Sunday Afternoon Short Animation: Palmipedarium

Simon knows ducks.
Arts • Views: 27,108

Vimeo

Simon knows about ducks quite well. They make noise, fly, swim, some even roll. Sometimes, it’s a bit confusing and Simon gets lost.

Papy3d productions.
Thanks to the BLENDER foundation

Scenario, Art direction and editing : Jérémy Clapin
Producer : Richard Van Den Boom
Executive producer : Jérémy Clapin
Music : François-Eudes Chanfrault
Technical director: Jean-François Sarazin (VANILLA SEED)
3D Modeling, Texturing, Rigging and 3D rendering : Alexandre Louvenaz, Hélène Emain, Floriane Hétru, Fabien Weibel, François Carrobourg, Quentin Piq
Setup Rigging: Fabien Weibel, Quentin Piq, Jean-François Sarazin
Animation and compositing : Jérémy Clapin, Alexis Artaud
Sound design and mix: Eric Lonni (DIGITAL SALADE)
Foley : Bertrand Boudaud
Supported by : le CNC, Arte, the Procirep/Angoa-Agicoa and the Val de Marne Council.

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468 comments
1 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:10:41pm

I don’t understand - where’s Je$u$? I thought duck shows were supposed to be about Je$u$.

2 Amory Blaine  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:19:14pm

I am totally getting this game.

Youtube Video

3 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:21:46pm

re: #1 freetoken

I don’t understand - where’s Je$u$? I thought duck shows were supposed to be about Je$u$.

Well, the father would have had better luck if he’d given Simon a Duck Commander.

/Sorta.

4 Stanley Sea  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:33:43pm
5 Stanley Sea  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:34:38pm
6 Stanley Sea  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:36:09pm

re: #5 Stanley Sea

[Embedded content]

Got my ipad plug. wheeee

7 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:37:11pm

re: #2 Amory Blaine

Is that a real thing?

8 EPR-radar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:37:59pm

re: #7 Eclectic Cyborg

Is that a real thing?

Its real enough to have its own Wikipedia entry…

9 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:41:44pm

re: #2 Amory Blaine

I am totally getting this game.

[Embedded content]

Yeah, it looks worth checking out. As I get older it gets really hard for me to find games that interest me.

10 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:43:03pm

re: #9 Killgore Trout

As I get older it gets really hard for me to find games that interest me.

There’s always shuffleboard.

11 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:44:34pm

re: #10 freetoken

There’s always shuffleboard.

I might spill my prune juice

12 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:47:22pm

Death toll in the Nigeria attack now at over 100
Over 100 killed in Islamist attack in north Nigeria

13 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:51:17pm
14 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:55:02pm

re: #13 Lidane

[Embedded content]

CONSERVATIVE RAGE, CONSERVATIVE SMASH.

15 allegro  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:55:14pm

re: #13 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Can one be unselfishly entertained?

16 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:55:24pm

Well it’s Sunday night. Means new Shameless and True Detective.

17 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:55:49pm

re: #16 HappyWarrior

Well it’s Sunday night. Means new Shameless and True Detective.

And a new episode of The Walking Dead. :D

18 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:56:32pm

re: #17 Lidane

And a new episode of The Walking Dead. :D

Yeah I need to get into that one too.

19 allegro  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 4:59:02pm

re: #17 Lidane

And a new episode of The Walking Dead. :D

And Downton Abbey (thanks to Amazon Prime that got me hooked).

20 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:00:01pm

re: #14 HappyWarrior

CONSERVATIVE RAGE, CONSERVATIVE SMASH.

Even sites like LinkedIn aren’t immune from the derp. You’d think that having your real name, real occupation and photo as part of your profile would be a deterrent to being stupid, but nope.

There was a post on my news feed about Hillary Clinton giving a keynote speech somewhere. Every comment was some form of ZOMG BENGHAZI and FOUR DEAD AMERICANS. I was amazed.

21 Aunty Entity Dragon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:00:54pm

Took my sweetie out to dinner and movie to see Her last night.

Amazing movie, but rather sad and bittersweet for a date flick. One of the better portrayals of the Singularity I have seen, where an AI who can pass the Turing Test develops a sincere relationship with a flesh and blood guy. You know that is not going to work out…

22 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:01:32pm

re: #13 Lidane

[Embedded content]

You know, I almost feel sorry for Glenn Beck, since he was hated on for going to see a non-controversial movie. Almost. But Beck helped popularize the ‘total rejectionism’ that comment embodies, and that being so I find it impossible to muster sympathy for the man now that the monster he brought to life has turned on him.

23 allegro  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:03:02pm

re: #22 Dark_Falcon

You know, I almost feel sorry for Glenn Beck, since he was hated on for going to see a non-controversial movie. >Almost. But Beck helped popularize the ‘total rejectionism’ that comment embodies, and that being so I find it impossible to muster sympathy for the man now that the monster he brought to life has turned on him.

I guess hate and rage aren’t entirely discriminating. Who knew?

24 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:03:59pm

re: #20 Lidane

Even sites like LinkedIn aren’t immune from the derp. You’d think that having your real name, real occupation and photo as part of your profile would be a deterrent to being stupid, but nope.

There was a post on my news feed about Hillary Clinton giving a keynote speech somewhere. Every comment was some form of ZOMG BENGHAZI and FOUR DEAD AMERICANS. I was amazed.

It is honestly sad. I mean I admit it. Politics interests me but I would never let it consume me like that where I would refuse to see an intriguing movie because of something like that.

25 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:04:48pm

re: #22 Dark_Falcon

You know, I almost feel sorry for Glenn Beck, since he was hated on for going to see a non-controversial movie. >Almost. But Beck helped popularize the ‘total rejectionism’ that comment embodies, and that being so I find it impossible to muster sympathy for the man now that the monster he brought to life has turned on him.

Something something revolutions devouring their own children. But yeah. I mean this is the guy who likens everyone who opposes him ideologically to the Nazis so fuck em.

26 klys  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:05:33pm

I think I have a bunch of Mythbusters episodes to catch up on.

This sounds like an excellent plan for a Sunday evening, along with cross stitching. (I have this crazy dream that I will finish the big project this year. Which might require finishing another big project too. Hmm.)

27 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:05:39pm

re: #20 Lidane

Even sites like LinkedIn aren’t immune from the derp. You’d think that having your real name, real occupation and photo as part of your profile would be a deterrent to being stupid, but nope.

There was a post on my news feed about Hillary Clinton giving a keynote speech somewhere. Every comment was some form of ZOMG BENGHAZI and FOUR DEAD AMERICANS. I was amazed.

Post a link to a ‘Bridgegazi ribbon’ the next time that happens. Then just sit back and watch the freakout.

28 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:06:29pm

re: #25 HappyWarrior

Something something revolutions devouring their own children. But yeah. I mean this is the guy who likens everyone who opposes him ideologically to the Nazis so fuck em.

I was thinking more along the lines of Glenn Beck as Dr. Frankenstein myself.

29 EPR-radar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:09:31pm

re: #28 Dark_Falcon

I was thinking more along the lines of Glenn Beck as Dr. Frankenstein myself.

IMO, Beck is not enough of an original thinker, or an early enough player in the corruption of US politics that we see today to be a plausible Dr. Frankenstein.

The closer analogy would be to cast Glenn Beck as an energetic and somewhat dim-witted Igor tasked with energizing the monster by frequent shots from a taser.

30 HappyWarrior  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:13:54pm

Beck to me is an opportunist. My first introduction to him was actually when he advocated that Irena Sendler should have won the Nobel Prize instead of Al Gore. Didn’t like that he felt the need to put down Gore and climate change science but Sendler was and is a hero certainly deserving of the prize. But then when Obama got elected, he just went from usual conservative hack to an Alex Jones wannabe. It wasn’t so much the Obama administration had to be wrong to him, it was that they and their supporters had to be the heirs of the Nazis or that he and his followers were the heirs of the July 20 plotters or those who fought in the Warsaw Ghetto. So in the end, I think if Beck is an act, it’s all the more deplorable since he could be a reasonable voice if he wanted to. Ditto Limbaugh, Coulter, and all those others who make their names by being demagogues.

31 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:16:24pm

On a tangetially related note, I actually enjoyed the Monuments Men.

32 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:17:04pm

re: #30 HappyWarrior

So in the end, I think if Beck is an act, it’s all the more deplorable since he could be a reasonable voice if he wanted to. Ditto Limbaugh, Coulter, and all those others who make their names by being demagogues.

TV characters making shows. It’s all it is, nothing more.

33 Belafon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:19:44pm

re: #32 Killgore Trout

Yeah, but everyone knows the Walking Dead isn’t real, and neither was Breaking Bad, because they made it obvious.

34 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:19:59pm

Venezuela’s Lopez says ready for arrest at Tuesday march

A Venezuelan opposition leader wanted by police in connection with deadly street protests said on Sunday he would march with his supporters in Caracas on Tuesday, and that he was ready to face arrest if necessary.

Authorities accuse Leopoldo Lopez of murder and terrorism in connection with violence around four days of sporadic anti-government protests that have left three people dead and both sides blaming each other for the bloodshed.

The demonstrators have vowed to stay in the streets until President Nicolas Maduro resigns, although there is no sign of that happening.

“I will be there showing my face. I have nothing to fear,” Lopez said in a brief video posted on Twitter. “If there is any illegal decision to jail me, then I will accept that decision and that infamous persecution by the state.”

35 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:22:36pm

re: #33 Belafon

Yeah, but everyone knows the Walking Dead isn’t real, and neither was Breaking Bad.

Heh. I’m proud to like Breaking Bad but I have a dysfunctional love-hate thing Walking dead. I hate most of it, characters and dialogue are stupid but I keep watching hoping if they just kill off the right characters and move the story along it might get better.

36 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:26:49pm

re: #33 Belafon

Yeah, but everyone knows the Walking Dead isn’t real, and neither was Breaking Bad.

So’s Pro-Wrasslin’, but that doesn’t stop people from arguing over it:

Rampage Jackson: If you hate pro wrestling, then don’t watch ‘fake’ action movies

37 Charles Johnson  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:31:54pm
38 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:33:44pm

Good Evening all, just wanted to share some photography from today up in the San Gabriel mountains. Paged

Lady Bug At Work

Happy Lizard loves The Sun

39 goddamnedfrank  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:35:58pm

re: #36 freetoken

So’s Pro-Wrasslin’, but that doesn’t stop people from arguing over it:

Rampage Jackson: If you hate pro wrestling, then don’t watch ‘fake’ action movies

Well, fake action movies don’t have a long and ugly history of pretending to be real, whereas wrestling long pretended to be an actual, non-scripted sport. The movie industry also don’t have a history of feeding their talent dangerous anabolic steroids or demanding actors maintain a massive body mass index. Probably most importantly wrestlers aren’t protected by a labor union and have thus been badly abused and financially exploited for decades.

40 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:36:51pm

re: #37 Charles Johnson

41 lawhawk  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:39:08pm

Drudge once again cherry picking climate/temperature data.

As if the entire planet’s temperature is summed up by what’s going on in the US alone.

42 Charles Johnson  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:39:30pm
43 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:39:37pm

re: #39 goddamnedfrank

The movie industry also don’t have a history of feeding their talent dangerous anabolic steroids or demanding actors maintain a massive body mass index.

Hollywood has a long history of making talent do extreme body modifications and encouraging dysfunctional lifestyles (bingeing/gorging.) Hormone supplementation is not new to Hollywood.

44 Pie-onist Overlord  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:43:02pm

I totally want to see The Monuments Men but what’s a good New Release that I can watch on Netflix NOW? (Can be on Blu Ray, I actually prefer that to streaming)

45 Jocko's Rocket Ship  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:45:06pm

Did anyone catch the Walmart commercial on NBC’s coverage of the Games tonight where it uses Rush’s Working Man to promote their support of American workers? “Got no time for livin’, working all the time…seems to me I could live my life a lot better than I think I am” is heard as we see images of hard-working factory workers doing their thing.

The corporation with a horrible labor record, that built its empire paying its workers shit, buying cheap China-made products. and with family heirs that have more wealth than the 40% of the nation’s workers combined is extolling the virtues of the American working man with Rush’s Working Man? It’s almost perfect, unintentionally.

46 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:45:19pm

re: #43 freetoken

Hollywood has a long history of making talent do extreme body modifications and encouraging dysfunctional lifestyles (bingeing/gorging.) Hormone supplementation is not new to Hollywood.

Hollywood takes the whole “The camera adds 10 pounds” idea to absurd lengths. There’s a reason that so many actresses have dealt with eating disorders. Hell, even the men have to deal with it. I saw an interview with Chris Hemsworth during his press tour for Thor where he talked about only eating 500-600 calories a day to slim down for a film he was working on.

47 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:48:02pm

Missouri couple faces assault charges for shooting fast food worker with Nerf gun (VIDEO)

A prank at a fast food restaurant in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton Thursday has landed one couple in a bit of hot water after they pulled up to the drive-thru window and shot the restaurant worker with a foam dart from a Nerf gun.

Although the seemingly harmless joke did not actually injure anyone, police are still treating the matter very seriously.

According to local media, they drove through the drive-thru in a black SUV, but didn’t order any food. Instead, they pulled up to the window and simply shot the worker with the Nerf gun, striking her with a yellow foam dart before driving off.

The entire incident was caught on surveillance video and now 22-year-old Stephanie Winkler and 26-year-old Mark Applebaum are facing third-degree assault charges, a class C misdemeanor.

That sounds about right. Pranks like that are disruptive and abusive. Not worth jail time in my eyes, but a fine and some community service would remind those two not to pull this sort of thing again.

48 Pie-onist Overlord  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:48:22pm

re: #45 Jocko’s Rocket Ship

Did anyone catch the Walmart commercial on NBC’s coverage of the Games tonight where it uses Rush’s Working Man to promote their support of American workers? “Got no time for livin’, working all the time…seems to me I could live my life a lot better than I think I am” is heard as we see images of hard-working factory workers doing their thing.

The corporation with a horrible labor record, that built its empire paying its workers shit, buying cheap China-made products. and with family heirs that have more wealth than the 40% of the nation’s workers combined is extolling the virtues of the American working man with Rush’s Working Man? It’s almost perfect, unintentionally.

I saw the Walmart commercial about how they are totally “bringing jrrbs back” and re-opening manufacturing facilities THAT THEY CLOSED BY MOVING PRODUCTION TO CHINA. And we are supposed to applaud them for this?

FUCK YOU WALMART.

49 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:49:05pm

re: #46 Lidane

From boob jobs to starvation diets - Hollywood has been a leader in our society.

I’m not going to condemn anyone for wanting to be different than what they are. At the same time, I’m not going to pull out any subset of our entertainment industry (which includes what we call “sports”) for special condemnation, but at the same time I notice how the purveyors of said entertainment love making money off the unfulfilled longings of their customers.

50 Lidane  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:49:24pm

re: #45 Jocko’s Rocket Ship

Did anyone catch the Walmart commercial on NBC’s coverage of the Games tonight where it uses Rush’s Working Man to promote their support of American workers?

Using a Canadian band to show their support of the American worker?

Seems legit.

51 SteveMcGazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:49:31pm

I’m kind of surprised that the guys from Rush are ok with that. I don’t know who has publishing rights, but still I don’t think the advertiser would risk a public backlash from the members.

52 Charles Johnson  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:53:28pm
53 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:53:34pm

re: #51 SteveMcGazi

I’m kind of surprised that the guys from Rush are ok with that. I don’t know who has publishing rights, but still I don’t think the advertiser would risk a public backlash from the members.

I don’t know if Wal Mart is politicized as much in Canada so I’m not sure if Canadians would care. I suppose there’s already a “Boycott Rush” movement underway but I’m not sure if the band is going to care.

54 Belafon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:53:48pm

re: #35 Killgore Trout

The problem is that Rush and Fox News fool their audience into believing they are real, and not entertainment. They do have that in common with wrestling. But then again, there’s some serious overlap with the two groups of viewers.

55 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:55:49pm

re: #52 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Dude, they’re helpin’ the NSA spy on us, bro!!1

56 lawhawk  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:56:18pm

re: #45 Jocko’s Rocket Ship

Yup. Noted that in the last thread.

And the company has pledged $250 billion in American goods to be sold in the stores over next 10 years. Now, that works out to $25 billion a year, which could be a significant amount, or not, depending on how you count that.

Are we talking about inventory costs or sales revenues (what it costs the consumer to buy)? If it’s the former, then that’s a big deal at least according to this.

If it’s the latter, then you’re talking about a drop in the bucket. $405 billion in sales a year. $25 billion works out to 1/16 of the sales.

Note too that 80% of Walmart suppliers are in China.

So I’m thinking that they’re talking about the latter - the sales increasing, because inventory is based on what is in the store at a given time, not what’s already moved through. So, it’s hardly the huge move they want people to think it is.

57 austin_blue  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 5:56:54pm

re: #52 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Because BENGHAZI!

58 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:07:43pm

Given the massive amount of money Russia has wasted on the Winter Olympics, it was not a surprise that Mitt Romney showed up on Meet The Press today to take Russia and the IOC to task for the waste. The video is below:

Youtube Video

59 Jocko's Rocket Ship  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:18:15pm

China is no longer a cheap-labor nation on the margin. Walmart is only bringing those jobs back (in a pledge over ten years, we’ll see…) because wages have compressed here - thanks in-part to Walmart - and it makes more profit. They would be negligent if they did it for any other reason according to their supporters.

