Comments

  1. cicely says

    Clarification, Chas: I was referring to the question of perception of attempted manipulation; not whether the legal point in question was correct/incorrect.

  2. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    do you think this has anything to do with our culture’s obsession with the macho male image? We aren’t supposed to show weakness, or be scared, or show emotionslike fear or shame. Fuck that.

    I’m sure it does. And when someone points it out, part of my brain says, “Damn straight!” And another part of my brain calls me a weakling.

    Joe:

    A few months ago, when I was feeling real depressed and stressed, I began taking what was written here, and on other threads, very personally. And my only advice is, if you feel that the conversation is going down the rabbit hole, even if you are right, walk away for a while. I did that a couple of times in the past six months.

    The people here are some of my best friends. I like them a lot. I don’t like them every day or even every thread. And when I find that things are too personal for me it usually means that I have gone somewhere I really don’t want to be.

    TRIGGER WARNING!!!!!

    I was raped by a cub scout leader as a child. He also took photographs. He also coerced me into doing some hateful things to another human being. And sometimes that gets to me to the point where no matter what someone says — in meatspace or reality — I take it personally. I take it as an attack. This is one of the ways that a depressive episode manifests itself for me and it is a signal to take a break, walk away, go have a cigar, or whatever will let me destress.

    I also have undiagnosed PTSD (well, the shrinks I have seen refer to it as ‘PTSD-like symptoms (whatever the hell that means)) from working down in NYC after 9/11. And I know that the panic attacks and the nightmares show up after a trigger (see yesterday (and last nigh) for example) and it changes the way that I view the world for a few days.

    END TRIGGER SUBROUTINE

    Stress and depression really do colour my world. They change how I view people online and in meatspace. And when people seem to be ganging up on me it usually means that I am depressed, or stressed, or both. And I usually end up blaming myself for allowing the stress and depression to alter my interactions. Which can make things go all whahoonie-shaped real quick.

    Anyway, I have no idea if what I just wrote will help you in anyway. But I do sort of understand (I can’t say I really understand because everyone is different) as I have also had years from hell.

    On the flip side, this place has, when I have actually been honest about what is troubling me, been a great sorce of reality therapy.

    Take care of yourself. You are important.

  3. ImaginesABeach says

    I had the Cloudflare problem last night too. I almost reached the point where I was going to e-mail someone and ask to join PET, but I managed to back away from that cliff.

    I believe it was Chas who noted that this place is like crack.

  4. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    By the by, if anyone wants to take a break from MRAs and suck, I clicked on an advert on this very page that purports to show six reasons that god (well, the Abrahamic God) must exist. And it is arguments from personal ignorance and presupositionalism all the way down. This part cracked me up. Like, I actually laughed out loud:

    5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.

    I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. . . .

    Amazing.

    This is also quite humorous:

    6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.

    Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you’ll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. . . .

    The whole thing is actually written in grammatically correct prose but the content is amusing.

  5. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    And epic fail on my part. I forgot to include the link and now the advert won’t come up. I fail again!

  6. Beatrice, anti-imperialist anti-racist Islamophobiaphobic leftist says

    Joe,

    I hope you feel better.
    I’m sorry for hurting you. It wasn’t intentional, for what that’s worth.

  7. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    It vill be back!

    Oh, I know. I was just laughing so hard, while also trying to copypasta the quotes, that I forgot the url. I multitask about as well as MSDOS 2.12.

  8. chigau (棒や石) says

    If I type
    Does God Exist?
    Does God Exist?
    Does God Exist?
    will the ad appear?

  9. chigau (棒や石) says

    It didn’t work this time, anyway.
    Still getting the hated wrinle-free Mom and some banks.

  10. says

    I had the CloudFlare thing last night, too. Not sure how long. Had other, closer-to-home-and-ISP connectivity issues, too, so that was a confounding factor.

    And that latter thing is still in the diagnosing/fixing stage, and this morning I dropped my Android, and cracked the screen, and man, all of a sudden all my routes to the net are looking strangely fragile.

    … So, clearly the Illuminati have finally taken notice, and are flattering my ego by trying to shut me down. Pretty cool that they now have giant, invisible, highly-focused fans for blowing smartphones out of your hands, tho’.

    (/And sure I think I’m funny, but I just incredibly irresponsibly set off a whole new conspiracy theory by typing that, didn’t I? Doh.)

  11. chigau (棒や石) says

    AJ Milne
    Just as well.
    If you use your cell-phone too much you’ll get brain tumor.
    (wait. that one is over now, isn’t it?)

  12. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    SGBM

    But I don’t remember him participating here — but then maybe he did in a thread I didn’t read.

    No sorry that’s not what I meant.

    You questioning me on it and naming him caused me to recall a conversation about him that from memory was somewhat lengthy and caused me to look something up (I know, vague as all hell). But it must have been a while ago.

    How’s that for precision?

  13. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    Today is a big day! I’m replacing my old, scratched, falling-apart medical alert bracelet. ^_^

    … there are Swarovski crystal encrusted bracelets in 14K gold for sale. Um.

  14. says

    … wait. that one is over now, isn’t it?

    I dunno. I’m not sure old conspiracy theories ever quite die. They just lose the prime time slot, in favour of newer, fresher ones.

    I always feel a certain sympathy for the old ones, y’know? There’s something faded and sad about them. Like a former child star, finding out now that he’s no longer cute, he’s actually required to act, and no one puts up with his obnoxious eccentricities on the set anymore, and finally he’s drifting into some marginalized and faintly skeevy profession, like dealing drugs or sitting next to Ray Comfort.

    … anyway, it does puzzle me the Masters of the World are trying to deprive me of my phone. I assumed they were using it to track me. Must have snuck a robotic implant in sometime this month, I guess. That’s the last time I eat fast food.

  15. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    …they also make bracelets designed for toddlers. This makes me sad.

  16. Portia says

    My cousin’s five year old has had a medalert bracelet almost since birth for her congenital heart condition :( But I’m so used to it that it sort of looks cute on her little wrist, as messed up as that is.

  17. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    That was more or less my thinking, Portia. I’m glad that they’re there, but I’m sad about the need.

    … the vendor I’m using is having a sale on bracelets for senile adults. Also :( :(

  18. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    …they are also happy to announce a partnership whereby if you buy a bracelet for a child with autism, they give a donation to Autism Speaks. This displeases me.

