150/365 (May 30, 2010) – Sometimes I think it would be great to know what the future held, but then again, all those wonderful surprises wouldn’t be surprises. So overall, I suppose the unknown is best left at that.
Just having brunch at Milestone’s again, found a little clear marble in my purse. Here’s the end result.
Quiet day otherwise.
But I have managed to hit day 150! 150 days and I’ve managed to take a photo every day. Sometimes a day or two late on posting them, but I’m actually a bit surprised at how easy it’s been to pick up a camera every day. True, some days I’m completely uninspired and the first decent thing I can find within reach to shoot ends up in here, but it’s been fun.
148/365 (May 28, 2010) – Kirk’s been out in TO all week, gets home tonight. Means that I get a million things done that I otherwise might not, but it also means that I slack off on other things….
Like cooking. Bad me. I do tend to try to make sure there are ample leftovers in the fridge before he goes, so I usually cook big batch things like soup and pasta in the days ahead. Then I don’t have to think about it.
Luckily Loki won’t let me forget when it’s mealtime :-/
Long, but a great and highly entertaining lecture.
Richard Dawkins urges all atheists to openly state their position — and to fight the incursion of the church into politics and science. A fiery, funny, powerful talk.
If you don’t know of Dawkins -
As an evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins has broadened our understanding of the genetic origin of our species; as a popular author, he has helped lay readers understand complex scientific concepts. He’s best-known for the ideas laid out in his landmark book The Selfish Gene and fleshed out in The Extended Phenotype: the rather radical notion that Darwinian selection happens not at the level of the individual, but at the level of our DNA. The implication: We evolved for only one purpose — to serve our genes.
Of perhaps equal importance is Dawkins’ concept of the meme, which he defines as a self-replicating unit of culture — an idea, a chain letter, a catchy tune, an urban legend — which is passed person-to-person, its longevity based on its ability to lodge in the brain and inspire transmission to others. Introduced in The Selfish Gene in 1976, the concept of memes has itself proven highly contagious, inspiring countless accounts and explanations of idea propagation in the information age.
In recent years, Dawkins has become outspoken in his atheism, coining the word “bright” (as an alternate to atheist), and encouraging fellow non-believers to stand up and be identified. His controversial, confrontational 2002 TED talk was a seminal moment for the New Atheism, as was the publication of his 2006 book, The God Delusion, a bestselling critique of religion that championed atheism and promoted scientific principles over creationism and intelligent design.
“Dawkins … is a master of scientific exposition and synthesis. When it comes to his own specialty, evolutionary biology, there is none better.” Jim Holt, The New York Times
143/365 (May 23, 2010) – It’s the long weekend, initially we were to be boating, but the weather didn’t exactly cooperate so we found other activities to occupy ourselves. Like a few games of pool at the pub. Oh well, have to make the best of it. But this was the best I could come up with for a photo on a grey and rainy day.
Strange weather around the country. The weather forecasters here have changed the forecast every few hours. Initially they were calling for a gorgeous weekend full of sun and warmth. They were radically wrong and I think perhaps got their West and East confused. Snow up North, rain down here, hot in the East. We might have been out on our Squadron’s Commanders Cruise this weekend but instead made a mistake and offered to cat sit for our neighbour. After all the rain this weekend…not so sad about that mistake.
But we really do still need to pressure wash the boat.
