Steven Harper's Blog, page 2
October 23, 2025
Science!
"During the late Cretaceous, western North America experienced several regressive and transgressive cycles of the Western Interior Seaway, which allowed dinosaur clades such as tyrannosaurids, ceratopsids, hadrosaurids and pachycephalosaurids to evolve due to habitat area fluctuations related to sea level change."
Why do I have the feeling the reporter just copied and pasted from the press release without actually understanding what the sentence means?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/species-dome-headed-dinosaur-discovered-192348595.html
comments
Why do I have the feeling the reporter just copied and pasted from the press release without actually understanding what the sentence means?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/species-dome-headed-dinosaur-discovered-192348595.html
comments
October 20, 2025
6-7
Argh! Okay, old grownups, get your heads on straight. The 6-7 slang* thing that has adults all bug-eyed and freaking? You're doing exactly what middle-schoolers want you to do. The only reason they use this phrase is to annoy adults and to show that the kids are separate from the adults, with their own language and annoy them. This is normal pre-teen and teen behavior. Young people have been using slang for centuries to keep their parents out of the loop and piss them off. You did this to your parents, now your kids are doing it to you. Your job is to ignore it. Do so. It'll make your life simpler. There are other battles to fight.
The other thing about slang? Only a tiny fraction lasts more than a year. Cool. Okay. Sucks. Like. They all started as young folk slang that stuck, and they are very, very, VERY rare. If you don't like 6-7, just wait a while. It'll fade, and when these kids are adults, they'll say, "Remember when we used to say 6-7 for everything? What was up with that?"
If you want to kill off 6-7 faster, start using it yourself, unironically. If the adults are using it regularly, the kids will abandon it even faster. Just like Facebook and Twitter.
But you don't have to go through that effort. It'll disappear on its own. It's already in a decline. Then you can start freaking out about the next new phrase.
*6-7 literally has no exact meaning. It means whatever the speaker wants it to in the context of the sentence.
comments
The other thing about slang? Only a tiny fraction lasts more than a year. Cool. Okay. Sucks. Like. They all started as young folk slang that stuck, and they are very, very, VERY rare. If you don't like 6-7, just wait a while. It'll fade, and when these kids are adults, they'll say, "Remember when we used to say 6-7 for everything? What was up with that?"
If you want to kill off 6-7 faster, start using it yourself, unironically. If the adults are using it regularly, the kids will abandon it even faster. Just like Facebook and Twitter.
But you don't have to go through that effort. It'll disappear on its own. It's already in a decline. Then you can start freaking out about the next new phrase.
*6-7 literally has no exact meaning. It means whatever the speaker wants it to in the context of the sentence.
comments
October 17, 2025
Tron, Again
Apparently the latest TRON movie is bombing at the box office and with reviewers. Not really a surprise, I guess. Movie attendance in August, September, and October is always low, and producers schedule crappy movies to open during those months. Why take up valuable blockbuster weekend space in November and December for a dud? Tron was doomed before it even opened.
I have to say that the trailer woke in me no interest in seeing the show, despite the fact that I'm usually first in line for a big SF movie. I'm not even sure why this film was made. Tron was an early 1980s hit video game, and the first movie was made in 1982 hoping to capitalize on the game's success. It was a crappy movie and it failed. Then, more than 25 years later, they tried again. This one didn't have the video game behind it--no one had played Tron in decades, and anyone under the age of 30 had never heard of it. Not that it would have mattered. The movie was awful anyway, and it bombed. Now, after 15 more years, they're trying AGAIN. Bomb, for the same reasons.
The problem is that there's no good way to make a Tron movie. The concept of the game is ridiculous, even silly. Blowing it up onto a huge screen with advanced CGI doesn't improve the concept one bit.
It always amazes me how the institution that's intelligent enough to create brilliant works of entertaining art can be stupid enough to make a third movie out of a property that already bombed twice, with the three movies spaced decades apart. I suppose I'm easily amazed.
comments
I have to say that the trailer woke in me no interest in seeing the show, despite the fact that I'm usually first in line for a big SF movie. I'm not even sure why this film was made. Tron was an early 1980s hit video game, and the first movie was made in 1982 hoping to capitalize on the game's success. It was a crappy movie and it failed. Then, more than 25 years later, they tried again. This one didn't have the video game behind it--no one had played Tron in decades, and anyone under the age of 30 had never heard of it. Not that it would have mattered. The movie was awful anyway, and it bombed. Now, after 15 more years, they're trying AGAIN. Bomb, for the same reasons.
