The Outsider’s Test for Everything

August 12, 2014 • 5:19 am

From John Kovalic’s “Dork Tower” strip via reader Ant. Nice to see something so pervasive and obvious, but so wilfully ignored, given popular attention:

DorkTower1235

This, of course, implicitly incorporates John Loftus’s clever notion of “The Outsider Test for Faith,” which starts off from the fact that most people adopt the religion of their land and culture. John’s written a book about it, but if you just want a quick read about it (and you really should know this), read this short post. The OTF, as it’s called, is one of the best ways to see that the vast bulk of people adopt their religion not after due deliberation, but simply as a default, or out of convenience.

There is one exception though. The Outsider Test for Music shows that there was indeed just one time and place (i.e. US and UK) to be born to experience the best rock music in the world, and Professor Ceiling Cat was lucky enough to have beaten those odds.

Readers’ wildlife photos

August 12, 2014 • 4:50 am

Well, I guess this has become a regular feature, though I didn’t plan it that way. I’m not sure that I’ll receive sufficient good photos to sustain this on a daily basis, but we’ll see. Remember, if you have critter or plant photos, please send me high-quality ones, and, as always, I make no promises to post readers’ submissions. (Most, however, seem to appear!)

Today we have some lovely damselflies from reader/photographer Pete Moulton in Phoenix, Arizona (his notes are indented):

These are all examples of the same species of damselfly, Ischnura hastata, familiarly known as the Citrine Forktail. It’s Arizona’s smallest regularly occurring odonate, usually less than 25mm long. It’s also a rather variable critter, and these photographs show the range of variation.
The orange version is an immature female. As she matures, she’ll become heavily pruinose and turn a pale blue-gray color.
Ischnura hastata_7-3-11_Papago Pk_8723
I presume this is a mature female, though the photo wasn’t labeled:
Ischnura hastata_Papago Park 7-5-10_0544
The golden-yellow guy with the pale green thorax is a mature male. At the very tip of his abdomen (segment 10) you can see the dorsal process that gives Ischnura damselflies their collective common name of ‘forktail’; this process is particularly well developed in I. hastata.
Ischnura hastata_Papago Park 6-20-10_0292
For the photographers, all these were taken with a Canon EF 100-400mm L image-stabilizing lens with a +2 diopter (Canon 500D) attached to the front of it, handheld in natural light.
You can see more of Pete’s photos at his ipernity site.
Reader Adam Baker sent photos of chameleons from Spain; I had no idea this creature lived in Europe. I have now learned that it’s pretty endangered by both habitat loss and the greed of collectors (many die in captivity). His notes:
According to Wikipedia, the Common Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) is the only chameleon species native to Europe.  In mainland Europe, its distribution is limited to a small strip on the southern coast of Portugal and Spain.  I was fortunate enough to be in Rota, Spain for a work trip this spring, and found out that the chameleon is something of a mascot there (see pictures 4 and 5 for some chameleon-themed graffiti, and a chameleon statue (with my son astride it).
In an effort to find the little guys, I ventured to the local botanical garden (Jardin Botanico Celistine Mutis), which I had read was an ideal spot.  My wife and I looked for 20 minutes and found nothing, then asked a woman working there for help.  She quickly pointed out about five chameleons in five minutes (she gets a lot of practice I suppose).  One of these was in a bush right below eye-level, and was perfect for photographing.
Chameleon 1 compressed
 And yes, they do change color, though Wikipedia notes that this is in response to heat, light, and emotion, not as a way to camouflage itself. I must say I have doubts about that, for camouflage would surely be an important selective pressure. But I don’t know from chameleons—perhaps a reader can weigh in.  The one below, at least, is pretty cryptic!
chameleon 3 compressed
Finally, a day without a Stephen Barnard photo is like a day without sunshine (actually, it’s raining in Chicago).  Barnard is now seeing these creatures as menaces, and this photo, labeled “Hummingbird apocalypse,” came with the caption:
When it happens you’ll never see them coming.
It’s a rufous hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus:
Apocalypse

Tuesday: Special Hili dialogue!

August 12, 2014 • 3:26 am

There is a special Hili dialogue today because Listy has translated my 300th post into Polish (I think that’s a record). I am very proud of that.  Remember, too, that Hili is the titular editor of Listy.

Hili: I used to walk here with Jerry.
A. Yes, we have many pictures of those walks.
Hili: But have you written to Jerry to tell him that today we are publishing his 300th article?
10534722_10204015695900033_5937505594880415106_n
In Polish:
Hili: Tutaj chodziłam z Jerrym na spacery.
Ja: Tak, mamy dużo zdjęć z tych spacerów.
Hili: Ale czy napisaliście mu, że dziś publikujemy jego trzechsetny artykuł?
Yes, Princess, Malgorzata wrote me and said that my column was here, and added this bonus:
And, at the bottom of the article, there is a picture of you and Hili with a caption : Reading this book in Dobrzyn Jerry took sometimes a break and pondered, together with Hili, over the question “how the mind works”.
Here are the  photo and Polish caption—at the end of a translation of one of my two pieces on de Waal’s The Bonobo and the Atheist. 

Od Redakcji

Czytając tę książkę w Dobrzyniu, Jerry chwilami przerywał lekturę i zastanawial się wspólnie z Hili nad pytaniem jak działa umysł.

P1010538_sI iz touched.

