Botanical Wednesday: Plump and protuberant » « Would Neil deGrasse Tyson please run for president?

Episode CCXLVI: Infamous atheist

Aaaaargh. Must curl up into a ball and weep for a bit. Here’s Karl Rove, Satan’s frotteur, declaring that the United States is not a Christian nation. The pain of being in agreement with that evil toad…

(Last edition of TET.)

Botanical Wednesday: Plump and protuberant » « Would Neil deGrasse Tyson please run for president?

Comments

  2. RahXephon, un féminist nucléaire says

    I don’t even care if he’s right. About anything. EVER. I never want to see Karl Rove’s face ever again. He can join Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter on the Island of Misfit Wingnuts.

  4. strange gods before me says

    Alright, Greasemonkey users (if you had killfile back at the old Pharyngula, you’re a Greasemonkey user)

    Here’s your Comic Sans. And creationist Gumby.

    It’ll have to be an in-joke, assuming that anyone else uses the script to be in on the joke…

    Usage:

    <blockquote cite="creationist">makes Comic Sans and Gumby</blockquote>

    <q cite="creationist">makes Comic Sans with no Gumby, and no blockquote margin line; this should work in the middle of any sentence</q>

    Remember, it has to be cite, not class or style.

    This will be linked at the front page of the wiki.

  5. RahXephon, un féminist nucléaire says

    Okay, I’m still having update problems with this site. Clearing my cache didn’t work, plus it wiped out my saved commenting info.

  6. =8)-DX says

    Curl up into a ball if your parents forsake you.
    Crawl up imto all kinds of shit if you’re secular humanist

    !!!

  7. Randy says

    Holy shit! Sadly for Rove this is not like the slipper that turned the homely step-daughter into the beautiful princess. His views will always remain ugly unless he makes a full transformation.

  8. aligorami says

    I am unutterably horrified that Karl Shit-your-pants Rove now appears to be one of the more reasonable among the prominent members of the Republican Party. I think I need a little lie down.

    Although I’m inclined to believe he just hates Obama THAT MUCH that he’s willing to throw a hypocritical bone at non-Christian religions and atheists.

    Man, now I just need a drink.

  9. strange gods before me says

    Oh, and it’ll work all across freethoughtblogs.com, so you can laugh behind Ed Brayton’s back, or whatever.

    Now that I think about it, it could be modified to work on most any blog anywhere that allows “blockquote cite”.

  11. John Morales says

    PZ, your link at the end of the last thread under “NEW THREAD!”
    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2011/08/17/episode-ccxlvi%E2%80%A6famous-atheist/
    returns a 404.

    (The trackback link immediately prior, however, works)

  13. Quodlibet says

    I don’t care what he’s saying, I can’t abide his face or voice. UGH.

    On a more pleasant note… Set 0:43 !

  14. Rieux says

    My guess is that this is a veiled shot at Rick Perry. Perry and Rove are each big in a different and competing faction of the Texas GOP. Perry’s obviously big on the whole Christian Nation bit, so I suspect that this is Rove’s play for whatever other big-money Republicans there are. Sounds weird, but given that a big power center within the Republican Party is megabuck financiers who are occasionally scared by the crazy fundies that periodically gain ascendancy within the party….

  15. Randomfactor says

    Nota bene: A broken clock is only right twice a day when it’s STOPPED. If a broken clock continues to run, it’s almost NEVER right: If it loses a minute a day, it’s right what–every month or so? So the only way to make Karl Rove more often right is to STOP him…

  16. Randomfactor says

    Nota bene: a broken clock is only right twice a day if it’s actually no longer running. A clock which loses a minute a day is right, what, every other year? The only way to make Karl Rove right more often is to STOP him.

  17. randomfactor says

    Sorry for double-post. Rejoiced when first one didn’t seem to post ‘cuz it gave me time to recheck my math. Ignore first post. And this one.

  19. says

    I’m not sure how to feel about this. It’s good to know that there’s some sanity in the GOP, but the fact that Karl Rove is the voice of reason is deeply distressing.

  20. Audley Z. Darkheart OM (OS), purveyor of candy and lies says

    MikeG:

    Speaking of weddings on the cheap, we did OK, but my outfit was more than the bridesmaids dress for Audley.

    Yeah, but you got a fucking kilt out of the deal, so I would say that you made out pretty well.

    I tried to convince Mr Darkheart to wear a kilt at our wedding, but his argument was that he’s not Scottish, so it would be silly. I still think he was wrong. :P

  21. Simon Hayward says

    Obama wrote, “But for a younger generation of conservative operatives who would soon rise to power, for Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove and Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, the fiery rhetoric was more than a matter of campaign strategy. They were true believers who meant what they said, whether it was ‘No new taxes’ or ‘We are a Christian nation.'”

    My reading of that does not suggest that he says directly that Rove made the christian nation statement. I think Karl doth protest too much.

  22. cicely says

    Last Thread:

    Should anyone feel their blood pressure is too low and they’re mellow and happy, talking about pets, you can always read the latest in rape apologism, middle school edition. It’s incomprehensible.

    This is the first I’ve heard about it; and Republic (and the Middle School therein)(not Springfield, as the text confusingly says) is just down the road. (Republic, incidentally, was also recently in the news for banning Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, and before that for a lawsuit concerning the use of the Jesusfish on the city’s Seal.)
    –

    There’s a children’s book you’d enjoy, if you haven’t already read it, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

    And don’t forget Pratchett’s The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents!
    –
    –
    Current Thread:

    I suspect that some of the more sensible, more sane Republicans are beginning to regret their choice in strange (very strange) bedfellows.
    –

  24. Nom de Plume says

    “‘Courage and Consequence’ Author”

    It’s a shame he’s never known either.

    And in a less facetious reply to Cicely above, I would agree that establishment Republicans are getting nervous about their bedfellows.

  25. Kendo says

    For anyone having trouble getting new posts here; hold down the shift key and refresh the page. Works for me.

  31. chigau (blank) says

    This is interesting.
    If I don’t log in, I can have a different ‘nym with every post.

  32. UpAgainstTheRopes says

    : O

    If Karl Rove is a believer it’s in the church of satan.

    I can agree with him on one issue but I don’t have to agree with him on all issues. Kinda like some of the more active posters here. You know who are…

    I kid, I kid, comrade…

  34. Tethys says

    I just spent some time catching a bat that somehow got inside the house. It was attracting the cats attention and that rarely ends well for the bat. Poor little thing was terrified and making its clicky screech at me when I finally caught it in the towel.

    I did get to look at it pretty closely for a minute before it realized it was being released outdoors. Bats have really unusual feet.

  36. tveb says

    I’m not surprised. Rove himself is not particularly religious (in fact there were rumors that he’s not even a believer). He’s deeply cynical though, so he doesn’t mind exploiting religion for his purposes. He’s a campaign strategist first and foremost.

  37. Tethys says

    Ok, there is something borked at FTB. The page won’t refresh, and it signs me out after a post.

    Yesterday my anti-virus kept kicking in when I was on the canadians thread.

    Chigau

    Great Slave lake is on my list of places to visit someday. Are the skeeters as vicious as reported?

  38. says

    PZ

    Refresh is fucked up here. I close the site and come back later, and unless I reboot my browser, I get the same page and comment numbers as when I closed your web page.

    In some way, FTB is also borking my web browser. When I go to close it, I get a message that tells me it’s open a second time.

  39. Shadowin says

    Perhaps he read this NYT article.

    To summarize: the tea party is more hated than atheists. America is becoming more economically conservative, but wary of the religious infusion.

    Karl Rove is a machiavellian, and he will take the position he feels he can win with.

  40. says

    Mmmm. Ramen-Velveeta-beer monstrosity.

    Recipe:

    Bring 2-3 cups water to a boil, add ramen brick. Start timer.

    Take a cube of store-brand Velveeta knockoff, approximately 2″ to a side, from refrigerator. Dice into approximately 1/2″ cubes.

    When timer expires, strain ramen and place into bowl. Gradually add Velveeta cubes. Swear. Stir harder. Notice that cubes aren’t melting. Place entire mess back into pot, place on low heat. Stir. Swear more. Move solid mass of noodles, with partially-melted Velveeta cubes, back into bowl. Stir. Search kitchen for suitable liquid to thin mess. Find bottle of Newcastle in refrigerator. Add about 3-4 tbsp. Stir.

    Add flavor packet. Attempt to distribute. Fail.

    Attempt to eat. Add more beer (amount depends on frustration level). Microwave for 30 seconds to re-melt Velveeta. Stir.

    Eat.

  41. chigau (blank) says

    Tethys
    Yes. The mosquitoes are every bit as bad as you’ve heard.
    Black flies are worse.
    Don’t let that stop you from visiting the North.
    DEET and bug-jackets will get you through non-windy days.

  44. The Lone Coyote says

    Tethys:

    I just spent some time catching a bat that somehow got inside the house. It was attracting the cats attention and that rarely ends well for the bat. Poor little thing was terrified and making its clicky screech at me when I finally caught it in the towel.

    I did get to look at it pretty closely for a minute before it realized it was being released outdoors. Bats have really unusual feet.

    I caught a bat in the wild once. I was kicking down a rotten tree (because much like a teenage elephant in musth, I had to indulge my urge to smash things) and it fell out of the bark and started making that noise you describe at me. I picked it up by taking a small twig and touching it to those unusual feet, which reflexively closed around it. It was pretty cool. The bat was unharmed, and was pretty happy to just hang from the stick and shake his fists at me… I’ve never seen something so small so enraged. I put him back on the tree and he immediately squeezed himself into the bark, still screeching and shaking his fist. I decided to leave that rotten tree alone from then on.

    Bats are awesome.

  45. Crudely Wrott, Drinking Without Death is Much More Comfortable says

    An interesting observation from the linky I posted @ 43

    Rather than species diversity being evenly distributed across Sulawesi, we found at least seven ‘pockets’ of diversity on the island with high concentrations of unique species

    Hhmmm . . . ubiquity and diversity? How fucking neat is that?

  46. Tethys says

    Chigau

    Black flies are much worse than mosquitoes. I have a hat with netting that I wear when they are out. They are smarter than the average biting insect and know to bite you from behind.

    Lone Coyote

    Yes, it was definitely shaking its little fists at me, but calmed down after I covered it up. I had one in the attic last week . Watching a bat walk along a beam looks like something from a cheesy horror movie.

  47. Crudely Wrott, Drinking Without Death is Much More Comfortable says

    Skeeters and no-see-ums? Heh.

    Don’t ever ride a horse into the grass around a well sheltered spring during a fresh hatch of Deer Flies.

    The bite of this lil’ whumpeer* is, well, let me just say that neither boy nor horse can ignore the sensation. Like small blades being rapidly inserted.

    Trust me on this.

    *corruption of “vampire”

  49. theophontes , flambeau du communisme says

    @ UpAgainstTheRopes #32

    comrade…

    You called?

    @ Benjamin #40

    Eish! That sounds gross.

    Methinks it is time to do a Culinary Intervention ™ before you make us all ill. What are your favourite types of food? Perhaps the Pharyngufoodies can help you with some super-quick, much healthier recipes.

    ………………………………………

    In the news:

    Christine O’Donnell walks out on Piers Morgan (link):

    “Ms. O’Donnell wasn’t happy about me quizzing her re views on witchcraft and sex. But really flipped at gay marriage [she] Ripped mike and fled,”

    Perry goes into denial (link):

    I think we’re seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists that are coming forward and questioning the original idea that manmade global warming is what is causing the climate to change.

  51. says

    From Theophontes’ link:

    “I’m not being weird, you’re being a little rude,” said to the host, right before storming off the program’s set.

    That woman is wrapped waaaaaaaaay too tight. This isn’t the first time she’s lost it when someone said gay.

  52. Patricia, OM says

    Benjamin – If you are still alive, must you eat ramen? To be truly suicidal you need to add one can of chili, 1/2 tub of margarine, and a can of Vienna Sausages, w/ 5 tablespoons of salt.

    But if you must eat ramen, it can be made in a much healthier manner.

    [/snark]

  53. Patricia, OM says

    Classical Cipher – How are you doing? Has the family settled down? (the old gossip pried)

  54. Patricia, OM says

    Strange Gods – No, you are supposed to bust into heaven and get out us poor computer script idjits the Comic Sans.

    *le whimper*

  55. Classical Cipher says

    The family’s left :( But yeah, stuff settled down first and everyone was on speaking (not-yelling) terms when they took off for home.

  56. Classical Cipher says

    Thanks very much for asking, by the way, Patricia, and your reminder of the familial issues you’ve dealt with actually made me feel very lucky that this is so comparatively rare and minor. Yes, my family was acting deeply insensitive and shitty, but unlike a lot of people, they mostly try not to be.

  57. Patricia, OM says

    Classical Cipher – Sometimes you just have to tell them the bottom line truth. But like I said in my post to you on the other thread, it get’s easier as you get older.

    If that’s any help whatsoever. ‘)

  58. theophontes , flambeau du communisme says

    @ CC

    Thanks for the link. I didn’t realise UATR was that creepy. Is it posting while drunk?

    @ Caine

    What is it with her ilk? It is strange how quickly their demons take over when they feel pushed. As she would put it: “Trust your gut,trust your instincts.”

    @ Crudely Wrott

    From your link to Fanged frogs:

    Unexpectedly, however, the single island of Sulawesi was found to have the same number of fanged frog species as the entire Philippine archipelago to the north.

    Perhaps not so unlikely when one considers the adjacent subduction zone. Sulawesi lies in Wallacea (link) and therefore will have very different fauna and flora as pointed out by Wallace.

  59. says

    Since I’ve been unwell I haven’t been cooking much. One really simple thing is tuna couscous – pour boiling water on couscous, while it’s soaking nuke up some frozen peas (or other veggies) and open a tin of tuna. Stir up the couscous, veg, tuna and chilli sauce. Eat. Dinner in less than 5 minutes.

    You could do it with ramen, instead of couscous. Ramen are just noodles, it’s those flavour sachets that make it so dire. Most healthy stuff that I can think of needs more preparation time. Lentils to pre-cook, beans to soak etc. Or use tinned ones, which cost more than dried.

  60. Patricia, OM says

    Classical Cipher – Some people may think it’s just a dumb thing to say, when I always tell someone that is having a shitty time – “Come sit by me.” It’s actually a very famous quote, by an infamous lady.

    The Walnetto ™ bit, is Ruth Buzzy on Laugh In and ment to lighten up the moment.

    So if they get shitty again, come sit by me.

    Or we can *twirl*!!!

  61. Tethys says

    UATR reminds me of this creepy guy.

    Thelonius? Really? Perhaps xe thinks you’re a monk too?

    The frog link was really interesting, but I wish it had a little more info on the fangs in each species.

  62. Patricia, OM says

    Cath – I’ve never tried tuna couscous. Sounds interesting.

    I have made ramen with spinach, chicken, peas, onions and broccoli – because that is what I had as left overs in the fridge. You can leave out the packet of artery death and nuke the stuff in chicken or beef broth, and add tons of veggies. Once I dropped in some left over chives, egg whites and curry powder for a sort of egg flower ramen soup thingy.

    OK, it tasted good at 1:30 am when I came home drunk.

  63. says

    I wouldn’t class it as interesting, so much as very easy and still nutritious. And anything is edible if you add enough chilli sauce. Even Lean Cuisines. (They were on special. I’m sick. Don’t judge me.)

  65. Janine, The Little Top Of Venom, OM says

    Rove is an atheist? Old news. All he is interested in is gathering power for his political causes. He is willing and quite open about playing on people’s religion in order to get their vote.

    He is just an other reason why I do not see atheism as an ethical system.

  67. Patricia, OM says

    Janine – I think Rove is off any scale. If it came to picking a devil between him, Cheney, and the pope – I really couldn’t choose.

  69. The Lone Coyote says

    Janine, Ethics and ‘belief’ are different categories, IMO. The most ethical man I know is a very devout christian. Now, he’d say that it’s bible’s teachings on compassion and kindness that make him such a good man, but we all know that’s just cherrypicking. He’s a good man because he is compassionate and honestly cares about his fellow human beings. The bible stuff is just incidental. He’s probably my ultimate picture of what a ‘humanist’ should be. Compassionate, giving, and caring to a fault.

    TL:DR Ethical people will be ethical whether atheist or believer (of any stripe).

  70. Patricia, OM says

    Cath – I was at a wedding years ago and someone brought a ramen, something, something, cabbage dish, and it was so good I made a pig of myself on it. Haven’t seen it since, but it was sure good.

    Chili sauce – cumin and coriander are as close as I dare get to the stuff. Any food remotely hot beats me up.

  71. The Lone Coyote says

    Also, honestly, am I the only one here who actually LIKES ramen noodles?

    After I got food poisoning from that nasty 711 sandwich, when I began recovering Ramen noodles were the only thing I could eat that my body wouldn’t reject violently and with extreme prejudice. Of all the cheapo ‘budget’ foods out there, I’d say Ramen is the best.

  72. Patricia, OM says

    Lone Coyote – I was a devout True Christian, and if you had skinned me then, I would have backed the bible tooth and nail. Question your friend on gay rights, sassy children, abortion, womens rights, and if he eats shell fish. You may get a whole new view of your friend.

  73. Tethys says

    Patricia

    If you want the recipe for the ramen chinese cabbage dish I have it.

    I like ramen. I usually make it with cauliflower, eggs, and green onion. Quick and easy.

  74. Patricia, OM says

    Lone Coyote – We were razzing Benjamin, and offering him some ideas, mixed with humour.

    Do you honestly think anyone would be stoopid enough to eat the recipe I offered above? Most people would barf at the thought of Vienna Sausages, 1/2 a tub of margarine, and a can of chili on anything. ;)

    That would probably stop my Bulldogs heart.

  76. Classical Cipher says

    Classical Cipher – Some people may think it’s just a dumb thing to say, when I always tell someone that is having a shitty time – “Come sit by me.” It’s actually a very famous quote, by an infamous lady.

    *hesitant* If I admit that I have some good things to say about some people, am I uninvited?

    The Walnetto ™ bit, is Ruth Buzzy on Laugh In and ment to lighten up the moment.

    So if they get shitty again, come sit by me.

    Or we can *twirl*!!!