The problem is that there's no good way to make a Tron movie. The concept of the game is ridiculous, even silly. Blowing it up onto a huge screen with advanced CGI doesn't improve the concept one bit.
It always amazes me how the institution that's intelligent enough to create brilliant works of entertaining art can be stupid enough to make a third movie out of a property that already bombed twice, with the three movies spaced decades apart. I suppose I'm easily amazed.
comments
October 10, 2025
Pay Stoppage
Okay, amateur pundits, you need to stop with this one.
Whenever the government closes down, the amateur pundits trot out, "Congress should have their pay suspended. That'll make them pass a budget!", as if this idea were innovative or clever.
Please stop.
First, it's never, ever going to happen. Congress would have to pass a law requiring it, and they simply won't. End of story. So there's no point in pushing the idea.
Second, amateur pundits have been trotting this idea out for decades. It's neither innovative nor clever. In fact, we're tired of hearing about it.
Third, the vast majority of Congress wouldn't miss a couple-three paychecks anyway. The threat of withholding funds from them isn't a threat.
So please stop with this one. It's a waste.
comments
Whenever the government closes down, the amateur pundits trot out, "Congress should have their pay suspended. That'll make them pass a budget!", as if this idea were innovative or clever.
Please stop.
First, it's never, ever going to happen. Congress would have to pass a law requiring it, and they simply won't. End of story. So there's no point in pushing the idea.
Second, amateur pundits have been trotting this idea out for decades. It's neither innovative nor clever. In fact, we're tired of hearing about it.
Third, the vast majority of Congress wouldn't miss a couple-three paychecks anyway. The threat of withholding funds from them isn't a threat.
So please stop with this one. It's a waste.
comments
October 5, 2025
Fake Stories and AI
Hey, folks! Lately there's been a blizzard of supposedly true inspirational stories on FB. You've seen them. A school librarian started a fund for kids who couldn't afford lunch and one of the kids was so boosted, she went on to become a children's oncologist, who credits the librarian for every life she saves, or a woman talks to a homeless man, finds out he had almost finished his degree in engineering but had to drop out because his kitten died, so the woman helps the man finish college, and now the homeless guy has a solid job and a wife and three kids and another kitten.
THESE ARE FAKE. FAKE FAKE FAKE. They're written by AI, and they're as fake as Republican thoughts and prayers.
You can tell if you look closely. There's always a lack of specific detail. The people have only a first name, or no name at all. No town, no city, no state is mentioned. And if you input the few details the story has into a search engine, you come up with nothing, even though these stories are something any news agency would leap on if they were real.
These stories are nasty-minded virtue-signaling. They create implausible, even impossible, scenarios and present them as true to send a holier-than-thou message. They remind me of those fake folded $50 bills some people leave as tips, where you open the bill and discover it's just a religious tract with some snotty "the real tip is in Christ" message or something.
They also cheapen REAL inspirational events. The flood of fake stories stampedes over the real ones, and we miss true inspirational stories as a result.
If you still aren't sure a story is real, go here: https://app.gptzero.me/
It's an AI detector. Paste a bunch of text into it, and it'll tell you how likely the text was AI generated, or even if it was human generated but edited by AI. You can also try https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector and https://writehuman.ai/ai-detector . I used these when I was teaching to prove an AI wrote student work.
Please don't post these stories. Or at least check for AI before posting them. We're begging you.
comments
THESE ARE FAKE. FAKE FAKE FAKE. They're written by AI, and they're as fake as Republican thoughts and prayers.
You can tell if you look closely. There's always a lack of specific detail. The people have only a first name, or no name at all. No town, no city, no state is mentioned. And if you input the few details the story has into a search engine, you come up with nothing, even though these stories are something any news agency would leap on if they were real.
