Comments

  1. janine says

    Drbunsen, why does this not compute? Kropotkin was a noted geographer. But it would be nice if they would not call him “Prince”, he renounce that title.

  2. ibyea says

    @Lynna
    Hence, my favorite nickname for Mitt Romney (not invented by me, btw) is corporate robot.

  3. firstapproximation says

    More Santorum headlines:

    – Santorum surge forces Romney to take stock

    – Santorum sweep puts pressure on Gingrich going into Super Tuesday

    – Santorum, the comeback kid

    *giggles madly*

  4. Happiestsadist says

    Thanks Ms. Daisy Cutter, for the comment at #498.

    I was assaulted by a gay man. Miraculously, that doesn’t make it not assault! (He was allowed to get away with it because he was gay, though. Thanks for keeping that alive, Mr. Geiger.)

    Also, discussions of that particular genre of videoing, which of course is morally right and legal, does make me wonder how my rapist is doing these days. That exact subject matter, filming style and target area was his hobby/fixation. IDGAF if it’s legal. (It’s not where I live now, yay!)

    I’ve been making it through the Amazing Shitbasket threads okay enough, but it’s TET that triggers the shit out of me. Ahh, irony.

  5. changeable moniker says

    Aaaaand, theophontes wins my gratitude for sending me to this:

    He lived on the island of Salamis in a cave which had two openings and a beautiful view—a good cave was probably more comfortable than many a Greek house, so this may not have been a great eccentricity

    Pure win.

  6. kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ says

    Does anyone here have a good handle on resources about (or experience with) information processing/focusing/executive functioning disorders other than ADD? Bella seems to be having trouble focusing and is “dropping” instructions at school, and getting in trouble for it, and she’s really upset about it leading me to think she’s doing her best and there’s something going on beyond her control.

    I’m going to make an appointment with her pediatrician (hearing test will be the first item on the agenda) and I’d like to be as informed as possible before we go.

  7. says

    Hi-ho, hi-ho, off to help transfer the Redhead to extended care Rehab.

    Only up for more drugs and a bit of food, but had to offer the best wishes to the Redhead and the Nerd. You try to rest some too, buddy.

  8. Ichthyic says

    and no, you can’t access the US store without pretending to be in the US by one means or another.

    *smacks self in head*

    duh! proxy servers FTW! Why in hells didn’t I think of using one already?

    *redfaced*

    Seeing as NZ is such a small market compared to even Australia, I’m willing to bet that Amazon/B&N etc looked at the situation and said “Ehh, fuck it.”

    yup.

  9. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    My best wishes to Nerd and Redhead too. I haven’t spoke up much about it because I absolutely can’t think of anything useful to say, but that’s a poor and pitiful excuse.

    Redhead and Nerd are lucky to have each other.

  10. drbunsen le savant fou says

    janine, this is the bit that did not compute for me:

    southeast of the South Pole

    Alethea H. Claw:

    I rather doubt that there is a word in urban dictionary that does not have some misogynist and/or homophobic and/or other bigoted meaning. It seems to have been assembled by 14 year old boys daring each other to make up something nastier.



    True, but “slurry”, AFAIK, isn’t one of those cases. I have heard it (infrequently) in use, with that intended meaning, and I have some vague memory that it is an archaic synonym for “slut”, though I can’t find back-up for that theory right now.

    And I, like Ichthyic & Dr B, and probably every other marginally technically literate Antipodean, have pirated things because I simply could not buy them legally.

    Mostly I can’t buy them legally because I’m broke :p

  12. says

    Bella seems to be having trouble focusing and is “dropping” instructions at school, and getting in trouble for it, and she’s really upset about it leading me to think she’s doing her best and there’s something going on beyond her control.

    @kristinc, I wish I had a good list of resources; I’m afraid that since I’m now adult ADHD, I’ve not kept up with childhood resources.

    Out of curiosity though, do you think that you couldn’t be dealing with inattentive type ADHD? Obviously there tend to be other signs and behaviors with this type, so if these are absent, it may be something else.

  13. walton says

    3. The guy who was shooting the video? He’s gay.

    Yeah, but that article also says…

    He figured a video of a sexy girl in tight shorts spreading her legs in a ballerina pose in the middle of Times Square would probably get some attention. And he’s right, although it took a few months for it to go viral since he posted it in May.

    So while he evidently wasn’t motivated by sexual interest, he also evidently decided that it would be a good way to draw attention to himself. That seems exploitative, and if I were in the woman’s position I’d be extremely unhappy, to put it mildly, at my image being exploited for someone else’s gain in this way.

    4. Carlos Miller isn’t a MRA. He’s a photographer and photography rights activist. “It’s legal” is all of what he’s about.

    I think it’s important to draw a careful distinction here. I’m all for standing up for photographers’ civil liberties, in general. But to say that a particular practice should be legal, on the ground of civil liberties, does not imply that every instance of that practice is ethical, socially responsible or a good idea. It’s fine to argue as a principle that it should be legal to photograph people in public places – and I think there are good reasons for taking that position. (Not least, the propensity of police to attempt to cover up their own abusive behaviour by arresting people for photographing them.) But I don’t think that means we can’t criticize people who abuse that freedom for unethical and exploitative purposes.

    There are plenty of circumstances in which we can acknowledge someone’s legal right to do something, but still criticize them for exercising that right in a way which is morally suspect. (Just as advocating the right to freedom of speech doesn’t mean that one can’t criticize people who express stupid, hateful or offensive views, for instance. There’s a difference between, say, defending Fred Phelps’ right to free speech, and defending Fred Phelps himself.)

    Looking at his post, Miller didn’t draw any such distinction. In fact, he said:

    So this hot chick is spreading her legs in a ballerina pose in the middle of busy Manhattan for some type of photo shoot when a random guy walks up and starts videotaping her ass.

    This prompts some of her friends to berate the guy for being a pervert, even though they were essentially doing the same thing, except with still cameras…

    The model and her entourage end up walking away from the photo shoot while the videographer informs them that he had the right to videotape in public.

    That sounds awfully like a defence of the videographer’s actions, coupled with a complete lack of awareness of the emotional impact on the woman thus exploited. And referring to her as a “hot chick” is itself sexist and degrading.

    I think it’s important to avoid trying to excuse Miller’s view merely because one agrees with him on other issues of civil liberties. On this issue, I think Ms Daisy Cutter is right that Miller is very much in the wrong.

  14. walton says

    True, but “slurry”, AFAIK, isn’t one of those cases. I have heard it (infrequently) in use, with that intended meaning, and I have some vague memory that it is an archaic synonym for “slut”, though I can’t find back-up for that theory right now.

