These days, its pretty hard to find a job in the field of insect systematics. This is very sad for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being how incredibly important insects are on this planet. They make up more than half the number of described species (probably 90% of all species, described and not yet described) and have an economic impact valued at trillions of dollars every year (from control, from pollination, overal ecological relations, vectors of diseases, etc etc.). The second reason is that alpha taxonomy and systematics are the primary means by which we understand the diversity of these, forgive me, "bugs". And the /primary/ people working on such projects are employed by universities and especially museums.
Which brings me to why I am so motherfucking pissed off right now. This shit: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588609,00.html
It's not enough that these people have to be political jackasses. Its not enough that they have to muddy the waters of economics and goad on creationists and fascists and all sorts of creatures I wished we had left back before WWII. Now these shitheads are intruding on MY turf. MY LIVELYHOOD! My primary occupation! Treating it as if it's of NO IMPORTANCE!
A PLAGUE ON THESE ASSHOLES! Let them have locusts and fire ants and bowl weevils and med fly and malarial mosquitoes. Let them catch crab lice and deer ticks and dog fleas. I want these assholes suffering from Dengue, Onchoceriasis, West Nile, Plague and every other insect vectored disease. I want their waterways to fall into ruin, because they can't identify the insects to determine the quality. I want their forests to be DEAD, full of emerald ash borers and wooly hemlock adelgids. May they have colorado potato beetles, and may they know why they are so fucking foolish.
Do NEVER TEST the fucking insect world. You thought the fall of Rome was bad? :lulz: You haven't seen ANYTHING yet.
Kai,
Deep breaths! Deep breaths!
I had a similar melt down the other day. Someone I know (a compulsive FOX viewer) who, told me about 'some guy on O Reilly who has proof of life after death and has written a book about it'.
I've never watched the OReilly show before that, but Mrs Mang & I tune in. The man being interviewed is Dr Jeffrey Long who was talking about his new book, being a study of 1300+ NDEs.
So Bill 'Papa Bear' says something to the effect of: What scientific evidence do you have? And then precedes to inform his interviewee and the audience that he is a Catholic. We all know how much Catholicism loves 'evidence'.
:asplode:
I can't NOT get upset, Mangrove. Do you know how hard it is to get a job these days? And whats worse is, institutions are cutting back on their systematists all the time. When one retires they don't hire a new one. How much work do you think is getting done in my field these days?
I'm probably gonna end up making fast food for the rest of my life. Would you, sir, like some maggots with those Happy FriesTM?
I'm sure you can somehow find a way for your expertise to pay on the black market. OK, it'll have to be pretty inventive, but niche skills never hurt, especially with black hat hackers ten a penny nowadays.
Eventually almost everyone will lend up earning from the unofficial economy, at this rate. I can't wait until chemists and game theorists are carrying out bank heists. It'll make life a lot more...interesting. Pratchett wasn't really joking when he says [educated group] have to be kept busy, or there is no telling what they might get up to.
Quote from: Cain on March 10, 2010, 10:30:05 PM
I'm sure you can somehow find a way for your expertise to pay on the black market. OK, it'll have to be pretty inventive, but niche skills never hurt, especially with black hat hackers ten a penny nowadays.
Eventually almost everyone will lend up earning from the unofficial economy, at this rate. I can't wait until chemists and game theorists are carrying out bank heists. It'll make life a lot more...interesting. Pratchett wasn't really joking when he says [educated group] have to be kept busy, or there is no telling what they might get up to.
I have a feeling some of these entomologists are going to convert to economic/agricultural terrorism. How does a citrus blight sound? or potatoes? or cotton? or bird flu?
Most of those are corporate-run enterprises as well, right?
You could always pull a MEND (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Emancipation_of_the_Niger_Delta) and use systems disruption and blackmail to live the high life. I'm sure rival companies or organised crime groups looking to buy in would love that.
Quote from: Kai on March 10, 2010, 10:34:18 PM
Quote from: Cain on March 10, 2010, 10:30:05 PM
I'm sure you can somehow find a way for your expertise to pay on the black market. OK, it'll have to be pretty inventive, but niche skills never hurt, especially with black hat hackers ten a penny nowadays.
