He did a poor job of handling abuse but he is a role model for Catholic Clergy? [nyti.ms]

Druvius comments on Oct 12, 2018:

The Catholic Church is an organized pedophile ring. Nothing more.

Also, he has a side quest for you....

Druvius comments on Oct 11, 2018:

I've always loved this meme. Here's a favorite quest meme. :)

Etymology- British English to American English I don't know if this is accurate, but it makes ...

Druvius comments on Oct 11, 2018:

This sounds suspiciously like folk etymology. I found this: https://www.livescience.com/33844-british-american-word-spelling.html

See, men are smarter than women !

Druvius comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Little unclear on how treating your wife like garbage counts as "smart."

US changes course to allow Russian surveillance flyover - CNNPolitics

Druvius comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Yes, because a treaty that makes nuclear war with Russia less likely should be observed.

Five myths about the 2016 election - The Washington Post

Druvius comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Yerp, the Wapo serves their oligarch masters well.

Non-rhetorical question: How can politicians represent us when they are being paid millions to ...

Druvius comments on Oct 8, 2018:

They stopped representing us decades ago.

This is by far the scariest thing. And we may never recover from it. [nyti.ms]

Druvius comments on Oct 8, 2018:

Yeah, it's crazy.

New climate change report issues stark warning - CNN [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Oct 8, 2018:

We're not really an intelligent species.

On Netflix tonight for me will be "The Damned" This film features a family and group of friends ...

Druvius comments on Oct 7, 2018:

Nope. I await your review. :)

Feeling vindicated yet?

Druvius comments on Oct 7, 2018:

The oligarchs love him, that's all that matters in America now. The rest is just circus to distract us.

Sorry people.

Druvius comments on Oct 7, 2018:

All just a circus to distract people while the oligarchs continue looting the country.

We don't have to wait til April for the pranks to begine LOL [mcphee.com]

Druvius comments on Oct 7, 2018:

Glad to see they are still around. My glow squid is a treasured possession still, and my life wouldn't be the same without artificial ants.

My cat is back! He had been gone for 5 days.

Druvius comments on Oct 6, 2018:

Or a car ran over the top of him, they try to hang on desperayely but the wind pulls them loose. Least that's what I heard all dull claws means in situations like this. Glad he's home.

Do atheists observe Halloween?

Druvius comments on Oct 6, 2018:

Why wouldn't they?

I have never been more disgusted or ashamed of this country than I am today.

Druvius comments on Oct 6, 2018:

They have been winning pretty much all the battles since the late 70s, that's when the oligarchs took control of all three branches of government. I don't know what the solution is, but pretty sure we're not going to vote our way out of this mess. :(

Well, ghost stories are of interest to anthropologists, nu?

Druvius comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Scientists did an experiment once with a lady who could hallucinate an image of her deceased father. She started seeing him after he died, they had been close. It didn't cause her any problems though, and she pretty quickly adjusted to it, just her brain's way of remembering her dad. In fact she could usually make him come and go at will. So, if a human stares at a bright flashing light, this shows up in your brain waves. You can't habituate to it or prevent it, your brain registers it. So they set up a chair with a bright flashing light behind it. And then they had the woman state at it, and of course it showed up in her brainwaves. Then they had her hallucinate her father sitting in her chair blocking the light. Boop, no flashing in brainwaves. Just more proof that what we "see" is the brain's construction, processed sensory inputs, but we don't actually directly experience anything.

Well, ghost stories are of interest to anthropologists, nu?

Druvius comments on Oct 5, 2018:

I don't believe in ghosts either, but why people experience such is fascinating on several levels to me. :)

I'm watching the original Blair witch project on shudder! I've seen it at the theater when I was 16 ...

Druvius comments on Oct 5, 2018:

One of the few movies I fast forwarded through a lot of. "Oh, look, they're running around in the dark, again!" Not my cup of tea.

My local news just reported that the US leads the world in the number of people accidentally killed ...

Druvius comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Yerp, us leads in gun selfie deaths. https://pix11.com/2018/10/04/more-than-250-people-around-the-world-have-died-taking-selfies-since-2011-study-says/

Leftees gone nuts:::: A scientist presents his scientific findings to a group of scientists who find...

Druvius comments on Oct 4, 2018:

What does this have to do with leftees?

Hi, I'm new here.