    Really? I’ve never heard that at all; the only meaning of “slurry” I’ve ever come across is in the context of a type of liquid, in particular a waste product produced by mining (in the context of the Aberfan disaster, for instance. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it used as a term of disparagement for a person, of either sex. But this could be an Australian-British language difference (or it might simply be a rare usage that I don’t happen to have come across).

  17. kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ says

    slignot: I think that’s completely possible. I’d like to have a nodding acquaintance with any ADHD-lookalike issues there may be, to increase the chances of figuring out what’s going on even if her doc says “well it can’t be ADD because”.

    She’s neither hyperactive or withdrawn and shy; she’s very, very chatty (teachers have mentioned it since kindergarten with varying levels of disapproval) and social, extremely disorganized, and terribly prone to having something explained to her and then coming back two minutes later to have it explained again. She has difficulty remembering things and establishing routines — things like “when you get home, hang up your bag and coat” or the class routine of “go to your cubby, get your homework folder, put your homework in it, put it in your bag” (half the time the homework somehow doesn’t make it home). I can label bins for all of her stuff and decide with her what goes where, and two days later she’s lost the bins and the stuff that goes in them.

    Clearly, something is going on here, and since I had a lot of the same ADD-y symptoms as a kid and her dad has ADD-adult-y symptoms, she would come by it honestly. I’m hoping we can help her to be less hobbled by it than either of us were.

  19. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    I have been amusing myself by playing with my molecule modeling kit. I made Warfarin!

    It is great fun.

  20. A. R says

    Just had a major breakthrough in the preliminaries for my new research. Very happy,now on to finishing my grant application.

  23. walton says

    I concluded that (1) Scalia does, in fact, have a way with words, and (2) the only person who could find him funny or enjoyable reading material (even for the sake of snark) is someone who isn’t threatened by Scalia’s positions. Like, say, a cisgendered, heterosexual, middle-class mainstream-Christian white man.

    Indeed. He hasn’t generally been particularly kind to asylum-seekers facing deportation, either. (See the landmark decision in INS v. Elias-Zacharias, for instance, in which Scalia wrote the majority opinion. Though it’s far from being the most egregiously bad federal court decision in an asylum case I’ve come across: the Fifth Circuit’s decision in the case of Sofia Campos-Guardado was as morally inexcusable as anything I can think of.)

  25. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    Part of me wants to know what happened to Ms. Campos after her return to El Salvador. Another part of me is horrified by what the answer could be.

  26. walton says

    Also, Walton: The Campos-Guardado case is horrifying.

    Yes, it is. It’s one of the most horrific outcomes I’ve ever seen in any judicial decision. And it illustrates the way in which people who have been through appalling experiences can still be denied asylum on narrow technical grounds. In her case, her claim was unsuccessful because the court found that she was targeted for her family’s political opinions rather than her own, and so couldn’t establish that she had been persecuted “on account of… political opinion” within the meaning of the statute. But this happens on lots of other grounds too: the arbitrary one-year time limit introduced by Congress in 1996, for instance. (And don’t forget that asylum-seekers, even those in removal proceedings, have no automatic right to legal counsel and have to find their own lawyers at their own expense.)

    Sadly, this has happened far too often. And conservative anti-immigration groups like FAIR, who file amicus briefs in cases like this and who lobby Congress to make life more difficult for people in immigration proceedings, are largely responsible for making it worse. (Among other things, FAIR has vigorously campaigned against granting asylum to victims of domestic violence who have been repeatedly abused with total impunity in their home countries: see Alvarado’s case for an example.)

    This is just one of the many reasons why I see reform of immigration laws as an urgent human rights issue.

  27. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Hope the Redhead’s transfer goes smoothly, Nerd!

    Well, not as smoothly as intended. SNAFU. To use and old, old adage, right church, wrong pew. The expected opening didn’t occur, so she is sharing a room in the old-folks wing of the rehab section. She’s the spring chicken there by far at AARP card minimum + 10 in her wing. Should be transferred to a block with a younger clientele when a space opens up.

    Otherwise, so far pleased with the place. Those of you who have been in multiple nursing homes can tell you how a bad one smells. This had no smell (except maybe sweat going by the rehab gym, which I’ll ignore). Instead of one big dining room for the facility, each wing has its own dining room. Makes for a cozy feel.

    The social Redhead is already learning everybody’s name and history the first night, especially those who will have to deal with her.

  28. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    Glad to hear that the Redhead has landed in a good place, Nerd (even if it’s the Old Folks™ wing temporarily). Here’s hoping that rehab goes well!

  30. says

    Nerd: What Esteleth said. Sounds like a minor snafu, all in all.

    Alektorophile, #489: A belated thanks for that FlavorWire link. I was bowled over by #4, the Livraria Lello in Porto. And Lello wasn’t repurposed — it was built as a bookstore, which I think is a much better use of soaring, ornate architecture than for a church. There’s an extra-big (3168 x 4752) photo of the staircase here, and a Portuguese-language photostream with more pics here.

    I… kind of wonder what it’d be like to trip balls in that building.

  33. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    I have been boggled for awhile why I was getting religious ads on FTB (I understand how the server works, but was baffled by what I was getting).

    I mean, why do I get ads for “Become a Pastor!” or “Submit Your Prayer Request!” and such?! I don’t surf religious websites or google stuff like that.

    But I think I’ve solved it: I read Free Jinger. I see the same ads there – but nowhere else. Of course, the irony of ads like that on a message board about the DANGERS OF FUNDAMENTALIST RELIGION is just gorgeous.

    /random

  34. janine says

    Nerd, as I said before, please make sure you get enough rest. You need to be at year best in order to help out Redhead the most. It is good to know that it seems that she is in a good facility. Best of luck for her. And for you.

  35. janine says

    Ms. Daisy Cutter, I cannot even begin to act like I am surprised by that, it is exactly what I expect from him.

    But just imagine the reaction from the fundies if that card had a line from the Torah. It is better for him to piss off the secularists and the Jews.

  36. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Nerd: What Esteleth said. Sounds like a minor snafu, all in all.

    I know. Better to be amused by it than upset.

    I’m more upset I took home her toilet-kit rather than my book bag. Tlak about brian frats!

  37. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Esteleth: I laugh too much at the ‘submit a prayer’ ads to be offended by them any more.

    I wonder what would happen if we started submitting prayers like “Please let gay marriage become a universally recognized human right” or “Please let my abortion go smoothly” or “I pray that the Pope shits himself messily next time he’s on TV”

  38. janine says

    I’m more upset I took home her toilet-kit rather than my book bag. Tlak about brian frats!

    Please, get so rest.

  41. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    Oh, I’m not offended by them, TLC (at least, not THOSE ads). The ones about how I can pray myself straight I get offended by, because seriously.

