This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
blf:
One problem with your #500: at hypersonic speeds, the beer, once released, would be pure foam. Undrinkable.
Yay! =^_^=
Whereabouts in meatspace are you? Alternatively, are you coming to Skepticon?
Reading through the list of ingredients, it sounds delicious!
“Joy at the misfortune of others — and pie! Truly, the best of all possible worlds.”
Bookmarked. :-)
Kent Brockman: Alright, let’s go live to Bob headquarters now, for Mayor Terwilliger’s victory speech.
– TV Tropes: Evil Laugh
Seconded.
I hope we can meet this year!
==================
“
Tell Ted Cruz to stop playing games with our democracy.
Senator Cruz has just taken the extraordinary step of blocking a nominee to the FCC until he promises Cruz that he won’t require Super PACs to disclose their funders.
The 2010 Citizens United ruling paved the way for stealth Super PACs to bombard states with attack ads funded by dark money. Now, Senator Cruz and his Tea Party allies are trying to prevent that sort of accountability for their Super PAC funders. That’s just not right for our democracy.
Sign your name […] to join Sen. Shaheen in telling Ted Cruz to stop playing his political games.”
The second link is not included in the original. :->
==================
Oh. I overlooked this:
That paper is interesting. It should have been reviewed by a biologist or two, though, and even on the linguistic side there’s some strangeness – in the introduction, the authors misrepresent multilateral comparison: it’s a method to generate hypotheses, not to rigorously test them; it’s a way to identify questions that are worth a look.
Biologists haven’t used UPGMA for phylogenetics in 20 years. As the authors mention, it requires that everything in the dataset evolved at pretty much the same speed, which never happens. When this assumption is violated, UPGMA succumbs to long-branch attraction, a problem the authors spell out for maximum parsimony but which in reality affects all methods (just to different extents – most try to deal with it, UPGMA doesn’t even try).
The claim that maximum parsimony is “very time-consuming” is ridiculous! On ordinary desktops available in 2010 (when the paper was written), all most parsimonious trees that account for the dataset of that paper should be found in a matter of hours! Moore’s Law is teh pwnz0r.
The really baffling part is that the authors develop a method to derive models of evolution from the data – this is routine in molecular phylogenetics, but I’ve never before seen it in linguistic phylogenetics, so it’s a huge step forward! – and then use UPGMA, which can’t use a model! Instead, they used the model to transform the raw similarity matrix into a distance matrix that somehow accounts for everything. Way too many layers of inference for my taste – too much can go wrong along the way. A maximum-likelihood analysis of a dataset that size should be done in, I don’t know, a day or two.
Citing the Ethnologue (ref. 39), a list of languages compiled by missionaries, as evidence that a language belongs to a particular family is… worse than citing Wikipedia.
Figure 2 shows the UPGMA tree. UPGMA trees come with a scale that shows the distances. The scale is not included in the figure.
The tree itself is interesting. The shallow branchings are mostly resolved in a correct way or nearly so, with exceptions caused by long-branch attraction, like the position of the French-based creoles (far from French, as the sister-group to all other Romance languages), the position of East Romance (Sardinian is clearly the sister-group to all other Romance languages together, but East Romance has been under strong influence from other language families), the position of English plus the creole based on it (this branch is in reality the sister-group of Frisian), and the positions of “Gypsy Gk” (some Romani variety spoken in Greece, I guess; belongs on the Lahnda-Panjabi-Hindi branch) and Sin(g)halese (it’s the sister-group of all surviving Indic languages, while Kashmiri belongs to the Dardic languages, the sister-group of Indic). The deep branchings, however, mostly sit on very, very short internodes. Balto-Slavic has a long one; unsurprisingly, Balto-Slavic is the most obvious intermediate-sized subgroup of PIE. Indo-Iranian, similarly obvious, has a reasonably long one, too. But all other internodes in that region are worryingly short. Even the branch for Celtic – Celtic alone! – is much, much shorter than anyone would expect. Short internodes mean little evidence.
That’s sad, because those internodes are the interesting part. The longest of them support a node that connects Indo-Iranian with Balto-Slavic, which is not crazy (the two share some innovations in the sound system, for example), and Romance with Albanian, which is rather worrying: the position of Albanian is a big mystery, but while there’s good evidence (if not much of it) for an Italo-Celtic branch, Albanian doesn’t fit in there, lacking its innovations.
It is encouraging that the craziest part, the position of Germanic as the sister-group of everything else except Armenian, is supported by the shortest internode!
The position of Armenian is traditionally mysterious, though there’s some evidence for a closer relationship to Greek. The position in this tree may be a random effect of the very distant outgroup, Turkish.
Figure 3 shows the NJ tree. It is almost identical to the UPGMA tree. Celtic and Germanic come out as sister-groups, but that’s supported by an extremely short internode, the shortest of all; its sister-group is the Romance/Albanian clade, and all internodes in this region are very short, so I’ll just say it’s not far off.
I conclude that both of these methods aren’t apt to tell us pretty much anything new about Indo-European phylogeny.
David
Remind me to transcribe for you when I get home.
Also, thanks for that quick analysis of the linguistics paper. I’m still going to try and read it, seeing as I’m woefully out of the practice of reading linguistics papers (keeping in mind the points that you make).
+++
I know I’ve been too long at work when my memory starts shorting out (printing 3 and 4 copies of everything…). Ah well, three reports to go, rah rah rah goooo ME!
I’ve just been told that last night my younger daughter laid down and died.
I’m going to her house now because I want to hold her mother and I want to be held.
Oh
Oh, shit, Crudely Wrott. That’s horrible. Hugs to you. Take care of yourself.
Crudely Wrott!!! :( :( :( !!!
*hugs*
Crudely Wrott,
I’m so sorry. all the *hugs*
There was some discussion on the previous page of the [Lounge] about the extremist anti-choice attorney who used to serve as Attorney General in Kansas. Phil Kline was finally stripped of his law license. But his license was only suspended for three years. It should have been for life.
Rachel Maddow covered this story so so so well. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
Her exposé of all the unethical and illegal crap in which Phil Kline indulged is masterful. Of course, as usual, Rachel puts the whole issue in historical context, and in Kansas-politics context. The segment is 20 minutes long, and all of it is good, but the first 13:30 minutes are essential for understanding the entire story.
Rachel didn’t say this, but I will. Too many far-right whackos on the anti-abortion side are willing to celebrate violence and illegal tactics. Now they have Republican legislatures encouraging them. This total lack of ethics is sown and nutured in the fertile bed of christianity. (They even have “missionaries.”)
I’m so sorry, Crudely. Here are some *hugs*.
This may have already been posted, but if so, I missed it.
A “Luxury Bishop” in Germany spent 31 million euros ($42 million) on his personal digs. Catholic version of austerity?
Reuters link.
Dang Crudely, my sincerest sympathy.
No more contraception for you!
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/contraception-conundrum-the-religious-right-redefines-contraception
Crudely, that is just bloody awful.
We’re here for you.
Given the requisite beliefs…. an entire culture will support such evil. Malala is the best thing to come out of the Muslim world in a thousand years. She is an extraordinarily brave and eloquent girl who is doing what millions of Muslim men and women are too terrified to do—stand up to the misogyny of traditional Islam. — Sam Harris
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/no-ordinary-violence/
Harris is painting with too broad a brush. And he seems to be misinterpreting what Malala actually said. No matter Harris’ effusive praise, disregarding what she actually said is a sign of disrespect.
…
Salon coverage of Phil Kline.
In the USA treatment for the mentally ill includes gunning them down?
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/18/dallas_police_shoot_mentally_ill_man_standing_in_the_street/
Crudely
All the *hugs*. I’m so sorry.
Oh, Lynna. There’s worse than that!
Portland gives medals to cops who shoot people they think are mentally ill b/c they were 20 cents short of bus fare & didn’t understand the English instructions of the bus driver, were arrested for being 20 cents short and not leaving the bus, were denied a translator, were sent to an understaffed psych hospital who also expected him to comply with instructions given in a language he didn’t understand, and finally got pissed at being locked in.
The understaffed hospital used cops as patient security and safety, and so during a disturbance didn’t use staff’s own training and resources, but called the cops. When the person in question – Jose Santos Mejia Poot – tore a towel bar off the wall in frustration at being denied both freedom and explanation (against the law, btw, they were required to interview him w/ a translator) the cops shot him dead claiming that in that moment he had “armed himself”.
So, yeah. These are the things for which cops are given medals in Portland. Killing someone threatening suicide by shooting them in the back? Hardly unprecedented.
Crudely
All my love to you and yours. I have no words, only tears and a poem.
We are connected,
My child and I, by
An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye.
It’s not like the cord
That connects us ’til birth
This cord can’t been seen
by any on Earth.