Druvius comments on Oct 4, 2018:

The whole issue between archeologists and native Americans has generated a lot of controversy. The Graves and Repatriation Act has been a mixed blessing. The natives are still getting hosed in some places. In CA every county has someone appointed by the governor who decides what is to be done when a native grave site is found. Guess what, doesn't have to be a native or have any knowledge of natives. So it's a political plum, and the people appointed do what the developer's want. In Emeryville some Ohlone graves were found at a big project, what to be done? The state appointed lady said, oh, can't disturb them, just pave over them!! Whew, project could continue uninterupted. The problem is the Ohlone have no traditions about graves, to them dead bodies were just empty shells, and were unceremoniously burried in midden heaps. What's important to the Ohlone is how their ancestors lived, so they want archeologists to study their grave sites and skeletons! Infuriating.

A stubby kitty!

Druvius comments on Oct 3, 2018:

Love them old time Japanese cats. :)

New velociraptor relative discovered -- and it has wings, feathers By Mary Kinney Oct 2nd, ...

Druvius comments on Oct 3, 2018:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenyuanlong

With all the craziness that is floating around in the world, what are your thoughts that some ...

Druvius comments on Oct 2, 2018:

As I understand it, at the very smallest levels of particle physics, it has yet to be determined if reality is analog or digital. If it's analog, it can't be a simulation. If digital, maybe. Idk, from an individual perspective, seems pretty moot.

Netflix time now watching Black Panther. If you seen it how did you like it? ??

Druvius comments on Oct 2, 2018:

Fine for what it was, good superhero movie. And gee, after a trillion movies where white America saves the world, nice to see a movie where a black African nation saves the world. I enjoyed it.

A Physicist Said Women's Brains Make Them Worse at Physics — Experts Say That's 'Laughable' ...

Druvius comments on Oct 2, 2018:

When smart people comment on subjects outside their area of expertise, not unusual for them to say surprisingly ignorant things.

I just read an article in tonights paper that I wanted to share although it certainly is not ...

Druvius comments on Oct 1, 2018:

They also sell em to labs. Yerp, never give away free animals unless you know for sure it's going to a good home.

PLEASE tell me this is not common among things parents subject their children to.

Druvius comments on Oct 1, 2018:

Reminds me of Purity Balls, which I find a bit disturbing. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/purity-ball-photos_n_5255904.html

PLEASE tell me this is not common among things parents subject their children to.

Druvius comments on Sep 30, 2018:

This ... this ... this is why the aliens don't contact us.

Post one of your favorite pet pics. Here's my all-time favorite!

Druvius comments on Sep 30, 2018:

My late great Lady Binky.

My cat hasn't come home searched the neighborhood twice

Druvius comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Don't give up. And the calling them in the middle of the night has worked on many occaisions in my experience. Good luck! http://www.angelfire.com/ca/unitedcats/lostcat.html

I don't even like eisenhower but i sure can't argue with this. g

Druvius comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Said the man who authorized the first ever US peacetime overthrow of a foreign government, installing the Shah in Iran.

Having now had a day or two to digest what we all saw, who among us really thinks this man is ...

Druvius comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Sadly character doesn't really count in contemporary American politics.

Fermi's Paradox: [patreon.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 28, 2018:

Probably should of included this: http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/thinkingMeat.html

Despite a common misconception, statistics do not lie.

Druvius comments on Sep 27, 2018:

"Figures don't lie but liars sure can figure." ;)

Why do scientists try to apply rules to the working of the universe when in fact there are none that...

Druvius comments on Sep 27, 2018:

To date they do seem to hold up universally, but it's not like physicists and cosmologists aren't looking at the possibility: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2015/10/are-the-laws-of-physics-really-universal/

Pic of cat escaping flood . . . and human is spot on.

Druvius comments on Sep 27, 2018:

Yeah, one of my favourites. In my saved memes file. :)

Why do scientists try to apply rules to the working of the universe when in fact there are none that...

Druvius comments on Sep 27, 2018:

Oh, and what rules don't hold up universally?

What The World Was Before The White Man Took Over

Druvius comments on Sep 26, 2018:

The poster is using the "world" more or less generically, the point is valid. The world was full of a vast number of cultures and civilizations before being conquered by Christian European armies during the "Age of discovery." Who knows what the world would be like if the Europeans had come as explorers, not conquerors.

Reading a Jarod Diamond book, always enjoy his work.

Druvius comments on Sep 26, 2018:

I had to stop. His knowledge of anthropology and the history of primitive cultures may be good, but his knowledge of contemporary and 20th century history was facile and pretty much adhered to Neocon propaganda. Disappointing.

Anyone else feel Time Tunnel is due a big screen Hollywood remake? I loved this show as a Kid.

Druvius comments on Sep 26, 2018:

I loved it as a kid, though it doesn't hold up as well as some other shows from that era. Most remakes of 60s eras shows have been disappointing, but I'd certainly check it out if they did.