  19. carlie says

    the vendor I’m using is having a sale on bracelets for senile adults. Also :( :(

    A friend of mine’s dad has Alzheimer’s. I can usually handle her stories about visiting (they finally had to put him in a nursing home this year), but one time she mentioned taking coloring books with her because he liked it when they colored together, and that one just completely broke my heart and threw it out the window and stomped on it. Fuck aging. Fuck it to hell.

  20. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    Does he know who she is, Carlie?

    They tell me that when my great-grandmother developed Alzheimer’s, she didn’t know who her son was – actually, she though he was his late father (i.e. her husband). Which was beneficial in the sense that she wasn’t afraid of him/was willing to listen to him, but it was still very nerve-wracking and upsetting for him.

    If there is any disease I fear, it is senility. The idea of being alive but no longer being there chills me to my core.

  21. Menyambal --- Sambal's Little Helper says

    Yeah, aging. My dad’s coming unglued, and losing his mechanical genius-ness. One of his “car buddies” found out that Dad had messed up in a strange attempt to “fix” his classic car, and that bluff, tough mechanic sat down and cried.

    And, a younger man in the family was just diagnosed with early-onset Alz. His wife said the clues were all there, she just didn’t understand why he was messing up on his work.

  22. Richard Austin says

    I don’t know that my grandmother even had Alz, but towards the end of her life (she died of a heart attack in her sleep), she more and more called me by my father’s name. I never really thought about it, as I looked a lot like my dad did when he was my age, and I never really corrected her on it (she’d get facts right, so she’ wasn’t in a different time, just using the wrong name/identity). It was only just reading this stuff here that I thought about it and wondered if she might have been headed that direction.

    Sad stories are sad :(

  23. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    It is entirely possible, Richard. In the population that is 70+, about 14% have dementia of one type or another. This increases further with age – those 90+ have a 37% rate of dementia.

    Also, seemingly “minor” events like a very small stroke – which occur with relatively high frequency, especially in older people, especially in older people who have cardiovascular problems – can negatively affect memory and functioning.

  24. Portia says

    My grandpa is 91 and losing lots of his short term memory. It’s making him more paranoid and combative and manipulative and harder to deal with than ever. My poor mother takes care of him in-home. I’m amazed they’ve both survived the last four years.

  25. says

    Good evening
    Guess who’s got two kids with scarlet fever!
    So, at dinner #1 tongue displayed a bright scarlet red.
    No, I didn’t serve beetroot or anything remotely red.
    Bugger.
    And all the medical folks don’t read this, I checked up with my sister (pediatric nurse) and then decided to share the little one’s antibiotics. Seriously, the earliest I can take her to the doc is tomorrow afternoon and that would only mean 24 more hours of being sick. I’ll call my pediatrician in the morning and “confess”, but I don’t think she’ll disagree.
    The chances that the older sibling of a kid who just caught scarlet fever in a daycare the older kid visits, too developing classical symptoms of scarlet fever yet totally unrelated to scarlet fever seem small to me.

    +++
    Re: medical bracelets
    Just last week Urban Threads featured somebody who makes Medical alert clothing and medication bags for children. She started out making stuff because she needed it for her children and there was nothing she could buy.
    It’s sad that you need it, but since the world sadly isn’t made of puppy kisses, I thought it one of the coolest things I’d seen in a while.

    +++
    Re: Alzheimers
    My gran suddenly likes plushies. She has a “cat cushion” which was actually meant to be a support for her broken arm, a small cat plushie my children picked because poor gran didn’t have a single plushie (scandal) and a plush pelican they brought her from our trip to Berlin.
    5 years ago she would have been pleased by the idea, you know, it’s the one case where intent is indeed magic, but now she’s actually pleased at having plushies. They need to be with her when she goes to bed and she scolds them when they hide under the cushion. Much like my children do.
    On the one hand, it is sad. On the other hand I have grown to accept that this is who gran is now. I reject the idea that “she isn’t herself anymore” because that would dehumanize the person she is now*. She’s still her, not some mindless alien that invaded her body. You learn to live with it.
    *Yes, she still knows us, and we take care not to slip from her mind. I know that this can get worse.

  26. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    Guess who’s got two kids with scarlet fever!

    Oh. Shit.

    I can’t get that via USB, can I?

    Re: Medical alert bracelets:
    This summer we got one for Boy. At the age of 22, we discovered he is allergic to penicillin. Yes, we found out the hard way.

    Re: Alzheimer’s

    Our 91 year old neighbor, in the past two months, has deteriorated rapidly. Her short term memory is going fast. We can see the change happening quickly and it is a little frightening.

    Her doctor dismissed her concerns with, “You’re 91. This happens.”

    She sticks with him because he has been her doctor since 1969.

  27. strange gods before me ॐ says

    I said I wouldn’t respond further on the subject here except to defend myself. Azkyroth makes a claim against which I should defend myself:

    I don’t see how this claim can be reconciled with the way you often respond (or not) to the effects of your behavior on their emotional state which people here report.

    You should consider that the exact same thing can easily be said of you, Azkyroth. Does it follow that you don’t care about people’s feelings?

    Anyway you’re not accounting for anything positive about me. If you accounted for the times when I comfort people, you would not say this. You might say something different, but you would not say this.

    If you feel that people are misunderstanding you…try to think about why that might be.

    Empty lecture is empty. I expect that you are pretending I said things I didn’t say, and/or not paying attention what I did say. So, quote me or I don’t care.

    SG’s general approach in the face of extremely stressful life events and a persistent feeling of insecurity and isolation.

    Here, for instance, is why I think you are ignoring what I did say:

    “Joe, I think that in the morning you may feel differently. So, I will try to stop replying — as long as you stop making accusations about me. I will only respond to defend myself, so please, don’t make me defend myself.”

    What do you think that means, Azkyroth? I indicated that I was trying to account for his emotional response, and so I wasn’t going to respond to anything which didn’t require me to defend myself. And then I complied with that.

    You ignored what I did to deescalate the situation, even though I linked to it already in the comment you just replied to.

    This is not a thread for you to air your past grievances with me. Stop it. This is not a place where you get to make vague accusations about me. Stop it.

    I will defend myself where you respond. You should respond in Thunderdome, not here, since you are initiating criticisms of my person.

    +++++
    Responses to trinioler and Esteleth did not require any specific self-defense, so they are here.

  28. Paul W., OM says

    Anybody know if Pharynguloids are meeting up at or around the Texas Freethought convention?

    I won’t be attending the convention, but will be in town, and could probably make it to a meetup in a bar or restaurant. (Depending on timing.)

