I was born into a fundamentalist family in a small, conservative town in Oregon. As a child I had no reason to doubt what my parents taught me and so I grew up believing in God and the authority of the Bible. I was a Sunday School teacher, youth group leader, worship team leader, teacher in a Christian school and even preached a few sermons.

However, by the time I was an adult I began to have doubts about my faith because I continued to discover discrepancies in the Bible and there were parts of the doctrine of the church that didn't make sense to me. One of the biggest discrepancies was the difference between creation and evolution. They are both incompatible. So, at first I was taught to just ignore evolution and only believe in the Bible.

Then I realized the Bible couldn't possibly be true about creation since God would be deceitful if he created the world in six days yet he made it look like it took millions of years. This made me wonder about other parts of the Bible and I experienced a crisis of faith. So, I did some research on my own which resulted in me writing a book called "The World's Most Dangerous Book." It's the only book on the market that describes the origins of the Bible in easy terms so anyone can understand it and lays to rest the argument about its divinity.

As for the rest of my personal life I have been married twice and divorced twice. I have four children from my first marriage and 6 grandchildren. I've been a teacher, legislative aide, painter, logger, produce inspector, material handler, glass fiber baler, tree planter, gas station attendant, landscaper, administrative clerk, full-time student, driving instructor, guitar teacher and I now own my own stone carving business.

I also have a criminal history since controlling my temper was a problem when I was younger as well as having clinical depression. It wasn't diagnosed until I was 50 years old so I spent much time in my early life having a distorted view of reality. Hence, the criminal record. The most egregious crimes were theft, forgery and unauthorized use of a credit card as well as several misdemeanors. Needless to say my credit is horrible and I have trouble finding places to rent and getting loans for my business.

I lost my teaching license because of my crimes and as a result I got behind on my child support. Since I was delinquent the state suspended my driver's license forcing me to use public transportation. But I live in Portland where the public transportation is pretty good and I don't have to worry about it.

I am now an atheist pursuing the pathway of truth through logic, reason and rationality. Eliminating ignorance for the sake of my descendants is now my goal in everything I do. It's the least I can do to make up for all the stupid things I did when I was younger. We must care for each other and do our best to make the world a better place or we will plunge all of humanity into oblivion.

Hopefully, my writings will inspire people to be critical thinkers and to value education over ignorance and strive for the truth in everything we do. I welcome criticism as long as it's constructive and not malicious and done in a civil manner. I also reserve the right to question assertions that are based on faulty reasoning as this simply leads to confusion and the perpetration of false ideas, the antithesis of rationality.

For the sake of eradicating the tyranny of ignorance I say, write on!

My passion is ...

Music, Art, Writing, Nature, Family, Friends, Philosophy

I know too much about ...

Birds

My parents always told me ...

Treat others the way you want to be treated and always tell the truth.

My childhood ambition ...

To be an astronaut.

My favorite memory ...

Catching my limit of cutthroat trout at Moose Lake, Oregon with my dad and little sister on the same day that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

Why I write ...

To eradicate the tyranny of ignorance and to entertain people.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Tao te Ching, The Bible, Pink Martini and China Forbes, the Classics in music and literature, any nature documentaries, NPR and PBS

My first job ...

Planting trees.

My best moment ...

When each of my children were born.

My inspiration ...

The Universe, my friends and family.

Travel > Travel Planning & Advice Alaska travel: Your northern adventure awaits

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The name "Alaska" is thought to have been derived from an Inuit word meaning "...the big country." It has one of the smallest populations of any of the states, a huge backcountry that is virtually empty of human habitation, unparalled beauty, untamed wildlife and incomparable hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

The fishing in Alaska is notable for two very popular fish. Native salmon are like no salmon anywhere else in the world. There are several species to choose from including the smallest salmon species, the pink, which are plentiful during their yearly migrations. Howev...

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