Febuary 05, 2010
Christ at the Super Bowl
by Dyran

January 11, 2010
Finally
by Dyran

Finally, people are suing to get the ridiculous Proposition 8 taken out of the California state constitution. According to the article two couples are suing on the basis that Prop 8 is based on discrimination and should not be allowed.

December 14, 2009
We Make Jesus Sad
by Dyran

So I'm driving around town trying to stay awake and I run across an interesting billboard about Christmas. It said, “Jesus misses hearing you say Merry Christmas,” and this got me thinking. Who is this actually for? I mean, you can't stop Christians saying Merry Christmas about a thousand times a day so it can't be for them. Maybe it's for our circumcised friends with the strange hats. How about Muslims? Maybe even us atheists? Do they really expect this to have an affect on us?

December 07, 2009
Athiest Holidays
by Dyran

If you're someone who observed Thanksgiving I hope you had a good one. We had the family over to our place and my wife whipped up a great meal for everyone. The one triumph was getting everyone to eat without any mention of a prayer. If you knew my wife's family you would definitely see this for the accomplishment it was. A house full of a Catholic Mexicans and no family prayer before the meal is no small feat. My wife's plan was to get the kids out of the way and eating first before any adults could try to round everyone up to mumble their incantations.

October 27, 2009
Hotel Ramblings
by Dyran

This week I’m languishing in a hotel in the ‘wonderful’ city of Dayton, OH for training on a new piece of equipment my company is starting to service. I’m spending my days being bored to tears and my nights cooped up in my hotel room. Dayton isn’t the kind of city you want to go roving around in if you can help it. You may be found floating in the river a few days later.

October 23, 2009
New Age Death
by Dyran

Ok, here's what we're gonna do. In order to be more motivated and confident we are all going to cram ourselves into a small makeshift tent in the desert and stay there for a few hours. Sound like a good idea to you?

October 20, 2009
So True
by Dyran

I ran across this sign while driving around for work and I couldn't agree more.

October 13, 2009
The Unhelpful Hand
by Dyran

Just got done watching Jon Stewart's interview with Chesley Sullenberger who was the pilot that brought down his plane safely into the Hudson River back in January. My favorite part? The fact that god was not mentioned once.All too often god is given credit for just about anything, but not in this case. Maybe Sullenberger is a man of faith, maybe not, but he isn't blathering on about god saving him and giving him this opportunity. In fact, he says that the people have given him this opportunity to do some good.

October 12, 2009
The Weight of the Eucharist
by Dyran

A few weekends ago I did something I hadn't done in about twelve years. I attended Sunday Mass at my old Catholic church. The main reason for doing this was, since my cohort and I have started this site blasting religion, I thought I should head back to see if it was how I remember it. And yes, it definitely is. One thing I noticed right away was how out of place I felt. I know there aren't that many atheists out there compared to people of faith, but I felt this more acutely than normal. It seemed to me that everyone knew I didn't believe and were judging me. The old guilt seemed to come back as strong as ever while I was there. Nine years of having guilt drilled into you doesn't go away very quickly, if at all.

October 07, 2009
Discovery Channel Fail
by Dyran

It seems that the Discovery Channel has seen gold in them there ghost filled hills. After watching the new Dirty Jobs(Mike Rowe is the man) I noticed that a new show was to follow called Ghost Lab. My initial reaction was an intense groan as I wondered how the Discovery Channel could put a show like this on their network. I decided to give it a chance since this was the same channel that brings us Mythbusters, so maybe this show would be different. It does have 'Lab' in the title after all. That sounds sciency doesn't it?

October 06, 2009
Evolution is a Fact
by Dyran

If you have any questions at all about the theory of evolution do yourself a favor and read Richard Dawkins' new book The Greatest Show on Earth. You won't regret it.

October 05, 2009
TV Isn't All Bad
by Dyran

I really didn't care for Family Guy last season. It had it's moments, but over all it wasn't that great. Judging from the first two episodes this season, however, it looks like we're in for a great one.

October 05, 2009
That Damn Liberal Bible
by Dyran

Well, Conserapedia has done it again and I say more power to them. They are planning on translating the Bible to get rid of all that pesky liberal bias. Is there anything they think doesn't have a liberal bias? And what exactly is a liberal bias? It seems to me that this includes anything that doesn't fit in perfectly with their strange, black and white world view.

