Me too. There’s something quite romantic about a young lass with a diamond obsession on dinosaurs, or indeed any other topic that stokes knowledge into the world.
The little girl in TheLastOutlaw’s grav looks like Joyce.
TheLastOutlaw
It’s a panel grab from an old “It’s Walky!” strip and Historyman68 is correct, it’s one of the best things ever. I tried digging through the archive to find it so I could link it but sleep deprivation won out. Long story short it’s not Joyce but it’s hilarious.
“and then the T-rex was all like “rawr rawr rawr” and the brontisaurus was like “mmm these leaves are tasty” and then they walked their separate ways because it is believed that T-rexes rarely ate animals so close to their own size.
Unless of course they happened upon a relatively untouched carcass. They were like the Great White Landsharks of the Upper Cretaceous, eating anything and everything they could get their tiny little fingers on.
Stegosaurus: Yes. Yes. This is a fertile land and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land! And we will call it… this land!
T-Rex: I think we should call it your grave!
Stegosaurus: Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
T-Rex: Ha ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!
Stegosaurus: Oh no god! Oh, dear God in heaven!
But the failure to the T-Rex to evolve longer forelimbs with opposable thumbs proves their doom millions of years later when they become a star-faring species and then start a war with descendants of naked monkeys. 😀
Yep. Dina has a huge crush on Alan Tudyk because he once voice-acted dinosaurs from two completely different orders in the same scene, making him the world’s most versatile actor.
Actually, due to an error when naming, the dinosaur is Apatosaurus, having been named this earlier and therefore making Brontosaurus incorrect. However, due to an episode with post office stamps, it was agreed that ‘Brontosaurus’ is an acceptable Common Name for Apatosaurus since many people know it that way.
There. I think I’ve Dina’d enough for today.
Also, amusing trivia, if you type Apatosaurus into the comment box the text is labeled misspelled and the suggested spelling is Brontosaurus.
BigMadDraco
I’m with Terry Pratchett in that I believe that Brontosaurus should be the official name on the grounds that it sounds better than Apatosaurus. And apparently firefox agrees with me.
ProfessorZoot
As an insufferable pedant i have to point out it is insufferably pedantic to refer to the species as apatosaurus. While that nomenclature was earlier in its assignation, brontosaurus was originally thought to be a separate species and by the time the apatosaurus specimen was recognized as being of that species brontosaurus had became the widely spread and recognized term for the species. Only obsessive five year old experts and the pedants they trained began to insist upon the apatosaurus appellation and, thankfully, paleontology as a field eventually recognize that such ‘expertise’ was relatively spurious and have accepted brontosaurus as the ‘more’ correct term.
Kelly Clowers
No. You do not understand how biological nomenclature, or specifically, ICZN works. Apatosaurus ajax was named in 1877, the name Brontosaurus excelsus was created in 1879. Since they are the same animal, Apatosaurus has clear priority, and Brontosaurus will never be valid.
T. rex lived about 85 million years after Apatosaurus (likewise for Stegosaurus). Unless they had time machines, it seems doubtful that a T. rex ever ate an Apatosaurus.
The diagnosis is extremely important. Self-diagnosis is a no.
Markleberry
…unless you’re in one of the various places that don’t provide it for anything less than a ridiculous amount of cash. Or one of the various groups that are historically underdiagnosed. Or stuck with doctors that know f-all about the condition.
(I suppose y’all can tell that the screwups inherent in the diagnosis process are one of my obsessions :P)
LiamKav
That is true for both aspergers and judging cuteness. Unless you’re Dot Warner, obviously.
David
I still side with the doctor over the guy who thinks he has Asberger’s because he read about it on the Internet.
Kitty Kat
As someone who actually has been clinically diagnosed with Asperger’s, I think some self-diagnoses can be valid, SOMETIMES. For me, it took many years and several different doctors to get the diagnosis, because I’m a girl and a lot of doctors don’t think girls can be Aspies or just don’t know much about the condition. (Pretty much every doctor I saw agreed something was wrong with me, for the record; they just couldn’t agree on WHAT.) Also, it’s really expensive to get an Asperger’s diagnosis. It runs around $2,000 or more.
