Try your "familiar shapes" method on this polygon, Charlotte! |
After years of complaining about halfwits who write at pay sites, we've decided to finally strike a blow for knowledge. We've repurposed this blog to call attention to some of these stupid people and the things they've written while in too big a hurry to make money to deal with useless crap like "facts" and "knowledge." Meet the Dumbass of the Day, people!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Irregular Shapes for Geometry Dummies
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Drop-In Ranges for Dummies
Drop-in range |
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Pavers for Total Dummies
Brick paver patio |
Monday, December 28, 2015
Radians for Dummies
Measuring slope |
Chance immediately displays his ignorance of his topic in eHow's required "introduction" (75-100 words):
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Dishwasher Troubleshoooting for Dummies
Bosch dishwasher |
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Cooktop Installation, the Dummy Version
Gas cooktop |
Friday, December 25, 2015
Torture, the Dummies Version
Scorpion |
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Trapdoor or Chute, the Dummy Version
This is a laundry chute, dummy! |
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Ogee Gutters for Dummies
Shape of an ogee curve |
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Diatoms for Dummies
Photomicrograph of a diatom test |
Monday, December 21, 2015
Gold Prospecting for Dummies
Placer gold sample |
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Painting Ikea Furniture for Dummies
Typical Ikea furniture |
There are a bazillion places on the internet that purport to explain how to paint furniture and the like with this sort of finish, which is actually known in the trade as "laminated." Oddly, that's a word the author of the post never uses – every reference is to "melamine," which the author seems to confuse with MDF from time to time:
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Radioactive Isotopes for Dummies
Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes |
Friday, December 18, 2015
Glacial Till for Dummies
Glacial till |
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Driven Point Wells for Dummies
Well head with hand pump |
Of course, this being eHow, said moron must first tell us what a driven point well is and why they work (as far as he or she knows, that is):
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Earth's Mantle for Dummies
Layers of the Earth |
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Big Rigs for Dummies
A big rig |
Monday, December 14, 2015
Conspiracies: an Obsession for Dummies
Map of Bermuda "triangle" |
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Changing Mower Tires for Dummies
Removing tire from wheel with tire irons |
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Identifying Oak Trees for Dummies
Oak leaf |
Friday, December 11, 2015
Fences for Our Dummy Friends
Bracing a fence |
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Central Air for Dummies
Central A/C unit |
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Rock Types for Dummies
Schematic of the rock cycle |
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Humidity for Dummies
Moldy walls |
Monday, December 7, 2015
Sewer Vents for Dummies
Plumbing vent |
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Foundation Repairs for Dummies
Cracked brick wall |
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Light Years for Dummies
Way back in 2011, the search-engine gurus at Google decided that enough is enough: crappy websites filled with poorly-written garbage were getting what they felt was excessively high placement in search results. Consequently, the company released their Panda update to demote the content farms. Facebook and Twitter were given prominence in the algorithm, and the baby was thrown out with the Suite.com, AssociatedContent and Helium bathwater. Unfortunately, eHow.com managed to survive; as did most of the content responsible for the Panda update. Content that we at the Antisocial Network mock on a near-daily basis; content like "What is the Distance of One Light Year?"¹ covered in the grand old tradition of eHow.com by Jennifer Oster.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Sedimentary Minerals for Dummies
Fossiliferous limestone |
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Mineral Formation for Dummies
Crystal lattice of diamond |
A: His lips are moving.
Other than being somewhat sexist (the American Bar Association says its membership is about one-third female) and a bit of a generalization, that's probably accurate. Here at the Antisocial Network, we have a corollary of sorts:
Q: How can you tell an eHow.com contributor is bullshitting?
A: There are words on the screen.
OK, perhaps a little harsh; but true too often to be ignored. Let's take a f'rinstance, that of eHowian Max Roman Dilthey, expounding on "How Are Minerals Formed?" at Sciencing.com. Is Max bullshitting or not bullshitting? We think the former...