These stories are nasty-minded virtue-signaling. They create implausible, even impossible, scenarios and present them as true to send a holier-than-thou message. They remind me of those fake folded $50 bills some people leave as tips, where you open the bill and discover it's just a religious tract with some snotty "the real tip is in Christ" message or something.
They also cheapen REAL inspirational events. The flood of fake stories stampedes over the real ones, and we miss true inspirational stories as a result.
If you still aren't sure a story is real, go here: https://app.gptzero.me/
It's an AI detector. Paste a bunch of text into it, and it'll tell you how likely the text was AI generated, or even if it was human generated but edited by AI. You can also try https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector and https://writehuman.ai/ai-detector . I used these when I was teaching to prove an AI wrote student work.
Please don't post these stories. Or at least check for AI before posting them. We're begging you.
comments
September 30, 2025
Should the LGBTQ Community Break Itself Up?
There's a growing ... movement in the LGBTQ community to separate from the TQ+ part and focus solely on the LGB part. Since there's no central LGBTQ headquarters or president or anything, this would be mostly a social thing, though I suppose activist organizations would have to decide if they'd go with the LGB people or the TQ people.
I have opinions. On the one hand, being trans is indeed unrelated to sexual orientation. You can be assigned male at birth but know you're female and also be attracted to women. In other words, there are gay men who also are trans, and lesbian women who are also trans. And there are trans men who are attracted to women, and trans women who are attracted to men. So why, the reasoning goes, should men who are attracted to women be part of the gay community? They aren't gay. Women who are attracted to men aren't gay, either.
More reasoning goes that lumping trans folk in with LGB folk confuses straight folk. A shockingly large number of straight people believe that 1) gay men want to be women; 2) lesbian women want to be men; and 3) a transgender person is gay or lesbian. Separating the groups would help with this problem.
However, the real reason, I think, is fear. Not fear of trans people. Fear of right wing nutjobs. The current administration has put a target on the back of every trans person in the country. It not-so-subtly encourages violence against trans people, who already experience one of the highest rates of violence in the world. Several states have also passed anti-trans laws. LGB folk may be afraid that they're next. By distancing themselves from the TQ community, the LGB community can avoid collateral damage.
Also, more people are becoming accepting of LGB folk than they are of TQ folk. The thinking goes that the TQ folk are holding back more acceptance of LGB folk. ("I can handle that you're a lesbian. At least you aren't one of those transgenders!")
I find this thinking invalid.
In my experience, anyone the right wing perceives as as not-straight by is in danger, and it doesn't matter to the RWs if a person is L, G, B, or T. What matters is that they're different, and fine shades of meaning are unimportant. When the RWs are aiming real or metaphorical bricks, they don't ask if their targets are gay, trans, or lesbian first. They just throw the brick. But this is just my experience (after spending more than 50 years as a G).
Also, trans folk are a tiny, tiny sub-group. The trans population in the USA is about .08%. A group that tiny doesn't have many resources to fight bullies and oppressors, even if you add in their families, friends, and allies. The LGB community is a larger group of about 2.38%, and that's a conservative estimate. It's probably closer to 5%. Although this group is still small, it has way more resources and allies than just the TQs. It would be a lack of compassion to deny TQ folk those resources now after being part of the group for so long.
And even when trans folk aren't gay, they go through most of the life experiences LGB folk do. These include having feelings as a child that you don't understand or know what to do with; going through life without role models; having a secret that could get you kicked out of your home, family, or job; and living in a society that actively discourages you from being who you are. These shared experiences bind us together. All of us.
I looked at a Facebook group that's dedicated to splitting LGBTQ into the two groups. I wanted to see what they were saying and what their arguments were. But when I got to the questions they ask before you join, I saw that the group is actually anti-trans. I opted not to join.
So, no, I don't support splitting up the group. We're LGBTQ+, and we're proud of every one of us.
comments
I have opinions. On the one hand, being trans is indeed unrelated to sexual orientation. You can be assigned male at birth but know you're female and also be attracted to women. In other words, there are gay men who also are trans, and lesbian women who are also trans. And there are trans men who are attracted to women, and trans women who are attracted to men. So why, the reasoning goes, should men who are attracted to women be part of the gay community? They aren't gay. Women who are attracted to men aren't gay, either.
