text:
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. I knew I could find someone who thinks baby slugs are cute.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. I knew I could find someone who thinks baby slugs are cute.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
chigau (not my real name) says
David Marjanović says
O hai!
I no can has catcher-upper!
I can has review paper coming out yesterday (as scheduled)! Abstract, open-access pdf (5.6 MB, 66 pages)!
The page with the abstract is supposed to have a link to the supplementary information. It doesn't; I'll need to find out who to contact. Fortunately, the supp. inf. is just the data matrix of an earlier paper that merely hadn't been published in one piece before.
To my surprise, this one actually is cute.
anchor says
Are those EYES???
David Marjanović says
The eyes are probably at the bases of these… tentacles.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
8 New Punctuation Marks We Desperately Need
Could we get these, PZ? Pretty please. :)
anchor says
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Lounge number 411? So we can get information now?
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says
Hey, New Thread! I'm totally just going to pretend like I'm not Threadrupt and everythings okay, otherwise I will get nothing done today trying to catch up.
*hugs, and back pats* For everyone! And lots and lots of alcohol.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought)
8 New Punctuation Marks We Desperately Need
Could we get these, PZ? Pretty please. :)
I fucking love those! I can see the sarcasm one being used so much and I did totally read that last one in Morgan Freeman's voice.
chigau (not my real name) says
What do you want to know?
triceratops says
Good morning all – probably a "dumb question" / RTFM post. I normally post under my full/real name. If I decided I wanted to seek advice for something going on in my life, but would not want such an inquiry to pop up on a google-search of my name, what is the proper approach for doing so? I would just like to discuss an issue directly without the tact I'd use if my words might find their way back to the person about whom I'm seeking advice.
Anyway, I suppose this is a question/test-post: I'm using my normal wordpress account here, but changed the "public-facing" name to "triceratops". So, I guess I have two concerns: (1) will this post appear under "triceratops", but prior posts still appear under my usual name, and after I switch my profile, future posts go back to usual name and (2) would this violate any rules related to sockpuppetry and (3-i-suck-at-counting) can anyone but FTB site admins link my real name to this "triceratops"?
Oh, and (4-and-I-just-dont-care), should I worry about the admins of this site using that information to bully me around? I've heard they're basically the scum of the atheist community, with pretty much no scruples about ruining lives of men (which I remorsefully confess to being) at whim.
(#4 was sarcasm, btw – funny that MRAs are sufficiently out-of-touch with reality that I couldn't actually hope that #4 wouldn't be confused as realistic without this disclaimer)
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
One kimchi recipe down, 400 more to go to use up the bag of gochugaru.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
411 was an inside job!
broboxley OT says
triceratops not sure about this one, but in most blog software when you change your front facing nym everything public is tagged, as your nym is held once in a table and the nym block is filled in from this reference. For what you are suggesting I would do the following
get a throw away email account
use that account to setup a new account on the blog with your non reality nym
when you want to use it make sure that you are completely logged out of your real nym.
log in under fake nym and post.
log out under fake nym rinse and repeat
your posts have the ip you post from, no matter what nym you use. Admins can track that
fake email can be tracked thru ip so the law can track you back
most employers unless they have an IT guy with a grudge against you will not be able to track it unless you post from a work machine or from the work network.
A casua lbackground check will not link the two nyms
broboxley OT says
#11 Rev BDC in about 4 months, where can I haz some? looks delicious
Pteryxx says
triceratops: re 3) your random-looking avatar could still be recognizable, as it's hashed from the email address connected to your account. Google wouldn't find it but a person searching the comments could. Re 4) the admins of this site probably wouldn't, but persons from that other site might. I suggest either creating a temporary account (if you can clear it with PZ) or just writing up your story and asking the regulars (by email) if someone could post it anonymously on your behalf. You could also permanently change your visible name, if you're okay with having future comments coming from the same nym as your advice request.
triceratops says
Thanks broboxley OT – but for the record, I'm not looking for advice on the best ways to hide the body :-) Just a relationship issue wherein my concern is the person in the relationship (not a FTB reader) might google my real name on a whim, in which case, I'd simply prefer the advice-seeking-post in question not show up in search results. In other words, I couldn't care much less about site admins being able to connect the dots… nor lawyers (unless there are laws on the books about seeking advice about relationship issues)
For what it's worth, I've confirmed that my prior FTB posts still appear under my real name, and nothing on the "triceratops" post seems to do so, so I think I'm in the clear.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
#11 Rev BDC in about 4 months, where can I haz some? looks delicious
I finally found real Korean chile flakes at out local super sized asian grocery. Only problem is they only come in 3, 5 and 10 lbs. bags.
Actually that's not really a problem, I love kimchi.
Now it's got me eyeballing everything in the garden, fridge and at the store thinking of how it would be in kimchi.
The only issue is I'm not sure Mrs. BigDumbChimp likes kimchi.
Oh well, more for me.
triceratops says
@Pteryxx – you know, here's the sad thing. There is one class of people in the world who'd be motivated to put those pieces together, identify my real name, and might even take it upon themselves to proactively bring my post to the attention of other people in my life. After all, I just bullied them with sarcasm in my #4, point above so they're pretty much justified in doing so, if you think about it. At least, if you think about it like a deeply persecuted MRA.
Sidenote: Goddamn I wish we could just get rid of these deep rifts, so atheists of that caliber of personality would finally just be back on "my team" I wouldn't have to worry about them acting like that toward me.
Pteryxx says
triceratops: I completely agree. Sad as it is, I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention the possibility.
nightshadequeen says
broboxley OT
your posts have the ip you post from, no matter what nym you use. Admins can track that
fake email can be tracked thru ip so the law can track you back
most employers unless they have an IT guy with a grudge against you will not be able to track it unless you post from a work machine or from the work network.
I was under the impression that most IP addresses today are dynamic – that no one has a specific IP address for long enough to be tracked back.
Also TOR (and similar services).
Lynna, OM says
David M. @2:
I can has review paper coming out yesterday (as scheduled)! Abstract, open-access pdf (5.6 MB, 66 pages)!
Lovely! Salamanders, frogs, slime, and more. Congrats on the publication.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
I was under the impression that most IP addresses today are dynamic – that no one has a specific IP address for long enough to be tracked back.
Dynamic IP ranges still are tied to the provider company that issues them. They can track using the IP and time of the "event" to which of their customers had that IP at that time. Dynamic IP are typically not changed that often either. You can easily run a WHO IS search on the IP to find the company that owns that IP range.
Now getting the providing company to tell you who was issued the IP is another story, but it can be done.
I tracked one of our PCs that was stolen off one of our loading docks because we have software for remote administration of the PC that reports its public facing IP to our management server. After doing a WHO is on the IP I contacted the police and they contacted the provider who gave them the address.
broboxley OT says
nightshadequeen I have had the same dynamic ip for over a year, isp admins are lazy/busy and its easier for the software to re-assign the same static over and over unless configured to not do so
nightshadequeen says
Rev. BigDumbChimp
Ah, okay.
Coffee shop?
nightshadequeen says
I have a different IP address every time I connect to the internet.
anchor says
Yes, David M., I must concur with Lynna: it's terrific!
Pteryxx says
does Atheist Powerlifter have an AP-signal? DarkSyde Andrew wants some training advice:
Lynna, OM says
Video of a 9 year old boy who is quite the philosopher. He covers the meaning of life, existence of life on other planets, etc., but leaves a discussion of the meaning of baseball to his little brother.
These two kids give me hope. I'm really tired of the willed ignorance celebrated in too much of my community.
Andrew Dalke says
The recent discussions about PyCon got me to look more closely at Title VII civil rights protections for the workplace. I am not a lawyer and this was the first time I ever really read about Title VII. It was quite an eyeopener.
I'm going to phrase this message using Title VII terms. Basically, at PyCon there was a complaint about unwelcome jokes. The Supreme Court recognizes that sexual harassment complaints are protected under Title VII, as a form of discrimination on the basis of sex. In and of themselves, jokes of a sexual nature are not discriminatory. Title VII "does not create a civility code", and the EEOC says "using dirty remarks and telling dirty jokes" is fine, so long as they are welcome. It's *complaints* about unwelcome dirty jokes which are protected under Title VII. If PyCon were a company, then this complaint would be fall under Title VII.
Title VII looks towards actions, not internal mental state. One does not need to be offended to issue a valid complaint. One does not need to be the person affected by the discrimination in order to file a complaint. One does not need to confront the person making the harassment, nor follow the company's reporting methods, nor exhaust one method before starting another. The person making the complaint can talk to newspaper reporters, send mail to key customers, picket, and more. These protections hold even if a complaint was found, after investigation, to not actually be an example of discriminatory behavior. Basically, nearly all of the objections to this specific harassment complaint have long been settled by the courts, in the complainant's favor.
Title VII also offers broad protections against retaliation. The complaint cannot be used as the basis for adverse action, which is broadly defined as something which would "interfer[e] with an employee's efforts to secure or advance enforcement of the Act's basic guarantees". Nor can otherwise valid reasons be used as a pretext for retaliation. These protections apply to third-parties, like the friends and family of the person making the complaint. There are some exceptions, but it's all weighted towards the complainant.
What's interesting too is Title VII isn't at all about resolving differences between an alleged perpetrator and victim. If it goes to trial, the lawsuit is between the employee (the plaintiff) and the company (the defendant). The company has to show that its practices were not discriminatory or retaliatory, and one of the things it can do is show that it actively worked to minimize unwanted dirty jokes.
There are some other differences between most of the conference anti-harassment statements and Title VII protections. Title VII places some responsibility on the supervisors to be proactive, such as cleaning up sexist graffiti even if no one has complained. It's hard for me say that an all-volunteer conference staff should have the same obligation.
Of course PyCon is not a workplace subject to Title VII protection. Though since Title VII is part of the anti-discrimination policy of every medium and large professional workplace in the US, this complaint is by definition "professional" since it's permitted in any such workplace. Nor is Title VII sufficient. It is not a civility code, so a conference will likely want its own code of conduct in addition to an anti-discrimination statement.
My questions for this august lounge have nothing to do with the details of what happened at PyCon. They are: #1. Do most people here know about Title VII workplace protections? If not, why not? If so, am I correct in my understanding? #2 I propose that conferences include anti-retaliation clauses in their anti-discrimination statement. What are the reasonable objections to that proposal? #3 Since conference attendees may have had EEOC training, should the code of conduct for a conference in the US explicitly mention the main differences (eg, the lack of an anti-retaliation clause and lack of proactive response)? #4 The courts insist that Title VII is based on objective standards, and the EEOC provides guidelines for what those standards are. Why is so little of the debate grounded in that ethical framework? #5 Have you received EEOC training through your employment? #6 How useful do you think it would be for a tech conference to have a presentation or training session on Title VII protections?
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
Coffee shop?
Yes the whole tracking a Dynamic IP depends on it being that person's home or place of biz or some "permanent" locations.
I'm sure if they tracked it to a coffee shop they could try and find out who visits there frequently, but then we're talking cop work and not IP tracking.
Hekuni Cat, MQG says
David M – *pouncehug* Congratulations!
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
i'm racking up on the typo tally today
UnknownEric is GrumpyCat in human form says
Get up, a-get-get get down, 411 is a joke in your town.
I'm really tired of the willed ignorance celebrated in too much of my community.
carlie says
I have found as well that when I look at old threads, they have the various iterations of my name i've used static as they were at the time of posting; they don't all change. I think at Scienceblogs it did change all previous posts to whatever the current name was, but that doesn't seem to happen here. Still, if you want to be 100% sure, I'd use a new login/email combo or email one of the high honcho blog people directly (PZ, Ed Brayton, or Jason T. would be the best bets to know).
David M., congrats!!!!!
My accomplishment for the day is that I finally hung up the print I had made for my spouse for a birthday present two years ago. Yes, I know. But I've always been very gunshy about hanging things on walls, what with absolute perfect placement and hanging systems guaranteed to not fall down and whatnot. I was quite proud of making it – when we were camping with his family at his favorite place that summer before that birthday, I spent considerable time and pixels taking dozens of high-res scenic photos without his knowledge hoping for one that would work to look like the perfect view from the campsite. Then after I found the right one, I did some photoshopping, had the framing place do a little more, and had to figure out how to get it the exact size and cropping I wanted, and then had to ask them to reprint it after the first one had a few small splotches of misplaced ink (I hate confrontation!) THEN, after it sat for several months not hung up, someone knocked it over and shattered the glass, so I had to clean all the shards off without damaging the print any further and reframe it. All by way of saying it being finally on the wall is the end of a long saga. I put a pic up on the twitterz, although it doesn't look nearly as impressive as the story. :D
Pteryxx says
Andrew Dalke @29, a couple of corrections and thoughts: first off, not all conferences are run by volunteers. Professional conferences and trade shows may be staffed by various paid employees and/or organized by companies directly. Also, profession-oriented conferences are considered part of a "workplace" because attendees may be representing their companies, may be required to attend as part of their job, or may suffer professionally if they don't participate often enough.
#1) personally, I didn't know about Title VII beyond the vague fact that anti-discrimination protections exist (more or less) in employment, housing, and services such as health care and public places. #5) The only training I received (through a big US research institution) was a slide or two among two days' worth of new hire orientation and a reference to go look in the (textbook-sized) employee handbook. At the time I was more concerned with navigating the benefits system.
#2) I could get behind explicit anti-retaliation clauses in codes of conduct, given some known incidents. *cough* Particularly in work-related conferences. However, casual and volunteer-run conferences may be better served by a statement of purpose, since in most cases holding the conference to its principles would come about via community discussion rather than employer or legal action. I definitely need to give it further thought.
and #6) while I'm not in the computing tech industry, given the demonstrated high degree of sexism and the prevalence of very small companies and startups with a casual approach to workplace protections, I'd say a conference panel on Title VII would be extremely useful. Any conference that takes diversity seriously could use one, even comic and SF conferences, simply because most of their attendees also have or will shortly be seeking jobs. (Not all job-related networking takes place in job-related environments…)
aside: oo, bioinformatics. Very nice.
Lynna, OM says
…To best appreciate how confusing — even upside-down — the world of college costs can get, consider this: At state schools in Massachusetts, where the state board of higher education has held tuition flat for more than a decade, "mandatory fees" wind up far outstripping the price of tuition. At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship of the UMass system, mandatory fees are more than six times the cost of in-state tuition.
And that isn't the end of it: Students are then hit with still more charges — the $300 "freshman counseling fee," the $185 "undergraduate entering" fee, and several hundred dollars more if your parents or siblings attend freshman orientation. Honors college and engineering students face still more fees. …
Killing education. This business of charging "fees" instead of, heaven forbid, raising taxes to support educational institutions reminds me of the sneaky way in which Mitt Romney raised the funds he needed to run the government of Massachusetts: fees for being blind, for being handicapped, for having tuberculosis, etc. Buzz Feed article that outlines just a few of the over 1,000 fees that Romney introduced.
Delft says
(cross-posted from Thunderdome. I'd really like someone else's take on this.)
Has anyone read the "Sex for the Gods" post on A Million Gods?
I may be misreading it, but to me it sounds like: it's OK for girl children to be sold into prostitution because of "culture" and "we've always done that".
I found it shocking, because I've come to expect feminist positions on FTB.
Lynna, OM says
Carlie @34, that's a damned good lineup of excuses! I'm impressed. Hope the print looks good and gives you happy-making moments.
Lynna, OM says
Moments of Mormon Madness: mormons have been redistricting their Stakes and Wards with all the zeal of Republicans who have no other means of winning an election.
Mormon leaders tell the sheeple where to worship, (not just how to worship). "You are in this Ward and you must attend Sunday services here!" The sheeple bow their heads and obey.
The word was out. The boundaries of our LDS stake were changing. Emotions ranged from fear to thinly disguised panic. Seventy-two-hour emergency kits appeared. Children were brought indoors.
The change would affect 10 wards, 900 families, half a billion offspring and the block-warden assignments so necessary in the event catastrophes less stressful than a stake boundary change should befall us.
Changing boundaries is a big deal for Mormons. We worship geographically. Any choice about where we attend church ends when we move in. It doesn't have to make sense.
For example, there might be an LDS meetinghouse right across the street from your new place, but that doesn't mean it's your LDS meetinghouse. It could be in another ward or even another stake.
If it is another stake, the people you see going to that ward house on Sunday might just as well be attending church on Mars because you're never going to meet them….
When former state Rep. Carl Wimmer, R(squared)-Herriman was in my ward, the stake president caught wind and divided the ward so I couldn't be Carl's home teacher anymore.
And let's not forget emotions. You never want to redistrict two alpha females into the same ward. …
Robert Kirby writes an often humorous column for the Salt Lake Tribune. His jibes are usually right on the mark.
yazikus says
I have Mormon relatives, and the ward thing is serious. They were physically living in one ward, but wanted to attend the ward in which their future house (that they would build) was in. They had their child go to the school that was in the district of the future ward, rather than the school right across the street. They also happily bring their tax return to church annually for their "interview".
Lynna, OM says
They also happily bring their tax return to church annually for their "interview".
Well, duh. Of course they do, and a good thing too. The sheeple cannot be trusted to pay their full tithe, therefore each family is interrogated annually, and then the Bishop applies the red hot iron tongs to their craniums while they sign the pledge of obedience.
The Mellow Monkey says
I may be misreading it, but to me it sounds like: it's OK for girl children to be sold into prostitution because of "culture" and "we've always done that".
I don't agree with Avicenna on everything (holy shit, do I not), but he's trying to make a point regarding the cultural background of it:
Now this is a social change because honestly the people don't see why we should stop treating 14 year olds as adults. … Culture changes over time as seen by the cessation of Sati. However to make that change you need a concerted effort through all parts of society. Simple Bans didn't make Sati go away.
He isn't saying "it's okay because culture". He's saying "people don't see the problem because culture so the culture needs to change." It's an important consideration when dealing with issues like this.
Delft says
Thanks for your response.
I agree that culture needs to change.
If Avicenna said anywhere in the post that "it's wrong to force girls into prostitution, and we need to stop that", I missed it.
And, yes: When somebody is explaining that it's done because of "culture" – then if they think it's wrong, that needs to be said. Because most people who argue that it's "culture", and well-meaning foreigners should but out, will mean that it's OK.
I see that several others have responded like you, clearly we're not in sync. Maybe you have read previous posts by the author, and are taking things as read that I'm not. Or maybe spending a good deal of my childhood in a third-world country has coloured my perspective on what allowances I make for cultural relativism.
NateHevens, resident SOOPER-GENIUS... apparently... says
Personally, I can't wait for Lounge 420. Please say we can post stoned in that one… :D
Also… I posted this in the Thunderdome, but it was suggested that I might have better luck here.
I'm really hesitant about this because, quite frankly, I don't have the credentials, nor do I really deserve, to beg like this, but… I'm going to WiS2, but can't afford the hotel room.
If anyone can help in any way, that'd be greatly appreciated…
Like… if money's out, maybe Marriott rewards, or if someone with an extra room plans on attending (in that case, note that I am going to the dinner)…
Delft says
Or, of course, whatever other factors create different opinions…
(I wasn't trying to say it's one or the other. Just two things that occurred to me.)
Lynna, OM says
File this in the "What They Really Think" bin. Mark Steyn, writing in the Orange County Register, brings some weapons grade stupid to the argument against marriage equality for gays.
… Gay marriage? It came up at dinner Down Under this time last year, and the prominent Aussie politician on my right said matter-of-factly, "It's not about expanding marriage, it's about destroying marriage."
That would be the most obvious explanation as to why the same societal groups who assured us in the Seventies that marriage was either (a) a "meaningless piece of paper" or (b) institutionalized rape are now insisting it's a universal human right. They've figured out what, say, terrorist-turned-educator Bill Ayers did – that, when it comes to destroying core civilizational institutions, trying to blow them up is less effective than hollowing them out from within….
…beyond the court, liberal appeals to "fairness" are always the easiest to make. Because, for too much of its history, this country was disfigured by halfwit rules about who can sit where on public transportation and at lunch counters, the default position of most Americans today is that everyone should have the right to sit anywhere: If a man self-identifies as a woman and wants to sit on the ladies' toilet, where's the harm? If a woman wants to be a soldier and sit in a foxhole in the Hindu Kush, sure, let her. If a mediocre high school student wants to sit in a college class, that's only fair. American "rights" have taken on the same vapid character as grade-school sports: Everyone must be allowed to participate, and everyone is entitled to the same participation ribbon.
Wait, what? How did we get to high school students attending college classes whenever they want to?
Underneath all this apparent "fairness" is a lot of unfairness. Entire new categories of crime have arisen in the wake of familial collapse, like the legions of adolescent daughters abused by mom's latest live-in boyfriend. …
Uh, what about the adolescent daughters abused by mom's lawfully wedded husband?
There's that and lots more, oh lots more in Steyn's essay. We get class warfare and misogyny for example.
The most reliable constituency for Big Government is single women, for whom the state is a girl's best friend, the sugar daddy whose checks never bounce. A society in which a majority of births are out of wedlock cannot be other than a Big Government welfare society. Ruining a nation's finances is one thing; debauching its human capital is far harder to fix. …
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Dude, why wait for Lounge 420?
I post stoned all the damn time!
NateHevens, resident SOOPER-GENIUS... apparently... says
WMDKitty @ #47…
Oh I don't wait… it's just that Lounge 420 will be a special lounge… :D
Lynna, OM says
I thought the lounge hookah was stolen and installed in another thread.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
Lynna, having seen Mark Steyn's essays being published for years in the Chicago Sun-Times; he is friends with the former owner (and looter) of the paper, Conrad Black, that is fairly typical of his work.
broboxley OT says
Lynna, Mark Steyn is also a notorious plagiarist
thunk, acolyte of metatextuality says
Hia. I am dismayed, and have had enough internal and external gender gaslighting for quite a while.
The cisbinary is everywhere. :/
Andrew Dalke says
Pteryxx @35. Yes, you're right about the corrections. I wasn't clear about when I was talking about PyCon (which is volunteer run) and when I'm talking about conference in general. However, only employees have standing under Title VII, and conference attendees aren't employees, so this correction doesn't really affect the issue.
This does remind me that the anti-discrimination principles for a conference must also apply for the organizers, even when it isn't actually at the conference. Though as you say, there is no legal basis; it's only the membership and (indirectly) the possible future members which decide if a decision was correct, or if something was retaliatory. I doubt that conferences will want to take up this matter, because unlike a statement like "we are against harassment", which gives more explicit power to the conference organizers, an anti-harassment clause takes power away from the organizers. I suspect most organizers assume that they will always do the right thing and don't want their power curtailed.
You might be interested in reading the Policy Guidance on Current Issues of Sexual Harassment . It's a dense summary of how the EEOC understands sexual harassment. For example, 'Any past conduct of the charging party that is offered to show "welcomeness" must relate to the alleged harasser.'
Given the lack of any other responses, including one-on-one discussions with people I know, it seems that Title VII and EEOC awareness is non-existent. I've been trying to get others to consider things through Title VII eyes, but no one wants to actually look at the history. "I'm no politician and laws are too complicated to read", and "laws are almost irrelevant to culture" are common responses. It makes me sad that people who think that discussion is always useful in settling disagreements don't actually want to read the discussion about how to settle these disagreements.
I'll see if I can put together a study group from the next big tech conference I go to. Oh, and I'm in cheminformatics, and no longer in bioinformatics.
carlie says
I'm sorry, thunk. Hugs and chocolate coming through the USB.
Lynna, OM says
Janine and broboxley, thanks for the additional info on Mark Steyn. Looks like the Stupid has infected all levels of his brain.
Conrad Black is a real piece of work: http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/10/conrad-black-201110
On Steyn and plagiarism: http://dankennedy.net/2006/05/23/mark-steyn-and-p-word/
proudchristian says
Why do you all feel the need to build an entire community based around hating another community? You Christian-bashers are like parasites, as far as I'm concerned. You've got whatever sad little infamy you've managed to achieve, solely as a result of piggybacking off the much larger, much more respectable community of Christ (and other religions, but you mostly just bash Christ). How does it feel, to be a cluster of hateful parasites?
It's true that a lack of evidence doesn't necessarily constitute evidence for God. But there is ample evidence that evolution doesn't give us an entirely plausible timeline. Also, I maintain that there appear to be a few "jumps" that simply cannot be explained by evolution. For example, consciousness. How do you explain that? That can't be just a "chemical reaction"; it's far too mysterious and complex. There's also no real justification for it, under survival theory. I suppose I could accept that other animals "evolved", but I have to assume that we humans, at least, have divine attention, because we have this precious gift of self-awareness.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
For fun, google Mark Steyn and Eurabia.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
I do not hate christians, I hate the delusional ideas that they try to get the rest of us to live by.
(Here is a clue. I do not hate god.)
Also, an argument from ignorance is not at all convincing.
And thank you for calling me a "parasite" I hope you do not whine about incivility when people get rude with you.
Giliell, professional cynic says
HI folks
Just wanted to let you know that we're safe back home again.
Very tired, snce it's 1.000 km drive, but everything' fine.
I also played the easterbunny already and stuff is hidden
See you tomorrow or so
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
One last thing, proud assface. I suggest that you move you very civil questions here.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
You Christian-bashers are like parasites, as far as I'm concerned.
