We haven’t had a ‘condemnation’ thread this year and it’s been noticed.
What’s worthy of condemnation as we reach mid-year? Which evil political, cultural, social, musical, religious, and other phenomena need condemnation? (Or loud denunciation?)
For me, being on in years I condemn all those who have forgotten that there was life before the baby boomers. We will not go gentle into that good night.
I condemn the people who write “frist” as first posters at a thread.
I condemn people who don’t have sex with neanderthals as health risks.
I condemn Australia Post for continuing to put books from o/s in my letterbox instead of delivering them to my flat door despite having been told mail gets stolen in my street.
I condemn large Steggles chooks that won’t fit in my stockpot or microwave.
I condemn Marieke Hardy’s old school chum Josh.
From Twitter:
What. a tool. But notice how the worst tweet is actually a facebook group? (No link – you can google it if you’re a masochist.) The facebook group features the usual twentysomething slackers but also little Tailas and Tequilaas meekly chiming in with this hate speech, in the hope the boys will think they’re the exception.
Ugh. Josh in Carnegie, you’re a huge tool, but only a small data point in the massive tooliness that’s out there. I condemn Josh and the misogynist culture he stands for.
I condemn the continuing earthquakes in Christchurch area. The locals are well over it. Stop it!
Helen, that is really disturbing.
I condemn Paul for being so out of touch that he thinks the yoof would steal his books.
I condemn the yoof.
I condemn roman numerals. I can’t read the title of this post without doing a google search, and that is very very condemnable. I also condemn roman numerals because when I did computer science at university I had to write a program that converted roman numerals to numbers, and back. It was hard. I had to write it in Ada, a language I unreservedly condemn.
I also condemn the computer science students who were such arseholes, especially the one who said “I can program in 6 different languages; I don’t have time to help you.”
I bet he’s in Josh’s facebook group.
Oh!
I DO know the answer to question to #1 at three, but will reserve answer for now. As to #4, what’s wrong with a bit of aspiration?
The writer condemns non bogans for condemning bogans without first thinking first what it’s like, and if so for the opposite reason.
I also condemn earthquakes. And Kiwis for lacking the native common sense of Australians, who at least have the style to have their worst disasters outside of their cities metropolitan areas.
I think I had to write that program too, sg. It was a doddle, IIRC, and I really like Ada. It was the teaching language at Adelaide when I finally finished my degree. However, I’m totally with you condemning the arseholes who wouldn’t help. 6 languages? Pfft. I’ve just counted up 9 I know, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few others I’ve used over the years.
Yeah, general condemnation of ignorance but that form that specifically manifests itself as racism; insufferable and on the increase.
I condemn those calling for Raquel from #gobacksbs to be deported. We need to preserve our contemporary Neanderthals …
Not so sure about their habitat though …
I also condemn Raquel for having a BF called Levi. It reminds me of Bristol, and I condemn her and all her elk.
I condemn the orchestration of forgetfulness, the expunging of recent events from news journals, at least as far as their internet presence goes. I just went to check some headlines from the Mainichi Daily News and all of the links are dead and the articles themselves no longer exist AFAICS. The article about one of Kan’s advisors resignation in protest – gone, the article about subcontractors being told they wouldn’t need to record their exposure – gone. I know they once did exist because there are references to them all over the blogosphere. Other articles from the same dates can still be read but not the following:
“Contaminated nuke plant workers going back on the job as safety regs go by the wayside” 14/5/2011
“Man dies after collapsing during Fukushima plant work” 14/5/2011
“Nuclear plant workers suffer internal radiation exposure after visiting Fukushima” 21/5/2011
“Radiation advisor to Kan quits over gov’t nuke crisis response” 30/4/2011
I don’t know how the decision to archive material is made but it seems more than a little strange that one would choose not to retain a record of the resignation of a key Government advisor. That at least was an event significant enough to be published elsewhere, more worrying is the loss of the voices of ordinary individual contractors. Does anyone have a less sinister conclusion than the one to which I am inclined ?