More reasoning goes that lumping trans folk in with LGB folk confuses straight folk. A shockingly large number of straight people believe that 1) gay men want to be women; 2) lesbian women want to be men; and 3) a transgender person is gay or lesbian. Separating the groups would help with this problem.
However, the real reason, I think, is fear. Not fear of trans people. Fear of right wing nutjobs. The current administration has put a target on the back of every trans person in the country. It not-so-subtly encourages violence against trans people, who already experience one of the highest rates of violence in the world. Several states have also passed anti-trans laws. LGB folk may be afraid that they're next. By distancing themselves from the TQ community, the LGB community can avoid collateral damage.
Also, more people are becoming accepting of LGB folk than they are of TQ folk. The thinking goes that the TQ folk are holding back more acceptance of LGB folk. ("I can handle that you're a lesbian. At least you aren't one of those transgenders!")
I find this thinking invalid.
In my experience, anyone the right wing perceives as as not-straight by is in danger, and it doesn't matter to the RWs if a person is L, G, B, or T. What matters is that they're different, and fine shades of meaning are unimportant. When the RWs are aiming real or metaphorical bricks, they don't ask if their targets are gay, trans, or lesbian first. They just throw the brick. But this is just my experience (after spending more than 50 years as a G).
Also, trans folk are a tiny, tiny sub-group. The trans population in the USA is about .08%. A group that tiny doesn't have many resources to fight bullies and oppressors, even if you add in their families, friends, and allies. The LGB community is a larger group of about 2.38%, and that's a conservative estimate. It's probably closer to 5%. Although this group is still small, it has way more resources and allies than just the TQs. It would be a lack of compassion to deny TQ folk those resources now after being part of the group for so long.
And even when trans folk aren't gay, they go through most of the life experiences LGB folk do. These include having feelings as a child that you don't understand or know what to do with; going through life without role models; having a secret that could get you kicked out of your home, family, or job; and living in a society that actively discourages you from being who you are. These shared experiences bind us together. All of us.
I looked at a Facebook group that's dedicated to splitting LGBTQ into the two groups. I wanted to see what they were saying and what their arguments were. But when I got to the questions they ask before you join, I saw that the group is actually anti-trans. I opted not to join.
So, no, I don't support splitting up the group. We're LGBTQ+, and we're proud of every one of us.
comments
September 27, 2025
Comey
The indictment of James Comey is reprehensible and a clear violation of a whole pile of laws and regulations. The baboon telling a prosecutor to find something, anything, to charge a person with is exactly what he accuses Democrats of doing when he whines that they're "weaponizing" the DoJ. The charges won't go anywhere, but Comey has to go through a lot of expense and stress to defend himself.
That said, James Comey is one of the biggest reasons that he is (and we are) where we are. So my sympathy for him is limited.
comments
That said, James Comey is one of the biggest reasons that he is (and we are) where we are. So my sympathy for him is limited.
comments
September 18, 2025
Perfect
When did "perfect" replace "great"? I noticed a couple-three years ago that more and more often, people respond with "perfect" when they get the answer to a question, as in:SERVER: And what would like to drink?CUSTOMER: Coffee, please.SERVER: Perfect.orEMPLOYEE: Did you read the report I turned in?BOSS: It's next on my to-do list.EMPLOYEE: Perfect.People used to say "great" or "okay" or "that's fine." Now it's "perfect."I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just that this new facet of American English snuck in without a lot of fanfare. Unlike most slang or idioms, it looks like this one's planning to stick around for a while, and I'm curious about how it started.
comments
comments
September 16, 2025
Hulk-Out Moment
My bike is heavy. It's a solid mountain bike made to pound down rocky trails and chew up grizzly bears for breakfast. It's also big. The frame is several inches larger than standard. I ordered it special because I'm tall and I don't like hunching over my handlebars. The weight makes it difficult to transport my bike. I have one of those bike racks that consists of two rods that stick out parallel to the ground. You lift the bike, slide the frame over/through the rods and strap the bike down. It's tricky because you also have to hold the bike so it doesn't touch the rods until it's gone all the way to the back of the rack. Holding my heavy bike clear of the rods takes some work.
