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I don’t know if I’m ready to teach genetics again

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/11/02/i-dont-know-if-im-ready-to-teach-genetics-again/

Published: November 2, 2025 15:21

I always wonder where they get their unwarranted confidence from. This person seems to have confuse the Y chromosome with the entire genetic complement, or something. I don’t want to have to untangle their thinking right now. You don’t necessarily have the…

Queen Coke Francis noticed me!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/11/01/queen-coke-francis-noticed-me/

Published: November 1, 2025 19:43

I am vindicated! It was only by accident, though — the video above is about Conservapædia, and you may recall that there was a period over ten years ago that Andy Schlafly was obsessed with me. It still counts!

Post-Hallowe’en shopping day

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/11/01/post-halloween-shopping-day/

Published: November 1, 2025 19:32

I made a quick run to St Cloud today, to visit Spirit Halloween after Hallowe’en, when they are busy dumping everything left over at half price. Get out there quick! Like any mysterious fantasy shop, it’s going to vanish, leaving only a dusty empty space…

It’s Tim Curry time!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/31/its-tim-curry-time/

Published: October 31, 2025 23:45

It’s Hallowe’en. It’s a dark and rainy night. I’m home all along. The trick-or-treaters have been sparse — I’ve only had twenty kids all night, so I’m handing out great fistfuls of candy to each. You know what that means… It’s time for Rocky Horror! I’ve…

A kid in costume

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/31/a-kid-in-costume/

Published: October 31, 2025 16:35

My granddaughter has become Hornet from Silksong. Give her lots of candy if she comes to your door!

A doleful lack of anatomically accurate spider decorations

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/31/a-doleful-lack-of-anatomically-accurate-spider-decorations/

Published: October 31, 2025 12:35

I know exactly how this guy feels.

Tasteless suits made to fit

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/31/tasteless-suits-made-to-fit/

Published: October 31, 2025 11:48

Just in case you wanted to wear an ugly costume every day, here’s a bluesky thread about where Jordan Peterson gets his suits. I wouldn’t mind getting a free suit, but I’d turn down those ugly-ass freak suits. They’re made by a guy who doesn’t know much…

Happy Hallowe’en!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/31/happy-halloween-6/

Published: October 31, 2025 10:44

I’ll be handing out festive spider balls to all the trick-or-treaters coming by my house tonight. Unless they request a trick, in which case they get something more venomous.

Cancel that Nobel Peace Prize

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/30/cancel-that-nobel-peace-prize/

Published: October 30, 2025 15:15

This could have been predicted. The cease fire in the Middle East is falling apart. Israel on Tuesday carried out military strikes in Gaza after the nation accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by attacking Israeli troops and not returning the remains…

New vermin for a new generation

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/29/new-vermin-for-a-new-generation/

Published: October 29, 2025 15:42

The Department of Homeland Security is recruiting with a new trope, same as the old trope. I was never into Halo, but my sons were avid players. I just wasn’t good enough to join in, but I remember the Flood from the many battles waged into the wee hours…

Behold, the magnificent swoop of my slippery slope!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/29/behold-the-magnificent-swoop-of-my-slippery-slope/

Published: October 29, 2025 14:19

Various conservatives are celebrating the publication of a new issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas, or Peter Singer’s slush pile of pseudoscientific justifications for bigotry. The ideas aren’t so much controversial as they are bad. For instance,…

It’s a feeding day

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/28/its-a-feeding-day/

Published: October 28, 2025 18:11

Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of a Sloar that day, I can tell you!

Good news from Minnesota

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/28/good-news-from-minnesota/

Published: October 28, 2025 15:24

Donald Trump has another reason to invade us: this state stands for trans rights. Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Cooper v. USA Powerlifting, affirming that transgender athletes have the right to compete in sports without…

That’s some persecution complex you’ve got, Anna Krylov

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/28/thats-some-persecution-complex-youve-got-anna-krylov/

Published: October 28, 2025 14:28

I wish people would stop running to Richard Dawkins for quotes defending regressive policies in science. He has nothing worthy to add, and it just damages his reputation more. Leave him in peace, to fade away gracefully. His latest contretemps is to accuse…

They’re harmless, let’s kill them

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/28/theyre-harmless-lets-kill-them/

Published: October 28, 2025 13:25

This article leads with a photo of a spectacularly beautiful joro spider. Beautiful. I’d love to see more, but I am content with our native Argiope, we don’t need to import invasive species. The title of the article, though, is this troubling claim.…

Using identity to sell beer?

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/28/using-identity-to-sell-beer/

Published: October 28, 2025 12:46

A beer ad caught my attention this morning, and I watched the whole thing. That’s good advertising! Except for the fact that it didn’t motivate me to buy any beer at all. It’s titled “The Most Washington Man in the World,” and some of it was true. I…

A grim ending

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/27/a-grim-ending/

Published: October 27, 2025 18:43

We have a home Pholcus phalangioides living under our kitchen cupboard, who occasionally emerges when they’ve caught something in their cobweb. In this case, a ladybug, who has been trapped under there for the past day. The spider is clearly fang deep in a…

He is a very stupid man

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/27/he-is-a-very-stupid-man/

Published: October 27, 2025 16:31

I don’t even need to name him, you all know who I am talking about. He’s challenging Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Jasmine Crockett to an IQ test, because he’s decided that the are ‘low IQ individuals’, on some basis. He’s also very racist. Trump: "AOC —…

History repeats itself, again

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/27/history-repeats-itself-again/

Published: October 27, 2025 13:15

It is my habit to read quietly before bed every night, and I vary between cheesy sci-fi and classic literature. Lately I’ve been re-reading (after a long interval) Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown, because…

Not all astronauts know much about geology

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/27/not-all-astronauts-know-much-about-geology/

Published: October 27, 2025 11:56

The latest xkcd makes the point that science changes over time, and that the early days of space flight preceded the widespread acceptance of plate tectonics. Ha ha, there were astronauts in the 1960s who hadn’t yet caught up on the latest ideas in…

My grandson is flying to South Korea

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/26/my-grandson-is-flying-to-south-korea/

Published: October 26, 2025 23:42

If you think Spirit Airlines is barebones, try flying on Space-A, where you might get a bench seat on a military cargo plane. Knut and his mother are rejoining his dad for a while. I look forward to his report about the thrill of the parachute jump when…

Put to shame!

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/26/put-to-shame/

Published: October 26, 2025 21:58

We just got our halloween spider put up, when we drove down the street and saw this awesome display. They have a whole graveyard with ghosts and skeletons and witchy things! Somebody clearly has Hallowe’en in their hearts. They also have some very nice…

Halloween decorating: done

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/10/26/halloween-decorating-done/

Published: October 26, 2025 17:35

We just tossed up one giant spider, a couple of smaller spiders, and the dessicated, skeletal corpse of a scientist next to our driveway. Preparations complete. We also have a bag of 200 pieces of candy waiting to be devoured by someone other than…