruining albums.

The iTunes store offers songs in easy to digest 3 minute portions. The availability of albums on iTunes is downplayed by the fact that no one is going to buy an album if all they want is that one song that they heard on their favorite Top 40 station. As such, iTunes is ruining albums.

No one buys albums if all they want is one song, and thus they will never hear all the rest of the album, even if it is much better. Even when I torrent music, I always get the entire album, not pick and choose what I want and what I don't. In that, I'm discovering new music. Not with iTunes and their crappy iTunes Store. iTunes is the biggest contributor to the production of crappy pop drivel.

iTunes is incompatible with anything without an 'i' before its name.

If, for example, I were to want to put iSongs on my Zune, I cannot do that. Because a Zune is not Apple-certified to put iJunk on. iTunes is tailor made for iThings only, and nothing else.

iTunes is not customizable at all.

Possibly this is just my problem, but I cannot stand programs if they do not allow for some degree of customization. The fact that this is conspicuously missing irritates me.

So what now?

Of course, by this point, you are wondering in helpless futility, "What can I do now, oh wise and omnipotent Dante?"

Never fear, I have a number of better and more useful alternatives.

My personal favorite is Songbird. Not only does it have fun doodads to customize it and it is built off the Firefox engine, it is fully compatible with most iPods and mp3 players. So whoopee for you iPod people.

And then there's VLC Media Player, a small and easily skinned player that can play... pretty much anything.

There are many others that I have not covered. They are ALL BETTER THAN iTUNES.

So I hope you've grasped my point here, it being that iTunes totally blows.

The Hazards Of Love Detailed Summary

I don't know why I'm doing this. But I'm bored, and it is NOWHERE on the internet. So I figured I should do it.

The Hazards of Love is a 2009 album by the Decemberists, in case you have been living under a rock for the last few months. And here is summary of the plot in the entire album.

The Hazards of Love I: The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle The Thistles Undone

The Narrator is telling how Margaret, a girl in the service of her feudal lord, went out riding on a summer's day, in green and grey and white. She, in the taiga, finds a faun whose legs are caught in a trap. She, out of pity for the creature, releases him. They fall in love on sight of each other. They spend the night together, and Margaret is impregnated by the faun, William.

A Bower Scene

Margaret returns to her home, where she is confronted by a Sister (Catholic, presumably). The Sister asks Margaret why she does not continue with her work, and, putting two and two together, finds that Margaret is pregnant. She shuns Margaret and banishes her from her lodgings. Margaret returns to the taiga, hoping that William will find her.

Won't Want For Love (Margaret In The Taiga)

Margaret finds her way back to the taiga and sings the forest into helping her find William and give her a place to rest. William finds Margaret, and they decide to...

The Hazards of Love II: Wager All

Spend the night together in the taiga. All is well, William vows that he will love Margaret no matter what is trying to push them apart.

The Queen's Approach

Unbeknownst to the lovers, the Forest Queen has seen them together and is watching.

Isn't it a Lovely Night?

Margaret and William, resting on the forest floor under the stars, contemplate how much they love their future baby. Which is not born yet.

The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid

Margaret is asleep, but William stays up. He knows that the Forest Queen is nearby. He calls out to her, telling of how he can sense her. The Forest Queen had saved William when he was a child, and swore to keep him from humanity, but William tells her that the 'wanting comes in waves'.
The Forest Queen is not impressed. She tells him how he has a debt to pay back to her, for she saved him when he was a young and vulnerable child in the woods. She is angry for him not being 'gracious'.
William argues with her. After a long fight, she decides to let him have one night with Margaret, but only one night. In the morning she vows to take him back, forever, so that his debt can be repaid.

Interlude

The night passes.

The Rake's Song

Now we hear of the Rake, a bachelor whose wife died in childbirth. He then killed all of his children, one by drowning, one by poison, and the other he burned 'for incurring his wrath'. The Rake sees all of this as Margaret's fault.

The Abduction of Margaret

The Rake, in his anger and chaos, abducts Margaret from William in the night. William does not know until the morning that his love was stolen.

The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing

The Rake, now at the Annan river, is stymied. He cannot cross in any conventional way, the waters are too swift and turbulent. The Forest Queen, still bitter about William's choice, decides to intervene. She strikes a deal with the Rake: As long as he keeps Margaret away from William, she will fly him across the river. He agrees.

Annan Water

William, waking up for the first time, realizes that Margaret was taken. He frantically follows the Rake's clumsy path to the Annan River. He is sure that they crossed, but he cannot cross himself. In his desperation, he strikes a deal with the Spirit of the Annan. He may cross just one time, and on the second crossing he will be taken by the river. The deal is struck, and William may cross.

Margaret in Captivity

Margaret has been taken by the Rake. He has tied her up and humiliated her, covering her in tar and feathers. He is taking all of his anger regarding the death of his wife out on Margaret. He tells her that no one will rescue her, but she calls out to William anyway.

The Hazards of Love III: Revenge!

William, hearing Margaret's call, dashes to her aid. He battles the Rake, and eventually bests him. The Rake, dead, falls to a dark afterlife. He is taunted by his dead children, and is forced to relive all of their deaths... over and over. William and Margaret escape the Rake's lair.

The Wanting Comes in Waves (reprise)

William realizes that he must cross back to the taiga, over the Annan. He has no choice but to brave the waters. The water, however, has no intention of letting him live. His puny boat is beaten and broken, and it begins to sink as it is pummeled by the waves.

The Hazards of Love IV: The Drowned

In the final song, William sings to Margaret from their sinking ship. They pledge to get married there, and their ghosts will wander the water forever. As their ship finally collapses and waves rise one last time, he kisses her softly. Together, they die on the water.