    Not only have I not seen Laugh In, but I can’t even find that bit on Youtube (is that even possible?!)… I feel like I’m possibly missing layers of meaning now but I STILL WANNA TWIRL. So let’s twirl! :)

  77. Patricia, OM says

    Tethys – OH! yes, yes! Can I have the recipe please.

    I think I can figger out the cauliflower and green onion additions to ramen, but do you use boiled egg, or do you drop it in and sliver it with a knife as it cooks?

    Also, assuming you don’t use the packet of death ™ do you use a broth for a soup base?

    I don’t have a lot of green onions, but I have a chive garden that is almost six square feet deep.

  78. theophontes , flambeau du communisme says

    @ Benjamin

    I’ll go with Cath’s endorsement of couscous. It is quick, easy to prepare and forms a great base for a lot of good recipes. Also excellent to make cold salads (healthy left-overs.)

    Ramen (especially with those icky packets of “ingredients”) is not so healthy , so rather look at buying italian style pastas. You will likely enjoy angel hair pasta as it is very easy and quick to make (2 minutes) and is very tasty.

    Here is a suggestion for things to stock up on next time you are at the market It should last a long time :

    Basic ingredients (long life):Olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, jar of pesto, jar of olives, parmesan cheese,fresh feta cheese, pepper grinder, canned Italian tomatoes, chiroco or similar dry sausage, cans of tuna, mixed herbs in grinder (best of all if you buy potted plants for your balcony- basil, mint and rosemary are easy to maintain).

    Basic bases: Couscous, wholewheat couscous, angel hair pasta, tagliatel.

    Fresh produce: Red/green/yellow peppers, red onions, garlic, courgettes, fresh herbs, corn, … and lots of fruit in season.

    @ Cath

    Get well soon.

  79. The Lone Coyote says

    I have patricia, infact I do every single time we go out for coffee. I know what you’re saying…. but this guy is honestly an exception. And he really cares about the people, he’s not just being compassionate to ‘win souls for christ’.

    I know exactly what you’re saying though. Scratch the average ‘compassionate christian’ and you find a simmering fascist asshole underneath that purified whitewash.

    My point is, belief or unbelief systems don’t really make ethics, because ethics come from empathy and compassion, from actually -caring- how your actions may effect others.

  80. Tethys says

    Nappa Cabbage Salad

    1 med head napa cabbage shredded
    5 green onions sliced

    Saute in 1/2 cup butter
    1/2 cup sesame sees
    1/2 cup slivered almonds
    2 pkgs ramen noodles crunched up (do not use flavoring packet)

    Dressing-
    1/2 oil
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 tsp soy sauce
    1/4 cup vinegar
    1/4 tsp salt

    Add sauted ingredients/dressing/ toss and serve

  81. Patricia, OM says

    Classical Cipher – Wellll… OK. You can sit by me, and we’ll say nice things about Janine. Then we can twirl!

  82. Tethys says

    Patricia

    I usually boil the water, add the cauliflower and let it cook for 4 minutes, then add the ramen noodles. When the water comes back to a boil I crack an egg into it, then stir and cook until the noodles are done. Pull off the burner and add the green onion. I do use the packet, but I’m trying to get as many calories as possible into a meal.

    I have also used chicken bullion and sriracha as a healthier alternative.

    Laugh-in was a great show. Sock it to me!

  83. Tethys says

    Oh good grief. That would be sesame seeds, not sees.

    And spellcheck also didn’t have any issues with Nappa/Napa, but it does have an issue with the word spellcheck.

  84. Therrin says

    The alternating background on comments isn’t showing up on my home computer, but it is at work. Both machines are XP, both browsers are Firefox 3.6.18. I had previously hacked the home machine with the number script until it was added in. Ideas to get the alternating back are most welcome.

    Tethys, I would be quite happy with half a cup (or more) of See’s.

  85. Tethys says

    Therrin

    I’m having refresh issues, and posts aren’t showing up for several minutes after I post them.

    I do have alternate colors, but I still have the custom css running.

    The salad is tasty. I don’t think the candy would improve it.
    I have had some pretty amazing chili that had a bar of chocolate in it though.

  86. Therrin says

    The refresh/cache is a more important issue, yeah. While I do have to refresh to get new content, I don’t need to ctrl+F5 it, and my posts are appearing to me right away.

    Good point about the candy, salad would definitely ruin it.

  87. says

    Flu is back and I’m busy trying to break various rigoring records here, so don’t hold your breath for blog posts. Thank dog for wireless and tablet PC’s.

  89. Patricia, OM says

    Tethys @ 80 – Oh frabjous day – that’s it! Thank you, thank you.

    Honestly, I love that stuff so much I might founder myself.

  90. says

    I once was in a zoo in the nocturnal animals’ house, while they were doing repairs. The light was on, and there was a bat climbing the aluminium ladder — upside down. Well, okay, it was just hanging there, moving on one rung, but climbing sounds so much cooler.
    I’ll never forget the sound its feet made on the aluminium.

  92. Patricia, OM says

    Thethys – Dressing 1/2 oil?

    Naughty Marvin is confused, I say it’s 1/2 cup.

  93. The Lone Coyote says

    Back on bats: A while back I was having a walk in the woods at the crack of dawn. A bat was following me around, swooping and diving past me. I think he was going for any little bugs that might be following me or disturbed by my movement through the bush. He certainly wasn’t trying to attack me. I wonder if this is a common hunting strategy with bats… following large dumb mammals around and attacking the bugs that swarm them? Either way, I appreciated the encounter.

  94. giliell says

    Hello New Site, hello good old TET, hello everybody
    I’m back and I’m busy, fighting a scale model of the Himalaya in dirty laundry.
    Will try tp cath up, tell tales and post pictures soon.

  95. Patricia, OM says

    Lone Coyote – I’m not convinced. Bet you tons that I was a better christian than your pal.

    He may be a nice guy on the surface, but if he is a True Christian ™ he won’t pass muster as humanist. He just won’t. A truly devout christian can’t be. I wasn’t.

  97. Tethys says

    Patricia

    Yes, 1/2 cup. Hail tpyos, I managed to miss three errors in one recipe post. I think I usually add a little more vinager than the recipe calls for. I prefer rice wine vinegar.

    I also should mention that you should saute the sesame seed, almond, ramen combo until its golden brown. Do not get distracted during that step. It goes from just starting to brown to charred very quickly.

  98. theophontes , flambeau du communisme says

    @ Giliell

    * waves *

    Willkommen. Just sitting here lurking. There’s beer and wine in the cooler …

  99. Patricia, OM says

    51 secs. Not to shabby I suppose.

    Smart ass. Anything under 5 hours is sheer boasting.

    You braggart. SET in three days is the norm in my town.

    No spankings for you.

  100. Patricia, OM says

    Rorshach – Sorry about your flu. I’m on my third day with ‘fuck me with a porcupine’ that is supposed to be the good day with this biopsy shit. It isn’t.

    Have you tried flu shots? (I’m gonna get beat up here) I troop down to the local drug shop and get a flu shot, and I haven’t gotten the flu since. My pals get the flu but I don’t. The flu sucks!

    When I used to get it, I drank ginger powder and garlic powder heavy in chicken broth that I nuked in a micro-wave. It made me feel better.

  101. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    Good morning all,

    Both the New Thread from previous TET and the front page quick link to TET still give 404 errors… I was worried there for a minute that you were all getting severe withdrawal symptoms while I slept.

  102. Djahn says

    Karl Rove is a whore. He’ll do or say anything to advance the career of whoever pays him.

    He made one fundagelical idiot from Texas president. He could probably do it again. Just be glad he’s not on Perry’s side. Perry is W2, amplified. If Rove was able to get W reelected in 2004, he’d almost certainly be able to get W2 elected in 2012.

    It will be interesting to see what his motive is with this. One thing you can be sure about — it won’t be good for the American people.

  103. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    The Lone Coyote @93,

    I wonder if this is a common hunting strategy with bats… following large dumb mammals around and attacking the bugs that swarm them? Either way, I appreciated the encounter.

    Absolutely correct, and one of the reasons for the bat swarming/caught in the hair myth… they may come close but they certainly know exactly where they are in relation to you.

    The ubiquity of wing mounted car radio antennas with a bulbous top back in the 80’s was a major source of bat casualties – they would track the blob on the end to try and identify it and then get smacked by the windscreen. Very sad.

    At bat rescue, the sweetest critter I ever met was a brown long-eared called Satan. He had been savaged by a feline and had lost a wing so, if you didn’t keep a firm grip, he would try to take off… very bad!

  104. The Lone Coyote says

    serendipitydawg: Ha, that’s so cool. This bat definitely knew what he was doing. If I didn’t have really good nighteyes, I wouldn’t have even known he was there. Very cool. Now I wonder what species it was…. I usually assume ‘little brown bat’ but who knows.

    About ‘Satan’…. how do you feed a captive microbat? especially one who can’t fly? Do you have to hand feed him? Or do you put a little bowl of bugs in his enclosure? That sounds like it’d be incredibly challenging.

  105. The Lone Coyote says

    Also, this may sound ridiculously anthropomorphic, but how do you keep a bat who can’t fly anymore from getting incredibly depressed?

  106. says

    There seems to be about a 2 min lag between comments appearing in the “recent” column, and them actually appearing on the site. Although I’m sending this from an Android tablet using Opera, so mileage may vary.
    Patricia, sorry to hear that you are still having trouble with this damned procedure! Wrt flu shots, no I don’t have them, tea with honey, Panadol and 3 good books while wrapped in 7 layers of garment usually does the trick.

  107. The Lone Coyote says

    SHIT! I just found out this guy http://www.cancaver.ca/bats/bc/spotdbat.htm right here hangs out at ‘our’ camping spot! I’m going there with my dad and brothers at the end of this month!

    *salivates furiously at the mere prospect of possibly seeing a dark shape in the sky that may or may not be a spotted bat*

  108. RemembersABeach says

    Benjamin –

    If you are looking for recipes that are cheap, SallyStrange pointed me toward BudgetBytes. If you are looking for recipes that are quick, Cooking Light has a whole bunch of recipes they call “Superfast” that they claim can be made in 20 minutes. If time is tight, choose your superfast recipe carefully, some of them start with an ingredient list full of chopped vegetables and chopped fresh herbs and they seem to start the timer with the cooking, not the chopping.

    Of course any cooking advice from me should be taken with a grain of kosher salt. Because I hate to cook.

    Although I’ve made a different recipe every day for dinner every night for the past 3 weeks or so and am feeling pretty pleased with myself.

  109. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    @The Lone Coyote,

    The bat rescue service used to hand feed the rescue bats live mealworms. Any that were permanently disabled were fed and housed thereafter, others were released in the area that they were collected once they had recovered from whatever ailed them. After car windscreens, the biggest threat was felines, not sure if this is still the case.

    Satan and a Pip called Stella (no idea why!) were two who were a bit like Caine’s rats, very sociable, so they used to take them around when they were giving talks so that civilians like me could see and handle a genuine bat.

    When they describe the all up weight of an adult Pip (between 4 and 10 grammes) it doesn’t register, as soon as you get one in your hand you realise how unbelievable light this is (I know, it sounds stupid, but your mind doesn’t reconcile the given weight with their physical size.)

    The Brown long-ears are much heavier… 4 to 12 grammes ;P Actually, they look much chunkier than a Pip, so it is even more surprising if you handle one.

    I should say that in the UK it is an offence to disturb bat roosts and you need a license to handle bats, though rescuing an injured animal and keeping it safe until specialist help can be found is OK.

  112. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    Also, this may sound ridiculously anthropomorphic, but how do you keep a bat who can’t fly anymore from getting incredibly depressed?

    Missed this one!

    They keep them together and they hang out (couldn’t resist!)

    It is true though: they are very sociable creatures and not being able to fly doesn’t mean immobile. Indeed, I think our local rescue group had some inadvertent captive breeding, so they are obviously happy bats.

  113. David Marjanović, OM says

    O hai! I haven’t been able to catch up.

    People who want to meet me in LA, please drop me an e-mail so we can start planning! Find my address in Google Scholar. *hugs*

  116. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    @Therrin,

    Amazing! I met Stella about 10 years before that book was published though…

    I wonder if it was derived from the name Pipistrellus pipistrellus.

    I have spent what seems forever getting 5 of the 6 sets in today’s puzzle and I just cannot see the last one! I guess my time might get beyond boasting, as defined by Patricia ;P

  117. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    Nope. 14 Mins, 29 Secs (with a break for posting on TET), so I am still bragging by Patricia’s definition.

  118. Quodlibet says

    serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna),

    Oh yes, that 6th set is always the killer. In every game. Ever.

    I am envious of all of you who have had the chance to see bats up close. They are remarkable creatures; to me they seem very elegant, neat and velvety and just beautiful. We have fewer bats around our yard year by year…this summer I have not seen ANY. It’s not surprising, I guess, since I live in suburbia with “lawn culture” and everyone has to poison everything that is not short green grass. Less variety, fewer insects. Where are the swallows, swifts, bats, that used to fill my sky? Gone, gone, gone. :-( Don’t even get me started on butterflies, moths, and bees. :-(((

    I was in France in July….a heavenly trip. I noticed with interest how few lawns there were — the house lots were generally just big enough for the house, with, almost no lawn to speak of, though there were many potted plants to lend color and interest. The houses were clustered together in the town centers. Beyond the town, fields and fields and fields and forests….And everywhere, in town and in the outlying areas, the sky was filled with swifts and martins. Really, the sound of those birds was like the soundtrack for our trip.

    I know that’s anecdotal, and probably influenced by my feelings about it all…but still. I miss the bats.

    Sigh.

    P.S. Set 1:06 — it’s just the way my brain works, I guess. Mr Quodlibet, who is a neuropsychologist, says that all in the frontal lobes. Now those fancy equations in the last TET? Those are absolutely meaningless to me, though very beautiful. I guess that part of my brain is rather clueless.

  119. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Cath, I hope you get well soon! There have been so many nasty illnesses around this winter, I’m almost looking forward to spring.

    Audley, hubby got a kilt (in the family tartan) etc. for our eldest son’s wedding last year; and discovered when he flew over that eldest son had the whole outfit too! The photos of the two of them were lovely.

    Rats and bats; I miss having pet rats, although a friend of mine has a dozen of them so I get to have regular rat therapy when I visit her. =^_^=

    We occasionally have bats flying around the house here (although I know I’m getting old because I can no longer hear the squeaks); they are usually quite small ones, but last autumn Number 4 Son saw a fruit bat/flying fox (after the apples I expect).

    I put out seeds for the various parrots/sulphur-crested cockatoos/galahs etc. and if I’m late doing it I have found a flock of a dozen or more cockatoos on my balcony trying to open the box where I store their food. Once, my mobility walker was blocking access; several birds were sitting on the handles and seat, and one had grabbed a wheel in its beak and was trying to pull it out of the way!

  120. M says

    Not to worry, he still said that he thinks the US is based on ‘Judeo-Christian values’ (Which is hilarious, considering the word Judeo-Christian is like… from the 1980’s at earliest. (Prior to the end of WWII most christians (including American ones) despised the jews. (A fact you don’t hear much about nowadays, but around easter in the past it wasn’t quite safe for a jew to go to a christian neighbourhood, because there where always some jesusfreak thugs out to bash a ‘christkiller’.)

    So either way Rove is still HALF full of shit, yes?

  121. theophontes says

    @ David Marjanović

    People who want to meet me in LA, please drop me an e-mail so we can start planning!

    Well I really want to meet you in LA. I looked into Google Scholar but I couldn’t find the free airline tickets … :'(

  122. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    @Quodlibet,

    I am envious of all of you who have had the chance to see bats up close. They are remarkable creatures; to me they seem very elegant, neat and velvety and just beautiful.

    We are lucky to have a large garden with an orchard and a paddock – apart from a fair bit of lawn, everything else is wild, so there are plenty of insects for the bats and birds. The apples are cookers so there are always plenty left over for the thrushes, blackbirds, magpies and crows in winter.

    Our back lawn has three 55′ Scots Pines and a 40′ Twisted Willow which obviously have a lot of insects because at dusk and dawn there is a constant circling by bats. I generally go and stand in the open to watch and they always end up circling me because of the insects that are attracted to my rippling body heat.

    It’s worth finding a rescue group who put on talks, the whole subject is very interesting (and our local group isn’t the only one that has sociable bats.)

    Bat walks are also well worthwhile (Mrs S and I saw our first Daubenton’s on just such a walk… they hunt over water and the walk included a fishing lake at a minor stately home.)

  123. Ursulamajor says

    I grew up with velveeta on my grilled cheese sandwiches. When I’m in the need for comfort food, I’ll still go there. Also, velveeta is great as 1/3 of the cheese in mac and cheese because it melts so well. But I have to admit, I haven’t had any in my fridge for over a year.

    As for ramen. I like it, but never use more than 1/2 the flavoring pack and often none at all. Prefer a glug of soy sauce, a squirt of sriracha, and a drizzle of sesame oil. I always add veggies (1/2 cup of frozen mixed stirfry veggies is handy) and stir a beaten egg in at the end.

    As for Rove, he knows that the Perry/Bachmann types won’t actually win against President Obama, so he’ll say and do anything that will bring the party to someone who could. He wants someone more “mainstream”, which is why he’s in talks with Ryan and Christie and ultimately wishes Jeb was running.

  124. tangsm says

    UATR reminds me of this creepy guy.

    Off topic, but did you know that wasn’t scripted? There was a cool video that listed it as one of the top 25 unscripted movie moments. I knew about a few of them, but I’m still reeling about the Clockwork Orange revelation.

  125. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    Off topic

    Good news, tangsm, you can’t be off topic in this thread :D

  126. moggie says

    Dublin Catholics face levy as church faces bankruptcy:

    Reparations for child abuse victims and the recession have brought Ireland’s largest Catholic diocese to the brink of bankruptcy, according to a leaked document from a group of priests.
    The paper from the Council of Priests concludes that many parishes in Dublin are close to a state of financial collapse.
    It cites the ongoing cost of compensation payments made to victims of clerical abuse, the death of the Celtic Tiger economic boom and falling numbers going to mass in the Irish capital.

    Their proposed solution is to squeeze more money from their flock via a levy, and “cuts in the wages of religious orders and lay people working for the church”, both of which will probably drive even more people away from the church.