This cord does it’s work
Right from the start.
It binds us together
Attached to my heart.
I know that it’s there
Though no one can see
The invisible cord
From my child to me.
The strength of this cord
Is hard to describe.
It can’t be destroyed
It can’t be denied.
It’s stronger than any cord
Man could create
It withstands the test
Can hold any weight.
And though you are gone,
Though you’re not here with me,
The cord is still there
But no one can see.
It pulls at my heart
I am bruised…I am sore,
But this cord is my lifeline
As never before.
Crudely, I’m so terribly sorry about the death of your daughter. We are here for you.
Bloody heck, Crudely.
I can’t imagine. All my sympathies. Let us know how you’re doing when you want to and are able.
Oh, Tethys, thank you for your poem. It really does touch me deeply. The ties that bind. =)
To all my fellow Hordelings, please hold me. My family is holding me. That intimacy is sustaining. You are no less family and your sympathies are no less sustaining.
Just hold me.
While you’re at it, hold one another. Take a moment to tell someone that you love them and that their life gives meaning to yours. That their life decorates and celebrates yours. Don’t let the moment pass. Just . . . love one another.
‘Anks.
Love,
Crudely
Crudely Wrott, I’m so, so sorry. I don’t have the words, only all my wishes for you and the family. Hope you can be together and hold each other tight.
So. I wanted to listen to Ravel’s Pavane For A Dead Princess. I clearly recall the first time I heard it. Was just before Diane was born. I was moved to tears by the utter tenderness and longing that the music evoked.
Only now does the true intent of the composer manifest.
So. I go to YouTube and find this: Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte · Alessandro Crudele. <–
Yes, I smiled at such an improbable coincidence. And I cried. Am still crying.
Here's the link.
Listen and weep your own tears for the loss of the young, all the things left undone, the songs unsung, the plans undone and when the sun rises on your tomorrow greet it with joy and squeeze it fiercely to yourself then give it away to someone else. It isn’t really yours anyhow.
Oh, all these beginnings and endings! It’s a marvel that we cope with it all even to the poor extent that we do.
I don’t know what else to say so I’ll just replay the piece and hug my surviving daughter. She needs hugs now even without this cruel imposition. Some new clarity pierces this cloudy day. A large portion borne to me by you. How very fortunate I am for such grace. How fortunate are we all, dear ones, dear Horde. How fortunate are we all.
*goes to dig out old pictures — hopes to find some written things I’ve forgotten — are they still in that big box under the bed?*
well, finally finished “The Origin of Species” by Darwin. Have to say it wasn’t as big a deal as I expected it to be. I’ve seen so many quotes from it over the yrs and seen so many of the examples rehashed elsewhere I was dissappointed. Dawkins tries to say its a life changing read- only in his mind i guess. I don’t think it should be a regular read for students of science, Evolution is much better explained in other media. (and lets face it the 19th cent. writing is sometimes weighty and hard to wade through.)
I think i’m out of science reading for a while. I’m thinking to turn to classics – Greek and Roman authors, other ancient stuff.(I have a copy of Caesar’s Gallic Wars someplace.) Also thinking to head toward early sci-fi, Verne and the like.
Oh, no. No no no no no no no. All I can do is sit here and cry with you from a distance. Hugs available here in the Lounge, any time of the day or night. Grieve here, scream in anger at the injustice of the world here, use this as an escape from obligation or sadness or anything you need.
Crudely
I’m really, really, really sorry.
I want to hold you and your whole family of wonderful people.
Crudely,
Thirty-five years ago my older sister died at the age of 29. Cancer. She had a 3 year old daughter, no husband, and was estranged from our bitterly strange family. But at the end, somehow, for a short while, we all came together with her and for her. Later that day I walked outside into the blazing cold sunshine and sat on a low brick wall. There seemed to be an element missing, some part of the universe that was so common and natural that it had never drawn my attention. And now I felt its absence. It was all so wrong. Children are not supposed to die before their parents. It isn’t natural. Maybe nothing is. There are no rules, not even rules of nature.
I’m so sorry for your loss. So very, very sorry. I send care and concern and sorrow for you and your struggling family. Be as well as you can be.
carlie
I’m sorry to hear about your son’s friend
+++
Thanks everybody for the support. So far the daycare-teachers seem to react adequately which is almost more than I’d been hoping for.
+++
So, Mr. and me decided it was time that we had a break and went to the thermal bath today.
Good idea. I love it there. Warm baths, different saunas, surprisingly good food…
Carlie, I am not angry. Right now I cannot imagine being angry. I don’t want to be angry. Diane wouldn’t like it if I was. Her departure was graceful, dignified and tidy. As she lived her life. Right now I am only sad. Right now I need not imagining sadness.
When young I considered the extent of emotion. Then I thought I knew. Then I was young and, for my youth, I forgive myself. Then I did not really know. Now I am uncertain if I know any better. The next days will inform me and I welcome as well as fear their instruction.
Ravel’s Pavane lead, unsurprisingly, to his Bolero. A central theme, like a single life, repeated, reinforced, declared, celebrated. Intensified. Made so very clear. The repetitions that can lull our senses shout! Hear! Listen!
Oh, my baby . . .
Crudely – She was well loved, as you are loved. Every time you have written about your family, no matter what was happening, the love flowed from every sentence and wrapped around it all. So much love.
This is not Ravel, but it seemed appropriate.
I am good night, and thinking of you, Crudely. *many hugs* So much love for you.
Crudely
*headbonks & purrs*
I has a sad with you.
WMDKitty, I does so like *headbonks*.
When I haz kidduns I make it a big deal to bump heads. They likes it too. It’s how they do what they do.
Thank you for your expression of care. Moar sustenance. Need met. Hole filled. Partially yet needfully.
Now would be a good time to get kiddun nunnunnunnun. For the love. For the familiarity. For the holding.
‘Anks again.
*bumps heads and smiles*
Crudely Wrott, very sorry for your loss. All my sympathy to you.
https://www.change.org/petitions/chuck-e-cheese-make-your-locations-fun-for-all-and-comply-with-the-american-with-disabilities-act
Ok, I keep getting kicked offline each time I try to copy/paste from the above site. The young girl has Lupus and was with her father at the restaurant as one of her first outings after her recent release from the hospital. As she has special needs, and the mens restroom was full, the father wanted to use the womens, which was empty. He was denied by management, treated horribly, and after an internal investigation, management was found to have acted appropriately.
WTF??!!
WMDKitty #494
Probably a UTI, but it could also be something wrong in the kidneys. I strongly recommend you see a doctor if feasible.
I’m so sorry, Crudely Wrott. I’m sure she knew how much she was loved. May the memory of that love give you comfort.
Would you mind terribly if I asked what happened?
Crudely, I am very sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and your loved ones. *offers hugs*
Crudely let me add my voice to those grieving for your loss. When my meeting finally gets out I’ll go home an hug my son and wife. I can’t fully express my sorrow.
Crudely Wrott
Many many many hugs for you and your family.
Crudely:
I am so sorry for your loss.
All my sympathies to you and your family.
Tethys:
That poem was…wow…(..::dries eyes, or tries to::…).
It was powerful.
Crudely , I’m so very sorry. Your loss is one I can imagine in gut clenching, teary eyed detail. My six year old daughter gives me a “cuddle and kiss packet” every morning before she goes to school to sustain me though my day. I offer to you all the hugs and the biggest C&K packet I have in my stores.
Please understand that I claiming the following as any kind of panacea. It ‘s merely what I did, and do come to that, about my grief.
I’m an atheist. I don’t believe that the people I love will be waiting for me when I die. Notice the tense there, it’s love, not loved. I still love my mother even though she’s no longer here to receive it. I grieve for her loss, how could I not? But it helps me to remember that grief is love transformed by absence. It might be changed, it might be difficult, but it is in the end still love.
So what do I do about my grief? I recognise that the love from which it springs is not unique. Not to me, not to my mother, not to anyone. We are surrounded by a web of emotional attachment, unseen but real none the less. It’s not a mystical force, or some perversion of the word ‘god’, it’s simply the way humans connect with each other. So to assuage my grief I do my level best to help those around me, friends and strangers alike, to love unimpeded.
This means the whole gamut of possible actions. I vote based on those I think will do the best job allowing people the ease and comfort to let the love in their lives bloom. I give to charities that reduce the suffering in the world. I do my best to be charitable to those I meet who are struggling enough that they take their pain out on me. I never, ever walk past a standard I don’t accept. And I make sure that those closest to me are reminded so often about how I feel about them that it becomes a little annoying.
In this way I take the grief of loss and strip it back to the love it came from. In this way I sustain, grow and spread out to the world my love for my mother and all the others who are no longer here.
