RationalWiki:Saloon bar

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edit

For shame

Apparently this will be my 40,002nd edit. Kan I haz life nao pleez? ħuman 01:12, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I guess the orgy wasn't good for you either? Jorge _{is still sorry for whatever he did} 01:25, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Not until you hit 100,000. The Emperor _{Kneel before Zod!} 01:31, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Human - have you thought of going outside to smell the flowers now and again? Seriously, you do edit a bit much - is that wise? Do you ever wonder if it affects the speaker biz? That said, we love you, and I personally really appreciate the labour of love you've made this place, despite the disagreements we occasionally have. Without you, RW would be more crap in many ways. So thanks. That is all. DogP 05:01, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

The lilac is stinking up all of New England right now ;) My crabapple is a pretty pink. And tonight's thunderstorm made me keep lifting my hand off the mouse (need to go wireless!) The pear is flowering, as is the bleeding heart. Not sure how it might affect the biz, of course, although the fucked up economy & news don't help much. And thanks, very much, for the kind words. PS, right now the History Channel is running some crappy woo "aliens or something" built the pyramids show, even featuring some idiot from "Coast to Coast AM" that I learnded about from teh Squirrel. I can't take it anymore! ħuman 05:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

There are few things in the world worse than the History Channel. I just hate it when people make subtle claims to intelligence by claiming "I don't like TV, I only watch documentaries on the History Channel". "Oh, you mean dreadfully written booming voiceovers about something-or-other the Nazi's did, randomly attached to free archival footage of Nazis doing something completely different in a different location, with sound effects added and lots and lots of advertisements for Get-Rich-Quick schemes?" History Channel - GAH! DogP 16:09, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Around here, people call it The Hitler Channel for just that reason. Give me things blowing up for SCIENCE! on the Discovery channel any day. --Gulik 21:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I CAN'T WAIT

I can't wait. I can't wait til' Religion destroys itself, til' Florida is completely covered in water, til' the air is no longer fit to breathe and we'd all have to live under the ground. I can't wait til' Government and authority bit the last dust, til' the stock Market completely turns to shit and falls 2,000 points in three weeks, til' Music becomes so bad; no one listens to it any more, til' children are so goddamn dumb they're parents stuff them in already crowded Orphanages. And the Orphanages become to crowded and they'll have to start dumping the hopeless children in the contaminated, toxic-filled, smelly river. I can't wait til' all the "hopes" and "dreams" of all the Bigots and powerful and rich come crashing down, til' all hope is gone, and with it; the human-race. I can't wait til' Society destroys itself, and all animals can live in peace without dreaded and humiliating man.^{— Unsigned, by: 99.52.80.129 / talk / contribs}

Why not come right out and say what you mean? _and marmite 14:25, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

BTW, 'til being an abbreviation of until, the apostrophe goeth at the front. _and marmite 14:26, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Come on, tell us how you really feel. Personally, I can't wait 'til they come out with the Ender's Game movie! Jorge _{as if my opinion counts} 14:42, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

^{Enders game are krapp} _and marmite 14:50, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Till is a perfectly decent English word that means the same as until, so til' is not necessarily an abbreviation of until it may just be a misspelling. Either way it is wrong. Avovado's anyone? Генгис^{Is the Pope a Catholic?} 15:28, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Here. Oh, and I'm just going to come out and say it: BoN, you're crazy. Sure, it might be nice if animals could live in peace, but we'll affect them long after we're gone. Instead, maybe we should learn to get along with them, eh? -- 15:31, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

I just saw the cutest baby goat yesterday. It was black and brown and was walking around 'bahhhing' a whole bunch. Z3ro^talk 15:33, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Heh! Baby ducks have begun to appear on t'canal. fluffy _and marmite 15:36, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Nice weather for ducks here, too. And I've gotta go buy newsprint in that, *sigh*. --Kels 15:42, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Fluffy? No, TASTY. Amin7b5 15:52, 9 May 2009 (UTC) Also "all animals can live in peace..." If all animals could live in peace, then why were my cats trying to kill each other this morning? 15:54, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

(u)Point of order Z3ro, sheep baa, goats maa.Teh Chambers is always right. There were a load of (babyless) ducks behaving very unpeacefully in Sainsbury's car park at 10pm yesterday. I don't trust their faux smiley faces. LateralQuercus 02:15, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Thoughtful article on female sexuality by Meghan McCain

This kid is smart. Not that I agree with her 100%, of course, but the GOP needs more women speaking like this about women's issues and fewer men (...and losers like Sarah Palin) pontificating on the subject. Amin7b5 21:25, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Why the "h"? Why? Educated evil Phantom! 17:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

