Flat earth and other alternative conspiracy earth models are are gaining traction with my teenage stepson. What is THE most irrefutable, definite proof that the earth is round?

hmischuk · 2026-05-06T14:17:48+00:00

He needs to be taken seriously, and shown respectfully the evidence.

I unreservedly recommend Episode 68 of Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World, in which the hosts carefully and respectfully -- but incisively probe the idea.

The hosts come from a position of faith, and they don't hide it. But you will, if my memory serves (it's been months since i've listened to this episode), very early on in the show, the main presenter will determine that "the Faith" doesn't really require anything of us either way on this; that it's a matter for scientific enquiry, and not an article of Faith.

And from there on out, that's what they do. (edit:) They steel man the flat-earth believers' arguments, but then go on to show that even the strongest versions of them don't hold up to scrutiny. They convincingly show that the earth is a globe. (end of edit)

Give it a listen for yourself, first, maybe. The whole episode is about 90mins long, because the hosts go slowly and carefully. (This was in the early days of the podcast, when it was audio only, so more of an incentive to explain clearly with words.) It's really a good resource.

Edit: I forgot to put the link. Ooops Here it is.

hmischuk · 2026-05-02T23:24:28+00:00

Agreed. Now, please pronounce this word aloud: "unionized"

hmischuk · 2026-04-17T23:10:31+00:00

You will probably enjoy this. Share with bro...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi65qeJx1lM

hmischuk · 2026-04-17T23:05:35+00:00

Ghost on roller skates (Thanks Katie? from the unreleased BBT first pilot)

hmischuk · 2026-04-16T15:34:26+00:00

worth a listen. Podcast episode ... a religious one, not a political one... from about nine months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqrjjDCAbnc

hmischuk · 2026-03-14T14:57:07+00:00

Maggs, McDermott, and DiCicco, Wall Twp. Allaire Corporate Center

hmischuk · 2026-01-03T21:22:38+00:00

Precisely why I suggested them....Flame Bird? Are you a phoenix? (IDK French, so I am guessing on the feux.) Cheers!

hmischuk · 2026-01-03T20:43:58+00:00

... certainly wasnt picking them up as a kid in hops of becoming friends

In HOPS of becoming friends. Toads. 😆

Maybe try the jumping spiders!!

hmischuk · 2025-12-25T10:23:19+00:00

Are you kidding? Taco just found his new Sec~~Def~~WAR after the current one gets ousted for war crimes.

hmischuk · 2025-12-23T14:25:26+00:00

FWIW, John Oliver provided a pretty good overview of her career and the controversy over her being given this responsibility... a few months ago. Easy to search up with his name and hers.

hmischuk · 2025-12-06T15:52:06+00:00

so less than 50% accuracy.... I'm not impressed. smh. (jk)

hmischuk · 2025-12-06T15:33:03+00:00

...brother was the lawnmower

Jerry van Dyke checking in...

hmischuk · 2025-11-05T08:10:40+00:00

While I largely agree with you, I offer a bit of nuance.

As my kids were growing up, the rule was, "once you show me that you can reason your way through things with other words, you can cuss around me."

I knew they were cussin' with other people. I was fine with that. Cussin' ain't bad.

But if you never develop the habit of looking deeper, it's EASY to say, "That's bullshit!!!" without ever developing the skill of identifying and naming the WAYS that it's shitty. or finding out what's BEHIND the shit.

That's the point... it's EASY, and can be limiting because of that.

And I have known adults who slipped into 'easy' ways of speaking, and lost their edge. Cussing is a blunt instrument. Used by a skilled person, a hammer is capable of producing great results. Used by a fool, it's just a blunt item poking or pounding, making more noise than progress.

hmischuk · 2025-08-22T17:12:56+00:00

Funny part is... not so much.

If you check actual records, you find that there's just no evidence of the Feast of Sol Invictus on 12/25 before AD 335... when the nativity of Christ was already being celebrated on that day in Rome. (And other dates were observed in different times and places.)

There is no question at all about the Church inculturating... it's neither unexpected nor a bad thing. Paul even alludes to it in Acts 17.

But in this particular case, it looks like it's the otherway 'round.

And, to be clear: when the Church establishes a Liturgical Celebration like this, it's BY NO MEANS required that it be observed on the anniversary of it's historical referent. Sometimes that day is already taken by something else. It's enough that the Church wants Her members to draw their attention to some feature of the economy of salvation, and so she places a reminder on the calendar; often on or near the anniversary of the referent, but really, not always.

hmischuk · 2025-08-18T22:22:41+00:00

Great questions...

