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31/01/2009 Pipsqueak just ran out on Shelly!On the continuing saga of the relationship between Pipsqueak, the lovebird, Shelly the parakeet: Pipsqueak used to live with the parakeets, but he picked on them way too much. He would chase them around and pull their tails and bite their feet. I took Pipsqueak and his girlfriend out of that house, and put them in their own house next door. They have lived together, just the two of them, for a year or so.
I guess marriage is taking its toll on him. The thing is, my six other parakeets, besides Pipsqueak’s mate Shelly, are all paired up in three committed relationships. If Pipsqueak thinks he’s going to have a beer with the guys, he is going to have to get the girls to agree to it, first. When Pipsqueak is finished visiting, I hope he goes back home to Shelly, after all, she has seven eggs to support… Maybe in a day or so, Pipsqueak will show up at the foot of the stairs in a torn, dirty T-shirt, hold his head in his hands and yell, Shellllll-llllly!! Then, Shelly will come down the stairs and hold him and then they will slowly walk up the stairs together. Take that, Tennessee Williams! 30/01/2009 X-Evolutionist.com Book linksI’m using Windows Live Writer as a handy tool to make some revisions in my website, www.X-Evolutionist.com. I use draft Windows Live Writer pages a lot to mock up code for things elsewhere online. I decided to link all these to Amazon.com so people can read book reviews if they want. I know nobody’s going to take my word for it. I thought I might as well click the “Publish” button" while I’m at it. Hey, it’s my Space, I can do what I want, right? That way, I can test my links. Book CategoriesI’ve grouped my book recommendations into the categories below. There are several books I specifically recommend. These books are in bold face. If you only want to read one book on my list, I recommend one of those. General Topics:
The Origin of Life:
The Fossil Record:
The Compatibility of Science and the Bible:
Some Scientists Who Believe the Bible:
I do not like going to the doctor.Rant alert: I have some sort of lung disease. I can’t walk around without getting dizzy, lightheaded and feeling like I’m going to fall down. I spend all day in my recliner and I feel just fine. As long as I am home in my recliner, I feel fine. I’m used to it. I feel fine as long as I don't have to go to the doctor. It was a big production number to go to the doctor - Oxygen bottle as big as an upright vacuum cleaner and a wheelchair, and a lot of stress. I had to go to the lung specialist yesterday. When I get to the doctor, they send me someplace else to get a chest x-ray of my lungs. They wheel me in my chair and tell me to stand up. I tell them that if I stand up I will pass out. Oh, it won’t take long, just stand up. So, I stood up. Then I got lightheaded and started to black out, then, rather then fall down and risk breaking a hip, I sat down. Hun, you have to stand up, we need to get a chest x-ray. I can’t stand up, I told you! Please get me stool or something! Finally, they agree to get me a stool and they got me an x-ray. Sheesh! Then the x-ray nurse says what’s wrong with you? I said, that’s what I’m here to find out, well, what are your symptoms. I pointed to the oxygen tank and said I can’t breath. Well, what is causing it? Finally I asked is this a psych evaluation? What the heck is going on? Oh, I just need to tell the radiologist what to look for. Well, maybe you should ask my doctor that. Sheesh. After I get to the doctor and he says the same thing over and over again without examining me, I tell him I'm going to leave – I am really frustrated and stressed out and I can’t take this right now. (Being short of oxygen makes me cranky) Finally, he examines me - puts clamps on my finger to test oxygen and then finally tells me he has concluded that I feel fine as long as I'm sitting down, and to use the oxygen when I’m walking. Well, duh. Thanks Doc, but I already knew that. Sheesh. A couple of days ago, on Tuesday, I wrote this as a comment in a blog: I just came home from a wild ride on very icy roads. Here's the deal, I've been having severe nose bleeds for the last couple of days. That is not good, because I'm on oxygen. My hubby is scared out of his wits. He does not like seeing that much blood coming out of his wife. About two hours ago, I was sitting here typing, and my nose started bleeding really badly, again. Per my hubby's instructions, I called him, and he came home. (Fortunately, God put him in a job just down the street) So, he picked me up, and we started towards the emergency clinic, since my own doctor couldn't fit me in. The roads are treacherous and very scary for somebody in the passenger seat. Anyway, we got to the emergency clinic, and my hubby wheeled me inside. I can walk OK, but the lack of oxygen makes me weak, lightheaded, and liable to fall down. So, we recently bought a used