Something New

I have a new blog! If you like Deadpan Inc. and can also read, you might enjoy The Continuing Adventures of Sheldon Ashbury. Check it out, and if you enjoy it, tell all your friends on MySpace.

Here's another largely unseen episode from the archives, but don't forget to visit the new blog!

Intelligent Design

I think creationists started realizing the whole magical appearance of Adam and Eve was a tough story for modern people to swallow, so they came up with this idea of "intelligent design" to counter evolution theory. Nice try.



They should just be honest and say they don't believe in any science at all because science demands rational causality and since everything magically comes from God, anything God wants to happen anytime, anywhere, can magically happen. So why even bother with science?

Of course, most religious people don't go that far. Most are perfectly comfortable using science to do something like design a bridge. They don't leave it to faith that the Lord will allow it to support the weight of traffic without employing science to design a stable structure. (At least I hope so.) But it's curious to me how people draw that line. "I trust science for pasteurizing my milk, but for telling me I share ancestors with apes, no way!" What's the criteria?

Urinary Rights

Welcome back from the long weekend. (Assuming you live in the U.S.) Please feel free to ease back into the work week with this humorous video.

Luck

An innovation consulting firm that I follow on Twitter tweeted the Henry Ford quote that inspired this article. My opinion of it is the same as my opinion about most homilies. They are all both true and untrue. For nearly every proverb, you can find another proverb with the opposite meaning. Which one is true? Life is too complex for any of these sayings to be true in every situation.



There was a fascinating movie made about this subject titled 13 Conversations About One Thing. I highly recommend it. It gets rather grim, but there is an incident at the end that is so hopeful it moved me to tears. If you enjoy thought-provoking movies, do check it out.

I haven't read it yet (it's on my list), but I understand Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell has some interesting thoughts on the subject of luck and success.

Anyone have examples of contradictory proverbs? I'll start. Haste makes waste. He who hesitates is lost. Which is it?

The Tao of Brad

Here's a third happiness related episode to close out the theme. Ironically, my main computer just died so I'm far from happy right now. I just love forced shopping trips. Maybe I should use this as an excuse to finally go Mac.



While it might sound like I'm being dismissive of Zen teachings, I actually think they make a lot of sense. Though I'm not actively seeking enlightenment, I do try to keep material concerns from interferring with my ability to enjoy life. I may not be as ambitious as I might be if I were more greedy, but I do save a lot of money not buying crap I don't need. I'm sort of Zen-lite. I'm perfectly happy driving a Saturn Ion as long as it has the upgraded engine, chrome wheels and leather interior. Don't judge me.

A cool animation blog, Cartoon Brew, featured Deadpan Inc. today. While I greatly appreciate the attention, there were some strange statements in the posting. He said I do these "instead of writing." How does he think I do them? I'm not recording the conversations of actual robots. Didn't think I would have to clarify that, but I guess I did. He also calls me out as "obviously not a professional animator." Boy, he got me there. Actually, I got the impression he liked the work, despite the snark, and as they say, "There's no such thing as bad publicity." Thanks Jerry.