At last, a cat video I can sympathize with.
May 04 2012
Episode CCCXXIV: I’m surrounded by morons
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694 comments
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Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
6 May 2012 at 10:12 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
TLC: here
Warning: serious herp derp.
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 10:12 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
TLC
I ♥ The Bear and I ♥ed Bart.
Fuck accuracy.
—
Dr. Audley
I kinda liked dinosaurs but I was a huge fan of stone tools.
So I skipped a few epochs and went into archaeology.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 10:18 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Chigau: One of my favorite childhood movies. And one of the best ‘Animal Story’ films out there. I love how they made the animals communicate with each other but not actually talk. So many movies with animal stars like that wimp out and make the animals friggin talk because they think the audience won’t ‘connect’ with them otherwise.
thunk
6 May 2012 at 10:20 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher:
I agree, Laden has done some very weird things, what with the whole Nazi debacle, and his knee-jerk Reddit reaction a while back.
Audley: Augh, gendered dinosaur clings. I almost though that as normal until my higher brain got through. It’s everywhere *sigh*.
Also, hello.
ibyea
6 May 2012 at 10:25 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What the? What is Greg Laden doing?! They are not NAZI sympathizing, they are telling him that his solution to the fascists problem is wrong!
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 10:26 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
looky
link to a thread at Kylie’s
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 10:27 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Play the video.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 10:32 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Esteleth: Holy fuck, you weren’t kidding were you?
What an utter jackass!
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 10:36 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Seriously, is he having some kind of mental meltdown? No matter how many people explain it to him, he just keeps screaming about NAZI LOVERS and YOU DON’T HATE THEM NAZIS ENOUGH YET ARRRGH NAZIS.
ibyea
6 May 2012 at 10:37 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Not only that, he insulted those with Aspergers.
thunk
6 May 2012 at 10:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
ibyea:
Yeah, obviously, we can’t express enough moral outrage at Nazis *spits*.
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 10:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
’cause Nazis were the worstest thing evvaaar!
ibyea
6 May 2012 at 10:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
BTW, didn’t a radical left party also get tons of people elected? That would be another problem too.
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
6 May 2012 at 10:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
As an aside: no Nazis, just a cute kitty.
And some random lady with bad skin. :/
__
But yes, Laden seems to be rapidly accelerating towards destruction.
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
6 May 2012 at 10:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
“accidentally liked nazis” wtf?
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 10:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I commented on that, Ibyea.
It’s awaiting moderation. Of course.
I didn’t have much of an opinion on Mr Laden before, but I certainly have one now.
ibyea
6 May 2012 at 10:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh great, I just found out that the communist party also got some votes in Greece. This election is a mess.
thunk
6 May 2012 at 11:01 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
ibyea: Yes it is. The economy is near collapse; and that has driven extremism (both left and right wing). Communist activity was widespread throughout the Great Depression.
Hekuni Cat
6 May 2012 at 11:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ogvorbis, I’m very happy you’re not leaving us.
Cipher, *hugs*
I did. I really didn’t know anyone else who did, but that never mattered to me. And my mom understood. When I was in the hospital in third grade, she bought me a book on dinosaurs. Best remembered childhood present. I still have it too (or, rather, again since my niece borrowed it for a number of years).
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Laden has replied. Wow, what a class act!
I’m gonna try to get banned now.
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 11:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[OT]
Wait. This is TET.
Childhood favorite movies:
I read the book and saw the 1963 movie of The Incredible Journey.
♥ ♥ ♥
Went to 1993 movie and walked out after the third human-doggie voice-over.
ibyea
6 May 2012 at 11:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What. the. heck. Is Greg Laden out of his mind?
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:07 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Why does he act like going all “FINE YA BIG CRYBABIES!” and doing a strikethrough and grayout job on his hideous proposals is the same as actually realizing he was wrong and why?
Is the word ‘notpology’ appropriate here?
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
6 May 2012 at 11:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
A Brief Guide To Getting The Cat (Who Has Darted Out The Door) Back In The House:
Step 1: Bacon. Or tuna. Something the cat is Not Allowed To Eat Under Any Circumstances.
Step 2: Do not trick cat. Allow cat to stuff cat’s piggy little face with bacon/tuna from your hand.
Step 3: If cat will not come close enough to eat from your hand, toss tiny pieces of bacon/tuna to make a trail to you. Perform step 2.
Step 4: Say very casually, “How about you eat your bacon in the house?” Allow cat to continue stuffing piggy face as you carry it into the laundry room.
Step 5: More bacon. Close door.
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 11:11 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Esteleth #14
I have the same freckles, the same hair, the same hairline and the same cat.
*scary TwilightZone organ music*
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:12 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Chigau: I thought the twilight zone type music was done by a theramin.
Or was that The Outer Limits?
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
6 May 2012 at 11:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Chigau, obviously we are long-lost twins.
*nods sagely*
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 11:16 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
kristinc #24
You had better have a video… :)
(You do know that you have now taught Miscreant Cat that in order to obtain BACON, MC needs to ESCAPE!)
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:19 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You can’t win with cats.
A few days ago I was walking with a friend through suburbia when a great specimen of a black cat with a kinky tail hailed us and came forward to be petted.
Every time I come across a friendly cat wandering around, I generally pet it a bit, but it always worries me. Not everyone is kind to cats.
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 11:24 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
TLC
I really don’t know if I was going for “oooowweeeeoo” or “baaaaduumm”.
Anyway, you got the idea :)
—-
Esteleth
And born, I think, a couple of decades apart.
It’s a miracle!
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
6 May 2012 at 11:26 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
chigau: Miscreant Cat has a habit of escaping anyway, I’m just happy to have a method that brings him back reliably and quickly. I’ll go ahead and let him think he has me suckered.
(The last cat I didn’t get back quickly ended up on the side of the road.)
Menyambal: Making sambal isn't exactly dragon magic.
6 May 2012 at 11:40 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Coyote, you may be thinking of the Star Trek theme, which many think was done on a theremin. It was really a woman singing, at least according to my sources (the internet).
I can’t recall the Twilight Zone theme–I almost never watched it. My parents have never owned a TV, so I missed out on a lot of shows when I was a child.
