Comments

  3. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Rev BDC – I’ve finished the fermentation book, really enjoyed it. Starting some kimchi next week.

    It’s a good read. I feel like he’s going to start straying into a full woo-out but he brings it back in with some respectable science.

    Plus I think he’s a decent writer who has a story to tell to go along with the easy recipes.

  4. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    And that reminds me, I need to deal with my kimchi before I leave for a biz trip tomorrow.

    Hopefully it’s good.

  5. David Marjanović says

    Comment 30 from there: “I believe this is what Chuck Norris has for breakfast when he has a sore throat.”

  6. David Marjanović says

    PZ:

    I’ve also noticed that the kooks and fringies and weirdos are starting to get active over there — I’ve got an alt med asshole there telling me how useless vaccinations are — and the old commentariat is all over here fighting over who is more spockish than who, so he’s barely getting any pushback.

    Huh. That’s new. Last time I checked, not long ago, there were barely any comments at all.

  7. cicely says

    If you wonder where the clouds and rain have gone, we have stolen them.

    *frowning*
    Well, give ’em back. My yard looks exceedingly flammable, without any need for extortational insinuations from spokesmen for The Mob.
    –

  9. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I’m a big fan of my Wacom though I can totally see the desire to have the pen actually “drawing” where you are touching.

    My most of my work on the wacom is editing of photos and touch up.

  12. Patricia, OM says

    Rev BDC – As soon as the author mentioned Susun Weed I got a bad feeling that some serious wooshit was about to happen, she’s a fairy believer. But, like you said the guy managed to not drop over the edge.

    My quart sized crocks come in this week. Woo-hoo!

  13. carlie says

    My tablet (convertible, stylus and touch-screen) is a Toshiba Portege. It was great for its time, but I think there are probably better out there now.

    Huh – after checking, the type of Portege I have doesn’t exist any more. It was right during the weird time when people were starting to work with tablet functionality on computers, but the ipad hadn’t been invented yet. It’s a full-functionality laptop, but the screen turns around and folds down back on top of the keyboard so that it can be used in the same way an ipad-ish tablet works now. Seems to have disappeared down the same “we have no need for that kind of technology now” hole that netbooks all got lost in.

  14. carlie says

    Which is really weird, actually – there is no good substitute for what I have. Tablets simply don’t have the computing power of a normal laptop. So this kind of seems a step backwards.

  15. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    My quart sized crocks come in this week. Woo-hoo!

    Jealous

    I’m trying with some glass containers I have around the house before I sink a few bills into those nice crocks. Plus I’m still gauging Mrs. BDC’s acceptance of the science experiments in the kitchen. They’re hidden away pretty well, but that sourdough starter and kimchi can be fairly pungent.

  16. says

    @Carlie

    The lat top I had was called a tablet but it was a swivel neck with a wacom screen. I’m annoyed that I’m having trouble sorting out things with an actual tablet (you know with pressure sensitivity and all in the pen) with the new androids/iphones on steroids.

  18. David Marjanović says

    Agreed, SG. I’ll flounce when H0gg1e and company show up. Or if D*av*d M*b*s shows up. Or if a massive herd of trolls devastates the blog. And when I flounce, I’m gone for good.

    I, on the other hand, would test the Klingon hypothesis that “four thousand throats can be cut in one night by a running man”.

    FOR GREAT JUSTICE.

    PZ, thank you so much for that; and thank Trophy Mod, too.

    Fifthed!

    Jonah Lehrer Resigns From New Yorker Magazine After Fabricated Quotes Found In His Book.

    What… the fuck.

    “Sexual Assault Victims Charged Up To $1,200 In Wisconsin For Cost Of Their Rape Kits”

    Écrasez l’infâme.

    Pteryxx

    *hugs, and m&m’s, and cuteness*

    All seconded. *happiness tea* *more hugs*

    They laid it out. They LAID IT OUT in plain text that speakers will be expected to comply, too, or else. Wow.

    :-) :-) :-)

    This took me two days to understand: “Cirith Ungol”

    I understand the alt-text, but not the name…

    hi

    did y’all know that Alain de Botton decided to share with the world the thoughts that bumble around in his head? and that this time, it’s about sex?

    “enjoy”:http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2012/07/31/naked-in-print

    Crossposted comment:

    “lolwut

    Looks like de Botton writes about sex the exact same way he writes about atheism: he projects, not knowing that not everyone is exactly like him in experience, knowledge, personality and so on… or anywhere near similar to him for that matter.”

  19. Pteryxx says

    Thanks, everyone; and thanks, David M, for the late reply. I wanted to say that being slow instead of quick with the reassurance isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it reminded me how many of y’all also expressed support yesterday, and I’m a lot better able to *hear* it now than I was in mid-PTSD-ing. So I’ll go back and read it again. Thank you, Horde.

  20. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Hi pt’xx, sorry about the whole ptsd thing. Bags of favorite food, hugs, and lurvz.

    Speaking of hidey holes, has anyone checked out the denizens of the irc channel? I’d rather that then PET.

  21. Richard Austin says

    carlie & Ing:

    I used to have a Fujitsu Stylistic ST5110 (I think it was) – it was an actual slate PC with no keyboard but running full Windows and a powerful processor. They made one upgrade to it, the 6xxx series, and then when they were going to make a new one the whole “tablet” craze hit and they downgraded it to an ipad-competitor (the Q-something).

    I was more than a little ticked.

    Nowadays, the only two true “slate PCs” (which is what I believe you’re looking for) that I can find are the Asus Eee-Slate (EP121 and BP121, I believe) and the Samsung Series 7 Slate. There are a few companies like TabletKiosk and MotionComputing which make slate PCs, but they tend to be lower-powered or “ruggedized” (and while I want a slate, I’d rather it not feel like it’s made of granite).

    I’m looking forward to seeing the specs on the Microsoft Surface coming out in October (theoretically), as it’ll be both Windows 8 and a true slate, but I’m half-expecting it to be underpowered as well.

    Such is life.

  22. Pteryxx says

    Thanks, thunk. (dang that sounds odd.)

    the IRC channel’s there, and populated, and kinda active, but it speciated away from the main Pharyngula commentariat long ago. Mostly they don’t read the blog or talk about the same topics, and none of us seem to recognize each other. Not sure how logging is set to work.

    However, it’s easy enough to make your own rooms in the IRC and just operate independently. It also accepts folks who log in through Mibbit (i.e. browser-based IRC) so they don’t have to install a client first. I’ve set chat rooms there a few times for specific conversations; it’d be easy enough to have a free-ranging The Endless Chat.

  23. Ogvorbis says

    I currently have a fresh blueberry pie in the oven. And will be putting a second one in once this one is done. One for us, one for our 90 year old neighbor.

    And thanks. All of you. You make life a little easier.

  24. Tethys says

    he old commentariat is all over here fighting over who is more spockish than who

    {chortle}
    But we Spockish type people do have such a hard time parsing these things called emotions. There were many times in my younger days when I was that person who went too far because “truth!”

    It was hard for me to understand that pro-social lying is not illogical and amoral.
    ____

    {Notices the B3 and the Leslie….squees!}

    I will get to work on the dance hall. I hope the horde will provide more musicians {stand-up bass please!} and a few fabulous leads. Partnered dance is one of my favorite activities.

  25. Tethys says

    blueberry pie

    I can almost smell it. mmmmmmmmmmm

    And thanks. All of you. You make life a little easier.

    Seconded and right back at ‘cha.

    Off to get supplies for the dance hall, later horde!

  26. ChasCPeterson says

    Jonah Lehrer Resigns From New Yorker Magazine After Fabricated Quotes Found In His Book.

    The fake quotes, it should be added, were attributed to Bob Dylan!
    what a dumbfuck thing to do.

  27. Patricia, OM says

    Later all – I’m outside for the rest of the day to plant the kiddie pool garden.

  28. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Pt’xx. Ah; that sounds reasonable.

  29. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Oh, pt’xx. I just made #TheEndlessChat, if no one minds.

  31. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Thanks back!

  32. says

    Arrgghh! They never give up. Prop 8 backers will not accept defeat. They want to take their anti-gay-marriage battle to the Supreme Court.

    Opponents of same-sex marriage asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday [today] to overturn a federal appeals court decision that struck down Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative that limited marriage to a man and a woman.

    Protect Marriage, the sponsors of Prop 8, called February’s 2-1 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals “misguided.”…

    Link.

  33. Richard Austin says

    Lynna:

    Arrgghh! They never give up. Prop 8 backers will not accept defeat. They want to take their anti-gay-marriage battle to the Supreme Court.

    I think I was hoping they wouldn’t appeal, but I also knew it was the most likely result. The realistic side of me hopes the court just denies cert.

  35. Sili says

    Also, the end of LOTR is cause to worry. The Hobbit could be just hours and hours of tedious soft-focus gay hobbit porn.

    The elf/dwarf stuff is more fun. Not least when they have to bring in the barrel.

  36. Sili says

    If I had read The Hobbit first, I would never have read LotR.

    I read The Hobbit at school, and didn’t pick up LotR until some ten years later when having run out of book in Newport, I think it was. It seemed like something one’s supposed to read.

    Ironically, all the fuss about the films started a few months later (before I’d finished reading). I wonder if it had actually been discussed earlier, and that’s what primed me to notice it in WHSMith.

  37. Sili says

    If English is not your first language, it is difficult to read between the lines and get the joke from abbreviated phrases.
    This took me two days to understand: “Cirith Ungol”
    http://www.xkcd.com/1087/

    I vaguely recall seeing a cartoon film of Charlotte’s Web oodles of years ago. At least some of it.

    Imagine my surprise when I later discovered that it was written by the ignorant fuckturd E. B. White.

  40. earwig says

    I’m sorry there won’t be any July Mollies, because I’d have nominated Crip Dyke for this post about trans splat. See, this is one reason I like Pharyngula: intelligent discussion of things I’m ignorant about. I come away from posts like that feeling better informed and hopefully more considerate.

  41. Ogvorbis says

    Second blueberry pie now out of the oven.

    Just had a wonderful Sam Vimes’ style BLT.

  43. Ogvorbis says

    Bye all. I’m off to Florence. See you after the 10th.

    Italy, South Carolina, or Henderson?

  45. birgerjohansson says

    Swedish TV just showed a documentary about “The Boys In The Band”. I had no idea Nathalie Woods played such a role in supporting the author…or that AIDS nearly exterminated the whole cast.
    — — — — —
    Somebody named “de Botton” writes about sex?!?!
    It sounds a bit like “da baton” or “da bottom”.
    He needs a less suggestive nym. Like D. E. Viant.
    — — — — —
    Swedish Radio broadcast The Hobbit on radio 1970 on summer mornings for kids.
    I managed to get a copy of LOTR two years later. At that young age I got really frightened by the guardian of the lake outside Moria and the balrog gave me nightmares.
    — — — —
    Ah, the seventies…when Alistair McLean and Desmond Bagley represented the cream of thrillers and “The Persuaders” (Roger Moore and Tony Curtis) was considered a bit too violent for TV.

  47. says

    ‘Tis Himself might find this interesting. Paul Krugman says Ed DeMarco should be fired. I agree.

    …DeMarco heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie. And he has just rejected a request from the Treasury Department that he offer debt relief to troubled homeowners — a request backed by an offer by Treasury to pay up to 63 cents to the FHFA for every dollar of debt forgiven.

    DeMarco’s basis for the rejection was that this forgiveness would represent a net loss to taxpayers, even if his agency came out ahead.

    That’s a very arguable point even on its own terms, because the paper he cited in support of his stance took no account of the positive effects on the economy of debt relief — even though those effects are the main reason for offering such relief. …

    …If the Secretary of the Treasury, acting on behalf of the president, believes that it is in the national interest to spend some taxpayer funds on debt relief, in a way that actually improves the FHFA’s budget position, the agency’s director has no business deciding on his own that he prefers not to act.
    …
    This guy needs to go.

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/fire-ed-demarco/

  50. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Here’s a “Hooray!” moment.

    U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Bryant, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled on Tuesday that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in unconstitution.

    Drinks on the Pullet Patrol™. *examines pile of e-ducats, sets up bowls of dry corn for proper flavoring, to be returned to the feathered females*

  51. opposablethumbs says

    I have been away for quite a while, so I’ve missed a lot – just been trying to catch up, if only partially, and I have missed a fuckton of very major stuff (including the whole of the thread about rapists Austin Zehnder and Will Frey, may every woman and man they ever meet be able to google their names and be forewarned)

    It looks like I’m probably going to be mostly just lurking when I can, for a while at least :(

    But I just want to send much belated chocolate and grog to Alethea for your friend, I’m so sorry. And a lorry-load of assorted kittens and whisky and huge respect to everyone who spoke out on the Zehnder-Frey shame thread. I’m struck dumb by the casual evil of people who deliberately try to trigger others on a thread like that.

    It’s always weird and difficult to try to catch up with so much, because I want to send hugs to Caine and to Og for such totally different reasons.

    And YAYs to Esteleth and to Ing for the opposite (and also totally different) reasons. Also wishing Caine happy ratlets.

    Pteryxx, I love the educating stuff you do. And as always, it doesn’t matter if the trolls don’t get it – other people reading certainly will.

    Josh

    Wait! We cannot break bread with you. You have taken the community which is rightfully ours. . . My people have pain and degradation; your people have fap sticks. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said: DO NOT TRUST THE MRAs. Especially Chunderfood. For all these reasons I have decided to scalp you and burn your Hoggletorium to the ground.

    :D :D :D (though even my catching-up is way out of date now …)

    I think I am practically turning back into a lurker at the moment so it would be odd to welcome people (but welcome eriktrips and fastlane anyway).

    And since I started trying to catch up, this whole latest explosion has happened. I was under the stairs for a while, way back when, and would like to hang out in the blanket fort sometimes whenever I get the chance.

    I’m going to keep reading you all anyway.

  52. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Well welcome in Opposable thumbs. Free pass to the blanket fort.

  53. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Carlie:

    the Pharyngula irc

  54. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    *sets full round of grog and swill from the PP in the fort antechamber*

  55. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Bye beatrice. Have a good vacation.

  56. says

    The lat top I had was called a tablet but it was a swivel neck with a wacom screen. I’m annoyed that I’m having trouble sorting out things with an actual tablet (you know with pressure sensitivity and all in the pen) with the new androids/iphones on steroids.

    I’m typing this on one of those. Lenovo X61 tablet. Bought it used, since somewhat tricked it out, w/ custom firmware and a hybrid drive.

    It’s a simply great little thing. One of my favourite machines ever, and never mind it’s a few years old now. Truly love it. Favourite thing about it and ‘true’ tablets of that stripe in general: using a pen on one can be a fair bit like using the real thing (or, say, a sable brush, if you’re drawing in on it), and you can rest your writing hand on the ‘page’, just as you might do with pen or brush, without it registering. Can’t do that with either a capacitive or resistive touchscreen. And of course it’s got that serious Thinkpad keyboard.

    (/I *do*, for the record, have a smartphone with a ‘normal’ touchscreen, and I do appreciate it, both for the variety of interface possibilities it does offer and sheer convenience, but it’s a very different thing. And I also have a keyboard for it–a Think Outside aluminum bluetooth thing I also very much heart, as no one seems to have come up with a method of doing 100wpm on a touchscreen yet.)

  57. says

    Rev. BigDumbChimp @14, restaurants that use condiments such as mayonnaise, relish, mustard, and ketchup generally get them in one-gallon jars. They used to be glass, with wide lids and were generally free for the asking. A few of them would set you up for all kinds of fermenting.

    Are you going to put down green tomatoes under salt?

  60. Part-Time Insomniac, Zombie Porcupine Nox Arcana Fan says

    Did someone say blueberry pie? *droooools* One of my favorites, soooooo good.

    *decides to try making one in the fort’s kitchen* Hey is it OK if I try making homemade ice cream too? I’ve been wanting to try that for a while.
    ————————————————–

    Pay for you own rape kit? Just . . . really, when Palin made so many people see red when she did it, what made them think it was still a good idea?

  62. Ogvorbis says

    Did someone say blueberry pie? *droooools* One of my favorites, soooooo good.

    Two of them.

    I cheated and bought raw crust at the store but the store-bought crust is about 99% as good as mine and so much easier. I used a Moravian Star cookie cutter for the top vents.

  63. John Morales says

    SS: You are not welcome here, in Pharyngula’s lounge, due to your past actions.
     
    If you honestly wish to exhibit good faith, you should forthwith depart TET (that’s this thread) and instead go to TZT.
     
    If you don’t, you will be telling every regular that you are not sincere, and are trolling.

  64. Part-Time Insomniac, Zombie Porcupine Nox Arcana Fan says

    Sounds like Jackson’s Whole, doesn’t it. “An arrest order has been purchased in your name. Would you like to outbid?”

    When you put it that way, kristinc, it gets even more depressing. “What the fuck kind of country am I living in?” is what I think nowadays when I wake up in the morning.
    ————————————————-

    Nothing wrong with store-bought crust, Og, so long as it’s GOOD store-bought crust.

    Anyone got a decent-sized coffee can or something? I’ve got the vanilla, the cream, the sugar, and the rock salt and ice, but I don’t want to freeze my hands off fiddling with a plastic bag just to make ice cream.

  65. Ogvorbis says

    Slanted Science:

    Based on your past performance, we have no reason to trust you. We have no reason to give you the benefit of the doubt. Why don’t you do as John suggests and hang out in TZT for a while. If you really are honest, you might be able to earn a little trust. But for now, please leave this particular thread.

  67. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    I’ll be more polite: I will post where I wish, while allowed by PZ, and will do my best to be civil and productive this time.

    *Snicker* You are not welcome in the lounge. You know that, but deliberately intrude due to abject rudeness on your part. You know that, and we know that. So, why not go where you are more welcome as a gesture of repentence…

  69. Ogvorbis says

    Just leave me alone and you’ll be repaid in kind.