That said, though, for every correctly self-diagnosed person, there are tons of people who don’t have it and have just decided they did because they saw it on Wikipedia or whatever or because they think it’s the hip new disorder to have. So I can’t really blame anyone for being skeptical of self-diagnosis, and even my gut reaction is, “Ugh, really?” when I see someone talking about how they know they have Asperger’s despite not being diagnosed.
nitpicker
Yeah, tons of internet peeps read the description of Asperger’s, think “Oh, it’s a clever but socially inept guy! Just like me!” and self-diagnose.
I used to be like that, but then I met someone who really had it.
As a professionally diagnosed Aspie… I dunno. She certainly has some of the aspects. Focusing on one subject and being an introvert. She actually reminds me of me. When I was younger all I cared about was Dinosaurs. My dream was to become a paleontologist. Then I got sick and my body can’t handle temps over 80 degrees (dino digs occur in the hot deserts. Urgh). Now my main focus is genealogy but I still love dinos. I’ve been to some of the best Paleontology museums in the world (my fave being the museum in Frankfort, Germany).
I’d like to hear more of Dina talking.
I had no idea dinosaurs had relatively few species for their niches compared to mammals. That would explain why they fared so poorly.
But, how do I know Willis’ information is accurate?
Unless you compare them to fish, or insects (or even to beetles), or even dinosaurs if you accept the biological evidence that birds are dinosaurs. Attempts at teleological explanations of evolution are narcissistic fantasy. Evolution happens, but there are no goals or guarantees.
Neither did I. However, it doesn’t matter since one can change all that in the game Dominant Species where you try to make your “species” the dominant one before the ice age ends the game. A strategically rich game, but not an easy one to learn.
Wait. Is this a game as in someone’s actually published it, or is this more of a metaphorical game? Because an actual game of it sounds like it could be fun.
Ah, Lieutenant Dan has handled the matter. Yes, Dominant Species is a board game and an excellent one. It’s my current favorite board game since the play is so varied and deep.
I’m kind of curious how anyone could possibly even know that.
It’s not like the fossil record we have so far contains all dinosaurs that ever existed, nor can we reasonably expect for at least one of every species that ever existed to have been preserved. The conditions that fossils form in are not so ubiquitous as to ensure that.
But that doesn’t mean that someone far smarter and more familiar with the subject matter than I hasn’t come up with a really good way to support that argument. I’m just some random jerk on the internet with no credentials.
You are quite right about the massive incompleteness issue. They use statistical models to estimate the total number of taxa. I do not not know haw much confidence is generally placed in those models.
115 thoughts on “Macys”
AJBulldis
Aww, what a cute smile.
Resne
And what vacant eyes.
Onion
All the better to fill them with paleontology knowledge.
Blue
Dina, you can talk about dinosaurs to me any time you want.
She is so adorable.
David Herbert
Looks like it doesn’t take much to get her started.
Arturo
Me too. There’s something quite romantic about a young lass with a diamond obsession on dinosaurs, or indeed any other topic that stokes knowledge into the world.
Oberon
It kinda sounds like she’s reciting her last English essay…
Wonder Wig
Dina doesn’t need anyone to listen. She’ll talk about dinosaurs all day to herself if she pleases.
Plasma Mongoose
…and often does… off-screen.
Yotomoe
She hides dinosaur books in her math books and reads them during class and giggles to herself
k_jergens
lmaaao! Most likely
Aisling
That would make me instantly attracted to her haha
TheLastOutlaw
…behind doors…
Historyman68
Awesome avatar pic! That’s my favorite strip ever.
Plasma Mongoose
The little girl in TheLastOutlaw’s grav looks like Joyce.
TheLastOutlaw
It’s a panel grab from an old “It’s Walky!” strip and Historyman68 is correct, it’s one of the best things ever. I tried digging through the archive to find it so I could link it but sleep deprivation won out. Long story short it’s not Joyce but it’s hilarious.
Doctor_Who
She looks so happy to be talking about dinosaurs. It’s like a five year old me.
Yotomoe
“and then the T-rex was all like “rawr rawr rawr” and the brontisaurus was like “mmm these leaves are tasty” and then they walked their separate ways because it is believed that T-rexes rarely ate animals so close to their own size.
Bekah
Unless of course they happened upon a relatively untouched carcass. They were like the Great White Landsharks of the Upper Cretaceous, eating anything and everything they could get their tiny little fingers on.