    I heartily support submitting prayers like those! How about praying that Jesus come back together with his lover, Peter?

  42. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Esteleth: I like that. It’s sweet. But I thought his lover was Mary Magdalene or something?

    Or are you trying to imply that Jesus was bisexual? Because that would be cool. Back before I finally ditched the “Jesus” stuff, I liked to imagine him as an open-minded hippie that liked to try new stuff as long as it didn’t harm anyone.

    A classic example of (a) Man making God in his own image, sadly.

  43. walton says

    Nerd, *hugs* Hope things get better for you and the Redhead.

    ===

    Rick Santorum, Mr. Cultural Sensitivity.

    Ha. Reminds me of “Why can’t the Jews and the Arabs just sit down together and settle this like good Christians?”

    (Though it seems that it’s uncertain who said this. I had always believed it was attributed to an unknown congressman overheard during a debate on Middle Eastern policy; I got that from Read My Lips: A Treasury Of The Things Politicians Wish They Hadn’t Said, but that book is occasionally an unreliable source. A Google search reveals that some sources attribute the quote to Arthur Balfour, then Britain’s Foreign Secretary and later Prime Minister, but this doesn’t seem to be confirmed. But anyway.)

  44. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    Well, back in my church-attending days, I was taught that when the Gospels refer to the disciple that Jesus loved, that person is Peter. ‘Course, Peter, Jesus and Mary were probably having threesomes.
    Maybe Thomas (and his twin) were in on it too. Maybe those were the holes that the ol’ doubter wanted to see.

  45. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Damn Esteleth, now that’s a religion I could really get behind.

  47. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    By the Bye, my long hair and sparse beardage have earned me the nickname of ‘Jesus’ or ‘Hippie Jesus’, online and IRL, once or twice.

    Including this awesome caricature artist at a fair who drew me up as a berobed doobie-toking Messiah and gave me a discount (that guy was freakin cool), and others who weren’t meaning it so affectionately.

    Of course it goes without saying that I only look like medieval depictions of christ, as opposed to what people of the region and the time actually looked like.

    Sometimes I wonder if being compared to ‘The Messiah’ once or twice in my life has given me a bit of a ‘Complex’.

  48. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Esteleth: it’s intended however people take it. :p

    I’m actually not into guys, at all, but I’m really trying to break the habit of pointing that out whenever I discuss these things… I think it’s a touch of defensiveness from my childhood when speaking up against homophobia meant that the other brats would brand you as one yourself.

    Tis a stupid habit though, and likely does unintentional harm. :/

  50. Jerry Alexandratos says

    To kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ (re comments 506, 517):
    I read your description, and said “I know someone just like that!” Have you looked into the symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome (on the autistic spectrum, sometimes called ‘high functioning autism’)? Someone I know was diagnosed with ADHD many years ago as a young child, but still struggled with school and relationships. It took visits to several different psychologists and psychiatrists before the family found a developmental specialist who diagnosed Asperger’s Syndrome. There are many symptoms which overlap with ADHD, but many that do not. The problem with diagnosing Asperger’s Syndrome is that it has a fairly wide range of symptoms, not just a few, and one person with AS may appear to be very different from another person with the same name diagnosis. (Apologies if this writing is confusing. Many otherwise well trained psychologists find AS confusing, and this is not my field. I’m not an MD, and this comment is most certainly not a diagnosis. I hope it may be a pointer in the right direction.) Fortunately, there are many good books on Asperger’s Syndrome. Unfortunately, there are few specialists who can recognize it, and very few who know how to help people cope with it, but it is possible to find them. Best of luck.

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

    Rewatched part of FLCL while practicing. And now I’m wondering:

    Does adolescence really have to be so crazy, like some say the anime represents? Does it have to always consist of kids dazed with confusion, hormones and questions that don’t seem to have answers? Or is this just a consequence of us humans having brains which are so . . . complex? Cultural pressures? Both?

    Maybe I’m just over-thinking this. Bedtime.

  52. Esteleth, Ph.D. of Mischief, Mayhem and Hilarity says

    Alright, I’m so sleepy that I started singing along to an Akon song. I need to go to bed. Night, all.

  54. A. R says

    Ok, so three pages of grant proposal out of the way. I’m up to five out of a needed six now! Anyway, thought I’d mention a local newspaper article the contained the phrase “Santorum storm.” That is all.

  55. walton says

    By the Bye, my long hair and sparse beardage have earned me the nickname of ‘Jesus’ or ‘Hippie Jesus’, online and IRL, once or twice.

    Ha. I also have long curly hair and a beard, and I distinctly recall that once, when I was walking down the Iffley Road in East Oxford, someone shouted “Look! It’s Jesus!” out of a car window.

    On the other hand, I was even more flattered by the Red Cross volunteer yesterday who opened her sales pitch with “Dude! Let me braid your hair! You’d look like a Norse god! It would be awesome!”*

    (*After that, I felt bad explaining that I couldn’t make a monthly donation. Later in the conversation she also explained that I’m not allowed to donate blood, because I’m English, which, apparently, means that the American Red Cross automatically suspects me of having mad cow disease. Or something.)

  56. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Jerry Alexandratos (and Kristinc):

    Hey, guy diagnosed in childhood with ADD and later with AS speaking here: That could be me.

    What I never got though, was did the diagnosis of AS ‘nullify’ the ADD diagnosis? is it ‘One-or-the-other’ or ‘Both’? No one’s really explained that to me.

    I’m also starting to wonder if ‘Aspergers Syndrome’ isn’t more of a convenient label for a broad range of syndromes and conditions?

  57. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Just popping in to say. . .umm, I can’t. I just can’t. I can’t even believe the “Amazing Atheist” thread. This is the most sickening thing I’ve ever seen, and I watched Elevatorgate. My God. As I told another member of the horde today privately, I honestly don’t think I could stop myself from initiating physical violence against these rape-mongering assholes if they dared to say such things in my physical presence.

    No, I don’t think that would be OK, and no, I’ve never struck someone or started a fistfight. No, I don’t think physical violence is acceptable except as a means to defend one’s self or someone else in peril. But I don’t think I could help myself.

    Hats off to all of you in there fighting the good fight. Shame these motherfuckers. Ostracize them. Publicize their shit all over the net and make them afraid to pop up in decent company.

    And yeah, I’m advocating blacklisting them. They’ve got “free speech” (I can see you goombas furiously typing about that with one hand while you Hoggle with the other) and they can pay the price of being a social pariah for how they choose to use it.

  58. Pteryxx says

    @TLC: Asperger’s and ADD-ness co-occur in me, too. Sensitivity to small annoyances is both Aspie and ADD; so is hyper-focus on a topic of interest, and managing concentration by tightly controlling the environment.

