Ask Penumbra Stuff?

[Penumbra]

I guess I shouldn't be the cold one that doesn't make a thread here, so if anyone has any questions about me, I'll try to answer them.

I guess for starters:

-I'm pretty familiar with religion. I've read the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Qur'an, Tao Te Ching, 10 or 11 Upanishads, and I've taken classes on religion in school, and specifically Christianity, Buddhism, and comparative religious studies, plus I've had the chance to talk to a lot of people here and elsewhere on various religious subjects and about their beliefs. I have plans to read a bit of the Pali Canon as well, but it's so big. My favorite religious text was the Bhagavad Gita, and I incorporate elements of Karma Yoga into my worldview, albeit without the supernatural aspects.

-My life philosophy could best be described as Virtue Ethics, which is an agent-centered ethical system that focuses on the subject of Eudaimonia and how to achieve it. Much of this draws from ancient Greek and Roman sources (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, Epicurus, Seneca, Aurelius, etc), but it has modern philosophers or practitioners that draw from it too, and there are similar veins of thought in numerous worldview systems.

-I view philosophy positions and worldviews, especially my own, not so much in the sense that they provide framework for personal thinking. (I'd view such things, depending on the degree, as somewhat intellectually unhealthy- to interpret observations with respect to a currently held framework of thinking.) But rather, I view philosophy positions as being helpful when communicating information about how I view things to someone else. That is, if I'm explaining how I view something, a specific philosophic framework becomes helpful in the description of the idea.

-My beliefs regarding religion could best be described as agnostic atheist, and skeptical. I was raised liberally Catholic.

-I'm an electrical engineer, spent much of my life as a vegetarian (but instead I'm currently trying out pescetarianism instead, which means I include a bit of fish and am not currently vegetarian), and I also pay a lot of attention to politics and economics.

 

[Sunstone]

Hi Penumbra! Thanks for posting!

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

If you could travel anywhere in the world and spend a month at each destination, what would be your top destinations?

What is the maximum number of chickens that can cross the same road in the same joke?

Do you consider yourself in any way community oriented? If so, in what way(s)?

 

[Koldo]

Hi, Penumbra!

Congratulations on becoming a mod.

Now... i want: your full name, your phone number, a photo from you, your address, your parents names, your husband's full name, your pets' names, your tv size, your favorite food, your favorite color, your favorite number, your money and your soul.

May i have them please?
Okay? Thanks!

 

[England my lionheart]

Hi Penumbra,welcome to the team,whats your favourite veggie meal and do you know how to make Tofu taste of anything

 

[Penumbra]

Hi Penumbra! Thanks for posting!

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

If you could travel anywhere in the world and spend a month at each destination, what would be your top destinations?

Not sure. I'd like to visit each continent (except Antarctica), if possible. I haven't left the United States yet, though. So I'm pretty far behind on that.

What is the maximum number of chickens that can cross the same road in the same joke?

It depends on the length of the joke, the length and width of the average chicken, the speed of the average chicken, the grouping patterns of chickens during movement, and the width and length of the part of the road they are crossing.

Do you consider yourself in any way community oriented? If so, in what way(s)?

Well, to a certain extent. I've moved around, and there are lots of types of communities.

-In general for all communities, I try to be civil (maybe not friendly and outgoing, but at least polite).

-At my old home with my father, I helped out the neighbors when they needed it, and was friendly with them.

-In college, I was a Resident Assistant (RA), which basically meant my job was to foster a community on the floor (70 students), get them involved, answer questions, and help moderate the building.

-In my current community, I'm not too involved. I pay taxes, and give money to girls' sports teams, but that's basically it. This isn't a very nice area, and I haven't really gotten involved yet. I'd eventually like to help out with a charity effort around here. I do plan on helping out financially more when I have a stronger financial situation.

 

[Penumbra]

Hi, Penumbra!

Congratulations on becoming a mod.

Now... i want: your full name, your phone number, a photo from you, your address, your parents names, your husband's full name, your pets' names, your tv size, your favorite food, your favorite color, your favorite number, your money and your soul.

May i have them please?
Okay? Thanks!

I'll answer a few of those.
-TV Size: 42 inch (we finally gave in and bought a flat screen. Playing Final Fantasy 13 and not being able to read the text was the last straw.)
-Favorite Food: apples, chocolate, pasta (but not together)
-Favorite color: I like purple, blue, pink, and white and black if I can count those last two as colors
-Favorite number: dunno
-Can't have my money, and if I have a soul, I wouldn't give that either.

 

[Penumbra]

Hi Penumbra,welcome to the team,whats your favourite veggie meal and do you know how to make Tofu taste of anything

I usually make tofu stir fry with broccoli over brown rice. Sometimes I add other vegetables.

I don't really make tofu taste like much; I just put a lot of soy sauce on it and mix it with other things.

 

[England my lionheart]

I usually make tofu stir fry with broccoli over brown rice. Sometimes I add other vegetables.

