Great. Twitter allows Pointless Polls

Of all the things Twitter needed to improve their service, allowing meaningless polls of your subset of readers wasn’t one of them. But there you go, you can create polls and get the biases of your readership expressed in cold, hard numbers that mean nothing at all.

Here’s an example.


Do you agree that Black Lives Matter #BLM is the new black version of the Klu Klux Klan?
80% Yes
20% No

(I think you’ll need to go to this link on Twitter.com and have a twitter account to vote.)

So here’s a guy who has a lot of racist friends, who has made an utterly stupid racist statement, and is asking all of his fucking racist buddies to validate it.

Thanks, Twitter.

I played some games today

Pokeball

On the recommendation of Russell Glasser, I gave Hearthstone a whirl today. I was impressed — that is one slick piece of work. I had no idea what to do or how it worked, but it’s beautifully designed and led me through the gameplay entirely painlessly — and even with a fair bit of fun. I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I’ll get addicted to it. I guess I’m just not into card games.

The other game I tried out today is the fad of the hour: Pokemon Go. I have never played Pokemon before; my kids were all into it on their gameboys, and they also played the card game, but I was a very bad dad and didn’t join in at all. So this thing was a complete mystery to me, and still is. Unlike Hearthstone, the explanations within the game are virtually nonexistent, and you have to just stumble around and try to figure out what the heck to do.

I finally figured out the first bit, and Mary and I went on a nice sweaty (it’s hot!) walk around the neighborhood and caught Pidgees and Weedles and a Bulbasaur and an Oddish and an Evee. Unfortunately, now I have no idea what to do with them, now that I’ve got them, because the game just assumes you’re a Pokemon pal already. If you’ve got any hints, let me know.

One nice thing is that they’re both free. I guess there’s stuff you can buy as you get further into them, but I’m so dang casual there’s probably not much risk of temptation.

I get email

A guy named David Shakespeare has a complaint.

I wonder sometimes! I wonder why this website has ads that fill up the lower window of your webpage

To pay for the server, and give a few bucks to the writers, obviously. You might also notice that there’s a link up on the top left of the page that says GET FTB AD-FREE. You don’t get to complain about the ads when we have an option to support the network while ditching all the ads.

Also, I don’t particularly like the ads either.

that show huge breasts, busty celebs, and loaded sexual innuendo

Oh, really? I get ads that say Easiest Way to “Remove” Wrinkles, 1 Fruit That “Destroys” Diabetes, New 20/20 Vision Breakthrough Leaves Optometrists Speechless, and Watch: Alzheimer’s Reversal “Cocktail” Changing Lives. I think the ad company has noticed that I’m ancient and wizened. What is it inferring about you?

But here’s a hot tip: at the bottom right of that block of ads, there’s a little note that says “Paid content” with a question mark. If you click on that, you’ll get an option to show only “family-friendly” ads! Don’t say I never did nothin’ for you. You have the power to make those huge breasts transform into ads for wrinkle cream.

Actually, I blame you for the ads. Because David Shakespeare is not pulling his weight to support a site he clearly reads, we’ve got to run ads to keep the lights on. (It’s OK if you can’t afford or would rather not pay for a subscription…but then, you don’t get to complain that we have ads.)

—all this—all the while demonizing Richard Carrier

What “demonizing”? I rather regret that we couldn’t get to the bottom of those accusations — but he quit when all we’d done is start an inquiry.

for lude behavior via accusation!

We were not inquiring into lude behavior. There were accusations of harassment. That’s serious, and we weren’t going to just pretend that nothing happened.

What’s the world coming too?! My goodness,

OK, Ward Cleaver, the disingenuousness is already getting old. Grow up.

and the double standard,

What double standard? No one here is opposed to sexual behavior. We’re concerned about sexual behavior without consent.

along with the ‘so-called’ contempt of Carrier over the accusers…

You’re not making any sense now. I also don’t have contempt for Carrier, but quite like him personally, and respect his work…but if we’re getting concerns about problematic behavior, we’re not going to sweep it under the rug.

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Double standards on both ends of this argument.

First, this was not a legal proceeding; nobody had dragged him into court. Secondly, we hadn’t assumed guilt at all — we were in the process of investigating some troubling accusations. If this were a court case (and it wasn’t), you’re arguing that you can’t even try someone with due process because that’s a violation of the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

Golly gee willikers, David Shakespeare! You’re a foolish little troll. Now fuck off.

I get a lot of snide, ignorant notes like this, all making the same complaints. I’m beginning to suspect there’s a troll factory somewhere that stamps stupid ideas into the heads of dull, unimaginative people.

Statement on Richard Carrier’s voluntary departure from our network

The FtB Ethics Committee has released an official statement on the departure of Richard Carrier from our network.