I was always kind of proud of my folks for making a tough choice to be different like that, and put education and family first. Recently I found out it was just because my dad was too hard-of-hearing to enjoy watching TV, and he didn’t see why anyone else should.
I spent enough time in libraries to be violently offended by the first Twilight Zone episode I saw, over at my grandma’s. The pilot of the airliner that had travelled back in time could recognize Manhattan Island, even with dinosaurs on it. I knew it had probably not even existed in dinosaur times, and had undergone some radical changes since the arrival of the white man.
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
6 May 2012 at 11:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Chigau,
A few decades apart? I was born in that benighted decade of large hair and Reagan. How about you?
llewelly
6 May 2012 at 11:55 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:19 pm
Fact: There are US metro neighborhoods in which nobody has outdoor cats because the local coyotes will eat them.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
6 May 2012 at 11:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
llewelly: Fact: most coyotes don’t wear clothes or use computers and I much prefer to just pet roaming outdoor cats I come across. :p
(also I’m a metaphorical coyote, not a literal one.)
chigau (副)
6 May 2012 at 11:59 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
3 min 3 sec
I hate Set :(
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 12:01 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
fuck greg laden, when my comments start disappearing in moderation I’m no longer interested in posting on his thread.
chigau (副)
7 May 2012 at 12:07 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Esteleth
I was born a few months away from the 10th anniversary of the end of WorldWar2.
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 12:13 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I stopped watching Little Shop of Horrors at the scene at the dentist. Not because it was bad – other stuff happened and distracted me. I have to remember to go back and watch it now.
My comment was disappeared at Laden’s too.
llewelly
7 May 2012 at 12:13 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) | 6 May 2012 at 11:07 pm:
notpology 2.0
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 12:13 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
(Wherein I pointed out that we didn’t have to assume he was NT to see his comment as ableist.)
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
7 May 2012 at 12:15 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Notpology II: The Reckoning
Son of Notpology
Notpology 2: This Time It’s Personal
The Notpology Rises Again
llewelly
7 May 2012 at 12:15 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) | 6 May 2012 at 11:58 pm :
On the internet, you cannot prove you are not a coyote.
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 12:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Indeed. I don’t believe you, [secretly literal] Coyote. :P
chigau (副)
7 May 2012 at 12:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher
re Little Shop, Steve Martin, dentist scene
play it over and over
it’s funny
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 12:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Llewelly: But I have four limbs… just like a human… and skin, just like a human. And little beady yellowish eyes, just like a human. I also have a baculum, just like a… wait, you humans do have those, right?
Cipher: Bah, I don’t need to follow his gibbering anymore anyways. When he starts censoring comments out like that, all discussion is pointless.
It goes without saying of course that you had a very valid and good point.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 12:30 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Sssshhhh, you! ;)
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 12:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Never seen either Little Shop Of Horrors movie but, still, how could one dislike Levi Stubbs as The Mean Green Mother From Other Space?
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 12:49 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You should be able to guess what song this is.
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 1:07 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
*shushes about all of her VERY CONVINCING and TOTALLY NOT MADE UP evidence that in fact TLC is a real coyote* ^.^
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 1:08 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Afterglow
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 1:12 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Killer Baby
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 1:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Swimming Ground
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 1:22 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher: I’m afraid I must call your bluff. You no more have proof that I am a (literal) coyote than I can prove that I’m just (metaphorically) a coyote.
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 1:26 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Do It
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 1:28 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Light Rail Coyote
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 1:30 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
But… but… it’s totally not made up!
rorschach
7 May 2012 at 1:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
That thread by Greg on Greece is unfortunate. The same goes for holding my comment in moderation, I don’t recall him doing that to me in the past. Anyway, I wrote this, harmless enough :
Pteryxx
7 May 2012 at 2:22 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Greg just edited all his crossed-out stuff out of the Nazi post.
ibyea
7 May 2012 at 2:25 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
@rorschach
Besides which, America itself has a fascist wing of the Republican Party: the Tea Party, and they have managed to get a few of them elected in all levels of government.
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 2:29 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What, just leaving the tantrum? Doesn’t it look kinda nonsensical now?
Beatrice, anormalement indécente
7 May 2012 at 2:31 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh, so that’s what happened. I just started reading the thread and came back here to ask why people in the comments seem to be referring to something more than what is written in the post.
Pteryxx
7 May 2012 at 2:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Nah… I only looked once and didn’t save a copy. There were several paragraphs of the original post calling for economic sanctions and boycotts of Greece, which were grayed and lined out, and then Greg’s follow-up saying basically ‘fine if you don’t like my suggestions then make some of your own and you’d better not talk nice about the Nazis’ or some such. Yeah, I’m paraphrasing.
That’s all gone now and just this:
Oh, he also edited out “This is easy even for the asperger-skeptics among you.”
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 2:40 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What a damn coward. But I suspected as much already.
I mean Cipher and I, I could understand (but definitely not condone,) since he was saying he ‘wouldn’t say another word about it’ or whatever. Typical ‘shut it down because there’s no way I can look good now’ type shit.
But Rorschach too? Now he’s just being chickenlivered, that was a totally valid and reasonable comment about the subject at hand.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 2:41 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’m not sure what to think about that. IS it better or worse than his horrible little begrudging notpology he shit out in the comments?
Pteryxx
7 May 2012 at 2:44 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh, and the title of the post is now “So, what can we do to make Greece Nazi free?” instead of “So, what can we do to make Greece feel some pain?”
go go Google cache.
Josh, Official SpokesGay
7 May 2012 at 2:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You all are just now twigging to the fact that Greg Laden is major dishonest asshole who edits comments and disguises the editorial decisions? Good god. Have you been fucking dead for the past four years?
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 2:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi, Josh, kinda new to this shit, only joined Pharyngula and started commenting elsewhere last year.
Rest assured though, the lesson has been learned. He is an absolute prolapsed anus.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 2:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I mean, I’d heard stuff before, but this is my first direct experience. It’s pretty eye opening.
Josh, Official SpokesGay
7 May 2012 at 2:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Know this about Laden: he’s a dishonest shit. He has no compunction about editing comments and inserting words in commenters’ mouths to make it appear they said things they didn’t actually say. He does this without indicating that he’s done any editing.