It’s no magic cure. But it’s enough.
fucking html
For a little smile, please imagine me giving a paraphrase of the above to a room full of religious people. It’s pretty much what I said at my mum’s funeral. Mind you, they took it really well. My mother’s church is one of those new-agey Anglican ones that bless same sex marriages and have Christian meditation sessions rather than prayer. My pentecostal brother on the other hand….
Crudely, I am so sorry. *hugs*
Oh for fuck’s sake. That line should read “Please understand I’m not claiming…”
Well. No one can claim that I haven’t tried to navigate the health insurance exchange website.
I was able to make an account fine. But in the bit where it asks about my current coverage, I hit a roadblock when it said that my policy didn’t exist.
…I got nothing. No idea.
Crudely:
I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.
Tony:
Yeah, that’s serious bullshit by that place. Why are people such dipshits because of “ZOMG Gender Binary!”? ugh.
Ha! It appears I was using the wrong glue on my jellyfish!
Now the Experiment can proceed.
–
thunk:
Better yet, a bowl of mixed nuts.
–
WMDKitty:
I do not know, but it doesn’t sound good…or even neutral.
–
Crudely…Oh, no.
I am so sorry.
I know it ain’t much, and it ain’t filling, and it ain’t enough, but
*large, extended hug with rocking*
–
cicely:
There are some sentences that appear on Pharyngula that are, shall we say, strange?
A true Prince of the Church.
–
Nope. I won’t say it. I will say there are some sentences on Pharyngula that are made of *awesome*!
And in a pathetic attempt to keep up with cicely:
I now have to go put a 3/4 turn on all the nipples.
FossilFishy:
Turnwise or Widdershins?
Ogvorbis:
Möbiusly?
–
cicely, that is really twisted.
Ha! Turnwise. I’m shocked, shocked I say, that you’d think I’d do something satanic…. er, wait…
95 kgf here I come!
Someone needs to take charge before this spirals out of control.
Too late. Over on the cookies thread, it already is out of control.
Goddamit, and now I’m interpolating, will the horror never end?
Tension balancing the spokes on a bicycle wheel. My spoke tension meter doesn’t give absolute values, just reference numbers that need to be looked up on a chart. It’s without fine gradations so I have to interpolate to get a more precise reading. /killing the mystery
Upstairs neighbor is fucking loudly.
Go her, I guess.
Lucky Loudly?
FossilFishy,
Do you interpolate in public?
Only on Sundays. Besides, despite being a shop this is still private property. >->
Crudely,
I’m so sorry. I will hold you in my thoughts tonight. I wish I could wrap you in love and comfort and take away the ache in your heart. I hope you and yours can find some peace and ease in each other’s company.
Tethys,
Thank you for sharing that poem. It’s lovely.
Crudely Wrott, I am so, so sorry.
All the hugs, if you want them.
Dressing up as Pennywise the Clown: Cosplay or Creepy As Fuck?
Yep, and catholics are leaving, which shows the true motivation of some people: child abuse? covering up rape? Oh wellllll. But money? Bastards!
But OTOH, the guy’s been in the vatican for more than a week now and while the pope’s talking to everybody and their dog about him, he refuses to talk with him, which is one hell of shitty and inhumane treatment in and on itself. If your employee is accused of serious wrongdoing it’s your duty as his immediate superior to listen to them.
Coming in this morning (now early afternoon) with some cute-and-funny.
Cat gifs, because cats, and the captions are awesome.
Flying squirrels of the genus pteromys and I’m putting a CUTE warning on this one… *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
Students making use of their artistic talents in the best possible way – defacing textbooks.
Then there’s the mowgli girl whose parents are photographers, and I look at some of the (fantastic and cute) photos and I wonder what the hell they were thinking. Wild animals, hel-lo…
For the more serious-minded, here’s a rather sensationalized look at some New Discoveries that will change all previous theories about human evolution and overturn all currently solidly accepted knowledge and you get the idea… It’s a neat discovery, but it’s presented with slightly too much excitement. I mean, from what I understand, there’s no real consensus or certainty in the field at all. Well, maybe a little bit… (I especially love the last paragraph: “We need more complete skeletons! We need more fossils! MORE!!!”)
For the classical-musically inclined, and Titanic aficionados: the most expensive (and possibly emotionally charged) piece of Titanic memorabilia.
Oh, should I mention btw that while I’m solely responsible for my mother drinking again (I have a letter that says so, must be true then) my father is mashing up aples to make schnaps?
*facepalm*
I’m really sorry you are being treated in such a horrible way by your family. *hugs*
My condolences to Crudely Wrott.
I myself have had two incidents where very close family members have, completely unexpectedly, died. It is emotionally painful and distressing at the time but the planet does keep on orbiting…
Crudely:
All my love and sympathy, I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I’m glad that you and your family have each other. You also have us. I wish I could hold you and give you a big squeeze, but here’s all the e-hugs I have.
Giliell –
I’m really sorry your parents put so much on you, *hugs*: (
Thanks, Portia and beatrice
You know, I think about them less and less as “my parents” and more and more as “people who made and raised me once”
Giliell
Which is totally understandable but also one of those wistful realizations. Or at least, it has been for me with other family relationships…and for a brief time with my own dad. I get that feeling, a little.
Giliell
Wow, sorry your family is being so obtuse. :(
Hello, Portia! :)
Hello there rq :)
Allayou Sydney-ites down in Australia, and allayou in the area, hope you’re safe!!!
Good news, of a sort. Montenegro police clash with extremists at gay pride march:
In no way shape or form do I approve of violence, but (based only on the above brief report), the police’s hand might have been forced and their actions appropriate. Even if it was a completely botched policing operation, and/or driven by political considerations, allowing the march to go ahead in the first place is good news, as is the ultimately effective protection provided.
Now for the “hooligans” to have a fair and open trial.
Giliell. Ugh. I have some fucked-up relatives all right, but nothing like this – have not been put through the wringer like this. I’m so sorry.
Greetings to Portia and rq and all the excellent Horders.
Anyone who’s watched Haven:
That episode where they’re all on an island in a creepy hotel… That tricycle was totally homage to The Shining.
And I’m not sure whether that ax Duke wielded around was a coincidence.
I’m right, right?
I know nothing of this Haven of which you speak, but “bicycle” (in conjunction with TV or movies) always brings to my mind (1) The Prisoner, and then (2) Breaking Away.
More details on the Montenegro Pride march:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/first-pride-march-in-montenegros-capital-ends-with-tear-gas
blf,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven_%28TV_series%29
And now I learn that Heaven is “…loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid.”
So that’s probably a yes to my question in #586, even though the article mentions reference to Misery from the same episode I was mentioning, but not the reference to The Shining.
*pouncehug for Crudely Wrott*
*bonks head*
*curls up*
Say, whereabouts in meatspace are you? Alternatively, are you coming to Skepticon?
:-)
Allegedly the ever-rising costs of his residence have hit 40 million €.
I haven’t found an English version of this Spiegel article; maybe they’ll make one. It goes into some detail about how Catholic dioeceses in Germany routinely stay silent about millions of € and even have slush funds. In two of them, their own finance managers have no idea what all the stocks and real estate and whatever might be worth; the finance manager of the archdioecese of Cologne says “it would be crazy to estimate”. The other one of those two, the archdioecese of Munich & Freising, has declared it’ll take 3 to 4 years to figure out how much wealth they’re hoarding, because they’re still on what seems to be eighteenth-century bookkeeping.
One thing is clear: the Catholic Church in Germany is really, really rich. Each dioecese disposes of tens to hundreds of millions of €. A free-standing bathtub for 15,000 € is entirely affordable.
I want to ragepuke.
It isn’t.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Tell her that. Tell her that random people on the Internet think it’s deeply awesome that she does that.
Yyyyyyyeeeeeeah.
What I don’t understand is why it works. Befriending an elephant herd, OK. Playing moving obstacle for a snake that looks like it could kill as many people as Django if it tried (even though not quite at that speed), OK. Befriending a cheetah kitten your own size when the mother is conveniently outside the picture, why actually not. Casually hanging out with a largely grown leopard? ~:-| It doesn’t look photoshopped…
(So much love for comment 572!)
Now I’m really disappointed that that’s not an actual quote. :-(
The article ends in:
“• This article was amended on 18 October 2013. An earlier version incorrectly located Georgia in central Asia.”
Oh, Garundia. :-)
…Seconded. :-(
Uh. Forgot to dump ALL THE LINKS.
The heritability of intelligence: not what you think. Or what I think. Or what the post’s author thinks, judging from comments 17 & 18. ~:-| It’s all very confusing.