wheelchair to use when I leave the house (which is rarely) So, we get inside the emergency clinic, and they want me to fill out forms. I can’t breathe, one, because my oxygen is not up my nose, and two because I am holding my nose, and covering my mouth so blood won’t drain out. THEN, on top of that, I think I had a panic attack, or something. I started shaking all over. Having no oxygen in your brain makes you do strange things. Then, they said, they can’t help me, I have to go to the hospital. (my doctor couldn’t see me, the emergency clinic can’t see me, and it’s very icy, scary roads) Then I started begging my hubby, please sweetie, just take me home. He said, no you have to go to the hospital, I said, please take me home. And so on. So, here I am, back in my recliner. My nose FINALLY stopped bleeding, and my hubby FINALLY took me home. I’m still not wearing my oxygen, but I feel pretty good right now. My hubby went back to the office, reluctantly. So now, I’m home with my pets. They are very good therapy. Penny, my sweet cockatiel, is asleep on the armrest. Nicki, one of my three mutts, is taking a nap, Rufus is eating, the parakeets and Jonah, my other cockatiel, are asleep, also. Princess Cujo is wandering around aimlessly, poor little thing. Everything is normal here at home. When I don’t feel good, I just want to be home. The LAST place I want to be when I don’t feel good is at the doctor, or emergency clinic or hospital. Especially not when there are ice roads.
My boy lovebird, Pipsqueak, is trying to hatch eggs.I’ve written a couple of times about my lovebird and my parakeet that are trying to raise a family. Shelly, the parakeet, has been laying different sized eggs. For some reason or other, she lays the small eggs in her nest (food dish) and lays the big eggs on the floor of the cage. Animals are programmed by God to know how to take care of their babies. It is hardwired into their brains. That is how I define “instinct”. Anyway, for some reason, Shelly is rejecting the big eggs as bad, and abandoning them. This is not sitting well with Pipsqueak, my lovebird, Shelly’s mate. He has start collecting those big eggs in the corner and is sitting on them. The picture below is from a few days ago, before Pipsqueak started sitting on the eggs. I wish I had gotten a picture of one of the big eggs in this view. I am very curious what we will get, if anything, out of these eggs (the big ones for sure will not hatch – they were cold for too long). They should not be able to produce offspring because according to “mainstream” science they are different “species’. But, in my opinion, lovebirds and parakeets are just variations of God’s created Parrot Kind, and as such should be interfertile. In my opinion these eggs are fertile as evidenced by the different sizes. I’ve had other parakeets lay eggs, Shelly hatched out of one of those eggs. The four in the nest are regular parakeet sized eggs. There is still time to wait though. It will be at least two weeks before the eggs will hatch, (if they hatch) if Shelly has stopped laying eggs. The most eggs I’ve personally ever had in a clutch here at home is eight eggs, but not all of them hatched, and not all that hatched lived. Anyway, time will tell. If an egg hatches, that is scientific proof that parakeets and lovebirds can have babies together. I have seen nothing about this on the web. But, Pipsqueak's lovebird mate died, and he fell in love with a parakeet. That might not have happened before. Apparently, if they hatch, this will be a first. X 29/01/2009 Q: Hey, X! Where have you been? A: Stump the Creationist Group!According to my profile, I haven’t been here. But, for the last two days I have been very active in my groups. My favorite Group to interact with these days is Stump the Creationist. I’ve been having loads of fun. I am a frequent contributor to All Things Live, also, but It’s not quite as much fun as Stump the Creationist is right now. I used to debate on message boards a lot before I found the Spaces community. I guess I got burned out, because I haven’t wanted to do so since. But, since that “How Did Life Begin” discussion here on my space, when I was asked to start a group, I’ve been debating like a prancing pony. I’m not sure how a prancing pony would debate, but I’m having a wonderful time, any way. I was having a great discussion with a guy, and it when on for quite a while, but he quit posting. But, others have jumped in and continued it. Anyway, that’s where I am. You are welcome to join in. Let’s have a ping pong match that decides which of us is full of beans. I double dog dare you! 28/01/2009 Come one, come all. Join the debate: “How Did Life Begin?”I have copied a new topic of discussion from my group. If you want to get involved in this discussion, please join: “Stump the Creationist” How Did Life Begin?Some think that God is an imaginary being that people believe on faith to make them feel good. However, it also takes faith