    I don’t have much helpful suggestions but to keep lists and obvious reminders and make habits… I have to do tricks like laying out clothes and necessary papers the night before, and leaving visible reminders all over everything (sticky notes, crossed pencils, textbooks).

    A counselor gave me a really good book full of practical tips and insight – “Asperger’s from the Inside Out” by Michael John Carley. (I promptly forgot to read most of it, but the part I did read was very helpful…)

  59. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    Seconding Josh regarding TAA thread. I started, I couldn’t, I can’t. There were more than 400 comments when I first glanced at the thread, and the apologetics were already flying fast and thick when I got there, and there was just not a fucking chance in hell. Thanks to everybody who is in there. I glanced in there and saw that someone was arguing that this shit hasn’t done harm… I won’t catch up in time to respond to it, but fuck.

    And I don’t know if Rutee’s glancing in here at all, but EEEEEEEEEEEEE ISEEYOU! *tacklehug*
    *cough cough*
    *dignified*
    Hi Rutee :)

  60. Nutmeg says

    If the Aspie-types are around tonight, maybe I’ll ask you guys for some advice. I’m a fairly standard socially-awkward nerd, not on the autism spectrum, but sometimes I find tips for people on the spectrum to be helpful.

    My problem is that I’m not a very empathetic person. Like, really not. So I’m terrible at being a supportive friend when people are having problems. I think people sense that about me fairly quickly, and as a result I’m usually not someone that people turn to when they’re upset.

    I’d like to get better at this. Especially since one of my best friends broke up with her first boyfriend tonight, and I found out by text from another friend. This suggests to me that I’m failing to improve. Any tips or reading suggestions? Or should I just fake it till I make it?

    *****

    Not entering the Amazing Atheist thread tonight. I’d like to retain some faith in the human race.

    *****

    The paper is submitted! Yay! Two days of grad school insanity, and then maybe I can sleep this weekend.

  61. Pteryxx says

    Gratz, Nutmeg.

    Nigel is pulling major heavy lifting on the TAA thread. I’m spread too thin to do much of anything in-depth there.

  62. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    My problem is that I’m not a very empathetic person. Like, really not. So I’m terrible at being a supportive friend when people are having problems.

    I’m wondering which definition of empathy you’re using here. Because two kinds tend to get smushed together. Do you mean that you have trouble understanding what other people are feeling, or do you mean that when you actually do know, you don’t feel it with them? AS, in my experience, tends to cause the former – difficulty realizing that other people are in pain, or understanding how and why they’re hurting. The latter is more difficult for me to grok, and I don’t know how you would do much about it.

  64. Nutmeg says

    Classical Cipher, it’s a little of the former, but more of the latter. I can read basic emotion and body language, though I get tripped up on the complicated stuff. Mostly, it’s that I don’t feel things with people very strongly, as you say.

    Your comment seems to indicate that although you have trouble with body language, you feel strongly for people. I remember someone on the thread a while ago, maybe you, had written about how much it annoyed them that people on the spectrum were assumed to have less empathy than others. The two types of empathy you describe make sense to me.

    I suspect that I’m mostly stuck with this, but I thought I would ask. You never know what you’ll learn.

  65. kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ says

    Jerry Alexandratos, TLC, Pteryxx et al: I’ve self-diagnosed with ASD and I strongly suspect my son is Aspie too. In contrast to her brother, I’ve always thought of Bella as very neurotypical, not awkward at all, outgoing, a social butterfly; always having some sort of ability or clue-in that her brother and I both lacked and lack.

    So I don’t suspect ASD for her, although I’ll bring it up at the ped. It seems to be that any friction she has in adjusting socially is actually caused by her lack of impulse control and, lately, by being singled out as someone who isn’t following instructions or has to ask for them to be repeated.

  66. Rey Fox says

    What I learned from my brief perusal of the Amazing Atheist thread, I think was summed up by Gilliel. Something about there being no level of despicable misogynistic and horrible speech that won’t be defended by someone.

  67. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    Ah, I see. Yeah, then I’m no help… I definitely didn’t mean to imply that there wasn’t anything you could do about it, though! I just meant to say I don’t know anything because I have no experience with that kind. I hope someone can help :) With the first one, I’ve gotten to the point where the few people I consider friends off Pharyngula just explain things to me verbally. So maybe that’s no good either, if your friends aren’t very verbal or are easily frustrated. I’m sorry.

  68. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Nutmeg:

    If the Aspie-types are around tonight, maybe I’ll ask you guys for some advice. I’m a fairly standard socially-awkward nerd, not on the autism spectrum, but sometimes I find tips for people on the spectrum to be helpful.

    A Neurotypical asking aspies for social advice? Well this is definitely different. I’ll do what I can.

    My problem is that I’m not a very empathetic person. Like, really not. So I’m terrible at being a supportive friend when people are having problems. I think people sense that about me fairly quickly, and as a result I’m usually not someone that people turn to when they’re upset.

    CC already addressed this, but what do you mean by ’empathetic’? I think there’s a bit of a crucial distinction here. Obviously you care about your friends and their problems… otherwise you wouldn’t ask for advice thusly:

    I’d like to get better at this.

    To me this means you have empathy, but you have trouble expressing it and picking up on when people could use some of it. Correct me if I’m wrong? I’m a shitty psychologist. Or maybe I’m using the wrong definition of empathy.

    Especially since one of my best friends broke up with her first boyfriend tonight, and I found out by text from another friend. This suggests to me that I’m failing to improve. Any tips or reading suggestions? Or should I just fake it till I make it?

    What is this ‘fake it till you make it’? I’m not sure how that would work. I’m not sure empathy can be faked. Expressed poorly or failure to express at all, yeah, but faked? I dunno.

    I’m actually having a bit of trouble expressing empathy sometimes too. I feel like anything I say comes out as just a dumb cliche sentiment, so I often just remain silent while wishing I could say something that actually comforts. If it helps, I think many ‘NTs’ fail harder at empathy than many of us, they just disguise it better with a carefully prepared list of pat statements and sentiments to pull out, whenever it’s time to say something comforting.

    I’m afraid I don’t have any book recommendations. In my experience, and I like to think I have a bit of experience with changing things I don’t like about myself, any true improvement in these areas comes from a constant unending struggle. There is no mastery. Just progress and stumbling blocks. It’s a journey, and there’s no wise little sensei with his list of proverbs and moves to call you ‘Grasshopper’ and guide you along.

    I hope something in this ramble has been helpful. I’m not a psychologist, I’m just a male primate.