  127. tangsm says

    Yeah, that’s just something I always say in RL when my brain jumps track and runs off after a random memory.

  128. says

    Giliell:

    Welcome back!

    I’m back and I’m busy, fighting a scale model of the Himalaya in dirty laundry.

    At least that’s easier to attack than a scale model of Devil’s Tower in mashed potato!

    All:

    I have a Tex/Mex barbacoa cookbook that includes a sidebar extolling the virtues of Velveeta. This isn’t one of those yard-sale cookbooks we were talking about a while back, either: It’s a very serious, well-documented, authentic take on a regional cuisine. The point it makes is that for certain applications — those that require cheese to melt smoothly and stay melted — Velveeta easily beats almost all “real” cheeses. Plus, apparently Velveeta is no worse that actual cheese by most nutritional measures. The book is at home and I’m at work, so the details of this position will have to wait.

  129. theophontes says

    @ Quodlibet

    It’s not surprising, I guess, since I live in suburbia with “lawn culture” and everyone has to poison everything that is not short green grass.

    This is an interesting point. My experience (to add to the anecdotes in this regard) happened in exactly the opposite direction. My folks used to have a big empty grass lawn in front of their house. Much like the “lawn culture” you mentioned. Anyhow, I managed to persuade them to redo their garden with indigenous plants. The more the plants grew, the more the animals from the nearby mountain have moved in. The garden is now a haven for every kind of creature imaginable. And the “lawn culture” of the neighbourhood has transformed, garden by garden, into something far wilder. It is really amazing what a transformation in attitudes can be affected by a small initiative. And the bats? Well yes, they love it too.
    (Link: Image of the transformed garden.)

  130. Audley Z. Darkheart OM (OS), purveyor of candy and lies says

    Tigger,

    Audley, hubby got a kilt (in the family tartan) etc. for our eldest son’s wedding last year; and discovered when he flew over that eldest son had the whole outfit too!

    Awe, so sweet!

    I wanted my husband to wear a kilt in my family’s tartan, but he stuck to the whole, “I’m Polish! It would be ridiculous if I wore a kilt!” So, because I love him, I let him have his way. :D

  132. Quodlibet says

    theophontes, thanks for sharing that encouraging story AND for the beautiful photo! That is just gorgeous. Sigh.

  134. SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu says

    Two posts involving feminism, one of which involves rape, the other of which references the Great Elevator Incident, and a third of which involves child abuse…

    I predict a Pharyngula crash by 6 pm tonight.

  135. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    I’m so happy today because I found an old movie I absolutely love that is never shown on tv any more and, since it’s an old Yugoslavian, there are no torrents to be found. Yay, I didn’t even know they put it on DVD. As a cherry on top, it was dirt cheap.

  136. SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu says

    Yup. Things are definitely backing up. I think I was too conservative in my estimate.

  137. Crudely Wrott, Drinking Without Death is Much More Comfortable says

    This one is going away for a while.

    Many of you supported me last winter as my family and I dealt with the loss of our mother, Helen. I am so very grateful and I wish to let you know that. Thank you again.

    Two days from now the family will gather together in a cemetery in the very southern tip of Maine and we will help Ma to complete her journey. Her ashes will be interred along side her mother and father. The cemetery is very close to where she grew up. She will be home.

    This also marks a watershed moment for me. I’ve been here in Dayton, Ohio, for over nine years, working the same job, living in small quarters. Once I post this comment I am logging off, packing up the computer, piling everything in the van and leaving.

    I’ll spend a week or so in New Hampshire with sibs and their kids, will get to row a boat on a lake (for joy! I love to row) and then I’ll be heading south to North Carolina to start anew in the company of my children and grandchildren.

    If I can commandeer Youngest Brother’s laptop I’ll be able to pop in later.

    I will miss my daily visit here. You are a most wonderful, challenging, perplexing and delightful horde. There is none other like you. And you’re all so dammed friendly!

    I’ll be back. ;^>

  139. Quodlibet says

    Crudely Wrott, Drinking Without Death is Much More Comfortable,

    I will miss your good posts here – come back soon.

    Hope your journeys and re-settling are everything you want them to be.

  141. RemembersABeach says

    An app for kids with Asperger’s. I wonder if it’s effective.

    Fraser, a child development center in Minneapolis, has created QuickCues to help guide autistic teens and young adults through tricky social situations. Essentially, they’re a series of tip sheets that are designed to be used on iPads, iPods or iPhones for handy reference. When they need a little help, students can pull out their mobile devices and read a script about how to act in a way that’s socially acceptable. There’s one guide, for example, for ‘apologizing for unintentional mistakes.’ Another is called ‘Bullies—How to handle.’

    http://www.accesspress.org/2011/07/regional-news-in-review-july-2011/

  142. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    Benjamin,

    Mine is a silly comedy, but I remember it fondly from the first time I watched it as a kid.

    I generally don’t find gory horror movies very scary, just gross. A good psychological thriller is going to leave me much more scared, but also satisfied in the end.

  143. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Ok this infuriates me. We have a home owners association in my neighborhood and I’m convinced that the people that run for office on HOAs (no offense to any HOA officers here) have way too much fucking time on their hands / no life.

    This is the email I just received. The names of the stupid have been removed. My emphasis.

    Summer is here and so are gators. One was sited a couple of days ago behind xxxxxxxxxxxx, and he appears to be about 6’ long, and is proving difficult to catch. It was casually mentioned that a gator was seen in the other lake in the area of xxxxxxxxxx; however, I haven’t received an e-mail confirming this.

    In an effort to capture gators in our lakes, I ask that you e-mail me if you see one. This may sound funny, but gators like marshmallows. In an effort to assist the Gator Guy, I’m asking that next time you go to the store, please pick up a bag of marshmallows. If you see a gator, toss a marshmallow in the water and e-mail me at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I’ve been told that they will return to the same spot if they’re fed.

    When you e-mail me, I need you to state: date, time of day, location (give address where sighted), state approximate amount of time it remained in a particular area. This information helps enormously so that we don’t have someone searching for days for the gator. If necessary, e-mail me daily until it’s captured.

    xxxxxxxxxx is who xxxxxxxxxxx uses so if you see the truck, please allow them to access the lake through your yard if necessary.

    Please be cautious in or around the lakes. Even if we catch one or two gators, that doesn’t mean there are not more. I know I’ve said this before, but remember, that gators are not confined to just the lakes.

    Thank you all for your assistance. Be safe and enjoy the summer with all of the wildlife and beautiful flowers in bloom throughout the neighborhood!

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Fucking asshole she is.

    My wife responded with this

    From DNR:

    Alligators in a pond are a sign of a healthy ecosystem and do not represent
    a problem with the fish population as a general rule with the
    exception of grass carp which are recognized to be particularly
    vulnerable. It is illegal to feed, molest, or injure alligators. Never
    feed an alligators.

    Waiting for her reply to decide on calling the DNR on her or not.

  144. says

    I generally don’t find gory horror movies very scary, just gross. A good psychological thriller is going to leave me much more scared, but also satisfied in the end.

    Yeah.

    Buckets o’ latex gore can even be less gross so much as just weirdly comic, after a while. Slather it on endlessly enough, and I get past the point of vaguely grossed out into this sort of dazed ‘WTF… are you people still on about the rubber guts?’ headspace.

    But good psychological ‘oh shit which dark shadow is the killer hiding in?’ horror is another matter. That can be actually seriously scary, done right.

  145. Audley Z. Darkheart OM (I should just log in at this point) says

    Crudely,
    My love to you and your family. I look forward to your return!

  146. says

    Fail Safe isn’t ‘horror’ in the traditional sense. Think of it as the dramatic counterpart to Dr. Strangelove. It’s scary because it makes you realize that it could actually happen.

    ####

    RevBDC:

    You’re not in Floridia, are you? Here, we assume that if we can’t see the entirety of a body of water (that is, the entire surface and all the way to the bottom), that body of water contains at least one alligator.

    And most of us realize that gators are a good sign, and only have them removed when they’re encroaching on humans. (Gator in the pond: okay. Gator in the pool: bad.)

  147. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I’m in SC.

    And I’m pissed. They’ve been trying to get these gators for months and the stupidity from the HOA has been ratcheting up.

    I’m fully pulling for the gators.

    Plus randomly hucking marshmallows in the pond is fucking stupid. Gators no more like marshmallows than they like any other food object floating on the surface of the water no matter what old wives have to say about it.

  148. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    Crudely Wrott, safe journey and (if you want ’em from not-even-a-regular!) hugs.

    Did the scattering of ashes (once for each parent) together with my sibs; it was good to pick a place for each of them that we thought had a connection with who they were.

  149. cicely says

    “But in data we have recently collected, the Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists” and “Muslims.” Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right.”

    Maybe…just guessing, here…because the Tea Party hugely overlaps with the Christian Right?
    –
    Ah, Velveeta! “The Cheese That Cannot Die.”
    –
    Hello, giliell. :)
    –
    Crudely Wrott, have a safe trip.

    Remember, 2 out of every 3 motorists^{Stats.courtesy.of."Numbers.Totally.Pulled.Out.of.My.Ass"} is a chemically-enhanced multi-tasking lunatic who drives while surfing the Web and texting. And chewing gum.
    –

  150. serendipitydawg (one headed, mutant spawn of Echidna) says

    cicely:

    $latex \text{arbitrary phrase with spaces} $

    \text{arbitrary phrase with spaces}

    $latex ^\text{small arbitrary phrase with spaces} $

    ^\text{small arbitrary phrase with spaces}

    :D

  151. strange gods before me says

    Caine

    “Testing!”

    Ah heck. Doesn’t work for me, SG.

    Well shit. I know it works somewhere, because I saw your Comic Sans. Note: it won’t show up in preview yet; I forgot to deal with that case.

    If you right-click on the monkey’s stupid smiling head (or if you’ve deleted its head, go to the menu Tools -> Greasemonkey), you should see “secret Comic Sans” there with a checkmark by it.

    If it’s not there, then the script didn’t install.

    Hm. It’s possible that you’re running an older version of Greasemonkey, although I don’t think that’s it, because this script doesn’t do anything particularly modern. But it was tested on 0.9.7 and I can’t guarantee that it works for anything older. here’s the newest.

    +++++

    Patricia

    Strange Gods – No, you are supposed to bust into heaven and get out us poor computer script idjits the Comic Sans.

    *le whimper*

    I know, but felony computer crime = my liver gets eaten by an eagle.

  154. strange gods before me says

    more sensible, more sane Republicans

    Where?

    By my count, they add up to about a half dozen women from New England, and a movie star from Austria.

  155. consciousness razor says

    SGBM:

    I can see the Gumby in theophontes’ #49 but no Comic Sans. I haven’t noticed it elsewhere.

    Are you using a custom css perhaps? I’ve fiddled with mine a bit (and completely disabled it — O, how ugly the site is), but so far nothing has worked.

    ——
    Testing:

    q cite=”creationist”

    blockquote cite=”creationist”

  157. aladegorrion says

    Marshmallows for gators?? Why not throw in a chocolate bar and some graham crackers too?

    I am conquering postgresql! MWHAHAHAHAA!!! (for very tiny, basic values of conquer.)

    Have a safe trip Crudely Wrott!

    I once made macaroni and cheese from the recipe on a velvetta package. It was so hideous. Disaster and cheese, is what it was. I tried again later with less velvetta and it was somewhat better.

    Are the Tea Partiers and Christian Right such a small piece of the sampled population that they can’t influence the poll numbers to make themselves less disliked? That could be comforting. If the rest of the populace would just get a bit more enthusiastic in making their less-extreme preferences known!

  158. strange gods before me says

    I can see the Gumby in theophontes’ #49 but no Comic Sans. I haven’t noticed it elsewhere.

    Well I’ll be damned. I see the Gumby in #49 too but no Comic Sans there.

    I guess my script is in beta.

    Are you using a custom css perhaps? I’ve fiddled with mine a bit (and completely disabled it — O, how ugly the site is), but so far nothing has worked.

    I’m not—the css in this case is added at the last moment by javascript (NODE.style.fontFamily=”Comic Sans MS,MarkerFelt,MarkerFelt-Wide”)—although it’s possible that other peoples’ custom css files are getting in the way of this… I’ll try marking these css rules as !important when I update the script later today to deal with the #49 case.

  159. consciousness razor says

    Well I’ll be damned.

    No, your liver will be eaten. You shall deliver the fire. <q cite="creationist"I have foreseen it.

    I’ll try marking these css rules as !important when I update the script later today to deal with the #49 case.

    That’s a good idea. Thanks for working on it!

  161. MFHeadcase has a headache, finding it hard to control urge to kill. says

    If the drugs for this migraine don’t take hold before i get home form work in a few hours, I may just have to drill a hole in my head.

    Off to stack some acetaminophen on top of the naproxen, maybe that will help.

  163. broboxley OT says

    Who would put narsty noodles in my chili con vienna wieners?

    Rev BDC email the HOA to let them know that you will be putting in an anchor line on a hefty chain with a raw chicken wrapped around the hook in the lake. Let them know that marshmallows make the meat taste bad so ask them to stop. Offer to invite them to the gator BBQ you are planning. Then quietly inform DNR of these assclowns

  164. Psych-Oh says

    Crudely Wrott – Wishing you safe travels.

    Rev. BDC – Homeowners’ associations can be very annoying. I sometimes refer to ours as the “grass and gutter” police. In an attempt to mellow them out, I ran for the board 2 years in a row and failed in my attempt 2 years in a row. Good luck with the gators.

    Benjamin- Stop buying Velveta. Instead, buy a pint of Ricotta and some nice pasta, like penne or spirals. Boil your pasta. While it is cooking, dice up some tomotoes and fresh herbs. Drain pasta and put back into pot over low heat with a little olive oil. Add tomatoes, herbs, and a heaping spoonful of ricotta. Add a little salt and pepper and simmer until hot and bubbly. Put on plate, add a spribkle of parmasan if you have it.

  165. says

    Psych-Oh:

    I ran for the [HOA] board 2 years in a row and failed in my attempt 2 years in a row.

    Count yourself lucky! I have a friend at work who recently moved into a new condo, and got hornswoggled into accepting the HOA presidency. Not for a single day since has he failed to regret taking that post. It’s no accident they foisted it off on the new guy!

  166. says

    ARGHDGJAHP:GHDI:ODASGN?M<DA!!

    I hate everything right now. Another ridiculous flight with ridiculous delays to the point I was ready to SCREAM as we were waiting in line to take off – on the runway for an hour!

    And now the post office decides that Friday fell on a Tuesday this week so they tried to re-deliver my package like I asked them and strangely I wasn't at the apartment when clearly I said I wanted the package to be delivered Friday (obviously the Post Office suffers from Ogvorbis syndrome.)

    It was sooo damn hard not to scream at my postmaster when she suggested I ask for a re-delivery.

  168. broboxley OT says

    My local astro guy had some further comments on the math problem from the last thread

    This is a very interesting problem that for some reason I never explicitly looked at. Usually the two-body problem is solved exactly and you get one thing going on an ellipse around the other one when you hold one fixed. But really they are both going around on ellipses about the center of mass. So this is a degenerate case of that where they don’t circle each other but go directly toward each other.

    Even though it takes only a finite time to meet, the speed when they meet is infinite! This is very reminiscent of the situation with a black hole, in which the event horizon is reached in finite proper time, even though to an outside observer it seems to take literally forever.

    One way of seeing that they are moving infinitely fast when they meet is conservation of energy. The potential energy goes like 1/x, and if x=0 it’s infinite. It’s a break down of the definition of energy. The same thing happens in relativity, only the break down comes in the form of a horizon.

  169. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I sometimes refer to ours as the “grass and gutter” police.

    Yep we got fined for someone parking in front of our house on the street for 3 days. They were in town visiting.

    motherfuckers.

  170. Quodlibet says

    MFHeadcase has a headache, finding it hard to control urge to kill,

    I am very sorry about your headache. My migraines respond pretty well to ibuprofen + caffeine. Try taking the meds with a caffeinated drink. I hope you feel better soon – migraine is awful – the old term “sick headache” really applies.

  171. Sili says

    Hmm – I’m thinking my estimate was more luck than cleverness – I reversed the potentials. Thanks, broboxley’s astro guy.

    –o–

    Sounds like I’m not gonna get to bed early tonight either. Bruckner 5 at the Proms.

  172. Dhorvath, OM says

    Obviously not infinite speed, they have mass so no amount of energy will get them to c.

  174. says

    broboxley:

    I’m no expert, but there are a couple things in your astro guy’s comments that even a clueless layperson like myself can spot as wrong:

    Even though it takes only a finite time to meet, the speed when they meet is infinite!

    SRSLY? We see objects fall into one another due to gravity all the time (dropped anything recently?), and they hardly ever travel at infinite speed. In fact, I think I recall some bushy-headed fellow writing about how nothing travels at infinite speed, because there’s some sort of cosmic speed limit. Maybe somebody could correct me on that? ;^)

    One way of seeing that they are moving infinitely fast when they meet is conservation of energy. The potential energy goes like 1/x, and if x=0 it’s infinite.

    Assuming by x, Astro-Guy means distance (which, if I’m recalling my high school physics class correctly, is more commonly given as s), you can always choose a frame of reference in which x (or s) = 0.

    Also, IIRC it’s not potential energy that’s conserved, but total energy. When an object starts from rest at the top of a gravitational well and then falls (accelerates) to a point “lower” in the gravitational well (e.g., the surface of a planet), what it’s doing is trading potential energy for kinetic energy… until it hits, of course, at which point it trades kinetic energy for energy in the form of heat and sound!

    But it’s never moving infinitely fast.

  175. strange gods before me says

    May have to uninstall old script for that (Tools -> Greasemonkey -> Manage user scripts).

    Maybe not. Probably not.

  176. Dhorvath, OM says

    Bill D,
    But as we are talking dimensionless point masses with no other forces, a classical interpretation of Newtonian gravity would put the attractive force between them as increasing without bound as the distance between them approaches zero. It’s sure nice of the universe not to work that way.

  177. MFHeadcase has a headache, finding it hard to control urge to kill. says

    Quodlibet,
    Caffeine is a given for me **wry grin**
    The stacked naproxen and tylenol seem to finally be doing the trick, atleast the nastiest parts have faded a bit.

