She means well; she tries hard; she fails dismally.
Eric TF Bat. Fruitbat. Baron Karl Faustus von Aachen. Dominus Tiberius Aelius Paulli filius Sabatina tribu Faustus Vespertilio. Batty Herald. SCA: #Lochac, Ynys Fawr, Lightwood. AICSA: SCUNA, SUMS, PWUCS. Politics: lefty ratbag. He/him.
284 followers 151 following 1,179 posts
view profile on Bluesky
She means well; she tries hard; she fails dismally.
I prefer to keep it within the species.
Spoken like a city boy. Or platypus, whatever. A city monotreme!
While real estate developers can sit on councils, councils will remain useless. Real reform begins with banning everyone who has ever worked in real estate from ever running for any sort of office.
"On the whole, John, it's well written and all, but... I checked Wikipedia just now, and I discovered that none of what you wrote actually happened. You're going to have to correct a bunch of factual errors if you want to earn any credibility in the textbook industry!"
Australia managed to get an independent electoral commission, a proportional representation system that dramatically reduces the two-party curse, and a set of sane rules that give it among the fairest elections on earth, all without a revolution. It can be done, if you have the will.
Damn, if lawyers want to maintain the reputation of being totally evil, they're going to have to figure out what to do with you, because you're in danger of redeeming your whole profession.
#1 in Governers bullying homeless people by stealing their stuff #2 in bullshit rhetoric about evil trans children (but #1 is the UK, so it's still a notable score)
What's really unbelievable, but in a good way, is that a judge agreed with you on that point!
What are ya, some kind o' bleedin' heart commie???
Fifthededed. He would be a squishy square root. Come to think of it, that's way ruder in Australian slang...
So his code-name is Parody, and his ability is to mimic other mutants' powers, except he makes them better. So he can heal faster than Deadpool, teleport like Nightcrawler but without the "bamff" farting effect, make bigger explosions than Gambit, and so on.
I read your post and immediately thought of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHIo...
There's a reason universities are renaming their Computer Studies degrees as Bachelor of Googling StackOverflow. Sometimes, the only answer is someone else's unanswered question.
The scary corollary to that is that volcanic eruptions don't tend to move the needle on our current global warming because the human-caused CO2 production is so much larger than whatever a dear little exploding hill can produce.
WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE SHAREHOLDERS!!!
Vaccines kind of DO cause autism, though: they stop kids dying of preventable diseases, so they can grow up and maybe get diagnosed autistic on the way. Dead kids are never autistic! But by the same principle, vaccines also cause EVERY human condition, so it's probably not a useful point. Oh well.
And if you get these ones wrong pacifically, your a looser.
That's not the word "thank". Close, but they're getting a couple of consonants and a vowel wrong.
Comme fucking chats et chiens?
The two types of author in the world are (1) the excellent ones who would be quite pleased, and (2) the pompous gits who would be annoyed and frankly deserve to be. There is no downside here!
Is that anything like craunch, as in "to craunch a marmoset"?
"Wake up, Mr Masen, your eye operation was a success! What's that? Why are there all these blind people? Oh, there was a catastrophe, you know how it goes. Some walking plants almost took over, but we asked John Scalzi to keep them healthy and they all died. So that's nice! Care for some breakfast?"
I liked her fine enough fifty years ago when she was called Enid Blyton and wasn't being hailed as the Saviour Of Literacy. Her current incarnation is woeful.
A blood pressure drug? Interesting! For me, plain old ibuprofen (our American friends call it Advil, apparently) is enough to head off the pain, and there's some evidence that the cause for me is actually neck pain and general spinal crunchiness.
I got my first one ever in September of 2019 - never had them before that. Exactly one skull-crusher, and after that I learned to head them off with drugs, so there's been no repeat. Some friends of mine get them regular as clockwork every month and it wipes them out for three days at a time.
I am SO lucky with my particular migraine package. I got the Privileged White Boy option: lots of warning flashes and weird dyslexia so I know it's coming, and all I have to do is take Nurofen and lie down and then I'm fine, albeit groggy for the rest of the day. I am aware of my privilege in this!
I technically disagree. I think in fact freedom of speech is in very good shape, but only for dumbasses. Previously, you couldn't say racist shit because people would think less of you. Now you can say it all you like; the only downside is that you might end up in charge of a government department.
Struggling to find enough Palestinians to plant it on, you mean.