 

Robin Williams died

August 11, 2014 • 4:46 pm

This one was really a blow: who expected that? And it wasn’t illness, either—at least of the physical type. It appears to be suicide by asphyxiation resulting from severe depression. He was only 63.

ABC News reports:

Actor Robin Williams died this morning in California, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office-Coroner Division and his press representative. He was 63.

“Robin Williams passed away this morning,” the actor’s rep Mara Buxbaum said in a statement tonight. “He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”

According a statement from the Marin County Coroner, they received a 911 call at 11:55 a.m., that Williams had been located unconscious and not breathing inside his residence in Tiburon, California. “The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurin Williams.”

“An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office. Preliminary information developed during the investigation indicates Mr. Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife, at approximately 10:00 pm on August 10, 2014.”

“At this time, the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made. A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted.”

The actor won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Mrs. Doubtfire” and appeared in dozens of films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Dead Poets Society,” and “Patch Adams.”

I didn’t even know he suffered from depression, a killer in its chronic form. There’s not much to say except that he was a funny guy and sometimes a very good actor, that he didn’t deserve this, and that I wish there had been some way to help him.

Robin WIlliams

h/t: Merilee

Baby foxes playing

August 11, 2014 • 2:43 pm

I need one more Cute Animal Video to bring myself back to normal. This is a good one.

As you know, this site considers foxes to be Honorary Cats™, and I have no compunction about posting the antics of these adorable fox cubs (pups?). The YouTube notes say this:

A family of gray foxes have decided to move into the backyard, and four frisky baby foxes play under the cover of night. You can find more reviews and details about my amazing camera at http://bit.ly/canon5d3. It was DARK outside with only one porch light, so this montage was shot at f/2.8 @ ISO 12800, which is crazy.

h/t: P

Armadillos need love, too

August 11, 2014 • 2:18 pm

Okay, it’s time for one or two funny or heartening things.

Who would have thought that armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) would be so affectionate. This one even seems like it wants a belly rub.

Armadillos are in the order Cingulata, and the only family in that order is Dasypodidae, the armadillos. There are only about 20 species in the order, then, making it one of the smallest mammalian orders. (Chiroptera, the order containing bats, has over 1200 species.)

 

h/t: Jim

Bad idea of the year: Texas contemplates allowing alcohol at gun shows

August 11, 2014 • 12:42 pm

It seems that I’m conveying more distressing news than usual today. I think it’s just a bad news day, but I’m also peevish as I’m still afflicted with viral bronchitis, which, thank Ceiling Cat, is abating.  At least the following news doesn’t involve creationism or people being stoned, but it still shows how far our world (or rather, the U.S.) is from rationality.

When I was a postdoc at The University of California at Davis, I remember that in the nearby town of Winters stood a shop that sold both alcohol and guns. It was called “Guns ‘n’ Grog.” Only in America would you find something like that. BAD idea!

It persists.  According to Fox News, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is reviewing a proposal to allow alcohol sales at gun shows:

Texas could start allowing alcohol sales at gun shows provided they don’t allow live ammunition or let buyers take possession of their weapons at the events.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced the proposal Friday. It will hold a 30-day public comment period before any change is made.

The proposal also would require that firearms being shown for sale be disabled and not readily convertible for use.

Under current rules, if a gun show is held at a venue licensed to sell alcohol, drinks sales and consumption are suspended during the time it takes to set up, conduct and dismantle the gun show.

“We got a request from a gun club in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to amend the rules,” said agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck.

I don’t think this is going to pass, even in gun-crazy Texas, for two reasons. First, as ABC News reports, there are at least some sane gun owners:

Bill Clouse, one of several hundred people who attended the High Caliber Gun & Knife Show in Houston, described himself as a “huge gun supporter” but said he doesn’t believe guns and alcohol are a good combination.

“I don’t think there will be a possibility for trouble. I just personally do not believe you should have alcohol and firearms in the same vicinity, whether you are hunting or at a gun show,” said Clouse, 34, a high school teacher.

Josh Jensen, another person at Saturday’s gun show, was also against the proposal, saying the idea is “just silly to me.”

But what I suspect will be the deciding factor is this: you wouldn’t be able to carry away your new gun under the new rules. As Fox News adds:

The Texas State Rifle Association is still reviewing the proposal, said Alice Tripp, the group’s legislative director. She called it “confusing” and questioned whether gun advocates would want to attend gun shows with such restrictions.

“Does that make any sense? Who would buy a gun at a gun show where you couldn’t take possession of it?” she asked.

Yeah! Because, in many places gun shows are exempt from the law that background checks are necessary before you can take possession of guns that you but.

Still, as we might expect in the US of A, there are some who simply want a drink with their gun. From ABC News:

Crystal Hartt, 47, a ranch owner from the Port Lavaca area who was at the Houston gun show, supported the idea, adding she considered being able to buy alcohol at a gun show the same as buying a beer at a baseball game or a rock concert.

“It’s another event. Why not sell a margarita to go with it?” she said.

“Another event,” indeed! An event with firearms galore? Why not allow people to get drunk? And although live ammunition is prohibited, I’m not sure if that would ban Texan’s rights to have open carry of long guns and concealed carry of handguns.

Below is a photo of one of these places in Schulenberg, Texas. According to the website, the other side of the sign says, “SHOOT EM UP – SLAM EM DOWN”.

Double_Shot_Liquor_Guns

I apologize on behalf of my country.

h/t: Chris