to be an atheist. An atheist must believe that DNA is the result of chance. The DNA molecule is like a very complicated computer program. Nobody would believe that Windows XP is the result of chance, but many believe that the human brain that created Windows XP is the result of chance. Is simple one-celled life really simple?Years ago, microscopes weren't nearly as good as they are now. The cell used to look like a blob and it was easy to think that a blob could come about by accident. We have better microscopes now. According to Michael Behe, a biochemist, a cell is run like a really a big city with freeways to deliver nutrients and garbage to their destinations. For more information, see his book Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution There is an illustration of a Bacterial Flagellum on the front flap of "Darwin's Black Box". This is the little gizmo that turns the little hairs on a bacterium so it can move around. The parts are all labeled, bushings, universal joint, rotor, drive shaft, and so on. It is a microscopic machine just to turn one little hair on a little bitty bacterium. Henry Ford invented the Model T a long time before the microscopes were very powerful otherwise, I might think he used this as an example of an efficient motor. What Is Spontaneous Generation?Spontaneous Generation is a theory that was developed many years ago. It said that living organisms developed from non-living matter. It was proven false by Louis Pasteur. Here is an except of an address that Louis Pasteur delivered at the "Sorbonne Scientific Soiree" of April 7, 1864:
Pasteur said this in 1864, yet many people still prefer to believe that life can come from non-life rather that attribute the origin of life to a miracle. Do People Still Believe in Spontaneous Generation?Even many scientists today can see the problems with proving it, but they "believe" anyway, even without the proof that it needs. For example, this biologist says flat out says he believes in something that he knows is not proven:
He believes this on faith, and he admits it. An Example of Doublethink:One semester in health science class I was taught about how Spontaneous Generation had been disproven. In the Biology class, the same semester, I was taught that is was proven that life emerged from inorganic chemicals. In his book "1984", George Orwell coined the word "Doublethink" to mean the belief of two contradictory things at the same time.
I was able to hold both thoughts for several decades, then I gave up and had to choose one. Could DNA have happened by accident?The DNA molecule contains all the directions to make life, every component, the skin, the heart, the brain, the bones, the muscles, and so forth. I would like to challenge any one of you to make a computer program to do any ONE thing where the program fits on an information storage device so small you can’t even see it. When James Watson and Francis Crick “discovered” DNA they didn’t really see it, they saw its “shadow” and from the shadow they hypothesized what the shape was. DNA can only work in the cell, and a cell is made by the directions in the DNA. The whole kit and caboodle had to come about by "accident" all at the same time or it wouldn’t even work. Scientists don't quite understand DNA yet. It took years to "map the genome". If it is so simple that it happened by accident, why did it take so long to just write a list of all of its parts? Why do Bodies Die?Why do bodies die in the emergency room? Why can't the repair be made and the body jumpstarted back to life? Life is said to have come from the gathering of random inorganic chemicals. If that is so, why does a body die? There are just as many chemicals before death as after death. My comments refer to the origin of life. If creation by God is not an option, then random chemicals got together and formed the first living cell. If this could happen (it's never been proven) how are we sure it would be alive? A dead body has as many cells as a live body. "Life" is something outside of just the physical components of biology. How did life begin?I was too hard headed to just up and believe that there is a God, especially at my age. However, through a process of elimination while I was studying the proof for life arising spontaneously from nonlife, I was able to determine scientifically and logically that it was not true. This was a big surprise to me, I tell you what! I had believed it all my life, and remember I was in my forties. My beliefs were fairly set in stone. However, when I found no proof that life began without god, the basis of my disbelief in god had no justification. Copied from my website page: http://x-evolutionist.com/the-cell.html Please join Stump the Creationist and share your views on this topic! “Stump the Creationist” 27/01/2009 I have been having way too much fun.Sometimes, like today, I like to play quietly by myself.I’ve been having tons of fun with some new things I learned about.
