Today I Learned

[fresh_42]

Today I learned that in some parts of the UK, the word "trump" has an interesting meaning. I'm surprised that it hasn't become more widely known during this election cycle in the US.

It probably is an association of trumpet.
From now on things become weird ...
Trumpet is an old French word "trompe" or "trompette" originating probably in an old Germanic word basically without changing the meaning.
However, Trump is the direct translation of the German word "Trumpf" which is a) due to Trump's (rather recent) German ancestors and b) a still common family name in today's Germany. And now you have to be strong: The origin is ''Triumph", French "triomphe" both originating in the Latin word "triumphus" for victory, ceremonial march celebrating a victory.

Btw: Trump's and Heintz' (MI, the one who invented my favorite ketch-up) grand-grand-fathers or so come from the same very small village in Germany. (I think round about 800 inhabitants with still living relatives.)

 

[Ibix]

Btw: Trump's and Heintz' (MI, the one who invented my favorite ketch-up) grand-grand-fathers or so come from the same very small village

Heinz also make baked beans. Just sayin'.

 

[fresh_42]

Heinz also make baked beans. Just sayin'.

I know. I've bought one out of curiosity. But it's more a British kind of diet. I have no idea how to make a meal out of it so it's still closed.

What made me angry about the ketch-up is: they vary their mixture depending on in which country it's going to be sold! Once I came back home from a holiday in Spain and ran into the next supermarket to buy the "hot chili" version. What a disappointment!

 

[zoobyshoe]

I know. I've bought one out of curiosity. But it's more a British kind of diet. I have no idea how to make a meal out of it so it's still closed.

Baked beans are a side dish, traditionally eaten with hot dogs. If I were in Europe, I would eat them with some sort of good schnitzel and sauerkraut. The only people who made a whole meal of just baked beans were probably cowboys. At any rate, they're known as "cowboy food."

Slow cooking beans by baking them was probably first practiced by North American Indians. Since they also were the first to make maple syrup, I would suppose they were the first to add it to baked beans. The addition of "salt pork," chunks of salted pork fat, must have come from settlers, since the Indians didn't have pigs before white contact. The famous Boston recipe is to flavor them with molasses and salt pork, but I think maple syrup is much better.

Baked beans from a can are not likely to be the best, so when you get around to eating them, don't judge based on that experience. The only real baked beans are homemade.

 

[JorisL]

I know. I've bought one out of curiosity. But it's more a British kind of diet. I have no idea how to make a meal out of it so it's still closed.

Just with a good sausage and cooked potatoes is great already.
I like them cold or heated. When I heat them I usually add a bit of onion and garlic (like a small onion and single clove of garlic fried until soft)
Leftovers are great for breakfast, beans on toast make a great breakfast which gives a lot of energy.

 

[fresh_42]

If I were in Europe, I would eat them with some sort of good schnitzel and sauerkraut.

I have never seen or heard of somebody combining this.

 

[Ibix]

Baked beans should be served with bacon, sausage, fried mushrooms, and fried bread. Typically also a fried egg, although I'm allergic so I don't. Hash browns and tomatoes are optional.

Or just on toast.

 

[Nidum]

And Black Pudding ?

Better though is Bacon and Laverbread with fried potatoes and tankard of Double Dragon .

Cockles fried with Bacon for a special treat . Just fresh bread and salty butter with this .

 

[fresh_42]

Baked beans should be served with bacon, sausage, fried mushrooms, and fried bread. Typically also a fried egg, although I'm allergic so I don't. Hash browns and tomatoes are optional.

Or just on toast.

Bacon and sausage sounds good. Maybe I add rice instead of potatoes. If you say "bread" to me, it is like saying "wine" to a Frenchman, "cheese" to a Swissman or "whisky" to a Scotsman - or "simultaneous" to a physicist.

 

[collinsmark]

Today I learned (if the claim is actually correct, which I haven't confirmed) that the world's supplies for the making of Vitreous China come from the United States.

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned (if the claim is actually correct, which I haven't confirmed) that the world's supplies for the making of Vitreous China come from the United States.

Considering the materials needed I seriously doubt that. I found a swiss company selling armatures covered with it. I cannot imagine it would pay off to import it while all ingredients are available at their front door.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I have never seen or heard of somebody combining this.

