Comments

  2. chigau (副) says

    TLC
    I ♥ The Bear and I ♥ed Bart.
    Fuck accuracy.
    —
    Dr. Audley
    I kinda liked dinosaurs but I was a huge fan of stone tools.
    So I skipped a few epochs and went into archaeology.

  3. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Chigau: One of my favorite childhood movies. And one of the best ‘Animal Story’ films out there. I love how they made the animals communicate with each other but not actually talk. So many movies with animal stars like that wimp out and make the animals friggin talk because they think the audience won’t ‘connect’ with them otherwise.

  4. thunk says

    Cipher:

    I agree, Laden has done some very weird things, what with the whole Nazi debacle, and his knee-jerk Reddit reaction a while back.

    Audley: Augh, gendered dinosaur clings. I almost though that as normal until my higher brain got through. It’s everywhere *sigh*.

    Also, hello.

  5. ibyea says

    What the? What is Greg Laden doing?! They are not NAZI sympathizing, they are telling him that his solution to the fascists problem is wrong!

  8. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Esteleth: Holy fuck, you weren’t kidding were you?

    What an utter jackass!

  9. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Seriously, is he having some kind of mental meltdown? No matter how many people explain it to him, he just keeps screaming about NAZI LOVERS and YOU DON’T HATE THEM NAZIS ENOUGH YET ARRRGH NAZIS.

  11. thunk says

    ibyea:

    Yeah, obviously, we can’t express enough moral outrage at Nazis *spits*.

  13. ibyea says

    BTW, didn’t a radical left party also get tons of people elected? That would be another problem too.

  14. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    As an aside: no Nazis, just a cute kitty.

    And some random lady with bad skin. :/

    __

    But yes, Laden seems to be rapidly accelerating towards destruction.

  16. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I commented on that, Ibyea.

    It’s awaiting moderation. Of course.

    I didn’t have much of an opinion on Mr Laden before, but I certainly have one now.

  17. ibyea says

    Oh great, I just found out that the communist party also got some votes in Greece. This election is a mess.

  18. thunk says

    ibyea: Yes it is. The economy is near collapse; and that has driven extremism (both left and right wing). Communist activity was widespread throughout the Great Depression.

  19. Hekuni Cat says

    Ogvorbis, I’m very happy you’re not leaving us.

    Cipher, *hugs*

    Show of hands: How many women here loved dinosaurs when they were little?

    I did. I really didn’t know anyone else who did, but that never mattered to me. And my mom understood. When I was in the hospital in third grade, she bought me a book on dinosaurs. Best remembered childhood present. I still have it too (or, rather, again since my niece borrowed it for a number of years).

  20. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Laden has replied. Wow, what a class act!

    I’m gonna try to get banned now.

  21. chigau (副) says

    [OT]
    Wait. This is TET.
    Childhood favorite movies:
    I read the book and saw the 1963 movie of The Incredible Journey.
    ♥ ♥ ♥
    Went to 1993 movie and walked out after the third human-doggie voice-over.

  23. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Why does he act like going all “FINE YA BIG CRYBABIES!” and doing a strikethrough and grayout job on his hideous proposals is the same as actually realizing he was wrong and why?

    Is the word ‘notpology’ appropriate here?

  24. says

    A Brief Guide To Getting The Cat (Who Has Darted Out The Door) Back In The House:

    Step 1: Bacon. Or tuna. Something the cat is Not Allowed To Eat Under Any Circumstances.

    Step 2: Do not trick cat. Allow cat to stuff cat’s piggy little face with bacon/tuna from your hand.

    Step 3: If cat will not come close enough to eat from your hand, toss tiny pieces of bacon/tuna to make a trail to you. Perform step 2.

    Step 4: Say very casually, “How about you eat your bacon in the house?” Allow cat to continue stuffing piggy face as you carry it into the laundry room.

    Step 5: More bacon. Close door.

  25. chigau (副) says

    Esteleth #14
    I have the same freckles, the same hair, the same hairline and the same cat.
    *scary TwilightZone organ music*

  26. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Chigau: I thought the twilight zone type music was done by a theramin.

    Or was that The Outer Limits?

  27. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Chigau, obviously we are long-lost twins.

    *nods sagely*

  28. chigau (副) says

    kristinc #24
    You had better have a video… :)
    (You do know that you have now taught Miscreant Cat that in order to obtain BACON, MC needs to ESCAPE!)

  29. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    You can’t win with cats.

    A few days ago I was walking with a friend through suburbia when a great specimen of a black cat with a kinky tail hailed us and came forward to be petted.

    Every time I come across a friendly cat wandering around, I generally pet it a bit, but it always worries me. Not everyone is kind to cats.

  30. chigau (副) says

    TLC
    I really don’t know if I was going for “oooowweeeeoo” or “baaaaduumm”.
    Anyway, you got the idea :)
    —-
    Esteleth

    Chigau, obviously we are long-lost twins.

    And born, I think, a couple of decades apart.
    It’s a miracle!

  31. says

    chigau: Miscreant Cat has a habit of escaping anyway, I’m just happy to have a method that brings him back reliably and quickly. I’ll go ahead and let him think he has me suckered.

    (The last cat I didn’t get back quickly ended up on the side of the road.)

  32. Menyambal: Making sambal isn't exactly dragon magic. says

    Coyote, you may be thinking of the Star Trek theme, which many think was done on a theremin. It was really a woman singing, at least according to my sources (the internet).

    I can’t recall the Twilight Zone theme–I almost never watched it. My parents have never owned a TV, so I missed out on a lot of shows when I was a child.

    I was always kind of proud of my folks for making a tough choice to be different like that, and put education and family first. Recently I found out it was just because my dad was too hard-of-hearing to enjoy watching TV, and he didn’t see why anyone else should.

    I spent enough time in libraries to be violently offended by the first Twilight Zone episode I saw, over at my grandma’s. The pilot of the airliner that had travelled back in time could recognize Manhattan Island, even with dinosaurs on it. I knew it had probably not even existed in dinosaur times, and had undergone some radical changes since the arrival of the white man.

  33. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Chigau,
    A few decades apart? I was born in that benighted decade of large hair and Reagan. How about you?

  34. llewelly says

    The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa)
    6 May 2012 at 11:19 pm

    You can’t win with cats.

    Fact: There are US metro neighborhoods in which nobody has outdoor cats because the local coyotes will eat them.

  35. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    llewelly: Fact: most coyotes don’t wear clothes or use computers and I much prefer to just pet roaming outdoor cats I come across. :p

    (also I’m a metaphorical coyote, not a literal one.)

  37. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    fuck greg laden, when my comments start disappearing in moderation I’m no longer interested in posting on his thread.

  38. chigau (副) says

    Esteleth
    I was born a few months away from the 10th anniversary of the end of WorldWar2.