    Once I get home, I guess I won’t be reaching for the drill, just heading for the dark and quiet.

  180. says

    Having a nice cheery day today. Internet access has been restored to the house, and it’s deliciously fast. Friends who live in cities that don’t participate are envious and grumbling that their municipalities suck.

    Also, planning a small birthday thing this weekend for spouse with friends. This includes a friend with the same birthday, so I suppose theoretically I’m throwing a party for both of them. I’ve decided to tackle covered cakes this year as opposed to my usual hand-cramped craziness. I’m pretty comfortable piping buttercream, but this is my first time covering a cake with something like fondant or marzipan. I’m going to try following a marshmallow fondant recipe and hope for the best. If it turns out well, I may do that more often, along with tasty things like ganache. (Pretty much just do ganache on my cakes, but spouse likes white cake best.)

    I’m taking tomorrow off to give myself plenty of time and do the work when spouse is absent. (Because not only do I like to do ambitious & fun cakes, I like to surprise people.)

  181. broboxley OT says

    local astro guys make mistakes also

    Missed a factor of 4 (canceled when I should have multiplied!), actual time to meet is

    t = (pi D/4) sqrt (D/Gm)

  182. says

    Dhorvath:

    But as we are talking dimensionless point masses with no other forces, a classical interpretation of Newtonian gravity would put the attractive force between them as increasing without bound as the distance between them approaches zero.

    Yeah, I was thinking about that. First, even so, there’s no “infinite” speed (as you and I both noted) and it’s not potential energy that’s conserved. Possibly the only problem here is the wording of Astro-Guy’s argument.

    I didn’t pay close attention to the problem when it was first offered, but I thought I recalled it stated as masses of negligible size, which I took to mean tiny rather than infinitesimal… that is, spheres of radius r<<s, where s is the distance between the centers of mass. But even if I misunderstood, making the masses infinitesimal point masses makes the problem oddly defined: How can we talk about a “collision” between objects that have no spatial dimension, and therefore nothing that could reasonably be called a surface?

    In any case, the two colliding in finite time, but at infinite speed, can’t possibly be the right answer.

  183. says

    I HAVE THE POWER!

    I now have access to all the goodies under the hood that define the appearance of the site. You might notice some little changes right away: I tinkered to test my powers, and now text is ragged right, avatars are on the right, my comments are highlighted in a different shade of gray, etc.

    No big changes yet, and it might be a while. Classes start next week. My life ends.

  184. Dhorvath, OM says

    Bill D,
    Yeah, I guess I was just extending the assumptions of the problem, that is that the distance between the centres of mass and the distance traveled being the same value to seeing the masses as dimensionless. That force climbing without bound is a clear sign to me that the classic theory has a significant hole in it, but not clear enough that I could generate the answer.

  185. Dhorvath, OM says

    Which I will note still has too much mass and no pi. Grr, I need to practice skills to retain them? Why didn’t anyone tell me this?

  187. says

    SG @ 153:

    Caine:

    you see no angry creationist Gumby here?

    No, I’m afraid not. Could my custom css be screwing things up here?

    I do have the secret comic sans enabled in greasemonkey, I double checked, still no comic sans. Hmmm, I’ll try getting rid of the custom css and see if things work…

    In other news, the new battery for my mifi showed up and it’s green light all the way now! Yay!

  188. strange gods before me says

    Caine

    No, I’m afraid not. Could my custom css be screwing things up here?

    Perhaps, but consciousness razor clued me in to something else, so there’s an updated version that might work with your custom css. You may or may not have to uninstall the old version of the script.

    If beta 2 doesn’t work, I have another idea.

    And if nothing else is working after installing the new version, are you at least seeing a Gumby in theophontes’ #49?

  189. says

    testing comic sans

    Damn. Still doesn’t work. I removed my custom css to no effect. I closed out FF and re-started, too. No good. I am using FF 3.6, I really don’t want to upgrade right now – is that why it won’t work for me?

  191. strange gods before me says

    I am using FF 3.6, I really don’t want to upgrade right now – is that why it won’t work for me?

    That won’t be it, as I’m using 3.5.

    Keep in mind the Comic Sans still won’t show up in preview. That’s a different sort of timing problem I haven’t dealt with.

    I’m assuming I’m writing this comment while you’re installing the new version of the script. If you’ve already done that, and it still doesn’t work, I’ll try something else.

  192. giliell says

    Good evening
    Today, the holidays really ended with a “BANG”.
    Probably more a thud-whomps, or whatever sound grandmothers make who trip, fall, knock their head against the chair and then break their arm in a complicated mess on the floor. :(
    So I spent the afternoon in an ambulance and a hospital. She’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow, provided the QUICK goes up enough so they can try.
    What the hell was she thinking when she started cleaning out corners she doesn’t have to clean anyway on a day with such a hot, humid weather that I was feeling dizzy?
    Well, cry over spilled milk…

    @Crudely Wrott
    Have a safe trip. Looking forward to hear from you.

    @Katherine
    Well, UPS claimed I wasn’t living here anymorethe last time.
    Best one I know is from a friend who was declared dead by the postal service…
    Good luck getting your stuff back soon.

    @Kilts
    Hubby owns a “medievalish market fair” kilt (100% dead polyesters, and yes, I know, no kilts in the middle ages) and he looks gorgeous. One day I’m going to make him a dress kilt, I swear. Those legs should be shown to the world.

  194. TrineBM says

    Hmmm – will try to post on TET for the first time in … forever.
    BATS! bats are cool. One evening when my son and I had been to see the movie Rio, we were walking along the “lakes” in Copenhagen. I looked up and saw a swarm of insect hunting birds. … Birds??? at this hour? No – not birds, BATS and hundreds of them. No not exaggerating, there were literally hundreds, whirling around in the air approximately half a meter above our heads. The most amazing breakneck-speed air manouvers were taking place right above our heads. My son and I walked with our necks bent backwards for 20 minutes to watch this amazing spectacle. Around us people were talking in cell-phones, hurrying along without even noticing the bats whirling around them.
    And now somebody tell me why in our home we have all our sharp knives in a drawer filled with batteries, baking forms, cellophane wrap, wooden skewers and elastic bands? Huh? As I was wrestling a battery from its packet, I bent my thumb into what I thought was a plastic-thingy with baking-paper stuff in it. It was, but it was also the cover of our sharpest kitchen knife, which was hiding underneath. Surprising amount of blood for such a superficial scrape.

  195. Dhorvath, OM says

    My legs are on display regardless of kilt action. Pants get used for fancy restaurants and funerals.

  196. strange gods before me says

    It worked! It fucking worked! It just doesn’t work in preview.

    Woohoo!

    Preview is a different sort of timing battle, and I’m not going to bother with it if PZ is going to deliver site-wide Comic Sans soon.

    So, do you see a Gumby here too?

    If not then that is still a mystery.

  197. says

    giliell, I’m glad she wasn’t alone when it happened, that can be horrifying. It sounds like they’ll set her right soon, and that’s enouraging.

  198. says

    Dhorvath:

    My Space Studies MS (U. North Dakota, ’03) wasn’t a science degree, but I did take one class in orbital mechanics. It’s a hazy, distant memory, but it seems to me that the expression for calculating escape velocity was equivalent to calculating the velocity at impact of an object free-falling to the surface from infinite distance… and AFAIK escape velocity is a well-defined finite quantity for anything other than a black hole.

    Of course, a truly dimensionless point mass is effectively a black hole, albeit a very tiny one for small values of m.

  200. Erulóra (formerly KOPD) says

    I prolly can has Macbook Pro. Not sure how long it’s going to take, though. Budget decisions happen slowly in government-run organizations. I’m trying to justify an iPad, but I’m probably not going to win that one.

  201. says

    Also…

    too much mass and no pi

    …sounds like the story of my life! ;^)

    Until recently, that is: DaughterSpawn is spending a little time at home before school starts, and she’s been fixated on baking lately. Cherry pie a few days ago; peach pie last night, both with nicely done lattice crusts. And here I thought I was the foodie in the family.

  202. strange gods before me says

    You’re quite welcome.

    All praise belongs to Pumbaa80, lord of hello world, the compassionate, the merciful.

  203. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    It worked! It fucking worked! It just doesn’t work in preview.

    Oh joys! Thank you, SG. :D

    I’m still not seeing it. I deleted my custom CSS once PZ started making changes, so that’s not it. I can see the gumby in #49, but no font changes. I’m using FF 6.0.

  206. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    Bill D,

    you can always choose a frame of reference in which x (or s) = 0.

    No, not really. You can choose coordinates such that the position of a single particle is zero at a particular time, but the distance between two particles will be the same for all inertial frames of references. (At least in Newtonian mechanics!)

    Let x be the position of the first particle and y the position of the second. Then the distance between them is \|\boldsymbol{x} - \boldsymbol{y}\|. In moving from one inertial frame of reference to another you do some combination of three things: change the origin, change the orientation and/or change the velocity of the frame of reference. This corresponds to a translation, a rotation and a Galilean transformation. All of these leave \|\boldsymbol{x} - \boldsymbol{y}\| the same.

    Also, IIRC it’s not potential energy that’s conserved, but total energy.

    I think that was Astro Guy’s point.

    We have (using the same coordinates I did last thread),

    E = mv^2 - \frac{Gm^2}{2x}

    E is a finite constant (actually equal to - \frac{Gm^2}{2d}). As x\rightarrow 0 then -\frac{Gm^2}{2x} \rightarrow -\infty , so in order to keep the above equality (i.e, the conservation of energy) mv^2 has to go to infinity. So v has to go to infinity.
    _ _ _

    But as we are talking dimensionless point masses with no other forces, a classical interpretation of Newtonian gravity would put the attractive force between them as increasing without bound as the distance between them approaches zero. It’s sure nice of the universe not to work that way.

    Indeed. That’s how you can avoid this infinite speed difficulty. Newtonian mechanics only applies for medium sized things moving really slow. That is, between the sizes of atoms and galaxies and moving far slower than the speed of light. Once the distances involved are on the scale of atoms and/or the speeds are comparable to that of light, Newtonian mechanics ceases to be a good approximation. So you don’t really need to worry about the implications of infinite speed :).

  207. Dhorvath, OM says

    What do you mean you slipped? Did your hands fall off the bar, your feet slip on the floor?
    And where in your upper back hurts, it’s likely just a sore muscle, do you have full range of motion?

  209. Dhorvath, OM says

    And range of motion? If you are relatively mobile I would suggest some heat and mild massage to help encourage relaxation and blood flow to the muscle, if you ice, do so sparingly because too much will tense the muscle and exacerbate the problem. Give it two days, during which it is likely to get worse, and you should see a noticeable change for the better. Also, keep your training to cardio or lower body work that doesn’t tax your shoulder complex. If it’s not basically improving after two days, or if your range of motion is radically impinged see a doctor. Minor muscle strains like what you describe are part and parcel with many exercise routines, consider some gloves to help avoid the same if you aren’t already using some.

  210. says

    First Ap:

    I can’t read any of the LaTeX here at work, but I’m not sure we really disagree: As I said to Dhorvath, perhaps (and now I’ll modify that to probably) the real problem was with the way Astro-Guy’s explanation was expressed.

  211. Sili says

    I HAVE THE POWER!

    Needs more “Muah-hah-hah”.

    C+ for effort.

    –o–

    But thanks for getting the login back.

    And the Dungeon.

    :goes to point and laugh:

  212. KG says

    I wanted my husband to wear a kilt in my family’s tartan – Audley Darkheart

    All the so-called clan or family tartans were invented as a money-making scam in the 19th century, mostly by two English fraudsters claiming to be grandsons of Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite “Young Pretender”, in the 1840s.. The kilt is admittedly of greater antiquity: it was invented by an English manufacturer called Richardson in the late 18th century, because his factory employees, who were highlanders, kept getting injured when their plaids* got caught in the machinery.

    It never ceases to amaze me that so many Scots, and those of Scottish descent, with the intellectual glories of the Scottish Enlightenment to boast of**, prefer to express their national pride by dressing up in checked, pleated skirts and making a hideous racket by blowing into cloth bags.

    *The plaid (pronounced “plad”) was the real traditional highland dress – just a long strip of cloth wound round the body and draped over one shoulder.

    **The seminal works of David Hume, Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson, Adam Ferguson, James Hutton, Joseph Black, James Watt…

  213. giliell says

    @slignot
    Sadly she was (we would have stopped her doing stupid things before the accident happened if we’d been there)
    Hubby and I arrived on the scene some minutes after the accident and found her sitting on the floor waiting for somebody to turn up.
    She has an emergency button she can carry all the time but doesn’t. She never thought about calling out for my dad who was in the house (my parents and my gran share a house).
    If we had arrived 30 minutes later she’d have sat there for 30 more minutes…

    Well, off to bed now…

  215. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    SGBM: I have version 2.0 of the stealth font. I haven’t done anything except add it to Greasemonkey. I closed and reopened FF. No joy :-(

  216. Psych-Oh says

    Bill D. – Pie? My aren’t you lucky! I have a bag full of peaches looking for something to do.

  217. Classical Cipher says

    Needs more “Muah-hah-hah”.

    C+ for effort.

    You didn’t hear it in your head when you read it? You must not be properly tuned in to the Eldritch Divinities, Sili. It was loud enough to interrupt the constant horrible shrieking that my brain makes when it reads things like the Beyond Parody thread. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

  218. Classical Cipher says

    *sitting by Patricia* Also Janine is freaking awesome and I often look forward to her remarks.
    And… Google Scholar time!

  220. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    So I was doing a triceps pushdown and I slipped and now there is a sharp pain in upper back.

    Ouch. Hope you get better.

    About six weeks I fell off riding my bike and hit concrete. Hurt my shoulder really bad.
    _ _ _

    It’s a hazy, distant memory, but it seems to me that the expression for calculating escape velocity was equivalent to calculating the velocity at impact of an object free-falling to the surface from infinite distance

    Yes, if the second object starts off at rest. A particle with escape velocity has E=0 since at infinity there’s no gravitational potential energy and it has zero velocity (we want it so that has the absolute minimum energy and that’s done with ending with zero velocity). Similarly, a particle starting at rest from an infinite distance away has E=0. (If infinite distances bother you just replace it with ‘far enough away so that the force of gravity is totally insignificant’. I remember we were doing a problem in a physics course on the nano scale. The prof said completely seriously ‘so you integrate to infinity, which here is about 1 cm’. )

    So for both situations:

    \frac{1}{2}mv^2 - \frac {GMm}{R} = 0

    where M is the mass of the body the object is escaping and R is the body’s radius.

    So,

    v = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{R}}.

    I can’t read any of the LaTeX here at work

    Just saw this. The expression is:

    v= (2GM/R)^1/2

  221. Classical Cipher says

    *holds and pats hand* Success?

    The Beyond parody thread already has me to the pulling my hair stage of frustration. That was fast.

  222. strange gods before me says

    Katrina: it is unfathomable. Sorry to be annoying, but if you had the old version, did you try uninstalling before installing the new version? I thought that wouldn’t be necessary but now I’m suspecting it might be.

  223. Classical Cipher says

    *blushes* How do you find someone’s email address through Google Scholar?

  224. Audley Z. Darkheart OM (OS), purveyor of candy and lies says

    KG,
    Well, then it’s a good thing Mr Darkheart wore a traditional tux, then!

    Seriously, I know all of that now (thanks to Cracked lists, oddly enough), but at the time I did not. But I still think the Mr would look killer in a kilt. :D

  225. Dhorvath, OM says

    Doesn’t bother me, I like kilts because they look killer, not because I have some delusion of Scottishness.

  227. Classical Cipher says

    So I joined Atheist Nexus and the feminist atheist group there… and the first thing that happens is I run into an MRA (though admittedly, it’s my own fault for accidentally responding to an old thread)

    In the feminist group? Gross!

    SO HOW ABOUT IT LADIES? ANYONE LOOKING FOR A GUY WHO NEVER CUTS HIS HAIR, CHASES RABBITS AND SQUIRRELS, AND CALLS HIMSELF SEMI FERAL? LIMITED TIME OFFER! NO TAKERS? No? None? Nowhere?

    Er… *raises hand* *blushes* I mean, not that I’m like, necessarily interested in dating aforementioned semi-feral guy right now, since I’m not capable of a healthy relationship right now (as you’ve probably gathered), but from what you’ve said here, you’re very much my type… So don’t worry, there’re probably takers.

  230. says

    “No big changes yet, and it might be a while. Classes start next week. My life ends.”

    YOUR life ends? At least you’ve done this before. Try it cold, plus add 10 credit hours of courses to the mix.

    I don’t pity you. I pity your TA. And I pity myself.

    ####

    I’m at the Apple Store. Someone please convince me not to use my student loan to get a MBP and/or iPad.

  231. says

    If you want to wear a Scottish clan tartan, you’re supposed to have the surname for it — no being a cousin with a different last name. But in Canada, there are provincial tartans (Ontario’s is a dopey pale blue) and a national tartan that properly can be worn by anyone or perhaps any resident.

  232. Audley Z. Darkheart OM (OS), purveyor of candy and lies says

    A small gem from Mr Darkheart (speaking of an annoying customer that he had to deal with today):
    “The guy was an ‘ordained evangelical minister’. Which you probably get after you fill out the back of a cereal box or something.”

  235. says

    @Benjamin:
    Ramen is what you eat when you can’t afford food.

    more sensible, more sane Republicans

    Where?

    Barry Goldwater. Unfortunately, he’s dead. And again, it’s a relative thing; at least Barry understood the whole “separation of church & state” thing. He lost to a guy from Texas that got us involved in a stupid, seemingly endless war.

    I wish I had a bat story; I only see them in glimpses after dark when I’m camping, I can’t see well in the dark, and the little fuckers really move. I greatly admire flying animals with that sort of body control (swallows and nighthawks come to mind).

    I found out three years ago that I’ve been a migraine sufferer all my life. I went to the doctor with bright, jagged blind spots in my vision, something that occasionally plagued me as a teenager; turns out, that’s called an “ocular migraine;” visual effects without the pain. I can live with that; the headaches are infrequent and don’t last very long. One key, in my case, is that I’ve spent my whole life studiously avoiding my #1 trigger, which is lack of sleep.

