Comments

  2. says

    chigau

    I know, especially since I will probably rack to a secondary and add a little extra hop tea, then let sit for a couple of extra weeks. The last time I made a batch that’s how I did it, and it was the best tasting batch I have made.

  3. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    If it hasn’t come up already, Adam Lee has started a petition in support of inclusion in the atheist community. This could use Pharyngulation.

  8. chigau (無味ない) says

    Since I have just spent a large part of an hour refreshing page1, saying to self:
    “They can’t all be asleep!”
    whilst failing to notice that my comment was #500
    I’m going to bed.
    sweet dreams to all

  10. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    @Rorschach

    Heh I just saw that and was about to honestly ask what size was the Dragon Sam Harris apparently slew to win so many people’s undying support?

    Extra bonus

    Few read anything on the Web because they want to have their positions challenged. Likely the result of a post of this sort will be congratulations from those who already agree, and frustration, argument, and potentially abuse from those who don’t. And so it has been. (No abuse yet, but the night is young.) So why bother?

    As of this moment, I’m honestly not sure. I mean, I still think I’m right, but I don’t know that I care enough about being right to endure the anger, or feel pressured to start debating with my friends. And this applies to any post or opining of mine that pesters a wasps’ nest of raw feelings.

    I do know that a major factor is that in this case and others, I feel a responsibility to help keep this movement on an even keel, fighting the right battles, avoiding the pointless ones, and staying true to what we espouse. When I perceive that not to be happening, I want to flag it, but it’s almost always for naught, either because of the issue’s intractability or my own inability to make a given case in a given post, I or what have you.

    So far my first impressions of Paul Fidalgo are “asshole”

  11. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Also made a batch of this. Well, two batches. And played with ALL the proportions.

    Curious; are people who taste soap in cilantro also supposed to taste it in ground coriander? Anyone know?

  12. says

    @Ing,

    as I said, that’s the first thing I’ve ever read from him, so I’m withholding judgment for now. But it irritates me to no end when bloggers throw out some post, then disable comments because they’ve “had a shitty day” and can’t be fucked to face constructive criticism. Besides, his premise that Harris is the victim of some sort of unwarranted righteous indignation by certain skeptics rather than being simply wrong, is not particularly convincing.

  13. chigau (無味ない) says

    I taste no “soap” in cilantro.
    I taste cilantro, and I don’t like it.
    Coriander tastes nothing like cilantro.
    [so there]

  14. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    @rorschach

    Yeah well you know what they say about first impressions. I see no reason to give my time after that display.

  15. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    If I want a “liberals are upset reason leads people to non liberal conclusions” bullshit I’ll watch…um…Bullshit!

  17. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    @Chigau

    I’m guessing Muslims tried to take a gun away from him. He pulled his whining muscle

  18. John Morales says

    Comments. Boy, I Don’t Know. by Paul Fidalgo.

    Note the first sentence of the second paragraph of the extract here quoted:

    So here’s how this is going to go.

    First and foremost, this is my blog. I am the supreme evil dictator of this stake of Internet property. It’s not a democracy, it’s not a town meeting with the city council. I’m not disinterested in other people’s perspectives, but in the end, this is my space and it’s going to reflect that fact.

    I have no obligation to host a comments section at all, and many of the best blogs have none (Andrew Sullivan, John Gruber, etc.). And no, that’s not an example of “censorship,” and it’s not silencing anyone. The Internet is a big place, and if you really want to respond or react to something I’ve written, you can do it on your own blog. Your links back will only increase my Google ranking.

    While I do have comments, here are the rules, and they’re simple. You can’t comment here just to abuse or be an asshole to me, other commenters, or anyone else. I will be the one who decides what counts as abuse or “being an asshole.” Debate and disagreement with me is fine, but if you get shitty about it, I’ll mark you as spam. I may just decide you’ve got a crummy, nasty attitude, and that’ll mean you’re out. Again, I will be the one who decides what counts as shitty, crummy, nasty, or what have you. Again, if this doesn’t please you, start your own blog and complain about it there.

    Needless to say (or is it?), racist, sexist, bigoted comments, or anything containing threats, won’t be tolerated.

    If a comment thread goes off-topic, straying into subjects irrelevant to the post in question, I’ll probably turn comments off for that post.

  20. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    While there is no guarantee a blogger will have them, I do find it odd for a blog to not allow comments.

  21. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    John:
    While I could see someone changing their mind about allowing comments-over time-there wasn’t much time between both posts. Part of me is inclined to agree with Rorschach.

  23. says

    Tired, anxious, clingy, and threadrupt, here.

    I did catch that it’s Og’s birthday, so… *unfurls “HAPPY BIRTHDAY OGVORBIS” banner*

    Think I’m off to bed now. Or soon-ish. I’m still in “feeling so very small” mode, and just kinda want to hide away until I’m feeling less like a newborn kitten.

  24. says

    Thanks John M, I hadn’t looked at his comment policy. Of course he can do what he likes with his blog. I just think a blog post without comments defeats the purpose.

  25. rq says

    Good morning!
    Snowed in, today – stroller-wise, so it’s house arrest for us lazy house-sitting folk. Sitting on pins and needles, though – today is Big Signing Day (hopefully).

    +++

    re: Paul Fidalgo
    I’ve read this and that by him, and I’m somewhat indifferent to his style and topics. He’s not bad, but he’s not brilliant, either. *shrug* He can do what he likes with his comments, but his defense of Sam Harris does not improve him in my eyes.

    WMDkitty
    Scritches help? If so, have some.

    Tony
    Well, I think it’s ok for him to shut comments off, even though I might not like his reasons. It’s a bit like yelling from your front porch and then barricading yourself inside to avoid the (expected angry) reply, and then pretending like everything is fine next time you poke your head out.
    Oh well.

    Azkyroth
    There’s soap in cilantro?
    (I know quite a few people who don’t like it because it tastes too much of starch, but I’ve never heard of anyone complaining about the soap. Perhaps a better rinse is in order? /mild snark)

  26. says

    re: Paul Fidalgo…

    Whatever his comment policy, what he seems to be advocating is exactly the sort of top-down preservation of establishment privilege that we’re generally struggling against. Why is it that critics of Sam Harris need to shut up because SHUT UP!, but those same “we don’t need to have needless fights” assclowns never ask Harris to knock off saying stupid shit?

  28. John Morales says

    In the news: Half of world’s food going to waste, study finds

    Extract:

    A new study has found that a staggering 50 per cent of the world’s food goes to waste.

    The UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers, which carried out the study, says the waste is caused by poor storage, strict sell-by dates, bulk offers, and consumer fussiness.