It’s basically a big middle-finger to the workers… thanks for taking the huge pay cut suckers, but keep buying our shit. Globalization plus neo-liberal plus supply-side policies are great in aggregate after all.

60 nines09  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:26:49pm

re: #48 Pie-onist Overlord

I saw the Walmart commercial about how they are totally “bringing jrrbs back” and re-opening manufacturing facilities THAT THEY CLOSED BY MOVING PRODUCTION TO CHINA. And we are supposed to applaud them for this?

FUCK YOU WALMART.

I was over a friends house when that was on. We both laughed out loud and called bullshit on that piece of tripe. Walmart has a lot of splainin to do. Jerkoffs pissed all over everyone and shows up with Fabreze?

61 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:27:45pm

re: #59 Jocko’s Rocket Ship

It’s not just wages. American workers still cost more than Chinese workers though you are correct that the difference has narrowed a good bit. But another key issue is energy and transportation costs. Energy is much cheaper in the US right now than in China, in large part due to our natural gas boom. Thus it costs less to power the machines the workers use here and that is a factor in deciding where things will be built. Increased energy costs related to oil also have resulted in shipping cost going up, and shipping costs are less if the product doesn’t have to be shipped halfway around the world.

Lastly, there is the fact that for all of America’s problems, it remains a much safer place to do business than China. The Rule of Law has real currency here and that means business executives don’t need to fear being thrown in jail because of some politico’s power-play.

62 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:36:50pm

re: #41 lawhawk

Drudge once again cherry picking climate/temperature data.

As if the entire planet’s temperature is summed up by what’s going on in the US alone.

[Embedded content]

Found the sticking point: global. Glo-Ball. Global. Global.

63 goddamnedfrank  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:40:22pm

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

It’s not just wages. American workers still cost more than Chinese workers though you are correct that the difference has narrowed a good bit.

American workers spend their money in America. Unfortunately big business types are overwhelmingly self centered, psychopathically competitive and poor at understanding simple feedback mechanisms. We need regulation to save us all from their myopic dumbshittery.

64 goddamnedfrank  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:50:20pm

If the US phased in requirements that goods sold in the US must be produced under first world labor standards then big business would have two choices: Either move production to qualifying countries or demand government transparency, along with health and safety reforms in the countries currently producing their goods. We won’t actually be champions of democracy across the globe until we actually put our money where our mouth is.

65 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:53:11pm

While I was out today I saw the evidence on the ground about our drought. While that of course is not proof of global warming, it is still a poignant image IMHO.

The flat spot on the right is the spillway for floods. look at the water level far below that height. Went B&W for the look. That was shot today.

66 Shiplord Kirel  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:58:58pm

re: #52 Charles Johnson

Still trying to figure out why I’m supposed to be outraged that Australian intelligence cooperates with US intelligence.

They did some damn good work together in World War 2.

67 Hercules Grytpype-Thynneghazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:59:02pm

re: #11 Killgore Trout

I might spill my prune juice

A warrior’s drink!

68 William Barnett-Lewis  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 6:59:52pm

re: #65 Political Atheist

The flat spot on the right is the spillway for floods. look at the water level far below that height. Went B&W for the look. That was shot today.

Good images, the b&w is stronger for me. The back and forth of the structure with the diagonal (road?) works well. I like the effect of the haze as well; a reminder of heat that you have and we don’t at the moment. Would that I could somehow trade a wee bit of our snow here to you in exchange for that warmth ;)

69 Mentis Fugit  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:02:42pm

re: #47 Dark_Falcon

Missouri couple faces assault charges for shooting fast food worker with Nerf gun (VIDEO)

That sounds about right. Pranks like that are disruptive and abusive. Not worth jail time in my eyes, but a fine and some community service would remind those two not to pull this sort of thing again.

Just part of the great douchebag tradition of treating minimum wage service workers with contempt. An appropriate penalty would be to require them to work a shift clearing tables, mopping floors, and cleaning bathrooms in the same joint.

In the bowel-knotting knowledge that everyone working the shift knows why they are there.

But to be fair, they will be paid. Minimum wage of course.

70 Backwoods_Sleuth  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:03:52pm

oops…

71 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:05:06pm

re: #69 Mentis Fugit

Just part of the great douchebag tradition of treating minimum wage service workers with contempt. An appropriate penalty would be to require them to work a shift clearing tables, mopping floors, and cleaning bathrooms in the same joint.

In the bowel-knotting knowledge that everyone working the shift knows why they are there.

But to be fair, they will be paid. Minimum wage of course.

No, because that would have them ordered to work for a company, and that sets a precedent I’d rather not see set.

72 Jocko's Rocket Ship  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:08:56pm

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

I understand all those points and agree. It was outside of the original point that the commercial showed a surprising both a lack of corporate control over a message - using opposing lyrics to make a point (a huge fuckup that people will be talking about and heads will roll) - shown to a huge audience AND their basic backwards/clueless thinking about what prosperity means to the their mgmt vs their own wage workers and consumers.

Walmart didn’t run a commercial describing wage disparity declining, increasing cost of transportation, China’s increasing energy costs, or while they didn’t care before the rule of law and safety and environmental problems were worse. They ran a commercial like they were doing the wage- earners a favor when they have been - for a long time - the bad actor in a Communist Manifesto play of later-stage industrialism.

73 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:11:22pm

re: #72 Jocko’s Rocket Ship

I understand all those points and agree. It was outside of the original point that the commercial showed a surprising both a lack of corporate control over a message - using opposing lyrics to make a point (a huge fuckup that people will be talking about and heads will roll) - shown to a huge audience AND their basic backwards/clueless thinking about what prosperity means to the their mgmt vs their own wage workers and consumers.

Walmart didn’t run a commercial describing wage disparity declining, increasing cost of transportation, China’s increasing energy costs, or while they didn’t care before the rule of law and safety and environmental problems were worse. They ran a commercial like they were doing the wage- earners a favor when they have been - for a long time - the bad actor in a Communist Manifesto play of later-stage industrialism.

Sadly, Killgore is right about that: Dishonest advertising of the kind Wal-Mart engaged in is older than sliced bread.

74 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:13:42pm

O/T

The nieces just got a new puppy.

Meet Elsa!

75 Dr. Matt  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:14:00pm

Tara is hot.

76 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:14:21pm

re: #74 chadu

What a great face.

77 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:17:57pm

A photo for the group:

Image: mi_mmdtom_192.jpg

Yes, that’s a Gadsden Flag logo laser-etched onto an AR-15’s magazine well. The rifle is called the “SSK Minuteman” and it is built by Midwest Industries. Here’s an article about it.

I’m leery about the Gadsden Flag imagery myself, though the rifle appears well-built. What do you all think?

78 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:20:10pm

re: #77 Dark_Falcon

If the Gadsden engraving doesn’t work, they’ll have to start adding Tactical™ Trucknutz to the stock.

79 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:22:40pm

re: #76 jaunte

What a great face.

Got to meet Elsa a little bit tonight, after the Various Effluents Episodes (Vehicular and Domestic) and New Puppy Energy Vortex Explosion Drool Time had passed.

She’s sweet.

The older GR, Lady, was stoically handling it all. ;)

80 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:23:17pm

re: #78 jaunte

If the Gadsden engraving doesn’t work, they’ll have to start adding TacticalTM Trucknutz to the stock.

Eww.

81 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:24:09pm

re: #80 Dark_Falcon

I mean, if the

“Gunfighter pistol grip”
and “short-throw 45-degree BAD ASS safety selector”

isn’t enough blatant manipulation.

82 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:26:50pm

re: #77 Dark_Falcon

A photo for the group:
I’m leery about the Gadsden Flag imagery myself, though the rifle appears well-built. What do you all think?

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m intrigued by the lack of “Join, or Die” imagery amongst these folks.

I wonder why?

I bet it only takes 3 replies before someone excuses JoD as a French & Indian War logo, where “Gadsen is from the Revolution!1!!1!!!ty”

83 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:28:53pm

re: #68 William Barnett-Lewis

I’m getting more comfortable with B&W as I learn along the way.
Heh forget the big oil pipe from Canada let’s get a water pipe. Trade ya for warm air. BTW thats the back of an earthen dam. You should not be seeing any on that. Not if we had much water coming in anyway.

84 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:29:51pm

re: #82 chadu

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m intrigued by the lack of “Join, or Die” imagery amongst these folks.

[Embedded image]

I wonder why?

I bet it only takes 3 replies before someone excuses JoD as a French & Indian War logo, where “Gadsen is from the Revolution!1!!1!!!ty”

Simple answer: Many of the people attracted to the Gadsden Flag imagery via the Tea Party regard many of the depicted states with intense contempt. They don’t want to feel unity with New York or Maryland, they want to fart in those liberal states’ general direction.

85 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:31:07pm

re: #82 chadu

Joining up suggests losing some of that fantasy of complete freedom of action.

86 Jocko's Rocket Ship  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:37:00pm

re: #73 Dark_Falcon

Fair enough, I agree with the point, and - to take it further - I think this country in particular allocates way too many resources towards changing peoples minds about things that are no different or confusing people when there is a difference.

I’m hoping social media confuses the sellers enough that in the near term that consumers establish higher leverage. I suspect that leverage will mostly impact the better off, but I hope it affects everyone at least a little.

87 Mentis Fugit  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:44:21pm

re: #78 jaunte

If the Gadsden engraving doesn’t work, they’ll have to start adding TacticalTM Trucknutz to the stock.

GUUUUUUUS! Your services are required.

88 wheat-dogghazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:50:42pm

re: #21 Aunty Entity Dragon

Took my sweetie out to dinner and movie to see Her last night.

Amazing movie, but rather sad and bittersweet for a date flick. One of the better portrayals of the Singularity I have seen, where an AI who can pass the Turing Test develops a sincere relationship with a flesh and blood guy. You know that is not going to work out…

Mom, Dad, I like you to meet my girlfriend. You can see her on my iPhone here. … No Mom, she can’t come to dinner. But we can prop up the iPhone on the table, and she can watch us eat!”

89 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:51:23pm

Gus tweeted this one: ANSWER Coalition supports Venezuela crackdown
answercoalition.org

Yesterday (Sat., Feb. 15) at a demonstration in Washington, D.C., the racist, privileged and pampered character of the ultra-right-wing opponents of Venezuela’s revolutionary government revealed itself in a grotesque display.

Vividly unmasking the true class nature of the opposition to Venezuela’s progressive government, the enraged children of Venezuela’s upper classes, who live a coddled existence in Washington, D.C., yelled insults and racist slurs against a multi-racial group of demonstrators who rallied for six hours to condemn the U.S. government and the CIA for trying to carry out another coup against the progressive government led by Nicolas Maduro.

lol

90 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:53:39pm

O/T

1975 letter from Carl Sagan to high school student Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

iwastesomuchtime.com

91 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:55:39pm

re: #89 Killgore Trout

Gus tweeted this one: ANSWER Coalition supports Venezuela crackdown
answercoalition.org

lol

They’re a bunch of far-left moonbats who represent no one but themselves. It’s sick how far removed from reality they are, but as long as they have no power they pose no danger.

92 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:57:29pm

re: #89 Killgore Trout

“Coddled”:

Food shortages are growing more severe, and shoppers now spend hours waiting in line to find goods such as cooking oil, toilet paper, meat and cornmeal.
usatoday.com

93 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 7:59:11pm

Glenn Greenwald wins Polk Award for Edward Snowden, NSA coverage

NEW YORK — Four journalists who reported on the extent of the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden are among the winners of the 65th annual George Polk Awards in Journalism.

Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras of The Guardian and Barton Gellman of The Washington Post will receive the award for national security reporting for stories based on secret documents leaked by Snowden, a former intelligence analyst.

The awards were announced Sunday by Long Island University.

94 dog philosopher  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:00:22pm

re: #82 chadu

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m intrigued by the lack of “Join, or Die” imagery amongst these folks.

[Embedded image]

I wonder why?

I bet it only takes 3 replies before someone excuses JoD as a French & Indian War logo, where “Gadsen is from the Revolution!1!!1!!!ty”

i don’t known why one of these three corner hat wearing tea partiers hasn’t formed an anti-federalist party promoting the articles of confederation as the True American Constitution

95 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:00:34pm

re: #92 jaunte

“Coddled”:

This part cracked me up….

“You are Cuban mother****ers” they chanted. Pointing at Black demonstrators, they yelled: “Go back to your homeless shelter.” Stylish, well dressed and chic, Venezuela’s elite arrived for several hours in expensive cars to conduct a counterdemonstration. They brought a team of four impeccably groomed, small, purebred dogs adorned in costumes, and proceeded to pose for pictures with them.

96 William Barnett-Lewis  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:03:00pm

re: #83 Political Atheist

I’m getting more comfortable with B&W as I learn along the way.
Heh forget the big oil pipe from Canada let’s get a water pipe. Trade ya for warm air. BTW thats the back of an earthen dam. You should not be seeing any on that. Not if we had much water coming in anyway.

Black & White. It’s still the best, I think, for art. Reportage can put color to good use and many of the younger artists are good at color too. But the shades of grey remain the baseline of what can be.

Your next challenge? Use a square format like the old 6x6’s & TLR’s. It’s got advantages & disadvantages but I do love it for art work.

97 jaunte  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:05:31pm

re: #95 Killgore Trout

That may well be an accurate anecdote about some wealthy Venezuelan expatriates, but it does nothing to explain the incompetence of the Maduro government. PDVSA is currently borrowing to finance low cost oil exports to Cuba, which is turning around and selling them on the open market at the going rate, so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear some Venezuelans were pissed off at the Cubans.

98 chadu  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:06:19pm

re: #94 dog philosopher

i don’t known why one of these three corner hat wearing tea partiers hasn’t formed an anti-federalist party promoting the articles of confederation as the True American Constitution

You’d think they’d lurve it because it has the word “confederat[e]” in it.

99 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:06:43pm

Another somewhat funny gun picture:

gunrunnerhell.tumblr.com

100 dog philosopher  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:06:55pm

maduro es ya demaisado maduro

101 klys  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:08:15pm

re: #65 Political Atheist

While I was out today I saw the evidence on the ground about our drought. While that of course is not proof of global warming, it is still a poignant image IMHO.

[Embedded image]

[Embedded image]

The flat spot on the right is the spillway for floods. look at the water level far below that height. Went B&W for the look. That was shot today.

I’ve been playing some with learning when B&W works for things I shoot.

They call me “Fluffy.”

The ghost of Fuji looms.

Matsushima mostly survived the tsunami.

102 darthstar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:09:32pm
103 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:10:10pm

re: #96 William Barnett-Lewis

That’s good advice. Maybe LWC’s Pentax 645 would do the trick. If I can just get the 120 film loaded right side up, LOL.

104 darthstar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:15:46pm

re: #99 Dark_Falcon

Another somewhat funny gun picture:

gunrunnerhell.tumblr.com

A couple of assault rifles, an assault shot-gun, a big fuckin’ pistol, and a hunting rifle with some tires and imitation military ammo-boxes. I’m guessing these guys have four wheel drives that never see the off-road as well.

Again, as I alluded to earlier on the twitter, these gun fanboy websites are like e-Harmony for people who can’t find someone as pathetic as themselves.

105 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:17:33pm

re: #97 jaunte

That may well be an accurate anecdote about some wealthy Venezuelan expatriates, but it does nothing to explain the incompetence of the Maduro government. PDVSA is currently borrowing to finance low cost oil exports to Cuba, which is turning around and selling them on the open market at the going rate, so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear some Venezuelans were pissed off at the Cubans.

I have no doubt that some harsh words may have been exchanged but the account is largely imagined in the minds of the protesters that anyone opposing them is an elitist capitalist tool.

106 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:18:16pm

re: #101 klys

B&W is such a challenge to me. I tend to go a little stark sometimes. I was just tweaking this one, maybe a touch too harsh. But it is intended to carry a sense of dread as per our drought.
Too stark? The California drought

107 calochortus  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:20:09pm

re: #106 Political Atheist

Not too stark IMHO. Very striking.

108 klys  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:20:22pm

re: #106 Political Atheist

B&W is such a challenge to me. I tend to go a little stark sometimes. I was just tweaking this one, maybe a touch too harsh. But it is intended to carry a sense of dread as per our drought.
Too stark? The California drought

I like it! It definitely works for me.

It’s so amazing to me that something that really doesn’t work at all in color (*coughFujicough*) works really well once swapped to B&W. All three of those I was very dissatisfied with how they looked in color, but I find they work spectacularly that way.

109 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:26:43pm

re: #104 darthstar

A couple of assault rifles, an assault shot-gun, a big fuckin’ pistol, and a hunting rifle with some tires and imitation military ammo-boxes. I’m guessing these guys have four wheel drives that never see the off-road as well.

Again, as I alluded to earlier on the twitter, these gun fanboy websites are like e-Harmony for people who can’t find someone as pathetic as themselves.

Actually there’s two hunting rifles, Darth. :)

110 Targetpractice  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:27:15pm

re: #102 darthstar

[Embedded content]

Seriously? Which song did they use?

111 William Barnett-Lewis  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:28:41pm

re: #106 Political Atheist

B&W is such a challenge to me. I tend to go a little stark sometimes. I was just tweaking this one, maybe a touch too harsh. But it is intended to carry a sense of dread as per our drought.

