Hey, if we find something bigger than Pluto, then by all means let’s call it a planet.

By any reasonable person’s definition of a planet, Pluto is a planet. It’s a rocky spherical mass that orbits the sun, with a varied terrain of mountains, plains and glaciers. It has days and seasons. It has its own system of moons.

An additional grievance I have is that, by the IAU’s stupid definition of a Dwarf Planet, Charon should really be called a dwarf planet too. It isn’t a satellite of Pluto in a meaningful sense - both Pluto and Charon orbit a point between them. The other moons also orbit this space between Charon and Pluto.

So, want to know why it isn’t a Dwarf Planet? Because the IAU class it as a planetary satellite. What’s the formal definition of a planetary satellite then? There isn’t one. It was discussed, but a formal definition was not decided upon. Charon is literally a moon now because it was called a moon before the definition of a planet was changed and dwarf planets were invented.

I’m all for formal definitions, but the IAUs current rules are just really sloppy. It’s maddening.

I’d be happy with:

Pluto = planet

Anything smaller than Pluto ≠ planet

Nine planets. Now with clear non-stupid rules.

I imagine “good for them”.

My kids are Anglican, they go to a Catholic school. Half of all students there are from denominations other than Catholicism.

There isn’t really any animosity there.

Could not agree more - Christianity is supposed to be about the teachings of Jesus.

The vast majority of the Bible is not about that stuff, but it provides context for it.

Jesus taught respect for others and unconditional love. Surprisingly, Penny Arcade probably summed it up in the most succinct way I’ve ever seen it phrased: "Jesus says “don’t be a dick” ".

Someone would have to be delusional to look at the people that Jesus mixed with and advocated for, and conclude that he wouldn’t have similarly defended the marginalised groups of our time.

Good catch! You are 100% correct.

I’ll update the message, but strikethrough the original so this still makes sense.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know the Supreme Court had said that.

It’s an insane interpretation - and I see that many justices said so at the time.

I guess whether or not the writers of the amendment actually meant every able-bodied man when they wrote “well-regulated militia”, or whether they meant a militia, is impossible to know for sure.

But to say that the word meant something different at the time is patently untrue. Around the English speaking world at that time, local militias - with that specific word used - were used to keep order. It was a common word for an actual thing people would have been familiar with.

That’s half right…

Militias were always things that you joined and they had a chain of command. Just because they were volunteer forces, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t an organisation. The Peterloo Massacre (1819) was conducted by the local militia. They were all volunteers, but they operated as a paramilitary group.

“Well-regulated militia” literally meant what it sounds like today - a well-regulated volunteer armed force.

The amendment is saying that the government shall not prevent people from joining well-regulated armed militias. Which admittedly sounds terrifying to modern ears but, historically, armed militias helped keep the peace in the days before police forces.

It depends.

Are the people actually part of a well-regulated militia, necessary to the security of a free state? Or had the government spent the last century reframing that right as “any idiot can own a lethal weapon without training”, and as a result the people are a disorganised and easily-suppressible rabble?

I’d tell a reduction reaction joke, but I want to stay positive.

There are worse places to live.

Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of better places to live, but there are definitely worse places.

America makes great animated series. It makes great movies sometimes too. Admittedly both of these things are usually actually made overseas, but you guys write them.

You also have a nice flag. Although you do kind of ruin it by being super weird about them.

You have really cheap petrol / gas. That’s definitely something you beat most of the world at. I think that’s the winner - cheap gas.

If masked vigilante crime-fighters count, I have a true story that might give you faith that there are superheroes out there.

This is before COVID.

There were a lot of homeless people in Manchester City Centre. There still is, but before COVID, it was more pronounced.

There was a homeless guy who used to sit in front of the building where I worked. On my way out of work, I used to grab him a cup of coffee and chat with him for a few minutes before heading off for my tram.

One Monday as I approached him I notice that snaking out from under his hat is quite a deep and angry-looking cut that had been stitched.

I asked him about it and he said some guy had come walking down the road attacking homeless people with a broken bottle. They’d all been taken to hospital, patched up and given antibiotics, but everyone was really scared now.

A couple of days later, he mentioned that the police have found the guy who did it. And ‘found’ is the correct word - the guy was lying by the side of the canal beaten to a bloody pulp. Apparently he’d been attacked by someone dressed all in black wearing a black mask.

So, I know for a fact that there is at least one person willing to put on a costume in the height of summer and beat up villains - I imagine there are many more.

Third’s the one with the hairy chest!

I’m surprised they have it in the US!

I knew they said it in Australia and Canada, though - I don’t know, I guess I just assumed it was a commonwealth thing. It’s got that specific flavour of daftness to it.

I probably get a month, possibly two, out of them between washes. I work from home though, so they don’t really get that dirty.

You can call me et al

Psychology.

• Feeding people bad news makes them scared.
• Scared people want to be kept updated, so tune into the news.
• Repeat.

Also:

• Scared people look for authority to guide them.
• Lots of money/power to be gained by having crowds of people who trust you.

Presenting people with scary news keeps them coming back to you and offers opportunities for the stakeholders to profit.

Exactly the same reason social media presents awful stuff all the time now. Social media does it because ragebait is more profitable than nice stuff.

I think some people genuinely like the taste, but I’m with you - they just taste kind of ‘meh’. Certainly not as nice as most other things.

They are extremely healthy, though - they’re considered a top-tier superfood.

You’re asking if head trauma can cause brain damage in animals?

Dogs do have thicker skulls than humans, wrapped in more muscle than humans. Both of these make the skull better at absorbing shocks, so much less force should transfer through to the brain.

As long as your dog isn’t regularly running headfirst straight into the corners of tables, I wouldn’t worry too much.

She has to defend her Masters thesis? Over here in the UK, you only have to formally defend Doctorate level theses.

Kenya’s system must be a bit more rigorous than ours.

UK resident here. Absolutely no issues whatsoever - why would there be? People are people at the end of the day.

Funnily enough, the route between my bus stop and my office takes me through Manchester’s Chinatown. Even though I walk through it every week, I still think I’m really lucky - the archway is awesome, the decorations are interesting and the shops sell all kinds of stuff it’s hard to find elsewhere.