    The report says half of the food purchased in Europe and the US is thrown away after it is bought.

    The Institution’s engineering director Dr Colin Brown says the issue of food wastage is increasingly important as the planet’s population heads towards a predicted 9.5 billion people.

    “Somewhere between 30 and up to 50 per cent of all food is wasted between it being grown, being harvested, transported and eventually us eating it – in that whole process coming up to half of it doesn’t actually get eaten,” he said.

    He says a more efficient food production and distribution system would provide enough food for the planet’s growing population.

    “It’s a very positive report from that point of view,” he said.

    (I can’t help but notice how the first sentence is explicitly contradicted by Dr. Brown’s quote)

  29. John Morales says

    Improbable Joe:

    Why is it that critics of Sam Harris need to shut up because SHUT UP!, but those same “we don’t need to have needless fights” assclowns never ask Harris to knock off saying stupid shit?

    The answer is implicit in the question.

  31. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    Isn’t that the way it always works? Some clown comes on a thread to tell us (well, mostly all of those actually commenting, not me, but…) to stop being so confrontational, yet they never do the same to those they’re defending. Even though they insist they’re just trying to resolve conflict. They never go after the same side. (Oh, and apparently Sam Harris isn’t saying stupid shit, which is why he shouldn’t stop speaking… What?)
    I don’t like the post, either. At all.

  32. says

    rq,

    I get a real sense that a lot of atheist/skeptic types REALLY miss being part of a church, mostly because they were totally going to be running the place before they were 40. Even though they’re not in a church, they have a deep need for that same sort of priests at the top doing all the talking, a few other folks acting as go-betweens and running the day-to-day, and everyone else sitting down and shutting up and doing as they are told. There’s a reason why the some of the same folks who really don’t want the commoners making too much of a ruckus generally also don’t want their blogs to turn into a conversation between the blogger and their readers.

    Look at what Fidalgo says: he doesn’t want to debate, he feels like he can decide for everyone which fights are worth fighting and which ones are “pointless.” It is all about keeping people from rocking the boat! And the unspoken part is “who cares if the boat is going in a direction that the unwashed masses don’t want to go” because we’ve got a top-down movement and I’m at the top so sit down and shut up.

    There’s a pretense of neutrality, but it is a complete sham. The proper resolution of conflict for these kinds of people is ALWAYS in the direction of power and privilege. The saddest part of Fidalgo’s blog? If you scroll down, there’s an entry titled “Monty Python and the Scarcity of Irreverence” followed by whining about irreverence against Sam Harris. One can feel assured that someone like Fidalgo would have found himself sucking up to power and condemning Monty Python for their irreverence if he’d grown up in England during their heyday.

  34. says

    Isn’t that the way it always works? Some clown comes on a thread to tell us (well, mostly all of those actually commenting, not me, but…) to stop being so confrontational

    What I hate even more is when people tell us to suspend our critical thinking with regards to an argument X made by atheist or skeptic celebrity Y, because, you know, Y. And at the same time these folks always seem to surmise that any counterargument Z is only made for the purpose of shitting on Y, not because Y is actually wrong on the internet.

  35. says

    rorschach,

    What I hate even more is when people tell us to suspend our critical thinking with regards to an argument X made by atheist or skeptic celebrity Y, because, you know, Y. And at the same time these folks always seem to surmise that any counterargument Z is only made for the purpose of shitting on Y, not because Y is actually wrong on the internet.

    Well there’s that, and an awful lot of “Who are YOU to criticize! Do you have an advanced degree/book deal/TV show?” The criteria shifts depending who you’re talking about… if it is Harris, it is his philosophy degree and book deal, if it is Penn Jillette it is the TV show, speaking engagements, and general popularity. In rare cases is the defense of one of the “celebrities” actually based in any sort of argument concerning their statements or position. And often it is no defense at all, it is just someone like Fidalgo complaining about the act of vocal criticism without any attempt to address the content at all.

  36. says

    Well there’s that, and an awful lot of “Who are YOU to criticize! Do you have an advanced degree/book deal/TV show?” The criteria shifts depending who you’re talking about… if it is Harris, it is his philosophy degree and book deal, if it is Penn Jillette it is the TV show, speaking engagements, and general popularity.

    And there’s a certain person who hosts a certain pit (filled to the brim with slime) who is OMGSOGREAT and can’t possibly be a horrid specimen of humanity because she’s trying to cure AIDS — which somehow totally negates and/or justifies any and all reprehensible behavior she engaged in and/or encouraged from her followers (including harassment and bullying), amirite?

  37. Sarahface, who is trying to break the lurking habit says

    And there’s a certain person who hosts a certain pit (filled to the brim with slime) who is OMGSOGREAT and can’t possibly be a horrid specimen of humanity because she’s trying to cure AIDS — which somehow totally negates and/or justifies any and all reprehensible behavior she engaged in and/or encouraged from her followers (including harassment and bullying), amirite?

    -WMDKitty
    It’s almost like they think one good thing will earn them “redemption” (of a sort) and goodwill forever.
    (Shades of the religious, perhaps?)

  38. says

    Sarahface

    “Shades” of the religious? It’s pretty much a direct expy of the whole “live a life of great evil, repent at the last second, get rewarded” schtick that Christianity has going.

    It’s… almost cultish, actually, how their Great Savior can do no wrong. Creeeepy~

  39. says

    WMDKitty & Sarahface,

    I have no idea who you’re talking about… :)

    But if I did, I’d say it is proof-positive that there’s no goddamned skepticism going on over the subject from her supporters. See the shifting criteria: she’s immune from criticism for working on something important, but that’s no shield for anyone who opposes the horrible shit she does.

  40. says

    Can someone help me out here? In a German sci-fi compilation from the 80s called Titan-10 there were 3 short stories, one was Cyril Kornbluth’s “The Marching Morons”, one I can’t remember, and one was about a nuclear accident, where some guy in a Tomlinson suit goes in to shut down the reactor, or something like that(Jorgensen, maybe?).

    Does anyone know who wrote that story and what it was called?

  41. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    Yeah, it was the phrase about rocking the boat and fights worth fighting that started me itching under the skin. And I think you may be on to something about the idea of hierarchy and leadership from above. A reluctance to relinquish privilege – and I think it’s what people have been arguing about A+ all along: that it isn’t enough to not believe in god, but the trappings of religion (incl. sexism, hierarchy, racism, etc., etc.) must also be thrown off. And that, as can be seen, is the hardest part for most people.

    … Sorry about your insomnia, is there anything that helps? Painting the amp, maybe? (I like the idea of floral pattern.)

    rorschach
    See, the masses don’t think critically. The higher-ups think critically for them, and the masses must accept.