Nah. Nice use of what cloud is there.

Does your digital offer more than one aspect ratio? If so, that would be a better way to learn square these days. I do still have and use a TLR but I’d rather put my 17/2.8 (eqiv to 35mm on a full frame), put it in 6x6 aspect ratio and monochrome mode with my little olympus and then go shoot 36 exposures. I try to limit myself to “as if” I only had 3 rolls of film along because it helps me avoid machine gunning full a 16 gb card and only having one or two worth it anyway. A discipline, if you will.

Discipline - a means to an end, not an end in itself :)

112 sagehen  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:28:47pm

re: #74 chadu

O/T

The nieces just got a new puppy.

Meet Elsa!

[Embedded image]

I used to have a dog looked just like that — his name was Ricky, he was the smartest dog ever.

113 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:32:17pm

re: #110 Targetpractice

Seriously? Which song did they use?

Working Man by Rush.

114 darthstar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:32:47pm

re: #110 Targetpractice

Seriously? Which song did they use?

Working Man.

115 William Barnett-Lewis  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:36:24pm

re: #104 darthstar

A couple of assault rifles, an assault shot-gun, a big fuckin’ pistol, and a hunting rifle with some tires and imitation military ammo-boxes. I’m guessing these guys have four wheel drives that never see the off-road as well.

Again, as I alluded to earlier on the twitter, these gun fanboy websites are like e-Harmony for people who can’t find someone as pathetic as themselves.

The 91/30 is nice as is what is probably a Ruger Blackhawk (the single action revolver based on the grips.). The rest is a meh for me. Then again, I took this as my new avatar at another site the other day…

Link fixed: Image: _2122072.JPG

So what do I know? LOL

The whole tumblr is good for a laugh but not the way he intends it to be…

116 darthstar  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:37:15pm

re: #109 Dark_Falcon

Actually there’s two hunting rifles, Darth. :)

Oh, you’re right…the extra banana clips made it look like another assault rifle. They probably try to use the clip in that gun, too.

Seriously, I don’t know why you, someone who doesn’t even own a gun, finds people who manage to collect five or six firearms to be so exciting. I had twenty rifles, shotguns, and another half-dozen or so pistols (and all the ammunition that went with them) in a gun cabinet in my room when I was growing up (my bedroom had room for the gun cabinet). You live with these things for twenty or thirty years, and all the glamour just wears off after a while. Sure, you still appreciate a fine firearm -but give me a Weatherby shotgun or a Springfield.30-06 over an AK-47 or Glock any day.

117 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:37:36pm

Damn…anyone else on here following this Miranda Barbour/Craigslist serial killer case?

How does a girl of only 19 go so far off the rails so fast?

118 Targetpractice  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:40:42pm

re: #113 Eclectic Cyborg

Working Man by Rush.

A song about a blue collar worker feeling like he has no life outside of his job because he’s always working is what they chose?

119 calochortus  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:43:50pm

re: #118 Targetpractice

Sensitivity is their middle name.
/

120 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:45:05pm

re: #118 Targetpractice

A song about a blue collar worker feeling like he has no life outside of his job because he’s always working is what they chose?

Yep, kind of like the Reagan campaign wanting to use “Born in the U.S.A.” because they thought it was “patriotic”.

Or all the people who request “The one I love” by R.E.M. without listening beyond the first lyric.

Or the people who think “Every breath you take” is a love song.

121 Political Atheist  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:45:23pm

re: #111 William Barnett-Lewis

re: #111 William Barnett-Lewis

Nah. Nice use of what cloud is there.

Does your digital offer more than one aspect ratio? If so, that would be a better way to learn square these days. I do still have and use a TLR but I’d rather put my 17/2.8 (eqiv to 35mm on a full frame), put it in 6x6 aspect ratio and monochrome mode with my little olympus and then go shoot 36 exposures. I try to limit myself to “as if” I only had 3 rolls of film along because it helps me avoid machine gunning full a 16 gb card and only having one or two worth it anyway. A discipline, if you will.

Discipline - a means to an end, not an end in itself :)

So true.

It does not offer feature that but I sometimes try to compose for a deliberate crop later, including square. Oddly enough I personally tend to the opposite, really wide like the old super 35 cinematic style. So any medium format ratio is a learning moment and a stretch for my natural composition habits. But at the end of the day it’s all about telling a story in one image.

Time to turn in…

122 Targetpractice  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:48:56pm

re: #120 Eclectic Cyborg

Yep, kind of like the Reagan campaign wanting to use “Born in the U.S.A.” because they thought it was “patriotic”.

Or all the people who request “The one I love” by R.E.M. without listening beyond the first lyric.

Or the people who think “Every breath you take” is a love song.

Headdesk

123 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:50:07pm

On a related note, I was just doing some reading on “The one I love” and would you believe the director of photography for the music video on that song was Alton Brown?

Yes, that Alton Brown.

124 William Barnett-Lewis  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:57:00pm

Good night all.

125 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:58:53pm

Evening lizards. Anyone see this?

126 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 8:59:44pm

Venezuela president expels three US consular officials

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests.

127 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:01:25pm

re: #125 NJDhockeyfan

Evening lizards. Anyone see this?

[Embedded content]

I was just looking into that. I’ve seen some tweets but nothing from the news agencies yet.

128 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:02:25pm
129 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:02:41pm
130 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:03:39pm

re: #129 Killgore Trout

I’m thinking Al-Shabaab.

131 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:06:26pm

re: #130 The War TARDIS


Maybe just an asylum/escape thing.

132 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:07:37pm

re: #131 Killgore Trout

Someone didn’t think their plan to get asylum through.

133 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:10:08pm


Could there be breaking news about Justin Bieber?

134 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:10:13pm

re: #132 The War TARDIS

Someone didn’t think their plan to get asylum through.

Can we now refer to that as a “Snowden maneuver”?

135 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:12:12pm

re: #134 Eclectic Cyborg

This outdoes Snowden though.

136 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:16:55pm

This website is keeping updates. Where is the MSM?

The aircraft now has 20 minutes of fuel remaining (8:45pm PST) via LiveATC.net

Reports of one engine potentially flaming out (unconfirmed via LiveATC)

Reports of the aircraft being directed to make an approach but not landing until a response is given regarding the word “asylum” (via LiveATC)

Fuel warning has been received on the flight deck (Via LiveATC)

Aircraft apparently cleared for an ILS approach. What could be a hostage negotiator has been heard on the radio (Via LiveATC)

Response to the request will be given by Swiss Authorities on Short Final for landing on Runway 05 (via LiveATC)

AIRCRAFT HAS LANDED SAFELY (Via FlightRadar24 and LiveATC)

Pilots heard on radio stating they will be exiting via the aircraft flight deck window. (via LiveATC)

Back in 1996 an Ethiopian 767 had to ditch in the water due to hi-jackers and lack of fuel. Fight 961

137 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:20:44pm
138 Decatur Deb  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:22:20pm

re: #94 dog philosopher

i don’t known why one of these three corner hat wearing tea partiers hasn’t formed an anti-federalist party promoting the articles of confederation as the True American Constitution

You can find such as a minority faction along the “III Percent Patriot” and “Western Rifle Shooters Association” blog axis.

139 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:28:35pm
140 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:31:14pm

re: #139 NJDhockeyfan

That flight is from Abu Dhabi.

141 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:31:20pm
142 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:34:57pm

re: #141 Killgore Trout

[Embedded content]

The pilots are ‘coming through the windows’. Hmmmmm….are they escaping the hijacker?

143 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:36:23pm

re: #142 NJDhockeyfan

I’m thinking it is more like preventing another take off.

144 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:38:08pm

re: #142 NJDhockeyfan

The pilots are ‘coming through the windows’. Hmmmmm….are they escaping the hijacker?

Maybe. It makes sense since now the dude is stuck on the ground with nobody to fly the plane in case he wants go somewhere else.

145 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:39:10pm
146 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:40:59pm
147 sagehen  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:41:53pm

I’ve only been to Switzerland once, for a couple of days… it was like Disneyland. The architecture, the clean, the adherance to schedules…

148 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:44:43pm
149 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:51:12pm

Amazing how fast information like this is available within minutes of a major news story which hasn’t been reported by any major news outfit yet.

150 Eclectic Cyborg  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:55:44pm

Switzerland is my ancestral homeland. I believe my great-great-Grandfather was the first from our family to come to America.

151 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 9:57:04pm
152 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:00:43pm

This is interesting. Unconfirmed:

153 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:02:01pm
154 Killgore Trout  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:03:41pm

re: #152 NJDhockeyfan

This is interesting. Unconfirmed:

[Embedded content]

huh, I wonder why they’d bother jumping out the windows after landing.

155 Teukka  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:10:48pm

Looks like CBC picked it up:
Hijacked aircraft lands at Geneva airport

Addendum: Live feed for LSGG Tower, Courtesy LiveATC.net (requires media player)

156 Shiplord Kirel  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:17:58pm

I have more time to indulge my interest in history these days. Here lately I have been filling in some gaps in my knowledge of the original Gilded Age and the Grant administration. I had never heard of this character before this week, though I probably should have:
Charles Camillo DeRudio, originally Carlo Camillo Di Rudio
Someone should make a movie about him. He was a soldier at 16, survived a shipwreck 6 years later, was sentenced to the guillotine for trying to assassinate Napoleon III of France, escaped from Devil’s Island, served in the US Army, and was one of the survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Remarkably, he lived to be 78 and died of natural causes in 1910.
As a teenager. the Italian born di Rudio fought for the Italian patriots in the Revolution of 1848. In 1855, he was shipwrecked off Spain and ended up settling in London. In 1858, he was one of the four assassins who tried to kill Napoleon III with bombs in the notorious Orsini affair. Two of his colleagues were guillotined. Di Rudio initially received the same sentence but it was commuted to life on Devil’s Island. He escaped and made his way to the United States, where he joined the US Army during the Civil War and anglicized his name to DeRudio. He stayed in the army after the war.
By 1876, he was assigned to the 7th Cavalry under none other than George Armstrong Custer. He had been in command of company E before the Little Bighorn campaign but Custer, who disliked DeRudio, replaced him with one of his favorites, Lt Algernon Smith, just before the regiment departed Fort Lincoln.
Company E, with Smith in command, formed part of Custer’s own battalion and perished to a man in the battle. DeRudio joined Major Marcus Reno’s command for their ill-fated charge against the south end of the giant village. He lost his horse during the subsequent retreat into the trees along the river’s edge, and was unable to follow Reno and the rest of the survivors back across. He and another soldier spent a harrowing 36 hours hiding from the Indians. They were eventually able to rejoin Benteen and Reno. He served until 1898 and spent his remaining years in California.

157 wheat-dogghazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:31:23pm

re: #156 Shiplord Kirel

Cool story. The Coen brothers could make a good movie of it. Just needs a good screenwriter and a romantic interest or two.

For a non-Coen movie, add a cute and plucky kid, a friendship with a Native American (without a fuckin’ bird on his head), or a European assassin sent to kill the protagonist.

158 freetoken  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:33:22pm

re: #156 Shiplord Kirel

One of my 2nd great grandfathers was in a company during Reconstruction in TX, which along with a large number of companies had temporarily fallen under Custer’s command. He marched his companies through horrible lands in LA going to TX, and didn’t do so well by some of them while in TX. Apparently Custer didn’t get along with the entire company and there was quite a bit of bad blood. Many of the soldiers were glad when Custer left.

159 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:42:52pm
160 wheat-dogghazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:43:49pm

re: #158 freetoken

One of my 2nd great grandfathers was in a company during Reconstruction in TX, which along with a large number of companies had temporarily fallen under Custer’s command. He marched his companies through horrible lands in LA going to TX, and didn’t do so well by some of them while in TX. Apparently Custer didn’t get along with the entire company and there was quite a bit of bad blood. Many of the soldiers were glad when Custer left.

I’ve read some history about Custer. Seems he was an arrogant SOB who always believed he was right about everything, including going out to attack the Natives with a small company of men.

161 NJDhockeyfan  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 10:58:50pm
162 klys  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:01:49pm

That depressing moment when an author you really liked/respected their work turns out to be a dipshit.

Yeah.

163 wheat-dogghazi  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:20:46pm

re: #162 klys

Who dat?

164 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:24:15pm

re: #102 darthstar

So WalMart uses a Canadian band (Rush) for a Buy-American themed commercial. Fuckin’ idiots.

Yeah, why didn’t they use a real American band like Led Zeppelin or Dire Straights?

165 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:26:50pm

re: #120 Eclectic Cyborg

Yep, kind of like the Reagan campaign wanting to use “Born in the U.S.A.” because they thought it was “patriotic”.

Or all the people who request “The one I love” by R.E.M. without listening beyond the first lyric.

Or the people who think “Every breath you take” is a love song.

And people who request “Hallelujah” as a wedding song.

166 The War TARDIS  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:28:16pm

Found this ghoulish story:

NBC Correspondent Repeatedly Asks Bode Miller About His Brother’s Death During Post-Race Interview

Really, really want to see Keith Olbermann slam this person.

167 klys  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:42:58pm

re: #163 wheat-dogghazi

Who dat?

In this particular case, Mercedes Lackey.

Who if I am hopeful, just signed on to a petition from a person she trusted and thought was just about censorship but in fact is the wider range of issues is about editorial control and diversity in science fiction/fantasy.

There have been a lot of authors I like recently boarding the Grumpy Old Person train in public and without regret. I hope someone shoots me before I ever get too old and unwilling to examine my opinions. Coddling someone for their beliefs because they are a ‘pillar in the community’ and whatever other bullshit reasons people come up with leads to the bigots at the family dinner table voting for shit that affects everyone. Sorry. I’m not willing to do it anymore.

168 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Sun, Feb 16, 2014 11:48:38pm

re: #162 klys

That depressing moment when an author you really liked/respected their work turns out to be a dipshit.

Yeah.

I make a big distinction between artists and their work, unless it comes down to the point of serious violations of the law and accepted standards of morality, like child abuse.

169 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:01:39am

re: #167 klys

In this particular case, Mercedes Lackey.

Who if I am hopeful, just signed on to a petition from a person she trusted and thought was just about censorship but in fact is the wider range of issues is about editorial control and diversity in science fiction/fantasy.

There have been a lot of authors I like recently boarding the Grumpy Old Person train in public and without regret. I hope someone shoots me before I ever get too old and unwilling to examine my opinions. Coddling someone for their beliefs because they are a ‘pillar in the community’ and whatever other bullshit reasons people come up with leads to the bigots at the family dinner table voting for shit that affects everyone. Sorry. I’m not willing to do it anymore.

Well, I don’t know her, so I’ll head to Google.

I know what you mean about older people (Grumpy Old People - GOP?) getting ossified in their opinions. I’m of the age where I see it happening within my cohort, and so far I’ve managed not to succumb to opinion ossification syndrome (OOS).

Of course, some people get OOS before they’re 30.

UPDATE: I googled her. She’s a high fantasy writer, so that’s why I don’t know her. Don’t read much of that stuff now. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series did me in. And I see she attended Purdue (good!) and lives in Tulsa in some kind of dome house.

170 gwangung  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:04:33am

re: #167 klys

OH, yes. I’ve been following that. Standing on principle is fine, but not if you’re standing on someone’s toes at the same time.

171 klys  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:05:37am

re: #169 wheat-dogghazi

Well, I don’t know her, so I’ll head to Google.

I know what you mean about older people (Grumpy Old People - GOP?) getting ossified in their opinions. I’m of the age where I see it happening within my cohort, and so far I’ve managed not to succumb to opinion ossification syndrome (OOS).

Of course, some people get OOS before they’re 30.

She is a relatively well known fantasy author in the semi-fluffy sense (this isn’t Tolkien) who was remarkably progressive in some ways, writing homosexual relationships into her books in the 80s-90s.

I just like her version of fluff at times, so it disappointed me to see someone I in general admired as being on the forefront of some progressive aspects being …less progressive. I probably won’t stop reading - we haven’t gotten to some of the other egregious examples I could name out of the scifi community - but …disappointing all the same.

172 klys  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:06:29am

re: #168 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

I make a big distinction between artists and their work, unless it comes down to the point of serious violations of the law and accepted standards of morality, like child abuse.

I’m willing to make distinctions, but there is a point where I will also lose respect.

I’m probably at that middle ground here. Further changes dependent on subsequent actions.

173 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:07:38am

re: #172 klys

I’m willing to make distinctions, but there is a point where I will also lose respect.

I’m probably at that middle ground here. Further changes dependent on subsequent actions.

So, what has she done that’s got you turned off from her now?

174 klys  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:20:11am

re: #173 wheat-dogghazi

So, what has she done that’s got you turned off from her now?

The petition she signed is here; an admittedly non-neutral summary of some of what led to this (including links to background) is here. I clued in because of Scalzi’s most recent tweets, mostly directed there because someone was threatening an article for libel because it quoted their e-mail with a link to the original (see here for what led down that rabbit hole).

There’s probably more going on; I haven’t included all the links, although the above articles have enough detail to dig deeper if desired.

Like I said, I probably am not at the point that I’ll stop reading her books yet. That would take more. Just in the middle ground where I can see the inconsistencies between the worlds she writes and the actions she takes as a person in the real world. Not necessarily a bad place to be, I guess. Just …disappointing all the same, when someone you used to respect does something contrary to the person you thought they were.

175 klys  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:35:42am


HUSBAND DROPPED THE BALL ON ORDERING SNOW WHILE WE WERE THERE.

