Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

"Okay, we're clearly at the beginning of a #movie. Now, is this a wacky #comedy with incompetent #gangsters who take ever-more-ridiculous pratfalls in a futile attempt to recover their loot, or a gritty #thriller where the viewpoint characters are in way over their heads? Help me figure it out ... fast."

This is how "intellectual" #creationists and #antivaxers sound to #biologists, BTW.

Not posted for agreement, if you share from my post please leave my commentary intact, terms and conditions apply, see your local grumpy scientist for details ...

This type of "#humor" is shit.

"#Cardcatalogs were our #Google! #Polaroids were our #Instagram! #Payphones were our #iPhones!"

NO THE FUCK THEY WEREN'T. They were very useful in their time, but the modern versions are *better*. Which is why it's difficult to find a card catalog or a Polaroid camera these days, and a payphone is practically impossible.

Grow the hell up.

Every time I think the vastly misnamed #Republicans can't get any lower, they have to go and prove me wrong. They are now #censoring the #Constitution.

BTW, the pages aren't only missing from the direct links, e.g. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/section-9/ , they're also missing from the index of Article I, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-1/ . There's no possible way this is a glitch.

The phrase "foreign and domestic" popped up in my head for some reason.

For anyone invested in the "#wyvern vs. #dragon" argument, here is a medieval painting of St. George and the dragon. I will not be taking further questions at this time.

Not posted for agreement, if you share from my post please leave my commentary intact, etc. This came up in a #fantasy and #sciencefiction writing group on Facebook. I disagree with it, but it's a worthy topic for discussion.

There's nothing magical about #numbers IMO: like any other part of #worldbuilding, they should be dropped into the story when they're useful and left out when they're not. Give the readers enough to understand the world, without multiple paragraphs of exposition or "as you know, Bob" dialog.

I live in #Colorado and spend as much time as possible in the #mountains. When people are talking about mountains—as the characters in my current work do a lot—they throw numbers around. #Elevation, map #distance, and time all matter a great deal when you're planning a hike. Since they're #explorers in a mostly unmapped world, they need all the information they can get. Qualitative details like #flora, #fauna, and #climate matter at least as much, so they talk about those too.

Number soup is boring, but as a seasoning rather than a main ingredient, numbers can really help add flavor. Readers who know mountains will recognize the way my characters talk, and those who don't will hopefully pick up on the authenticity. Anyone who wants to challenge my numbers at a con is welcome to do so, but I try to make sure they need to bring their A-game.

I understand that when it's time to pay up, he can be a real bastard.

A story in three parts.

Rick Astley and Trent Reznor must never be allowed to meet. If they do, they'll mutually annihilate in a shower of gamma rays that could wipe out all life on Earth.

"Of course I don't want #German and #Japanese forces to draw an occupation dividing line through Denver, but #FDR just doesn't seem like he really wants to *earn* my support, you know?"

The currently trendy obsession with being a "#king" is poison.

Buddy, the vast majority of #men throughout human #history—past, present, and future—are not kings. If you think you are, or can be, you don't understand how people function. We're not #knights either. We're #peasants. We're born, we live, we work, we die. Nobody but our friends and families will ever know we existed. When they die too, we will be completely and utterly forgotten.*

The ones who are kings? Or #dukes, or #barons, or knights? Shitheads, by and large. Even the "good ones" turn out to be pretty bad when you look closely. #Rulers need the #people, but people don't need rulers. This is a lesson the world learned through millennia of blood and pain. Those who want to discard that hard-won knowledge are scum.

If that's what you want to be ... okay, thanks for letting us know what you are. We won't forget it.

From "Crash Landing" (1979) a pleasant little science fiction movie about how the crew of a damaged space freighter work together to repair their ship and get home in time for the third officer's daughter's eleventh birthday.

I'm a #patriot, not a #nationalist, and often get into the weeds trying to explain the difference. This simplified version covers the most important parts, especially the first panel. "Patriotism is pride in who you are, nationalism is pride in who you aren't" deserves to be an internet law.

Counterpoint to my previous post.

The Society of Mad Bioinformaticists approves this message.

Pretty soon there will be a TACO truck on every corner.

If this didn't happen, it should have.

Implications for current political issues are left as an exercise to the reader.

The #WISP exists partially as a deliberate counter to this—i.e. to portray #fictional #dinosaurs more like the first panel than the second. Not that I expect it ever to become a #movie. But *if it does*, I will use the vast power for which #writers are known in #Hollywood to ensure my dinosaurs don't have mange and broken wrists.

You're gonna need a bigger turnout.

Like many memes about #GenerationX, this is superficially appealing but falls apart the more you look at it. #Xers do a lot of self-congratulating on how #independent we are, but what that's translated into is more support for #Trump than any other generation, including the reviled #Boomers. We're cats.