  43. rq says

    Yeah, I have no idea who you’re talking about, either… Probably do’nt really want to, either! :/ But I agree with Joe’s comment on it.

    rorschach
    Sorry I can’t help you out, but if you remember/someone reminds you, let me know, too – it sounds interesting reading!

  48. says

    rq,

    I WISH I was painting the amp, that would be simple and easy. Nope, I’m removing the old tweed cloth covering and (probably) replacing it with colored vinyl. The cloth costs double, so probably not going that route. :)

    I’m also trying to figure out what to do with the old metal chassis that the electronic guts are housed in. It was chromed, but that’s all peeled and the metal underneath is rusted, so I’ve got no clue. Projects are hard when you have ZERO experience doing them.

  52. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    Good luck!

    rorschach
    Lester Del Rey… Hmm, any relation to Lana Del Rey…? ;)

  53. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Hello all, threadrupt beyond repair.*

    The house, oh the house. How slow you be in your entry into our lives. Here’s hoping you aren’t breech, there can be no C-section for this birth.

    Progress is being made but to the untrained eye it will not be obvious. Or perhaps just the eye restricted to a bad 2d camera phone pic. Behold! This is more or less what our floor will look like. Note that I had to wet it down to clear the obscuring concrete dust. I think the actual colour will be a little paler once we seal it. The grinder was cool with it’s own power generator and giant vacuum bag but it still left a lot of dust on the slab so it’s still hard to visualise how it will really look.

    For those who care about nomenclature and the niceties of design, that colour is Suede. Why yes, I will be strolling around on my Suede floor, bare footed and shameless, do you have a problem with that? ;) The aggregate is a lot more varied both in size and colour than the pre grind appearance led me to believe. But I like it, reminds me of a stream bed or a pebble beach, which is good because there’s no going back now. Not without serious explosives and an organised insurance deception the like of which has never been seen outside of the cinema.

    *Now that everyone is getting used to the heat work has picked up again, cutting into my valued Lounge time. What are they thinking, those inconsiderate customers, with their unnatural desirer to give us money for our goods and/or services? Don’t they know we’re in a retail recession? Sheesh.

  54. mildlymagnificent says

    Curious; are people who taste soap in cilantro also supposed to taste it in ground coriander? Anyone know?

    The “soapy” taste is just the mild version of omg-the-meat-is-off taste that some of us get. The soapy taste I’m much more likely to get from tarragon. It turns out it’s one of those mysteries that even the people who answer questions on the back page of New Scientist can’t answer.

    The most likely explanation is the caraway aromatic chemical, carvone/ carvol. It’s also quite strong in dill – well-known for making a couple of women in my family throw up when they smell it cooking.

    It’s in lots, lots, of aromatic herbs and spices. To wit … coriander/cilantro, cumin, fenugreek, dill, tarragon, caraway, anise, fennel and just about anything else people rapturise about being “aromatic” when cooking curries and other ghastly concoctions that stink up the house. (This you might discern has been a source of some disagreement within this particular household.)

    Though I don’t mind coriander seed and some others in pickling spice mixtures.

  55. Ogvorbis: Feeling Pretty Damn Good says

    Good morning. Happy Saturday.

    All who wished me Happy Birthday yesterday, thanks, but, er, ummm, erm, today is my birthday.

    I am now 47 years old.

    So you can get off my lawn. NOW.

  57. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Happy birthday Ogvorbis! Why, you’re a year older than me! Any great, grey wisdom to impart upon us wet-behind-the-ears youngsters?

    Loving the new nym tag BTW.

  58. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    There’s a very good chance the next poor schlub who walks through my office door is going to regret it.

  60. Matt Penfold says

    So far my first impressions of Paul Fidalgo are “asshole”

    Pretty much my first impression as well, except I would add he also seems to be unwilling to let his posts be criticised. So arsehole and arrogant.

  61. rq says

    I think he’s just scared. Of the comments and of the subsequent thought processes required of him.

  62. says

    HI there
    Yikes, usually Friday is the day when I recover from Thursday and gather strength for the weekend. Doesn’t look like it today. My stomach also informs me that “another coffee” isn’t what it had in mind when thinking about lunch, which is really snobby because it had milk in it. So, I’ll do something against the hunger while being unable to decide what to eat since I don’t have any appetite, but I know that my stomach is more intelligent than me so I’ll eat toast.

    Also, I got my totally warm horribly expensive birthday wintercoat. Now I wonder if I should have asked Renee if that’s OK…

    +++
    re: Paul Fidalgo
    I haz a sad, cause I was actually looking forward to his blog. How anybody can defend Harris’ “without guns men with knives would just rape all women” bullshit is beyond me.

  63. rq says

    Giliell
    Well, as long as Renee has never ever donated any money to you, you should definitely run it by her before indulging in such an extravagant expense.
    Besides that, yay winter coat!!! Getting a good one, a new one, is definitely up there on the list of life’s pleasures (and yes, you definitely deserve one that expensive!!).

  64. says

    I hope he printed it and put it up on the wall of his office (if he has an office (my professors (well, my history professors) had cubicles (two wall cubicles, if I remember correctly))).

    he has a proper office, with a door and a window and everything. But he strangely seems to have opted to plaster the walls with pictures of his kids instead of creative missives from creationists.

  65. says

    conundrum: to bike or not to bike, given the forecast of “freezing rain”, “snow”, and “ice”? (the alternative is walking)

  66. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Well if it ends up being to slick to bike, you’re still going to be walking but at least you’ll have the option.

  67. Matt Penfold says

    conundrum: to bike or not to bike, given the forecast of “freezing rain”, “snow”, and “ice”? (the alternative is walking)

    I recall some research was done a few years ago, and if I recall it turns out that it makes no difference as to how wet you get whether you walk or cycle, except in that if you cycle you will probably be quicker, and thus be exposed to the elements for less time.

  68. says

    Well if it ends up being to slick to bike, you’re still going to be walking but at least you’ll have the option.

    good point. i guess unless it looks entirely unbikeable right out the front door, i’ll take the bike with me just in case.

  69. David Marjanović says

    Petition “regarding diversity and feminism in atheism, principally to address and rebut thunderf00t’s call for the shunning of the people who he named that ‘drip poison’ into the secular community” crossposted from Facebook.

  71. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    Well, since we were off by a day (oops), have a _real_ happy birthday Oggie.
    I am elated to see the addition to your nym, btw.

  72. rq says

    I knew the birthday was tomorrow when it was yesterday, which is why I said happy birthday in advance. AND managed to wish it today, too. In my own time-zone, of course! ;)

    +++

    I hate banks.