Native Americans Declare War on Fracking. Canada Declares War on Native Americans. “Oakland, Cairo, Athens, Brazil, Istanbul. All scenes of significant clashes with police these last years. Today, add to that list Rexton, New Brunswick, Canada.” Somebody is reeeeeally afraid of the Mi’kmaq.
From 2009: “We have two dominant political parties. Each of those parties is built upon two of the four primary waves of migration from Britain that defined America in its earliest years. Historian David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America, identifies these waves as:
Puritans, who settled in New England;
Cavaliers, who settled in Virginia;
Quakers, who settled in the Delaware River Valley; and
Borderers, who settled in the ‘backcountry,’ as Appalachia and the Highland South were termed back then.”
Goes on to explain the idea that the Republican Party used to be based on Cavalier and Borderer culture and has now become almost identical with the Borderers. I’m not sure how the Puritans became Democrats, though.
“Tea Partyers’ grave fear: Why they disdain young people — even their own!” Shortened interview with a sociologist.
“Idaho tea party candidate wants government out of health care, has 10 kids on Medicaid – and convolutedly denies being a hypocrite.
I’ve barely been home in weeks, or at least it feels that way. I’ve never been a full time salaried employee before (whine whine poor me, right?), so it’s an adjustment. Part of that adjustment is me laying in bed til 2pm watching Parks and Recreation when I get the chance.
Laundry later.
I miss you all.
Do the Magical Sky Faeries pay royalties? Is Valhalla also included?
And who owns the rights to Hades?
(It certainly explains why the concept is so stoopid.)
Giliell,
I’m sorry you’re being blamed for other people’s choices. I had a toxic relationship with my family of origin. I was often blamed for ridiculous things too, like my brother’s alcoholism. I wish them the best, but I haven’t gone near them in years and I’m much happier that way. I expected that since I was the cause of every problem they had, their lives would miraculously improve when I went away. Oddly enough, no such thing happened. On the other hand, my life improved quite a bit. I had no idea exactly how much energy I was putting into maintaining a relationship with people I did not enjoy and who did not enjoy me. I had no idea how much undermining and and emotional manipulation was going on until it was gone. Whether they are related to you or not, some people are like clouds. When they go away, it’s a beautiful day.
David
Haha, I was actually creatively paraphrasing this bit:
:D
And I found the book and the poem (it’s actually a series on the Prussian Extinction – sort of a poetic look at history, with the ten commandments in Old Prussian serving as ‘chapter’ titles). But I left the book in the bedroom, where Husband is currently putting Youngest to sleep, and my presence, alas, would not be welcome in this situation. So you will have to wait a bit longer. :) But the poetry bits I remembered are actually the quotes of the ten commandments from Martin Luther’s catechism, translated in German and Prussian. So I’ll transcribe those for you, and explain which parts I could understand and which ones – not so much. ;)
Tom the Dancing Bug: The Obamolitionists continue the fight… Great cartoon.
“When you have lost Rush Limbaugh it makes one wonder. Rush Limbaugh said, “I was trying to think earlier today, if ever in my life I could remember any political, any major political party being so irrelevant. I’ve never seen it. … What they’ve ended up doing is creating one of the greatest political disasters I have ever seen in my lifetime.” Links to China’s official news agency calling for a deamericanized world.
Petition to Obama “to stop legitimizing a policy that forces ICE to indiscriminately imprison undocument immigrants. The ‘bed mandate’, or immigrant imprisonment quota, forces ICE to keep at least 34,000 immigrants in its detention centers every day.” O_o
And finally: System Failure: US Democracy Is Nearing its Limits. “The United States has temporarily avoided federal default. As the Republicans lick their wounds, the Democrats are triumphant. But no one should be happy, because the debacle has exposed just how broken the American political system truly is.”
Contains the terrifying sentence heard at a town hall meeting when someone mentioned hearing something from the local news.
Update on my friend:
She’s doing well in the shelter. She’s getting help and being very brave. Her online friends are helping to keep her spirits up and one has even sent her a new phone. She just fell asleep on the couch with a dog and my kids sitting around her. Hubby made us all breakfast this morning and I took her to meet the horses. As we left another volunteer gave us a box of dry goods for her to take back with her and another texted me to ask what size coat she wore. She’s going to buy her one. The kids and I made butter from cream last night and we’re baking today. She was going to help, but she’s tuckered out. She has a long road ahead of her, but she found a church she likes and she’s writing again like she used to. Maybe it’s all the sunshine and cool breezes, but I feel very hopeful that she’ll be on her feet again one day. :)
Hah, heaven actually does sound like something King would come up with.
Getting stuck forever in a creepy yet strangely boring place, playing games for the amusement of a sick bastard, where getting evicted into a burning pit would actually seem like fun times… Sounds like something right up his alley.
:-)
:-) :-)
Jackie
Wasn’t here for the start of your story, but that sounds like wonderful progress. And so encouraging, to hear of so many amazingly helpful people – including you!!! – willing to do so much for someone in need. And you earn double amaze-points from me today – butter from cream? And horses?? *jealous* :) You are fantastic. And more good luck to your friend, from me – may the road upwards continue.
Libraries in unexpected places! I’m especially impressed by the item titled with “On Horseback”. And “On a Donkey”, come to think of it. (Biblioburro. Tee hee.)
Speaking of languages, make animal noises in different ones! I was sad – no cows in that article.
rq,
But what does the fox say?
sadly, that no one knows
On a less happy note, my eldest just got to experience abstinence only, sex shaming education in a KY public school. She was furious. Apparently, it hasn’t changed much since I was a kid. Lots of warnings about how sex outside of marriage ruins relationships, causes disease and how wonderful it is to keep your rapist’s baby instead of getting an abortion. They also included warnings for the girls, I’m sure you know what kind, about not getting raped. At one point it was suggested that girls shouldn’t want anything to do with a boy who had been “exposed” to pornography. As these kids grew up with the internet, I’m surprised they didn’t laugh the team of abstinence educators (read as: fundies in the classroom.) right out the door.They talked alot about reclaiming virginity and how important virginity is (*BARF*) but said nothing at all about vaccines, condoms or other means of preventing unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Consent was never even mentioned. She filled out a very leading survey at the end and filled the comment section with complaints. They did a class exercise where the students were told to go to different sides of the room if they believed one of two stupid things about virginity. She refused to leave her seat, as did three other students. When she came home she told me I might be getting a phone call from the school soon. As she said it with a smile, I think she knows very well what her father and I will have to say to her teacher.
Meanwhile, her grades are still very good.
On top of that, her friends are trying to start a Gay Straight Alliance, but the posters keep getting torn down. So, we gave her an entire box of packing tape and told her to do it the Chicago way. They tear one of yours down, you put up 10 more and you laminate them to the wall with tape.
We’ll see how this goes. How she handles this situation is entirely up to her, but babygrrl is angry and I don’t think they’ll like her when she’s angry.
I love that, especially that name of the method.
On the other hand, from you’ve said, I love her when she’s angry. What an awesome person you’re raising. Her courage is inspiring. Sticking out is hard, and standing up for your principles ain’t easy. Good for her.
Beatrice
Ah, but they do! (Be sure to check out the “For Reference” link at the bottom…)
And whoever recommended Gunnerkrigg Court in the first place, you owe me several hours of my life as well as a cure for that next-page,-already!!! feeling I get every day there isn’t a next page. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Jackie
You are an inspiration. ♥
And your daughter is, too.
Thanks rq. That’s very nice of you to say. It is a beautiful day. I’m lucky to know some wonderful people.
rq,
She’s a sweet kid, but sharp as a tack and a force to be reckoned with when she wants to be.
Jackie, Good for yer eldest! Go, Ms
KittehLioness, and chew on a few fundies and fools…And seems like good news for you friend.
Thanks Portia. I’m pretty fond of her too.
I saw a brown miniature horse with a cream mane today, and the first thing that popped out of my mouth was “It’s a Li’l Sebastian!”
God’s Own Party can’t be blamed on the South. Not historically speaking anyway.
Best quote (far down, after several very different points have been made):
carlie:
“What does he do?”
“He does being a miniature horse, and he does it better than anyone.”
Sidenote, it seems like there is no tv show that one of us likes and not the other. :D
Thankyou all, again
Jackie
Yay for friend
Boooh for Abstinenceshmapstinence
Yay for daughter
I’m fully planning to give the girls a copy of “our bodies-ourselves”, a good vibrator and a tube of lube when they hit puberty and an “upgrade” including condoms and Plan B some time later. I will emphatically not have The Talk™ with them. We will have many little talks as we already had and are expanding as they grow older.
Oh god. There’s a tweet that is Richard Dawkins retweeting a tweet by Michael Shermer urging everyone to support Sara Mayhew’s kickstarter. Talk about a trifecta of crap.