How does it feel, to be a cluster of hateful parasites?
Bless your heart.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
*waves at Giliell*
proudchristian says
WHEN people get "rude" with me? The entire atheist community has made a name out of being "rude" to me. PZ Myers made his bones defacing a Christian artifact.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
It's true that a lack of evidence doesn't necessarily constitute evidence for God.
Gee, which means you acknowledge your deity is imaginary and the null hypothesis is non-existence.
But there is ample evidence that evolution doesn't give us an entirely plausible timeline.
Gee, not one citation to the peer reviewed scientific literature, which means this statement is nothing but OPINION, which without evidence *floosh* can and is dismissed as utter and total fuckwittery.
Also, I maintain that there appear to be a few "jumps" that simply cannot be explained by evolution. For example, consciousness. How do you explain that?
Again, your unsupported OPINION, which *floosh* is dismissed as utter fuckwittery, with evolution, where consciousness is a manifestation of the wetware of the brain. Which is the null hypothesis, and you must refute with citations from the peer reviewed scientific literature. Your OPINION isn't and never will be such evidence.
but I have to assume that we humans, at least, have divine attention, because we have this precious gift of self-awareness.
Typical fuckwitted presuppositional Xian thinking, which is utter and total bullshit. Without the presupposition of your imaginary deity (which you acknowledged above doesn't exist due to lack of evidence), there is no need to invoke an imaginary deity at this point. You need to show otherwise your deity actually exists. With good solid physical evidence. Evidence that will pass muster with scientists, magicians, and professional debunkers, as being of divine, and not natural (scientifically explained), origin. Something equivalent to the eternally burning bush. Either cite the coordinates of that evidence, or shut the fuck up. If you can't put up, and can't/won't shut up, you are tacitly acknowledging you are nothing but a liar and bullshitter. Your choice cricket, choose wisely.
Caine, Wonder-wench says
defacing a Christian artifact.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ah, someone doesn't know how words work. So cute.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
WHEN people get "rude" with me? The entire atheist community has made a name out of being "rude" to me. PZ Myers made his bones defacing a Christian artifact.
Who gives a shit about a proven and acknowledged liar and bullshitter? You aren't worth the effort. You gave away your positions, and acknowledged you are wrong, or just another liar and bullshitter.
Caine, Wonder-wench says
By the way, proudchristian, the lounge is not the appropriate thread for this discussion. Take yourself and your opinions to Thunderdome, which is the appropriate thread. Thank you ahead of time for wishing to do the right thing according to the rules here.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
WHEN people get "rude" with me? The entire atheist community has made a name out of being "rude" to me. PZ Myers made his bones defacing a Christian artifact.
You are mistaken, PZ was already very well known in the blogosphere before he did that.
Also, did PZ make sure that you were forced to watch.
And how does PZ driving a nail through a wafer and tossing it the thrash along with a copy of the Koran and The God Delusion make him a parasite.
Shit, you do not even have a coherent argument.
proudchristian says
I must say, Nerd of Redhead's aggressively arrogant response is exactly the type of thing I'd expect from the aggressively arrogant atheist community
As an outside spectator, I have to say, I find it completely unsurprising that the atheist community has been wracked with issues regarding misogyny, feminism, and the like. When you've got no moral code, it's a chaotic free-for-all, everyone for himself. Members of my community simply follow the Golden Rule- handed down by Christ- and there's no need for all this shouting. Everyone is treated with respect, men AND women.
Pteryxx says
Andrew Dalke @53: Title VII definitely warrants further study and awareness. I do appreciate that you brought it up and gave such a dense introduction, and I'll be doing some more reading. For protections to function, enough of the general population needs to have some basic awareness of when they apply, how they work, and how to find someone who does know more when they have a need.
Given the lack of any other responses, including one-on-one discussions with people I know, it seems that Title VII and EEOC awareness is non-existent. I've been trying to get others to consider things through Title VII eyes, but no one wants to actually look at the history.
This knowledge gap really needs addressing. I did a bit of net searching among the communities I'd expected to have (and need) knowledge of Title VII – feminists and POC – and found almost nothing, no summaries of EEOC guidelines, no discussions of what to look for or how to navigate complaints. Mostly it's history of how the word 'sex' got appended to Title VII in the first place. With so much online discussion about harassment in so many communities, I'm surprised that nobody in the blogosphere has rolled out an analysis already.
Basic article in About.com: How Title VII of the Civil Rights Act Prohibits Employment Discrimination
Re cheminformatics: Noted, my apologies. CHEMinformatics.
proudchristian says
I will take my questions to the Thunderdome, very well.
Caine, Wonder-wench says
proudchristian! proudchristian! proudchristian! proudchristian! proudchristian!
Take this discussion to Thunderdome, immediately. The part in pretty blue is a link. Click it.
Caine, Wonder-wench says
Proudchristian, thank you very much. It's appreciated.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
As an outside spectator, I have to say, I find it completely unsurprising that the atheist community has been wracked with issues regarding misogyny, feminism, and the like. When you've got no moral code, it's a chaotic free-for-all, everyone for himself. Members of my community simply follow the Golden Rule- handed down by Christ- and there's no need for all this shouting. Everyone is treated with respect, men AND women.
Yes. Christianity is the fucking home of respect for women. The husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.
Absolutely no misogyny there.
Thee big sky daddy condemns all women because of the action of Eve.
Absolutely no fucking misogyny there.
You have no fucking room to speak, proudassface.
Goodbye Enemy Janine says
Ta ta.
(Sorry about that.)
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Members of my community simply follow the Golden Rule- handed down by Christ- and there's no need for all this shouting. Everyone is treated with respect, men AND women.
Sorry presuppositional idjit. Ever read Leviticus and Deuteronomy. No Golden rule in sight. Nor in the way xians behave *see this for example . Still waiting for any evidence to back up your claims. Otherwise, it can all *floosh* be dismissed as sewage.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
I will take my
questions[inane and unsupported presuppositions] to the Thunderdome, very well.
I'll be there. Bring your EVIDENCE.
chigau (not my real name) says
This is the Lounge.
If y'all are going to engage proudchristian, you'll have to be kind.
thunk, acolyte of metatextuality says
Everyone is treated with respect, men AND women.
As other people have touched upon most aspects of proudchristian's statement (wait I thought pride was a sin), I'd like to add this:
The gender binary is everywhere.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I was nice :)
chigau (not my real name) says
never mind
chigau (not my real name) says
Absolutely true.
When the pizza is done, I'm sending you the first slice ;)
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
David Marjanović says
*pouncehugs for Hekuni Cat and Giliell and Beatrice*
Thanks for all the congratulations, everyone, but don't congratulate me before you've read the whole thing ;-]
8 New Punctuation Marks We Desperately Need
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
We really do need all of those. I'm completely serious..
(And lacking the <u> tag.)
Why do you all feel the need to build an entire community based around hating another community?
Why don't you feel the need to inform yourself about a topic you're going to talk about?
(and other religions, but you mostly just bash Christ)
Because most of us live in countries with lots of Christians and few adherents of other religions.
It's true that a lack of evidence doesn't necessarily constitute evidence for God. But there is ample evidence that evolution doesn't give us an entirely plausible timeline.
Details, please.
Also, I maintain that there appear to be a few "jumps" that simply cannot be explained by evolution. For example, consciousness. How do you explain that?
Mind is what the brain does.
That can't be just a "chemical reaction"; it's far too mysterious and complex.
Well, I wouldn't call it one chemical reaction… :-)
There's also no real justification for it, under survival theory.
I suppose I could accept that other animals "evolved", but I have to assume that we humans, at least, have divine attention, because we have this precious gift of self-awareness.
How do you recognize self-awareness?
Chimpanzees, bonobos, orang-utans, elephants, and I think magpies recognize themselves in a mirror. Does that count?
Gorillas refuse to look at a mirror, because looking someone in the eyes is a threat, and they avoid conflict. They easily recognize themselves on video, however.
defacing a Christian artifact
An… artifact?
I thought it was supposed to be the literal body of Jesus Christ? And now you say it's manmade, artificial? :-)
John Morales says
Anyway, I suppose this is a question/test-post: I'm using my normal wordpress account here, but changed the "public-facing" name to "triceratops". So, I guess I have two concerns: (1) will this post appear under "triceratops", but prior posts still appear under my usual name, and after I switch my profile, future posts go back to usual name and (2) would this violate any rules related to sockpuppetry and (3-i-suck-at-counting) can anyone but FTB site admins link my real name to this "triceratops"?
3: Yes. Your name shows up in the page source.
Fionnabhair says
Aww, cute. Troll says the atheist community is chaotic, but ignores the commenting policy until told to go elsewhere, what, three times?
Anyways, moving on.
If I see one more post on Facebook about that stupid so-called "Monsanto Protection Act", I'm gonna need to attach a pillow to my forehead so I don't give myself a concussion headdesking. Doesn't ANYBODY know how to fact-check this shit? And the woo. So much woo. What I hate the most, though, is the stuff I'm seeing that frames the same-sex marriage debate as a "distraction", when we should really be concerned with Monsanto, or something to that effect. Once again, issues concerning a marginalized population are framed as being less important than what's important to the kyriarchy.
Head. Desk.
Considering the amount of woo going around in connection to this issue, I'm kinda surprised no one here on FtB has written anything about it. I mean, I've only got a Wikipedia education (and what I remember from high school biology about genes and such) on the subject of GMOs, and I'd loved to read more about this from someone who better understands the science.
*hugs*. Sorry you're besieged by assholes.
There was some discussion of it in the last Lounge.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
Hi, David!
Pteryxx says
Morales @85: well that's bloody annoying.
thunk, acolyte of metatextuality says
hia everyone, including david.
I like tea. tea is delicious. It makes me feel just that bit more productive, at least.
zytigon says
proudchristian at post 69 mentions the Golden Rule. I agree with Christopher Hitchens that the Golden Rule is a good first base rule of thumb. In " Trusting doubt ", Valerie Tarico points out that the Golden Rule predates the Bible, eg Socrates. The question I'd ask proudchristian is how come the Bible portrays its Gods behaving in ways that are not in accordance with the Golden Rule ?
" Do not murder " is also a good rule of thumb. Do you agree that the idea of an eternal torment is like perpetual murder? So yet again Biblegod would be breaking his chief principle. Maybe the idea of letting people go to a hell is a creation of the devil since John 8v44 says a devil is a murderer & liar. Maybe the idea of 7 day creation 6000 years ago is also the invention of a devil since evidence beyond reasonable doubt shows that idea to be a lie. [ Don't worry about the devil it probably doesn't exist but ignorance does ]
I think Romans 3v23 should be adjusted to read, " All the characters in this Bible have sinned and fallen short of it's principal principles, especially God "
Anyone who equated God with Truth and love and who wished to serve truth and love would have to admit the much of the Bible has nothing to do with such a God and should embrace the modern scientific method as the best tool to discovering truths. They should also look at the intention behind the Bible texts which could charitably have been described as a search for truths. The Bible authors made the best guess they could, about how life came to be, given the very limited data available to them. They appear to have been wildly far off reality. If they had the data and evidence that has now been gathered they would probably write an account of the formation of life on Earth that looked like, " On the origin of species ", well maybe they wouldn't manage anything so great unless they had some culture of science running through their brain.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Just had supper.
A brined turkey breast, boned, slathered with butter, sage, salt, white pepper, chives and leeks. Roasted over some bread stuffing (with the same seasonings, plus onion and celery). Delicious.
finally found real Korean chile flakes at out local super sized asian grocery. Only problem is they only come in 3, 5 and 10 lbs. bags.
Ten pound bags of Korean chile flakes? Do you have to file an environmental impact statement?
Wife says that you could use those to level an entire city block. Or, you could use it to eliminate any mole problems in your yard. Of course, your neighbor's pool would be boiling, but . . .
cag says
Here is a wild, fictional hypothesis explaining the invisibility of god:
Biblegod is
imagined claimed by christians as being everywhere, so "he" must be at least as large as the universe. For a character that large, his "equipment" must be very small as "virgin" Mary didn't even notice. This was such an ego blow to the big guy, that he went into hiding in a magnificent show of self loathing. He has taken a permanent vow of inaction and is living up to the vow.
My hypothesis, which is mine (mandatory Python ripoff).
nightshadequeen says
The conversation has moved to the Thunderdome.
Also – your quotation marks are backwards. What are you using to compose your comments?
carlie says
3: Yes. Your name shows up in the page source.
Damn. Good to know.
Portia says
Hiya and I'm sorry : /
Sounds delish. I'm making tacos with avocado and spinach and ground turkey.
David Marjanović says
Forgot to mention that it's snowing fairly heavily. Everything's white.
In the Easter night. Have we turned the Gulf Stream off yet?
*happiness tea, sweet chai, and lemongrass/cinnamon/raspberry leaf/ginkgo/licorice tea for thunk*
*Lady Grey, too*
Also – your quotation marks are backwards. What are you using to compose your comments?
They're not backwards when you take into account that they're separated from the quoted material by spaces.
There are people who seemingly don't estimate whitespace when they read, and therefore don't figure out how to deal with it when typing.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Right now, I am eating a delicious navel orange and watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Love it.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Have we turned the Gulf Stream off yet?
I saw a Gulfstream III on final approach at our airport the other day. I assume they turned it off after the taxi.
carlie says
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
Congrats on the publication…which I clicked through to, but lack the background to properly appreciate. My loss.
proudchristian, you are basing your stated opinions on a number of mistaken assumptions. (Incidentally, we assign the same importance and relevance to the Christian god as we do to Zeus, or Woden—it's just that we don't have a continuing problem with Zeusists persistently trying to annex Every. Damn. Thing. that is good, and force everybody into their religious mold.)
Ignoring most of your post, what makes you think that only humans have "this precious gift of self-awareness"? Ever met any cats? Dogs? Other animals that very definitely have different personalities?
Giliell, glad to know you're safely home.
I must say, Nerd of Redhead's aggressively arrogant response is exactly the type of thing I'd expect from the aggressively arrogant atheist community
And what you posted is exactly the type of thing we've come to expect from the aggressively arrogant Christian community. Tit for tat.
If, indeed, you aren't simply trolling. That "we all follow the Golden Rule" thing you spouted? It is to laugh.
Ah. proudchristian is off to the Thunderdome. Excellent.
*re-reading my own comment*
I don't think I've overstepped the [Lounge's] Kindness Rules, so Imma just leave it…for any lurkers-by.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
David Marjanović:
[looks upthread]
Congrats. Bravo!
chigau (not my real name) says
pizza is out.
Who wants some?
[after Beatrice]
Portia says
Me, please! I have been craving pizza all week.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Had pizza for lunch.
Sometimes the Wife and I get a real hankering for Pizza Hut pizza. Super supreme. Thin and crispy. I usually make home made or we go to a local pizza shoppe but, sometimes, we just have to hank.
Enjoy your pizza, chigau.
chigau (not my real name) says
Pizza for everyone!
The sauce is a combo of something from the freezer labeled 'pizza sauce' and 2011 pesto.
The colour is … unusual but OMG, it is delicious.
Portia says
That sounds amazing.
I get weird cravings for Pizza Hut, too. It's the only specific brand I ever crave. But I go for the pan crust, or whatever it's called.
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
I get weird cravings for Pizza Hut, too. It's the only specific brand I ever crave. But I go for the pan crust, or whatever it's called.
I worked a couple of tours of duty at Pizza Huts. Once I saw how much oil went into the pan pizza crust, I swore off it forever. But that's just me.
carlie says
chigau (not my real name) says
Portia says
Once I saw how much oil went into the pan pizza crust
Ah, that explains my obsession.
What's that, carlie? Did you say something? ;)
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
…anyone else thinking the US oughta send a SEAL team in to tie Kim Jong Un's shoelaces together and give him a wedgie?
Portia says
That was the funniest mental image. :)
My mom is visiting with a friend of hers in my kitchen. I feel kind of awkward because though the friend is perfectly nice I have no wish to socialize with her at present, nor to interrupt their catching-up. So I'm in my room Lounging and watching hulu. But apparently four tacos weren't enough for me, and …the kitchen is where the taco fixins are. Damn this social awkwardness…
Fionnabhair says
Yes, I will definitely take some pizza! Probably. That pesto was frozen too, right?
(Cod, sometimes this MAOI thing is so bloody difficult. Gotta look up what's in a food and consult a list before I can eat something, but there are multiple lists of what's safe and what's not safe and you need to make a judgement call as to which list is the most accurate, and what lists are based on the old, scary, don't-eat-anything-except-maybe-bread-BUT-ONLY-IF-IT'S-FRESH! sort of thinking they used to have regarding MAOIs, but which further research has shown to be inaccurate. Pizza is one of those foods that is almost always safe, though.)
I hate the neighbors here. Every goddamned weekend it's not raining, the assholes are out there in their backyard with a big bonfire, and our apartment is filled with their foul smoke.
chigau (not my real name) says
There is still pizza.
Yes, the pesto was frozen.
Crust is today's bread.
Cheese was not aged.
Fionnabhair says
Safe! Though I'll pass on the salami, being a vegetarian. **picks it off, chows down**
@Dalillama, you're more than welcome to have my neighbours, instead. The loud parties can get irritating, though, especially if you're a light sleeper. They're not home this weekend, though, thank goodness.
I, for one, quite like the smell of a bonfire. So long as my smoke detector doesn't go off because if it, it's all good.
I went and shouted at them and they put it out. I meant to be more polite about it, but I'm under a lot of stress now as it stands, and politeness faded rapidly during the conversation. Fionnabhair, it's not that I don't like the smell per se, but it aggravates L's asthma, and If I'm going to be dealing with a fire, I want to control when it ends. y neighbors are their own issue; the current lot are prone to going up and down the (outside) stairs like a herd of elephants and slamming their doors really loud, but the neighbors a couple buildings ago were far worse.
Asher Kay says
My daughter went to a friend's house to watch tonight. When she got home, she made me write an html page for her. Then she posted the following link on tumblr. I totally don't get it, but apparently people in her "fandom" found it amusing.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
There's a certain amount of irony in COPS coming on the telly while you're sitting and smoking a bowl.
A bonfire now and again is one thing. Having one going every. damn. day. is just excessive.
And your elephantine neighbors… fuck. I hate them, now, too — and I don't even live near them! There's nothing quite like people who aren't aware of walking softly. (Except, perhaps, those like my little brother, who has no. volume control. whatsoever. and is utterly incapable of using an indoor voice.)
Fionnabhair says
Asthma is a very good reason for objecting to smoke. Door-slamming and foot-stomping is likewise bad. I think your impoliteness in dealing with these jerks is justified. I hate to think how your previous neighbours were worse.
Alright, the delicious pizza made me sleepy (also, 2am, where'd you come from?), so I'm off to bed. G'night, folks!
The upstairs neighbor sounded like she was running a bowling alley for horses on roller skates; we never did figure out why. The left side neighbor would leave her beagle at home all day while it howled incessantly, while the rightside neighbor would turn his stereo all the way up in a futile effort to drown out his shouting arguments with his girlfriend.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
I once had upstairs neighbors who, well… I have no fucking clue what was going on up there, but I'd swear they were rearranging furniture at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. Quite annoying.
During this same time period, I'm afraid I, too, was the neighbor from hell. My abuser was living with me (in violation of the lease terms), he was abusing me, there was shouting and screaming, and there was the one time the cops came to tell us to shut the hell up.
I feel bad about being That Neighbor.
Int that instance it's not really your fault; it's on him.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Caine, Wonder-wench says
I feel bad about being That Neighbor.
Pffft, how in all hells is that your fault or doing? I understand about being sorry about the whole noisy neighbour business, but what were you supposed to do, suffer in silence out of a sense of politeness? Fuck that noise. If you're being abused, scream your head off.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Also bad timing. *fungible hugs for WMDKitty*
Caine, Wonder-wench says
Once I saw how much oil went into the pan pizza crust
I don't need to see it, I can taste it. I don't eat pizza. One of the oiliest foods ever.
Caine, Wonder-wench says
Sometimes I have bad ideas. :D
It's chocolate eggs you want to put in the dryer.
Giliell, professional cynic says
Good morning
*looks at stain on the Lounge carpet*
Isn't pride one of the seven deadly sins?
Congarats, David
So, a holiday update and recap
1. On the way there, on the highway, we saw some people with flags and banners doing some kind of political protest. French people probably recognized them from far of, I had to get close enough to read the banners to see that it was the homophobes protesting against gay marriage.
Mr. asked and I said it were the "homophobe Schweinehunde" (homophobic pig-dogs) Now, he's a bit concerned about bäd wördz. I told him it wasn't an insult but a simple statement of fact. What I didn't expect was how much it hit me. I was almost crying at this open display of hatred masked as cheerful and "positive" and their fucking appropriation of my family and my life for their hatred. I hate it that wherever we turn up, heterosexual married couple with kids we're automatically cited as support for their position. Fuck them.
2. I nearly borked the car. Some elevated walkway between the parking booths was completely hidden by the A steele (is that what you call it in English? The metal construction between your windshield and the door) and Mr. had accidentially turned off the parking sensors. And the stupid thing fit exactly under the bumper…
3. We went to the sea for building some sandcastles and sometimes you really notice the 2 yars age gap between the two. The tide came in and the waves were high and quite loud. While the little one started to cry after some time, #1 decided that she wants a surfboard for her birthday. My kid, definetly…
4. We also went to the Zoo we know from our summer holidays. Now that whole larger area is one of those typical holiday regions where there are 100 times as many people in July and August that during the rest of the year, so the Zoo was quite empty and we had lots of time and space and quiet to watch the animals. And since it is spring, everything was switched to reproduction. We could watch the otters, lions and elephants fuck. And since we're the kind of people we are we called the kids over so they could watch and explained to them what was happening (and that it's basically the same with humans). Somebody pass proudchristian the smelling salt. And to crown that experience, we watched a goat give birth. Pictures to follow. Watching her, I feel very much cheated by evolution…
5. Nurtias are fucking cute. I know they're also a pest, but a very cute one.
6. I don't know why I let my kids order their food at restaurants. They usually get exactly what they order and they usually decide that whatever we have is much nicer…
Which they could have ordered, if they'd wanted….
Giliell, professional cynic says
And as promised:
And a happy bunny day to all of you
mildlymagnificent says
sometimes you really notice the 2 yars age gap between the two.
It's not just the age. We were on a beach holiday in not very clement weather when the youngest was about 18 months. She gaily bounced around the water's edge in the padded suit that made her look like a miniature Michelin Man – and came up laughing and gasping for air when a wave washed over her. And went back for more.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
Thanks for the pizza!
I once had upstairs neighbors who, well… I have no fucking clue what was going on up there, but I'd swear they were rearranging furniture at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. Quite annoying.
Just so you know, your old neighbors moved to Europe and are now rearranging furniture, walking in high heals and occasionally dropping small but heavy metal objects at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning… or 1:00 or 2:00 ( apparently they got more unpredictable) in the apartment above mine.
Also, *hugs*
I have to admit, I missed the comment about your publication. Congratulations!!!
I'm glad you have a nice holiday and the car only got nearly borked. Oh, and I spit on the homophobes.
Yay, pics. I'll take a look!
opposablethumbs says
Still 'rupt, but:
Congratulations to David. It must feel pretty damn wonderful to have completed and published!
Sandcastles. Giliell, it sounds like you had a good time – yay! Have you seen the (still ongoing) xkcd "Time"? It's been running for days, with minute changes to the image every half-hour. There are people who've been following every update – for days. Possible to see the whole sequence so far (not finished) here: http://xkcd.aubronwood.com/#
But the beauty of it is really in the time – especially at the beginning, when no-one had any idea what was happening (of course no-one knows how or when it will end, or whether it will loop, or …) and it was an exercise in meditation for all his fans :-). I haven't been following it, but once I'd seen what was happening I did check back occasionally.
How rude of arrogantchristian to void xe's bowels on the floor in the Lounge. Some people have no sense of decency or propriety.
Good wishes to all the Horders.
Feeling a bit low – DaughterSpawn has gone again :-(. Both Spawn have exams looming. :-((( I have to speak in front of an audience in a couple of weeks (essentially to ask them for money). Never done that before and not looking forward to it!
opposablethumbs says
I hope the homophobic demos in France are the last frantic squeaking of a minority attitude circling the drain. If there were ever a mindset that deserved to be consigned to the dustbin of history …
carlie says
Then she posted the following link on tumblr. I totally don't get it, but apparently people in her "fandom" found it amusing.
Yes, that's cute! I won't explain because we've had a lot of spoilers issues with people who can't see things until later, but definitely in the spirit of it.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I won't explain because we've had a lot of spoilers issues with people who can't see things until later, but definitely in the spirit of it.
I appreciate it, thanks!
Tony! The Lonely Queer Shoop says
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is in my top favorite movies. It rests comfortably close to Clue.
Tony! The Lonely Queer Shoop says
As I caught up on the Lounge last night, the talk of pizza had me imagining that the Lounge-ers were lounging in the lounge eating pizza, with mojitoes and margaritas, while fixated on the 72″ LCD tv which showed the Thunderdome in bright, crisp colors. It was as if you all were wauting for proudchristian to wander over there.