  69. Pteryxx says

    @kristinc: Hang on, trouble following directions, has to ask for them to be repeated? Maybe it’s a hearing issue? Or an audio-discrimination issue such as I have? Sometimes these little things can *feel* as if you’re just stupid, and they end up getting reinforced as behavior and beliefs when they might respond to simple fixes.

  70. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Classical Cipher, it’s a little of the former, but more of the latter. I can read basic emotion and body language, though I get tripped up on the complicated stuff. Mostly, it’s that I don’t feel things with people very strongly, as you say.

    I feel like I’ve become more empathetic over the years lately, as I leave 25 further behind. I’m not gonna ask you how old you are, but consider that at least.

    I’m afraid I’ve always felt strongly about other people. Strong feelings of loyalty, friendship, and empathy, and the other dark side of that. It’s just expressing it that’s tripped me up, and learning to pick up on it.

  71. says

    Rey:

    Something about there being no level of despicable misogynistic and horrible speech that won’t be defended by someone.

    Oh yes. We even learned a rapist can be a feminist.

  72. A. R says

    Caine: And don’t forget that it’s not really rape if it’s only non-consensual sex. (some idiot (crecy?) said that way up-thread)

  73. Nutmeg says

    @ CC: No, you’ve actually been helpful! It’s good for me to make a distinction in my mind between perceiving people’s emotions and feeling for them. So thank you!

    @TLC:

    To me this means you have empathy, but you have trouble expressing it and picking up on when people could use some of it.

    I think that’s somewhat accurate. Maybe I could say that I have intellectual empathy – I know that someone’s feeling bad, and I’m sorry that they are. But I don’t think that I feel bad for them to the extent that most people do.

    Yeah, I’m not entirely sure how I would fake it. I think it would be pretty obviously fake, as I’m a terrible liar most of the time. At least I have some of this type of empathy, so I’m not worried that I’m a sociopath or anything. But I’m thinking that what’s up with me isn’t the same type of thing that Aspies deal with, so there may not be too many strategies for improvement. I will probably have to plug along and try to nurture what I have.

    The other thing is that I don’t think a lot of people would admit in real life that they don’t feel very sorry for those who are suffering. It’s just not the kind of thing that you say. So there may be more people like me than I realize, and we just haven’t gotten together and figured out ways to be better.

    I guess I’ll stick to my usual strategy of helping, and make my friend some brownies or something. Practical sympathy involving food can’t go wrong, right?

  74. says

    A.R., yes, that was crecy, with the whole “making a distinction between rape and sex is just silly.” Then went on with the non-consensual sex is called “rape” business.

  76. Richard Austin says

    Nutmeg:

    I’m definitely with you on the disassociation from people thing: I’m very good at picking up on emotional and social clues; I just don’t react to them at all.

    I assume this is because I never feel like part of the group: I’m always in “outsider” mode. I’m reasonably sure this is some kind of neurochemical thing that could be fixed with meds, because the outsider feeling lessens (slightly) with caffeine (which also slows down my ADHD a bit); I’ve had limited (horrible) exposure to the real meds, so I can’t really compare.

    All that being said, the only advice I have is what you probably know already: get really good at faking it, or get used to friends knowing and adapting. Most people I know don’t come to me for emotional comfort, though a few do. Generally, I’m the guy people seek out for practical solutions to issues, so it’s not like I’m not involved or helpful.

    I’d also ask a different question: is your concern related to the lack of empathy itself, or how you see it affecting your relationships? The way you phrased it made it sound more like you’re concerned your friends aren’t feeling fulfilled or something rather than being worried about it intrinsically. Feel free to not answer; it’s just the systems analyst coming out in me.

  77. says

    In the Not-so-amazing atheist thread, Ace of Seven just linked a video of that moron saying that bullied gay kids who committed suicide were pussies. Just gets better. I am not liking people today. Nope, not at all.

  78. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    I guess I’ll stick to my usual strategy of helping, and make my friend some brownies or something. Practical sympathy involving food can’t go wrong, right?

    You know, for what it’s worth, I don’t express empathy at all and I wish I had more ideas like this. I feel absolute crushing pain when my friends hurt (and let me tell you, the past few weeks have not been awesome in that regard), but I tend to just blink and try to think of the right thing to say and usually not say anything good or useful. I vote for brownies.

  79. theophontes, Hexanitroisowurtzitanverwendendes_Bärtierchen says

    @ Kitty [re: numbers]

    As a young schoolboy, the great German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss and his class where given a maths problem to keep them occupied, as the teacher had to attend to some matters for half an hour. The teacher set the question and Gauss immediately calculated the answer in his head, much to the teachers chagrin.

    The question as follows: “Add up all the numbers from 1 to 100 together.”

    Can you calculate that in your head before Richard et al leap in?

    On your marks, get set, …. GO!

    @ cicely 439

    “I don’t know what happened in that bathroom, but I am not cleaning it up!

    ”

    Thank FSM that TLC and I never met up as barefoot youngsters. No doubt we would have been best buds, but I am just as sure we would have blown ourselves up in a vast pyrotechnic conflagration.

    @ Lynna, OM 452

    The poll does seem to allow multiple votes. But the tally does not seem to move in correspondence. Perhaps one has to put Firefox into “Private Mode” to hide cookies/cache?

    & 453

    [romney quote] …cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage.

    But wait a moment. The intention was to extend the scope of marriage to bring USA into line with the civilised world. There is no intention (or even suggestion) to harm traditional marriage in any way. There is thus no protection required. His whole argument is a strawman. Dripping privilege, his whole demeanor is one of “I’m alright Jack, take away the ladder.” (And he is supposed to be the least revolting of the GOP fuckers!)

    General question while we are on politics: Do you think the sudden surge of santorum {theo blocks nose} is in some way a vote for cathlocism over mormonism? (Alternatively, is there a sense in sections of the religious right that mormons are somehow beyond the pale?)

    @ Therrin 465

    Thank you for the links. It is kind of sad that said (very intelligent) person has the attitude of “you show me one opinion and I’ll show you another” to avoid looking more carefully at the issues. This is exactly why so many people sit on the fence on the whole GW issue and the moneyed interests end up carrying the day.

    Will keep you updated.

    @ Ichthyic 474 & 476

    I bought a kindle in the US (for less than you paid). Pretty much everything I read on it is free and delivered free to the kindle … even conversions, to kindle format, of papers I send to the server. Even if I use 3G. (I am in China, so this is really cool.) It was a really good investment.

    Sorry if I tell you this after the fact…

    @ James 477

    Unfortunately analogies will only get you that far. Perhaps you can buy her a book on evolutionary biology. (Something like Dawkin’s “Climbing Mount Improbable”, or “The Blind Watchmaker” is a joy to read.)