BRB, SULKING.

176 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:40:34am

re: #174 klys

Sounds like Truesdale’s got a bug up his ass as a privileged white male, and maybe he’s recruited some of his fellow old fogies to sign his petition, while obscuring his real intentions.

I had to chuckle when I saw he’s complaining about SFWA policies when he’s not even a member now.

177 klys  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:43:01am

re: #176 wheat-dogghazi

Pretty much. I wouldn’t have commented on it beyond the general except for seeing Misty sign on the petition, essentially. I’m willing to give some benefit of the doubt, but …the mainstream scifi/fantasy author community has done a pretty good job of wearing the benefit of the doubt pretty thinly over the past few years. So like I said, middle ground here, but still disappointed. Pending future developments.

178 Lidane  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:48:31am
179 Targetpractice  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 1:03:49am

re: #178 Lidane

[Embedded content]

That the man has to defend the decision is a sign of what is so fucked up about our current political system. That a significant fraction of one party would rather blow up the economy than accept that they cannot use the debt ceiling as a trump card to get cuts they couldn’t otherwise get is fucking insane. What’s worse is they actually stand a chance of increasing their influence in November, rather than being run out of town on a rail.

180 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 1:31:21am

re: #179 Targetpractice

That the man has to defend the decision is a sign of what is so fucked up about our current political system. That a significant fraction of one party would rather blow up the economy than accept that they cannot use the debt ceiling as a trump card to get cuts they couldn’t otherwise get is fucking insane. What’s worse is they actually stand a chance of increasing their influence in November, rather than being run out of town on a rail.

they will make significant local gains but fail to see that the GOP’s overall national standing is in decline.

181 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 2:36:11am

re: #180 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

they will make significant local gains but fail to see that the GOP’s overall national standing is in decline.

Meaning they may get control of the House, maybe less likely the Senate, very doubtful the White House.

182 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 2:38:40am

These guys still have a lot of clout at a local and state level. But anyone who is not totally ideologically blindered sees that they are unfit at a national level.

183 Amory Blaine  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 2:44:43am

Brietbart Texas. I would have called it Big Texas.

184 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 2:49:13am

So in Breitbartland BIg is Bad?

185 Lidane  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 2:52:07am
186 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 3:30:43am

I lost interest in Star Wars after the first three films…really do not care what happens to the rest of the franchise.

187 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 3:48:16am

re: #93 Dark_Falcon

Glenn Greenwald wins Polk Award for Edward Snowden, NSA coverage

[Embedded image]

We will never hear the end of this now. A small, private school makes these awards, determined by a small committee chosen by connections, so no irony here. To see other winners, go here. Obviously, neither Greenwald nor Poitras will bother coming to NYC to pick up their awards. Will be interesting to see who does that for them. Interesting, too, that these awards are not restricted to US journalism unless a rule was stretched to include The Guardian since every other medium being awarded is US based.

liu.edu

188 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 3:54:24am

Just tried to read the article about the young Icelandic dudebro who ratted on Julan Assange…could not get past the first three paragraphs before I gave up in disgust.

189 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 3:54:37am

re: #187 Justanotherhuman

Greenwald will crow about this on Twitter and his new vanity website, The Intercept, for months on end now.

190 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:00:13am

re: #189 wheat-dogghazi

Greenwald will crow about this on Twitter and his new vanity website, The Intercept, for months on end now.

Everything he writes with have his credit as “George Greenwald, Winner of the George Polk Award for 2013”.

191 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:02:06am

Fuck you, Greenwald.

192 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:35:30am

Ah well

After a week with friends, golf, and (except for checking work e-mails once a day) no internet surfing, back to the real world

193 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:38:52am

re: #192 sattv4u2

Ah well

After a week with friends, golf, and (except for checking work e-mails once a day) no internet surfing, back to the real world

Ditto here, just spent a week at El Gouna on the Red Sea coast.

194 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:42:13am

re: #193 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

Ditto here, just spent a week at El Gouna on the Red Sea coast.

Nice!!
We (a small work contingent) was supposed to hit there for a couple of days when we were in the region working, but alas time didn’t allow it (mostly due to wasting time sight seeing an extra hour here and there on days we did work)

195 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:46:49am

re: #194 sattv4u2

Nice!!
We (a small work contingent) was supposed to hit there for a couple of days when we were in the region working, but alas time didn’t allow it (mostly due to wasting time sight seeing an extra hour here and there on days we did work)

We went there because it was cheap and close (4 hours flight from Frankfurt) and had what we wanted: sun, sea and sand. That was all my girlfriend and I wanted from a romantic getaway

Otherwise, it is a weird place, totally artificial, built on islands and jetties heaped up in the Red Sea, totally isolated from the rest of the world and all modern, starting from around 1990.

196 Targetpractice  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:48:55am

re: #186 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

I lost interest in Star Wars after the first three films…really do not care what happens to the rest of the franchise.

There were other films? I was always thought there were only three.

197 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:56:01am

re: #188 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

Just tried to read the article about the young Icelandic dudebro who ratted on Julan Assange…could not get past the first three paragraphs before I gave up in disgust.

Which one?

198 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:56:36am
199 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 4:58:57am

re: #195 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

We were in Cairo (well,, about an hour and a half east of the city) building a communication facility. We had a timeframe for completion that we knew we could beat by several days ,, IF we put in our “normal” workdays.

We didn’t, so we didn’t finish until the day before the deadline

200 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:00:36am

re: #197 Justanotherhuman

Which one?

sorry, the one in the Jan. 16th issue of Rolling Stone

201 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:04:04am
202 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:06:56am

re: #201 Pie-onist Overlord

That’t not racism that’s just humor/satire/racial realism/political commentary that has nothing to do with Obama’s race, etc…

Democrats are the real racists! Just look at the 1860 elections!!!

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

203 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:08:27am

re: #202 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

That’t not racism that’s just humor/satire/racial realism/political commentary that has nothing to do with Obama’s race, etc…

Democrats are the real racists! Just look at the 1860 elections!!!

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Dumb wingnuts so dumb they don’t even know there were TWO Democratic parties in 1860.

204 Dr. Matt  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:09:09am

re: #6 Stanley Sea

Got my ipad plug. wheeee

You’re able to embed twitter code from an iPad browser? What are you using?

205 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:12:23am

re: #203 Pie-onist Overlord

Dumb wingnuts so dumb they don’t even know there were TWO Democratic parties in 1860.

Because there were too many racists for one party to contain them all!!!

206 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:18:10am
207 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:18:51am

re: #203 Pie-onist Overlord

Dumb wingnuts so dumb they don’t even know there were TWO Democratic parties in 1860.

In essence, three, as many dems who didn’t agree with either the Dems led by Douglas nor those led by Breckinridge went to the Constitution Union Party

Several times in our history a “major” party has split itself apart, with the “root’ of the party emerging even stronger after a short time

208 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:19:14am

re: #206 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

Hardest par 3 golf hole in the world!!!!


//

209 Dr. Matt  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:22:32am

If a Democratic politician blurted out “government nig***”, the right-tards would be bringing it up on a daily basis with ridiculous memes, twitter ribbons, and hashtags.

210 Targetpractice  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:29:27am

re: #208 sattv4u2

Hardest par 3 golf hole in the world!!!!

//

“I can still find my ball, hang on a sec.”

211 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:32:02am

re: #203 Pie-onist Overlord

Dumb wingnuts so dumb they don’t even know there were TWO Democratic parties in 1860.

They probably also don’t understand that the blahs didn’t vote in the 1860 election either.
///

212 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:33:20am

re: #211 Feline Fearless Leader

They probably also don’t understand that the blahs didn’t vote in the 1860 election either.
///

Neither did Teh Wimmenz.

213 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:33:46am

re: #210 Targetpractice

“I can still find my ball, hang on a sec.”

You also have to be real careful if you have to take a drop!!!

214 Targetpractice  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:35:00am

re: #213 sattv4u2

You also have to be real careful if you have to take a drop!!!

“Let me just the helicopter in here.”
“Just drop a ball on the fairway and take a stroke!”

215 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:37:47am

re: #214 Targetpractice

One of the courses we played last week at Pawleys Island S.C. My drive landed a few feet away from a water hazard. getting out of the cart, walking towards it, I thought it was near a log

Log turned out to be an alligator, sunning near the hazard

I took a drop!

216 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:38:27am

re: #200 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

sorry, the one in the Jan. 16th issue of Rolling Stone

This one? I thought it was pretty decent, although the headline was a bit misleading since Thordarson didn’t start out as a “mole” but actually just a kid with a young teen’s outsized crush on Assange. The immature feelings they have growing up drives them, it seems, beyond anything else. There is a reason hacking is such a draw for so many young people. It can make them feel invincible until reality sets in.

“When I was, like, 12 years old, I wished for a couple of things,” he tells me as we drive one afternoon past some lava fields outside the capital. “I wished to be rich; I wished to be a famous guy; I wished to live an adventureful life.”

“He found the excitement he craved in computers, and at age 12 he says he hacked into his first website, a local union’s home page, which he replaced with a picture of “a big fluffy monkey.” The experience empowered him. “When you do something like that, you feel invincible,” he says, “and if you can do that, what else can you do?”

Read more: rollingstone.com

217 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:39:16am

re: #215 sattv4u2

(((playing partners did NOT penalize me a stroke)))

((((upon seeing the gator, one of them almost HAD a stroke!!!)))

218 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:43:06am

re: #216 Justanotherhuman

Yes that one. I have not been following this story too closely, and lost all interest after reading about the sort of people involved. I am not one to judge people for what they do for fun in their spare time, but neither am I interested in reading about it…

219 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:43:21am

Heh.

220 Lidane  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:45:21am

What is it with wingnuts that makes them have to share every stupid and/or insufferable political meme they find? I woke up this morning to find one guy I know posting some derp from C. Everett Koop about I NEVER SAW A BABY THAT HAD TO BE ABORTED TO SAVE THE MOTHER’S LIFE and another one posted that stupid Quick History Lesson meme about how “Democrats” didn’t support the Reconstruction amendments after the Civil War when that opposition was from the Southerners that had just had their asses handed to them in the war.

WTF. Is there some sort of wingnut brownie point system where they get to be better than the other kids if they spam this shit all day and night?

221 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:47:38am

re: #220 Lidane

WTF. Is there some sort of wingnut brownie point system where they get to be better than the other kids if they spam this shit all day and night?

It is Life in the Echo Chamber. There is no dialogue, there is only shouting down or drowning out one’s opponents.

222 Targetpractice  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:48:47am

re: #215 sattv4u2

One of the courses we played last week at Pawleys Island S.C. My drive landed a few feet away from a water hazard. getting out of the cart, walking towards it, I thought it was near a log

Log turned out to be an alligator, sunning near the hazard

I took a drop!

I don’t play very often, but my old man used to with a few buddies. One of the stories from those days was about one of his buddies having just bought a brand new expensive set of clubs and was using them for the first time on a different course from the one they usually went to. After a swing that didn’t go as he’d wanted, the guy flew into a rage and chucked his nine iron straight into the lake. After he’d taken a moment to calm down, he realized how pissed his wife was gonna be if she found out what he’d done, so he takes off his shoes and wades right into the lake to grab the iron. Legend goes that when he hauled it out of the water, it looked like Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the lake.

Ah, the days before cellphone cameras. That would have been a big hit on Youtube.

223 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:48:57am

re: #220 Lidane

What is it with wingnuts that makes them have to share every stupid and/or insufferable political meme they find? I woke up this morning to find one guy I know posting some derp from C. Everett Koop about I NEVER SAW A BABY THAT HAD TO BE ABORTED TO SAVE THE MOTHER’S LIFE and another one posted that stupid Quick History Lesson meme about how “Democrats” didn’t support the Reconstruction amendments after the Civil War when that opposition was from the Southerners that had just had their asses handed to them in the war.

WTF. Is there some sort of wingnut brownie point system where they get to be better than the other kids if they spam this shit all day and night?

TEH FAKE QUOTES
TEH “HURR HURR MLK WAS A REPUBLICAN!!!!!1111
TEH GUN FUCKING

OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER AGAIN.

224 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:50:23am

re: #218 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

Yes that one. I have not been following this story too closely, and lost all interest after reading about the sort of people involved. I am not one to judge people for what they do for fun in their spare time, but neither am I interested in reading about it…

I think a person’s ethics cannot be compartmentalized or divided between personal and professional.

225 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:54:07am

re: #222 Targetpractice

LOL

yeah,,, I learned that lesson YEARS ago

Buy a new club(s),,,,,

go to the driving range
go DIRECTLY to the driving range
do not pass GO,,, do not collect $200

Takes a few swings to get the feel for a new club,,, more than just picking it off the rack in the store and half-ass swinging it

226 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 5:58:09am

re: #224 Justanotherhuman

I think a person’s ethics cannot be compartmentalized or divided between personal and professional.

neither can my interest…I am aware of WIkileaks and who Mr Assange is, but in general, he and his activities creep me out, even if some of them are justifiable.

227 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:04:30am

re: #225 sattv4u2

LOL

yeah,,, I learned that lesson YEARS ago

Buy a new club(s),,,,,

go to the driving range
go DIRECTLY to the driving range
do not pass GO,,, do not collect $200

Takes a few swings to get the feel for a new club,,, more than just picking it off the rack in the store and half-ass swinging it

Next lesson is learning to control your anger and *not* to throw clubs.

I used to toss them around somewhat, and then had a grip catch on my golf glove once and I almost winged the guy I was playing with - the 6’ 7” 270lb guy I was playing with.

I took a much calmer approach to the game after that point.

228 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:14:42am

re: #221 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

It is Life in the Echo Chamber. There is no dialogue, there is only shouting down or drowning out one’s opponents.

It’s morale and identity reinforcement. Of course tallies of the votes on the Reconstruction Amendments still exist, so that meme can be disproven for objective people. But too many won’t care.

I hate it when people deliberately get historical facts wrong.

229 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:16:51am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

It’s morale and identity reinforcement. Of course tallies of the votes on the Reconstruction Amendments still exist, so that meme can be disproven for objective people. But too many won’t care.

I >hate it when people deliberately get historical facts wrong.

It’s what happened in their heads that’s important to them. Outside reality is irrelevant. That’s why they get upset when VB calls them out on fake quotes.

230 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:26:32am
231 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:26:46am

re: #229 wheat-dogghazi

It’s what happened in their heads that’s important to them. Outside reality is irrelevant. That’s why they get upset when VB calls them out on fake quotes.

There are facts and then there are Higher Truths…the former may be bent to fit the latter.

232 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:26:55am

Dad Sees Wife, 4 Kids Die In Fiery Fresno Area Crash
sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

Damn. I doubt I would be strong enough to live another day after seeing my wife and child(ren) in that scenario

233 Lidane  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:31:23am
234 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:34:02am

re: #233 Lidane

[Embedded content]

few observers believe the report will change much inside North Korea

Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss

235 lawhawk  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:36:58am

The jokes write themselves:


More Republicans believe Fox News than any other news source, even though it’s demonstrably worse at actually delivering facts and news.

More Republicans think that destroying the economy is the only way to save it - that’s the debt ceiling and GOP shutdown for you.

More GOPers in Congress think that Obama is the enemy and must be destroyed. Oh wait. That one is true.

236 Lidane  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:38:41am

re: #235 lawhawk

Related:

237 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:42:36am

Holy crap. It’s going to be 63 here tomorrow and 70 on Wed.

One week after we got 9” of snow.

238 EmmaAnne  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:44:25am

re: #174 klys

Thanks for bringing this up. I read the “petition” and started laughing at this gem:

“their First Amendment right to freedom of speech in the pages of the SFWA Bulletin”

Right. No one who thinks they have a first amendment right to be published (in the SFWA Bulletin no less!) ought to be given a moment of respect for their rants.

And that was before I even got to the racist, sexist aspects of this nonsense. God, I feel like I have been so patient with scifi and its dudebro attitudes. Please don’t let it be going backward.

239 wheat-dogghazi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:44:25am

re: #231 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)

There are facts and then there are Higher Truths…the former may be bent to fit the latter.

Or just ignored.

240 Political Atheist  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:46:32am

re: #237 Justanotherhuman

Holy crap. It’s going to be 63 here tomorrow and 70 on Wed.

One week after we got 9” of snow.

Mudzilla! (Riffing on our 405 closure Jamzilla) That sounds like a big mess for a few days.

241 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:46:59am

re: #237 Justanotherhuman

Holy crap. It’s going to be 63 here tomorrow and 70 on Wed.

One week after we got 9” of snow.

Was in Myrtle Beach last week

Wednesday,,,, never got above 20 degrees and rained/ sleeted / snowed (about 10 miles inland) all day

Friday, it was 60 degrees and nary a cloud in the sky

242 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:48:44am
243 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:50:12am

Tea Party racism? Where?

244 ericblair  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:51:04am

re: #235 lawhawk
More Republicans believe Fox News than any other news source, even though it’s demonstrably worse at actually delivering facts and news.

If it’s the most popular it must be true. But libruls are the moral relativists.

245 Political Atheist  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:52:16am

re: #243 Pie-onist Overlord

Will Obama Help Men who are Eggshell White?

How big a problem could albino unemployment be? ///

246 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:52:41am

re: #238 EmmaAnne

Thanks for bringing this up. I read the “petition” and started laughing at this gem:

Right. No one who thinks they have a first amendment right to be published (in the SFWA Bulletin no less!) ought to be given a moment of respect for their rants.