Tony! The Lonely Queer Shoop says
Hmmm, following that wacky idea up more, lets envision the God team of annejones, joey, and proudchristian, with a wild card member (oh, lets use rajkumar) over in one corner of the Dome, while in the other, well crap. So many of you are excellent at shredding their "arguments". I am going to go with Janine, consciousness razor, and Jadehawk for the home team with no need for a wild card member, cuz that team is the shit.
PZ will be the fight referee, and Chris Clarke the announcer.
carlie says
Freaking fantastic, youtube. Youtube will shut down tonight as it is ready to select a winner. You have to watch for all the cameos.
carlie says
On apartment living: picture spouse and I, fresh-faced 21 year old sheltered fundamentalist Christians, newly married and in our first place living together. The bedroom of the apartment next to us shared a wall with our bedroom, and the people in that apartment had their bed (with large headboard) butted up against that wall, as did we (but we did not have a headboard). They had sex Every. Single. Day. Sometimes more than once. Loudly. Quite rhythmically. Thump-thump-thump-squeak-squeak-thump-thump-thump, with enough force that it sometimes actually rattled our bed. That was…something.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
That's a good one. I'm almost hoping they scramble service for a while tonight, so that people start believing it's actually happening.
Tony! The Lonely Queer Shoop says
I hope others have bern able to assist you. My humble role to play here is "drink making dude" along with concierge. Given that no one has bags to check, I simply offer a warm welcome (to you and Andrew Valke, who's info on Title VII was illuminating)
Aaaand was going to respond to other coments, but my phone does not want to function properly. Ah well.
broboxley OT says
All of the neighbor stories make me glad I am going to rent a house even tho it hammers the budget. Being able to pee off the back deck without being bothered is worth the extra money
Fionnabhair says
My bedroom is right underneath the bedroom of my neighbours (I have a basement apartment), and yeah, similar problem. I also have terrible timing in that the moment one of my neighbours and his girlfriend/fuck buddy/whatever start going at it is the moment I decide I'm tired and would like to go to bed. Then I'll get settled in and comfortable, and then not be able to fall asleep because of the noise they're making (which, to their credit, isn't that loud, I just have terrible insomnia and the sound of voices almost always keeps me awake). Fortunately (sort of), I have terrible hearing in my right ear, so if I turn my head so that my good, left ear is against the pillow, it's usually enough that I can't hear them anymore. The downside to this, of course, is that it also means I can't hear kitty purring.
They're not the worst neighbours. Mostly I just hate their taste in music. Too much bass, and when that gets too loud and vibrate-y, and that's one of those random things that can aggravate my anxiety, especially if I'm already having a bad day.
I'm moving soon, though, and then I won't have to deal with them and their terrible music again. That'll be nice. Which reminds me, I should be packing.
PZ Myers says
I have to get out of here. My sister just brought in a box of maple and bacon donuts.
I will be strong. I will be strong. I will be strong. I will be strong. I will be strong.
broboxley OT says
Send you a usb port full of sodium bicarb PZ in case you are strong enough to quit at one
Fionnabhair says
Maple and bacon doughnuts? That… really doesn't sound too appetizing, at least to me. I imagine I might be outnumbered on this, though.
In other news, Christians are outraged because Google is honouring Cesar Chavez today instead of Jesus. More evidence of the War on Easter, Christian oppression, or some such bullshit.
Sadly, the doodle isn't showing up for me. I've just got the standard logo showing up.
PZ Myers says
I quit at 0. Took a nice long walk, and have ended up at a little Vietnamese place, where I have ordered the vegetarian pho. All is right in the world.
rq says
I came back at just the right moment.
Hello, Giliell, glad you had a great trip! Love the pictures, your kids look great (when they're not causing trouble off-camera!).
More catch-up and review later, but the blue eggs were a success. I have evidence.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
In other news, Christians are outraged because Google is honouring Cesar Chavez today instead of Jesus. More evidence of the War on Easter, Christian oppression, or some such bullshit.
Jesus, like Cesar, is a Spanish name. Aren't these the same fuckheads who insist "they all look alike?"
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I can't say that a maple and bacon doughnut sounds particularly appetizing.
Parrowing says
So did I, rq. *drool*
Hi, everyone, I am officially back from my trip. I was actually back on OgvorbisThursday (I think?) but it took a while to catch up.
While in Puerto Rico, I took a long hike through the rain forest! And I didn't have to be carried out in the end, though I did slip on a rock once. OMG I'm very proud of this.
While I was away, my cats learned how to open doors. This is terrible. There are no more places in the apartment that are off limits to them now, which might be okay if they didn't destroy every thin wire they'd ever seen. Seriously, they have ruined about 10 headphones/earbuds and another 5 or so assorted cables (yes, this does mean that we were careless with leaving wires around quite a few times, but we had only turned our backs for a second!!!). This means war, catties.
Um, so, I went to the gynecologist on Monday and started having terrible cramps following the appointment and now I have barely been able to walk since then. Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening? The pain is in my lower back and it eases up with an anti-inflammatory but is still pretty bad even then. I don't know if there's anything to do but just take it easy, but I'm a little pissed off at my doctor. He was kind of dismissive when I called the next day.
I loved your pictures, Giliell! I'm glad you and your family had a good time!
Dutchgirl says
Shucks, missed the pizza… leftovers?
On apartment living: husband and I live in a downstairs annex of a 100 year old plantation style house, no insulation. We have happy loud sex, our neighbors hear it. Neighbors have happy loud sex, we hear it. No one cares, and everyone is usually in a good mood.
Parrowing: thats never happened to me at the docs, but I sorta bruised my cervix once (see above activities) and has similar symptoms… (sorry if tmi)
Tony! The Lonely Queer Shoop says
Glad your trip went well.
Boo HISS to marriage equality opponents.
Oh, and cats always win in the end. Ever see 'Cats and Dogs'? Cats are all cute. Adorable purr machines when humans are around. Once you are gone they plan machiavellian world domination schemes. Just like Pinky and the Brain.
(I think I feel a remarkable wave of silliness coming over me…)
David Marjanović says
15 cm of new snow! We went for a walk on snowshoes! On Easter Sunday!
Congrats on the publication…which I clicked through to, but lack the background to properly appreciate. My loss.
Well, I'm sure I can provide that background (the Internet is big enough these days). If you have any halfway specific questions, I'd love to answer them :-)
Sometimes I have bad ideas. :D
…Yes, you do. :-D
…anyone else thinking the US oughta send a SEAL team in to tie Kim Jong Un's shoelaces together and give him a wedgie?
Tying his shoelaces together is a great idea, except it'd provoke him to start a war on someone, anyone. The wedgie, however, is a war crime that only Americans perform. I only know it from the Internet *shudder*. Do not spread the knowledge of it.
(…Actually, I suspect there may be another reason why there are no wedgies over here: touching another guy's underpants while he's wearing them is SO GAY that all your fellow bullies would turn on you the same second. "Our homophobia is different" should be a TV Trope.)
Pffft, how in all hells is that your fault or doing? I understand about being sorry about the whole noisy neighbour business, but what were you supposed to do, suffer in silence out of a sense of politeness? Fuck that noise. If you're being abused, scream your head off.
Seconded. *fluffy hugs* *calming manatees*
Somebody pass proudchristian the smelling salt.
+ 1
And to crown that experience, we watched a goat give birth. Pictures to follow. Watching her, I feel very much cheated by evolution…
You have no idea. Your kids' placentas grew random tentacles into your uterine wall, dissolving the outer layer and all blood vessels they encountered. Goats, and artiodactyls in general, don't do that. Placenta and uterus just touch each other, everything stays separate, and the kid (heh) comes out neatly and cleanly without much risk of tearing the mother's insides apart.
Easily enough awesomeness to save my day! :-) :-) :-)
Just so you know, your old neighbors moved to Europe and are now rearranging furniture, walking in high heals and occasionally dropping small but heavy metal objects at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning… or 1:00 or 2:00 ( apparently they got more unpredictable) in the apartment above mine.
Argh. *feel-good tea* *calming manatees*
It must feel pretty damn wonderful to have completed and published!
Well, on the one hand, you get used to it. :-) This is my 7th publication. On the other hand, this one took 1 1/4 years (29 November 2011 to 29 March 2013) from acceptance to publication, so, yes, I am happy that it's finally out :-)
Fortunately we got some updates and lots of corrections in during that time.
the homophobic demos in France are the last frantic squeaking of a minority attitude circling the drain
Yes. France has always had the loudest Catholics and the loudest atheists, and the former are few in number.
As I caught up on the Lounge last night, the talk of pizza had me imagining that the Lounge-ers were lounging in the lounge eating pizza, with mojitoes and margaritas, while fixated on the 72″ LCD tv which showed the Thunderdome in bright, crisp colors. It was as if you all were wauting for proudchristian to wander over there.
(Except that I don't eat pizza. I don't like tomatoes or cheese or rubbery mushrooms; that leaves, what, dry bad bread and salami?)
NateHevens, resident SOOPER-GENIUS... apparently... says
Erm… heh…
I'm not spamming! I swear!
*looks around nervously*
It's just… there's been an update to my e-begging…
If you want something from the conference when you donate, just donate extra and let me know. Otherwise, all of the leftover money there is after I book the hotel (that's not been bookmarked by donaters for something you want) will be donated to CFI for the Women in Secularism conferences, so… I hope that's some good incentive for y'all…
I had originally set the deadline to May 1, which is what I said in the video. The deadline was reset to April 17 and I missed it before publishing, so now I can't change it… :(
Portia says
Not much time, but
Hi Giliell!
Hi rq!
Hi Parrowing!
Welcome back, all.
Re: Cesar Chavez. That explains this facebook status that I didn't understand before: "Happy Easter. ON the third day cesar chavez was still dead. just sayin google"
rq says
Jesus wasn't even dead a whole three days.
Talk about cheating.
(Oh, and by the way, April Fools!)
rq says
Hi, Parrowing! :) Nice to read you again, and yay for the rainforest!
Hi, Portia! I'm glad you had a great weekend!
Congratulations on another publication, David! I'll try to take a closer look tomorrow; it looks interesting!
Some thoughts about the weekend:
1. I had a better time than usual, and I think I know the reasons, but for now, I'm just going to savour the fact that I actually enjoyed myself and was productive and was satisfyingly social, without feeling any extra pressure. (Minuses: the headache I got this morning due to sleeping on the floor beside Youngest who was being an uncooperative sleeper himself.)
2. Progress on Husband's sexist language: pulling into the parking lot of the mall before leaving, backing into the space, he said, 'I'm parking like such a girl, aren't I.' Then he stopped himself, thought for a moment, and said, 'No, what I meant was, I'm driving like a driver's ed student.' (This transition makes a bit more sense in Latvian.) /smallvictories
3. I hate people (without kids) talking about giving my kids a beating to make them behave (and to improve my parenting or something), as if I would allow that, and as if it's funny, and as if it would actually make them behave. (And yes, I called it out, to the disappointment of Husband's siblings making the jokes.)
4. It was more like Christmas than at Christmas, what with the giant blizzard all day yesterday.
Here are some photos, I'll be getting some more from Husband's sister. More coloured egg-sperimentation occurred over the weekend, some of it with great smashing success, some of it less so… I have ideas for next year. (I know, technically, I could do it any time I want, but at least Easter is an annual reminder that I have an actual excuse to put in the effort and energy.)
chigau (not my real name) says
My pizza does not have "dry bad bread".
birgerjohansson says
Thank you for reminding me, I hadn't noticed we had local midnight 22 minutes ago*.
Which reminds me, the Midnighter (and most of the Authority) have been brought back in a retcon of Stormwatch.
(the previous iteration of Stormwatch ended with the station being infested by aliens -Alien aliens- and they dumped the whole station into the Sun, only a handful ofthe protagonists escaping)
And for assorted steampunk/fantasy addicts, I would recommend the Ketty Jay trilogy, beginning with "Retribution Falls". Praised by wossname, Hamilton. You know, "Great Northern Road", that Hamilton.
Terry Pratcett is publishing his fourth "Roundworld" book this year; "Judgement Day".
I recommend the previous three.
Rob Thurman has finished yet another book with Nico and Cal, not quite as many monsters as I would expect, it was a bit "meh" but not bad. Jim Butcher's latest Harry Dresden, "Cold Days" is available but not yet as paperback.
Boss cat is stretched out next to computer, purring.
birgerjohansson says
* It took me 16 minutes to add on all things that came to my mind, then deleting the stupid stuff. Fast writer I am not.
Portia says
Neat pictures, rq, thanks for sharing!
I especially like the one of Youngest learning to drive :D
chigau…you're making me want to make pizza…
Except all I have is cheddar cheese and no desire to go to the store 20 minutes away. Ah well. Tacos again. Woe is me ;)
Seconding the recommendation for the Ketty Jay books. I loved those.
I'd also like to put in a plug for Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, starting with Boneshaker.
Andrew Dalke says
Pteryxx @70. Wow! The history of how "sex" got into Title VII is amazing. The EEOC 'viewed the sex amendment as a "fluke" that was "conceived out of wedlock", and tried to ignore its existence', and the National Organization of Women started in order to pressure the EEOC to actually enforce the law?!
This is from http://www.jofreeman.com/lawandpolicy/titlevii.htm .
Thanks for reminding me (in passing) that I didn't understand the historical context.
chigau (not my real name) says
Make your pizza with the cheddar.
There is no rule that says you must use mozzarella.
balaeniceps says
Hi y'all. Lurker here who has almost never posted. Sorry if this is too off topic but I had some thoughts I had to air somewhere.
I recently finished the videogame Bioshock Infinite–it was pretty dang fun but I got to say I was disappointed that the developers underutilized the themes regarding classism, racism, American exceptionalism, and religion, (particularly in the latter part of the game) unlike the first game which had political themes that were more roundly emphasized. Seemed like a seriously squandered opportunity that was unfortunately magnified by the characterization of the oppressed underclass rising up in revolution as being just as bloodthirsty and cruel as the oppressors. Yet another case of media saying "extremism is bad" without regard to false equivalency. I find it very frustrating.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
*scritches&catnip* for WMDKitty. I join the others in saying, not your fault; and do scream if you're being abused!
*hugs* for opposablethumbs. I'm sure you'll do just fine, and that the audience won't hardly bite you at all.
Or at least, are unlikely to draw blood.
What you described sounds like the aftermath of the gyn exam where the doctor took a sample for a biopsy, ultimately leading to my Complete Hysterectomy With All The Trimmings. Don't know for sure whether to attribute it to the sampling, or the condition because of which the sampling was done, though.
David, I suspect that I need a buncha more college (not happening) or a lot more reading (in connection with which, recommendations for basic-level reading? I've got a library card, and I'm not afraid to use it!), in order to ask those halfway specific questions.
rq: Hurrah for victories, however small!
That is a pretty blue.
Welcome in, balaeniceps!
opposablethumbs says
Jimmy Carter has finally decided to "sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention" over their mistreatment of women?!?!?!?!
opposablethumbs says
Seems Carter made an impressive speech, quoted at http://www.womenspress-slo.org/?p=11440 (not where I saw it, but that's the link they gave)
Thank you cicely! They may not bother to draw blood, I suppose, as they have presumably already grown fat on the flesh of their hapless victims (apparently there may be Rich People present. I don't think I have ever seen any in their own habitat before).
carlie says
Carter made an announcement to that effect years and years ago – somehow it turns up every so often as if it were a new thing, and if he says something about it like he'd never said it before.
broboxley OT says
google nose is out
check the large box on the right hand side
chigau (not my real name) says
broboxley #175
I went further but stopped at 'baby powder and poop' because the tears were preventing me from reading the text.
chigau (not my real name) says
Then I continued clicking "People also sniffed" and found 'Victory' and 'Fear'.
I hate the end of the month. It makes me feel like Edmund Blackadder, Butler: "I feel like a pelican. No matter which way I turn, I've got an enormous bill in front of me."
broboxley OT says
#177 did the "Victory" smell like overheated transistors?
niftyatheist, perpetually threadrupt says
#174 carlie (re #172 173 opposable thumbs) I read about this a number of years ago, too. Not just about treatment of women (though it was a big thing). Carter wrote about it in his book, Our Endangered Values, I think.
chigau (not my real name) says
I'm nostruming a chest cold so no matter how close I get my nose to the monitor, it smells like Vicks.
broboxley OT says
chigau #181 ah, nods sagely that explains it
niftyatheist, perpetually threadrupt says
David M, congratulations on the recent publication!
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Found a ginormous bumbly-bee in the house today.
I tried to share my moment of "holy fuck, YOU GOTTA SEE THIS THING" with family, and had to talk Dad into stunning it and taking it outside. It was HUGE, and fuzzy, and bumbly, and totally mellow the whole time.
Giliell, professional cynic says
Good morning
*hugs* all around
glad you had a good weekend. Nice pictures, but urgh, snow. Do you mind it less if it is more usual for that time of year (is it?)? I can't stand the cold anymore. I want SPRING.
And boo for people suggesting beatings.
What they actually want aren't well-behaved children but obedient children.
And children who obey will also obey when their boyfreind tells them to get into the back of the car, or when their pal tells them to watch out if anybody comes.
I think it's like "phases" at the moment. A year ago #1 was still very timid and caaaaaaareful while the little one was a dare-devil. Now #1 has outgrown it while the little one is at a point where she recognizes that things might be dangerous and still lacks the capacity to somewhat judge risks.
Yeah, I noticed that some things that are very much part of human birth were completely absent from the goat birth. Like the umbical cord and placenta still being inside when the kid is out.
Yay for the good trip.
re: homophobes
I think they don't stand a chance in France. AFAIK the law is quite sure to pass the senate (?)
Germany will follow in a few years time. The consittutional court has ruled time after time again that while the governement can discriminate between certain family-forms, giving benefits to marrried couples over unmarried ones, it has also continously ruled in favour of giving same-sex couples within "life-partnerships" the same rights as "married couples". The problem of the German bigots is that while the constitution explicitly protects "marriage and family", it never defines those terms. Sure, that's because the people who wrote it considered homosexuality a crime and/or mental disease, but, well, even the bigots don't want to mention that….
opposablethumbs says
Oh. I did not know that – thank you, carlie. Still good, but not the exciting news I thought it was, by a very long chalk!
As ever, just goes to show I should have checked before getting all enthused :-\
carlie says
opposablethumbs – that's ok, I only know because I did the exact same thing a year or two ago the last time it went around!
rq says
re: weather
Well, we were all hoping for a warmish sunny weekend, with some snow on the ground – we didn't expect the return of Old Man Winter. Generally speaking, I don't mind the snow (big fan, right here!), but enough is enough. My birthday is the end of April, and I heard some weather news saying that there might still be a good amount of snow on the ground – no longer so awesome!! :/ In other words? I want SPRING, too.
You're so right about people-with-no-children** wanting obedient children. What they also don't understand is the whole age thing – in their minds, little kids should just do as they're told because they're Little Kids, not People with Opinions. Well, I'm sorry to say* that Middle Child has some very strong opinions, which he sometimes has difficulty expressing because he is only 3 and has too many thoughts in his head for his linguistic capabilities, and he just doesn't like it when people try to push him around and tell him what to do because he's little/young. He's not stupid, after all. But to some people, little/young = stupid, and since they're older/adult, and thus (supposedly) smarter, it should be obvious that they should be obeyed. Heh. And
*Not really sorry at all, actually.
**And yes, in my observations, it is mostly people with no children who have all these ideas about how children should just shut up and do as they're told or else they should expect a beating. The strangest part, though, is that, from Husband's discussions about his childhood, none of them were ever abused physically, and they've all grown into fairly decent and productive adults (products of their culture, but still, credit where credit is due), so I really don't get this obsession with beating children for obedience.
re: homophobes
Latvia's full of them. A few years ago the homophobic protesters were out in full force, and it was disgusting to watch. If France passes this year, and Germany in a couple of years, then I think Latvia is a good 10 – 15 years behind. Due to a lack of education, really, and the mistaken idea that Latvia is some kind of last bastion of good, moral Christianity in Europe, the only one holding on to traditional values and calling non-typical, non-cis, non-heterosexual people what they are – monsters and sick people who lack morals. *spits* It makes me ashamed of my country.
opposablethumbs says
I only know because I did the exact same thing a year or two ago the last time it went around!
lol :-D (I feel much less silly now I know I'm in good company ;-) )
Parrowing says
Yay, my first pouncehug, thanks cicely.
It feels like that might be it, Dutchgirl, or something similar. Eesh, it was only a regular checkup and the doc said everything was fine, so I think in this case it was just the method, cicely. In any case, ow ow ow it hurts!
I didn't take many pictures on my trip this year, but it's the same place I went to last year so here are my Puerto Rico 2012/2013 pictures .
What a cute bee, WMDKitty. I'm glad your dad got it out of the house safely (for all involved).
Giliell, professional cynic says
[parental rant]
Add people to the list with no actual knowledge about children and child development * but lots of opinions.. I swear they "diagnosed" #1 with being an early walker (definetly not) and being so late (not really, either) there was something wrong with her and I need to take her to the doctor NOW.
And also their entitled opinions on whether whatever they wear is weather appropriate or not *rolleyes*
*usually people without children or whose children are grown up
Perks of being a grown-up:
1) Nobody stops you from collecting all those shiny pebbles at the beach (though you have to stop yourself from putting them into your mouth yourself).
2) You know they'll lose their shine and you won't cry over it
3) Nobody stops you from taking the ail polish and giving them back their shine.
Now I only need an idea whyt to do with them. If I lived at the seaside I'd spin them into fine silver wire and sell them….
rq says
Oooh, pretty pictures!! :)
And some *virtualpainkillers*, hope they work (and I hope the pain goes away sooner rather than later – I do not look forward to gyno exams for these reasons!).
Shiny pebbles? Put them somewhere where you can admire their shininess all day, every day! ;)
Alternatively, they could be glued to a piece of cardboard in a mosaic reminder of the beach to look at on especially cold and sunless days. Or, a frame around a mirror. Or, strung on wires/strings for a ceiling decoration/lampshade. Or, stone jewellery (silver wire to wrap around and hold together). Or…
Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says
Took me a while to find this.
Regarding North Korea's current idiocy.
Back when Kim Jong Il died (or, at least, his mortal body died — his spirit will lead North Korea forever), I made the following prediction:
19 December 2011 at 7:40 am (UTC -5)
My quick prediction for North Korea?
10% — to shore up the military's supprt, North Korea defends itself by invading South Korea.
30% — military coup followed by a military dicatatorship (with a 50% chance of a civil war as two or three generals decide to fight it out to determine who gets to be the next supreme leader.
30% — North Korea continues to drift through abject poverty and into full destitution (in other words, no change)
10% — A North Korea Spring (and I think I am overestimating this) to be followed by a civil war (with a 50% chance of it spilling over into South Korea).
20% — Total economic collapse followed by civil war (with a 50% chance of it spilling over into South Korea).
I have a very positive feeling about North Korea's future. I am positive that, within the near (25 years) future, nothing good will happen for the people of North Korea.
And it looks like the first and last option may be coming to fruition. Yikes.
rq says
I may be in Canada around Christmas of this year (as sponsored by: My Family), and next summer (for not only choir high-jinx, but also some professional development).
This might be exciting.
howard says
Re: Google Nose
People also sniffed: April Fools Days.
April Fools' Day
Immature and cheesy, with a quick, bright finish
Google Aromabase
PZ Myers says
Oy, I'm home. Arrived at Minneapolis at 5:30am, had about 2 hours of fitful sleep on the plane. Drove 3½ hours to get home, threw my bags down, went straight to my office and have already fielded 4 students stopping by with questions.
I'm having a tough time keeping my eyes open.
It's going to be a loooooong day.
rorschach says
Your schedule is insane, mate.
chigau (not my real name) says
Welcome 'home', PZ.
rq says
Sometimes I'm grateful I'm merely a mother and not a professor. ;)
Welcome back, PZ.
dianne says
I'm having a tough time keeping my eyes open.
So don't. Put a "do not disturb" sign on your door and take a nap. Or, better, go home and take a nap. If neither is feasible, sit in the back at any meetings you need to go to and…take a nap.
I went through an old style residency. The one with 100+ hour weeks. I feel no shame at sleeping at work if there's no reason not to.
rorschach says
I went through an old style residency. The one with 100+ hour weeks. I feel no shame at sleeping at work if there's no reason not to.
The best was always, after you had been running around from 8am to 3am already, to finally sink into your cushions semi-consciously, only to be awakened by the pager going off 10 minutes into REM sleep by the triage nurse asking you to see someone who's had a sore ear for a week. Murder was not out of the question on some occasions.
rorschach says
Or the all-time classic "Doctor, I cant sleep", or its pediatric variety "Doctor, my infant is asleep, surely there must be something wrong".
carlie says
I'd be interested to know from the two of you specifically what you think of those marathon on-call hours. I have been told that the reason is to be able to follow a patient for their entire stay so that nothing is forgotten or lost between doctors caring for a single individual, but I'd think the sleep deprivation would more than make up for that in total number of possible errors – it seems a lot easier for one person to forget a detail over the course of four days without proper sleep than for the detail to get lost between notes taken by one alert person and read by another alert person.
rorschach says
I'd be interested to know from the two of you specifically what you think of those marathon on-call hours. I have been told that the reason is to be able to follow a patient for their entire stay so that nothing is forgotten or lost between doctors caring for a single individual
Not really. In my residency time, it was just the way things were, you looked after your own ward(of say 30 or 40 patients) from 8-5, and then became responsible for the whole department(of say 200 patients) after 5 and until 8 the next morning, when you were expected to do your ward round before you could go home and finally crash. There was no fancy continuity of care plan behind it.
opposablethumbs says
IANAD but it sounds insane, inhuman and dangerous to patients as well as doctors.