No, her name has got the "h" in it. I was wondering why. Educated evil Phantom! 17:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Because John is a big original Star Wars fan. --Kels 17:28, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Caudal fins

What's the difference between Amin7b5 and Adim7? Clepper ^{is fallible} 23:42, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Amin7b5=A,C,Eb,G. Adim7=A,C,Eb,Gb. min7b5 chords are sometimes called "half diminished": they tend to be used as the ii chord in a minor ii-V7-i progression, usually leading into some sort of altered dominant chord. Amin7b5 00:07, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I was right! Prize pleez? ħuman 01:08, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

/givePrize Oh ah, I've been playing half-diminished chords this whole time and not realizing they were the same thing as a min7b5. Thanks for the info! I'm gonna be playing guitar for my jazz choir next year and I'm pretty lame when it comes to theory. :/ Clepper ^{is fallible} 01:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Theory was what let me cheat my way into appearing as if I could play... Music = math + manual dexterity! ħuman 03:04, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I've become very interested in how the mathematical formulas of music can play on our emotions. Wikipedia has some interesting stuff at Music Cognition if you read the See Also link as well. Has anyone heard of a computer program that creates music on its own? I've seen tons of programs where you choose the key, choose the progression, specify any specific scales you want it to work with and the tempo and let it do the rest. So there must be programs that can do all of the choosing for you, somewhere, no? I write a lot of music on the computer, so I guess my formula is Music = Math. ;) Clepper ^{is fallible} 04:22, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Do you mean generative music? Brian Eno was on about it in the 90's but the only things I've found all use General MIDI, the horriblest atrocity to afflict music ever - the music of ringtones and new age websites. the concept is interesting though. Totnesmartin 08:18, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

And why is this section named after a fish's body part when it's about music? Totnesmartin 08:18, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

"Sounds like"... sorry, I do too many cryptic puzzles. Anyway, what's the problem? ħuman 08:27, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

"Sounds like"...co-dolphins? --Kels 18:34, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Caudal = chordal, and fins are fives... ħuman 03:35, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

So recently I've been struggling to learn a Chopin prelude (specificallythis one) on my ancient piano. Any suggestions from someone who (apparently) is a piano master? The Emperor _{Kneel before Zod!} 16:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Hit it with a hammer! Educated evil Phantom! 20:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

"On the 73rd day I shall rest."

Any fundies over there said anything about blasphemy for this yet? _and marmite 08:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Um? ħuman 08:28, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Obama: "I shall complete the next 100 days in 72 days, On the 73rd day I shall rest" (approx paraphrase). Reminiscent of "On the seventh day he rested" _and marmite 08:32, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I was struck with exactly the same thought when I saw the clip on BBC News24. Генгис^{Our ignorance is God; what we know is science.} 09:21, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Me too - I'm just waiting for the vitriol - "Obama compares self to God". Though it might not work for them, because they tend to have a very literal interpretation of what he says - after all, when he said "when people talk about my Muslim faith", it was of course interpreted as "I am a Muslim". Likewise "the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbour" meant just one bomb. So their tiny brains may be confused by the number of days not being seven. DogP 16:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Just BTW, doesn't a smile on Obama look good? That skin colour's doing him no harm at all. _and marmite 17:27, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Lightly toasted? Генгис^{Is the Pope a Catholic?} 18:56, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Conflict Resolution System

For the RationalWiki community, I, Javascap, hereby propose this system as our official conflict resolution system. Enjoy. ĴάΛäšςǍ₰ is out of his mind 17:40, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

You forgot the "Blame CUR" option. ENorman 18:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it's very important. There needs to be a 'Is CUR involved?' and if yes 'Blame him' which leads to 'There is no problem.' -- 18:21, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

[Are you CUR]→[yes]→[STFU] _and marmite 19:07, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

A CRC for when CUR is involved. ĵ₳¥ášÇ♠ʘ Who said anything about fair?! 19:38, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I can imagine this side-by-side with the "conflict resolution" (or lack of one) of Conservapedia... ^theist 10:42, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You mean [Is there a problem]→[perhaps, who cares, ban user]→[no problem]? ħuman 19:17, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

total non sequitur

How come lambs are so cute AND so tasty?--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 19:22, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I once went to outer space, but they had no marshmellows, so I came back. ĴαʊΆʃÇä₰ watches homeless echinoids legislate 19:24, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

My suspension bridge has turtles but it does not have blue pyjamas.--Bob^{bing up} 20:46, 10 May 2009 (UTC)--Bob^{bing up} 20:46, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

I think Obama has a chance in 2012. Educated evil Phantom! 20:50, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

A snake wears spats because it doesn't have any armpits. --Kels 20:51, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