    I am currently dealing with the whole global warming issue right now, so will keep you posted.

    @ janine 483

    the residual belief I had that life had to have an overriding purpose.

    One could point out that it is we who give our lives meaning. This is a far more powerful concept than being “as flies to wanton boys” to the god/s.

    @ changeable 505

    Wow, I am glad you are enjoying it. He is a great writer (actually Murray and Euripides both). It amazes me how absolutely contemporary both of them feel (Murray around 100 years ago, Euripides around 2500 years ago.)

    What Murray points out is, that in spite of his brilliance and achievements, Euripides spent a long and hard life fighting in the Greek army (’til the age of 60!). I resolve not to complain about the long hours I endure (and then only to produce mediocrity…)

    @ drbunsen 510

    “sloerie” & “hoer” are roughly equivalent in Dutch IIRC. This could be connected to “slurry”. Diminutive of “slut”?

  80. Nutmeg says

    Richard Austin:

    Your experience sounds pretty similar to mine. I’ve always been a bit of an outsider, even when I’ve had a good group of friends. I haven’t found that caffeine lessens this much – it just makes me unpleasantly hyper. But the outsider thing may be more social than biochemical for me.

    I’m a little concerned about the lack of empathy, because it seems like a bad thing in and of itself. But I’m more concerned about how it affects my relationships. In high school, I was never the one people came to for emotional comfort, but I was the one they came to when they needed to find information relevant to a problem. Now, even that doesn’t seem to be happening, which concerns me. It may be related to stage of life – as 20-somethings in the Internet age, we have access to all the information we could ever need, so my nerdy abilities aren’t necessary.

    Because of past experience with being an outsider, I tend to have a small group of friends that I treasure. I don’t want to become disconnected from them, which sometimes seems to be happening. I can also be a little insecure and irrational about that.

    I think my current friend group already knows that I’m not Little Miss Empathy, and they haven’t rejected me. But I should probably work on improving my ability to fake it.

  81. A. R says

    theophontes: I personally prefer storm or wave of Santorum. But anyway, the states he took have deeply conservative GOP primary voting blocs, so it is no surprise that he took the ABR vote there.

  82. Rey Fox says

    Whenever I’m way late on one of those threads, I just Ctrl-F for Brownian. He is an insult artist.

  83. Richard Austin says

    Nutmeg,

    I’m a little concerned about the lack of empathy, because it seems like a bad thing in and of itself. But I’m more concerned about how it affects my relationships.

    Well, the first is a therapy issue: talking to a counsellor or something about it, because it’s part of you that you either need to accept or improve (I mean that as a general statement, not necessarily you in particular). I personally don’t think it’s bad, just not typical, but then I’m biased :)

    The second is more of a friend issue, and (from what you’ve said and my personal experience) probably not really an issue but still something that may need to be talked about with your friends. I get teased enough (gently) that I know they know and we work through it, but if it’s an elephant in the room (or if you feel like it is), then getting it out in the open might be beneficial.

    (The caffeine thing is probably more related to ADHD with me, so don’t sweat that. It was just something I’ve learned over the years.)

    I get that anxiety too. I don’t think it’s irrational: it’s something everyone feels every now and then. We just don’t get the same kind of emotional feedback others do, so it’s not as easy to alleviate. For me, the asocial tendancies are enough that I periodically worry I’ll start doing very bad things for “good reasons” and not notice, so that’s my insecurity :)

    As far as faking it goes – your friends will know you’re faking it, but they might appreciate the effort and, depending on how good you are at psychology or “feeling out” the situation and picking your reactions, they might actually benefit.

    So, virtual disassociated *hugs* and all, however it works out.

  84. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I guess I’ll stick to my usual strategy of helping, and make my friend some brownies or something. Practical sympathy involving food can’t go wrong, right?

    I too heartily endorse this strategy. Offerings of food have been a way of showing empathy since before there were humans. I might even try it in the future myself.

  85. says

    Rey:

    Whenever I’m way late on one of those threads, I just Ctrl-F for Brownian. He is an insult artist.

    Yes, he is. On that score, feralboy12 did some sterling work, especially with mike “free speech” paps.

  86. Richard Austin says

    Oh, and if those of you awake want to see a badly-done time-lapse of what is (according to Mark Twain) the most beautiful sunrise in the world, have at it.

  87. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Richard Austin: Gorgeous. The clouds really do move just like water at that speed don’t they? It’s like the mountain is a ship almost.

  88. Therrin says

    Part-Time Insomniac,

    I just watched FLCL last week, and I have to point out that:

    Or is this just a consequence of us humans having brains which are so . . . complex?

    The boy didn’t have a brain (more specifically, it turned into a transdimensional teleport terminal or somesuch).

    More to the question, I see them as caricatures of reality; that is, yes there is confusion, but generally not to the extreme shown on TV. And also generally not with giant robots.

  89. Nutmeg says

    Thanks to all for the advice. I’ll try thinking of it as a minor mental glitch, like my complete lack of spatial reasoning abilities. It’s not the end of the world, but I need to be sure to compensate for it.

    I think midnight-brownie-making might be frowned upon in my house, but I’ll try to track down some dark chocolate for my friend. And make brownies this weekend.

  90. theophontes, Hexanitroisowurtzitanverwendendes_Bärtierchen says

    @ AR

    ABR vote

    Wait… doesn’t ABR mean “Anything But Republican”? Why would hardcore conservative rethuglicans support him then? Are they even more to the right?

    (It is a bit hard to follow USAian politics from the outside.)

  91. janine says

    A.R., yes, that was crecy, with the whole “making a distinction between rape and sex is just silly.” Then went on with the non-consensual sex is called “rape” business.

    Caine, you forgot what I thought was the best part, (because I was involved) I pointed out that what rape was, he said that rape was non-consensual (contradicting what he said before) and asked if it penetrated my bimbo brain.

    A clever sweetheart, he was.

  92. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I think midnight-brownie-making might be frowned upon in my house, but I’ll try to track down some dark chocolate for my friend. And make brownies this weekend.

    I hope they’re well received, and can’t think of why they wouldn’t be.

    I think the important thing is that you DO give a shit, whether you’re good at showing it or not.

    Also there’s such a thing as too much empathy… people who care too much, take on too much, try to save the world without taking enough care of themselves.

  93. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    Anyone have any good links on black history? My friend and I are trying to do a social justice link or quote or comment every day this month on Facebook, and it being Black History Month, I figured I would be really remiss in failing to talk about it. Then I realized that in fact, I have been remiss in not learning more about it, because I genuinely can’t really think of anything, except maybe “something about Bayard Rustin?” So that’s not good.