Is this time-honoured and (it seems) internationally revered tradition some sort of equivalent of stotting, do you think? Make the junior doctors jump a completely arbitrary and non-productive high bar before you admit them to the hallowed halls of senior status? A cross between hazing, rites of manhood (sic) and an initiation ceremony, liberally sprinkled with a dash of "I went through it so they're bloody well going to go through it too" – with the extra added bonus of forcing junior doctors to demonstrate how committed they are by having no time for their own health let alone their possible spouse and children.
There must be a cost in terms of doctor sanity and patient health, surely!
Fionnabhair says
I admit, I have been that "Doctor, I can't sleep" person, but I also have chronic, treatment-resistant insomnia, and a few a few days of not sleeping, I think wanting to see a doctor at that point is quite reasonable. So, you know, not everyone with that complaint is just whining.
Lynna, OM says
Republicans continue to look for ways to keep contraception out of the hands of women.
[Ohio's Attorney General is pushing a bill] …to empower employers to deny the women who work for them access to contraception as part of their health care plans — even if employers aren't being asked to pay for the birth control directly, and even if it's covered under a separate insurance plan that the employer isn't paying for.
The Republican interest in combating contraception access did not end in 2012.
Giliell, professional cynic says
The best was always, after you had been running around from 8am to 3am already, to finally sink into your cushions semi-consciously, only to be awakened by the pager going off 10 minutes into REM sleep by the triage nurse asking you to see someone who's had a sore ear for a week. Murder was not out of the question on some occasions.
Works the other way 'round, too.
Mum used towork as a lab/x-ray technician and they had constant problems with doctors who kept "forgetting" that they (the technicians) did not work night-shift but only emergency service. So they would wake them at 3am to do some bloodwork where the results would remain untouched in the out-basket until 10am.
There must be a cost in terms of doctor sanity and patient health, surely!
Yeah, but it's such a handy way to blame all mistakes that happen, and are prone to happen on individual doctors/nurses
I think rorschach was talking about the kind of patient who is in hospital for something different and then upset everybody in the night because they can't sleep at night.
In the hospital.
I spent a full 6 nights of my life in hospital (apart from my own birth). I slept for on of them. That was because I was there with a nervous breakdown and had been knocked out…
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
New tests suggest Shroud of Turin dates to 1 century AD….
Scientific experiments carried out at the University of Padua indicate that the Turin Shroud dates to the first century AD.
The new test, by scientists at the University of Padua in northern Italy, used the same fibers from the 1988 tests but disputes the findings. The new examination dates the shroud to between 300 BC and 400 AD, which would put it in the era of Christ.
right sort of near it at least.
The latest findings are contained in a new Italian-language book — Il Mistero Della Sindone or The Mystery of the Shroud, by Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurement at Padua University, and Saverio Gaeta, a journalist.
Fanti, a Catholic…
PZ Myers says
I'd like to know more about the applicability and reliability of the tests they did. They look decidedly obscure and odd — as if the authors were casting about for any technique that would give them the answer they wanted, without concern for accuracy.
carlie says
Youtube really went all out on this one – today you can watch a "livestream" of nominees:
dianne says
Or the all-time classic "Doctor, I cant sleep",
I was always tempted to give them my pager and say, "Try carrying this for a while. It practically eliminates insomnia after a few weeks."
birgerjohansson says
I am told this kind of creeps can escalate into killing humans…
When considering what to do with the culprit, it occurred to me that "splat" rhymes with "baseball bat".
Suspected serial cat killer arrested in Gothenburg http://www.thelocal.se/47068/20130401/
— — — — — — — — —
One April 1st article stated archaeologists had found Mjöllnir, the hammer of Thor, during excavations for a new road tunnel outside Stockholm.
dianne says
Sleep in the hospital is a real problem, though. In fact, if I ever get my act together to write the verdammt IRB protocol, we're going to do a study to try to improve sleep quality in the hospital with the hopes that better sleep=fewer complications and shorter hospital stays. But when you're (occasionally literally) dying to go to sleep, someone else's complaint of insomnia is…unwelcome. Envy provoking, even.
I don't think much of the old system and am glad they changed it. The current 80 hour limit is not ideal, but it's not the kind of crazy making that 100+ hours is either.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
SOLD! Until they pissed it all away
The Heidelmoss family of Greensboro, Ind., (above) were ready to close on their dream home last week when they learned they would have to submit to urine and blood analysis in order to receive their mortgage.
The policy is a new law that requires families prove their sobriety when they receive tax dollars to help them into housing. It includes random testing of all residents in the household for the length of the loan and could result in forfeiture of property if recreational substances are found.
At issue was the mortgage interest tax deduction, the nation's leading housing subsidy program with an estimated annual drag on the nation's budget of between $70 billion and $100 billion in giveaways. It is one of many tax deductions and benefits granted to homeowners like the Heidelmosses, along with property tax deductions and a deduction on the capital gains on the sale of real property, even if it was only used for two years.
"We thought drug testing was only for welfare recipients," said Nigel Heidelmoss, the family's patriarch who refused testing and lost the house."I don't understand why they're coming after us. My wife's drinking habits shouldn't have anything to do with getting into a home. It's not like she does it on the street."
April fools, if you skip to the bottom.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
I know it's not real, it's making a point.
Lynna, OM says
Mormon Moments of Madness: the TK Smoothie. This is a reference to the mormon doctrine that assumes persons who land in the Terrestrial or Telestial Kingdom after death are smooth like Barbie and Ken. No genitals. No eternal procreating for them. Mormons who are worthy to enter the highest heaven, the Celestial Kingdom, get to continue procreating forfuckingever.
[credit to ex-mormons for posting this info on another forum]
In both of these kingdoms [i.e., the terrestrial and telestial] there will be changes in the bodies and limitations. They will not have the power of increase, neither the power or nature to live as husbands and wives, for this will be denied them and they cannot increase. Those who receive the exaltation in the celestial kingdom will have the "continuation of the seeds forever." They will live in the family relationship. In the terrestrial and in the telestial kingdoms there will be no marriage. Those who enter there will remain "separately and singly" forever. Some of the functions in the celestial body will not appear in the terrestrial body, neither in the telestial body, and the power of procreation will be removed. I take it that men and women will, in these kingdoms, be just what the so-called Christian world expects us all to be – neither man nor woman, merely immortal beings having received the resurrection. — Joseph Fielding Smith, 1876 – 1972, tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Doctrines of Salvation. vol. 2, pg. 287-288.)
Surprisingly few present-day mormons know that this is part of their doctrine.
carlie says
Scenes of domesticity:
I arrive home at 5:30. Spouse and child 2 have been gone since 4:45 for a weekly sport practice.
Child 1 comes upstairs to meet me.
Me: "Did dad say if I have to do anything to get dinner ready?" as we are walking into the kitchen.
Child 1: "He told me to take the foil off of the lasagna at 5:30 so the top can brown."
We look at the stove. We look again.
Me: "To take the foil off of this lasagna. This one right here."
Child 1: "Yep, looks like it."
We look at the clock. We look back at the stove.
I take the cold, uncooked lasagna off of the top of the stove and quietly put it in the heated oven.
Tonight, dinner will be approximately 45 minutes later than planned.
*end scene*
Lynna, OM says
Moments of Mormon Madness related to politics and to the relationship of mormon parents/culture to mormon kids who are gay.
Excerpted text is below.
Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., will not join Sen. Rob Portman, R-Wis., in backing gay marriage just because his son is gay. "I don't support the gay marriage," said Salmon, who is a social conservative.
"My son is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love him more than I can say," he told 3TV. "It doesn't mean that I don't have respect, it doesn't mean that I don't sympathize with some of the issues. It just means I haven't evolved to that stage."
Salmon's son, also named Matt, told the Washington Post that he accepts his father's position. "I love my father and realize that he can have the opinions that he has, and they might differ from mine, but that doesn't change the way I feel about him."
From the Washinton Post:
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/01/rep-matt-salmon-gay-son-hasnt-changed-my-views-on-gay-marriage/?hpid=z4 ):
The younger Salmon previously led the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights GOP group, but has left that post to concentrate on medical school. In a 2010interview with the Phoenix New Times, the 22-year-old revealed that he was dating Kent Flake, the second cousin of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). In the article, both young men discussed coming out to their conservative Mormon families. They have since broken up. ….
Matt Salmon talks about growing up gay in a mormon-dominated culture: YouTube link. The poor kid was even subjected to conversion therapy.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
So I was reading The Story of the Easter Bunny to my daughter, and had the appalling realization that we already know which rabbit is going to be promoted to be the new Easter Bunny: the white one. x.x
Lynna, OM says
Matt Taibbi, writing for Rolling Stone, gives the full, awful effects of Three Strikes laws. A disproportionate number of black men are imprisoned for life, some for offenses like stealing a piece of pizza or a pair of socks.
The typical third-striker wasn't just likely to be homeless and/or mentally ill – he was also very likely to be black. In California, blacks make up seven percent of the population, 28 percent of the prison population and 45 percent of the three-strikers.
Like wars, forest fires and bad marriages, really stupid laws are much easier to begin than they are to end. …
Romano, a Stanford Law grad who was clerking for a federal judge in Seattle, came across a pair of California cases that disturbed him greatly. One involved a Mexican immigrant sent to prison for life for taking the written portion of a DMV exam for a cousin who didn't speak English. In the other, a man named Willie Joseph received a life sentence after helping an undercover policeman set up a $5 crack deal. "That case stuck with me," says the bespectacled, quick-witted Romano. "Willie didn't hurt anybody in those offenses." …
"What it came down to, though, is that these people just don't care about the poor people of color who are locked up, and would as soon see them not released." …
This gets to the heart of what went wrong in America in the years following the mandatory-sentencing and Three Strikes crazes. We removed the human element from the justice process and turned our courts into giant unthinking machines for sweeping our problem citizens under a rug.
And it isn't just in California, but all over the country, where there are countless instances of outrageous and brutal mandatory sentences for relatively minor crimes. Often, they're so ridiculous that even the judges imposing them publicly denounce them, …
Lynna, OM says
I might be the only non-mormon in my neighborhood. Maybe that's why I am blessed with so many visits from mormon missionaries. Yesterday, a pair of high-school-looking "Elders" stopped by. I pretended, successfully to not be home. The Elders dropped their "Assignment Checklist" in my driveway.
The checklist is geared toward "students," so I think I may have mistaken mormon seminary students for missionaries. All one and the same if they are harassing me.
Here's the complete checklist, which really makes one want to be a teenager in the mormon church (caps and wording all in the original):
Invited at least one other eligible person to Mission Prep
Doctrine and Covenants 4 MEMORIZED
Begin and continue scripture study journal
Locate and MEMORIZE at least 4 verses about repentance
Examine personal worthiness and determine what to do
Complete scripture chart on page 28 of student manual
At least 15 minutes looking at on-line mission prep resources
Prayerfully review your patriarchal blessing, noting counsel and impressions that can be applied to your missionary work. (If you have not received your patriarchal blessing, consider doing so.)
opposablethumbs says
Most adorable April Fools' day …. joke?
There's a local radio station here called Resonance which plays only the weird and wonderful – not just music, but any and all creations in the medium of sound, from the lush to the unlistenable, the brilliant to the utterly bizarre.
All day today (probably 24h – I'm not checking!) they have changed their call sign (or whatever that's called, when they announce the station name and frequency on the hour) to "Radio Yesterday" – and they are playing, non-stop, without a pause and without comment … Nothing. But. Versions. Of. Yesterday by the Beatles. Arranged and performed in every single genre under the sun, and no two of them are alike. They must have dug up hundreds of them.
Orchestral. Reggae. Country. Jazz (not half bad, one of 'em). Classical. Funk. Pub crooner. Baroque. Prog-rock. Trance. Klezmer. Romantic. Heavy Metal. Contemporary. You bloody name it.
Whoever thought of doing this is a genius. Twisted, mind, but a genius of the twisted jest. I absolutely love it. Had me laughing out loud in the car, it did – just the thing to end my day with a smile :-)
chigau (not my real name) says
opposablethumbs #224
Y'know, I'd pay money to own that as a CD.
There are times when the neighbours' choice of party music just cries out for that as a response.
carlie says
opposablethumbs – that is brilliant.
Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck. I'm short on rent, and my last plan for getting more money has just fallen through, as no one will take D's car for anything close to it's theoretical worth, or close to what we need. We're looking at about $750 that we need,, but the absolute best offer anyone will give us is $500. That buyer left, because I had someone else offer $750, but he turned up and looked at it and said that he didn't want it, leaving us up shit creek. I really, really, hate to do this again, but I can't think of anything else and I'm kind of out of options here…if any of y'all have any spare cash that could come my way, I would be eternally grateful.
opposablethumbs says
I really loved it. And the best (sort of best) part of the joke I didn't even realise until later – the earworm!!!1!!!1!!! Fortunately for me it's an earworm I actually don't mind having, but now I see the joke in its entirety (I think) I admire the fiendish and devious concept of the prank even more :-D
opposablethumbs says
Fuck, Dalillama. I'm so sorry. I really hope you get the help you need.
Lynna, OM says
This is in reference to my post @220: ex-mormon "axeldc" knew Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz. "axeldc" posted this in another forum:
When Salmon was first in Congress, my roommate's … brother was his Chief of Staff. He came over a couple of times to watch BYU football at our apartment.
He regularly made homophobic comments, including mocking his colleague, Barney Frank, the only openly gay member of Congress at the time. He called him "Barney Fag" and quoted some jokes that Dick Armey had made about him. (How does a guy named "Dick Armey" mock gays?)
Now that I know he has a gay son and refuses to support him, I really despise the man. …
His chief of staff, Robert Glass, was also a homophobe. He headed the Pro campaign on the Knight Initiative in 1999, the one that caused my friend Stuart Mattis to kill himself.
Here is a repeat of the link to a video made by Matt Salmon Jr., the son of the homophobic Congressman:
Lynna, OM says
Whoops. My apologies. I did not intend to embed the video.
Gyeong Hwa says
The poor kid was even subjected to conversion therapy.
Oh, they're even introducing their own brand of LDS approved conversion therapy now including some really creepy ones. This after they entertained the idea that sexuality may not be a choice after all.
chigau (not my real name) says
Gyeong Hwa
How goes the Battle?
Phew. I was able to beat the price up on the car, the buyer will be coming down tomorrow for it, so it looks like we're going to make it.
chigau (not my real name) says
Gyeong Hwa says
Gyeong Hwa
How goes the Battle?
The battle goes! Except the battle for work, that isn't going. But the other battles are doing okay.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Well. That was interesting…
Naproxen + empty tummy = pass out for three hours
chigau (not my real name) says
Gyeong Hwa
Sorry about your work situation.
I just finished a contract with the gummint.
When the cheque comes in I will get a new toilet and some dentistry.
Gyeong Hwa says
Chigau, thanks for asking though. I'll keep trying. In the mean time, I'm reading this horribly transphobic screed from a lesbian demanding that we take T out of LGBTQ, and I'm giving it such an epic side-eye/
rq says
Finding Mjollnir would be awesomeness (although I suppose it would have to undergo the same kind of rigorous testing as the Shroud of Turin…. bwahahahahaha! Hey isn't that story an April Fools joke as well?).
Here, one of the best articles was about turning the capital city's City Hall into a modern luxury prison. That way, the members of City Council wouldn't have to be tried or relocated (you know, since there's too many of them in the corruption business), they could simply stay where they were and serve as an example of prisoners in humane (and even luxurious!) conditions.
The unfunny (and non-joke) article about mass prisoner release in the summer was… not as laugh-inducing. :/
Thumbs held for everything working out tomorrow with the car (and rent)!! I really hope the deal goes through. *hugs*
I'm still working through this, and I'm not sure what to make of it yet… There's a distinct smell of libertarian in the mix, though. (Free Man? Yeah… I see a problem with the name right there.)
dontpanic says
Giliell & mildlymagnificent
and came up laughing and gasping for air when a wave washed over her. And went back for more.
and here is where spawn, age 2, blithely walked out over his head into the San Francisco Bay. It was a bit sheltered from the largest of waves, but it wasn't meant to be a swimming, or even wading expedition, but a visit to the Maritime Museum and a ride on BART and the cable cars. The only complaint was, after drying off, he wasn't allowed to repeat the adventure with the change of clothes (which we luckily had brought with us … because
reasons experience).
Cute pictures, all, by the way.
rq says
Had a similar experience last summer with the two older ones, although I'm pretty sure the waves won't compare to San Francisco Bay. We went for a walk along the pier in Ventspils (our west coast). Turns out it was possible to climb down to the beach beside it.
My repeated cries of Just the feet! Just the feet! were no match for the allure of (fucking cold) seawater and waves. And, yes, we had spare clothes with us… because experience. ;)
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Pros: constants calculated from spectrometric data all seem to be within well under 1% of the literature values.
Cons: will need a full brain restart to cope with perversity of expressing energy in units of inverse centimeters. :(
rq says
In case anyone has been wondering what will happen when we start communicating faster than the speed of light, this has been published for informational purposes.
John Morales says
rq, I read the lot.
(I like it!)
thumper1990 says
Morning all!
So I text my Christian friend on Easter Sunday:
"Happy Zombie Jesus Day!"
"Hope you're enjoying your 4-day-weekend-for-Jesus, you Atheist prick"
Followed by a conversation about how a boy she's been seeing was racist to a Pakistani cab driver, so she dumped him. Pretty indicative of our friendship, that conversation :)
I hope everyone enjoyed Zombie-Jesus Day!
Giliell, professional cynic says
Hi there
I HATE blood-test days. Not only am I not allowed to take my medication, I'm also not allowed to have breakfast, which means that with the kids and everything by the time I'm done I've been up for more than 3 hours and my blood-sugar is getting dangerously low.
Sadly I'm not able to send more than hugs at the moment :(
Anybody interested in custom-ordering some cool embroidered patches and stuff for the benefit of Horde-members in need? As long as stuff fits into a large letter envelope shipping is quote doable to the States. I have a wide range of sciency designs and some non-sciency but simply cool ones…
kids and water
Oh, at 2 years the little one would have simply walked into the sea as well. I remember that last year I had finally decided to let her step into the fucking swimming pool and see if she likes it. But Mr. objected. No sense of risk or danger yet. Now she has a sense of danger, but none to judge the risk yet.
rq says
re: embroidered patches
Pictures? I might be interested, depending on the season, time of month (w/ respect to bank account), and other plans. (I'm still trying to figure out whether to bribe you for a dragon heating pack. Because I know I'm never going to make one myself.)
re: kids and water
I doubt Middle Child will ever get a sense of danger, really. He judges risks pretty decent, so he knows jumping off a snowbank into the street is not a good idea, but he'd do it anyway. It's a bit weird. (Yes, I know, it might change anytime! :) Eldest was the Bravest of the Brave, and then he turned timid, and now he's only brave if Middle Child goes first. Because then he can do it better.)
That being said, they're both suckers for water of any kind. Usually the cold kind on windy days, but hey… we don't live in a tropical paradise (too bad, that, sometimes…).
birgerjohansson says
Excerpt from the Mock The Movie thread at Lousy Canuck:
"Thank goodness the hillbillies are using hand signals, so the snakes can't hear what they're planning! "
Also, pythons that chew their victims. Let's dump bad film producers and directors into a cage full of grizzlies. As a matter of fact, that would make a better film than this one.
— — — — — —
Apparently, Swedish industry workers are the best paid in Europe, according to a German study (presumably they take inflation into account, otherwise Norway would come up on top).
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
So, who's a bigger fucking idiot… My father who calls for his medicine prescription the day before he runs out of medicine or the nurse&doctor who don't pick up the phone whole day (this is not the first time – when you go to their door they tell you to call, when you call you can't get them)?
"Both" is a valid answer too.
Oh, hi everyone! *waves*
dianne says
@Beatrice: The answer is…it depends. Not answering the phone/responding to messages all day is completely not cool. OTOH, if a patient regularly calls in at the last minute demanding an immediate response the temptation to say, "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine" becomes quite severe. If he's doing this regularly might I suggest a reminder in his calender to call a week earlier? Now I'm going to slink off to call my primary about a prescription I'm going to run out of in a couple of weeks…
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I would understand the temptation, but I doubt they recognize his number (especially since he sometimes calls from work, sometimes home).
We remind him to do it earlier, but there is always time *eyeroll*.
Update: He lost patience and stopped calling, but mum finally got the nurse on the phone.
I would like an apology, just once, for all the yelling and insults neither of us deserves. /bitter
Yeah, L has that problem sometimes too, even when he calls it in a week in advance, although to be fair he gets the medication in question through a charity clinic, so they're pretty understaffed, pretty much all the time. *hugs*, and I hope you get an apology sometime.
Lynna, OM says
Yvonne Brill died. She was ground breaking female scientist, a rocket scientist. The NY Times published an obit that did not lead with the scientist part, but did mention first that she was good cook.
Let's say an eminent scientist and inventor, an individual who worked on the first American satellite designs, dies after a long and distinguished career. Why would the first thing mentioned in the New York Times obituary be in praise of said scientist's cooking skills? Did you say, because the scientist was a woman? You win! And by "win," I mean, get to bang your head against your desk in a slow and methodical manner until the rage subsides….
The NY Times did correct the obit after they showered for awhile in the shitstorm.
When Yvonne Brill, who died last week at age 88, was remembered in the New York Times over the weekend, the first paragraph of her obituary described her as a woman who "made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. She was also, according to her son Matthew, 'The world's best mom.'" It was only in the second graph that the paper of record got around to mentioning that stroganoff champ, husband follower and awesome mom Brill also "invented a propulsion system to help keep communications satellites from slipping out of their orbits." Oh, that too. …
"Mahatma Gandhi made a great frittata, ironed some shirts, and took eight years off to catch up on Hardy Boys books." …. Yet the Times' sloppy version of amending Douglas Martin's article was to simply replace the stroganoff reference in the first sentence with "She was a brilliant rocket scientist."
Lynna, OM says
Moments of Mormon Madness, fundamentalist style: same story, different sect. A young girl, 15 years old, is pressured into marriage.
Just one week after turning 15, Susan Schmidt married Verlan LeBaron, leader of a polygamist Mormon cult in a Mexican outpost. At the time, Verlan was 38 years old, had five wives and 25 children. …
In Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy, she recounts the gripping tale of her horrific child-bride marriage, her struggles with sister-wife jealousy, notorious death threats by warring church leaders and finally – her daring escape from polygamy….
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I blame the bad weather for making me bitter about things I thought I've gotten used to ages ago.
Parrowing says
Thank you, rq. I have no actual painkillers, so virtual ones will have to do.
Sorry that things were not very good at home for you today, Beatrice. *hugs*
Can I just hide out here forever and never have to deal with other people again because they are inevitably disappointing? My one semi-skeptical friend just declared (as a side note to confessing that she doesn't like cats) that she is most certainly NOT a feminist and will be voting for Tony Abbott. Yeah, I think that dinner I've been meaning to invite her to will suddenly be postponed for a looooong time.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
Want some chocolate cake? There's a slice left from the zombie celebrations (where celebration = excuse to make chocolate cake and eat raw green onions with breakfast three days in a row (which I can't do during the week because of the smell)).
Lynna, OM says
Jon Stewart hosted a bit about Arizona gun-rights activists tying to protect guns from being destroyed.
Lynna, OM says
Regular mormons make a video: YouTube video "Real Acts in Doctrine: Dale and Jan."
This couple is from Rexburg, home of BYU-Idaho, and known as the whitest, most conservative community in the USA.
I would say, "enjoy," but watching this video is more like a lesson in the oft-touted mormon virtue: "endure."
Parrowing says
Yes, chocolate cake would be nice, thank you Beatrice.
Lynna, OM says
In reference to my post @260, there is a "Dale and Jan: Episode 2" for those of you who want more.
Lynna, OM says
Maria wanted to study metamorphosis, if only she could find the time to investigate. Her two daughters needed her, many hours, every day. It was a thorny problem, this balancing work and motherhood, but she took the long view. When her children were young, she stayed close to home, investigated parasitoid wasps and tiger moths in the neighborhood and nearby gardens, taught painting and wrote two books about European insects. Later, when her daughters were grown and she was 52, she left her husband and sailed to South America to research the rainforest and venture, as she described it, "far out into the wilderness." Her masterwork, "The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam," was published in 1705, more than 300 years ago.
Today, her 366th birthday, marked at Google by weaving her Surinam engravings in its Doodle for the day, is a chance to re-evaluate her legacy….
The article discusses the following women:
Maria Sibylla Merian
Jeanne Baret, a botanist
Rachel Ruysch
Margaret Hardenbroeck
and others.
*hugs* I know how you feel.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
I take the cold, uncooked lasagna off of the top of the stove and quietly put it in the heated oven.
I once put the cold, uncooked lasagna into the unheated oven, set the timer…and forgot to turn the oven on.
There was much sarcasm that evening, I can tell you!
