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Whether most in these forums care to admit it or not, mankind is fixated with the idea of an all-powerful or super-natural being or otherwise. This fixation has seen the creation of e.g. 1. Superman 2. Batman 3. Spiderman 4. The Incredibles 5. Thor 6. etc Then others turn these characters into full-length films. But craziest of all? The billions raked in at the box office from you and me and everyone else who pays good money to watch this nonsense! The first Matrix Movie appeared in 1999. At the time I read somewhere (I can’t remember where) that it was rated as the best science fiction movie ever produced. Do you want to know why? Click here and you can find out. At the time, the Wachowski brothers made no secret of the fact that the film was a deliberate parody of the most popular book ever written. Make a printout of the link and then sit and watch the movie again.

Can you see the flaw in this model? If this giant collider won the Nobel prize the other entrants must have been really bad. Are you sure it was the Nobel prize? Was it not perhaps the Noble prize, as in, “That is a noble idea but there is a flaw in your model?” Or maybe the No-Bell prize, as in, “Dong! You’re out – Next!!”

This BIG BANG Theory must surely be a candidate for the most bizarre theory ever put forward by anyone? Why? It defies all logic and all other known physics. How can that be? Every known BANG (big or small) destroys. Just a few examples – 1. A bomb exploding (BIG BANG) 2. A gun firing (BIG BANG) 3. Two vehicles colliding (this can be a BIG BANG or a small bang depending on all sorts of variables e.g. the speed at which they were travelling) 4. A balloon popping (small bang) 5. A packet bursting (small bang) 6. A bubble bursting (small bang; oops – shouldn’t have included that one as someone may just get upset) 7. A building collapsing (BIG BANG) 8. Etc So how is it that this BIG BANG of science did not further destroy? Instead it supposedly created (or brought about the creation) of our universe and everything in it? Or why is it that whenever science cannot explain anything they create theories in defiance of everything else that is already known. A BANG that creates instead of destroying? Science is fun!

This whole science thing is all very confusing. Isaac Newton figured out that gravity keeps my feet on the ground. But when I leave the earth’s atmosphere, the law of gravity no longer applies. Suddenly I have become weightless. So why then isn’t the earth or moon etc also weightless, drifting off into the never never as they orbit? What exactly is holding them in their orbits year in and year out, and has done so for the past 14 500 000 000 years?

I’m still trying to figure this whole thing out. We had a BIG BANG 14 500 000 000 years ago. Then from this somehow everything in the universe, first developed, before slowly arranging itself into the beautiful symphony as we now know it. Planets and moons began orbiting around a star (sun), each one in its own perfect orbit. What keeps each one in its orbit? If the earth for example, moved out of its orbit, too close to the sun, we would all fry. Conversely if it moved too far from the sun we would all freeze? So how did it get to start orbiting in the first place, and then stay in the same orbit?

Tell me a bit more about this giant collider.

This reaction of yours to an innocent question surprised even me. But I am starting to take a more profound interest in this subject. Before I go out and buy my first book, so far you have only given me the BIG BANG theory. What other theories are there? To help me make a choice, give them to me in tabular form as follows - Author / Book Title / Theory (e.g. BIG BANG)

How do scientists explain the BIG BANG? What caused it? Can you or any other scientist demonstrate in a laboratory how you create a BIG BANG out of nothing? For your demonstration you have at your disposal - 1. No light 2. No air 3. No wind 4. No water 5. No material of any kind whatsoever 6. No gravity From that, how do you produce a BIG BANG?

A couple of questions for MikeH: 1. How do scientists believe that the universe originated? 2. How do you believe that the universe originated?