  39. Cipher, OM says

    I stopped watching Little Shop of Horrors at the scene at the dentist. Not because it was bad – other stuff happened and distracted me. I have to remember to go back and watch it now.

    My comment was disappeared at Laden’s too.

  40. llewelly says

    The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) | 6 May 2012 at 11:07 pm:

    Why does he act like going all “FINE YA BIG CRYBABIES!” and doing a strikethrough and grayout job on his hideous proposals is the same as actually realizing he was wrong and why?
    Is the word ‘notpology’ appropriate here?

    notpology 2.0

  41. Cipher, OM says

    (Wherein I pointed out that we didn’t have to assume he was NT to see his comment as ableist.)

  43. llewelly says

    The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) | 6 May 2012 at 11:58 pm :

    (also I’m a metaphorical coyote, not a literal one.)

    On the internet, you cannot prove you are not a coyote.

  45. chigau (副) says

    Cipher
    re Little Shop, Steve Martin, dentist scene
    play it over and over
    it’s funny

  46. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Llewelly: But I have four limbs… just like a human… and skin, just like a human. And little beady yellowish eyes, just like a human. I also have a baculum, just like a… wait, you humans do have those, right?

    Cipher: Bah, I don’t need to follow his gibbering anymore anyways. When he starts censoring comments out like that, all discussion is pointless.

    It goes without saying of course that you had a very valid and good point.

  47. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Indeed. I don’t believe you, [secretly literal] Coyote. :P

    Sssshhhh, you! ;)

  50. Cipher, OM says

    *shushes about all of her VERY CONVINCING and TOTALLY NOT MADE UP evidence that in fact TLC is a real coyote* ^.^

  54. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Cipher: I’m afraid I must call your bluff. You no more have proof that I am a (literal) coyote than I can prove that I’m just (metaphorically) a coyote.

  58. says

    That thread by Greg on Greece is unfortunate. The same goes for holding my comment in moderation, I don’t recall him doing that to me in the past. Anyway, I wrote this, harmless enough :

    What a terrible nonsense. There is a fairly stable contingent of not only fascist voters but also fascists in various state and federal parliaments in Europe, 18% of the popular vote went to the fascists in France according to the recent presidential election results, up to 10% in some parts of Germany, and you find a 5-10% contingent of Neonazis in most other member states of the EU. I’m actually surprised that Greece only managed 7%, because the people there most certainly feel existentially threatened by the recent austerity measures. Greg’s suggestion to throw Greece out of the EU for this shows a remarkable amount of ignorance.

  60. ibyea says

    @rorschach
    Besides which, America itself has a fascist wing of the Republican Party: the Tea Party, and they have managed to get a few of them elected in all levels of government.

  61. Cipher, OM says

    What, just leaving the tantrum? Doesn’t it look kinda nonsensical now?

  62. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    Greg just edited all his crossed-out stuff out of the Nazi post.

    Oh, so that’s what happened. I just started reading the thread and came back here to ask why people in the comments seem to be referring to something more than what is written in the post.

  63. Pteryxx says

    Nah… I only looked once and didn’t save a copy. There were several paragraphs of the original post calling for economic sanctions and boycotts of Greece, which were grayed and lined out, and then Greg’s follow-up saying basically ‘fine if you don’t like my suggestions then make some of your own and you’d better not talk nice about the Nazis’ or some such. Yeah, I’m paraphrasing.

    That’s all gone now and just this:

    Greece apparently allows Nazis to run around loose, and even elects them to office. In elections just finishing up now, it would appear that about 25 members of the 300 member Parliament will be Nazis. The Nazi Party in Greece is growing.

    Tell me in the comments whether or not Nazi’s rising in Greece is of concern for you, and what should be done about it.

    Oh, he also edited out “This is easy even for the asperger-skeptics among you.”

  64. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    What a damn coward. But I suspected as much already.

    I mean Cipher and I, I could understand (but definitely not condone,) since he was saying he ‘wouldn’t say another word about it’ or whatever. Typical ‘shut it down because there’s no way I can look good now’ type shit.

    But Rorschach too? Now he’s just being chickenlivered, that was a totally valid and reasonable comment about the subject at hand.

  65. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Oh, he also edited out “This is easy even for the asperger-skeptics among you.”

    I’m not sure what to think about that. IS it better or worse than his horrible little begrudging notpology he shit out in the comments?

  66. Pteryxx says

    Oh, and the title of the post is now “So, what can we do to make Greece Nazi free?” instead of “So, what can we do to make Greece feel some pain?”

    go go Google cache.

  67. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    You all are just now twigging to the fact that Greg Laden is major dishonest asshole who edits comments and disguises the editorial decisions? Good god. Have you been fucking dead for the past four years?

  68. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Hi, Josh, kinda new to this shit, only joined Pharyngula and started commenting elsewhere last year.

    Rest assured though, the lesson has been learned. He is an absolute prolapsed anus.

  69. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I mean, I’d heard stuff before, but this is my first direct experience. It’s pretty eye opening.

  70. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Know this about Laden: he’s a dishonest shit. He has no compunction about editing comments and inserting words in commenters’ mouths to make it appear they said things they didn’t actually say. He does this without indicating that he’s done any editing.

    Don’t trust him; don’t comment on his site. And scratch your head wondering why PZ has never called him out on his unbelievably immoral bad behavior.

  71. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I already decided not to comment on his site. I had an idea when he told me he bet I wouldn’t be able to ‘go away’, but it was confirmed when he started withholding comments. I would have left him something to flounce by, but that isn’t my style.

  73. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    Google may have fucked up its cache, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Yahoo came to the rescue :
    So, what can we do to make Greece feel some pain?

    Let’s see. Greece is part of the European Union. Will the French stand for a semi-Nazi member? [strike through begins here, I’m not putting it in so that it’s more easily read]Greece needs to be tossed summarily out of the EU until it has no more Nazis in Parliament.

    Greece citizens should not be allowed immigration status elsewhere if they are Nazis, but immigration to groups traditionally targeted by Nazis should be given special consideration. Might as well get started early on that process, because the last time a European region was taken over by Nazis it was too late for millions.

    Greece exports very little to the US, most of its products going to Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and a handful of other European countries. But whatever is Greek out there on the market shelves, I suggest not buying. Boycotts are often said to be ineffective, but in fact, they can also work. We hear about how they are ineffective mainly from those who would be hurt by them. Make a point; Stop buying Greek products.

    Countries that were at war in the past with Nazis should stop sending machinery or fuel to Greece as long as there are Nazis in the government.

    Make Greece shut down the Nazis now while there are only a few hundred thousand of them.[strike trough ends here and the rest is presumably the update]

    OK, my skeptical friends. I’ve withdrawn all of my proposals because of your objectives.