Dalillama, I'm afraid that I can't give you anything but *hugs* and sympathy.
:( :( :(
Gyeong Hwa!
Best of luck in the Search for Work.
Naproxen + empty tummy = pass out for three hours
I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to do that. Do you take it routinely?
Hi Beatrice!
My one semi-skeptical friend just declared (as a side note to confessing that she doesn't like cats) that she is most certainly NOT a feminist
What an interesting segue that must have involved! I wasn't aware that those things came as a bundle.
The thought is appreciated. As long as the buyer does indeed turn up with the cash in a couple hours like he said he would, we'll be ok.
Lynna, OM says
Moments of Mormon Madness on the Baby Center forum:
When my husband and I were sealed in the temple we were told that there were many, many, many children meant to come to us and that we weren't supposed to put it off for any reaon. Not for money, or work, or school, not for what our family thinks, not for what the world thinks, not for anything!
When I had 3 kids in 2 years that progressively were sicker, and I had a strong impression to have another, I KNEW the Lord must not mean it. I thought it was crazy. I asked dh for a blessing. It took him a few days to giv it to me, a little scared because he already knew the answer. I was told clearly that there was a son that needed to come now. He did, and it wasn't long before I knew that the next baby needed to come. We would soon be out of work, and a threatened miscarriage (It ended up being a twin that I lost)… and I figured the Lord just knew that we were facing a difficult time unemployed. I asked for a blessing to just let it be over. Instead I was told that it was time for him to come, that the Lord understood our situation and it truly was my choice, however he would come, to us, or to someone else, but in order to best fulfil his mission on earth, he needed to be born at this time, through our lineage.
The Lord worked powerful miracles including a job that provided excellent insurance that picked up a month before he was born and a dr that was able to answer the health problems (beta strep carrier that was an easy fix). Through temple experiences and priesthood blessings we learned about the children that we meant to be in our family.
At one point, during a blessing given because of being so sick in a pregnancy, I was told that this spirit was denied the right to go elsewhere and he would forever show his gratitude to us for allowing him to come to our family. He is one of the most grateful, amazing people I know. He is so good to us and I see many blessings come true in his actions and behavior. The son after him, I was told that he was created before the world was to be our son. And another daughter came to me years before I had her. I knew her name, what she looked like, everything.
We saw the man that sealed us several years later. I was pregnant with my 8th, in about that many years. He looked at us and counted the kids and smiled and said, 'You are getting there!" It obviously had touched him deeply, and he seemed to know how many we would have. The last time I saw him, at a funeral, he said that we might as well just have 16 and then we could stop… he was so funny and so sweet.
After I had my 15th with many health complications, we debated being done. I had a miscarriage and was told that if I was willing to go through 'much loss', be willing to lean on the Savior and learn from the experiences, I would be able to carry another child to term. A child that would bring us much joy. After 7 miscarriages over the next three years, we carried that child to term and we knew that we had had the children that we had promised in the pre-existance. I know that a couple were bonus children, that are blessing us in ways I can't even describe. I don't know WHY that was our call, but I KNOW it was!"
Lynna, OM says
Moments of Mormon Madness: no tattoos for you, young lady.
About 20,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 gathered at the LDS Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday night to receive instruction and inspiration on the theme, "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved." [Elaine Dalton, general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Young Women's organization was the speaker.]
… "Make sure your relationships with others are such that 40 years from now you will not be embarrassed," Dalton said Saturday, advocating sexual purity and advising to stay away from tattoos, piercings and addictions of all kinds …
Mormons believe that they once lived in a pre-mortal existence with God and that their life on Earth is a time of testing in order to find their way back.
"Now that you're here on Earth, you might ask how your journey is going," Uchtdorf said. "Are you making choices that will help you return to your Father in Heaven?"…
rq says
*hugs* for Beatrice, Parrowing, Dalillama and anyone else who needs them!!
I read this article on the potential long-term effects of c-sections with… shall we say, some doubt. But, I thought, maybe the hypothesis has some merit somewhere, and deserves exploration. You know, because you never know, until you do.
Until one of the commenters started correlating increases in caesarians with an increase in autism (even if implicitly), and now I think that this hypothesis will take a wrong turn right out the starting gate.
David Marjanović says
From comment 2:
The page with the abstract is supposed to have a link to the supplementary information. It doesn't;
See you later, I'm returning to Berlin overnight.
rq says
For something encouraging from Rotterdam. :)
David Marjanović says
(Well, that's actually a different page, but never mind. It's by the journal itself, as opposed to BioOne, an Internet portal for lots of journals.)
UnknownEric is GrumpyCat in human form says
Real Acts in Doctrine: Dale and Jan
I kept waiting for them to break into "I'm Leaving It (All) Up To You," then I remembered that was Dale and Grace.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
Watched Doctor Who. It was a really good episode.
As an introduction to Clara being the new companion… I will try to withhold my judgement regarding the whole pixie dream girl + a mystery around her driving the whole (half-)season thing.
Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says
Whiteout conditions from snowfall right now.
Dammit, stop it! This sucks! >:(
Lynna, OM says
Sex among pre-teens and teens is a very worrisome issue for conservatives. They see it as on the rise, and as an indication of our increasingly godless society. They are wrong.
… Now 11-year-olds are staging orgies in their parents' basements and live-streaming it online. Am I right or am I right?
… According to a new study published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics, adolescents are having less sex than you think. The study's lead author, Lawrence Finer, says, … "Rather, we are seeing teens waiting longer to have sex, using contraceptives more frequently when they start having sex, and being less likely to become pregnant than their peers of past decades."
… Teens are waiting longer to have sex than you and your peers did at their age. They're also more likely to use contraception and less likely to get pregnant than previous generations. …
… The percentage of adolescents who have had sex is very low (0.6 percent of 10-year-olds, 1.1 percent of 11-year-olds and 2.4 percent of 12-year-olds). As has long been the case, "a low level of sexual activity among young adolescents" is the current norm, according to a press release by the Guttmacher Institute. As for sexually-active older teens, the study found that they make up 33 percent of 16-year-olds, 48 percent of 17-year-olds and 61 percent of 18-year-olds. Just to put that into perspective, the press release explains that "the likelihood of sexual activity at any given age is lower than at any time in the past 25 years."
… Of the small percentage of young adolescents who did report being sexually active, many were unwillingly: 63 percent of girls who had sex by age 10 said the first time was coerced. … The study concluded, "Health professionals can improve outcomes for teenagers by recognizing the higher likelihood of nonconsensual sex among younger teens and by teaching and making contraceptive methods available to teen patients before they become sexually active." Another way to put that: Talk more, worry less.
I am so fucking pissed off that I can hardly breathe. It turns out that the paperwork we have for D's car doesn't include the title, which is still in the possession of D's mother, who is presently on the far side of town, and the title is eve n further away than that. So, we have no money for the car, and can't get any until she bestirs herself to get the title down here to us, which she is unwilling to vary her routine to do, so who the hell knows when she'll actually fucking do it. With luck, it will be by tomorrow, because then we won't be late on the rent.
Lynna, OM says
What it is like to have conservative, religious parents while growing up gay:
…"We're praying for you" isn't a harmless afterthought. It's not a pleasant wish for my general well-being, continued physical health or financial security. No, my mother's "we're praying for you" is an italicized baseball bat, a silent plea for God to change her oldest son from something abhorrent and abominable back to the fresh-faced young man who dated the captain of the Bible college cheerleading squad, before it was discovered he was also sleeping with the captain of the boy's soccer team….
I was particularly taken with this description because it addresses the "We're praying for you" threat.
…when I finally came out, Mom broke her silence on the subject. "It would be easier to go to your funeral than to know you are going to spend the night with that man."…
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I'm sorry. I hope you'll manage to get the money in time.
Lynna, OM says
More coverage on the anti-women's-rights bills being passed in Kansas:
A bill defining human life as beginning at fertilization and outlawing any direct or indirect state support for abortions cruised to Senate approval Monday. [Kansas City Star link.]
… Senate support virtually guarantees that House Bill 2253 will become state law….
In addition, the bill:
• Prohibits paid agents or volunteers connected to abortion providers – including Planned Parenthood – from providing any information on human sexuality to students in public schools.
• Requires clinics that perform abortions to provide women with detailed information on gestational development.
• Requires abortion providers to provide patients with a directory of anti-abortion alternative programs.
It would restrict women from claiming any medical or insurance costs related to abortion services as a deduction on state income taxes. It also prohibits any state funding, tax credits or other benefits from going to any medical practice or facility that allows abortions to be performed. …
Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, accused conservative Republicans of pushing "narrow Taliban-like philosophies on our state's persons." …
Haley proposed an amendment that would have clarified that defining life as beginning at fertilization would not ban forms of birth control that work by interfering with uterine implantation of a fertilized egg, such as the IUD and morning-after pill. …
Haley's amendment failed, but did put 27 Republican senators on the record with a vote that could be used later to try to paint them as being anti-birth control. …
The same forces clashed over a Haley amendment to provide women and girls who became pregnant through rape, incest or aggravated indecency an exemption from the state's regimen of strict anti-abortion laws. …
That amendment failed 28-9, but got one Republican vote …
Another fought-over provision establishes a statutory mandate that abortion doctors must provide controversial medical information to women who are seeking an abortion, specifically of a link between abortion and breast cancer. …
Giliell, professional cynic says
Good evening
There's some examples on my craft blog. Almost everything can be turned into a patch if stiched out on felt or, for that matter denim (which works nice with a raw edge). I have a hellotof designs from Urban Threads, it's probably easier for you to browse their stuff and ask me instead of me listing it.
It's OK to be angry. Just getting used to abuse isn't a healthy way of things
I read this article on the potential long-term effects of c-sections with… shall we say, some doubt.
Oh, I have one!
27 years ago, my BFF went into labour. After 48 it became clear that the fetus' size and her hip were not a good match so she had a C-section. It was a close call, the baby went into ICU with pneumonia, but lived and grew up to…
…have a C-section because the fetus' size and her hip were not a good match.
Now, clearly, if they had both died, my BFF's next C-section and her daughter's C-section could have been prevented…
Any article about childbirth that starts like this:
Despite efforts to reduce intervention rates during labour, vaginal births without medical intervention are becoming increasingly rare in Australia and overseas
is doomed to be bullshit.
Because why would I consider "reducing intervention rates" to be any goal?
My goal for childbirth would be to have a healthy mother and child with as little harm as possible.
dianne says
Another fought-over provision establishes a statutory mandate that abortion doctors must provide controversial medical information to women who are seeking an abortion, specifically of a link between abortion and breast cancer. …
That's not controversial, it's flat out wrong. There is no link between abortion and breast cancer.
dianne says
@269: It was published in Medical Hypothesis. Anything published in Medical Hypothesis should be treated with skepticism. I can't figure out the proposed mechanism of action anyway. How could a c-section change gene methylation or cause other epigenetic changes?
rq says
I agree, because some people just would rather have a c-section than go through childbirth, not only because of fear (which, in my opinion, is a damn good reason), but for any number of reasons that all amount to personal choice. And that's where it should stop. (How common is it for doctors to intervene medically because it's more convenient for them?)
Anyway, I'm unfamiliar with any kind of c-section territory since I haven't had any and I don't know of any friends who had any – the ones who had difficult births (large babies, etc.) all had to do it themselves (one went through three (three!!) vaginal births with babies in excess of 4.7kg (smallest), with the two younger children weighing in at 5.0 and 5.2 kg). So thank you for your input on this for me, and I'm glad the article made me twitchy (and now you have clarified why).
*hugs* Dalillama, crappy crap-crap crap. :( I hope the situation is sorted soon, and I wish I could help you out – but by the time any donation from me arrives, it will be far too little too late (either way, put up the signal if needed).
Oh, you casually sexist sports show… So you invite female athletes as guests only when they issue a (semi)nude calendar? Fuck you very much.
Hockey season means the country is 51% housewives and 49% professional trainers? (hahaha! Because no women watch the sport willingly and even if they do, they know nothing about it! hahaha!) Fuck you very much.
One of your commentators will not let his daughter play basketball because it's not lady-like enough (whereas tennis is… short skirts or what?)? Fuck you very much.
Just… fuck you.
(That needed out.)
Today, I turned the ordinary lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad into a Gourmet Side (TM) by adding walnuts. Because I rock. [/selfcongratulation]
(Sorry, I needed to tell myself I'm awesome tonight.)
Now that I feel better, I'm going to bed! Good night, all!
rq says
And thanks dianne for that heads-up. Will look out for that in the future with these sorts of things.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
good night, rq
I'm going to bed too. I hope I'll be able to sleep, damn daylight saving time scrambled my sleeping schedule.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
(Sorry, I needed to tell myself I'm awesome tonight.)
And if you can't believe what you tell you, rq—a very real possibility, where a Known Horse Sympathiser is concerned!—then believe me when I tell you that you are awesome!
The Mellow Monkey says
Test comment…
I tried leaving a comment on another FtB blog and the software smacked me and told me I was impersonating myself. Eep. Just want to make sure whatever the problem was is resolved now.
PZ Myers says
Just so you all know, I recently added a few vocabulary words to the filter file to catch some of our sock puppets (I've got a whole pile of pseudonyms for John Jackson trapped by his inability to avoid certain slurs), and they also caught a bunch of regulars who were referring to the use of those words. I've just purged all those comments from the spam queue, which included a lot of duplicates — I think the software uses prior recognition as spam as a marker for more spam.
glodson says
It is amazing how some people seem to persist in getting our attention, somehow. It is more than a bit sad.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Naproxen + empty tummy = pass out for three hours
I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to do that. Do you take it routinely?blockquote>
Yeah, I take it routinely. It's just that I normally take everything with food unless I have specific instructions to do otherwise.
After hitting up Google, it turns out that drowsiness is a "rare" side effect of naproxen.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
And I borked my tags.
Everything after "?blockquote> is me. *headdesk*
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
WMDKitty, I hope I wasn't out of line bringing up PTSD to the person condesplaining to you on Ed's blog. :/
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
*interposing squashy cushion between WMDKitty's head and the desk*
Nonono; it's okay, I got it.
Naproxen is one of my twice-daily meds, and I didn't realize that unconsciousness was on the menu. Benadryl, OTOH….
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Azkyroth — Oh, no, you're fine! I appreciate the back-up!
cicely — I tend to end up having the rare-and-strange-but-ultimately-harmless side effects.
carlie says
I tried leaving a comment on another FtB blog and the software smacked me and told me I was impersonating myself. Eep. Just want to make sure whatever the problem was is resolved now.
That happens to me when I try to sign in just using my name and email address in the fill-ins for the blogs that don't require login. The FtB system recognizes that the email and name i'm using are associated with an actual FtB account, so won't let me do the shortcut of just typing in name and email on the non-login blogs. At first it annoyed me, but then I realized it was a nice feature because it doesn't allow anyone else to impersonate me on those blogs.
Jadehawk says
What I learned from the book I have to read for Social Theory: It is possible to come to hate a protagonist in under five sentences.
carlie says
As an introduction to Clara being the new companion… I will try to withhold my judgement regarding the whole pixie dream girl + a mystery around her driving the whole (half-)season thing.
Come right over here and have a seat by me. :)
Also, random rant: organic granola crunchy food-selling people who are all about the gluten free and GMO free, but put nuts in fucking everything. Here's how the conversation always goes: "Try/buy this! It's got all these awesome things in it and is made artisinally by us in our own kitchen using nothing but the best ingredients and love and our proceeds all go to third world countries!" Me: "Are they nut-free?"
*crickets* "They're gluten-free! And no preservatives! Or pesticides!" Me: "That's nice, but my son is allergic, so if any of your products have nuts then I can't buy anything if they're all made in the same kitchen." "Oh, no. Sorry." Fucking hell, is it that much to ask to have somebody make stuff without nuts in it? Ferchrissake, food tastes perfectly good without nuts in it. Bread does not need nuts in it. Granola does not need nuts in it. And for the love of everything holy, chocolate does not need nuts in it. Dammit.*
Ok, got that out of my system. Sorry about that.
*and they're missing a potential market. There was a huge chocolate festival a couple of years ago we went to, and my poor kid could eat basically nothing in the whole place. He got to have marshmallows a a specialty marshmallow table, and then there was a company that did a chocolate fountain with fruit to dip that was nut-free. That was it. I had called the chocolate fountain people days before because that was the one single thing Child really wanted more than anything, and I wanted to know about the nutness, and the guy was all "Oh no, we never use nuts anywhere with our equipment, you just never know who's eating it (they cater receptions) and it's so dangerous to cross-contaminate, and we don't want to turn away any potential customers over that when there are so many other good foods we can serve without any problems". I just about cried on the phone I was so happy, and he gave us tips on getting to his table first because there was usually a long line and said he'd be on the lookout for us. And if anything he's getting more business from the lack of nuttage, not losing any.
erikthebassist says
I noticed you mentioned Mohawk Place in that Chavez thread, Do you still live in Buffalo? I know of at least one other hordling who does as well. Interested in maybe trying to set up a meetup? Skeptics in the Pub or something?
mildlymagnificent says
How could a c-section change gene methylation or cause other epigenetic changes?
No idea.
Though I did hear an idea from a speaker (promoting natural-ish health concepts) that one thing that C-section babies are deprived of is an immune/other stuff boost by missing out on mouth/nose contact with vaginal mucosa. Excluding those whose surgery is dictated precisely by that consideration, HIV and the like, the recommendation was that the mother or a medical attendant simply insert gloved finger or swab into the vagina and smear the result into the infant's mouth and nostrils. Big ewwww! response from the audience – bit silly considering the messiness of vaginal birth, let's be honest. But worth a bit of a think if it turns out that these so-called consequences do turn out, in fact rather than random speculation, to be relevant immune system deficiencies early in life.
More generally. These people are apparently advocates of the childbirth is natural and therefore benign and wonderful for both mother and child position. I do wish midwives and nurses and researchers did just a little bit of history, or geography for that matter, of mortality and morbidity of mothers and babies.
Jadehawk says
As an introduction to Clara being the new companion…
I'm still pouting because I wanted Victorian Oswin (I'd even take Dalek Oswin over bog-standard contemporary Oswin)
PatrickG says
Warning: Total Threadrupt
I'm hesitant to post this here, but my partner is relentless. She keeps saying things like "you always talk about this site and how they're so supportive of abortion rights, HIT THEM UP!". And by hit you up, I mean it's Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon time! Technically, has been for some time. :)
So! If you're interested in funding abortion rights in Kentucky, specifically through the Kentucky Support Network, consider wandering over here and chipping in a few dollars. Our team is aiming to raise a measly $500, and we're almost there. :)
Abortion access in Kentucky is a particular issue for me — we've got a part-time clinic in Lexington, a full-time clinic in Louisville… and that's pretty much IT. Louisville has a hospital under siege by Catholics (gubernatorial action was necessary to prevent the latest merger attempt), and there's basically nothing in northern/eastern Kentucky. They all have to travel. Added bonus (bleh): the Louisville site is heckled by protesters non-stop. In short, we might not be Mississippi or North Dakota, but we're getting there.
All the funds raised for KSN go directly to transportation, housing, and medical expenses. Administrative funds are raised strictly through grants.
If you'd prefer to chaff my hide, consider donating to my partner's page here**. She'd be thrilled to receive donations instead of me — my own father donated in her name instead of mine! But wherever you donate, it goes to the same place – the Kentucky Support Network.
As further incentive, consider this: my partner hates comment forums. I keep trying to get her involved here, since I think as a lawyer working in civil rights and health care (specialty: mental health) she'd be an awesome contributor. She's promised to read threads of my choice if I can raise money here. :) I'll go one step further and say anybody who donates gets to choose the comment threads she reads!*
And again, apologies if this (fundraising) is against the rules of the Lounge. I confess to not checking. /runsaway
Bowling for Access!
* Note that I'm PatrickG on the team, and she's ACE Baller. Contribute to whoever. ;)
**Actually, that idea sounds kind of awesome — a FTB primer course? The best and worst of FTB, from creationist trolls to mansplaining idiots, to actually interesting conversations about atheism, feminism, and generally being a decent human being.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
But…but carlie…I want nuts in my bread. And my cereal. And my chocolate. And my tuna salad. And my salad salad….
PatrickG says
Footnote fail, btw. Reverse the * and the ** and everything's good.
John Morales says
Though I did hear an idea from a speaker (promoting natural-ish health concepts) that one thing that C-section babies are deprived of is an immune/other stuff boost by missing out on mouth/nose contact with vaginal mucosa.
Were that really a problem, its solution is obvious. ;)
PatrickG says
And finally, wth did FTB do to my links? I guess if you don't put in a http://www., it treats them as relative links. What fail!
I'm now deply curios about what book this is…
Jadehawk says
It's Up In The Air; and the fourth sentence of the book is: "You crack your paperback, last spring's big legal thriller, convinced that what you want is solitude, though I know otherwise: you need to talk"
Jadehawk says
ooh, yeah, everyone definitely should donate to the Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thons! And if you don't wanna donate to PatrickG's, you can donate to the North Dakota one: http://bowlathon.nnaf.org/nnafbowl/fundevent.asp?nnaffundid=45
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Kuiper-Belt says
I didn't think the last Who episode was all that great, but it did a lot of scene setting of foreshadowing that could work well. And some nice moments.
PatrickG says
Oh. My. Gawd.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU all who — in literally the last hour — donated to the Kentucky Support Network via the Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon.
I have no words. Just THANK YOU. From the people who donated $15 to the person who donated $1000 anonymously… I'm actually about to cry. Fuck all the people who say atheists can't be motherfucking generous. This is just so amazing.
And yeah, now I'm crying. Just. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank you so much. I'm trying to respond to each contribution individually, but I'm really quite shaken by the response to what I really thought was an inappropriate post asking for money.
Even through my tears, I'm still going to be crass and encourage further contributions. I'm not yet rendered into a sobbing mass of joy on the floor — just in my chair.
And thank you thank you thank you again. This money will be used for such a good cause! Thank you!
PatrickG says
And thanks also to you
treacherous wonderful people who donated through my partner's page. She's telling me she's not getting the email notifications for some reason, but asked me to thank you for her.
ck says
Personally, I'm happy with Clara as the new companion. I enjoyed Martha when she was being clever, but was always annoyed by the way they wrote her as some love sick puppy following the Doctor around. I don't think they can do that with Clara. And they've already made her cleverer than the Doctor in certain things (her hacking of the Daleks' network in the first incarnation, and her new skills in her third incarnation).
She does seem rather "manic pixie dream girl"ish, though. With any luck, they won't actually try to make her an actual love interest, and leave it at flirting.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Jesus Fuck Michael Heath is pissing me off today. :(
He pretty much always pisses me off, and is one of the reasons I don't frequent Ed's blog.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
There's a reason I haven't been back to that thread. Two, actually. Michael Heath, and Heddle.
I'm all for mental masturbation, but not when it harms people.
And, in this particular thread, it is harmful. Those two are telling me (and other survivors) that, "hey, you weren't really harmed, your rapist got his rocks off, so it's all good." Completely fucking discounting the fact that, uh, TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES ARE CALLED TRAUMATIC FOR A REASON! (And you know, um… having been on the receiving end of a whole lot of traumatic experiences, it's really fucking frustrating and unfair to have that all dismissed out of hand with a "no harm, no foul".)
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Short. Cute. Silly.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
You probably shouldn't go back. Heath has, among other things, described the harm of triggers to traumatized people as a "fantasy" of mine and repeatedly demanded I provide specific quotes to substantiate my claims that he's privileged.
ck says
(And you know, um… having been on the receiving end of a whole lot of traumatic experiences, it's really fucking frustrating and unfair to have that all dismissed out of hand with a "no harm, no foul".)
I partially blame the inane platitude of "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". Not only is it complete bullshit, because a lot of people are permanently crippled by those things that failed to kill, but it also diminishes the suffering caused in the first place. But, hey, if I can diminish your pain with some trite saying, that means I don't have to think about it or change anything, right?
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
Victorian Oswin… yeah, that would have been pretty awesome.
Maybe she is from Victorian England [insert wibbly wobbly timey wimey things that got her into present time sometime in the future, erasing her memories, of course].
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Maybe Oswin is… kinda like a fixed point in time, but she's a person? Like… her existence is so vitally important to … something … that she keeps coming back?
rq says
Good morning!
I hated that movie. Caught it accidentally on TV, and hated it. The more I know, the less I like George Clooney.
I have not seen a single Doctor Who episode. Is this a bad thing?
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I could swear that sounded familiar…
Nah. I must have imagined it. ;)
Well, it's a good show.
rq says
O ooooh… have an intellectual needing constant stimulation? Show them Communications from Elsewhere, a random generator for Postmodernism! Hours of entertainment!
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
I'm just saying, she's had three incarnations already — something about this girl is seriously important.
Or she's a cat in disguise…
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Aaand I shouldn't have called her a girl.
Except that, compared to the Doctor… she really is a little girl. He's ~1,000 years old, and she's… well… we don't know how old she is, do we? Okay, scratch that — I'll just go with "I shouldn't have called her a girl."
Jadehawk says
I hated that movie. Caught it accidentally on TV, and hated it. The more I know, the less I like George Clooney.
the book is worse. 300 pages inside the head of the protagonist, who demonstrates in the 4th sentence how much he sucks; also, absolutely no relatable characters so far.