David, does that mean we studied together at Adelaide Uni? That’s where I did Ada as well. And at the time I was such a bad programmer that a program to convert from roman to arabic was too hard for me. I condemn the lecturer with the northern British accent who taught us machine code – his droning “one zero one one one zero zero one” tone sent me to sleep in that lecture even though it was 10:30 am!
I recall we were taught Ada because it enforced strict rules on variable types. This didn’t stick with me – now I use stats languages and they don’t even need types. I condemn variable types as an old fashioned dodge. A real language just knows if you meant to count ducks or add up numbers.
apropos of nothing, I condemn ducks. Feathery bastards.
In the CS theme: I condemn useless online documentation. Take note Scipy, we don’t want to wait for 30 seconds to load the entire API documentation into a single browser window to look up a single method call.
I also condemn scientists who still use Fortran, especially versions earlier than F95. I also condemn scientists who code like Fortran even when they’re not writing in it.
Although, can I be allowed to not condemn earthquakes? If NZ didn’t have earthquakes, we’d be under the ocean like the other 95% of our subcontinent.
I condemn liquefaction. Although it could lead to the crossover genre of Swamp Monster/Earthquake B movie.
what do modern scientists use instead of Fortran!!???
On the question of documentation, I condemn the complete lack of any user guide (paper or electronic) for the “nexus” mobile handset hubby just got. Having to work out what those icons actually do/mean just by trial, error and inference is a waste of time.
I thought they still did use FORTRAN, sg. Anyway, what’s wrong with FORTRAN, Jess?
I was finishing my degree between 1992-6, sg, and I probably would’ve done the roman numerals program in ’92 – it sounds like a CS1 kind of exercise. I can’t think who the lecturer with the accent was, though.
I condemn Australia’s complete lack of green credentials and obsession with slavishly copying the right wing political antics of the American tea party.
Have just returned from 6 weeks in southern Europe where every building had double glazing and wind farms dotted the landscape.
I’ve turned the corner on global warming and henceforth condemn any who doesn’t get in early on razor wire as I have. A huge future industry as we keep out people who are capable of treading water and whining simultaneously.
David Irving, I did the roman numerals program in 1991 – and then dropped out of the class after 8 weeks because back then, if you hadn’t been raised with computers they were a mystery to you, and although the course said that you didn’t need experience with computers it was patently obvious that they were teaching the Deep Nerds. My family were too poor for a computer, so I knew nothing beyond what a mouse was. I took up stats instead, and I’ve never looked back.
I condemn 1991 in general.
But I thought scientists still used fortran too…
I condemn backward written dates, as in 2011/6/26.
Salient Green, I condemn those who condemn backwards dates.
They sort as strings, that is why they are awesome.
While I’m here I absolutely condemn Tony Abbott for saying today that he should go “jointly” with the PM to Indonesia as if he’s got some sort of actual standing in government.
Written MMXI-VI-XXVI
Guys, yes they do still use Fortran, mostly because there is so much stuff already written for it, and because it’s so bloody fast. Doesn’t mean they use it well.
Still, there’s no harm in wishing for a better language, maybe one that provides better encapsulation of your code, so that it’s easier to refactor stuff. It’s probably my biggest gripe – as I almost never end up using the code I try to write first. I suppose I should plane better but I find the direction your science goes in is often completely different to where you thought you were headed to begin with.
Sometimes I just wish you could just `import this`.
Can I add my condemn to TRex’s condemn over Tony Abbot’s comments? We’ve already got Scott Morrison slagging off the country which has been keeping him out of our hair for the last few days.
I was hoping to see Abbot fall off that horse though – he was looking pretty shaky. Maybe he should stick to driving trucks.
Salient: It’s just a continuation of our standard number system – big numbers to the left, small numbers to the right. We do it with times (hours, minutes, seconds), right?
Sorry, s/plane/plan
Condemno the writers/producers/directors of Xmen: First Class for first churning through a previous 4 turgid, mawkish, po-faced and borderline incoherent installations of this franchise (I, II, III, Origins: Wolverine) before turning out a passably entertaining and mildly engaging fifth episode; which was a prequel to boot.