    Now, here are your instructions. Tell me in the comments whether or not Nazi’s rising in Greece is of concern for you, and what should be doe about it.

    Nazi escapologist will be banned from this blog, unfrieneded, and defreinded, and possibly defenistrated. Why? Because I don’t like Nazi’s and if you do, you can’t be my friend or my colleague, and you can’t have my respect. Those of you who have come to the defense of the Nazi’s in Greece, either by finding a disagreement with me to be more important than disavowing a Nazi movement, or by actually claiming that they are either OK or not really Nazis or some other such garbage, are now on notice.

    This is easy even for the asperger-skeptics among you. Spend even a modicum of the effort you spent disavowing me on doing the same thing for Nazis, or get the fuck out of my life. I have given you what you wanted, a complete withdraw of all of my proposals. Now give me what I am asking for and what you are morally required to do or move along.

  75. desertfroglet says

    It’s not merely the idiocy of his position (#73), Laden’s inappropriate use of apostrophes is also alarming. Did he really write lucidly on the Congo?

  76. Cipher, OM says

    I forgot to refrigerate my applesauce today :( It was open and I left it in the cupboard for like sixteen hours. Is it ruined?

  77. carlie says

    Lit-inspired scents? I have several from this woman… oh bugger, she’s closed down for the time being. I’ll have to watch for her re-opening. But she sells at craft shows throughout central NY, and although I generally hate perfume, I really like the ones she makes. Looks like she’s taking a break and gearing up again sometime later.

  78. John Morales says

    Cipher, probably not, if it has enough sugar in it.

    Main problem is if yeasts begin to grow in it, but sugar is a preservative (stuffs up bacterial osmoregulation). That said, if there is enough liquid, yeasts can begin to grow in it.

  79. John Morales says

    [blush]

    Meh, the second sentence is redundant (I blame distraction).

  80. says

    Apparently Australia does Lanolin-based skin products well. I had to be told this by my Chinese host, who has requested a few gallons of the stuff for me to bring with me next week. It’s certainly not to be found at your local supermarket or chemist, that’s for sure.

  81. John Morales says

    Two related stories in the news:

    Ecologist warns of Australian ‘extinction crisis’:

    “In fact the rate at which Australia is losing species is roughly 100, maybe up to 500 times the rate at which we would be losing species before people were around. So this is an extinction crisis in some sense.”

    Garbage droppings confirm tiger quoll encounter:

    Late last month Matt Morton heard a thud on the deck of his home in the region and went out to investigate.

    “There was a ginger and white spotted animal that sort of looked like an oversized possum,” he said.

    “Then it slowly had walked up a couple of flights of stairs and as it got past the laundry it defecated in front of the laundry door.

    “Luckily we picked it up with a doggy bag and then placed it in the bin and we ended up missing the bin collection on Monday morning. So we were very lucky to have the scats still in the bin.”

    The animal’s faeces were collected and DNA testing has confirmed it was a tiger quoll.

  82. KG says

    Beatrice@73,

    I never visit Laden’s blog because of his unethical behaviour in editing comments to suit his purposes, without even admitting it, and threatening commenters he took a dislike to, so thanks for bringing this idiocy to my attention. The vote for Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn”), the neo-Nazi party, is indeed deeply alarming, but it is not in government; Laden is apparently too ignorant to distinguish between winning seats in Parliament and being in government. Just under 7% of Greeks voting, on a turnout just over 65%, voted for Chrysi Avgi. So that’s under 5% of the electorate. Laden proposes a collective punishment of all Greeks for this. The din from thousands of exploding irony meters makes it difficult to frame a more coherent response than “Stick this rotting porcupine up your fundament, Laden, you impenetrably stupid moron.”

  83. opposablethumbs says

    Hi Threadizens, happy May (yes I know it’s the 7th; the UK decided to have the Bank Holiday today, being the first Monday of the month, so that makes this bit of May a little happier at least).

    I haz a question: I want to send a few recs to someone who would generally rather watch-and-listen rather than read – what would you recommend in the way of youtube channels (or equivalent) on science news (or also general news)? I was just having a look at Thunderf00t and potholerdebunks, but I wondered if anyone could recommend channels whose main focus is just the latest interesting stuff happening in the sciences.

    Many thanks!

    All children love dinosaurs (/vast overgeneralisation) – how insane is it to pretend that it’s solely a boy thing? My favourite book of books was some ancient illustrated history of the world full of glorious artist’s impressions of the earth forming in the early solar system, followed by barren rocky landscapes and steaming seas followed by (now known to be) very inaccurate lifeforms from the Cambrian onwards … I think it ended with rockets to the Moon. I spent hours with that book, it was wonderful. Probably used all the artists impressions that are cited nowadays as textbook examples of gross inaccuracy (“brontosaurus” with its neck at all the wrong angles was the least of it) but it was fascinating and thrilling and wonderful. Thank you for reminding me of it!

  86. KG says

    ibyea,

    BTW, didn’t a radical left party also get tons of people elected? That would be another problem too.

    Why? Do you just assume everyone agrees with you that nothing fundamental is wrong with capitalism?

    Oh great, I just found out that the communist party also got some votes in Greece. This election is a mess.

    Stone me, why not try actually finding out a bit about the country you’re commenting on? In the 2007 election, the Communist Party of Greece (the KKK – the initials are an amusing coincidence) got 8.15% of the vote; in 2009 they got 7.54%. This time they got 8.48%. Back in 1989, they were in a coalition government.

  87. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Can I pop in briefly to say that I hate people?

    On FB, there’s a page that posts science-related macros. Today’s macro is a picture of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the message “I discovered what the sun is made of. Too bad I didn’t have a penis, then you’d know that.” Now, this is 100% true. She did discover – in 1925 – that the sun is mostly hydrogen, and was soundly ignored, denounced, and then had credit for the discovery simultaneously stolen and downplayed (y’know, “Oh, yeah, a lady discovered that, but it isn’t important – but look over there! Some dude has discovered the same thing! Isn’t he BRILLIANT for having made the scientific discovery of the CENTURY?!).

    In the comments on the photo, cue IMMEDIATELY a host of (male) naysayers going on about how there’s totally no sexism in science and those uppity bitches need to get back in the kitchen. The old canard about “natural aptitude” is trotted out. After some pushback, they come roaring back by bringing up Marie Curie. Because she succeeded in science (TWO! NOBEL! PRIZES!) that means that there is totally not any sexism, ever, no way. Of course, at least one of the dudebros accuses her of having stolen Pierre’s credit. *facepalm*

    I’m just completely depressed about this.

  90. Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos says

    GOP plan boosts Pentagon, cuts social programs

    No one could have predicted …

    But, Sailor, think about all the different social programmes that the Pentagon supports: urban renewal, family relocation, orphanages and adoption services, population control, landscaping, and that’s just a few.