  73. emburii says

    Hi, my name is Emburii and I am pretty much threadrupt other than saying Happy Birthday to Ogvorbis.

    So I’m going through back episodes of Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe (yes yes, I’m way behind) and in 2006 they’re railing about political correctness and agreeing that ‘putting a female black person in a book because she’s black is bad’. Even Rebecca Watson agreed with Eugenie Scott on feminism being bad, a position I thought Rebecca had long since moved away from. Does this change? If so, when? And does the guy who ‘loathes’ ‘political correctness’ (bad with matching names to voices, sorry) ever GTFO? Right now the privilege is incredibly distracting.

    I’d also appreciate suggestions on good podcasts/other good podcasts with a skeptical theme.

  74. says

    Happy real birthday Oggie!

    My attempt to sleep has obviously failed. It took me an hour to fall asleep, and then I was up two hours later. So yay? And today was supposed to be Joe Day, where I take myself out to lunch and a movie and maybe buy a new distortion pedal or a pair of shoes. Awwwww….

  75. pHred says

    ARGH – so I walked into my lab to find out the computer services on campus did a fresh imprint of the computer hooked up to my research computer and they have wiped out EIGHT YEARS of my data !!!!!! Yes I have back ups (which will be a nightmare to get sorted out) but I am in the middle of a paper revision that is due ASAP and I am so angry that I am not coherent !!!!! ARGH!!!!!!

  78. Matt Penfold says

    BTW, do I have to ask Renee Hendricks for approval before I buy a pair of shoes?

    Absolutely you do, but plan on having to buy cheapest nastiest ones around.

  79. Esteleth, Ultra-PC Feminist Harpy Out To Destroy Secularism says

    rq:

    Lester Del Rey… Hmm, any relation to Lana Del Rey

    Considering that Lana Del Rey is a stage name, no.

    Paul Fidalgo

    … *sigh*

  80. says

    ever since taking the GRE, I’ve been getting spam by assorted universities trying to convince me to join the program.

    Today I got one from the Chicago Theological Seminary :-D

  83. Pteryxx says

    Bits o’ news from the controlling-uppity-women er, romance genre:

    http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/alisa_valdes_anti_feminist_romance_not_so_romantic/

    It’s a romance-memoir about a hardcore feminist who falls in love with a cowboy who teaches her to reconnect with her “femininity” — and to never talk back, open her own car door or walk on the street side of the sidewalk. The book, which features a cover image of a woman’s bare legs tossed high with a cowboy hat perched atop one foot, has been heavily marketed to the anti-feminist crowd, even earning a plug from Christina Hoff Sommers, who called it a “riveting tale about how a brilliant, strong-minded woman liberated herself from a dreary, male-bashing, reality-denying feminism.”

    But now the author, Alisa Valdes, a prolific romance novelist, alleges that the man who taught her to “submit,” and to enjoy it, turned out — after she wrote this love letter of a book about him — to be an abuser.

    Valdes removed the blog post detailing her story after pressure from her agent, but in part it said this:

    I have been working on a sequel about the cowboy and me, and though I am quite sure my publisher won’t want it I will likely self-publish it soon. In it, I plan to detail the ways I was fooled and manipulated, the mistakes I made in choosing to ignore red flags, the many unfortunate ways that I started to subsume and lose myself in order to please an unpleasable and controlling man. I hope that in doing so I will help to make sense of the first book, both for you guys and for myself. What I want to emphasize here is that the first book was NOT an attempt to sell a lie; it was a sincere, heartfelt memoir that came during the honeymoon period of an abusive relationship, before I understood just how much danger I was putting myself in…

    Also, Jennifer Armintrout’s feminist romance The Boss (i.e the opposite of everything in 50 Shades of Grey) will be commencing next week:

    It’s my own entry into the contemporary erotic romance subgenre spawned by 50 Shades of Grey and the Crossfire series. But I’m pretty much just doing it for fun and to goof off, and to see if I can write a book in that genre without falling into the traps of misogyny and abuse we’ve seen in the 50 Shades series. Which is why I’m giving away The Boss for free, as a serial. You can get the rest of the details in this post.
    I’m armed with beta readers who are diligently editing the ever-living fuck out of my manuscript, and a brand new blog where the chapters will be posted (so I can keep track of page views and search keywords and all that fun stuff, separate from this blog). Right now, it’s just a post with a countdown and some unfinished pages that will later have stuff on them, but feel free to have a look and bookmark it in advance of the January 15th kickoff.

    Quoted from: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3474662-more-boss-business

  84. says

    Thanks rq, I might have accidentally bought a pair of shoes that keep my feet from being so sore that I can’t walk more than 15 feet without wincing. What was I thinking?!?!

  85. Matt Penfold says

    Ugh… and here I was looking at a pair of $120 running shoes

    Well there you go, you were just going to be irresponsible. Good job Renee is around to keep you under control!

  86. says

    Well, I’m off to have a bowl of macaroni… just macaroni, I wouldn’t want to offend Renee by having the mac AND the cheese at the same time. That would be way WAY too decadent.

  88. nightshadequeen says

    Today I got one from the Chicago Theological Seminary :-D

    I kept on getting spam from Texas Christian University….even after I started going to MIT, despite the fact that I put “atheist” on all my standardized testing.

    Um. Desperate much, TCU?

  90. Esteleth, Ultra-PC Feminist Harpy Out To Destroy Secularism says

    Jadehawk, I get those all the time! For the record, I took the GRE in 2006.

    Yesterday, I got one urging me to get my CPA license.

  92. rq says

    Pteryxx @583
    Thanks for those links! I have re-started following Jennifer Armintrout since she began the third book, which (in my most humblest of opinions) is actually even more vomit-inducing than the first two. I am also excited for her book (and might be able to convince the Husband to read it with me ;) ).
    And for the link to Alisa Valdes’ book – while I won’t read it, I find it sad that her publisher is not allowing her to talk about the reality behind that book – the reality that would shatter the romance of such abusive relationships. I hope she self-publishes that book, and if she does, I will actually try to read them both. And, if they’re any good, recommend them to friends who have fallen under the spell of Twilight or 50 Shades.

  93. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    For the true thrifty experience, try either skipping the water (eating dry macaroni) or skipping the macaroni (so just boil some water). Now that might be something to approve of!

  94. Matt Penfold says

    For the true thrifty experience, try either skipping the water (eating dry macaroni) or skipping the macaroni (so just boil some water). Now that might be something to approve of!

    Boil the water ? Way to extravagant. Get the water cold straight from tap. No, better still, straight from a muddy puddle.

  95. Beatrice says

    Hello all!