Giliell, professional cynic says
Good morning
Unusual side effects?
I get high from Ibuprofen. Maybe one day I'll just take advantage of that, but currently it just means that one of the better pain-killers is out…
Tell me about it. It's almost impossible to have a salad anywhere where people don't add carrots. I mean, I'm lucky, I can eat anything once it's coked (including nuts). But even at that low-level of food allergies it's fucking annoying.
Talking about that "what doesn't kill you" bullshit…
Yesterday at work one of my students told us some very bad things that happened over the last two weeks. 2 friends died, one got diagnosed with cancer, so did her mother in law and her brother in law. Oh, and did I mention that they're still waiting for her husband's cancer screening results to come back? And when I drove from work A to work B I turned on the radio and there was this "don't worry, be happy" song on and I wanted to punch the singer. Yeah, because the worst thing ever is that the sad face of somebody who had horrible things happening to them makes you a tad unhappy.
Fuck you!
Though I did hear an idea from a speaker (promoting natural-ish health concepts) that one thing that C-section babies are deprived of is an immune/other stuff boost by missing out on mouth/nose contact with vaginal mucosa.
So, what about babies who come out with the sac still intact and over their head?
And I guess those babies who die of a Strep B infection they caught in the birth channel are just a price we have to pay…
rq says
The movie didn't have any relatable characters, either. I really, really wanted to like the young woman, and she started off reasonably well, but after a few minutes, I realized she was there to be a puppy following in the footsteps of the protagonist. Sad.
Cerberus: Fucking Oppression, Man says
WMDKitty @316
What the hell fucking thread is that?
(All kinds of trigger warnings, as WMDkitty and Azkyroth's comments may have indicated.)
This one(All kinds of trigger warnings, as WMDkitty and Azkyroth's comments may have indicated.)
Cerberus: Fucking Oppression, Man says
Dalillama @331
… fuckityfuckfuck…
And people wonder why philosophers get such a fucking bad name. Gee, maybe it's because bad philosophers tend to use retreats into safe abstract, non-human "thought experiments" to actively discount human experiences, pain, and the reality of situations. Yeah, it's great to masturbate to "utilitarianism" and "diminishing harm" when you actively ignore the real world-shattering harms that things like rape cause.
Fuck Dr. Steven Landsburg and fuck Michael Heath.
Asher Kay says
Landsburg is the same guy who claimed Rush Limbaugh was correct in calling Sandra Fluke a "prostitute".
Cerberus: Fucking Oppression, Man says
All right, I've gone and "done it", abusing their poor widdle "thought experiments" with some cold harsh human life experiences. Hopefully it'll do some good in at least making these terrible "philosophers" think before being unbelievable triggering assholes.
WMDKitty -- Survivor says
Have I told you that you rock?
You rock!
rq says
I love what you do to the written word. [/amazed]
Cerberus: Fucking Oppression, Man says
WMDKitty @335
I kind of had to do it. The "thought experiment" the OP in question was describing was something that essentially happened to me and the dismissal of that as "whoops, no big deal" is something that I just couldn't let continue to stand.
Hopefully my "rocking" will knock a few head's out of the assholes they seem to have gotten lodged into.
thumper1990 says
That Landsburg guy… I just… I don't even…
He is failing to distinguish between situations that people "Don't like" and situations that cause real mental anguish. How is that a difficult distinction to grok? Some guy being a nosy bastard and not liking the fact I watch porn is not remotely comparable! Because I have the right to do what I like in the privacy of my own home, and he has no right to control the actions of others providing those actions do not harm or present a significant danger to anyone else. I have the right to bodily autonomy, and if what I want to do with my body is sit it down in front of a computer and jack off until dawn then I have every right to do that. Equally, I have every right to say when I have sex, where I have sex, and who I have sex with. How does he not get this?
Fuck! I'm struggling to marshal my thoughts here. This is one of those situations where the answer is so obvious you actually have difficulty explaining it.
thumper1990 says
I can't even bring myself to go on his actual article. I just know there'll be a bunch of arseholes in the comments siezing on his "logic" as an opportunity to mansplain how the Steubenville thing was A-OK!
Lofty says
Hey people, perhaps we're all overthinking this A+ stuff and only need to lower our IQs.
(Teehee, ducks and runs)
birgerjohansson says
William Shatner and the Alien Gorn Settle 40-Year Feud http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/william-shatner-and-the-alien-gorn-settle-40-year-feud-200614441.html?utm_source=taboola
Finall! I am rooting for Gorn.
— — — —— —
Economist: World headed towards climate change catastrophe http://www.raw–story.com/rs/2013/04/02/economist-world-headed-towards-climate-change-cata -strophe/
— — — — — —
Surprising poll finds most Republicans want to reduce use of fossil fuels –http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/02/surprising-poll-finds-most-republicans-want-to-reduce-use-of-fossil-fuels/
— — — — — —
Smart on Crime http://www.democracyjournal.org/28/smart-on-crime.php?page=all
— — — — — —
Phil Donahue on His 2003 Firing from MSNBC, When Liberal Network Couldn't Tolerate Antiwar Voices http://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/21/phil_donahue_on_his_2003_firing
Moggie says
Fuck. Iain Banks has terminal cancer. Another great writer leaving us too young.
rq says
Sad news indeed! :(
UnknownEric is GrumpyCat in human form says
I noticed you mentioned Mohawk Place in that Chavez thread, Do you still live in Buffalo? I know of at least one other hordling who does as well. Interested in maybe trying to set up a meetup? Skeptics in the Pub or something?
I'm currently living in Baltimore, although I do visit home a few times a year.
blf says
Some salaried employees of FeckUpCo, the company I work for, are partially paid in shares (not options, but actual shares) which, however, cannot be traded for a several years. It's considered an incentive, but given all the hassles which come with it, I am not very incentivated.
The French Tax goons have absolutely no idea what to make of a salary partly paid in shares. So the tax arrangements are a bit weird…
Anyways, a tranche of shares from several years ago can now be sold. Queue feckup. And feckup. And more feckups.
(1) Some of the shares are automagically sold to pay taxes. USA taxes. On French incomes. Regardless of whether or not the employee actually sold any shares.
(2) This was reversed ("corrected") by buying back the shares. Multiple times in my case.
(3) That was corrected by cancelling all of "my" orders.
(4) That was corrected by buying the shares back. Once this time, so "they" finally got it right. (I haven't checked yet that the number of shares is correct, and that I am paying nothing, so there's still room here for more feckups…)
(5) Now the entire tranche of shares is taxed, this time by the French. By deducing the tax from this month's salary. Without warning. And it adds up to a lot, c.30% and more… But it's incorrect: No tax is to be paid until the shares are actually sold. And then the tax is paid from the proceeds of the sale, not from the salary.
(6) Supposedly a cheque with the missing third-plus of my salary will be issued this week. Supposedly.
This is an incentive ?
I think FeckUpCo must have hired the mildly deranged penguin to supervise Catbert (Teh Evil Dictator™ of Human Resources).
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
Cross posted from the Michelle Shocked thread
Nicole Sandler tries to interview Michelle Shocked
Tries being key here. That's an hour long but holy shit Shocked comes off as horribly confused, deflective and a bit unhinged.
I head a clips version of this I can't find, but it's pretty bad.
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
head = heard
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand my childhood state of residence is making me proud again.
11 North Carolina Republicans sponsor resolution giving the constitution the finger
A bill filed by Republican lawmakers would allow North Carolina to declare an official religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and seeks to nullify any federal ruling against Christian prayer by public bodies statewide.
blf says
head = heard
I didn't notice the original offering to Tpyos, so was very confused when I read the correction "head = herd".
Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says
…wait, there are Hordelings in Buffalo? As in Buffalo, NY?
Rev. BigDumbChimp says
Well that interview was kind of Nicole Sandler trying to herd the group of cats that is Michelle Shocked into the interview.
It's really pretty fucking astonishingly odd. I wish i could find the clips version.
Giliell, professional cynic says
Weird system.
Mr. has the option of buying some "special" shares of their company from their yearly bonus.
The special thing is that those shares "breed" extra shares if you hold them for long enough, so, within 10 years you get, I think 5 shares "for free". But you have to pay taxes on those extra shares as "income", but I think as "income from capital gains", which is much lower than those on actual income you work for.
But yeah, we pay a tax counsellor each year to do that shit.
blf says
[T]here are Hordelings in Buffalo? As in Buffalo, NY?
There's some mozzarella di bufala in the fridge. From Italy, not NY.
UnknownEric is GrumpyCat in human form says
…wait, there are Hordelings in Buffalo? As in Buffalo, NY?
They took me outta Buffalo, but they'll never take the Buffalo outta me.
Mostly just cause I still say "crick" instead of "creek." (South Buffalo, FTW)
rq says
I saw him play live, once. I'd also love to see that concert.
Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says
UnknownEric, I am in Rochester.
Oi, is CripDyke around? I'm done with the Darkling's blanket, which means I have two quick projects to get done (a pair of eggplant hats, and a squid hat), and then I can get started on her bag.
PZ Myers says
Every few days, I check on the spam trap, let any mistakenly flagged comments out, and flush the rest. Today…217 comments in there. None legit. All from known banned jerks trying to weasel their way back on. Most of them full of sexist slurs and hate.
You guys have no idea what kind of filth is pounding on the doors here. And yet I'm still getting accused of being a horrible censor who doesn't let contrary comments come through.
Yeah, contrary to basic human decency, that's true.
Pteryxx says
Thanks, PZ, and thanks for tightening up the word filters. (I tripped a few… I'll deal.)
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
I, for one, appreciate Our Squidly Leader's herculean labors in the river-diverting field.
rq says
As do I. Immensely.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Today sucks. So fucking sick of doing the Scylla and Charybdis thing between fratricidal-maniac purity trolls on one hand and proud MRAs on the other… :(
(Yes, I know. But the emotional effects on ME are about equal and that matters too. At least a little).
rq says
Would you like some *hugs*?
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Please. :)
rq says
*hugs* :)
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
*hugs* for Azkyroth.
Lynna, OM says
Religious Trauma Syndrome:
… Dr. Marlene Winell is a human development consultant in the San Francisco Area. She is also the daughter of Pentecostal missionaries. This combination has given her work an unusual focus. For the past twenty years she has counseled men and women in recovery from various forms of fundamentalist religion including the Assemblies of God denomination in which she was raised. Winell is the author of Leaving the Fold – A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving their Religion, written during her years of private practice in psychology. Over the years, Winell has provided assistance to clients whose religious experiences were even more damaging than mine. Some of them are people whose psychological symptoms weren't just exacerbated by their religion, but actually caused by it.
Two years ago, Winell made waves by formally labeling what she calls "Religious Trauma Syndrome" (RTS) and beginning to write and speak on the subject for professional audiences. When the British Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychologists published a series of articles on the topic, members of a Christian counseling association protested what they called excessive attention to a "relatively niche topic." One commenter said, "A religion, faith or book cannot be abuse but the people interpreting can make anything abusive."…
Lynna, OM says
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has been very busy of late. He is trying to rebrand the Republican Party so that it no longer offends women, minorities, the poor, and young people.
And then Mr. Priebus publishes an essay on a far right-wing blog that once again reveals that both he and most of the members of his party cannot think logically, are prone to indulge in wildly incoherent conspiracy theories, and are against allowing women to think for themselves.
… in Florida, lawmakers held a hearing about a bill to protect the lives of babies born during an attempted abortion procedure. The bill requires the abortionist to provide medical care to the newborn. It might seem obvious that a newborn should be cared for — but not to Planned Parenthood.
They sent a lobbyist to the Florida legislature to testify in opposition to the bill.
The President, the Senate Majority Leader, the House Democratic Leader, and the Chair of the Democratic National Committee (in whose home state this hearing occurred) made funding Planned Parenthood an issue in the 2012 campaign. They should now all be held to account for that outspoken support. If the media won't, then voters must ask the pressing questions: Do these Democrats also believe a newborn has no rights? Do they also endorse infanticide?…
Uh, Mr. Priebus you have misunderstood testimony in plain english, and you have driven your train of thought off the tracks. The testimony from which Priebus deduced a "Democrat-Backed Planned Parenthood's support for infanticide," was from a Planned Parenthood supporter who stated that the organization thinks medical decisions "should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician."
Moreover, Chairman Priebus thinks that the media has colluded in the conspiracy to cover up the dastardly plot to promote infanticide. http://www.redstate.com/reincepriebus/2013/04/03/media-covers-up-democrat-backed-planned-parenthoods-support-for-infanticide/
ImaginesABeach says
Hello, Lounge!
I've been mostly gone for 3 months because of huge project at work. But I'm back, I think. Have I missed anything important? Or not-so-important?
Pteryxx says
*waves to ImaginesABeach* wb!
…I can't even keep up with the day's posts. Last 3 months? oh look, ratties! *flees*
rq says
Hello, ImaginesABeach!
Three months is a long time, Lounge-time… :)
rq says
This is what my roses looked like today. Also some other plants that received a touch of frost, a result of the heavy fog (not mist) that developed overnight (daytime temp. of +2 with a nighttime low of -15 will do that…). The ice crystals were pretty; too bad I'm still functioning only on a phone camera.
David Marjanović says
*heap of hugs on the floor*
Dalillama, if you still need money and have a PayPal account, tell me your e-mail address! If you don't want to post it in public, mine's on every page about my new paper.
TV news sez endless winter due to global warming. Mentions recently published studies.* The Arctic ice cap has shrunk so much that the weather goes all haywire – cold air from the Arctic, which would otherwise be blocked, can now reach Europe and the eastern US, and does so.
* Without, of course, providing any bibliographical information, because nobody could possibly be interested. *grumble*
a lot more reading (in connection with which, recommendations for basic-level reading? I've got a library card, and I'm not afraid to use it!)
1) Wikipedia. :-) The articles themselves are often bad, often very short, and often out of date, but sometimes they contain links to great places.
2) Jennifer A. Clack (2002): Gaining Ground – The Origin and Evoluiton of Tetrapods. Indiana University Press. – A bit out of date (2002 was a long time ago, I'm not kidding), and slightly idiosyncratic, but otherwise a very good and deep introduction.
3) Michel Laurin (2010): How Vertebrates Left the Water. University of California Press. – Short, dense, and impressive. Disclaimer: Michel was my thesis supervisor and has coauthored all of my publications so far; I got to review 2 or so chapters of this book before publication.
If France passes this year, and Germany in a couple of years, then I think Latvia is a good 10 – 15 years behind.
And so is Austria. General reaction to the idea of marriage equality: "What? No. Ew."
On January 20th there was a non-binding referendum on whether to stop being one of the last 6 of 27 EU members that retains the draft. Following a whole bunch of blunders from politicians, some 60 % voted to keep it. Arguments:
1) Without the draft, way fewer people will go into civilian service; and without such forced labor, there won't be any more ambulance drivers etc. etc. etc.. A weekly magazine wrote: "Austria was asked to decide between the draft and a professional army and answered 'civilian service'."
2) The army is, like, totally needed to help after natural disasters. Therefore, as many young men as possible must be handed guns and taught how to shoot. – In reality, as I learned from the abovementioned article, the average soldier spends 1.2 days with a shovel (in other words, most never get sent to help at all).
3) Being neutral, Austria is contractually obliged to defend itself. Against whom? All neighbors are fellow EU members, except Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It goes without saying that Austria, unlike Switzerland, hasn't ever, since 1918, been able to defend itself; the Cold War joke was "how long do the Russians need to overcome the Alps? A quarter of an hour – 10 minutes for laughing and 5 minutes for climbing."
4) The good old fascist argument: young men need to learn discipline. This apparently a) requires a gun; b) does not apply to women; c) doesn't apply to conscientious objectors either.
5) The Three Austrian Arguments: "that's always been that way", "that's never been that way", "but then anyone could come [and propose random madness]".
Given this, I'm not in the least ashamed or afraid to say in public, under my meatspace name, that, when I was deemed able (at first they wondered about my bilirubin levels*), I chose conscientious objector status, then applied for a deferment for my studies (which was granted pretty much automatically), and then officially stopped being a resident of Austria. I'll have to officially stay away till I'm 35, IIRC, but given the fact that there aren't any jobs for me in Austria, I don't mind. Austria doesn't need soldiers for anything but UN missions, and those – as the German experience in Afghanistan shows – can only be done by professionals who have trained a whole year.
* It didn't bother them at all how weak I am** or that they declared me to be 10 kg underweight. In earlier times they'd have kicked me the fuck out if I had begged to join***, but nowadays, I once read, "we're staring in the eye of the coldest war of all times, while the direction of the gaze still has to remain secret for security reasons", so "we" need every man who can hold a gun long enough to shoot. *vehement nodding*
** Test: take some device and press it between your thumb and the other fingers of your dominant hand. I hardly got it to move. They were outright surprised.
*** And they still expect people to beg like it's 1914. After all, they do not take your word that both your testicles have descended.
when Kim Jong Il died (or, at least, his mortal body died — his spirit will lead North Korea forever)
Will it? Even though his father is already Eternal President?
Anyway, I pretty much expect a (short) war at this point. If so, China will invade to avoid having US troops ending up at its own borders. Maybe Kim III was actually aiming at nuclear blackmailing like so often before, but it's clearly not working, and this time the Chinese are pissed off.
IANAD but it sounds insane, inhuman and dangerous to patients as well as doctors.
Is this time-honoured and (it seems) internationally revered tradition some sort of equivalent of stotting, do you think?
Nah. It's lack of money and therefore personnel.
That word is only surpassed by Thetan.
So I was reading The Story of the Easter Bunny to my daughter, and had the appalling realization that we already know which rabbit is going to be promoted to be the new Easter Bunny: the white one. x.x
This, English-speakers, is what you get for using rabbits and not hares as the default lagomorph.
Cons: will need a full brain restart to cope with perversity of expressing energy in units of inverse centimeters. :(
Gah. Energy as wavenumber is perverse.
In case anyone has been wondering what will happen when we start communicating faster than the speed of light, this has been published for informational purposes.
Additional work is needed to think about protocol design
considerations when the backward time shift is much greater than the
processing time. This would create challenges where it would be
necessary to have received all of the data before the connection
could be established. This is left to future researchers. In
practical terms, this scenario isn't likely to happen for a long
time. That said, FTL communication might lead to FTL travel, where
we can travel into the past. It may be necessary to start working on
this yesterday.
It is early to fully understand security issues relating to FTL
communication. The main issue is likely to be related to the
characteristic of FTL communication that the receiver will receive a
packet before it is sent. Many exploits are likely to be written to
take advantage of this property. Also, given the number of exploits
that are being discovered that don't have any protections available,
it may be that the malware community is already taking advantage of
the properties of FTL communication.
Pretty indicative of our friendship, that conversation :)
I love that. :-)
"Thank goodness the hillbillies are using hand signals, so the snakes can't hear what they're planning! "
Let's say an eminent scientist and inventor, an individual who worked on the first American satellite designs, dies after a long and distinguished career. Why would the first thing mentioned in the New York Times obituary be in praise of said scientist's cooking skills? Did you say, because the scientist was a woman? You win! And by "win," I mean, get to bang your head against your desk in a slow and methodical manner until the rage subsides….
I have nothing to add.
Moments of Mormon Madness on the Baby Center forum:
…Is that woman still alive?
babies in excess of 4.7kg (smallest), with the two younger children weighing in at 5.0 and 5.2 kg)
I've got a whole pile of pseudonyms for John Jackson trapped by his inability to avoid certain slurs
John Jackson?
John V "no period" Jackson?
…Wow. I knew him when he was just a mild crackpot. He sent me a photocopy of a book on science theory by Peter Medawar once.
Ferchrissake, food tastes perfectly good without nuts in it. Bread does not need nuts in it. Granola does not need nuts in it. And for the love of everything holy, chocolate does not need nuts in it. Dammit.
(And my nut allergy is harmless. The worst it ever gets is a bit of burning in the throat. It's scary to imagine what life is like for someone with more drastic symptoms!)
And finally, wth did FTB do to my links? I guess if you don't put in a http://www., it treats them as relative links.
Uh, exactly. That's standard. It's how the <a> tag works by default. :-|
Even through my tears, I'm still going to be crass and encourage further contributions. I'm not yet rendered into a sobbing mass of joy on the floor — just in my chair.
There's a reason I haven't been back to that thread. Two, actually. Michael Heath, and Heddle.
But Heddle is easy to scare away. He ran away from here, and never came back, when he finally realized this is a feminist place! :-)
BtVS x Monty Python.
Short. Cute. Silly.
(And I haven't even ever watched any Buffy.)
I have not seen a single Doctor Who episode. Is this a bad thing?
Yes. Also, time isn't what you think it is. It's "iggly-wiggly, timey-wimey… stuff."
I'm just saying, she's had three incarnations already — something about this girl is seriously important.
Or she's a cat in disguise…
Cats are automatically important, right? =^_^=
300 pages inside the head of the protagonist, who demonstrates in the 4th sentence how much he sucks; also, absolutely no relatable characters so far.
It's almost impossible to have a salad anywhere where people don't add carrots.
*convulsions on floor from culture shock*
Salad, not further specified, is lettuce with vinegar and a bit of oil. This goes so far that there isn't even a separate word for lettuce, it's called "green salad" or "salad". Default salad doesn't contain carrots, cucumber salad doesn't, potato salad doesn't, fruit salad doesn't… o_O
Have I told you that you rock?
You rock!
I'm done with the Darkling's blanket
:-) :-) :-)
All from known banned jerks trying to weasel their way back on.
OFFS. :-o
Have I missed anything important? Or not-so-important?
*pouncehug* I don't even know where to begin :-)
Asher Kay says
UnknownEric, I am in Rochester
Me too. Do you happen to know of any skeptic groups in the area? I looked around and saw only a couple of atheist groups, which don't interest me as much.
Ogvorbis, broken failure. says
I was feeling a little better. I noticed the libertarian thread on the recent comments. I read it. I want out.
Lynna, OM says
Rachel Maddow speaking at Amherst College:
Yes, your tax dollars are being thrown down the drain. Yes, the constitutional requirements for going to was are being sneakily avoided.
Yes, private companies are waging war on our behalf. Yes, we are waging war that we're not allowed to know about.
Yes, lots of stuff related to war and to our military is fucked up. If the tests of a missile defense system in Alaska demonstrate that the system only works two out of every five times, the solution is to simply stop testing the system. Oh, and by the way, Congress will sink another $400 million into this failed system.
Lynna, OM says
Correction: Yes, the constitutional requirements for going to war are being sneakily avoided.
Parrowing says
Thanks, Dalillama. I really hope things are working out with the car and the title. *fingers crossed*
Wow, you have much more snow on the ground than Sweden right now. Or at least, my little patch of Sweden. And, oooooh to the pretty ice crystals.
I don't want to bug you about this, but since they posted a price for the Stockholm conference (and since there are a limited number of reduced price registration fees for people in Sweden, which is probably the only way I will even come close to affording registration), I feel like I need to start making my decisions kind of soon. Would it be possible for you to shoot me an email so that I can start getting an idea of what others' plans might be? Sorry to ask if you're not ready to think about it. Just in case, my email is my nym at yahoo dot com.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
The usual Dances With MRAs nonsense. If you're feeling especially masochistic today, check anything involving Adria Richards. Have the Pepto ready. And possibly the barf bucket.
Pteryxx says
*offers hugs to Ogvorbis*
This whole couple of weeks has been one long rape apolopalooza.
Lynna, OM says
Thank you, David M., for that masterful summary @373. And, yes, the mormon woman with 16 children, and seven miscarriages is still alive. (Reference to post #267.)
In gun control, (or rather lack of control), news we have some pretty off-the-wall stuff coming to us from Arizona.
…In bright-red Arizona, Republicans have been working on a bill (pdf) that would ban police from destroying the guns turned in during gun buybacks, even when the owners ask that the weapons be destroyed. Instead, they'd have to sell the guns, putting them back into circulation and thus defeating the purpose of a buyback. …
It's a gun-protection program. Daily Kos link.
Lynna, OM says
Feeling a little iffy about the whole Keystone XL pipeline project? Allow me to add to your nightmares.
Environmental Resources Management (ERM), the State Department consulting firm that claims TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline proposal is safe and sound, previously provided a similarly rosy approval for the expansion of a Peruvian natural gas project that has since racked up a disastrous track record.
And here's Rachel Maddow's summary of many pipeline-broke disasters.
rq says
*hugs*, Ogvorbis!
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
David: The library says there's a problem with my account. Wonder what's up with that? We shall see. And after we have seen, then we shall have book, yess, preciouss, we shall!
And if the Clack book is out of date, well, so am I. Perhaps we can catch up together!
when Kim Jong Il died (or, at least, his mortal body died — his spirit will lead North Korea forever)
Will it? Even though his father is already Eternal President?
Maybe some sort of Celestial Co-Regency thing?
*hugs&chocolate* for Ogvorbis.
It's a gun-protection program.
I saw a bit on that on Jon Stewart. The guy behind it seemingly has no idea at all that such a thing as irony exists.
rq says
Email sent, not sure if it will be particularly helpful. :/
There was less snow before Easter, but the blizzards over the weekend brought Winter back. :( I'm all ready and hyped for yardwork, and the silly melting ice caps keep setting me back!
