User talk:TeenageWasteland

Greetings, TeenageWasteland, and thank you for joining the  of wikis! I hope you enjoy your time here. 06:31, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Patrick Henry College is most certainly not the place where I would like to study. Thanks for your edits. Proxima Centauri (talk) 15:59, 22 February 2014 (UTC)
 * No problem. TeenageWasteland (talk) 16:01, 22 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I checked some of your edits and added you to the autopatrolled group. You have been here a few days and your edits seem ok. Welcome to Rationalwiki. Hamster (talk) 18:10, 22 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Does this mean I qualify for eyeglass and dental coverage, too? TeenageWasteland (talk) 05:08, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for helping show up what's wrong with capital punishment. Proxima Centauri (talk) 02:22, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
 * My pleasure. TeenageWasteland (talk) 05:08, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Welcome to RationalWiki, TW. The song is called Baba O'Riley, by the way.  ħ uman  05:15, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I know. It's a reference to Maher Baba, the spirtualist, and a modern composer named Something-or-Other Riley. TeenageWasteland (talk) 05:19, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

Sysop privileges
While you are of course free to request not to be a sysop (hell no, you'll take those extra rights whether you like it or not!), I want to make sure your removal of said rights wasn't an accident, as obviously you won't be able to undo that change yourself. - Grant (Talk) 17:59, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for checking up on me. I just don't want the responsibility. i'd rather just wiki-gnome and argue a bit. You seem like a nice guy. I'll kill you last. ( That's a joke, son. ) TeenageWasteland (talk) 18:01, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Understandable. Clearly you are mistaken; I'm very mean and hateful on the inside, I promise! This veneer of kindness is just a clever ruse. I'm simply waiting for the right time to strike. - Grant (Talk) 18:08, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * There are times in a wiki-gnome's day when sysop rights come in handy, such as rolling back a series of wandal edits with a click, or protecting a page for a little while when stupid edit warring is going on. I've restored your sysop rights. If you really don't want them, you know what to do, and my feelings won't be hurt. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 18:29, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I will add that there aren't really any additional responsibilities associated with sysop privileges, as long as one doesn't use them to cause trouble. I've certainly never been chastised for my use (or non-use) of my sysop privileges. - Grant (Talk) 18:32, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I'll do it. But I don't like it. No Sir, I don't like it a bit. TeenageWasteland (talk) 18:42, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * You'd best do it, and we don't care if you like it! - Grant (Talk) 18:47, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

miscegenation article
Hi, I have added a fact tag to your edit. What was wrong with the edit by BON about sub-saharan africans ? reply here please I will watch the pageHamster (talk) 03:49, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I have no idea who was right and who was wrong, but when a BoN reverts a user with an actual name without giving a reason, I figure the loyal thing to do is to take the side of a fellow sysop. TeenageWasteland (talk) 03:57, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I care more about the article being correct than who edited. Thats why we have fact tags and favor citations for such claims. Its not a problem really as long as an edit war does not start. Hamster (talk) 04:02, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for rectifying errors in this, and Marital rape. Contractor (talk) 04:22, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

No, just no.
You can unblock yourself and discuss it like adults. Messing with rights is a quick way to lose your own.  PsyGremlin undefined 19:50, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * "Discuss it like adults" with a guy who drops an hour-long IP block on me for no good reason? TeenageWasteland (talk) 19:52, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * So block him back the same amount, then. Escalation will only result in escalation. Nullahnung (talk) 19:57, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I like escalation. Nothing like a bar brawl to get the juices flowing. TeenageWasteland (talk) 19:59, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Or you could, ya know, be the better person. Either way, it stops now. -- PsyGremlin undefined 20:00, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

I'm not just the better person, I'm a great person. A fucking peach, y'know. I'll be good. Swear on my old lady's grave. TeenageWasteland (talk) 20:04, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Hmm... Kinda makes you think, huh?  Hey, are you going to protect Technical Support next?--85.93.218.204 (talk) 04:03, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * No. It is not currently being vandalized.TeenageWasteland (talk) 04:07, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * You're damn right it's not. But it still got protected.--74.120.13.132 (talk) 04:14, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Talk to the guy who protected it, then. Not my problem. TeenageWasteland (talk) 13:02, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Nice message
No problem - I'm merely changing the article to the correct reading.  DeadMan Wonderland  20:47, 14 April 2014 (UTC)
 * You're probably wasting your time. Most everyone disagrees with you and will revert your edits post-haste. TeenageWasteland (talk) 20:48, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

Patience
I noticed you offering writing advice to another editor where I wouldn't be patient enough. Damn you and your good example! MarmotHead (talk) 19:46, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * It's something I'm trying to work on in Real Life (tm). I was actually probably snarkier than I need to be. TeenageWasteland (talk) 21:52, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Voice of Reason
Thanks for that, though I'm now somewhat tempted to start making completely illogical and nonsensical comments wherever possible. ;) - Grant (talk) 21:02, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Yeah, but you'd still be super nice about it. TeenageWasteland (talk) 21:53, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Apparently I also have to start being more of a jerk as well. Oh my, this burden gets heavier by the minute. - Grant (talk) 22:16, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * If it helps in being a jerk any, "voice of reason" sounds like the name of a column in Reason magazine. So pretend you're a libertarian, and you'll be acting like a jerk in no time! 23:08, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Don't worry, every post I make from now on will include some kind of comment about my social and economic liberties being trampled over by the government. I'm sure this won't take long at all! - Grant (talk) 23:50, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

This and that
Yesterday morning, a wild hair prompted me to put that Townshend song on the speakers in this room, and I got to witness the vision of Mrs. Cogswell dancing around in her PJ's, making smoochie-faces at the free-flying budgies. What can I say? She's a musician of a certain age, and fond of violin breaks. Life is good.

