There are some very high quality people at DU, so I figured you deserved a better explanation than the one I gave you a few days ago. I've made some good friends here. Many of you defy the nature of the beast (Internet forum) and retain a high moral standard no matter what. I truly admire you. I especially admire your ability to persevere despite stresses and setbacks. I'm sorry if the abruptness of my post hurt any feelings. I'm going to have to take a break from DU and politics, perhaps a...

(Image) I believe Chef Boyardee is mentioned in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Unfortunately, there isn't a searchable version available (yet), so I'll have to read the whole thing again and get back to you. :D

It's very, very hard. I no longer believe in a god or the Republican Party. I hadn't for years, but something about 9-11 pushed me to make the "no god" thing official. I finally admitted my lack of belief to my mother. I've paid for it ever since. I had been "apolitical" for years, but junior is such a beast (chimp) that I had to make a stand in politics, too. :shrug: When it rains, it pours. For me, 9-11 really did change everything. :( I was watching a nature documentary yesterday. Ca...

I should come with a warning label: New Digital Camera: Prepare to be Assaulted by Parrot Pictures. I have taken some nice pics of wildflowers. Honest. See? (Image) Of course, you could argue I've got the yellow and green thing going again...sigh. Oh well. Here's the pic: (Image) Here are the necessary facts to create a proof: Pirates exist. Pirates are the chosen people of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Parrots exist Parrots are the chosen pets of Pirates. Pasta exists. Pasta is the ch...

(Image) He's obsessed. :)

He also looks inordinately pleased with himself...what had he just destroyed? :) Have you had him sexed? He does have a masculine look. It's hard to make a good guess from one picture, but I'd guess "male." I guessed the sexes of my babies fairly accurately. The males tended to have larger bones and beaks and to have darker feathers and darker skin tone. Of course, the skin gets covered by feathers and the face turns white in both sexes. :shrug: Once again: what a handsome bird! I'm alwa...

(lower jaw) can move independently, giving them incredible bite pressure. I believe it's 500 lb. per square inch. The strongest jaws in the bird world belong to the hyacinth macaw. Here's a look at the anatomy. Note that the upper jaw can be moved independently. Also note the long cheek bone for attachment of muscles: (Image) Here's a hyacinth in life: (Image)

I used to breed African greys. Here are some of my babies: (Image)

Some educators were applying her work with Alex to autistic kids and getting pretty good results. This was some time ago. I lost the resulting notes, her phone number and my paper. Oh well. Maybe it will turn up somewhere. You never know. :shrug: Dr. Pepperberg was very nice. :) Check out this video with Alex, Dr. Pepperberg and Alan Alda: . It's a great video.

hyacinth macaw, but I don't think Gabby's species is one of them. Amazona ochrecephala oratrix (Gabby's species) is from the Yucutan Peninsula in Mexico. The range of the hyacinth is concentrated in Brazil and Bolivia. I actually thought about hyacinth macaws while Gabby was killing the towel. I'm very glad it wasn't a hyacinth macaw for Gabby's sake. The hyacinth has the most powerful beak of all birds!

Every once in awhile my parrot does something I really don't understand. Today he got all pushed out of shape over a royal blue towel. :shrug: I spilled some water and when I walked into the room with the royal blue towel, Gabby immediately went into "Amazon Overload." THE EVIL BLUE TOWEL MUST DIE!!! (A Picture Essay on Inexplicable Parrot Behavior :wtf:) _______ Gabby spies the evil blue towel: (Image) _______ Gabby decides that perhaps fanning his tail and pinning his eyes will show th...

I'm 99% sure Leopold is full of shit, but if he isn't, I'll rejoice that Karl got indicted. But until that highly unlikely event happens, those making the positive claim still have the burden of proof. Also, it doesn't undo the damage by labeling dissenting voices "cretins, shitdogs and fuckwits"...or was that "fuckshits"? Perhaps the proper fuckwit or fuckshit can refresh my memory.

I was given a new digital camera and my initial subject while I learn how to operate it has been my companion of nineteen years, Gabby. He's a double yellowheaded Amazon parrot (Amazona ochrecephala oratrix): (Image) (Image) (Image) (Image)

Liberalnurse, I know you have a very good heart, but I have to disagree with you on this one. Words can really hurt. I've never been a target of Pitt's words, but I can't help but notice a pattern of verbal abuse heaped on others. I can't stand by and let someone get away with doing that to my friends. To me, that is liberal. On another forum, I sat idly by and watched someone verbally rape person after person. I didn't do a damn thing about it. In fact, I stood up for this person as a me...

gets exactly what they deserve. Yes, Pitt is an excellent writer, but as a person he's a perpetual powder keg. After each of his disgraceful displays, he has apologized, but an apology is only good if that person is working toward never letting it happen again. I don't see that. He'll blow up again and next time it will probably be even worse. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm through with him. I'm not going to take a chance on being within the blast radius next time he goes off.

especially in light of similar past behavior. I wasn't the target of his personal attacks, but that doesn't matter. I stand with the fuckwits / cretins / shitdogs. Forgiving him YET AGAIN would be akin to a wife making up with her abusive husband. Trust Pitt again? I don't think so. Ladyhawk don't play that. As far as I'm concerned Pitt is through.