I'm also lifting weights again. I originally started back before my shoulder surgery in an attempt to strengthen my joints and avoid said surgery. It didn't work, though I did get some decent muscle. After the surgery, I couldn't lift anything and I lost the muscle mass I'd gained. Once it was "safe" for me to start up again, more kidney stones hit the fan and I was dealing with all the crap from the clinics. As a result, I fell into a difficult depression. I left the weights alone, though I did keep up with my running. After a while, not lifting became a habit. I had a long commute to work that ate up a lot of my day, you see, and I'd have to drive to the gym, and lifting is not fun, and ... and ... and ...
When I made the decision to retire, I also decided that I would start lifting again. No excuses--I'd certainly have the time. The school year ended, along with my career, and I went back to the gym. I was starting to get some results when the retirement cruise started up, and I worried that I'd lose what I'd gained. Turned out the ship's fitness center had pretty much the same machines as my gym, so I kept it up. Every other day, I work on biceps, triceps, deltoids, shoulders, and chest. Biking and running have made my legs pretty powerful, so I don't need to lift for them.
Which brings us to today.
I wanted to bring my bike up to Lake Orion. This was the first time I'd transported my bike since last fall. I put the rack on the car, braced myself for the strain, and hoisted my bike up.
The bike nearly went over my head! I overshot the rods and had to readjust, then try again. It took almost no effort to slide my big, heavy bike onto the rack. My hulk-out moment!
The whole incident surprised me, even though it shouldn't have. I've been lifting for a few months now, and my arms and shoulders are visibly bigger than they were when I started lifting back in June. Every couple-three weeks, I've had to add a few pounds to each muscle group to keep up the pressure. But for some reason, it didn't occur to me that I'd have more strength OUTSIDE the gym. I was too heavily focused on size, I suppose.
It was a nice surprise.
comments
I'm also lifting weights again. I originally started back before my shoulder surgery in an attempt to strengthen my joints and avoid said surgery. It didn't work, though I did get some decent muscle. After the surgery, I couldn't lift anything and I lost the muscle mass I'd gained. Once it was "safe" for me to start up again, more kidney stones hit the fan and I was dealing with all the crap from the clinics. As a result, I fell into a difficult depression. I left the weights alone, though I did keep up with my running. After a while, not lifting became a habit. I had a long commute to work that ate up a lot of my day, you see, and I'd have to drive to the gym, and lifting is not fun, and ... and ... and ...
When I made the decision to retire, I also decided that I would start lifting again. No excuses--I'd certainly have the time. The school year ended, along with my career, and I went back to the gym. I was starting to get some results when the retirement cruise started up, and I worried that I'd lose what I'd gained. Turned out the ship's fitness center had pretty much the same machines as my gym, so I kept it up. Every other day, I work on biceps, triceps, deltoids, shoulders, and chest. Biking and running have made my legs pretty powerful, so I don't need to lift for them.
Which brings us to today.
I wanted to bring my bike up to Lake Orion. This was the first time I'd transported my bike since last fall. I put the rack on the car, braced myself for the strain, and hoisted my bike up.
The bike nearly went over my head! I overshot the rods and had to readjust, then try again. It took almost no effort to slide my big, heavy bike onto the rack. My hulk-out moment!
The whole incident surprised me, even though it shouldn't have. I've been lifting for a few months now, and my arms and shoulders are visibly bigger than they were when I started lifting back in June. Every couple-three weeks, I've had to add a few pounds to each muscle group to keep up the pressure. But for some reason, it didn't occur to me that I'd have more strength OUTSIDE the gym. I was too heavily focused on size, I suppose.
It was a nice surprise.
comments
September 15, 2025
Retirement: The True Beginning
I know I've been harping on this, but bear with me. I keep finding different aspects that make me scratch my head.
Today is when I see my retirement as really beginning. Yes, my job ended the day I left the school building back in June, but right after that came summer break. I never teach in the summer, so this past summer felt like any other summer break. I even had that nagging feeling that break wasn't long enough, that I'd have to go back to work all too soon, that in August I'd have to make arrangements to make up my religious holiday absences. That nagging feeling didn't fade in the slightest.