David Marjanović
Thank you for your kind offer, but the sale went through and I have the recnt chack now, so all is well for the time being. I'll post more later, I still have some errands to run; I have some thoughts on the draft, etc.
Parrowing says
E-mail received, thanks rq. It actually was quite helpful and I promise I'll get back to you soon, but I want to take a bit more time to write back. I'm super tired, so I'll respond tomorrow morning :).
It seems like everywhere has gotten a lot of snow recently except here, which I will not be complaining about one bit. And as a side observation, it is really nice to be in a place where I don't have to worry about people doubting that climate change is real because spring is late.
Good night!
rq says
Good night, Parrowing!
Yay, Dalillama! *confetti&sprinkles* I'm glad it went through and you got the cash.
Had a near-paralyzing attack of homesickness after my mum sent an email about the renovations going on at the house back in Canada and the Easter weekend.
Sometimes it just hurts a lot.
rq says
Heard the year's first nightingale tonight.
And with that, good night!
Giliell, professional cynic says
HI there
Yeah, did some roleplaying today, which also meant that I got to see a friend again whom I hadn't seen in over a year.
This, English-speakers, is what you get for using rabbits and not hares as the default lagomorph.
Yeah, but German speaking people say "hare" and totally mean "rabbit". 19 out f 20 times somebody says "Hase" or "Häschen" they mean a rabbit.
As for the salad: Although there is "Karottensalat", most ready made salads or salads in self-serving restaurants are with carrots. I'm not a huge salad-person anyway, I admit, but yeah, it's fuck annoying.
And it reminds me that I want dandelion salad, soon.
Hugs to Ogvorbis and Azkyroth
HI Imagines a Beach
lilandra says
I briefly met SallyStrange at American Atheists this weekend. She cordially introduced herself to me, and said she was there on a grant. I met a lot of people, and everyone was really friendly. One kind of theme of the weekend was people who had youtube tiffs(not Aron) knocking back a cold one together; it was heartwarming. Something about in person meetings brings the best out in people.
Jadehawk says
Something about in person meetings brings the best out in people.
something about meatspace makes not playing nice more costly [/jaded cynic]
not really meaning to ruin your good-time buzz, I'm sure you had genuinely good experiences. However, I know from personal experience that being less combative in meatspace has more to do with the increased damage to my mental health were I to confront all the bullshit there to the same degree that I do online. which is why i prefer online, where i don't have to put up with bullshit for the sake of peace and my health. YMMV
John Morales says
Something about in person meetings brings the best out in people.
Something about that claim makes me consider it an unwarranted inference leading to hasty generalisation.
(Sometimes, in-person meetings brings the worst out of people)
chigau (not my real name) says
When I use ALL CAPS (ie SHOUT) in meatspace, people look at me funny.
1) Without the draft, way fewer people will go into civilian service; and without such forced labor, there won't be any more ambulance drivers etc. etc. etc.. A weekly magazine wrote: "Austria was asked to decide between the draft and a professional army and answered 'civilian service'."
What, you can't, I dunno, pay them? Most places seem to get enough EMTs by offering decent wages to do the job, don't they? I'm confused that anyone could even think that this is a meaningful argument.
2) The army is, like, totally needed to help after natural disasters. Therefore, as many young men as possible must be handed guns and taught how to shoot. – In reality, as I learned from the abovementioned article, the average soldier spends 1.2 days with a shovel (in other words, most never get sent to help at all).
Yeah, I hear that one here in the U.S. too all the time, except that it's to defned the massivley bloated military budget, not the draft. These people ignore that that it's only the National Guard (Which I don't have a problem with), and the Army Corps of Engineers (Who might just as well be the Federal Corps of Engineers; there's no need to play soldier when you're doing civil engineering) who actually do any of that at all. And I'm in favor of stopping the Guard doing it too; we really should have a national disaster response agency that handles that stuff, completely separately from (hypothetical) national defence.
3) Being neutral, Austria is contractually obliged to defend itself. Against whom? All neighbors are fellow EU members, except Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It goes without saying that Austria, unlike Switzerland, hasn't ever, since 1918, been able to defend itself; the Cold War joke was "how long do the Russians need to overcome the Alps? A quarter of an hour – 10 minutes for laughing and 5 minutes for climbing."
Once again, used here to justify the budget. Never mind that there's no one on earth who could reasonably attack the U.S. even if we hadn't any armed services at all, and neither of our neighbors would want to even if they could.
4) The good old fascist argument: young men need to learn discipline. This apparently a) requires a gun; b) does not apply to women; c) doesn't apply to conscientious objectors either.
Don't even get me started. If there's anything to it, it can be learned just as well in universal civilian service, but I really don't see the need, honestly.
5) The Three Austrian Arguments: "that's always been that way", "that's never been that way", "but then anyone could come [and propose random madness]".
Not just Austrian.
I chose conscientious objector status,
I simply refused to fill out the forms, myself. At this point it's too late; if you haven't by age 25 you can't. It does mean I'm ineligible for any Federal jobs, though.
Cyranothe2nd, ladyporn afficianado says
My stupid RSS reader has been dropping Pharyngula lately, so I've got 2 days of posts to catch up on :(
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
And it reminds me that I want dandelion salad, soon.
Giliell, you are totally welcome to come harvest my yard any time.
Plenty for everyone!
ednaz says
Lynna OM @ 376
Threadrupt – but I must thank you for the link to the Rachel Maddow speech at Amherst College.
I intended to work while I listened to it, but realised after just a few minutes, I could not make myself scrub the kitchen cupboard doors while she was speaking – I had to watch as well as listen.
Intelligence is rare and I am grateful whenever I can come in contact with it.
Thank You.
ednaz says
Mini rant –
The tenants next door are having trouble with their door. The doors are crap, I know, but BANG and BANG and BANG!
I'm not mad, it's just a little unnerving after the sun goes down.
Hopefully putting this here will help me let it go.
chigau (unless...) says
geese geese geese!!!!
Flying north!
the crows are nesting
ednaz says
Yay for geese and crows! Come on, Spring! : D
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
Yay for geese and crows!
Yay for thawing toes!
Boo for extra snows!
Come on, Spring!
Portia says
Hey y'all.
Hi, ImaginesABeach and ednaz!
Good to see you :D
Love the poem, cicely :D :D :D
Poor sad little roses : ( Hopefully they'll get some sunshine and real spring warmth soon. I have something that looks promising poking up in the area where I planted bulbs in the fall, so I'm hopeful.
I'm so relieved for you that you got the car sale issues straightened out. *hugs*
*hugs* for Azkyroth and Ogvorbis
I just ventured into the liberturdians thread and…damn. Just damn. I literally had my mouth hanging open. I had to bail out of even reading further for now.
I'm at my mom's (yeah, again) with my aunt and cousin. This is the woo-addicted aunt that I always argue with. Tonight the argument started when Mom described my vegetarian step-niece's particularness with regard to serving spoons that have been contaminated by meat-dishes. I defended her right to not eat what my mom had made, even though mom made meatless lasagna just for her. Step-niece didn't eat it because the same spatula was used for the meat lasagna. Aunt was incensed when I kept insisting the SN had the right to draw her boundaries politely and eat something else. I said it wasn't done maliciously, and that it's ok to be particular as you want to be. She said it was malicious, and you only have the right to do your own thing as long as you're not hurting other people, and you should just bend your boundaries because "you have to bend somewhere!!!11!" and I told her that you also are not required to hurt yourself to spare other people hurt. Then my mom piped up and said it didn't hurt her at all that SN didn't eat the lasagna. Aunt then moved the goalpost and said she should just pretend to eat it and spare (the at-some-point-invented-hypothetical) 93-year-old grandmother's feelings. I said then grandma would never know how to make something she would actually like to eat, which was the whole point in the first place!
I should know by now to just let shit go with her, because she yells and false-analogizes, and is generally insufferable in debates, but I just can't let her bullshit go.
This might sound stupid, but she made me think about it (insisting I had RUINED HER FOOD by nuking it in the microwave, but she'd still eat it because she was POLITE and that's what you DO). How unhealthy is microwaving food?
/rant over. Thanks for letting me get it out.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
Ha! Better yet:
Yay for geese and crows!
Yay for thawing toes!
Winter sucks and blows!
Come on, Spring!
Cerberus: Fucking Oppression, Man says
David Marjanovic and WMDKitty-
Giant spleen-crushing HIUGS for what you said on the Trigger Hell post. It means a lot that you pointed out that conspicuous silence. I know I play those reveals off like they're no big deal, but it actually is a vulnerable space putting that sort of thing out there and it's nice to see someone recognize that.
Thank you.
chigau (unless...) says
We need a Spring Cheer Squad!
Who looks good in
spandex Purple? With Red Hats?
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
chigau, I look hideous in purple—but I don't let that stop me.
chigau (unless...) says
and a red hat?
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
Burgundy, maybe? Burgundy is a good color for me.
And…why a red hat, particularly?
Portia says
maybe it's a reference to this.
chigau (unless...) says
but mostly, this.
[I link that, alot.]
Jenny Joseph was 29 when she wrote the poem.
ednaz says
Hello All!
I should know by now to just let shit go with her, because she yells and false-analogizes, and is generally insufferable in debates, but I just can't let her bullshit go.
Go Portia!! : D
I worked with a woman who would eat food she didn't like if someone offered. She couldn't say 'No' – that's not polite.
There's being polite and there's being a doormat.
cicely, I liked both of your poems, but I liked the second one BEST! : )
chigau (unless...) says
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
It's been a weird day. The Redhead wanted to attend a knitting meeting, so I took her to it, and went grocery shopping to fill my time. Exiting the first store, I had to dodge what appeared to be a Mallard mating pair waddling around in the parking lot. Usually nothing but Lake gulls in attendance.
Portia says
Thanks ednaz. :)
I envy people with better boundaries than me, but at least I don't eat food I don't like for the sake of offense that wouldn't actually be caused by refusal!
And now Mom and I are done with Mad Men for the night and I'm turning in.
lilandra says
@Jadehawk and John Morales At least in the context of Youtube tiffs, it helped being face to face. Now that Shayrah has talked about it her and her fiance The Barking Atheist were in a disagreement with Bionic Dance where she had called Daniel a coward for saying that not everyone can come out as an atheist. Internet interactions can be dehumanizing in that you don't get body language and facial expressions and arguments escalate as quickly as you can hit submit. Not that there aren't bonuses to internet communication like some discussion in real life can be dominated by the loudest person. Whereas, in a fair forum reasonable people can have a say.
chigau (unless...) says
Really bed now.
I have Christopher Moore's Sacré Bleu.
As a book.
thunk, warm air advection says
Hia all. Can we agree that migraines suck?
(basically incapacitated for most of today. :(
Also, libertarians. *hurl*.
But i'm better now, ice cream is delicious.
John Morales says
lilandra @416, fair enough and well-said.
brianpansky says
hi, I have a question :)
does anyone know if there is an alternate language that can be used for sexual orientation?
popular words (like gay and straight) refer to whether someone is attracted to the same sex or not. That is a very particular way the language works, comparing self to target of affection. It is possible to talk about sexual orientation in completely different ways.
are there terminologies which totally ignore a person's own sex, and speak only of who someone is attracted to? Such words would mean something like "person A of unspecified gender is attracted exclusively to the _____ gender"
maybe something like "male-phyllic" or "female-sexual" I dunno. get what I mean?
brianpansky says
ok now I feel silly, wikipedia did in fact have exactly what I was looking for
rq says
rq says
One day, multiple sclerosis, one day we will kick your ass!
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
This now makes me wonder how someone would translate "idiophyllic."
Caine, Wonder-wench says
This now makes me wonder how someone would translate "idiophyllic."
In the same sense of "idiopathic" perhaps? Particularly in the spontaneous definition? Of course, one could take it in a very different way, a la Ray Comfort. ;D
rq says
Perhaps idiophilic would be more appropriate…?
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
Oh, and while I'm at it?
I'm out. Night.
rq says
birgerjohansson says
Resetting addicted brain: Laser light zaps away cocaine addiction in rats http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-laser-zaps-cocaine-addiction.html
— — — — — — — — —
carlie @ 296.
That happens to me every fucking time I try to log in to some of the other blogs.
And there IS NO OTHER WAY OF LOGGING IN!
Am I overlooking some link that is only visible in UV or infrared?
Giliell, professional cynic says
Good morning
That happens to me every fucking time I try to log in to some of the other blogs.
And there IS NO OTHER WAY OF LOGGING IN!
I always make sure I go to Pharyngula, log in here and then everything is fine anywhere else.
mildlymagnificent says
Whoop de dooo!
Had a meeting with mrmagnificent's doctor-OT-physio-social-worker-Uncle Tom Cobbley and all yesterday. Daughters came too. The rehab program is looking at discharging him – to home – in 4 weeks. Sounds good. Everyone's pleased with terrific progress.
Is there anything we need to make it easier for that to happen? Well, we just need the kitchen tiling done, the new cupboard built, the carpets replaced, the deck built outside (the steps are 1970s vintage, solid concrete, wrong heights, rail at wrong height, dangerous for me, let alone for newly rocky on his pins mr) the bedroom furniture rearranged, the new air conditioner installed (the old heater has been removed). Quite apart from digging and delving in the study mr was "tidying up" when he collapsed.
Should be a breeze, a doddle. No trouble at all. Seeing as we're also expected to have a few overnight home visits in the meantime. And daughter handily suggested that the social worker should arrange counselling for me because the last time I shared the house with mr I was giving him CPR. (I see that as yet another 80-90 km round trip I could do without. She might have a point, but I'd rather wait and see if I need something a bit more specific and maybe a service nearer home.)
And the new couch and chairs take 6+ weeks for delivery. But we can sit on dining chairs for a few weeks I suppose.
Someone somewhere surely has a supply of elasticised hours in the day I can borrow for a mere month.
Giliell, professional cynic says
Yay for the magnificentfamily
I hope the speedy recovery goes on.
So, I just called my aunt. I was planning to offer her a train ticket here for the totally selfish reason of trying to keep my sister from having a complete breakdown.
I can't give her much space, I'm always running at the extreme end of possible anyway, and my parents seem to fucking not care. So, my aunt (not really aunt) will come over from Berlin, spend some tie with her aunt (really aunt) and give my sister a breather. But I didn't need to offer her the ticket, she told me that she'd just been picking up the phone to call my sister to tell her that she booked the trip already.
I really don't know what my parents are thinking. They're at home, both. Yet when the woman who does the granny-sitting in the afternoon can't come she, my sister, has to cancel her plans for going out. WTF?
Oh, but when my mum was in hospital she missed her old ma so much…
rq says
That is excellent news! Except for the renovations to be completed. :/
I wish I could lend you some spare time to get it all done. I'm very, very glad to hear that mrmagnificent is well on the mend!! *chocolates* and *hugs* for all!
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I'm glad to read the good news about your husband.
I really need to work on my self-esteem. Whenever someone thanks me and says I'm very nice or quick to do something I think it's sarcasm. Rationally, I know it's not (most of the time at least), since I finish things some colleague left hanging for days or weeks as soon as I get the job.
I wish my eagerness had at least a bit of influence on my chances of getting this job for realz. Sadly, nope. If higher-ups decide
we they don't need an employee here, I'll be out no matter how irreplaceable I try to make myself or how much a person here is actually needed. Oh well, at least I'm trying.
carlie says
birger – many of them now have a little FtB logo login button in the top right side of the comment box section (not the box itself, but above the name/email spot). A few don't at all, though. I just log into one that does and then surf from there, but if it's one you read regularly, might be worth alerting the blog owner that it would be helpful to have an FtB login option.
blf says
Who looks good in
spandexPurple? With Red Hats?
You mean, besides the mildly deranged penguin?
(She also suggests one of those frogman-type flippers on one foot — she, of course, instead has to put on a long pig trotter on the other foot to maintain the proper balance least the Sprong Faeries get mad and stop the snow — and an Edward Scissorhands glove on a hand / paw / wing. And don't forget the bombarde.)
thumper1990 says
X-posted from Thunderdome:
I thought people may be interested in the shitstorm currently going down in Bangladesh.
rq says
And paraded at a press conference??? And now they'll be surprised to see them dead and mutilated in some alley, I suppose. Wow. I'm terrified for those three bloggers, I really am.
opposablethumbs says
Cheers and streamers for mrmagnificent's ongoing excellent recovery! *\o/*
And good luck wishes for all the preparations, though, that does sound like a handful :-(
howard says
1) Without the draft, way fewer people will go into civilian service; and without such forced labor, there won't be any more ambulance drivers etc. etc. etc.. A weekly magazine wrote: "Austria was asked to decide between the draft and a professional army and answered 'civilian service'."
What, you can't, I dunno, pay them? Most places seem to get enough EMTs by offering decent wages to do the job, don't they? I'm confused that anyone could even think that this is a meaningful argument.
So I live in the middle of nowhere, and we don't pay our ambulance drivers.
But they're civilian volunteers.
The argument basically rests on 'if you don't force them, they won't do it, because people suck.'
I'm a volunteer firefighter. Before I did that, I believed that people basically sucked and that nobody would just volunteer to risk their lives for their neighbors. Now I've done, I've seen people do it, and you know what? People who make that argument scare me.
People can suck, sometimes. But they can also be Big Damn Heroes.
rq says
I didn't think I'd actually be hesitant to go to choir after the (minor) incident last time, but I am. Especially since He-Who-Comes-Unexpectedly-From-Behind has decided to become a rather vocal proponent of choir in the choir's interest group on social media.
I'm really mad he ruined my safe space, so I will go tonight and… probably see that it isn't that bad. Just scared, that's all.
rq says
You're so right.
Personally, making something mandatory is usually a good way of making me not want to do it/participate/etc., ever. I'm not sure why that is, but I really hate doing things I must. I mean, obviously there are some things that must be done (taking children to see the doctor regularly, for one, or, for that matter, taking myself), but if the automatic assumption is that people are Bad and will never want to help anyone else unless forced to, well, I guess the contrarian part of me just wants to prove them right.
Or something.
Meh, that's probably just me being counterproductive.
Why am I procrastinating? I'm on severely limited time. Stop typing here until done!! [/notetoself]
thumper1990 says
@rq #439
I know. "Paraded in handcuffs at a press conference", it sounds like they're POWs in 1984, doesn't it? Who knows what'll happen to them next? I am unable to find a petition or any other means of bringing international pressure to bear as of yet, but I will keep trying.
Also, your #442: Good luck! I hope it works out OK; I'm sure you'll be fine.
Also, from your #443:
Personally, making something mandatory is usually a good way of making me not want to do it
Can I ever relate to this.
birgerjohansson says
It Wasn't David Stockman Who Wrecked the Economy http://www.thenation.com/article/173621/it-wasnt-david-stockman-who-wrecked-economy
Pundits think we live in the best of all possible worlds.And critics who say the economy is corrupt are as crazy as the hippies who claimed it was wrong to invade Iraq.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Why Was Paul Krugman So Wrong? http://www.thenation.com/article/173593/why-was-paul-krugman-so-wrong
rq says
I just wonder at the authorities in Bangladesh, like… do they honestly not understand what they are doing? Maybe they're afraid for themselves, too, which makes me wonder how much of an authority they really are. But yes, very 1984, that. 'This is your enemy!'
Thanks for the expression of support. I'm sure it will be fine, too. I just worry well in advance, just in case! ;)
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says
Interesting article on young adult books and rape : http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/author-whos-teaching-boys-how-talk-about-rape/63786/
Not a fan of the part about teaching boys "Well, you wouldn't want someone to do this to your mother or sister" and I haven't read Inexcusable but I've read Speak when I was growing up. I loved Speak so much and it helped me a lot reading it.
ethicsgradient says
Does anyone else use RSS to get notification of new Pharyngula posts? If so, do you find that, unlike all other blogs/sites using RSS, that several get stored up for a day or two, and then sent out all at once? It's now 3 days and about 25 posts since I last had any notification to my reader. And I've tried different readers, and it's just the same. It's been like this for over a month, though 3 days is the worst hiatus so far.
I'd bring it to FreethoughtBlogs' attention, but I can't find any contact details on the whole site. So hopefully PZ, or Chris, or one of the other site bloggers, will see this.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
I have decided that today should be cancelled, due to lack of interest. Let's all just skip ahead to Friday afternoon, mkay?
cicely, I liked both of your poems, but I liked the second one BEST! : )
Thank you, thank you, you are too kind, I'll be here all week, be sure to tip the veal and try your waiter…
I'd be good with wearing the purple (even though it doesn't suit me), but hats fret me. Maybe a red hair clip, instead?
thunk, I am on board with your "Migraines and Libertarians Suck" program.
mildlymagnificent, glad to hear the good news about mrmagnificent, and wish I had some of those "elasticised hours" to give you. Or that I could just send you all those pesky hours between now and Friday afternoon.
Personally, making something mandatory is usually a good way of making me not want to do it
That's me, to an irrational degree, sometimes. For instance, onceuponaverylongtimeago, I took a college course on Science Fiction and Fantasy—only my two favoritest genres!—and then had trouble making myself read the assigned reading. And it was good stuff, too, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading…after the class was over.
Lynna, OM says
ednaz @398
Lynna OM @ 376
Threadrupt – but I must thank you for the link to the Rachel Maddow speech at Amherst College.
I intended to work while I listened to it, but realised after just a few minutes, I could not make myself scrub the kitchen cupboard doors while she was speaking – I had to watch as well as listen.
Intelligence is rare and I am grateful whenever I can come in contact with it.
You are quite welcome. I hesitated before posting that link because the presentation at Amherst was so long. It is not a soundbite that's for sure. But really, that speech by Maddow made my day. The Q&A was good too.
Repeat of link: https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/campus_community_events/maddow/video
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says
Personally, making something mandatory is usually a good way of making me not want to do it
That's me, to an irrational degree, sometimes. For instance, onceuponaverylongtimeago, I took a college course on Science Fiction and Fantasy—only my two favoritest genres!—and then had trouble making myself read the assigned reading. And it was good stuff, too, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading…after the class was over.
I've just discovered that I'm SO in this category too. =/
chigau (unless...) says
ethicsgradient #448
You could email PZ directly.
Click on the link under his picture in the side-bar.
Be specific in the "subject" box in your email.
Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says
Asher Kay,
You're in Rochester? *boggles*
No, I don't know of any orgs. I was going to ask if you did.
The closest I know of is the various student orgs at the universities, but those tend to be student-specific.
David Marjanović says
And if the Clack book is out of date, well, so am I. Perhaps we can catch up together!
Yeah, but German speaking people say "hare" and totally mean "rabbit". 19 out f 20 times somebody says "Hase" or "Häschen" they mean a rabbit.
Oh, absolutely.
1) Without the draft, way fewer people will go into civilian service; and without such forced labor, there won't be any more ambulance drivers etc. etc. etc.. A weekly magazine wrote: "Austria was asked to decide between the draft and a professional army and answered 'civilian service'."
What, you can't, I dunno, pay them?
Of course not! There's no money! We had to buy stupendously expensive fighter planes instead, amid a whole lot of corruption, so that one of them can lift off by the time an unannounced foreign plane (coming from where exactly???) leaves Austrian airspace at the other side!
More seriously, it's a question of political will. Everybody starts from the assumption that ambulance drivers and the like will never be paid enough to make a living, so they won't ever be paid enough to make a living. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
Never mind that there's no one on earth who could reasonably attack the U.S. even if we hadn't any armed services at all, and neither of our neighbors would want to even if they could.
Heh. The drug cartels in Ciudad Juárez might. :-þ
Giant spleen-crushing HIUGS
*grabs random vaguely sharp object*
*performs emergency splenectomy on self*
*glues everything shut with superglue or something*
*hugs Cerberus back, smearing blood all over her*
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
I'm glad to have been of help! I've visited the thread again; the discussion has narrowed down to whether Landsburg should be reported – heddle still says no, because academia consists of frozen beaches.
(…Seriously. The spleen has open circulation. Once it bursts, taking it all out very quickly is pretty much the only alternative to just bleeding to death. Why don't you just break my ribs instead? :-) )
This now makes me wonder how someone would translate "idiophyllic."
Phyllon = leaf.
That is excellent news! Except for the renovations to be completed. :/
I wish I could lend you some spare time to get it all done. I'm very, very glad to hear that mrmagnificent is well on the mend!! *chocolates* and *hugs* for all!
All seconded.
Does anyone else use RSS to get notification of new Pharyngula posts?
Not me. I simply visit every day. After all, there are new posts practically every day, and new comments literally every day.
Lynna, OM says
Republicans are busy, busy, busy looking for ways to suppress the vote of those likely to vote Democratic.
In this never-ending quest to end democracy, or to at least skew the vote in their favor, Republicans have targeted college students several times, several ways. They tried mightily to curtail voting by college students before the 2012 election. Now they've come up with a new tactic. Leave it to North Carolina, famous lately for other reactionary moves (see Rev. BigDumbChimp's post @349), to lead the way with new forms of voter suppression.
North Carolina Republicans have filed a bill that would penalize parents of college students who vote in the town where they go to college. Students would still be allowed to register to vote in their college town—but if they did, their parents would lose a tax deduction of up to $2,500. The same bill would also force people to have their car registered and be registered to vote in the same place, again targeting college students who are likely to register their cars in their hometowns but vote where they attend college….