Don’t trust him; don’t comment on his site. And scratch your head wondering why PZ has never called him out on his unbelievably immoral bad behavior.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 3:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I already decided not to comment on his site. I had an idea when he told me he bet I wouldn’t be able to ‘go away’, but it was confirmed when he started withholding comments. I would have left him something to flounce by, but that isn’t my style.
rorschach
7 May 2012 at 3:06 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
God, but “The Hunger Games” is a tedious and stupid movie.
Beatrice, anormalement indécente
7 May 2012 at 3:07 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Google may have fucked up its cache, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Yahoo came to the rescue :
So, what can we do to make Greece feel some pain?
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 3:14 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
thank you Beatrice
desertfroglet
7 May 2012 at 3:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
It’s not merely the idiocy of his position (#73), Laden’s inappropriate use of apostrophes is also alarming. Did he really write lucidly on the Congo?
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 3:57 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I forgot to refrigerate my applesauce today :( It was open and I left it in the cupboard for like sixteen hours. Is it ruined?
carlie
7 May 2012 at 4:52 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Lit-inspired scents? I have several from this woman… oh bugger, she’s closed down for the time being. I’ll have to watch for her re-opening. But she sells at craft shows throughout central NY, and although I generally hate perfume, I really like the ones she makes. Looks like she’s taking a break and gearing up again sometime later.
John Morales
7 May 2012 at 4:53 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher, probably not, if it has enough sugar in it.
Main problem is if yeasts begin to grow in it, but sugar is a preservative (stuffs up bacterial osmoregulation). That said, if there is enough liquid, yeasts can begin to grow in it.
John Morales
7 May 2012 at 4:55 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[blush]
Meh, the second sentence is redundant (I blame distraction).
rorschach
7 May 2012 at 5:03 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Apparently Australia does Lanolin-based skin products well. I had to be told this by my Chinese host, who has requested a few gallons of the stuff for me to bring with me next week. It’s certainly not to be found at your local supermarket or chemist, that’s for sure.
John Morales
7 May 2012 at 5:16 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Two related stories in the news:
Ecologist warns of Australian ‘extinction crisis’:
Garbage droppings confirm tiger quoll encounter:
KG
7 May 2012 at 5:37 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Beatrice@73,
I never visit Laden’s blog because of his unethical behaviour in editing comments to suit his purposes, without even admitting it, and threatening commenters he took a dislike to, so thanks for bringing this idiocy to my attention. The vote for Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn”), the neo-Nazi party, is indeed deeply alarming, but it is not in government; Laden is apparently too ignorant to distinguish between winning seats in Parliament and being in government. Just under 7% of Greeks voting, on a turnout just over 65%, voted for Chrysi Avgi. So that’s under 5% of the electorate. Laden proposes a collective punishment of all Greeks for this. The din from thousands of exploding irony meters makes it difficult to frame a more coherent response than “Stick this rotting porcupine up your fundament, Laden, you impenetrably stupid moron.”
opposablethumbs
7 May 2012 at 5:44 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi Threadizens, happy May (yes I know it’s the 7th; the UK decided to have the Bank Holiday today, being the first Monday of the month, so that makes this bit of May a little happier at least).
I haz a question: I want to send a few recs to someone who would generally rather watch-and-listen rather than read – what would you recommend in the way of youtube channels (or equivalent) on science news (or also general news)? I was just having a look at Thunderf00t and potholerdebunks, but I wondered if anyone could recommend channels whose main focus is just the latest interesting stuff happening in the sciences.
Many thanks!
All children love dinosaurs (/vast overgeneralisation) – how insane is it to pretend that it’s solely a boy thing? My favourite book of books was some ancient illustrated history of the world full of glorious artist’s impressions of the earth forming in the early solar system, followed by barren rocky landscapes and steaming seas followed by (now known to be) very inaccurate lifeforms from the Cambrian onwards … I think it ended with rockets to the Moon. I spent hours with that book, it was wonderful. Probably used all the artists impressions that are cited nowadays as textbook examples of gross inaccuracy (“brontosaurus” with its neck at all the wrong angles was the least of it) but it was fascinating and thrilling and wonderful. Thank you for reminding me of it!
rorschach
7 May 2012 at 6:05 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hm, curious, I just posted a link to free audiobooks, and it got eaten. Never mind then.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 6:12 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Kristinc and carlie,
Thank you for the perfume links!
This could be dangerous for my budget… ;)
KG
7 May 2012 at 8:42 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
ibyea,
Why? Do you just assume everyone agrees with you that nothing fundamental is wrong with capitalism?
Stone me, why not try actually finding out a bit about the country you’re commenting on? In the 2007 election, the Communist Party of Greece (the KKK – the initials are an amusing coincidence) got 8.15% of the vote; in 2009 they got 7.54%. This time they got 8.48%. Back in 1989, they were in a coalition government.
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
7 May 2012 at 8:47 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Can I pop in briefly to say that I hate people?
On FB, there’s a page that posts science-related macros. Today’s macro is a picture of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the message “I discovered what the sun is made of. Too bad I didn’t have a penis, then you’d know that.” Now, this is 100% true. She did discover – in 1925 – that the sun is mostly hydrogen, and was soundly ignored, denounced, and then had credit for the discovery simultaneously stolen and downplayed (y’know, “Oh, yeah, a lady discovered that, but it isn’t important – but look over there! Some dude has discovered the same thing! Isn’t he BRILLIANT for having made the scientific discovery of the CENTURY?!).
In the comments on the photo, cue IMMEDIATELY a host of (male) naysayers going on about how there’s totally no sexism in science and those uppity bitches need to get back in the kitchen. The old canard about “natural aptitude” is trotted out. After some pushback, they come roaring back by bringing up Marie Curie. Because she succeeded in science (TWO! NOBEL! PRIZES!) that means that there is totally not any sexism, ever, no way. Of course, at least one of the dudebros accuses her of having stolen Pierre’s credit. *facepalm*
I’m just completely depressed about this.
KG
7 May 2012 at 8:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I note the extraordinary fact that I was wrong.
I’m glad to see that I can still be too cynical.
