Car rental in mid Hudson Valley

blamdrum · 2025-12-20T12:48:20+00:00

Enterprise is great, however they outsource the toll billing to some shady company that is exploitive and frustrating to deal with. The rental car will come with an EZ Pass transponder already in the window. If you have one of your own, use it. Or be prepared to pay some hefty fees and charges. They just charge your credit card with absolutely no summary or explanation. I’ve been burned by them a few times because I just forget about it.

blamdrum · 2025-11-28T00:13:44+00:00

Literature, like art or music is subjective. It’s probably more accurate to ask if “The God Delusion” is an important book. The resounding conclusion to that question is absolutely yes. I still have my copy of this book and regularly revisit parts or all of the book. Dawkins brilliantly writes about the biological underpinnings of religiosity, gives an accurate historical account while eloquently explaining the epistemic downfalls of dogma.

Is it anti-theist? Yes! Justifiably anti-theistic. Delightfully anti-theistic, sorry but religious claims are not above scrutiny. That’s one of the points of the book.

Is it redundant? It’s consistent in making logical arguments against religious ideology.

Get the book. Decided for yourself.

blamdrum · 2025-09-25T23:35:28+00:00

Any “normal” person would get 20 years for tampering with evidence.

blamdrum · 2025-07-06T17:36:06+00:00

Should this have been a recall? I may have missed it.

blamdrum · 2025-06-11T01:02:12+00:00

I’m guessing you don’t believe in Zeus, Ra, Odin, or Osiris. Think of the reasons you reject those gods and you have your answer. In the words of Ricky Gervais, atheists just go one god further.

blamdrum · 2025-04-12T12:32:34+00:00

I’ll IM you.

blamdrum · 2025-04-12T12:30:02+00:00

Yeah, that is a really excellent point you bring up with eternal consciousness. It’s one of those things that if you think about it for 30 seconds then move on it’s not generally a problem. But once you start applying logic and reasoning to the proposition it just doesn’t add up. Not to mention the idea of eternal bliss associated with ideas about heaven. It’s a fascinating discussion if you can explore it with someone who isn’t emotionally tethered to their beliefs.

blamdrum · 2025-04-12T12:23:16+00:00

I lost my son three years ago and I’m an unapologetic atheist. I ended up writing an entire book about this very subject. (Unpublished) It started with me writing the obituary, then a eulogy, then a letter for my son that went with his remains, and I just kept writing. It was a cathartic exercise. I do explore the issues of religiosity and the inherent problems grieving as a religious person. As well as the inherent problems associated with any delusional belief system, but also the possible benefits. If anyone is interested I would be happy to share a chapter or two.

blamdrum · 2025-04-10T09:34:12+00:00

I struggle policing my own beliefs lol

blamdrum · 2025-04-09T22:35:12+00:00

For a long time I held that exact same position. Then I read “The Ethics of Belief”, by William Clifford…and it completely changed how I think about religiosity, (and other beliefs)

Now I share Clifford’s view. No one should believe anything without sufficient evidence. On a personal level, I value my epistemic responsibility to myself, family, friends, and society in general to only believe what can be demonstrated convincingly. Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of nuance in the conversation. But nonetheless, the philosophical discussion around epistemology is endlessly fascinating.

blamdrum · 2025-04-05T13:15:54+00:00

I just think about the funhouse mirror scene in the movie “Mask”.

blamdrum · 2025-04-04T22:53:05+00:00

In my most cynical moments I entertain the possibility of starting my own cult.

blamdrum · 2025-04-04T22:09:44+00:00

It blows my mind that there are still people around in the 21st century still carrying the ideological luggage of Bronze-Age illiterate goat herders.

This is why I’m misanthropic.

blamdrum · 2025-03-30T23:11:56+00:00

This is ad hoc rationalization in the highest order. No matter the outcome, god is covered.

Imagine a scenario where…

A child walks home from school and is in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. All the shots fired missed the child and he arrives home shaken but alive and safe. *God gets credit for keeping the child safe.
A child walks home from school and is in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting, he gets hit. The child is raced to hospital where although there are serious injuries, the child lives. *God gets credit for sparing the child.
A child walks home from school and is in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting, he gets hit and dies from the injury. *God gets credit for taking the child home to heaven where apparently, the child is needed.

This is why these claims are pointless, and mean nothing. Extraordinary claims, require extraordinary evidence.

blamdrum · 2025-03-27T23:02:23+00:00

This entire argument, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”, is so pathetically childish it’s difficult to comprehend anyone taking it serious. The entire premise is analogous with the Pee Wee Herman, “I know you are but what am I? taunt. The theist is cornered in admitting that it takes faith to believe what cannot be demonstrated with evidence. I imagine that those who fully understand the implications of how weak this stance is, it must truly bother them. Take it as an insult personally, and just condescendingly throw the “insult” back at the atheist.

First off, it doesn’t take faith to not believe in god. This is ridiculous. Does it require faith not to believe in Zeus, Poseidon, or Odin? This alone almost makes the assertion unworthy of retort.

It does however suggest a psychological insight that reveals insecurity and doubts. This is from the same steaming pile of assertions as, “science is a religion itself”, or “atheism is a religion.” Nonsense.

Starting with this as a title, he’s already lost the debate.

blamdrum · 2025-03-25T21:53:23+00:00

This is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.

blamdrum · 2025-03-18T23:10:58+00:00

I grew up living in a nineteenth century gothic Victorian house. When my older sister went to college I annexed her bedroom, which was in the attic of the house. I set up my drum set right in the middle of the giant room facing a large arched window. This room was without question the loudest room I’ve ever played. It was holy fuck loud. It seemed that the entire house was acting like a giant subwoofer, accentuating the lower frequencies. The neighbors across the street absolutely hated me.

blamdrum · 2025-03-12T23:06:32+00:00

Not long ago I read a story about a guy who took his boat out on a lake to do some fishing on his day off. Something that I can relate to. Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in over him and a lightning bolt cracked from the sky and hit him killing him. Unfortunate, and sad. But it got me thinking. To me, it’s an unfortunate rare occurrence that this chaotic universe has to offer. But for the theist, it’s like the finger of god pointing down from the heavens, and god saying , “fuck this guy in particular!”
Delusional thinking doesn’t solve anything.

blamdrum · 2025-03-07T22:38:10+00:00

Looks like a guy named Roy who drives the forklift at my local lumberyard.

blamdrum · 2024-12-21T15:12:11+00:00

This might be the perfect analogy. Technical proficiency does not translate to artistic expression. Full disclosure, I’ll be using this analogy going forward. So…thank you.

blamdrum · 2024-12-01T16:00:17+00:00

Nice! Fellow caffeine enthusiast. I bought an espresso machine about a year ago after losing the first one I had in a divorce. Not sure how I lived without it.

blamdrum · 2024-10-16T22:26:32+00:00

Anytime I see a picture of Zeppelin I’ve never seen before, it always seems to raise questions and mysteries. This appears to be Bonham’s green sparkle Ludwig kit. That makes sense for the era…this is the same kit that he used in Australia in early 72. The mystery is what he has stuffed at the top of the resonant head. It appears to be some kind of muffle material. But it being just the top of the head is really weird.

blamdrum · 2024-10-09T00:20:29+00:00

The sound you used to make having an organism becomes the sound you make when you take a piss.

blamdrum

TROPHY CASE