David Marjanović says
I have decided that today should be cancelled, due to lack of interest. Let's all just skip ahead to Friday afternoon, mkay?
Quite the opposite. I'm so tired (for no reason I can find) that today should be extended till I've actually done anything useful. I have a long list of useful things to do, and Friday evening will be spent talking with the other Humboldt fellows of Berlin while they drink beer till deep into the night, fucking up my sleep cycle for the weekend.
Lynna, OM says
If you had any doubts about the goals associated with voter suppression tactics being enacted at the state level, the Tea Party will clear that up for you.
We've gotten a bill into the Senate that Progressives are going to hate almost more than they hate Voter ID.
If other states pick up this legislation, it will shift the landscape of college town voting all across the nation and may even put "college states" like Massachusetts back into play because so many students use the same-day registration rules to vote in that state.
Quoted from the Beaufort Patriot.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I find Jeremy Irons a bit creepy every since I watched Lolita, but now I have a rational reason for disliking him:
David Marjanović says
Cute overload!!!
I'm pretty sure this is the April photo in the calendar I have at home. The huge copyright sign hides some of the cuteness, but you'll get the idea. I squee and squee.
The April photo in the calendar here in the office comes with this legend: "Quartzite of the 900 million-year-old Big Cottonwood Formation holds up the rugged headwall of Mary Ellen Gulch. Well-preserved ripple marks and mud cracks indicate the Big Cottonwood Formation was deposited in the tidal zone of a shallow sea." It's in American ForkCanyon, Utah County, Utah. And it's from an age when the Pacific Ocean didn't exist yet.
David Marjanović says
…Have a free space: [ ]
Giliell, professional cynic says
Today? Well, there have been more interesting days.
I was productive in the sense that I might get to the end of the dirty holiday laundry by tomorrow. And we went to the zoo. It would have been nice if #1 hadn't decided to be a huge pain in the ass and threw a tantrum whenever I didn't read her mind correctly until I decided that now I don't want to be there any longer.
But I'll make myself a mug-cake later.
And I got beaten around the ears with my middle-class privilege again. Took the kids to the zoo and bought our full-year ticket. A friend of mine took her daughter to the zoo as well. Only that they didn't really go to the zoo, they went to the terrace outside of the zoo from where you can see the sheep and the seals for free…
Giliell, professional cynic says
Thanks for reminding me to flip the calendar from March to April.
2007, btw. Since I never use tohose large wall calendars for actually looking at the date anyway, I "recycle" them once in a while. And every so and so often the dates will even match!
And it's donkeys.
Hmmm, does the hate of horses include donkeys?
The Mellow Monkey says
I had an incredibly disturbing conversation with a friend last night. We were discussing Game of Thrones which I finally started watching on his recommendation and I pointed out how deeply disturbing I found the rape of a main character that then leads to her falling in love with her rapist husband. He literally said, "Yeah, it's rape, but at least he wasn't being a dick about it. That's what's important."
I got pretty upset and told him that saying things like that must be easy for him, since it's not his humanity being erased by this kind of stuff. And then he accused me of ethnocentrism.
For judging the behavior of fictional characters in a fictional culture behaving in ways that have an impact on real people by perpetuating real rape culture.
And this is one of my good friends who actually considers himself a feminist.
Days like this, I seriously start considering never talking to anyone ever again.
NateHevens, resident SOOPER-GENIUS... apparently... says
I can't watch Game of Thrones (or read the series) because of the rape in it.
I had to stop watching History Channel's show Vikings because they featured it in teh second fucking show.
Isn't it entirely possible to highlight these cultures without gratuitous rape?
As to Game of Thrones… I know some would argue that she was, and still is, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, but that's just not good enough.
The rape in these shows lately simply serves not purpose. It' not avenged, it's not a commentary on rape culture… it's just shown as "that's how it is. All well. *shrug*".
Fuck that shit.
Asher Kay says
No, I don't know of any orgs. I was going to ask if you did.
Dang. I'd been thinking about starting something up ever since coming across someone who mentioned that he was an SGU listener. I'm not much of a "socializer" or "initiater". But when I looked around on meetup.com, I noticed a *lot* of people in the area who'd expressed interest in the keyword "skeptic".
When I started reading more about the skeptic "movement", I started to come across a bunch of information about sexism problems, which made me hesitant. It feels like there's a big Ayn-Rand-ish/Vacularian-style contingent (for lack of a better rude label) that I'm not really keen on associating with. Maybe there's a way of building in discouragement for that, but I think at minimum I'd want to have women well-represented from the beginning.
Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I wish we had something like that in Rochester. It would have been great to be able to issue a statement from a "real" skeptic organization about Steven Landsburg's douchebaggery, for example.
The Mellow Monkey says
The rape in these shows lately simply serves not purpose. It' not avenged, it's not a commentary on rape culture… it's just shown as "that's how it is. All well. *shrug*".
Exactly. Just shrugging this shit off as "yeah, they rape a lot" (especially when the specific situation shown is entirely fictional) is absurd. The only thing I can think is that it's serving as some illicit thrill for people.
I found it gratuitous and pointless. Beyond reinforcing the trope that love at first rape makes for a fantastic romantic story or getting people off who like to watch young women cry while being forced into sexual situations, there was zero purpose.
rq says
Back from choir. Not nearly as bad as I feared, even after noticing on the drive over that I was, in fact, afraid. Studiously ignoring people and leaving as fast as possible at the end has a purpose, I suppose.
and The Mellow Monkey
The whole rape thing in Game of Thrones was one of the reasons I have trouble whole-heartedly agreeing with the Strong Women! so trumpeted about the series. It's a bit less rape-y in the books (a bit) but still…
I can't completely endorse the books as this amazing model of how to write female characters because of several other issues, but the Daenerys thread definitely doesn't have me nodding in agreement, even later. And how Cersei is such a strong woman, but they're playing on the Woman-as-Protector-of-Children trope. Heavily. And… More, but I'll leave it at that, for the moment.
Today could end a bit faster, I agree.
And oh, it's not March anymore… Heh. Calendar flipping for the win!!!
Katherine Lorraine, Tortue du Désert avec un Coupe-Boulon says
Hi. Sharing my epic rant from Maddow Blog:
[Ben Carson] is right, you can believe in evolution one minute and the moment it doesn't suite your views ignore it. Sex is for appropriation, marriage is the human civilized way of fortifying the family it creates. It was not to accommodate practices that do not produce babies, is this too hard for anybody. To my Gay friends I do believe you were born that way. The bible says so, but so were we all my sin may be stealing or violent behavior and guess what? Some of us were born that way too, but we all have to repent.
Kat the Awesome:
Evolution actually supports homosexual behavior as a method to ensure that there is greater ability for procreation of the heterosexual population of a species. Less competition for fewer mates. In a communal group (primates among them) a homosexual member of the species will often take the part of a surrogate to the children – a protector at home who can be left while hunting parties go off to gather food.
In fact, monogamous heterosexuality in animals is the exception to the rule. (I exclude the kingdoms other than animalia cause their form of reproduction is weird.) There are species that are bisexual and trisexual, there are entirely female species that reproduce when one or more of their members takes on the characteristics of a male, there are females that eat their mates before/during/after sex, there are species where the male's body shrinks into a pair of extant gonads supplying the much larger female with sperm, there are species that sell sex in return for favors, species where males will pretend to be females so that they can have babies with the females who are with the males who act like males, there are homosexual animals, even homosexual species who just have sex with females when they need to make babies.
Evolutionary theory says nothing about sex for procreation only, too. Several species (pigs, primates, dolphins, some birds) will have sex for fun, or for building better relationships between members of the species. Other species have sex for dominance reasons – to show who's at the head of the pack – and yes, a lot of dominance-related sex is homosexual.
You state that marriage is for procreation, but I have to ask – do you think society should reject marriage between infertile couples? Or elderly couples? Or couples who wish not to have children? My 88-year old grandmother just got married to a wonderful guy she's known for 50 years. Her marriage is clearly about love, and yet you're saying it's not really a marriage and we should not accommodate it?
I don't think you have gay friends, if you do, you're a really crappy friend. I may not agree with my friends on all things, but I've never turned around and spit in their face. If you had a gay friend who fell madly, MADLY in love with a man or woman, would you say to their face "you're my friend, but you can't get married because it's wrong."
And who cares about your Bronze Age book? Our country was not founded to follow the archaic laws of the Bible – or cotton-polyester blends would be banned, shrimp scampy would be illegal, and you could sell your daughter for thirty pieces of silver to her rapist as an honor payment. The Bible you talk about contains horrific things – rape and genocide not only allowed but in fact MANDATED by your god, slavery was allowed, murder was mandated for such crimes as working on a holiday, and women were treated as objects.
And before you go into the Biblical definition of marriage, go and look at the marriages allowed in the Bible – a man and a woman and her concubine, a man and two women and their concubines, a man and three hundred wives, a woman and her late husband's brother, a slave given a woman as property, a woman and her rapist.
TLDR: Stuff it, you're an ignorant fool trumpeting a defeated ideology.
I may have missed a few words and qualifiers, and that's all from memory rather than citation (because you can't post links on Maddow Blog without working through an annoying interface) so I may have a few things misrepresented. But epic nonetheless.
rq says
Oh and Natehevens, for addition into the Commune, I'm the keeper of Original Document, but Dalillama is the official Putter on the Internet, so you can pass on Commune information either to Dalillama or myself.
Know any dentists? We're missing one.
Lynna, OM says
You already knew that rich people like Mitt Romney were hiding their money in off-shore accounts in order to avoid paying taxes on it. Now you can know that fact mo' better and in more detail.
… many of the world's major banks – including UBS, Clariden and Deutsche Bank – have aggressively worked to provide their customers with secrecy-cloaked companies in the British Virgin Islands and other offshore hideaways:
Documents obtained by ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] show how two top Swiss banks, UBS and Clariden, worked with TrustNet to provide their customers with secrecy-shielded companies in the BVI and other offshore centers.
Clariden, owned by Credit Suisse, sought such high levels of confidentiality for some clients, the records show, that a TrustNet official described the bank's request as "the Holy Grail" of offshore entities — a company so anonymous that police and regulators would be "met with a blank wall" if they tried to discover the owners' identities….
Some examples:
Jean-Jacques Augier, France's François Hollande's 2012 election campaign co-treasurer, launched a Caymans-based distributor in China with a 25 percent partner in a BVI company. Augier says his partner was Xi Shu, a Chinese businessman.
Mongolia's former finance minister. Bayartsogt Sangajav set up "Legend Plus Capital Ltd" with a Swiss bank account, while he served as finance minister of the impoverished state from 2008 to 2012. He says it was "a mistake" not to declare it, and says "I probably should consider resigning from my position".
The president of Azerbaijan and his family. A local construction magnate, Hassan Gozal, controls entities set up in the names of President Ilham Aliyev's two daughters.
A senator's husband in Canada. Lawyer Tony Merchant deposited more than US$800,000 into an offshore trust.
Spain's wealthiest art collector, Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, a former beauty queen and widow of a Thyssen steel billionaire, who uses offshore entities to buy art.
It's not just wealthy individuals pulling these financial shenanigans. The massive leak of info reveals that "a number of so-called nominee directors of companies have connections to military or intelligence activities."
And, wouldn't you know it, there's more evidence of some of these financial wizards aiding Iran.
The ICIJ also notes a "sham" director who is U.K.-based operative working to hide money for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line – a firm the E.U., the U.N. and the U.S. have accused IRISL of aiding Iran's nuclear-development program. Under the front name "Tamalaris Consolidated Limited," the company registered in the BVI with the British-based operative named as director.
The leaked documents make up a trove 160 times as large as the size of WikiLeaks' cache. The leak reveals the global web of tax havens in which the wealthy hide their fortunes. There are sham "Directors" of sham companies, all the better to shield the real dirty players.
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
*glues everything shut with superglue or something*
Superglue seems to be keeping The Husband's innards from squirting out like toothpaste (only not Fresh&Minty™), so I'd go with that.
Apparently little (titanium?) clips were also deployed. Somewhere.
I have decided that today should be cancelled, due to lack of interest. Let's all just skip ahead to Friday afternoon, mkay?
Quite the opposite. I'm so tired (for no reason I can find)
Me, too; which is why I want to skip ahead.
that today should be extended till I've actually done anything useful.
Aha! I believe I have detected our problem! It's that whole "doing something useful" thing. Apart from decking the Ridiculously Over-Upholstered Quad-Cane for Spring, I've been doing…nothing. Except web-surf. The phone, she does not ring.
Hmmm, does the hate of horses include donkeys?
Nah. Only horses are Horses.
And possibly ponies.
"Yeah, it's rape, but at least he wasn't being a dick about it. That's what's important."
So…it's okay, so long as the rapist sends around a Thank You! card the next day?????????
This is all a plot by the Hallmark people, isn't it?
Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says
Re: Game of Thrones, this is definitely something that shifts from book to show. In the books, there's lots of rape, but it has a "horrible stuff is happening, here's a catalog" feel. The show skips all that in favor of "LOOK! BOOBIES!"
I am still spitting mad over one of the very first things in the show: the wedding of Daenarys Targaryen and Khal Drogo. He's a grown man, she's twelve or so. In the book, he works (despite a language barrier) to tell her that he's not going to brutalize her, and their wedding night is a lengthy exercise in "is it okay if I touch you here? yes? okay, thank you." The show? Cuts all the "he's trying not to be a rapist" stuff. The wedding night is portrayed has "he grabs her, she screams, fade to black." Ugh. This has the effect of – later in their relationship – recasting the meaning of things. Daenarys comes to love him and genuinely mourns him when he dies. In the book, this is semi-sensible – he shows her respect and treats her semi-decently. In the show, this makes her seem like she has Stockholm Syndrome.
I am staying out of the "goddamn cancer" threads. Because I made the mistake of googling things. And I learned that Roger Ebert died of the exact same kind of cancer (subtype and all) that I had. The only difference being that mine was caught earlier. My head is not in a good space right now, so I'm staying away.
Jadehawk says
anyone got an idea what' sup with Strange Gods? his last comments here are from a month ago. *mildly concerned*
cicely (mumblemumble-SomethingHalf-Witty-mumblemumble) says
Know any dentists? We're missing one.
Not so much missing, as lacking one. Unless we had a dentist, but xe escaped….
Which would be okay by me; I have moral and ethical (and self-preservative!) problems with the prospect non-consensual dentistry.
Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says
I asked about him in Thunderdome a week or two ago, hoping that he'll just pop out of nowhere to say that he's busy, but there's been no answer. :(
Jadehawk says
there's been no answer. :(
Jadehawk says
rq says
We seem to have several missing people lately.
PatrickG says
@ Esteleth: Agree that the show completely abandoned the book for that scene. However, it's worth remembering that after that coerced-consensual* night, the book explicitly says that Khal Drogo spent the next few weeks/months/whatever coming in late at night, flipping her on her stomach, and 'mounting her like a mare' with no regard to her pleasure or consent.
Remember, it was only until she donned the sexual wanton/assertive bedpartner mantle that he actually called her by name during intercourse! And of course, he warmed to her immensely after he found out she was pregnant.
So. I always thought that first scene in the book was sort of out of place given what followed. The show actually made more sense to me, in precisely the Stockholm Syndrome sense you reference. Or, more venally, she decided to make the best of a really bad situation, and she was damn lucky Drogo found it desirable.
* By which I mean she obviously had absolutely no choice in the matter. Drogo was just being a Nice Guy in allowing her an opportunity to consent.
rq says
That's a good point, about the consent – I doubt she could have actually said No, even if she really wanted to. After all, it was a business deal where she was a part of the transaction, not one of the acting parties…
PZ Myers says
I'm feeling peevish. I'm on cholesterol medication, and we switched it up a few weeks ago…and now every afternoon I get to sit here with deep aching muscles everywhere. And I'm gritting my teeth and sticking with it in the hopes that I'll adapt sometime soon.
Snarl, snarl. I'd punch someone but my arms hurt too much.
rq says
I'd punch someone but my arms hurt too much.
This is what came to mind. Picture it snarling.
Hope you adapt to the medication soon, PZ!
Lynna, OM says
Republican Louie Gohmert recently explained how gun control leads to bestiality. I won't repeat his very cogen, and logical argument here because Stephen Colbert already did a good job of that in his segment "six degrees of humping bacon."
Representative Gohmert (R-Texas) can be heard in all his glory, along with Colbert's commentary, here.
Lynna, OM says
There are still segregated proms in some Georgia high schools. Really, Georgia? A prom for whites and a prom for blacks. And it's the students who are having to fight this craziness. Where were/are the supposedly wiser parents, teachers and administrators?
Lynna, OM says
Whoops. I got one detail wrong in my post @484. Yes, there are segregated high school proms in Macon, Georgia, however, the segregation is:
1. whites only prom
2. integrated prom
Lynna, OM says
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's hair is on fire about the recent court judgement that overturned a Virginia law forbidding anal and oral sex.
… A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the state's "Crimes Against Nature" law, which forbids anal and oral sex, whether practiced by straight or gay people, is unconstitutional. But the AG wants the full 15-judge appeals court to hear the case again.
Cuccinelli's spokeswoman said Wednesday that the case "is not about sexual orientation," but about "using current law to protect a 17 year-old girl from a 47 year-old sexual predator."
This specific case deals with a man who was prosecuted under the "Crimes Against Nature" statute for having had oral sex with women, a felony offense under that law. The man in the case, William MacDonald, was in his late 40s when he was charged with having consensual oral sex with two young women who were, at the time, ages 16 and 17. While that might be seen as creepy, in Virginia, the age of consent is 15 years old. It is considered statutory rape—a felony offense—to have sex with anyone under that age.
So, if AG Cuccinelli really wants to protect young women, why doesn't he consider campaigning for a higher age of consent?
Because Virginia still has this anti-sodomy law on the books, the state wants to use it against MacDonald and win a felony conviction. The state, however, couldn't prosecute him under this statute if he had engaged in vaginal sex. That is, the state is trying to use a loophole in the law that makes oral, but not vaginal, sex a felony in order to go after this guy. The court of appeals determined that MacDonald could not be prosecuted under this law because the US Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that such laws are an unconstitutional "intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual."…
Here's some more insight on how Cuccinelli is thinking, or failing to think. The following quote in from 2009, and Cuccinelli was commenting on attempts at that time to change Virginia's "crimes against nature" laws:
"My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong," They're intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it's appropriate to have policies that reflect that. … They don't comport with natural law."
Lynna, OM says
To promote their campaign for installing armed guards in all schools, and for arming teachers and other school personnel, the NRA is using phony stories and falsified statistics.
Here's one story the NRA used in writing their report "National School Shield Task Force":
For example, in 2010 a 16-year-old attacker killed six people hiding in a locked classroom in Hastings Middle School in Minnesota by shooting and subsequently stepping through a tempered glass window that ran vertically alongside the classroom door.
The problem? The story is not true.
Mother Jones published the actual facts, the story in which no one was killed.
We seem to have several missing people lately.
Yes, we really do. :( Hopefully we'll see them back again soon.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says
Lynna, OM
Whoops. I got one detail wrong in my post @484. Yes, there are segregated high school proms in Macon, Georgia, however, the segregation is:
1. whites only prom
2. integrated prom
Wait…that article said when the girls talked to the administration, the school agreed to having the second prom…so before that it was literately a whites only and a blacks only prom?
From the article:
There will still be two proms this year. Neither proms are financed by or allowed to take place at Wilcox County High School. The students said that when they pushed for one prom, the school offered a resolution to permit an integrated prom that would allow all students to attend but not stop segregated proms.
Or am I reading that wrong?
The article also doesn't link the facebook page for the integrated prom. Boo! I mean seriously… so why not link to it?
Jezebell's article has the links for their facebook and donation, for those interested and not in the Facebook Resistance.
FossilFishy(Anti-Vulcanist) says
Hi folks. I've been avoiding rq because I've not had time to get on with the musicing. /silly avoidance
As an example of how deep the Femnazi mind control has gotten into me I sent this to the performers I saw last night. They're called The 360AllStars, a couple of breakdancers, a bmx rider, basketball trick artist and a circus performer doing their thing to live-looped drums and vocals. Good stuff.
Hello 360 Folks. I caught your show last night at Wangarrata, in fact I was the bloke you pulled up on stage.
I kind of need to share a couple of thoughts with you about that. First off, you made a pretty lucky choice. I've been on stage a time or three in my life and audiences hold no fear for me. I also own a pushy store so the bike gag was no big deal.
But you also made a rather unlucky choice as well. You see, for the last few years I've been very involved with trying to make this world a better place. And more specifically, a better place for my 5 year old daughter.
We live in a world where a girl can get raped while people not only stand around and watch, they record it. And when those rapists get caught, tried and sentenced there's a public outcry at how *their* lives will be ruined. Fuck me, their lives, really?
Bear with me here, I'm getting to why this relates to your show, I promise.
Most rapes are not quite like the Steubenville one. And most are not some stranger pulling a poor woman into an alley. No, most rapes occur when a woman who's been somewhat interested, or at least ambivalent to some guy's advances who finally says "No" and that guy doesn't accept it. Most rapes are perpetrated by someone the victim knows, and often they're well known at that.
That ability to say 'no' and have that taken seriously is at the heart of male privilege in our society. Us guy type folk can say 'no' with little fear of the consequences. Unless of course they're in a public space where there's a performer asking them, and he's encouraging the audience to pressure them into agreeing.
I damn near said 'no' and was going to stick to it just to make a point. That point being that consent is absolute, that the first 'no' should always be the end of it, no matter the circumstances, no matter the peer pressure, no matter the needs of the show, no matter the needs of the horny bloke….
We need to raise our children, and most especially our boys, to understand that, to understand that consent must be sought and freely given, and that it can be taken away at any time, for any reason. We need to change this from the ground up, from the time they're pre-verbal until they old enough to actually need an understanding of consent, our children need to be taught that no really does mean no, and any yes better be an enthusiastic "Yes Please!"
But of course I realised that that point would not be heard or understood by anyone. Not in those circumstances. I realised that my five year old would only see that Daddy wasn't playing along, that he was being an asshole. Besides, as a male, the issue of consent isn't near as dire to me as it is for the women in our world.
I'm not angry, I don't think you folk are doing any great harm, it's obvious by the dress gag that you'll always pull a guy, so really this is just a little mini-rant to reconcile my beliefs with my actions. It's more to make me feel better than to criticise you. And to be clear: that criticism would only be that to set a good example for the youngn's, when someone says 'no' it would be better for my daughter's world if you made a point of respecting it and moving on.
Other than that I have to say that how you handled me on-stage was professional, clear (Well, I have some hearing damage so I did struggle to a bit to hear the instructions.) and courteous; I got a real sense of "We're all in this together for a bit of fun."
Oh, and hey, the show otherwise was fantastic. I love seeing people doing things that I don't have a clue how to do myself and doing them well at that. And those time or three on stage of mine were always in a band of some sort. I have a good idea the skills involved in that aspect of the show, and I really appreciated the quality of the music. Very good stuff indeed.
All the best for the rest of the run. (I'd say "break a leg'" but it's clear that that's a real possibility in what you do.)
Mind you I could have been more vehement, I'm really not sure how egregious his ignoring my initial "I'd rather not," actually was. And the dress gag (the put me in a dress and wig) only works because of stupid gender roles, but I didn't want to side track my main point by getting into that.
Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says
…can't believe I didn't think of this sooner:
I support FELINISM.
(But I'm just in it for the pussy). :P
FossilFishy(Anti-Vulcanist) says
Azkyroth, I surrender this comment to you. Your 491 is far more worthy of it than my #4 was in that thread.
PZ Myers says
You felinists are ruining atheism. Send me your picture so I can photoshop your face onto a dog and teach you a lesson.
ednaz says
Lynna, OM @ 483
Thanks for the link to Colbert.
ednaz says
I am sorry you are suffering because of switched up medication.
May your medicine adjust to you SOON.
ednaz says
Sweet Little Kitty Picture!! SQUEEEEEE
NateHevens, resident SOOPER-GENIUS... apparently... says
Does anyone here read Libby Anne's Love, Joy, Feminism blog at Patheos? She's been doing this Judaism 101 series lately that has been fascinating to read through and (ocassionally) participate in.
Thought y'all might find it interesting:
Judaism 101 (tag)
The discussion on sexism and violence in the Torah is on-going, though it isn't the most recent post (which is on being born Jewish).
ck says
Thank you, Lynna, for rekindling my hatred for humanity. Lots of painfully transparent defenses of horrible things ("Oh, this isn't about the gays! It's about protecting the children from the pedophiles (and the gays)." "Oh, the school doesn't have any control over the prom. We've carefully pretended that it's an entirely private party.").
rq says
Good morning!
What do you mean, April, more snow??!
Whatever happened to April showers? At this rate we'll have no flowers until… July!
Also, the Cat has been watering and fertilizing the ficus quite regularly. The thanks we get for cleaning his litterbox.
I knew there was something f… I mean, unusual going on with your absence. Just remember, I'm in no rush (sometime next year for the first draft would work well) and I'd much rather have a chat with you than not see you around at all. ;)
For you. ;)
FossilFishy(Anti-Vulcanist) says
[Wanders into The Lounge humming tunelessly under his breath]
Oh hey, who left this open?]
[Turns the page]