Freethought Blogs unequivocally condemns any behavior that threatens the safety of atheist community members, including particularly marginalized groups. Freethought Blogs also recognizes the role of sexual harassment as one of numerous barriers for women that limits access to and participation within atheist conferences and spaces.

When the recent allegations against Richard Carrier were made public, Freethought Blogs initiated a process to investigate these claims and formalize its policy concerning the conduct of its members. The FtB Ethics Committee received several reports of Carrier’s behavior and was in the process of reviewing them when Carrier chose to leave the network. A thorough review of the allegations against Carrier cannot be completed by Freethought Blogs without his cooperation.

As part of our commitment to equitable access to freethinking spaces for all, Freethought Blogs members who violate our commitment to social justice by creating or maintaining barriers to participation will be removed from the network as a matter of policy. All reports submitted to us in furtherance of this policy will be kept in the strictest of confidence, unless the accusation was made publicly or in the event we have express permission to reproduce the complaint.

-The FtB Ethics Committee

What better way to celebrate our toxic orange presidential candidate?

macncheetos

Horrifying.

Burger King, the restaurant chain backed by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett, will begin selling deep-fried sticks of macaroni and cheese encrusted in Cheetos-flavored breading, part of a trend toward blending fast food with well-known snack brands.

Cheesy, commercial, and artificially colored — it should be the official snack food of the Republican party.

I’d make one addition. It should be sold with little cups of vividly yellow Velveeta cheese goo, so you could dip it and put a little swirl of mysterious fulvous color on top.

#CVG2016…next week!

CVG Crescent Logo Purple - RGB transp bkgd

I need this: a relaxing weekend in the company of nerds at Convergence. I’ll be on four panels, talking science:

Th 12:30pm The Reproducibility Problem: How Serious is it?
Th 2:00pm What Does God Need With a Starship?
Th 3:30pm Twin Connection: Myth, Science and Confirmation Bias
Fr 2:00pm Our Place in Space

I’ll be attending lots more, sittin’ back, enjoying the conversation. And I’m easily drawn into discussions, so feel free to talk to me. I’ll also be cruising the party rooms, and stopping in now and then for the science demos and crafts at SkepchickCon.

You might also be able to hit me up for badge ribbons (I’m getting a little nervous that they haven’t arrived yet) — I’ll have one for Freethinkers and another for you Pharyngula readers. See you all there!

Richard Carrier’s blog

One of our writers, Richard Carrier, has been banned from Skepticon for “his repeated boundary-pushing behavior”. This is, obviously, a serious accusation, and we’ve been investigating further. We now have several first-hand reports of persistent, obnoxious sexual behavior in defiance of specific requests that he cease. We believe his accusers.

Here at Freethoughtblogs, we are sex-positive, but we are also committed to the principle of consensual sexual behavior. We go further, and beyond demanding that there always be consent, we also insist on respect for your partners. No means no, not just because it’s held as a dogmatic rule, but because it reflects a sincere appreciation of the autonomy of other people. We cannot tolerate violations of this essential principle.

While Dr Carrier has been a valued contributor to this network, we have to demand support of that principle in actions as well as words. After a review of the evidence so far, Richard Carrier’s posting privileges have been suspended, pending further evaluation, and all comments on his blog have been closed.

If you wish to make a testimonial, pro or con, about Dr Carrier, you can send them to me in confidence. We will consider all the evidence before making a final decision on his case.

We also support Skepticon and their commitment to equality and justice. If you do too, donate.

There aren’t enough facepalms in the world for this

lawnmower

Here’s a story of a gun-fondling nitwit compounding mistake upon mistake.

First, he thinks his hobby of shooting bullets at things very fast is fascinating enough that he brings along someone to record his manly bang-bangs.

Secondly, he has a target: a lawnmower. Why a lawnmower? Does he just hate yardwork? Maybe it was an evil lawnmower.

Thirdly, the lawnmower is not sufficiently exciting, so he packs it with three pounds of high explosives.

You know, lawnmowers on their own can be dangerous: when running, they can send rocks flying; I once had a lawnmower blade break in normal operation, and a chunk went flying and imbedded itself in a tree. But at least this guy didn’t have it running. I don’t think. Then, of course, there’s the problem of firing a rifle at a solid metal object, the engine. I would think there’s some risk of ricochets there.

But no, all that is irrelevant. He packed it with explosives. All the other safety concerns become moot.

He shot it, it exploded, sharp pieces of metal went flying everywhere (surprise!), and shrapnel severs one of his legs.

He did something incredibly stupid, but didn’t deserve maiming. Maybe someone will learn that demolishing stuff with firepower isn’t entertaining or clever, though.