  94. Therrin says

    #579 theophontes,

    I followed the science behind climate change (as well as I could) for a few years. It’s probably one of the most complex endeavors currently being attempted, requiring knowledge of nearly every science discipline to grok the detail behind the conclusion (that it exists, and that we’re causing/exacerbating it). The SkepticalScience site was developed over a long period of conversations, and answers are broken down into beginner/intermediate/advanced categories. There’s even a convenient phone app for debunking on the go.
    —
    Finally got to the bottom of the exploded thread. Most everything’s been said, but I have to quote a line of awesome (YAMV) from Ing:

    I knew a Geth, very nice…and if you’ve met one you’ve met them all.

    Do you have a line forming yet?
    —
    janine,
    That bit certainly earned a groanslap from me.

  95. Classical Cipher, Murmur Muris, OM says

    And yeah, I realize “black history” is a gigantic subject, but I’m deliberately casting a broad net because I don’t even know where I’m most urgently ignorant here.

  96. kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ says

    Hang on, trouble following directions, has to ask for them to be repeated? Maybe it’s a hearing issue? Or an audio-discrimination issue such as I have?

    Completely possible. I want her hearing tested, although I suspect the problem is in the wiring and not the hearing itself. She gets really upset at the idea that she may have been “not listening” so it seems as if she may be doing her best to pay attention only to have things occasionally glitch past. (On the other hand, she may have been chatting away when the instructions were given; have to ask her teacher).

    It’s not so much that she has trouble hearing instructions as it is that, at least in my experience, she can look completely like she’s there with you when you give them and then proceed to wander off and do something different and not understand, when you ask her “what did I tell you to do?” how there’s a problem.

  97. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Great. I just coughed so hard slapping my thigh in anger reading the “Amazing Atheist” thread I’ve got a nosebleed to beat the band. Joy. Being on Plavix and aspirin I can anticipate an entertaining 3 hours trying to get it to stop and clot.

    Fuck you, MRAs.

  98. says

    Janine, yes, crecy just couldn’t help but remark on your fuzzy pink lady brain, even though xe didn’t exhibit any signs of brain function whatsoever. Along with a lot of others.

    Josh, geez, take care of yourself! Those morons are capable of inducing virulent vein popping. Out of all the threads we’ve dealt with on feminist or sexist issues, that one really takes the cake in being absolutely, unbelievably infuriating.

  99. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Caine:

    Out of all the threads we’ve dealt with on feminist or sexist issues, that one really takes the cake in being absolutely, unbelievably infuriating.

    Oh, does it ever. I’ve neverseen such a loathsome display in my entire fucking life.

  100. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    And if I knew how to cauterize my nose, believe me, I would. I’m all for having my blood as thin as possible (the easy bruising and nose bleeds are a small price to pay for the peace of mind of being less likely to clot up and have another heart attack) but I’m also not averse to stopping that unnecessary shit right at the root of the problem. :)))

  101. says

    Josh:

    I’ve never seen such a loathsome display in my entire fucking life.

    I know. I’m astonished at the amount of people defending that guy. I don’t give a shit if it was bloody Batman saying those things, a decent person does not defend it.

  102. SallyStrange (Bigger on the Inside), Spawn of Cthulhu says

    Hey guys! Long time no type!

    I’m in my new place. With Sister and BIL and behbeh.

    I like the behbeh. She is very cute and smiley and just started crawling. But then, I usually like the behbehs.

    BIL is a decent sort as well. Sister and he have been dating since high school so it’s not like he’s an unknown quantity. He’s Mr. Mom to Sister’s Doctor residency year. We barely see her.

    All my stuff is in boxes and I’m putting off taking it out and sorting through it.

    That TAA thread IS something else. Goddamn! That said, I really welcome these “deep rifts,” seems like every time they happen, more asshole misogynists get drummed out of decent society.

  103. theophontes, Hexanitroisowurtzitanverwendendes_Bärtierchen says

    @ Therrin (& James and others)

    [global warming]

    I totally agree that the issues are complicated and there are obvious gaps in both sides knowledge. This means people can hide behind the “yes but its just an opinion” argument and counterpose the others position as equivalent somehow.

    I present my entanglement below (bear in mind that the person I am arguing with is intelligent and generally open minded, though (like myself) not a scientist.)

    (Others please scroll past if not interested. This post is fairly long.)

    ————————–begin———————————

    This started with a comment from the other side of the debate that the cold in Europe indicated all is well with global weather systems wrt global warming.

    In response I posted: Science behind the big freeze: is climate change bringing the Arctic to Europe?
    A loss of sea ice could be a cause of the bitter winds that have swept across the UK in the past week, weather experts say … Link.

    His reply    : COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING by a group called “Friends of Science” Link

    My reply: Or alternately try this website of similar ilk: http://theflatearthsociety.org/cms/ They are quite sincere in their beliefs. On the other hand the group you linked to has received money from Canadian oil and tar sands industry. There is obviously a very strong political interest to interfere with the science involved in studying this phenomenon. That a group of people in the energy industry is prepared to invest money, not just in swaying politicians through lobbying, but by creating pots of money for people to pass off their interests as science is not particularly interesting. What is bizarre is the alternative: that all the world’s top scientists are in a secret cabal, a conspiracy to subvert the political message for reasons of pure maliciousness.

    Some more up-to-date news on the same issue: Link to: “After reportedly rejecting a climate change essay by 255 members of the National Academy of Sciences in 2010, the Wall Street Journal has published a flawed op-ed by 16 scientists and engineers instructing public officials not to fight manmade global warming. But most of these individuals do not actually conduct climate research, and their credibility is further undermined by the misleading and unscientific arguments presented in the op-ed”. (… and never mind that many of these where given cash by Exxon, the Koch brothers themselves have been throwing cash into the mix.)

    His reply: When in doubt follow the money. Global warming = opportunity to increase taxes. Carbon taxes fuel levies vehicle taxes government funding and research grants etc

    My response: The Scientists working on the issues of global warming are not in government. The carbon taxes, fuel levies etc of which you speak would also be applied to them too. (They also pay taxes, like the rest of us.) Further, they comprise only a very small part of the global scientific community. Are you suggesting that these guys somehow stand apart from the rigors of the scientific method?

    Fraud in science is far rarer than the masses would like to think. Every aspect is peer reviewed by people eager for their jobs. Your “follow the money argument” is one reason (aside from a very high level of scientific integrity) why scientists do not indulge in fraud.

    A good example is the resolution of Fermat’s Last Theorem, proposed in 1637 . It was finally solved in 1986 by Andrew Wiles. After nearly 350 years of the best minds on earth trying to solve it. Believe me, there was global fame and no shortage of ululations to be derived from solving this. And every incentive to take short cuts. But because every critical eye of the worlds mathematicians was focused on his maths, we can be sure that he really has solved this. Nailed it in fact.