OK, I live in a small town, the movie just got here. At least I haven’t had to bother with the re-boot of ‘Arthur’.
I condemn Telstra’s inability to diagnose line faults & maintain it’s old-tech network. And the passive-aggressive scripting of their complaints section.
Jess, that sounds as though you are doing genuine research (as opposed to confirmatory studies). I cannot condemn that.
Thin people.
They seem pleasant enough but that sort of self control just ain’t natural these days.
There aren’t too many left so I would venture that keeping an eye on them would pay off .
Tyro Rex and Jess, 22 & 23, It’s not about strings and it’s not about the way other numbers are arranged in other situations. It’s about which numbers are the most important. In my business, it’s much more productive to recognise the day or the month first, toss up which but the fact that I have used this system for 50 years also has an impact on productivity which easily trumps putting the month first.
The Yanks should have changed to metric years ago for productivity reasons but it was deemed to be too costly. It was a difficult enough transition for Australia.
If either of you can demonstrate that backward written dates will be more productive for society as a whole, it would be a big improvement on the replies you gave.
I condemn all USA culture except <em<black culture especially the strange obsession with super heroes of masculinity.
I condemn nasty remarks about thin people. As far back as school it started, with stupid Julius Caesar:
“Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o’ nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous”
I condemn over- or under-achieving thyroid glands, whatever it is that keeps us thin. Though it’s quite nice if people think it’s self-control. What have I had today? Half a block of chocolate, half a bag of licorice, and when out with friends for a coffee (they had a coffee) I also had the ‘mango brulee and coconut ice-cream’ that I noticed on the menu – I always check out menus for the deserts. My last medical test measured body fat percentage as 9.3%.
So, after hearing today about the global obesity epidemic, caused by people being lazy and gluttonous, I also condemn fat people.
Salient Green, its better because its not ambiguous! is that dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy NO! its yyyy-mm-dd
also, i condemn anyone who doesn’t get “military” time.
2011-06-26 21:34
Oh goodie a condemnation thead, at last. Now as it so happens I was all set to add my condemnation to the lack of a condemnation thread the other day which I think was prompted by akn’s inline condemnation of the lack of a condemnation thread when I got sidetracked by the pressing issue of Julia’s first year aniversary (which btw I also condemn, not the fact that she has been PM for a year but the media meme about how she got the job and why she is universally hated etc etc). I condemn sidetracking as it usually prevents me from getting to the point but on the other hand a good sidetrack will often take you somewhere you didn’t intend to go and since I also condemn blinkered ritualism I find that I am also somewhat in a dilemma, and while I’m at it I also condemn dilemmas.
However the greatest source of my angst and worthy of my most vociferous condemnation is the ongoing intervention in the NT, the completely unacceptable mortality rates for Aborigines in general and particularly in custody, and most especially worthy of condemnation is the apology that Rudd uttered without word of compensation or land rights.
Other than that I also routinely condemn capitalism and organised religion but usually only on sundays…
Indeed, Tyro Rex. We go from most significant figure (millenium) to least significant figure (minute) seamlessy. I also condemn people who don’t get how that’s the best way to do dates and times.
sg, we just missed each other.
BTW, I condemn statistics, as it is a black art.
Also worthy of condemnation:
“A debate on whether the West Australian Labor Party should oppose the federal government’s proposed Malaysian solution for asylum seekers has been shut down at the party’s conference.
A motion was due to be put forward today, calling on WA Labor to oppose sending unaccompanied minors to Malaysia as part of the federal government’s response to asylum seekers.
It would also urge WA Labor members to oppose any deal that did not have the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
However this morning it was revealed the controversial motion, which is understood to have the involvement of federal Labor MP Melissa Parke, had been pulled off the agenda”
I either condemn the media for their laziness in political reporting or I condemn me for just not seeing how awful this Federal government is. (Worst since Whitlam allegedly.)
