If you have ever tried to describe the value of Facebook or Twitter to someone who is completely unfamiliar with them, you know it is not easy. And yet, my task for this post - explaining EmpireAvenue - is far more difficult. My goal for this post is to give you a general idea of EmpireAvenue (EAv) and explain what I like about it. I will address the question of whether EAv might be a useful way to promote your atheist blog or website in a later post, as I need a bit more time to evaluate it for that purpose.

Whenever an atheist begins to talk about the value of organizing atheists, two things inevitably happen: Someone introduces the "cat herding" comparison, and someone claims that atheists cannot be organized because we have nothing to unite us (i.e., we have nothing in common but our lack of belief). But is it really true that atheists having nothing in common besides our lack of belief in gods? In this post, I'm going to argue that this claim obscures an important reality and prevents us from moving forward. In fact, atheists do have plenty in common.

This one is about as off topic as I get. I post it because I just wasted the last two hours of my life figuring it out, and I hope to save someone the frustration I just had.

I made the mistake of setting my Intel iMac to boot from my DiskWarrior 4 disk. I'm not quite sure why I did this instead of just holding C like I usually do, but I'll sure as hell never do it again! I couldn't eject the disc or boot back to the system. I scoured the Internet from my phone and tried the many suggestions I could find:

• Holding Option while restarting
• Holding the left mouse button while restarting
• Pressing the Eject button while restarting
• Messing about in the drutil window

None of it worked. I had just decided I would take the damn iMac apart even if I destroyed it in the process, when it occurred to me to try one last thing. Here's what worked:

Unplug everything from the computer except the wired keyboard (connecting directly) and the power cable. Then hold the Option key on restart. Finally! This let me select the hard drive instead of the DVD.

I received the following email recently from someone calling himself Alfred:

You people have no purpose. Just because you don't believe in anything doesn't mean you should try to drag everyone down with you. Normally I have no problem with Atheists, but you people are the kind who feel like they have to prove everyone else wrong. You disgust me and I hope that eventually you'll see why the way you present your point makes you bad people.

I do not highlight positive stories nearly enough, and I'm going to start trying to do a better job of it (at least until the world ends on October 21st). After all, we do get some good news once in awhile. Here are some recent examples:

• The state of Oregon is in the process of eliminating "faith healing" as a legal defense, clearing the way for prosecutors to go after parents who let their children die because their religious delusions tell them medical treatment is bad.
• The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not giving up on stopping the National Day of Prayer after their previous claim was rejected. They have filed a request for a rehearing.
• There is some evidence that the audience for right-wing talk radio may be shrinking. Even some of the major players like Hannity and Limbaugh have seen their ratings drop considerably.
• Home Depot is standing firm on their support for diversity in the face of a boycott by Christian extremist group, the American Family Association.
• A new atheist group in the Philippines, the Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society, is growing rapidly.
  

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I learned that my favorite high school teacher died recently. I regret that I didn't make more of an effort to keep in touch with him over the years. The last time I saw him was probably when I returned home after my first year of graduate school. That was a lifetime ago. I could have at least written or something. I remember thinking that he probably had so many students over the years that he couldn't possibly be that interested in me. Of course, I realize now how stupid that was on my part. Now that its too late, I'd rather focus on what make this teacher special.

It is no secret among atheists living in the U.S. that our Christian neighbors have a bit of a persecution complex (i.e., a deep conviction that they are being persecuted in spite of no evidence to support such a claim). They not only have an overwhelming majority in terms of numbers, but they exert stifling control over every branch of government in every state. And yet, it seems like many of them are always whining about how they are persecuted for their religion. But what about atheists? Do we run the risk of developing our own persecution complex?