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 9:28 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
GOP plan boosts Pentagon, cuts social programs
No one could have predicted …
Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos
7 May 2012 at 9:41 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
But, Sailor, think about all the different social programmes that the Pentagon supports: urban renewal, family relocation, orphanages and adoption services, population control, landscaping, and that’s just a few.
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 9:41 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
It is a touching sight as people bond over the idea of punching unmanly young boys.
illdoittomorrow
7 May 2012 at 9:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi folks,
I’ve only left comments on Pharyngula once or twice, so forgive me if this isn’t the right place to post this.
Michael Coren, author of Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity (I’ll leave to your imagination who the “they” are in the title) will be in Calgary on Friday, May 11 to presumably tell more than a few whoppers himself. He’ll be at Pages on Kensington, second floor, on May 11 at 7:30 pm.
For some background: http://michaelcoren.com/wordpress/
I’ll most likely go, but it would be nice to have a few other local atheists there- I’m no debater, especially when I’d be up against someone who bullshits for a living.
KG
7 May 2012 at 9:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Janine@91,
I get a 404 from your link.
Rey Fox
7 May 2012 at 9:54 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Isn’t everybody sick of this shit yet?
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 9:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
KG, the link works for me.
But if you want to read what I linked to, it is the latest story about Pastor Sean Harris at Joe.My.God..
Pteryxx
7 May 2012 at 10:03 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Janine’s Link Exposed:
http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/05/pastor-sean-harris-returns-to-pulpit.html
AJ Milne
7 May 2012 at 10:05 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Re Michael Coren, I dunno that you’ve got that much to worry about…
… seriously, I figure he’s been back and forth on his religion so much, he could well be a Buddhist or some damned thing by the time the talk starts, and egging on his audience to call the pope an apologist for paedophilia. So hard to know with that guy.
I have this sneaking suspicion the whole thing’s gonna turn out to be a ‘performance art’ piece or somethin’, or at least that he’ll be billing it as such in another few years or so.
(/And we’ll never know whether it really was or if that’s just the only way he figures he can live it down.)
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 10:11 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I must be spoiled, hovering my mouse over a link shows where it leads.
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 10:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
This is a prelim for the murder that took place July 5th, 2011.
Why isn’t every cop present being tried for felony murder?
The cops are on leave. Is that paid leave, AKA vacation?
90% of cops give the rest a bad name.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls
7 May 2012 at 10:21 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I see the same effect at work with IE8, and at home on the iMac with Safari and Firefox.
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 10:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
And now for some good news
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 10:37 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Everybody in my lab is at ARVO this week. I was co-author on 3 posters and 2 papers.
We have a (joke) contest for the meetings:
3rd place – Off site hotel, registration fees and travel are comped.
2nd place – Meeting hotel, registration fees, food & beverage allowance and travel are comped.
1st place – You don’t have to go.
Yippee, I won!
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 10:50 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I don’t know whether to feel bad for the 10% that are in a system where they can’t speak out against or smirk that they’re not really better because they protect the other 90%
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 10:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What the hell, Laden. For obvious reasons, I’m not going to throw in, but I still can’t even wrap my mind around that meltdown.
He’s arguing like a teabagger. He’s being told that his idea will cause more suffering and lead to the election of more fascists… but his “moral purity” is more important than people’s lives.
Jesus fuck, has he never heard of la famille Le Pen?
Pteryxx and Beatrice, the URL of the page still reflects his desire to “make Greece feel some pain.”
Ibyea and Thunk: I’m not a Communist, nor do I want to see them in charge of a government, but I’m convinced that their existence and activity in the U.S. in the early 20th century helped pull the Overton window far enough to the left that we could have labor rights. The purges of the 1950s were helpful to the conservatization of the country a generation later.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 10:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
And this is a problem how?
Can’t they just go back to Myspace or Xanga or Friendster? (Actully, didn’t Murdock just buy Myspace? That should make it perfect for the fetusphiles.)
Rev. BigDumbChimp
7 May 2012 at 10:53 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Let’s play spot the stupidity
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 10:53 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
And nothing of value was lost!
ALso yes shaking my head at GL’s nervous break down.
dianne
7 May 2012 at 10:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
After some pushback, they come roaring back by bringing up Marie Curie. Because she succeeded in science (TWO! NOBEL! PRIZES!) that means that there is totally not any sexism, ever, no way.
Two words: Rosalind Franklin. If those aren’t enough, another two words: Lisa Meitner.
Curie got two Nobels because she’s just way smarter than you, not because there’s no sexism in science. Sorry, dudes.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 10:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Rev BDC, I’m disgusted at the handful of people (who all appear to be young, fit white guys) saying that it is too okay to make fun of fat people.
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 10:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
OOOH OOOH is it because there isn’t an intrinsic drive to tan where appetite is one of the strongest biological imperatives!?
Granted I’m going to take a guess that it’s very possible to have a tanning addiction disorder that’s basically just like anorexia only with a different body dismorphia.
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 10:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I wonder if, presuming the people arguing is nerdy, that using DS9 as an allegory would help them grok is. Rom and Quark’s mother is worth more than them combined despite Ferengi society seeing woman as property that can’t earn profit…does this mean Ferengi society isn’t sexist?
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 10:58 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Let me rephrase: Young white guys who are not fat. I shouldn’t have correlated nonfatness with fitness.
Rev. BigDumbChimp
7 May 2012 at 11:00 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Yeah After I posted it I thought about that option.
Still, pretty sure that’s not what she was going after.
The comments have some real peaches too.
LDTR
7 May 2012 at 11:03 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi again to the Horde,
Lies Down to Reason is now LDTR. I decided to abbreviate it.
I’m back. Brother-in-law died Friday night. My husband is his only relative who lives in the same city, except MIL, and she is in a nursing home with pretty severe dementia, so he’s having to deal with the funeral director and all. There won’t be a service or anything, which makes things a lot simpler than they might be.
I haven’t caught up with the last couple of days of TET yet, so well-wishes to all and sundry.
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 11:06 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Sympathy for TDTR.
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
7 May 2012 at 11:08 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Dianne,
Rosalind Franklin, Lise Meitner, Barbara McClintock, Emmy Noether, etc etc etc.
Holding up Curie as an example is problematic for two reasons.