A furry bit calcifys when teared by a enumerating Andrew Schlafly. Educated evil Phantom! 20:57, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Shoes first, then pants. Never forget. Ace McWicked^{Disco Jesus} 21:05, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Is that off or on? What if you're not wearing pants? _and marmite 00:11, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Have you ever noticed that the old Fred Astair number - Top Hat, White Tie and Tails never mentions anythign below the waist. Does he wear pants? Silver Sloth 09:58, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

"Tails" is short for "Tail suit" i.e. jacket & trousers (pants) _and marmite 10:08, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Wait, are you using "pants" in the British or American sense? Educated evil Phantom! 21:08, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

"If the square of a hypotenuse equals the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Never did know the answer to that one." --Kels 21:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

The higher the fewer, of course! Totnesmartin 21:25, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but what's the difference between a crocodile? --Just passing by 21:38, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

A watermelon is bigger than a Grapefruit, but you can't surf in the mountains. SirChuckB^{Call the FBI} 22:51, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

What's the weight of thirty-eight Brazilian anacondas? --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 23:07, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Democracy! Whiskey! Romania! --Kels 23:08, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Cup cakes! Crumbly candy bars! Unlimited rice pudding! Totnesmartin 08:40, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Gravid tomatoes spiralling endlessly into morbidity. _and marmite 08:45, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

If Sam's spayed, how will we have any puppies? --Yossie^{Spring in Fialta} 09:43, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

also, a tin teardrop. Totnesmartin 09:55, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Where's the car? SJ ^Debaser 13:48, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Star Trek

It was good. Very, very good. Anyone else saw it? -- 23:10, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

And why is it ECing when I add a new section? -- 23:10, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Spoiler: Spock kills Dumbledore. --JeevesMkII ^{The gentleman's gentleman at the other site} 23:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

No no no, Spock kills Snape, but you have to understand that he does it under pressure from that ship from Trinity, and the myrder is done quickly with a emaciated love. ĴαʊΆʃÇä₰ I saw a hero outside here... 23:59, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Then it turns out they're both Tyler Durden. Educated evil Phantom! 18:54, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I had that same problem with a new section being EC'ed. Is there something odd going on with the wiki today? --Kels 00:03, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm watching it tonight at work. I shalt let thou know mine opinions tomorrow! Also, he's NOT Tyler Durden. He's also not his job, nor how much money he has in the back. Neither is he his fucking khakis. SJ ^Debaser 08:45, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Atheism Tapes

Anyone know of a BBC documentary called "the Atheism tapes?" I'm downloading the first, right now. Curious about it. eztv--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 23:54, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, I know about it now :). I didn't know the BBC would dare do something so heretical. ^theist 13:59, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I havn't watched it yet, the torrent wasn't well seeded so it took forever to DL. I'll let people know if it's worth finding-- for all i know, they could be de-bunking atheism ;-).--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 14:24, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Doesn't look like it according to the wikipedia entry on the series. ^theist 15:34, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I must have missed that series. I well remember the previous one Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief and I see that the one you mention is excess material from that. The tragedy is that we get a few episodes of atheism and then it's back to the saccharine pap and baby poop of mainstream religion.  Lily ^{Inspirate me.} 18:41, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I saw the History of Disbelief on KQED out here. I also mentioned it back some time ago, that includes a link to the videos. --Shagie 22:52, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Apparently, these are many of the interviews that created "history of disbelif" (which i've not seen) in full in some cases, and just "more indepth" in others. The author / creator of the show "History of Disbelif" said he was always saddened that so much quality material lay on the cutting room floor." I have to see if i can find a link to the first one.--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 23:14, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

CP: Cult?

Ran across a "Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups" checklist yesterday. Filling it out with CP in mind: check, check, hmm...debilitating work routines...check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, money?...nope, check, check, and check. Huh--definately a cult, by my count.--WJThomas 11:24, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Somebody did a similar analysis a while back, but CP actually failed the cult test. I think one of the main reasons was that whilst a cult tries to prevent members fro leaving, CP seems to discourage people from joining.--PsyGremlin_Whut? 11:37, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Something like that. I do remember it being mentioned but CP did fail on some of the important points. It doesn't say "cut your ties with family and join conservapedia" for example, although it does do the whole Messiah-Schlafly thing occaisionally. ^theist 13:46, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Not a cult, as few things on the internet are truly a cult (except maybe WoW). If CP were started in real life with the people currently involved, it probably would qualify as a cult. Z3ro^talk 14:43, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Is it an eCult? ...are we an eCult!? ^{— Unsigned, by: Neveruse513 / talk / contribs} 15:03, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Of course not, now drink this nice cup of KoolFlavorAid I made specially for you. --PsyGremlin_Whut? 16:59, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I would venture that the "real world" part of CP (the homskollars, the "classes", etc.) are a manifestation of cult-like behavior - YEC loons - but the actual "cults" involved might be spread across several different churches. Now, if the HSers are all in one congregation, and Andy "teaches" virtually all the kids in that congregation, there might be a case to be made. Money? Andy does charge for his "classes"... ħuman 19:34, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