LaurelRaven
Stegosaurus: Yes. Yes. This is a fertile land and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land! And we will call it… this land!
T-Rex: I think we should call it your grave!
Stegosaurus: Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
T-Rex: Ha ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die!
Stegosaurus: Oh no god! Oh, dear God in heaven!
Rex Hondo
Sweet Dinosaur Jesus!
Ancestral Hamster
But the failure to the T-Rex to evolve longer forelimbs with opposable thumbs proves their doom millions of years later when they become a star-faring species and then start a war with descendants of naked monkeys. 😀
Leorale
:: cheers so happily at this thread ::
Liz
I can’t believe no one called this as Firefly!
Which only makes it more awesome to me.
Historyman68
Oh right, that’s where that’s from!
davidbreslin101
Yep. Dina has a huge crush on Alan Tudyk because he once voice-acted dinosaurs from two completely different orders in the same scene, making him the world’s most versatile actor.
Jacob
Actually, due to an error when naming, the dinosaur is Apatosaurus, having been named this earlier and therefore making Brontosaurus incorrect. However, due to an episode with post office stamps, it was agreed that ‘Brontosaurus’ is an acceptable Common Name for Apatosaurus since many people know it that way.
There. I think I’ve Dina’d enough for today.
Also, amusing trivia, if you type Apatosaurus into the comment box the text is labeled misspelled and the suggested spelling is Brontosaurus.
BigMadDraco
I’m with Terry Pratchett in that I believe that Brontosaurus should be the official name on the grounds that it sounds better than Apatosaurus. And apparently firefox agrees with me.
ProfessorZoot
As an insufferable pedant i have to point out it is insufferably pedantic to refer to the species as apatosaurus. While that nomenclature was earlier in its assignation, brontosaurus was originally thought to be a separate species and by the time the apatosaurus specimen was recognized as being of that species brontosaurus had became the widely spread and recognized term for the species. Only obsessive five year old experts and the pedants they trained began to insist upon the apatosaurus appellation and, thankfully, paleontology as a field eventually recognize that such ‘expertise’ was relatively spurious and have accepted brontosaurus as the ‘more’ correct term.
Kelly Clowers
No. You do not understand how biological nomenclature, or specifically, ICZN works. Apatosaurus ajax was named in 1877, the name Brontosaurus excelsus was created in 1879. Since they are the same animal, Apatosaurus has clear priority, and Brontosaurus will never be valid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature
Kelly Clowers
T. rex lived about 85 million years after Apatosaurus (likewise for Stegosaurus). Unless they had time machines, it seems doubtful that a T. rex ever ate an Apatosaurus.
TheBenenator
Joyce looks disturbed by the footwear.
Luke
I am too.
Plasma Mongoose
They look like hoof covers.
Luke
You mean they aren’t?!
Plasma Mongoose
Joyce isn’t a MLP fan by any chance is she?
If she is, Billie could convince Joyce to get a
tramp stamp“cutie mark”.Historyman68
Oh jeez
Luke
Dina’s the most adorable aspergers sufferer I’ve ever seen, myself excluded, of course.
Plasma Mongoose
How do you know she has Assburgers?
Yotomoe
The proper term is Rump Roast.
Luke
One knows one’s own kind.
Plasma Mongoose
I may have some assburger-like traits but I’m fairly certain that I don’t have this condition.
Luke
Well, you have traits. As far as I know, I have the disorder. It’s kinda like gaydar… except less gay.
Janette
Here’s the easy way to figure out.
>Have you been clinically diagnosed? Y/N
And whether she does is probably up to Willis.
David
The diagnosis is extremely important. Self-diagnosis is a no.
Markleberry
…unless you’re in one of the various places that don’t provide it for anything less than a ridiculous amount of cash. Or one of the various groups that are historically underdiagnosed. Or stuck with doctors that know f-all about the condition.
(I suppose y’all can tell that the screwups inherent in the diagnosis process are one of my obsessions :P)
LiamKav
That is true for both aspergers and judging cuteness. Unless you’re Dot Warner, obviously.
David
I still side with the doctor over the guy who thinks he has Asberger’s because he read about it on the Internet.