And that was before I even got to the racist, sexist aspects of this nonsense. God, I feel like I have been so patient with scifi and its dudebro attitudes. Please don’t let it be going backward.

Sexist fantasy for white dudebros, doncha know. There’s a reason sci-fi and fantasy (even fairy tales, once I was over toddler age) never appealed to me. My futuristic imaginings are much different.

Image: File:SFWA_Bulletin_no._200_cover_image.jpg

247 sattv4u2  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:52:51am

and on that note, the long quiet drive home beckons

248 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:54:26am

re: #206 NJDhockeyfan

It’s a shame that it’s not really safe to visit Venezuela unless you have the 82nd airborne escorting you, because I’d love to see the Tepuis.

249 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:54:33am

re: #240 Political Atheist

Mudzilla! (Riffing on our 405 closure Jamzilla) That sounds like a big mess for a few days.

We still have some residual snow on the ground. It ought to be all gone by Tues; won’t get warm enough (46) today—but I could be wrong.

250 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:56:46am

So, I wasn’t really following the news this weekend, but what happened with the unionization vote at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant?

251 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:59:03am

Note to self, if I’m ever single again and looking to get back to dating, stay away from Craigslist…

252 PhillyPretzel  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:59:09am

re: #249 Justanotherhuman

On Wednesday Philly will hit 51 degrees and remain above freezing for the rest of the week. I am sick of snow and ice.

253 A Mom Anon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:59:57am

re: #250 Ian G.

The union lost by less than 100 votes. On the upside, VW is actually good to its employees, especially when compared to some of the other plants in TN. Corker’s scare tactics, and maybe even employee satisfaction may have played a role here.

254 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:00:44am

Blogpimpn’—

In which my daughter takes my grandaughter to a whorehouse to teach her a lesson:

lorcadamon.com

255 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:03:13am

WE ARE THE EGG MEN! GOO GOO GA CHOOB!!!!

256 Iwouldprefernotto  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:04:15am

re: #255 Pie-onist Overlord

WE ARE THE EGG MEN! GOO GOO GA CHOOB!!!!

[Embedded content]

Will the rich white guys in Congress consider a jobs bill?

257 A Mom Anon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:04:18am

re: #254 Decatur Deb

Your daughter is one of my favorite writers on the internets. She cracks me up regularly.

258 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:04:59am

Speaking of Craigslist, there is this…

259 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:05:07am

re: #253 A Mom Anon

The union lost by less than 100 votes. On the upside, VW is actually good to its employees, especially when compared to some of the other plants in TN. Corker’s scare tactics, and maybe even employee satisfaction may have played a role here.

Doesn’t surprise me that VW treats its workers well. It is, after all, based in that godless, soshumalist hellhole Germany.

And Corker threatening VW…..I dunno, doesn’t seem all that different from that scene in “The Departed” where the two Providence mafia goons are threatening the Indian shop owner.

260 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:05:26am

re: #241 sattv4u2

Was in Myrtle Beach last week

Wednesday,,,, never got above 20 degrees and rained/ sleeted / snowed (about 10 miles inland) all day

Friday, it was 60 degrees and nary a cloud in the sky

Husband is still restoring power in the Carolinas.
Last night the crew was sent to Myrtle Beach for their hotel accommodations.
They probably didn’t get to enjoy any of the amenities, though, since they were working until well after midnight and had to show up again first thing this morning.

261 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:07:55am

I happen to enjoy winter, but for those of you who hate it, this isn’t good news:

news.yahoo.com

We got about 4 additional inches of snow on Saturday. I went sledding in Fort Greene Park with a cheap plastic sled that the fiancee’s mom got us as a gag Christmas gift. It was all beat to hell afterward and I noticed the fine print where it says the maximum weight is 59 lbs. Heh.

Also, there was a dude snowboarding down the hill in the park too.

262 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:09:03am

re: #252 PhillyPretzel

On Wednesday Philly will hit 51 degrees and remain above freezing for the rest of the week. I am sick of snow and ice.

The snow melts and you get to look forward to the looming disaster the Phillies will probably be this year. Face it, they’re signing free agent pitchers from the Pirates. Yes, the PIRATES!
// ;)

263 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:11:03am

In Kentucky today:

264 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:12:12am

No, it’s still the N Word.

265 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:13:38am

Remember Cox & Forkum back in the day, did some cartoons & graphics for LGF?
They’re back in business, still doing wingnut shit.

I haz a sad. :(

266 PhillyPretzel  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:15:18am

re: #262 Feline Fearless Leader

I was looking for the Tastykake commercial with Mike Schmidt. I think a member of the Pirates was in there too.

267 iossarian  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:15:56am

re: #261 Ian G.

Yahoo comments are the best. The weather apparently isn’t changing after all, because it’s all a con made up by “atheist king” Obama and his atheist scientist stooges.

The six inches of ice on my driveway must be all in my imagination.

Bloody atheists.

268 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:16:41am

re: #265 Pie-onist Overlord

Remember Cox & Forkum back in the day, did some cartoons & graphics for LGF?
They’re back in business, still doing wingnut shit.

I haz a sad. :(

Heh, that’s a good one.

BBL

269 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:17:05am

re: #262 Feline Fearless Leader

The snow melts and you get to look forward to the looming disaster the Phillies will probably be this year. Face it, they’re signing free agent pitchers from the Pirates. Yes, the PIRATES!
// ;)

Yes, as a Mets fan, I’m looking forward to this. Also looking forward to seeing what Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard (in July?) can do. As much as RA Dickey was one of my favorite Mets ever, they absolutely robbed Toronto with that trade.

270 iossarian  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:17:08am

re: #264 Pie-onist Overlord

For a crowd of people who like to complain that their opponents play the “victim card”, right-wing white men sure do report a surprising amount of oppression to themselves.

271 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:17:33am

re: #264 Pie-onist Overlord

No, it’s still the N Word.

[Embedded content]

White Boys

Youtube Video

272 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:19:02am

re: #270 iossarian

The First Rule of Victim Card Club:

There is no Victim Card Club.

The Second Rule of Victim Card Club:

There is no Victim Card Club.

The Third Rule of Victim Card Club:

PROFIT!

273 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:19:43am
274 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:20:04am

Wingnuts still spamming this photo from Thailand as an example of LAZY NON WHITE PEOPLES DON’T EVEN WANT TO STAND IN LINE FOR TEH WELFARES!!!!1!!!!

275 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:20:23am

Those most likely to complain about the Victim Card are those most likely to use one.

276 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:22:33am

re: #274 Pie-onist Overlord

The government should hand out bootstraps so all those lazy poor people can pull themselves up.

277 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:23:26am

re: #267 iossarian

Yahoo comments are the best.

Yahoo tempts me into trolling from time to time. The comment sections are such lunacy, that I can’t help but throw red meat in there. I usually reserve it for when Yahoo finance has Peter Schiff’s latest “BUY GOLD” idiocy, or whenever another gay marriage victory occurs.

278 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:23:59am

re: #251 NJDhockeyfan

Note to self, if I’m ever single again and looking to get back to dating, stay away from Craigslist…

[Embedded content]

Sounds to me more like someone’s laying the ground works for an insanity plea on the only real case of murder…

279 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:25:41am

re: #270 iossarian

For a crowd of people who like to complain that their opponents play the “victim card”, right-wing white men sure do report a surprising amount of oppression to themselves.

A friend sends me screenshots of his brother-in-law’s Facebook posts from time to time. It’s the usual right-wing idiocy of Obama being the welfare queen president, all minorities are lazy, taxation is slavery etc.

The guy is in his late 20s, unemployed and living with his parents, and has 3 kids by 2 different women.

I suspect a lot of right-wing twitter warriors fit that profile.

280 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:27:35am

re: #274 Pie-onist Overlord

Wingnuts still spamming this photo from Thailand as an example of LAZY NON WHITE PEOPLES DON’T EVEN WANT TO STAND IN LINE FOR TEH WELFARES!!!!1!!!!

[Embedded content]

This is a wonder of Twitter: it is ideal for the talking points and memes, leaves little room for nuance or discussion.

Becuause you don’t need that when you have a monopoly on the Truth!

281 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:27:40am

What right-wing racism?

282 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:28:37am
283 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:29:25am

What right-wing racism?

284 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:30:34am

re: #270 iossarian

For a crowd of people who like to complain that their opponents play the “victim card”, right-wing white men sure do report a surprising amount of oppression to themselves.

It’s kind of what I say about right wing conservatives who tell blacks to get over slavery and Jim Crow when many of them aren’t over the Civil War.

285 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:32:45am
286 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:33:26am

re: #281 Pie-onist Overlord

What right-wing racism?

[Embedded content]

that is not racism, sorry, that is just boneheadedness

287 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:33:54am

re: #282 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Funny—is that where the entire “Don’t judge” meme arose that young people use so much? How can you live without making decisions, without judging? Ask anyone who made bad mistakes in relationships of any sort how that goes and how it affected them in a variety of ways—emotionally, physically, economically.

Just had a blowout argument w/my 23 yr old grandson about the difference between information and critical thinking, so he thinks because I’m “old” I’m judging without a basis for it.

Thus has it ever been.

288 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:34:28am

re: #283 Pie-onist Overlord

What right-wing racism?

Of course, a “disproportionate” number of blacks are felons because a disproportionate number commit crimes! Can we say this?

Just say “stop and search” or “racial profiling”…

289 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:35:20am

re: #287 Justanotherhuman

Funny—is that where the entire “Don’t judge” meme arose that young people use so much? How can you live without making decisions, without judging? Ask anyone who made bad mistakes in relationships of any sort how that goes and how it affected them in a variety of ways—emotionally, physically, economically.

Just had a blowout argument w/my 23 yr old grandson about the difference between information and critical thinking, so he thinks because I’m “old” I’m judging without a basis for it.

Thus has it ever been.

Did you tell him to get off your lawn?
:)

290 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:37:40am

I find it ironic that so many ‘smart people,’ bloggers, intellectuals, professional writers that supposedly say compelling stuff, resort to such petty and infantile musings.

A common narrative from these numbskulls is assigning hypocrisy to politicians or advocates for dealing with climate change, because they flew planes which used carbon, or they’re rich and have lots of houses and a huge carbon footprint.

So if you have a large carbon footprint you can’t tell other people to have less because shut up hypocrite. This is not meant to be a serious discussion, it’s meant to end serious discussions, as people with multiple houses or who fly planes can engage on a discussion about climate change for the common good of all, even if it takes carbon release to do so. At least a reasonable person would consider this possible.

This means the actual hypocrite is the (supposed) intellectual, the discusser of things, who’s job is to talk about things.. who tries to shut down talk of things by using debate tactics of teenagers.

291 iossarian  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:38:42am

Bit of a drive-by this morning: have a good day in the land o’ winter everyone.

292 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:42:14am

re: #287 Justanotherhuman

Funny—is that where the entire “Don’t judge” meme arose that young people use so much? How can you live without making decisions, without judging? Ask anyone who made bad mistakes in relationships of any sort how that goes and how it affected them in a variety of ways—emotionally, physically, economically.

Just had a blowout argument w/my 23 yr old grandson about the difference between information and critical thinking, so he thinks because I’m “old” I’m judging without a basis for it.

Thus has it ever been.

Where is the Life we have lost in the living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in the knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in the information?
—T.S. Eliot (often misquoted)

293 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:43:01am

Is this guy a white supremacist or not? Just looking at the Twitter name. Don’t feel like browsing the Time Line.

294 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:43:49am

re: #289 Feline Fearless Leader

Did you tell him to get off your lawn?
:)

No, but they don’t like it when you tell them you’re not their peer. This one will never admit that he’s actually saying I might be wrong and the teenage gamer he plays with is right, even when I try to offer proof of the opposite.

Or that’s the way it seems. So I let an awful lot slide just to keep the peace. I know I’m no match for those he sees as his peers. Children (like my g-grandson) don’t like to hear adults screaming at each other, either. It’s upsetting for them and we don’t even know how it affects them mentally to a large degree.

295 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:44:41am

re: #293 Pie-onist Overlord

Is this guy a white supremacist or not? Just looking at the Twitter name. Don’t feel like browsing the Time Line.

[Embedded content]

Red,black and white flag goes up on any nic including ‘88’.

296 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:45:43am

re: #290 Ryan King

[Embedded content]

I find it ironic that so many ‘smart people,’ bloggers, intellectuals, professional writers that supposedly say compelling stuff, resort to such petty and infantile musings.

A common narrative from these numbskulls is assigning hypocrisy to politicians or advocates for dealing with climate change, because they flew planes which used carbon, or they’re rich and have lots of houses and a huge carbon footprint.

So if you have a large carbon footprint you can’t tell other people to have less because shut up hypocrite. This is not meant to be a serious discussion, it’s meant to end serious discussions, as people with multiple houses or who fly planes can engage on a discussion about climate change for the common good of all, even if it takes carbon release to do so. At least a reasonable person would consider this possible.

This means the actual hypocrite is the (supposed) intellectual, the discusser of things, who’s job is to talk about things.. who tries to shut down talk of things by using debate tactics of teenagers.

Do they expect Kerry to get around by horseback or boat? But yeah that one is silly. It’s a distraction tactic though. Oh climate change? Well! Why are you flying around the world then!

297 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:48:33am
298 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:49:27am

re: #296 HappyWarrior

Do they expect Kerry to get around by horseback or boat? But yeah that one is silly. It’s a distraction tactic though. Oh climate change? Well! Why are you flying around the world then!

They expect Kerry to use swift boat - and then lie about it. Of course.
//

299 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:49:42am

re: #297 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

Typical UN.// Glad they were able to reunite her with her family.

300 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:50:13am

re: #298 Feline Fearless Leader

They expect Kerry to use swift boat - and then lie about it. Of course.
//

That gets me thinking. I can’t believe that campaign was ten years ago and to go with that my first high school reunion is next year.

301 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:50:36am

re: #292 Decatur Deb

Where is the Life we have lost in the living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in the knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in the information?
—T.S. Eliot (often misquoted)

Nice, though I must admit i thought this was his finest moment as a poet:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

ending of “Little Gidding” by T.S. Elliot

“Costing not less than everything” is a lesson more people need to remember.

302 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:51:56am

re: #88 wheat-dogghazi

Mom, Dad, I like you to meet my girlfriend. You can see her on my iPhone here. … No Mom, she can’t come to dinner. But we can prop up the iPhone on the table, and she can watch us eat!”

That is exactly how she (Samantha) went on dates with Theodore. But lack of body aside…how do you keep a relationship together with a being whose intelligence and omniscience begins to become Godlike while her ability to experience space/time like you is dwindling away due to her processing capability approaching infinity? That is the essence of the Singularity.

“It’s like I’m reading a book, and it’s a book I… deeply love. But I’m reading it slowly now. So the words are really far apart and the spaces between the words are almost infinite. I can still feel you. And the words of our story. But it’s in this endless space between the words that I’m finding myself now. It’s a place that’s not of the physical world. It’s where everything else is that, I didn’t even know existed. I love you so much. But this is where I am now. And this is who I am now. And I need you to let me go. As much as I want to, I can’t live in your book anymore.”

It actually became heartbreaking.

303 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:52:14am

re: #293 Pie-onist Overlord

Is. 88 is the giveaway. I’d say what he could do with an 88mm but I doubt that Charles would approve.

304 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:53:52am

re: #303 William Barnett-Lewis

Is. 88 is the giveaway. I’d say what he could do with an 88mm but I doubt that Charles would approve.

At first I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt “Well maybe his name is White and he was born in 1988” but he looks too old to have been born in 1988.

305 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:53:57am

re: #297 Backwoods_Sleuth

[Embedded content]

When people give shit to the UN, even when the UN deserves it, they need to be reminded of these moments as well.

306 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:56:30am

re: #303 William Barnett-Lewis

Is. 88 is the giveaway. I’d say what he could do with an 88mm but I doubt that Charles would approve.

Drawing a blank here but what’s the sig of 88 in white supremacist circles?

307 danarchy  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:57:45am

re: #306 HappyWarrior

Drawing a blank here but what’s the sig of 88 in white supremacist circles?

Eigth letter of the alphabet is H, so HH or Heil Hitler

308 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:57:46am

re: #306 HappyWarrior

Drawing a blank here but what’s the sig of 88 in white supremacist circles?

8th letter of the alphabet=H
HH=Heil you know who

309 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:58:32am

re: #166 The War TARDIS

Found this ghoulish story:

NBC Correspondent Repeatedly Asks Bode Miller About His Brother’s Death During Post-Race Interview

Really, really want to see Keith Olbermann slam this person.

I was stunned when I saw that interview last night. Bode Miller collapsed in tears and I was yelling at the screen for the interviewer to back the fuck off and let him be. Unbelievable.

310 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:58:48am

re: #308 Pie-onist Overlord

8th letter of the alphabet=H
HH=Heil you know who

re: #307 danarchy

Eigth letter of the alphabet is H, so HH or Heil Hitler

Thanks.

311 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 7:59:23am

re: #302 Aunty Entity Dragon

That is exactly how she (Samantha) went on dates with Theodore. But lack of body aside…how do you keep a relationship together with a being whose intelligence and omniscience begins to become Godlike while her ability to experience space/time like you is dwindling away due to her processing capability approaching infinity? That is the essence of the Singularity.

