Hello. I met Chris on the St Pete times internet religion forum. I have recently decided to stop posting there due to the number of idiots that populate that board. At the spit, You are invited to check your intellect at the door and come right in and be attacked by the trolls Anyway, I decided to check this forum out, and BHAM! My hero, James Randi, has agreed to chat here.This place rocks. Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 3/17/03 2:49:44 am

GregWow! I'm happy to see you came over. I spent a week over there, but can't handle anymore myself. Sometimes I just get in the mood for a challenge, but the reality is most of those people aren't interested in learning. I am still shaking my head at how ingnorant that one individual was willing to remain. He absolutely learned nothing even after repeated detailed explanations. Oh well...Massimo Pigliucci calls what I was doing the "Rationalistic Fallacy," and I have to agree. Massimo is one person we will have to get into our chat room eventually. His books are fantastic, but the accomplishment I am most impressed with is his track record for debating the big names in creation "science." Read that article to see what the rationalistic fallacy is all about. I think you'll like it over here much more, but we are still young and growing. In time we will have hundreds of members and our boards will be much more active. The key is for us to attract the right people, so our growth might be a bit slower than it could be if we pulled from the general population. If you happen to know anyone with at least a triple digit IQ feel free to invite them...provided they actually qualify as a freethinker. This is the most important quality we are after.We have chats every Thursday night so that would be a great time to say hello to everyone. Usually we're in the chat room about an hour, but the chat with Howard Bloom this last Thursday was almost 3 hours. Howard has agreed to come back after we finish reading "Global Brain," so I recommend you dive right into that book so you can maximixe that chat session. I just got the book this afternoon and will start reading it right away. When BookTalk started we were doing one book every month, but we all took a vote and decided this was too much pressure. Now we spread it out over a full two months, but you won't want to procrastinate or there won't be time to enjoy the discussions on the board.So what do you like to read? Are you reading any decent books right now? I borrowed "Uncle Tom's Cabin" from my fathers collection a few hours ago. I told him I wanted to learn a bit more about the history of slavery and that was his recommendation. Are you a science fiction reader? Fantasy? Biographies? Comics? Share a bit more with us...And welcome to BookTalk Greg. I was very impressed with your posts over there. You have much more patience than I apparently do. LOL You'll be a welcome addition here. Chris Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 1/5/03 12:58:57 am

GregIf you have a picture you should post it in the above forum. Which reminds me - I need to post a picture of myself too! Oh, and put a push pin in the Guest Map on the Homne page too. Chris

Hello Greg, welcome one of the more rational places in cyberworld. I agree that religious fanatics (can the two not go hand in hand?) can be quite annoying. I'm posting less and less on a former Jehovah's Witness board for the same reason. Fortunately, this board does rock, I agree! I was floored when I found out James Randi is coming to chat with us because he is one of my favorite minds in the world of freethought. Take care,Bradley

Thanks to both of you.The rationalistic fallacy link was great. Sometimes it is necessary to see in print things you already know to reinforce this idea swimming around in your head.My good friend FF from the spit has ordered your current reading book as have I. This is such a great idea to encourage the reading and discussion of free thought. Kudos. I am looking forward to it.As for what I like to read; I love James Randi and have read every one of his books. I also subscribe to skeptical inquirer. My reading has been a bit limited as of late and I am taking this as an opportunity to increase my grey matter.I also read uncle Toms Cabin. As a child I loved books and read many books. By the age of 14 I had read the Hobbit, The trilogy (great movies too),To kill a mockingbird, Tom Sawyer, Moby Dick, Huck Finn, The bible, and other books. As of late the books I have been reading have been of the murder mystery/seriel killer/crime scene investigation genre. Hey I don't apologize, they are like crack for the mind and can usually be read in three or four sittings.My next book will the the lucifer principal. I hope to read it quickly so I can catch right up with the current book.BTW, Chris, check out the Spit. My leaving started a mass exodus, and almost all of the good people have left for forumbx ( a general information type forum).Too funny Edited by: GregFla at: 1/6/03 5:51:20 pm

Greg,Welcome to BookTalk! It's great to have you.Cheryl

GregYou're welcome here my friend. Anyone who is willing to wade into the ranks of the superstitious and let it all hit the fan is a friend of mine. Good to have you!- Tim S.

Oh, by the way, what the hell does Rufgee mean? Did you mean Refugee? Chris

Should we fly over his house and drop Pop Tarts??

Hey, I ordered my books but got an amazon note saying "there is a delay in your order".Waaaaa.BTW, "you don't have to live like a refugee" was playing on my radio just a minute ago. I am anxious to get reading and get participating. As soon as the books come in, I am reading "the lucifer principle" and then right on to the current book.Thanks to all for the warm welcome.