Firstly, it not-so-subtly sends the message that if you can’t achieve to Curie’s level, then why are you trying? Secondly, that Curie – due to her undeniable brilliance and luck – was able to succeed is not evidence that sexism isn’t a problem. And yes – she was fucking lucky. People talk about the time she lived in an unheated attic and worked in warehouse, but she also lucked into good mentors who recognized her brilliance and helped her. Also, for many things, she was in the right place at the right time.
Jules
7 May 2012 at 11:09 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Man Boobz featured this article today. I thought it was good enough that y’all (meaning those who aren’t regular Man Boobzers) might enjoy it as well.
Kinda threadrupt. But I notice that there was some talk of the “dinosaurs are for boys” stupidity. That shit makes me so angry.
In a similar vein, I have had more than one person (usually it’s a man) comment that my Saturn V tattoo is not something you’d generally* see on a woman. But guess what? Multiple children exclaim and comment on the tattoo–both kids I know and random kids in public–and all of them have been girls.
*I originally typed genderally.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 11:13 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ack. Shoulda considered it was French election day and sold my stock Friday.
chigau (副)
7 May 2012 at 11:14 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR
*hugs* for your husband and for you.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 11:17 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a lovely example of the complete absence of sexism in science.
Or to put in the words of a scientist I hadn’t heard of myself until this post.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 11:18 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Eurrgh. I hadn’t read the comments on that picture.
“hurr, hurr, hurr – she looks like a man hurr hurr”
Janine: History’s Greatest Monster
7 May 2012 at 11:19 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, it sounds like it is you and your husband who needs the well wishes. Get through this difficult time.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 11:23 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
And now I notice that that is the picture that sparked the whole discussion.
Sorry for reading and replying for the bottom.
I’ll go stand in the corner and feel stupid now.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 11:26 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, sympathies to you and your husband.
Jules, the comments on that GoodReads thread are pathetic. I like the comment on Manboobz to the effect that men who whine about being “friendzoned” usually aren’t crushing on friends, but are “sleazeballs pretending to be friends to try and manipulate someone.”
Here’s a comeback, to be delivered with utterly flat affect: “Maybe you ought to get out and meet more women.”
tim rowledge, Ersatz Haderach
7 May 2012 at 11:51 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Um, ground up babies? Please tell me this is fake or mistake? There isn’t really woo-doctor ‘reasons’ for this, surely. Please?
I mean, c’mon; this could force up the price for our ceremonies!
dianne
7 May 2012 at 11:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
@116: Anyone with passing familiarity with Curie’s life knows that the idea that she never faced sexism is utter crap.
@120: The list goes ever on…
carlie
7 May 2012 at 12:00 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, my sympathies as well.
Where is it not OK to ridicule people because of their weight, and can I move there, please?
Sili
7 May 2012 at 12:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Limbs and organs are pretty sought after in parts of Africa, so I don’t see why this couldn’t be true.
At first I thought it was a ploy by those dastardly North Koreans to escape, but I see the capsules come from China, so I guess that can’t be right.
Markita Lynda—damn climate change!
7 May 2012 at 12:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ms. Daisy Cutter:
Perfect!
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 12:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Jules,
Love the piece you linked to, but the comments are terrible.
I got through four in the “but women are just manipulating men because they like the attention!” bullshit vein when I gave up.
Goddamn, there’s nothing I hate more than whiny Nice Guys®.
dianne
7 May 2012 at 12:11 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
And, of course, Meitner, Franklin, Bell, etc are to some extent the “lucky” ones: at least we know their names and they get some level of (posthumous) credit for their work. There are more women whose work was flat out stolen by men or who never got the opportunity to study and discover anything or died in childbirth before they made their big discovery, etc. We’ll never know who they were and who the men who stole their ideas were. Not even to be able to say that they should have had a Nobel too.
Markita Lynda—damn climate change!
7 May 2012 at 12:24 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
My mother told me that instead of being seen as proof that women could do science, Marie Curie was explained away as some kind of strange mutation, “the exception that proved the rule.”
LDTR
7 May 2012 at 12:36 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Thanks for the sympathies, all. My husband wasn’t really close to his brother (who was much older than him), but it’s a bit of a strain nonetheless. I’m mainly just “being there” for him.
On dinosaurs and girls: I remember clearly being very into dinosaurs when I was, oh, 7-8 maybe? I used to play with little plastic ones, make up little dino-dramas, and all that. To this day I still remember the names of quite a few of them, and some of which ones existed in which eras. And I was a girl, last time I checked. I was then, too.
Richard Austin
7 May 2012 at 12:50 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Markita:
Not necessarily related (depending on how your mother phrased it), but I get a series case of Inigo Montoyaitis when I hear that phrase. For most people, it does not mean what they think it means.
The word “prove” is used in the same sense as “proving grounds”; the same phrase could be “the exception that tests the rule.” Most people, instead, seem to think that the nature of the exception (that it’s so “exceptional” or uncommon) means the rule is “proven true” (many people forget that you can “prove false” as well – again, it just means “test”), and that this is what the cliche is saying.
opposablethumbs
7 May 2012 at 12:53 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, sympathies to you and your OH. :(((((
Hope you have some support around you.
Jules
7 May 2012 at 1:17 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, sympathies to you and your husband.
I didn’t read them. The Friendzone topic is one that drives me nuts. I’m not sure how many more times I can say, “If a woman’s romantic feelings for you drop off, it almost certainly is not because you were too nice.” That particular part of the myth wasn’t part of the post, but I always feel the need to include that little piece of information. Romance wanes for lots of reasons, but usually it’s not a simple linear, “Everything was fine until I realized how nice he was!”
I just love you so much.
Toddler turned 2 this weekend. Her favorite dinosaur is deinonychus. She knows several more by name as well. She doesn’t love dinosaurs quite as much as she loves robots and rockets, but they’re on par with octopuses.
By the way, in case anyone wants it, the book she has (that I bought for her) on dinosaurs is Flip-O-Saurus. It had all the criteria I was looking for: accurate illustrations (don’t get me started on T. Rex depictions in kids’ books, pajamas, cereals, whatever—it’s not that fucking hard to get right! this book shows that), simple but realistic explanations of the creatures (I like all the fun stuff about mooses and muffins and shit—don’t get me wrong—it’s just not what I was looking for), and it’s a board book so she can’t destroy it (as easily). It also looks like it can grow with a kid pretty well (once they learn all of the dinos, they can have fun being all silly and mixing them up).