As a youngster I was one of the greatest Pink Floyd fans you could ever hope to find. The lyrics off much of "Dark Side of the Moon," (to me anyway) are unrivalled. Read these lyrics and decide for yourself when measured against what has already been said in this thread so far. Breathe (Waters, Gilmour, Wright) 2:44 Breathe, breathe in the air. Don't be afraid to care. Leave but don't leave me. Look around and choose your own ground. Long you live and high you fly And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry And all you touch and all you see Is all your life will ever be. Run, rabbit run. Dig that hole, forget the sun, And when at last the work is done Don't sit down it's time to dig another one. For long you live and high you fly But only if you ride the tide And balanced on the biggest wave You race towards an early grave. On The Run (Gilmour, Waters) 3:32 "Live for today, gone tomorrow, that's me, HaHaHaaaaaa!" Time (Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour) 7:06 Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way. Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death. Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time. Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone, the song is over, Thought I'd something more to say. Breathe (reprise) Home, home again. I like to be here when I can. When I come home cold and tired It's good to warm my bones beside the fire. Far away across the field The tolling of the iron bell Calls the faithful to their knees To hear the softly spoken magic spells. The Great Gig in the Sky (Wright) 4:44 "And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime." "If you can hear this whispering you are dying." "I never said I was frightened of dying." Money (Waters) 6:32 Money, get away. Get a good job with good pay and you're okay. Money, it's a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. New car, caviar, four star daydream, Think I'll buy me a football team. Money, get back. I'm all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack. Money, it's a hit. Don't give me that do goody good bullshit. I'm in the high-fidelity first class traveling set And I think I need a Lear jet. Money, it's a crime. Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie. Money, so they say Is the root of all evil today. But if you ask for a raise it's no surprise that they're giving none away. Us and Them (Waters, Wright) 7:40 Us, and them And after all we're only ordinary men. Me, and you. God only knows it's not what we would choose to do. Forward he cried from the rear and the front rank died. And the general sat and the lines on the map moved from side to side. Black and blue And who knows which is which and who is who. Up and down. But in the end it's only round and round. Haven't you heard it's a battle of words The poster bearer cried. Listen son, said the man with the gun There's room for you inside. "I mean, they're not gunna kill ya, so if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won't do it again. Dig it? I mean he get off lightly, 'cos I would've given him a thrashing - I only hit him once! It was only a difference of opinion, but really...I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?" Down and out It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about. With, without. And who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about? Out of the way, it's a busy day I've got things on my mind. For the want of the price of tea and a slice The old man died. Brain Damage (Waters) 3:50 The lunatic is on the grass. The lunatic is on the grass. Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs. Got to keep the loonies on the path. The lunatic is in the hall. The lunatics are in my hall. The paper holds their folded faces to the floor And every day the paper boy brings more. And if the dam breaks open many years too soon And if there is no room upon the hill And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too I'll see you on the dark side of the moon. The lunatic is in my head. The lunatic is in my head You raise the blade, you make the change You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane. You lock the door And throw away the key There's someone in my head but it's not me. And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear You shout and no one seems to hear. And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes I'll see you on the dark side of the moon. "I can't think of anything to say except... I think it's marvelous! HaHaHa!" Eclipse (Waters) 2:04 All that you touch All that you see All that you taste All you feel. All that you love All that you hate All you distrust All you save. All that you give All that you deal All that you buy, beg, borrow or steal. All you create All you destroy All that you do All that you say. All that you eat And everyone you meet All that you slight And everyone you fight. All that is now All that is gone All that's to come and everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon. "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."

A question for mikeh: Suppose you were not only a scientist, but also the most successful businessman that ever walked (or will walk) planet earth, successful to the extent that you ended up owning not only everyone, but also everything on planet earth and in the universe. You are the owner of so much wealth that you can never hope to spend even a small fraction of it in umpteen thousand lifespans. How much of this wealth would you be prepared to surrender to acquire eternal life? 1%, 10%, 100%? Or how much of this wealth would you be investing back into science to find the answer to stop the process of ageing? Or even better, to reverse the process of ageing? Time marches on, you are getting older, and thus far the scientists have come up with…..nothing! In desperation you try something that science has managed to do, you get the scientists to clone you so that you can live on. Alas, the cloned thing/individual also died/dies. What now? Sorry, I keep forgetting. It all has no purpose!

It matters squat what scientists believe they are contributing to humanity. The ever increasing population on planet earth tells you that there is no alternative, it is going to end somewhere when there are too many people and too little food and pollution has ravaged both our water and air making life unsustainable. Just a parting thought: As we get older, many suddenly start embarking on a more healthy lifestyle; eating healthy food versus junk food, drinking more water versus booze, exercising maybe for the first time in their lives. What are they hoping to achieve? The statistics here are faultless. We all die. O sorry, I forget. Everything has no purpose.

I fail to understand your point. These things are all occurring on the watch of every scientist currently still alive. They are also occurring on the watch of every government across the face of planet earth. So who do we blame? I don't recall ever seeing some or other super-natural being chopping down our forests or polluting our water or whatever you care to name. So who then do you think should carry the can for what is happening on the earth today?