He charges for his work, therefore it's a cult? Totnesmartin 20:35, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You call that work? You sir are more generous than I. Scammer charge too, as do cult leaders (scientology, anyone?). The who-man makes a good point. Z3ro^talk 20:54, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Of course, when he's arguing with the sane, he tends to claim he has "volunteered" zillions of hours getting zillions of teenagers into zillions of great colleges of their first choice. ħuman 22:14, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

To be fair, under this qualification RW could indeed be also considered a cult. 'Denial' would certainly be foremost for that criteria :) MarcusCicero 11:40, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Sky TV is a cult. I called to cancel my subscription because I built a media center PC with a freeview card, and it was similar to trying to leave Scientology. It took me close to 30 minutes to convince the woman on the phone that I really REALLY did want to cancel, and that I wasn't interested in 3 months free, and then after I had finally cancelled, the phonecalls started. They hand your details to a telespamming company in that scotland who called me almost every other day. They continued calling despite me making threats to report them to various watchdogs and ombudsmen. They kept calling after I had officially requested they remove my details from their system. The only thing that made them stop was when we moved house and changed number. </AntiSkyRant> Crundy 16:02, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Some sort of interesting what-the-fuckery

I was browsing the internet, as you do, and came across this. It seems to have absolutely everything in it! Some highlights:

• Capitalising "Truth".
• Masonic Dogs!
• Levels that you can progress through.
• DNA wave-form what?
• Some sham quantum physics added in for good measure.
• Arse-licking www.nwowatcher.com.
• Mentioning David Icke without the word "nutjob".
• And finishing with a anti-capitalist rant and "the media controls everything" conspiracy that seems to have bugger all to do with the article.

And I'm still not 100% sure what they're even talking about. Could be worth looking into The Book of THoTH site a little more too. ^theist 13:57, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Oh dear.... No.3 is interesting, it makes me despair as to what the "reasons not worth mentioning" may have been. ^theist 14:19, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

That site is full of win fail. Z3ro^talk 14:40, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

"Now, here's where things get strange and fall off track." I hate to break it to you, but that happened waaaay before that. --Kels 15:20, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Under "Conscious Effects on Reality", I'm kinda tickled by the idea that the author runs around mentally manipulating people and goes to play X-Box. --PsyGremlin_Whut? 15:27, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, but he can manipulate the xbox too. Man, if only I had that power. Z3ro^talk 15:29, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Hit it with a hammer! Educated evil Phantom! 19:04, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Interesting video

Here. Starts off slow but gets better. EddyP 17:06, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

By "NonStampCollector", LOL. His ID one is also amusing.  Lily ^{Inspirate me.} 18:55, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Irrational dieters and the "pure water" obsession rant

I wanted to make a page on the "woo" somewhere about this, but not even sure how. So, I use spark's people for tracking my diet, and the biggest thing there is this idea that you need 8 cups of WATER in its pure form which just drives me batty. "Can I count juice as my water?" re from the crowd:NONONO. "What about decaf coffee" "NONONO". Ok, idiots, here's the thing. The water you drink goes into your tummy where it mixes with all the other foodstuffs you have eaten in the last hour or so. Now, unless you are going to claim that we cannot count water we took with our vitiman pills, and water we drank while eating breakfast, and water we ate while nibbling chocolate, then it is fully irrational to say it must be just "water", and not water +fruit (juice), or water + chocolate (caffeinated drink), or water + meal (ground up protein drink). Whether it's a bottle you buy at the store of "pure" water, or soup, IT ALL ENDS UP THE SAME IN YOUR TUMMY FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. ok, rant over. sorry.--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 18:13, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You should do that one, I've even been told it by a dietician. It comes from a US Navy nutrition guide in the 1940s, and hasn't really gone away. The number 8 always recurs, whether it's cups, glasses or even litres! (that's 14 pints). Actually I'm pretty sure our Mr McWicked can get through 14 pints though...