    So when you start up your shit, I, and others, are now supposed to ignore you? NO. You do not get to tell me what I can and cannot do here.

  70. John Morales says

    SS:

    Y’all are beyond parody, truly.

    But not so needy as to seek to hang out with those who disdain us.

    (Trolling is easy; being liked or respected, not so much.

    Sad specimen, you are)

  71. Ogvorbis says

    Y’all are beyond parody, truly.

    You told me to leave you alone. I asked you to leave. If you are willing to twist something as innocuous as this, you truly are a sad example of something.

  72. broboxley OT says

    SS

    BTW, this really isn’t your “lounge”, you know? It’s only a page on the internet.

    what an amazing scientific discovery that is. Now that you have discovered that stfu unless you have something quite constructive, amusing, recipe, art, music or other comment to make. Otherwise discover the other thread tzt, and pound your pud to your hearts delight over there.

  73. cicely says

    Slanted Science: Wherein lies the “creepy”? This thread is, by common custom and usage, the place for idle chit-chat and conversation that would be off topic in other threads. Some of us “hang out” here just to enjoy the virtual company. I just don’t see the “creepy”, here.

    If you don’t like the ambience, well, nothing requires you to suffer it.
    –

  74. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    SS:

    Thunk, can I have a pass to the blanket fort?

    No.

    If not, how much does it cost and who do I pay?

    Bribery will not be tolerated.

    Are there bathrooms, or do we just go in the moat? Who am I rooming with?

    Go away. Please.

  76. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    And this is a lounge, due to long tradition.

    If you do not like it, you are free to leave.

  78. carlie says

    My main constraint with tablets is that whatever I use has to also have Microsoft Office capabilities. My mian tablet uses are to “hand-grade” documents and handwrite all over powerpoint presentations as I give them. I also occasionally do jing videos where I record the tablet screen as a blackboard while I narrate (which can now be done with elluminate, but there are…issues with doing it that way).

  79. says

    Gosh, SS, it’s almost like we’re a group with group-developed idiomatic slang or something isn’t it?

    There’s still a pile of porcupines by the door to the LOUNGE. Feel free to help yourself.

    Love, the fat fucking mess

  81. Ogvorbis says

    I always find it strange that people seem to like me. Especially when they complement me for something I’ve done/said.

    My automatic response to a complement is to insult myself. When I was younger, if a classmate gave me a complement, I learned quickly that it was a setup for an insult. Or a practical joke. Or a right hook. I’ve learned to keep it inside, but it is still there.

    Also, I can rarely see why I am being complemented.

  82. broboxley OT says

    Ogvorbis
    I have the same jaundiced hairy eyeball in response to a compliment.

  84. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I wonder how many years I’ve been commenting at Pharyngula. Hard to find out with the SB comment issue.

  85. Ogvorbis says

    G’niht. Tomorrow is Monday after all. Heading for beed. erchance not to dreem.

  87. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Rev. BDC

    I wonder how many years I’ve been commenting at Pharyngula. Hard to find out with the SB comment issue.

    A quick look gave posts in Feb. 2008, but I didn’t see any in Nov. 2007.

  88. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Pretty sure it is earlier than that, I think I was commenting here before we built this house we now live in.

    Could easily be mistaken though.

  89. John Morales says

    My first ever comment here was in November 2005, when I noted PZ seemed to be using the genetic fallacy, but I’d lurked for some time by then.

    (Also: Pirate Mode!

    A trivial thing, perhaps, but of significance to me — damn I miss it)

  90. John Morales says

    Rev. BDC, you were around when I was lurking pre-commenting, I’m pretty sure.

  93. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Yeah John I was thinking at least 2006 as we’ve been in this house 6 years as of July 4th. Thanks. Would be interesting to track down my first comment. Im sure it sucked.

  94. One Thousand Needles says

    Has anybody logged onto the Pharyngula IRC from an iPhone client? I was trying a few days ago with IRC999 and couldn’t get the damn thing to work.

  95. Wowbagger, Titillated Victorian Gentleman says

    I heard about this place during Expelled incident – what’s that, about four and a half years ago? Lurked briefly then began commenting.

  97. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Dug back in Nov. 2006, and found the Rev. BDC posting, but not in May 2006. Keep in mind the comments may not be complete over there.

  98. John Morales says

    SS:

    Some of us have moved on since High School. Others……

    … are not so needy as to seek to hang out with those who disdain us.

    What’s your point, loser?

    —

    PS I guess you never learnt how to employ the ellipsis in school, either.

  100. broboxley OT says

    Slanted Science, yes we get that. You are insistent that your view regardless of how others view you is superior. Very highschoolish. If you have something useful to contribute do so. Otherwise bask in yer self adoration in the other thread.

    Stella, I enjoy, Heineken pedestrian tastes I know. 420 IPA I like. Nevada pale ale I like. Im in the north georgia area so any suggestions would be welcome. My beer max is two then I need to switch to “mountgay rum”, “pussers rum” or irish whiskey. Occationally like “bombay saphire” when the malaria is on me

  101. ibyea says

    SS:
    Yeah, and others like you, keep acting like obnoxious teenagers who think doing so earns them points.

  102. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Brobroxly, if near Decatur go to Brick store pub.

    One of the best beer bars anywhere.

  103. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    One Thousand Needles:

    Also see #TheEndlessChat (same server)

    Of course, I should recognize your nym.

  104. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Waiting for SS to show some maturity, and go off to TZT. Typical juvenile behavior trying to get attention it doesn’t deserve where it doesn’t deserve it by being obnoxious.

  106. Sili says

    Shuffling through old comic books and I’ve just rediscovered at ‘ship, I’d forgotten all about. It even goes back to before I knew what shipping is. Pity it’s too obscure to expect fanfic off.

    Aaaaand it turns out there’s a volume that was never translated. Bugger. Yet another reason to learn French.

    And now I need a francophone Pharyngulite who can help me obtain a volume. Fuck, it’s already been twenty year … that’s gonna cost a fortune.

  109. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    ::peeks in to see if things have calmed down, doesn’t see anyone…smells something distinctly blueberryish…tiptoes to kitchen…briefly passes open dungeon door…spies baked goods on counter…smile turns to frown upon realizing it’s blueberry pie, rather than muffins…slinks off to the lounge with some grog all by his lonesome…?…where is that snickering coming from…?…searches for the x-ray vision glasses:::

    Hi all.

  112. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Lynna:

    Opponents of same-sex marriage asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday [today] to overturn a federal appeals court decision that struck down Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative that limited marriage to a man and a woman.

    I thought it was a man and a pillar of salt.
    Or was it a lot of concubines?

    ****
    birger:

    Somebody named “de Botton” writes about sex?!?!

    It sounds a bit like “da baton” or “da bottom”.
    He needs a less suggestive nym. Like D. E. Viant.

    Same guy who proposed atheist temples

    ****

    PTI:

    Did someone say blueberry pie? *droooools* One of my favorites, soooooo good.

    I’m weird. I don’t like baked fruit (for some reason I *will* eat baked blueberries in a muffin though), so I don’t think I’d eat the pie. However, I like the filling and crust. So, just like mexican or chinese rice, I’d pick out the blueberries and eat the rest. Who wants ’em?

    ****
    SS:

    And you’re another one who’s calling this a dam lounge! What is it with you folk?!?!

    I don’t know you, but judging by the reactions of the regulars who have been here for some time, there is clearly a reason for the disdain they’re showing you.
    This area is a metaphorical lounge. I.E. Pharyngula is PZ’s home and TET has become a manifestation of one area of that home. It is where we of like minds come to relax, kick up our feet and discuss whatever the heck we want to. Hence the title The Lounge.
    I believe you would be better served posting in TZT, as it should be clear by now that no one wants you here. Unless you’re here to troll. In which case, we really don’t want you here.

    ****

    StarStuff:

    I always find it strange that people seem to like me.

    Why is that?

    ****

    Oggie:

    My automatic response to a complement is to insult myself. When I was younger, if a classmate gave me a complement, I learned quickly that it was a setup for an insult. Or a practical joke. Or a right hook. I’ve learned to keep it inside, but it is still there.

    Damn. I’m sorry that crap happened to you.
    For me, I’ve had bad self esteem since I was a teenager. I attribute it mostly to developing very bad acne once I hit puberty. I used to be able to play connect the dots with all the pimples on my forehead. I still have some scars left-both physiologically and psychologically. I rarely got picked on for them, but there were so many times I would wake up in the morning and not want to even look in the mirror. I really thought I was one of the most unattractive people on the planet. As I got older, I became interested in working out. I figured if my face wasn’t going to attract people, then perhaps my body would. Shallow, I know. Part of the problem was (and still is) a desire on my part to develop a relationship, and the continued failure to be able to do so. I thought (thankfully I no longer do) that my inability to find someone was tied to how ugly I thought I was. My feelings on my appearance were very often opposed by people who would give me compliments about how cute I was. I would frequently respond with some self-deprecating comment. In retrospect, it was rude to insinuate that people giving me a compliment were lying, but that’s what I often did. I’ve come to a point in my life where I have a much healthier sense of self esteem, but I can’t deny that it still is influenced by my perception of what I look like. I do still have days when I don’t want to look in the mirror, but those are few and far between. I’ve learned to take compliments (not well mind you, but I try to always say “thank you”, even as I avert my eyes).

  113. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    John:

    PS I guess you never learnt how to employ the ellipsis in school, either.

    I know you’re talking to SS here, but I’m a huge abuser of the ellipsis. I use it to convey pauses (rather than starting new sentences) that I have in my brain as I’m typing responses to people. I try to restrict it to here at TET, given the informal nature of this area. I’ve thought about working on that a bit though.

    ****

    brobroxley:

    My beer max is two then I need to switch to “mountgay rum”, “pussers rum” or irish whiskey.

    Have you tried Kraken? I don’t drink much rum (although that is changing, as I’ve discovered the flavored rums are much smoother than my usual flavored vodkas), but I would drink this. On the rocks to boot.
    Also, have you heard of a bar called World of Beer ?

  114. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    John:
    I guess you knew how badly I abuse the ellipsis from my 114 post…

  116. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    irc.synirc.net, Josh.

    Get to TheEndlessChat, register, and someone’ll take you from there.

  117. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Sorry; it’s a landing pad, josh.

    The actual channel is sekrit.

  118. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    (repost; apologies for the misspelling of your ‘nym)
    broboxley:

    My beer max is two then I need to switch to “mountgay rum”, “pussers rum” or irish whiskey.

    Have you tried Kraken? I don’t drink much rum (although that is changing, as I’ve discovered the flavored rums are much smoother than my usual flavored vodkas), but I would drink this. On the rocks to boot.
    Also, have you heard of a bar called World of Beer ?

  119. Amblebury says

    AH SWAYT JAYSUS! Ellipsis abuse. I have a Facebook friend who is a recidivist offender. It…drives me…up…the fucking…wall.

  120. chigau (違う) says

    25 years ago this night, I think, the dead had been counted and I was asleep.

  121. Amblebury says

    And you’re another one who’s calling this a dam lounge! What is it with you folk?!?!

    Ooh baby what is it you’d like?

  122. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    a dam lounge

    I don’t think this is a dam lounge. I do not recall PZ mentioning that he erected this place so close to such a structure. Too much water.

  123. says

    BTW, this really isn’t your “lounge”, you know? It’s only a page on the internet. Claims like that are distinctly creepy.

    your pre-internet are duly noted and their quaintness and backwardness laughed at. FYI, “lounge” and “internet site” are not in any way, shape, or form mutually exclusive things. a lounge is for lounging around. that’s precisely what people do here.

  125. birgerjohansson says

    England is a serial killer ?? http://satwcomic.com/

    It turns out Mittens once told olympic athletes the analoge of “you didn’t build that”, to be precise “you did not do this on your own”.
    Sorry, misplaced the link.

    “atheist temple”
    Just build the Eschaton cube.
    — — — — — — —
    Or instead of the atheist temple, we could design a spoof religion. I know we already have the cult of The Flying Spaghetti Monster but I was thinking of something that more closely spoofs the LDS church and Scientology, names of deities subtly altered for copyright issues.
    On the anniversary of the eruption of Eyfjallajökull we could have “evil spirits trapped in volcanoes day”.

    When others celebrate Earth Day, we could celebrate Kolob day with a parade bringing forth a statue of god saying “I am God And So Can You”.
    There should also be a “Televangelist asks for money day” when someone dressed as Hefner leans out of a Rolls Royce and begs passing people for money.

    Considering the recurrent theme of incest in the Old Testament, we should dedicate a holiday to that as well. “Eleven fingers are cool Day”? Symbol: a banjo.
    The patriarchs in Genesis repeatedly conned pagans for treasure, so there should be a Holy Fraud day. Madoff Day?
    This religion was revealed to us by scripture carved on platinum plates that are only visible to the Worthy.

  127. says

    And you’re another one who’s calling this a dam lounge! What is it with you folk?!?!

    our language and worldview isn’t stuck isn’t he 1980’s?

  129. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    birger:

    “I am God And So Can You”.

    awww, does it have to be God? Can we say Love instead? After all, aren’t they synonymous?

  130. opposablethumbs says

    Considering the recurrent theme of incest in the Old Testament, we should dedicate a holiday to that as well. “Eleven fingers are cool Day”? Symbol: a banjo.

    Excellent overall idea, but surely not all banjo music is that bad? My old friend from Paris taught himself to play some pretty nice Cajun tunes … :)

    (yes, I know. Just think it’s not fair on the poor banjo to be thus damned by association, even if the association actually holds up most of the time. Couldn’t the symbol be a Monster Truck or something?)

  133. birgerjohansson says

    CT, Opposablethumbs,

    Monster Truck it is!
    And maybe some tacky Elvis souvenirs.

  134. birgerjohansson says

    Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says:

    “awww, does it have to be God? Can we say Love instead? After all, aren’t they synonymous?”
    .
    Yes, but I was spoofing Colbert’s self-help book “I Am America And So Can You”,
    and the Mormon belief (as preached by wossname late 19th century) that all (male) memberss of the LDS church could progress to become a bona fide god, with their own domains. Mormon scripture, the gift that goes on giving :-)

  136. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Excellent overall idea, but surely not all banjo music is that bad?

    Hell there’s some fantastic music with banjo.

    Some very talented highly skilled bluegrass and if you like more jazz, Bela Fleck is a virtuoso on the instrument.

  138. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Phew! Glad to hear that the banjo is out and monster trucks are in. I ‘ve an unnatural fondness foe the banjo considering that my musical tastes don’t usually run to the genres in which it features. This quirk stems from an industrialish song a friend of mine wrote years ago that featured a banjo. It was fantastic but unfortunately was also the best thing he and his band ever did. I also once saw a banjo player toss off a shred-metal lick, make a face and repeat it faster and faster until it was up to a decent bluegrass speed. Made an impression that did.

    [Looks around the blanket fort, sees people wanting to dance. Modulates to Amaj, shifts to 12 bar phrases, adds a backbeat and swing rthymn and hopes to hell they didn’t want a sarabande or gigue.]

  139. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    My feelings on my appearance were very often opposed by people who would give me compliments about how cute I was. I would frequently respond with some self-deprecating comment.

    Yeah. Looks were part of it but, for me, it was a sense that I never fit in. Everyone else was wearing Izod shirts, chinos and penny loafers and I was wearing old jeans, a flannel shirt, and cowboy boots.

    And I still haven’t been able to shake the habit that you refer to: I still respond to any kind of a complement with deflection or some mildly self-deprecating humour. I no longer outright insult myself, but the gentle put downs deflect the people I know want to insult me (they really aren’t there all that much but try telling my brain that).

    . . . I was thinking of something that more closely spoofs the LDS church and Scientology . . .

    Aren’t LSD and Scientology self-spoofing? (by the way, please not proper use of elipseses).

    Considering the recurrent theme of incest in the Old Testament, we should dedicate a holiday to that as well. “Eleven fingers are cool Day”?

    Makes playing banjo much easier.

    Truth in Commenting: one of my good friends plays the banjo and, with me on guitar and him on banjo, we sound pretty dam* good. Of course, the damn things are harder to tune than a VW Type-1 engine and have less dynamic range than a chainsaw, but they are useful instruments. And are a dammed** site better than an accordian.

    * that’s for the lounge.

    ** that’s for the Army Corps of Engineers

  140. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    And please not the tpyo. Not enough caffeine.

  141. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    And are a dammed** site better than an accordian.

    Heh. On the other hand the only members of any band I played with who continued on with music with any success both play accordion. One does sexy, French, coffee house kinda tunes and the other electro-acoustic experimental madness where she processes her accordion sounds into weird symphonic, er, things.

    Considering one of those bands had no less than three electric guitarists and nine members overall it did come as a bit of a shock to the rest of us that the accordianists were the only ones to keep getting gigs.

  142. Part-Time Insomniac, Zombie Porcupine Nox Arcana Fan says

    All right, I’m packing for the trip to Ireland. I’m beginning to think I don’t need to pack like it’s the middle of autumn, but I sure don’t want to get wet and start feeling cold either. Aside from a rain jacket and my mocs, what do I NEED to bring so I’ll be comfy during my stay?

  143. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    FossilFishy:

    Oh, the accordian definately is essential for some types of music. But it is still easy to mock and, for me, I prefer the concertina. At least the concertina doesn’t look like a failed crossbreading attempt between a piano and a bellows.

  144. Part-Time Insomniac, Zombie Porcupine Nox Arcana Fan says

    And just as I posted my last comment, it started to rain. Brilliant.

  145. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Aside from a rain jacket and my mocs, what do I NEED to bring so I’ll be comfy during my stay?

    Some Johnny Walker Black?

  146. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Yes indeed Ogvorbis, the only instrument lower on the pecking order would be the trombone IMO. One of the aforementioned accordianists threatened to have the Far Side cartoon that goes “Welcome to heaven, here’s your harp. Welcome to hell, here’s your accordian.” tattooed on just so people would stop sending it to her.

  147. birgerjohansson says

    “Qubits that never interact could exhibit past-future entanglement” http://phys.org/news/2012-07-qubits-interact-past-future-entanglement.html#ajTabs

    -So this is how Romney retroactively quit Bain before he did?

    (I do not have enough background knowledge to assess the news item)
    — — — — — — —
    Accordions? I just watched a documentary about Paul Simon’s Graceland tour (25th anniversary), they had a cool accordion player.
    The French have produced some cool pop hits with accordions as well. (forgot the titles, one had the phrase “one in a thousand” in French)
    — — — —
    In Sweden accordion music has been frozen at the 1950ies. No musical innovations since then, folk music players insist on purity and there is nowhere else for accordion players to go.

  148. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Yes indeed Ogvorbis, the only instrument lower on the pecking order would be the trombone IMO.

    But it is easy to spot future trombone players on an elementary school playground: they can’t swing and can’t figure out how to work the slide.

    I just watched a documentary about Paul Simon’s Graceland tour (25th anniversary), they had a cool accordion player.

    Twenty-five years ago? Holy shit, I’m getting old. I bought that, on cassette, when I was in college. And yeah, it is virtually impossible to do Zydeco sans accordian.

  149. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    A frog is driving down the street and he passes a trombonist driving the other way. What’s the difference?
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    The frog’s more likely to be going to a gig.

    It’s gone midnight here and I must to be bed so I’ll leave you with my former bandmate playing her song Cruelle Poetesse. I think she’s done better stuff since this but this is far and away the best vid of her in action.

    Night.

  150. One Thousand Needles says

    Woohoo! A new episode of Hardcore History is out. Currently tracing the reign of Genghis Khan.

    If you’ve never listened to it, I highly recommend starting with the Ghosts of the Osfront episodes, which cover the eastern front of World Ward II.

  152. David Marjanović says

    O hai! South Korea sees your Jesus Camp and raises you Confucius Camp! Video in German, haven’t watched it yet for lack of sound in the museum.

    “On the timetable: ‘Learning to feel utmost respect for one’s parents’.”

  154. says

    Tony:

    I always find it strange that people seem to like me.

    Why is that?

    I dunno. I don’t have low self-esteem or anything. I think I’m pretty awesome. I guess I’m just not used to other people thinking the same. I do/say certain things because that’s just who I am; I don’t expect praise, compliments, or attention for them.

  155. says

    In other news:

    My cat is in heat and she won’t shut up. And she’s driving my other (male) cat crazy.

    (Yeah, they aren’t spayed and neutered. I can’t spay my female cat now because she’s too old and I’m planning on getting the male cat done when I get money from financial aid. He only just realized that he’s a male kitty and she’s a female kitty).

  157. David Marjanović says

    the balrog gave me nightmares

    You mean it wasn’t enough to simply shout “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”?

    Italy

    Enjoy.

    Seconded! I’ve been to Florence!

    Here’s a “Hooray!” moment.

    U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Bryant, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled on Tuesday that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in unconstitutional.

    Nunc est bibendum!

    It’s always weird and difficult to try to catch up with so much, because I want to send hugs to Caine and to Og for such totally different reasons.

    And YAYs to Esteleth and to Ing for the opposite (and also totally different) reasons. Also wishing Caine happy ratlets.

    Pteryxx, I love the educating stuff you do. And as always, it doesn’t matter if the trolls don’t get it – other people reading certainly will.

    All seconded. *dumping pile of hugs on ground*

    Thunk, can I have a pass to the blanket fort? If not, how much does it cost and who do I pay? Are there bathrooms, or do we just go in the moat?

    Well, you go in the moat and stay there.

    Aside from a rain jacket and my mocs, what do I NEED to bring so I’ll be comfy during my stay?

    http://uk.weather.com/

  159. says

    Court tomorrow, one of the more annoying aspects of this job. You get paid 10 bucks a day on your day off, to sit on a wooden bench for 8 hours waiting to give evidence for half an hour in a case from years ago that you have no recollection of. Thank god for IPods.

  160. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Is there a club for people like us?

    Well, yes, but it isn’t really a club. More of a whip. Or, more precisely, a riding crop. Made of velvet. To go with the fur lined handcuffs.

  161. Paul says

    and we broke our bed

    :-(

    I don’t know that you’re giving the expected reaction, David.

  162. Pteryxx says

    random good stuff from Cracked (with some annoyingness, be warned):

    http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-i-missed-about-the-twilight-zone-as-kid/

    But the truth is, Serling wrote an overwhelming number of shows. Specifically, 94 out of 156 episodes in five years. Let me say that again. He wrote 94 episodes in five years. That is insane. His contemporary, Gene Roddenberry, wrote fewer than 10 teleplays for Star Trek’s 79 episodes in three years.

    Furthermore, Twilight Zone episodes aren’t mere soap opera serials or radio adventures about detectives and wonder dogs; these were incredibly groundbreaking, socially relevant dramas that have withstood the test of time. Twilight Zones are so quoted, they’ve become cliches for describing aspects of the human condition. When it comes to fiction, insane quality and massive output is a rarity of Shakespearean proportion.

  163. carlie says

    From the cracked article:

    And though I was deeply affected by many of the episodes that stood up to repeated viewings, I was always distressed by the fact that I’d see the same 20 or so episodes over and over. There’s that one with Shatner on the plane, the one where Burgess Meredith breaks his glasses and can’t realize his lifelong goal of reading during a nuclear holocaust, the one where the alien treatise for humanity, “To Serve Man,” turns out to be a cookbook and about a dozen more (some referenced above) that they’d show over and over. But watching them one by one on Netflix, I’m seeing more obscure episodes that never seemed to make it into heavy rotation.

    This, exactly. My son has been watching the Twilight Zone episodes on Netflix, and I’m frankly embarrassed at how many of them I don’t recognize, and I thought I was a fan. Stupid tv!

  165. CT says

    Paul

    1 August 2012 at 12:19 pm
    and we broke our bed
    :-(

    I don’t know that you’re giving the expected reaction, David.

    LOL I guess it depends on if you really liked the bed?

  166. opposablethumbs says

    The undisputed (because I say so) monarch of the squeezy stretchy family of instruments is the bandoneón. Astor Piazzolla was a genius, and so is Dino Saluzzi. If it weren’t for the fact that I like horses (and tolerate peas) the piano accordion would be buried under a ton of peas at the back of the stable.

    Way back in the distant mists of about a month ago, people were very kind when I squeeed and jumped up and down a lot because SonSpawn (the one with the Statement of SEN for communication disorder) got picked as one of three students to play with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center (note spelling) Orchestra at the Tower of London for a certain silly sporting jamboree currently going on.

    Just wanted to thank you muchly for all the kind words; it went really well – and I even got to shake Wynton Marsalis’ hand and thank him afterwards. SonSpawn is not a trombonist, though! (for which I should probably be grateful).

    Bro Og et al., that self-depreciation thing you mention … I hate that you have that particular reason for having adopted it. It sounds superficially similar to the fairly typical Brit manifestation, but has clearly arisen in a different cultural context under very specific circumstances which should NOT have happened.

    In happier news, I have some wine and a goat’s-milk cheese our friends brought as a present when they visited from France; it is possibly the ugliest cheese I’ve ever seen (due to the black ash in the crust, which makes it look eons-old rotten and utterly disgusting) but by fsm is it delicious.

  167. says

    I don’t know if we can ever get the Twilightzone back or a suitable replacement but a while ago I thought that it would be awesome if we had a quasi anthology show. Like a comedy skit show you get a stable of actors and then each season is an entirely new story or genre.

  168. One Thousand Needles says

    @Ing:

    First day on the job and already chatting online? Tsk tsk. :)

  172. carlie says

    Ha! I just now actually noticed what video was at the top of the thread. It’s bugged me since it came out, because it should be I’m the one who’s cool, not that’s cool.

  173. Sili says

    In Sweden accordion music has been frozen at the 1950ies. No musical innovations since then, folk music players insist on purity and there is nowhere else for accordion players to go.

    I don’t know what style is taught in Denmark, but I recall that some years ago, our two conservatories refused to function as external examiners for eachother because they couldn’t agree on what name to use for the accordion.

  174. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Ooooh, Twilight Zone.
    Rod Serling at his best.
    Social relevance at a time when the status quo was beginning to be challenged. Wish we had something like this today.
    ****
    I’m also a fan of The Outer Limits.

  175. says

    Someone wanna help me a bit with my homework?

    I’m looking for a gene to study (for my evolution class). I can’t really come up with anything off the top of my head (well, I could pick a hox gene, but we talked about them for almost a whole lecture and I feel like I’d just be giving up if I picked that). Any ideas?

  177. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    StarStuff:
    Wish I could help out, but the only course I’ve ever taken that I excelled at was philosophy (and ethics) and Mr. Fincke is making me embarrassed for that.

  178. says

    I have to select a gene and then search for an “evolutionarily oriented paper” using that gene. Then I have to do a whole bunch of other stuff. I know how to do the stuff, I just can’t come up with a gene. I’ve found one maybe: HspB5.

  179. says

    If you want something easy you could try the gene for sickle cell anemia. From what I recall a lot has been written about the evolutionary advantages of the disorder in certain environments.

  180. Nutmeg says

    I’ve heard about some cool stuff that’s been done with hemoglobin and adaptation to cold environments.

  183. broboxley OT says

    Tony,
    can’t do flavored rums as I am allergic to vanilla. Bar suggestions are out as I never have a drink then get behind the wheel and I live in the sticks. One beer will get you a jail sentence here.

  184. Pteryxx says

    oops – StarStuff, how about looking back through PZ’s archives? He’s covered a lot of science papers that show evolution; and I bet they won’t be the same ones everyone else finds.

  186. cicely says

    New work is going well yay!

    Yay!
    –

    If it weren’t for the fact that I like horses (and tolerate peas) the piano accordion would be buried under a ton of peas at the back of the stable.

    Oooooor…we could bury the Horses under a ton of accordions at the back of the pea patch…..

    ….and then set it all on fire.

    Wuhduhyuhsay, gang?
    *eyes matches wistfully*
    –

  187. says

    I have to select a gene and then search for an “evolutionarily oriented paper” using that gene.

    But isn’t Sonic Hedgehog a toolkit gene that hasn’t changed for 500 million years?

  191. carlie says

    I have to select a gene and then search for an “evolutionarily oriented paper” using that gene.

    Insulin Growth Factor. There is some neat research about how in fetuses, the copy from the father tries to go into overdrive and make a BIG BABY, and the copy from the mother goes NO WAY UH-UH and tries to block it.

  193. cicely says

    Dhorvath,

    I’ve got quite a lot of gasoline, but am always open to suggestion.

    And a flamethrower frequently comes in handy, in cases like these.

    We would not want anything to…escape.
    “Terrifed villagers report roving bands of flaming accordions. Film at eleven!”
    :)
    –

  194. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    I’ve got quite a lot of gasoline, but am always open to suggestion.

    *Psst, well aged grog, getting too volatile for the Mythies, cheep*

  198. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    “Well aged grog” is about six hours, isn’t it?

    That would be too volatile to sell for drinks. So I found a way to slow down conversion. This is almost two weeks old, just before the bomb range disposal stage.

  201. cicely says

    *Psst, well aged grog, getting too volatile for the Mythies, cheep*

    Would I have to take delivery by catapult? ‘Cause if so, I’ll have to have you hold on to it until juuuuust before Showtime, then deliver it ballistically to the pea patch itself.
    –

    Sometimes, less is more.

    Not when quasi-nuking the set-up described above. I’m thinking, smoking crater.
    –

  204. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Nerd:

    Would that make good rocket fuel?

  205. chigau (違う) says

    We should be using those accordions to fight the terrists (not a tpyo).
    We need them in a marching band with some great pipes.

  206. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Thunk, please tell me again how to join the IRC chat. I’m in #TheEndlessChat, but stuck.

  208. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Would that make good rocket fuel?

    12-day-old grog, but you only have a 36 hour window. The advantage is that you don’t need LH2 cryogenics (still need LOX).

  209. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    Nerd:

    12-day-old grog, but you only have a 36 hour window. The advantage is that you don’t need LH2 cryogenics (still need LOX).

    What’s the Isp on that?

  210. John Morales says

    thunk, engine design is more important that fuel for specific impulse… you should know that!

  211. thunk (Фарингюловская Народная Республика) says

    John:

    Yes, but you can’t leave the material properties of grog completely hidden!

  212. John Morales says

    thunk, properties?

    Pours a tot of week-old grog.

    Look: <takes a nip, tries to put the tumbler down and fumbles it, shudders>

    <hic>

    whawassdat yased?

    <sways>

    <drops>

  215. ibelieveindog, the silent beagle says

    Apropos of nothing:

    If I don’t get some shelter, I’m gonna fade away.

    And I can’t get no.

  216. says

    Also à propos of nothing much: if Waits’ Hell Broke Luce were any more awesome, well, dammit…

    Well, look, anyway, this just can’t be right. I may again begin to feel remotely connected to this world if such things continue to appear within it. And that just can’t lead anywhere good, I’d expect.

    (/I hadda good home but I left…)

  217. says

    If I don’t get some shelter, I’m gonna fade away.

    And I can’t get no.

    What ever little respect I might have had for Rolling Stones is abso-ma-fucking-lutely gone now that they’ve sold their most recognizable hits to Dressmann commercials.

    Is that Rolling Stones I hear? Quick, change the channel! I don’t want to see slow motion douchebags.

  218. chigau (違う) says

    Weed Monkey
    It may be that the Stones were not actually able to control the sale of their songs.
    —-
    Dylan’s The Times They Are A’changin’
    THE anthem of the 60s Counter Culture was, for a short time, used in TV commercials for a Bank.

  219. says

    Of course I can’t know who signed the deal.

    But that bullshit has been going on for ages and I hate it.

    *sits down and shakes a flaming stick at Dressmann*

  227. theophontes (坏蛋) says

    Thursday is always such a slow day on Pharyngula. What could be the reason for this? (Or perhaps I am wrong.)

  228. John Morales says

    Fucked if I know, theophontes.

    Here I am, full of piss and bile, and no worthy targets.

    :(

  229. Louis says

    Banjos? There was a metal band in my home town many moons ago that used an electric banjo with full distortion.

    Good band. Good times. They used to throw fruit and veg at the crowd if the crowd weren’t good* enough.

    Louis

    * By which they meant, loud, engaged, drunk, high and moshing. These boys took their metal seriously.

  230. John Morales says

    Weed Monkey, that was GREAT!

    Absolute pervection!

    (Were I one to get excited, I would be so)

     

     

     

     

    Thanks!

  231. birgerjohansson says

    Ron Goulart’s “Hello, Lemuria, Hello” had a suspiciously Elvis-Like “Electroshock-Bluegrass” artist, electric banjos would presumably have been part of the instruments.
    — — — — — — — — — —

    I tried to check this email at Factcheck.org , but did not find any reference to Australia. The letter claims a law restricting gun ownership has caused a drastic rise in crime.

    “armed robberies are up 44 percent” -no waaay, the author must have pulled those figures out of his ass.
    Probably yet another example of gun lobby agitprop, but I need proof.
    “There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly, while the resident is at home”
    -Note that this claim targets the elderly
    and would make then fear gun control!

    Any aussie here that can direct me to *accurate* gun statistics?
    -Is there even any Australian law to reduce the number of firearms?

    Yours Birger Johansson
    — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
    This is the suspicious chain-mail I came across:
    ” *Australian Gun Law Update*
    Here’s a thought to warm some of your hearts….From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 6.2 percent ,Australia-wide, assaults are up 9.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria lone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent.(Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did no tand criminals still possess their guns!) While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.
    There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the elderly, while the resident is at home.
    Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in ‘successfully ridding Australian society of guns….’ You won’t see this on the American evening news or hear your governor or members of the State Assembly disseminating this information. The Australian experience speaks for itself. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. Take note Americans, before it’s too late! Will you be one of the sheep to turn yours in? WHY? You will need it. FORWARD TO EVERYONE ON YOUR EMAIL LIST. [I DID] DON’T BE A MEMBER OF THE SILENT MAJORITY.BE ONE OF THE VOCAL MINORITY WHO WON ‘T STAND FOR NONSENSE “

  235. birgerjohansson says

    NB! Sexual harassment is not confined to women in a subordinate position.
    Study finds link between women in power, sexual harassment http://phys.org/news/2012-08-link-women-power-sexual.html
    — — — — —
    earwig, ImaginesABeach,
    Thank you for your help!

    Earwig, are you fortunate enough to actually get thunderstorms clearing the air? I am stuck with damp heat in an office without AC (of course, here we have few days that actually require an Ac unit).

    I will add Snopes.com to my favourites!

  236. earwig says

    birgerjohansson, you’re welcome. Sorry I misspelled your name last time. Snopes is very useful and often refreshingly feminist. (See, eg, The Killer in the Backseat.)

    And Hoax-Slayer is a good source of news of the latest hoaxes and scams.

    It’s not so hot here (UK) at the moment. I was referring metaphorically to a sudden shift in appearance of the site. It shifted back again in a minute or two but it was disconcerting. It may have been someone tinkering with the ftb template but it was probably just Google Chrome playing up.

  237. birgerjohansson says

    Earwig, it’s OK, everyone misspells it. It is like Massach…Mascatt..Ma… place for burning witches.

    Here is some light reading while waiting for the next troll:

    Fox and dog plays with each other
    http://youtu.be/JCqAXhQqZXE

    Power outage: “Indian Sweatshop Worker Has To Work In The Fucking Dark Now Too” http://www.theonion.com/articles/indian-sweatshop-worker-has-to-work-in-the-fucking,29013/

    STUDENTS DEMAND WARS IN EASIER-TO-FIND COUNTRIES
    http://www.satirewire.com/content1/?p=171

    [snip] …“Can’t we fight in, like, Italy? It’s boot-shaped.”
    Chairman Levin however, explained that Italy was a U.S. ally, and that intervention is usually in response to a specific threat.
    “OK, what about Arulco?” interrupted Tyler Boone, a senior at Bellevue High School in Wisconsin. “That’s a country in Jagged Alliance 2 run by the evil Queen Deidranna. I’m totally familiar with that place. She’s a major threat.”
    “Jagged…?” said Levin.
    “Alliance. It’s a computer game.”
    “Well, no,” Levin answered. “We can’t attack a fictional country.”
    “Yeah right,” Boone mumbled. “Like Grenada was real.”
    .
    “Since the anti-terror war began, most of my students can now point to Afghanistan and Iraq on a map, which is fine, but those same kids still don’t know the capitals of Nevada and Ohio,” said Richard Gerber, who teaches at Dunwoody High School in Atlanta. “I think we need to cut back on our activities overseas and take care of business at home, and if that means invading Talla-hassee (Fla.) or Trenton (N.J.) so that students learn where they are, so be it”

  238. David Marjanović says

    O hai!

    Scienceblogs Pharyngula has comments on the latest posts!

    And I only recognize two of the commenters, Monado (Markita Lynda) and broboxley OT! Among the new ones, there’s an antivaxxer who cites scientific papers (probably quote-mines them) and a few other disagreeable characters.

    Flood them!

  239. birgerjohansson says

    News items:

    “Mythbusters Banned From Discussing RFID By Visa And Mastercard” http://www.disinfo.com/2012/02/mythbusters-banned-from-discussing-rfid-by-visa-and-mastercard/ So much for “free” TV.

    “How affordable is alternative energy? ” http://phys.org/news/2012-08-alternative-energy.html Long-term trend looking good.

    “Breaking the barriers for low-cost energy storage ” http://phys.org/news/2012-08-barriers-low-cost-energy-storage.html Effective & cheap iron-air batteries.

    “Researchers discover gene that permanently stops cancer cell proliferation*” http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-gene-permanently-cancer-cell-proliferation.html *For a subset of cancers, my comment.

  240. Pteryxx says

    lawl – and what’s the first comment on that physorg release about research showing women who get promoted to higher positions face increased harassment?

    In the engineering and sciences world, it’s easy to see if someone is competent. I’ve seen far too many get promoted for nothing more than to meet a quota. When they aren’t competent and still get promoted, it’s not jealousy or anything else; it’s a fact that they didn’t deserve it.

    Thanks birgerjohansson – searching the research now.

  241. Pteryxx says

    Re harassment of promoted women: okay, as far as I can tell, this is the actual citation (abstract only without journal access):

    http://intl-asr.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/07/02/0003122412451728.abstract

    Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power

    Abstract

    Power is at the core of feminist theories of sexual harassment, although it has rarely been measured directly in terms of workplace authority. Popular characterizations portray male supervisors harassing female subordinates, but power-threat theories suggest that women in authority may be more frequent targets. This article analyzes longitudinal survey data and qualitative interviews from the Youth Development Study to test this idea and to delineate why and how supervisory authority, gender nonconformity, and workplace sex ratios affect harassment. [linebreak inserted – Ptxx]

    Relative to nonsupervisors, female supervisors are more likely to report harassing behaviors and to define their experiences as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can serve as an equalizer against women in power, motivated more by control and domination than by sexual desire. Interviews point to social isolation as a mechanism linking harassment to gender nonconformity and women’s authority, particularly in male-dominated work settings.

    Further research by the same team:

    http://wisc.academia.edu/JasonHoule/Papers/1642843/The_Impact_of_Sexual_Harassment_on_Depressive_Symptoms_During_the_Early_Occupational_Career

    In support of Fitzgerald’s model, our findings confirm that sexual harassment is a stressor that is associated with increased depressive symptoms. Our quantitative results show that women and men who experience more frequent sexual harassment at work have significantly higher levels of depressed mood than non-harassed workers, even after controlling for prior harassment and depressive symptoms. Moreover, we find evidence that sexual harassment early in the career has long-term effects on depressive symptoms in adulthood.

    —

    http://carlsonschool.umn.edu/assets/160274.pdf

    Sexual Harassment, Workplace Authority, and the Paradox of Power

    (From what appears to be a draft version of the July 2012 paper, here’s one heck of an interesting footnote:)

    1 Another gendered practice affecting women in management is a phenomenon that Ryan and Haslam call the “glass cliff” (2007). Based on a series of experiments along with historical research on Britain’s 100 biggest firms, they find that people are more willing to give women positions of workplace power when there is a strong chance of failure (e.g., by promoting women only after an organization has been failing for a number of years) (2007; Haslam and Ryan 2008). Ryan and Haslam contend that those who oppose the idea of women in power use this glass cliff to “prove” that women will fail when given workplace authority.

    Also covered: men who don’t perform hegemonic masculinity (their term) well enough – liking arts and culture, interacting with women, or speaking up about sexist behavior – also become targets for sexual harassment in the form of denigrating comments.

    That’s actually important to note, I think; that with all this calling upon men to help combat harassment, sexism, and rape culture by speaking up against other men, they’re ALSO making themselves targets. In the larger discussion we’ve been assuming that the word of men calling out other men will carry more weight than that of women, but that’s going to get complicated if they’re going to lose status and be targeted for the same silencing and denigration that women are. IMHO, I think that means men need specific encouragement and support by seeing other men speak up, and having support systems who’ll have their back when THEY get retaliatory harassment for speaking out. (Meaning; Surly Amy’s doing it right by publishing supportive statements from high-ranking atheist men as a cohort.) Similar to rape culture, men condemning sexual harassment likely won’t have a narrative framework to realize the same dynamic is happening to them.

    —

    and full PDF from 2004: “Sexual Harassment as a Gendered Expression of Power”

    http://www.professorreed.com/Uggen___Blackstone__04.pdf

  242. says

    HI there
    Spent the day at the beach, very nice :)

    LOL I guess it depends on if you really liked the bed?

    The question wasn’t that much about like or not, it’s the bed in our caravan, so it was an urgent question of NEED.
    Fixed it wit a thick wooden board and two car stands.
    Yes, clueless creativity :)

    See you

  247. carlie says

    For fuck’s sake. I feel like I’m tattling, but come on.

    Tweet from DJ Grothe:

    Freethought Blogs, anyone? “@alaindebotton: The best cure for one’s bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person.”

    I mean, really? That’s not fighting, that’s running up behind someone after they’ve already turned and walked ten yards away and thumping them on the head. I was under the impression everyone had just shrugged and written him off as not worth paying attention to, and then he starts sniping.

  248. Paul says

    Freethought Blogs, anyone? “@alaindebotton: The best cure for one’s bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person.”

    So is he calling feminism a bad tendency? Or listening to minorities, the dis-privileged, or the harassed?

  250. says

    Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel excoriates Mitt Romney for misrepresenting his book.

    That is so different from what my book actually says that I have to doubt whether Mr. Romney read it. [emphasis added] My focus was mostly on biological features, like plant and animal species, and among physical characteristics, the ones I mentioned were continents’ sizes and shapes and relative isolation. I said nothing about iron ore, which is so widespread that its distribution has had little effect on the different successes of different peoples. (As I learned this week, Mr. Romney also mischaracterized my book in his memoir, “No Apology: Believe in America.”) […]

    Mitt Romney may become our next president. Will he continue to espouse one-factor explanations for multicausal problems, and fail to understand history and the modern world? If so, he will preside over a declining nation squandering its advantages of location and history.

    Ouch.

    Adam Serwer joked, “Next time, Mitt Romney should cite books by dead authors so they can’t publicly rebuke him for misinterpreting their books.”

  251. says

    More commentary on Mr. Romney’s reading comprehension problem:

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/02/13087779-reading-comprehension-is-a-virtue?

    I’ve never met Mitt Romney personally, but I suspect he’s probably a reasonably bright person. Dummies don’t usually get two post-graduate degrees from Harvard.

    But these assumptions are frequently tested. Take Romney’s reading comprehension skills, for example.

    The good news is, the Republican candidate has a habit of buying books and citing them on the campaign trail. The bad news is, he doesn’t seem to understand what he’s read. This came up a few months ago when Romney seemed badly confused about Noam Scheiber’s The Escape Artists. He then struggled with the point of David Landes’ The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and Daron Acemoglu’s Why Nations Fail.

    As Mr. Romney is fond of citing “culture” as an explanation for behavior, I would like to cite mormon culture as the source for Romney’s habit of referencing books he does not understand, or quoting authors in misleading ways. This habit must be taught to mormon babies in the crib. It is certainly used for indoctrinating teenagers in Seminary classes, and it is a staple of General Authority talks.

    There seems to be no penalty for being way off base in one’s literary references. Mormons get full points just for making the references — they don’t have to be relevant, nor do they have to make sense.

  252. says

    Forgot to include a link in comment #255:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/opinion/mitt-romneys-search-for-simple-answers.html?_r=1

    <blockquote˘MITT ROMNEY’S latest controversial remark, about the role of culture in explaining why some countries are rich and powerful while others are poor and weak, has attracted much comment. I was especially interested in his remark because he misrepresented my views and, in contrasting them with another scholar’s arguments, oversimplified the issue.

    It is not true that my book “Guns, Germs and Steel,” as Mr. Romney described it in a speech in Jerusalem, “basically says the physical characteristics of the land account for the differences in the success of the people that live there. There is iron ore on the land and so forth.”…

  255. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Lynna:

    Not to worry. Borkquote is one of Tpyos’ accolytes.

  256. CT says

    OMG I haven’t used a curse word in at least 3 comments. I think I have a brain tumor. Someone call the undertaker. o.0

  257. carlie says

    OMG, Caine, I usually resist the lure of the ratlets, but the three of them eating peas at the same time? Adorable.

  259. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    THIS is heartbreaking
    [excerpt]

    Another gay employee echoes the sentiment, in a way that is heartbreaking to read. Each and every day, he is exposed to people who feel free to opine on gay people to him, and being gay, he said it is wearing him down:

    “Gabriel Aguiniga, a gay employee at a Chick-fil-A in Colorado, also said the hardest part hasn’t been hearing Cathy’s comments. Instead, ‘[it’s] constantly having people come up to you and say, ‘I support your company, because your company hates the gays,” Aguiniga, 18, wrote in an email. ‘It really takes a toll on me.’”

    Can I go kick god?

  260. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    blockquote fail….
    that should read:

    Another gay employee echoes the sentiment, in a way that is heartbreaking to read. Each and every day, he is exposed to people who feel free to opine on gay people to him, and being gay, he said it is wearing him down:

    “Gabriel Aguiniga, a gay employee at a Chick-fil-A in Colorado, also said the hardest part hasn’t been hearing Cathy’s comments. Instead, ‘[it’s] constantly having people come up to you and say, ‘I support your company, because your company hates the gays,” Aguiniga, 18, wrote in an email. ‘It really takes a toll on me.’”

    Can I go kick god?

  261. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Can I go kick god?

    Sure. Of course, if you find a god, any god, it’ll be the first time in the history of the universe that one has actually been found.

    I wonder if Kick-the-Gay’s sales have gone up or down since the latest national attention?

  262. says

    Hallo, Chigau, Carlie & Nige. Thanks on the ratlets, oh, they are killing us with the cyoot. I now have *three* smashed fingers, all swollen and bruised. I seem to be going for a personal best. This house work is for the birds. Back to it, I guess.

  264. Paul says

    I wonder if Kick-the-Gay’s sales have gone up or down since the latest national attention?

    If I had to guess, I’d guess up. Just a matter of relative population sizes. On the upside, they’ll be given something new to fixate on this Sunday, and I’d expect the sales to go down and stay lower than they were before the whole kerfuffle.

  265. birgerjohansson says

    About a spoof religion; instead of those tasteless crackers we could have some bun or confectinary item shaped like the Baby Jesus.
    And the vessel providing the wine should be shaped like a crucified guy. Or a vampire victim bleeding at the throat from two bite-like points.
    Remember that singing bass some years ago? We could include a sound chip saying “this is by blood…AAAAARGH STOP IT YOU IDIOT! I MEANT IT ALLEGORICALLY!”

    On important holidays there should be balloons for our parade floats depicting important symbols of our beliefs. I haven’t gotten as far as that, maybe your twisted imaginations can fill in some details?

  266. broboxley OT says

    there is a kick the gays store right around the corner where I work. I can see their lot from the floor I work on. They had lines around the block yesterday and today as well. Dunno why as there is a publix right behind them and a publix italian on seeded wheat is the best sammy in the market

  267. carlie says

    I am so excited. Picked up Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for $10 at a discount store yesterday – I’ve been wanting it for awhile (we have his other book as a gift from the ILs) but didn’t want to pay full price. It is fantastic! There’s a huge chapter on sauces and condiments and chutneys and such. I’ve always been puzzled by the salad dressing at the local Japanese restaurant, which I love but couldn’t even begin to deconstruct. It’s in the book, and know what it is? CARROTS. I never would have guessed. Plus I have about 10 recipes I can try out to use up the rest of the miso paste that is sitting forlornly in the back of the fridge.

  268. Alukonis, metal ninja says

    Hey so any people who do teaching/tutoring, a question:

    What do you do when a student asks you a question about something, and it’s a good question, but unfortunately the answer is beyond the scope of the course and they don’t have the background to understand the answer?

    e.g. I had someone in my office hours ask me why transition metals lose their electrons from the s orbital first instead of the d orbitals, and I tried to explain with a simplified molecular orbital diagram but it turns out he had never seen those before? So, oops. But I really hate saying “BECAUSE!” when there IS an answer, and I know the answer, and can explain it… except I can’t because general chemistry students don’t know shit about wavefunctions.

    Just thought I’d see what Fellow Science People thought about it.

  269. carlie says

    Alukonis, depends on how much time and energy you want to put into it. The easiest answer of “you’ll understand why later in advanced classes” isn’t too much of a cop-out, because it serves as incentive for the person to keep on going to get to those advanced classes. :)

    In explaining things in general, I like the analogy of giving directions to a new place. You have to know where they’re starting from in order for the directions to make sense. You can’t start out saying “go north on I-94” if they have no idea where I-94 is from their house. So you back up and ask if they know where the Stuckey’s on Main street is. If they do, you can start from there. If not, you have to backtrack more, until you’re at a place they’re familiar with, and then you can lead them on from there and they should be able to stay with you. And when you do in the kind of situation you’re talking about, it’s ok to kind of shortcut and give them just the vital info: “go 1.5 miles until you get to Foster’s Home, then turn left”, not “go past the Wal-Mart that used to be an IGA, then take the little jog where it veers right and then left again, and then past the ice cream stand with the blue roof, and then at 1.5 miles you’ll see Foster’s Home and you turn left”.

  270. broboxley OT says

    Carlie, I have been accused of explaining how to build a watch when someone just wants to know what time it is.

  271. Alukonis, metal ninja says

    Sometimes they ask really tricky questions though! Like why do electrons have a spin of +/- 1/2? And then I start to draw a diagram and I’m like “wait no this will only confuse you!” And that’s after I was trying to explain the difference between low spin and high spin which was awesome because apparently they don’t know how to determine spin for a complex?

    It’s kind of like general chemistry is “Get on flight 777 from New York to London” and then they’re all “but how do you get there without flying?” and they don’t even have a kayak.

    I generally try to go with analogies but sometimes students have knowledge gaps I really don’t expect, like not knowing electrons have a spin of +/- 1/2, which they ought to know but don’t/forgot.

  272. David Marjanović says

    Will have to gaze upon the ratlets later. Should have gone to bed long ago…

    and we broke our bed

    :-(

    I don’t know that you’re giving the expected reaction, David.

    …Yeah. Now that I reread it… :-]

    Was it fun to break the bed? :-)

    Ha! I just now actually noticed what video was at the top of the thread. It’s bugged me since it came out, because it should be I’m the one who’s cool, not that’s cool.

    Lots of regional differences among Englishes on this point.

  275. Pteryxx says

    eee ratlets, thank you Caine for sharing your surfeit of cute!

    —

    Re tutoring: what Carlie said. Keep backing up until you hit a landmark they DO understand, and explain at that level and build up from there. I don’t like saying “it’s complicated” or “you’ll get to that later” unless the derail is holding up a group or material that we have to cover right then; I’d rather help the student pursue an interesting tangent as far as the two of us can possibly take it, to the Internet and original research if necessary. But if they can’t handle that much, generally they’ll tell you when enough is enough. (Heck, they *asked a question!* already a good sign.)

  276. says

    Hallo, Cicely. I’m about to collapse into bed. Tired and sore. Getting a lot done, though. Things still to be done: 1) finish baby quilt before Darkfetus is grown up, 2) drywall replacement downstairs, 3) clean up downstairs, 4) move a half ton of shit out of downstairs, 5) install shower in downstairs bathroom, 6) help Mister wrestle the massive wood stove downstairs and install it, 7) figure out how to soundproof the ceiling downstairs, 8) get the new roof done, 9) build and install new set of steps or a deck for the back door aaaaaaand a wealth of smaller things.

    I’m not in love with being a homeowner right now.

    Pteryxx, I’ll try for more pics soon. Rubin’s crew is entering popcorn phase and they are just too much for me to handle alone.

    ♥ and hugs for all.

  278. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    You can’t start out saying “go north on I-94″ if they have no idea where I-94 is from their house.

    You also have to be careful about directions too, as they can be “tricky”; meaning non-intuitive. Since I-94 is considered an E-W road (and is over in Michigan, and once it goes west from Milwaukee), but runs N-S through Lake County IL (connects Chicago-Milwaukee before heading west to Madison and the Twin Cities), north on I-94 is actually taking the I-94 west bound entrance ramp. An added confusion we have learned to ignore around here.

  279. ChasCPeterson says

    ex-wife #2 used to make me freakin crazy with her detailed directions. My philosophy is minimum necessary. I don’t find it difficult to figure out what that is. She was forever including shit you pass on your right and left and making a big deal out of the places you DON’T want to turn… oy.

  280. Nutmeg says

    Good: My mom announced tonight that after 30+ years of voting Conservative, she will be voting for someone else in the next election. My dad will probably go along with her.

    Bad: It took massive funding cuts to NSERC (and thus my lab) and the defunding of the Experimental Lakes Area to make her realize that the Conservatives are screwing over the environment and my career because of their stupid ideology.

    Ugly: How many more years are we stuck with Harper? I thought that getting an education and eventually a Ph.D. in biology would give me a decent career. But by the time we can get rid of the Conservatives, I doubt there will be any research funding left.

  281. broboxley OT says

    Caine, buttload of work there. I did bathrooms and kitchen sink this year but need roof, flooring in two bedrooms and the a/c furnace ducting is getting dodgy. I feel your pain. Maybe if I get any broker I can just quit paying the bank and turn the keys in and let them do it.

  282. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Directions:

    When I first moved to Northeast Pennsylvania, I learned not to ask locals for directions. They gave (and still give) directions based on churches, funeral homes (called ‘corpse houses’), bars, and what used to be there. For instance: “Youse guys go down da street a couple two-t’ree miles, go past Saint Mary’s Uke Ort’dox Church, go left at the Kniffen corpse house and go right ‘boudamile ‘fore da place where da Czerceskczi’s useda haf da bar ’til it burned down in forty-four and den turn left where da Erie bridge useda be.”

  283. broboxley OT says

    Nutmeg,
    managed to finally get boss hogg voted out in my state district. Unfortunately the opponent was a tea partier. Great choice, venal corruption or fuck(mumble)s*

    * fuck(mumble) insertion of derogatory description left to the imagination of the reader

  284. Amblebury says

    Ah, just missed Caine. The ratlets with their plate of peas provoked a squee audible only to dogs.

    Now to procrastinate become engrossed in birgerjohansson’s links.

  285. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    And I just discovered that, on one of my old CDs, I have a recording of Pete Seeger playing Jesu, Lord of Man’s Desiring on banjo. The linked one is not the same but it sounds oddly good on banjo.

  287. Alukonis, metal ninja says

    Ogvorbis:

    That is typical of any small town with an insular local community. When people ask me for directions in my home town I have to exert conscious effort not to give unhelpful directions like “It’s across from where the post office used to be” or “Right go down main street and take a right when you get to where X restaurant used to be and then another left when you get to the art gallery. Or at least it used to be an art gallery, not sure if it still is.”

    The other helpful thing is that I only know the names of like, four streets. So I fail at giving people directions based on street names. But you don’t HAVE to know the street names when everyone knows the local landmarks! Just turn at the courthouse and go up a couple blocks to St. Patrick’s church and hang a left! It’s terrible.

  288. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    Alukonis:

    What also makes it tough around here is that the entire Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys are oriented on a 45 degree angle. North-south streets here go southwest to northeast. Which, now that I have a compass in my car, makes things even more confusing.

  289. hotshoe says

    And I just discovered that, on one of my old CDs, I have a recording of Pete Seeger playing Jesu, Lord of Man’s Desiring on banjo. The linked one is not the same but it sounds oddly good on banjo.

    Hmm, I remember hearing that Pete Seeger banjo, but I can’t imagine that anyone in my family ever had a recording of it … wonder if I heard it on Cousin Al’s program on KFAT radio. That could have been twenty five years ago.

    Thanks for the memory!

  290. betelgeux says

    @Ogvorbis (149) and FossilFishy (151)
    Hey, don’t hate on the accordion. Garth Hudson (unsung genius of roots rock) played the accordion. And you don’t mess with someone with a beard as intense as Garth’s. He has the most legendary beard in rock history. PZ’s whiskers quake with terror at the mere mention of Hudson’s beard.

    Quick Question:
    Maybe I missed a previous discussion about this on TET or TZT, but I’ll ask anyway: Does anyone know why PZ decided to free the trolls from the dungeon? And put the Mollies on hiatus? When did this happen?
    Prepare for the troll Zombie Apocalypse: all of the banned creationists, MRAs, and Hogglers will rise once more…

  291. John Morales says

    betelgeux:

    Does anyone know why PZ decided to free the trolls from the dungeon? And put the Mollies on hiatus? When did this happen?

    Yes, yes, and it happened on July 29 Pharyngula time.

  292. Tethys says

    Does anyone know why PZ decided to free the trolls from the dungeon? And put the Mollies on hiatus? When did this happen?

    Endless bickering among the horde, ditto, Sunday in TZT.

    PZ

  293. Tethys says

    Sorry, I have no idea why that posted before i finished writing it.

    PZ needs a break, and wants us to resolve the bickering by ourselves.

    I am surprised that some of the more notorious trolls haven’t put in an appearance.

  295. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I just heard the Misfits on a god damn Sailor Jerry TV fucking commercial.

    What next? Black Flag on Bud Light Lime commercial?

    Jello Biafra hawking Axe Body Spray?

  296. hotshoe says

    It occurs to me that the banjo and the harpsichord are weirdly convergent in tone.
    I bet you’d dig Bela Fleck’s record of banjo’d classical music.

    Bela Fleck’s contributions to that record pale in comparison to the wonderful Edgar Meyer and Joshua Bell (and others). But he got his name on the front – well, I guess you deserve your name on the front when you organize the project, even if you’re not the most interesting participant.

    You can really hear the “harpsichord” in his banjo playing on the Beethoven Adagio “Moonlight” – which was written for piano – so it takes some getting used to, but I think it works.

    Youtube Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Gary Hoffman play Beethoven on Perpetual Motion album.

  297. ibyea says

    @nutmeg
    Stephen Harper is pretty much the George W. Bush of Canada, isn’t he? Do you know when is the next chance for Canadians to throw him out?

  298. Nutmeg says

    ibyea: I just googled it – possibly October 19, 2015.

    Excuse me while I go cry in a corner.

  299. Pteryxx says

    I am surprised that some of the more notorious trolls haven’t put in an appearance.

    theory… many or most of them were trolling specifically to gain that coveted ‘banned by PZ’ award. With no opponent to troll, there’s no point. (After all it wasn’t like they actually cared about discussing issues or anything.)

  300. Sili says

    And I just discovered that, on one of my old CDs, I have a recording of Pete Seeger playing Jesu, Lord of Man’s Desiring on banjo. The linked one is not the same but it sounds oddly good on banjo.

    Interesting to see how well-groomed the audience is.

  301. ibyea says

    @nutmeg
    That long?! Crap, the worst part is, he really has a chance to shift the political spectrum to the right, and thereby causing permanent damage the way Nixon and Ronald Reagan did.

  302. says

    Good luck with the henna, Starstuff! I love mine. I’ve been touching up my roots with this super high octane batch that nukes it deep almost ruby red in just one sitting. I never fail to get a kick out of what an odd and unlikely plant henna is.

  303. Sili says

    Youtube Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Gary Hoffman play Beethoven on Perpetual Motion album.

    Radio3 had a long piece of jazz improvisations on the Goldberg Variations the other night.

  304. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    betelgeux Sorry if it seemed like I was hating on the accordion. In fact I have great respect for anyone who can play any instrument with skill and imagination. Well, except the pan pipes that is, those things are only good for kindling. ;)

    Banjos and harpsichords sound similar for a very good reason: their means of tone production is the same. Both use plucked strings. So do guitars of course, but because of design differences most guitars have a longer sustain and a greater dynamic range making them sound quite different.

  306. Nutmeg says

    Sili: Um, yes? But the Conservatives have a majority government, so we’re stuck with them until the next federal election. If it was a minority government, the Opposition could attempt to have a vote of non-confidence and force an election.

    This is the first majority government we’ve had in Canada since I’ve been of voting age, and I hate it.

  307. ixchel, the jaguar goddess of midwifery and war ॐ says

    Markita Lynda,

    There’s no reason why we can’t vote and tally for a Molly.

    Indeed!

    First order of business, though, is for us to recognize maureenbrian as the Molly winner for June.

    So let it be written?

  308. John Morales says

    ॐ,

    So let it be written?

    And establish a precedent?

    I say no, absent “official” endorsement.

    (Obviously, she is OM-elect, going by the last thread — but unless her name appears on the “official” list when PZ restores it, it won’t have the same weight.

    She deserves better)

  309. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Radio3 had a long piece of jazz improvisations on the Goldberg Variations the other night.

    Oooh, I’d love to hear that. The Goldberg Variations are particular favs.

    Glen Gould’s two versions of them are desert island discs for me. I love what he said when asked why he did it again 30 odd years later: the first had “Too much piano playing” on it. The second version is notable in that he kept a pulse through the whole thing, making it really one long piece rather than a collection of individual pieces. This is an amazing achievement because he wasn’t a one-take kinda performer. He quite live performance because of it’s “Non take-twoedness.” after all. He had no problems with splicing the best bits of various takes to create something that matched the sound he heard in his head. Keeping that pulse, especially when he was subdividing and expanding it to suit each variation’s mood is an astounding feat of musical prowess.

    I once met a recording engineer who had worked with Gould. He told a story about how Gould could rewind the big tapes they use to use by hand listening to his playing backwards and stop on the note that he wanted to correct. This engineer had never seen anyone else who had that ability. /gouldian fanboi rant.

  312. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    This is the first majority government we’ve had in Canada since I’ve been of voting age, and I hate it.

    Having lived through the Brian Mulroney era federally and Ralph Klein’s reign provincially you have my deepest sympathies. Mind you, it’s looking more and more like Australia is going to elect Tony “The Mad Monk” Abbott before I’m eligible to vote here. It seems like there’s no escaping rightwing douchebaggery anymore.

  313. ibyea says

    @FossilFishy
    Yeah, the rightwing douchebags only lost in where, like France? And that’s it. They are winning everywhere else. That is so annoying!

  314. ibyea says

    I am so hoping that the socialist victory in France will bring balance to the force. :)

  315. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    ibeya: I’m not hopeful. It seems like anytime even the slightest of left leaning parties gains control of a government they end up shooting themselves in the foot.

  316. Tethys says

    After all it wasn’t like they actually cared about discussing issues or anything

    I have noticed a few of them making decent comments, and there is Andrew76 over in TZT participating in ongoing discussion.

    It is a bit gratifying when they decide they like it here and try to fit in.

    Even Slanted Science has kept his trolling to minor piddly annoyance level.

  317. ixchel, the jaguar goddess of midwifery and war ॐ says

    John, she does deserve better, and presumably she will have better.

    But in the meantime, the People’s Republic of Pharyngula can mark our own ceremonies.

    Keep calm and carry on.

    Your viewpoint is not without merit, but I hope it won’t prevail. Let’s see what others think.

  320. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Thanks for the Jason Webley link John, never heard of him but you’ve peeked my interest. To the google machine!

    In return: Gorgo Bordello the accordion doesn’t feature much on that song but I like that performance a lot so there you go.

  323. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Bah, you’d think I’d actually look at what I typed when checking a link for function, but noooooo… that’d be Gogol Bordello for those who’re keeping score.

  325. ixchel, the jaguar goddess of midwifery and war ॐ says

    And why do you hold this hope?

    Because I ♥ the Molly awards.

    More than the Olympics.

  327. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    ibeya: I’m with you, but may I present a counter argument? In the eighties I knew, not believed, not felt, KNEW that I was going to be incinerated in a nuclear holocaust long before I am the age I am now. Sometimes the world surprises us in a pleasant way. Mind you, the loss of that bleak conviction also upset me. Oh yes, my pessimism runs deep it does. I even wrote an angsty song about it, the premise of which was that if I had to die, and I of course do, it would be comforting to me that everyone else die at the same time. Narcissistic little git I was, yes indeedy. The chorus went: “I thought they’d kill us all with a piece of the sun/ Now I know it’ll happen one by one/ I miss the end of the world.” But I’m *much* better now. ;)

  329. betelgeux says

    I have to say, I’m pretty nervous about this idea of an unregulated, libertarian, Ayn Rand-type comments section. I’ve only been commenting here at Pharyngula for the past couple of months, but I’ve been lurking and reading for years, and over that time I’ve noticed…I don’t know how to put it..decay. Especially during the last couple of months, when threads frequently erupt into 1,000 comment monsters, slimepitters and Thunderf00t fanatics rage in the comments, and it gets very hard to keep up with it all while retaining your sanity. Does anyone else get this feeling? That Pharyngula isn’t what it used to be?

    __________
    Just out of curiosity–is anyone else here a fan of The Band? I discovered them a couple months ago and they’re already one of my favorites. “King Harvest Has Surely Come” is my new favorite song.

  331. ibyea says

    @betelgeux
    Yeah, there is a reason so many commenters left for the facebook branch. No one wants to deal with these stupid trolls. Thankfully, so far, the post dungeon release troll invasion has been very tame. And some of the former trolls that have reappeared aren’t trolling as hard as they used to.

    But yeah, ever since the elevator creepy dude incident, things like these have been ever increasingly common. These MRA jerks are way too obsessed with this.

  332. Tethys says

    betelgeux

    I’ve noticed…I don’t know how to put it..decay

    I have only been reading for 2 years or so. I think some of it is due to battle fatigue from the year long misogyny siege. It is hard to be witty and light-hearted when we are constantly having to clean the rug from the latest troll.

    There also seems to be a marked decline in the quality of the trolls.

  333. John Morales says

    betelgeux, there’s a rhythm to these things; think back to the Great Desecration and Expelled and the Rebeccalypse, for example.

    (And all the time Pharyngula grew)

  334. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    betelguex: Change yes, decay no. After all, these social justice issues didn’t start when PZ began to post about them more often. They’ve been around forever.

    I can understand why those who have the education and time to fight the good fight on those threads are tired and discouraged. Would that I could be more than just a cheerleader. But this is necessary work if we are to have a community in which the concept of social justice has any real meaning.

    In the end I find it encouraging. Not that there are so many troglodytian douchecanoes, but that those retro-viral cankers are being exposed for what they are. That ripping off of the bandage to allow light to fall where once there was only unacknowledged festering darkness is a painful and vital first step. I just hope that those doing the heavy lifting don’t harm themselves irreparably in the process.

  335. theophontes (坏蛋) says

    @ David Marjanović

    Was it fun to break the bed? :-)

    *blushes* Actually I have done that.

    @ Caine

    Ratties CUTE!

    @ Ixchel

    Pending PZ approval, they would be NOM-OM’s?

  336. says

    Can’t sleep, I’m going to give up trying for now.

    Theophontes:

    Ratties CUTE!

    Thanks! And thank you for the condolences on Esme. How did the drywall work go?

  337. Amblebury says

    So let it be written?

    Make it so, number ॐ

    John, your point is valid. I don’t see, particularly given maureenbrian’s long-and-distinguished-history, why both can’t be done.

  338. says

    An observation from an ‘intermittent’ commentor rather than a ‘regular’:

    I’ve been wondering about ways in which some of the regulars could, if they wished, lighten some of PZ’s comment-monitoring load, especially regarding the Endless and Zombie threads.

    Why not set up your own group blog on wordpress.com, called it Lounge vs Zombies (or ideally something much wittier), and publish regular TETs and TZTs (or something functionally equivalent) of your own?

    Invite derailers here to take it to a zombie thread there, and then just keep on repeating the request instead of engaging with off-topic BS? If the Lounge is also there for the lighthearted chat, then you’ll have a core commentariat to play in the zombie threads when needed.

    If the experiment works (give it a few months), then you could pitch it to Ed Brayton as a candidate for inclusion here at FTB.

    I’m fully prepared for everybody else with a stake here quite possibly loathing this idea. Shoot it down.

  339. Dhorvath, OM says

    Betelgeux, Everything changes. Pharyngula doesn’t get a pass on that either. The question for me at least, is how to work with that change for the better.

  341. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    [x-posted from The Uncredible HallQ]
    Your daily dose of dumb!

    plutosdad:

    I think we should even respect mass murderers. In fact it’s almost easier to argue that we should respect them than people who are just cruel and dishonest, simply because the murderers are likely psychopaths whose brains simply don’t work “normally” (for lack of a better term). With no empathy, and no impulse control, among other things. This is best exemplified in the case of acquired sociopathy, which means someone whose personality changes after brain damage. Would we call that person evil, or would we feel sorry for them even as we sequester them from society because they are dangerous?
    ME:
    Respect mass murderers?
    I cannot remotely agree with you.
    For instance, I can’t respect
    Anders Behring Breivik

    I respect the hard work and accomplishments of my mother and father. I respect those that fight for social justice. I respect those that are intellectually honest and strive for truth based on reason, logic and science.

    I do *not* respect mass murderers.

  342. opposablethumbs says

    “I miss the end of the world.”

    Sounds like quite a number (if somewhat, ahem, youthful).

  343. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Oh, indeed OT, rather bleak to say the least and most definitely, er, pre-mature as it were. :) Mind you, in that time and place, and given the subculture of which I was a part of it might have found a receptive audience if I had managed to convinced the band to do it.

  345. 'Tis Himself says

    I’m back! Did you miss me? Did you notice I was gone? Do you even know who I am?

    Anyway, revitalized by a week away from the trials and tribulations of Pharyngula, I now feel ready to comment here again.

  346. Pteryxx says

    also, this’ll go over well here *links and flees*

    Some people don’t watch NASCAR for the crashes

    New research suggests that people still watch NASCAR for the brutal crashes, but that number is declining. University of Iowa economist John Solow and his colleagues studied the TV ratings of more than 100 NASCAR races over 8 years, including such metrics as the driver standings, track length, and even whether there was a football game on at the same time. Interestingly, NASCAR’s 2004 adoption of the Sprint Cup championship race series seemed to increase viewers’ interest in the actual races and point standings. Solow published his study in the journal Sports Economics, Management, and Policy. His paper has the excellent title of “The demand for aggressive behavior in American stock car racing.” And that issue of the journal has the also-excellent title of “Violence and Aggression in Sporting Contests.”

    http://boingboing.net/2012/08/02/some-people-dont-watch-nasca.html

    News release about the research:

    http://tippie.uiowa.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=2903

    SCIENCE

  348. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    I’m back! Did you miss me? Did you notice I was gone? Do you even know who I am?

    Sweet! Yes. Yes. One of Pharyngula’s finest.

  350. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Pteryxx:
    I find it odd they chose to use the relatively obscure Thor villain, Malekith for Eccleston to play. I’d have preferred Hela, perhaps as a vehicle to explore what death means for both mortals and immortals.
    I’m onboard though. The first movie was quite a bit better than I’d anticipated (and worked around Thor being ‘a’ god surprisingly well; I was worried American audiences wouldn’t go see the movie because of that).
    I hope they keep the family drama. It works well in the comics to ground such an otherworldly character and make him relatable (and I just discovered my dictionary doesn’t recognize relatable; it seems the word is a recent colloquialism).

  351. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Err, I didn’t mean for Eccleston to *play* Hela. Just that I’d have chosen a different villain altogether.

  352. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Newsflash!
    The Catholic Church doesn’t place a high priority on helping the poor:

    To its critics in the church, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru is not deserving of its name. It has spurned the pontiff, they say. It is far from Roman Catholic orthodoxy, they argue. In their minds, the school ought to be called something else entirely.
    […]
    The school, closely associated with the teaching of liberation theology, a movement that emphasizes Christianity’s connection to the poor, has refused to change its name or to enact other changes that would give the church more control over its operations.
    […]
    “They are not currently adhering to Catholic values at that university,” Father Gaspar said. “They have shown rebelliousness to the ecclesiastical authorities, disobedience. This has caused a scandal among faithful Catholics.”

    Trying to help liberate people from unjust social, political or economic conditions doesn’t reflect Catholic values? Father Gaspar should have just said “We don’t care about poor people.”

  354. David Marjanović says

    Ugly: How many more years are we stuck with Harper? I thought that getting an education and eventually a Ph.D. in biology would give me a decent career. But by the time we can get rid of the Conservatives, I doubt there will be any research funding left.

    …That Canada is stuck with Harper doesn’t necessarily mean that you personally are stuck with Harper. Just saying.

    The other helpful thing is that I only know the names of like, four streets. So I fail at giving people directions based on street names. But you don’t HAVE to know the street names when everyone knows the local landmarks!

    In Austria and Germany, street names are prominently displayed at all occasions, so you’re aware of them as you pass by.

    In France, not so much.

    In England I got lost. Almost no signs, and they’re below knee level. WTF. Yes, my knee, not just that of Argentinosaurus.

    China? Unlike in Japan, all streets have names, but they’re usually not shown anywhere except on the map. It was not fun to uselessly drag my suitcase through a hutong (quarter with small houses and tiny unlabeled streets between them, where you can hardly ride a bike) very close to and yet so far from the youth hostel I had booked. It may have taken me an hour or two to find it.

    I am surprised that some of the more notorious trolls haven’t put in an appearance.

    Most of them simply don’t know about their release, I bet.

    Yeah, the rightwing douchebags only lost in where, like France? And that’s it. They are winning everywhere else. That is so annoying!

    Merkel is toast as far as I can see; the German conservatives keep losing regional elections, and their coalition partner (the liberals – think libertarians-lite) keep getting trounced in regional elections.

    Austria, BTW, is back to stable lethargy in its natural state, which is that the Social Democrats lead a coalition with the conservatives.

    Because I ♥ the Molly awards.

    More than the Olympics.

    Seconded :-)

    I miss the end of the world.” But I’m *much* better now. ;)

    It’s the end of the world as you know it, and you feel fine? :-)

    I’ve only been commenting here at Pharyngula for the past couple of months, but I’ve been lurking and reading for years, and over that time I’ve noticed…I don’t know how to put it..decay. Especially during the last couple of months, when threads frequently erupt into 1,000 comment monsters, slimepitters and Thunderf00t fanatics rage in the comments, and it gets very hard to keep up with it all while retaining your sanity. Does anyone else get this feeling? That Pharyngula isn’t what it used to be?

    You weren’t here for the Rebeccapocalypse or Crackergate or Expelled!. The Rebeccapocalypse caused, like, 13,000 comments in total and created the slimepit. Crackergate, 2 years earlier or so, had its thread erupt into a 2,500-comment monster; that was the first thread PZ closed to open a new one… which promptly reached an impressive length as well. PZ’s laughter about his expulsion from a creationist movie that had interviewed him under false pretenses and then quote-mined the interview caused a lot of comments, too, but that was so long ago that we found out (via a poll, the first one to be pharyngulated) that there were only about 900 creationists on teh whole wide intarwebz… I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

    And you weren’t here when this very Thread itself originated! The first few dozen episodes consisted of all of us arguing with two creationists, and each subthread was over 1,000 comments long, sometimes over 1,300. And there was no pagination on ScienceBlogs as it was back then.

    Aim for Klingon sanity. They have a proverb: “Four thousand throats can be cut in one night by a running man.”

    If the experiment works (give it a few months), then you could pitch it to Ed Brayton as a candidate for inclusion here at FTB.

    …This actually sounds great.

    *blushes* Actually I have done that.

    =8-)

    Apropos of nothing, why don’t more nerds use Ω in place of OMG?

    Because they’re not as creative as you?

    Your daily dose of dumb!

    Talking past each other because they don’t mean the same thing by “respect”?

    also, this’ll go over well here *links and flees*

    World becoming less violent.

  355. David Marjanović says

    Oops. HTML fail on my part. FIFM:

    =8-)

    Newsflash!
    The Catholic Church doesn’t place a high priority on helping the poor:

    Liberation theology comes from the 60s or so. It uses “Marxist analysis of society”, whatever that exactly is, and has therefore always been disliked by Rome on suspicion of sympathy for communism.

    Instead, the Catholic Church has sided with the military dictatures through the Second Vatican Council, through the fall of the Soviet Union, and to some extent even now. Strategically, that was a catastrophically wrong decision for them – witness the sudden outbreak of godlessness in Spain, where the Church still sides with the conservatives that trace their heritage back to Franco.

  356. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Do any of the Pharyngu-males masturbate:

    The days when the sex industry believed only women were in desperate need of self-pleasuring aids appear to be long gone.
    Nowadays, when one walks into a sex shop, aisles offering male masturbation tools are just as bountiful as those catering to women.

    At least in Japan.

    Those are some interesting toys…

  357. opposablethumbs says

    Hey, ‘Tis! Good to see you.

    David M., I do so hope you are right – the catlicks are still so massively influential in Spain it’s nauseating (OK, not like before maybe but still).

    I often wonder, in my socio-cultural-historical ignorance, why the liberation theology movement in Latin America didn’t eventually dump Rome altogether.

  358. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    I will be non-computermentis for about two weeks. I’m on my way to a forest fire in Montana. No idea which fire I’ll be heading for yet, but I plan to fly out today. Should be back by the 20th or so (give or take (approximately)).

  359. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Take care Ogvorbis. And as one who’s home and family were threatened by the “Black Saturday” wildfires here in Victoria Aus. let me say (possibly not for the first time) a proxy “thank you” for doing such a vital and dangerous job.

    David M. Heh. The only similarities between me and Michael Stipe are our balding pates and inability to sing in key consistently.

  360. Ogvorbis: The only post-Permian seymouriamorph says

    a proxy “thank you” for doing such a vital and dangerous job.

    Thanks. But I really do not do anything all that dangerous except staying awake for 16 hour shifts and driving while tired. I do security — roadblocks, camp security, helibase protection. Long hours but low intensity.

  364. birgerjohansson says

    Tony:
    “Trying to help liberate people from unjust social, political or economic conditions doesn’t reflect Catholic values? Father Gaspar should have just said “We don’t care about poor people.”

    -Pope John Paul II went out of his way to crush liberation theology, and the bruiser entrusted with this task was a certain cardinal Ratzinger….

    John Paul and his successor Maledict saw liberation theology as a threat to the central authority of the Vatican. They successfully crushed this threat, thus eliminating the chance of the RCC to adapt to the new century. RCC will probably remain powerful in third world countries for a century, but in the traditional core nations -Italy, Spain- its influence is waning.

    PS Gaspar* is a curiously adequate name for a boss in a dying organisation.
    (* a form of Casper)
    — — — — — —
    “I do *not* respect mass murderers”
    .
    I have been wondering about our cult of various soldiers, like fighter aces, snipers et cetera.
    Sure, Richthofen was a skilled pilot but do we need this kind of idols? These skill sets are necessary in a war of defence, but certain skills should not be the focus of public adoration.

  366. carlie says

    Oggie – keeping other people from getting hurt sounds pretty important, and also dangerous. Go with lots of love from us.

  367. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Sorry I missed your comment Alethea. Hmmm, I’m pretty sure I saw something in the study book for my citizenship test about death being no excuse for violating the compulsory voting rules….

    But in all seriousness I’m very sorry for your loss. I hope you had the time and means to say and hear everything that needed to be said and heard, and that her death was as easy as it could be.

  368. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Here’s hoping this becomes common in the United States one day:

    New data released on Thursday by the Registrar General shows that religious marriages are continuing to see a long term decline in Scotland – while civil and humanist ones are on the rise, and in our case rising sharply. In fact, in 1971, only 1 Scottish wedding in 3 was non-religious. Today, it’s just over 1 in 2. And half of those didn’t take place in civil registrars’ offices at all, but in a place of the couple’s choosing.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/03/scotland-humanist-marriage

    ****

    Oh Happy Happy Joy Joy!

    Lily Allen is to release her third album under a new name. The 27-year-old singer has announced that she is taking on her husband’s surname, recording her next record as Lily Rose Cooper.http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/aug/03/lily-allen-new-album-cooper

    Me likey!
    When M was alive, he and I used to travel quite a bit. He would frequently play CD’s of artists I didn’t care for. Lily Allen was one such artist. I can’t explain why I didn’t like her. I just know that I didn’t. The last trip he and I took before his passing in ’10 was down to Orlando, FL for my birthday in ’09. We drove down there (roughly a 6 hour drive) and needed to be there at 630 so we could go see The Fray in concert (I love the band). We left with *plenty* of time to get down there and drop our stuff at my parents’ house before heading to the concert venue. Shortly after merging onto the turnpike to Orlando, we found ourselves stuck in a horrible traffic jam. For 2 hours, we crawled along at 5 mph. It was miserable. At some point he put in one of Lily Allen’s CD’s and I didn’t pay attention to it until ‘Fuck You’ started. Something about that song grabbed me. In a short time I was singing along and actually stopped him from changing CD’s once the song was over because I wanted to hear more. I don’t know what changed, but I went from not liking her to *really* liking her (he tried the same thing with Lucinda Williams, but that never worked). Needless to say, when we got back to Pensacola, I bought both her CDs and was bummed to learn that she was retiring from singing.
    I’m very happy she’s going to create a new album!

    ****
    Another woo bites the dust (not really, but baby steps)

    Faced with an MHRA crackdown on unlicensed medicines, one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of homeopathic remedies has indicated it would be prepared to relabel its products ‘confectionery’ to circumvent regulation

  371. carlie says

    New data released on Thursday by the Registrar General shows that religious marriages are continuing to see a long term decline in Scotland – while civil and humanist ones are on the rise, and in our case rising sharply.

    And it may even be more than that. The ULC, internet and mail-order home to most layperson ordinations for secular marriages, says that you need to check “religious” for the ceremony type on marriage licenses because they’re technically considered a religious organization.

  372. Nutmeg says

    David M:

    …That Canada is stuck with Harper doesn’t necessarily mean that you personally are stuck with Harper. Just saying.

    Yeah. Before this shitstorm of “defund ALL the biology and environment programs!”, I would never have considered leaving Canada for my Ph.D. Now, if I could find another English-speaking country with socialized medicine and interesting research, I might consider it.

    Remember when politicians were actually concerned about brain drain? That was nice.

    Ogvorbis, good luck at the fire!

  373. says

    Be safe, Og!

    So this is still the thread, is it?

    I’m gonna make some more coffee and read back. Hellos all around. Today I am hoping the head noise does not take me completely offline like it did yesterday. Surviving fundie abuse sucks.

    But hey, I’m going to have a happy day! Maybe install Mountain Lion. I mean, why not bork my system for fun? Or maybe Apple actually figured out a way to do an OS upgrade that does not eventually make you tear your hair out and wipe the HD and start all over with a clean install?

    Yeah I’m not holding my breath.

  376. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    These things, as I’m sure you’re well aware of Ogvorbis, are a team effort. Without folks doing the back line jobs there wouldn’t be any front line. And let me say this about it: I’m not completely rational about this topic.

    By the time we knew what was going on all of our neighbours who were fleeing had already left. We did not own a car at that time and my daughter was just 2 years old. Yo do not stay to defend when you have a 2 year old, We were a couple of hundred meters from the local pub, which has a basement. The plan was to flee there should the worst occur. It’s not a particularly defendable structure but there would be a lot of hands to do so. We packed go bags with water, torches and wool blankets. I briefly considered bringing a guitar but then the sun went down and the sky lit up almost horizon to horizon and suddenly I didn’t care. Everything could burn, fucking everything, pictures, music gear, passports, the works so long as my family got out okay.

    It was longest fucking night of my life. Listen to the radio until the mentioned our fire, into the loo to look at the local map we’d placed there and then outside to see for myself. Over and over and over again. At 2am they told us to prepare for ember attack. The wind was so strong that it was spotting 10km ahead of the fire front IIRC. I gathered our go bags by the front door and hosed down the decks one last time. At 2:15 or so the wind shifted.

    I don’t kid myself that anything but luck saved us, but there are people that I know personally who’s homes and lives were saved by the actions of fire crews. And those crews were capable of doing that job because of people like you doing your job. So I say it again: thank you. Thank you on behalf of everyone who you’ll never see, who’ll never have the chance to say thank you for themselves.

  377. StevoR says

    @142. nigelTheBold, Venomous Demonic Hater – 1 August 2012 at 8:28 am :

    Rev. BigDumbChimp: Hell there’s some fantastic music with banjo. One of my favorites.(Warning: link to an Eagles tune.Journey of the Sorcerer)

    Cheers for that. Magnificently pyschedelic.

  379. David Marjanović says

    I often wonder, in my socio-cultural-historical ignorance, why the liberation theology movement in Latin America didn’t eventually dump Rome altogether.

    1) Same reason why not more Catholics all over the world dump Rome: because they don’t think the faith is wrong just because the organization is.

    2) Would have played right into the hands of the right-wingers in church and dictatorships who were saying Liberation Theology was a heresy all along.

    David M. Heh. The only similarities between me and Michael Stipe are our balding pates and inability to sing in key consistently.

    ~:-| Who is Michael Stipe?

    John Paul and his successor Maledict saw liberation theology as a threat to the central authority of the Vatican. They successfully crushed this threat, thus eliminating the chance of the RCC to adapt to the new century.

    Bingo.

    take care[,] Ogvorbis; go with hugs.

    Seconded.

    (…Sorry. I can’t second it without the comma.)

    Faced with an MHRA crackdown on unlicensed medicines, one of Britain’s leading manufacturers of homeopathic remedies has indicated it would be prepared to relabel its products ‘confectionery’ to circumvent regulation.

    Ha! Awesome!

  380. David Marjanović says

    For purposes of science, plenty of countries speak English. Several of the PhD students here at the museum seem to have come here first and started learning German then.

  381. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    And on a slightly lighter note….The next day, or possibly the day after that, with my wife and child were safely tucked away at the in-laws, I was riding home when the big Sikorsky firefighting helicopter flew just a hundred meters or so overhead. It had just sucked some poor farmer’s dam dry and was clawing for altitude with a full load. Thump, thump, thump, the sound of the rotors was more felt than heard. I jumped up and down pumping my fist and screaming “Go you big beautiful bastard, GO!”, not the best look for a slightly overweigh, balding forty-something….

  382. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Michael Stipe is REM’s singer, who, I’m given to understand, feels fine. :)

  383. hotshoe says

    I was riding home when the big Sikorsky firefighting helicopter flew just a hundred meters or so overhead. It had just sucked some poor farmer’s dam dry and was clawing for altitude with a full load. Thump, thump, thump, the sound of the rotors was more felt than heard. I jumped up and down pumping my fist and screaming “Go you big beautiful bastard, GO!”

    Ooh, yeah, firefighting helicopters are just about the best invention; we humans can be proud.

    I’ve seen them in action. I haven’t been close enough to be impelled to yell “Go baby go” but I can sure understand the feeling.

  384. says

    Take care, Ogvorbis. Yell across the border to Lynna in Idaho.

    At first I thought the rooster from the farm down the road had gotten loose again and decided to greet first light from the confines of my back yard. But, no. It was Ogvorbis, who is, apparently, an early riser, and one whose Lynna hallooos are loud enough to carry across state lines.

    I answered, “Shut the fuck up!” Okay, that was rude. But jesus. I like morning, but allow time for two cups of coffee before conversation.

    In other news, there’s a new documentary out that chronicles the ruination of one section of Scotland by Donald Trump.

    …Director Anthony Baxter’s horrifying, frequently outrage-inspiring “You’ve Been Trumped” chronicles the true saga of what happened when Donald Trump … decided to build a golf resort in a territory so environmentally unique it’s been called the Amazon rainforest of Scotland. … As Baxter demonstrates with agonizing, unflinching clarity, the result was a community and a land that were literally rolled over in the name corporate greed …

    The series of unfortunate events that befalls the community when an irascible mogul comes to town can only be described as flat-out surreal….There’s the way he repeatedly and sneeringly refers to the put-upon Balmedie locals — in particular Michael Forbes, the feisty farmer who resolutely refused to sell him his property, as “disgusting pigs.” There’s the litany of nightmares the community endures as Trump and company plow their way through their world – having their water and their power cut off, having their property damaged and, for the kicker, then getting billed for the wreckage. There are the petty disputes over clearly defined property lines. There’s the heartbreaking footage of the area’s beautiful dunes, gone forever overnight…

    Show me an old lady who doesn’t have any water in her house because somebody built a road over her spring and I’ll say that if you think there are two sides to every story, you’re mental.