    Paul

    P.S., apropos of nothing, I just found out to today that something I wrote is now a chapter of an actual dead-trees book I didn’t know about that’s already gone to press, nothing to do with my professional research or with atheism/secularism/philosophy.

    It’s an “instructable” (how-to) article on cheap DIY plastic forming over at Instructables that’s gotten more than a quarter of a million views.

    Here’s a video of the easy, el cheapo DIY vacuum former in action:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGBRiYhxRTM

    So now I’m officially a published author, and not just in the CS geek literature.

  29. Beatrice, anti-imperialist anti-racist Islamophobiaphobic leftist says

    Does anyone have Joe’s email address?

  30. Portia says

    He posted it yesterday to cicely. I think it was “improbablejoe at the googly thingy” but I could be wrong.

  31. Portia says

    Thanks for looking back and verifying chigau :) I hadn’t the fortitude to go searching.

  32. chigau (棒や石) says

    Now I see ads for Tony Robbins and underwear.
    Is that getting closer to god?
    (note: separate ads)

  33. birgerjohansson says

    Regarding Alzheimer’s;
    Prospective Alzheimer’s drug (Dihexa) builds new brain cell connections http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-prospective-alzheimer-drug-brain-cell.html
    — — — — — — — —

    HPV vaccination NOT associated with increased sexual activity among girls, new study says http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hpv-vaccination-sexual-girls.html …so can we please start giving all kids a vaccine that protects them against a common form of cancer?
    — — —- — —
    Cervical cancer vaccine shows promise http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-cervical-cancer-vaccine.html
    — — — — — —
    Of enzymes and aging: Tryptophan metabolism plays key role in aging and age-related neurological diseases http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-enzymes-aging-tryptophan-metabolism-key.html

  34. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    I will only respond to defend myself, so please, don’t make me defend myself.”

    Are you sure you want to phrase it that way?

  35. strange gods before me ॐ says

    My opinion of your “defense” is this.

    Very mature, I know.

    Maturity doesn’t matter, but you’re just wrong. I did nothing wrong here. You are kicking at me anyway. You are a bully.

    You too, trinioler. That’s completely unwarranted from you. I gave you a perfectly civil answer.

    Are you sure you want to phrase it that way?

    Yes?

  36. carlie says

    Esteleth- sometimes he does; even when he doesn’t, he does act more calm around her, so he has some knowledge left that she’s a good person who has his best interest in mind.

    Giliell – oh, darling. I wish I could give you all the ice cream in the world.

    Paul W! I wish you were around here more. :)

  37. Menyambal --- Sambal's Little Helper says

    Strange, please either change the subject or go to the Thunderdome.

  38. strange gods before me ॐ says

    Menyambal, I did go to Thunderdome. That is where I replied to Esteleth and trinioler. They want to attack me here instead.

    Esteleth, stop personally attacking me in the Lounge. If you want to bully me, you have the Thunderdome to do it in.

  39. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    I have expressed my opinion, and I’m dropping the matter.

    Instead, I am going to watch this video on a loop.

  40. Menyambal --- Sambal's Little Helper says

    Paul W., congrats on the publication. Thanks for the link to the vid. I liked it and the technique that it showed.

  41. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    You should consider that the exact same thing can easily be said of you, Azkyroth. Does it follow that you don’t care about people’s feelings?

    It has been said, and I have considered it, and found that in many cases it was true. Even, on occasion, where it was said by you, though having the heuristics I developed as a response to being bullied for years dragged to full scale made it very difficult to realize it. I’ve tried to change in response to those realizations .

    Anyway you’re not accounting for anything positive about me.

    That’s probably true – I won’t deny that my feelings are very strongly colored*. If I’m objectively being unfair, I apologize.

    *better word?

  42. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    You should consider that the exact same thing can easily be said of you, Azkyroth. Does it follow that you don’t care about people’s feelings?

    It has been said, and in many cases it was true. Even, on occasion, where it was said by you, though having the heuristics I developed as a response to being bullied for years dragged to full scale (and slammed against the wall repeatedly) made it very difficult even to absorb that data, let alone process and properly weigh it. Where I’ve learned, from reflections and others’ approaches, I’ve tried to change in response to those realizations .

    Anyway you’re not accounting for anything positive about me.

    That’s probably true – I won’t deny that my feelings are very strongly colored*. If I’m objectively being unfair, I apologize.

    *better word?

  43. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Oh, so THAT’S the key I accidentally hit. Oops. x.x Sorry.

  44. strange gods before me ॐ says

    A measured response, Azkyroth. I have nothing in particular to say in reply, but if you’d like to continue further, I think many people would appreciate it if we do so in the Thunderdome.

  45. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    Question: has anyone heard anything from Joe today? Considering everything that went down yesterday, I’m a mite worried. Has he responded to emails?

  46. Portia says

    He tweeted earlier today with someone talking about not wanting kids. Seemed pretty run-of-the-mill chit chat. So, hopefully, he is relatively ok. #twitterstalking

  47. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    Yes, I’ve read those as well, Portia. I hope he’s just sleeping.

  48. says

    Umm…whoa…

    RE: Alzheimer’s
    (Really depressing comment below. Please feel free to skip. I just needed to type all this at some point.)

    My maternal grandmother has early-onset Alzheimer’s. She is in the late stages now, and it is literally the most horrible and terrifying thing to me. She doesn’t know who anybody is anymore; not my mom, not even my grandfather, who still takes care of her. How on earth can a disease do so much to your brain that you can’t even recognize your husband and children? It’s terrifying because she isn’t even that old. She’s in her seventies, if I remember correctly, and she’s totally gone from us. She had a degree in philosophy, made stained-glass windows for a living, was an amateur naturalist, and was the first atheist I ever knew. She was one of the most outspoken and totally individual people I’ve ever met. She can’t do any of that anymore. She can’t be left alone for any amount of time. She can’t even speak anymore. And we started noticing the symptoms when she was in her sixties.
    Every woman on my mom’s side of the family has gotten something similar. That means that if the trend continues my mom only has 20 or 30 years left. My mom is my best friend and my biggest role model, and I’m absolutely terrified that this could happen to her too.
    Goodness, now I’m crying again. Fuck. I just want someone to find a way to cure it, or prevent it, or even slow it down more. I’m terrified of losing my mom and not being able to do anything about it. I’m terrified that I’ll end up like my grandmother and that my husband will have to go through the hell that my grandfather is dealing with right now. There is nothing else in the world that frightens me as much as this.
    If there were a God, Alzheimer’s would be enough evidence for me that he is malevolent.