Remove God/higher entity out of the equation altogether, what is the point of life? Man is the self-destructing creature responsible for the downward spiral of the world, just to name a few – 1. Pollution (water and air) 2. Deforestation of the trees we need to combat the air pollution 3. Over fishing of the oceans to feed a population that passed 7 billion (was it in September 2012 or 2011, I can’t remember?)(the increase in shark attacks has been ascribed to the fact that their natural prey is dwindling away) 4. Our deserts getting bigger and therefore less suitable land for farming to grow the much needed food to feed everyone 5. Continuous encroachment on the environment of wildlife with the numbers now listed as endangered steadily increasing 6. Global warming melting the ice caps is threatening the future of the polar bear We have already seen food riots in various poorer countries/nations. Keep an eye on these increasing as the world population continues increasing. Remove man out of the equation altogether and nature has the ability to recover. It matters squat what scientists discover/prove/rationalise. Every medical breakthrough they make just exacerbates the problem of over-population. Logic tells you that the world population is going to continue increasing and eventually we will run out of space/food for all. What then? Does the world implode upon itself? Do we go the route of the dinosaurs? Was it all just a chance happening, a big bang, which created all the forms of life, just for man to self-destruct everything? Here today, gone tomorrow, soon forgotten by all? So what is the purpose of life? Born to die? Born to pay taxes so that our governments can plunder our hard earned money on things we don’t agree with or contribute nothing to improve the dire situation that we are already in? What exactly do you think will happen to your pension money if the USA cannot sort out the impasse about raising the debt ceiling? Then where will that leave you? 17 trillion dollars is a big sum. It cannot be curtailed or turned around anymore. So where does that leave us? They are going to just have to keep on raising the ceiling until it no longer matters, until man self-destructs.

Thanks Art. The word translated as hell in the Westernised Bible is an actual place called Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom, a deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem. It became the common refuse place of the city, into which the bodies of criminals, carcasses of animals, and all sorts of filth were cast, and a 24/7 fire burned to consume all the debris. A continuous plume of smoke ascended from its fire and depth and narrowness. As fire was the characteristic of the place, it was called Gehenna of fire.

The Old Testament is not only a history of the Jews, it is also crammed with prophecies, 80+% which have already been fulfilled. The remaining whatever % all have to do with the consummation of the world as we currently know it. Because the Old Testament foretold much of what we read in the New Testament, it MUST also confirm what we read in the New Testament as well. And therein lies the reason why I am appealing to my Jewish brethren whether or not this character, which the Western translators have dubbed “Satan,” occurs in the original Hebrew. They know their sacred writings better than anyone else. With the resources currently at my disposal, I cannot find it/him. To ascribe all the evil and wickedness in the world to a fictitious non-existent entity is not only wrong, it is also misleading. Come on Billow/Art – let me hear from you or your local Rabbi. I am open for correction. If I am misreading this stuff, then put me on the right track.

Is there anyone else who can help here? Your local Rabbi maybe? The question is of paramount importance. The Hebrew Old Testament MUST confirm the New Testament. Any character or concept appearing in the New Testament which does not appear (or cannot be found, and thus confirmed by) in the Hebrew Old Testament, either, a) needs to be rejected as false/wrong, or b) the more likely reason, it is nothing more than a translation error which needs to be corrected. For 2000 years now, non-Jews have been blaming everything that goes wrong (personal or otherwise), on this character (whom they gave the name Satan), supposedly a fallen angel and the source of all evil. If this character cannot be found in the Hebrew Old Testament, it does not belong in the Westernised Bible either, both the Old and the New Testament.

A question to my Jewish brethren: I cannot find the word "Satan" in the original Hebrew. If it does appear there, then where (what passages)? I am not interested in the Westernised transliteration of the Greek word Satanas which became the word Satan simply by dropping the "as." The Hebrew has "Adversary" which became "Satan." Can someone help? Billow55 or Art maybe?

Of all the conventions which form part of the modern game, which ones were developed by women?

Have you been following the BB? Plenty of IMPs gained/lost on bidding to small slam only when grand was there, or not bidding the slam when it was there. Next thing you see you have been eliminated in the RR phase of the tournament. At this level you got to be able to BID!!!!

Why are there no women in the Open Event? Is it because - 1. They are not good enough? or 2. They are excluded?

How about all the hand records for each round on 1 sheet of paper? This helps but is not preferable.

I can't find the hand records for Bali. Does anyone have a link to them? The WBO site thus far only shows the results for each round.

Hand 3, this time 0/17 tables found the ♦ slam. Are your methods any better? [hv=pc=n&s=st82hq76dk3cqt765&w=saj5hkt5daqjt54c8&n=skq9764hj92d87ckj&e=s3ha843d962ca9432&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=1d2s]399|300[/hv] Without the benefit of double dummy, would you have found the ♦ slam?

There was no excuse for either mistake. In fact the first was elementary, something a novice might make. Definately not what an intermediate should do.