Hello!

[LaMont Cranston]

CookieJon, I've been thinking some more about what you've been asking about. Most of the information I pick up about people comes from playing poker. In poker (and other parts of life), people have these things calls "tells" where they give you information about the kind of hand their holding, whether they're bluffing, etc. Although there is the illusion of anonymity on the internet, people are revealing things about themselves all the time. With the guy that I had a problem with on RDF that carried over to RS, he revealed a bunch of things about himself, his family, his personal life, etc. Much of what he did was bragging. When I ran some of the information that he freely revealed back at him, he got rather upset...to say the least.

I'm sure there are some other poker players here who can confirm what I'm talking about. There's a concept that sounds a bit woo-ish called "knowing what you can know," and it's a valid concept. If a person can clear some of the bullshit out of their head, they can truly get a much clearer fix and pick up more information than if they are confused, emotionally driven, etc. Although it sounds woo-ish, there is nothing woo-ish about it.

[LaMont Cranston]

Deep Sea Isopod, You just might find that the threads in which I'm involved tend to run a little long. It's not that I'm so long-winded...although I can be that...it's that I have a tendency to stir things up. What's also true is that I'm not your average theist, and the attempts of people to pigeonhole me seems to lend themselves to longer discussions.

It's nice to meet you, and let's see what happens...

[LaMont Cranston]

Surendra Darathy, It seems like it was only yesterday that we were talking about "holding your own" on RDF! We are both here, but with different names. It seems like you want to talk about the bones, and I want to talk about the meat. As that old saying goes, "It ain't the meat, it's the motion..."

[Mephistopheles]

I keep thinking of Norman Lamont.

You think that's bad? I keep thinking of this boy/girl/thing/potato...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm sure there are some other poker players here who can confirm what I'm talking about. There's a concept that sounds a bit woo-ish called "knowing what you can know," and it's a valid concept. If a person can clear some of the bullshit out of their head, they can truly get a much clearer fix and pick up more information than if they are confused, emotionally driven, etc. Although it sounds woo-ish, there is nothing woo-ish about it.

I think it would depend on how one defined "woo".

[Feck]

Feck, I cracked-up when I saw that thing about fat girls in mini-skirts. Let's face it, there are some guys who like large (or should we say "big boned") women, although that's never been my preferred body type. If theism is the fat girl in the mini-skirt, what is atheism...the anorexic all gussied up and walking around in a cocktail dress?

I think it's all well and good that theists and atheists laugh at each other and with each other.

MMMMMM skinny girls

[Surendra Darathy]

MMMMMM skinny girls

Is that any waif for a man to carry on?

[Feck]

MMMMMM skinny girls

Is that any waif for a man to carry off?

[LaMont Cranston]

There are some people (i.e. the folks at RS) who have accused me of not playing by the rules. To those people there's just one thing I want to say. In the words of the late, great Buddy Holly...

"People tell me love's for fools,
Here I go breaking all the rules,
It's so easy, yeah, it's so easy, '
It's so easy to fall in love..." "It's So Easy"

[mm_ll]

There are some people (i.e. the folks at RS) who have accused me of not playing by the rules.

LaMont, good to see you here! as you know, I am a big fan of your God Game, knowledge, your search for understanding and your sense of humor. I just don't get how you can be a theist (I think you are not), but that is another subject...

I have one suggestion, please don't get stuck on discussions about what happened at RDF and RS, that may drain and steer you from focusing on what you do best.

I think there are already good subjects being discussed here, but still under the title of the not very instigative "hello". So what about creating a 'real' topic? isn't this forum ready for your God Game?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

There are some people (i.e. the folks at RS) who have accused me of not playing by the rules.

LaMont, good to see you here! as you know, I am a big fan of your God Game, knowledge, your search for understanding and your sense of humor. I just don't get how you can be a theist (I think you are not), but that is another subject...

I have one suggestion, please don't get stuck on discussions about what happened at RDF and RS, that may drain and steer you from focusing on what you do best.

I think there are already good subjects being discussed here, but still under the title of the not very instigative "hello". So what about creating a 'real' topic? isn't this forum ready for your God Game?

LaMont,

Can I echo some of those sentiments. the staff have been discussing splitting some of the topics in this thread into other areas of the forum but they are too entwined with the welcome posts that it would be too fiddly - and we iz lazy!

I think it is time to venture from the (relatively) safe haven of the Welcome forum and delve deeper into our hinterland. Feel free to start a thread or two and expand on the points raised in some of your posts here.

[LaMont Cranston]

I'd like to thank everybody for the warm welcome here! As I've said, I've been travelling, and I've been pretty busy. I'm in California right now, but I'll be catching a plane early Thursday morning and heading back to Hawaii. I've got some ideas for some threads that should be fun and thought provoking, and I'll start up at least one when I get back home. I look forward to kicking around some thoughts and ideas with all of you...

[LaMont Cranston]

OK, it's late at night here in California, I'm wide awake and my wife is busy, so let's start a new thread in a different section. I'm going to start one called "Rationality Ain't Sexy" in the philosophy section. If that's not the right place for it to be, feel free to put it in its right place. (I realize that can be interpreted more than one way.) See you there...

[Deep Sea Isopod]

CookieJon, I've been thinking some more about what you've been asking about. Most of the information I pick up about people comes from playing poker. In poker (and other parts of life), people have these things calls "tells" where they give you information about the kind of hand their holding, whether they're bluffing, etc. Although there is the illusion of anonymity on the internet, people are revealing things about themselves all the time. With the guy that I had a problem with on RDF that carried over to RS, he revealed a bunch of things about himself, his family, his personal life, etc. Much of what he did was bragging. When I ran some of the information that he freely revealed back at him, he got rather upset...to say the least.

I'm sure there are some other poker players here who can confirm what I'm talking about. There's a concept that sounds a bit woo-ish called "knowing what you can know," and it's a valid concept. If a person can clear some of the bullshit out of their head, they can truly get a much clearer fix and pick up more information than if they are confused, emotionally driven, etc. Although it sounds woo-ish, there is nothing woo-ish about it.

Son I've made a life out of reading people's faces
And knowing what the cards were, by the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice.