Saturday morning links

Re: 1 in 4 Americans Don't Know Earth Orbits the Sun.

if you look at pg 7-7 of the study, you'll find that the surveys were done over the course of 16 or 17 telephone surveys with only two surveys followed up with interviews.

you already have a, let's say questionable, sources.

I'd lie, just to screw with anyone asking questions like that, just because I can and because its funny. yes, the earth rotates around flying saucers, so enter that into thy spreadsheet and may the Force be wif you. most of the people I know would do the same thing. just like the Samoans spoofed margaret mead.

#1 wirraway on 2014-02-15 10:20 (Reply)

It's a pleasure to finally agree with you about something. Completely true that many people are not only willing to lie to telephone pollsters but eagerly look forward to doing it. My father is a pro, often regaling the unwitting survey taker with long convoluted stories about picking beans, catching fish or literally anything at all. He keeps them on the phone for ages and it's always very funny.

#1.1 W. C. Taqiyya on 2014-02-15 10:35 (Reply)

its great to have a dad like that.

on one of the more or less reputable UFO reporting sites, there's an account of my sighting of multiple flying disks, with the GPS coordinates of the Clark County shotgun range.

#1.1.1 wirraway on 2014-02-15 12:05 (Reply)

I would like to know specifically how the question was worded, or if the question itself was somewhat up to the interpretation of the person doing the asking. I find these things frequently (the DMV is the best at this, the IRS a close second) where it turns out I know the answer, it just takes a while to figure out what the heck the actual question is.

#1.2 dirk on 2014-02-15 14:59 (Reply)

If folks only knew what the Indians, ummm, "Native Americans" were actually saying in those old Western movies.

#1.3 Jim on 2014-02-16 01:50 (Reply)

1 in 4 Americans Don't Know Earth Orbits the Sun. Yes, Really.

Well, there are only so many hours in the day, something had to be cut to make room for all the gender diversity training and CAGW lessons. The latter of which informs in no uncertain way that the sun does not contribute to global warming or climate change.

#2 JKB on 2014-02-15 10:20 (Reply)

Facebook redefines gender

Someone should sue. We don't have enough gender diversity in public restrooms and showers.

#3 JKB on 2014-02-15 10:24 (Reply)

Facebook's short list of gender options is long overdue. Americans have suffered the penurious shackles of gender slavery for hundreds of years. Male or female? It's shocking that it took us so long to break those unimaginative, fundamentalist religious/political bonds. Freedom is so much better. My only concern and it is rather a large one, is the remaining neolithic fixation we have on racial definitions. Black or white? Red or Yellow? We must do better. I will take the first brave step and come out of the closet for alternative racial designations of our own choosing. I will now define myself as a moon sprite from Europa, blue in the morning and purple during the evening hours. In addition, my sexual gender this week will be dominantly right handed. Ain't freedom grand?

#4 W. C. Taqiyya on 2014-02-15 10:58 (Reply)

And I thought I was going to be the first to come out as a moon sprint from Europa!! I wonder how many of us there are - this week?

#4.1 mudbug on 2014-02-15 13:22 (Reply)

Bigender?

big ender?

fat ass as a gender?? really????

#4.2 wirraway on 2014-02-15 14:02 (Reply)

There apparently is also a thing called Gender Fluid.

Is this something I should be checking the level of?

#4.2.1 B Moe on 2014-02-15 19:44 (Reply)

With yourself as the dipstick. (My BAAAAAAD self took over.) (Who said that?)

#4.2.1.1 Sam L. on 2014-02-15 21:56 (Reply)

Good Morning all:

Here is a good collection of pictures and information that might make you re-consider your choice of foods today.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/fast-food-truths_n_4296243.html

Now, all we have to do is get the US media--those who are concerned about America's weight and health problems--to take a look at COSTCO foods! In particular that tub of guacamole they sell folks. It lasts about 2 months in the refrigerator! Yes, indeed folks if you don't think there is something nasty in there keeping avocadoes fresh for 2 months . . .

#5 facultywife on 2014-02-15 11:01 (Reply)

I would have to surmise that if the guacamole is remaining edible for 2 months after opening, there is very little "nasty" in the container. I would suspect that all the ingredients have been strictly controlled to prevent anything nasty from entering into the mix.

The historical and transitional use of nasty is to indicate filthy, dirty, defiled. In the context of food, it was something that was likely to corrupt the food making it inedible.

Now, perhaps you used the word to seek to provoke emotion over something in the guacamole that prevents the growth of bacteria and mold as well as inhibits the enzymatic action and oxidation in the avocado flesh, i.e, that inhibits decay and rotting that would occur in the absence of these compounds?

#5.1 JKB on 2014-02-15 12:20 (Reply)

I'm with JKB. Avocado after it is cut turns brown. The brown slimyness is oxidation. The reason for oxidation is contact with air.

It is quite common for even semi-prepared fresh foods (such as lettuces off the "head") to be packaged in nitrogen to prevent browning. This enables it to look "fresh" even when it it might be weeks old.

Of course the level of useful nutrients decays with that time, so they really aren't as nutritious as when truly fresh. Still nutritious, however, and we are more likely to eat food that looks appealing than food that does not.

I seem to recall that this was discussed on this blog not long ago.

#5.2 DOuglas2 on 2014-02-15 14:51 (Reply)

How's this for putting a spin on the economy, feminism and men?

http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/18/sorry-camille-paglia-feminism-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-men/

#6 faculty wife on 2014-02-15 11:39 (Reply)

Tell me why I (or anyone else) should trust anything in TIME.

#6.1 Sam L. on 2014-02-15 22:01 (Reply)

The cited story at "huffingtonpost.com" was too slick and too elaborate to just be some contributers post. Who produced that and what was their agenda. It looks like something that CSPI puts out and their agenda is vegetarian/vegan and getting people to stop eating meat. Is this who we should be taking our heatlhy eating advice from? Everyone is free to make their own decision about what they eat. That's a good thing isn't it? These people are all about taking choice away. How can that be a good thing? If you don't like McDonalds then the choice is soooo simple, don't eat there. I like the McRib sandwhich and when McDonalds has it I go and get one. There is simply no evidence that McDonalds food is "bad" for you or that any fad diet is "good" for you. There may be foods that are bad for some individuals such as shellfish if you have an allergy to them but that doesn't make shelfish "bad". Most of us recognize that prepared foods are formulated to enhance shelf life. If this bothers you then don't eat them. If the FDA is falling down on their job and allowing ingredients that are "bad" for us in prepared foods then let's demand that the FDA be more responsive to these issues. But it is wrong for special interest groups to try to control our food supply based on their biases.

#7 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-02-15 12:04 (Reply)

I had a similar suspicion. Food advocacy is greatly tied to social signalling, of teaching us all to be the right sort of people.

#7.1 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2014-02-15 13:48 (Reply)

and lets not forget commercial advantage, e.g the Pork Council's "Pork the other white meat" and marketing. Why pay 59 cents a pound, when you get the latest adjective labeled product for triple the cost?

#7.1.1 walt moffett on 2014-02-15 14:24 (Reply)

I looked up one of the claims, and this is what I found on Snopes:

QUOTE:

(Although McDonald's Chicken McNuggets are typically offered as an example of a popular MSP-based food, since 2003 that product has been made with all white meat rather than MSP.)
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/msm.asp#uT2sOlyeZLfH57Yd.99

So we know right away that the article is feeding us falsehoods.

Earlier in the article there is this:

QUOTE:

What he discovered was that their "eggs" are really a strange concoction that includes eggs and "premium egg blend." Some things that are in this special blend include glycerin, a solvent found in soap and shaving cream, dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone that can also be found in Silly Putty, and calcium silicate, a sealant used on roofs and concrete.

That sort of writing really steams me up. You use a scary chemical name for some common food item, say that it is also used in something that is decidedly non-food, such as concrete, and imply that eating an egg-mixture with preservatives is somehow like eating concrete, roofing-tar, or shaving-cream. In the recent London Underground incident where an underground switching control-room was accidentally filled with fast-setting concrete, they used sugar as a curing regulator so that they would have time to shovel-out all of the wet concrete before it set. Does that somehow impact the desirability of sugar in food?

#7.2 Douglas2 on 2014-02-15 15:16 (Reply)

Do you know how dangerous dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is?? Many people are killed every year simply by breathing it. And yet it is used in most of our foods, with absolutely NO warnings!

#7.2.1 Jim on 2014-02-16 02:00 (Reply)

Re: lumberjack

CHORUS: He's a lumberjack, and he's okay,
He sleeps all night and he works all day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg

#8 wirraway on 2014-02-15 12:28 (Reply)

Heliocentric vs Geocentric.....There is a documentary coming out in April called "The Principle". It is based on information from a YouTube video by Dr. Sungenis on geocentrism, and is not the PC version of cosmology. There is also a a short introductory piece on YouTube about "The Principal. The first video is rather long at about 2hrs40min.

#9 indyjonesouthere on 2014-02-15 12:44 (Reply)

oh, it's based on something found on youtube so it must be correct...

Sadly that's how most people get their world view nowadays, from youtube videos, hufpo shill pieces, and slashdot rants.

#9.1 J.T. Wenting on 2014-02-15 14:24 (Reply)

I got a 60% from Murray. I found his questions insufficient.

Woody, et al.: I have given up; I do not know, and can not know. I'm not watching his movies.

Walmart cheaper: Who knew? Well, pretty much everybody.

UFOs: I got a movie says Nazis have a moon base. I mean, it MUST be true, though I'd think they'd have done more damage to us by now, and even more to the Israelis...so maybe not.

#10 Sam L. on 2014-02-15 14:42 (Reply)

The return of sub prime lending, why not, the government is always there to bail them out while the usual suspects preen for the camera.

Amusing that a reporter is unaware drug stores are now over priced convenience stores. Next up, the shocking news that "free" shingles vaccination actually nets a $200 check from your health insurer.

A MD told me he retired when he decided while he could see 14 patients a day, seeing the .33 patient to meet standards was beyond him.

#11 walt moffett on 2014-02-15 14:55 (Reply)

Feminism shares several disturbing traits with Islam, including judicial privilege: women can be assumed to know and speak truthfully (at least on some topics).

#12 ErisGuy on 2014-02-16 03:28 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Saturday, February 15. 2014

Saturday morning links