I condemn Kevin Rudd for not playing ball with the media. Why oh why didn’t he give them something to talk about over the weekend after they have been oh so fair towards him!
Statistics is indeed an art, but it’s not black – there are very few black statisticians. This is not funk. Nor is it funky. I think I should condemn that.
Dates from the year to the day are considered normal in Japan, along with addresses from the country to the street. It’s considered completely reasonable. Unfortunately, they don’t have street addresses, which is completely stupid, and I condemn it.
Currently, I can’t think of anything else about Japan to condemn. Except that I have to work tomorrow. Bastards.
also I think it’s kind of condemnable that the “Saturday Salon” is only viewable in one place on the whole main page (“recent posts”). It’s not in the top two or the 3 featured posts, and doesn’t feature in any of the other (pointless?) categories on the main page. There are many posts in those categories from 2 weeks ago that are now thoroughly dead, but saturday salon is not.
You might say “oh, but it’s in the list of recent commetns” only it’s not, because the list of recent comments is “aggressively cached” and so the most recent comments don’t appear for ages, until you click on a post and then they’re all there to view immediately.
I think these things are all quite condemnable.
I condemn the Conservative Party of Canada for being right bastards to the postal workers, in particular, and being bastards in general at all times.
I condemn Christopher Pyne, my MHR when I lived in Australia, for old times sake. Is he still a waste of space in the Commonwealth Parliament?
I condemn my post-midnight indigestion.
I also condemn those who can’t see a link to “Latest Open Thread” above the Recent Posts box on the front page or in the “Not Sure Where To Comment?” box in the sidebar
I condemn Monckton for being a catastrophically stupid climate denier. This is an indication of how he might recant his denial in the future and what can you do when he does except be a bit relieved.
Back to the dating format, given that the vast majority of the world use a day month year format, I condemn the new system of backwards written dating format as the flea tickling the hair of the tail making it twitch to try and wag the dog;).
I condemn the AGE for having the bulk of the editorial page today given over to a climate change denial article by Bob Carter and a cartoon ditto by Spooner. Then in the SMH, which is of course from the same stable, there’s an article saying “Support for climate action continues to erode and more Australians say they don’t want to pay anything to help reduce greenhouse emissions.” JEEZ I WONDER WHY THAT MIGHT BE.
Helen, I was going to condemn exactly the same thing. This is where an anodyne concept such as ‘balance’ gets us.
Hasn’t the world’s richest woman bought a stake in Fairfax, as well as Channel 10 of course.
The SMH Guide insert had that well known fearlessly independent journalist Gerard Henderson review the Bolt show on Ch 10. Nice bit of cross promotion.
i condemn the bogans for being so thin skinned, you lot could sure hand it out back in the day, but it looks like you can’t take it.
i condemn Bob Carter, but i can’t figure out whether it is because he is stupid or he thinks everyone else is, either way i condemn him.
I condemn large (and small) colour (or black & white) photographs of real estate agents, on billboards outside houses, in local papers, in real estate agent shop windows and in associated junk mail. I condemn those who think that what someone looks like has anything whatsoever to do with successfully buying or selling a house.
I condemn Bob Carter for saying greenhouse science is crap, when he did most of his recent science out of a greenhouse at JCU after they kicked him out of his office…
I too condemn those who don’t understand why writing dates from most significant to least significant is the best unambiguous way to write them. Or know that its the internationally recognised way of writing dates (ISO 8601) and that it works both for dates and times or combination of the both.
I condemn my upset stomach. I condemn myself for engaging in the self-destructive activities which have caused me to have an upset stomach.
I condemn Fran Kelly on #theirABC for using the term “carbon tax” on ten occasions in an interview with Swan (2 before she allowed him to even comment, so that they could be embedded as a prefatory) this morning (2 of which were “verbals” {Brown, Ferguson})
I condemn Swan for almost being bamboozled by this LNP/Murdoch/Polluter propaganda Blitzkrieg but commend him for catching himself at the first consonant and changing to “charge”.
