Ok, this will be relatively short because I’m very tired and I really have to go downstairs and devote myself to fixing Butch’s computer today. You know how it happens, one thing leads to another, and suddenly I am doing a clean install of windows xp for him. Let’s hope it fixes most of his problems and he’ll be a happy camper again. (He has no internet connection. That’s just not bearable these days, you know? Everyone needs and deserves fast internet access!)
So, if you haven’t heard, WolframAlpha, the latest, coolest “computational knowledge engine” is out and ready to play with. It still has a long way to go with adding more functionality, but there’s a lot in there. I was asking it questions regarding religions and that wasn’t really an option yet. Go over and try a few questions, watch the video, and see if you won’t at least bookmark the site. It’s geektastic, if you ask me. 
One question I asked it was how many people per church are in my town? Unfortunately it didn’t know how many churches were here, so that didn’t work. But it told me the population, so that was a start. Also it has handy links down on the right. One was to Wikipedia which had an even newer figure for my town’s population. So then I went to Google Maps and asked it to tell me where all the churches are in my town. Here is a summary of what I found:
- Population: 19,096 people
- Area: 8.2 sq. miles
- Churches: 6302
That’s 3 people per church. WTF? That can’t be right!?
Now, I think some of those 6,302 churches are in the surrounding area outside of town. So I redefined my search to be near the main street of downtown. I got 6,296 churches. Within 8 miles of downtown, I would say the first 10 pages of results would be a fair estimate. That’s about 100 churches. Whew.. that’s much better. I was freaking out there for a minute.
That still means 191 people per church. That makes more sense, I guess. But seriously, driving through our sleepy little town, there’s a church on every corner, it seems. The major denominations competing for the sheeple are catholic and methodist. We have a pentacostal church near our house too.
Well, now that I’ve wasted an hour of my day, and a few minutes of yours, I’ll go work on Butch’s computer. Which reminds me, if you’re a geek, I’d love to be your new BFF! 
I know just enough about computers to get myself deep into trouble and not be able to get back out of it again. So wish me luck. I’m diving in headfirst!
A Happy, Frustrated Atheist
Ok, now, I want to talk to you briefly about happiness. Are you an atheist? Are you happy? This lingering idea keeps wandering around that all atheists are curmudgeonly, grumpy, miserable, fatalistic and depressed.
I’ve been an atheist for 9 years, and for many years before that I was basically an agnostic. I have to say, I think discarding religion was a huge relief. I think I felt better. Once I finally learned to think critically, I think I started really seeing rationally and really appreciating the natural wonders of the universe. If anything, this process has left me more happy, more fascinated by the world of science and discovery. I think I’m happier and calmer, yet always eager to learn and grow.
But I think I probably come across under certain circumstances as a furious cynic. Why would that be? Which is the real me? The happy atheist is who I think I’d identify with best. But my bullshit meter has become increasingly sensitive. So when someone says something that screams of ignorance and a total lack of thinking for oneself, I just tend to get irritated, frustrated and grumpy.
It seems that wherever I go I’m surrounded by sheeple people who let others think for them. They spew forth the rubbish and lies that had been told to them by people in some strange version of authority (whether that be their minister, the pope, the government, or a slick marketing campaign) and that’s good enough for them. They wallow in their ignorance like it was some sort of universal remedy. Thinking is endangered and that pisses me off, and worries me.
Anyway, other than that, I’m quite a content person overall. Are you an atheist? Or a believer? Are you happy and content? Or are you angry and bitter and curmudgeonly? If you’re happy, do you still get really angry over certain things? I look forward to your comments! Oh,and have a great evening!