    What makes “You’ve Been Trumped” so powerful is how sickeningly familiar it is. Watching it, you’ll likely find yourself wondering, astonished, “How could these guys get away with this?” — followed quickly by the memory of everything that’s happened in the global economy for the past several years. As one of Baxter’s boggled subjects says at one point, when it comes to land, “You don’t nakedly grab it.” Well, you don’t unless you can, right? And that’s the heart of the story right there – what happens when the grabbing gets naked. It’s an elegiac love letter to a very special part of the world, an inspiring portrait of a community’s fortitude, and a searing indictment of capitalism run riot….

    http://www.salon.com/2012/08/03/donald_trump_destroys_scotland/

  386. cicely says

    I’m back! Did you miss me?

    But of course!

    Did you notice I was gone?

    But of course!

    Do you even know who I am?

    But of course…for specifically Interwebby values of “know”.
    :D
    –
    Ogvorbis: Have a good fire, insofar as that is possible. Take care, and come back safe. *hug*
    –

  390. Pteryxx says

    well Fincke has philosopher’d down with a list of objections to his no-insult policy, which he plans to address, at leeeeeeeength, in the near future. Why does this setup seem like step 1 in the philosohoggler playbook…

    http://freethoughtblogs.com/camelswithhammers/2012/08/03/summarizing-objections-to-my-stance-against-epithets-incivility-and-quickly-personalized-arguments/comment-page-1

    Apparently I’m now in automoderation there (thanks, open-minded even-handed philosopher dude!) so… in case it never does appear, and because I’m pissed, here’s my comment.

    Pteryxx says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation.
    August 3, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    To answer those objections, you’d better get the objections themselves right first. For instance, problems with 7 and 8:

    Objection 7: Politeness is not respect but dishonesty. My entire call for civility is an abdication of the concern for truth that elevates concern for feelings far too high.

    No, politeness CAN SOMETIMES be dishonesty. Even folks with tempers generally don’t randomly insult each other for no reason. I think your call for civility gives undue weight to feelings over truth, not that that’s your ENTIRE reason for doing so; and I’d bet most objectors will concur.

    Objection 8: Some people simply do not deserve respect. The consequences of their actions are too dangerous. They genuinely are too evil or too stupid to be treated otherwise as a courtesy.

    Some people can’t be trusted BECAUSE the consequences of their actions are too dangerous. That doesn’t necessarily mean the person is evil or stupid at all, or that such a determination is even relevant or necessary in responding to whatever hurtful thing they’ve done. See unconscious sexism, etc.

  391. says

    Aaiieee! He’s going to dissect the counterarguments in 8 posts? All I can say already is…tl;dr.

    It’s OK, though, he’s going to drive away the pithier members of this internet community and get just the commenters he deserves, which is the way this always works out.

  392. says

    Just a word of warning, though: I plan to lay down some rules of my own on Monday.

    They will not be Daniel Fincke’s rules.

  393. CT says

    Pteryxx:

    3 August 2012 at 11:53 am
    Apparently I’m now in automoderation there (thanks, open-minded even-handed philosopher dude!) so… in case it never does appear, and because I’m pissed, here’s my comment.

    WTF. I have never seen you post anything objectionable. He has you on moderation because you refuse to agree with him? That just boggles.

  395. StevoR says

    @397.PZ Myers :

    Just a word of warning, though: I plan to lay down some rules of my own on Monday.

    What’s wrong with how it was before – before the dungeon was disbanded, the mollys put on hold and had your recent break?

    I thought we had a fairly stable and working system for most of the time here right?

  397. Pteryxx says

    CT: I’ve posted four comments there, on the “making my comments rules explicit etc” thread, pointing out implicit bias and giving links to research on it; and arguably I snarked at Fincke once. My post with the links never did appear in that thread.

    http://freethoughtblogs.com/camelswithhammers/2012/07/27/making-my-comments-rules-explicit-dont-bully-people-with-insulting-names-and-make-personal-charges-against-others-only-in-egregious-cases/

    Here’s the post that never appeared:

    Corylus:

    Why would someone take the time to “emphasise equality” when they “assume” that such a thing is already in place? How on earth would they know to do so?

    Shorn of the scarequotes, it’s called privilege blindness, often paraphrased with sentiments such as as “I don’t see race” or “women are equal now”. That presumption is virtually always false, because people routinely make unconscious racist, sexist, and other biased assumptions without realizing they’re doing so. By assuming that such assumptions don’t exist as a baseline, they continue espousing broken systems and responses that perpetuate the very bigotry they think isn’t happening. I consider it a form of cognitive illusion.

    Here’s an essay on the color blindness fallacy:

    http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-36-fall-2009/colorblindness-new-racism

    Also see research on the concepts of stereotype threat:

    http://pharyngula.wikia.com/wiki/Feminist_link_roundup#Stereotype_threat

    and implicit bias:

    http://pharyngula.wikia.com/wiki/Feminist_link_roundup#Implicit_bias

    My comments were not automoderated then.

  398. Muse says

    SteveoR – if it were working do you think that perhaps PZ might be the one to know that? And if it weren’t he probably knows that too. His house, his rules.

  400. theophontes (坏蛋) says

    @ StevoR

    I thought we had a fairly stable and working system for most of the time here right?

    For the 600-billionth time: NO!

    (Perhaps STFU & lurk moar?)

  402. says

    “Minnesota for Marriage” has a poll up, asking if marriage should be limited to one man and one woman. I learned about this because it is the sidebar ad as I read this page. “Minnesota for Marriage” is lobbying to get a state constitutional amendment to limit marriage rights in Minnesota. Please show them how having their ad here does not help their cause.

    http://www.minnesotaformarriage.com/landing/poll/?cdtrack_creative=bd05eb6b-0563-470b-9093-a68437f4af76&cdtrack_source=6766ecf9-5d7e-4988-ba24-e120e6fe0873

  403. says

    Addendum to post #406:

    Prior to this latest buy, AFP [Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brother’s PAC] had already spent $17.6 million on ads in the presidential race. The Crossroads groups [Karl Rove] alone plan to spend $300 million on congressional races and the presidential race this cycle.

  404. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Just a word of warning, though: I plan to lay down some rules of my own on Monday.

    They will not be Daniel Fincke’s rules.

    I look forward to people telling you how they should work.

    What’s wrong with how it was before – before the dungeon was disbanded, the mollys put on hold and had your recent break?

    I thought we had a fairly stable and working system for most of the time here right?

    too late.

  405. says

    G’afternoon all. Hallo ‘Tis!

    I can barely move today, so the house stuff can go to hell, I’m just going to sit and quietly sew, while Madman Chester tries to type something on my keyboard (He doesn’t weigh enough yet.)

    Stay safe, Ogvorbis.

  406. ImaginesABeach says

    Tony –

    Trying to help liberate people from unjust social, political or economic conditions doesn’t reflect Catholic values? Father Gaspar should have just said “We don’t care about poor people.

    This is the same problem the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is having here in the US. The bishops are angry because nuns are spending all of there time serving people on the margins and not enough time screaming about people’s sex lives (birth control, abortion and so-called traditional marriage).

    Terry Gross of Fresh Air (NPR) did an interview with the head of the LCWR: http://www.npr.org/2012/07/17/156858223/an-american-nun-responds-to-vatican-condemnation I was pretty impressed with Sister Pat Farrell, who came across as a good person (other than god nonsense). Then there was an interview with a bishop who came across exactly as you would expect http://www.npr.org/2012/07/25/157356092/bishop-explains-vaticans-criticism-of-u-s-nuns?ps=comm&ec=mostpopularnews

  407. theophontes (坏蛋) says

    @ ImaginesABeach

    I was pretty impressed with Sister Pat Farrell, who came across as a good person (other than god nonsense).

    This really is part of our predicament. How do we deal with people like these, or for example “bishop” Desmond Tutu, who display credibly humanistic behaviour? Consider also that the efficacity wrt their humanism is in large part due to their rank within the catholic churtz.

  408. ImaginesABeach says

    michaelbusch –

    NO, NO, NO! I’m a Minnesotan and I absolutely want Minnesotans for Marriage to spend their money on advertising here. I would much rather have their money go to Ed and PZ than to someone who supports their cause and I would much rather have their advertisement viewed by people who know that it is WRONG than by people whose opinions might be enforced or changed by it.

  410. Richard Austin says

    AndrewD:

    @Theophontes

    Judge them by their actions not by their words

    No, not really. We have to consider their words, as words themselves can harm, either directly or through creating a supporting environment for harmful behavior. Instead, I’d say praise the good behaviors and chastise the bad ones.

    It’s perfectly okay to say that someone who holds positions you think are dangerous has done something good or worthwhile, possibly even for the right reasons. That doesn’t mean their positions are less dangerous or that they get a pass on the bad stuff.

  411. says

    Alethea – I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. I can empathize. Take care of you and talk as much as you want. (Not that you need my permission. My brother died in 2004 and a lot of my friends died at the end of the ’80’s/early ’90’s but I still am bad at offering condolences other than saying I truly understand. But I do. I truly understand,)

    Ogvorbis – I love the way you express yourself here. And so I care about you. I’m also quite in awe of you. I think you don’t quite know what to do with compliments but you rock! You make a difference, I’m rooting for your safe and successful return.

  412. AndrewD says

    @Richard Austin

    No, not really. We have to consider their words, as words themselves can harm, either directly or through creating a supporting environment for harmful behavior. Instead, I’d say praise the good behaviors and chastise the bad ones.

    Agreed that is a better formulation

  413. says

    I am so looking forward to rules from Poopyhead.

    In other news, idiots and halfwits are now described as having “intellectual heft” by the New York Times. Give me a break.

    Romney has proven that he can’t read for comprehension (see PZ’s post on Romney’s take on Guns, Germs and Steel, “Jared Diamond spanks Mitt Romney”), and Ted Cruz is a conspiracy theory crackpot. These people cannot be said to be “intellectually and morally serious.”

    With Ted Cruz, Texas’ former solicitor general, on track to win a U.S. Senate seat in three months, the far-right Republican is starting to receive some attention from the national media. The New York Times, for example, has a feature on Cruz this morning, emphasizing his “intellectual heft.”

    The piece quotes a former Cruz professor saying the candidate stood out even among his Ivy League peers as “intellectually and morally serious.”

    It led Isaac Chotiner to note this gem from a Gail Collins column:

    In a blog posting early this year, Cruz vowed that as senator he would fight against “a dangerous United Nations plan” on environmental sustainability that he said was aimed at abolishing “golf courses, grazing pastures and paved roads.” He blamed all this on the Democratic financier-philanthropist George Soros.

    That’s clearly not encouraging, but I’d add that Cruz also authored a proposal in Texas that would allow the state to ignore a federal law it doesn’t like, nullifying the Affordable Care Act by partnering up with another state that felt the same way. This stems from a crackpot legal theory that was resolved by the Civil War….

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/03/13106060-defining-intellectualism-down?

    Related links:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/us/politics/republican-senate-candidate-in-texas-is-known-as-an-intellectual-force.html?_r=1

    http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/?mobile=nc

  414. Owlmirror says

    One comment, because Real Life™ (or Meatspace™, if you prefer) has time-critical stuff that needs to be addressed, for a while.

    – I had a long response to PZ that I composed in my head, but I think I can sum up the short form of it:

    PZ, if comments that are hard to read, for whatever reason (rot13, backwards text, different languages, Blackletter/fraktur UTF-8 characters, etc), annoys and makes you think that $BADGUYS are using Pharyngula comments for $BADSTUFF, please just say that. Does it extend to text explicitly called out as being obscured to hide spoilers or triggers or for other [possibly good] reasons, or is it all on your list of things that annoy, no exceptions or qualifications?

    Complaining that commenters have “zero responsibility” is something that is true but not useful. It doesn’t clarify what I originally asked about; your perspective on the comments you were saying were annoying.

    tigtog tried to explain how you might see it — but you didn’t say, “Yes, tigtog gets it”. Was tigtog right?

    Finally, Bernard Bumner flamed me because he interpreted me as being ungrateful, so I’ll just say:

    Thank you, PZ, for taking the time and effort to create Pharyngula and have (generally) open commenting.

    That having been said. . .

    I’ve been thinking of Æsop’s fable about King Log and King Stork. Except in reverse. And of course, the “log” is not a log. It’s a different archosaur from the stork, but is still nonetheless an archosaur.


    How doth the little crocodile
    Improve his shining tail,
    And pour the waters of the Nile
    On every golden scale!
     
    How cheerfully he seems to grin,
    How neatly spreads his claws,
    And welcomes little fishes in
    With gently smiling jaws!

  415. Nutmeg says

    I made a discovery today: People aren’t robots!

    This probably won’t come as much of a surprise to those of you who actually understand people. But I’m still surprised.

    I’ve had a couple of political discussions in the last few days. And I’m amazed at how well it’s worked to say, “You realize that decision X by political party Y will completely screw over my future, right?” People actually respond to that. Who knew?

    All these years I’ve been going with pure logic and facts. That’s still my preferred mode of operation, but maybe I need to include a little bit of emotion and human connection, too.

  416. says

    Because I generally am in places with crappy wifi and can’t comment immediately (this doesn’t mean Saint Petersburg–my home–has shitty wifi, it doesn’t, but I’m so rarely here in the summer and am usually in remote Russia or camping), I need to comment when I can:

    FossilFishy – Your ode to your “toothless cheerleader” daughter the other day (on her fifth birthday) was so beautiful to me that it still makes me cry. From happiness, of course. I only wish I’d had you as a father.

    It also reminded me of my youngest student, who was also toothless. And five.

    Double heart-tugging.

    Thank you.

  418. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    StarStuff:
    Fingers crossed
    wishing upon a star
    toss a penny into a water fountain

    Good luck.
    May the FSM be with you :)

  419. says

    StarStuff, ages ago, I used to use henna on my hair. (Nestle used to put out henna, it came in a cool tin.) It always worked great, especially with specific herbs depending on your natural colour and heated up. Henna seems to work better when warm. I hope it pleases you!

  420. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    PZ:

    Aaiieee! He’s going to dissect the counterarguments in 8 posts? All I can say already is…tl;dr.

    Why use one post and 2000 words when you can use 8 posts and 16000?
    He really should learn the art of brevity.

  422. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    umm, why did brevity go all bluey with dashes underneath?

  423. Mattir says

    May I just rant that the pronouncements about insults at CWH have reminded me of a wordier, less reality-based Alain de Botton?

    I’m in a minority, I know, but I enjoy me some AdB from time to time. Fincke? Not so often.

    Also, watching Pharyngula implode, even temporarily, while at Boy Scout camp with very limited connectivity has been a bit stressful. I go home tomorrow, SonSpawn gets home tomorrow evening, and DaughterSpawn comes home Tuesday or Wednesday, Being someplace where I don’t risk having to discuss non-theism circumspectly with very nice Mormon boys will be sort of refreshing,

  424. says

    Krasnaya Koshka:

    How are your hands? Hand?

    Sore! My right ring finger is the worst, it’s very swollen and being unforgiving of any use at all. I’m restricting myself to sewing today. It’s interesting, trying to type without using that finger.

  426. says

    This is the henna kit that I’m using.

    I’ve been using synthetic dyes for years now (my hair is naturally blonde, but I’ve been dying it red), but it gets pretty pricy, damages my hair, and it fades really quickly. If all turns out well, I think I’ll stick with henna from now on.

    I think I’m going to keep it on all night. What I’ve heard is that the longer it’s on, the darker/richer the color will be.

  427. Pteryxx says

    heya Caine, some of us are hanging out in the IRC channel #TheEndlessChat, if you’re interested? (Bad timing for realtime typing, I know…) Same place as Pharyngula chat in the sidebar, and mibbit works.

  428. says

    Starstuff, Ancient Sunrise is some pretty good quality henna. What I understand is that henna has a given period of time in which to usefully release dye (longer with cooler and more acidic liquid iirc, because it happens more slowly) before the dye demises. I want a very deep almost burgundy color so I use henna with the highest lawsone content I can find, and I leave it on 6 to 8 hours. Which might be overnight for you. Your henna might demise by the time you wake up but that won’t hurt anything, especially if you’re going for a dark auburn.

    I love that henna doesn’t fade once its color settles. You probably already know to expect freakish fluorescent orange when you first rinse the paste out, but it will start to lose its day-glo quality within maybe 20 minutes and definitely be non-Bozo after a day or so. Also, I find henna to be really economical compared to the kind of non-damaging red dyes I would otherwise consider (goldwell Elumen).

    Did you find that the kit made more paste than you could use? It seems to me like Catherine often really overshoots the mark in advising how much henna powder it takes, but my hair isn’t very thick.

  430. says

    A Moment of Mormon Madness that is delightful in a way. Brigham Young had about 55 children, and one of them liked to dress in drag and even had a sort of theatrical career performing as Madam Pattirini.

    Andrew Sullivan, writing for The Daily Beast noted the strong resemblance between the football player, Steve Young, and Madam Pattirini. Yes, they are related.

    Mormons, keeping the breeding lines pure.

    Mattir, I’m sorry you have had to rein yourself in thanks to an overabundance of mormon boys in your vicinity. Cut loose when you get back.

  431. says

    Ooh, thanks, Starstuff. I could actually use that, given it has no ppd. I had a severe allergic reaction to it not that long ago.

    Pteryxx, it’s not just that typing is problematic, my wireless is for shit today, it’s barely functioning.

  432. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    [x-posted from WWJT]
    Rich:

    And all of the hateful speech on both sides has been enough that I’ve seriously considered not looking at my Facebook page for a while until it dies down.