I condemn #theirABC for making itself a publicly funded arm of the Murdochracy and the ALP for opening the door to this style of trolling.
If my books go missing at the letterbox and the thieves don’t read them before they flog them to the second hand bookshop, I condemn them. Kids have got to get an education some way.
I condemb high electricity prices and suggest that if they hadn’t soared so much in the past few years there wouldn’t be so much opposition to a carbon price among voters.
I condemn myself for telling the little dog next door the cat down the road would get him. He hasn’t spoken to me since.
I condemn people who don’t believe animals can talk to you.
I condemn Paul Burns for complaining yet again about electricity prices. I condemn comfort-addicted Australians for pushing up the price of electricity by the overuse of airconditioning.
I don’t think PB has air conditioning, Russell. If I were on the pension, I’d probably complain about electricity prices too.
Precisely DI – all the more reason for condemning those effete, weak-willed-with-too-much-money air-conditioner-dependent carbon criminals for pushing up your own electricity prices.
That was an awful thing to do to that poor little doggy, btw, Paul – I don’t know how you can live with yourself. (That said, the small dog I used to have had no trouble at all terrorising cats who were twice her size … )
I have air conditioning in summer but no heater for winter. So I condemn those who dare to use heaters in winter pushing up electricity prices
I condemn people who claim, without evidence, that heaters push up electricity prices. (Your air-conditioner isn’t reverse-cycle?)
I condemn the recent spate of polls showing the public does not want a carbon tax. I condemn the use of the term “carbon tax” instead of “carbon price.” I condemn the wording of the questions in these polls by neglecting to tell the public about compensation. I condemn the right-wing institutes who conduct these polls. I condemn the media for not pointing out that right-wing institutes are conducting these polls. I condemn the media for conducting their own polls which show 80% of people oppose a “carbon tax.”
I condemn Russell @53 for thinking that anyone would be using air conditioning in Armidale at this time of year.
I condemn being condemned for pointing out that condemnations should be allocated correctly. “Electricity prices” are not to be condemned, but the mass adoption of air-conditioning, which create a sudden peak demand on hot summer days, which means the entire system has to be upgraded to cope. I, of course, don’t have air-conditioning, though am, at present, enjoying the pleasurable orange glow of a two bar radiator.
And I condemn you Silky for not condemning all this earlier!
To be fair, I condemn myself on the same basis for at least some of the things on your list.
Russell @ 58 – no, its an evaporative system so doesn’t heat. Some areas of Australia like Canberra still have peak power usage for winter heating rather than summer cooling. But regardless, take a sufficient amount of electricity demand out even during winter and the price will drop.
I condemn Canberra, for everything.
And I condemn evaporative air-conditioning: both water guzzling and noisy.
I condemn everything, for Canberra.
I condemn myself for having become addicted to reading decorating blogs (excuse: reno progressing well) and laughing at the writers, instead of collecting their sensible and practical ideas.
Favourite this week: A lady who wanted a nice white bowl to crown her collection of white china (collecting white china is All The Rage in US suburbia, because it gives you an excuse to use paint on antique furniture). She found a lovely one of a rather unusual design: squat, with a single handle. When she brought it home her son identified it, but she didn’t believe him. Then she did her research and now it no longer adorns her kitchen — she’s moved it to a shelf in her bathroom.
I’m probably going to need one of those at the Doomstead, Chookie, if I go with an outside composting toilet.
I condemn secondhand dealers for no longer having reasonably-priced chamberpots.
I condemn Mount Doom for being so chilly at night that DI (NR) has to seek out chamber pots. (I assume I have the location correct.)
No, it’s just a bit north of Adelaide, but the winter nights are cold. Maybe I’ll go with some kind of inside dunny after all. I condemn myself for being indecisive.
I condemn – utterly and without reservation – Campbell f’kn Newman for his droolingly idiotic attempt today to coat-tail in on T.Abbott’s already-condemned stupid suggestion that he accompany the prime minister on a trip to Indonesia.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/newman-suggests-indonesian-cattle-trip-20110627-1gmtu.html
Newman’s not even a Parliamentarian yet (and with Bob Irwin possibly in the fray in Ashgrove, he might never be). These people (i.e LNP) are beyond a total f’kn joke.