  92. illdoittomorrow says

    Hi folks,

    I’ve only left comments on Pharyngula once or twice, so forgive me if this isn’t the right place to post this.

    Michael Coren, author of Ten Lies They Spread About Christianity (I’ll leave to your imagination who the “they” are in the title) will be in Calgary on Friday, May 11 to presumably tell more than a few whoppers himself. He’ll be at Pages on Kensington, second floor, on May 11 at 7:30 pm.

    For some background: http://michaelcoren.com/wordpress/

    I’ll most likely go, but it would be nice to have a few other local atheists there- I’m no debater, especially when I’d be up against someone who bullshits for a living.

  94. Rey Fox says

    GOP plan boosts Pentagon, cuts social programs

    Isn’t everybody sick of this shit yet?

  95. Janine: History’s Greatest Monster says

    KG, the link works for me.

    But if you want to read what I linked to, it is the latest story about Pastor Sean Harris at Joe.My.God..

  97. says

    Re Michael Coren, I dunno that you’ve got that much to worry about…

    … seriously, I figure he’s been back and forth on his religion so much, he could well be a Buddhist or some damned thing by the time the talk starts, and egging on his audience to call the pope an apologist for paedophilia. So hard to know with that guy.

    I have this sneaking suspicion the whole thing’s gonna turn out to be a ‘performance art’ piece or somethin’, or at least that he’ll be billing it as such in another few years or so.

    (/And we’ll never know whether it really was or if that’s just the only way he figures he can live it down.)

  98. Janine: History’s Greatest Monster says

    I must be spoiled, hovering my mouse over a link shows where it leads.

  99. says

    Kelly Thomas: D.A. to play video of fatal beating at officers’ hearing
    […]
    In the next nine minutes and 40 seconds, Thomas was tackled, hit with a baton, pinned to the ground, punched repeatedly in the ribs, kneed in the head, Tasered four times and then struck in the face with the Taser device eight times, Rackauckas said.

    Any response from Thomas was “in self-defense, in pain and in panic,” Rackauckas said when the charges were announced.

    According to an 11-week investigation, Thomas initially struggled, his screams echoing across the parking lot: “I can’t breathe!” “I’m sorry, dude!” “OK, OK!” “Please!” “Dad, help me.”

    But, Rackauckas said, the beating continued even after Thomas stopped struggling and screaming and blood began pooling around his body.

    Hospital records showed that Thomas suffered brain injuries, a shattered nose, a smashed cheekbone, broken ribs and internal bleeding. The cause of death, Rackauckas said, was “mechanical compression of the thorax,” basically being crushed and unable to breath.

    There were no traces of drugs or alcohol in Thomas’ body. He died five days after he was taken off life support.

    This is a prelim for the murder that took place July 5th, 2011.

    Why isn’t every cop present being tried for felony murder?

    The cops are on leave. Is that paid leave, AKA vacation?

    90% of cops give the rest a bad name.

  100. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    I must be spoiled, hovering my mouse over a link shows where it leads.

    I see the same effect at work with IE8, and at home on the iMac with Safari and Firefox.

  101. says

    And now for some good news

    Ousted Iowa justices claim Profile in Courage Award today

    Three former Iowa Supreme Court justices ousted after the court unanimously decided to legalize same-sex marriages will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award today at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston.

    “Former Iowa Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and former justices David Baker and Michael Streit were chosen in recognition of the political courage and judicial independence each demonstrated in setting aside popular opinion to uphold the basic freedoms and security guaranteed to all citizens under the Iowa constitution,” the library said in a statement.

  102. says

    Everybody in my lab is at ARVO this week. I was co-author on 3 posters and 2 papers.
    We have a (joke) contest for the meetings:
    3rd place – Off site hotel, registration fees and travel are comped.
    2nd place – Meeting hotel, registration fees, food & beverage allowance and travel are comped.
    1st place – You don’t have to go.

    Yippee, I won!

  103. says

    This is a prelim for the murder that took place July 5th, 2011.

    Why isn’t every cop present being tried for felony murder?

    The cops are on leave. Is that paid leave, AKA vacation?

    90% of cops give the rest a bad name.

    I don’t know whether to feel bad for the 10% that are in a system where they can’t speak out against or smirk that they’re not really better because they protect the other 90%

  104. says

    What the hell, Laden. For obvious reasons, I’m not going to throw in, but I still can’t even wrap my mind around that meltdown.

    He’s arguing like a teabagger. He’s being told that his idea will cause more suffering and lead to the election of more fascists… but his “moral purity” is more important than people’s lives.

    Will the French stand for a semi-Nazi member?

    Jesus fuck, has he never heard of la famille Le Pen?

    Pteryxx and Beatrice, the URL of the page still reflects his desire to “make Greece feel some pain.”

    Ibyea and Thunk: I’m not a Communist, nor do I want to see them in charge of a government, but I’m convinced that their existence and activity in the U.S. in the early 20th century helped pull the Overton window far enough to the left that we could have labor rights. The purges of the 1950s were helpful to the conservatization of the country a generation later.

  105. Sili says

    Some fetus-huggers have threatened to delete their journals in protest; a few actually have.

    And this is a problem how?

    Can’t they just go back to Myspace or Xanga or Friendster? (Actully, didn’t Murdock just buy Myspace? That should make it perfect for the fetusphiles.)

  106. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Let’s play spot the stupidity

    It’s easy to make fun of “Tan Mom” because her behavior is as outrageous as the color of her skin. But why is it OK to make fun of tan people, when it’s not OK to ridicule people because of their weight? After all, tanning, like being overweight, is a health risk. Just as obesity is linked to heart disease and diabetes, indoor tanning has been linked to malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

  108. dianne says

    After some pushback, they come roaring back by bringing up Marie Curie. Because she succeeded in science (TWO! NOBEL! PRIZES!) that means that there is totally not any sexism, ever, no way.

    Two words: Rosalind Franklin. If those aren’t enough, another two words: Lisa Meitner.

    Curie got two Nobels because she’s just way smarter than you, not because there’s no sexism in science. Sorry, dudes.

  110. says

    It’s easy to make fun of “Tan Mom” because her behavior is as outrageous as the color of her skin. But why is it OK to make fun of tan people, when it’s not OK to ridicule people because of their weight? After all, tanning, like being overweight, is a health risk. Just as obesity is linked to heart disease and diabetes, indoor tanning has been linked to malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

    OOOH OOOH is it because there isn’t an intrinsic drive to tan where appetite is one of the strongest biological imperatives!?

    Granted I’m going to take a guess that it’s very possible to have a tanning addiction disorder that’s basically just like anorexia only with a different body dismorphia.

  111. says

    Two words: Rosalind Franklin. If those aren’t enough, another two words: Lisa Meitner.