I know, I know. It’s crazy that a woman got a dinosaur book for a girl, but you know what’s even more INSANE? The author is also a woman! *shockfaint*
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
7 May 2012 at 1:18 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I’ve heard that too, Markita.
I also heard someone argue that the Michaelis-Menten equation (which describes the activity of the overwhelming majority of enzymes) should be renamed the Michaelis equation, because (1) Menten was Michaelis’s graduate student when they discovered it and (2) Menten “never really accomplished anything else,” which shows that she was just resting on Michaelis’s laurels and thus doesn’t deserve credit.
Firstly, the fact that Michaelis gave Menten equal credit is credit to Michaelis. Even now, that wouldn’t be a given. Secondly, Menten went on to work in public health and had a respectable career. Did she top her graduate thesis? No, probably not, but she’s not unusual in that regard. Also – it isn’t like women scientists in the first half of the 20th century had the easiest time establishing careers.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 1:25 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Audley et al.: I emailed that company which referred to dinosaurs as “boy’s room décor.” I got back this very nice reply:
I thanked the person who sent me this. I’m quite glad they’re not using the fact that we live in a sexist society in which science is seen as a “boy’s” interest to justify the sexist web copy.
Amphiox
7 May 2012 at 1:37 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The fact that Menten was the grad student pretty much guarantees that she did the lion’s share of the work. If there’s any case to be made at all for changing the name of the equation, it should be changed to the Menten equation.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 1:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Daisy,
Holy crap, that made my day. :)
Jules
7 May 2012 at 1:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
That was a very nice response, Ms. Daisy. Thanks for sharing.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 1:48 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Glad to be of help.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 1:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Yeast + fruit + liquid is the opposite of a problem :p
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 1:54 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I received a similar response to Daisy (slightly different ending). I’ve told the person who responded that I would definitely recommend their site to my mom who is currently decorating my brother’s LEGO room.
In other news, my brother now has a LEGO room. ^.^ It used to be my other brother’s bedroom; now that he’s out of the house, it’s being turned into a way awesome LEGO room. (My room is not being turned into anything because I still live there sometimes.)
Re: applesauce, it’s “no sugar added” :( I’ll probably toss it today.
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 1:56 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ms Daisy Cutter: A pleasant surprise.
I once emailed TreehouseTV yelling at them for putting foursquare on right before bedtime and getting the kids all riled up and hyper, but all I got was an automatically generated form reply.
(OK, OK, I know it wasn’t nearly as valid a complaint as yours :p)
The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
7 May 2012 at 1:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher, if it doesn’t smell bad, it’s probably fine. Particularly if there’s ‘no sugar added’. Even if yeast was growing in it, it’d take more than a night for anything to happen that you’d notice.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 1:59 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Tone trolls in comments here.
It’s totes important that we know “not all xtians are like that,” and if we get annoyed and tell them to fuck off, we’re the reason that so few xtians stand up for GLBT people.
Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead
7 May 2012 at 2:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
What good is their xtianity then if it doesn’t encourage them to stand for what is right despite personal risk. Especially when the cost is ‘my feelings were hurt’.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Cipher:
A LEGO room? Ooooooh, I am totes jealous! We were thinking about turning the spare room into a ball pit, but it’s like $20 for 100 ball pit balls and I just can’t afford that.
Sili
7 May 2012 at 2:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I had no idea Menten was female. I just assumed as always …
Jules
7 May 2012 at 2:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Well, it still has sugar in it. Apples are pretty sugary.
Like TLC said, if it smells ok, it’s very likely ok. It’s not like it’s pumped full of stuff that would mask buggies, y’know?
So, y’all ‘member how I said I didn’t read the comments on the article I linked to?
I lucked out and got some of my very own on my facebook wall!
UGH.
chigau (違う)
7 May 2012 at 2:15 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Dr. Audley
You don’t need to do a whole room.
Start with … oh … a kiddy pool.
Jules
7 May 2012 at 2:22 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
In other UGHness, I hate buying plane tickets.
I hate flying to begin with. And they’re expensive. And what if I change my mind on the dates. Or what if the itineraries are all scary and I have to spend the night sleeping outside of the airport in Kathmandu* or something?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most of those issues only get worse the longer I wait.
But still.
*True story, though highly unlikely to happen in this instance
Jules
7 May 2012 at 2:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Toddler has that.
I can’t fit into it, though :-(
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
7 May 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Agreed about who probably did most of the work deriving the Michaelis-Menten equation. And considering the nature of the analysis, it is also a given that this would have featured hours in the lab and even longer doing the mathematical analysis.
The fact that Menten was a woman doesn’t seem to be that widely trumpeted. TBH, when I was first told that half of the Michaelis-Menten team was a woman, I simply glanced at the names – Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten and assumed that Michaelis was the woman. Silly me.
The image of Menten that is most widely circulated is also interested. She’s shown as a young woman, and she’s wearing this gigantic poofy thing. She also (to my eye, not an expert in
VictorianEdwardian fashion) looks like a typical fashionable woman. There’s nothing about the photo that screams “scientist when that was shocking for women” to me – she just looks like a lady.__
Daisy, I’m so glad to hear that the company responded well! Noting them as a place to potentially buy stuff.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 2:28 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Chigau,
Damn it! I wish I had thought of that six months ago. Now the room’s being prepped to be painted and dinosaur-ed, so the ball pit idea is on hold for now. :(
Ms. Daisy Cutter, Gynofascist in a Spiffy Hugo Boss Uniform
7 May 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
“This butt… is the best butt.” (SFW)
Jules
7 May 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Couple ideas off the to of my head: dinosaur eggs or digging for dino bones.
The room might be pretty small, but Toddler’s kiddie pool is only maybe 2.5 ft across and is only a few inches deep (it’s one blowup round tall).
No idea where they got it. But like I said, it’s inflatable, which means it’s storable.
Hekuni Cat
7 May 2012 at 2:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
LDTR, my sympathies. Take care of yourselves.
