Oolon Colluphid

You can fool all of the people some of the time, or some of the people all of the time. Vanderzyden has fooled one person permanently. He's not blinkered, he has the visual acuity of a cave fish.

Oolon

Baloo

Speaking of cave fishes - wans't Vanderzyden trying to argue that the cave fish's lumps of nonfunctioning eye tissue were placed there as an "aesthetically pleasing" design feature? Doggone it, he didn't even accuse anyone of offending him before abandoning that argument...

Oops. Come to think of it, my previous paragraph was quite offensive. Mr. Vanderzyden, I apologize for the previous paragraph, and retract it with complete humility. What I meant to say was:

Speaking of cave-fish, wasn't that brilliantly insightful commentator, Mr. Vanderzyden, gracing a large number of ingrateful commoners with a simply inspirational argument that the "seemingly" useless eye-tissue of the cave-fish was but a tribute to and blessing of the grace of the Creator, in all its aesthetically pleasing wonder?

Yet, for what must be an unassailably sound reason, based on his impeccable sense of integrity, Mr. Vanderzyden appears to have suddenly abandoned the thread altogether, leaving all partipants to speculate about what utter jaw-dropping argumentative thrashings they had been spared. And leaving some, myself included, to speculate as to "why"...

Perhaps it was the utter lack of thankfulness on behalf of the ignorant masses for the unnecessary gift of a paradigm-shifting wealth of wisdom bestowed upon them by Mr. Vandrrzyden himself. Or, more likely, I think, it was the dishonorable, insulting behavior whereby certain mental-peons, with ideas amounting to dog dirt not worthy of the soles of Mr. Vanderzyden's shoes, actually had the unthinkable nerve to bring Mr. Vanderzyden's arguments into question.

Mr. Vanderzyden, sir, if you have spared your invaluable time to read this far, I humbly ask you to show these fiends what's what. Oolon, with the cave fish reference above, almost seems to be taunting you with your sudden silence in that thread (despicable!!!) I beg you, put him in his place!

Humbly (and, just in case, apologetically),

-Baloo

[ October 22, 2002: Message edited by: Baloo ]</p>

Vanderzyden

You are to be commended, Baloo.

Oolon Colluphid

But... not actually responded to...

Dr Rick

Not likely: if recent history is any guide, you'll provide many more opportunities to point-out your arrogance and ignorance.

Rick

Doubting Didymus

Has anyone here not been delivered a 'last chance' ultimatum from vanderzyden? If he were serious about all of them, he would be long gone.

Vanderzyden

DD,

You will note that I avoid engaging several people in various forums. In fact, there are many complaints and apologies that result from my refusal to waste time in pettiness.

You and I have had similar discussions, and you know that my concern is not damage to my vanity. Rather, I encourage efficiency and sensibility. My aim is to discover the truth about ultimate things. You should know me well enough now that I have no ulterior "ambitions" or "agenda".


Vanderzyden

Doubting Didymus

If you were interested in efficiency, you might be addressing the actual issues in this thread, rather than carping on again about who you will and will not speak to.

I have a suggestion for you, and for myself and many others here: If we all ignore everyone elses perhiperal issues and ad hominem remarks, which are pouring in great rivers from both sides of this debate, then the discussion will be breif, efficient and enjoyable.

Alternatively, we could all keep going as we are currently, and enjoy the varitey of emotions that it elicits, emotions of all varieties being the spice of life.

Devote a post or two to only the science, ignore the emotional rhetoric, and avoid using it yourself.

Mageth

In fact, there are many complaints and apologies that result from my refusal to waste time in pettiness.

I took the liberty of looking at definitions of "petty." I found this rather interesting one:

petty-minded (disapproving) Someone who is petty or petty-minded is annoyed and offended by small and unimportant matters in a way that shows a limited and often selfish mind.

MrDarwin

Vanderzyden, am I being "petty" by asking you to simply explain the unsubstantiated claims you have made?

Can you tell me why blood coming from the placenta is under "higher pressure"? Higher than what? Precisely where and how is this pressure being generated?

Could you please point out in precisely which "many places" this mixing would occur?

And you still haven't answered my question about childbirth and doctors. Will you and your wife depend on this system running smoothly and optimally--dare I say flawlessly--when the time comes, or will you have a doctor on hand, just in case?