Drystone Walls and Ovist Fireflies

God: Unavailable for comment.

Listening to Kristin Hersh downloads.

I was reading the follow-up comments article to the article I mentioned on Wednesday on why God allows natural disasters and while none of the comments have swung me away from my own beliefs (and I think you know what those are), the mention of the Devil by some responders raised an intellectual point and here is my note on it :

God is explained out if there is only a benevolent God but with a benevolent God and a Malevolent Devil it becomes a "two-body problem". However this is still additional complexity that increases entities. This two-body problem is much more fitted to eastern religions.

At this point I was interrupted and my closure on this thought is lost to me.

Dawkins is still in the middle of a rant about the existence of intermediate fossils of various hominids and while I am as frustrated as he is with those who he calls "history deniers" who stubbornly ask for physical evidence of intermediate fossils, the steam coming from his ears while ranting about it is slightly distracting. However it will have to be a lot worse before I give up on this. The bottom line is that the continuous requests for physical evidence are easily answered but are just ignored though narrow mindedness. It is frustrating that so many people have no real idea of the history and science that has had to go before in order for our supposedly enlightened society to exist. Certain sections of Western Civilization are desperately trying to drag the world back into the dim and uncertain era of superstition and anti-intellectualism. I would really like to put in a list of ten organisations here but I am such a wuss as to be worried about the replies I might receive. If you think you may be from one of these groups then boiled sweet to the first one of you who responds.

See RD's anger has rubbed off on me. A much more restrained scientific viewpoint was evident in the first part of Jim Al-Khalili's programme about the history of Chemistry on BBC4. Plenty of explosions and bright lights (all under the strict conditions demanded by Health and Safety of course) but not done as a Gee-Whizz-isn't-chemistry-brilliant? puff like some might have done. It presented the facts soberly but engagingly leaving me wanting more, knowing that next week will be Dalton. I tell you BBC4 is a jewel, a shining star in the heart of the media-ocrity that constitutes most of cultural life today. And Wallender. What has happened to the last few notes of his ringtone by the way?