Couple of PSAs

[Jonathan]

It's okay to be a dwarf! Don't have to dodge the issue. It can still be a worthy citizen of the Solar System, albeit one that can't take a punch.

[sinewav]

I really hate the term dwarf planet. I thought they should have stuck with defining them as major/minor planets. Also, since the definition of planet allows for a lot of loose fits, there should be more concern with teaching the features of our Solar System rather than memorizing names, which is trivial. At the very least people should know the planets you can actually see with the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) and know the cultural history of their relation to astronomy -- and astrology for comparison. After that, people should learn about the structure: terrestrial planets, gas giants, asteroid belts, etc. Anything they learn after that is a bonus. I don't care if people know about Neptune or Uranus either since most people will never lay eyes on them. I want to see tests that read "for extra credit, name as many Kuiper Belt objects as you can (5 points each). Excluding Earth's, name as many moons as you can (10 points each)." Again, learning names is trivial. It's more important to learn the process.

[Ratchet]

I struggle to believe the information that I can see Saturn from Earth is more relevant in real-world situations than knowing that Uranus, Neptune (and formerly, Pluto) are planets in the Milky Way.

[Jonathan]

@sinewav

I don't care that much about the classification of dwarf planets. Just be consistent. The list of "the nine planets" I was taught is just wrong!

The initial focus should be on the things we can see, e.g. the planets that you mentioned (perhaps Mercury should be de-emphasized). Include instructions on how to find them. Show that space isn't this intangible thing you'll never see. Later on, you can tack on the various things that exist within the Solar System and beyond. Don't focus on rote learning an (incorrect) list of planets as though that's all there is, and we know it already. Reveal all the interesting things and don't focus on any one thing.

Also get rid of light pollution so we can actually see a thing. I'm lucky to be able to see the Milky Way at all, a few km from where I live. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the sky, but once in a while I go there, or a little farther where it's slightly darker. With clear skies I'm invariably awestruck (although I wish I could see farther form the zenith). That feeling is missing from too many lives these days.

[sinewav]

Totally agree on those point Jonathan.

I struggle to believe the information that I can see Saturn from Earth is more relevant in real-world situations than knowing that Uranus, Neptune (and formerly, Pluto) are planets in the Milky Way.

Ratchet, I suspect you don't know how the sky works! Actually, I think the average person has no idea what's going on up there. I must confess, I did not understand it myself until I had Astronomy classes in college. Once I learned about the plane of the ecliptic, orbital planes and how they related to my latitude on Earth, oh my god, it was one of the most amazing revelations in my life. I then knew why the Copernican Revolution was so.. revolutionary! I love the fact I can look up at the sky any time day or night and know exactly where to find something. It's cool that you can look up and point to Saturn. Knowing what celestial objects are and how to find them allows you to know where you are on Earth and when. That's pretty important if you ask me.

[Lucifer]

Dwarves rock. It's those damned smelfs that stink up the world with their presence and their stupid magic rings and stuff. Really, the best thing that ever happened to the planet was when all the smelfs left it, leaving the dwarves in charge.

[Phytotron]

Gotta say, I'm a bit surprised at the lack of opportunities taken for "getting to know Uranus" jokes.


Well, Z-Man, I know you've seen this before, but it can't hurt to see it again. Give your little collection of stardust a kiss. I'd say from me, but you probably wouldn't want that.

[Lucifer]

No, I suspect she wants a loving kiss, not one full of vitriol. She is a little girl, after all.

[Titanoboa]

Aw, come on Lucifer. While there might definitely be times for criticizing Phytotron's ways of expressing himself on these forums, don't jump on him after making a nice little (virtual) gesture like that! (Even though your response was punny!)

Z-man: Wish your family the best possible given the circumstance.

[/dev/null]

Shitty man, I wish you the best of luck.

[Z-Man]

I know you've seen this before, but it can't hurt to see it again.]/quote]
Nope, I only saw the other one. Was unaware it is a series.

I'd say from me, but you probably wouldn't want that.

I am probably only going to say this once: I have a deep respect for you. Sure, we disagree a lot of times, half of the time because you're plain wrong, half of the time because you trigger my stubbornness with your way of arguing. But on my respect level, you are right up there with Lucifer. So yes, I told her it was from you (though I don't think I could even begin to sufficiently explain to her who you are).

On a similar note, religious statements are explicitly allowed here.

I am even more inactive this week, by the way, because I am taking care of Z-Girl, Z-Wife is away. Good things:
- Found a way to wake her up without fuzz. Just use the vacuum cleaner next to her. That skips the phase where her brain thinks it has a chance to sleep just a little bit longer and fights for it.
- Taught her the two most important words in the Galaxy. She is now using them whenever something goes wrong, especially something falls down, especially when she intentionally drops something. That would be "Don't panic", of course. Are those two or three words? Definitely two in German.
- Taught her the most useless answer to the question "Where do you live?". Not by explicitly telling her, of course, that would be cheating and useless. I just showed her familiar places on Google Earth: her playground, her daycare, the large duck pond, my parents' home. Then I zoomed out.
- Frozen Pizza ranks high on the charts of grand achievements of civilization.

Jonathan: yes, Mercury is silly. Impossible to see in regular urban areas. Who has ever seen it? I have, but only once, when I planned my jogging round so I'd be crossing a bridge over the Rhine when viewing conditions were close to optimal. Plus, it's a rather bland piece of rock. And yes, if after basic astronomy classes you can't tell Mars from Venus on the night sky, education has failed.

Light: Master servers read the usual configuration files from /etc/armagetronad-dedicated, you should be able to tell from all the "unknown command" error messages at the start. I don't know whether the usual redirecting command line arguments work.

delinquent: Yes, it theoretically can run on Windows. But it is untested for practical use, and no autostart/logging infrastructure for it exists.

[Light]

Light: Master servers read the usual configuration files from /etc/armagetronad-dedicated, you should be able to tell from all the "unknown command" error messages at the start. I don't know whether the usual redirecting command line arguments work.

Nevermind .. I don't really wanna admit what my confusion was. lol Anyways .... It's up with 10,240 slots.

[Jonathan]

Jonathan: yes, Mercury is silly. Impossible to see in regular urban areas. Who has ever seen it? I have, but only once, when I planned my jogging round so I'd be crossing a bridge over the Rhine when viewing conditions were close to optimal. Plus, it's a rather bland piece of rock. And yes, if after basic astronomy classes you can't tell Mars from Venus on the night sky, education has failed.

Mercury? I've only ever seen it inside a thermometer, I think. All the other 'naked-eye' planets simply appear; you just have to realize what it is you're looking at. Mercury, not so. I should plan for it sometime.

BTW, I was thinking about elementary school, at least for the initial portion. Make it real and exciting if at all possible. That goes for anything you're trying to teach, really.

[Phytotron]

I am probably only going to say this once: I have a deep respect for you. Sure, we disagree a lot of times, half of the time because you're plain wrong, half of the time because you trigger my stubbornness with your way of arguing. But on my respect level, you are right up there with Lucifer.

Well, I appreciate that, and it's pretty much mutual.


And for the record, not to toot my own horn, but little kids usually love me.

[Lucifer]

I am probably only going to say this once: I have a deep respect for you. Sure, we disagree a lot of times, half of the time because you're plain wrong, half of the time because you trigger my stubbornness with your way of arguing. But on my respect level, you are right up there with Lucifer.

Well, I appreciate that, and it's pretty much mutual.

You weren't the only one appreciating that.

And for the record, not to toot my own horn, but little kids usually love me.

I'm a goofy goober (yeah!), you're a goofy goober (yeah!)