Salad

How Microsoft Flight Simulator Recreated Our Entire Planet

No need to watch the whole thing.  I think that this program is awesome.  I will shortly have a game membership with Microsoft where I will be able to run this simulator on my computer.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w7q1ZFfsxs

How To Never Be Boring In Conversation

I probably fail on all 4 points ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BAGGEM4AwQ

AMC theater chain

Before the Dark Times, I had an A-List membership at AMC theaters where I could see up to 3 movies per week for $20 per month. Not a bad deal, but I typically saw only about 1 movie each week.

AMC suspended this program back in March when their theaters were forced to close, but they reopened their theaters in the summer at which time they informed me that I had till December 1st to reactivate my membership. They have a weird rule that if you quit the program then you have to wait 6 months to get back in, so I don't necessarily want to quit, but at the same time I don't want to go back to movie theaters until a vaccine is widely available.

Fortunately, they just extended the deadline to March 1st.  I am hoping that things will be much better by then.

For the last eight months, there were rumors that AMC is on the verge of bankruptcy. I imagine that this applies to many businesses. AMC is owned by Wanda Group, which is a Chinese company located in Beijing.

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

Amazon.com: Fire HD 10 Tablet (10.1" 1080p full HD display, 32 GB)

Last year I was watching the rave reviews for this $150 Amazon tablet. When they had it on sale for $100 during Black Friday week, I figured that was a great deal, but I also figured that I didn't really need another tablet. This year it is only $80 for the Black Friday sale, so I decided that for that price I could use it to test Android apps that I want to write.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KD8R6HD?fbclid=IwAR1UP1JvLhHEmXl-T_iJGQSGgF29RE1xLJgOADhw5RPd3qLyy-5PriZPRiA&th=1

The Challenger Disaster: STS-51-L Helicopter Camera

I recently watched a 4 episode documentary on Netflix about the Challenger disaster.  This event happened at an important time in my life shortly after the death of my father in 1986.  The documentary demonstrates that people knew there was a problem and made poor decisions because they considered the risk to be minor.

I just happened to come across a video on youtube that shows the disaster from a slightly different perspective than what I have seen before.

https://youtu.be/YV-75Hg0nMc

Vacation?

I'm not one much for travel. I used to love to go places when I was younger, but less so now that I am older. However, when this pandemic is over, or reasonably under control, which could be as much as nine months from now, it might be interesting to take a vacation. I have no idea where, but a change of scenery would be nice. There is quite a bit of the country that I haven't been to yet.  

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Human Behaviors that Dogs Hate and Wish You Wouldn't Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbuT_TY51_E

These are interesting.  I like dogs, but not only am I allergic, but a dog would be too much investment in time for me.  

religious discussion on Facebook (just FYI. I mean no offense to anyone.)

Andrew Porter

My advice: don't count on the elusive pipe dream that "science" will one day achieve through human effort the immortality that God says can be attained only by believing in His Son Jesus Christ. "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

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• John Coffey

  I mean no offense to you, but I am not a Christian. Like all the other 4,300 religions on the planet, there is no credible evidence that any of them are real. I lean toward pantheism, but I think that it is impossible to know, making me a pantheist leaning agnostic.

  I take comfort in knowing that there is no answer. Why? Because it means that this life matters and what we do here matters, and it is not just some test to prepare us for the next life. It also means that life is what we choose to make it, and not what others tell us life should be.

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• John Coffey

  Regardless of what one believes, the technological trends that are already in motion will continue.

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• Andrew Porter

  No offense taken, my friend. I know you are not a Christian, but I also know that you have always been respectful toward those with whom you disagree. That attitude is becoming rarer and rarer in our culture - I salute you for it. But on what basis do you assert that "this life matters"? On your world view we live, we die, and we're done. So what? I came to the firm conclusion, purely through logic and observation, that there MUST be a Creator. Taht's a crucial starting point, but it's not enough. From there, I investigated thoroughly and came to believe what I do about the Bible, etc. Without God, there is no ultimate purpose. Everything is senseless, random, nothingness. I don't believe that for one second, and furthermore I would not want to live in a purposeless universe. "For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1)

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• John Coffey

  I don't know why you would already know that I am not a Christian, not that it matters, but I find it a curiosity that you already understood this.

  Just for clarification, my position is far more nuanced than what you claim I believe. None of what you said describes accurately what I believe. I lean toward pantheism. There could be a higher power, but I think that it is impossible to know.

  That doesn't offend me. You seem deeply religious. I understand. I have been there. I have nothing but the 

  best wishes

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  John Coffey

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• Andrew Porter

  I knew this from this and several other fb posts I've seen from you over the years.

  I didn't mean to misrepresent your position. Feel free to correct/clarify where I did so as I would prefer to address one's *actual* beliefs/position rather than some unintended straw man.

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• John Coffey

  I don't want to get into a lengthy discussion. I will just try to clarify since you asked.

  I want to believe that there is something beyond this life, but I think that it is impossible to know. I am content with not knowing since I don't think that we can know. I prefer to base my beliefs on what we can prove, and if there is something beyond that then great.

  If there is no God then life still has a purpose. We can be here for each other. Pantheism appeals to me logically because if the entire universe and God are the same thing then we are all connected. This belief leads to empathy for others.

Andrew Porter
Thank you. I won't press the issue per your desire not to have an ongoing discussion here on fb. If you ever *want* to discuss these issues further - online or in person (preferred) - I would be open to have that discussion with you. Best regards!

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com