What does that matter?

 

[fresh_42]

What does that matter?

Nothing. I merely wanted to state that Europeans don't combine schnitzel and sauerkraut.
However, you would enjoy the things they combine anyway. I have never met an American who wasn't delighted by local dishes.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Nothing. I merely wanted to state that Europeans don't combine schnitzel and sauerkraut.

Of course they don't. I meant to say "wurst." It came out sounding like I had typed "schnitzel" because I was typing with my mouth full.

 

[Sophia]

I have never seen or heard of somebody combining this.

Sometimes we have cooked beans with baked meat and garlic. I can imagine beans with schnitzel instead of potatoes, why not. We often have peas with schnitzel or fried chicken. I guess it would be similar.
I don't remember if I ate baked beans, probably not. One day, I might find the recipe and try them.

 

[Sophia]

Nothing. I merely wanted to state that Europeans don't combine schnitzel and sauerkraut.
However, you would enjoy the things they combine anyway. I have never met an American who wasn't delighted by local dishes.

BTW do Germans have a custom of cooking goulash outside, on the fire? Or do you prefer barbecue?

 

[PapersOwl]

Today I learned that you can't do two things at the same time

 

[fresh_42]

BTW do Germans have a custom of cooking goulash outside, on the fire? Or do you prefer barbecue?

I guess the answer is BBQ. What people here usually call "Goulasch" has little to do with gulyás. I remember once walking through an old part of town where tourists are wooed in at night where there was an outside chalk board announcing "Segediner Goulasch". Well, it happened to be that I had a piece of chalk in my pocket and I couldn't resist and added the missing 'z' on the board. A few seconds later I had to struggle to escape the landlord who was after me ...

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today I learned that in 1973, a huge fire destroyed most of the U.S. records of military service:

The losses to Federal military records collection included:

• 80% loss to records of U.S. Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960[2]
• 75% loss to records of U.S. Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964, with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.[2]
• Some U.S. Army Reserve personnel who performed their initial active duty for training in the late 1950s but who received final discharge as late as 1964.

None of the records that were destroyed in the fire had duplicate copies made, nor had they been copied to microfilm. No index of these records was made prior to the fire, and millions of records were on loan to the Veterans Administration at the time of the fire. This made it difficult to precisely determine which records were lost.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire

 

[jim hardy]

Today I learned that in 1973, a huge fire destroyed most of the U.S. records of military service:

wow
glad i got Uncle Bud's. He flew the P38 that photographed Hiroshima that day.

 

[zoobyshoe]

wow
glad i got Uncle Bud's. He flew the P38 that photographed Hiroshima that day.

Damn! Talk about historical significance.

I'm just trying to find out what happened to one of my grandfathers in WWI. There's one family story that he was stepped on by a horse at the front (they used horses and mules to pull artillery around in the mud), and there's another story that he was gassed at the front. I was hoping, the military being what it is, that they kept meticulous medical records, but, whether or not they did, the odds are now that his records were destroyed in that fire. My other grandfather also served in WWI, but we don't know any details whatever in his case. All children of both are also now dead.

 

[jim hardy]

We ought to have a book of family anecdotes
imagine if that were a cultural tradition how much richer history would be.
We only know snippets from whatever letters and diaries happened to be saved.

Everybody has some colorful characters in their past family tree .

courtesy Norman Rockwell Museum, http://www.nrm.org/thinglink/text/FamilyTree.html

 

[fresh_42]

We ought to have a book of family anecdotes
imagine if that were a cultural tradition how much richer history would be.
We only know snippets from whatever letters and diaries happened to be saved.

Everybody has some colorful characters in their past .

Nice idea. I'm always sad when someone of previous generations dies. So many anecdotes, funny stories, recipes and so on lost forever.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today I learned that in Brazil, snakes bite 30,000 people a year.

 

[Sophia]

Today I was reminded that we have ridiculously ineffective legal system.
A man who killed a 11 yr old girl and than masturbated near her dead body only got 7.5 years behind bars .You know , he was only 15 years old at the time!
After he was released, he attempted to rape another woman (unsuccessfully), and only got 7 years again plus sexuological therapy.
After having gone through the therapy and still in prison, he caught pigeons and tortured them in very disgusting ways. He was repeatedly caught masturbating with their dead bodies.