It's also dangerous. People are people. They are going to make mistakes. We need to remember that and approach everything with a dose of healthy skepticism. I'm glad some folks around here started questioning the story right off the bat. I was wanting to celebrate and at first ignored the skeptics, but pretty soon I noticed they were making a hell of a lot of sense. I think the point is that we need to hold left-wing journalists to a high standard. We can't let them report any old thing (...

Atheists have such a bad rap that when confronted with a real, live one that doesn't have obvious horns or a forked tongue, most religious people can't quite process the information. She asked me what religion I was and I told her I didn't have a religion. "You aren't an atheist," she said. It was a statement, not a question. For a moment she had me analyzing whether or not I was an atheist...LOL! I'm so used to questioning my own beliefs that it's automatic. I sort of thought, "Let's see...

Today, my hairdresser and I got into a religious/political discussion and something I said to her reminded me of my own values: When someone makes an outrageous claim, they must offer outrageous proof. Until then, the default position should be one of unbelief. It's not that I disbelieve the story so much as I require proof. I'm told proof is forthcoming this week and then, if it happens, I'll believe. My mind belongs to me, not to Jason Leopold, Will Pitt, Truthout, Take Back the Media, N...

why should I stand with him or Truthout? If Leopold screwed up, he and Truthout will owe all of us one hell of an apology. Conversely, if Leopold has the goods, he and Truthout will deserve some kind of huge commendation. I'll wait and see. I'm not big on blind trust. It's why I gave up fundamentalism years ago. I'm also not big on heroes. Everyone is human and screws up occasionally. When someone shows a pattern of screwing up, they lose my trust. When someone shows a pattern of being r...

I like to share ideas, but don't like for the conversation to degenerate into nothing but heated ad hominem attacks. When I say "faith" is toxic, some people will automatically interpret that as a personal attack. It's not. It's just something I've observed in my own life, in the life of family members, in my town, country and world. "We may define 'faith' as the firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one speaks of 'faith' We do not speak of fait...

It represents the denial of reason and acceptance of blind faith. Those who believe blindly can be very, very dangerous. People like Sam Harris (whom I don't totally agree with on every issue, btw) think we should do our best to marginalize people that publicly profess blind belief in a deity. I agree with him that it is no different than someone believing in Poseidon. Anyone who professed belief in Poseidon today would be ridiculed. Personally, I see no difference between believing in Pose...

I wrestled with myself this morning over whether or not to show up at my brother's house for a family get-together. With my family, I am never sure what to expect. Five minutes after I arrived, my mother and I got into a fight. I should have left, but as I was walking out the door she persuaded me to stay. So I sat on the couch for a couple of hours, feeling completely out-of-place. As soon as I got into my car, the dam burst. I cried all the way home and I'm crying now. It just ain't wor...

Echoing another post, I'm usually a genial, good-tempered person, but occasionally something or someone on DU will set me off and I'll blow a gasket. I've noticed this is most likely to happen when the blue pills in my dial-a-pill compact are disappearing and the green pills are coming up. :) I get angry at other times, too, but if someone flames me or says/does something indefensible (in my opinion), I'm more likely to /ignore that person or say exactly what I think. Lately, I've been mostly...

...perhaps a permanent break. Seeing the way things are heading, I've been thinking about sticking my head in the sand until the end comes (in whatever form it may come). I'm sorry about the troubles you're having and if it's any consolation, I think you're spot-on concerning your observations. About eighteen months ago I came to the conclusion that I don't "fit in" anywhere. I'm an atheist who wants the war in Iraq to stop and thinks most wars are stupid, but I don't follow left-wing dogma ...

:rant: This is what she said when I mentioned the FACTS: 1. Bush lied us into war 2. Bush spied illegally on American citizens 3. Bush illegally outed a CIA agent to get back at her husband Are these not facts? Is there any positive way to spin these facts? Has Faux News melted her brain? ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! How can I possibly be related to this woman?????????????????? Somebody help me!!!!!!!!! (Image) /rant

that consciousness doesn't necessary reside in the brain is very, very flawed. I see no reason to believe we continue to exist after our brains die. In fact, brain damage very clearly demonstrates a relationship between the brain and consciousness. Once the brain is damaged, consciousness changes. If consciousness were a separate entity, brain damage would not affect it. I somehow get the idea that Harris is grasping at straws, that perhaps he has not come to terms with his own mortality or...

Egypt really has been a bastion of reason in this Muslim vs. Jew vs. Christian problem we have. As you know, some Egyptian moderate leaders have paid the ultimate price for their concessions. Compromise can sometimes be very brave...and very deadly. I'm really glad to hear that these people are indeed people. There are some DUers who have claimed that Iraqis are not "our kind of people." I can't wrap my mind around that. The pictures I've seen show them grieving just the same as anyone I k...

I don't understand what allows some to escape while most do not. I think exposure to a more liberal kind of Christianity first opened the door for me. At the time, I thought I was being tempted by the devil. I fought and clawed and scratched and argued. :) I have to admit those poor professors were very patient (most of them, that is). Most of them never saw me escape and none of them would approve of the path I chose for myself. But it is MY path, this time, not theirs, not my family's. ...

some of the ideas proposed in the book. Harris seems to be "okay" with the war on terror and with the so-called "collateral damage" in "wars of necessity." What Harris misses is that the war in Iraq was absolutely NOT necessary. Harris has skirted the issue of the Iraq War to some degree, but thinks the war with Afghanistan was necessary. How necessary was it if we can't keep the Taliban from regaining control? One thing is certain: We can't go to war against every Muslim state to keep WMDs ...