Not of water. Pure ethanol, perhaps. Educated evil Phantom! 19:18, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

An ex-GF of my brother-in-law (US) came to stay with him and his wife and offered to bake some bread as she'd been on a French cookery course (somewhere in the US). Of course the only water she could use had to be Evian, that's what she was taught. Генгис^pillaging 19:13, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You know, it's not that I don't think you don't need the liquid, nor that i don't get the benfits that liquid have for digestion, feeling "full" on a diet, and rehydration -- it's the idea that you cannot put anything at all into the water (quote: a slice of lemon is ok. but nothing else), even though the second it hits the tummy it mixes with all the other foods. I mean, unless i don't understand science, I'm not sure why water that mixes with food at point T+1minute is any different than water at point T, and food at point T premixed. --En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 19:24, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Unless it's a homeopathic diet, then the water remembers what you mixed it with, and it's not really water anymore. Z3ro^talk 19:30, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Don't start me on irrational dieting. A very good friend of mine is an aficionado, and will only drink distilled water. Also she has decided, without going to a doctor, and in fact in disagreement with a professional dietician who says there's nothing wrong with her, that she's basically allergic to everything and eats the most absurdly complex (and expensive) diet. She has independently decided she's a celiac, and also that she has Candida (which, as far as I can see, is the ne plus ultra for all hypochondriacs). She completely trusts anything she reads on the interweb about her various 'complaints' (all of which, to my own eyes, are utterly nonexistant, and I know her very well indeed), but utterly distrusts anyone she's ever met who's actually been professionally trained in the the sciences of in the field. If someone without a college education has written a book about digestion, she'll declare it infinitely superior than any doctor's book. If they're Asian, better yet, as apparently all Western medicine is shit. She's a good friend, but it's hard to listen to her sometimes, the illogical drivel that pours out of her brain - we fell out over it once, but it wasn't worth it in the long run, we get along in too many other ways. I just do my best to avoid the topic, and that keeps us good. DogP 19:32, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

(UI)8 cups sounds about right - for the military. That's "allowing" 2 quarts per person per day, which is the requirement for hard working military in adverse conditions. Will some get mixed with Tang? Made into coffee? Used to rehydrate soup? Of course it will. One thing I have long wondered is how much "less" water is in various things we drink, due to their other ingredients "requiring" some of the water to process/excrete them - if it's even an issue. Like, say if it "takes" 1 oz of water to get the caffiene (etc.) in an 8 oz cup of coffee out of your body, then coffee would only score 87.5%. But, yeah, the "pure" water nuts are, well, nuts. ħuman 21:31, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

The only actual science in this is that of course tea and coffee are diuretics, so consuming them makes you pee more, thereby meaning a net fluid loss to your body. That said, if you drank tea all day, you're NOT going to die of dehydration. DogP 21:51, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

they're only mildly diuretic - I drink tea and coffee all day but i'm not dehydrated. Try dandelion tea for a real diuretic. Totnesmartin 21:55, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but tea or water, when you drink 2 quarts or so a day (as I do. never sure if i'm diabetic, it's the altitude and dryness of Colorado, or I'm just inlove with drinking) you go pee all teh damn time. ;-) oh, i know why it's part of a good weight loss plan... you have to run every 15 minutes to the potty! (by the way, this is NOT woo, but feels like it shoudl be. Sometimes, you have to eat MORE to lose weight, cause your body goes into "starvation mode" and tries to conserve cals by not burning off excess. nasty game, dieting)--En attendant Godot_{"«Let the credulous and the vulgar continue to believe that all mental woes can be cured by a daily application of old Greek myths to their private parts. V.Nabokov»} 21:58, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Oh dear, I was going to write something taking the piss, but I see I don't have to. 82.23.209.253 22:11, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Of course, our natural bodily fluids can only be replenished by distilled water or rainwater, free from the international communist conspiracy of fluoridation. Guess what year fluoridation began? That's right, 1945. The same year that the Red Army advanced in Europe.Klapaucius^{Esteemed Constructor} 22:18, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Oh sure, the international communist conspiracy is all about sapping & impurifying all of our precious bodily fluids. Wẽãšẽĩõĩď^{Methinks it is a Weasel} 23:15, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

ALL this stuff about mandatory daily water intake is idiotic. If you need to drink water, you will feel thirsty. If you're not thirsty, you don't need to drink anything. Honestly, when I took my exams, everyone else in the hall was sucking on a bottle of water like a baby's dummy, as if you'd expire from dehydration just because you'd gone three hours without a sip. It's ludicrous, and must mean B!G BUCK$ for the bottled water companies.-- Kriss Akabusi^{AAAWOOOGAAAR!!1} 11:50, 12 May 2009 (UTC) PS I'm not actually Kriss Akabusi, so don't take this advice as coming from a top sportsman and motivational speaker. But still!