    The science of global warming is under similar critical scrutiny. It is not a matter of opinion or rhetoric. The numbers and the methodologies are either accurate or not and the current facts speak eloquently for themselves. Government funding and research grants go to the best peer reviewed scientists. If their work is not accurate and repeatable they are going to lose those. Let me repeat that again because it is important: Their work is repeatable. It can be checked and verified independently.

    Follow the money on the other side: “Friends of Science” (and the few other wacky groups) is being payed money to agree with the oil companies and industrialists (look up Koch brothers) and try to make up the science after that simple, defining fact. They are apologists for moneyed interests in the first instance. There is a group of ex-scientists and former Exxon employees who are willing to prostitute their integrity for money. And you wish to believe them?

    ——————————-End (to date) ————————

    I don’t know if this is a typical discussion. As you see, I have tried not to lay too much emphasis on all the complexities of the science involved and rather looked at the motivations of the parties involved. At a certain level we have to let go and give credence to the scientists involved at the cutting edge. At the same time this does not leave opportunities “in the gaps” for others to manipulate public opinion in the face of verifiable realities.

  104. Pteryxx says

    @kirstinc: I agree, but none of what you describe means there *isn’t* a hearing problem, because kids get told “You’re not listening! Pay attention! Do I have to REPEAT MYSELF?” and then learn that they’re supposed to look like they’re paying attention and blame themselves for not understanding, without necessarily realizing why they didn’t understand in the first place. I didn’t realize I had auditory discrimination problems until college, because I couldn’t hear song lyrics, or one conversation in a crowded room like most people. That doesn’t show up on a standard hearing test. It might take checks like “Repeat back the instructions I just gave” or just moving to a front row seat or quieter environment.

    Adults can *create* learning disabilities in kids by magnifying small problems and turning them into self-fulfilling prophecies.

  106. Just_A_Lurker says

    You know what’s my answer to the AA thread?

    Ponies. They are awesome and cute and friendship is magic.
    They teach to love and tolerate.

    And I swear anypony disses it, I will love and tolerate the shit out of you.

  107. kristinc, ~delicate snowflake~ says

    Pteryxx, thanks for the additional details, I do believe I will push for as many different types of hearing tests as I can (the standard beepy one doesn’t seem like it would be much use for anything other than fairly obvious hard-of-hearing issues).

    She can usually repeat back instructions immediately after they’re given, and asking her to do it reduces the chance that she’ll miss something or not process it however she’s not processing stuff. Obviously, though, she doesn’t get a chance to do it in class, and obviously, in class she doesn’t have the one-on-one interaction that helps ensure she’s listening the whole time if the issue is involuntary distractibility.

  110. theophontes, Hexanitroisowurtzitanverwendendes_Bärtierchen says

    @ Josh

    Ice? IIRC this stops a nosebleed by cooling and constricting the blood vessels. (Though long time no nosebleeds.)

    ……….

    Amazing Atheist : My googlefoo led me to RationalWiki. He is a kid called Terroja Lee Kincaid, who according to them is :

    liberal with libertarian leanings, anti-feminist

    and it lists:

    Archenemy(-ies): Women …

    Some more copypasta:

    “He also has issues with what he sees as a “victim mentality” when it comes to rape and bullying.”

    *CRACK*

    Oh noze, the copypasta spoon broke from the weight of all the dreck that troll spews.

    Link to RationalWiki. (Note even the wiki about that vile thing is NSFW.)

  112. theophontes, Hexanitroisowurtzitanverwendendes_Bärtierchen says

    G’night Sally.

    {looks at clock}

    Yawn, home-time on this end of the pond…

  113. Therrin says

    theophontes,

    It’s telling that the FoS site focuses on quick soundbite answers, whereas the article that interviews scientists takes multiple paragraphs to lay out the reason why two seemingly disparate events are actually related (and then links to the research for those interested in further detail). Climate is all about interactions, or in the vernacular, forcings.

    Claiming that scientists are making up climate change for the research money a) is insulting to all scientists and b) shows a lack of knowledge on how funding works. Aside from that, it would be easy for a scientist to get money. All they have to do is take their renown and sign on with a conservative think tank, and say whatever they’re asked to say. Take Judith Curry, a climate scientist who, some years ago, published some decent papers. She’s now part of the problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up on Fox in the near future (assuming she hasn’t already).

    The project referenced in that article was the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) study, a great example of shooting one’s self in the foot. It was initially boasted by many deniers (they use the term skeptics inaccurately) that it would show how the scientific community had faked the results that proved warming. Head researcher on the project Richard Muller had criticized Michael Mann’s findings (look him up if interested) some years prior. After concluding the BEST study, he (Muller) had the following to say:

    When we began our study, we felt that skeptics had raised legitimate issues, and we didn’t know what we’d find. Our results turned out to be close to those published by prior groups. We think that means that those groups had truly been very careful in their work, despite their inability to convince some skeptics of that. They managed to avoid bias in their data selection, homogenization and other corrections.

    Global warming is real. Perhaps our results will help cool this portion of the climate debate. How much of the warming is due to humans and what will be the likely effects? We made no independent assessment of that. (article)

    It’s a neat story of a scientist whose opinion was contrary to the consensus going through the data for himself, discovering that he had been wrong, and changing his mind.

    On the subject of monetary gain (briefly; it’s a boring subject): An investigation into the finances of the IPCC chair found that Pachauri had made all of 45,000 pounds annually, and that he wasn’t diverting millions of grant money into his pocket.

    Here’s a post (with citations) from December 2010 about the paper mentioned in the Independent news article. It’s not possible to say that any single event occurred because of climate change, however it is interesting to note that what actually happened (sea ice receded and Europe got colder (worded such to avoid causal implication)) was the outcome of a model built in 2009.

  115. Therrin says

    Hey neat, the Amazing thread is going to turn a page soon. Been forever since that’s happened.

  117. Therrin says

    I love how idiots show up right as PZ leaves town. It’s almost as if they planned it that way.

    And by love, I mean hate.

  118. SallyStrange: bottom-feeding, workshy peasant says

    Hey guys. Like my new ‘nym? It’s courtesy of the psychopath wannabe on the TAA thread. Seriously, is there anything more pathetic than someone who wants to be a psychopath but isn’t?

  119. says

    HI there
    Partial bancruptcy.
    TAA thread was enough to read up.

    Got commented on the cute little boy I have while shopping.
    Even with pink flowers on her snowsuit. Being all out and about and climbing fearlessly from the main-part of the trolley into the kiddy seat did the deal…