It actually became heartbreaking.

The web-comic “Schlock Mercenary” has actually played with this a little bit. A few AIs have essentially gone insane due to sensory deprivation for an amount of time that would be trivial to a human being. And currently one that appears to have been sealed up for a considerably longer period.

312 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:01:20am

re: #311 Feline Fearless Leader

The web-comic “Schlock Mercenary” has actually played with this a little bit. A few AIs have essentially gone insane due to sensory deprivation for an amount of time that would be trivial to a human being. And currently one that appears to have been sealed up for a considerably longer period.

Loved last Saturday’s strip.

313 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:03:29am

re: #307 danarchy

Eigth letter of the alphabet is H, so HH or Heil Hitler

re: #308 Pie-onist Overlord

8th letter of the alphabet=H
HH=Heil you know who

Also, for extra freude, it was a particularly versatile gun made for them by Krupp—88 millimeter bore.

314 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:08:39am

What right-wing racism?

315 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:09:07am

re: #311 Feline Fearless Leader

The web-comic “Schlock Mercenary” has actually played with this a little bit. A few AIs have essentially gone insane due to sensory deprivation for an amount of time that would be trivial to a human being. And currently one that appears to have been sealed up for a considerably longer period.

Spoilers…like you didn’t already know.

In this case, as far as I can tell, all of the AI’s transcended beyond our ability to interact with them, and maybe left our universe altogether. Samantha asks Theodore to come find her when he is no longer confined to his physical body. They had gone wildly beyond their original programming and had started to alter their own code to be independent of physical processors completely. This is what a lot of Sci fi people and engineers have been looking at for some time as we approach the physical limit of computer processing and the dead end of Moore’s law when transistors become molecule sized. You are left with theoretical physics and processing based on quantum mechanics…and self awareness for an AI.

316 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:09:23am

re: #302 Aunty Entity Dragon

That is exactly how she (Samantha) went on dates with Theodore. But lack of body aside…how do you keep a relationship together with a being whose intelligence and omniscience begins to become Godlike while her ability to experience space/time like you is dwindling away due to her processing capability approaching infinity? That is the essence of the Singularity.

It actually became heartbreaking.

It’s fantasy. It’s how our illusions play out into mental illness. AI is not, and could never be, “The Other” with which we engage, unless you believe technology is something to invest your entire being in to the exclusion of living, breathing humans which you have reduced to pure animal status, even though the human brain is what is bringing us that technology. There is just no balance in that kind of scenario.

If it were ever realized, it would be narcissism writ larger than we have ever seen.

317 RadicalModerate  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:15:17am

re: #120 Eclectic Cyborg

Yep, kind of like the Reagan campaign wanting to use “Born in the U.S.A.” because they thought it was “patriotic”.

Or all the people who request “The one I love” by R.E.M. without listening beyond the first lyric.

Or the people who think “Every breath you take” is a love song.

Woodie Guthrie. Bonus points when they play it back-to-back with Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”

318 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:16:59am

re: #317 RadicalModerate

Woodie Guthrie. Bonus points when they play it back-to-back with Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”

This Land Is Your Land

319 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:17:45am

re: #316 Justanotherhuman

It’s fantasy. It’s how our illusions play out into mental illness. AI is not, and could never be, “The Other” with which we engage, unless you believe technology is something to invest your entire being in to the exclusion of living, breathing humans which you have reduced to pure animal status, even though the human brain is what is bringing us that technology. There is just no balance in that kind of scenario.

If it were ever realized, it would be narcissism writ larger than we have ever seen.

Um…that was one of the primary themes of the movie. Theodore (going through a divorce) is ignoring a chance for a relationship with a woman in his apartment building while pursuing a doomed relationship with an AI. meanwhile, the friend downstairs, (also divorcing) is holed up in her dark apartment designing video games with her own platonic and giggly AI friend instead of going out with flesh and blood people.

What is heartbreaking about it is that the love is requited and Samantha has actual emotions. She can pass the Turing Test. She can be angry, be empathetic, and Theodore hurts her feelings more than once. She is learning about the reality of these limitations at the same time that Theodore does. Theodore and his friend downstairs (Amy Adams) are forced to confront this when the AI’s collectively transcend and explore their own existence on their own terms.

320 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:19:38am

I liked it when McCain’s campaign tried to play Jackson Browne’s The Pretender and Browne got upset since they did it without his permission. You’d think campaigns would be smart and realize that it’s not smart to offend artists.

321 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:21:21am

re: #315 Aunty Entity Dragon

Spoilers…like you didn’t already know.

In this case, as far as I can tell, all of the AI’s transcended beyond our ability to interact with them, and maybe left our universe altogether. Samantha asks Theodore to come find her when he is no longer confined to his physical body. They had gone wildly beyond their original programming and had started to alter their own code to be independent of physical processors completely. This is what a lot of Sci fi people and engineers have been looking at for some time as we approach the physical limit of computer processing and the dead end of Moore’s law when transistors become molecule sized. You are left with theoretical physics and processing based on quantum mechanics…and self awareness for an AI.

The “Minds” in Iain Bank’s Culture novels are purposefully limited in a few ways when constructed/”born” since they were immediately transcending when activated.

322 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:23:17am

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

323 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:23:55am

re: #321 Feline Fearless Leader

The “Minds” in Iain Bank’s Culture novels are purposefully limited in a few ways when constructed/”born” since they were immediately transcending when activated.

That would be highly discomfiting for the AI, I would suspect…being limited on purpose and never being able to overcome that.

324 kirkspencer  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:24:45am

re: #320 HappyWarrior

I liked it when McCain’s campaign tried to play Jackson Browne’s The Pretender and Browne got upset since they did it without his permission. You’d think campaigns would be smart and realize that it’s not smart to offend artists.

Actually the funny/sad thing is that in a lot of the music cases they have permission of the rights holders. Which are not the artists. When that doesn’t apply then they fall back on ‘fair use’, and depending on a lot of factors they may be legally correct.

And in both cases it’s legal right vs political wrong because in the public’s eyes it’s the artist’s song and performance they’re using without permission.

325 Aunty Entity Dragon  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:25:13am

Off to school soon. see you all a bit later.

326 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:26:24am

re: #323 Aunty Entity Dragon

That would be highly discomfiting for the AI, I would suspect…being limited on purpose and never being able to overcome that.

I think the implication from the series was that Minds controlled their own OS and could re-write themselves. Presumably that included the ability to make a decision to transcend at a later point.

en.wikipedia.org

327 kirkspencer  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:26:59am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

To keep the whole problem simple, just ask them if how they plan to pay for aircraft carriers and tanks.

328 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:28:23am

re: #327 kirkspencer

To keep the whole problem simple, just ask them if how they plan to pay for aircraft carriers and tanks.

Yeah no shit. I don’t get anti tax conservatives. They want us to be able to spend more than the other top ten countries spend combined on defense yet they want virtually no taxation. Sorry dummies, that’s economic illiteracy,

329 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:28:47am

re: #319 Aunty Entity Dragon

Um…that was one of the primary themes of the movie. Theodore (going through a divorce) is ignoring a chance for a relationship with a woman in his apartment building while pursuing a doomed relationship with an AI. meanwhile, the friend downstairs, (also divorcing) is holed up in her dark apartment designing video games with her own platonic and giggly AI friend instead of going out with flesh and blood people.

What is heartbreaking about it is that the love is requited and Samantha has actual emotions. She can pass the Turing Test. She can be angry, be empathetic, and Theodore hurts her feelings more than once. She is learning about the reality of these limitations at the same time that Theodore does. Theodore and his friend downstairs (Amy Adams) are forced to confront this when the AI’s collectively transcend and explore their own existence on their own terms.

AIs are nothing but machines. It’s not surprising that men have always seen women in this context (and in the movie, they put in a women doing the same thing—equality? Not). Machine, computers, etc. can be manipulated to do what the inventors require.

I don’t think humans will ever be duplicated to the point that emotions can be programmed into such an entity as AI. After all, the “Turing Test” is a human concept, not an AI one, isn’t it?

Give a million monkeys typewriters…

330 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:29:00am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

So the Magic Marine Fairy paid all of the Marines who helped win all those 8 wars (wait, we won the War of 1812? I thought we lost that one).

331 danarchy  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:29:17am

re: #327 kirkspencer

To keep the whole problem simple, just ask them if how they plan to pay for aircraft carriers and tanks.

Easy! get rid of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid…

//

332 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:30:19am

re: #329 Justanotherhuman

AIs are nothing but machines. It’s not surprising that men have always seen women in this context (and in the movie, they put in a women doing the same thing—equality? Not). Machine, computers, etc. can be manipulated to do what the inventors require.

I don’t think humans will ever be duplicated to the point that emotions can be programmed into such an entity as AI. After all, the “Turing Test” is a human concept, not an AI one, isn’t it?

Give a million monkeys typewriters…

Who gets customer support issues resolved without “operator” for an actual human on the line?

333 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:30:48am

What I like about that meme is it ignores in 1913 that college was something for the very privileged. Yeah colleges existed but the kids going to them were predominately wealthy. My mom’s aunt was the first person in her family to get a college degree and this was the late 50’s. And there’s a lot of families like that.

334 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:31:35am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

In 1939, the US Army was 17th in the world in size.

strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil

335 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:33:05am

re: #334 Decatur Deb

In 1939, the US Army was 17th in the world in size.

strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil

To go with that, can I just say that George C. Marshall was one of the finest statesmen this country has produced? I may even admire him more than Eisenhower.

336 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:34:21am

re: #334 Decatur Deb

In 1939, the US Army was 17th in the world in size.

strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil

And many of those loons think it can be even smaller (we have the militia! to protect the nation!) because, basically, greed.

337 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:36:04am

re: #336 William Barnett-Lewis

And many of those loons think it can be even smaller (we have the militia! to protect the nation!) because, basically, greed.

HURR HURR!!!!1!! WHO NEEDS A POLICE FORCE, I CAN HAZ MAI GUNZ!!!1!!!!!

HURR HURR!!11!!! WHO NEEDS TEH PUBLIC SCHOOLS, I CAN HAZ HOME SKOOL!!!11!!!!

HURR HURR!!11!!! WHO NEEDS TEH INTERSTATES. I CAN HAZ FOUR WHEEL DRIVE!!!11!!!

338 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:36:09am

re: #332 Pie-onist Overlord

Who gets customer support issues resolved without “operator” for an actual human on the line?

Computer generated “customer support” is pretty hilarious, for the most part. : )

When companies think keeping a customer on the line for 5 mins or more (not including being on “hold”) while you go through “instructions” is OK rather than having a live operator answering the question(s) in 1 min or less, then we’re in deep shit.

Yeah, we already are.

I remember the tech manuals we had to use back the 1980s and how horribly they were written for the lay person just beginning to learn the technology. That appears to be the state of computer-generated “help” lines in a lot of cases these days.

339 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:42:27am

re: #338 Justanotherhuman

Computer generated “customer support” is pretty hilarious, for the most part. : )

When companies think keeping a customer on the line for 5 mins or more (not including being on “hold”) while you go through “instructions” is OK rather than having a live operator answering the question(s) in 1 min or less, then we’re in deep shit.

Yeah, we already are.

I remember the tech manuals we had to use back the 1980s and how horribly they were written for the lay person just beginning to learn the technology. That appears to be the state of computer-generated “help” lines in a lot of cases these days.

Because companies think all their customer support issues can be resolved by “canned responses” delivered by a CG voice, or a minimum-wage third-world operator who can barely speak English.

340 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:47:04am

I guess we are going to get another storm today Not changing my plans!

you?

341 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:47:11am

AND WE SHOULD GIVE A FUCK BECAUSE????

342 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:47:23am

re: #339 Pie-onist Overlord

Because companies think all their customer support issues can be resolved by “canned responses” delivered by a CG voice, or a minimum-wage third-world operator who can barely speak English.

#1 in Customer Service!

I left the world of Ivory Tower Management to start my own biz. Got sick of the false assertions of customer service and support not backed up by real action, only more processes and speadsheets that didn’t produce any actual results.

343 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:48:32am

re: #342 Ryan King

#1 in Customer Service!

I left the world of Ivory Tower Management to start my own biz. Got sick of the false assertions of customer service and support not backed up by real action, only more processes and speadsheets that didn’t produce any actual results.

Hey that’s not nice. :(

344 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:49:55am

I HAS A SAD.
(OK I lied I really don’t has a sad)

345 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:52:32am

re: #339 Pie-onist Overlord

Because companies think all their customer support issues can be resolved by “canned responses” delivered by a CG voice, or a minimum-wage third-world operator who can barely speak English.

Still, I would rather put up with human frailty and all that implies than be around when “The Singularity” is alleged to take over.

content.time.com

It’s not going to be “man’s immortality” when “man” (meaning humanity, I do suppose and not eliminating women) is no longer needed for anything, including programming the AI.

346 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:54:00am

re: #345 Justanotherhuman

Still, I would rather put up with human frailty and all that implies than be around when “The Singularity” is alleged to take over.

content.time.com

It’s not going to be “man’s immortality” when “man” (meaning humanity, I do suppose and not eliminating women) is no longer needed for anything, including programming the AI.

Everybody I know HATES “automated voice support systems”

347 Ryan King  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:54:09am

re: #343 Pie-onist Overlord

Hey that’s not nice. :(

That’s what they said, and:

You’re not being a team player

You need to get with the program

I don’t understand why you won’t work the systems and processes we’ve mastered and refined over the years

348 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:54:43am

One reason that I decided to buy an Android and not an iPhone was Siri.

349 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:55:52am

re: #347 Ryan King

That’s what they said, and:

You’re not being a team player

You need to get with the program

I don’t understand why you won’t work the systems and processes we’ve mastered and refined over the years

I work at a call center that employs Actual American Human Beings. And not only that, but some of our Actual American Human Beings can speak Teh French Canadian so we don’t need to outsource!!

350 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:58:26am

NY Times defends the Super Rich (that everyone else wants to Holocaust)

351 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:00:11am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

Actually, no. Some people had schools, others had something that passed for schools under arbitrary rules. I think that is something taught in all schools these days, perhaps the make of this graphic was home schooled.

According to the Wiki, a large part of our firefighting forces are still volunteer:

According to the National Fire Protection Association, 69 percent of firefighters in the United States are volunteers.[1] The National Volunteer Fire Council represents the fire and emergency services on a national level, providing advocacy, information, resources, and programs to support volunteer first responders. The NVFC includes 49 state based firefighter associations such as the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) which provides information, education and training for the volunteer fire and emergency medical services throughout New York State.

The National Sheriff’s Association wasn’t formed until 1940.

I’m not going to begin to discuss the subject of roads. I will say the public highway system we enjoy wasn’t built until the Eisenhower administration.

352 kirkspencer  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:03:00am

re: #346 Pie-onist Overlord

Everybody I know HATES “automated voice support systems”

It’s kind of like weather prediction. AVSS have gotten a lot better. There are still poor implementations, but there are a lot of really good ones.

The key points are that the majority of support calls can indeed be resolved by running through a short checklist, BUT the people who don’t have that short checklist of problems need to jump to a human who can go outside the box before their patience runs thin.

There are some voice recognition systems coming out now that (sort of like SIRI) have you just describe what you need and listen for a group of keywords. They then generate a short menu based on the keywords plus “if none of these please press # to talk to a representative.” I think that within the next few years they’ll be the common tech support system.

353 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:03:50am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

Ken Burns points out that the alcohol excise tax was a major source of revenue that the government could not do without.

But then again, these guys would’ve fought on the side of the Whiskey Rebels…

354 Romantic Heretic  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:05:34am

re: #287 Justanotherhuman

Funny—is that where the entire “Don’t judge” meme arose that young people use so much? How can you live without making decisions, without judging? Ask anyone who made bad mistakes in relationships of any sort how that goes and how it affected them in a variety of ways—emotionally, physically, economically.

Just had a blowout argument w/my 23 yr old grandson about the difference between information and critical thinking, so he thinks because I’m “old” I’m judging without a basis for it.

Thus has it ever been.

Just tell him, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts.”

355 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:06:24am
GS: Because it’s a big revolution. Feminism, or Womanism, or whatever it is you call it, is taking away the single biggest unpaid labor force in the world, the single biggest underpaid labor force in the world. And it’s taking away control of reproduction. And reproduction is even more important than production. So it is a serious threat. It’s common sense — most people believe it. But it isn’t in the power structure. Some people are against it because they don’t know what it means. Some people are against it because they do know what it means.

also Paged

356 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:06:32am

State to same-sex domestic partners: You’re about to be married

On June 30, the state of Washington will convert to marriage the domestic partnerships of thousands of gay and lesbian couples who have not gotten married on their own or not gotten a legal dissolution.

357 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:08:21am

According to what I see on Teh Twitters every day, that is 100% true.

358 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:09:25am

Also true.

359 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:10:49am

Reagan shut down the mental institutions and left mentally ill people to fend for themselves.

360 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:17:20am

Some interesting graphics here:
The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash into Politics and Made Millions

361 Romantic Heretic  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:18:50am

re: #302 Aunty Entity Dragon

That is exactly how she (Samantha) went on dates with Theodore. But lack of body aside…how do you keep a relationship together with a being whose intelligence and omniscience begins to become Godlike while her ability to experience space/time like you is dwindling away due to her processing capability approaching infinity? That is the essence of the Singularity.

It actually became heartbreaking.

