Oh. Oh! Oh. Oh... *repeats this word a few times* I'm sorry. :)

*gives cranky Lee a bonecrushing hug* Well, planet discussions aside, I do hope your mood will improve, for your own sake. I'm it far too often, crankiness is no fun. *thaws out a piece of frozen happiness retrieved out the kitchen and gives it to Lee* Eat up. :)

This is silly, of course pluto is a planet. Damn those nerds in lab coats who got nothing better to do other than argue wether Pluto is a planet or a moon.

There was a worth1000 contest about this a short while ago:

http://www.worth1000.com/cache/conte...play=photoshop

I liked this one

http://img423.imageshack.us/img423/2...02afhewar8.jpg

I agree completely..... I think that they can make better use of their time with something else.

you are a naughty boy and you should be spanked :devil:

I like ice cream and whip cream with my pie, I prefer cherry pie

It's not silly at all to try and define "planet" properly within astronomy. No one says the colloquial definition has to follow, but scientists like to know what they're talking about when they say 'planet'. They like to be sure that if they use a word, say, in a publication, every other scientist on the world will unmistakably know what they are referring to. And that's not been clear at all (and isn't that clear now, as the article RLacey linked to shows). Of course it doesn't matter to us non-astronomers - or, well, doesn't have to.

There are a lot of "silly" definitions in science - where formal and colloquial usage of words stray from each other. Maths is a great example, particularily the Peano axioms, which is a definition of "natural number"*. Maths is extreme in that because it doesn't observe anything real to come to conclusions, but is a science in itself, but sciences in general struggle with definitions for clarity within the field. Take the example of species in biology. Yadda, yadda.

So, my point and suggestion to you is - pay no heed to the scientists, but don't ridicule them, either. They speak a different language, that only by pure coincidence occasionally sounds like english. :) (I say this with love)

* Please bear with me whilst I check if I'm talking nonsense or not...

But if Pluto has been a planet for so many many years how can they just change their minds?

Because scientists are silly and fickle. :D Chaning their minds is what they do best. Microbiologists are constantly changing the names of bacteria and it's a pain especially when they make the name harder to pronounce. :shifty: :P

Because scientists are dorks. I mean, look at my brother. He's a physicist, used to work for JPL at CalTech (now is a consultant). He's so dorky. But he loves his wine. He used to drink beer. Then he upgraded. He's a cool dork, though.

I still haven't asked him how he feels about Pluto.

But we're such lovable dorks. :) :)

Oh, and don't forget paleontologists! If it turns out that two different species are actually the same, then they get to keep the name that has been given to them first. There's no Brontosaurus!

Sadly, this "first come" naming can leave the species with the less pretty name. "Hyracotherium" ("Hyrax-like Beast"), the prehistoric beast was also named "Eohippus" ("Horse of Dawn"/"Dawn Horse"), until they found out that they are both one species. Since "Hyracotherium" was the name it had first, that's what is officially know as, even though "Eohippus" is much more pretty.



I'm not a dork, I'm a geek.

Meaning I bite off the heads of live chickens.*

So, I'm an artist geek.

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*I love to say that to people when they ask what a "Geek" is. Love the reactions. :P

What is a life chicken? Is that like a dog that's not just for Christmas?

No, but it's similar to a life cookie.

Life cookies are what make life good. You get a life cookie, and you smile, no matter what worries might dampen your spirit at the time.

A life chicken is similar to it in that way that it is universal. A life chicken does not have to be a chicken at all. Usually it is something else that strangely tastes like chicken. An actual chicken can be a life chicken too, but you usually don't notice it, because you expect it to taste like chicken. To figure out if an actual chicken is a life chicken, you must focus your mind on expecting the chicken to taste like something other than chicken (lets say chocolate). You must really let this belief seep into the very grain of your existance, and then you must take a bite. If the chicken then tastes like the thing you expected it to taste like (in this case chocolate), then it is indeed a life chicken. If it doesn't taste like chocolate (in this case), then you either weren't absolutely convinced that the chicken would not taste like chicken, or it was just not a life chicken.

So basically, a life chicken is what makes life taste like chicken. It can also make life good, unless you don't really like the taste of chicken, in which case you should maybe stick with life cookies.


- :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Pah. Cookies again...

Maybe you'd prefer life scones? Or life biscuits? Life crumpets? Life cookies come in many shapes, because no one should be denied a smile. There's even life pie!

Life is good.


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Oh, I smile regularly. Just not when other people are looking, it would apper :crazy:.

But if Earth has been flat for so many many years how can they just change their minds?

:D :D

That's no fair example! ;) Don't just neglect to mention that "Brontosaurus" was given as a name to the body-skeleton of an Apatosaurus and the head of a Camarasaurus! Or rather, they hadn't found an Apatosaurus head and assumed it must look something like a Camarasaurus head. Except they were wrong by a long shot. :9

:crazy: It may mean something nicer, but, but, but, it doesn't sound so neat.

(So much for why there is a clear-cut rule about which name to use.)

:D