Thufir's Third Random Banter #224

[enderlord99]

Pugs are only ugly because we selectively bred them until their noses stopped being functional.

I agree. American bulldogs likewise.

[SZbNAhL]

Funny, that's true of the other Birmingham as well If only because the entire city shuts down at the first hint of snow, or even worse leaves on the line.

Hey! As a former resident of The One True Birmingham who never got any time off for snow, I take offence at that. I'll have you know I had to wade through shin-high snow to get to my first ever university exam. And I still aced it.

Pitbulls=dogs
Dogs=scary
Pitbulls!=scary
Therefore scary!=scary

I'm confused?

You're commiting the logical fallacy of assuming that a trait applicable to some members of a group (scary dogs are scary) is applicable to the whole group (dogs are scary).

Scary dogs = scary.
Scary dogs ∈ dogs.
Pitbulls ∈ dogs.
Pitbulls != scary.
∴Pitbulls !∈ scary dogs.

[Tvtyrant]

I agree. American bulldogs likewise.

I like bulldogs. Pugs are taking it a little far, and are too small to do the jobs I want dogs for, but bulldogs are nice. Cuddly, friendly, big happy smiles.

[Anonymouswizard]

I've contemplated springing for vocal lessons myself, since I do love singing and I wouldn't mind being able to do it without shattering windows and killing parties.

Yeah, I really need to find a teacher for them. It's one of the weirdest things, in that I can hold a tune but I struggle with pitch vatiation.

Also, I've tried shaving body hair before, mainly out of curiosity, and boy is it a hassle. The itching is an absolute terror too. Would not recommend.

Eh, I don't get much body hair anyway, and shaving it off looks better. Ill agree it is a hassle (and takes an age), but the itching isn't that bad, and seems to mainly be caused by my clothes. But hopefully the areas which had longer hair won't take so long next time.

I'd share a picture as evidence, but I don't want to go through the hassle of making it board-safe.

...Where'd you get the second line from? Dogs aren't scary; they're cute!

Nearly blind as a small child+dogs being interested=lots of dogs suddenly appearing right in front of me. The effects still persist decades later.

Except for British Bulldogs, they're the only breed to be universily cute.

EDIT: @SZbNAhL you're making the mistake that I'm speaking just for myself. I have a general discomfort and low level fear of canines from experiences as a toddler, and I'm definitely not the only person I know to dislike dogs.

[sktarq]

Except for British Bulldogs, they're the only breed to be universily cute.

EDIT: @SZbNAhL you're making the mistake that I'm speaking just for myself. I have a general discomfort and low level fear of canines from experiences as a toddler, and I'm definitely not the only person I know to dislike dogs.

Yeah I don't get how people find the modern British Bulldog breed cute TBH...Some of the older versions or recreations (like the Olde English Bulldogge) sure but the modern ones, they just strike a so "WRONG", and they have always brought out a mix of anger and pained empathy in me that I can never be comfortable around them.

Pugs are only ugly because we selectively bred them until their noses stopped being functional.

well their eye and spinal problems don't help. but the lack of a proper nose (and the associated horrifying breathing noises) is the biggie.


So I went to boarding school where we had a museum of paleontology on campus and I spent a lot of time around bones to the point where I picked up a kind of mental visual filter where you can "see"/track bones in living moving creatures (damn humans are weird organisms)...and dog breeds like the English bulldog, basset hounds, pugs, dachshunds, greyhounds, pop out massively as a distorted mess and thus kinda give me the creeps (and things like a Bedlington Terrier seem just fine in spite of their weird trims for the same reason)

[Bartmanhomer]

Which is great, but statistically they are involved in more attacks than other breeds.

The conflict is about how we interpret those statistics. Is it that pit bulls are more violent, or are bad owners more likely to get pit bulls?

For instance, some people raise tigers. Of those people, some have done so without getting attacked, but owning a tiger is still exponentially more dangerous than a dog.



Exactly.

First off Pit bulls like all animals are neutral. It depends on the owner on how they train them. I don't believe that any animal no matter how vicious they are evil. It just like the Pokemon episode. I think Ekans and Koffing said Pokemon aren't evil, humans are.

[Anonymouswizard]

I don't believe that any animal no matter how vicious they are evil. It just like the Pokemon episode.

Somebody's never met a swan

[Bartmanhomer]

Somebody's never met a swan

Swam aren't evil. Territorial yes but not evil.

[Tvtyrant]

First off Pit bulls like all animals are neutral. It depends on the owner on how they train them. I don't believe that any animal no matter how vicious they are evil. It just like the Pokemon episode. I think Ekans and Koffing said Pokemon aren't evil, humans are.

No one said they were evil. Animals aren't naturally safe to interact with, we bred them to act in ways we can control. Zebras bite and kick regardless of training, it is their instinct not to let you touch or ride them. You can't pen a gazelle, it will beat itself to death against the sides of the pen until they die.

Domestic animals share a hierarchy that humans can usurp. Horses live in fixed orders, we just convinced them we are on top of that order. Dogs live in packs, we live in herds so it is easy to get them to treat us as their parents.

No rhino can be made safe for human riding. You might get it to do what you want with enough sticks and carrots, but you can't be sure it is safe. A pet wolf is safer then a pet tiger, and a pet dog is tens of times safer then a pet wolf. Animals are never totally safe or predictable, it is about how much they average out.

So the question is if the breed of pit bulls makes them more dangerous then other dogs, or if bad pet owners just like pit bulls. The same question came up with bull dogs, rottweilers, dobermans, and dalmatians over the last century.

