Darkora - Nik's Blog

“And yet she persisted”

One of the greatest scenes in film history. I feel so BLESSED

My cat is so helpful...

My Quest: Buying Terry Pratchett Books in Hardback

I'm currently working on buying the entire Discworld series in hardback after I recently found a few of them in a charity shop (First editions!) So here's the list of the ones I'm still after

  The Colour of Magic

The Light Fantastic

Equal Rites

Mort

Sourcery

Wyrd Sisters

Pyramids

Guards! Guards!

Eric

Moving Pictures

Reaper Man

Witches Abroad

Small Gods

Lords and Ladies

Men at Arms

Soul Music

Interesting Times

Maskerade

Feet of Clay

Hogfather

Jingo

Last Continent

Carpe Jugulum

Fifth Elephant

The Truth

Thief of Time

Last Hero

Amazing Maurice

Night Watch

The Wee Free Men

Monstrous Regiment

Hat Full Of Sky

Going Postal

Thud!

Wintersmith

Making Money

Unseen Academicals

I Shall Wear Midnight

17/38 = 45% done ^^

In Other News:

I've been levelling my Paladin (Lysandre) on WoW recently with Amanda, we've just started doing the Blasted Lands quests after stomping our way through Dustwallow Marsh, Tanaris, Ungoro Crater and the Swamp of Sorrows - With another few hours worth of questing I reckon we'll be in Outlands stomping yet more faces on our way to level 70. Working with another Paladin has been fantastic for levelling - we've not yet found anything we've struggled to kill together and it has impressed me just how competent Amanda has become with her class - she was more than capable of delivering the punishment on multiple opponents when a bug meant that my character was unable to provide any kind of useful support until I logged out and back in again.

Apparently it's the Royal Wedding tomorrow though I've yet to figure out if I actually care... Probably not come to think of it, though at least it's a nice excuse for a bank holiday - not gonna complain on that front.

~Nik.

To my uk trans people and allies out there.

Vote Harris.

What do you think has changed in the mind of American workers?

21 “Facts” that Evolutionists can’t Answer

Challenge accepted.

1. Why are the planets round?

Wait, what? I thought you said Evolutionists? planetary formation has nothing to do with Evolution, would you ask a botanist about how plant pots are made? Okay, so I’ll answer anyway, because gravity.

2. Go to a zoo and tell me - why doesn’t a chimpanzee give birth to a man?

Maybe it’s having a girl instead? Or maybe it’s because they’re two separate species that share a common ancestor. 

3. Have you ever seen a mountain form?

Again with the unrelated to evolution questions. No, I actually haven’t seen a mountain form, have you? Oh you haven’t either? So obviously the default position must be ‘God done it’ in spite of the fact that I don’t believe the formation of mountains is actually referenced anywhere in the bible. Plate tectonics clearly had nothing to do with it </sarcasm>

4. Why doesn’t new life show up in a jar of peanut butter?

Because if I wanted new life, I’d order crunchy peanut butter. Oh wait, no, that’s not the reason, the reason is that we don’t even really know for sure what the circumstances were when life first formed, it might not be possible to replicate them in a lab, let alone in a jar of peanut butter.

5. If the big bang started as a singularity, who held up the singularity?

What? what the fuck? just what? are you high?

6. A painting had a painter, therefore the universe had a maker

false equivalence. With a painting, you can see the signature, you can check the paperwork that comes with it to confirm its validity, you can take off tiny flakes of the paint to check that they conform with the paints that would have been used at the time, please do enlighten me as to how you plan to do that with the universe, I’d love to know.

Apparently the number 7 is against their religion.

8. How can you explain gravity?

 With science.

9. If we came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?

Please see my answer to question 2, or better yet, hit yourself with that bible of yours a few more times, kthx.

10. If the world is millions of years old, why is it 2008?

Oh no, the killer question, you’ve got me, I repent! Wait, no, I’ve just remembered we have this thing called a dating system that started (now) 2015 years ago based on (someone’s best guess of) when Jesus was born (making the generous assumption that he lived in the first place).

11. If I throw dirt up in the air, what are the odds that it will come down in the form of a living man?

Almost exactly 0%, y’know why? because when you throw dirt in the air, all you get is dirt in your eyes, but hey, in the spirit of science why don’t you try it a few hundred times while we all watch? won’t that be fun.

12. Can you see Electricity?

Yeah actually you can, ever seen lightning or a tesla coil?

13. Science changes, the book of Genesis is perfect

Yes, science does change, you’re right, when it discovers something that contradicts something it already knew or just something new entirely, it changes, that’s called learning. I find it amusing that you consider Genesis perfect, I’d like to know which of the two creation stories in Genesis is the true one?

14. The holy bible is the truth, because the bible says it’s the truth

Well that’s nice, it must be true if it says it in a book, enjoy your circular logic.

15. Evolution is a religion, Science leads to killing people

Oh no, we’re not going there, Evolution is a Scientific theory, science is a tool that people may occasionally use to kill each other, but then you could say that about a lot of tools. You know what’s been used to incite most of the conflicts that the products of science were used in? religion.

16. Scientists around the world are jointly involved in a conspiracy against God.

I was right earlier, you are high. 

17. Bananas are perfectly designed for the human hand.

Yeah, we tailored them to be easier to grow and easier to eat, using a thing called selection. Coincidentally a natural version of that is a mechanism of evolution.

18. Millions of years for a monkey to turn into a man? Monkeys don’t live that long.

Yeah, high as a kite.

19. Why would a man have sex with a monkey?

I’ll counter this with a non-sequitur of my own; Why are religious people obsessed with sex?

20. Archaeologists want to remove the human remains first when they find a dinosaur so they can lie

Evolution can’t melt steel beams man.

21. If a monkey gave birth to a man, who would he or she mate with?

Please see question 2 and resume hitting yourself with your bible.

10 Myths About Introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk. This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy. Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude. Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people. On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public. Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone. Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird. Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds. Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun. Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts. A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

http://www.carlkingdom.com/10-myths-about-introverts

We mourn. We remember.  We stand with the LGBTQ community against hate and violence.