Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
Last night, I took home a stack of reports I'm editing, mostly about studies involving viral loads in this or that breed of mice. All very dry and scientific and filled with phrases like "intracellular IFN-γ-specific TCR-double positive splenocytes" and the like. I picked up Keegan at the afterschool program and handed them to him to hold on the ride home. Shortly afterwards, I noticed he was scanning over the front page of the top one.
"Wow, this looks really complicated."
"Yeah, it is. Makes for some pretty slow editing."
"You must be really smart."
He waited just long enough for me to start to puff up a little before adding, "Not smart enough to get a fun job, but still."
*snerk*
"fun job"?? aaah, the innocence of babes.
Posted by: Kristina at February 20, 2007 04:02 PMYour son is awesome, apo.
Your reply, of course, should have been something along the lines of "and not smart enough to have sold you to that travelling circus when I had the chance, like I did your older brother."
Posted by: M/tch M/lls at February 20, 2007 06:22 PMHot damn tamale, Charlie, you just made my day.
Not only am I smart enough to pepper my papers with pungent references to the likes of "LCAO/MCSCF/CI corrections to the Hartree-Fock ansatz, with reference to the Banach-Tarski Paradox," but I managed to score a professional job that I simply love.
It took me twenty years of diligent study, ruined my marriage, and required the consumption of a shit sandwich the magnitude of which you would not believe - but I did it.
Nice point about the circus, M/tch. Remind me, never to get into a pissing match with you.
Posted by: Theophrastus Bombastus von Hoehenheim den Sidste at February 20, 2007 07:23 PMTo get a fun job, you dont necessarily have to be smart, but you have to be willing to uh, turn your head and cough for umpteen years before gigantic egomaniacs who definintely consider themselves to be smart where chances are they have been merely lucky. .. Who in the end offer you no loyalty or job security or for that matter much recognition of your basic status as a human being.
Posted by: Jon at February 20, 2007 11:22 PMWell, at least wolfson didn't get the last comment on the late great Obama thread.
Also:
M/tch, have we resolved yet whether Obama is or is not, in fact, the Antichrist? Or even made any headway in establishing criteria by which we could make such a determination?
Who said the purpose of that thread was resolving something, or establishing criteria, or anything like that? Is it really possible that you've been participating in Unfogged and apostropher for so long and yet you don't understand this? If it's not your cup of tea, or seems pointless to you, noone's forcing you to read it.
Despite over 900 comments, I think the answer is no.
Sigh. Lander's Folly rears its ugly head again.
Good point Apo, they are the ones making fools of themselves. While we're at it let's also laugh at the fat kids and the retards.
That's a very inapt analogy, Brock.
Posted by: M/tch M/lls at February 21, 2007 07:48 PMI'll open the thread again in a few weeks. I do want no name to get bored and leave, however.
Posted by: apostropher at February 21, 2007 08:03 PMDon't say I didn't warn you: Scripture said this thread would be shut down. I knew the end times were near! Repent! Obama is the antichrist! Chicken Fajitas for only 99 cents! I am the eggman!
Posted by: froz gobo at February 22, 2007 01:54 AManyway, great congrats to your smart son.
my previous comment was to be intended tongue in cheek. science really is tremendous fun.
sometimes.
Posted by: Jon at February 22, 2007 06:34 AMre barak obama.
i think the thing to do was to let it get to 1000. then, numerology tells us, something really really Important would be revealed to all mankind.
Posted by: Jon at February 22, 2007 06:36 AM11 reads like M/tch is genuinely angry with me. As if Apo actually took what I said into consideration. Which I'm fairly sure is not the case.
Posted by: Brock Landers at February 22, 2007 09:18 AMWell, if Barak isn't the antichrist, he sure is a terrorist. He hijacked this thread from Apo's smartass son!
Posted by: John Johnson at February 22, 2007 09:43 AMI'm not angry, Brock, just a bit annoyed that you sometimes seem to feel compelled to try to shut down conversations you don't like instead of, you know, not reading them. That and the stupid analogy.
Posted by: M/tch M/lls at February 22, 2007 10:06 AMToo late for an abortion in N. Carolina?
I'm pretty sure 4th grade is too late, yes.
But the fetus has barely any brain activity in the 39th trimester.