Hi Portia! *pouncehugs*
Kayne West and Jesus, on stage together in Seattle. Rolling Stone link.
Oh, and there were groups of women wearing nothing but sheer body stockings. No word on whether Jesus liked that or not.
Carlie,
Birds of a feather, those three. My opinion of Dawkins just reached an all time low.
Hi Dalillama :D
We’re full of pumpkin bread and I just found out that my friend has never been to a dog park. So, we’re off to the park!
Have a cozy Sunday, Hordlings.
*hugs*
Huh. “Great appendage” arthropods are chelicerates after all. Surprises me. …as does the technique used to investigate the fossils.
WTF. One word: Privacy!
Your daughter is right not to tolerate this. *clenched-tentacle salute*
Oh, Crudely. *adding to the pile of hugs and poetry*
So I found some Pablo Neruda in your honor. This is for someone else:
If You Forget Me
and this, in good time, is for you.
Ode to Sadness
Portia – if I lived near you, I’d probably follow you around like a puppy because you’re so awesome. “Portia said this. Portia likes that too. Did I tell you what Portia did today?” :)
602.
Beatrice
Lies!
Given a choice between groupies who follow you around, and a penguin who doesn’t bother with existing doorways, I’ll take the forty-foot killer rats for three, please.
carlie:
You make me laugh! The feeling is very mutual wrt to your awesomeness.
I usually feel like Chester to everyone’s Spike.
Jackie, my respects and admiration to your daughter and to you.
I feel cooler when you say you like a show I like ^_^ (This Lovefest is just so Very Lounge™) :D
—
Dalillama! I neglected to pouncehug you back.
POUNCE.
Jackie @603:
I was feeling bummed out until I read your comment, which was 100% awesomesauce.
Kudos to your eldest (and I hear her parents are pretty amazing too).
Oh my eyes! Please, please, someone explain to the author of that site the importance of contrast. Black-text on a medium-ish blue background does not have enough to be useful. You cannot fecking read it.
Jackie
Good on your daughter, and good on you for supporting her.
I’ve put up more than my fair share of posters in my life. If the packing tape fails to work there’s a full nuclear option to go to: condensed milk. Put it in a spray bottle, soak the target, apply the poster and if it dries before anyone attempts to remove it they’re going to need a paint scraper and a lot of time to get it off. I’ve seen ones done this way last for years outdoors. Mind you, I’ve also known folks who got charged with vandalism for doing it. Caution and plausible deniability is advised. Oh, and it can smell pretty bad for a while if done in a warm climate.
carlie:
Is there room in the Portia Fan Club? Can I be secretary?
FossilFishy: I’ve seen flyers like that and wondered how the heck; thank you! (Wouldn’t soaking them with water or water+soap get them off, in shreds?)
—
A modest proposal against gerrymandering – Register with whatever party dominates your gerrymandered district, and use your vote to influence THEIR primary. (Caveat – in some states/regions, registering for one party means you’re not allowed to vote for ANY candidates of the other party in general elections. However IMHO <_< that might be a worthwhile sacrifice if it means influencing a vital primary.)
—
Salon interview with Henry Louis Gates
David
*** WARNING: EXTREMELY long post to continue discussion (?) on Old Prussian to follow, please skip if not interested in Baltic languages or the musings of a not-even-amateur linguist who reads up on these things simply for being a speaker of a Baltic language group. ***
Preamble: Due to the fact that the Old Prussian I have has probably been written in ‘original’ script, by which I mean German text – by which I mean, phonetically German spelling (originally in Gothic type), I’m going to write out the Old Prussian, then the Latvian. I was going to also write out the Latvian as it would have been written back then (i.e., phonetically German spelling) for a possibly clearer comparison, but it doesn’t seem to be too necessary (for a quick switch, sub w for v and for all vowels with a line over top, write the vowel+h, = ā = ah; sub ee for ie; sub sch for š; sub z for c). Also, because of the phonetic German spelling and due to Old Prussian’s inability to survive to a more modern spelling/the Latin alphabet, I’m not going to be an authority on the actual pronunciation of Old Prussian. Also, I forget what the actual original purpose of this whole comparison was, but it still seems fun and interesting so away we go!
Title (in Prussian): SCRISITS/AULAUNS/BHE ENKOPTS
Translation: Crucified, died, and was buried.
Latvian: Krustāsists, miris un aprakts.
* A note on the words ‘enkopts/aprakts’. The Latvian verb ‘kopt’ with various prefixes can mean, in certain cases, ‘to bury’, although usually it means to tidy up. A ‘kapu kopiņa’ is a grave, so there’s some relation there. The rest – would not have guessed. Onwards.
Pr.: 1. STAS PIRMOIS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 1. The first commandment
Latv.: 1. Pirmais bauslis (alternatively, Tas pirmais bauslis)
* There’s no obvious relation beyond the words ‘pirmois/pirmais’ and they’re obvious in and of themselves. ‘Tas’ in Latvian is the definite article (redundant here due to the ‘-ais’ ending on ‘pirmais’ but sometimes added for emphasis), also obvious (to me) relation to the seemingly definite article in Prussian ‘Stas’.
Pr.: Tou niturri kittans Deiwans pagār mien turrītwei
Tr.: The one about not having any other gods (yes, I don’t know my commandments in English…)
Latv.: Tev nebūs citus dievus turēt līdzās manīm.
* Things I could figure out: ‘tou/tev’, ‘kittans/citus’, ‘dievus/Deiwans’, ‘manīm/mien’; things that took longer to figure out: ‘līdzās’ vs. ‘pagār’ (here, I assume that ‘pagār’ has a relation to the Latvian words/roots for taller/longer/higher (garš/garāks/garām) and the prefix ‘pa-‘, which can mean ‘more than’ or serve as an extendor (personal terminology), so in effect the ‘pagār’ to me signifies something ‘higher than’; the thing that took longest to figure out – the relationship between ‘niturri/turrītwei’ and the Latvian verb for holding – ‘turēt’, so in effect a form of ‘thou shall not hold any other gods higher than me’, where ‘niturri’ in current Latvian is changed to ‘nebūs’ (transl.: will not have, literally) because language structures aren’t identical, and I have a feeling that the idea of ‘not holding’ is equivalent to ‘not having’. This recurs in most other commandments.
Pr.: 2. STAS ANTARS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 2. The second commandment
Latv.: 2. (Tas) Otrais bauslis
* At first glance there is little relationship between ‘otrais/antars’, but keep in mind that a lot of the ‘uo’ sound in Latvian turns into ‘an’ sounds in Lithuanian (‘roka/ranka’, ‘kokle/kankle’), the relationship is a bit clearer.
Pr.: Tou turri Stan Emnain twaisei Deiwas ni enbāndan westwei.
Tr.: The one about not holding god’s name in vain.
Latv.: Tev nebūs tava dieva vārdu nelietīgi velti valkāt.
* Besides the words I have already mentioned, this one had me completely in the dark. I’m pretty sure ‘twaisei’ is ‘your’ (‘tavs’, in text – ‘tava’ (gen.)). ‘Stan Emnain’ I think is ‘the Lord’. The phrase doesn’t appear in the Latvian text, but considering the capitalizations it seems like a translation of the phrase ‘the Lord your God’. The ending (‘ni enbandān westwei’) is beyond my comprehension.
Pr.: 3. STAS TĪRTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 3. The third commandment
Latv.: 3. (Tas) Trešais bauslis
* I think numbers are some of the easiest things to figure out in these languages and, for that matter, in most other Indo-European languages.
Pr.: Tou turri Stan Lānkinan Deinan Swintint.
Tr.: The one about keeping god’s holy day.
Latv.: Tev būs svētu dienu svētīt.
* See, the verb ‘turri’ repeats here (in commandment 1 it was the negation ‘niturri’), which makes me believe it was used as the language-equivalent of ‘būs’, the whole ‘to hold’ vs. ‘to have’ thing. ‘Stan’ is obviously (here, to me) a definite article again, ‘dienu/Deinan’ (= day, acc.) is obvious, and ‘svētīt/Swintint’ also is a logical connection, the capitalization due to the fact that it’s being honoured and made holy (a status thing). The word ‘Lānkinan’, however, besides probably having an accusative ending, has no obvious meaning to me. I might make distant connections to other vaguely similar words, but that would be a real stretch, so I won’t.
Pr.: 4. STAS KETWIRTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 4. The fourth commandment
Latv.: 4. (Tas) Ceturtais bauslis
* Obvious.
Pr.: Tou turri twaian Tāvan bhe Mūtien Smūnint kai tebbe Labban ēit bhe ilgi givassi nosemien.
Tr.: Honour thy father and mother, etc., go well with you, days be long, etc.
