Vort

I think gall means bile, so there you go.

I just did a quick scan of Frank Herbert's writeup on Wikipedia. Sounds like quite an amazing, impressive man, someone I would like to have known.

I met him when I was 15. As I recall (no promises), he was a devout atheist. Judging by Dune, he had a fascination with Islam.

Oh, I have not the slightest doubt you are right.

Vinegar is slightly acidic, not alkaline.

Given that the sandworms were easily the largest and most obvious phallic symbol in known science fiction, I think the "water of life" was a symbol of, um, something else.

You know, the funny thing is that I don't care much about whether the mayor is a lesbian. That is to say, lesbianism is a filthy, contemptible thing—but so is cheating on your wife, and these days you don't see a lot of outrage against male politicians who cheat on their wives. I'm talking less about LDS or other Christian religious values and more about what used to be good, old-fashioned, shared American values, things like respect for the law and understanding and honoring what it is supposed to mean to be an American. Politicians today, mostly but not solely Democrats, literally hate such traditional values. The Great American Experiment appears to be entering its final phases before going belly-up. (Don't you love mixed metaphors?) SLC doesn't look to be much if any different in that respect. Well, I mean, it's not Seattle or San Francisco, so I guess you Utahns can get all happy and proud about that.

SLC used to be Zion. These days, it looks to me more like Babylon.

Orlando would certainly be impacted in a major way. I assume the rest of the state would feel only minor repercussions from losing Disneyworld. But maybe I'm wrong. I want to cheer deSantis and boo Disney, purely for political reasons. And I fully believe that Disney is a deeply corrupt entity. But so is the state of Florida; that's the world we live in. Disney provides Florida north of a billion dollars per year in state and local taxes, and proudly report that they are the largest taxpaying entity in central Florida—a claim I do not doubt is true. I hate Disney's corruption, their fakeness, that they trade on family values while often working against families, that they have shamelessly embraced the woke agenda, and that they effectively have a monopoly on family-oriented animated films. I hate the corruption of our government more, including Florida's state and local governments. "Republican" and "Democrat" become nothing more than rallying flags around which people can gather to cheer themselves and jeer at the duped fools in the other camp. I know how to play the game. I'm often a participant. I don't know what the real solution is, except to get my handcart in order, pack up, and move to Zion. Which I would do in a minute if invited. I likely might not survive the trip, but I would be happy to take that chance. And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow, too; With the just we shall dwell! But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints their rest obtain, Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell: All is well! All is well! Maybe that's the answer. Do my best, leave the rest to God, and realize that through turmoil and trouble, all is well.

And you get to bite the ends off of newborn boys' penises. What more can you ask for in a job?

@mikbone got up this morning and said to himself, "Self, what off-the-wall topic can I post on TH that will be sure to bring a reaction from Vort?" He quickly settled on circumcision. Well, I'm not playing your game. So there. Nyah nyah nyah. This post doesn't count, since it's just a recognition that I refuse to recognize this topic. But I fully recognize your nefarious intent behind it. You Can't Fool Me. (And since this post doesn't count, I will divulge that I lied to myself and was swayed by familial peer pressure, self-deception, foolishness, and idiocy into allowing my oldest son to be circumcised, a decision that I would literally give all my money away for if I could go back in time and disallow that. Only my first, though. My other sons were left intact.)

I am not a Dunie (or Dunehead, or Dunefanboi, or a Herbertian, or whatever they might call themselves), so take my recollection with a few large grains of salt. (And yes, I fully realize that I'm responding to a comment Jamie made four years ago.) ***POTENTIAL SPOILERS, IF MY MEMORY IS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO CORRECT*** As I recall, the whole überpoint behind the Dune series was that galactic humanity was going to be destroyed if nothing was done to set the future timeline straight, which was being corrupted by the incessant lookaheads of spice consumers, especially the starship captains (they have a special name that I don't remember). Paul thought to ignore this unpleasant reality and "do the right thing", as he saw it. His son Leto II decided instead to basically take the curse upon himself, transmute himself into a horrid sandwormy monster, live for a thousand (or more) years as a horrible tyrant, and in the end allow himself to be overthrown, all to put the otherwise-inavoidable galactic catastrophe to rest. So comparisons to the Harkonnens seem unfair, if not completely beside the point.

Exactly what I thought. Should be called the Chekovi shurikeni.

I think Carb has brilliantly and succinctly outlined the period of the fast.

It probably sounds more impressive than it really is. In reality, as long as you start out well-hydrated, 24 hours without water is not a big deal.

I probably should keep my mouth shut. I have read some quotes attributed to Sanderson that, um, didn't make me a fan.

Don't get too bummed out. In such cases, the "science" involves trying different recipes to find one that hits all the magic buttons. We do not have a deep understanding or a robust model for high-temperature superconductivity. It certainly involved Cooper pairs, like regular low-temp superconductivity, but the way the atomic lattice interacts with the electron Cooper pairs in resonance is not (to my knowledge) well characterized. The first ten thousand recipes might not work, but just wait until 10,001 comes along.

I'll take Card every day and twice on Sunday. At least Card is loyal to the kingdom and doesn't seek to show how woke he is.

Matthew seems to be trying to prove through scripture that Jesus was the very Christ. Many times, it seems he tries too hard. Many of the verses he cites to show that Jesus fulfilled this or that prophecy are unconvincing, taken out of context, or just plain wrong.

Re: Small group discussions: I personally have rarely found them effective. In principle, they sound great, but in practice, I have found them unsatisfying. I think it works better either to have small classes or to have instruction tailored to large classes. Breaking into small groups seems like having your cake and eating it, too, and in my experience it works just about as well.

The Chinese said it, so it must be true. That will go right up there with, "No one that speaks German could be an evil man."

Sadly, Utah has condescended to ask the Big 12 to take them in. Sadder still, the Big 12 will almost certainly agree to do so.

"And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." All of the writers represented in the Book of Mormon, from Nephi to Mormon and then Moroni, knew perfectly well that they were fallible men and that their record, however sincere their attitude and however honest their intentions, would fall short of perfection. Of course there are errors. It's a book, written in mortal languages by fallible human beings. As with any gospel teaching, it is only through the ministration of the Holy Ghost that we can actually receive truth to our hearts and minds. The words on the page contain information, often very important information, but it reflects truth only when viewed through the lens of the Holy Ghost.

According to ChatGPT: The behavior of charge carriers in a superconductor is governed by quantum mechanics, where electrons form Cooper pairs and behave collectively rather than individually. As a result, the traditional classical concepts of charged particles radiating energy when accelerated do not apply in the same way within a superconductor. In other words, "It's magic."