I'm obviously a terrible mother.

Druvius comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Reminded me of this:

Can Seeds in a Dead Person's Stomach Really Sprout into Trees? [livescience.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 25, 2018:

Yeah, plenty of seeds are hardy enough to pass through a digestive tract, so seems perfectly reasonable.

I posted this to the uncommon words group (highly recommended), but in this case I could see it ...

Druvius comments on Sep 25, 2018:

Oh, has that group changed? It was mostly a handful of people cutting and pasting words from lists of uncommon words they found on online lists.

If Extra Dimensions Do Exist, They Must Be Really, Really Small [livescience.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 25, 2018:

I've always thought this was fascinating. Lay people often conflate other dimensions with alternate realities. What this means is that there might still be other directions than the three we see, height, width, depth. And while these three were "inflated" to the great distances we see, the other ones only inflated to subatomic distance. So objects have other dimensions, but we can't see or detect them. Yet. IE the universe is billions of light years tall, wide, deep, in the other dimensions it only extends a subatomic distance. Hard to get one's head around really.

Would you want to know?

Druvius comments on Sep 24, 2018:

No, why should the doctor mention the remote possibility of a very rare almost certainly fatal disease any time a patient's diagnosis isn't certain? Frankly the doctor shouldn't have mentioned ALS at all.

"This is the evil genius of Trump—is that he knows how to keep, especially liberals, all ...

Druvius comments on Sep 22, 2018:

I think that's giving him too much credit, but yeah, the GOP is using him as a distraction quite handily.

I didn't know this! Indians in the Pacific Northwest were working iron before contact with ...

Druvius comments on Sep 21, 2018:

It's a pretty safe bet that some Japanese made it alive. It's also a fairly safe bet that they would have been killed by any indians they met. That's just how tribal societies generally dealt with strangers.

Marshall and MeToo: A 77-year-old civil rights fight exposes the reactionary character of the sexual...

Druvius comments on Sep 21, 2018:

Wow, conflating the "metoo" movement with historical cases of blacks being falsely accused of rape or lesser sexual offences agaunst whites. And just how many of the people currently being accused HAVE BEEN DRAGGED INTO THE STREETS AND MURDERED BY MOBS? The WSWS should be ashamed of publishing this blatant defense of rape culture and sexual harrassment in the workplace.

I used to love the history channel, even though sometimes it referred to a.

Druvius comments on Sep 21, 2018:

The "Woo and Nonsense Only Relating to Actual History in the Loosest Possible Sense of the Word Channel."

I work at a university and a guy called this summer to see if we wanted some "dinosaur poop" he ...

Druvius comments on Sep 20, 2018:

Coprilites. Some paleontologists study them, assume they have collector value like most fossils.

Reading a Jarod Diamond book, always enjoy his work.

Druvius comments on Sep 20, 2018:

I may not be able to keep reading. He's made several broad generalizations that I know to be factually suspect regarding modern civilization.

Ignoramus trump Tells Survivor - "At Least You Got a Nice Boat Out of Deal -WTF!

Druvius comments on Sep 20, 2018:

LOL, that's actually the kind of joke I might make.

I'm sure this will be an unpopular comment here, but I don't care.

Druvius comments on Sep 19, 2018:

GMTA. This is why my flirtation with atheism was brief.

Is it safe to assume that all Americans by now have read or at least heard about the piece in the ...

Druvius comments on Sep 19, 2018:

If my interest in Trump's genitals was turned into gasoline, it wouldn't drive an ant's motorcycle halfway around the inside of a Cheerio. So no, haven't heard of it and couldn't care less.

Does socialism violate the incentive principle in economics?

Druvius comments on Sep 19, 2018:

No. Next. Basically made up BS by the right to justify transfering wealth upwards and pretend that the common good doesn't exist.

Bank of America is asking customers to prove citizenship to access their own money

Druvius comments on Sep 18, 2018:

BOA has been the face of evil for decades, no surprise.

Space Movie??? ?

Druvius comments on Sep 18, 2018:

Depends on what you mean by space movie. Defined as a movie that takes place only in space, there aren't too many to choose from. John Carpenter's Dark Star, Silent Running, and Passengers are good in their own ways.

Would you watch it if they made it?

Druvius comments on Sep 17, 2018:

Well, no. But neither westerns nor love stories interest me much, which is why I never saw the first one. Watching the evangelicals' heads explode would be fun though. ;)

Legends of a Medieval Female Pope May Tell the Truth [livescience.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 17, 2018:

Interesting. I thought it was firmly in the mythical category.