    And never trust political advisors like Rove. What they think and say privately tells you nothing about what they are willing to do professionally. Roger Ailes was bright and witty, with a great sense of humor; some of his quotes about Richard Nixon are the most hilariously cutting things you could read; but he still helped make him president, casting him as some sort of statesman, for crying out loud.

  236. Wowbagger, Madman of Insleyfarne says

    So, has anyone else (who’s an AFA member) bought their tickets to the GAC yet? I got mine yesterday. Now all that remains is to sort out accommodation and transport, which I’ll do a bit closer to the day – it is, after all, 8 months away.

  238. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    I’m at the Apple Store. Someone please convince me not to use my student loan to get a MBP and/or iPad.

    *stentorian voice* “Step away from the hardware”

    Woot! It appears with Lion .avi files are now fodder for iDVD. Saves me a step making the Redhead happy.

  240. Quodlibet says

    If you want to wear a Scottish clan tartan, you’re supposed to have the surname for it

    Mr Q has a surname that meets that requirement. :-)

  241. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    Hey has anyone seen Icthyic or blf?

    Haven’t seen Ichthyic in at least a month. I think blf disappeared when we were having trouble with new site. Was a vacation mentioned? Or maybe the penguin is more deranged than usual.

  244. says

    Well, the new battery did not solve my wireless problem. I’ve got the stupid thing hooked back up to my laptop again and am dialed in. Looks like a new unit is required, can’t do that until Monday at the soonest.

    Fuckingstupidgodsdamnpieceofshit.

  245. says

    Mike G:

    I point to kilts, I point to Sean Connery. That is all.

    I point to kilts, I point to John Barrowman and Alan Cumming in kilts. Mmmrrrrrrreowwwrrrr, Baby.

    Besides, you haven’t seen Mister in one. *growls*

  247. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    Fuckingstupidgodsdamnpieceofshit.

    Sounds like my mantra for my PoS work computer.

  248. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    While we’re pointing, I would like to point to Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt.

  249. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    Ohh double gawwd…here comes the Watch Tower lady…

    Poor Watch Tower Lady. *Runs off and get “special” water with drop of 10 day old grog*

  250. says

    Fuckingstupidgodsdamnpieceofshit.

    OK, so I’m not supposed to laugh, but heehee, haha, this tickles me.

    *I am not laughing*.

    Besides, you haven’t seen Mister in one.

    Mister in a kilt? I can hardly wait.

  254. says

    My goodness, Carlie. You’ve got this straight boy questioning his choices. Do you have one with Brownian?

    BTW, there’s nothing under my kilt but the future of America. (a line that makes my wife make that derisive “snerk” sound every time.)

  255. says

    NPR just reported a very interesting story on Native American economic issues.

    http://www.npr.org/2011/08/18/139746162/seneca-nations-new-chief-seeks-to-change-course

    Two items were mentioned in this story that I find interesting and relevant to bigotry against Native Americans; the new chief is over-educated and therefore can’t understand Reservation issues; and the “Indians” should not be making all their money from casinos and tobacco sales.

    I will refrain from editorial comment at this time.

  256. says

    First Approximation (that sounds like an Iain M. Banks Mind), I’d like to see anyone else try to pull off “jaunty badass” in that outfit.

    On second thought, never mind. Once is enough.

  260. says

    I’d add the obligatory “he’s so articulate” meme, this time phrased as “polished”

    The radio-story sends me into screaming fits, which is why I’m trying to lay back.

    The US government thinks it’s a fine idea to burn down the houses of Native Americans upon their own lands, (I am not making this up) but WTF is wrong with you damn Indians, claiming you are entitled to operate casinos and sell tobacco on the minute Tribal Lands we alloted you out of the goodness of our hearts?

    Snnrg..blrrg..OK, I’ve said enough.

  261. Carlie says

    Perhaps “This is as awesome as Brownian in a kilt” needs to be added to the meme base. Then we could try to make him submit a picture to the wiki :)

  262. David Marjanović, OM says

    Haven’t caught up, of course.

    Hugs for Jadehawk.

    And now for partially random scrolling…

    Well I really want to meet you in LA. I looked into Google Scholar but I couldn’t find the free airline tickets … :’(

    Well, you’re in the Netherlands (right?) and I’m in Austria, so there should be some other way for us to meet sometime…

    *blushes* How do you find someone’s email address through Google Scholar?

    It’s in each of my papers, so you search for me, find my papers, and…

    You don’t even need to get through the paywalls that two of them hide behind. The abstract pages show the address, too.

    *The plaid (pronounced “plad”)

    One of my pronunciations I’ve had to correct within the last year or so.

    Then correct it again. :-) In the original Gaelic, it’s some kind of [pʰɫad̥ʲ] – the i isn’t actually silent, it modifies the consonant next to it.

    (PZ? I can has font tag or style attribute?)

    testing comic sans

    It worked! It fucking worked!

    Not for me.

  263. Carlie says

    So I just now noticed the book “Adventures of a Part-Time Indian” at the bookstore, and decided to check the library first. 27 copies in the system, all checked out and half also on hold. Ugh. How does one balance wanting to support authors and bookstores against one’s own budgetary restraints?

  264. David Marjanović, OM says

    Perhaps “This is as awesome as Brownian in a kilt” needs to be added to the meme base. Then we could try to make him submit a picture to the wiki :)

    :-D

  265. says

    How does one balance wanting to support authors and bookstores against one’s own budgetary restraints?

    Would not most writers care more that you read their work, than how you bought it?

  267. Carlie says

    Would not most writers care more that you read their work, than how you bought it?

    Well, I would think they rather I bought it than checked it out from the library.

  268. says

    Would not most writers care more that you read their work, than how you bought it?

    I imagine that most writers would like to be able to buy food and shelter with the proceeds from their writing (says the person who’s utterly dependent on libraries for her reading needs)

  270. says

    So, is LaTeX cut-and-pasteable (now that I can actually see it)?

    v = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{R}}

    Yes! (Sorta’: I had to add the dollar signs.)

    OK, the reason that I mentioned the escape velocity connection is that if we model the original problem as one body falling into the other, then…

    v = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{R}}

    …means that as long as R>0, then v is finite for any value of x up to and including infinite distance, even before considering relativistic effects… unless I’ve missed something (which seems likely).

    And if R=0, that’s just weird!

  271. says

    says the person who’s utterly dependent on libraries for her reading needs

    Well, I would think they rather I bought it than checked it out from the library

    Yah, as a writer, I would totally hate libraries everywhere buying my book.

  272. says

    Jadehawk:

    only works for those with modified CSS sheets

    That’s not true. I’ve eliminated my userCSS and am just going with what PZ has done now. To get comic sans to work, I installed the script (beta 2) in Greasemonkey and made sure ‘secret comic sans‘ was checkmarked.

    It does not show up in preview, it does show up in the post.

  273. says

    Carlie:

    Well, I would think they rather I bought it than checked it out from the library.

    No doubt, but they’d probably rather you check it out from the library than borrow it, buy it secondhand, or (not that you would do this) pirate/steal it. At least libraries buy books.

    I wonder if authors make more money off e-book sales? It seems like the cost of production would be so much lower that publishers could afford to throw authors and extra bone. Anybody know anything about the business model there? Or for audiobooks, for that matter?

  274. Classical Cipher says

    You don’t even need to get through the paywalls that two of them hide behind. The abstract pages show the address, too.

    *blushes deeply* Erm, so, right in front of my face all along and somehow magically invisible to me til you said that? Cool…
    (Brief email coming soon.)

  275. Carlie says

    Yeah, but they already have the revenue from the library. Mine would be new money or none.

    It’s really a weird kind of economically privileged smart-ass conundrum I find myself in a lot – technically I’m middle-class enough that I can afford to do things that support the work of others (like buy the higher-priced eggs from the local farm, and get the book from the indie bookseller, and the handmade crafts at the annual craft fair), but we do live paycheck to paycheck, and most of the time I feel like no, we can’t swing that extra cost, and then I think well, if we made better choices everywhere else we could and I feel all miserly and selfish, but then when I do buy stuff I feel like a undisciplined spendthrift, and blargh. And just having this argument with myself feels snotty and tone-deaf towards the entire economy of the US at the moment.

  276. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    First Approximation (that sounds like an Iain M. Banks Mind)

    lol, I actually had that same thought before. I liked Excession, but had trouble keeping in mind which ship was which. There were quite a bit.

  278. Tethys says

    Arrgh, I’m close to starfarting myself with the arses who have infested the Bolivian thread.

    Why can’t criminal stupidity be fatal? It would make my life so much simpler if I could actually make their heads asplode with a few well chosen facts and insults.

  279. says

    @Bill Dauphnin
    The case of R=0 doesn’t exist. An object must have a certain radius, so it’s not like you can make two objects fall into each other by putting their center of mass right next to each other. After all, center of masses are inside the object. And R means distance from their center of mass. So if you want to apply that to the Earth, things like R=100km is impossible. Unless you are beneath the surface, but then only the mass beneath you counts.

  280. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    and AFAIK escape velocity is a well-defined finite quantity for anything other than a black hole.

    Well, it’s well-defined for black holes outside the event horizon.

  281. strange gods before me says

    beta 3 is coming soon, courtesy of the department of redundancy department.

    (those who are having success with beta 2 should not upgrade)

  282. says

    Yeah, but they already have the revenue from the library. Mine would be new money or none.

    So buy the book for your library. I do it all the time. “I think this book should be in our library, and I’ll pay for it”.

    The librarians are very cooperative…”You’re buying? OK, we can do that.”

    If you don’t have the money for such a thing, well, I do, and the books I pay for, I would be pleased to have you read.

    The library is the best idea the apes have ever had.

  283. Erulóra (formerly KOPD) says

    I’m at the Apple Store. Someone please convince me not to use my student loan to get a MBP and/or iPad.

    I know I’m coming in really late on this, but I’m hoping you managed to resist the urge. You really don’t want to borrow money to buy something that depreciates as fast as a computer. Trust me. I’ve made that mistake. It doesn’t take long at all before you owe several times the worth of the thing.

  284. Classical Cipher says

    Carlie, there is nothing miserly or selfish about not consuming so that you can better care for yourself and your family. If you’re really concerned about it, which I think is admirable, you could put aside some (small) part of what you would be spending on a book you’re considering buying, get the book from the library, save the money up til it gets to some predetermined point, and if no financial need comes up that makes you need the money, donate it to the library. That way authors will benefit, your library will benefit, and you’ll save money. The bookstore will be left out, sure, but aren’t libraries more important?

  285. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    Okay, I’ve caught up with TET™.

    If you want to design your own tartan, here’s the website.

    Now for a test:

    *The plaid (pronounced “plad”)

    One of my pronunciations I’ve had to correct within the last year or so.

    Then correct it again. :-) In the original Gaelic, it’s some kind of [pʰɫad̥ʲ] – the i isn’t actually silent, it modifies the consonant next to it.

  286. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    No, neither of the cite = “creationist” scripts don’t work for me.

  287. strange gods before me says

    The planned redundancy turned out to be too redundant. Let’s just hope this works. (All of this should have been working already, the css specificity has always been 1-0-0-0, but whatever.)

    If yours works already, don’t upgrade. If it doesn’t work yet, uninstall your old versions first.

    Here is beta 3.

    +++++
    (And for compatibility a permalink to the old beta 2.

    Earlier links were not permalinks—all of them will now be serving beta 3 now—hence the permalink.

  288. cicely says

    I point to kilts, I point to John Barrowman [snip]

    What a…stimulating and aesthically pleasing mental image that is! Mmmmmmm!

    I’ll be in my bunk.
    –
    Carlie, thank you. ;)
    –

  290. Patricia, OM says

    Fucking watch tower wanker 0, roaring atheist in a county building 1.

    Above written in ?comic sans. Maybe?

    Now she knows what a War Cry really is.

    More of Strange Gods coding ^

  291. says

    Ibyea:

    The case of R=0 doesn’t exist. An object must have a certain radius,

    Yah, the original problem (from several days back) was worded in such a way that some of us interpreted it as meaning objects of “negligible” (but nonzero) radius and others interpreted it as meaning dimensionless point masses. I believe broboxley’s “local astro guy” took it as the latter, and that’s how he ended up with infinite velocity. But if the former interpretation (which was how I read it) is correct, then I believe infinite velocity is the wrong answer, even before relativity is taken into account.

    BTW, dimensionless (R=0) point masses can be purchased in the Physics Emporium®: They’re on the top shelf, between the frictionless bearings and the massless ropes. ;^)

  292. Quodlibet says

    *crashes through the door, heaving for breath*

    *starts in, then looks down, backs up, wipes feet carefully on the mat*

    .

    Stopping in for a breath of fresh air…it’s absolutely putrid on the Bolivia and Hoggle threads. Trolls smell disgusting.

    .

    *dashes cold water on face*

    *rushes back out, closing door carefully*

  293. strange gods before me says

    Would not most writers care more that you read their work, than how you bought it?

    That would be polite of them to say.

    Well, if you read their work for free, and then tell a lot of people who can afford the book that it’s a great book and they’ll want to buy a copy to read again and again, that’s still pretty good.

  294. strange gods before me says

    Yes they do. I see the Gumby and the comic sans in your post @285.

    That’s an interesting definition of “work” though ;)

    I see Patricia’s Comic Sans too, but I think Patricia can’t see it yet.

    I’ll know when to start punching the computer if beta 3 doesn’t help.

  295. Patricia, OM says

    Dammit, fucking christians have sabataged my comic sans. And yours Tis, can’t see it either.

  296. Brother Ogvorbis, Freshly Vacated says

    I just spent some time catching a bat that somehow got inside the house.

    About a decade ago, we had a bat in the house. The cats were not amused. Sherman (the one I keep trying to give away) went into the basement rafters and didn’t reappear for a day. Oreo (the one who actually acts like a cat) was mildly interested. I ended up trapping it in a trash can and sending it outside. And I agree about the feet.

    Later that same year, we were eating at a KFC and I noticed a bat hanging on the wall. In the dining room. I thought that was odd. I decided to head back up to the counter to let them know just as the manager came out of the back with a cardboard box, a spatula, a broom, and a baseball bat. I introduced myself, told her that I was a Park Ranger (no, I did not tell her I worked with steam locomotives) and was able to gentle it into the box and take it outside. This bat lay on the shrubbery (take that, King Arthur, I can find a shrubbery) for a good five minutes and I was able to give a short impromptu talk about how important bats are to the environment. The store staff and seven other customers were quite impressed.

    Give me a good Gorgonzola any day.

    While up in Lake Placid, Wife and I ate at a place called Pan Dolce, a rather pretentious little restaurant. I had pan-seared ahi tuna with lots of sesame sees and seaweed. Wife had a hamburger with bacon, smoked Gouda and crumbled Gorgonzola. Incredible.

    Ah, Velveeta! “The Cheese That Cannot Die.”

    Only thing I ever used Velveeta for was bait for really stupid golden carp. And I even have a recipe for cooking carp.

    Remember, 2 out of every 3 motorists is a chemically-enhanced multi-tasking lunatic who drives while surfing the Web and texting. And chewing gum.

    My dad always told me that everyone else out on the road is a homicidal maniac gunning for me. If a driver has his or her left turn signal on, they may be turning left, they may be turning right, they may be going straight, or the may be about to slam on the brakes and I should assume NOTHING!.

    While driving to Florida one year, I was toodling along in the slow lane at about 70mph in our minivan. A white Cadillac roared past me on the left, cut across in front of me, slammed on the brakes, and took an exit ramp. I jumped over to the fast lane and hit the horn to let her know that I was there. Wife looked into the car as we rocketted past — she had a bouncy dog on her lap, was smoking a cigarette, putting on makeup, and talking on a cell phone. A third hand (the only way Wife could explain it since the other two were busy with the makeup and the cell phone) gave us the finger.

    ah fuck I screwed up the tag

    I think that tags get fucked more than anyone or anything else around here.

    ————-

    I am back from a pleasant short vacation at a campground near Lake Placid. I could see the top of Whiteface from my campsite (oddly, I could not see my campsite from the top of Whiteface (though I could make out the skyscrapers in Toronto)). We saw a couple of Whitetail Deer, one with a fawn; multiple turkeys, including some young (turklettes? turkey cutletts? what does one call a baby turkey?); a bald eagle, numerous hawks, and an ouzel; no moose or bear, though. Gives us an excuse to go back.

    And I invented a new recipe before I left (well, not meant to be something new, it just, er, happened?): Bread and Butter Jalapeno Pickles. Really good.

  297. Dhorvath, OM says

    Beta is confirmed for September, all this talk of other pretend betas has me chomping at the bit.

  299. says

    Ramen noodles are fine. It’s the “flavour” sachets that turn them into MSG & salt bombs (and fat unless you buy low fat ramen). And of course noodles are pure carbs. You need some vegetables and protein, too – several people suggested this. Once in a while I enjoy one with the “flavour” bombs, but it’s definitely not everyday food.

    Bats are cool. Birds are cool, but we have cats so I’m not about to put seed out. One of our young cats is definitely a birder, though fortunately a simple bell seems to have put a stop to it. Unless the bird has knocked itself out attacking its reflection, which happened just the other day.

    I’d like ebooks more if
    a) they did not have the stoopid fucking moronic country localisation rules making them “not available in your country”; and
    b) they cost less that 90% of the price of a new book. WTF?

    Given these annoyances, I do actually pirate ebooks: I have a vast SF library torrented from somewhere or other. The way I work it is by considering these as a loan or a free sample. If I’ve already bought the book, then good, it’s excellent to have as a reread when travelling. (Such as the complete Pratchett oeuvre.) If I read some and like the author, then I make a point of buying some of their books. Especially easy since the library is a few yoears old, so I just go and buy their new stuff.

    Free is good, too. There’s Project Gutenberg for the classics, and Baen SF gives away a lot of free ebooks for promotion.

  300. strange gods before me says

    Beta is confirmed for September

    Diablo 3? Don’t confuse me any more than necessary ;)

  302. says

    Ogvorbis:

    I was able to give a short impromptu talk about how important bats are to the environment. The store staff and seven other customers were quite impressed.

    You’re a hero. Seriously. I protect and help our bats (even to the point of those damn rabies shots last year) and most of the farmers here to understand the importance of bats. However, I get infuriated by all the people here in effin’ farm country who don’t get why bees are so important…damn monoculture.