    I wished you a happy birthday yesterday, Ogvorbis, because I wasn’t sure when I would comment again.
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
    Still wishing you good times, just like yesterday. :)

    rq,

    the third book, which (in my most humblest of opinions) is actually even more vomit-inducing than the first two.

    I agree

  97. Beatrice says

    addendum to my “I agree” about the third 50 shades of bullshit book:

    At least that’s my impression from Jennifer’s reviews. I haven’t and don’t intend to read the actual books. I will rather waste my life on staring out of the window, than on that.

  98. Beatrice says

    I’ll be out again in 20 minutes or so. Decided to go out for a beer with former colleagues. I don’t do it often, but even a curmudgeon like me needs a non-virtual company to have a non-virtual beer with occasionally.

  101. rq says

    Yes, have fun, Beatrice! :) Real-world company can be fun. Even for curmudgeons with non-virtual companies of their own. ;)

  102. rq says

    I just attended a veterinary seminar presented by my 5-year-old (background exotic drumming music provided by the nearly3-year-old) on how to cure sick animals. Apparently, all they need is a healthy dose of jam and preserves, since they’ve been eating too much salt. (I wonder if it’s a hint for the next time they’re ill themselves?)
    It was followed by a demonstration of the latest medical equipment involving reading lights and paper tubes over them to make spotlights in the darkness (they suck up germs).
    Science!

  103. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    If Renee cannot handle the cheese in mac n chz because it is too decadent, she should avoid New Orleans during Southern Decadence. Queer debauchery at its finest.

  104. cicely (No Description Available.) says

    I hate having to give my email to petitions.
    :( :( :(
    –
    Offering WMDKitty a *scratch behind the ears*, and *catnip*
    –

    So you can get off my lawn. NOW.

    Shan’t. And you can’t make me!
     
    And anyways, I’m older than you are. Neener!
    –
    DDMFM!
    *pouncehug*
    –
    pHred, you have my sympathies. Now, step away from the chainsaw….
    –

    But now the author, Alisa Valdes, a prolific romance novelist, alleges that the man who taught her to “submit,” and to enjoy it, turned out — after she wrote this love letter of a book about him — to be an abuser.

    So not surprised.
    –

    “all thalattosaurs are good”

    Defining species by their Alignment is so limiting.
    –

  105. chigau (無味ない) says

    cicely

    I hate having to give my email to petitions.

    I have three email accounts.
    One is specifically for merchants and petitions.
    That way I know who to blame for the spam.

  106. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    Move not going well. Sorry for thredrupt and cleanliness…stress and hatred is wearing on me

  108. Pteryxx says

    (warning for child abuse)

    …

    “He groomed a nation”

    Savile, one of Britain’s biggest TV stars in the 1970s and 1980s, abused youngsters at 13 hospitals where he did voluntary work as a porter and fundraiser, and even at a hospice treating terminally ill patients.

    The youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy, and the last of the 214 offences of which he is suspected took place just two years before his death in 2011 at the age of 84.

    “He groomed a nation,” said Commander Peter Spindler, who led the police investigation and said the scale of his crimes were without precedence.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-britain-savile-idUSBRE90A0C320130111

    via BB

  110. Janine: Hallucinating Liar says

    Pteryxx, not that I expect anyone to notice but I will no longer link to performances from Top Of The Pops. It does nothing to alleviate the harm he has done during his life. But I do want to avoid the “ick” factor.

  111. Pteryxx says

    I have no idea who this Savile person is, just that this seems to be about as high-profile and public a persona as exists. Even Sandusky wasn’t all that well known outside US football, and the Catholic Church is a whole network devoted to secrecy as part of its rules. But snowing the entire BBC for fifty years? Urgh.

    I’m primed to go off in flames at the next dudebro who claims feminists are making this rape culture shit up, yo.

  113. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    Janine @607:
    Have you checked out the Urban Spoon comments about that restaurant? Some of them criticize the owner. It’s nice to read reasonable comments.

    ****

    I got a paycheck today. It was higher than anticipated. I can pay bills, buy groceries, go out socially (and drink) AND I might even go dine out somewhere! I haz a happy!

  114. Gnumann+, Radfem shotgunner of inhuman concepts says

    Happy getting-old-and-grumpy-day Oggie! I love the new Nym addition!

  117. Sarahface, who is trying to break the lurking habit says

    I have no idea who this Savile person is, just that this seems to be about as high-profile and public a persona as exists. Even Sandusky wasn’t all that well known outside US football, and the Catholic Church is a whole network devoted to secrecy as part of its rules. But snowing the entire BBC for fifty years? Urgh.

    Also hospitals. And in at least one case, a hospice. Because he was doing ‘charity work’ with them, and so they didn’t look too closely, or let him get away with more because he was famous…

    This has been basically the main news story here today, and it’s just… rage/sadness-inducing.
    However, it does seem to have started to change the collective attitude to children reporting abusers – if someone so high-profile would abuse and get away with it for years, is it so unlikely that an ordinary person would? (Well, this & the RCC and all the other recent scandals that have had the inevitable “but why did no one say anything/why were any reports not investigated properly/at all?” responses.)

  118. Nick Gotts (formerly KG) says

    But snowing the entire BBC for fifty years? – Pteryxx

    The bizarre thing about Savile is that he was “hiding in plain sight”. Not only were there rumours about his abuse of women and girls* (rife among media people, and apparently in the hospitals where we worked as a volunteer, but occasionally surfacing in sources available to the public), but his overt behaviour was very creepy: he routinely touched and hugged girls in their early teens who appeared on his shows, and sometimes made overtly sexual remarks about them. My wife and I agreed, when the story came out, that it was the least surprising news we’d seen for years.

    His is the most extreme case, but if the charges against other public figures that have resulted from the police investigation are true, it looks as if there was a widespread culture of impunity for sexual abuse in the British entertainment industry.

    *As it turns out, his victims also included a few boys

  120. rq says

    Tony
    Yay!! Happy for you!

    +++

    Calling it an early night and closing before midnight, for once. Good night all!

  121. cicely (No Description Available.) says

    I got a paycheck today. It was higher than anticipated. I can pay bills, buy groceries, go out socially (and drink) AND I might even go dine out somewhere! I haz a happy!

    You are totally entitled to haz that happy!
    :)
    –

  123. Esteleth, Ultra-PC Feminist Harpy Out To Destroy Secularism says

    My employer has a system whereby you can log into some secure place and see a pdf of your paycheck, 10 days before it is issued (and, y’know, you get paid).

    I was fetching my W-2 (also located there) and glanced at my paycheck.

