Messages

31

Apple Zone / Re: The terrorist threat has evolved

« on: January 22, 2013, 08:46:18 pm »

And we wonder why there are school shootings.

My friend's son is autistic and hates being the focus of attention. HATES it. He also hates being touched. So in third grade, his teacher decides he just needs to be "brought out of his shell" so she put him at the front of the class, called on him constantly, and made a point of ruffling his hair or touching his shoulders every time she walked past him.

The thing is, there are good teachers. There are excellent teachers. But an awful lot of smart, kind, compassionate people who like working with kids look at the qualifications they would need to get there, the salary they would receive if they did, and the conditions they would have to work in, and they make the decision to go into psychology or sociology or social work instead, where they feel like they have half a chance of actually making a difference. That leaves an awful lot of room in the field for sub-par power-trippers who get off on controlling and tormenting children, and that is, in my opinion, the majority of what we end up with.

 

This is like treating lung cancer with cigarettes.

32

Apple Zone / Re: The terrorist threat has evolved

« on: January 22, 2013, 04:25:41 pm »

Step Mang #4 was considered a 'borderline' candidate for medication by his school. Mrs Mang heard all sorts of scary shit about Ritalin and opted for 'go shit in your hat' also.

33

Apple Zone / Re: Shooting at CT Elementary School. WTF AMERICA?!

« on: January 15, 2013, 05:21:35 pm »

Heh.  Figured.

What most people don't realize is what happens to your perceptions when you get in a situation like that.  It takes frequent training to do things automatically.  Going to the range once a month doesn't cut it.

I have a friend who was a SWAT trainer. One of the drills they had to do was soak their arms up to the elbows in ice water and then demonstrate they could still maintain, load & shoot their weapons effectively with severely reduced dexterity. The numbing from the ice was said to simulate the state of being highly adrenalized in an extreme situation.

Of all the people I know with guns, if shit went down, Steve is the only guy who I would actually want around. The rest of them are either totally out of practise or believe that standing in a shooting range makes them combat ready.

34

Apple Zone / Re: Brit Spags! So Jim fixed it...

« on: January 11, 2013, 04:19:34 pm »

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/news-and-views/our-news/child-protection-news/13-01-11-yewtree-report/yewtree-report-pdf_wdf93652.pdf

Children as young as eight were abused by Jimmy Savile, a report detailing 50 years of allegations has revealed.

The Met Police and NSPCC outlined offences at 13 hospitals, including Great Ormond Street in London and Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds.

Some 214 crimes were recorded across 28 police force areas, including 34 of rape or penetration, the report said.

The CPS apologised for missing the opportunity to prosecute Savile in 2009, while he was still alive.

Police said the victims' accounts painted a "compelling picture of widespread sexual abuse by a predatory sex offender," and Cdr Peter Spindler, who is leading the abuse probe, said Savile had "groomed the nation".

Depressing. And is it just me, or was there something weirdly excessive about all the graphs & pie charts? "Well, as you can see, when we do a statistical analysis, on average a 14 year girl had a 23% chance of getting raped by Savile, but her risk factor would have greatly decreased had she lived in Devon instead of Yorkshire."

35

Apple Zone / Re: The Last Whiskey Bar

« on: January 11, 2013, 04:05:02 pm »

And now....the PARENT OF THE YEAR AWARD GOES TO.....

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/parents-admit-giving-teething-baby-heroin-223715074.html

Next up! BIGGEST WHINY BITCH OF THE MONTH...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/moshe-benabou-former-justin-bieber-suing_n_2451139.html

36

Apple Zone / Re: PD.com, tech, website question

« on: January 09, 2013, 06:31:06 pm »

Aha! Thanks guys. 

37

Apple Zone / PD.com, tech, website question

« on: January 09, 2013, 06:22:26 pm »

So, for the past few days, any time I click on www.principiadiscordia.com, I get sent to a blank 'not found' page of death. However, I can post at 176.9.64.103/forum/index.php  which, is a lot less catchy and memorable.

Is this problem unique to me or are other people experiencing it? My home computer doesn't seem to like the PD.com link neither does the one at work. They both have firefox on them, so I thought it might have something to do with that.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks,

Mangrove

38

Apple Zone / Re: Free Will?

« on: January 09, 2013, 04:35:06 pm »

Cat nature wants string.
Wiggle, wobble, she paws it.
Are we different?

YES.  BECAUSE *I* DON'T SHIT IN MY BOOTS.

Liar.

There's always shitting in other people's boots or the vastly superior, getting other people to shit in their own boots.

39

Apple Zone / Re: Brit Spags! So Jim fixed it...

« on: January 09, 2013, 04:32:34 pm »

Not so sure about Brucie. Struck me more as a 'traditional' pussy hound - 6ft leggy blondes and all that.

Rod Hull, on the other hand? If anyone is interested in running a sweep I'll buy that for a dollar

I was going to mention Rod Hull in my last post. 

(By the way, on the other hand was Emu.)

40

Apple Zone / Re: This article gives me the wobblies for some reason.