Even so, actual pure water will probably kill you. The number of times I've been hungover in a lab and so tempted to suck on a wash-bottle of distilled and deionised water... It's not good for you. ^theist 15:41, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

And, for the terminally idle, our local M & S stocks (as I suppose do the others) "Ice cubes made from Irish water" in plastic bags. _and marmite 15:51, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

11 May

Just realised the date. RIP Douglas. Totnesmartin 18:43, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

<flashmp3>http://www.nevilley.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/trumpet/lp.mp3</flashmp3> Educated evil Phantom! 18:52, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." Генгис^{Is the Pope a Catholic?} 19:02, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You know, as a result of our convo above about HH'sGTTG, I rented the most recent one last week, the one with MosDef. Apologies to all Douglas fans, but I found his writing had really, really dated horribly, and it was nowhere near as funny as it had once been, and it reeked of a certain style of Brit clever-clever-annoying-student writing, "Oooh, aren't I so clever with my clever (student) witticisms". I dunno, I used to be a fan, but I think I'm not any more. I couldn't stomach it, or Stephen Fry's by-now-massively-overdone Rent-A-Toff Accent, and turned it off after 50 mins, which isn't something I do often. Nevertheless, Mr.Adam's was a good bloke, so RIP to him. Perhaps 8 glasses of water might help him? DogP 19:06, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Educated evil Phantom! 19:17, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

BURN THE HERETIC!!!!!!!!!! Totnesmartin 19:49, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I dunno, the movie was pretty godawful. --Kels 05:09, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

The movie was mediocre, which is the worst thing it could have been. (Stephen Fry is awesome. That is all.) --Yossie^{Spring in Fialta} 05:58, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

The movie was average yes - but what about the radio series? Totnesmartin 07:13, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Where to we sign up for the heretic burning? Movie was ok. Radio show excellent. Original BBC series also a good thing ^(TM) - especially given how they recreated the special effects on a BBC budget. RIP Douglas. --PsyGremlin_Whut? 08:06, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

RWW

I am making a public call to assistance for the project. What I would most like is someone who is of the old guard and can expand appallingly short articles like Human's. Educated evil Phantom! 18:57, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I cannot help you with that (or much of anything, for that matter), but might I recommend getting the WIGO:RW off the ground, preferably on or linked to the front page. Once that is rolling, I think you will have all the help you need. Z3ro^talk 19:04, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but there are several articles which should be expanded. Educated evil Phantom! 19:32, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

You need to think bigger picture; the articles will be expanded once the site has more traffic and more people visit. WIGO:RW will bring those people (probably). Z3ro^talk 19:48, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Is it kosher to steal the WP SCOTUSCase template? I'll expand the Supreme Court decisions pages and write some that are redlinked, but we need a real format for them as well as an easy way to templaticize basic info. User:Nutty Roux/sigtalk 21:12, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

He's not talking about here on RW, he's talking about some fleabag outfit that "reports" on us. ħuman 22:10, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Human's articles aren't appallingly short---they are the seed crystal from which all good accretes.-- -PalMD ^{--Does this sig line make me look fat?} 22:15, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Again, I think PH is referring to the article on me at rationalwikiwiki. But thanks, Doc ;) We were just talking about you and goats on my talk page this weekend... ħuman 22:49, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Evolving snails

Not really sure what to do with this, don't go on the site often enough, but very interesting anyways --Smg87 22:08, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it is interesting, thanks. ħuman 04:15, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Content Q

Hey, I wanna do a page on ScienceBlogs because, well, i just wanna. Does that horrid level of vanity bother anyone?-- -PalMD ^{--Does this sig line make me look fat?} 22:23, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

We don't already have one? It might be sort of covered at the RW:blogroll already? No harm it from what I can see... ħuman 22:53, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Well shoot...

Encyclopedia dramatica seems to be going down the tubes. Nothing major, just sayin'. ĴάΛäšςǍ₰ the dog of all paychecks! 00:34, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Wow, could it be because of that Cracked article? Or just forgetting to keep track of expenses v. income? ħuman 00:47, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Or the world realized that ED isn't funny. ENorman 17:50, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

What is the proper way to cook a can of Sardines?

Here's one thing I can't figure out, in all my continuous ranting and bitching, how the fuck do you properly cook some Sardines?