[Anonymouswizard]

Swam aren't evil. Territorial yes but not evil.

That's only because their GM banned evil alignments

[Peelee]

First off Pit bulls like all animals are neutral. It depends on the owner on how they train them. I don't believe that any animal no matter how vicious they are evil. It just like the Pokemon episode. I think Ekans and Koffing said Pokemon aren't evil, humans are.

You need to not think about it in terms of good and evil. The real world isn't Pokémon or D&D.

[Bartmanhomer]

No one said they were evil. Animals aren't naturally safe to interact with, we bred them to act in ways we can control. Zebras bite and kick regardless of training, it is their instinct not to let you touch or ride them. You can't pen a gazelle, it will beat itself to death against the sides of the pen until they die.

Domestic animals share a hierarchy that humans can usurp. Horses live in fixed orders, we just convinced them we are on top of that order. Dogs live in packs, we live in herds so it is easy to get them to treat us as their parents.

No rhino can be made safe for human riding. You might get it to do what you want with enough sticks and carrots, but you can't be sure it is safe. A pet wolf is safer then a pet tiger, and a pet dog is tens of times safer then a pet wolf. Animals are never totally safe or predictable, it is about how much they average out.

So the question is if the breed of pit bulls makes them more dangerous then other dogs, or if bad pet owners just like pit bulls. The same question came up with bull dogs, rottweilers, dobermans, and dalmatians over the last century.

That's a very good point. Domestic animals are easier to tame than wild animals. By the way I'm an animal lover.

[Anonymouswizard]

You need to not think about it in terms of good and evil. The real world isn't Pokémon or D&D.

^{citation needed}

In all seriousness, I wouldn't be shocked if we all turned out to be characters in some slice of life RPG played in the next universe up. Tabletop or computer, although with my traits I feel like a minor NPC created by an algorithm.

[Tvtyrant]

^{citation needed}

In all seriousness, I wouldn't be shocked if we all turned out to be characters in some slice of life RPG played in the next universe up. Tabletop or computer, although with my traits I feel like a minor NPC created by an algorithm.

If that were true then I would meet a PC at some point, presumably. Will I know they are a PC, or will I assume they are an NPC like me?

Are celebrities PCs or just really fancy NPCs for the PCs to meet? How many PCs are there for there to be so many NPCs? Is being a recurring NPC a blessing because your meaning in life was more important then selling McDonalds to a PC one time, or a curse because your life is crazy and tragic?

[Bartmanhomer]

You need to not think about it in terms of good and evil. The real world isn't Pokémon or D&D.

I was only using Pokemon as an example to prove my point that's all I said.

[Solamnicknight]

It's a bonding moment!

Gotta have the bread and milk. It drives me nuts when I have to grocery shop and a bunch of people are out buying bread and milk because of an impending snowstorm. Where I live you should expect some snow. I’m north of Pittsburgh fyi. My area is close enough to a certain Great Lake that snow is a common occurrence in winter.

[Peelee]

Gotta have the bread and milk. It drives me nuts when I have to grocery shop and a bunch of people are out buying bread and milk because of an impending snowstorm. Where I live you should expect some snow. I’m north of Pittsburgh fyi. My area is close enough to a certain Great Lake that snow is a common occurrence in winter.

The Great Lakes create snow? That's erie.

[Mith]

The Great Lakes create snow? That's erie.

I was expecting a Superior pun, to be honest.

[Tvtyrant]

I was expecting a Superior pun, to be honest.

A pun war? Huron.

[Peelee]

I was expecting a Superior pun, to be honest.

I thought it was pretty good. Have you checked your ears lately? Maybe your Huron's off.

[flat_footed]

A pun war? Huron.

I thought it was pretty good. Have you checked your ears lately? Maybe your Huron's off.

Tyrant takes this round. Peelee's was a Michigan instead of a hit.

[LaZodiac]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure I can bear these great lake puns any longer.

[Peelee]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure I can bear these great lake puns any longer.

Would you prefer it if we punned about Brazil instead? I could move the puns on to Rio.

What now, flat_footed?

[LaZodiac]

Would you prefer it if we punned about Brazil instead? I could move the puns on to Rio.

What now, flat_footed?

All I'm saying is that this is erasure of the northern Great Lakes. Don't be a slave to your assumptions that people only know of the mid western ones.

[flat_footed]

Would you prefer it if we pinned about Brazil instead? I could move the puns on to Rio.

What now, flat_footed?

Taking this to South America? What, should we believe you sailed with the Iron Fleet and Huron Greyjoy?

Regardless, I can't follow you there. The food doesn't agree with me. Have you seen what gets put in broth? I've never seen a Soup Erie'r than that.

[Tvtyrant]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure I can bear these great lake puns any longer.

Wait until we get to the bad lake puns :)

[DataNinja]

All I'm saying is that this is erasure of the northern Great Lakes. Don't be a slave to your assumptions that people only know of the mid western ones.

But those are the Fundy ones to say.

[Insane Jeenyus]

Wait until we get to the bad lake puns :)

water they worried about?

[Peelee]

All I'm saying is that this is erasure of the northern Great Lakes. Don't be a slave to your assumptions that people only know of the mid western ones.

OK, I'll bite. What are the northern Great Lakes? And are you sure they're not just Pretty Good Lakes?

[LaZodiac]

OK, I'll bite. What are the northern Great Lakes? And are you sure they're not just Pretty Good Lakes?

Okay so living close to them makes them feel larger than they actually are, but Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake are very good lakes and should be counted amongst the others!