Flight Simulation

I recently made a flying video of an F-22 Raptor modelled for Microsoft FS2004. The cockpit interior is not meant to be an accurate representation of an F-22. It is basically a platform for instrumentation and gauge design and coding and as a demonstration of flying in FS2004 Tower View mode - similar to flying an R/C aircraft. Go here to watch it! http://www.youtube.com/?v=nun_xWv5nR4

Sense; At Last

Elsewhere in this blog, I made my thoughts clear on the subject of fanatical so-called animal rights activists and their criminal acts carried out in the name of various creatures. Now, at last, a sensible judge has seen fit to retaliate on the behalf of reason and common sense, by seizing the bank account of a group and using it to fund the costs of a case they lost against a company they had been harassing.

Apparently, the fanatics had a joint bank account that they held as an unincorporated association; this legal term enabled the judge to exact justice in a very appropriate way. Hopefully, we shall now see more cases of companies and individuals under attack or threat, suing those idiots who dig up human graves and perpetrate other despicable acts.

However, to solve the problem in a permanent way, these misguided people and their ilk are in need of education on the ways of the world and their place in it; they evidently don’t understand nature’s way or what life is about. As I said elsewhere, let the cretins put their health at risk, don’t give them medical assistance where the treatment was obtained through animal research (that’s almost all of it) maybe this will help them see sense.

Finally, I repeat my blood campaign plea. Don’t give blood unless you receive a legal written statement, indicating that it will not be used to help people who obviously care more for animals than they do for you.

Heaven And Hell

The other day on TV, I saw a woman proudly proclaim that she believed that God literally created the Earth in six days about six thousand years ago. In addition, she also proudly affirmed that both Heaven and Hell were real places with the Devil in charge of Hell and God the boss of Heaven; sadly, this woman was middle aged and appeared to be of sound mind. Well, I’m afraid I think she was not of sound mind.

How is it possible that a person can live for fifty years or more on this Earth and still believe in such infantile nonsense? What goes on in the mind of someone who in half a century has learned nothing of the world they live on or the Universe of which it is a part?

I can state with 99.99% confidence that Heaven does not exist anywhere in the sky, and while the centre of the Earth is certainly full of fire and brimstone, it is not the domain of some nasty-minded, horny-headed man with the feet of a goat and a big dick! I can say these things because we have explored the sky and a little bit beyond, and we have pretty good knowledge of the Earth’s geology, so why do some people reject knowledge in favour of fantasy? Does religion and other fantastic beliefs fulfil some deep-seated psychological need in weak-minded individuals?

I don’t know the answer to these questions but from personal experience of talking with such people, I find that they are uneducated or are willing to throw their education out the window when it comes to matters of what they want to be true. “Want” is the key word here; to many people, the desire for something to be true, in their minds, makes it true; this desire seems powerful enough to overcome their capacity for rational thought. What do these people tell their child who asks – as children often do – a penetrating question? Do they tell the truth and say they don’t know? Or do they fob the child off with an admonition not to ask silly questions? I’d bet it’s the latter.

I’m glad I can’t imagine what it would be like to spend my entire time on this planet believing in crap some other like-minded fool told me without even thinking about it for myself, sadly, many people seem to do just that.

What a waste of life!  

Safe, Naturally?

It always annoys me when ads advocate the “naturalness” of a product. They are often worded in such a way that “natural” is made to seem good or safe whilst “synthetic” is bad, dangerous or inferior; this, of course, is utter nonsense.

I can think of many substances that are entirely natural but are also highly toxic, ricin for example, which comes from castor beans or any of the bacteriological diseases that afflict us.

Unfortunately, this trend seems to be allied strongly to the woo-woo culture that embraces sensationalism, quackery and wishful thinking, yet rejects the very science that enables woo-woos to be woo-woos in the first place!

The Simpsons And The BBC

There is no doubt in my mind that many – if not most - of today’s TV programs are designed for a viewer that is held in low regard by TV company bosses. They seem to think that viewers are mostly dim, easily-fooled creatures who would rather live in a woo-woo world than face reality.  No doubt they would cite the necessity for programs to please the masses so that advertising revenues can be maximised, as the reason for the production of so much crap.

Well, I suppose I agree with them to some extent, but the percentage of bad programs seems out of proportion to the number of dullards out there so maybe there’s another hidden agenda at work here. In any case, it’s not true that programs have to be silly or dim-witted to attract viewers and therefore advertisers.

“The Simpsons”, is the best program on American TV; this is my opinion and the opinion of thousands of others, indeed, a strong case could be made that it’s the best program on TV anywhere! Let’s analyse it a little. There is no question that to get the most from The Simpsons, a certain degree of intelligence is required, it’s full of political undertones and topical nuances that would be lost on certain people and yet there it is, voted the best cartoon series ever. So it seems that we are not as dumb as TV bosses think and they would do well to learn a lesson from that bunch of yellow characters. Incidentally, what does it say about us when TV’s best show doesn’t have a single human being in it?

I’m often complaining about the BBC whose standards have plumbed new depths in recent years, and now I see they want the license fee increased so they can carry out ambitious future plans. I hope these plans don’t include more of the nonsense they’ve made recently! I was really annoyed when I found out that they spent £1 million per month on, wait for it…taxis! How the hell can they justify spending our money to the tune of £12 million annually on taxi fares?