What do you think is the worst TV commercial running right now?

Druvius comments on Sep 16, 2018:

Yeah, that Skittles commercial is really gross. I could never eat one now.

Seriously?

Druvius comments on Sep 16, 2018:

I wouldn't ask that question, but yes, I could build a house. ;)

I believe this to be true:

Druvius comments on Sep 16, 2018:

LOL, went to visit a friend once, she warned me ... one of her cats was really ugly. I was of course very skeptical. Got to her house damn, she was right, it was one ugly cat.

Latest calcs indicate that 2002 NT7 will probably miss Earth by 10 to 18 or more ld.

Druvius comments on Sep 16, 2018:

1.2 km asteroid, so not a mass extinction event, but almost certainly the worst natural disaster humans ever faced. 40km crater, will kill everyone within hundreds of miles, devastating tsunamis if it hits an ocean. Global cooling almost for sure from dust kicked up. Its orbit is well known now though, no danger for at least 100 years.

I'm gonna put this in the Politics category because there is no Idiots category.

Druvius comments on Sep 13, 2018:

Don't need to. He's a con artist with a knack for self promotion. His business acumen is zero.

This is a fantastic "cat noir" short film starring a lovely cat name Henri. [youtube.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 13, 2018:

Henri is great. :)

We love the CIA.

Druvius comments on Sep 13, 2018:

As a friend said, "When did progressives start trusting the FBI and the CIA?" It really is shocking.

Ha! I have finally found an audience that will appreciate my favorite cat video EVER! It's ...

Druvius comments on Sep 13, 2018:

It is fantastic, lol. This is my favorite ever: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TQBMPDbqlvc

Should Pluto be renamed as a planet? What are your thoughts? [nydailynews.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

And more Pluto trivia. The sky on Pluto, day or night, would be utterly spectacular because there's no atmosphere and the Sun is so far away it would just be a bright star with no apparent disk. However, even as just a bright star with no apparent disk, if one stared at it without eye protection, it would damage your eyes. Not as quick as on Earth of course, but you still wouldn't want to actually stare at it.

Should Pluto be renamed as a planet? What are your thoughts? [nydailynews.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

While on the topic of Pluto, before the flyby astronomers expected they would photogragh a geologically dead heavily cratered orb like the Moon. Its core should long ago have cooled and so far from the Sun there should have been no energy source to drive geology. Instead they found an object that clearly has a geologically active surface, and as yet it's still a mystery from what I can find online.

Question: What Is The Best Candidate In Our Solar System (Apart from Earth) As An Abode For ...

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

Personally I suspect we will find microbial life all over the Solar System once we have the means to look for it. Which is a matter of money and engineering. Basically sample return probes that can retreive samples from deep locations where life might be, or very sophisticated lander laboritories. Both are being worked on. To answer the question more on point, I think Mars is the best place to look, because of its proximity and relatively benign surface environment. If Mars turns out to be lifeless, I suspect the odds of finding it elsewhere drop considerably.

General article I recently read an article downplaying the importance of being concerned about ...

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

The amount of money being spent on asteroid defence is beyond trivial. Considering the potential damage of a large one hitting, we should be spending more, not less. While I agree there's no point of the average person worrying about it, the risk is real and spending more on it would be completely justified.

Very interesting concept that could help income inequality.

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

Yeah, or we could just make the minimum wage a living wage again and peg it to inflation.

Trump says maybe U.S. will have a president for life someday | PBS NewsHour

Druvius comments on Sep 12, 2018:

A one party dictatorship seems to be well on the way, so I suppose it's possible. :(

I have never been to a site that has a point reward system.

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

Seems ok, certainly weeds out the lazy scammers. I've seen it ruin groups though where a few people post numerous and basically pointless posts clearly about getting points. After 7 it really slows down, will take years to get to ten.

Russia starts biggest war games since Soviet fall near China – Headlines

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

Why the Neocons seem determined to drive Russia and China together is, well, baffling.

Should Pluto be renamed as a planet? What are your thoughts? [nydailynews.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

I think they should have classified the planets as Inner and Outer Planets, the big eight, they really are in a class of their own. And Pluto as a Kuiper Belt Object or Kuiper Belt planet. I like this guys take on it: https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-pluto-debate-rages-on/

Why they banned Alex Jones from all the social platforms ?

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

I too wonder if this is a precursor to banning all sorts of alternative outlets.

These people claim to be loving, godfearing christians. Have they ever READ anything Jesus said?

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

I rejoined my family's faith because I was so appalled by the horrors spread by the Holy Rollers.

