31

Flat Earth General / General Purpose Moon Topic

« on: May 03, 2012, 03:32:11 PM »

As it is we have a thread by James from 2010 warning people about the Super Harvest Moon crisis of the same year. This thread has been of great value in alerting people to the potential dangers of exposure to Moonlight, but I think it would be good if we put together a year-round, general purpose sticky-topic. This would contain elements of the thread above, as well as a list of studies and sources that show the dangers of Moonlight exposure, and links to sites where one can track the Moon's intensity.


I am opening this thread so people can post suggested links, useful resources, and anything else they feel is relevant. I already have a few bits put together, but it's possible that others have knowledge of information which I have not come across.


Please note that this thread is for constructive submissions regarding the proposed topic only! It is not for debating or contesting whether or not Moonlight is harmful, or anything else of that nature. Please consider this a warning; I will be moderating this thread quite strictly, and I ask other mods to do the same.

32

Flat Earth General / Expedition to Lusitania

« on: April 15, 2012, 08:19:12 PM »

In a day's time, I and several other members of the Grand Zetetic Lodge of Hibernia will be traveling to western Lusitania (the western region of modern-day Portugal) to conduct research, and possibly create a regional lodge if we can find any local believers, though this is a secondary goal of the expedition. I am creating this thread to ask whether any FE'ers or RE'ers have any requests in terms of research, or queries in general. I can't make too many promises, as we have a fairly packed schedule, but I will raise discuss all requests with the rest of our party and see what can be done.

33

Flat Earth Believers / An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?"

« on: April 05, 2012, 09:03:23 PM »

The opening paragraphs to Immanuel Kant's An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?":

IMMANUEL KANT

An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?"

Konigsberg in Prussia, 30th September, 1784.


Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but  lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another. The motto of enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own understanding!

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why such a large proportion of men, even when nature has long emancipated them from alien guidance (naturaliter maiorennes), nevertheless gladly remain immature for life. For the same reasons, it is all too easy for others to set themselves up as their guardians. It is so convenient to be immature! If I have a book to have understanding in place of me, a spiritual adviser to have a conscience for me, a doctor to judge my diet for me, and so on, I need not make any efforts at all. I need not think, so long as I can pay; others will soon enough take the tiresome job over for me. The guardians who have kindly taken upon themselves the work of supervision will soon see to it that by far the largest part of mankind (including the entire fair sex) should consider the step forward to maturity not only as difficult but also as highly dangerous. Having first infatuated their domesticated animals, and carefully prevented the docile creatures from daring to take a single step without the leading-strings to which they are tied, they next show them the danger which threatens them if they try to walk unaided. Now this danger is not in fact so very great, for they would certainly learn to walk eventually after a few falls. But an example of this kind is intimidating, and usually frightens them off from further attempts.

Thus it is difficult for each separate individual to work his way out of the immaturity which has become almost second nature to him. He has even grown fond of it and is really incapable for the time being of using his own understanding, because he was never allowed to make the attempt. Dogmas and formulas, those mechanical instruments for rational use (or rather misuse) of his natural endowments, are the ball and chain of his permanent immaturity. And if anyone did throw them off, he would still be uncertain about jumping over even the narrowest of trenches, for he would be unaccustomed to free movement of this kind. Thus only a few, by cultivating the;r own minds, have succeeded in freeing themselves from immaturity and in continuing boldly on their way.

I feel it is of some relevance to the principles of Zeteticism and the ideals of our Society.

34

Flat Earth General / Birds ARE Dinosaurs

« on: April 04, 2012, 12:57:28 PM »

More evidence here:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17612354

35

Technical Support / RESOLVED: Minor visual stuff that is basically FAO John

« on: April 02, 2012, 09:23:42 AM »

It seems like it'll be a while before we get a new theme up and running, so I wanted to suggest a couple of small changes that would be nice if (and only if) you get the time. First of all, if 'Child Boards' could be changed to 'Sub Boards', that would be great. As far as I can tell, I cannot do this. If I'm just a moron and I can, then educate me in as condescending a manner as possible.


Secondly, in addition to smilies, I thought some extra stars and other icons would be nice. Having about 17 member groups with the same colour stars is boring.

36

Technology, Science & Alt Science / See who's tracking you online...

« on: March 31, 2012, 11:14:10 AM »

http://new-aesthetic.tumblr.com/post/20227672019/collusion-is-an-experimental-add-on-for-firefox


A nice visual representation of how you're being tracked online. Kind of cool.

37

Announcements / Interview with Totally Dublin!

« on: March 28, 2012, 01:07:51 PM »

I recently did an interview with a local publication called Totally Dublin, which is a free magazine about local culture and events. It's distributed across Dublin and is also available online, where you can read the interview (starting on page 28):


http://issuu.com/totallydublin/docs/td91


The interview was much more casual than you might think reading the article (i.e. it's not a word for word transcription), but I saw the final draft before it was published and thought it was accurate and fair - it really gets across the different ideas and perspectives that the society has to offer. Basically, I'm very pleased!