Latv.: Tev būs tavu tēvu un māti godāt, lai tev labi klājas un tu ilgi dzīvo virs zemes.
* The relationship between ‘tavu tēvu un māti/twaian Tāvan bhe Mūtien’ was obvious, except for that conjunction ‘un/bhe’ (which for some reason seems oddly out of place). Sometimes, ‘and’ in Latvian is also written as ‘i’, which is far closer to the Russian form of ‘and’. This ‘bhe’ is completely different. The word ‘Smūnint’ is obviously ‘honour’, with capitalization again due to status, but there’s no related word in Latvian that I can think of. ‘kai tebe Labban ēit’ is close to the Latvian ‘ka tev labi iet’, and ‘ilgi givassi nosemien’, especially if some germanic pronunciation is taken into account (s is a z sound), also makes a lot of sense. The construction, however, is different, ‘virs zemes/nosemien’, where the Prussian (I presume) prefix ‘no-‘ is not related to the Latvian prefix ‘no-‘ (generally added to mean ‘from’ or ‘off of’ – nolekt no galda = jump off the table, different from lekt no galda = jump from the table, sort of a double emphasis). But the gist can be understood. [sidenote: The author actually has a different, rather vicious, heartrending, anti-religious poem based on the second half of this commandment, which I may or may not decide to translate unofficially here later on, if there is interest.]
Pr.: 5. STAS PIĒNCTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 5. The fifth commandment
Latv.: 5. (Tas) piektais bauslis
* Besides not having any idea on how to pronounce “piēncts”, obvious enough.
Pr.: Tou niturri gallintwei.
Tr.: Thou shall not kill.
Latv.: Tev nebūs nokaut.
* Again with the ‘niturri’ vs. ‘nebūs’, as mentioned before. Alternative Latvian: Tev nebūs nogalināt. This one has a clearer relationship to the Prussian. And I suspect the ‘-wei’ ending is a infinitive verb ending, which makes me think a little more about commandment 3, with the ‘westwei’ verb, which may or may not have a relation to the Latvian verb ‘vest’, meaning ‘to carry, to take, to bring’.
Pr.: 6. STAS VSCHTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 6. The sixth commandment
Latv.: 6. (Tas) Sestais bauslis
* Whoa, what the hell? Yeah. Numbers is numbers, but in this case, *whoosh*.
Pr.: Tou niturri Sallūbanlimtwei.
Tr.: The one about adultery
Latv.: Tev nebūs laulību pārkāpt.
* While I can now deduce that ‘Sallūbanlimtwei’ is a verb in the infinitive, it is a word foreign to me in all other respects.
Pr.: 7. STAS SEPTMAS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 7. The seventh commandment
Latv.: 7. (Tas) Septītais bauslis
* Ah, that’s better.
Pr.: Tou niturri Rānctwei.
Tr.: Thou shall not steal.
Latv.: Tev nebūs zagt.
* While Rānctwei =/= zagt in any way possible, I’m wondering if there’s some relation here to the Latvian word for hand ‘roka’ which may or may not have taken the ‘an’ sound in Prussina instead of the ‘uo’ sound found in Latvian, seeing as how stealing is closely tied to hands, and maybe there was an old verb based on the root for ‘hand’ that also meant to steal (like having free hands or something like that). [/guessing]
Pr.: 8. STAS ASMUS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 8. The eighth commandment
Latv.: 8. (Tas) Astotais bauslis
* Besides having a friend whose last name was Asmus (so, she was the eighth?), they lost me with the numbers again.
Pr.: Tou niturri reddewijdikausnan dātwei prijki twaian tawischan.
Tr.: The one about holding false witness.
Latv.: Tev nebūs nepatiesu liecību dot pret savu tuvāku.
* The word ‘reddewijdikausnan’ looks Dutch to me, I swear. I can’t riddle it out in Latvian at all. The verb ‘dot/dātwei’, however, and the phrase ‘pret savu tuvāku/prijki twaian tawischan’ can all be figured out.
Pr.: 9. STAS NEWĪNTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 9. The ninth commandment
Latv.: 9. (Tas) Devītais bauslis
* Again, there seems to be more relation to the English than the Latvian, but the N/D exchange doesn’t seem at all strange.
Pr.: Tou niturri Pallaipsītwei/twaisei tawischas butten.
Tr.: You shall not covet your neighbour’s house.
Latv.: Tev nebūs iekārot tava tuvākā namu.
* This one confuses me a bit, because of the connection of ‘Pallaips (commandment)’ with ‘Pallaipsītwei (to covet?)’, which is why I think the whole ‘pallaips’ business has to do with ‘[something that] must be [done/had]’, but that’s neither here nor there. Also, the word ‘butten’ has no (obvious) relation to any word for house in modern Latvian that I can think of (nams, māja, ēka, etc.). Maybe somewhere there’s a dialect that uses something vaguely similar, or maybe in Lithuanian, I really couldn’t say.
Pr.: 10. STAS DESSĪMTS PALLAIPS
Tr.: 10. The tenth commandment
Latv.: 10. (Tas) Desmitais bauslis
* Fewf, back to some congruency.
Pr.: Tou niturri pallapsitwei twaise Tawischas Gannam/Waikan/Mērgan/Peckan/adder ka tennēison ast.
Tr.: The one about coveting all your neighbour’s other possessions (incl. wife).
Latv.: Tev nebūs iekārot tava tuvākā sievu, kalpu, kalponi, lopu vai citu mantu, kas tam pieder.
* So here’s some different spelling for ‘pallapsitwei’, which might negate my previous musings about the word. Typo? Also no capitalization, which makes me think it may have been a bit random after all… As for the nice list of words for comparison, yeah, no. Couldn’t make it out at all, but again, there may be older / now-unused words for servant-male and servant-female, and wife, and beast, that may have been previously used. The only distant connection I might make is with ‘Peckan’ (beast?), there’s an old slangish Latvian word for feet, ‘pekas’, which may or may not be related to the fact that beasts have more legs than humans, and may be somehow referred to as ‘the legged ones’ (hey, people still call cows ‘the horned ones’ around here, along with all other animals with horns…).
So there you have it! That is an epic post. Where all this is supposed to lead, I don’t know, but I hope it was at least marginally interesting to you!
Can I get on the carlie-is-awesome bandwagon? I may not watch/like all the shows you talk about, but I feel like I express my admiration and appreciation for you a lot less than I should. Not because I don’t know what to say, but prefacing eveyrthing with ‘carlie, you rock!’ or randomly putting up comments saying ‘carlie is awesome!’ might get a bit weird and creepy after a while.
I’m already a paying member of the Portia fanclub. Not sure why Tony wants in, though, he’s just going to get killed in Pictionary, again and again and again and again and…
The Portia fan club can be HUMONGOUS.
In other news entirely, it seems to be impossible to find cafe doors that do not look like a saloon, unless one spends ungodly amounts of money. Seriously, the main version available for cheap has spindles at the top, and the other is entirely louvers. Wouldn’t a solid panel be even cheaper to make?!
Now I have to hide behind the couch. ;) Thanks, rq. You’re pretty fantastic too.
That’s why I love it here, all the people are great. :)
Carlie
I’m sure some brave heros will join them in their quest.
The fembot intelligence agents recently intercepted this map of operations, and submitted it to femcentral amidst many barely suppressed guffaws.
The Curve of Pursuit
According to the report, it is not clear whether they will be crashing into each other in the center, or spiralling off into ignomity.
More seriously, scroll down at my link to see several versions of the Curve of Pursuit, and click around the site. Math and knitting together produce some seriously wicked cool designs that Im sure could be executed in crochet.
That seems a bit counterproductive as a door unless you only nail it along on one side. (Or, I suppose, along the top, like a cat-flap.) Or hide some cheese in the other room, wait (probably not for long) for a certain penguin, and can tolerate a penguin-shaped hole, not necessarily in yer new door.
Tethys
Wow, nice designs!!
I know a math professor here who teaches the math behind quantum physics through crocheting. Apparently it’s a great way to visualize a lot of shapes and patterns and their changes and inversions, since you can pick up a piece of crocheting and play around with it by following the transformation in the formula.
Or something. It was all pretty complicated, but it looked amazing. Your work / patterns / etc. remind me of that. Love it.
And illusion knitting… *mind blown*
Sunday Sing Along
Oliver & Rubin
Yep, Pteryxx, that’s exactly how you get them off. If it’s fairly fresh rubbing the wetted paper with something like a pot scrubber get it mostly off. But if it’s fully cured it’s like the individual fibres of the paper are all glued down separately. Rubbing at it with an abrasive just takes off the top layer, then you have scrape off all the little bits left behind. I should point out that if done properly the poster is wet right through. If it didn’t absorb enough from the initial spray on the wall I’d give it a quick mist after attaching it. Er, that is, I would have if I’d ever engaged in such hooliganism…. >_>
rq
I would love to attend this class. I knew it can be used to model hyberbolic math concepts, and fractals, but quantum physics? *drool*
Oliver!!
and Rubin looks so glossy for his age.
