Answers...

...to questions asked in the comment thread of the previous entry.

Teresa asked: Do you have a job? And if so, what do you do?

   I am currently not working, by choice. I am what you call a house husband, or Mr. Mom.

Dan asked: Who's going to win the Tour de France?

   I don't know. Who's touring?

Betty asked: Where's your favorite place to go on vacation?

   We went to Italy last year. I'd say that has been my favourite vacation, so far.

Dawn asked: Is your wife also an atheist?  And, if not, how do you handle that with your son?

   My wife believes there is a God, though she has had her battles with disillusionment with the Catholic church, and currently does not attend any church at all. We have not actively taught our son anything about religion, nor do I expect we will start in the future. I am trying to teach my son critical thinking skills which will allow him to examine things for himself with reason and intellect in the future.

Dianna asked: What made you finally start to think for yourself?

   I have been thinking for myself for as long as I can remember. While I have toyed with religion in the past, and attended Sunday school regularly as a child, there was no time at which I didn't recognise God stories as primitive mankind's attempts to explain a vast and confusing natural world. I have always intuitively understood that man created God in his own image.

Dianna also asked: Will you lend me $5000?

   No.

Emily asked: I lost my keys. Can you tell me where they are?

   The last time I lost my keys (yesterday), I was late for a Doctor's appointment and ran, panicked, through the house looking everywhere for them. They were in my pocket. Have you looked in your pocket?

Dianna came back again, and asked: Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

   I have no idea. Scientists are currently debating whether birds evolved out of dinosaurs, or vice versa. I will say this: I generally do not eat chicken for breakfast. Take from that what you will.

Simon asked: With all due respect to the delicacy of the subject matter (and a degree of privacy), would you say that there is a correlation (direct, tangential, whatever) between your atheism and your tenure to date on The Island?

   Simon, could you restate the question in a form that would allow it to make even an inkling of sense to me?

Dan asked: Have you, or have you not, ever been a member of the Communist Party?  

   I have not. I never get invited to parties.

Karen asked: How much is enough, and how much is too much?

   Sorry, Karen. Existentialism has always been a bit of a weak spot for me. I will say this, though: it depends upon whether or not I am driving...or stand a chance of getting lucky later in the evening.

Dan asked: If we're not supposed to eat them, why do paint chips taste so yummy?

   Dan, how do you know what paint chips taste like? On second thought, don't answer that.

Dianna (who seems to be having a whole lot of fun with this) is back again to ask: Why is an electrical outlet called an outlet when you plug things into it? Shouldn't it be called an inlet?

   It is called an outlet because electricity comes out of it. An inlet is a body of water.

Brent, who couldn't seem to find the right entry on which to leave his comment, asked: Why do you almost always set your rocks out on release? More importantly, why did you try to fix it?

   Brent, if you want to discuss your personal frustrations, start your own blog.

   Keep asking question. Post them in the comments thread here, or in the original entry, and I will continue to answer them. Remember, this is called Ask Me Anything.

tags:Memes