18 Jan 2018
Sign of the Times – this one is pretty easy
Here’s another very popular song – Sign of the Times – by Harry Styles. The video is kind of ridiculous with styles doing his Mary Poppins imitation – flying through the air (What is that, anyway?) – but it’s a great song for newish guitar players – just three chords – I, vi, V –
15 Jan 2018
Easy and Fun: By the Rivers of Babylon
The group called Boney M. had a hit with “By the Rivers of Babylon” back in 1978. This arrangement almost has a polka feel, and is great fun. I’ve given you several keys, and the guitar part is easy in all of them. This is a great song to practice your strumming technique. Have fun!
13 Jan 2018
With a Little Help from my Friends
I just finished posting an arrangement for the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends”, at Guitarband.org It’s number 39. I’m planning on going live sometime around 75 songs, so it should be in a month or so. This was my most extensive arrangement to date. Alto sax lead, a simple trumpet accompaniment, nice
10 Jan 2018
Guitarband.org -playing with a small band in your browser
Guitarband.org is a project I’ve been working on for a few months, and it’s almost time to go public. Like most web projects this one has evolved as I’ve worked on it. My first thoughts were to create instructional videos for new guitar players, using animation. I’ve seen a lot of videos with a guy
28 Aug 2017
The World as Virtual Reality – Tom Campbell
This post is in response to my recent exposure to the theories of the physicist Tom Campbell. Campbell is a scientist who has worked at NASA and elsewhere, and has put forward a “theory of everything” he calls the “Big TOE” (theory of everything). As I understand it, the core claim of this theory is
01 Jun 2017
Guitar Players: Why Learn the Guitar Fretboard?
Learning the notes on the guitar fretboard is not easy, so if you are going to tackle it, you’d better make a serious effort. Many guitar players – a lot of good ones and most not-so-good ones – will argue that it is not worth the time and energy it takes, especially if you don’t
05 May 2015
Is the Tesla vision (for energy) for real?
Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Wall on May 1. Is this really as revolutionary as it sounds? It actually sounds feasible… Related Posts:No Related Posts
15 Oct 2014
Julia Sweeney talks about losing her belief in God
I just discovered Julia Sweeney, a comedian and author who grew up a Catholic and gradually lost her belief. This is not your typical argumentative intellectual atheist diatribe. Julia is very sympathetic to the feelings and attitudes of normal religious people. Related Posts:No Related Posts
07 Oct 2014
Apple’s history of hits and misses – Part 1
People who admire Apple Inc. for what it has accomplished over the years tend to believe the company can do no wrong. But the idea that Apple is destined to remain at the top of the tech heap forever is, in my opinion, misleading to investors. Because, as we all know, nobody stays at the
02 Sep 2014
Practical Consequences of Rejecting Free Will
The philosophical rejection of the notion of Free Will comes first and foremost out of the scientific belief in determinism: that all events, attitudes, background conditions, have a cause, and that therefore it does not make sense to take “credit” or “blame” for our attitudes, our level of intelligence, or, in the extreme, our actions.
30 Aug 2014
Free Will as an Illusion – 1
In 2012 author, philosopher and neuroscience theorist Sam Harris published his book Free Will and reinvigorated the debate about the extent to which people can be thought to be “responsible” for their thoughts, motivations and actions. The idea that humans have “free will” (or perhaps we should say “Free Will” with big F and W)
14 Aug 2014
Today’s technology patterns will be obsolete within ten years
The most interesting technology developments of the last decade or so, at least from the perspective of the average consumer, have been in computer, internet and telecommunications. These areas of development have come together with great fanfare and significant impact in the development of mobile networks and powerful “smartphones” – essentially portable computers. I follow
10 Jul 2014
Why Should We Care What Others Believe?
There is an inherent conflict within Christianity between the urge to preach and convert, and the attitude of tolerance that says “live and let live”. We think we know where the urge to preach comes from. It is supposedly from the “Great Commission” where followers of Jesus are told “Therefore go and make disciples of
10 Jul 2014
Believing in Belief in God
In his book Breaking The Spell, philosopher and noted atheist Daniel Dennett discusses (at some length) the difference between “belief in God” and “belief in belief in God”. This may sound like some philosopher’s tedious exercise in hair-splitting, but the fact is, this is actually an interesting and important distinction. Over the years I have
03 Jul 2014
“I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist”
This is pretty commonly heard in debates (or conversations) about religion. One person will be stating why she doesn’t believe in god(s), and someone else will say “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” This is meant to be a clever way of saying: “Atheists bug me. They’re so cock sure they’re right.
11 Jun 2014
The Fate of Blackberry
I live just down the street from a major Blackberry office complex, and Blackberry employs thousands of people in this local (Waterloo) area, so I have a natural interest in how the company is trying to resurrect itself. If Blackberry succeeds in remaking itself it will be because they finally adopted a realistic, workable strategy.
02 Jun 2014
“Our God Answers Prayers.” Honest he does.
I regularly pass a sign in front of a local church that says “Our God answers prayer.” I must admit, it gets the intended response from me. I look and think “Hmmm, answers prayers, eh?” So, there’s no doubt, as a piece of marketing the sign does its job. But are we really supposed to
19 May 2014
Is There a Non-Believer Substitute for Religious Community?
Let’s pretend organized religion fell seriously out of favour and there were no churches. Would we be missing anything? I suspect there are many people who would be nostalgic for some of the things we get from religion. But it is more than nostalgia. I’m sure church provides members with practical benefits as well. What
29 Apr 2014
Atheism and Intellectual Intimidation
I spent a few minutes in a coffee shop this morning reading a short book by atheist author D. Cameron Web called Despicable Meme – The Absurdity and Immorality of Modern Religion. This is Web’s first book so I guess he can be excused for his unusually zealous attack of religion. He takes a no
24 Apr 2014
Where Does Morality Come From?
Some things I’ve been reading recently have led me to look again at my previous posts about morality (here and here) and attempt to clarify some of the ideas presented there. “Morality” is a confusing topic, debated for centuries by philosophers and theologians, (and not seriously thought about by me for the last thirty years)