What is Klingon for "Terran bread product shaped like an almost-completely-hidden moon?"
Oh no! Shootings? Which wealthy people were inconvenienced? Which corporations lost value? What's that? None? Well then, hardly worth the President's attention then, is it?
I could never get past the bit where a character casually mentioned Duncan's cousin Connor and how he had dealt, past tense, with the Kurgan. This was said by an immortal to another immortal, despite the fact that the whole point of the movie was that There Could Be Only One. I gave up after that...
The movie. I hear people liked the series but I never got into it.
Damn. Forgot where I was for a second. Click-click-BLOCK.
Not an author, huh? You wrote your post and set it free. What it is now about isn't really up to you.
It's God. That's how it's spelled now.
But George! You have to hope not! Do you WANT every homophobic preacher and politician to be gay?
My daughter (17, trans) was turned off Highlander by all the homophobia I never noticed when I was her age.
Is Peter F Hamilton "older material" yet? I almost gave up on one of his books when I realised I was 500+ words into it and none of the stuff in the back cover blurb had happened yet. (Luckily I stuck with it, and it got good.)
Not even sex. Specifically, boobs. So many boobs! How can a writer make paragraphs about young, fit, large-breasted topless women so icky that a teenage boy wants to stop reading? It's a talent!
Kind of was the topic, really. Weird that it totally flew over your head, but the rest of us got it. I was literally throwing Heinlein's books against the wall in the 1980s for his shitty attitude to women and his incest fetish.
The bar is low. "Holds up" nowadays means the author hasn't raped a babysitter or funded any government-sanctioned hate crimes. There are still some left, but not many.
The Evil Recently Moved To Palliative Care #MildHorror
Undocumented Alien #MildHorror (I considered "Undocumented Alien vs Child Sex Predator", but why bring US federal politics into this?)
Some Time In Mid-To-Late October #MildHorror
Fun fact: BSky does in fact have auto content moderation. I suggested that the way to deal with the US situation is to target NewsCorp management, not just politicians. I used the expression "Be the [name of Mario's brother] you want to see in the world." It was INSTANTLY taken down, at AI speeds.
That's an interesting question. Is it true that the current process, aka Project 2025, ISN'T stupid, just because it's carefully planned? I tend toward the belief that the people behind it are oblivious to the effects outside their bubbles. They'll learn, but not until it's too late for everyone.
Amendments? Rights? Ancient history! The stupid part is that the people in charge have already made the decision.
Exactly! We are noticing the pre-existing stupidity here.
Do you? I don't!
I would agree, but the horse has already bolted. Since ICE agents are no longer required to prove their identity, it follows that anyone is an ICE agent. Schroedinger's Nazi, if you like. The stupidity of this is a feature, not a bug.
Nonsense. Hitler had good dress sense and didn't rape children. The two are nothing alike.
You're wrong. ICE members have no ID and no respect for law. Therefore, when someone like this cunt shows no ID and no respect, he is ICE by definition. Walks like a Nazi, quacks like a Nazi. If the real Dept wants to argue, they can change their behaviour first.
To be fair to them, you ARE pretty consistently up to no good, so...
Hang on, though! The economy is going better than ever and Trump has the highest approval ratings of any President ever! Everything is Great Again - just ask him!
The Invertebrate Centipede #MildHorror
Granted, it's a good couple of decades since he wrote "I'd rather break bread with Dawkins than Desmond Tutu, to be honest," and back in those days we thought Joss Whedon and JK Rowling were feminists, so I think we all can't claim to be infallible...
Yeah. I love his stuff, but he needs to stop having centrist political opinions like some rich cunt, and go back to being a leftie ratbag.
As soon as I heard, pretty much my first thought was "I should go see what Al has said about this", because I knew he was important to you, as he was to me and many others. Just so we're straight: I've lost enough formative influences this month, OK? You and Eric Bogle both need to stay safe, OK?
I believe the standard reply is abbreviated as DTMWAGT.
Being called one is terrible, sure. But being one is fine, apparently. Ask any megachurch pastor or Republican senator!
Celebrate by giving HIM an injection, free of charge. I can suggest a number of possible substances -- all organic, so you know they're healthy!
People forget that taxes on the wealthy are not some random new invention -- they're the official successor to the guillotine, invented as a substitute that was supposed to be more agreeable to all concerned. We can still go back to the good old days if they insist.