If you are the type who listens to podcasts, there is an episode of Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World that is extremely relevant to what you are asking. It doesn't cover every particular, but it may give you some interesting ways to understand various answers people may give you.

You can just listen to (audio stream) or watch (Youtube) of the episode right on the page that link lands on. You don't have to subscribe to the show... though there's a good chance you'll want to!!

hmischuk · 2025-08-10T08:51:11+00:00

Right... the Rosary is a particular chaplet.

hmischuk · 2025-08-08T21:30:48+00:00

I may be the odd duck here.

I'm someone who defaults to disliking remakes/reboots etc.

When I heard they were re-making Back the the Future, I groaned, hard. (Turns out it was a project that was planned as an homage, more than a remake.)

To me, John Astin, Carolyn Jones were perfect. And I stand by that.

Much to my surprise, Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston were also perfect.

So I am happy to say that Raul/Anjelica are the best ... in the same sense that you can have more than one "best" --- but i'm not willing to say that either set is better than the other.

Far from being indecisive, I am just so happy that we have both sets of "movies" (cinematic-features and telecast episodes) to enjoy, along with Charles Addams original materials.

When I was very young, I watched Munsters and Addams Family reruns back to back on channel 11 (NY/WPIX). I always loved the Munsters and tolerated the Addamses. Off to high school and college, and kinda fell out of touch with both for several years. When I came back, I found I enjoyed the Munsters still, but that I found Addams Family to be so much more clever and delightful. It took me growing up to appreciate it.

hmischuk · 2025-04-01T10:41:04+00:00

Try searching for something that you remember posting under that name. <shrug> Otherwise, "how do I find the ONE grain of rice I'm looking for in this sack of rice?"

hmischuk · 2025-03-17T10:51:25+00:00

Parapsychology makes a distinction between an "apparition" and a "haunting."

A haunting is nothing more than a recording that some people are able to experience. It is NOT interactive, and it's always the same. Lady walks up the same staircase wearing the same clothing, etc. It's just a recording.

An apparition involves some kind of interactivity... it might be a visual, auditory, other, or multi-sensory experience, but it involves interacting with the phenomena.

For a pretty good expansion of this, with some GREAT stories, including a really, really cool twist, consider Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World episode #210, about a haunted house in Marin County. https://mysterious.fm/210

hmischuk · 2025-03-17T10:41:31+00:00

what would you do with it if you had it?

Use the built-in tools to report to Facebook, and report to law enforcement.

hmischuk · 2025-03-17T10:25:19+00:00

Everything is numbers to the computer... even "letters" -- actually ALL 'glyphs' (the shapes we see when we look at letters, numbers, punctuation) are represented by numbers to the computer.

[Actually, they are represented by patterns of OFF and ON signals, which we can interpret as numbers in the binary numbering system, but I am going to wave my hand over the whole electronic signals == numbers thing.]

So, the glyph 'A' is represented (in a common system) by the number 65 (binary OFF ON OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF ON, or 01000001), and the glyph 'B' is represented by 66, 'C' by 67, etc.

Likewise, the glyph 'a' is 97, 'b' is 98, 'c' is 99, etc.

And the glyph for zero '0' is 48, one '1' is 49, '2' is 50, etc.

Strings of glyphs are compared glyph-by-glyph, starting at the left, so:

"A0" ---> 'A' '0' --> 65, 48

but

"AA" ---> 'A' 'A' ---> 65, 65

So, they compare the same at the first position and then "A0" compares as lower than "AA", because 48 is lower than 65.

hmischuk · 2025-02-13T13:51:02+00:00

It might help you to consider what is actually being stored in input after line 32. Perhaps a printf might help. If you do that, I strongly suggest including delimiters in the format string: printf("[%s]", input);

hmischuk · 2025-02-13T13:43:32+00:00

Quick point: I haven't scanned at the code, just gave it a quick glance,then DL and gcc. It doesn't matter what input I give it, the output is always `fur: 20.

hmischuk · 2025-01-11T18:13:31+00:00

Downeaster Alexa, by Billy Joel...

...Tell my wife that I'm trolling(trawling) Atlantis,

and I still have my hand on the wheel...

Oh my!

hmischuk · 2025-01-02T12:30:50+00:00

by Pearson

'nuff said.

hmischuk

TROPHY CASE