    Umm, sorry, I guess the Lounge isn’t supposed to be so serious. Here, have a puppy:
    http://cuteoverload.com/2012/10/14/max-is-back/

  49. says

    sgbm #44:

    Maturity doesn’t matter, but you’re just wrong. I did nothing wrong here. You are kicking at me anyway. You are a bully.

    Really? Because you’re the one who got a special exemption from the “do not piss off PZ” rule after you went on an obsessive tirade where you took up a quarter of a thread.

    And this is in addition to your known habit of treating anyone you’ve had a major disagreement with (such as me) as though they’re subhuman.

    I’d say that if there’s any bully here, it’s the class bully, and that’s you.

  50. strange gods before me ॐ says

    Setár,

    http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/08/06/the-new-rules/

    Reset. One persistent problem here is that the regulars develop a history, and at times, it is utterly stultifying. You don’t let grudges go, you resurrect long-dead arguments, you start citing passages from year-old comment threads. Stop it. It inhibits people from changing, and it poisons every discussion with ancient irritations that most people don’t know anything about. Every time I start a new thread, pretend I asked you to look into a little red light, and poof, everything is reset. Treat each comment as an argument unto itself. Linking to old comments to demonstrate the perfidy of a commenter, rather than linking to evidence to refute the commenter’s claims, will be regarded as an abuse of the principle of charity. I am aware that this rule could be abused by repetitious jackholes who make the same claims in every thread and then run away from your answers, but let me do the enforcement.

    I am doing nothing wrong in this thread. Stop bullying me.

  51. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    SGBM, disagreeing with you or saying that such and such a comment crossed a line does not equal bullying.

  52. strange gods before me ॐ says

    SGBM, disagreeing with you or saying that such and such a comment crossed a line does not equal bullying.

    1) You didn’t say that any comment crossed a line. You made no substantive critique at all.

    2) I responded civilly to what you did say. In return you have continued to personally attack me in this thread, flipping me off and telling me to go fuck myself. You are bullying me. Stop it.

  53. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    I was responding to your response to Setár there.

    But.

    Here’s the thing: I was – and am – angry at you. I insulted you in a rather juvenile fashion. This does not equal bullying.

  54. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    But then, I said that I was done. I shall hold myself to this.

    *wanders off in search of tea*

  55. trinioler says

    SGBM:

    By your own criteria, you bullied Joe.

    Did you leave him alone?

    *expects a long pseudo-rational piece of bullshit how what SGBM did to Joe was not bullying*

  56. strange gods before me ॐ says

    I was responding to your response to Setár there.

    Which was bullying, since he dragged up a bunch of old rubbish, distorted it, and attacked me for all that old stuff again out of the blue. That is bullying. Especially in the Lounge.

    Here’s the thing: I was – and am – angry at you.

    I’m angry with you too; and I have justifiable reason to be, while you do not. Yet I am not attacking you.

    I insulted you in a rather juvenile fashion. This does not equal bullying.

    Continually attacking me in the Lounge, telling me to go fuck myself in the Lounge, where I cannot respond in kind, is bullying. I can’t get away with what you’re getting away with here — and I think you know that. You are unfairly leveraging the social dynamics here against me. That is bullying.

  57. Esteleth, Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo says

    *returns with popcorn*

    A flyer advertising methods of rape was posted in a dorm at the University of Miami in Ohio.

    Ugh. Someone stop the planet, I want off.

  58. says

    @blogofmyself: I am so sorry for your and your family’s pain and distress. While your fear for your mother and yourself is understandable, it may also be adding to your present problems unnecessarily – and those are more than enough to focus on now. Hope you can hug your mom, take good care of yourself, and try to take things as they come, because there’s good stuff coming, too.

    Many hugs to you, if you want them.

  59. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Didn’t meet any of you there. *pout*

    Thought about heading that way, but the Pullet Patrol™ nailed my steel-toes to the floor as they wanted more corn soaked grog.

  60. strange gods before me ॐ says

    By your own criteria, you bullied Joe.

    No, I did not. My own criteria involve personal attacks. I made no personal attacks against Joe.

    Did you leave him alone?

    You’re making up a criteria which is not mine, but yes, I did leave him alone. I only defended myself, and I did not respond to comments from him directed at me which did not require me to defend myself. And I did not even condescend to him in kind.

    But again, you made up that criteria. It is not mine.

    *expects a long pseudo-rational piece of bullshit how what SGBM did to Joe was not bullying*

    You already know it wasn’t bullying, trinioler: “Look, all SG did was ask for some citations. It wasn’t an attack, no one is trying to hurt you or stop being your friends.”

    And yes you can expect me to defend myself. You should stop initiating criticisms of my person here in the Lounge, since this is not the place for that.

  61. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Looks like the Musical outing has emboldened the Redhead. She called the Lyric Opera talking about handicap seating. Well, at least the traffic is light when the Opera gets out…

  62. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Awesome. The power at my fucking hotel just died.

    Sigh

    At least I have a good bootle of bourbon.

  63. Patricia, OM says

    Nerd – That sounds like a drunken Pullet trick. They were also all about hiding their eggs while I was gone. Cluckheads.

  64. says

    irisvanderpluym: You are too nice, and also right. Worrying about the future certainly won’t help in this case, and there are always good things to look forward to, no matter how bad things get. Thanks for the hugs.

    Rev. BigDumbChimp:
    Mmm… bourbon…
    For some reason two different people decided to give me whiskey this week, so I have two bottles sitting on the counter right now. It’s a wonderful feeling.

  65. broboxley OT says

    Rev BDC a bootle of good bourbon perhaps? A good bottle of bourbon is designating the fullness there of, as I wistfully remember drinking bourbon before I found I was very allergic to it

  66. Patricia, OM says

    Damn, somewhere in my memory banks there was a pie I made with cherries and bourbon… somewhere…

  67. says

    I’m sorry for my behavior last night. I’m going to go ahead and take a break from this place for awhile. I’m really not in any shape to deal with anything at this point, certainly not deal with what appears to be lines drawn and conversations about who should have done or not done what last night. I’m suffering from a pretty severe depressive episode, combined with cabin fever and really bad loneliness, and if I can’t deal without getting freaked out and lashing out, I should keep it to myself.

  68. Beatrice, anti-imperialist anti-racist Islamophobiaphobic leftist says

    Good to see you, Joe.
    I hope you’ll start feeling better soon

  69. Amblebury says

    Joe!