September 30, 2009
Happy Blasphemy Day
by Dyran

Since it's International Blasphemy Day, a day to remember the fiasco with those Danish cartoons that so pissed Muslims off, I thought I'd display them here. Click them to view full size.

September 27, 2009
Beware the Backwash
by Dyran

Over the weekend I did something I hadn't done in a long time. I went to church. No, I didn't reconvert or anything foolish like that. I wanted to go for a few reasons I'll talk about this week sometime. Today I want to talk about the dangers churches pose to health. Yes, it's not just mind viruses that the churches spread!

September 25, 2009
A Few Thoughts
by Dyran

Over the last 9 months or so I've immersed myself in debates about evolution and religion and the more I listen and watch I'm struck by one thing. Some on the religious(I don't want to lump them all together since few people should be mentioned along with Ray Comfort) are completely unable to step into the other sides shoes. They seem to be projecting their own belief system upon the opposition, whether it be a scientist or atheist.

September 22, 2009
So it Goes
by Dyran

Recently I finished the fantastic book Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. The thing I like best about his books is how strange they are. This one could have been just another antiwar novel like all the rest, but it's the way he tells the story that made it so enjoyable. My only regret is that I didn't get turned on to Vonnegut earlier. Cat's Cradle was an assignment in high school, but because it was homework I wasn't interested and only read enough to pass the tests without really retaining anything.

September 21, 2009
It's the End
by Dyran

Holy crap! It's the start of the end of the world today. Imagine, a world without Christians, or at least the subset of Christians that picked the correct version of Jesus.

September 17, 2009
Those Pesky Questions
by Dyran

I'm in a very uncomfortable position today. I actually ag...Sorry, let's try again. I agr...Shit, this is harder than I thought. I agree with Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis. Damn that was hard. Let me explain before anyone should think I've completely lost it.

September 15, 2009
Mysterious Corn
by Dyran

This is proof, not only that aliens are visiting us, but they are clearly highly intelligent. No mere human could create this intricate design of hockey greatness. It had to be travelers from a distant star, traveling to our planet just in time for hockey season to begin. So do not be alarmed if you're lucky enough to attend a game and find that the people sitting next to you appear to be kinda short, with slightly larger eyes and a gray complection. Hopefully, they'll wait till after the game to probe you.

September 14, 2009
Homeopathic Piss
by Dyran

We covered homeopathy a while back with this comic, but if you want a great example of how a homeopathic cure is actually created check this very amusing video out. This guy demonstrates beautifully how idiotic the entire concept actually is. How anyone thinks this is an effective way to treat a disease is beyond me. Of course, it just ends up being one more in a very long list of things I may never understand. I think it ranks just above alien abductions and just below psychics.

September 10, 2009
Sneaky
by Dyran

Well, I can't say I'm surprised that something like this is going to happen. I've heard references to the godless indoctrination that some Christians claim happens at College from a few sources recently. Warning that the godless, liberal influences at universities everywhere are causing kids to turn away from their god. Could it just be that they are being exposed to other points of view and discover that they find how how little substance there is to the beliefs they've grown up with?

September 09, 2009
Health Care
by Dyran

Just got done watching the President's address about health care and it seemed to go pretty well. He tried to reach out to the Republicans, but showed that he wasn't going to back down either. If nothing else it's nice to have a President that can actually speak.

September 07, 2009
Crippled
by Dyran

Are religious people crippled? Over the past week I read two articles on PZ Myers' great blog, Pharyngula, which illustrate a couple of things I have found in the big Abrahamic faiths: Complete and utter submission to an absent father figure and the belief that the world revolves around the themselves.

August 31, 2009
AHHH! A Ghost!
by Dyran

Another season has begun on the incredibly credulous SyFy(what were they thinking?) network show Ghost Hunters and let's just say it's about as impressive as a fundie's(religious fundamentalists) arguments for Noah's Arch. Why do I keep watching it? I have no idea.

August 26, 2009
Atheists Rule!
by Dyran

A couple of random things for you. First is a short video called The Baloney Detection Kit presented by Skeptic Magazine founder Michael Shermer. It's a great introduction to critical thinking. It barrows from the chapter in Carl Sagan's great book The Demon Haunted World entitled The Fine Art of Baloney Detection. Well worth a watch. It has some very good examples of baloney with in it.