Eventually almost everyone will lend up earning from the unofficial economy, at this rate. I can't wait until chemists and game theorists are carrying out bank heists. It'll make life a lot more...interesting. Pratchett wasn't really joking when he says [educated group] have to be kept busy, or there is no telling what they might get up to.
I have a feeling some of these entomologists are going to convert to economic/agricultural terrorism. How does a citrus blight sound? or potatoes? or cotton? or bird flu?
Or corn?
Quote from: Requia ☣ on March 10, 2010, 11:15:36 PM
Quote from: Kai on March 10, 2010, 10:34:18 PM
Quote from: Cain on March 10, 2010, 10:30:05 PM
I'm sure you can somehow find a way for your expertise to pay on the black market. OK, it'll have to be pretty inventive, but niche skills never hurt, especially with black hat hackers ten a penny nowadays.
Eventually almost everyone will lend up earning from the unofficial economy, at this rate. I can't wait until chemists and game theorists are carrying out bank heists. It'll make life a lot more...interesting. Pratchett wasn't really joking when he says [educated group] have to be kept busy, or there is no telling what they might get up to.
I have a feeling some of these entomologists are going to convert to economic/agricultural terrorism. How does a citrus blight sound? or potatoes? or cotton? or bird flu?
Or corn?
The easiest way to make corn fall apart would be to convince people that, you know those old intellectuals who told us that growing corn and wheat in rotation was a bad idea? Well, what do they know anyway!?
Watch for a resurgence of
Helicoverpa zea. :lulz:
I mean, they believe Beck about the government being a communist plot, so why not this?
On the other hand, farmers tend to be sharp, believe it or not. And they tend not to have time to sit around watching Fox News.
I don't blame the farmers for this stupidity, and I don't wish any suffering on them either.
The only American farmer I know spends most of his spare time reading quite obscure American historians and Gore Vidal. Independent farmers are usually fairly politically savvy though, since they get fucked over by nearly everyone.
Quote from: Cain on March 11, 2010, 01:33:15 AM
The only American farmer I know spends most of his spare time reading quite obscure American historians and Gore Vidal. Independent farmers are usually fairly politically savvy though, since they get fucked over by nearly everyone.
Yeah. Something like "I may not be slick as a glaze of ice on a tin roof, but any farther than I can throw a bull I don't trust you."
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju. Hopefully you don't live in an area where fire ants do. If so, you're fucked.
Kai's insect-sized mind control helmets trump juju.
FOR IT IS SCIENCE!
Quote from: Earthbound Spirit on March 11, 2010, 03:17:54 AM
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju. Hopefully you don't live in an area where fire ants do. If so, you're fucked.
I know
Solenopsis invicta better than most people.
Quote from: Kai on March 11, 2010, 04:36:14 AM
Quote from: Earthbound Spirit on March 11, 2010, 03:17:54 AM
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju. Hopefully you don't live in an area where fire ants do. If so, you're fucked.
I know Solenopsis invicta better than most people.
They're coming.
Quote from: Earthbound Spirit on March 11, 2010, 03:17:54 AM
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju. Hopefully you don't live in an area where fire ants do. If so, you're fucked.
I think in this case, Kai is vindicated.
IN THE FUCKING NADS, KAI! LET'S SEE SOME OF THAT MAD SCIENCE!
Quote from: Cain on March 11, 2010, 01:33:15 AM
The only American farmer I know spends most of his spare time reading quite obscure American historians and Gore Vidal. Independent farmers are usually fairly politically savvy though, since they get fucked over by nearly everyone.
Hitting independent farmers would be kind of pointless anyway (unless you really hate them i guess), the Pareto ratio on food is 2/98 iirc, so even if you took out every independent farmer in the country it'd have a negligible effect thanks to the ridiculous size of some of the fat cat run farms.
Still pissed off about this. :crankey:
Two things:
1. Cognato handled himself very well.
QuoteCARLSON: If someone is asking, you know, why is this a good investment of my tax dollars to save these bugs from other bugs, how would you respond?
COGNATO: Well, I would respond that a collection is like a library, and it contains knowledge. And each specimen, insect specimen is like a book, and that has information about where that insect was collected, how it was collected, what potentially it was eating.