    I read through the threads and I worried. Please stay in touch, take care.

    Perhaps you could check out the Facebooky group thing?

  70. A. R says

    Joe, if you are interested in joining the Pharyngula Facebook group, send me an email at adotrtztNOSPAMgmail.com (replace the NOSPAM with the @ symbol, of course)

  71. Patricia, OM says

    Fuck, just stepped outside to take the bulldog potty and damn near caught our death of mud. 82 days no rain, now it decides to make it up all in a few hours.

    *shakes fist at Rebecca Watson*

  72. Amblebury says

    Have some grog Joe.

    Joe, if you are interested in joining the Pharyngula Facebook group, send me an email at adotrtztNOSPAMgmail.com (replace the NOSPAM with the @ symbol, of course)

    Do eet. Do ALL of eet!

  73. trinioler says

    Cross-posted from PET:

    Okay so I witnessed some fucking police abuse today at the downtown bus stop. This is a draft of the letter I’m going to write:

    Today, I saw an abuse of power at the Queensway Bus Loop. I saw security guards trying to arrest a woman for being angry.

    What happened is this: A woman was yelling at a bus driver, standing in the doorway. She’s attracting a lot of attention, and as I get closer, I hear that he’s taken her bus pass away.

    I should remind the readers that bus passes are $60 per month if you’re not a student, and that for many people in Kelowna, this can be quite significantly expensive.

    The reason her pass was taken away is because its “someone else’s bus pass”. I must question the bus driver’s reasoning here, and how he knew it was someone else’s pass. Even if she was using someone else’s pass, why does he have the right to take it away? As long as only one person uses the pass at a time, she’s committing no crime, she’s defrauding no company. If it was a theft, then police should be involved, and he should not be handling evidence of a crime. He is not a police officer.

    Having a bus pass taken away will disproportionately affect the poorer people in Kelowna far more than it’d affect me or some of my friends. Having fewer dollars means that every dollar matters more.

    And so she was angry, and justifiably so. Then the downtown security guards were called over. They pulled her out of the bus, and then proceeded to try to arrest her.

    Again, these are security guards, not police officers. She had committed no crime beyond being angry at a wrong done to her. She had done nothing wrong.

    There will be those who say that she should have let the courts figure that out. What lawyer could she afford? Public defenders urge nearly every single one of their charges to plead guilty, because of their workload. She would have probably gone to jail, for nothing more than being angry. She punched no one. She hurt no one. She damaged no property.

    Then the injustice continued, where the guard tried to force the woman to sit on the ground. She said she would sit on a bench but not the ground “like an animal” several times. She wanted to be cooperative, but not to be humiliated.

    Eventually she managed to escape the grip of the security guard and run away.

    This woman has had her bus pass taken away, was nearly arrested for doing nothing wrong, and the guard attempted to humiliate her.

    She did not strike the guard or anyone else. She did not attempt to hurt anyone, she merely attempt to escape what she felt was a wrongful arrest.

    The transit should apologize to this woman. The security guards should apologize, and further more, instruction should be given on how to humanely treat people they’re trying to arrest. There is no need to try to forcibly humiliate someone for the crime of being angry.

    Oh, and she was a woman of colour as well, giving the whole situation a tinge of racism and probably classism as well.

    This should not have happened, and something should be done to rectify this incident.

    ===End

    I’m going to CC this to the chief of police, the city council as well as the newspaper.

  74. A. R says

    Whiskey (the “e” addition is due to the fact that we are discussing American spirit. Yes, I am a spirit pedant): Makers Mark is just about the best Bourbon that the average person could get their hands on without going to a specialty shop in my experience But then again, I’m a Scotch person.

  75. Beatrice, anti-imperialist anti-racist Islamophobiaphobic leftist says

    I’ll note this here in case anyone later wonders :
    I’m backing out of both social threads for awhile. I’ll try to ignore them completely.

    If anyone cares, see you around other threads.

  76. Patricia, OM says

    Many years ago (about 15-20) I was sent a bottle, triangular shaped of Special Old Reserve single malt Glenfiddich scotch whiskey, from Scotland by a relative, to toast a mutually beloved friend at his funeral. I simply couldn’t do it. So I have had the whiskey in it’s box unopened all this time. I have a second bottle of single malt called Glenkinchie that was 10 years old about 16 years ago when I was given it as a gift, still unopened, in it’s box, from a veterinary friend of mine that went to Scotland and brought this back for me.

    My question is: Does this stuff go bad? It could be Scottish hooch for all I know. (Sorry whiskey experts.)

  77. Patricia, OM says

    A.R. – Yeah, but does it go bad? I may last another 20-30 years, so will my niece inherit a couple bottles of vinegar?

  78. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    Does this stuff go bad?

    If the original seal is still intact and the bottle has not been exposed to direct sunlight or high temperatures, it should be okay. I cannot guarantee that, though. Maybe you should send it to me and I’ll test them?

  79. A. R says

    I cannot guarantee that, though. Maybe you should send it to me and I’ll test them?

    LOL!

    But yes, it should not go bad so long as it has not been opened. Oh, and that “e” earns you an hour on your own spanking couch! [Maniacal laugh]

  80. Patricia, OM says

    Oggie – The boxed bottles are kept in my grandpas sea chest in the hallway. They get jostled a couple of times a year when the great nieces want to see Aunties baby dress, shoes, and Ivory Snow modeling pictures. *rolls eyes*

    You could always tell my nieces I “promised” you the bottles. They might fall for it. :D

  81. A. R says

    Hmmm, Sea chest, hallway. [A. R prepares whisky extraction team consisting of 4 kilt-clad Scotsman armed with haggis and peas]

  82. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    [A. R prepares whisky extraction team consisting of 4 kilt-clad Scotsman armed with haggis and peas]

    Don’t forget the mangonel and the saffron risotto.

    You did remember the risotto, right?

  83. A. R says

    Ogvorbis: Of course, or course, it’s right next to the kidney and liver aspic in their combat Sporrans.

  84. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    A.R.:

    Sorry. My bad. If forgot the aspect of the aspic. If they come by sea, we could equip them with ASDIC?

  85. ckitching says

    I saw one of those PSA ads that sometimes runs on FTB and clicked on it, and was informed that 28% of U.S. high school students drop out. I hunted around a bit for numbers from my own country, and noticed that the drop out rate in 2002 was 12% for the U.S.

    Did the drop out rate really increase by more than a factor of two in only ten years or am I just getting two different sets of fudged numbers? If true, I’d expect politicians to be making a big deal of it, but there’s nothing.

