My father died when I was a boy. He was a good man, but I simply can’t remember too many things about him. This is because he was a very hardworking man – a workaholic. That is why I do not have many memories of him.

Thanks to Dad, I too am a workaholic. But long ago, I made a promise to myself that I would make time, lots of time, for my own children. I would give them the advice, memories and experiences that I do not have. But for some time now, that promise has been stretched beyond the breaking point and I can no longer ignore it or rationalize ignoring it. I can’t continue with my selfishness.

Over the years, I have informed readers that my involvement with these issues of teleology and life have been a hobby, practiced on the internet. It’s fun, intellectually stimulating, and very interesting. But since time and energy are limited, what this has meant is I have had to choose between my involvement with these issues and my involvement with my family. I used to get around that choice by sacrificing sleep, but the body has taken that choice away.

What this all means is that since my involvement with this blog has been the major ingredient in my involvement with these issues, this is my last posting to Telic Thoughts, as I am retiring from this blog. I have promised my family to spend much less time on the internet and, for me, ‘internet’ essentially means this blog. I’ll still post substantive material once or twice a month over at the book blog, but this is the place that has obviously consumed most of my time. Too much time.

I have truly enjoyed my experiences with the people here, so there is a real sense of sadness when leaving. You are a unique set of individuals, with interesting perspectives and, more often than not, thought provoking positions and questions. I’ve enjoyed the humor, the links, the arguments, the passion, the challenges, and yes, even the fights. I don’t know of any other place that can substitute for this corner and the folks who are here, my fellow contributors and those who regularly comment. I will miss it. And you.

Some of you may be disappointed with my decision, others may not care, while yet others may be gleeful. Some may try to read between the lines, thinking there are other forces at work. Yet the only force at work here is my father, my promise, and my family. I’d like to believe that my father would smile at this decision, saying, “Good job, son.”

But I can't say for sure.

And I want my children to be able to say for sure.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all and wish you only the best. Farewell.

Would you like to give yourself a Christmas present? Like a free copy of The Design Matrix hot off the printing presses? Here's all that you need to do.

First, go here, click on the large version of the book cover, and print off a copy.

Second, take this page, get Santa to hold it, and take his picture (no PhotoShopping). If you already have a copy of the book and would like a second one, just use your book instead. The caption for the photo will be, 'Look What Santa Got for Christmas.'

Third, send me your picture by December 21, 2007 and put "Contest Photo" in the subject line. The link to my e-mail address can be found here.

Be creative. Have fun. The best picture will be hosted on The Design Matrix and Telic Thoughts blogs on Christmas Eve and a free copy of The Design Matrix will be sent out the day after Christmas.

I've cleaned up the Home page of TeleoLogic. I mention it simply to let you know that this includes putting a working e-mail link on the page.

Oh, and I'm working on the 50th entry for Biotic Reality.

Here's the list of the Top 10 most popular blog entries from October 2007.

1. A Scientific Demonstration of the Non-existence of God

2. Fodor Opens the Door to Front-loading

3. Freed from the Wedge

4. James Watson claims Africans are less intelligent than Westerners

5. A Voice from the Middle Ground

6. Religious Belief and Mental Health

7. The 'Evolution As Religion' Movement

8. There Will be Repercussions

9. More Confusion about Intelligent Design

10. A critique on the endosymbiotic theory for the origin of mitochondria

From ethics to pain, from engineering to Darwin Day, from SciFi to science, all with Toxic Bunnies. Where else but at Telic Thoughts! Pity your friends who don't read this site.

1. The Ethics of Intelligent Design

2. Pain

3. Combinatorial Dependencies

4. Just don't

5. Updating Robert Marks and Baylor

6. Why I Am Not a Critic

7. An Interview with Elisabet Sahtouris

8. SciFi and ID

9. The Neglected Elements of Scientific Discovery

10. The Amazing Toxic Asexual Bunny Mutation Simulator

[Congrats to TP for two months in a row at #1!]

So what type of blog is Telic Thoughts? We're now old enough that you can get a feel for us by considering the Top 25 categories:

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Here are the Top 10 Visited blogs for August 2007.

1.The Magic of Intelligent Design
2.Validating Expelled?
3.If ID is not Science then"¦
4.An Historic Tidbit
5.Cleaning Up The Mess

6.Fundamentalist Dawkins Speaks Out
7.Behe vs. Dawkins
8.The Uniform
9.Friday quote: Lenin's great achievement
10.Don't stereotype

[Congrats to TP for making #1!]

As readers of TT know, we periodically guest host essays from people who are not official contributors. Since I am about to get very busy again, I was going to try an experiment for the rest of the year - I would like to unilaterally offer the opportunity of my own posting space as a platform to all TT members. All you need to do is post your essay in the comments section of a Rabbit thread and request it be guest-hosted. The platform is open to both ID people and critics of ID. But there are some criteria I will informally employ.

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It seems that ol' Buncakes has brought us all together and inspired TT members to swap recipes. Well, we certainly can't leave TT's resident big mouth out of this. So let me share MeanMikeGene's Meatloaf Recipe :

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It won't be long before the kids start going back to school. This always poses a dilemma for us here at Telic Thoughts, as we openly discuss concepts and ideas that are Dangerous and…some of those kids might find our page! Thus, given the way so many ID critics seem to so thoroughly enjoy signing off on petitions and decrees that condemn ID, I thought it might be helpful if Telic Thoughts came with its very own anti-ID decree. If you are a critic of ID, please consider signing off on the following decree:

Intelligent Design (ID) is nothing more than repackaged creationism (i.e., "Creationism in a Cheap Tuxedo"). Being that it is nothing more than a religiously-motivated movement to insert God into the classroom, the concept of ID is empirically vacuous and pure nonsense. It constitutes a "˜science killer' since it is a purely negative approach that cannot come up with testable hypotheses about the natural world and merely seeks to mask our current ignorance with a statement of religious faith (i.e., "God did it").

If I can get enough signatures (internet handles are fine) in the comments section, I can post this decree when school starts in the fall, so the critics can warn the kids about the dangerous, dishonest, and despicable ideas contained on this blog. I promise not to edit the wording in any way.

Please, won't you take a few seconds of your time to help save the children?