Cleveland Steamer

(from the you really don’t want to know dept.)

On a local radio program this morning there was a discussion about one of the new features at Busch Stadium that allows fans to send a text message that will appear on the scoreboard in right-center field for $2.99. The discussion soon became about some of the off-color messages that slipped by the system’s screeners. One of these messages was “I love Cleveland Steamers.” Having spent a good chunk of my life in the Cleveland area, I was curious just what this phrase meant. If you must know, a quick search with your favorite search engine will reveal the meaning or you can check out the Wikipedia entry (which has one of the “cleaner” definitions).

Friday Random Ten: 2006-05-19


NameArtistAlbumGenre
1. You Are What You IsFrank ZappaYou Are What You IsAlternative & Punk
2. BubblegooseWyclef Jean Featuring Stan, Kyle, Cartman, & KennySouth Park: Chef AidSoundtrack
3. Shimmy She WobbleOthar Turner And The Rising Star Fife And Drum BandGangs Of New YorkSoundtrack
4. Watermelon In Easter HayFrank ZappaJoe’s Garage (Disc 2)Alternative & Punk
5. WinterTori AmosLittle EarthquakesAlternative & Punk
6. Going To CaliforniaLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin IVRock
7. Tower Of InspirationDave WecklMaster PlanJazz
8. Owner Of A Lonely HeartYes & The London PhilharmonicSymphonic Music Of YesRock
9. Cotton TailNeil PeartBurning For Buddy: A Tribute To The Music Of Buddy RichJazz
10. Isengard UnleashedLondon Philharmonic Orchestra & London VoicesThe Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Soundtrack

When you’re incompetence literally costs lives, giggling at it isn’t cute or funny

New Rule: George Bush has to stop laughing at himself. When you’re incompetence literally costs lives, giggling at it isn’t cute or funny. You know, there’s a guy who’s been running around the country pretending he’s the president, and I believe his name is George Bush. And he wants everyone to know that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Which is working out great, because now nobody else in the world does either.
— Bill Maher

Radical Cleric: God told him about storms, tsunami

(via Pharyngula)

And speaking of Fundamentalist Idiocy, Radical Cleric Pat Robertson says God told him storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America’s coastline this year.

If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms,
…
There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest.
— Pat Robertson (May 8, 2006)

the coasts of America will be lashed by storms — You’re really going out on a limb there, aren’t you, Pat. When has there ever been a year the coasts of America weren’t lashed by storms?

There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest — WTF does that me? I suppose earthquakes, flooding, fires, or volcanic eruptions would count as being “bad as a tsunami.”

Come on, Pat, what’s the point of God revealing this information to you if it’s so vague that it is totally useless? Oh wait, it’s just you making shit up.

More Fundamentalist Idiocy

(via Fundies say the darndest things!)

Math Proves Christ’s Resurrection?

It is faith, not proof, that makes Christians believe in Jesus Christ’s resurrection, the central tenet of the religion. Until now.

Oxford University professor Richard Swinburne, a leading philosopher of religion, has seemingly done the impossible. Using logic and mathematics, he has created a formula that he says shows a 97 percent certainty that Jesus Christ was resurrected by God the Father, report The Age and Catholic News.

This stunning conclusion was made based on a series of complex calculations grounded in the following logic:

  1. The probably of God’s existence is one in two. That is, God either exists or doesn’t.
  2. The probability that God became incarnate, that is embodied in human form, is also one in two.
  3. The evidence for God’s existence is an argument for the resurrection.
  4. The chance of Christ’s resurrection not being reported by the gospels has a probability of one in 10.
  5. Considering all these factors together, there is a one in 1,000 chance that the resurrection is not true.

Richard Swinburne, Netscape News

Not only does the poster know nothing about probability (or is it probably?) and logic, he also doesn’t realize “there is a one in 1,000 chance that the resurrection is not true” is not the same as “97 percent certainty that Jesus Christ was resurrected by God the Father.”

(more…)

Time to throw away those aluminium foil helmets

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study

The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and 1.4 Ghz. According to the FCC, These bands are supposedly reserved for ”radio location” (ie, GPS), and other communications with satellites (see, for example, [3]). The 2.6 Ghz band coincides with mobile phone technology. Though not affiliated by government, these bands are at the hands of multinational corporations.

It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government, possibly with the involvement of the FCC. We hope this report will encourage the paranoid community to develop improved helmet designs to avoid falling prey to these shortcomings.

It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government
<paranoia>
But that’s exactly what the government wants you to think…
</paranoia>

🙂

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