In other news, I'm wondering about your objection to including the mention of PZ Myers as someone willing to talk about his experience with humane euthanasia. He is a well-known figure in the skeptosphere, and cartainly seems to have retained his hands-on capability, for example with zebra fish tanks. I find it easy to believe that he has practical knowledge of the current best practice regarding putting down animals without causing undue suffering. Call it anecdotal, but it is more accessible, to a general audience, than some peer-reviewed philosophy journal. Sorry to disturb your talk page with this— if I think of any more, I'll get on the article's talk page with it. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 13:07, 2 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I guess my objection comes from a few places. Capital punishment isn't just about "putting down animals," it's an ethical issue with its own specific dynamics. Mostly, I don't want to open up a debate about how humanely we can "put down" human beings, because if we're debating how to do the practice humanely, that implies an acceptance that we should be doing it at all. Think of it in terms of debates around the "codes noires" and other attempts to regulate how slaves were to be treated. Talking about how well to treat your slaves implies approval of having slaves in the first place. I don't want a page on capital punishment to debate what method is best for executing people. We shouldn't be talking about how to execute people at all. We should be talking about how to stop the state from doing it. What happened to Clayton Lockett was horrifying. But what would have happened to him had the execution not been botched is only somewhat less so.


 * So what a guy who kills animals as part of his job thinks isn't really relevant to that debate. Also, I'm a bit of a fetishist for expertise. There are philosophers and public intellectuals who write stuff on contemporary ethical issues that is readable by a general public. Myers is alright as far as issues like science v. creationism and other stuff that touches on his real expertise -- lab science and science education. But his writing on broader political/ethical issues is pretty mundane. We can do better. I get the sense that Proxima tries to shoehorn him into lots of articles.


 * Have you ever seen "The Kids Are Alright" EPIC performance of "We Won't Get Fooled Again" there.


 * Life IS good. TeenageWasteland (talk) 13:32, 2 May 2014 (UTC)


 * There needs to be enough air in the room for both discussions. Ending a human life by intent is wrong, by most accounts. Execution methods that avoid needless suffering are not that difficult to accomplish. I'm not much of a PZ fanboy, but that's where a veterinarian or a practical biologist has relevant expertise, and it's tough to deny that some states are still legally in the business of killing people, like it or not. Saying that there are facts to which we should turn a blind eye, or avoid mentioning, leads to callous inhumanity, in my view.


 * It would be unproductive and disingenuous to suggest that we should make executions as gruesome, painful, and chaotic as possible to highlight the underlying inhumanity of the basic premise that the state is taking a life. Sprocket J Cogswell (talk) 14:40, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

Expertise fetish ... a tangent
An expertise fetishist? I'm imagining TW, "So your dissertation was 'The Hermeneutics of Amorous Latex Usage' ... hmmm ... that's very interesting." And then I'm imagining my mother reading this ... ugh!MarmotHead (talk) 15:24, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Must...resist...urge..to..make..joke...about...what...your...mother...is...doing...RIGHT NOW.TeenageWasteland (talk) 16:02, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * No worries. My mother is currently in a very rural place where everyone knows everybody else and outsiders aren't welcome and ... wait, that's even worse! Do I hear dueling banjos? MarmotHead (talk) 16:10, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Been a while since I used this, but you earned it
Reckless Noise Symphony (talk) 09:20, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I'd like to thank the Academy...TeenageWasteland (talk) 13:10, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
 * VERY well deserved kudos. MarmotHead (talk) 16:38, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

Myers
A lot of the current text of the article was written by Proxima Centauri, who is bad at reading comprehension, generalizations and summarizing (to put it mildly). So don't be afraid to nuke parts that look strange or vague.--ZooGuard (talk) 15:11, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm poking at it now. Gotta work for a few hours, will look at it again later. TeenageWasteland (talk) 15:14, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

FYI
Conservapedia_talk:What_is_going_on_at_CP%3F --larron (talk) 21:26, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Grazie!! TeenageWasteland (talk) 12:49, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

An apology on my part is warranted
It was a mistake on my part (confusing you with someone else making stupid edits, when it would have been perfectly easy for me to check) and you have every right to expect an apology (I'm sorry). Try not to wear your heart on your sleeve, though. I'm insulted regularly on this site (essentially for not being a liberal), and I am neither expecting nor getting any apologies. That however, does not justify my mistake for which I am sorry. Burkean (talk) 09:58, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Apology accepted, though why you think your own treatment on the website is germane to a discussion of how you as a free individual behaved towards me is unclear to me. Perhaps you might be interested to know that I am not a liberal either -- my politics skew far to the left of the general tendency of the membership, and I am rarely, if ever, insulted for it. There have also been other conservative editors who were not insulted for their politics. Perhaps the insults have more to do with your manner and disposition than your political positions. TeenageWasteland (talk) 14:28, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

I wasn't saying two wrongs make a right. And I wasn't attempting to rationalize my "jumping the gun" just because of negative experiences I had with others. Basically what happens is someone on rationalwiki will post something fantastically untrue and insulting about libertarians, I'll call them out on it, and they desperately try to portray me as crazy while making themselves look foolish IMO. I can't speak for you, but it seems to me that the range of opinions deemed acceptable here is overwhelmingly narrow. But as I said, I should have thought to check the edits before criticizing you for something which you didn't even do. Burkean (talk) 08:02, 11 May 2014 (UTC)