Why they banned Alex Jones from all the social platforms ? They are normalizing the idea of banning....

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? Any...

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... I'm kind of an introvert, and I don't much like to go out ...

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. I'm not responsible if you get ...

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. It seems that ...

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!"

California Just Became The First US State To Condemn Surgeries On Intersex Children

Druvius comments on Sep 1, 2018:

Enlightened parents have been doing this for awhile now, let the kid grow up enough to have their own idea of what gender they are.

Always trying to innovate

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

The indignity! Lol, I did this to my neighbor's cat before sending her home.

America's Real Economy: It Isn't Booming

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

A lot of the young people may be fooled, but we who remember the 60s and 70s know better. The minimum wage was a living wage. You could work your way through college. Health care was affordable. The country's infastructure was the envy of the world. And we had independent media, not corporate infotainment. Since the mid seventies all the gains have gone to the people at the top, while the poor and middle class have stagnated. And the upwards transfer of wealth continues. It's not going to end well.

New book: ‘Christian supremacist’ Mike Pence wants to create a government based on biblical law ...

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

He scares me a lot more than Trump does.

i did not pay attention to the last post, I mean the title. I respectfully decline membership into ...

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zecharia_Sitchin This appears to have been the source of his contentions about Sumerian astronomy. Just a Von Daniken clone.

Boston Doesn’t Have to Fly a Christian Flag at City Hall, Judge Tells Activist | Hemant Mehta

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

These extremists get really tiresome. And what a waste of the court's time.

11-year-old girl dies after mom finds her in scorching hot car in family's driveway - ABC News

Druvius comments on Aug 31, 2018:

As child hot car deaths go, this is highly unusual. Tragic. Will be curious to see more details.

Read John McCain's Final Letter to America - The Atlantic

Druvius comments on Aug 30, 2018:

Goes off the rails in the third paragragh. He was a war criminal in Vietnam, and clearly was in denial about it to the end. Damn shame, he could have helped American shed its imperialistic nature. Instead he was an apologist for our national crimes to the end. Lt Calley eventullaly owned and apologized for his crimes. Not McCain. I hope he rots in hell.

Aliens are they for real or...

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

Aliens on Earth now or in the past, mythical. Aliens elaewhere in the Universe, possible because we are here, but as yet no evidence for.

Would you (knowingly) date a Trump supporter?

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

Why wouldn't I? I don't understand the question.

COPACETIC: co-pa-cet-ic. ADJECTIVE. In excellent order. Very satisfactory. "Her smile told me ...

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

Origin unknown last I heard, one of the true mystery words in the English language. There are a number of theories, most unsatisfying and none proven.

Thoughts??,,?? [youtu.be]

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

As far as the Antikythera mechanism goes, a calculator is a more accurate analogy than a computer. And yes, far more advanced than was thought possible ... a 100 yrars ago. Now there is far more evidence that Greek engineers in Rhodes built a number of sophisticated mechanical devices. Pieces and gears from such devices have been found unclassified in old museum collections because no one knew what they were when originally discovered. It's been shown that Greek understanding of geometry was adequate to create all the toothed gears in the antikythera device. Naked eye astronomy was amazingly accurate. The Mayans calculated the length of the Venusian orbit to within a reasonable approximation of its length to within a few hours. Pretty damn amazing considering how many years of observation that took. My point us thst ancient people were just as smart as modern humans, and once they had writing and math, their scholars and engineers could produce amazing things through patient observation and experiment. No ancient aliens or Atlanteans required.

Thoughts??,,?? [youtu.be]

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

Generally when one hears some ancient artifact is so advanced they shouldn't exist, ergo aliens, best to roll one's eyes and walk away. There's two huge problems with such claims. A. The items do exist. B. The aliens somehow managed to avoid leaving obvious and irrefutable evidence of their visitation: Periodic table of the elements, maps of the Solar System, galaxy, or the far side of the Moon, artifacts, etc. If the Antikithera Mechanism plotted the movement of Neptune for example, yeah, aliens. Alas, no. While both examples in the video are fascinating and show there is lost knowledge and history, the video does make a number of, well, unsupported claims to bolster its case. Neither artifact "shouldn't exist." They both exist and will continue to be studied to yield new insight into lost knowledge, no aliens required.

Thoughts??,,?? [youtu.be]

Druvius comments on Aug 29, 2018:

The Voynich Manuscript contains numerous corrections and overwritings in both its text and illustrations.

Come check out &anthropologyandarchaeology and &paleontology and join us for some interesting ...

Druvius comments on Aug 28, 2018:

I think I was in that group, a lot of woo was being posted, still the case?

In case you are worried about Mike Pence, don't. [dctribune.org]

Druvius comments on Aug 23, 2018:

Yeah, the MSM is no better than Faux News now, they print what their target audience wants to hear. Great example of same.