    Curie got two Nobels because she’s just way smarter than you, not because there’s no sexism in science. Sorry, dudes.

    I wonder if, presuming the people arguing is nerdy, that using DS9 as an allegory would help them grok is. Rom and Quark’s mother is worth more than them combined despite Ferengi society seeing woman as property that can’t earn profit…does this mean Ferengi society isn’t sexist?

  113. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Granted I’m going to take a guess that it’s very possible to have a tanning addiction disorder that’s basically just like anorexia only with a different body dismorphia.

    Yeah After I posted it I thought about that option.

    Still, pretty sure that’s not what she was going after.

    The comments have some real peaches too.

  114. LDTR says

    Hi again to the Horde,

    Lies Down to Reason is now LDTR. I decided to abbreviate it.

    I’m back. Brother-in-law died Friday night. My husband is his only relative who lives in the same city, except MIL, and she is in a nursing home with pretty severe dementia, so he’s having to deal with the funeral director and all. There won’t be a service or anything, which makes things a lot simpler than they might be.

    I haven’t caught up with the last couple of days of TET yet, so well-wishes to all and sundry.

  116. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Dianne,
    Rosalind Franklin, Lise Meitner, Barbara McClintock, Emmy Noether, etc etc etc.

    Holding up Curie as an example is problematic for two reasons.

    Firstly, it not-so-subtly sends the message that if you can’t achieve to Curie’s level, then why are you trying? Secondly, that Curie – due to her undeniable brilliance and luck – was able to succeed is not evidence that sexism isn’t a problem. And yes – she was fucking lucky. People talk about the time she lived in an unheated attic and worked in warehouse, but she also lucked into good mentors who recognized her brilliance and helped her. Also, for many things, she was in the right place at the right time.

  117. Jules says

    Man Boobz featured this article today. I thought it was good enough that y’all (meaning those who aren’t regular Man Boobzers) might enjoy it as well.

    Kinda threadrupt. But I notice that there was some talk of the “dinosaurs are for boys” stupidity. That shit makes me so angry.

    In a similar vein, I have had more than one person (usually it’s a man) comment that my Saturn V tattoo is not something you’d generally* see on a woman. But guess what? Multiple children exclaim and comment on the tattoo–both kids I know and random kids in public–and all of them have been girls.

    *I originally typed genderally.

  118. Sili says

    Ack. Shoulda considered it was French election day and sold my stock Friday.

  120. Sili says

    Rosalind Franklin, Lise Meitner, Barbara McClintock, Emmy Noether, etc etc etc.

    Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a lovely example of the complete absence of sexism in science.

    Or to put in the words of a scientist I hadn’t heard of myself until this post.

  121. Sili says

    Eurrgh. I hadn’t read the comments on that picture.

    “hurr, hurr, hurr – she looks like a man hurr hurr”

  122. Janine: History’s Greatest Monster says

    LDTR, it sounds like it is you and your husband who needs the well wishes. Get through this difficult time.

  123. Sili says

    And now I notice that that is the picture that sparked the whole discussion.

    Sorry for reading and replying for the bottom.

    I’ll go stand in the corner and feel stupid now.

  124. says

    LDTR, sympathies to you and your husband.

    Jules, the comments on that GoodReads thread are pathetic. I like the comment on Manboobz to the effect that men who whine about being “friendzoned” usually aren’t crushing on friends, but are “sleazeballs pretending to be friends to try and manipulate someone.”

    In a similar vein, I have had more than one person (usually it’s a man) comment that my Saturn V tattoo is not something you’d generally* see on a woman.

    Here’s a comeback, to be delivered with utterly flat affect: “Maybe you ought to get out and meet more women.”

  126. dianne says

    @116: Anyone with passing familiarity with Curie’s life knows that the idea that she never faced sexism is utter crap.

    @120: The list goes ever on…

  127. carlie says

    LDTR, my sympathies as well.

    when it’s not OK to ridicule people because of their weight?

    Where is it not OK to ridicule people because of their weight, and can I move there, please?

  128. Sili says

    Um, ground up babies? Please tell me this is fake or mistake? There isn’t really woo-doctor ‘reasons’ for this, surely. Please?

    Limbs and organs are pretty sought after in parts of Africa, so I don’t see why this couldn’t be true.

    At first I thought it was a ploy by those dastardly North Koreans to escape, but I see the capsules come from China, so I guess that can’t be right.

  130. says

    Jules,
    Love the piece you linked to, but the comments are terrible.

    I got through four in the “but women are just manipulating men because they like the attention!” bullshit vein when I gave up.

    Goddamn, there’s nothing I hate more than whiny Nice Guys®.

  131. dianne says

    And, of course, Meitner, Franklin, Bell, etc are to some extent the “lucky” ones: at least we know their names and they get some level of (posthumous) credit for their work. There are more women whose work was flat out stolen by men or who never got the opportunity to study and discover anything or died in childbirth before they made their big discovery, etc. We’ll never know who they were and who the men who stole their ideas were. Not even to be able to say that they should have had a Nobel too.

  133. LDTR says

    Thanks for the sympathies, all. My husband wasn’t really close to his brother (who was much older than him), but it’s a bit of a strain nonetheless. I’m mainly just “being there” for him.

    On dinosaurs and girls: I remember clearly being very into dinosaurs when I was, oh, 7-8 maybe? I used to play with little plastic ones, make up little dino-dramas, and all that. To this day I still remember the names of quite a few of them, and some of which ones existed in which eras. And I was a girl, last time I checked. I was then, too.

  134. Richard Austin says

    Markita:

    My mother told me that instead of being seen as proof that women could do science, Marie Curie was explained away as some kind of strange mutation, “the exception that proved the rule.”

    Not necessarily related (depending on how your mother phrased it), but I get a series case of Inigo Montoyaitis when I hear that phrase. For most people, it does not mean what they think it means.

    The word “prove” is used in the same sense as “proving grounds”; the same phrase could be “the exception that tests the rule.” Most people, instead, seem to think that the nature of the exception (that it’s so “exceptional” or uncommon) means the rule is “proven true” (many people forget that you can “prove false” as well – again, it just means “test”), and that this is what the cliche is saying.

  135. opposablethumbs says

    LDTR, sympathies to you and your OH. :(((((

    Hope you have some support around you.

  136. Jules says

    LDTR, sympathies to you and your husband.

    Jules, the comments on that GoodReads thread are pathetic.

    I didn’t read them. The Friendzone topic is one that drives me nuts. I’m not sure how many more times I can say, “If a woman’s romantic feelings for you drop off, it almost certainly is not because you were too nice.” That particular part of the myth wasn’t part of the post, but I always feel the need to include that little piece of information. Romance wanes for lots of reasons, but usually it’s not a simple linear, “Everything was fine until I realized how nice he was!”