    I got a raise! ^_^

    6.7%, it by my math. Which is a rather random value.

    (Also, odd that this is the first I’ve heard of it).

  125. Esteleth, Ultra-PC Feminist Harpy Out To Destroy Secularism says

    The riddle has been solved. Google tells me that the NIH mandates that post-docs on NIH grants get that raise.

    Still, odd that this is how I learned of it.

    (Still happy about more money!)

  126. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    Esteleth:
    Congratulations on the raise!
    Odd they didn’t tell you about it, but it’s a nice surprise.

  127. says

    Cilantro/Coriander: I’m one of those who tastes soap with coriander leaf. I’m fine with the seed, like it just fine. Same with caraway, dill, all that -tasty stuff. It’s just the leaf. It’s like a mouthful of Ivory soap. Yecch.

    Ogvorbis, 47? I’m a freshly minted 55 – get off my lawn, kiddo!

  128. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    I don’t remember having trouble with dried dill leaves, though…

  130. Gnumann+, Radfem shotgunner of inhuman concepts says

    Am I the only one getting the ads for “Tesla shields” – I finally caved in to my curiosity and looked at the site. Poor, poor Nikola…

  131. athyco says

    Happy (real day (remember, I’d already set my first natal salutation in the future (all right, it was (I must admit) a hedge))) birthday, Ogvorbis!

  132. says

    Horde? HORDE!!!!!!!

    Hello Lounge Lizards, today was a day to break Renee’s heart. I got a new pair of shoes that cost well over $100. I bought everything I need to repair my wife’s not-a-hope chest. And then… well… this is going to be a long one. I apologize in advance.

    Let me back up a bit. Last weekend, I made what I thought was a funny remark on Twitter about the waiting time for a high-gain distortion guitar effects pedal that my wife told me to order for myself as an Xmas prezzie. The guy who makes the pedal saw me talking about the wait time and IMMEDIATELY cancelled my order. He refunded my money, but because of the Mysteries of the PayPal, I didn’t get the refund until today. So I’m running around town doing my shopping and errands and such, and I get turned around and I pull into a completely random parking lot to get my bearings and maybe use the GPS on my phone to figure out my next stop. There’s a sign on the side of a building near where I pulled in that says “Grandma’s Music & Sound” and I figure WTF, I should go in and see if they have any guitars. I don’t have my hopes up.

    I walk in, and they are a COMPLETE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STORE. Not a huge selection, but a representative one, which means what they don’t have they can order. For electric guitars they have most of the major American brands: Fender, Gibson, Paul Reed Smith, Epiphone, ESP, Schecter, Ibanez. And fucking 90 day layaway, which is three times as long as the national chains, which means maybe I can do something because I can stop drinking so fucking much and give that money to them instead. I text my wife the information, she says “cool”.

    Then an hour or so later she texts me back “You going to lay one away?” I hadn’t thought about it, and before I CAN think about it she calls me and tells me to go ahead and use that money I got back for the cancelled pedal order and pick me out a new guitar. I went back, and right there on the wall was The One. Plugged it in, TOTALLY The One.

    So Horde, meet Horde-Hammer, Official SpokesGuitar. Or it WILL be, 90 days/$800 from now.

  133. chigau (無味ない) says

    Gnumann+
    That tesla shield site sure has a lot of words.
    Did you understand any of them?
    I didn’t.

  134. Tony the Queer Shoop (proud supporter of Radical Feminism) says

    Joe:
    Happy for you.
    You’ve found a new guitar and a new store to pour your money into.

  135. says

    Tony:

    Probably not too much money. You have to remember, I had a big gear sell-off last summer to pay for expenses. This is just me replacing stuff I sold. Once that’s done I doubt I’ll spend very much money on guitar stuff. I had been pretty much finished before, and I’ll be pretty close to finished again :)

    Congrats to YOU on a bigger-than-expected paycheck, BTW. You deserve to treat yourself to something special. Go hit the town, buy yourself a jacket to go with the snazzy hat you got. :)

  136. Gnumann+, Radfem shotgunner of inhuman concepts says

    That tesla shield site sure has a lot of words.
    Did you understand any of them?
    I didn’t.

    I used to speak crackpot-woo a long long time ago. Not that I actually bother to read it. They’re basically shotgunning woo hoping they’ll hit some poor guys wallet: Take three parts cargo-cult science, mix with two parts Indian dehumanising religion and shoot from a standard shotgun shell with equal parts black powder and black conscience.

    I did’t see “quantum” though, but I only skimmed so I might have missed it.

  137. cicely (No Description Available.) says

    So Horde, meet Horde-Hammer, Official SpokesGuitar. Or it WILL be, 90 days/$800 from now.

    And there was much rejoicing.
    <background>*Yay!*</background>
    –

  139. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Let me back up a bit. Last weekend, I made what I thought was a funny remark on Twitter about the waiting time for a high-gain distortion guitar effects pedal that my wife told me to order for myself as an Xmas prezzie. The guy who makes the pedal saw me talking about the wait time and IMMEDIATELY cancelled my order. He refunded my money, but because of the Mysteries of the PayPal, I didn’t get the refund until today.

    Holy fucking shit. Um, who was that, just so any other musically inclined hordelings know to avoid them in the future?

  140. dianne says

    @612 and 622: I propose a new rule for conspiracy theories. If you propose that well known person X had something to do with disaster Y in any circumstance other than X was caught red handed causing Y or X signed a confession, you MUST be able to explain what benefit X got from Y. As far as I can tell, Obama’s got nothing but headaches out of the Newtown massacre. He certainly hasn’t used it to take over the government or declare war on guns or do anything except propose that Biden propose some extremely cautious suggestions for very weak gun control laws.

  141. chigau (無味ない) says

    Gnumann+
    They gots quantum

    Aside from the Zeusite™ microsphere resonators, The Tesla Shield™ internal module also incorporates a Quantum Microvortex™ orgone generating caduceus coil. This specially designed Quantum Microvortex™ orgone generating caduceus coil utilises the sacred Lost Cubit measurement.

  142. says

    Azkyroth,

    That’s ProTone Pedals out of South Carolina, USA. Oddly enough, a couple of years ago they had a deal with Dawkins’ charity thingy and were selling a ‘scarlet-A’ Atheist Distortion pedals, which is how I had heard of them in the first place.