And before the first week of school, Darwin and I went out of the country on vacation for three weeks. As a result, I wasn't home, in my natural environment, when the schools re-opened for fall. While I was in Europe, it felt like ... well, a vacation. And when I got back, I would have to go work, of course. I couldn't shake the feeling, even though I've never in my life taken three weeks off work for vacation.
Darwin and I got back on a Thursday night, and the next day neither of us was at work. Then it was Saturday and Sunday. Again, the little hamster that runs the endless wheel in my mind said that there's no way I would have gone back to work last Friday--too jet-lagged to function well. And over the weekend, there's no work, either. But Monday is a different story. Work awaits!
Then Sunday evening came.
Darwin went up to our apartment close to his job and I stayed down here in the house. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was still warm, but the leaves were starting to turn and the corn is fading from green into brown. I went out on a bike ride, partly because I love riding my bike, partly for the exercise, and partly because all too soon it'll be too miserable outside for riding.
On the ride, I checked my watch. 8:30. I didn't want to stay out too late, since I'd have to be in bed by 10, and I still wanted to--
Nope! I wasn't going to work tomorrow. Nope nope nope.
Back home, I stayed up until 10, then 11, then midnight. (When I don't have to work the next day, I usually go to bed between midnight and one.) And then I went to bed.
In the morning, I woke up at 5 out of reflex. (How long will that go on?) I got a drink of water and went back to sleep. I finally got up at 7, truly realizing that I had the entire day. I had breakfast. I started some laundry. I ran some errands. I went to the gym. I rode my bike. I was NOT at work. The cooling weather told me I should be at work. The changing leaves told me I should be at work. The day of the week told me I should be at work. And I wasn't. Nor would I be. I wasn't on vacation. I wasn't taking a sick day.
It really hit me then. It's over. My teaching career is over, and I have a pension instead of a paycheck. I'm free from work.
Today, that really begins.
comments
Today is when I see my retirement as really beginning. Yes, my job ended the day I left the school building back in June, but right after that came summer break. I never teach in the summer, so this past summer felt like any other summer break. I even had that nagging feeling that break wasn't long enough, that I'd have to go back to work all too soon, that in August I'd have to make arrangements to make up my religious holiday absences. That nagging feeling didn't fade in the slightest.
And before the first week of school, Darwin and I went out of the country on vacation for three weeks. As a result, I wasn't home, in my natural environment, when the schools re-opened for fall. While I was in Europe, it felt like ... well, a vacation. And when I got back, I would have to go work, of course. I couldn't shake the feeling, even though I've never in my life taken three weeks off work for vacation.
Darwin and I got back on a Thursday night, and the next day neither of us was at work. Then it was Saturday and Sunday. Again, the little hamster that runs the endless wheel in my mind said that there's no way I would have gone back to work last Friday--too jet-lagged to function well. And over the weekend, there's no work, either. But Monday is a different story. Work awaits!
Then Sunday evening came.
Darwin went up to our apartment close to his job and I stayed down here in the house. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was still warm, but the leaves were starting to turn and the corn is fading from green into brown. I went out on a bike ride, partly because I love riding my bike, partly for the exercise, and partly because all too soon it'll be too miserable outside for riding.
On the ride, I checked my watch. 8:30. I didn't want to stay out too late, since I'd have to be in bed by 10, and I still wanted to--
Nope! I wasn't going to work tomorrow. Nope nope nope.
Back home, I stayed up until 10, then 11, then midnight. (When I don't have to work the next day, I usually go to bed between midnight and one.) And then I went to bed.
In the morning, I woke up at 5 out of reflex. (How long will that go on?) I got a drink of water and went back to sleep. I finally got up at 7, truly realizing that I had the entire day. I had breakfast. I started some laundry. I ran some errands. I went to the gym. I rode my bike. I was NOT at work. The cooling weather told me I should be at work. The changing leaves told me I should be at work. The day of the week told me I should be at work. And I wasn't. Nor would I be. I wasn't on vacation. I wasn't taking a sick day.
It really hit me then. It's over. My teaching career is over, and I have a pension instead of a paycheck. I'm free from work.
Today, that really begins.
comments