Same as lobster, throw the sealed can into a pot of boiling water. Remember don't put a lid on and make sure you keep your face over the pot. - π 02:13, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

If they're in a tin, they're already cooked. Open tin, drain, mush them up a bit if you like, season to taste, pile high on hot buttered toast, add clotted cream, and enjoy! ħuman 02:18, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Say, on a related topic, I've got some lovely strong blue Shropshire cheese and some water crackers. Is there some proper way to enjoy this treat? --Kels 05:08, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, smush them up together and chew them in your mouth til satisfied, then swallow. Rinse, repeat as necessary. ħuman 05:24, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Port, you need Port. Yum, Port. Mmmmm. Must have Port. DogP 06:47, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

As a Brit of a certain age I know that the only way to cook sardines is to

1. Place bread under grill
2. Open can of sardines
3. Find cloth to wipe up spilt oil
4. Panic at smoke coming from grill
5. Scrape burnt bits off the toast
6. Mash down sardines onto toast
7. Replace under grill
8. Eat
9. Change clothes due to numerous marks from fishy oil

See, simple. Silver Sloth 11:52, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Indeed! In fact, the very fact that somebody was able to create something as heavenly as mashed sardines on toast (no, not you *g*) might just prove the existence of a benevolent gOD. --PsyGremlin_Whut? 12:04, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Does anybody still call them pilchards? That's what Brits eat, not this fancy "sardines" foreign muck Totnesmartin 14:29, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

They may have been pilchards - they certainly bore no relationship to the sardines I had recently when in Gran Canaria - but the tin said "sardines" so that's what they were. My better half says that they should come in tomato sauce but she's from the other end of the country from me and we have lots of these disagreements (Should Christmas cake be iced or plain and served with cheese, for example). Silver Sloth 14:42, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Ray! Ray, stop it! You're killing me!

Bahahahahahaha fucking hilarious! Ace McWicked^{Disco Jesus} 04:52, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

You know what is stupider than Ray? These comments. My personal favourite:

“”bacteria and viruses can survive the most extreme conditions, if a habital planet were to blow up bacteria could survive one a metor, i just think its funny how dinosuars died by a metor then humans just seem to come out of the blue, i do believe our bodys adapted and bound itself to this planet and its animals, but i also believe our brain, and our ability to create and build came from space.

—Jtownlegends

YouTube never fails to provide clogo.- π 05:09, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

www.pulltheplugonatheism.com? Is that a Ken joynt? So a 30 minute debate is to decide the fate of the existence of God on teh innertubez? She would be so disappointed in those she designed so poorly... ħuman 05:59, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

That site is amazun! From this:

“”So if you call yourself an atheist, you are saying that you have no belief in a God—a Creator. Creation just happened. Everything you see—all the different breeds of dog (both male and female), all the different breeds of cat (both male and female), all the different fish in the ocean (both male and female), giraffes, elephants, cattle, sheep, horses, birds, flowers, trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, the four seasons, night and day, the marvels of the human body—the eye with its 137,000,000 light sensitive cells (we have been made well Robert) . . . all these marvels of creation were made by nothing. They all just happened. That’s atheism at its core. What an intellectual embarrassment.

Oh my god! They're right! How embarassing. I shall immediately convert to Christianity and believe in edible Jewish zombies who are their own father who commit suicide to free us from a curse they imposed. Thanks Ray Comfort. Crundy 14:17, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

That whole webshite is probably the most pathetic anti-atheist site I've encountered. He says nothing throughout beyond "I can't understand your reasoning, therefore it is wrong." It's crap. _and marmite 15:33, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

My favourite bit:

"If any species came into existence without a mature female present (with complimentary female components), that one male would have remained alone and in time died."

_and marmite 15:45, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

But that one male would have been sinless? No one else to kill, or wife to adulter... wait, I bet he would be swearing nonstop or coveting his dog's wife... Nevermind. --Shagie 16:50, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

"... We're the A-Team."

I bought the first series of the A-Team on the weekend, and the second episode of it follows the A-Team as they rescue a bunch of kids from a religious culthead maniac. Can anyone think of any real-life, present day religious maniacs that like spending their days hanging around kids? SJ ^Debaser 08:50, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Pretty much of all of them I'd say. But I suppose you were thinking of someone in particular. Генгис^{You have the right to be offended; and I have the right to offend you.} 12:19, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I suuuuuuuure am! SJ ^Debaser 13:49, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Michael Jackson! --Kels 14:52, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Conservative win

Doh! Previously if you went to IMDB and entered 'wanker' in the search box it came back with George W Bush. Now, it comes back with popular gay librul Irish comedian Graham Norton. Score one for teh assfly? Crundy 14:09, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Willy Wanker and The Fudge Packing Factory... I'm never putting that kind of search through there ever again. ^theist 15:35, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

thats a semi-classic Hamster 18:57, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

A bit o' halp from the mob

So my girlfriend is currently failing Understanding Evolution, and needs to get a good grade on the final exam. I am one of the top 10 students in the class, and the final is today, and she wants to cheat off my exam so she can pass the class. I, personally, am extremly uncomfortable letting her cheat off my test, but I don't know how to nicely tell her that I don't want her to do so (even though that would mean she definitally will fail the exam). HALP! ĴαʊΆʃÇä₰ Over 2700 edits! Thats over 629! 17:41, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

As someone who had many people try cheating off of, there is no easy way to say no. You just do it and hope she's not resentful, sadly. And you didn't help her learn during class? For shame. Z3ro^talk 17:46, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

You are so fucked.