38

Flat Earth General / Aspiring Space-Godhead Thwarted by Legal Challenge

« on: March 25, 2012, 10:58:26 PM »

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/23/2773401/candidate-gets-legal-fight-over.html

39

Flat Earth General / Moon Geese: RET SciFi

« on: March 25, 2012, 10:52:02 PM »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Moone


It's amazing what nonsense you'll come up with if you push RET far enough. This is also pretty good:


http://vimeo.com/38986659

40

Technology, Science & Alt Science / The Pirate Bay wants to get airborn...

« on: March 20, 2012, 09:49:10 AM »

http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bays-attacks-censorship-with-server-drones-120318/


This all sounds like something out of Bruce Sterling's Distraction.

41

Announcements / 'Like' our new Facebook page!

« on: March 15, 2012, 09:22:28 AM »

In an effort to give the society some more exposure, we've created a new Facebook page:


http://www.facebook.com/FlatEarthToday


If you're on Facebook, please help to promote the society by 'Liking' the page - it would be much appreciated!


The old group page is still going to exist, but it's much easier to get people to 'Like' a page than it is to get them to join a group. We figure the 'Page' setup will be a better promotional tool. So yeah, help us to spread the word!

42

Flat Earth Believers / The Chronicles of Oneiria

« on: March 13, 2012, 06:25:04 PM »

It began near the edge of the known world. I, together with Brother James and Brother John, travelled for many miles through a frozen labyrinth, skirting between packs of ice and navigating meltwater channels. In places we were forced to bring the boat ashore, and haul it on wheels across the icy desert.


We eventually reached clear water, and put the boat to sea again. The ice began to thin, and soon there were a multitude of available routes through the ice. Then we spotted a ship moving across our projected course. As we came closer, we could see it was a sort of crude longboat, with some kind of skin-sail and oars. Soon we were able to make out the crew - shrewd looking reptilian dinosaurs, clad in hide, bone and tooth. We hailed them, but they bared tooth and claw and increased their speed, clearly intent on keeping us at a distance.


John and I wanted to follow them, but James seemed to think it was a bad idea, and on reflection we in fact agreed. Then in a strange rush (common with such experiences), came jungle streams bordering desert, nomadic tribes herding larger herbivores, and finally an island-palace of bone, situated on a lake that fed into the waters on which we had journeyed.

43

Technology, Science & Alt Science / Well, my MacBook died...

« on: March 12, 2012, 02:31:07 PM »

After six years, the HDD packed it. I could've replaced it, but I decided it'd be more hassle than it was worth, especially as I have assignment deadlines coming up in the next few weeks. I went for a bang for buck machine instead - the Lenovo G550. I hadn't backed up to my external HDD too recently, but all that I really lost was some music, and I should be able to get that from my iPod.


At any rate, just through age it's a significant improvement on my creaky old Mac. Besides, beggars can't be choosers - I just don't have the money to be picky right now. Oh well. I just felt the faithful service I've got from my Mac ought to be recognised with a topic. She was a faithful steed, and many an internet sailed through her.


I can only hope Lenny will be as loyal a servant.

44

The Lounge / New Forum Theme Competition

« on: March 11, 2012, 03:05:37 PM »

Click here for details.

45

Announcements / New Forum Theme Competition

« on: March 11, 2012, 03:00:50 PM »

Okay, so the current theme is basically very ugly, and nobody really likes it. We need a new one.


Now, I've long felt that given how many people here are handy when it comes to design, it might be an idea to ask the members to come up with theme proposals. I'll set a deadline for submissions (say a month from now), at which point we'll ask everyone to tell us which theme they like best. The winning entry will become the site theme.


In terms of rough guidelines, personally I think something that is akin to the old theme would be best, but who knows, someone might come up with something different that looks better. The only set-in-stone criterion is that it match the current FES logo (which means the colour-scheme probably shouldn't be very different).


Now, to absolutely clear, the administration and Daniel has the final call. So if you make a penis theme and it's overwhelming popular, don't expect us to upload it. Furthermore, admins/mods are also allowed to contribute, so don't be too bummed if one of them gets the nod. I don't have any aptitude for visual design, but I know John is already doing something, and some of the other mods may be interested. Basically, it's not members-only.


So yeah, that's about it. I look forward to viewing the place without sunglasses at some point in the near future. GO FORTH AND CREATE

46

Technology, Science & Alt Science / ITT: Robots

« on: March 07, 2012, 11:37:00 AM »

Let us post cool articles about robots and cool videos of robots. I'll start:





Bit creepy.

47

Flat Earth Debate / MOVED: Hi everyone, I have a couple questions (don't we all?)

