No one knows this blog is here yet, so I’ve not been tagged with this meme. Still, I thought it’d be fun to fill some space as I find my voice with this little questionnaire.

Q1. How would you define “atheism”?

If theism is the belief in god(s), then atheism is clearly the opposite — a lack of such belief. It is not necessarily an affirmation that no gods exists, though some may take that position; it simply means that the atheist does not believe in the existence of any god(s). (With the note that “belief” and “knowledge of” are, in my book, two very separate notions.)

Q2. Was your upbringing religious? If so, what tradition?

I was raised Catholic, though loosely; we did not attend regular Sunday service but I was put through Communion and Confirmation classes and subsequently Confirmed. Afterwards, however, my siblings and I were not forced to adhere to any religious ceremony or belief system and were free to find our own path.

Q3. How would you describe “Intelligent Design”, using only one word?

As has been said elsewhere, there is but only one word to use it (in polite company, at least): Creationism

Q4. What scientific endeavour really excites you?

Bionics. I want my bionic eyes and arms! I’m far from a scientist, but the notions of human-machine interaction have always intrigued me, whether it be related to my current field (the internet) or the more sci-fi-ish notions of cybernetic body parts.

Q5. If you could change one thing about the “atheist community”, what would it be and why?

Better PR. The only thing that ties all atheists together is their lack of belief in god; otherwise, they cover the full spectrum of political and social beliefs. This is a good thing, mind you, but it means that it can be a very fractured group and difficult to build any sort of successful PR campaign around.

Here in NYC I always see posters and advertisements on the subways and buses for various churches or faith-based organizations, but never for an atheist group. Why? With a disparate base, it’s difficult to get the funding (I’d assume) to purchase such ads. I do like the trends that are starting though, with the billboard outside Philadelphia and the work that the Freedom From Religion Foundation are doing.

Q6. If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?

Assuming I had a child, of course, my first response would likely be something akin to “Are you sure this is what you want to do? Have you thought this through?”

Of course, that would also be my response if my child said “I’m going to become a firefighter” or “I want to be a drummer” or  “I want to go to law school.”

I would hope to encourage my children to make well-informed, rational decisions and be sure that what they are pursuing matches up to what they want in life.

Q7. What’s your favorite theistic argument, and how do you usually refute it?

I love the argument that religion is necessary for morality; it’s one of the more common arguments and yet has no real sound logic behind it.  By the reckoning of apologetics, without religion we’d be a chaotic world of selfish, murderous, thieving, adulterers. There are several ways to refute it: personal examples, as I would certainly fit most of the moral guidelines set forth by religion despite having no faith; the Lockean “social contract” argument, wherein we agree to a set of laws and rules (akin to morals) to protect ourselves and our property; or the Euthyphro argument, which I’ll be expounding upon shortly.

Q8. What’s your most “controversial” (as far as general attitudes amongst other atheists goes) viewpoint?

No idea; perhaps my love of the NY Yankees?

Q9. Of the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris) who is your favourite, and why?

To be honest, I’ve not read extensively enough from all of them to make a fair judgment and have read far more of PZ Myers than any of the above.

Q10. If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs, who would it be?

Tough call; either Tom Cruise or the Pope. Just imagine the TMZ episode!

Evolution vs Creationism. There’s no doubt in my mind that creationism, and religion in general, has no place in our public school systems’ science curricula. Still, if we were to “teach the controversy” as some creation myth supporters believe then we’d truly have to address *all* the possible creation myths, no?

To that end, I need one of these t-shirts:

Honestly though, sometimes I think that opening the doors to creation myths in school might not be a terrible idea. Yes, there are alternative stories that explain the creation of the universe; but why limit it simply to the Judeo-Christian myth? Why not teach all as possible alternatives?

After all, isn’t that the premise of teaching the controversy? Presenting ALL options?

I can just imagine the look on the faces of proper, god-fearing parents when their children come home from school and regale them with tales of black birds laying golden eggs or any of the other, numerous creation myths that would likely appeal to child more than the Christian origin tale.

And nevermind what’d happen if you include the FSM.

So please, by all means. Teach the Controversy. Just teach it completely.

On Sunday the Yankees, on way to a 13-0 rout of the Houston Astros, suffered a terrible blow as their ace, Chien-Ming Wang, injured his foot while running home from 3rd base.

Diagnosed with a “mid-foot sprain of the Lisfrance ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon of the right foot,” perennial 19 game winner and staff ace Wang will be wearing a protective boot and stuck on crutches for at least the next six weeks. Assuming all goes well, he’ll then require some time to get back into pitching shape; by Peter Abraham’s estimation Wang will be out, at the minimum, for ten weeks.

So what are the Yanks to do?

Needless to say, many fans and pundits alike speculate a knee-jerk trade for an ace (C.C. Sabathia anyone?) but this is no longer George Steinbrenner’s team. As shown during the Santana negotiations this winter and the public words of the outspoken Hank Steinbrenner (as well as his more subdued brother Hal) indicate more patience than we’ve seen in the past.

This season alone, we’ve already seen the team willing to fill holes from within; when relievers Brian Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo went down with injuries, Cashman filled their roles with internal pieces (Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras) rather than overpay for a middle reliever. With Posada out, the Yanks turned to their backup Molina. When he went down, they found Chad Moeller on the wire. Jeter and ARod also missed time and were filled with internal tools.

All told, the Yankees have faced innumerable obstacles this season and yet their record, (37-33), is not far off from where they stood in 2007 (35-35) or 2005 (37-33) when they made it to the playoffs. (Though, in the interest of disclosure, their run differential this year is slightly worse than either of those years.)

The hole created by a missing Wang obviously needs to be addressed; still, it represents approximately 18 starts between now and the end of the season.

SG over at RLYW breaks down the ramifications of this, considering the more likely internal replacements and compares those to what Sabathia might provide while over at WasWatching they take a look at what the Yankees will need to replace Wang. LoHud also goes over the options.

To me, it sounds like there are plenty of options before the Cashman resorts to a blockbuster trade for Sabathia — remember that Indians’ GM Shapiro is the same mastermind that received Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee for a Bartolo Colon rental — and some time to explore the numerous internal options before pulling the trigger on such a deal.

Who knows, perhaps Dan Giese can be the next Aaron Small or there’s a Shawn Chacon or Cory Lidle out there to be had for a song.

(Personally, I think that the Yanks should at least inquire about Rich Harden; as wise as A’s GM Beane is, he’s always struck me as fairly reasonable and I’m sure a deal could be had without giving up on too many high ceiling prospects. Yes, Harden is always at risk to hop on the DL but when he’s throwing, he’s truly dominant — and it’s that DL risk that might allow the Yanks a light discount.)

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

- Epicurus

So what’s this place all about? Glad you asked. Essentially here you shall find the random musings of mind focused on a few varied topics mostly centered around baseball and atheism.

Please stay tuned as the site itself is further fleshed out and more posts start to appear