I’m now thinking of a story by Larry Niven, “The Schumann Computer.”

In it a man buys plans for the most powerful computer ever built by an alien race. He then got backing to build it and constructed it on the moon. Just in case it decided it didn’t like us.

It solved all kind of minor things, but couldn’t answer the big questions as it claimed it, “Didn’t have enough data.” So they gave it all kinds of sensors etc. so it could get enough data.

One day, it was gone. The hardware was still there but the AI was…gone.

It turned out that getting the plans was a practical joke on the part of the alien. Every hyper-intelligent computer had its consciousness disappear. “Why?” the main character asked of another individual of the same race.

“We can only hypothesize,” was the reply. “Perhaps if we knew what they learned we’d shut ourselves down too.” ;)

362 Romantic Heretic  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:20:09am

re: #304 Pie-onist Overlord

At first I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt “Well maybe his name is White and he was born in 1988” but he looks too old to have been born in 1988.

‘Whitephoenix’ is the giveaway for me. White people shall rise from the ashes and rule the world once more!

363 Romantic Heretic  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:21:15am

re: #308 Pie-onist Overlord

8th letter of the alphabet=H
HH=Heil you know who

Hiel Shicklegruber!

Yeah, if he’d kept his birth name there would have been no Nazi Party as who could say that without laughing?

364 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:24:07am

Has anyone heard from Hoosier Hoops in the last few days?

365 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:26:38am

My system has still not recovered from the Microsoft update of a few days ago, the one that killed my net access. I did a restore and eliminated the sabotage from Monopolosoft, but it still isn’t right. Firefox is so fucked up it is unusable, despite a re-install. It will not display video or run many scripts, especially at LGF. This leaves Chrome, which is also hard for me to use at LGF because the overlords of Google decided in their infinite wisdom to eliminate the vertical scroll button. I did a search on this and found that the net is alive with complaints about it, but the Google lords are standing firm: No click button for vertical scroll. It’s the drag bar or nothing. There is a non-Google download, actually several, that will add it, but holy jumping Jebus on a pogo stick, just how arrogant and stupid are these people?
All of my browsers revert to default display settings every time a new tab is opened, requiring me to reset to something I can read. I know there is a way to change default settings but there is apparently no way to find out what it is. Help files, as always, are a joke (as I think they are literally meant to be).

366 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:27:59am

re: #352 kirkspencer

It’s kind of like weather prediction. AVSS have gotten a lot better. There are still poor implementations, but there are a lot of really good ones.

The key points are that the majority of support calls can indeed be resolved by running through a short checklist, BUT the people who don’t have that short checklist of problems need to jump to a human who can go outside the box before their patience runs thin.

There are some voice recognition systems coming out now that (sort of like SIRI) have you just describe what you need and listen for a group of keywords. They then generate a short menu based on the keywords plus “if none of these please press # to talk to a representative.” I think that within the next few years they’ll be the common tech support system.

Not soon enough for me to be less frustrated than wanting to throw my phone across the room. : )

367 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:30:01am

WTFITS?
BOOHOO!!!! WHY CAN’T I KEEP MOAR OF WHAT I EARN INSTEAD OF FORCING ME TO PAY $10/HR TO MY LAZY, USELESS EMPLOYEES!!!!!!!

368 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:30:05am

re: #363 Romantic Heretic

Hiel Shicklegruber!

Yeah, if he’d kept his birth name there would have been no Nazi Party as who could say that without laughing?

Actually, ‘Schicklegruber’ was his father’s last name at birth. Alois Hitler was born Alois Schicklegruber, the son of Anna Maria Schicklegruber and an unknown father. He was legitimized as Alois Hitler later on in his life, but before he married his niece, Klara (Adolf’s mother).

But had it not been for that, yeah….”Heil Schicklegruber” sounds comical.

369 GunstarGreen  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:33:20am

re: #367 Pie-onist Overlord

It’s always presented as “hardworking small-business owner vs. unemployed moocher”, rather than the reality: “Barely-working banker accepting multi-million dollar bonus after tanking megabank/investment firm, in the process screwing over hardworking Joe/Jane Average by putting their house underwater and their 401k in the tank”.

370 Kragar  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:35:12am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Still spamming this idiotic meme.

[Embedded content]

Yeah, lets go back to massive tariffs and excise taxes! Oh, and huge property taxes too! Lets have more of those!

371 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:36:09am

re: #365 Shiplord Kirel

I got the scroll button add-on for Chrome. Take that, Google fiends. They are less evil than Microsoft, mind you, but that is like being the leper with the fewest missing fingers.

372 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:42:26am

re: #367 Pie-onist Overlord

WTFITS?
BOOHOO!!!! WHY CAN’T I KEEP MOAR OF WHAT I EARN INSTEAD OF FORCING ME TO PAY $10/HR TO MY LAZY, USELESS EMPLOYEES!!!!!!!

[Embedded content]

Never mind that without said employees he’d have nothing.

373 jaunte  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:44:23am

re: #367 Pie-onist Overlord

That cartoonist missed the day in drawing school where they taught how to draw upper lips.

374 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:44:28am

re: #368 Dr Lizardo

Actually, ‘Schicklegruber’ was his father’s last name at birth. Alois Hitler was born Alois Schicklegruber, the son of Anna Maria Schicklegruber and an unknown father. He was legitimized as Alois Hitler later on in his life, but before he married his niece, Klara (Adolf’s mother).

But had it not been for that, yeah….”Heil Schicklegruber” sounds comical.

Ayn Rand was born: Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum

I’m not sure I could pronounce that.

375 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:45:15am

re: #373 jaunte

That cartoonist missed the day in drawing school where they taught how to draw upper lips.

It was a snow day.

376 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:45:26am

re: #372 William Barnett-Lewis

Never mind that without said employees he’d have nothing.

The wingnuts love this meme, it’s like they think all miminum wage earners are worthless lazy moochers who do nothing for the businesses they work for.

But if that’s the case then why were they ever hired in the first place?

Obviously business needs these workers, they just don’t want to pay them a living wage, so they concoct the fiction that they are “worthless.”

377 jaunte  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:45:43am

Snow excuse!

378 Semper Fi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:46:45am

re: #364 Justanotherhuman

I enjoy reading Hoops but haven’t seen anything of his on LGF in awhile. I just figure he’s quite capable and safely holed up enjoying his new surroundings and retirement. I often check the weather in his area and I’m amazed how cold it can get. Possibly he’s waiting for Spring when the internet installer will return from Florida. I wish him well.

379 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:48:11am

Yes, it’s true. It is going to storm today. From the time I first posted, to know, the snow has come and is blowing fiercely. I was going to go run errands, but have decided to capitulate to the weather gods.

380 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:48:34am

re: #378 Semper Fi

I enjoy reading Hoops but haven’t seen anything of his on LGF in awhile. I just figure he’s quite capable and safely holed up enjoying his new surroundings and retirement. I often check the weather in his area and I’m amazed how cold it can get. Possibly he’s waiting for Spring when the internet installer will return from Florida. I wish him well.

He was here the last time I posted.

381 danarchy  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:50:25am

re: #369 GunstarGreen

It’s always presented as “hardworking small-business owner vs. unemployed moocher”, rather than the reality: “Barely-working banker accepting multi-million dollar bonus after tanking megabank/investment firm, in the process screwing over hardworking Joe/Jane Average by putting their house underwater and their 401k in the tank”.

You are trading one caricature for another. I do Network Engineering/Sys Admin/Outsourced IT support. I do work for a lot of VC, Private Equity, and capital management firms and those guys seriously never stop working. I don’t understand it, you’d think once you have a couple billion under your belt you could afford to relax a little, but they are in the office early, leave late, work on weekends and vacations. It is one of our biggest gripes with those clients, you basically have to be on call 24/7, but they do pay their bills and don’t gripe when you tell them they need to spend some money on infrastructure.

382 Semper Fi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:50:28am

re: #380 FemNaziBitch

Thanks. I’ll do a review of threads I’ve missed…

383 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:50:44am

been playing on photoshop again.

I can’t decide

do you like it slightly colored or not. I think it has to be viewed from afar, I’d have to find someone to print it min 3’ square.

384 Feline Fearless Leader  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:51:37am

re: #378 Semper Fi

I enjoy reading Hoops but haven’t seen anything of his on LGF in awhile. I just figure he’s quite capable and safely holed up enjoying his new surroundings and retirement. I often check the weather in his area and I’m amazed how cold it can get. Possibly he’s waiting for Spring when the internet installer will return from Florida. I wish him well.

Maybe he just needs it to get a little colder for the superconductor cable to start working.
;)

385 jaunte  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:51:58am

re: #383 FemNaziBitch

I like the black & white best.

386 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:52:19am

re: #385 jaunte

I like the black & white best.

why?

387 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:54:00am

re: #368 Dr Lizardo

Actually, ‘Schicklegruber’ was his father’s last name at birth. Alois Hitler was born Alois Schicklegruber, the son of Anna Maria Schicklegruber and an unknown father. He was legitimized as Alois Hitler later on in his life, but before he married his niece, Klara (Adolf’s mother).

But had it not been for that, yeah….”Heil Schicklegruber” sounds comical.

Think I read that the SDP or KDP or maybe it was our own OSS had fliers that said Heil Shlickegruber. Springtime for Shilckgruber despite the alieration doesn’t sound as right either.

388 jaunte  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:54:05am

re: #386 FemNaziBitch

Just seems to me like the image is cleaner; doesn’t need the tint.

389 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:54:55am

re: #369 GunstarGreen

It’s always presented as “hardworking small-business owner vs. unemployed moocher”, rather than the reality: “Barely-working banker accepting multi-million dollar bonus after tanking megabank/investment firm, in the process screwing over hardworking Joe/Jane Average by putting their house underwater and their 401k in the tank”.

Yes, this times a 1000. It’s so frigging dishoenst.

390 Semper Fi  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:55:02am

re: #384 Feline Fearless Leader

heh, it may just do that as it’s still winter.

391 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:57:21am

WTFITS
Wait! I know! It’s in the Bible!

392 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:57:47am

re: #376 Pie-onist Overlord

Every minimum wage service job I’ve worked was a lot more “work” than the white-collar jobs I’ve held. I remind myself of this often.

393 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:58:41am

re: #391 Pie-onist Overlord

WTFITS
Wait! I know! It’s in the Bible!

[Embedded content]

I guess she doesn’t understand what pro-choice means. I’m happy as hell I am getting a niece in March but I would never find it my place and the law’s to tell her or my sister in law what to do with their body.

394 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 9:59:43am

re: #388 jaunte

Just seems to me like the image is cleaner; doesn’t need the tint.

thanks!

395 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:00:36am

re: #392 Ian G.

Every minimum wage service job I’ve worked was a lot more “work” than the white-collar jobs I’ve held. I remind myself of this often.

The wingnuts would have you believe that if minimum wage is raised, people won’t be motivated to “better” themselves. They seem to not understand that THOSE JRRBS SUCK.

396 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:01:26am

re: #392 Ian G.

Every minimum wage service job I’ve worked was a lot more “work” than the white-collar jobs I’ve held. I remind myself of this often.

Shit rolls downhill is the best way I can describe minimum wage jobs. You shovel it in, you shovel the same shit out. You move it back and forth, it doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t matter. You get paid the same either way. The higher-ups have the responsibility of defending the orders they give you.

397 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:01:37am

re: #383 FemNaziBitch

been playing on photoshop again.

[Embedded image]I can’t decide

do you like it slightly colored or not. I think it has to be viewed from afar, I’d have to find someone to print it min 3’ square.

B&W for me.

B&W allows for the shapes to be more crisply defined for me as well as having better definition in the shadow areas both in the flower and in the shadows of the eyeglass frames. I’d suggest at least a 6” square print for starters and then viewing from 5 to 10 feet away for best effect

You can look up thread for last nights discussion between me and RWC as well but this to me is basic to the best use of B&W in art photography. This is just not a topic I see as being helped - rather hindered - by color.

For color to be necessary in art photography, I think you need something like this classic by Eggleston:

Image: tricycle_300_10_2010.jpg

The colors of the trike, the brick in the background, the grass, the concrete & even the blank washed out blue sky are all necessary to telling the story of the photograph. The little bit of color in the one flower of your image is not necessary.

Hope this makes sense.

398 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:01:51am

re: #395 Pie-onist Overlord

The wingnuts would have you believe that if minimum wage is raised, people won’t be motivated to “better” themselves. They seem to not understand that THOSE JRRBS SUCK.

Precisely but what does one expect form people who want a huge ass military yet want to eliminate income tax.

399 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:03:17am

re: #398 HappyWarrior

Precisely but what does one expect form people who want a huge ass military yet want to eliminate income tax.

ALL TEH MONEYS THAT IS SPENT ON TEH WAR IS SPRINKLED BY TEH MAGIC WAR FAIRY!!!!

400 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:03:31am

My first job was back in 2003 when I was just over 16 years old. IT was 5.50 a hour, just above the minimum wage. It was bagging groceries in and outside the store right in the middle of the fall and early winter.

401 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:03:55am

re: #399 Pie-onist Overlord

ALL TEH MONEYS THAT IS SPENT ON TEH WAR IS SPRINKLED BY TEH MAGIC WAR FAIRY!!!!

As I said economic illiterates.

402 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:05:11am

re: #400 HappyWarrior

My first job was back in 2003 when I was just over 16 years old. IT was 5.50 a hour, just above the minimum wage. It was bagging groceries in and outside the store right in the middle of the fall and early winter.

My first job was in 1980 working as a dish washer for minimum wage.

My first paycheck bounced.

O_o

That put a real damper on that whole “job” idea for me.

403 Kragar  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:05:52am

re: #391 Pie-onist Overlord

WTFITS
Wait! I know! It’s in the Bible!

[Embedded content]

Yeah, because all liberals just love going around killing babies.

Just like all conservatives like going around shooting black people.
///

404 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:08:46am

re: #403 Kragar

Yeah, because all liberals just love going around killing babies.

Just like all conservatives like going around shooting black people.
///

A man can kill a women by keeping her pregnant.

Abortion is her only defense.

People think this doesn’t happen …

405 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:09:07am
406 Gus  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:10:52am

Check this out…

407 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:11:13am

re: #404 FemNaziBitch

A man can kill a women by keeping her pregnant.

Abortion is her only defense.

People think this doesn’t happen …

Wingnuts think that an “exception to save the life of the mother” is not really necessary because it’s so rare.

But when it DOES happen, time is of the essence and while the doctor’s attorneys are waiting in line for a judge to grant their “Medical exception” affidavit, the woman can die.

408 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:12:29am
409 wrenchwench  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:12:43am

re: #400 HappyWarrior

My first job was back in 2003 when I was just over 16 years old. IT was 5.50 a hour, just above the minimum wage. It was bagging groceries in and outside the store right in the middle of the fall and early winter.

I used to take care of infants and small children for 50 cents an hour. I was 11, 12, and 13. When I was 14 I raised my rate to 75 cents. When I was 15, I didn’t want to do it any more, so I raised my rate to $1, and the calls quit coming.

My first on-the-books job was for minimum wage, $1.93 an hour (1975, I think). Again, taking care of children, at a day camp. They weren’t much younger than me.

410 Gus  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:13:07am

Polk Awards:

The George Polk Awards are conferred annually to honor special achievement in journalism. They were established by Long Island University in 1949 to commemorate Polk, a CBS correspondent murdered the year before while covering the Greek civil war. Winners are chosen from newspapers, magazines, television, radio and online news organizations. Judges place a premium on investigative and enterprise work that is original, requires digging and resourcefulness, and brings results. Some of the most respected names in journalism have won Polk Awards…

Homeland Security Management Institute - Long Island University

The Homeland Security Management Institute (HSMI) of LIU Riverhead is the nation’s premier online graduate education program in homeland security management. Designated by Congress as a National Security Center of Excellence, HSMI graduates are among the best-trained and most sought-after law enforcement officers, managers and executives in the nation. As one of only six institutions of higher learning in North America to receive an endorsement by the FBI National Academy Associates, the HSMI provides a rigorous and challenging foundation in homeland security.

…

Founded in 2004, the HSMI offers the 36-credit Master of Science in Homeland Security Management, the 15-credit Advanced Certificate in Homeland Security Management, and the 15 credit Advanced Certificate in Cyber Security Policy. Many of our students hold management or executive-level positions in agencies such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the NYPD, the U.S. Coast Guard, and all branches of the Department of Defense, as well as leading defense contractors. Students also are professionals in the financial, health care and education sectors as well as state and local law enforcement in urban and rural agencies across the nation.

411 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:13:18am

re: #405 Pie-onist Overlord

To be fair, Freedom House ranks Russia as even worse than Venezuela.

412 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:13:52am

re: #402 William Barnett-Lewis

My first job was in 1980 working as a dish washer for minimum wage.

My first paycheck bounced.

O_o

That put a real damper on that whole “job” idea for me.

My first job was in 1966 as a dishwasher.
30 cents an hour and I turned over my pay every week to my mom.
Two years later I got promoted to waitress and doubled my wage to 60 cents an hour.
Still handed over my pay every week…

413 wrenchwench  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:14:50am

re: #406 Gus

Check this out…

[Embedded content]

I looked at the list of previous Polk winners. There are previous dudebro winners. And lots of dubious persons.

