I think you should all visit Martin's blog; I wish I had been there in Australia for this convention. I have never been to Australia and it's one of the places I'd like to visit. Martin comments on a talk by Sam Harris that certainly seemed very interesting. As you all know, I'm not crazy about Sam but he is an important figure for atheists and from what Martin says, his talk on death (he changed from "free will" to "death"; I'm glad he gave the free will thing a rest; death, we can all…

On Saturday my sister's dog Vasco died. He was old (but not too old) and had had health issues for over 2 years now, which for a dog is a long time. He had lost the use of his hind legs for the last year, due to hip dysplasia. Those of you who have no pets or who do not see pets as a friend or family member, you may as well stop reading because this post will seem like lunacy. Vasco was a very special dogs. I know, you're thinking all dogs are special, but this guy was something else. I…