He will be set free in 2019 unless he's sentenced for animal abuse. But that is not a serious crime here.

Source : local magazine

 

[jim hardy]

as if there were a fair market value for that young girl's life.
"Paid my debt to society" is hogwash.
Hammurabi's "eye for an eye" is barbarism.
The purpose of prison is to rehabilitate and failing that, to protect the rest of us from such characters.
Society needs that guy locked up or dead.

sorry for digression but i have strong feelings on that subject.

 

[Ibix]

Following from the above, somewhat depressingly, today I learned that the expression "the law is an ass" dates back to at least 1653.

 

[jim hardy]

TIL what is "Serotonin Syndrome" (actually it was Monday)
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/serotonin-syndrome/basics/symptoms/con-20028946

Serotonin syndrome symptoms usually occur within several hours of taking a new drug* or increasing the dose of a drug you're already taking. Signs and symptoms include:

• Agitation or restlessness
• Confusion
• Rapid heart rate and high blood pressure
• Dilated pupils
• Loss of muscle coordination or twitching muscles
• Muscle rigidity
• Heavy sweating
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Shivering
• Goose bumps

Severe serotonin syndrome can be life-threatening. Signs and symptoms include:

• High fever
• Seizures
• Irregular heartbeat
• Unconsciousness

* jf you take savella read up on possible interactions with painkillers (like fentanyl.)

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned that Facebook demands government ID to sign up.

 

[Sophia]

Today I learned that Facebook demands government ID to sign up.

About a year ago, I wanted to create a second profile. I wanted to use one for family and acquaintances and one for very close friends where I could post statuses and like and share things without worrying that some contacts would see them (I didn't want to share anything sexual and I don't attend any parties so don't have any drunk photos either, there were simply things about my other interests, thoughts and feelings that I don't want to share with everyone,)
Of course, fb blocked the other account in a few hours and demanded my ID card. You can only have one profile. I tried creating the second one maybe 3 times and they blocked them almost immediately. I only use fb for situations when it is the only way to keep in touch with someone and I used it to join a student group from my teaching course.
What also irritates me is the privileges that android apps demand. I want to play a game, why would it need all my contacts and media and camera? I don't need a game that posts my progress to all my Google contacts. The worst thing is that you can't ban or manage the privileges individually. You either install the app or not. That's what I hate about android.

Today I learned that Facebook demands government ID to sign up.

 

[Hornbein]

What also irritates me is the privileges that android apps demand. I want to play a game, why would it need all my contacts and media and camera?

"You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." -- Scott Nealy, CEO Sun Microsystems.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today I learned that Facebook demands government ID to sign up.

This wasn't true when I joined, and I haven't been asked to re-apply or anything.

Going to the "sign-up" page, I don't see any box or anything for government ID. Do you encounter this after the first page? What are you supposed to do, attach a scan of your drivers license? Some of my friends seem to have more than one profile.

 

[Hornbein]

What are you supposed to do, attach a scan of your drivers license?

Yes.

I have read that Facebook may at any time shut down your account and demand ID.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Yes.

I have read that Facebook may at any time shut down your account and demand ID.

Where did you read that?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Where did you read that?

Nevermind. I googled and there's lots about it. It started in 2013.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned (or rather, re-learned) that my wristwatch doesn't account for leap years. I had to bump the date back from March 3 to March 2.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today I learned (or rather, re-learned) that my wristwatch doesn't account for leap years. I had to bump the date back from March 3 to March 2.

Oh, right! I forgot to adjust my sundial!

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned (or rather, re-learned) that my wristwatch doesn't account for leap years. I had to bump the date back from March 3 to March 2.

It would be easier to wait 14,000 years for it to correct itself. But that's impractical.

 

[Astronuc]

The world's longest scheduled commercial flight.
http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-longest-flight-lands-auckland-060409884.html

The service from Dubai to Auckland covered 14,200 kilometres (8,824 miles), according to industry website airwaysnews.com, pipping Qantas' 13,800-kilometre Sydney-Dallas route launched in 2014.

It said the route was also the longest in duration, with passengers set to spend 17 hours 15 minutes in the air during the return leg from Auckland to Dubai.

Then I have to ask, "Why!?"