David Marjanović
7 May 2012 at 2:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Jules, I’ll get back to you on plane tickets.
Diageo, which owns Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker among other such brands, used to sponsor the . They’ve stopped because that stink tank made a desperate leap beyond parody.
Nunc est bibendum!
Cipher, OM
7 May 2012 at 2:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Daisy, thank you. I lol’d.
KG
7 May 2012 at 2:55 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I don’t have any stock, but I’ll try and get to the main post office for some euros tomorrow for a planned trip with Mrs. KG to Bruges next month, as they’ll probably rebound!
dianne@131,
Fortunately, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, although unfairly denied a Nobel, is still alive and working.
There’s a new biography of Rosalind Franklin out, by her sister, but apparently it focuses on her private life. It does say she got most scientific satisfaction out of her work on the tobacco mosaic virus, which was after Watson and Crick used her work on DNA without telling her. They never admitted it to her, apparently, even after publication.
Jules
7 May 2012 at 2:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Audley, here’s a tiny kiddie pool. Might work. It kinda just needs to be big enough for the kid to sit in and kick around a bit. Toddler loves hers. (She mostly just loves to either line-drive the balls straight at my head or dump the whole thing out these days, but it certainly occupies her.)
This, of course, does not address the problem of it being too small for grownups. *pouts*
DDMFM, I did get your email from the other day. It’s just trip-induced-panic, most likely from having to defer all of my excited feelings.
Well, and from having to get all of my affairs in order when I really want to do is just go already :-)
Can I just say, Bold Women of Pharyngula™, that I love y’all. I have got more than a few of you going to bat on my fb page.
Having the Horde on facebook makes it so much better over there. Seriously.
Giliell, not to be confused with The Borg
7 May 2012 at 3:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Hi there
Between the Laden fuck up and other things I wanted to say some things of mild importance but I’m stressed out.
I also just read the following in a comment by a forced birther over at Jen’s and the commenter has become my most hated person of the day, yes, worse than Laden.
BIG TRIGGER WARNING
She made me bodily sick and I’m not a survivor
Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret
7 May 2012 at 3:45 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Right, Giliell, because Plan B grows on trees?
Even if we agree that women of all ages should have immediate, no questions asked access to Plan B (I certainly think so), it does NOT FOLLOW that all women DO have such access.
Let me guess – the forced birther says that if a woman doesn’t take Plan B and gets pregnant, then it is totally her fault and she should be forced to carry to term?
Jules
7 May 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Giliell, that is just. I don’t. It’s. *goes and hides under kitchen table with shoogie*
Giliell, not to be confused with The Borg
7 May 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh, I also doubt that she notices that the embryo picture I posted is an elephant
carlie
7 May 2012 at 3:48 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Sometimes I think I’m really not emotionally cut out for the kinds of things I have to do in my job.
Good thing there’s alcohol.
*whiny about myself and my privileged life*
Giliell, not to be confused with The Borg
7 May 2012 at 4:07 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh, it’s because it’s never right to murder a baby.
I’ve backed out, I can’t take that level of misogyny at the moment.
dianne
7 May 2012 at 4:09 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh, I also doubt that she notices that the embryo picture I posted is an elephant
Got to admit, I didn’t notice. Looks like generic embryo to me. Pharyngula stage?
dianne
7 May 2012 at 4:15 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Fortunately, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, although unfairly denied a Nobel, is still alive and working.
So she is. I added her later on out of a feeling that my examples were too old and someone would object that it wasn’t like that anymore, then forgot to take out the “posthumous” part. Sorry.
Giliell, not to be confused with The Borg
7 May 2012 at 4:19 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Dianne
Don’t really know.
I was looking for an animal embryo pic that didn’t tell the species in the URL.
Found this most amazing slide-collection
And yes, I admit to intentionally trolling forced birthers with picture of non-human embryos to coo over and to tell women that this is way more important than them.
ibyea
7 May 2012 at 4:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
@KG
I do think that the way capitalism is practiced today is very flawed. But granted, instead of the kneejerk reaction, I should have found out more about those parties before commenting on them.
ibyea
7 May 2012 at 5:44 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
On Jocelyn Burner
I first found out about how she was robbed of the nobel prize by an MIT physics lecture in the internet. I was pretty much appalled. To her credit, she remained calm. If I were her, I wouldn’t have taken this just lying down.
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
7 May 2012 at 5:56 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Those idiots at MultiCare are trying to bill me for Bella’s ER visit a month and a half ago. She’s definitely covered under the state health care for kids, whatever it’s called, and we gave them all the pertinent information at the time including her insurance card, but we got a bill anyway.
$2600. Most expensive popsicle evar, Y/Y?
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 6:00 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 6:21 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO WORKED AT GROUND ZERO
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EPA scientist who warned of caustic dust from Ground Zero wins job back
cm's changeable moniker
7 May 2012 at 6:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
rorschach: “Australia does Lanolin-based skin products well”
It’s the sheep.
“It’s certainly not to be found at your local supermarket or chemist, that’s for sure.”
Heh. My childhood lanolin (I posted about this recently) was, shall we say, industrial grade.
(Your #58 was spot on, too.)
—
I went to my new
officedesk today. It’s 250 feet above ground.The views are awesome. ;)
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls
7 May 2012 at 6:29 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Ogvorbis for one. We at the Pharyngula Saloon and Spanking Parlor salute his efforts.
*all bipeds, human, and pullet, salute*
Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos
7 May 2012 at 6:29 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I depart for Florida at about 3:00am local time.
I am not taking my computer.
You will not hear from me.
Today, we have been running around like, well, like things that are running around.
I cleaned the litter box and discovered that Dust has started a protest movement. We, on occasion, get puddles on our basement floor (the house is old enough that the basement has settled — the drain is higher than part of the basement). Dust, not happy with how often the four litter boxes (for two cats) are being cleaned, waded out into the middle of the puddle and pooped. Twice. And I know it is Dust by the size.
My gas station screwed up and doubled my gas discount. So I filled up for $3.29.9 a gallon. So that was good.
We have a full tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglas- . . . . Sorry. Wrong movie. We have a full tank of gas, the car is packed, we have snacks, and we are off to Florida.
