Greetings from new member from México...

This place has really been a lifeboat for me!

Hello and welcome to RatSkep! :smile: Why don't you introduce yourself here? ;)

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Greetings from new member from México...

#1  Postby MeCagoEnCristo » Oct 25, 2014 6:48 am

Hello, my skeptic amigos.

My name is Fernando.
I’ve been voraciously reading this board for a few years, always as a guest. But now, after learning lots of things from this place (and a few similar ones), I decided it's time for me to participate in some discussions.

Thank Quetzalcóatl for Rational Skepticism! What an amazing learning tool!

I admit I'm a little intimidated by all the knowledge and rigour of the members of these fora, and I'm ready to get my arse handed back to me on a plate if I say non-sensical things :mrgreen:

So, I’m Mexican. I used to be a theist... A Catholic. But that was a long time ago. I even went to catechism classes with my mother! Thankfully, they quickly banned her due to her many “uncomfortable” questions, and then we both got vetoed for insisting on asking about things that didn’t make sense to us, and for showing “cantankerous and uncooperative” behaviour. After this episode, we started finding real answers on our own, and she, the rest of my family and I, became atheists ever since.


As a side note, I would really like to thank most of the members of these fora. People like Calilasseia, hackenslash, theropod, Spearthrower, just to mention a few of my personal favourites, make this an amazing place to learn.
I’ve read some threads where some of these valuable members seem to start getting tired of debunking so much nonsense… always repeating the same things. But PLEASE know that there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of people like me who benefit enormously from your efforts and freely imparted education. Really. Thank you, guys, for sharing so much knowledge in such a generous way.
So please do not give up!! Your efforts are greatly appreciated, admired and NEEDED.

Besides music production, one of my favourite activities is debunking and arguing with supernaturalists. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy it so much. And this place has given me great weapons of mass crap-destruction.

I already read the New Members Pack, and the forum rules, of course.


So, greetings from México from me and my iguana.
"There's random genetic variation, and non-random survival, and non-random reproduction, which is why, as the generations go by, animals get better at doing what they do. That is quintessentially non-random". ― Richard Dawkins
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#2  Postby Ironclad » Oct 25, 2014 7:27 am

:wave:

Hello, and welcome into the lifeboat ! This is our greeting for all new members and contains some useful stuff for you.

If you haven't seen it already, you may want to take a look at our New Members' Welcome Pack which will give you some helpful resources such as how to modify your membership display settings, how to navigate around the forum, point you to some threads which address commonly asked questions from newbies, and gives you some handy links to other sites which will help you develop your skepticism. It also contains our forum rules, which we ask that you abide by at all times.

If you're new to this type of phpBB software on forums, you might like to take a look at our Handy Hints for Posting On The Forum, which will show you how to change your text, insert images & youtube clips, and do some other cool stuff.

And finally, as a house warming present for you, here's a few laughs for your entertainment.

:beer:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#3  Postby Goldenmane » Oct 25, 2014 8:39 am

Welcome, mate.

Glad we've helped.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#4  Postby Spearthrower » Oct 25, 2014 11:12 am

Welcome aboard MeCagoEnCristo!

Really glad you decided to hop over the divine and register!

And thank you so much for your kind words! It does get a little tiring sometimes to face mindless regurgitation, but I think many of us keep in mind the wider audience when we post! It's always great to hear that it's appreciated though!



Edit: "Really glad you decided to hop over the divine divide and register!"

Thanks Doubtdispelled for pointing that out to me... and for inferring that it's a Freudian Slip... I am now going to circumnavigate my bellybutton in the quest to find the source of the divine!
Last edited by Spearthrower on Oct 25, 2014 11:25 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#5  Postby mindhack » Oct 25, 2014 11:16 am

Nice intro Fernando, welcome!
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#6  Postby Doubtdispelled » Oct 25, 2014 11:46 am

Spearthrower wrote:Welcome aboard MeCagoEnCristo!

Really glad you decided to hop over the divine and register!

And thank you so much for your kind words! It does get a little tiring sometimes to face mindless regurgitation, but I think many of us keep in mind the wider audience when we post! It's always great to hear that it's appreciated though!



Edit: "Really glad you decided to hop over the divine divide and register!"

Thanks Doubtdispelled for pointing that out to me... and for inferring that it's a Freudian Slip... I am now going to circumnavigate my bellybutton in the quest to find the source of the divine!

:lol:

Welcome, MeCagoEnCristo! A great intro post which goes a long way to support something which ST and I were talking about the other day, i.e. the value of remembering that discussions here are much more widely read than might at first be apparent, and that, as you say, there are probably many people like you who benefit from the efforts put into dismantling the same tired old arguments.

:cheers:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#7  Postby trubble76 » Oct 25, 2014 12:20 pm

Welcome aboard :wave:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#8  Postby Evolving » Oct 25, 2014 1:03 pm

Glad to see you on board, Fernando, and thanks to Quetzalcóatl too.

