The World Health Organization ... estimated that 1.6 million years of healthy living are lost every year in Europe because of noise pollution.

Plus, in one of his e-mails, the guy said he didn't like pancakes. What kind of asshole doesn't like pancakes?

A loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going. This, over the years, can cause real cardiovascular damage.

Very few people changed the world by sitting on their couch.

After a while, if you're committed, you start to believe in the things in which you're praying. It's just cognitive dissonance. You can't live a completely religious life and not start to have it sink in.

I thought religion would eventually wither away and we'd all be worshiping at the altar of science.

I don't believe that prayers actually change God's mind - if there is a God - but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.