 

[rootone]

Amsterdam has a beach, that was a bit surprising.

 

[Hornbein]

The world's longest scheduled commercial flight.
http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-longest-flight-lands-auckland-060409884.html
Then I have to ask, "Why!?"

Would you rather make a stop and sit around in an airport for hours? Not only that, you take the risk of a delay causing a missed connection.

You might layover in a worthwhile place, but airlines don't like that. Often the total cost doubles.

 

[Astronuc]

What's a little corruption?

Equatorial Guinea is Africa’s third-largest oil exporter, with Exxon Mobil Corp. driving production. But no one knows exactly how much oil revenue the country has — President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo refuses to disclose his earnings.

http://www.ozy.com/acumen/the-filthy-rich-spanish-speaking-african-country/63117

Meanwhile - Aubrey McClendon, 56, Ex-Chief of Chesapeake Energy, Dies in Crash a Day After Indictment
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/b...ron-dies-in-crash-a-day-after-indictment.html

He founded Chesapeake Energy and went big into fracking. By many measures he was extraordinarily successful. "But late Tuesday, he was indicted on federal bid-rigging charges accusing him of conspiring to suppress prices for oil and natural gas leases. On Wednesday morning, he died in a crash in Oklahoma City after his car hit a bridge at high speed. Mr. McClendon, 56, was to have appeared in court later in the day."

All police have so far said is that he had ample room to avoid hitting the concrete abutment.

It is too early to tell, but it would seem he may have committed suicide rather than face prosecution.

There is such a thing as too successful.

Under Mr. McClendon’s leadership, Chesapeake and a handful of other companies transformed the face of energy in the United States, turning the country from an energy importer to an exporter and pioneering hydraulic fracturing in newly explored shale fields with ample global financing.

In the end, they produced a glut of natural gas that sent Chesapeake and several other companies to the brink of bankruptcy as gas prices collapsed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/b...onspiracy-in-oil-and-natural-gas-bidding.html

 

[rootone]

It is too early to tell, but it would seem he may have committed suicide rather than face prosecution

or committed suicide for some other reason, failed relationships and hard drug addiction are common.

 

[zoobyshoe]

or committed suicide for some other reason, failed relationships and hard drug addiction are common.

The timing would argue against alternate motivations.

 

[jim hardy]

It is too early to tell, but it would seem he may have committed suicide rather than face prosecution.

2013 Tahoe is reputed to have electric power steering
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/05/driving-a-pickup-with-electric-power-steering.html

Onstar is hackable
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2015/02/darpa-hacks-a-ninth-gen-impalas-onstar-system-in-new-60-minutes-report/

 

[mfb]

The world's longest scheduled commercial flight.
http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-longest-flight-lands-auckland-060409884.html
Then I have to ask, "Why!?"

To get from Auckland to Dubai.
My longest flights so far were 13 hours - plus three hours at an airport and 1.5 hours for a connecting flight. I would have happily skipped the airport part (to make it worse, the second flight went a bit back - a direct connection would have been shorter than 13 hours).
The 17 hour flight probably replaces something like 13 hours flight, then some hours on an airport, then 5 hours more flight. Okay, you can stay a day somewhere in between, but then you need an additional day.

2013 Tahoe is reputed to have electric power steering
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/05/driving-a-pickup-with-electric-power-steering.html

There are cars driven with joysticks (like those used for computer games) already. Mainly for disabled people, I think, but apparently it works very well.

 

[davenn]

Today I learned ...

Dress whites vs dress blues?
They are seasonal, with the white uniform worn in summer and the blue in winter

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xlp1/v/t1.0-9/12799292_915201871927797_1804319214450464339_n.jpg?oh=b2364c95b365cad78c52d6af5ac93d80&oe=5759FBC9&__gda__=1465600219_4e43f8c6b10d3eaa400ef5876a126e4fDave

 

[zoobyshoe]

That poster reminds me of a Jack Nicholson line from the movie, The Last Detail. Those familiar will know what I'm talking about.

 

[davenn]

That poster reminds me of a Jack Nicholson line from the movie, The Last Detail. Those familiar will know what I'm talking about.

Don't think I have seen that one

 

[zoobyshoe]

Don't think I have seen that one

YouTube has the scene I mean, but I can't link to it due to bad language.