I was disappointed, because i was really trying to make them both look like me. So, then, I wondered if they could be morphed together to come up with an average that might be closer to me. I googled “morph”, (sorry Live Search) and I came up with this site: http://www.morphthing.com/ You register with just your email address and a password, then upload pictures and identify a few key points that will be matched up. I came up with this:
Well, that did it, now I am hooked. I’ve been morphing some pictures of me and my hubby together. There is one of him taken after he tried to cut his own hair (oh, man!) and besides, he is wearing fake teeth. I laughed my head off to see that morphed with me. I am too afraid of this new fangled internet to post the actual picture, even though it doesn't look like either of us, but there is an option to do this with it:
So now you know what my husband and I look like. I am having way too much fun.
24/01/2009 “Life in the Backyard” – The MovieHi Everybody, On nice days, I like to spend a lot of time in my backyard. I live in a residential area in a big city Just a short drive off the main road, but it’s very quiet. All I can hear is the rushing water in my pond’s waterfall, and the calls of the birds, and a few dog barks, near and far. My wonderful hubby built me my wonderful pond with his own two hands several years ago. It was very hard work, but that’s just how much he loves me. I am one blessed girl! God picked me a wonderful hubby! It’s my little paradise away from the rest of the world. When I am in my backyard, it is my time of worship with God. I can see God most when I look at his creation. I love to watch the birds (both pet and wild), fish, squirrels, trees, clouds, bunnies, and a lot of other aspects of God’s creation. I just gape in awe, thinking how good he is to make such beautiful things for me to enjoy. Two days ago, it was 75 degrees. It is freezing now at almost 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon, and it was freezing a few days before it was 75 degrees. So, it was a wonderful time to go out and visit with God. Here’s some movies I took that day. You can hear Rufus, my parrot, doing jaybird calls. When we are outside, that’s all he wants to do, bird calls. He knows he is a bird, and he likes to watch other birds. At one point, you can see him looking up at birds in the sky, cocking his head to stare with one eye to get a good look. He does a bird call at each bird that flies by. Very good company, that’s what he is. You can tell, if you listen very carefully, that my hubby called me on the phone during the second video. If you are very clever, you MIGHT be able to figure out when. My yard is pretty small, but it has several ecosystems. We have the pond, the bunny pen, the waterfall hill, the grasslands, the garden, the compost bin, and the patio. There are many animals in the various ecosystems. See how many you can count!
23/01/2009 For what event did you wait in line the longest?Today’s Tea Time Topic: This question will tell us what is really important to us. Here’s me: One cold February day, at 4:00 in the morning, I got in line dressed for a hot day in July, as the paper in my hand told me to do. I had entered a contest on the radio to see the Blues Brothers in concert for free. The letter I got told me I had won free tickets, and how I should dress for the concert. What I didn’t know was that I was going to be in the audience of the concert scene in the end of the Blues Brothers movie. It took hours and hours before anything started happening. Just waiting in line, wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, in February, outside in a long line. Brr. Blues Brothers Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
OK, your turn. For what event did you end up waiting in line the longest? X 22/01/2009 Oh, the sun’ll come out……TODAY!