August 25, 2009
Oh My
by Dyran

Do you wanna know why we dislike religion and speak out against it? This is why. The sad thing is he is using the same verses I would to show how evil the bible is, except he is praising it.

August 24, 2009
Evil, Grease and the People's Front
by Dyran

Tired as hell after this weekend. Had an overnight install at a Club of Evil and then had to work pretty much all weekend. To give an idea of how exhausted I was I had forgotten I was on vacation this week! I got up this morning to get on our Monday conference call only to find, during the roll-call, that I was off. A happy day indeed, but I still can't believe I forgot. Maybe I'm getting old.

August 18, 2009
Here Be Dragons!
by Dyran

I ran across a cool video today by Brian Duning, the man behind the Skeptoid podcast. It's a nice little video about critical thinking and why it's important. Definitely worth a look-see.

August 17, 2009
Conservabullshit
by Dyran

I keep trying to find something other than religion to write about in this blog, but I keep running across them. Today's transgression comes from Conservapedia, a conservative version of Wikipedia designed to answer the perceived liberal bias found in the latter, as well as in the media. They are dedicated to 'setting the record straight' on all kinds of topics. Unfortunately, like Fox News, they are guilty of the exact bias they accuse the 'liberal media' of having.

August 12, 2009
god's Radio
by Dyran

While driving around during the day for my job I listen to my ipod to keep myself awake and sort of motivated. I use a radio tuner to get my music and podcasts to play through my speakers. The device I use scans the available stations to find one that won't interfere to much with it's signal. Eventually I started to notice something coming through on the chosen channel from time to time just before I would plug my ipod in. It was the unmistakable sound of conservative Christian radio(is there any other kind?).

August 10, 2009
They Make the Anger
by Dyran

I had to link to this blog entry over at randi.org. Just reading it pissed me right off and it wasn't even the actual article, just a review of it. It seems a Christian group in Connecticut is going straight for the kids on the playground in order to recruit them for Chris, bypassing their parents all together.

August 04, 2009
Why We Care
by Dyran

I ran across this video on youtube today and that it was very nice. It sums up why we nonbelievers worry about religion.

August 02, 2009
Update and Watchmen
by Dyran

Sorry we've been so sporadic with our blog posts. I'm gonna try to get on a regular schedule and have a bigger blog post every Monday with smaller ones through the rest of the week. As always, depending on work schedules and the like, this schedule will be subject to change.

July 15, 2009
Scary Stuff
by Dyran

I watched the news for the first time in a while. I know, it's unhealthy, but I thought it would be safe only to find out that some people in Washington belong to a cult. Normally, I would equate any membership in a religious organization with membership in a cult, but this seems to be a bit worse.

July 08, 2009
Random Complaints
by Dyran

Well it looks like the psychics waisted no time contacting Michael Jackson from beyond the grave. I read this over at the Bad Astronomy blog. These vultures are the lowest of the low, feeding off human misery and loss. We all knew it would happen.

July 06, 2009
The Demons are Still Here
by Dyran

I just finished Carl Sagan's masterpiece A Demon Haunted World and thought I'd share my thoughts on it. If this was a perfect world the rest of you would have already read this great book, but there is a fair chance you've never heard of it. After all, I'm interested in this kind of thing and I just got around to reading it.

June 10, 2009
Dear god of the gaps
by Dyran

This was inspired by the discovery of Ida, the oldest fossil relative we have found to date. I caught the History Channel's program about it and was blown away.

Dear god of the gaps,

It is my unfortunate job to inform you that you have lost another place to hide.

May 18, 2009
Sagan is the Man
by Dyran

Don't know if you may have seen this video, but I had to share it. I've heard no more moving a speech from any other source. Not from Washington, not from the pulpit, nor on any "mount."

May 10, 2009
A Good Read
by Dyran

I don't know if anyone out there actually reads books anymore, but if you do I have a suggestion. Terry Pratchett is the best selling author of The Discworld series of books and if you haven't read any them you're missing out.

April 23, 2009
Bigotry With a Smile
by Dyran

I don't know if any of you saw what the runner up to Miss America had to say about gay marriage, but if you didn't you can check it out here. Normally I couldn't give two shits about a beauty

April 06, 2009
Intro
by Dyran

Welcome to Sentient Puddle! A site dedicated to oddity and absurdity in all it's glorious and not so glorious forms! We're hoping that this site will give people a little chuckle once in a while and maybe an odd idea to think about.