Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[fresh_42]

Yeah, they make a potato look cheap and lawless.

That seems to be a worldwide problem. In Paris today environment activists rallied in front of Danone's HQ against inappropriate production conditions. They probably torture their yogurt cultures.

 

[JorisL]

how about pottattoos?

 

[WWGD]

I imagine it might be a bit harder than usual to be an atheist if your name is either Christian, Moses or Mohammed. But something like "Bob the atheist" seems somehow more natural than "Christian the atheist". These people may even be asked :"Are you Christian" (meaning the name)?, and then they must answer: yes, I am Christian, or if they don't they are lying.

 

[WWGD]

Well, Zoobyshoe, would you now eat potatoes in other forms, mashed? Fried? Julienne? It seems PF's spellcheck corrects potato to potatoe.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

I imagine it might be a bit harder than usual to be an atheist if your name is either Christian, Moses or Mohammed. But something like "Bob the atheist" seems somehow more natural than "Christian the atheist". These people may even be asked :"Are you Christian" (meaning the name)?, and then they must answer: yes, I am Christian, or if they don't they are lying.

The enslaving systems have always been controlled by the Puritans and Christians.

 

[Astronuc]

The North Face co-founder and environmentalist Doug Tompkins, 72, has passed away. Tompkins was kayaking on General Carrera Lake in the Patagonia region of southern Chile when large waves forced his kayak to capsize.
Read more at http://www.grindtv.com/culture/the-...tragic-kayaking-accident/#ph0skA0dDAQRiJGE.99

RIP, Doug.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Well, Zoobyshoe, would you now eat potatoes in other forms, mashed? Fried? Julienne?

Do you mean screaming potatoes or quiet ones?

 

[jim hardy]

The enslaving systems have always been controlled by the Puritans and Christians.

Vikings? Romans ? Muslims ?

 

[dkotschessaa]

I imagine it might be a bit harder than usual to be an atheist if your name is either Christian, Moses or Mohammed. But something like "Bob the atheist" seems somehow more natural than "Christian the atheist". These people may even be asked :"Are you Christian" (meaning the name)?, and then they must answer: yes, I am Christian, or if they don't they are lying.

Recently I realized, that if you live in the U.S. People automatically assume 3 things about you

a) You are Christian or at least not an atheist.
b) You like sports, particularly (American) football
c) You enjoy drinking/getting intoxicated or generally think it's a legitimate activity

Only (b) above is slightly true for me. I wanted to learn statistics and I heard there were a lot of them in baseball, so I tried to cultivate an interest. But it's a recent phenomena, and nobody seems to care about baseball anymore.

Anyway.

All of the above seem to be fair game for random comments and small talk under the given assumptions. i.e.

a) "I'll pray for you," "God Bless you," etc.
b) "Man, how about those [sports team people]", "Hey those [sports team people really] [metaphor for playing badly]"
c) "I'll bet you could use a drink", "[general complaints about drinking too much and being hungover as if I sympathize], " "Friday night eh? EH?? YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME HUH HUH HA HA HA", etc.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Yeah, they make a potato look cheap and lawless.

They are cheap...

 

[Silicon Waffle]

Vikings? Romans ? Muslims ?

The Celts .

 

[rootone]

Greeks, Egyptians, most african tribes ...

 

[WWGD]

Recently I realized, that if you live in the U.S. People automatically assume 3 things about you
Only (b) above is slightly true for me. I wanted to learn statistics and I heard there were a lot of them in baseball, so I tried to cultivate an interest. But it's a recent phenomena, and nobody seems to care about baseball anymore.

.

I recommend the book " Money Ball" about how Statistics is changing Baseball: instead of using hunches, now coaches are expected to use data.

 

[OmCheeto]

They are cheap...

Potatoes are cheap.
I bought a 5 lb bag a few days after Thanksgiving, and ate all of them over a 3 day period.
That was a bit much for me, so I checked out the LD50* level for potatoes.
I was not able to find one.
But I did run across a bunch of articles about some guy who ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days, way back in 2010.
He survived.
Opinions in the articles varied.
Salon said he slowly lost his mind during the experiment. (He created a Facebook page, and posted while on the diet)
Other articles were not so dire.
He is still posting, and does not seem crazy to me. A bit obsessive about potatoes, but mostly sane.

ps. I had all of mine baked, as I had never quite mastered baking a potato. But by the third day, I had it nailed. I may post in the TIL thread about aluminum foil and baked potatoes, and in the food thread about the best way to vent a baking potato, and the best temperature, when you are too lazy to set the timer, and accidentally cook them for what should have been a disastrous number of hours.-----------------------
*LD50 is a dose of something that will kill 50% of the people all of the time, or all of the people 50% of the time.
LD stands for "Lethal dose".
I will leave it as an exercise for the students to figure out what the 50 stands for.

 

[fresh_42]

Vikings? Romans ? Muslims ?

Plus Greeks. They had built their democracy on it, what we nowadays tend to praise!

 

[fresh_42]

That was a bit much for me, so I checked out the LD50* level for potatoes.

You will find one if you look for the fluid form of them: vodka.