  143. Gnumann+, Radfem shotgunner of inhuman concepts says

    Chigau:
    Ah, of course, they had to. Now, if I could only get my hands on that lost cubit…

  144. says

    Those poor, poor, persecuted Christians:

    We are at the place, maybe we’re not thrown in jail for it like pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran, maybe we’re not slaughtered or beheaded for it yet, but make no mistake about it, if you stand and proclaim what the word of God says about certain things, primarily about homosexuality, you are going to be ostracized, you are going to be mocked and ridiculed, you are going to be called names, you are going to be marginalized and you are going to be cast out.”

    http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com/

  146. says

    Tony, they’ve been saying that crap for years on end. Hell, Chuck used to preach that back in the tent days. (Calvary Chapel). Xians are dying for that to happen, they want it like you wouldn’t believe.

  147. strange gods before me ॐ says

    Let’s try that link for #612 again:

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/09/florida-professor-defends-theory-that-newtown-shootings-never-happened/

    James F. Tracy leads with this context-free quote:

    “[My staff] and I hope the people of Newtown don’t have it crash on their head later.” –Connecticut Medical Examiner D. Wayne Carver II, MD, December 15, 2012

    Sounds insidious.

    Read in context — http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1212/15/cnr.04.html — I don’t know what it means, but it no longer sounds insidious to me.

  149. dianne says

    @644: Sigh. The standards for martyrs have been slipping. It used to be that people went to the lions singing the praises of Jesus and turning the other cheek so the lion could eat that too*. Now? They complain about a little mockery. What sort of god can’t stand a little mockery?

    *Yeah, yeah, I know. It was never that way, but what’s the point of the good old days if you can’t get nostalgic about some complete fantasy?

  150. says

    Having never been with a woman, I wasn’t aware there was a *drinkable* version of vagina:

    A refreshing energy drink with NO CHEMICALS. That’s ‘a refreshing energy drink with NO CHEMICALS’! A drink that provides a turbo-boost without the battery acid. And know that Pussy packs a punch. Punch? Actually, it’s more like being gently placed on a huge velvet cushion then being carried around the whole night with a back rub and table service thrown in for good measure.

    And what makes up its magical blend? Fresh white grape juice from Southern Italy, pressed Mexican limes and lightly carbonated water. These are then mixed with Grenadilla and Lychee infused with six selected botanical herbs: Siberian Ginseng, Guarana, Sasparilla, Schizandra and Milk Thistle all of which have their own unique properties and benefits – and taste amazing when blended together and served ice cold on a hot night out.
    http://www.pussydrinks.com/the-product

  151. strange gods before me ॐ says

    I think we’re nearing the point where this could be said to be true, and perhaps already is true in some communities.

    if you stand and proclaim what the word of God says about certain things, primarily about homosexuality, you are going to be ostracized, you are going to be mocked and ridiculed, you are going to be called names, you are going to be marginalized and you are going to be cast out.

    But this isn’t marginalization of Christians per se.

    That phrasing elides the fact that a lot of the people doing the ostracizing, mocking, ridiculing, name-calling, marginalizing, and casting out, are other Christians.

  152. Gnumann+, Radfem shotgunner of inhuman concepts says

    Having never been with a woman, I wasn’t aware there was a *drinkable* version of vagina:

    Sure it’s not just juiced cat?

  154. chigau (無味ない) says

    ॐ
    That transcript is fascinating.
    Are reporters usually such meat-heads?

  156. says

    The fucking Catholic Church, again:

    Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops on Wednesday canceled a study into the sexual abuse of minors by priests, prompting the investigator to accuse them of trying to censor what was to be a major report on the scandals.

    The independent study, examining church files that sometimes date to 1945, was meant to shed light on undiscovered cases after about 600 people filed claims against priests in 2010 following a wave of revelations of sexual abuse. The German scandals were part of a series of abuse scandals that also shook the Catholic Church in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States, forcing Pope Benedict XVI to issue a public apology.

    Bishop Stephan Ackermann, a spokesman on abuse issues for the German Bishops’ Conference, said that the hierarchy had lost confidence in the researcher, Christian Pfeiffer, a criminologist, and that it would look for another specialist for the study.

    “We will have to find a new partner,” Bishop Ackermann said in a statement that blamed Mr. Pfeiffer’s “communications behavior with church officials” for the breakdown.

    Mr. Pfeiffer told German Radio that the bishops wanted to change previously agreed-upon guidelines for the project to include a final veto over publishing its results, which he could not accept.

    Officials made “an attempt to turn the whole contract towards censorship and stronger control by the church,” said Mr. Pfeiffer, head of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/world/europe/german-bishops-cancel-study-into-sexual-abuse-by-priests.html?_r=1&amp;

  157. strange gods before me ॐ says

    chigau, yeah, but that’s how they write their fascinatingly detailed stories.

  158. birgerjohansson says

    Improbable Joe, insomnia does indeed suck. I rarely get more than four hours of shut-eye. And insomnia may be correlated with shorter lifespan.
    — — — —
    The thread about commie algebra as indoctrination really cheered me up!
    — — — — — — — — — — — —
    Bob Cesca: Why Django Unchained is One of the Most Important Movies of the Year http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/django-unchained-movie-of-year_b_2458521.html
    (short version; the film made a lot of people who never watched Amistad or The Color Purple get a visceral dose of the brutality inherent in slavery)

  159. JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says

    Yay for raises and good paychecks. =)
    ———————————————————-

    Thanks for that info, Pteryxx for #583. I’ve seen that “The Feminist and the Cowboy” book before and I wanted puke. It’s terrible how the publisher won’t support her second book. If she does self-publish the second book, I’m willing to try reading it and leaving a good word for her. I can imagine the terrible backlash she’ll get on review site, especially Goodreads and Amazon.

    Never heard of Jennifer Armintrout (I mistook her for a moment for Jennifer L. Armentrout) but I’d love to read an anti- 50 Shades of Grey.

    Kind of related rant : I hate calling books “clean” reads. There are adult who apparently read YA because it’s “clean”. YA is my favorite genre and it doesn’t have to be clean. In fact, the best books I’ve found deal with real issues. And of course, these same people have no problem with violence in YA. I HATE how violence is okay but sex isn’t. But then there are books that talk about rape in graphic detail, which is okay but in the same book they refuse to talk about consensual sex in the same detail. Bleh. I’ve fallen into using “clean” (as if sex is dirty) to describe reads and am going to work on replacing it with graphic/nongraphic. Is there other terms I could use to replace it?
    ——————–

    “He groomed a nation,” said Commander Peter Spindler, who led the police investigation and said the scale of his crimes were without precedence.

    Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I think I’m going to be sick.

  161. JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says

    Ick, that’s an awful code John. I like the newer sliding scale and I’ve seen others talk about one for books. That I have no problem with. I get needing to be like “There’s this {content} as a warning”, which is why I do trigger warnings But generally, clean is just clean of everything supposedly and YA is seen as 18 and younger. I mean for 17 year olds, do they really need to be protected from sex and drugs? That seems far more harmful than helpful. Which is why I like the New Adult sub-genre classification being used. Though that still doesn’t include 16 and 17 year olds.