  303. says

    First Ap:

    Well, [escape velocity is] well-defined for black holes outside the event horizon.

    Good point. I was thinking of escape velocity from the surface, which is the same as surface impact velocity of an object free-falling from rest from an infinite distance.

    But now I realize I don’t know WTF “surface” means when we’re talking about a black hole! <headscratch>

  304. Owlmirror says

    @Bill Dauphin:

    If the latex images are blocked at work, what you can do is turn off images altogether, and view the page — the same script that generates the latex also generates the original latex as “alt” and “title” tags. So your browser should display the alt text if images are turned off, allowing you to at least see the equations.

    /lame workaround for lame censorship

  305. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    Bill D,
    I guess that depends if you are looking in or falling in.

  307. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    Dumped Beta <3. Loaded Beta 3. Got out of Firefox. Got back into Firefox.

    <blockquote cite = “creationist”>

    <q cite = “creationist”>

  308. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    You’re a hero.

    No, just doing what I do for a living in a free-lance mode. It’s called seizing the interpretive moment. And it drives Wife crazy sometimes.

    ————

    re: Brownian in a Kilt!

    Perhaps I missed the memo. Has the old line just translated to the new site, or do we need to get into a new line for ghey sex with a Kilted Brownian?

    Wife wants me to get a kilt. And wear it properly. I’m afraid of either developing an open sore or a callus on the, er, you know. Tip. Glans. Scares me a little. How do Scotsmen do it? Are they all that callous?

    —————

    Off to pick up girl.

  310. Patricia, OM says

    Caine – Probably not, since I don’t understand what you just asked me. Holy shite, I think spell check just magically appeared!

    wartz <- that is spell check. New!

    Still can't see any comic sans except PZ's in the article.

  311. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    No. It doesn’t work.

    Do I have to unload the .css file I put in to see gumby and the comic sans? If so, remind me where it is.

  312. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    Ogvorbis,
    I wore underwear. When I get another I will do so again. I am not going to be uncomfortable for some bizarre ritualistic reason.

  313. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    BTW, dimensionless (R=0) point masses can be purchased in the Physics Emporium®: They’re on the top shelf, between the frictionless bearings and the massless ropes. ;^)

    That’s the place to go if you want to get a good spherical cow.

  314. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    I just noticed something in the Karl Rove video. See the bookcase on the left side of the screen? There’s not a lot of books in it. If it were my bookcase, and I suspect that of most of us here, it would be overflowing with books.

  315. says

    ‘Tis:

    Do I have to unload the .css file I put in to see gumby and the comic sans? If so, remind me where it is.

    I did unload mine. Click on ‘Help’ then ‘troubleshooting info’, then click ‘open containing folder’, and you’re looking for the folder named chrome, then your userContent.css.

  316. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    ‘Tis,
    Umm, I would have about that many books in a shelf. I get a little wound up if shelves are overflowing.

  317. RahXephon, un féminist nucléaire says

    I thought I’d post this comment here instead of the thread about Perry because it was sort of OT.

    The subject of Perry’s, or any candidate’s grades, is as good a time as any for us to have a conversation about how education in the country is working (or how it isn’t, rather). A hell of a lot more goes into why a student got a certain grade besides “they did/didn’t study hard enough” or they’re “just stupid”.

    I’ve had a fairly average academic performance in college so far, and it was the same all the way back to junior high. I’m only now coming to realize and understand that some psychological issues I have have been affecting me this entire time. It might’ve been noticed earlier had a teacher or counselor had bothered to take the time to talk to me and my parents, but the system doesn’t work that way. Teachers don’t have the time or the institutional support to give their students what they truly need to succeed, they’re just supposed to teach to the test. I don’t think I was lazy, that I failed the system. I think the system failed me, and I don’t think my grades represent my actual intellect, but merely my failed attempts at navigating the system.

  319. Owlmirror says

    *blushes* How do you find someone’s email address through Google Scholar?

    It’s in each of my papers, so you search for me, find my papers, and…
    You don’t even need to get through the paywalls that two of them hide behind. The abstract pages show the address, too.

    I really don’t understand why you don’t just tell people

    [firstname].[lastname]@gmx.at

    (nota bene: there are no actual “[” or “]” characters in the e-mail addr. And use “c” instead of “ć”)

  322. 'Tis Himself, pour encourager les autres says

    This is just getting too hard. I’ll let our resident technoweenie figure it out and I’m going to bed.

    G’night all.

  323. strange gods before me says

    Do I have to unload the .css file I put in to see gumby and the comic sans? If so, remind me where it is.

    Maybe. Type

    about:support

    into your browser bar, and it’ll give you a button for your profile directory, which says “open containing folder”.

    In there is a subdirectory named chrome

    And in there is the file userContent.css

  325. says

    Kamaka:

    Would not most writers care more that you read their work, than how you bought it?

    For this author, damned straight.

    I’d rather have someone tell me they read my stuff for free and offer honest critique (even Pharyngula-level harshness) to someone who paid and never read it.

    But that’s just me. I’m rather egotistical that way.

  327. says

    Carlie, thanks for the kilt links. John Barrowman, Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson all look awesome, but I never knew David Tennant could look so dorky. Not a success, that shot. I think it’s the perspective making him top-heavy (common in amateur full-length portrait shots), plus the way the turned out feet and the shoes make it look like ballet. This one’s better, but no legs – http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm1hgswqWM1qfjt9qo1_500.jpg

  328. says

    Ogvorbis:

    I think that tags get fucked more than anyone or anything else around here.

    Was the fucked-ness of that tagging deliberate, or merely serendipitous, irony? ;^)

    Also, Velveeta.. from The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook by Robb Walsh:

    [p. 198]”Viva Velveeta: Invented in 1918 by Emil Frey, an immigrant from Switzerland, Velveeta was first marketed by the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. Kraft Foods purchased the brand in 1927. It’s not real cheese, but Velveeta doesn’t deserve its reputation as an unhealthy food. Velveeta has never contained any trans fast. It is high in saturated fat and sodium, but so is cheddar cheese. In fact, Velveeta was originally advertised for its nutritional benefits because it’s made with cheese, skim milk, and whey, a by-product of the cheese-making process that is considered to be a health food. It’s still made with the same ingredients today. Real cheese doesn’t melt and stay melted like Velveeta does—which is why most Texans consider it essential to chile con queso.”

    I’ll just add that one package of Velveeta melted and combined with one can of Ro★Tel® Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies makes a queso dip that’s tasty and expeditious!

  330. Tigger_the_Wing says

    ‘Tis, yep, definitely overflowing with books, like every other surface not in current use for something else.

    To add to the lovely men-in-kilts photos:
    Hubby and Number 1 Son in their kilts with my gorgeous daughter-in-law.

    Our cats (both elderly re-homed (15 and 19)) are strictly indoor cats. The local wildlife probably appreciate it – in spring, our shrubberies are full of tiny nesting birds and all year round we have plenty of birds to watch in the gardens. So I don’t feel the need to have any feathered pets.

  332. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    Was the fucked-ness of that tagging deliberate, or merely serendipitous, irony? ;^)

    Pure serendipitous irony.

    Oh, and ‘sesame sees’ should read ‘sesame seeds.’ All Hail Tpyos!

  333. strange gods before me says

    Since Caine and I both are still using Firefox 3, and it works for us, I’m guessing the problem is somewhere in that vicinity. Maybe I’m doing something non-standard (I can’t imagine what, though) and newer versions of Firefox have “fixed” my bug.

    I’ll have to get back to it later though.

  334. Patricia, OM says

    Tigger – I can’t see the Clan pin, the tartan looks real close to “mine”, Fraser (Frazier in the case of my ancestor).

    Good lookin menz you’ve got there.

  338. cicely says

    The Husband and I once ended up on a narrow road with no shoulders and abrupt drop-offs, behind a guy who was talking on his cell with one hand, smoking with the other (that is to say, alternately puffing and holding his cigarette by the window), and apparently steering with his…masculine appendage. Well, that’s the best we could figure out, anyway. Evidence (i.e., the way he was weaving all over the road) also suggested chemical impairment and/or a profound case of the stoopids.

    The Husband soliloquised on his dubious ancestry and odious personal habits for quite some time.
    –

    Umm, I would have about that many books in a shelf. I get a little wound up if shelves are overflowing.

    You must never come to my house, then. :P
    –

  339. says

    Ogvorbis,
    If the kilt is nice, there is usually a satin lining in the front. No worries about the manly bits getting woolied.
    with that, I think it’s bed time. Night all.

  340. Patricia, OM says

    *note to Strange Gods*
    Gorilla Tape ™ a small pillow to your forehead as a safety device.
    -0-
    My Firefox is the little red fox wrapped around an Earth.
    This doesn’t make sense, because I can see italics and block quotes.

  342. Classical Cipher says

    Patricia, you can find out what Firefox you’re using by clicking Help, then clicking About Firefox. (I just looked it up, so that’s how I know…) I’m running 6.0, and no dice with the Comic Sans. Sadface.

  343. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    I have people who I can’t visit due to environment issues. One couple I used to twitch unless I started tidying, so we generally cooked for them in their kitchen. It’s my issue, not something I would expect others to cater towards.

  344. Tethys says

    Can we talk of bats and bees more?

    Wes is incapable of logic and the stoopid is burning.

  345. says

    So, those who can’t get it to work, which Firefoxes are you using?

    I’m using 6.0. I see the comic sans and the gumby at #49, but not any of the recent-er posts.

  346. Classical Cipher says

    I’m using 6.0. I see the comic sans and the gumby at #49, but not any of the recent-er posts.

    Oh! Me too!

  347. says

    Yes, Velveeta’s primary advantage is that it doesn’t re-solidify… well, not as easily.

    #####

    I made it out of the Apple Store without buying anything (including the AC adapter I went in there to get in the first place). Meh. I’m ordering a new battery and a new AC adapter from the ‘Zon.

    Why do Apple’s cables suck so much? I’ve never had an Apple AC adapter that didn’t have fraying cords within a year or two. Strain relief, people.

    #####

    USF has a Feminist Student Alliance. I kid you not. They co-hosted a “LGBT & Allies Ice Cream Social” today, and I decided to go and shoot.

    The representative there asked me if I’d be willing to shoot their Slutwalk (how is that capitalized? Two words?). I told her I’d be happy to, if I have time. (It’s next month; I’m probably going to be insanely busy.)

    #####

    Bought bacon on the way home. I blame the Barenaked Ladies. (My iPod played “If I Had $1,000,000” as I was walking down the cooler aisle, and I passed the bacon just as they mentioned pre-packaged bacon…)

  348. Crusty says

    Okay, I’m still having update problems with this site. Clearing my cache didn’t work, plus it wiped out my saved commenting info.

    Yeah, for awhile I thought the site was just broken as the other one kept updating while this one wasn’t. It seems to be okay now, in that I didn’t need to refresh to see this story.

    I’d think it’s a matter of the HTTP headers not being set right (expiry time set somewhere far in the future where it should probably be set to expire immediately). Looks like they’re right now though:

    Cache-Control : no-cache, must-revalidate, max-age=0

    Expires : Wed, 11 Jan 1984 05:00:00 GMT

  349. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    sgbm:

    Katrina: it is unfathomable. Sorry to be annoying, but if you had the old version, did you try uninstalling before installing the new version? I thought that wouldn’t be necessary but now I’m suspecting it might be.

    I didn’t. I will do so now.

  352. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    Uninstalled the script. Closed and reopened FF. Installed the script linked in 205. Closed and reopened FF. Still nothing.

    ::sigh::

  354. Tethys says

    Caine

    If I had any money, I would commission you to go photograph that fucking burned down church so I could hang it on my wall and gloat.

  355. says

    I think Icthyic has been gone since Spring. :(

    Could’a’ sworn I’d just seen Icthyic on one of the other threads I’ve been dipping into today: Would’a’ been either Bolivia or one of the Perry threads, I’m guessing.

  358. says

    One of my students emailed me telling me that she is visually impaired and is working with the Student Disability Services office for accommodations. Apparently, SDS is supposed to send a letter to her instructors (including me) listing accommodations to be made. Problem is, this letter isn’t available yet; she was emailing me to tell me it’ll be submitted on 30 August.

    What are typical accommodations given to visually impaired students in a college programming course? Would it be rude to ask her directly what accommodations she needs, or should I wait until she submits the form?

  359. says

    Tethys:

    If I had any money, I would commission you to go photograph that fucking burned down church so I could hang it on my wall and gloat.

    I’d happily do that for free. :)

    Okay, bees. It is seriously frustrating that ND has gone so monoculture that a majority of farmers aren’t worried about the bees vanishing. I’ve seen a steady decline over the past 8 years.

    We deliberately plant a wide variety of flowers, we have berries growing (strawberries, blackberries and rasberries), veg and herbs in the Spring/Summer and there are all the hops too.

    I’d love to allow Mister to keep a hive on our property, but I’m severely allergic and bees do get territorial with their hive. Only organic bee keeping though, some of the practices of certain bee keepers I find to be appalling, such as killing off the queen every few months and introducing a new one in a cage, often one which has been artificially inseminated.

  361. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    Ben, as an ex-academic, I would say contact the SDS office directly, or visit their web-site (if they have one). They should be able to give you some general guidelines, with the actual specifics, probably in the formal letter to you, depending on the extent of the impairment after she files the form and it is processed.

  362. Patricia, OM says

    Caine – We have the only lavender field surrounded by 10s of thousands of acres of wheat fields, somehow the bees find it. My rosemary bushes attract more bees than the lavender. This year I’ve seen two Bumble bees, that’s so sad.

  364. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    Well, I am heading off to bed. For another night discussing feathered ankylosaurs with Doctor David Marjonović. No, I am not kidding. The last three nights, that has been my remembered dream. Is this normal?

    On the plus side, it beats hell out of 9/11 dreams.

    And I am dreading the fucking 10th anniversary ‘celebrations’ by the right wing, lauding the Great President W and how he ‘got’ bin Laden. I just know it’ll be on every damn TV station for a week, and even when it isn’t on, there will be adds for the special programmes. I either need to go to a fire or just not watch any TV at all for a week. I don’t need that shit, and neither does anyone else unless they are using it as a cynical ploy to, once again, protray the American left as a bunch of traitors for not supporting the Great W in his immortal battle against ‘terrists’ who were created by Clinton who didn’t protect America and created a big recession and giant deficits to embolden our enemies and holy shit! I really hate this shit and I knwo that from now until the end of September none of us can escape it — on line, on TV, on radio, in magazines, everywhere. And I’ll lay odds that they will swallow the right-wing narrative hook, line and sinker because, after all, only the GOP understands how to use (and abuse) the military.

    G’night.

  365. RemembersABeach says

    Benjamin – given that she initiated the conversation telling you she will be needing accommodations, I can’t imagine she would object to you asking her what accommodations she needs to be successful. Just be careful not to make any promises, as the school may have guidelines they generally follow.

  366. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    OK, did the “lather, rinse, repeat” with beta3. Still nothing. Instead of comic sans, I get the same serif font as the posts, only smaller.

  367. Patricia, OM says

    Night Sweethearts – Naughty Marvin is making coney dogs (?) for supper, and then it’s British Comedies for me.

  368. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    This year I’ve seen two Bumble bees, that’s so sad.

    Wow, up here in Puget Sound, we’ve been commenting on the increase in bumble bee numbers. Our back “lawn” is clover, and I have to wait until evening to mow it, for fear of running over all the bees.

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

    Well, I was kind of looking forward to the dedication ceremony for the memorial site…until Ogvorbis pointed out that the right will once again shame vultures everywhere by trying to feast on the still-sore hearts of those who lost a loved in the attack. Nothing like reopening an old wound for the fresh blood, eh, right-wingers? Who needs Edward Cullen when you’ve got the perfect modern-day vampires right in politics?
    —————————

    I tried to create a Word Press account, it’s easier than always typing my name when I want to comment. But the damn thing won’t let me register. I must have tried about 5 combinations of my username, and none of them were accepted. WTF, am I missing something?

  371. Tethys says

    I only have a city lot sized yard, but I have lots of plants in the garden specifically to provide nectar sources for the bees.

    Balsam is currently blooming, and is a favorite of the bumblebees.

    Yesterday I noticed three little girls in my driveway, whacking at the balsam with a stick. I went outside and gave them a mini-naturalist lesson about bees being good insects that won’t hurt you unless caught or stepped on. They were very skeptical, so I demonstrated that you can pet them while they are feeding.

    They thought that was pretty cool.

    Caine

    There are some abandoned elevators in the ghost town of Arena. The remains of the Mennonite Church and cemetery are a few miles south.
    Arena Grain Elevators

  374. says

    Oh, sorry Bill. Shoulda refreshed before posting.

    Part time insomniac, you need to use a username without any spaces. Then you customise your screen name to whatever you want later on.

  375. says

    Tethys:

    They thought that was pretty cool.

    Yay, you!

    Oh, gorgeous elevators. I’ll be forever pissed that the ones which marked “West Almont*” were torn down. The ones in Glen Ullin are being torn down too. I’ll have to check out Arena.

    *The town that never was.

  376. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Cath is right. I registered as ‘tiggerthewing’ then created Tigger_the_Wing as my nickname and opted for the latter to be displayed.

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

    Done and done!

    Now if only I could stop giggling at the video I’m watching on YT…..

  378. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    Therrin I too am opted in, but no it’s not live yet, so I don’t know who is in. take heart though, it’s a short one. The game is very close to street.

  379. Tethys says

    Log in won’t work. Refresh is still wonky.

    I note a large decrease in the bumblebee population this year, and a near total lack of honeybees.

    I have bats living in my eave, and am happy to share as long as they don’t try to come inside.

    I also have a skunk family that comes every summer to pillage the raspberries. Skunk babies following their Momma in single file is just adorably cute. It does make stepping outside at night a bit risky. (arghh…thats not a cat and its aiming at me!)

  380. Classical Cipher says

    Anybody good with Gravatar and can tell me why there’s a big stupid Gravatar logo on my hovercard and profile?

  381. Janine, The Little Top Of Venom, OM says

    Were Zoidberg and Mom once a couple? Farnsworth and Mom once were. And Farnsworth and Zoidberg did have sex together at least once.

    This is more disturbing than Fry doing the nasty in the pasty.