NASA’s New Vasimr Plasma Engine Could Reach Mars In Less Than 6 Weeks [thescinewsreporter.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 11, 2018:

We'll see, this has mixed reviews in the scientific community, some even calling it a hoax.

This is sad, 5,000 year old city to be destroyed to make way for a copper mine. [cnbc.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 10, 2018:

Well, turns out the project may not go ahead after all: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/06/mes-aynak-chinese-copper-mine-disrupted-by-corruption-charge.html

I want to know how you meet new people.

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

Volunteering for political and social justice events was my route after moving to a new town. Introverted myself, but discoveed long ago I won't meet people sitting in my room. It's hard.

He's BACK! President Obama Rebukes Trump for the First Time

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

Oh good, Obama criticizing Trump will certainly galvanize Trump supporters to vote.

With just a little imagination, you can totally imagine stuff.

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

But if you have aphantasia, you can't visualize it. ;)

"Turn out the light!!" "How do you hoomans stay up all day?"

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

And of course it's mathematical that multiplying two negative numbers yields a positive number, so having two black cats equals twice as much good luck.

"Turn out the light!!" "How do you hoomans stay up all day?"

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

Cats are like an artfully designed D&D character. They have a number of maxed out characteristics that make them awesome in numerous respects. But they had to utterly minimize a few characteristics to get the points needed for that. One of them was "awake time," it's minimized. A cat can sleep 20 hours a day in perfect health. Lucky buggers. ;)

What a great idea ??

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

Yerp, we have a catio here, though nothing this elaborate. They need to get out in the sunshine and feel the wind in their fur.

I want to talk evolution.

Druvius comments on Sep 7, 2018:

Depends what one means by "talk evolution." The debate about evolution ended around 1870.

Just some optical illusions to help you get through to the weekend.

Druvius comments on Sep 6, 2018:

One of my faves, A and B are the same exact shade. If the pic loaded right at least. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_shadow_illusion

Someone in the white house is trying to save the country. [nytimes.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 5, 2018:

Since the person in question is clearly a hard core neocon, no, no they aren't.

Climate Change Likely Iced Neanderthals Out Of Existence Climate records gathered from ...

Druvius comments on Sep 5, 2018:

Yeah, another interesting piece in the puzzle for sure. We may never know with certainty why our cousins like the Neanderthal, Denisovans, and the still mystery hominid died out. Probably a combination of things.

How a Young Woman Lost Her Identity | The New Yorker

Druvius comments on Sep 3, 2018:

Other cases: https://unitedcats.wordpress.com/2007/08/07/who-am-i-part-two/

How a Young Woman Lost Her Identity | The New Yorker

Druvius comments on Sep 3, 2018:

I've read and blogged about a number of cases like this. People suddenly for no discerable reason ... who they are dissolves. And they wander off. Sometimes they are found and recover, sometimes not. Maybe someday science will have a better grip on this, but right now it's still a tragic mystery. Hope she's alive somewhere.

Naomi Klein: The Worst Is Yet to Come with Trump, So We Must Be Ready for Shock Politics - YouTube

Druvius comments on Sep 3, 2018:

Watched about half, classic Naomi, preaching to the converted. It's not the wisdom of the ages, just self promotion. It is going to take a massive shock to get this country out of the corporate death spiral it's been on since Reagan. How it will play out, I have no idea.

Naomi Klein: The Worst Is Yet to Come with Trump, So We Must Be Ready for Shock Politics - YouTube

Druvius comments on Sep 3, 2018:

Naomi Klein has made a career of positing how the USA was just about to turn into the Third Reich. I'm no fan of Trump, but anything from Naomi Klein is best taken with a large dose of salt. :)

The July 2 issue of the New Yorker has a really interesting article on pain.

Druvius comments on Sep 2, 2018:

Given recent news, what the hell are these Catholics practising? And yes, that's unfair, known way too many religious folks who are really good people, it's the extremists like the Holy Rollers trying to rule America that give them a bad name.

Russia Is Opening A "Jurassic Park-Style" Research Lab In Siberia [iflscience.com]

Druvius comments on Sep 2, 2018:

On the one hand, neat. On the other hand, I am betting most of these went extinct due to climate change and subsequent habitat loss. So it's not like there are wildlands to repopulate them with. A vanity and proof of concept project.

Sheese, I may have to hide out in this group for awhile. :-) Two of my favorite actors:

Druvius comments on Sep 1, 2018:

She had her priorities straight. :)

Cool discovery: [archaeology.org]

Druvius comments on Sep 1, 2018:

Must of really made some people's day. Most days I suspect it's like, "Look, charcoal!"