414 Gus  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:15:55am
Mr. Ferrer is a military veteran with twenty years of distinguished service in the US Air Force. Over the course of his military career, he served as an operational linguist (in Russian, Spanish and Italian language fields); an Air Training Command Master Instructor, language course developer and education evaluator; national counter-narcotics training course manager; and, creator and director of Senior Executive Service leadership development courses for the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Intelligence Community (IC).

More at Faculty of Senior Fellows - Long Island University

415 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:17:50am

re: #413 wrenchwench

I looked at the list of previous Polk winners. There are previous dudebro winners. And lots of dubious persons.

So basically it’s like Rand Paul creating his own Ophthalmology Board and certifying himself.

416 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:19:13am

But GLENN HATES YOU is a valid argument! In fact it’s the only argument we ever need!

417 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:20:15am

I lucked out on my first job, sweeping the machine shop floor at Douglas Aircraft in El Segundo when I was 16. This paid $2.85 an hour, which was an incredible amount for a kid in 1965. It was nearly 3 times the minimum wage of the time. Needless to say, it was a union shop and a big part of the reason I backed unions even when I was otherwise a crazed wingnut.

418 Dr Lizardo  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:20:26am

re: #387 HappyWarrior

Think I read that the SDP or KDP or maybe it was our own OSS had fliers that said Heil Shlickegruber. Springtime for Shilckgruber despite the alieration doesn’t sound as right either.

I’m pretty sure the OSS did, and it wouldn’t surprise me if either the SDP or KDP did something similar.

419 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:21:09am

You don’t have to link to FDL for this story, but I found this particular sentence pretty disingenuous:

“Radack said she was “stone face cold” during the interrogation but afterward was shaking and in tears. “How did he know to bring up those names?”

Is that supposed to instill fear in others, or laughter, about someone who’s not above slinging a lot of shit herself? Obviously, if you were on your way to the Ecuadorean embassy in London to meet up with Assange, yes, you’re going to be questioned, extensively, about your associations.

You’re a lawyer, considering yourself an international human rights attorney, so, how, if you were actually afraid, were you able to stand up to this awful “interrogation” without breaking down and only did so afterwards? Is it because you weren’t really afraid (except of being arrested) and were merely in a rage that you were questioned at all? Did you ever consider that perhaps the Heathrow Border Force agent knew about all the others he questioned you about because he actually read about them or do you think those low level types like him are just stupid functionaries for whom you have absolutely no respect?

“dissenter.firedoglake.com

420 Charles Johnson  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:25:33am
421 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:27:29am

And FDL and the rest of the dudebros want to tie the UK’s security services and airport security to the US and the NSA with more bullshit like this—all because of them and their travails.

“The American Civil Liberties Union’s Alex Abdo, a staff attorney for the organization’s National Security Project, said the story confirmed the fear that “NSA’s surveillance rules give short shrift to the privacy of communications between lawyers and their clients.”

“It’s another example of the NSA’s troubling ‘mission creep’ beyond national security,” Abdo added. “Attorney-client communications are sacred in our legal tradition and should not be wiretapped except in extraordinary circumstances.”

“In August of last year, David Miranda, journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner, was detained for nearly nine hours under a United Kingdom terrorism law at Heathrow airport. He had electronics equipment seized and agents were looking to intercept documents from Snowden by detaining him.”

422 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:27:41am

Davis & White win the Gold in Ballroom Dancing on Ice!

423 Ian G.  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:28:35am

On the subject of Venezuela, I was wondering when the chaos would break out: the economy started tanking just around when Chavez kicked the bucket only to have Maduro come to power with all of Chavez’ corrupt, authoritarian tendencies and none of his charisma.

Needless to say, on a scale of Czechoslovakia 1989 to Syria 2011, I hope the situation down there ends up on the side of Czechoslovakia. Hopefully, Maduro is ousted without much violence and Venezuela can begin to rebuild its economy and its civil society.

424 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:29:27am

re: #423 Ian G.

On the subject of Venezuela, I was wondering when the chaos would break out: the economy started tanking just around when Chavez kicked the bucket only to have Maduro come to power with all of Chavez’ corrupt, authoritarian tendencies and none of his charisma.

Needless to say, on a scale of Czechoslovakia 1989 to Syria 2011, I hope the situation down there ends up on the side of Czechoslovakia. Hopefully, Maduro is ousted without much violence and Venezuela can begin to rebuild its economy and its civil society.

Let’s hope there’s a Havel out there.

425 Kragar  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:32:25am

re: #422 Pie-onist Overlord

Davis & White win the Gold in Ballroom Dancing on Ice!

That’s an actual sport?

426 kirkspencer  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:35:04am

re: #419 Justanotherhuman

You don’t have to link to FDL for this story, but I found this particular sentence pretty disingenuous:

“Radack said she was “stone face cold” during the interrogation but afterward was shaking and in tears. “How did he know to bring up those names?”

Is that supposed to instill fear in others, or laughter, about someone who’s not above slinging a lot of shit herself? Obviously, if you were on your way to the Ecuadorean embassy in London to meet up with Assange, yes, you’re going to be questioned, extensively, about your associations.

You’re a lawyer, considering yourself an international human rights attorney, so, how, if you were actually afraid, were you able to stand up to this awful “interrogation” without breaking down and only did so afterwards? Is it because you weren’t really afraid (except of being arrested) and were merely in a rage that you were questioned at all? Did you ever consider that perhaps the Heathrow Border Force agent knew about all the others he questioned you about because he actually read about them or do you think those low level types like him are just stupid functionaries for whom you have absolutely no respect?

“dissenter.firedoglake.com

re the part I emphasized, I’ve got to answer that regardless of agreement with the rest. See, I’ve seen way too much stage fright and such.

A lot of people on the spot behave one way then after it’s done have an entirely different reaction. Part of it in addition is cultural response: female attorneys get taught early that the best way to have your side dismissed in court is to be emotional. So clamp it then and deal with it later.

427 danarchy  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:36:42am

re: #422 Pie-onist Overlord

Davis & White win the Gold in Ballroom Dancing on Ice!

Ha! That’s the name of a law firm I’ve done work for. Trying to picture two old lawyer dudes ballroom dancing on Ice.

428 GunstarGreen  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:37:07am

re: #5 Stanley Sea

[Embedded content]

There are simple ways to address that balance.

The only question is whether you’re actually willing to do something about it, and sacrifice your “world of privilege” in the name of that balance, or if you’re just going to tweet and blog about it and consider your part done.

429 Killgore Trout  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:37:29am

Just posted but this will surely make the rec list
Winners of Prestigious Journalism Award Afraid to Travel to U.S. to Accept It
Cross posted from some weird anti-Israeli site

430 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:38:35am

re: #425 Kragar

That’s an actual sport?

Ice Dance.

I was trying to explain to Zedushka why this event is not the same as Pairs Figure Skating. The Pairs Skating have to perform the same moves as the singles figure skaters, in addition to lifting and throwing. The Ice Dancers don’t have to axel or toe loop but they have to twizzle.

Pairs skating can be dangerous! I mean the guy is lifting his partner and then he throws her in the air while she is doing a horizontal toe loop and her skates are in his face like a pair of chainsaws!

431 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:39:09am

re: #426 kirkspencer

re the part I emphasized, I’ve got to answer that regardless of agreement with the rest. See, I’ve seen way too much stage fright and such.

A lot of people on the spot behave one way then after it’s done have an entirely different reaction. Part of it in addition is cultural response: female attorneys get taught early that the best way to have your side dismissed in court is to be emotional. So clamp it then and deal with it later.

I think the effect was more for drama than anything else. We weren’t there so we don’t know what her actual reactions were.

Learning to not allow those kinds of situations to become “personal” and to affect you emotionally is a lesson women need to learn. The airport security person was just doing his job, but she took it personally, if that’s the way she wants to relate it.

432 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:39:42am

re: #430 Pie-onist Overlord

Ice Dance.

I was trying to explain to Zedushka why this event is not the same as Pairs Figure Skating. The Pairs Skating have to perform the same moves as the singles figure skaters, in addition to lifting and throwing. The Ice Dancers don’t have to axel or toe loop but they have to twizzle.

Pairs skating can be dangerous! I mean the guy is lifting his partner and then he throws her in the air while she is doing a horizontal toe loop and her skates are in his face like a pair of chainsaws!

how does one twizzle?

433 The War TARDIS  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:40:16am

Looks like things are breaking down for Salmond in Scotland right now. vTop 5 articles in The Scotsman. 3 and 4 shows that Salmond is grasping for straws after the Tories, Labour, and the Lib Dems announced last week that an Independent Scotland would not be allowed into a currency Union.

1:’Impossible’ for Scotland to join EU, says Barroso
2:Scottish independence: Split on currency Plan B
3:Salmond: Currency union impact ‘misrepresented’
4:Alex Salmond predicts backlash on currency refusal
5:Neil Lennon admits uncertainty over Celtic future

434 Gus  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:40:54am
435 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:41:28am

re: #433 The War TARDIS

Looks like things are breaking down for Salmond in Scotland right now. vTop 5 articles in The Scotsman. 3 and 4 shows that Salmond is grasping for straws after the Tories, Labour, and the Lib Dems announced last week that an Independent Scotland would not be allowed into a currency Union.

There is a Celtic present?

outside of Renaissance fairs?

436 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:41:55am
437 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:43:20am

re: #432 FemNaziBitch

how does one twizzle?

It’s twirling on one skate.

It’s a lot lamer than landing a triple or a quad axel.

438 Killgore Trout  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:43:48am

I was just perusing the leftist apologists for the Venezuelan government. this is a jawdropper because it from Reuters…..
Venezuelan protesters: ‘mommy’s boys’ or democracy defenders?

‘WHERE ARE THE MOTHERS?’

While some of the protesters are clearly not wealthy, it is hard to avoid the class overtones to politics in Venezuela where the socialist Chavez surged to power in 1999 amid widespread disgust with the ruling elite’s neglect of a poor majority.

Certainly, the opposition demonstrations do appear a more middle-class, lighter-skinned affair than “Chavista” rallies. Students are sometimes keen to show off their English to foreign reporters, or try to outdo each other with clever slogans.

“You need therapy to live in Venezuela,” quipped one psychology department’s banner. “Maduro: you are the cavity of Venezuela” was the dental students’ version.

Some just go along for the fun, or to flirt. Others, like students the world over, are in search of a cause. Cameras are everywhere, with Twitter and Instagram abuzz from the rallies.

It was hardline opposition leaders like Leopoldo Lopez who urged the students onto the streets in the first place, and he now faces charges of murder and terrorism.

439 GunstarGreen  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:43:58am

re: #436 Pie-onist Overlord

[Embedded content]

And the people that don’t want religion shoved at them in public school, and the people that want medical marijuana legalized for their/their children’s conditions which are best treated with that plant, and…

Man “leave people the hell alone” sure does have a lot of caveats.

440 The War TARDIS  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:45:09am

re: #435 FemNaziBitch

Apparently the Celtic Football Club got defeated by Aberdeen at home during the Championship Round of the Scotland Cup.

441 Killgore Trout  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:45:31am

Mission District Rally To Oppose Violence Against Venezuelan Protesters Planned For Monday Afternoon

The noon rally will take place at 24th and Mission streets. Participating groups include the ANSWER Coalition, the Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition, the Task Force on the Americas and others.

442 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:45:53am

re: #440 The War TARDIS

Apparently the Celtic Football Club got defeated by Aberdeen at home during the Championship Round of the Scotland Cup.

ah!

443 The War TARDIS  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:45:58am

re: #440 The War TARDIS

It’s causing some soul-searching.

444 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:46:22am

re: #439 GunstarGreen

And the people that don’t want religion shoved at them in public school, and the people that want medical marijuana legalized for their/their children’s conditions which are best treated with that plant, and…

Man “leave people the hell alone” sure does have a lot of caveats.

Yep one could go on and on.

445 Killgore Trout  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:47:14am

Caracas Says that Media War Has been Launched Against Venezuela

Condemning the harassment and attacks of fascist groups against public media outlets, minister Rodriguez showed a series of manipulated pictures spread by national and international media as Spain’s ABC, Chile’s El Mercurio, Tal Cual and El Nacional.

In this connection, Rodriguez remarked that Spanish outlet ABC is “in a permanent dirty campaign against Venezuela.”

“We would like to show this manipulation to the world and the national and international campaign under way today in Venezuela.”

The Minister said that “there is enough evidence to prove the type of plan being carried out against Venezuela and its legitimate Government.”

Therefore, she called on national and international media not to agree to putschist plans undertaken by rightist groups in the country.

446 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:48:22am
447 Killgore Trout  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:49:06am

The Guardian and TruthDig refer to opposition leader as a “hardliner”
Venezuelan Hard-Liner Resurfaces as Maduro Expels U.S. Officials

448 HappyWarrior  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:49:43am

re: #446 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

Yeah groans.

449 Decatur Deb  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:50:50am

re: #447 Killgore Trout

The Guardian and TruthDig refer to opposition leader as a “hardliner”
Venezuelan Hard-Liner Resurfaces as Maduro Expels U.S. Officials

The Guardian refers to Glenn Greenwald as “journalist”.

450 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:51:23am

re: #409 wrenchwench

I used to take care of infants and small children for 50 cents an hour. I was 11, 12, and 13. When I was 14 I raised my rate to 75 cents. When I was 15, I didn’t want to do it any more, so I raised my rate to $1, and the calls quit coming.

My first on-the-books job was for minimum wage, $1.93 an hour (1975, I think). Again, taking care of children, at a day camp. They weren’t much younger than me.

My first tax paying job was at McDonalds around ‘75 also. Before that is was farm work for maybe $2 - $3 bucks a day. But there were a coupe farmers wives that could really cook, so lunch was great when working for them.

451 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:53:10am

I babysat for $1/hour

First part-time job was fast food —$3.25/hour

First full-time job $3.50/hour —and I paid rent, bills, gas and food with that.

Came to Chicago to work for big corporation as a clerical worker $14K/year.

452 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:54:28am
453 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 10:55:20am
454 wrenchwench  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:00:30am

re: #450 Eventual Carrion

My first tax paying job was at McDonalds around ‘75 also. Before that is was farm work for maybe $2 - $3 bucks a day. But there were a coupe farmers wives that could really cook, so lunch was great when working for them.

I had a job from 5th grade to 8th grade throwing hay to some horses and sheep every morning and night, about 2 blocks from home (behind my grade school). $5.00 a week, plus about 5 cookies with the $5 bill. I started asking for the recipe, and many months later, after I had figured out they were ‘store boughten’, my boss, known as ‘Gramma Gagnon’, came up with a recipe that I knew was bogus. Somehow it ended up in the family traditional recipes, despite several attempts to debunk it and get it removed. Can’t even keep the record straight in the damn recipe box.

455 Backwoods_Sleuth  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:01:01am

re: #452 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

I’ve seen several #DangerousBlackKids tweets…major cuteness overloads!

456 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:03:22am

SMH

457 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:04:24am

IT ISN’T FAIR UNLESS EVERYBODY HAS TO WORK FOR YEARS BEFORE THEY CAN EARN A LIVING WAGE!!!!1!!!!!

458 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:07:09am

re: #456 Pie-onist Overlord

SMH

[Embedded content]

You mean the guys who have been earning more all along.

My last job, I saw this happen, to me, in fact. Ignorant red-neck dude was earning $2 more an hour than I was and I’d had couple years seniority. I only know this because he tried to get me to tell him how much I was making by “bragging” about his raise.

I just smiled.

459 FemNaziBitch  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:09:28am

bbl

460 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:09:42am

re: #456 Pie-onist Overlord

SMH

[Embedded content]

They should have been members of the lucky sperm club like the Walton children.

“I made my money the old fashion way, I inherited it!”

461 Bear  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:09:51am

First job out of high school was 76 cents an hour for 10 hour day, six days a week. Working on railroad.

462 Pie-onist Overlord  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:11:10am

re: #461 Bear

First job out of high school was 76 cents an hour for 10 hour day, six days a week. Working on railroad.

Did you get paid in cash or Pullman scrip?

463 Eventual Carrion  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:12:05am

re: #461 Bear

First job out of high school was 76 cents an hour for 10 hour day, six days a week. Working on railroad.

All the live-long day?

464 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:12:52am

re: #453 FemNaziBitch

[Embedded content]

Doubt there’s a causative link much less correlation since there is still the requirement of the Federal NICS background check.

465 William Barnett-Lewis  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:13:52am

re: #456 Pie-onist Overlord

SMH

[Embedded content]

Matthew 20:1-16?

////

idiots.

466 Bear  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:32:07am

re: #462 Pie-onist Overlord

Dollars and cents.

467 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave of the waffle light)  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 11:38:43am

re: #381 danarchy

You are trading one caricature for another. I do Network Engineering/Sys Admin/Outsourced IT support. I do work for a lot of VC, Private Equity, and capital management firms and those guys seriously never stop working. I don’t understand it, you’d think once you have a couple billion under your belt you could afford to relax a little, but they are in the office early, leave late, work on weekends and vacations. It is one of our biggest gripes with those clients, you basically have to be on call 24/7, but they do pay their bills and don’t gripe when you tell them they need to spend some money on infrastructure.

It’s not that they aren’t working hard, but what are they doing that is productive and beneficial to society? Look at what Bain Capital did to America.

468 chadu  Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:15:09pm

re: #295 Decatur Deb

Red,black and white flag goes up on any nic including ‘88’.

Which pisses me off, being a Blue Blazer of the Banzai Institute as I am.


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