    And my rant was from just reading LDS members talking about clean reads and swearing and how even Twilight had swearing. And sex, but they were married and it wasn’t in detail. *Sigh*

  163. ednaz says

    Happy Birthday Ogvorbis!! Hee hee! Hope it’s awesome and so glad you’re feeling good!

    –

    rq @ 602 – Now THAT’S a seminar! *thumbsup* : D
    You describe it so well – you are quite the writer.

    –

    Tony – Hooray for a paying bills and still being able to go out!!
    (I’m doing a happy dance!)
    –

    Improbable Joe – First, that amp in red and black is a thing of beauty.
    Second, Way to go, Grandma!
    Third, So happy The Horde-Hammer will be in your hands soon!

  165. Ogvorbis: Feeling Pretty Damn Good says

    I went out for dinner with Boy and Wife (Girl had to work). I had carne asada tacos with a fantastic chiles de arbol salsa that they make in the restaurant. And Wife and I are now going to sit down and watch a movie. Shanghai Noon and then Shanghai Knights.

    and said the scale of his crimes were without precedence.

    I seriously doubt that. Maybe without precedent in those who have actually been found out, but I’m sure there is precedent.

    borked link @612

    Just from the short description, that is probably a good thing.

    Ogvorbis, 47? I’m a freshly minted 55 – get off my lawn, kiddo!

    Well, I was talking to the kids.

    And your freshly minted? When do you become julipped?

    So Horde, meet Horde-Hammer, Official SpokesGuitar. Or it WILL be, 90 days/$800 from now.

    Oooh. Is it a real guitar? Or electric?

  168. chigau (無味ない) says

    Oggie

    Is it a real guitar? Or electric?

    oooh
    Fightin’ words!
    —-
    Ijoe
    Take a deep breath.

  169. JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says

    her reviews of 50 Shades are funny, but Jennifer Armintrout’s review of the Twilight movies put me on the floor in stitches. Both are worth a read, bc she doesn’t pull punches in het criticisms.

    Oh, THAT’S her? I’m terrible with names but I’ve read her reviews and loved them.

    Forget what I said earlier then…

    Teach me to copy links to look into later…

  170. Ogvorbis: Feeling Pretty Damn Good says

    Is it a real guitar? Or electric?

    oooh
    Fightin’ words!

    Well, it’s not like I wrote something really outlandish. Like, “Peas are the ultimate in taste and texture in the culinary field.”

  171. chigau (無味ない) says

    “Peas are the ultimate in taste and texture in the culinary field.”

    True.
    That would be liver.

  175. opposablethumbs says

    Yay unexpected-rise Tony and Esteleth! And serendipitous-guitar-discovery Joe! Nice to read your good news.
    .
    Saying Saville “groomed a nation” is probably just about right. He was one of the most trusted, unimpeachable figures anywhere in the media for a long time – squeaky-clean, could do no wrong, almost anyone would have been glad to be seen with him. And those who knew or suspected otherwise were ignored.

  176. Pteryxx says

    From the Guardian: (bolds mine)

    Savile inquiry sparks widespread reassessment of abuse complaints

    DPP says report is ‘watershed moment’ and admits police and CPS may have mistakenly dropped many cases

    Police may be forced to reinvestigate thousands of sexual abuse complaints where the victims felt their evidence was disbelieved, in what the director of public prosecutions has described as a watershed moment in how authorities deal with vulnerable assault victims.

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will set up panels across England and Wales to assess the complaints, and victims who feel police mishandled their complaints have been urged to come forward and have their cases re-investigated.

    Keir Starmer QC admitted that police and the CPS were likely to have mistakenly dropped many sexual assault complaints because the victims were treated with a “degree of caution which is not generally justified”.

    …They’re formally re-establishing the credibility of victims now, across the board, because the pattern of disregard in the Savile report was so overwhelming.

  177. says

    Eh, you can wear a good Fedora with anything, I have several. Best look is with a nice suit, but also goes with a snazzy jacket, pants and *good* shoes. Certainly not patent leather anything.

  178. chigau (無味ない) says

    Bogart is best but an Indiana Jones leather jacket works, too.
    I have a quite nice fedora but it doesn’t go well with any of my hoodies.

  179. Ogvorbis: Feeling Pretty Damn Good says

    A fedora also works quite well with blue jeans and a white, crew-neck t-shirt with a pack of smokes rolled up in the sleeve.

    For a certain effect, anyway.

  181. chigau (無味ない) says

    blue jeans and a white, crew-neck t-shirt with a pack of smokes rolled up in the sleeve

    choreography in Jackie Chan movies

    I’ll be in my bunk.

  184. Ogvorbis: Feeling Pretty Damn Good says

    Sometimes I like watching really silly and bad movies. Rush Hour is one of those. One of my weaknesses.

  185. says

    Tony:

    The narrow-brimmed ones, which my wife has informed me are called “trilby” hats, are more casual. Still want to be wearing a shirt with a collar though. Or, if you’re a big-headed Hispanic guy like me or David Zayas, you wear something like this.

  186. says

    ednaz, thanks a bundle for the kind words, and I didn’t thank you for the compliment about my house a couple of days ago, so thanks for that too.

    Oggie… I love you like a brother. It is a TRUE guitar, a Fender Stratocaster. Made right here in the USA, over in Coronado, CA.

  187. chigau (無味ない) says

    IJoe #685
    [personal opinion]
    I don’t like that hat.
    It brings his head to a point.
    It needs a bigger brim.
    [/personal opinion]
    He’s pretty hot, though.
    {that was fact, not opinion}

  188. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    The algebra thread reminds me, the last time I did any serious math, I used the back of an envelope to derive the amortization formula for a mortgage. And realized that the realtor’s were pretending I could afford more of a house than I thought prudent. Net result, I’m now counting down on one hand on the months until the primary mortgage is paid off.

  189. chigau (無味ない) says

    I can calculate, on paper, a square root, to three or four decimal places.
    Then I run out of paper.

  190. says

    I’m busy brushing up on trig and precalc, because my goal is to teach myself the entire college-level Calculus textbook I have, and all by the end of the year.

  191. JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says

    Anyone here do blog design or blog headers or anything and willing to help me out for free?

  193. athyco says

    dawwwww…

    Just watched the last segment of the Rachel Maddow Show about PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford. Rest in peace, strong, loving woman. You gave–and left behind what was needed to continue giving–rest to many in turmoil during their lives.