There is only one logical way to go about this: You need to assess the probabilities of catastrophic failure in each case (letting her cheat & getting fucked vs. not letter her cheat & not getting fucked</pun>) and then multiply by the cost of the associated failure.

Obviously, not letting her cheat is the answer (which I think you've already decided on. ^{— Unsigned, by: Neveruse513 / talk / contribs} 17:47, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

(EC) You could, of course, lecture her about how cheating is a highly dishonorable thing to do, and how if she does it she shall have obtained her diploma under false pretenses. You should probably frame it in terms of "Do you really want to do this?", which is the only way you could probably get out of this unscathed. ListenerX^TalkerX 17:49, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Sadly, science is not really her forté. I did try helping her learn, we went over old midterms, studied (actually studied the material, mind you...) and everything else, but she just does not understand the material, and her grade in Understanding Evolution is showing it. Javasca₧ don't cast the first stone, and I won't throw it back 17:50, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I might try asking her to make wild assurances upon your help in cheating. Bargaining for anal sex is usually a sure-fire way to get your girlfriend to stop asking for something. And it's probably going to turn out win-win. ^{— Unsigned, by: Neveruse513 / talk / contribs} 17:55, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

so... she's failing the class, and on the final day she turns in a winning paper that bears similarities to the work of her boyfriend. How long d'you think it'd take the tutor to notice? Perhaps you could ask her to ponder that. But yeah, tough call mate :( Totnesmartin 17:59, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I am going to take a wild guess and posit that this exam is of the multiple-choice variety. Am I correct? ListenerX^TalkerX 18:02, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Depending on the format, it can be surprisingly easy. Once I took a test for someone in a class of over 100. I wasn't even enrolled in it. Just sat there, took the test, she put her name on it and turned it in. Of course, I got something worth-while out of the deal and a flat out refusal to do take the test would have been problematic. ^{— Unsigned, by: Neveruse513 / talk / contribs} 18:06, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I would say that this is a valuable insight into the mind of your girlfriend. Do you really want to date a known cheater? And why can't she understand evolution? Either she's a dumb <haircolour>, she isn't interested in the first place or she doesn't believe in it. Not everyone is good at everything, would it really hurt her if she failed? If you've tried to tutor her in the past then you've done your bit but if you got caught it could ruin both of you. Генгис^{Is the Pope a Catholic?} 19:11, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Well, the exam is over, and I think that it went over well. She pulled me to the side before class and told me that she decided she did not want to cheat, and would perfer to take a different science course next semester, so... potential explosion averted. As for myself, the exam went great, 110 questions, 1.25 hours, and only three questions I was unsure of, so barring stupid mistakes, I got a ~90 on my exam. I don't know how she did.

So, I suppose I want to thank y'all for your responses to this question, it was not as tough as I thought it would be to resolve. ĴαʊΆʃÇä₰ is out of his mind 19:32, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Make sure to tell her you would have done it if she really, really wanted you to. Because you love her more than your academic integrity or something. Booya. ^{— Unsigned, by: Neveruse513 / talk / contribs} 19:37, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Neveruse FTW! Z3ro^talk 19:38, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm glad it all worked out. It's a Festivus Miracle! Corry 19:42, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

This is evidence, I think, that the Christian notion of "sin" is a whole bunch of..., but dishonor is self-evidently a Very Bad Thing. ListenerX^TalkerX 19:44, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

My name is Ace and I'm an alcoholic

For a variety of different reasons I will be dry for the next few days. It is 8:18am Wednesday morning and my last drink was at 11:30pm last night. I will remain high and dry until 4:00pm Friday afternoon. This decision was made due to my after hours productivity becoming almost zero. I am supposed to be studying the works of Thomas Hobbs, John Locke, Machiavelli and the like; also I am supposed to helping someone write a book but as of yet I have done sweet fuck all except drink, smoke cigarettes and make an awful mess. I haven't attempted something like this in many, many years. I even took two bottles of scotch on a four day hike to Machu Picchu some years back so I am really not sure how my body is going to react to this rapid detox. Probably not well. I think the last time I tried the shakes began at the 30 hour mark. Wish me luck on this endeavour, any tips on how to remain sane whilst sober are appreciated. And if I snap at any of you (which is likely - my fiancée is also aware the she best tread carefully), please accept my apologies in advance. Love Ace McWicked^{Disco Jesus} 20:19, 12 May 2009 (UTC)