Bill Dauphin, avec fromage
7 May 2012 at 6:30 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
KG:
It’s no defense of Laden, of course, but it certainly is true that “in government” means something very different to someone whose primary point of reference is the U.S. Government: Most of us would consider every member of all three branches — and esp. every member of Congress — to be “in government.”
There are, of course, advantages to being the majority party in Congress (or in either house), and there’s an internally elected leadership… but in principle every member’s vote counts the same as every other member’s, and every member is equally “in government.”
I grok that it’s very different in a parliamentary system, esp. when there are minor/fringe parties that actually win seats. (I seem to recall we had a discussion about that ’round these parts a couple years ago.) But even when we know that intellectually, I’m guessing it’s difficult for USAnians to react to parliamentary elections in the same way that folks who’ve grown up in such systems do.
***
Jules:
I may have said something like that, in the context of telling you how utterly fucking awesome it is[1]. To be fair. it’s not that I think rockets are “for boys”; it’s that in my (long) experience with rocketry as a hobby, not many girls or women seem to think it’s for them (or, more invidiously, perhaps they’ve been told it’s not for them by the men and boys in their lives, or just by the culture they’re soaking in). It’s not that I think a space-nerd-accurate rendering of a real-world rocket ought to be surprising as a woman’s tattoo; it’s that, in my experience, it sadly is surprising.
There’s hope on that score, though: This coming weekend I will make my annual pilgrimage to the Team America Rocketry Challenge national flyoffs, and my observation is that girls are increasingly much better represented at TARC, both on mixed teams and as all-girl teams. If you showed up with that tattoo, I promise you you’d be the hit of the weekend!
[1] And that reaction is just based on the FB pic you posted; I’m sure it’s even more impressive in person.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, liar and scoundrel
7 May 2012 at 6:36 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Okay, I don’t know what the fuck is going on with my killfile, but it keeps blocking Giliell. I do not want to block Giliell! I’ve never clicked [kill] or [hide comment] after her name! What the hell?
Has anyone else had this problem and if so, how in the hell can I get it to stop?
cicely. Just cicely.
7 May 2012 at 6:38 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
chigau
re: teddy bears
I don’t, in fact, have a teddy bear.
I have a collection of plush Cthulhus.
And a plush shoggoth.
I don’t hug any of them.
They might “hug” me back.
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*raises hand*
And trilobites, also.
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I would imagine that the mother involved had…other…words to describe it.
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LDTR, *hugs* and sympathies, for you and your husband.
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Jules, good article you linked @117.
*bookmark*
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Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos
7 May 2012 at 6:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
All I did was provide security for the people doing actual work and a little bit of driving.
Not sure how much time I spent down at Ground Zero. I still have the hardhat, with the dust on it, and the dust has etched the plastic on the hardhat.
Good news that she got her job back. The whistle-blower laws favour the company and government so much that this kind of vindication is exceedingly rare.
ibyea
7 May 2012 at 6:48 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Holy crap! A whistleblower won in the US? It’s a miracle! Pigs can fly, and God is real!
All kidding aside, it’s about time a whistleblower won. I never thought I would see that day come.
opposablethumbs
7 May 2012 at 6:50 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Happy Florida, Bro Og! ::waves as vehicle moves off tomorrow morning, in somebody’s timezone::
Good night Horde, it’s 1am here and I forgot to go to bed.
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 6:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Better to put a trigger warning and not need it …
And I did a bad job at the pagination.
+++++++++++++++++
Have a great trip Oggie!
cm's changeable moniker
7 May 2012 at 7:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I don’t understand cats.
Having kept me up until 1am waiting for her return from the pouring rain, Kitteh is now licking herself dry.
This is not a euphemism. She’s licking her coat, and previously-soggy moggy is transforming before my eyes into sleek, dry, shiny cat. Hygroscopic tongue, aiiee!
The Sailor
7 May 2012 at 7:11 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
XKCD’s Every Major’s Terrible
+
This music
=
Funny!
cicely. Just cicely.
7 May 2012 at 7:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Good to hear that some companies actually do care about and act on feedback. Most of the time (IME, at least) a complaint is as effective as if it were dropped straight into an incinerator.
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A friend of mine is distressed and unsure of what to do. The public elementary school to which her son is going (his first public school experience, having been home-schooled for health reasons) is across the street from a church, whose literature about their VBS program is being handed out to the students. My friend is concerned; “the prinicipal is the school”, which suggests that this is with hir consent and that there’s no higher local appeal, and it’s a small school serving K-8 (just over 100 students), and she fears that her kid (and possibly her family) will be targetted if she complains, and worries that anonoymous complaints at state level would result in them being “outed”. She/her family are Xians, but don’t go to that church, and it’s the violation of Church and State that she objects to. Advice?
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Bill Dauphin, avec fromage
7 May 2012 at 7:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
kristinc (@175):
I’m sure this goes without saying, but do not pay that bill until you’re absolutely certain it’s correct. I don’t know the details of Bella’s coverage, but I would call the insurance company and/or program responsible and ask for an explanation of the bill. If you’re worried about your credit, call the hospital’s billing department and tell them you’re checking with your insurance.
My insurance is pretty decent, so it’s (very sadly) a bad standard for comparison, but under my policy, in-network providers are not allowed to bill me for amounts insurance disallows. If Bella is covered under a state program for children, it’s hard to imagine a $2600 bill over-and-above what the program pays could be correct (or legal). I’ve had the experience of doctors sending me bills they knew they didn’t have any right to collect, presumably on the assumption that some percentage of people will just pay any bill they get without asking questions.
Once you’ve given them money, it’ll be hard to get it back… so make sure in advance that you really truly owe it.
kristinc, ~bitter and resigned~
7 May 2012 at 8:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Bill — thanks. I know 100% that I don’t actually owe them a cent. I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if they have a policy of billing everything covered or not, on the off chance that someone will pay it without thinking.
rorschach
7 May 2012 at 8:11 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I may have mentioned this here before, but those elections influence my Australian pension, because some of it is invested by the superannuation company in European stocks. I lost about 30 grand during the GFC, and since then I’ve changed things around a bit so it shouldn’t get that bad again, but yes, since superannuation money is by no means guaranteed here, and is invested in stocks, there is never safety that you’re going to have money when you retire.
PZ Myers
7 May 2012 at 8:40 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
NEW THREAD!
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