« on: January 04, 2013, 08:41:44 pm »

“It makes me laugh. [Asperger’s parents] consider themselves the upper class of autism.”

 

So let me guess, next is the 'Hierarchy of Cancers'?

41

Apple Zone / Re: This article gives me the wobblies for some reason.

« on: January 04, 2013, 08:36:49 pm »

http://www.today.com/moms/farewell-aspies-some-families-reluctant-let-go-aspergers-diagnosis-1B7821891

I see it's finally being made 'official'. I remember reading an article many moons ago that suggested that the mental health care professionals were pushing to retire Asperger's as a separate diagnosis. Seems that they got their wish.

One of the most jim-jam inducing statements I've heard from parents lately is the phrase "My kid is on the spectrum." I've noticed this phrase is getting more traction, so be fully prepared to have this shoved in your face with increasingly regularity.

I might have said this before, if so, excuse the repetition. I had a client that used to work in a care facility for autistic kids. She said it was an absolute fucking nightmare because the residents ranged from 'profoundly unable to communicate' and were frequently violent and unable to even go to the bathroom without help all the way to 'bolshy teenager who won't clean his room'.

Her job was made difficult by the fact that there was a lot of noise, and not enough signal - too many cases that really didn't meet proper criteria for being classed as autistic. She said that part of this was driven by social workers making diagnoses. [horror]. I guess part of it is driven by parents wanting their kids to be 'brilliant' and also by the media who keep insisting there is an 'epidemic' even though that has not been established statistically. Add to that the ease with which information (good/bad) that is available online and the modern tendency towards self-diagnosis and the popular diluting of medical terms and boom, you've got yourself some very muddy waters to plumb.

So far, I've met only one genuinely autistic kid and a gazillion smug, hypochondriac, trend-surfing parents who have overdosed on flimsy pop-culture science.

42

Apple Zone / Re: On suffering fools gladly

« on: January 04, 2013, 08:23:11 pm »

I work with some stupid kids, man. In the sense that these kids are fucked over by the world from day one, before they're even born. It's easy to see where a lot of these guys are headed, and it isn't anywhere good. They are going to do some stupid things, and end up in stupid places. I probably wouldn't like the adults many of them are going to become. But only a monster would feel disdain for these kids. Only a monster would fail to feel compassion.

Well, they were born guilty.  Lots of people are.  It's not their fault, but there you have it.  Take any of them and put them in front of a jury in Oro Valley, and they'd be sent to prison for life, before any charges are named.

Guilty = WRONG = Stupid = tired and poor and weak.

Innocent = RIGHT = Smart = rich and powerful.

A friend of mine works as an investigator for the Public Defender's office. He used to be a marine and a cop and now his job is to make sure that the police are doing their jobs properly. One day, he was particularly pleased with the outcome of a case. Goes something like this:

"Many of the people I have to deal with have actually done what they're accused of. Still, I have to make sure that everything has been dealt with properly. However, every now and then, you get someone who gets snarled up in the system. This one guy I'm helping is, without doubt, really really stupid....but he's not a bad person and he's definitely not guilty of what he's accused of."

I can't remember the exact details of the situation but it involved a not very bright individual, drugs and a hooker. However, it was too easy for the cops to say "Ok, dumb guy with issues, it must be him."

43

Apple Zone / Re: How to NOT be Metal...a primer by Dave Mustaine

« on: January 04, 2013, 07:18:05 pm »

Don't forget, going on camera, and crying about your dead friend is somehow Metallica's fault.

               / I'M SOOOO METALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

44

Apple Zone / Re: On suffering fools gladly

« on: January 04, 2013, 07:14:17 pm »

Both my grandfather's were tradesmen. My mom's dad left school at 14 and spent his life making shoes. Although he had limited formal education, he was very skillful artistically and had quite a philosophical bent.

My dad's father was an electrician in the dockyard. Was hamfisted with just about everything he did unless he had to do with wires and electricity in which case, he was really good. He also had a limited formal education but read widely and voraciously as an adult.

My dad was the first person on either side of the family to go to University in the early 60s. Although he did get the formal education his parents didn't, he's one of the most pragmatic & resourceful people I know. He's got the kind of brain where he can see something in his head and build it right away with very little fuss. Given that I can't even hammer a fucking nail straight into a piece of wood, this is never ceases to amaze me!

45

Apple Zone / Re: Brit Spags! So Jim fixed it...

« on: January 04, 2013, 07:06:38 pm »

To be honest though, if those guys hadn't been on TV, everyone would have gotten massive pedo vibes off them anyway.  I mean, imagine seeing the ghoulish viasge of Jimmy Savile without ever having known of him before.  My first reaction as an adult would be to look for a knife and then a wall to put my back to.

Yeah, I think Jon Stewart did a bit on this on the Daily Show. They showed Sir Jim looking particularly skeevy and deranged and asked "How did you not know this guy was sick?"

With people like Freddie Star or Davidson, you have the venerable British institution of 'sea side post card' or 'Carry On' movies whereby 'cheeky chappies' are condoned for being over sexed assholes. None of the people who have been called in for interview have struck me as being especially surprising.