  383. First Approximation (formerly Feynmaniac) says

    Since we’ve been doing math and physics lately on The Thread, here’s The Strangest Numbers in String Theory by By John C. Baez and John Huerta. The article appeared in Scientfic Amaerican a while back, so it isn’t that difficult to understand.

    A forgotten number system invented in the mid-19th century may provide the simplest explanation for why our universe could have 10 dimensions
    _ _ _

    As children we all learn about numbers. We start with counting, followed by addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. But mathematicians know that the number system we study in school is but one of many possibilities. And indeed, other kinds of numbers are important for understanding geometry and physics. Among the strangest alternatives is the octonions. Largely neglected since their discovery in 1843, in the last few decades they have assumed a curious importance in string theory. And indeed, if string theory is a correct representation of the universe, they may explain why the universe has the number of dimensions it does.

    I like a phrase that is used later: “a famous act of mathematical vandalism”.

  384. Therrin says

    Classical Cipher,

    Logging in at Gravatar’s site, can you delete it from your list? It looks like one can have multiple available to use at various blogs.

  385. Classical Cipher says

    Frustratingly, it doesn’t show up on my list at all! It only appears on my damn profile.

  386. says

    Janine:

    Were Zoidberg and Mom once a couple?

    That was the implication.

    Farnsworth and Mom once were. And Farnsworth and Zoidberg did have sex together at least once.

    Not quite. When Farnsworth and Zoidberg had sex, it was actually Leela and Fry in their bodies.

  387. Therrin says

    Mouseover on them has one listed as “avatar” and the other as “userimage”, maybe the BioShock one needs to be declared to be the avatar?

  388. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    Now if only I could stop giggling at the video I’m watching on YT…..

    Beware of more giggling you won’t be able top stop while watching Anderson Cooper having a giggle fit, linky

  389. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Classical Cipher, when I mouse over your hovercard/avatar I see two pictures. A white on/off logo on a blue background and something that looks like a yellow-eyed black robot against a background of green curved windows, which I see as your avatar when not mousing over.

    Does that help at all?

  391. Classical Cipher says

    Mouseover on them has one listed as “avatar” and the other as “userimage”, maybe the BioShock one needs to be declared to be the avatar?

    Thanks! That was the key to my figuring out how to get the logo to go away (change the rating on the Little Sister picture to G, so it would always be the avatar, and it wouldn’t need to maintain the Gravatar logo as a default), but now, as you point out, there’re two of the Little Sister… Ahwell.

  393. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Thanks, Therrin!

    Sorry, little sister!

    But now, although I am seeing the same two pictures as before when I mouseover, the avatar is being displayed as a green quilt.

  394. Classical Cipher says

    But now, although I am seeing the same two pictures as before when I mouseover, the avatar is being displayed as a green quilt.

    You’re right!
    *whines*

  395. Classical Cipher says

    But I think it’s working now – just Gravatar apparently takes a bit to change stuff over. Not sure. Fingers crossed.

  397. Classical Cipher says

    Everything is figured all out! From what I can tell, there were two Little Sisters because I uploaded one of them as an avatar and one of them as an image. Previously one of them showed as a Gravatar logo because I had its rating set to PG and the profile is G-rated. That’s what I can suss out anyhow, not knowing much about it. Thanks to Therrin for that :) I feel much better now.

  398. theophontes , flambeau du communisme says

    @ David Marjanović

    Well, you’re in the Netherlands (right?) and I’m in Austria, so there should be some other way for us to meet sometime…

    I am currently in Shenzhen in China (excellent dinosaur fossils here in China by the way). I have not been back to Europe in over a decade. I have been in San Francisco twice in just over the last year, so that could have been easy, but unfortunately am strapped for cash. (I would probably just go and live in San Fran if that wasn’t the case.)

    I am very close to Hong Kong if you ever get out this way.

    Link:Dinosaurs

  399. says

    And in some more interesting and unrelated news, ScienceBlogs is ditching their pseudonymous bloggers. There go Drug Monkey, Isis, and probably some others. I wonder if Orac will fess up his real name? And ERV? It’s not like we don’t know those two.

  400. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    I don’t understand what’s with all the hate for pseudonymous bloggers or anonymity on the internet in general (see google+). I don’t think writing under a pseudonym necessarily gives one any less credibility than writing under their real name. Some bloggers on ScienceBlogs have built their reputations under pseudonyms. How does that suddenly make them any less trustworthy? If that’s the case for dismissing them. I would think the quality of posts would be a more important factor than the name they are signed with.

  404. The Lone Coyote says

    Classical Cipher:

    Er… *raises hand* *blushes* I mean, not that I’m like, necessarily interested in dating aforementioned semi-feral guy right now, since I’m not capable of a healthy relationship right now (as you’ve probably gathered), but from what you’ve said here, you’re very much my type… So don’t worry, there’re probably takers.

    Oooh wow, now you’re gonna get me blushing. I actually only posted that to make a point, I didn’t expect any response at all. I’m pretty flattered. Heehee.

    Of course it’s a common assumption among MRAs that any male feminist who isn’t gay is only ’embracing feminism’ in a pathetic attempt to get laid. I actually used to make the same assumption, and it’s what kept me from deciding to educate myself for as long as I did. Live n learn.

    Regarding Bees: here in BC, it APPEARS (with emphasis on that, because I’m no entomologist) that honeybees and bumblebees are recovering. This year I’m seeing many more than the last. Someone earlier (not gonna hunt down the comment, too tired) said something similar about Puget Sound, which is pretty close in general. Did CCD just not hit the west coast as hard? Or is this an example of natural selection at work?

  405. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    Um, Cath the Canberra Cook, hope you don’t mind my asking but … Pratchett ebooks?!?!?! …. would be wonderful. And I solemnly swear that I do already own paper copies of just about every book he’s ever published (every single discworld up to and including Unseen Academicals, so all bar the very latest one I think, plus I have Strata, plus all the Science of Discworld books plus all his YA and the kids ones (I have kids, I’m allowed). So, um, just thought I’d ask ….. please ignore if you’d rather, obviously! I don’t want to be awkward or a pain.

  406. John Morales says

    I registered as ‘tiggerthewing’ then created Tigger_the_Wing as my nickname and opted for the latter to be displayed.

    Tigger, you are aware that you don’t need the underscores, right?

    (Spaces are fine, as my name demonstrates)

  409. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Yep, I’ve been Tigger_the_Wing all over the internet for a long, long time.

    I feel quite naked without my underscores! =^_^=

  411. Tigger_the_Wing says

    You’re most welcome, JM.

    It is the nickname of my motorcycle which somehow, through the various bike clubs and down the years, became attached to me.

    But, just as my birth name always got shortened, I am generally called ‘Tig’, both online and in meatspace.

  413. Birger Johansson says

    Set a bug to kill a bug http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110816/full/news.2011.483.html
    Useful way of killing antibiotic-resistant strains.

    Hmm…if you are planning to release a bioweapon I suggest you prepare something like this first, so you don’t get sick from your own killer bugs.

    “kill it with fire”

    Trolls are silicaceous life forms. Ordinary fire will just make them angry. Smother them with CO2 or melt them with dragon fire.

  414. Carlie says

    Birger – they’ve been using viruses to kill bacterial infections in eastern Europe for decades. The really cool thing is that they keep live cultures, so that new strains co-evolve with the bacteria so as not to allow the bacteria to get too far ahead. (and also, viruses that infect bacteria have a very low possibility of turning on us and attacking eukaryotes instead). However, political and other reasons have kept it from spreading to the West (like the collapse of the USSR, after which all of the scientists stopped getting paid and the med centers went bankrupt).*

    *info from a book in my office I can’t remember the title of. Will post later.

  415. Nerd of Redhead, Dancer on Trolls says

    Oh gods, ABQ is back. Fire, kill it with fire. Or lock it up in a dungeon.

    I’ll start the betting pool for the reincarceration.

  416. Birger Johansson says

    Man Somehow Overcomes Alcoholism Without Jesus http://www.theonion.com/articles/man-somehow-overcomes-alcoholism-without-jesus,21146/

    — — — — — —
    Using phages against bacteria was first tried by a researcher in Georgia, but he was shot by Beria before Beria moved to Moscov to be Stalin’s personal mass murderer. I am glad to hear phage therapy has continued to be explored despite the early reversal.
    (The example above is based on bacteria, not phages)

  417. Giliell, connaiseuse des choses bonnes says

    Gnarf, accidentially closed the tab with a rather longish reply. Lucky yous.

    Gran’s surgery has been re-scheduled for Monday. This means a weekend of painkillers on the downside, but 3 more days off the Marcumar on the upside.

    @Tigger
    All three of them look gorgeous and rather happy
    And if we’re bragging, I present the most gorgeous Mr.Giliell in a kind of kilt with Giliell herself when she still had a waist (don’t look at the shoes.

    @Benjamin
    I wouldn’t think it rude, but be rather glad to be asked. She’s the one who knows best what her needs are. I would take it as a sign that you really care and don’t consider her special needs a nuissance.
    Havong said that, I’m not in that situation. This is a wanna-be-a-good-person talking

    @Bees
    My parents’ garden, which used to be my grandparents’ garden always consisted out of 1 part lawn (with clover and daisies) and a larger part meadow with flowers and everything except thistles ans nettles. My grandpa used to make hay with a scythe twice a year, dad uses an electrical one.
    One half og the lawn noe gets a special treatment: the combined rabbit lawn mower and fertilizer.

    @Holiday pics
    Didn’t get a lot done yet, but here’s one especially for Audley:
    Turltles, faster than you may think

  418. David Marjanović, OM says

    Not caught up, just scrolling through.

    *blushes deeply* Erm, so, right in front of my face all along and somehow magically invisible to me til you said that? Cool…

    ^_^

    And yes, journal websites don’t conceal authors’ e-mail addresses. They don’t seem to know automatic e-mail address harvesters exist.

    (Brief email coming soon.)

    Got it and replied. :-)

    I really don’t understand why you don’t just tell people

    [firstname].[lastname]@gmx.at

    (nota bene: there are no actual “[” or “]” characters in the e-mail addr. And use “c” instead of “ć”)

    See how complicated that is? :-) “Find me in Google Scholar” is so much easier.

    (And when told to a dungeon candidate who thinks he’s smarter than all of us together, it’s so much more satisfying… I suppose it has become a habit. :-] )

    I am currently in Shenzhen

    …oh. Yeah. I forgot. :-( I might visit some place in the southern half of China sometime, because of the fossils (not just of dinosaurs) you mention, but probably not soon. :-(

    Oooh wow, now you’re gonna get me blushing. I actually only posted that to make a point, I didn’t expect any response at all. I’m pretty flattered. Heehee.

    …

    Woman who just had casual – or so he thinks – sex with Charlie Harper: “I love you.”
    Charlie: “Thanks.”

  419. says

    @Opposable Thumb:
    If you’re inclined to torrent, google “mazzeltjes ebooks” and carry on from there… All are pdfs, of very mixed quality – some good, some are very crappy OCR, and some are quite literally unreadable. It’s not quite “the complete works” of most authors, because it doesn’t have the most up to date. The ethics is up to you.

    And yes, we also have the complete Pratchett in paper form round here.

  420. squigit says

    I’m delurking just to drop a rant in here, ignore it if you want, since I so rarely comment, I’m not really a part of this community but, I just need to get it out…even to strangers and even if no one listens (reads?).

    Husband and I are separating. It’s for the best. We have a five year old together, and since I will be moving back home and completely starting from scratch (staying with a relative, no car, no money, etc…), Spawn will be living with him.

    Everyone is questioning my decision to leave him here with his father. People I never thought would question something like that simply based on my gender. My grandmother’s response was “money and good schools does not = a good mother“. My mom tried to make it about her, completely disregarding my feelings about it. Not even asking me if I was ok.

    The only person who has been completely supportive and understanding of my decision is my best friend. She is even taking her only weekend off to come up here and move me back home. She made me feel ok that I am making the right decision. I don’t know what I’d do without her, but I am deeply hurt by what everyone else in my family is saying.

  421. Carlie says

    *citation from “The Killers Within: The deadly rise of drug-resistant bacteria”, by Michael Shnayerson and Mark Plotkin. Also, see wikipedia.

    squigit – I’m really sorry. The only thing I can think to say is to keep repeating to everyone that nobody knows from the outside what is happening in a relationship. Also, that the fact that you’ve agreed for him to be the primary parent is a good indication that you plan to have a strong interactive and healthy relationship even after divorcing (you know, the kind divorced parents are supposed to have).

    You might want to look through the readheaded skeptic’s blog. She’s in a different situation, but has gone through leaving her child with her former husband when they divorced.

  422. says

    Squigit:

    I am deeply hurt by what everyone else in my family is saying.

    I imagine so. I’d be furious. You are the one who knows what it is you need to do and how you need to do it. It has to be terribly difficult for you, to undergo all these changes and have your child living apart from you. Even through all this, you have put your child’s interests first and are thinking about how you’re going to manage as well.

    I’d say you’re doing damned well in a trying time.

  423. Tigger_the_Wing says

    squigit, I don’t know you, either; but you know yourself, your son and your husband. You are in a better position than anyone outside the three of you to make that decision.

    If it were the wrong one you would already have changed it, yes?

    So you know you have made the best decision in the circumstances and you have no reason to let anyone try to make you feel guilty for it just because it has taken them by surprise.

    I know a lot of people, children and adults who are being/have been raised by their fathers for varying lengths of time and for various reasons (divorce/separation/illness/death) and they are no worse off than those who have been raised by mothers/grandparents/other relatives or any other people.

    I am so glad you have such a great best friend. I realise it will be hard, but do try not to let the ignorant remarks of other people upset you. They just lack the imagination to see that what they think of as the ‘traditional’ way to do things isn’t always the best way.

  424. Giliell, connaiseuse des choses bonnes says

    Squigit:
    I can understand how you feel.
    I can imagine how hard this must be for you anyway ( I think I’d simply wither without my brats like a plant without water), so a bit of support from those you love should really be the least to be expected.
    How much more love can a mother show than putting the kid’s needs first?

  425. Quodlibet says

    squigit,

    This can be a good place to unload. :-)

    I’m sorry that your difficult situation is being made more difficult by inconsiderate people.

    You don’t have to respond to their inquiries and “advice.” You can make a polite answer, of course, but you don’t have to engage. Engaging gives them license to intrude even more, and if you try to explain your situation or your reasons for making whatever decisions you made, you open yourself up to criticism and argument. You don’t need to justify yourself to anyone except yourself.

    You can just listen without commenting until they run out of words, then say “Thanks for your advice” or “Thanks for your concern” or “That’s nice of you to be concerned” — you get the idea. It’s possible to be grateful for their ‘concern’ without acknowledging anything they say. :-)

    If you need to be firmer than that, then after they have run out of gas, you can say “It’s all settled, thanks” or “Our arrangements have already been made” or “We’ve already worked it out, thanks.”

    Be courteous and neutral. Do it with a genuine smile.

    Wishing you well —

  427. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    Thank you Cath the Canberra Cook! Much appreciated! Will check it out.

    I’d be happy enough to get anything I already had on paper, I think, and maybe sometimes “try-before-I-buy” if I’m not sure I want sth or not. I love the portability of the ebook format, but I love me my books on paper – and you can’t beat having an actual book for many purposes (especially ease of flipping through, ease of making marginalia, smell, feel, taste (well maybe not taste), texture – and you can’t read an ebook in the bath … :) )

    Thanks again!

  428. says

    Squigit, that’s awful but unsurprising. My BFF had to (*) do that about 20 years ago, and she copped huge grief over it from all sorts of annoying relatives and nosy morons. Most of her family came round eventually, but not all.

    People can be real shitheads. There’s not much you can do but stay strong, hang in there, choose the people you trust, and try not to kill the fuckwits who want to tell you how to run your life and your child’s. Because prison would suck even worse.

    (* Yes, had to. Pro tip: never marry an abusive lawyer.)

  429. squigit says

    Carlie,
    Thanks so much for the link. Redheaded Skeptic and I have more in common than I would have thought possible with a total stranger (right down to the red hair!). I’ve bookmarked it. Also, last time I stepped in here, you were about to have surgery, I trust you’re doing well and if so, I’m glad to see it!

    Caine, Tigger, Giliel, and Quodlibet (and everyone else as well), thank you so much for your supporting comments. It really does help.

    Aside from the thing with our son, I’m trying to see this as a sort of “adventure”. I’m getting to start over. Soon, I’ll be able to date…something I’ve never done before. I can be independent financially. I’m really just relieved that it’s over. Our marriage had become a burden to me, even though there was no wrong-doing on anyone’s part. It became exhausting for me.

  430. squigit says

    Correction to my last post: that should be directed at Caine, not Carlie. Stupid finger-brain disconnect!

  431. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    Squigit,
    Sorry to hear about the lack of support. Life is not tidy, we make what sense of it we can. When I hear of someone who is in touch with themself and their ex well enough that both can agree on how to best provide for their child I rejoice. Good for you. It must be very hard to make that decision and be met with so much incredulity and opposition, I hope you can escape it to some extent quickly.

  432. Dhorvath, The Beta is Coming. says

    First Approximation,
    Now I am intrigued, that was an interesting article on Octonions.
    ___

    We keep mason bees in our yard. They are pretty neat.

  434. Quodlibet says

    I look forward to the closure of this edition of TET, for one reason: each time the thread loads, that evil face appears on my screen.

  435. says

    The Washington Post published an article on the 17th about mormons making an outsize mark on the internet. Small sect in terms of numbers, bit internet footprint.

    Type “church,” “Old Testament” or even “friend” into Google, and the Web site of the LDS church, the Mormons, pops up near the top of the list.

    I tried it — not the top, but on the first page.

    In the age of the Internet, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has found a way to dominate what is arguably today’s most important information source: the search engine.

    [There’s a video too: Go behind the scenes with Elders David Liew and Gregg Karren, Mormon missionaries, as they spread the word of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.]

    It’s all about Mormons controlling their own image, church officials say. They’ve been doing that for a century or more. And now, with two of their own vying for the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential race, and a Broadway hit and reality television generating huge interest in the denomination, much is at stake.