I don't really make tofu taste like much; I just put a lot of soy sauce on it and mix it with other things.

Sounds really healthy,not keen of Tofu though

 

[Penumbra]

Sounds really healthy,not keen of Tofu though

Not a big tofu fan myself, either. It's got a pretty big mix of nutrients, though, so I put soy sauce all over it and stuff it between broccoli and rice.

I'm being pestered to try to make vegetarian tacos too, so I might try that.

 

[England my lionheart]

Not a big tofu fan myself, either. It's got a pretty big mix of nutrients, though, so I put soy sauce all over it and stuff it between broccoli and rice.

I'm being pestered to try to make vegetarian tacos too, so I might try that.

I love tacos smothered with home made salsa

 

[Koldo]

I'll answer a few of those.
-TV Size: 42 inch (we finally gave in and bought a flat screen. Playing Final Fantasy 13 and not being able to read the text was the last straw.)
-Favorite Food: apples, chocolate, pasta (but not together)
-Favorite color: I like purple, blue, pink, and white and black if I can count those last two as colors
-Favorite number: dunno
-Can't have my money, and if I have a soul, I wouldn't give that either.

Oh, almost everyone is soooo stingy about giving away their souls.

 

[beenie]

Hi Penumbra

What's your favorite dessert? Oops you said "chocolate" as a favorite food, but anything else for dessert?

 

[Penumbra]

Hi Penumbra

What's your favorite dessert? Oops you said "chocolate" as a favorite food, but anything else for dessert?

Chocolate
Strawberries
Clementines

(but not chocolate strawberries, or chocolate clementines)

Penumbra, what brand of beer am I going to drink tomorrow?

Trick question.

You're going to have an Appletini.

 

[TimeBean]

I'm actually impressed to a degree. Your nick attracted me because, as both a painter and computer modeler (CAD, etc.), penumbra is an indespensible part of my mind and life's work. Penumbra is likely the interfacing gradients of velocitative layers of a quantum fractal, patterned universe of which we likely have only theorized a tiny tome. As a physicist, I can appreciate ethical thinking, because I find so little within the scientific mainstreams anymore. As a BSc of Mechanical Engineering, so an inventor, I find ethics even more of a rarety, the nurturing of innovation so desperately crippled with the death of JFK. I believe in God and the Bible, but not in the church as it is, so we might just get along in some thoughts.

In all that, I wanted to say that I like what you posted.

Time Bean

 

[Penumbra]

I'm actually impressed to a degree. Your nick attracted me because, as both a painter and computer modeler (CAD, etc.), penumbra is an indespensible part of my mind and life's work. Penumbra is likely the interfacing gradients of velocitative layers of a quantum fractal, patterned universe of which we likely have only theorized a tiny tome. As a physicist, I can appreciate ethical thinking, because I find so little within the scientific mainstreams anymore. As a BSc of Mechanical Engineering, so an inventor, I find ethics even more of a rarety, the nurturing of innovation so desperately crippled with the death of JFK. I believe in God and the Bible, but not in the church as it is, so we might just get along in some thoughts.

In all that, I wanted to say that I like what you posted.

Time Bean

Woo, one-year thread resurrection, almost exactly.

Welcome to the forum, thanks for the compliments.

 

[Katzpur]

How closely do you physically resemble your avatar?

 

[Debater Slayer]

What scientific books have you read, and which one is your favorite?

 

[Penumbra]

How closely do you physically resemble your avatar?

I choose that avatar because I was playing the game with her in it at the time, and resonated with that character. I felt that, visually she represents me and my personality pretty well, even if the physical match isn't really there (she has pink hair, blue eyes, and is drawn idealized rather than realistic, so nobody really looks like her unless they specifically try to).

The only picture I have posted here is this: (picture of my eyes with contrast turned up, sort of looks weird because it makes the bridge of my nose disappear)
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/2562070-post4506.html

I'm caucasian, fairly small, light build, medium length straight brown hair, brown eyes.

So I guess the answer would be that I don't particularly look like that, but the build and facial structure is close enough that I could probably dress as her for Halloween or something pretty convincingly.

 

[Father Heathen]

Have you played The Penumbra PC game?

 

[Penumbra]

What scientific books have you read, and which one is your favorite?

Well, in terms of learning stuff, I guess my various college textbooks were the most important. Other books are interesting, but the textbooks were where popularized concepts are replaced with the fuller concept to learn and study.

I guess for popular scientific books, A Brief History of Time, and A Demon Haunted World, were two good ones.

Have you played The Penumbra PC game?

No, but I have been asked that before and have heard of it.

The username comes from the word penumbra, rather than from the video game title Penumbra. Penumbra means halfway in shadow, or sort of the twilight or outer area of a shadow, which I guess is fitting for a horror game like that. The word Penumbra is also the name of a Star Trek episode, the name of a band, used in astronomy (which is mainly the term I used), and in other things.