When David Attenborough was the boss, the BBC made some of the best TV programs ever and was the world’s best broadcaster by a long way…we need him back but sadly, it won’t happen. I despair when I think of how things could be had we had the sense to use the power of TV to educate and inform as well as entertain, but it’s too late, we’ve gone too far down the woo-woo road and there’s no way back.

Miller Socks

I have always liked Dr Jonathon Miller but until recently, have not been aware of his socks. In no way has my appreciation of him declined because of his socks, indeed, if anything, I like him even more!

I mean...well, anyone who would wear socks that looked like they were cobbled (ahem...) together by a ten-year old fanatic hooked on knitting and frantic colours, has just got to be a good guy! I say this because they must have been custom-made, I have searched everywhere and can't find a pair to buy.

Jonathon! I want to know where you get your socks!

The Lion

Who is The Lion? Well, it's my nickname for soprano June Anderson. With that mane of golden hair she is somewhat reminiscent of a lion (not a lioness) but I call her "The Lion" more for her bravura performances on stage and tremendous voice.

Way down this blog I have a small post about her asking if she was in the movie "Amadeus", it turns out that she was not on screen but it was June who sang the famous Queen of The Night aria "Der Holle Rache" , in the film.

I haven't seen or heard her lately and to be honest, I don't particularly want to. I fear that in the elapsed ten years she may have declined a little and I want to remember her as she was then, in the recordings and DVD I have of her.

June is not a pretty woman - she is beautiful; the pleasure she gives me when I listen to her is more valuable than mere physical characteristics. Her effortless high notes, purity of tone and amazing coloratura work make her rank very highly in my list of the best sopranos. If I got the chance to see her in a good production of "Lucia Di Lammermoor", it would certainly be at the top of things I'd want to do before I die.

So June, if by chance you happen to read this, I want to thank you and make you aware that your fine artistry is greatly appreciated, may you live long and happily.

Just In Case

Some years ago I prepared a short statement that following my death and subsequent judgement, I would recite to God in the unlikely event that I had been totally wrong about him. Unfortunately, I can't find the original text so I'm going to recreate it as follows.

"God, I admit my error. Yes, I have been wrong about you all these years, but excuse me God, if I don't genuflect and quake before your wrath. You see, I have no fear; I was told many times by several of your sheep that you are a loving and forgiving deity, kindly disposed toward errant sinners who recant their evil words."

"So, with this in mind, I can't see how you can possibly refuse me entry to Heaven, after all, you'd be making yourself look like a spiteful, petty asshole if you decided to make an example of a poor cretin such as I. Therefore, I look forward to a happy eternal existence with only one condition that I must insist upon. I have spent my life learning, so I need an interesting job up here, I will not be fobbed off with crap work like sewing the wings on angels or similar shit like that, so bear this in mind and we can have a fruitful partnership."

I think I have Him by the bollocks, what do you think?

God Bad For Society

“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies. "

“The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.”

This is the basic conclusion of a study carried out by social scientist Gregory Paul whose findings were the subject of an article by Ruth Gledhill, the Religion Correspondent of The Times. The oft-repeated crap about moral behaviour, kindness, clean-living and generally good conduct coming from God has been shot down many times and this study just rubs more salt in the wound.

Read the full article here. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1798944,00.html

Criminality vs Religion

This is in response to another Anonymous comment.

The figures I give here are taken from the results of various studies in the USA and from the National Census in the UK.

The USA can claim to be the most religious country in the world with 81% of the population claiming some sort of religion and 11% claiming atheism/agnoticism. So, non-theists are outnumbered, the ratio being roughly 7:1, in prison however, non-theists are outnumbered by a whopping 2000:1 (you like ratios Anonymous, how's that?). Under the highly religious Bush government, the USA prison population has risen to 2 million, its highest ever, this is 25% of the world's prison population in a country with only 5% of the world's people!

In America, it's beginning to look like religion leads not to heaven but to the penitentiary! Incidentally, Roman Catholics seem to be the worst crooks since they form a disproportionate number of the jailed criminals.

In the UK, atheists form 16% of the population while 71% claim some form of religion. It's difficult to be certain here because at the 2001 census, around 9000 people claimed Jedi Knight as their religion! (no joke) The signifcant difference is that religion is not taken nearly as seriously in the UK as in the USA, only 11% of British people said religion was important to them, while 53% of Americans did. I'm finding it difficult to get precise religious/non-religious figures for UK prisoners but it looks to be on a par with the USA situation.

Now Anonymous, on to the "many scientists" you say believe in some sort of omnipotent god. Well, of the elite scientists in the USA and Europe i.e. those who are Fellows of National Societies, 97% say they have no religious belief, sorry pal, 3% is not "many" by anybody's standard!

You accuse atheism of being the downfall of these "friggin' Soviets" as you call them. Well, I can't let you away with that (neither, I suspect, will the Russians). Perhaps you are unaware that some the finest composers, artists, mathematicians and certainly some of the very best scientists, were and still are, Russian and atheistic. You need to be less insular and parochial, study the real reason for the Soviet transformation.

In conclusion, I stand by my original post, if a properly conducted scientific study were carried out, I think the results would show atheists to be more intelligent than theists. In addition, it's not belief (as you say) that's dangerous, it's belief in a doctrine that kills people that is dangerous. Religion, is one such belief.