These are the 2 felines I am fanatical about. Skates and Bailey :)

Druvius comments on Aug 23, 2018:

A formal cat and a practical cat, you have it all. (The stripes make orange cats more aerodynamic so they can run faster.)

So my optimistic liberal friends seem to think that yesterday's Cohen/Manafort legal developments ...

Druvius comments on Aug 23, 2018:

A lot of people don't understand it's all Faux News now. Their chosen media is going to tell them what they want to hear, in this case that "This is it, this time Trump is done for!" Sigh. I don't know what's going to happen, but Trump is right about one thing, all mainstream news outlets are fake news now.

Is religion the cause of all (or most) wars?

Druvius comments on Aug 23, 2018:

No, only about 8% of wars in history were caused by religion.

It's a damn shame that poor Molly Tibbets was slaughtered by an illegal MALE immigrant....she lost ...

Druvius comments on Aug 22, 2018:

It's a shame the GOP exploits this tragedy to score political points, but hey, that's Washington for you.

Rejecting Progress in the Name of "Cultural Appropriation"

Druvius comments on Aug 22, 2018:

Ohhhh, another meandering cherry picked dripping-with-condescension article so that privileged people can continue to dismiss concerns of oppressed peoples.

What do you know now that you wish you knew at 20?

Druvius comments on Aug 21, 2018:

That I was a fool at 20.

Well my cat Spike just caught a mouse, in the house! He's been sitting by and peering under the door...

Druvius comments on Aug 21, 2018:

I always praised my boys when they caught mice. They got punished for birds and quickly learned to leave them alone. My calico, well, she was a decorative cat, she left the hunting to her dad and brother.

‘Silent Sam is down’: Crowd topples Confederate statue at UNC - The Washington Post

Druvius comments on Aug 21, 2018:

Every freaking Confederate memorial should be torn down and replaced with a Union memorial. Some people just don't seem to have gotten the message. The Confederacy was the biggest crime in US history, and they LOST. Their memorials are as appropriate as Hitler memorials would be in Nazi occupied Europe.

Hey.... I am wondering if there is a word that means this "A habitually made (But not necessarily...

Druvius comments on Aug 21, 2018:

Canard?

There's thousands of evidence to prove global warming oceanic currents up 12 degrees , 100k square ...

Druvius comments on Aug 20, 2018:

We are literally facing a planetary emergency that will destroy civilization as we know it unless drastic global measures are taken. And yet we are effectively doing little to nothing so the fossil fuel industry can continue to reap profits from the Earth. We're not really an intelligient species.

It often feels like these people whom claim to be of a 'non-binary' gender are using this as a ...

Druvius comments on Aug 19, 2018:

Male female dichotomy is a religious trope, period. Reality is much more complicated.

Suddenly, the possibility of a nuclear war seems much more "real":

Druvius comments on Aug 19, 2018:

Lol, seen this before, it's perfect. Exactly the expression a cat gets before bapping something.

Remember when words had a different connotation, and now are not considered proper to use, or their ...

Druvius comments on Aug 18, 2018:

Girl originally meant a child of either sex. It slowly turned into the modern meaning. One even finds examples of boy girl in old literature.

Are we alone in the universe?

Druvius comments on Aug 17, 2018:

Maybe. SETI has investigated a number of promising avenues, if anyone is out there they are laying really low. I suspect that intelligience like ours is an evolutionary dead end.

Is anyone thinking of the 2018 elections? I live in DC so my local elections don t really count. ...

Druvius comments on Aug 14, 2018:

Not really. The reality s--t show democracy in America has turned into isn't worth getting worked up over.

I was reading a piece on snipers, and you aren't going to believe this, record for the longest kill ...

Druvius comments on Aug 14, 2018:

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Civil War general Sedgewick's last words.

JUXTAPOSE: jux-ta-pose. VERB. To place different things side by side to compare and contrast ...

Druvius comments on Aug 13, 2018:

I've been told if you want to pass at a hoity toity art opening: Wear a black turtleneck sweater, Buddy Holly glasses, and use the word juxtaposed in a sentence. :)

High-Energy Whodunit: The Origins of the 'OMG Particle' [space.com]

Druvius comments on Aug 13, 2018:

Still amazed that something the size of a proton can have the impact energy of a baseball. Wow.

They're not all harmless.

Druvius comments on Aug 11, 2018:

A golden oldie. :)

Playing hide and seek with this cutie.

Druvius comments on Aug 10, 2018:

I used to play hide and seek with my Fung Kitty, he always won. Good times.

Is it strange, considering I am an atheist, that one of my favorite songs is “My Sweet Lord”?

Druvius comments on Aug 10, 2018:

Not at all, in matters of taste anything goes. This is one of my favorite songs: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gx1Pv02w3Q

JESUS NEEDS TO DIE FOR OUR SINS AGAIN. If I have to renew my vehicle registration every year and...