  86. cicely says

    Not reading any heartbreaking Alzheimers stuff. Nope, nope, nope. Borderline depressed as it is.
    *jamming fingers into ears*
    Metaphorically.

    Guess who’s got two kids with scarlet fever!

    Sorry to hear it. *hugs*

    HPV vaccination NOT associated with increased sexual activity among girls, new study says http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hpv-vaccination-sexual-girls.html …so can we please start giving all kids a vaccine that protects them against a common form of cancer?

    *shaking head sadly*
    Oh, birger, don’t be silly. Girls—young people of any sex/gender—having teh secks without punishment? You know how much Gawd hates that! Just ask his Designated Mouthpieces.

    Question: has anyone heard anything from Joe today? Considering everything that went down yesterday, I’m a mite worried. Has he responded to emails?

    I’m worried, too. I sent him an email a few minutes ago. Mailer-Daemon just told me it couldn’t deliver it. Google is dotcom, isn’t it?

    Looks like the Musical outing has emboldened the Redhead.

    Good news! :)

    Relieved to read you, Joe!
    *hugs*

    *hugs* also for Beatrice.

  87. Patricia, OM says

    le sigh
    If four kilt clad Scotsmen, armed with haggis and peas show up at my door, they will be welcomed in and served lamb & barley soup, and all the whisky I have in me humble hovel.

  88. Tony •Queer Duck Overlord of The Bronze• says

    Improbable Joe and Beatrice :

    Be well.
    I look forward to seeing posts from the two of you in the future.

  89. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Yeah, but does it go bad? I may last another 20-30 years, so will my niece inherit a couple bottles of vinegar?

    Hmm…considering you have distilled spirits above 60 proof, I would think any acetobacter in there would croak long before making any acetic acid (commercial stuff is usually 3.0-3.5% acetic acid, made from ethanol via dilute yeast fermentation of sugar).

  90. Patricia, OM says

    Four were offered.
    Honestly, I figgered two fifths of whisky = a 90 year old scottish granny, but I did nae wanna hurt A.R.’s feelings.

    Besides, four wagging sporrans gets a girls attention.

  91. A. R says

    Patricia: You may feel free to blame my Lancastrian/Hanoverian heritage! (I’ve given up on describing my ancestry by nationality, it gets far too complicated)

  92. Patricia, OM says

    A.R. – Nope, you may feel free to give advise on whisky. I just have two bottles I haven’t had the heart to open.

    But when it comes to kilts…welllll I admit I loves the tilt and the swing.

    *she smirks*

  93. says

    Good morning

    Patricia
    Hmmm, I’d totally sample them for you

    Joe
    take care. You got my mail.

    beatrice
    You too. I’m really sorry you got caught up in this
    *hugses*

    blogofmyself
    I’m so sorry to hear.
    I guess my “bright line” is that although it runs in my mum’s family it is usually “classical” late onset at an age many people even don’t live to see.
    As for your mum: 20-30 years are a fucking long time in medicine. Remember what we couldn’t do 30 years ago!

  94. Hekuni Cat, MQG says

    Giliell – *hugs* and I wish the little ones a speedy recovery.

    blogofmyself – *hugs* My grandmother didn’t have Alzheimer’s, but she died not knowing who she was nor recognizing her children or grandchildren. Living in that condition always been one of my greatest fears.

    Beatrice – *hugs* I hope you will not be gone long.

    Joe – I’m sorry you’re in such difficult place. Please take care.

    Nerd:

    Looks like the Musical outing has emboldened the Redhead. She called the Lyric Opera talking about handicap seating. Well, at least the traffic is light when the Opera gets out…

    I’m glad. This really made me smile.

  95. Patricia, OM says

    Gilliell – Thanks! I’m just not able to drink hard liquor anymore. I hope your kiddos are feeling better. My mother had scarlet fever & it isn’t something to fool around with.

    —————–
    The Scottish genealogy thing. My dear departed had a funny Scottish ancestor, (funny?), Janet XXXX was transported to the colony for committing whoredoms against the Kings peace. Now what in the world can that mean?

  96. Tony •Queer Duck Overlord of The Bronze• says

    Um…
    I’m speechless right now. I’m in that state just before crying when your eyes are watering up, but it’s not quite coming out.
    After ending things with K last week, I didn’t want to read anything that would make me any more emotional so I avoided some of the posts by various bloggers here at FtB.

    I just read about Amanda Todd.

    I just…
    I really don’t know what to say…
    My heart goes out to her family.

    My unbridled anger goes out to:
    1- those who pressured her into taking that picture
    and
    2- to the person who spread that picture around
    and
    3- to those people who bullied and ostracized her
    and
    4- to the girl who beat her up
    and
    5- to those fuckwads who filmed it
    and
    6- to those shit heads who are clogging up the YouTube responses with their horrible comments.

    Someone let me off this planet.
    I don’t know if I can even read what The Amazing Atheist said about her right now.
    I really want to punch something. Or break an abandoned building.

    What the hell is wrong with these people?
    How can someone be so lacking in decency and empathy?
    How the fuck can you literally and figuratively kick someone when they’re down?

    The tears are gone now.
    Exhaustion is gone now.

    But I have anger a plenty.

  97. Menyambal --- Sambal's Little Helper says

    Patricia, back in the 1800s, when Muskegon, Michigan, was a thriving lumber town, the bad side was described as several “acres of whoredom”. Which in the context, was describing brothels.

    That’s the only other time I’ve seen the term.

    I’m guessing the “king’s peace” bit meant the lady was breaking the law, rather than working with a licence.

  98. A. R says

    Tony: That’s the reason I spend most of my free time locked in my lab. You would be surprised at the things that simply slip out of your mind when you’re focusing on one thing that intensely. It’s almost like the outside world doesn’t exist.

  99. Tony •Queer Duck Overlord of The Bronze• says

    Ogvorbis:

    By the by, if anyone wants to take a break from MRAs and suck, I clicked on an advert on this very page that purports to show six reasons that god (well, the Abrahamic God) must exist. And it is arguments from personal ignorance and presupositionalism all the way down. This part cracked me up. Like, I actually laughed out loud:

    Yeah, that ad is pretty bad.
    I had a wild hair one day (where does that saying come from anyway?*) and decided to click on that stupid link. Wow. It was awful. I knew going in that there wasn’t one shred of evidence for the existence of god, let alone 6 reasons.

    *perhaps this is it…?