And hello to the iguana.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#9  Postby Made of Stars » Oct 25, 2014 1:23 pm

Welcome. :)
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#10  Postby Tangerine Dream » Oct 25, 2014 2:24 pm

Welcome ! :cheers: :smoke:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#11  Postby Onyx8 » Oct 25, 2014 4:51 pm

Glad to have you aboard. Whereabout in Mexico are you? I have a daughter near Cabo, and an ex near Puerto Vallarta.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#12  Postby DougC » Oct 25, 2014 6:15 pm

:british: :maraca:
Hi, from the UK.
Welcome aboard.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#13  Postby chairman bill » Oct 25, 2014 6:49 pm

I often cite Quetzalcoatl, so very happy to have someone else who does so too. Welcome aboard.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#14  Postby Bubalus » Oct 25, 2014 7:23 pm

Welcome :cheers:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#15  Postby MeCagoEnCristo » Oct 27, 2014 8:52 am

Thank you all for the nice welcome!
:cheers:

So I feel safer already aboard this Ratskep lifeboat. It's kind of like Noah's ark, but without the stench of animal faeces, without the mythology, and with GREAT and knowledgeable company :lol:

Spearthrower wrote:

And thank you so much for your kind words! It does get a little tiring sometimes to face mindless regurgitation, but I think many of us keep in mind the wider audience when we post! It's always great to hear that it's appreciated though!


Doubtdispelled wrote:
Welcome, MeCagoEnCristo! A great intro post which goes a long way to support something which ST and I were talking about the other day, i.e. the value of remembering that discussions here are much more widely read than might at first be apparent, and that, as you say, there are probably many people like you who benefit from the efforts put into dismantling the same tired old arguments.

Exactly! Whenever you guys start getting annoyed about repeating the same arguments over and over, please remember there are lots of people reading behind the scenes, and learning a lot from your writings.
For instance, some of my favourite threads are those where Creationist non-sense gets debunked. I love them because it's like killing two birds with one stone: I get to read both sides of the arguments. This means I learn lots of science and killer rational and scientific arguments, but I also hear what Creationists think, so when I talk to Mexican Cretinists, I already know their pseudo arguments in advance, so they don't take me by surprise, and I also have awesome facts to debunk their claims.
I think debates, formal and informal, and as long as the parties know their material (as it's the case in this place), are one of the best learning tools there are. One gets to read about the best of both sides in one place. Also, since a lot of the topics and discussions are repeated ad nauseam, readers benefit from this repetition with all the different styles from the participants. Some are rough and edgy, some bombastic and to-the-point, some are calm and polite, etc. But repetition is extremely useful for easy memorising and learning, especially when delivered with so many different styles!

I still remember some of those threads where (now banned) member Mick participated, for instance. Wow! You guys really brought the big guns in those threads and kicked some major arse! Those were some of my favourite ones because I really got to learn so much just by reading your arguments and debunking. Because of this, now my supernaturalist acquaintances seem so predictable to me and easy to debunk!

This is really incredible. A few years ago, before the internet, this was not possible to do... At least not as easily and conveniently done from one's couch!

Onyx8 wrote:Glad to have you aboard. Whereabout in Mexico are you? I have a daughter near Cabo, and an ex near Puerto Vallarta.

I am from México City (México D.F.). It's one of the biggest, most polluted and probably ugliest cities in the world.
Cabo is one of México's last relatively safe places to live. Puerto Vallarta is Ok, I suppose. As long as they stay near the tourist areas, they should be safe and able to enjoy the beauty of those places. As for the rest of the country.... Well, these days no one should go anywhere near the states of Guerrero, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Morelos, etc. I don't know if you've been following the news from this country, but they are not very encouraging. They are actually quite shocking and scary in so many ways :(

Nevertheless, I'd like to have a toast with you all to celebrate this place, knowledge and science. Let's have some tequila shots! :cheers:

And then a few more... :drunk:
"There's random genetic variation, and non-random survival, and non-random reproduction, which is why, as the generations go by, animals get better at doing what they do. That is quintessentially non-random". ― Richard Dawkins
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#16  Postby hackenslash » Oct 28, 2014 12:56 pm

Spearthrower wrote:And thank you so much for your kind words! It does get a little tiring sometimes to face mindless regurgitation, but I think many of us keep in mind the wider audience when we post! It's always great to hear that it's appreciated though!


:this:

And welcome! :cheers:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#17  Postby NamelessFaceless » Oct 28, 2014 2:54 pm

Welcome! :cheers:
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#18  Postby Onyx8 » Oct 28, 2014 3:01 pm

Yeah, sad the state your great country is in. I remember wandering around years ago with never a care. Here's hoping. :cheers:
The problem with fantasies is you can't really insist that everyone else believes in yours, the other problem with fantasies is that most believers of fantasies eventually get around to doing exactly that.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#19  Postby Scot Dutchy » Oct 28, 2014 3:14 pm

My sister lives in Mexico D.F..

I just dont know how she does it?

Well having your security guard and chauffeur does help. Living in a penthouse with its own lift helps as well. The two security guards with automatic weapons outside the apartment complex at the entrance gate probably helps as well.
Having a house in a private guarded estate in the countryside by Cuernavaca does make life tolerable.

Welcome to Mexico. I dont go there anymore.
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Re: Greetings from new member from México...

#20  Postby GreatApe » Nov 28, 2014 11:00 pm

Bien Veniedos!

Worked and lived in Mexico for 2 years before I gave it up and moved to China. Still love Mexico, the people, the country and its culture and food, but it's ALMOST as easy to get shot there as it is in the states.

Difference being ... It's LEGAL in America to shoot someone; it's quickly becoming ILLEGAL to get shot.

Welcome to RatSkep and DO enjoy your stay.

Look forward to your contributions and wish you all the best!

Cheers!

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