Druvius comments on Aug 9, 2018:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2008-11-24

Wrong side of history

Druvius comments on Aug 9, 2018:

Several. I'm the same way around them I always was, they're friends and family. Not sure what's to handle?

Parallels between what the one percent are doing now and what those did at the end of the Roman ...

Druvius comments on Aug 8, 2018:

Long been a student of Roman history, and can only agree. The parallels between the Roman Empire and the American Empire run deep. Trump is the Didius Julianus of our time. It's not going to end well.

Trump is, beyond any external factors that contributed to his win, the result of a common delusion ...

Druvius comments on Aug 7, 2018:

Let me get this straight, after decades of electing experienced politicians as POTUS ... each and every one of whom betrayed their voters and did the bidding of the bankers, the rich, and the pentagon ... it's crazy to think an outsider might do different?

Mondegreen. In the spirit of eggcorn. When hearing the lyrics of a song wrong. Hendricks' "Hold on ...

Druvius comments on Aug 7, 2018:

From a hymn: "Gladly, the cross eyed bear."

Well..... [youtu.be]

Druvius comments on Aug 7, 2018:

This is posted in the wrong group. This is pseudoarchelogy and should be posted in that sort of group. It's also of interest to people who study conspiracy ideation, false arguments, and psychology. The lie density in this one is particularly stunning, several per minute at least of this that are just plain untrue. Short version: What a stunning load of hogswallow.

Eggcorn: Aside from being one of my two favorite words, the dictionary definition is "a word or ...

Druvius comments on Aug 7, 2018:

"It's a doggie dog world."

MEGALOMANIACAL: meg-a-lo-ma-ni-a-cal. Adjective. A psycho-pathalogical condition characterized by...

Druvius comments on Aug 6, 2018:

Trump is another reason the aliens fly right on by.

Ocasio-Cortez “Evolves” Her Position on Palestine to Please Zionist Democratic Mega-Donors ...

Druvius comments on Aug 6, 2018:

It's amazing to me that after decades of Dems making liberal promises and then walking back on them after elected that millions of Dems still fall for it every time.

Would you run a background check on a potential boyfriend or girlfriend? Would you be ...

Druvius comments on Aug 4, 2018:

No. No. My last gf did in fact have a check made on me ... by a psychic. Yeah, knew then it wouldn't last. Fun while it did though.

What would you say your biggest accomplishment in life has been so far?

Druvius comments on Aug 4, 2018:

I'm in print in physical books and magazines. So thousands of years from now the occaisional person might wonder about me and who I was. It's as close to immortality that I know of.

BEER! Happy International Beer Day!

Druvius comments on Aug 3, 2018:

Any good IPA. Skol!

Good Kitty.

Druvius comments on Aug 3, 2018:

Yeah, had a whole damn yard perfect for their business ... I'd come home and all three would be waiting on the deck with their paws crossed waiting to rush in and use the litter box. Sigh.

Apologies if this is a repost (I did look back a ways) but it makes me giggle every time. :-)

Druvius comments on Aug 3, 2018:

Lol. Reminded me of this.

The Bermuda Triangle: A Breeding Ground for Rogue Waves or a Pit of Human Mistakes? ...

Druvius comments on Aug 3, 2018:

I find it annoying that a completely made up "mystery" is given any sort of serious attention.

This was a few years back, another amazing metal detector find in the UK. Makes me jealous, lol, I ...

Druvius comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Yeah, one could get lucky in the US and find gold jewelry. 2 millenia old jewelry or coins, damned unlikely. A few silver coins, a silver ring, and the odd old bullet, tool, or toy. My coolest find to date is the sideplate/hammer from an early 19th century caplock rifle.

I get so excited when finds like this surface. There are so many things the earth has yet to reveal ...

Druvius comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Wonderful find. And the UK has treasure trove laws, unlike the US, so wonderful finds like this get shared with the world instead of being sold on the black market.

Cats really are clever you know! The man in this video is deaf and he has taught his cat the sign ...

Druvius comments on Aug 1, 2018:

They are apex predators, one of the most highly evolved animals, and by some measures second only to humans as the most sucessful animal ever. Plus they have the closest to a human brain among non primates. The ultimate ambush predator. Go cats.

Why do tv aerials not attract lightning strikes? @Kimba states that two of her hot water systems, ...

Druvius comments on Jul 30, 2018:

They do, a properly installed one is grounded for lightning strike.

139 House Democrats Join GOP to Approve $717 Billion in Military Spending [commondreams.org]...

Druvius comments on Jul 29, 2018:

I'd say attacking Iran is so brain dead stupid it won't happen. But "smart" Obama attacked Syria and Libya, turning them into terrorist recruiting grounds for decades, so all bets are off with Trump.

