Revisiting an old post

I was reading through some old posts (because I have that kind of time) and discovered a comment on the post Vast Ignorance. This comment was left almost a year later, so I cannnot be blamed for not responding 'til now.

So here it is:

Thumb Biter said...
You use the word "spontaneously" incorrectly. Scientists use spontaneity of a reaction or occurrence to mean that given enough time, it will eventually, inevitably happen with no outside trigger. Therefore, the statement that "life began spontaneously from non living matter" is true according to abiogenesis, whether or not the word "spontaneously" is included in.
Also, why is the statement that "everything in the universe came about by chance" not MET?

The bit about "spontaneously" refers to this:

Life began spontaneously from non living matter.

That's really abiogenesis, not MET. But that's a quibble; MET does sort of imply abiogenesis. However, "spontaneously" is bullplop. Get rid of that and the statement is true enough.

You are correct about how scientists use "spontaneously", but like "theory" the everyday use of the word is very different, and given the context, it seems clear to me that the author was not using the scientific definition. So the statement is deceptive. Maybe I should have said that, but I still stand by what I did write.

"Also, why is the statement that "everything in the universe came about by chance" not MET?" refers to:

Everything in the universe came about by chance.

Still not MET.

Because the question of "where everything in the universe" came from is cosmology, not biology. Because even if it were a question of biology, chance is only the beginning of the process.

Later,

Crashes, werewolves and cider

Crashes: I totalled my car last Saturday. No injuries. Minor damage to a tractor trailer (I clipped the trailer as I spun). Full coverage insurance.

Nothing further to say there.

Werewolves: Wolfman starring Benicio del Toro. Good, not great. Predictable "twist". Fun action. Lots of blood. Werewolf looked like Lon Cheney's in the original.

Cider: The only alcohol I drink with any regularity. Hard to find, usually. I get a case or three when it's available. One bottle (or can) in the evening, tops.

Well, that's my life recently. Jealous?
You're jealous.

Later,

WTF? Seriously, just WTF?

Via an entry on FSTDT I found this blazing pyre of stupid.
WARNING: Follow the previous link at your own risk.

I can't even begin to pick this apart. Partly due to the amazingly high fail-to-word ratio. Mostly because, like most web-pages made by not-in-a-good-way crazy people, the page design is terrible. I'm talking headache-inducingly unreadable. Hence the warning above.

If you do follow the link, you may at first wonder what I'm talking about. You may say to yourself "Poor design, sure. Kind of boring, but I don't see what the big deal is." Keep going. Scroll down. Follow a few internal links. It gets much, much worse. So, if you want a laugh, take a couple of Tylenol and check it out.

Reading something like this would normally raise my blood pressure to a life-threateningly dangerous level. But this is just too dumb.

So yeah, WTF?

Later,

Warm Fuzzies again.

Still awesome!

Later,

The Laws of Thermodynamics say you're an idiot

Heh, heh.

Later,

INL update

I have a face-to-face interview at INL on Friday, Oct 30. Awesome!

I told my boss about it. His reaction was not what I had feared. As is usually the case, my anxiety was completely unfounded.

That's about it.

Later,

Torn

A couple of months ago, I applied for a technician job at Idaho National Laboratories (in the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator lab, I believe. (Woohoo! Nuclear Batteries!)

By this point I had given up on hearing back from them. So, imagine my surprise when I get home from work and have a message that says they want to set up a phone interview.

On the one hand, WOOHOO! SWEET!

On the other, I'd pretty much settled on sticking around, here, and my lazier side keeps bringing up things like telling my current boss, address change, utilities, actually moving and other hassles involved in changing jobs.

Later,

P.S. -- Yes, I know the difference between a thermoelectric generator and a battery. "Nuclear batteries" is technically inaccurate. Sue me. (Unless you are with INL, in which case, I know it's important and take such things very seriously)