 

[WWGD]

You will find one if you look for the fluid form of them: vodka.

And another one for Chili fries.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I recommend the book " Money Ball" about how Statistics is changing Baseball: instead of using hunches, now coaches are expected to use data.

Yes, that's next. I read "The Numbers Game: Baseball's lifelong fascination with statistics." To get a comprehensive history first.

I realize this is not typically how people approach a sport...

-DaveK

 

[dkotschessaa]

Potatoes are cheap.
I bought a 5 lb bag a few days after Thanksgiving, and ate all of them over a 3 day period.
That was a bit much for me, so I checked out the LD50* level for potatoes.
I was not able to find one.
But I did run across a bunch of articles about some guy who ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days, way back in 2010.
He survived.

Ugh. I would die in ≤ 3 days, due to my reactive hypoglycemia. Even thinking about it makes me feel sick!

 

[fresh_42]

I realize this is not typically how people approach a sport...

Didn't you say baseball? ...<on the run> ...

 

[WWGD]

<Snip>
I realize this is not typically how people approach a sport...

-DaveK

Unless you are the weird kid in class that is reading while others are playing, i.e., if you are the geek :) . As I assume many of us here in PF were/are.

EDIT: I am actually working on laying out an infinite database and its diagram to understand Baseball. I am interested in Baseball itself, but also in the general Analytics and Mathematics behind infinite databases.

 

[OmCheeto]

Ugh. I would die in ≤ 3 days, due to my reactive hypoglycemia. Even thinking about it makes me feel sick!

Die? No!

As a fellow, though non-reactive type, hypoglycemia sufferer, I can only say, eat, what you got to eat.

My hypoglycemia story is very long, and I've never been "professionally" diagnosed.
But I can assure you, the prescribed TV doctor cure, cured me.
Cured a couple of my friends too, when they described their symptoms, and I suggested the cure.

Blood sugar is a fascinating topic, IMHO.

ps. My form is non-fatal.
pps. I think both of my parents were descended from long lines of potato farmers. We're all a bit Hobbit-like, and love a good vodka.

 

[rootone]

Having read the thread about the supposedly abandoned 747's in Singapore,
It reminded me of an apparently abandoned 727 which has been at my local airport for years, it's in a remote corner far from runways.
Looks like one engine has been removed.
It crossed my mind at one point to try contacting the owner and see if it could be rented as a home.
Well it would be cool now heh?, but then common sense kicked in, an airport has high security concerns about everyone at their site.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Die? No!

As a fellow, though non-reactive type, hypoglycemia sufferer, I can only say, eat, what you got to eat.

My hypoglycemia story is very long, and I've never been "professionally" diagnosed.
But I can assure you, the prescribed TV doctor cure, cured me.
Cured a couple of my friends too, when they described their symptoms, and I suggested the cure.

Blood sugar is a fascinating topic, IMHO.

ps. My form is non-fatal.
pps. I think both of my parents were descended from long lines of potato farmers. We're all a bit Hobbit-like, and love a good vodka.

I actually envy people who have regular hypoglycemia.

 

[zoobyshoe]

They are cheap...

Potatoes are cheap.

OK, you guys know perfectly well which definition of cheap I was using:

1. 
   1a : purchasable below the going price or the real valueb : charging or obtainable at a low price <a good cheap hotel> <cheap tickets>c : depreciated in value (as by currency inflation) <cheap dollars>
2. 2: gained or done with little effort <a cheap victory> <talk is cheap>
3. 3a : of inferior quality or worth : http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tawdry, http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleazy <cheap workmanship>b : contemptible because of lack of any fine, lofty, or redeeming qualities <feeling cheap>c : http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stingy <my cheap uncle>
4. 4of money : obtainable at a low rate of interest

1. 
   

 

[WWGD]

Maybe we should all aim to stick with sweet potatoes, which are much healthier. I am trying to get used to their flavor myself. And I don't have any blood sugar issues yet, but I am trying to prevent them.

 

[dkotschessaa]

OK, you guys know perfectly well which definition of cheap I was using.

Fine. Potatoes are just lawless then.

-Dave K

 

[WWGD]

Having read the thread about the supposedly abandoned 747's in Singapore,
It reminded me of an apparently abandoned 727 which has been at my local airport for years, it's in a remote corner far from runways.
Looks like one engine has been removed.
It crossed my mind at one point to try contacting the owner and see if it could be rented as a home.
Well it would be cool now heh?, but then common sense kicked in, an airport has high security concerns about everyone at their site.

Boeing is kind of weird in using only palindromic numbers for their planes: 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 (I think) and 777.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Maybe we should all aim to stick with sweet potatoes, which are much healthier. I am trying to get used to their flavor myself. And I don't have any blood sugar issues yet, but I am trying to prevent them.

yes, that's what I do. By "healthier" you mean they are more complex carbohydrate. In my case I still have to watch it.

 

[WWGD]

yes, that's what I do. By "healthier" you mean they are more complex carbohydrate. In my case I still have to watch it.

Yes, I guess this is equivalent to their having a lower glycemic index, i.e., they have only a slight effect on blood sugar levels.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Fine. Potatoes are just lawless then.