Kitty Kat
As someone who actually has been clinically diagnosed with Asperger’s, I think some self-diagnoses can be valid, SOMETIMES. For me, it took many years and several different doctors to get the diagnosis, because I’m a girl and a lot of doctors don’t think girls can be Aspies or just don’t know much about the condition. (Pretty much every doctor I saw agreed something was wrong with me, for the record; they just couldn’t agree on WHAT.) Also, it’s really expensive to get an Asperger’s diagnosis. It runs around $2,000 or more.
That said, though, for every correctly self-diagnosed person, there are tons of people who don’t have it and have just decided they did because they saw it on Wikipedia or whatever or because they think it’s the hip new disorder to have. So I can’t really blame anyone for being skeptical of self-diagnosis, and even my gut reaction is, “Ugh, really?” when I see someone talking about how they know they have Asperger’s despite not being diagnosed.
nitpicker
Yeah, tons of internet peeps read the description of Asperger’s, think “Oh, it’s a clever but socially inept guy! Just like me!” and self-diagnose.
I used to be like that, but then I met someone who really had it.
Leorale
Indeed! I came to the comments to see what Willis had to say regarding whether Dina’s an Aspie.
Dierna
As a professionally diagnosed Aspie… I dunno. She certainly has some of the aspects. Focusing on one subject and being an introvert. She actually reminds me of me. When I was younger all I cared about was Dinosaurs. My dream was to become a paleontologist. Then I got sick and my body can’t handle temps over 80 degrees (dino digs occur in the hot deserts. Urgh). Now my main focus is genealogy but I still love dinos. I’ve been to some of the best Paleontology museums in the world (my fave being the museum in Frankfort, Germany).
Wack'd
So do I, Sarah, so do I, but it’s been eight years. Time to move on.
LimeTH
Aww, she opened up! Dina’s making progress!
Plasma Mongoose
And one of these days, she will even talk about other subjects.
GenericScreenName101
Perhaps she will cover the topic of her affinity to dress up and beat on evil dooers, a-holes, neardowells, and others of that ilk.
Brady Kj
I’d like to hear more of Dina talking.
I had no idea dinosaurs had relatively few species for their niches compared to mammals. That would explain why they fared so poorly.
But, how do I know Willis’ information is accurate?
Plasma Mongoose
Maybe he checked with Wikipedia first.
Yotomoe
Well…honestly that’s not surprising…there’s a fuckton of mammals…more so a variety than other animals.
ProfessorZoot
Unless you compare them to fish, or insects (or even to beetles), or even dinosaurs if you accept the biological evidence that birds are dinosaurs. Attempts at teleological explanations of evolution are narcissistic fantasy. Evolution happens, but there are no goals or guarantees.
Shade
I didn’t either, but based on my understanding of evolution that’s not at all surprising.
Ancestral Hamster
Neither did I. However, it doesn’t matter since one can change all that in the game Dominant Species where you try to make your “species” the dominant one before the ice age ends the game. A strategically rich game, but not an easy one to learn.
Kernanator
Wait. Is this a game as in someone’s actually published it, or is this more of a metaphorical game? Because an actual game of it sounds like it could be fun.
Lieutenant Dan
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62219/dominant-species
Ancestral Hamster
Ah, Lieutenant Dan has handled the matter. Yes, Dominant Species is a board game and an excellent one. It’s my current favorite board game since the play is so varied and deep.
Valdrax
I’m kind of curious how anyone could possibly even know that.
It’s not like the fossil record we have so far contains all dinosaurs that ever existed, nor can we reasonably expect for at least one of every species that ever existed to have been preserved. The conditions that fossils form in are not so ubiquitous as to ensure that.
But that doesn’t mean that someone far smarter and more familiar with the subject matter than I hasn’t come up with a really good way to support that argument. I’m just some random jerk on the internet with no credentials.
So, is there a paleontologist in the house?
Kelly
You are quite right about the massive incompleteness issue. They use statistical models to estimate the total number of taxa. I do not not know haw much confidence is generally placed in those models.
Here is one full access paper I found: http://www.pnas.org/content/103/37/13601.full
Brady Kj
That and the arbitrariness of lumping and splitting extinct species.
Scientists have fistfights about these things.
Yotomoe
People have been missing the old Dina since July 19, 2003
Wack'd
Nine years, my mistake.
Philippe G.