    Here’s a comeback, to be delivered with utterly flat affect: “Maybe you ought to get out and meet more women.”

    I just love you so much.

    To this day I still remember the names of quite a few of them, and some of which ones existed in which eras. And I was a girl, last time I checked. I was then, too.

    Toddler turned 2 this weekend. Her favorite dinosaur is deinonychus. She knows several more by name as well. She doesn’t love dinosaurs quite as much as she loves robots and rockets, but they’re on par with octopuses.

    By the way, in case anyone wants it, the book she has (that I bought for her) on dinosaurs is Flip-O-Saurus. It had all the criteria I was looking for: accurate illustrations (don’t get me started on T. Rex depictions in kids’ books, pajamas, cereals, whatever—it’s not that fucking hard to get right! this book shows that), simple but realistic explanations of the creatures (I like all the fun stuff about mooses and muffins and shit—don’t get me wrong—it’s just not what I was looking for), and it’s a board book so she can’t destroy it (as easily). It also looks like it can grow with a kid pretty well (once they learn all of the dinos, they can have fun being all silly and mixing them up).

    I know, I know. It’s crazy that a woman got a dinosaur book for a girl, but you know what’s even more INSANE? The author is also a woman! *shockfaint*

  137. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    I’ve heard that too, Markita.

    I also heard someone argue that the Michaelis-Menten equation (which describes the activity of the overwhelming majority of enzymes) should be renamed the Michaelis equation, because (1) Menten was Michaelis’s graduate student when they discovered it and (2) Menten “never really accomplished anything else,” which shows that she was just resting on Michaelis’s laurels and thus doesn’t deserve credit.

    Firstly, the fact that Michaelis gave Menten equal credit is credit to Michaelis. Even now, that wouldn’t be a given. Secondly, Menten went on to work in public health and had a respectable career. Did she top her graduate thesis? No, probably not, but she’s not unusual in that regard. Also – it isn’t like women scientists in the first half of the 20th century had the easiest time establishing careers.

  138. says

    Audley et al.: I emailed that company which referred to dinosaurs as “boy’s room décor.” I got back this very nice reply:

    Thank you for your feedback. We have updated the page in question appropriately. As the person responsible for a large majority of our website’s content, I would like to note that we do regularly write and revise our existing copy in order to remain gender neutral where appropriate. This particular change was made by a web developer in order to better capitalize on specific search terms, e.g. “boy’s room décor.” The developer has been asked to refrain from making these changed in the future.

    Please note that all dinosaur (and many other) product pages do not use terms or language such as these. Again, we strive to remain gender neutral where appropriate.

    I thanked the person who sent me this. I’m quite glad they’re not using the fact that we live in a sexist society in which science is seen as a “boy’s” interest to justify the sexist web copy.

  139. Amphiox says

    The fact that Menten was the grad student pretty much guarantees that she did the lion’s share of the work. If there’s any case to be made at all for changing the name of the equation, it should be changed to the Menten equation.

  143. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Cipher, probably not, if it has enough sugar in it.

    Main problem is if yeasts begin to grow in it, but sugar is a preservative (stuffs up bacterial osmoregulation). That said, if there is enough liquid, yeasts can begin to grow in it.

    Yeast + fruit + liquid is the opposite of a problem :p

  144. Cipher, OM says

    I received a similar response to Daisy (slightly different ending). I’ve told the person who responded that I would definitely recommend their site to my mom who is currently decorating my brother’s LEGO room.

    In other news, my brother now has a LEGO room. ^.^ It used to be my other brother’s bedroom; now that he’s out of the house, it’s being turned into a way awesome LEGO room. (My room is not being turned into anything because I still live there sometimes.)

    Re: applesauce, it’s “no sugar added” :( I’ll probably toss it today.

  145. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Ms Daisy Cutter: A pleasant surprise.

    I once emailed TreehouseTV yelling at them for putting foursquare on right before bedtime and getting the kids all riled up and hyper, but all I got was an automatically generated form reply.

    (OK, OK, I know it wasn’t nearly as valid a complaint as yours :p)

  146. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Cipher, if it doesn’t smell bad, it’s probably fine. Particularly if there’s ‘no sugar added’. Even if yeast was growing in it, it’d take more than a night for anything to happen that you’d notice.

  151. Jules says

    Re: applesauce, it’s “no sugar added” :( I’ll probably toss it today.

    Well, it still has sugar in it. Apples are pretty sugary.

    Like TLC said, if it smells ok, it’s very likely ok. It’s not like it’s pumped full of stuff that would mask buggies, y’know?

    So, y’all ‘member how I said I didn’t read the comments on the article I linked to?

    I lucked out and got some of my very own on my facebook wall!

    UGH.

  152. chigau (違う) says

    Dr. Audley
    You don’t need to do a whole room.
    Start with … oh … a kiddy pool.

  153. Jules says

    In other UGHness, I hate buying plane tickets.

    I hate flying to begin with. And they’re expensive. And what if I change my mind on the dates. Or what if the itineraries are all scary and I have to spend the night sleeping outside of the airport in Kathmandu* or something?

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most of those issues only get worse the longer I wait.

    But still.

    *True story, though highly unlikely to happen in this instance

  154. Jules says

    Start with … oh … a kiddy pool.

    Toddler has that.

    I can’t fit into it, though :-(

  155. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Agreed about who probably did most of the work deriving the Michaelis-Menten equation. And considering the nature of the analysis, it is also a given that this would have featured hours in the lab and even longer doing the mathematical analysis.

    The fact that Menten was a woman doesn’t seem to be that widely trumpeted. TBH, when I was first told that half of the Michaelis-Menten team was a woman, I simply glanced at the names – Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten and assumed that Michaelis was the woman. Silly me.

    The image of Menten that is most widely circulated is also interested. She’s shown as a young woman, and she’s wearing this gigantic poofy thing. She also (to my eye, not an expert in Victorian Edwardian fashion) looks like a typical fashionable woman. There’s nothing about the photo that screams “scientist when that was shocking for women” to me – she just looks like a lady.

    __
    Daisy, I’m so glad to hear that the company responded well! Noting them as a place to potentially buy stuff.

  158. Jules says

    Damn it! I wish I had thought of that six months ago. Now the room’s being prepped to be painted and dinosaur-ed, so the ball pit idea is on hold for now.

    Couple ideas off the to of my head: dinosaur eggs or digging for dino bones.

    The room might be pretty small, but Toddler’s kiddie pool is only maybe 2.5 ft across and is only a few inches deep (it’s one blowup round tall).

    No idea where they got it. But like I said, it’s inflatable, which means it’s storable.

  160. David Marjanović says

    Jules, I’ll get back to you on plane tickets.