It is supposed to get up to 75 degrees F today. For you Celsius users, that is warm. It is below freezing right now, and it has been very cold all week, so, that will be very nice! In Oklahoma City the weather changes by the hour. I had never seen that before in all my years living in California. In southern California, it would look like it wanted to rain for a couple of weeks, and then finally rain. Here, it will be blue sky and white puffy clouds one minute, and a big black thunderstorm will roll in five minutes later. So, going from freezing in the early morning to nice and sunny later is nothing for an Oklahoman. So, I’m going to go outside and play this afternoon. My oxygen hose barely reaches to the patio chair. I’m going to string it up out of the way from the chewing bunnies and parrot and romping dogs. It’s not fun having your nostrils ripped out by a dog tripping on your oxygen hose. I’m going to let the bunnies out to romp, bring a couple bird cages out, have Penny, on my shoulder, and Rufus meandering around making trouble. My dogs love to chase squirrels, and just romp and play when Mom are outside. All the animals, and I, get bored of being in the house. X Don’t like eating piggies, baby cows, and chickies? Join Eating Veggie Style!I had a lot of activity about my accidental ingesting of Mr. Piggy yesterday. I’m finding more people like me, who don’t eat animals, and other people who are considering quitting for one reason or another. I started a group, earlier this month, but there wasn’t much interest. I’m going to see if we can try again: Eating Veggie Stylehttp://eating-veggie-style.groups.live.com/
My hubby just came by on his lunch hour, and brought me coleslaw, macaroni salad and gorp from the deli. Yummy! I just had to spit part of a piggy out of my mouth!
My hubby decided to run to the deli on his lunch hour, and since he works close to home, he decided to bring home some lunch for me. My sweet hubby is very careful about ordering me food. He saw a broccoli salad and asked: “Does this have any meat in it? My wife doesn’t eat meat”. Oh, no, there’s no meat in it, he was told. So here I am, with a piece of a piggy on my napkin. What the heck!
Bummer. Sorry about that Piggy! X
21/01/2009 Make peace with your god: hairy thunderer or cosmic muffinThis is a “song” from a National Lampoon (comedy magazine) album from years ago. I used to hear it on Dr. Demento’s radio show. Here’s a link to the wiki page for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deteriorata
Therefore, make peace with your god, whatever you perceive him to be: 20/01/2009 Stump the Creationist: A new Windows Live GroupA a great discussion is going on here in my Space: “Is it unscientific to believe in God?” I want to continue the discussion in my new Windows Live Group “Stump the Creationist” I picked the name "Stump the Creationist" in homage to Johnny Carson's “Stump the Band” years ago. I am not afraid of challenges to my beliefs. I have an answer to every question, and it won't come out of the Bible, unless that's what you want. In this group, you can start a discussion to challenge an aspect of my beliefs, or you can start a new discussion about your beliefs. Everybody is welcome. My only request is for each of us to treat others with respect. It would be a really boring world if we all believed the same thing. Let’s all try to clear out the misconceptions others have about each of our beliefs. “Stump the Creationist” Question my beliefs, or share your own beliefs. Everybody is welcome! http://stump-the-creationist.groups.live.com/
19/01/2009 My “Is it unscientific to believe in God?” topic is open for more discussion.There is a lively discussion in the comments to Is it unscientific to believe in God?, the blog post below this one. I have decided to open it to more discussion. To me, this is a very interesting topic, especially since I have been on both sides of it. The essential question regarding whether it Is unscientific to believe in God is this: “How did life begin”. No matter what your answer is to that question, you must have faith to believe it. For over forty years, I believed that the origin of life on earth, the arising of the first cell complete with DNA, was the result of a cosmic combination of time and chance. I was led to believe that it was a scientific fact, but scientific evidence has to be testable and repeatable, I came to the conclusion that if something only happened once, like the origin of life (and DNA), and there is no evidence of how it happened, then how you believe it happened is a matter of faith After considerable thought, and lots of reading of lots of books over the period of nine months, I came to believe (by a process of elimination) that there was scientific evidence that life required a designer (creator). It is my faith the creator (designer) is God of the Bible. Science and faith are not mutually exclusive; it's just matters how you interpret the scientific evidence. Now, I know you probably think I’m ignorant and ill-informed, and I really don’t mind. I felt the same way until 12 years ago. Nothing you say will hurt my feelings, and nothing you say will change my mind. So, let the discussion continue! X PS: I want to re-post this paragraph from the other blog: I would like to recommend a book. Each chapter is by a different scientist who gives evidence of things in his or field of science that cannot be explained by purely physical and natural means. You can read it for free, online: In Six Days: Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation PPS: I made a point in a comment that I want to copy here: (with typos fixed – man I can’t type worth beans):