Oh yeah, that's an abbreviation. The full expression is "violence that inconveniences me personally is never the answer!"
Cats impersonating cob loaves. It's a thing.
I took a look at the first episode, realised that Asimov's actual books are still unfilmable, and gave up on the show. Apart from a couple of character names and the title, is there any link with the books? Or is it just original SF "inspired by" the books?
Same reason Jack Kirby never worked for Marvel Comics.
That's exactly what those states are doing! Except without the second space character.
Ok, I can do this! I shall put on calf-skin trousers and go for a ride on a trandem (3-seat tandem) bicycle. Full day celebrated!
"Just leave" is the politer option. "Deal with the fascists in the traditional way" is a euphemism for the other alternative. Sometimes, we must each be the Luigi we want to see in the world.
Definitely the one that Radiohead did, that the producers got cold feet about and replaced with a Sam Smith song that... well, to be honest, listening to it just now, I have to admit it's pretty good too. But definitely the runner-up.
Ok, I know what you are now. Thanks for that.
If the shelters she donates a pittance to were only for white women, would that change your view?
I call this PAMTITS: Privilege Allows Me To Ignore This Shit. It is absolutely vital for your own effectiveness as an ally: you must prioritise your own mental health. "Always fit your own oxygen mask before helping others." Otherwise, you're of no use to anybody. No apologies required.
Well, obviously!
Today I did not eat beans and I did not drop rocks. That means I have a perfect score - 3 out of 3!
Long covid gave me just enough of a taste of this that I am able to empathise, not just sympathise. I wish you well, which is just the non-asshole version of "thoughts and prayers", but it's all I've got to give and now it's yours.
The poor guy was stuck in England doing a tour (true story!) so it's understandable, wanting to get out of there!
Meh. The first error was assuming there are good guys anywhere.
No, the economy got better, and everyone who voted for TRUMP got a free puppy and/or a blowjob. If you disagree, it's because you're antisemitic.
I don't know if it counts as a grudge exactly, but there are some people who are still grumpy about (entirely justified) decisions made by Gereint Crux Australis.
I mean, come on, surely not EVERYBODY was kung-fu fighting? What about children or old people or people in wheelchairs?
They're basically just freedom fighter cosplayers. Enjoy their politics fanfic but don't treat them as a news source.
flurf.net/batpage/OdeT...
Ah, I see. So now, if anyone wants a hysterectomy, they don't need to show evidence of having had several children, being over thirty-five, have written approval from their husband, etc etc etc, as if this were fucking 1955 or something. Instead, they just need to say they're Mexican. How simple!
The stopped clock of the Australian justice system does sometimes know what time it is.
You reminded me of this. Thank you. pbs.twimg.com/media/A7iHwJ...
I was thinking it could have been psi-ops, but that seems to be missing something.
Tell us a story, Unca Stil!
I grew up in Canberra, and I now live in southern Tasmania. I know full well that the June Solstice marks the precise point where winter continues unabated for three more months of darkness and cold before it warms up a bit (in Tasmania) or way too fucking much (in Canberra).
Posted, I notice, on the Summers solstice. Coincidence?
"Try everything once, except folk dancing and incest." - Sir Thomas Beecham (allegedly)
Left socks turn into coat hangers. Everyone knows that!
Cue the old punchline, "ok, but how much is a brazillion?"
That would be the preferred outcome, yes. Definitely. In the meantime, I offer Marvin the Paranoid Android's solution of answering "Never better". They don't need to know it's followed, sotto voce, by "... still very bad though".
That was entertaining. Bravo! On the topic of the First Four, I would say the differences are as follows: COBOL: programs that operate on files Fortran: programs that operate on numbers Algol: programs that operate on just about anything Lisp: programs that operate on programs
Hey Benno! I've nearly finished my talk titled "Python Is Boring Let's Do Our Web Dev In COBOL As God Intended". Where do I send it? PS I was going to suggest PHP rather than COBOL, but it's so boring being in the overwhelming majority of successful web devs, y'know?
I need to add both of those to my rotation and boost them. Timely reminder. Thanks!
I know y'all will accuse me of lying or hallucinating, but I saw it with my own eyes: I selected "Install updates and shut down" just now, and my Win11 PC installed updates and then... IT SHUT DOWN! By itself! It didn't restart and sit there waiting to log me in! Truly, this is the age of wonders.