    Diageo, which owns Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker among other such brands, used to sponsor the Heartland Institute. They’ve stopped because that stink tank made a desperate leap beyond parody.

    Nunc est bibendum!

  162. KG says

    Shoulda considered it was French election day and sold my stock Friday. – Sili

    I don’t have any stock, but I’ll try and get to the main post office for some euros tomorrow for a planned trip with Mrs. KG to Bruges next month, as they’ll probably rebound!

    dianne@131,
    Fortunately, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, although unfairly denied a Nobel, is still alive and working.

    There’s a new biography of Rosalind Franklin out, by her sister, but apparently it focuses on her private life. It does say she got most scientific satisfaction out of her work on the tobacco mosaic virus, which was after Watson and Crick used her work on DNA without telling her. They never admitted it to her, apparently, even after publication.

  163. Jules says

    Audley, here’s a tiny kiddie pool. Might work. It kinda just needs to be big enough for the kid to sit in and kick around a bit. Toddler loves hers. (She mostly just loves to either line-drive the balls straight at my head or dump the whole thing out these days, but it certainly occupies her.)

    This, of course, does not address the problem of it being too small for grownups. *pouts*

    DDMFM, I did get your email from the other day. It’s just trip-induced-panic, most likely from having to defer all of my excited feelings.

    Well, and from having to get all of my affairs in order when I really want to do is just go already :-)

    Can I just say, Bold Women of Pharyngula™, that I love y’all. I have got more than a few of you going to bat on my fb page.

    Having the Horde on facebook makes it so much better over there. Seriously.

  164. says

    Hi there
    Between the Laden fuck up and other things I wanted to say some things of mild importance but I’m stressed out.

    I also just read the following in a comment by a forced birther over at Jen’s and the commenter has become my most hated person of the day, yes, worse than Laden.

    BIG TRIGGER WARNING
    She made me bodily sick and I’m not a survivor

    The cases of pregnancy caused by rape are extremely rare. And in those situations, yes, after taking a very hot shower and picking out all their skin, the rape victim should still have some kind of sense to pick up some plan B. Just because you are a victim of a horrible crime doesn’t make you a really daft person. In the case of a child being raped by their father, what a horrific thing to endure, but again, how often does this even happen, and when is murder ever justified in the “human” world?

  165. Esteleth, Who is Totally Not a Dog or Ferret says

    Right, Giliell, because Plan B grows on trees?

    Even if we agree that women of all ages should have immediate, no questions asked access to Plan B (I certainly think so), it does NOT FOLLOW that all women DO have such access.

    Let me guess – the forced birther says that if a woman doesn’t take Plan B and gets pregnant, then it is totally her fault and she should be forced to carry to term?

  166. Jules says

    Giliell, that is just. I don’t. It’s. *goes and hides under kitchen table with shoogie*

  168. carlie says

    Sometimes I think I’m really not emotionally cut out for the kinds of things I have to do in my job.

    Good thing there’s alcohol.

    *whiny about myself and my privileged life*

  169. says

    Let me guess – the forced birther says that if a woman doesn’t take Plan B and gets pregnant, then it is totally her fault and she should be forced to carry to term?

    Oh, it’s because it’s never right to murder a baby.
    I’ve backed out, I can’t take that level of misogyny at the moment.

  170. dianne says

    Oh, I also doubt that she notices that the embryo picture I posted is an elephant

    Got to admit, I didn’t notice. Looks like generic embryo to me. Pharyngula stage?

  171. dianne says

    Fortunately, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, although unfairly denied a Nobel, is still alive and working.

    So she is. I added her later on out of a feeling that my examples were too old and someone would object that it wasn’t like that anymore, then forgot to take out the “posthumous” part. Sorry.

  172. says

    Dianne

    Got to admit, I didn’t notice. Looks like generic embryo to me. Pharyngula stage?

    Don’t really know.
    I was looking for an animal embryo pic that didn’t tell the species in the URL.
    Found this most amazing slide-collection
    And yes, I admit to intentionally trolling forced birthers with picture of non-human embryos to coo over and to tell women that this is way more important than them.

  173. ibyea says

    @KG
    I do think that the way capitalism is practiced today is very flawed. But granted, instead of the kneejerk reaction, I should have found out more about those parties before commenting on them.

  174. ibyea says

    On Jocelyn Burner
    I first found out about how she was robbed of the nobel prize by an MIT physics lecture in the internet. I was pretty much appalled. To her credit, she remained calm. If I were her, I wouldn’t have taken this just lying down.

  175. says

    Those idiots at MultiCare are trying to bill me for Bella’s ER visit a month and a half ago. She’s definitely covered under the state health care for kids, whatever it’s called, and we gave them all the pertinent information at the time including her insurance card, but we got a bill anyway.

    $2600. Most expensive popsicle evar, Y/Y?

  176. says

    “I think that one of the greatest mistakes America made was to allow women the opportunity to vote,” Peterson says. “We should’ve never turned this over to women. And these women are voting in the wrong people. They’re voting in people who are evil who agrees with them who’re gonna take us down this pathway of destruction.”

    “And this probably was the reason they didn’t allow women to vote when men were men. Because men in the good old days understood the nature of the woman,” he adds. “They were not afraid to deal with it. And they understood that, you let them take over, this is what would happen.”
    […]
    That may not be a surprise, however: Hannity has hosted Peterson numerous times and even serves on BOND’s advisory board. “BOND continues to fight the good fight standing for the values of God, family, and country, and are deserving of our support,” he said, according to the group.

  178. cm's changeable moniker says

    rorschach: “Australia does Lanolin-based skin products well”

    It’s the sheep.

    “It’s certainly not to be found at your local supermarket or chemist, that’s for sure.”

    Heh. My childhood lanolin (I posted about this recently) was, shall we say, industrial grade.

    (Your #58 was spot on, too.)

    —

    I went to my new office desk today. It’s 250 feet above ground.

    The views are awesome. ;)

  179. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO WORKED AT GROUND ZERO

    Ogvorbis for one. We at the Pharyngula Saloon and Spanking Parlor salute his efforts.

    *all bipeds, human, and pullet, salute*

  180. Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos says

    I depart for Florida at about 3:00am local time.

    I am not taking my computer.

    You will not hear from me.

    Today, we have been running around like, well, like things that are running around.

    I cleaned the litter box and discovered that Dust has started a protest movement. We, on occasion, get puddles on our basement floor (the house is old enough that the basement has settled — the drain is higher than part of the basement). Dust, not happy with how often the four litter boxes (for two cats) are being cleaned, waded out into the middle of the puddle and pooped. Twice. And I know it is Dust by the size.

    My gas station screwed up and doubled my gas discount. So I filled up for $3.29.9 a gallon. So that was good.

    We have a full tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglas- . . . . Sorry. Wrong movie. We have a full tank of gas, the car is packed, we have snacks, and we are off to Florida.