« on: March 06, 2012, 01:51:59 PM »

This topic has been moved to Flat Earth Q&A.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=53630.0

48

Announcements / The Flat Earth Society now has over 400 Official Members!

« on: March 05, 2012, 04:43:04 PM »

I am delighted to announce that the Flat Earth Society has recently gained its 400th member!


Indeed, although the online membership register has not yet been fully updated, there are now approximately 420 Official Members. This means that membership has more than doubled since this time last year! With this kind of continued and consistent growth in membership, the Flat Earth Society surely has its best days ahead of it.


Accordingly, we'd like to say thanks to all the people who make this forum a fun and interesting place, be they FE'ers or RE'ers. It wouldn't be possible without you.


IN VERITATE VICTORIA!

49

Flat Earth Debate / MOVED: Questions still unanswered

« on: February 28, 2012, 06:55:03 PM »

This topic has been moved to Flat Earth Q&A.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=53503.0

50

Flat Earth Debate / MOVED: Few pretty good arguments

« on: February 25, 2012, 08:41:19 AM »

This topic has been moved to Flat Earth General.

http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=53452.0

51

Flat Earth General / Super Important & Real Moon Rocks Lost

« on: February 20, 2012, 03:20:46 PM »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16909592


I guess they must be the real deal if NASA cares about them so much.

52

Suggestions & Concerns / Regarding PizzaPlanet's Ban

« on: February 13, 2012, 11:58:55 AM »

Since there is obviously going to be a topic about this at some point, I thought I'd come right out and explain things. First of all, PizzaPlanet was responsible for the attack on this site by his own admission. He has some tall tale about how his 'friend' did it which appeared out of nowhere, but I don't buy it and neither do the mods. Secondly, he has lied publicly, on this forum, about accusations he made about Parsifal.


His story stinks, he has openly lied about his actions and intentions, and in any event he was ultimately responsible. The mods and admins are unanimously agreed that he must answer for it. Accordingly, he has been banned for a year.

53

Announcements / The Return of Angry Ranting

« on: February 13, 2012, 10:07:32 AM »

Your mind etc.


Okay, so by popular demand, we are bringing back Angry Ranting. I am not a benevolent god. I am not a caring person. In my soul I am old and full of bitterness and spite. I do not understand this thing you call fun. But a lot of the mods are up for it, so I am relenting.


Now, I have ALL kinds of reservations about this, because I remain unconvinced Angry Ranting was a good thing. So though it's back, it's back with some 'ifs' and 'buts' (no laughing at the back):


1. It's going to be a hidden board like Complete Nonsense, and will be moderated in the same way. No biggy there I assume.


2. Its return is provisional. Specifically, I remain of the opinion that most Angry Rants posted in the upper boards were caused by Angry Ranting itself. Inside I am old. I hate the fun things you love. When I watch Rebel Without a Cause, I think "How do these sensible adults deal with these unreasonable, crazy kids? They're just so unreasonable and crazy!" My priority is the state of the upper boards. So if I see a noticable spike in the number of stupid rants posted 'upstairs', AR is gone. Boom. Poof. I don't care how much you like it. I will glory in its destruction, and use patronising phrases like "I'm taking your toys away" with unabashed glee.


But if things stay cool... it stays. So yeah, go nuts.

54

Flat Earth General / An Interesting TED Talk on Dinosaurs

« on: February 11, 2012, 10:18:56 PM »

I don't normally go wild over TED talks, but I thought this one showed just how fluid a field paleontology really is:


http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_shape_shifting_dinosaurs.html


Worth thinking about when you accept traditional/conventional thinking regarding dinosaurs.

55

Suggestions & Concerns / Re: Non-Technical To-Do List

« on: February 11, 2012, 03:38:03 PM »

This probably isn't the correct thread for this suggestion, but something really needs to be done about the angry noobs accusing anyone who takes the FE side in the discussions of being trolls. This is the Flat Earth Society! It's not important if the person taking the flat side really believes the earth is flat.  Just about every thread in the upper forums turns into a debate over who's trolling. 

I remember Daniel posting once that he created this board so that people with alternative ideas would have a place to discuss them. Now it seems like the board is a place for people with alternative ideas to be mocked.

I know that I do not participate in the upper forums, but I appreciate the people who valiantly try to keep the FE community going, and I enjoy reading the discussions from time to time... well I used to enjoy it.

Believe me when I say that I understand that this is a problem, and that it's something I want to try and fix. As you say, I'm not sure the answer lies in moderation, but I definitely agree that moderators have a part to play. However, this is ultimately about changing the atmosphere of the upper boards, so I also think members can play their part too. If you find someone's posts unduly rude, dismissive or caustic, tell them so. Call them out on it, and if necessary tell them you refuse to debate with them if they're going to behave in that manner.