So people, especially that are attached to agriculture and, say, forestry, need this information to help fight insect pests. And they cause a lot of damage to the U.S. natural resources in our food.
So — so, for example, this collection, the specimens from this collection were used to help to identify a very destructive, exotic pest.
2. Tucker Carlson still looks like that smarmy bastard from the student government that I beat up regularly in high school.
Quote from: Earthbound Spirit on March 11, 2010, 03:17:54 AM
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju.
Well yeah, but you're a wiccan.
Quote from: Kai on March 11, 2010, 05:36:08 PM
Still pissed off about this. :crankey:
Stay angry.
Quote from: Triple Zero on March 11, 2010, 11:23:52 PM
Quote from: Earthbound Spirit on March 11, 2010, 03:17:54 AM
Wishing fire ants on some thing/body is bad juju.
Well yeah, but you're a wiccan.
Yeah, Discordians have the Three-Fold Law of Lulz: for every lulzy action you undertake, you will get it back three times over. Fire ants = pretty damn amusing.
Every step you take toward lulz, it takes two steps toward you.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 11, 2010, 05:43:25 PM
Two things:
1. Cognato handled himself very well.
QuoteCARLSON: If someone is asking, you know, why is this a good investment of my tax dollars to save these bugs from other bugs, how would you respond?
COGNATO: Well, I would respond that a collection is like a library, and it contains knowledge. And each specimen, insect specimen is like a book, and that has information about where that insect was collected, how it was collected, what potentially it was eating.
So people, especially that are attached to agriculture and, say, forestry, need this information to help fight insect pests. And they cause a lot of damage to the U.S. natural resources in our food.
So — so, for example, this collection, the specimens from this collection were used to help to identify a very destructive, exotic pest.
2. Tucker Carlson still looks like that smarmy bastard from the student government that I beat up regularly in high school.
Doktor, this has got to stop. I can't take any more of this bullshit. Fox needs to be labeled and reviled universally as nonsense.
Quote from: Kai on March 11, 2010, 11:53:36 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 11, 2010, 05:43:25 PM
Two things:
1. Cognato handled himself very well.
QuoteCARLSON: If someone is asking, you know, why is this a good investment of my tax dollars to save these bugs from other bugs, how would you respond?
COGNATO: Well, I would respond that a collection is like a library, and it contains knowledge. And each specimen, insect specimen is like a book, and that has information about where that insect was collected, how it was collected, what potentially it was eating.
So people, especially that are attached to agriculture and, say, forestry, need this information to help fight insect pests. And they cause a lot of damage to the U.S. natural resources in our food.
So — so, for example, this collection, the specimens from this collection were used to help to identify a very destructive, exotic pest.
2. Tucker Carlson still looks like that smarmy bastard from the student government that I beat up regularly in high school.
Doktor, this has got to stop. I can't take any more of this bullshit. Fox needs to be labeled and reviled universally as nonsense.
Look around you, Kai.
You are living in the beginning of the new dark ages. The NASCAR fans eat this shit up.
No.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 12, 2010, 01:06:55 AM
Quote from: Kai on March 11, 2010, 11:53:36 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on March 11, 2010, 05:43:25 PM
Two things:
1. Cognato handled himself very well.
QuoteCARLSON: If someone is asking, you know, why is this a good investment of my tax dollars to save these bugs from other bugs, how would you respond?
COGNATO: Well, I would respond that a collection is like a library, and it contains knowledge. And each specimen, insect specimen is like a book, and that has information about where that insect was collected, how it was collected, what potentially it was eating.
So people, especially that are attached to agriculture and, say, forestry, need this information to help fight insect pests. And they cause a lot of damage to the U.S. natural resources in our food.
So — so, for example, this collection, the specimens from this collection were used to help to identify a very destructive, exotic pest.
2. Tucker Carlson still looks like that smarmy bastard from the student government that I beat up regularly in high school.
Doktor, this has got to stop. I can't take any more of this bullshit. Fox needs to be labeled and reviled universally as nonsense.
Look around you, Kai.
You are living in the beginning of the new dark ages. The NASCAR fans eat this shit up.
Fire. Lots of fire...