  181. says

    KG:

    Laden is apparently too ignorant to distinguish between winning seats in Parliament and being in government.

    It’s no defense of Laden, of course, but it certainly is true that “in government” means something very different to someone whose primary point of reference is the U.S. Government: Most of us would consider every member of all three branches — and esp. every member of Congress — to be “in government.”

    There are, of course, advantages to being the majority party in Congress (or in either house), and there’s an internally elected leadership… but in principle every member’s vote counts the same as every other member’s, and every member is equally “in government.”

    I grok that it’s very different in a parliamentary system, esp. when there are minor/fringe parties that actually win seats. (I seem to recall we had a discussion about that ’round these parts a couple years ago.) But even when we know that intellectually, I’m guessing it’s difficult for USAnians to react to parliamentary elections in the same way that folks who’ve grown up in such systems do.

    ***
    Jules:

    I have had more than one person (usually it’s a man) comment that my Saturn V tattoo is not something you’d generally* see on a woman.

    I may have said something like that, in the context of telling you how utterly fucking awesome it is[1]. To be fair. it’s not that I think rockets are “for boys”; it’s that in my (long) experience with rocketry as a hobby, not many girls or women seem to think it’s for them (or, more invidiously, perhaps they’ve been told it’s not for them by the men and boys in their lives, or just by the culture they’re soaking in). It’s not that I think a space-nerd-accurate rendering of a real-world rocket ought to be surprising as a woman’s tattoo; it’s that, in my experience, it sadly is surprising.

    There’s hope on that score, though: This coming weekend I will make my annual pilgrimage to the Team America Rocketry Challenge national flyoffs, and my observation is that girls are increasingly much better represented at TARC, both on mixed teams and as all-girl teams. If you showed up with that tattoo, I promise you you’d be the hit of the weekend!

    [1] And that reaction is just based on the FB pic you posted; I’m sure it’s even more impressive in person.

  182. says

    Okay, I don’t know what the fuck is going on with my killfile, but it keeps blocking Giliell. I do not want to block Giliell! I’ve never clicked [kill] or [hide comment] after her name! What the hell?

    Has anyone else had this problem and if so, how in the hell can I get it to stop?

  183. cicely. Just cicely. says

    cicely
    re: peas
    You wouldn’t hug a real bear, right?
    (because it would kill you and eat you)
    But you have a teddy bear, right?
    Same thing with peas, right?
    Should I say “right?” anymore?

    chigau
    re: teddy bears
    I don’t, in fact, have a teddy bear.
    I have a collection of plush Cthulhus.
    And a plush shoggoth.
    I don’t hug any of them.
    They might “hug” me back.
    –

    *Show of hands: How many women here loved dinosaurs when they were little? I know that I sure as shit did.

    *raises hand*
    And trilobites, also.
    –

    Chigau, obviously we are long-lost twins.

    And born, I think, a couple of decades apart.
    It’s a miracle!

    I would imagine that the mother involved had…other…words to describe it.
    –
    LDTR, *hugs* and sympathies, for you and your husband.
    –
    Jules, good article you linked @117.
    *bookmark*
    –

  184. Brother Ogvorbis: Advanced Accolyte of Tpyos says

    Ogvorbis for one. We at the Pharyngula Saloon and Spanking Parlor salute his efforts.

    All I did was provide security for the people doing actual work and a little bit of driving.

    Not sure how much time I spent down at Ground Zero. I still have the hardhat, with the dust on it, and the dust has etched the plastic on the hardhat.

    Good news that she got her job back. The whistle-blower laws favour the company and government so much that this kind of vindication is exceedingly rare.

  185. ibyea says

    Holy crap! A whistleblower won in the US? It’s a miracle! Pigs can fly, and God is real!

    All kidding aside, it’s about time a whistleblower won. I never thought I would see that day come.

  186. opposablethumbs says

    Happy Florida, Bro Og! ::waves as vehicle moves off tomorrow morning, in somebody’s timezone::

    Good night Horde, it’s 1am here and I forgot to go to bed.

  187. says

    Better to put a trigger warning and not need it …
    And I did a bad job at the pagination.
    +++++++++++++++++
    Have a great trip Oggie!

  188. cm's changeable moniker says

    I don’t understand cats.

    Having kept me up until 1am waiting for her return from the pouring rain, Kitteh is now licking herself dry.

    This is not a euphemism. She’s licking her coat, and previously-soggy moggy is transforming before my eyes into sleek, dry, shiny cat. Hygroscopic tongue, aiiee!

  190. cicely. Just cicely. says

    Good to hear that some companies actually do care about and act on feedback. Most of the time (IME, at least) a complaint is as effective as if it were dropped straight into an incinerator.
    –
    A friend of mine is distressed and unsure of what to do. The public elementary school to which her son is going (his first public school experience, having been home-schooled for health reasons) is across the street from a church, whose literature about their VBS program is being handed out to the students. My friend is concerned; “the prinicipal is the school”, which suggests that this is with hir consent and that there’s no higher local appeal, and it’s a small school serving K-8 (just over 100 students), and she fears that her kid (and possibly her family) will be targetted if she complains, and worries that anonoymous complaints at state level would result in them being “outed”. She/her family are Xians, but don’t go to that church, and it’s the violation of Church and State that she objects to. Advice?
    –

  191. says

    kristinc (@175):

    I’m sure this goes without saying, but do not pay that bill until you’re absolutely certain it’s correct. I don’t know the details of Bella’s coverage, but I would call the insurance company and/or program responsible and ask for an explanation of the bill. If you’re worried about your credit, call the hospital’s billing department and tell them you’re checking with your insurance.

    My insurance is pretty decent, so it’s (very sadly) a bad standard for comparison, but under my policy, in-network providers are not allowed to bill me for amounts insurance disallows. If Bella is covered under a state program for children, it’s hard to imagine a $2600 bill over-and-above what the program pays could be correct (or legal). I’ve had the experience of doctors sending me bills they knew they didn’t have any right to collect, presumably on the assumption that some percentage of people will just pay any bill they get without asking questions.

    Once you’ve given them money, it’ll be hard to get it back… so make sure in advance that you really truly owe it.

  192. says

    Bill — thanks. I know 100% that I don’t actually owe them a cent. I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if they have a policy of billing everything covered or not, on the off chance that someone will pay it without thinking.

  193. says

    Shoulda considered it was French election day and sold my stock Friday. – Sili

    I may have mentioned this here before, but those elections influence my Australian pension, because some of it is invested by the superannuation company in European stocks. I lost about 30 grand during the GFC, and since then I’ve changed things around a bit so it shouldn’t get that bad again, but yes, since superannuation money is by no means guaranteed here, and is invested in stocks, there is never safety that you’re going to have money when you retire.