As a follow on from 71, I also condemn Newman for sending Brisbane City Council broke long before the flood, and then blaming the flood for what was actually his useless management, and I also condemn his “can’t do anything about traffic but dig tunnels nobody uses” strategies. Traffic, is of course, worse.
I condem anyone who says “I’m not a climate scientist . . . ” when discussing AGW when they don’t also say “I’m not an ethologist . . . ” when discussing Bonobos and evopsych, or “I’m not a seismologist . . . “when discussing earthquakes or “I’m not a biologist . . . ” when telling me how to get rid of my effin snails.
@ 72:
And the bicycles.
Don’t forget the bleedin’ useless bicycles
I condemn myself for a( not owning an air conditioner or a fan; and b) for not wanting to.
I condemn the next door neighbours for taking me seriously when I told the dog I’d feed it to the cat. (its quite a small dog.)
I suffered my third flat bike tyre in as many weeks yesterday forcing me to walk home, as a result I condemn the outrageous price of “puncture proof” bike tyres which my friendly bike shop is now selling for $85. You can buy a car tyre for about the same money FFS!
I condemn those who are ignorant of the maxim that traffic will increase to the point of congestion on any given route as will files accumulate to occupy available disk space as will junk proliferate to occupy every spare bit of storage.
I condemn the Courier-Mail for using the sexist headline “Hawke’s women in cat-fight” to report the incident at Brisbane Airport.
What incident is that, Paul? (We’re a bit news-deprived down south.)
David, there was reportedly a confrontation between Blanche D’Alpuget and Sue Pieters-Hawke at Brisbane Airport on the weekend. Sue was seriously unhappy about what Blanche wrote about Hazel Hawke in her 2010 biography of Bob Hawke, and is writing a biography of Hazel which will reportedly include a response.
Dave @ 76, there several liquid sealants on the market which will cost less than $10 a tire and puncture proof them.
I condemn David for being negligent in following the tabloid press.
I condemn Jess for condemning David for his superior choice in not following the tabloid press although how David missed the story is a small but hardly significant mystery in the greater scheme of things.
SG I’ve looked at those liquid sealing thingamajigs with a bit of suspicion in the past, I seem to remember a similar product offered for cars was questionable value but maybe the new fangled product actually works.
Dave, try it. I could go on all night condemning manufacturers and sellers of bikes for their many crimes, but since I bought another bike NINE months ago, and had the goo put in, I have been blessedly puncture free. I still want the peace of mind of solid tires though, and specifically condemn bicycle shops for not selling them.
Dave, they actually work but you are correct about their value for car tyres, being so big need a lot of fluid in them and the rubber being quite thick means punctures are rare anyway. Bike tyres as you you know are very thin and easy to puncture but need only a relatively small amount of fluid. It hasn’t worked very well on my wheelbarrow tyre though because the fluid has a lot of time to settle to the bottom in between uses.
I condemn Nuclear Hawke (special
Paul Norton nostalgia condemnation).
[shuffles] Sorry, Jess. I was actually offered a free “Sunday Mail” the other day at the supermarket, but felt the price (inflating Limited News’ circulation figures) was too high.
Ah yes, the Sunday mail. Every week I say to my wife “why do we buy this shit?” and every week she says “for the telly book dear”. It’s handy to have a bit of newspaper around for broken glass but if it was up to me I also wouldn’t take it as a freebee. If they would print it on nice soft paper however…
I condemn the ABC for giving Big Ted a mobile phone and animating the bananas in pyjamas.
What’s going on with the free-newspapers..? I was offered a free Advertiser at the supermarket last week.
I had to go to great lengths not to get the free Murdoch paper chucked down my driveway every week, and now I can’t even buy a my loo paper without having Limited News forced upon me. I condemn The Advertiser.