This is a conversation I would look forward to if they knocked on my door. Ha ha

Druvius comments on Jul 28, 2018:

Lol, stealing.

Knock Knock !!!

Druvius comments on Jul 27, 2018:

Yerp, kitty knows how to deal with that .... ;)

Oh yesssss ... indeed. Sad? You bet. Is it true? Probably. I know the facts presented are sound and ...

Druvius comments on Jul 26, 2018:

The imperial presidency has been growing in power since Nixon, Obama was a genius at normalizing many of the most horrible aspects of it. Trump is a symptom, not a cause.

Our chat room is now open 24/7. Please remember that you can be ostentatious but please don't be ...

Druvius comments on Jul 26, 2018:

And eschew obsfucation. ;)

Studies reveal cell phones.. [youtu.be]

Druvius comments on Jul 26, 2018:

She neglects to mention that the effects found were miniscule, there's been no increase in human cancers correlating with the enormous increase in cell phone use the past few decades, and no one has yet even found a mechanism by which non-ionizing radiation could damage living tissue. Basically the risk of cancer from your cell phone is negligible. The comparison to tobacco is where one knows she is going to go off the rails. While the tobacco industry denied the health effects, the massive rise in lung cancer and emphysema caused by cigarettes was raising alarm bells in the medical community by the thirties. Decades after the explosion in cell phone use there has been no corresponding spike in any health effect possibly caused by them.

Radioactive Traces from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Found in California Wine [livescience.com]

Druvius comments on Jul 24, 2018:

Modern science is amazing, they are detecting miniscule amounts. Sadly some people will be freaking about this.

Antepenultimate - the third-from-last in a series. If you ran a race and beat only two people, you ...

Druvius comments on Jul 23, 2018:

Preantipenultimate is even better. :)

A nice take on an annoying bit of Christian glurge:

Druvius comments on Jul 23, 2018:

1500 tours of duty, still laughing.

Selective gun excision. My next thought is developing the technology to, through lasers or magnetic ...

Druvius comments on Jul 23, 2018:

Drones firing x-ray lasers. The technology isn't here yet, but maybe someday. Pretty much a mechanical problem, the guns chamber has to be physically compromised.

What If You Detonated a Nuclear Bomb In The Marianas Trench? (Science not Fantasy), Kurzgesagt – ...

Druvius comments on Jul 22, 2018:

Not surprised, it's basically the equivalent of an underground test. Unless you are too close, no big deal.

Is Putin’s Rule a Dictatorship? [therealnews.com] I can't stress this enough for those of us...

Druvius comments on Jul 22, 2018:

Even absolute dictators need bases of support, in some ways they have to be more concerned about popularity than leaders who only have to be concerned near elections. Unfortunately most people don't understand that.

Roman hot tub found: [bbc.com]

Druvius comments on Jul 21, 2018:

Upper class Romans lived well indeed. Ordinary Roman citizens, well, still pretty good compared to mostvof the world at the time. The slaves, well, not so good.

Pictures related to the Moon landing!

Druvius comments on Jul 21, 2018:

49 years ago, I remember it.

This likely would have avoided the shit storm we're in.

Druvius comments on Jul 20, 2018:

And we're in the mess were in because Clinton ran an arrogant uninspired campaign and was unable to lead her party to victory over Trump and his clown car campaign. If she had climbed down from her entitled high horse and reached out to Sander's supporters after she had the nomination, she'd be the one picking out White House silverware patterns now. Instead she haughtily insisted they vote for her or else.

This likely would have avoided the shit storm we're in.

Druvius comments on Jul 20, 2018:

The reasonable argument against this is that it's prima facie unconstitutional.

If you were given 1,000 acres of land that you didn't have to pay taxes on but couldn't sell, what ...

Druvius comments on Jul 20, 2018:

Cat sanctuary.

God, guns, and gays: Russia's road map to conquering the Republican Party

Druvius comments on Jul 19, 2018:

I'm not enjoying living in a new McCarthyism era. I hope it blows over soon.

Rudyard Kipling's 'If' poem scrubbed off wall by students who claim he was a 'racist'

Druvius comments on Jul 19, 2018:

I would be dismayed if school administators decorated my student union building with racist grafitti. They replaced it with something more attuned to their sensebilities. Good for them.

Russiagate Is Like 9/11, Except It’s Made Of Pure Narrative [caitlinjohnstone.com]

Druvius comments on Jul 18, 2018:

Yerp, Trump has been harder on Russia than Obama. Wouldn't know that watching CNN.

Day care provider who hanged toddler sentenced to probation - CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News ...

Druvius comments on Jul 18, 2018:

There was no murder, and the woman clearly had serious mental issues.

Just found this... Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years ...

Druvius comments on Jul 16, 2018:

Yeah, it's becoming clear that people were doing clever things long before they started building cities. Not terribly surprising, they were modern humans just as smart as anyone today.