Potatoes don't make potato guns. People make potato guns.

 

[jim hardy]

Boeing is kind of weird in using only palindromic numbers for their planes: 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 (I think) and 777.

might be nostalgic
here's their 247

https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/abaImage.cfm?webID=207.p2

there's a pretty one in the museum in Ottawa

 

[fresh_42]

Maybe we should all aim to stick with sweet potatoes, which are much healthier.

Thou shalt have no other potatoes before me.

 

[OmCheeto]

yes, that's what I do. By "healthier" you mean they are more complex carbohydrate. In my case I still have to watch it.

Along with my 5 lb bag of Russets, I bought a 5 lb bag of tater-tots. I've tried baking them, microwaving them, and finally today, frying them.
IMHO, tater-tots are the most complex of carbohydrates, as they never seem to come out right.
On my first two attempts, I gave up, and turned them into mashed potatoes.

 

[rootone]

Thou shalt have no other potatoes before me.

But I like salt on all potatoes, not just you.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

GMO potatoes - russet Burbanks. I didn't know there were http://www.potatogoodness.com/all-about-potatoes/potato-types/except sweet ones I love (either red or white in my area is good to me).

 

[WWGD]

So , the spelling potatos is not acceptable anymore? I hate it when they spell it potato's,
or when they do plurals like this, using apostrophe's.

 

[zoobyshoe]

WTH?? Mysteries of Cuba??

I didn't see that coming.

 

[WWGD]

WTH?? Mysteries of Cuba??

I didn't see that coming.

WTH??^2 : A post on Random Thoughts on Mysteries of Cuba :) ?

 

[WWGD]

might be nostalgic
here's their 247

https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/abaImage.cfm?webID=207.p2

there's a pretty one in the museum in Ottawa

But it seems it has help up during the last 50 years:

http://askville.amazon.com/Boeing-planes-named-707-747-737/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=689885

 

[jim hardy]

But it seems it has help up during the last 50 years:

Might it be as simple as "Lucky 7 " ?
Boeing engineers were a fun bunch - they said of the B17
"If she looks good she'll fly good"

great movie, Memphis Belle.

old jim

 

[Ibix]

Was waiting for the bus. According to the allegedly live screen, there's one due in 2 minutes. I wait. It vanishes from the screen. No bus appears. Grrr. But there's another one in 3 minutes more. I wait. It vanishes from the screen. No bus appears. Hmph. "Fool me once..." etc. I dig my phone out of my pocket and fire up the bus company's app. According to the allegedly live map there's a bus right around the corner. I wait. It should be in sight, but no bus. It should be about a hundred yards away - oh wait. There is no longer a bus there according to the map. In other news, we have always been at war with Eastasia. Grr. Wait! There's another bus coming according to the map. "Fool me once" etc, but this one caught my eye because I didn't know there was a bus route there. For that matter, I'm pretty certain there aren't any roads crossing the train tracks at a shallow angle and into the waste ground beyond. Nor is there a bridge across the (navigable) river that the bus is, apparently, happily winging its way across.

It would be a really nice app, too. A good example of how you can use technology to make life easier. But GIGO, guys. GIGO.

 

[zoobyshoe]

great movie, Memphis Belle.

Many years ago I accidentally discovered they were re-running the old TV show, 12 O'Clock High at some ungodly hour of the morning before the sun was up, and I became addicted and had to get up every morning to watch it. The fact it was dark and cold outside in my real world made the show more vivid, since their missions always left before dawn. I think quite stupidly, I fell in love with the B-17.

 

[jim hardy]

I fell in love with the B-17.

It's hard not to.

The takeoff scene is spectacular on wide screen where the entire wingspan is captured


one needs in his library both Memphis Belle movies - the 1990 Matthew Modine and the 1944 Jose Ferrer versions.

of course i may be suffering from old man's nostalgia - i grew up within earshot of Miami Airport before airliners had jet engines. So the noise of those big radials was imprinted very early.

old jim

 

[zoobyshoe]

It's hard not to.

I know. I just feel it's not proper to be fond of an engine of destruction, even though that's not the reason I like them.

 

[fresh_42]

I know. I just feel it's not proper to be fond of an engine of destruction, even though that's not the reason I like them.

I once met an Englishman who answered on my remark he just hasn't been pc: "Oh! Don't worry, we don't have that here. It's an American invention!"

 

[jim hardy]

I just feel it's not proper to be fond of an engine of destruction,

That brings up a thought

given the popularity of raptors in heraldry,

why not?

It's human to admire strength, power and beauty .

 

[zoobyshoe]

That brings up a thought

given the popularity of raptors in heraldry,

why not?

It's human to admire strength, power and beauty .

I guess it's a matter of being circumspect, not wanting to risk blurting out, "Oh, the B-17 was such a cool plane!," and have someone post, "Hey! My grandparents were killed in the bombing of Dresden!", type of thing.

 

[HomogenousCow]

Why is the report button being displayed so prominently? Feels like PF wants me to report every post I see.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Why is the report button being displayed so prominently? Feels like PF wants me to report every post I see.

Yeah, I noticed that. It seems suddenly very prominent and insistent.