When I posted more regularly (something I hope to start doing again), this was something I did all the time, and it worked. Once you make it clear to people that you're not willing to put up with their rudeness, they'll usually modify their posting style, because otherwise they can't engage with you at all. I encourage everyone to give this a go. Get involved, and be picky. Don't be afraid to take the high ground.

56

Suggestions & Concerns / Non-Technical To-Do List

« on: February 11, 2012, 09:40:04 AM »

John's opened up a to-do list regarding technical problems and/or nice things we'd like to have. I imagine this will probably be smaller, but now that Daniel has given us the go-ahead to make decisions without his prior approval, I thought a list regarding other adminly stuff would be a good idea. Mods (or the lack thereof) is obviously one issue that has been raised. What else would people like to see changed?

57

Suggestions & Concerns / Theme Contest: Split from Technical Thread

« on: February 11, 2012, 09:27:58 AM »

Regarding the theme, (and this is just a suggestions), I thought it might be fun to ask some of the members to put forward ideas. We have plenty of people who are handy with that sort of thing, and many heads are better than one.

58

Philosophy, Religion & Society / If you can't court-martial an autonomous drone...

« on: February 09, 2012, 08:29:05 AM »

...what can you do?


http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/26/business/la-fi-auto-drone-20120126


I read this befor, but though of it today and thought it might be interesting to discuss. What do we do when technology is given the responsability to make decisions that kill people? Do we want drones to have that responsability?

59

Flat Earth Believers / Discourse on the Zetetic Method

« on: June 06, 2011, 01:19:46 PM »

Preface

    Within this community of great minds and thinkers, I have always regarded myself as a scholar rather than a scientist; a man of theory rather than experiment, of the study rather than the laboratory. It is of course the practice of Zeteticism by figures such as James McIntyre, John Davis and Ichimaru Gin that constitutes the core work of our movement, and which shows that the Flat Earth Society remains a force for truth in the 21st century. Yet I cannot but be dismayed at the lack of theoretical discourse regarding the Zetetic Method itself, and the absence of any clear or concise attempts to identify the defining characteristics of the methodology or the scope of its potential application. It is in our methodological dispute with globularist science that Zeteticism first takes form and meaning, yet in the one hundred and thirty years since the publication of the revised edition of Samuel Birley Rowbotham's seminal treatise Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe, no serious attempt to discuss the theory's distinctions and merits has been made.


    For truth be told, such an attempt is long overdue. Rowbotham's original critique of globularist science in Zetetic Astronomy is insightful and penetrating, and as a whole constitutes a devastating assault on the methodology that underpins the sphericist cult. However, his outline of the Zetetic Method itself is extremely brief and rather vague - most of the methodological substance is condensed into just a few lines. Rarely has a thesis been in such sore need of analysis and interpretation, yet to date there has been almost no scholarship devoted to Rowbotham's methodological principles. It is this lack which I wish to address.


    I say wish, as I am painfully aware that what I am writing now is little more than a preface to a preface. I do not expect that my discourse will be an absolutely sufficient account of the Zetetic Method, nor that it will be received without dispute or query by my peers, nevermind by our opponents. I only hope to provoke a much needed debate about our methodology; about what Zeteticism is and what it is not. If I can achieve that much, I will consider this essay to have been a success. So to friends, colleagues and critics, I say this: what I seek is the path to truth, but I care not whether I find it myself, or am lead there by others. At this point it seems fitting to conclude with a quotation from Rowbotham's own preface to Zetetic Astronomy, as its counsel is particularly apt:


      I advise all my readers who have become Zetetic . . . not to look with disfavour upon the objections of their
      opponents. Should such objections be well or even plausibly founded, they will only tend to free us from
      error, and to purify and exalt our Zetetic philosophy. In a word, let us make friends, or, at least, friendly and
      useful instruments of our enemies; and, if we cannot convert them to the better cause, let us carefully
      examine their objections, fairly meet them if possible, and always make use of them as beacons for our
      future guidance. (Rowbotham vi)


IN VERITATE VICTORIA


- Michael N. Wilmore, Munster, 2011 C.E.

60

Arts & Entertainment / A Song of Beer and Cider (Note: contains many images)

« on: June 01, 2011, 06:43:54 AM »

WARNING: THIS TOPIC IS DANGEROUSLY NERDY


My girlfriend and I are both huge George R.R. Martin dorks, and one of the things we like most about the series are his wonderful descriptions of Westerosi (and other) food and alcohol. So for my birthday, my girlfriend made some custom beers inspired by the series. As I know I'm not the only A Song of Ice and Fire dork on here, I thought I'd share some pictures of them. I've taken pics of the descriptions and other details where possible; apologies for any blurry shots.


All together:




Snow's Brew:











Fire & Blood:








Dornish Gold:








Lannister Blonde:








Winterfell:








Arbor Cider:











We are dorks.