Tethys
I’ll see if I can find more info, but I doubt it will be in English. :(
Ratties! and Hounds!
Happy birthday to Rubin! Is that a notch in her ear?
hahahaha Tethys I am laughing at myself, I have to apologize, I have just fed you very wrong information. I was thinking of the author of this book. So, no, no quantum physics. Sorry (but it would be awesome and drool-worthy).
Oh geez, I guess it’s way late because my memory is coming up with the strangest things right now. :/ And I’m just going to embarrass myself even more as time goes on. Good night!
Pteryxx:
He’s a shy one.
She. Rubin is our surviving mama. She is a very fat and happy rat. She was slated as a feeder when we came across her, because of being odd-eyed.
Tethys:
She’s always had that, don’t know if it’s natural or she was bitten at one point.
oy, apologies to Rubin. >_<
and that ear-notch might have been for marking at some point; say, to distinguish the feeders from the keepers, or some other local ID.
rq
Thanks, but please don’t go to the bother. I am sure that Latvian would be just as incomprehensible to me as the math and the only thing I would understand are the crochet diagrams. It is an excellent way to show how just one or two wrong stitches will profoundly alter the final geometry of any form.
My pattern stash is always open however. The klein bottle and the lorentz manifold would be happy for more company in the higher math crochet folder.
Pteryxx:
Yeah, could be. She was very young when we brought her home, 8 weeks.
Caracal kittehs!
–
Ogvorbis:
Ah, but is it Tiffany-twisted?
–
Tony:
Yes.
–
The Husband is watching The History Channel. They’re doing Ancient Aliens, and he is providing snarky editorialization.
–
*hugs* for Giliell. Sorry your father is being such an asshole.
–
…which prompted memories of how, back in the day, I was, in my mother’s opinion, responsible for Youngest Brother’s ADHD.
‘Cause I didn’t drive corner-wise across OK to attend his weekendly soccer games, that’s why. And completely disregarding the carefree way it romps through our family tree, what with Not-As-Younger Brother’s ADD, and all of my male cousins on my father’s side….
But just because it makes no damned sense doesn’t make it not hurtful.
–
Portia!
*pouncehug*
–
David!
*pouncehug, extra tentacles on the side*
–
Tony,
She’s pretty groovy.
Lies! All lies!
…I mean, thank you.
Fossilfishy,
Thanks. That’s an idea, but I don’t think the school would go for it.
I think very highly of all of you too. I’m thrilled to the gills to get to know you.
My group of close female friends, in a effort to see each other more often and mend some fences, has decided to start having a monthly knitting/crocheting/crafts night. I’m not feeling energetic enough to learn a new skill like knitting or crocheting right now, so I’ll be bringing my craft kit and making these dragon boat ornaments instead.
My grandma taught my mom to make them, and my mom taught me. I do them every year as Christmas gifts for friends, but I never knew what they were called until last year.
Looking forward to some crafting.
Non-typical day here at Casa la pelirroja. Typical was me sleeping in to 7:30 am, and the Redhead much later, plus a couple of loads of laundry. What was non-typical, was the need to buy Halloween candy for 300-400 ghosties and ghoulies who will appear in the official Trick & Treat two hours next Sunday, on top of the normal weekend shopping. The Redhead will do the distribution duties, in-spite of the reluctance of some of the younger Ghosties/Ghoulies to approach her in a wheelchair. Funny how siblings/friends receiving treats melt the reluctance. Twere so easy with adults. It took three stores to get our normal mixture of candies that we usually hand out.
Jackie, I’m glad to hear that it’s going well for your friend.
Your daughter sounds to be an intelligent and brave young lady. KY , otoh, sounds to be…pretty much what I would expect.
–
Caine, how is Chester doing?
–
Who is Sara Mayhew again?
What? The vote is secret. Are you talking about primaries or something?
Fits Slavic, too, where kopat- means “dig”. However, Slavic o ought to correspond to Latvian short a, and Latvian ā and o should correspond to Slavic a… what does kapu alone mean?
(And the BH just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.)
They are, but Latin primus shows that the difference to Slavic p(e)rv- just means that Slavic has innovated.
Sure, but it’s also the same as the Slavic demonstrative pronoun tot/ten, ta, to, which is developing into a definite article in Czech. The vowel shift is regular (see above), and so is the loss of final -s.
More on that later.
I’m sure you’re right. I am, however, reminded of Slavic gora “mountain”, the adjective to which (gorn-) often just means “upper”.
…At the same time, this very word is a good lession in coincidence: the Georgian word for “mountain” is also gora, and that language isn’t even Indo-European.
That happens a lot. Spanish has replaced “have” by “hold” except to form the compound past tense, and the “have” word it replaced often meant “hold” in Latin. Have itself is related to Latin capere “take, grasp, seize, conquer”.
Excuse me while I geek out. :-) Take that antar- and send it through Grimm’s law, so that the t becomes “th” as in “thick”. Then you can either send the result through the last phase of the , which turns the th (spelled thus in the oldest Old High German writings) into d. That gives you modern German ander-. Or you can send it through the <inhale>Ingvaeonic nasal/spirant law<exhale> and, a weird vowel shortening later, you get English other.
Replacing “second” by “other” appears to be common; several Slavic languages have done it (though with a different root, drug-).
…Does that mean “hand”?
That makes sense by comparison to such things as Old Latin.
Oh yes. In this case I’m surprised they’re so different, actually; but I can’t tell if either is closer to Slavic (roughly tretj-).
Yep, and Slavic has the same.
Whoa.
…Two Wikipedia articles later, I find that (of course) the linguists knew about this surprising k; more later, it’s crazily late, I’m extremely tired and must go to bed.
…and mangle the HTML.
Fixed:
cicely!
*tired attempt at pouncehug*
A real pain in the ass, in other words?
*ducks*
Hey Caine, is Chester doing okay? I hope so.
Cicely:
Badly. Might have to make the decision.
Caine: Oh, no!
:(
I’m so sorry.
*extra-large hug*
–
Thanks, Cicely.
Spam filter must have eaten my post. I’ll try it again with a different link.
***
In an effort to make girls’ night a more regular occurrence, my group of female friends has decided that we will do a monthly knitting/crocheting/crafting night. I don’t know how to knit or crochet, and I’m too busy tomorrow to pick up supplies anyway. So I will be doing dragon boat ornaments instead.
My grandma taught my mom to make them, and my mom taught me. I make new ones each Christmas and give them away as gifts. Fun with thread and patterns!
Caine,
I’m so sorry Chester is so sick. Please give him a kiss for me.
ただいま。
Morgan, thank you.
Chigau, glad you’re home safe.
David M:
I live in Northern Viriginia. Unfortunately, I will not be going to Skepticon, but I am looking forward to reading about it. :D
Crudely Wrott – I’m so sorry. You have my deepest sympathies. If I can do anything, please let me know. *hugs*
Giliell – I’m sorry you’re being treated so poorly by your family. *hugs*
Portia – *pouncehug*
cicely – Thank you for posting the link to the Caracal kittehs! Also, *pouncehug*
Caine:
I’m so sorry to hear Chester still fares badly. *hugs*
Thank you for posting the pictures of Rubin and Oliver.
Caine:
So sorry to hear about Chester.
****
rq:
Whoa!
Hold
yourcicely’s horses!I have not been beaten once at Pictionary, let alone ‘again and again…’
I thought that your side overcame that shared delusion after my 218th win.
(j/k–it was only 133 times)
Hekuni Cat:
::waves hello::
If I may, does the MQG in your nym stand for anything?
****
I just realized we have a few people round here with ‘cat’ or some variant in their nym (Hekuni Cat, CaitieCat, WMDKitty, and kittehserf.
And does this prove PZ likes cats?
Caine
Thanks.
strokes and skritches for Chester.
bladder update
Appears to have been irritation combined with something I ate turning things a rather alarming shade of red. And (duh!) drinking ~100 oz of water a day*, makes for frequent trips.
*Naproxen (over the long term) isn’t good for the kidneys, and staying well-hydrated is the least I can do to try and keep them healthy.
Tony! #674
I think the prevalence of cat-like nyms just proves the wiseness and benevolence of Teh Overlord.
(did I do that right?)
Sorry if that was TMI.
*hugs* for Giliell and Caine, and moar hugs for Crudely and *scritches* for chester.
Making an early night since I’ve got an interview tomorrow with an hour and a half trip to get to it (there’s a commute I’m not looking forward to).