Q: How can you tell an eHow.com contributor is bullshitting?
A: There are words on the screen.
OK, perhaps a little harsh; but true too often to be ignored. Let's take a f'rinstance, that of eHowian Max Roman Dilthey, expounding on "How Are Minerals Formed?" at Sciencing.com. Is Max bullshitting or not bullshitting? We think the former...
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Slope Calculations for Dummy Map Readers
Channel slope |
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Wiring Switches for Dummies
Wiring multiple lights on one switch |
Monday, November 30, 2015
Pyrite for Dummies
Pyrite cube |
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Attic Fans for Dummies
Attic exhaust fan |
It's not so much that Ms Manal gets it wrong in this case, but that she works so hard to meet the eHow minimum word count. For instance, read this, from her introduction:
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Mineral Leases for Dummies
When commodity prices are high, people crawl out of the woodwork looking for ways to strike it rich without working hard; and freelancers come out of the woodwork ready to advise them on how to do so. When gold was $1800/ounce, there were the freelancers with gold-recovery instructions. When oil was $145/barrel, there were the freelancers with typical bogus advice on how to get rich wildcatting or drilling for oil in your own back yard. Not to be left out, serial dumbass, eHow-style, Larry Parr tried to get in on the act with a little scrap of content he called "How to Buy Oil Leases."¹
Friday, November 27, 2015
Windows Drives for the Techno-Dummy
F: Drive |
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Faucet Leaks for DIY Dummies
Leaky faucet |
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
The New Toothpaste Method for Dummies
Small crack in drywall |
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Roofs for Remodeling Dummies
framing the roof of an addition to a building |
Monday, November 23, 2015
Pocket Doors for Remodeling Dummies
Pocket doors with wall covering stripped off |
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Solar Power for Dummy Installers
Power inverter |
If you asked the staff of the Antisocial Network for help connecting your solar array, we'd like to think that you'd find some instructions for wiring the various pieces-parts instead of a boatload of semi-nonsensical babble along the lines of
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Bookshelf Design, the Dummy Method
Badly designed bookcase |
Friday, November 20, 2015
Post Holes for Dummy Fence Builders Part 2
Post hole |
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Post Holes for Dummies, Part 1
Post hole |
Here's our suggestion: if we were assigned this particular problem, we'd probably start with the dimensions of a standard post hole, calculate the cubic footage of concrete needed for each hole, and multiply by the number of holes we'd need to fill... wait... we seem to be forgetting something, though...
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Bicycle Pumps for Dummy Cyclists
Presta valve |
We say he obviously knows nothing because first, he found it necessary to quote the late Sheldon Brown when describing the difference between Schrader and Presta valves (he had to look it up? you're kidding, right?) and second, because of a rather embarrassing faux pas Rocco (and an incompetent content editor at eHow) left embedded in his (mis)information:
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Volcanoes for Dummies
Volcano |
Monday, November 16, 2015
Laptop Boot-Up for Dummies
Laptop computer |
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Mean and Median for Statistical Dummies
Measures of central tendency |
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Staining Plywood for Dummies (Carpentry Week 7)
The last step in a woodworking or carpentry project is (usually) applying a finish, so it's fitting that the last dumbass of carpentry week is exposed for his lousy advice concerning the finishing step. This time, we caught Edwin Thomas exposing his incompetence on a Demand Media (aka eHow.com) website, SFGate Homeguides. Edwin's chosen topic is "How to Stain and Finish Plywood," a subject about which he apparently knows nothing (we guess they don't teach woodworking at American University).
Friday, November 13, 2015
Veneer for Dummy Woodworkers (Carpentry Week 6)
Resawing wood veneer |
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Parquet Floors for Dummy Redecorators (Carpentry Week 5)
Parquet flooring |
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Hinge Mortises for Dummy Carpenters (Carpentry Week 4)
Butt hinge in a mortise |
We realized it this time because Knoll drops several hints in her content that make it clear she's bullshitting her readers. One such hint appears in her introduction, when she tells people that
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