    I’m trying so very, VERY hard to not rip you a new one right now. Do you have any idea how hard it is being gay? Do you have on inkling what it’s like to deal with the BS we have to deal with every day of our lives? Do you have any idea that one of the biggest defenses of homophobia are the backwards, anti-human “values” found in Christianity?
    That you seem to wear your belief in something completely unproven, something cobbled together by people who didn’t know jack about the universe or humanity over the course of 2000 years, something supportive of hate, slavery, rape, genocide, homophobia, xenophobia, filicide, incest and more (YES, all of that is found in the Bible and all of it is endorsed by YOUR so-called ‘loving’ god), that you seem to wear that as a badge of pride, all the while daring to act as if there are two sides to this completely disgusts me.
    In the interest of trying to be civil and attempt what Dan Fincke seems to think is appropriate in online discourse, I’m trying so hard right now to not use every vulgar word I possibly can, but if you can think of a non gendered/racial/ableist term of offense right now, imagine them all being directed from me to anyone who believes in Christianity right now.
    No I’m not being rational.
    Yes, I am being emotional.
    But I’m sick to DEATH of being treated as a second class citizen because people believe in crap that has ZERO truth to it.

    Reply

  434. says

    Caine @429:

    Of course. Moving heavy things and then getting smooshed; I was amazed you were still doing threadwork.

    I loved your photos of the ratlets. So’s cute! I miss my little Alfred–who became bigger-than-my-cat Alfred –and my sweet Minna and their seven children.

    Thanks for letting me live my rat love through you.

  435. says

    Krasnaya Koshka:

    Thanks for letting me live my rat love through you.

    Thank you. Everyone has been so kind when it comes to sharing the ratlets and various rat adventures. I love ’em, but right now I wish they would eat less! :D

  436. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Caine:
    Have you had any negative reactions from people when they learn that you have rats as pets?
    I’m genuinely curious as every time I look at a pic of your ratlets, I squee in delight and can’t imagine someone *not* liking them.
    Just yesterday, T was driving me to work and I pulled up your latest pics and was so excited I showed them to her. In retrospect, probably not a good idea when someone is driving.

  437. carlie says

    SteveOR – it was working for us, but unbeknownst to us, was working only because it was running PZ into the ground on the backside. That was not fair nor sustainable, so he is reworking it so as not to have so much pressure on himself.

    Finke seems to be taking lessons from Peter Jackson on how to explain a narrative.

    SO TIRED. I just spent over two hours cleaning my workbench. Yeah, I know. It hasn’t been cleaned up in over a year. Yeah, I know. I’m a slob. But now I’m a slob with an open workspace and an organized cabinet. Sort of. Some of the smaller tools still haven’t shown up. They may be in the garage. I’ve been putting this off all summer, and finally got my butt kicked into gear b/c we’ll soon have houseguests who may be using the basement as a guest room. And that was only the top of the bench, not the stuff underneath. Diving back into that now.

  438. says

    @StarStuff — the fluorescent orange thing is actually pretty cool. I was able to stand in front of my mirror in good light and watch it darken the first ten minutes or so. If you want to be able to take pics of that stage be sure to have your camera right there to hand.

    @Caine — all henna is ppd free. As long as you get pure henna and not a synthetic dye calling itself henna, you should be fine. Sounds like what you used to use was a henna-synthetic blend.

  439. Pteryxx says

    Caine: well chat’ll still be there when you can. (…we’re kind of learning how the commands work still.)

  440. says

    Lynna, most of my gay boyfriends are ex-Mormon. In 1996 there seemed (to me) to be a huge influx of Mormon gays into San Francisco. I ended up living with five of them in a four room flat in Noe Valley. So I met a lot more ex-Mormons through them and now nearly all my gay male friends on Facebook are ex-Mormons.

    This is all because I could sing “Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!” Since I, too, was once fleetingly Mormon. (Thanks, Mom, for “fleetingly”!)

    Anyway, I send your updates to them and they always roll over laughing or are enraged. Usually both.

    Come to think of it, it was one of these Mormon missionaries (in the 1980’s) and a friend of a friend who first sent me the link to Pharyngula in 2008!

    But, again, thank you! I love your posts.

  441. says

    Tony:

    Have you had any negative reactions from people when they learn that you have rats as pets?

    In ND? Are you kidding? Yes, we get a lot of negative reactions. Rats aren’t exactly loved around here. Mister was showing a bunch of his co-workers the pics on my blog last week and not one of them had a positive reaction. Later on, he showed his one co-worker who has ferrets and he liked them, but that’s it. Ferrets aren’t much cared for here, either. Farm country and all that. Well, that and a lot of them are idiots.

    Carlie:

    SO TIRED. I just spent over two hours cleaning my workbench. Yeah, I know. It hasn’t been cleaned up in over a year.

    Oh, my sympathies, Carlie. I know exactly what you’re going through. It’s all such an effing chore.

  442. says

    Lynna, most of my gay boyfriends are ex-Mormon.

    See. Mormons do some things very well. Their progeny make the best gay boyfriends … once the morgbotishness wears off.

  443. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I just unknowingly ate some fuzzy goat cheese.

    Let’s see how this pans out.

  444. carlie says

    Rev – goats are supposed to be fuzzy. You should be fine.

    Caine – thanks for the sympathies. At least I have functioning hands, though – take it easy and ice a lot!

  445. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Oh boy. This guy is just *asking* for it. I know JT has pissed off several of the regulars here to the point that some have been banned (maybe I’m misremembering) but go grab some popocorn and/or join in. I’m about to tear him 5 new assholes.

    http://freethoughtblogs.com/wwjtd/2012/08/03/what-chick-fil-a-apprecation-day-meant/
    I think understanding that sin and the person committing the sin are not one in the same is the key to the controversy. It is not about hating a person, but making them aware that their actions are wrong, which is the first step to freedom from their bondage. If you deceive people into thinking that is the way they are and cannot change, you have created a hopeless situation. It is not like the civil rights movement. It is a choice to act (unlike race) and it is a choice to make it known to other people (unlike color).

  447. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Paul:
    Thank you for the correction.
    I was/am pissed off and didn’t preview correctly.

  448. Paul says

    Tony:

    No problem, I’ve just been around here long enough to see vague citation lead to some very unwarranted criticism of certain people before enough people clicking through noticed that they were proceeding off incorrect premises.

    Crossposting from that thread:

    I’m not touching most of [above referenced comment] because it seems like a waste of time (Tony seems more motivated, anyway, and I wouldn’t want to steal thunder), but I think he said something that’s worth some thought (if not on the subject he is using it on):

    If you deceive people into thinking that is the way they are and cannot change, you have created a hopeless situation.

    I wonder if we don’t do the same thing sometimes by coming on too strong against people digging in with strong religious foundations. By focusing on the overall moral bankruptcy of the Bible as a whole, we’re excluding any middle ground and result in them doubling down on what they believe and/or simply becoming self-loathing for their own failures in applying God’s standards (the “I don’t dislike gay people personally, but God says I can’t condone that sort of behavior so I’m supporting [x|y|z] anti-gay measure” type). I know I tended towards the latter, but I got over it eventually.

    Just an idle thought sparked by that comment. Take it or leave it. I’m not tone trolling or introducing any “should”s, just sharing something that came to mind and that I’m going to mull over myself. I’m also definitely not saying that everyone does that, or that people don’t sometimes treat the religious with kid gloves even when they’re being terribly offensive.

  449. Paul says

    Oh, and I’m also not meaning to discount the “multitude of approaches” idea that’s always been a basis of the Pharyngula commentariat. Although I do think we sometimes underestimate how hard it is to try and respond when you’re getting poked at by a dozen different people, and how overwhelmed people (seem to) have trouble engaging openly and honestly. Actually, with all the disclaimers I’m putting on that post, it might have been a mistake to write it. But it was an interesting thought to me, and I thought it might hit a chord with some other posters.

  454. Nutmeg says

    Free Range Ratlets.

    Eeee! Look at those clever, curious little faces! I want to cuddle them ALL.

  455. chigau (違う) says

    Major squeee on the ratlets!
    (One of them has colouring similar to my cat.
    White nose, legs and belly with a grey back.)

  456. says

    Nutmeg:

    Eeee! Look at those clever, curious little faces! I want to cuddle them ALL.

    :D Most of them are sleeping now, hard. That exploring takes it right out of them.

  457. itto says

    I’m always running a couple of days behind on the endless thread, but I just want to say a big Thank You! to whoever linked to the Goldberg Variations jazz performance on Late Junction on Radio 3.
    I’m still catching up, and will always be catching up which is why I rarely post, but coming into my head right now is the most uplifting musical experience I’ve had all year. THANK YOU!

  458. says

    Chigau:

    Major squeee on the ratlets!
    (One of them has colouring similar to my cat.
    White nose, legs and belly with a grey back.)

    :D That would be the badgers, there are two of them.

  459. Pteryxx says

    Caine: EPIC levels of cuteness! Chas II is such a heartbreaker in that shot #9, too. Thank you for the pics!

  460. says

    Pteryxx, thank you! Oh, little Chas. That one has my heart. He always has to go his own way, too. While all the others crashed right away once they were back in the condo, Chas stayed up and decided to decimate the food dishes.

  461. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Tony—your posts on JT’s thread rock. Right there with ya babe.

    I would be “in person”, if I weren’t on perma-ban becuz uppity.

  462. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Krasnaya Koshka: Thank you for that. I’m both pleased and saddened that you found my post about my daughter’s birthday moving. Pleased of course because it’s always nice to know that something I’ve done brought pleasure. But sad too because your response implies a difficult childhood.

    As the son of an emotionally abusive alcoholic father I know a little about such an upbringing. I’m trying as hard as I can to not be him. The cycle ends with me, full stop. Unfortunately, this means that I can lean too far in the other direction. I’m often a little too permissive as a parent. I see the need for boundaries and reasonable discipline but am not as consistent as I should be in applying them. The result of which is that when I do reign her in she’s often surprised and upset. Ah well, this whole endeavor is a work in progress which I have no doubt will keep me on my toes, struggling to get it right, for the rest of my life.

    PZ: I look forward to seeing the new rules. It seems unlikely that I’ll be unwilling to abide by anything you come up with, but if such is the case I’ll take my leave with gratitude for all I’ve learned here over the last few years. Your place, your rules, that’s just fine by me. And if may indulge in a little preemptive snark, I also look forward to watching folks indulge in the nirvana fallacy.

    Caine: Will the cute ever stop? I’ve been wondering how the hell you get them all back in the condo? Do you ever miss one or two?

  464. says

    FossilFishy:

    I’ve been wondering how the hell you get them all back in the condo? Do you ever miss one or two?

    Oh, getting them back in the condo is no big deal, it’s trying to get a head count. That takes forever. Yes, I missed one today, who was off doing his own thing. Didn’t take long to track him down.

    Josh:

    Caine I still want to NOM all your Popplers

    Understandable, I do too! Oh and they are Popplers right now. They’re in popcorn stage and going off all over the place, *pop* *pop* *pop*!

  466. broboxley OT says

    The poster named Lord Setar etc used to complain about managing stuff from his smart phone. After spending the last 15 minutes or so, getting to here, trying to read here and finally trying to log in and post I said fuckit and walked into the other room and got my laptop. Hail Setar, you are a better technologist than I.

  467. Sili says

    “Minnesota for Marriage” has a poll up, asking if marriage should be limited to one man and one woman. I learned about this because it is the sidebar ad as I read this page. “Minnesota for Marriage” is lobbying to get a state constitutional amendment to limit marriage rights in Minnesota. Please show them how having their ad here does not help their cause.

    http://www.minnesotaformarriage.com/landing/poll/?cdtrack_creative=bd05eb6b-0563-470b-9093-a68437f4af76&cdtrack_source=6766ecf9-5d7e-4988-ba24-e120e6fe0873

    I wonder if they’ll notice how over represented Morris is gonna be in that poll?

  468. Sili says

    This really is part of our predicament. How do we deal with people like these, or for example “bishop” Desmond Tutu, who display credibly humanistic behaviour?

    You deal with Tutu by noticing that he’s not a Catholic.

  469. says

    I suspect that one of PZ’s rules will be bannination for the offense of telling him how to run his own blog.

    Thanks for the condolences. It’s been hard, especially on C’s long-term partner & husband of one day, who is one of my bloke’s best friends. It was just 5 weeks from diagnosis to death; we’re reeling from the shock of it. And if there is a god, we’re all lining up to punch him in the fucking face.

  470. says

    Most of them are sleeping now, hard. That exploring takes it right out of them.

    Well, you know what they say: a tired ratlet is a well-behaved ratlet.

    (What? They don’t say that? Just me then. OK.)

  471. says

    Alethea:

    It was just 5 weeks from diagnosis to death

    Oh Alethea. I hardly know what to say, condolences simply don’t seem to be enough. What a terrible shock and such a short time. I’m so sorry.

  472. John Morales says

    I’m rather bemused by the pushback to Dan Fincke’s blog policy, and more so to the way people just don’t get him.

    —

    PZ:

    Aaiieee! He’s going to dissect the counterarguments in 8 posts? All I can say already is…tl;dr.

    It’s OK, though, he’s going to drive away the pithier members of this internet community and get just the commenters he deserves, which is the way this always works out.

    Philosopher being philosophical and analytical? What a surprise! :)

    (But it’s noted that apparently I’m not one of the pithier people around here)

  474. carlie says

    Alethea – that’s so awful, it’s just… the only thing I can think of is at least they did find out.

    Pith: the parenchymatous area of a stem or root to the inside of the stele. :)

  475. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    And if there is a god, we’re all lining up to punch him in the fucking face.

    QFFT. The only time in my adult life that wished there was a god was at the funeral of a 9 year old boy. I wanted someone to blame for that tragedy so badly that I was clenching my fists and raging while trying not to show it.

    If it’s not too reveling or painful could you tell us what caused her death? In these situations where condolences seem so inadequate I like to donate to an appropriate cause. That way some tiny yet demonstrable good can come out of it.

  476. cicely says

    Very gentle *hugs* for Caine; commiserations for your hand. Best wishes for its speedy recovery. Tiny little *huglets* for the ratlets.
    –

  477. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Pith: the parenchymatous area of a stem or root to the inside of the stele. :)

    Damn. And all I could think of was one of these.

  479. cicely says

    chigau
    If the ratlets are able to convert loathesomeness to kyoot and cuddly, then I’m inclined to see it in the same terms as manure being converted to flowers.

    Besides, it helps to prevent Toxic Pea Build-up.
    –

  480. John Morales says

    carlie, absent context, the term ‘pith’ is polysemous; the term ‘pithiness’ in the context of communication is not and refers to succinctness.

  481. says

    I just found out that the contraceptive coverage from the HHS went into effect on August 1st. Fuck yeah! I can finally get the kind of contraceptives I want from my own doctor! It’s like christmas, except better and with more sex!

  484. says

    Cicely:

    Besides, it helps to prevent Toxic Pea Build-up.

    Given the amount they eat, this is most certainly true.

    John:

    the term ‘pithiness’ in the context of communication is not and refers to succinctness.

    Not entirely. Succinctness is only one bit, the rest of the meaning is forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning. While you are succinct, I’d say you’re more droll than anything else, which is a fine thing in and of itself.

  487. John Morales says

    Dammit, Caine! :)

    —

    Chigau, I also have a tendency to sarcasm, but have here restrained myself. :)

    —

    Rev. BDC, it is noble of you to endure the miasm rather than exile the pooch from your company.

  489. says

    Years ago I had this cat that made the foulest, um, miasmas, I have ever smelled from any species of animal bar none. And we didn’t know it was him for the longest time! Misterc and I would be hanging out, reading or canoodling or putting away dishes, and suddenly the air in the room would just … thicken. And we would choke and gasp and blame each other but neither of us would own up to it.

    Eventually we realized that poor Sammy was the common denominator in all these incidents. Dear gourd did that little cat ever stink.

  491. says

    Thanks Caine, Carlie & FossilFishy. If you do want to donate to anything, C asked for donations to the Cancer Council of NSW, but I’m sure she would have appreciated a national or Victorian variant. It was renal cancer – one of those horrific types that’s got no symptoms at all until it’s metastasised so far that it’s too late to do anything. She was 45 years old, a programmer by trade and an ancient history buff and a great traveller, and one of the kindest and warmest people I’ve ever met.

  494. John Morales says

    The next comment after the next comment after mine will become the first comment of the next page.

  496. says

    John:

    (Everyone here is aware of Asteroid 153298 Paulmyers, no?)

    I had forgotten about that. It’s very cool.

  497. says

    Hi Caine!

    I’ve missed you and those few who can’t be seen on either Twitter or FB.

    How are you? How are the ratlets?

    Me, I’m doing well: I got a real job! Well-paid, too, at least for me: I’m setting a new record for hourly pay rate (excluding sporadic copy editing work). And it’s work I’ll enjoy, getting homeowners to sign up for state-sponsored incentive programs to reduce energy usage by weatherizing, installing more efficient appliances and furnaces, and installing solar panels.

  498. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Donation done here. It’s a pittance, but better than nothing.

  499. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    And it’s work I’ll enjoy, getting homeowners to sign up for state-sponsored incentive programs to reduce energy usage by weatherizing, installing more efficient appliances and furnaces, and installing solar panels.

    Very cool, congrats! My wife does this job as well, specifically for a solar panel scheme. As a job it has problems but those are compensated for by knowing that she’s doing something to improve the world. A definite step up in the world of cubicle slavery. :)

  500. says

    Hi Sally! I’ve missed you too. Outside of a few smashed fingers, I’m fine. The ratlets are doing great, energetic, noisy and growing fast. Too cute for words.

    Congratulations on the job, that’s great news! It’s wonderful you’ll enjoy it and it’s doing a lot of good, too. I’m so happy for you. ♥