    “We’re jumping into the conversation because there is a big one going on about Mormons, and we want to be a part of it,” said Stephen Allen, head of the church’s missionary department. “When someone goes into Google, if the first 10 sites are people who hate us, we lose in terms of our message.”…

    …Image experts and researchers who study how people search the Web have been impressed by the church’s powerful use of the Internet. The site lds.org is the most-visited of any faith group, and Mormon church-wide conferences sometimes rank at the top of Twitter while they’re underway. The Mormons also are the subject of publications and conference lectures for techies who specialize in the complex business of online searching, called “SEO” or “search engine optimization.” These SEO experts debate how the church has managed to dominate the search engine box.

    …LDS officials declined to comment on the church’s specific SEO plan, but some of its strategy is laid out on a site set up to help church members become more SEO-savvy. It asks members to help boost traffic to a different site about church teachings on self-reliance, which covers a variety of topics, such as the importance of keeping a three-month supply of food and water, creative ways to find a job and adoption services for people considering abortion.
    The SEO advice site says the church is trying to snag Google users who type in general terms, such as “employment” and “debt management.” Among other things, it recommends that people write articles that can include LDS links.

    After the Washington Post ran the story, their link to the LDS page giving members instructions on how to be SEO savvy was taken down. Then they put it back up. I didn’t see the first version, so I don’t know what it used to say. Here it is:
    https://tech.lds.org/wiki/Search_Engine_optimization_project

  436. says

    llewelly @433: I could see Rick Perry needing oil money. But he creates his own gas.

    In a comic turn noted by too few, a lot of the Iowa Straw Poll votes for Rick Perry were actually votes for “Parry” per Stephen Colbert’s satirical campaign featuring hot, buttered corn.

    Yes, they counted all the “Parry” write-in votes as “Perry” votes.

    I think Colbert spent some of his Super-Pac laundered money on the production of the satirical campaign ads.

  437. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    The Lone Coyote:

    Regarding Bees: here in BC, it APPEARS (with emphasis on that, because I’m no entomologist) that honeybees and bumblebees are recovering. This year I’m seeing many more than the last. Someone earlier (not gonna hunt down the comment, too tired) said something similar about Puget Sound, which is pretty close in general. Did CCD just not hit the west coast as hard? Or is this an example of natural selection at work?

    That was me. I’m not actually seeing that many honey bees, just bumble and a few other sorts. As far as I understand (and I make no claim to authority) CCD only affected the honey bees, which are European. I’ve been wondering this summer if our native bees are increasing in population as a result of the dearth of European bees.

  438. Minnie The Finn says

    Hullo possums,

    just thought to pop in and say hi from sunny (for a change) Finland.

    Things are quite nice at the mo’, it’s Friday night, we’re expecting some dear friends for a sauna & a barbie, and I’m gorging myself on some luvverly toasted pistachios.

    Also, had a great time and some serious exercise today, trying to chase a vole out of the house, after Shifty had chased it in. Fast critters, them, but no match to our kitteh, who mercifully did the eventual killing & nomming outside.

    So, it’s life pretty much as usual at the cottage. For those interested to know, I’ve a phone appointment with my GP’s nurse Monday morning, and will insist on getting to see a specialist at the earliest possible time – I may be ok right now, but there’s nothing to prevent the shit from re-hitting the fan, when the conditions are right. Thanks for the enormous amount of support in the PET to all – you guys are truly awesome.

  439. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    CCD was a honey bee issue.

    Thing is, honey bee populations have been dropping since the 50’s. It was just very accelerated in the last decade.

    I know my hive is doing well now after the third queen was accepted. Hopefully when I check on them this weekend I’ll be ready to add honey supers.

    We’ll see.

  440. Katrina, radicales féministes athées says

    Got a notification from Firefox this morning. They’re rolling out FF 7.0 beta today, FFS!

  441. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I’d love to allow Mister to keep a hive on our property, but I’m severely allergic and bees do get territorial with their hive.

    While you can never be certain, I’ve been in and out of my hive maybe 25-30 times now. Not once have they every “attacked” me. I’ve had 2 or three single bees over all sting my gloves but that’s only because I physically harmed them moving supers.

    I stand, sans bee suit, 1 foot from the entrance of my hive to photograph them for an hour ormore and not a single time have them gone after me. I’ve done this a number of times.

    They’re not as territorial as you would think. Especially if you order them from good apiaries. They breed them for being docile. The Italian honey bees being a good race for being docile.

    However, I’m also not allergic so I’m speaking from only worrying about the pain of a sting, not the anaphylaxis.

  442. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Caine – We have the only lavender field surrounded by 10s of thousands of acres of wheat fields, somehow the bees find it. My rosemary bushes attract more bees than the lavender. This year I’ve seen two Bumble bees, that’s so sad.

    Honey Bees will fly up to 5-6 miles from their hive to find nectar / pollen. Obviously if a source is closer they won’t, but in times of drought, low nectar flow etc.. they will.

    On the farm that my hive is buzzing there are a huge number of bumble bees and carpenter bees and some others. When the sunflower field next to the hive was blooming in July you’d be hard pressed to find a flower without a Bumble or Honey bee on it. Many with both.

  443. cicely says

    The clindamycin is all gone! Woo-hoo!!
    –

    Now before you go off at me for using gendered insults, his name really is Nimrod Weiner. Truly.

    O.o

    I guess his parents felt that they needed to get in a pre-emptive strke.
    –
    squigit, if you accept ’em from strangers, here’s a *hug* and sympathy.
    –

  444. strange gods before me says

    As I suspected, Firefox 3 could make good sense of bad code written by an idiot, while Firefox 4 and up are idiotproof. This is a feature?

    So here is secret Comic Sans beta 4.

    It should work for everyone! If it doesn’t work it’s still possible that !important rules in your userContent.css are getting in the way. If it does work, then you might even be able to bring back your custom css rules too.

    Caine, you might as well upgrade now, as your version will break when you jump to Firefox 8.

  445. says

    “his name really is Nimrod Weiner. Truly.”
    His parent were so wrong. I mean, it’s worse than naming your kid Dick Hymen! (At least Dick could have called himself Richard. BTW, having worked with the man it seems he has no discernible sense of humor.)
    +++++++++++++++++
    Squigit *{hugs}* I’m sorry it sucks so bad. But I want to correct you on one point; you are part of this community, tough luck, huh?
    ———-
    “nobody knows from the outside what is happening in a relationship”
    QFFT!

    You can just listen without commenting until they run out of words, then say “Thanks for your advice” or “Thanks for your concern” or “That’s nice of you to be concerned”

    or ‘god bless you’.

  446. SteveV says

    The mention of Nimrod sent me in search of This.
    However, my search also led to This.

    The words ‘ridiculous ‘ and ‘sublime’ come to mind.

  448. Quodlibet says

    My first encounter with the word “nimrod” was the fascinating and very beautiful “Nimrod” Variation* of Edward Elgar’s magnificent Enigma Variations. I later learned that Nimrod was a great-grandson of Noah and was a “mighty hunter.” **

    I guess the word is used nowadays to mean a boor, a foolish person, etc.? *** (My life is rather disconnected from popular culture.) So it creates a little dissonance in my mind when I hear that word, which I have long associated with grand music and the image of a mythic hunter, used to mean “jerk.” Oh well, such is our living language. :-)

    .
    * There is a beautiful choral arrangement of Elgar’s “Nimrod” Variation by John Cameron, a setting of the “Lux aeterna.” A bit over the top, but ravishing to sing, especially if one is lucky enough to be a high soprano. :-)

    ** But Nimrod was a jerk too – he hunted men, not animals, and enslaved those he captured.

    *** “[This] meaning probably originated with the cartoon character Bugs Bunny. The wily Bugs used the term in its original sense to refer to dithering hunter Elmer Fudd, whom he called a ‘poor little Nimrod.’ Over time, however, the “hunter” meaning got dropped, and the “dithering” connotation stuck.”
    http://ask.yahoo.com/20040211.html

  451. says

    Benjamin, IRT to your ‘vision impaired’ student. I work with ‘low vision’ patients, they are considered vision impaired.

    It’s a kind of PC catch-all term. You need to know more and the only way is to ask the student. Don’t promise anything, as has been pointed out your Uni may have a policy, but contacting the student who took the trouble to contact you just shows you care.

    It may be just enlarging text on the screen, it may be changing foreground/background contrasting colors on PPT presentations.

    It’s not like you aren’t busy enough, but it could be simple solutions to simple problems. Also, if this is a freshman student, can you involve the parents/guardians?

    It might be overstepping your bounds in your new position.

  452. ambulocetus says

    Jesus fuck. Just spent forever signing up. Testing to see whether this bullshit works.

  455. says

    Dunno if this should go on Beyond Parody or not, but was reading Manboobz and had to share this

    Your empathy can go suck a dick. Empathy does nothing to help my situation.

  457. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    Just wanted to send my sympathies to squigit. I’m sorry you’re getting little support just at a time when you need it more than somewhat. I think Dhorvath and others said it better above; you are the one in touch with yourself, your child and your ex – the one who actually knows the circumstances – and it sounds very much as if those around you are indulging in a knee-jerk impulse to interfere on the basis of little info, to tell you what do do in a way they probably would not do if you happened to be their son/grandson/male friend instead.

  458. consciousness razor says

    It looks like it’s working now. Thanks, SGBM!
    ——
    Testing… Is this thing on?

    Creationism 101:

    1) Jebus.
    2) Sin!
    3) Therefore, Jebus.

    sgbm:

    If it doesn’t work it’s still possible that !important rules in your userContent.css are getting in the way. If it does work, then you might even be able to bring back your custom css rules too.

    Yes, mine were getting in the way….

    … I had to get rid of the “!important” values applied to font family and font style in the “p{}” and blockquote{} lines.

    (I’m not sure how it works with different nested blockquotes. I’m assuming this will be Comic Sans.)

  461. Psych-Oh says

    Squiget – Sorry that your family is not being supportive. It sounds to me like you made the decision while thinking of the best interest of your son.

    Cath the Canberra Cook –

    So the mercury story is a furphy

    “furphy”… I learned a new word.

  463. says

    Hang in there, Squiget. It’s admirable that you made the best possible decision for your son unselfishly and maturely; hopefully your family members will eventually come around.

  464. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    “furphy”… I learned a new word.

    But does it work in Scrabble? If it does, I am pissed as I had that combination of letters (FHYPRU plus (I think) a V) just this morning. While playing, Wife announced that she was putting out a dirty word and layed PRIEST on the board. It’s in the Scrabble Dictionary so, nasty word or not, I had to accept it.

  467. Vicki, running low on patience says

    Firefox 6 on Windows 7, downloaded the Greasemonkey script (and have closed Firefox, shut down this machine, and rebooted–not for this, just as end-of-workday stuff), and no Comic Sans or Gumbies at all.

    But what I really want is the killfile option back.

  470. Classical Cipher says

    *runs in, washes her hands meticulously* …I’ve been handling slime. *dons high gloves, gas mask, and spiked polka-dot waders, runs back out*

  471. strange gods before me says

    Firefox 6 on Windows 7, downloaded the Greasemonkey script (and have closed Firefox, shut down this machine, and rebooted–not for this, just as end-of-workday stuff), and no Comic Sans or Gumbies at all.

    Dunno. At this point if you’re sure you got beta 4 of the script, and have uninstalled any earlier versions, the only thing I can think of is you’re using some custom userContent.css file.

    If not, I can’t guess. If you feel like it, open up Firefox’s Error Console (where it will be in FF6, I can’t guess, but Ctrl+Shift+J might get you there), hit “clear”, reload the page, and then dump any errors that pertain to secretcomicsans.user.js either into this thread or my wiki talk page http://pharyngula.wikia.com/wiki/User_talk:Markovbaines

    But what I really want is the killfile option back.

    The author of killfile, Daniel T Martin, must be emailed with this request. In javascript comments in the killfile script, he requests that you make requests. I suggests that someone offer him a Paypal bribe as well, since we’ve gotten so much value out of his killfile.

  472. Dianne says

    What am I to do? It’s only 3:30 and I’ve got work to do but my brain has already floated off into that place where brains go on non-call weekends.

  473. Sili says

    Random thought: Is Superman ever bothered by hearing all the people who cry out his name during sex/masturbation?

  475. Patricia, OM says

    Strange Gods – Marvin tried to do the beta 4 thing, but what does he keep, and what does he delete? The new code completely covered over the browser page.

  476. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    This kind of came up on the Mortification thread, but it felt wrong to say it there because that thread is just fucking heartbreaking. So here in the land where nothing is OT …

    I have to admit, I can’t resist the image of T(he)L(one)C(oyote) bringing home a rabbit-skin to wrap the baby bunting in (don’t know if that nursery rhyme is well-known in your parts or not) and when she’s a little older, teaching her to hunt rabbits for herself.

    Kids that age are a wonder and they are exhausting. It takes about three adults per child – seriously, every child should have three parents! – for anyone ever to get a chance to sleep and still have a little time left over for anything else (I exaggerate but not by much). Anyway, if you’re reading this thread too, TLC, I think the baby who has appropriated you is pretty lucky (and the whole thing with you and your ex sounds a lot nicer and healthier than a lot of “proper” nuuuklear famblies).

  477. says

    Dianne – “What am I to do? It’s only 3:30 and I’ve got work to do but my brain has already floated off into that place where brains go on non-call weekends.”

    Oh, you must be an oncallogist!? (Sorry, my brain left early for the weekend.)

  478. Sili says

    Projection, thy name is Rick Perry.

    Don’t be stupid. Perry is rich, so he cannot be influenced by money.

    But climate scientists are barely scraping by, so it’s easy to buy them.

  480. strange gods before me says

    Patricia

    Strange Gods – Marvin tried to do the beta 4 thing, but what does he keep, and what does he delete? The new code completely covered over the browser page.

    It sounds like you don’t have Greasemonkey yet. You gotta stick the monkey in the firefox first.

    Then when you click on this link, it should have a popup that asks if you want to install a new greasemonkey script.

  482. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    *Oh no, the Redhead just donned on of her color coordinated Kninja Knister outfits, and headed toward the Knitmobile*

  483. Vicki, running low on patience says

    Strange Gods–

    Thanks, I apparently had an older version of that script. I have now installed Beta4, and it works.

  484. Muse says

    @Patricia’s link

    WTF – I’m sorry I was unaware that I wasn’t allowed to be a feminist and a fucking crafter. Clearly being a rock climber and someone who makes jewelry is just impossible. Being the tough one of my friends and also a kick-ass baker – totally imaginary.

  485. Classical Cipher says

    WTF – I’m sorry I was unaware that I wasn’t allowed to be a feminist and a fucking crafter. Clearly being a rock climber and someone who makes jewelry is just impossible. Being the tough one of my friends and also a kick-ass baker – totally imaginary.

    Go tell ’em over there on Huffpo! I can’t, cos I’m lamentably bad at crafts and I’m also not very tough. Which actually probably works, but it’s better to go over there like HEY STOP IMPLYING THAT CRAFTINESS MAKES YOU NOT TOUGH than like HEY STOP IMPLYING THAT NON-CRAFTINESS MAKES YOU TOUGH

  487. Tethys says

    I really needed another reason to dislike huffpo?

    Women who make things = crafty

    Men who make things = talented craftsman/artist

    ugh.

  488. Richard Austin says

    Tethys,

    Of course! It’s called a masterpiece, not a mistresspiece.

    (I can’t believe I just typed that. Is it go-home time yet?)

  489. Classical Cipher says

    Of course! It’s called a masterpiece, not a mistresspiece.

    I’m trying so hard to think of something I’d call a mistresspiece… The answer is definitely kinky, but I don’t know what, specifically, it would be.

  490. Tethys says

    My poor pink lady brainz have had enough sexist and plain stoopid BS for awhile.

    I’m going to go play with rocks and power tools just for spite.

    I love my lathe. I haz the power!

  492. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    *runs in, washes her hands meticulously* …I’ve been handling slime. *dons high gloves, gas mask, and spiked polka-dot waders, runs back out*

    How many times have we warned you: don’t wade into GOP teabagger politics unless you are wearing proper protection!

    ================

    Just had some comfort food: tuna cheddar noodle casserole (with peas).

  493. Patricia, OM says

    Trying out Strange Gods latest.

    Thanks to everyone that went over to give that cow a piece of your mind.

    If this doesn’t work, I’m blaming the Poopey head.

  494. Patricia, OM says

    Shit.

    My post over at the Huff Po must be in moderation. I signed out as Patricia, Wicked **tch of the West. Too much tough-gal.

  495. Algernon says

    Honestly, if you’re telling women what they should or shouldn’t do to be the “right” kind of woman then you are not being much of a feminist.

    This is odd to me though coming from the art world where there was a big push to legitimize craft because the distinction between craft and art was, in itself, sexist. Craft = shit women do that isn’t *real* art.

  496. The Lone Coyote says

    Patricia: That’s what happens when tone trolls make up the majority and control the floor. You said a naughty word so whatever point you make can be conveniently ignored. I noticed this tendency long before I ever heard the term ‘tone troll’.

    Opposablethumbs: “Bye baby bunting, daddy’s gone a-hunting, gone to get a rabbit skin, to wrap the baby bunting in”.

    Seriously, thanks. It’s a bit scary though. I have a great thing here and I’m terrified of losing it or screwing it up. I’ll do my best not to.

  497. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    Honestly, if you’re telling women what they should or shouldn’t do to be the “right” kind of woman then you are not being much of a feminist

    I shouldn’t be, but I am constantly amazed at the number of people who insist that they, and only they, know exactly what others should and should not do in order to be a proper ‘fill-in-the-blank’. Authoritarianism has a tendency to infiltrate into every organization — progressive, regressive, religious, secular or political.

  498. Classical Cipher says

    How many times have we warned you: don’t wade into GOP teabagger politics unless you are wearing proper protection!

    I know, I know… Sheesh.

  499. Brother Ogvorbis, Fully Defenestrated Emperor of Steam, Fire and Absurdity says

    Classical Cypher:

    And I should have included MRAssholes, Christianist, Dominionists, Wooists . . . .

  500. Classical Cipher says

    And I should have included MRAssholes, Christianist, Dominionists, Wooists . . . .

    Sniffle. I know. I know better than to go into any thread but TET without wearing personal protective equipment.

    Anyone wanna help me with the text for bluharmony’s Wiki page?