  100. David Marjanović says

    Improbable Joe, I’ve never experienced depression nor witnessed it firsthand, so I didn’t know that it can cause people to misinterpret “that’s wrong” or “citation please” as an attempt to destroy them. I’m sure few other people did either; at least that would explain a lot.

    *hug* *chocolate* *honeybush tea*

    GCA: I don’t know what’s less possible, that your skirts get tighter or your heels get higher, but you look nice.
    Me: …uh…thanks.
    *we go into the lobby*
    Paralegal: Oh, my gosh, that is the cutest outfit I’ve ever seen!

    Two men in a row… *double facepalm*

    GCA: Her boyfriend says it’s the cutest outfit he’s ever seen on the floor of his bedroom!
    Me: That’s rude.

    That’s by no means merely rude. It’s a bullying tactic. Any attempt to complain that he’s making shit up, intimate shit at that, could be twisted into making you look like a child stomping feet, and then they could laugh at how childish and funny you are.

    Probably needs a name.

    I know everybody here knows this, but yeah, that whole “autistic people don’t want friends” thing is so, so wrong.

    Oh yeah. “Introverted” and “loner” aren’t the same thing either. *pile of hugs* *calming manatees*

    my therapist says “13 is ugly” even for neurotypical kids.

    It’s probably worse for them, since they’re less resistant to peer pressure. But in my case, I’m pretty sure what helped the most was developing late, followed by being introverted.

    Sure, I was bullied when I was 13, but also when I was 12 and when I was 14, so…

    Well, once it’s dropped you would be able to breathe a bit easier, hence “lighter”, perhaps.

    Fun fact: that’s a distinction German doesn’t even make; both “light” and “easy” are leicht.

    Is “lightening” a reference to the child moving towards the light, i.e. the birth canal?

    Oh, that word may not even be related, just ended up sounding the same in English: in German it’s Licht, pronounced in my dialect as if it were spelled with ie (well, or ir, same thing nowadays), hence perhaps Liechtenstein. I have to specify that ei and ie are very different things.

    Simple and clear and wrong. So, maybe nonsense wasn’t the right word, since it was comprehensible while wrong. Allow me to subsitute: hogwash.

    I think “hogwash” sounds much angrier than you wanted it to sound.

    But is this really the same Joe who was just yelling “bullshit BULLSHIT” to someone else?

    Huh? How is this relevant?

    It seems that you think of me as a “regular of Thunderdome” who is intruding on your space.

    *lightbulb moment* Oh, that would explain a few things. No, Joe, you’re relatively new here; that’s not how it works, these threads don’t have separate regulars.

    I have no need for condescension.

    …Why do you think it’s condescension? I think you’re jumping to the least charitable possible conclusion.

    The Thunderdome is DEAD. No amount of trolling or baiting will change it!

    …So you believe the Thunderdome is populated by evil people who want some action and therefore come to the Lounge to lure people into the depths of the Thunderdome?

    Where do you get that from? ~:-|

    …Oh. Have you perhaps confused the Thunderdome with the Slymepit?

    if you’re dropping the livers into the hot oil by hand

    *blink* WTF? Why would anybody do such a thing? That’s even more intuitively obvious than not pipetting with your mouth!

    Honestly, I’m puzzled.

    You, who never posts in the lounge, along with sgbm who never posts in the lounge, except tonight

    Jadehawk and sgbm posted here, or rather in TET, for years.

    Can I cry just a little?
    Of course there was a sign at the kindergarten entrance saying there’s a case of scarlet fever. Of course that’s what the little one picked up, now at all times. Last week it would just have been an inconenience. This week it’s a massive pile of shit.

    *pounce* *hug* *squeeze*

    and don’t tell me again that you’re depressed. if your depression gives you the permission to make up stuff about other people and emotionally manipulating them, then my depression allows me to point out to you that you’re doing so.

    I don’t think he’s consciously making stuff up or consciously manipulating (as “permission” implies). I think he really believes there’s an evil invasion from the Thunderdome going on, targeting him personally. I think he’s somehow used to assuming malice where incompetence, stupidity, misunderstanding, lots of other things would suffice.

    Giliell, that has been my point from the start.

    And yet you still haven’t posted in the Thunderdome.

    Which I could have known if I’d checked this morning, but really, there’s only so much I can think of.
    So I’ll still mark it as success for points 1-3.

    I agree. *more hugs*

    I do have some good news, though. I just spent 1/2 hour on the phone with the student loan people and have gotten the loan that Wife and I took out for Boy’s first freshman year out of default. Those forest fires are useful.

    :-) :-) :-)

    That is not dead which can eternal lie.

    Ah! You mean Romney.

    Subthread won.

    I’m sure it does. And when someone points it out, part of my brain says, “Damn straight!” And another part of my brain calls me a weakling.

    *hug* *happiness tea*

    I’ve always been proud to be a confessing coward.

    …NEIL GAIMAN IS FOLLOWING ME ON TWITTER. WHAT.

    Oh, wow! :-)

    Guess who’s got two kids with scarlet fever!

    Oh crap. *hug*

    I will only respond to defend myself, so please, don’t make me defend myself.”

    Are you sure you want to phrase it that way?

    I hope not, because that can’t come across well.

    Just saw that MSNBC reported that Baumgartner was first person to travel faster than the speed of light.

    *facepalm*

  101. David Marjanović says

    Oh, and, for the record, let me point out that sgbm clearly tried to limit the damage and express sympathy in comment 435 (previous page). It was a clumsy attempt and probably couldn’t have worked very well, but the intent is still clear.

  102. Tony •Queer Duck Overlord of The Bronze• says

    Markita:
    You’re right.
    Thanks for the advice.
    ****

    That poll now has 15 votes at 41%. Fiction is trailing religion by quite a bit still. I floundered for a second between ‘religion’ and ‘fiction’, until my brain kicked in and reminded myself that religion should already be placed in fiction, so obviously creationism would be there too.

  103. McC2lhu doesn't want to know what you did there. says

    Tony @131:

    I followed the Amanda Todd story from the very beginning. I’m incredulous at the numbers and the degree of psychopathy displayed in continuing to bully a girl who has already taken her own life especially when they are part of the police investigation into Amanda’s death!!! It’s the stupidest display of evil I can say I have ever witnessed. I can’t begin to describe the amount of legal apocalypse I want to see carpet bombed onto these assholes. In all my school years and time afterwards I never witnessed anything remotely close to this degree of perversely loathsome behavior from teenaged children. The anonymous internet may not be the best thing in the world for kid’s mental health and it’s blatantly obvious that failed parenting is becoming pandemic.