I condemn the ATO internet site, the search engine is next to useless. I condemn the ATO phone info service for telling me the form I was looking for could be downloaded from the net – when I asked for the form number because none of the search terms delivered the result I was looking for, the customer service assistant couldn’t find it either. He asked if he could call me back – which he did, reasonably promptly – but he then insisted the form didn’t exist because what I was trying to do was not possible [I was trying to notify my superannuation fund of a tax deductible super contribution]. The guy had “checked with his supervisor” and told me that self-employed people could not make tax-deductible contributions. I said, “I’m fairly sure that’s not right”. He says, “Oh, I know, it doesn’t seem fair, does it?”. I say, “No, it’s not a matter of fairness, what you have said is factually wrong”. He read out something from the screen, I said..”er, no….this is pretty much the only way self-employed people contribute to a superannuation fund…we transfer the money and we claim it as a tax deduction…if the tax deduction didn’t exist noone would do it – we’d just invest our money how we please, without locking it up in a fund til we’re half-dead”. The customer service assistant was quite insistent that he was right and I was wrong….so I gave up.
I called my superannuation fund and they emailed me the form. I condemn myself for not thinking of that earlier.
[The form number is NT71121, if anyone out there is doing a general internet search hoping to find it.]
Saint Furious, the free papers are all about artificially inflating Limited News’ circulation so they can con advertisers into giving them money.
I condemn News Limited. That is all.
Salient Green, it wouldn’t really matter how soft The Advertiser was. I reckon my cats still wouldn’t shit on it, and neither would I.
I condemn radio hosts who uncritically accept a guest’s repetition of the “NASA spent billions on a zero-gravity pen” urban myth, and not very long afterwards make an elementary confusion between income and wealth in discussing end-of-financial-year tax returns.
That’s too much to take in one short morning drop-off station run.
Furious Balancing @89 – I also condemn the free paper MX which is given out at railway stations in Melbourne (and then is “given out” to the gutters and footpaths subsequently). At a time when we need to move away from woodchipping native forest in Victoria, committing to additional shedloads of dead-tree paper every single afternoon is just wrong.
Sam @85, despite the best efforts of myself and my fellow anarchists with our “No Nuclear Hawks” bumper stickers, we still couldn’t get Gerry Hand over the line in the Wills preselection back in the day.
Paul @ 85, Gerry got into Parliament soon after, of course, and if memory serves correctly was the Immigration Minister who first put asylum seekers into detention centres.
I have no problem with “year first” or “year last” date representations. However, I condemn any programmer who doesn’t know how to take US-centric “mm/dd/yyyy” formats and customise it as “dd/mm/yyyy” for an Australian audience.
I do not condemn the United States – many weird and wonderful things have come from there (nods to personal book and CD collection). However, I condemn the lifestyle “choices” forced on them by their governments federal, state, county and municipality, in collusion with private enterprise. For example, notoriously high levels of diabetes and obesity are determined by high levels of freeways, a corresponding lack of public transport systems, and government subsidies for fructose sugar in food. Or that people are forced to rob a bank to get affordable health care.
Samuel L. Jackson is cool, and I don’t condemn him, nor his rendition of “Go the Fuck to Sleep” that tigtog linked to in Weekday Whimsy. But I do condemn humourless fools who condemn that poem.
I condemn the dumbing down of our culture. Out acceptance of a culture lacking ideals and based only on relative appearances. Our embrace of success irrespective of how it was achieved and celebrated in spite of how it was achieved. I condemn our un-reflected un-deflected acceptance of the big don’t argue mantra — the promotion and embedding of which John Howard’s government (and some other international politicians of his era) played an important and retrogressive role.
I condemn doctors and nurses who hand you bag full of medications to take after an operation but fail to explain what they are or that one of them is potentially highly addictive and you might get withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking them. Withdrawal is not pretty.
Jesus, Down and Out, that article is just bursting with “No-one would say … but still …”. It’s really fucken toxic.
I condemn nut grass, just sayin.
jumpy, what you need is Sempra. One application, works like magic.