Tony
PZ comes off as a Friend To All Living Things, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he tends to attract us.
And now you have me wondering just how many Furries (and Scalies and Avians) we have here.
Hekuni Cat, Chigau, & Dalillama, pilamayaye.
Chester.
Dalillama:
Fingers crossed for you my friend. I hope you get the job.
****
…
Sometimes, the most random thing enters my head. I got curious about the origin of _fingers crossed=good luck_ . Not sure what I expected, but it was not this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossed_fingers
Tony, thank you.
Tony:
MQG: Motley Queer Groupie, one of hekuni’s suggestions as to represent Quiltbag allies.
also, there are some people who love cats, and those people really love them, to the point that whenever they name themselves, they pick cat-related names (or anything similar really). The examples listed aren’t the only ones.
Good morning
Hugs for Chester and Caine
Fingers crossed for Dalillama
cicely
*hugs*
Yeah, it doesn’t ever make any sense. It’s also that I did the walking on eggshells thingy for long enough.
Right now I’m causing drinking by not surrendering my kids and by not jumping to their atteintion and by not includig them in every little detail of my life. Unasked involvement or disapproval at their discretion. I mean, man, why would I want to tell them about anything I’m planning to do if that is either met with making me feel like the worst person in the world for doing something that’s harmless fun or by my mother simply joining us without asking?
Though I admit that I had hoped that after mum nearly dying in January that my father had learned something at least. Alas, he hasn’t. I remember that 2 1/2 years ago he tried to bully me into not cancelling #1’s birthday party in their garden. Because after my mother hadn’t left bed and taken a shower for days I did not feel positive about having guests there. And my mother cried and swore she’d be fit and he then tried to bully me into not cancelling because obviously mum had changed now and if I didn’t support her now it was my fault if she didn’t make it.
*sigh*
Sorry for dumping it all on you, folks. I’ll dump it on my therapist come Friday, I promise.
WMDKitty
Yay for good health update. UTIs aren’t exactly a pain in the ass.
Uh, you might want to double-check whether that’s safe as regards electrolyte balance. That’s kind of a lot. O.o
Huh? That’s less than 3 litres a day. Doesn’t sound that much to me. Quick google-foo says that you need to drink twice as much to actually drink too much.*
But it also seems to be the case that the hype about “you haaaaaaaaaaaaave to drink 60 ounces a day” is also just that: a hype. So, unless you actually drink so little that you dehydrate and unless you drink so much that your electrolytes go kaboing it seems like you should drink how much you like and ignore all the “good advice”
*Unless you have a weak heart, then it’s much less.
Jackie, I am very happy to learn things seem to be working out for your friend.
— — —
Fact checking politicians gets results http://phys.org/news/2013-10-fact-politicians-results.html -Hooray!
— — —
Pre-Viking Age monuments uncovered in Sweden http://phys.org/news/2013-10-pre-viking-age-monuments-uncovered-sweden.html
Thulsa Doom has much to answer for!
— — —
Low-wage fast-food jobs leave hefty tax bill, report says http://phys.org/news/2013-10-low-wage-fast-food-jobs-hefty-tax.html
— — —
Pupils ‘held back’ academically by their social background http://phys.org/news/2013-10-pupils-held-academically-social-background.html
Woman batters sleepy Swede with mackerel http://www.thelocal.se/50880/20131018/
Stuff like this never happens to me…
Crudely, I am so sorry for you.
Cicely, than you.
blf, myself I am -like corporal “Nobby” Nobbs- common as muck, 100% North Swedish peasant stock (presumably with a lot ofSami DNA, as the agriculturalists interacted with the Sami a lot).
— — —
Since aboriginal Australians have more Denisovan DNA than others the Denisovans probably made it east of the “Wallace line”, mingling with the H.sapiens sapiens coming that way.
*hugs* for Caine and *scritches* for Chester. All the love for small trusting things that wash their faces in one’s hands.
PZ and Caine, when the portcullis comes down, can the next Lounge be for Chester? There’s a pic
http://needleprovocateur.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/virtual-ratlets/a1chester/
and here’s more
http://ratifiedtwentyfive.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/the-last-straw/
http://ratifiedtwentyfive.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/artemis-chester-rubin-giles-magrat-and-theo/chester/
http://ratifiedtwentyfive.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/chester-waxes-happy/chester4/
http://ratifiedtwentyfive.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/button-button-whos-got-the-button/button6/
@Tony:
I’m not a cat, I’m a panda!
@WMDKitty:
I don’t describe myself as a furry, but I do enjoy the art. Also I kind of have somewhat “furry” type creatures in my story world (they’re human-animal hybrids created to be slaves of humans and elves.)
I have a song in my head that I don’t know what is called or who plays it, but it goes on repeat in my head over and over, and I don’t even know whether the words my head is singing are correct.
Kevin,
Give us a few bars and we’ll see what we can do. :)
@carlie:
Yea, no way I can describe it I think. It’s a slow modern swing song. I’ll eventually hear it on Pandora, but mleh.
Kevin: maybe make a guess at the words on a lyrics search?
—
via BB: Why the letter Q is no longer illegal in Turkey
Main article: Q vs K
—
also via BB: Meet the design pirates who rip off independent artists
Main article: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020194/how-a-company-gets-away-with-stealing-independent-designers-work
Glenn Beck did a show in which he claimed that scientific research showed that Tea Partiers are better at science, but Beck mangled the statistics. Mother Jones link.
From the research Beck was using to make a false claim:
@Pteryxx:
Nah, it’s fine. I get to listen to awesome musics for a while
Holy crap. This gallery of photos showing the pall of smoke over Sydney is just stunning.
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/environment/smoke-over-sydney-20131017-2vpfj.html
kevin
Let’s play Name That Tune! My first guess is
Dance Me To The End Of Love
written by Leonard Cohen, performed by Madeleine Peyroux.
@Tethys:
Nope.
It’s one of those swing revival bands – ala Big Bad Voodoo Daddies
And Pandora answers my pleas:
Goddamn sorry about the embed
If right-wing Republicans can’t get what they want through normal democratic-society channels, they will try, try again. Now the Tea Party Republicans are going back to one of their earlier arguments, repealing the 17th amendment:
Think Progress link.
And now that I listen to it, it makes little sense why Randall Shreve is in my swing revival station…
Um.
Mexican drug lord assassinated by killer clowns
Goddamn now I can’t ever trust clowns.
*catching David’s tired pouncehug, leading it to a comfy chair, and tucking a blanket around it*
–
Tony, how often must I remind you that I neighter [originally a misspelling, but too funny not to leave] own, nor am I owned by, Horses? In any quantity or fraction thereof.
–
*hugsback* for Giliell. You’re not dumping on us; you’re legitimately venting to a sympathetic audience.
–
*blinkblink*
Of course there must have been someone there before the Vikings…so why am I gobsmacked? Unexamined assumptions for the LOSE.
–
leaders
So much awesomeness in this sentence:
“Kemal’s signature (now one of the most popular tattoos in Turkey) was designed by Hagop Çerçiyan, an Armenian calligrapher.”
The second comment triggers my SIWOTI syndrome, though, and I can’t comment there:
Turkish isn’t Arabic. Very far from it.
Their vowel systems happen to be much more like that of Arabic than those of English or Turkish are.
Modify? Some of the letters – for consonants – differ only in the number of added dots, and other diacritics are used to make vowels appear where necessary.
Nope, it’s an arch, a breve. It’s round. And a circumflex has the tip at the top, not at the bottom.
Spoken like someone who has no idea what a glottal stop is. In Standard Turkish, ğ is a nod to etymology (pretty much the only one that’s there), pronounced like y between front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) and lengthening the preceding vowel in other contexts; in eastern dialects, it’s reportedly this sound.
Yep, because of French. Funnily enough, the sound doesn’t occur in native words; almost all words where it does occur are loans from French.
tiny rattie hugs for Chester
How much best to drink depends very strongly on the weather.
That’s lovely. ♥
*hugs and chocolate with 57 % cocoa and 14 % candied-or-so ginger for Caine*
Possible. Interbreeding with Neandertalers appears to have occurred only at the spot of first contact, though.
Close to DC? Because I’ll be there before and (likely) after Skepticon. :-)
Pteryxx:
Waštélake na pilamayaye.*
*love and thank you
I don’t know what I did last night with my eyes closed, but I’m damn sure it wasn’t sleeping. I feel like a robot with a poorly shielded power core–everything is arcing and snapping.
And on the icky biological part, I’m coughing and phlegmy. -.-
Well, that was a waste of my morning. The stupid fuckers didn’t bother to mention in their ad or on the phone when I asked about bus routes that fucking job requires that I have a fucking car. Assholes.
cicely
NEW THREAD.