  104. says

    In that poll, why’s there a disctinction between religion and fiction?
    I always considered one to be a subset of the other….

    Thanks everybody for the hugs
    And yes, I officially had my first class today and everything went well. The lecturer is really sweet (there’s no other way to describe her) and I’ve got a date for a presentation and an idea how I can use the stuff I already did for it.

    And I found out why the fuck there was never anybody in the office during office hours. The secretary has been sick for 3 weeks. Today they thought about putting a note on the door…

    Pediatrician also agreed that I did the right thing. Strep B seems like their favourite germ. It’s the fourth time for the little one, the third time for #1 and the second time for both of them this year. But it also seems like the symptoms get less severe so by now they’re just annoyed that they can’t go to kindergarten.
    I’ll go and buy a big box of mum in laws favourite chocolates now and then go there for lunch and pick them up before I “dump them” there again tonight before work.
    I have the bestest in-laws ever.

  105. carlie says

    So after all my whining, child comes home from school yesterday and says that the kid who was his best (only) friend last year has moved back into town! He saw him in the hallway, and the kid has actually moved twice*, and is now back. They don’t have any classes together, but hopefully they can get together now and then and the kid still likes him.

    *military

  106. McC2lhu doesn't want to know what you did there. says

    birgerjohansson @143:

    About the harvesting the little fuckerz’ organs, it’s sounds interesting…hmm… Nah. That kind of revenge does have a moment of appeal, but then I revert to the old watery-kneed philosophy of not fighting evil with evil.

    Of course, when I refer to a legal apocalypse being unleashed on them it doesn’t mean the sort available in the US for-profit prison system that will lock them away for decades and turn them into professional criminal psychopaths. I mean the toned down approach the Canadian system might put them through. Something that puts them into a punishment home for youth for a necessary number of years and bangs away at them on a daily basis with the kind of counseling and anti-bullying mental manipulation and guilt-tripping techniques that would make Kubrick envious during his Clockwork Orange days.

    I also meant ‘patently’ obvious where I wrote ‘blatantly.’ After the part where I mentioned the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor I was on too much of a roll in my rant to slow down to think properly.

  107. says

    What I want for those who bullied Amanda Todd?
    Apart from the creeo who followed her around, whom I want to see in prison, I want those kids to fully understand what they have done .
    Ans with that knowledge they will have to live for the rest of their lives.
    Oh, and spend the day she killed herself somewhere cleaning up a cemetery or something so they will never ever forget.

  108. Louis says

    [Flies through in different direction this time]

    I Aten’t Dead!

    Hello All!

    Audley: doth the DarkFoetus approacheth? Can I hear the sound of her tiny feet bestriding the earth like an evil*, yet wickedly cute, colossus-babeh of Teh Cyoot?

    Louis

    * Obviously the DarkFoetus will be evil, you are an atheist and a feminist and stuff, that’s all matrilineal apparently. It’s true, I saw it on Fox News.

  109. birgerjohansson says

    McC2lhu,
    I agree with you, but on slate-gray rainy days I need a few revenge fantasies to get me through newspapers full of atrocities.
    My favourite is forcing the congressmen who voted for the Iraq war to clear the minefields and the unexploded ordnance from the last three wars. And make them take “point” on patrols in Afghanistan.
    .
    Today I am reading about a wanker in Sweden who stole the wallet of a drunk who had collapsed and fallen on a train track, and then left him there to get run over. I have not yet envisioned a suitable punishment but it will likely feature molten gold and/or rotating blades.

  110. birgerjohansson says

    If DarkFetus is about to be born I expect a few decent portents; a rain of fish or the mayor of Krakow undergoing spontaneous combustion.

  111. trinioler says

    This place either has the worst collective ability to read posts or no one wants to comment on my post…

    *mutter*

  112. dianne says

    If DarkFetus is about to be born I expect a few decent portents

    Portents of a birth by scheduled c-section: On the appointed day, the sacrifice will go to the sacred place where she will be given magic potions to relieve pain and stabbed with a special knife (by people who have undergone strict training and followed rigorous rituals) then darkfetus will be pulled, bloody and (hopefully) screaming from her uterus. Which will then be sewn up again with special thread that need never be removed yet will disappear when the wound has healed (and probably staples, which will have to be removed, in the skin, but never mind that now-not romantic enough). Then she will take darkbaby, cleaned and comforted, home to teach her the dark arts of feminism, atheism, and snuggling. Possibly cannibalism as well as she may feed darkbaby of her own body, but that decision is no one’s business but hers.

  113. broboxley OT says

    Okay I will be yelled at for this

    Something that puts them into a punishment home for youth for a necessary number of years and bangs away at them on a daily basis

    yeah they get banged all right. Aside from Setar, Brownian some friends of mine from north of the border Canadians share a lot of traits that these kids have shown. The pressure to conform with extreme vilification of those who are different is a Anglo national trait. These kids are acting the way their parents, peers, teachers, religious aholes have taught them. French? Native?, get underneath the dumpster because you don’t belong. Amanda Todd got caught up in that.

    Here in the states it could happen but chances are that an outlier group, goth, band, gang could have adopted her and gave her some support.

  114. carlie says

    This place either has the worst collective ability to read posts or no one wants to comment on my post…

    I can’t even count the number of times I’ve posted something I think is of interest, and then within a day or so someone else posts the same thing as a totally new interesting thing. :) People skip around a lot.

  115. says

    I am doing nothing wrong in this thread. Stop bullying me.

    WRONG. You made your point; your target has apologized multiple times and is practically begging you to drop it, and you just keep hammering away in the name of your precious “self defense”, and have turned this thread into an angry wrangle. Wrong, wrong, wrong. You are long past the point where a normal person would just drop it and and move on.

    Registering a point of disagreement and making a substantial, well-documented argument is not against the rules here, and I know you’re capable of doing that. Turning into a damned avenging robot wolf who can’t recognize the signals that your opponent has surrendered and insisting on your right to rip his throat out is. Battling to death over what was actually a trivial point is NOT WORTH IT.

    I’m this close to banning you from the Lounge forevermore as someone who is incapable of reacting appropriately to normal social cues. We’re close to the normal termination of a subthread, though, so instead I’m going to close it and I’ll expect all involved to DROP THE DAMNED SUBJECT or face my tired wrath as I try to deal with this mess from an airport terminal, on my iPad, which will make me even grumpier.