X Join “All Things Live” Group Home Reasons Why I Believe in God Is it unscientific to believe in God?This is a repost of a blog a few years ago. Greg asked fellow members of All Things Live Group (formerly Hack MSN Spaces Group) to post a link to some favorite blogs of the past. I came across this one, and I decided to post it again: I didn't believe in God for many years. I believed what I heard: that life began by a process of time and chance and then developed further from there. I have since found out that there is very little justification for that. I came to believe in God because I read a bunch of books that convinced me that the scientific evidence actually points towards the existence of God. Life is too incredibly complex to be a product of time and chance. If you do not believe in God, do yourself a favor and see if you are right. Look and see if there is actual proof for what you have been led to believe about how life began. I would like to recommend a book. Each chapter is by a different scientist who gives evidence of things in his or field of science that cannot be explained by purely physical and natural means. You can read it for free, online: In Six Days: Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation Please give me the benefit of the doubt and take a few minutes and check out one of the essays in this book. I honestly believe that there is scientific evidence that God exists. I've only believed in God for 12 years, I spent over forty years believing that life on earth was just a cosmic fluke with no point. I accepted a friend's dare and started seeing if there was proof for what I believed. Boy, was I surprised. You’ll be surprised, too. X The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
Copied from the other post: The essential question regarding whether it Is unscientific to believe in God is this: “How did life begin”. No matter what your answer is to that question, you must have faith to believe it. Join “All Things Live” Group Home Reasons Why I Believe in God 18/01/2009 4 8 15 16 23 42 – Is there a Windows Live "Lost" Group? Please invite me!The new season of Lost starts next week, and I’m going to need fellow Lostophiles to rehash things with. Please invite me to your Lost group. Thank you! If you are not a fan of Lost, be aware that it is the best TV show in the history of TV shows. X Join All Things Live Group Home Reasons Why I Believe in God 17/01/2009 “Inter-Species” Love UpdateMy lovebird, Pipsqueak, and my parakeet, Shelly, have continued mating since I first noticed it recently. I blogged about it here. She had laid two eggs before they were mating, but had not sat on them. Well, in the last four days, she has laid two eggs, are she is very interesting in hatching them. Pipsqueak is a very attentive potential father to be, sitting by the next and keeping her company. That’s Pipsqueak, the lovebird, on the left, and Shelly, the parakeet, is in the back facing the camera in the picture at the right.
I don’t know if the eggs are fertile or not, but time will tell. I can’t find any instance of a lovebird having babies with a parakeet on the internet. But, perhaps there never was a lovebird in love with and mating with a parakeet. We will see. X Join the Hack All Things Live Group Home Reasons Why I Believe in God Confessions of a “Twilight Zone” junkieI am a big fan of the original Twilight Zone series with Rod Serling. I was a kid when it came out. I watched it then, and occasionally I watch it now, even though I know all the stories, except one! There is one Twilight Zone episode that was only broadcast once, and never put into syndication because of the subject matter. If I saw it when I was a kid, I do not remember it. Oh, happy day! I just saw that Netflix is shipping this episode, entitled “The Encounter”, to my house today! After that, I will have officially seen every episode of the Twilight Zone. You want to know how really bad I am? I bought my first VCR, when they first came out, so I didn’t have to go home for lunch everyday. They showed them at noon week days. I would get home in time to see the second half of the first one and the first half of the second one before having to drive back to work by 1:00. Anyway, with my trusty VCR and a notebook, I successfully taped every episode that was syndicated. (see how badly addicted I was?) Anyway, now that they are all out on DVD, including the one I haven’t seen, I could throw out my video tape collection. But I keep it….it is the principle of the thing. Ah, Twilight Zone heaven. I can’t wait till my DVD comes. I’m going to make my hubby watch it with me. It’s going to take a lot of duct tape, but he WILL watch it with me. X Join “All Things Live” Group Home Reasons Why I Believe in God 16/01/2009 The Animal Odd CoupleThe animal lovers among you will love this short news story.
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. Recently some scientists who are not creationists say they don’t believe that life came from non-life. They have developed a new theory, the Intelligent Design Theory. Michael Behe is one proponent. He is not a Biblical creationist BUT he still thinks the cell is just too complicated to be an accident. The black box in the title of his book refers to the cell. 
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