Today I Learned
 

The movie studios wanted OJ Simpson for the role of the Terminator, but James Cameron felt he would not be believable as a cold-blooded killer.

Today I learned that the last time the Cubs won the World Series was during the Ottoman Empire.

The name "Napoleon Dynamite" was first coined by Elvis Costello, as a pseudonym, in 1982.

snails can't hear anything

2 new word forms from a show about Egypt

Desertification
Pharaonic

We heard about desertification in geography until we desertifaecated through boredom.
But we were never properly taught the actual geography of the British Isles.

I suppose I have to add to the learning of the thread. Today I learned how a book ordered three weeks ago can be completely inappropriate by the time it arrives from America.
Terracotta Cooking will have to be sold along with my newly acquired terracotta pot.

Why? I mean, granted, that style of cooking is for larger meals, but cooking in bulk and freezing portions is a great way to save money when you're cooking for yourself.

I suspect storage space issues ...

According to a New York Times article, you are twice as likely to have a fatal crash if you are driving under the influence of marijuana than you would be if sober. And you are 20 times as likely to have a fatal crash if you are driving drunk than you would be if sober. So smoking pot and driving isn't terribly safe, but it's far far safer than drinking and driving.

According to the article, being under the influence of marijuana is if you have any detectable amount of THC in your bloodstream, and drunk driving is having 0.08 blood alcohol.

and pot can remain in your blood stream for 30 days or more. I call bullshit on that twice as likely statistic.

apparently, you just need to practice:

Soooo...........We learned.....what?

if you're going to smoke pot, you need to do it every day.

That scientists are trying to actually quantify this stuff, which is good, since the lawyers and politicians come next, and you want them setting policy based on actual data and not folklore.

get stoned a lot it takes practice

Ok, if you guys say so...:blunt::rasta::joint::fumette::bong:

Today I learned about tiny Palmerston Island in the Pacific.

I would almost leave America to visit. If it wasn't for the flying. And the nine days in a boat from Tahiti. And the lack of damn near everything I enjoy. By that, I mean weed.

That was delightful, thanks grav.

Good thing they have tires.
Attachment 46849

Wonder if they leave the door locked on that hut over night. Those tires in the background look interesting.

I pulled it up in Google Earth and the farthest you could drive on the island without doubling back on yourself is about half a mile. It looks like it's all sand, and forested, so an ATV would be the best vehicle if you are unable to walk half a mile. I see no reason for those tires. Sometimes old tires are used as bumpers on a boat to keep them rubbing against a pier or dock, but it looks like they have no pier or dock, and those tires look new. It's just a little interesting seeing them stacked up there.

When tires fall off the ship and wash up on your beach, you can't just throw them back. You have to stack them real nice - they may come in handy some day ... and ... well ... they were FREE!

According to the CDC, tomorrow (Feb. 22, 2014) is World Encephalitis Day.

Now you have a reason to get out of bed on Saturday morning.

:yesnod:

35ish years ago U of Michigan did a study showing that commuters drove better after 1 drink, than stone sober. That makes sense in that they chilled out a little. Of course from drinks two on, things went to hell in a hurry.

But anyway, this report was quickly forgotten in the made rush to lower the legal BAC to a ridiculous level because a couple of people can't handle any alcohol. The politicians cave to the million busybody howling, facts be damned. If the stats were reported honestly they would most likely find those people can't even drive sober. But we all have to put up with rules for the lowest denominator, certainly not the common one.

Word.

One way is through driving simulation.

I have been a study subject there in the past. Currently they are recruiting for people to "drive" under the influence of THC, Adderall, or Xanex. For that one, you have to be a previous marijuana user to fill the THC slots. Here is a 2013 brochure that describes some of the medically related research they have been doing recently. Has some nice pics too.

But when it gets to the legislature...

Back, back I say!
You are scientists, you have no power here.
Now be gone, you're in the way of the lobbyists.

Way to harsh my mellow, man. :(

But am I wrong? I don't think so.

Over here there is a zero alcohol/ driving lobby, but the general reason given is that too many people don't understand how much is too much. Tell people they can't drink AT ALL and and it's all much simpler. You drink, you drive, you've chosen to break the law.

I doubt it will get anywhere in this country though. We don't have a religious Right or a moral majority. Many many people drink and the Government earns £££s from it, thank you very much.

PS hello very quietly Labs.

Today I learnt that you can burn things to charcoal in a microwave. In fact there were very nearly flames.

I've done that. With a jacket spud.

I set sweet potato crisps alight. Or was it aubergine?
All I know is they ignited in the time it took me to cross my little kitchen in Leicester.

That was under the grill though.

Today I learned that stern, tough guys aren't always quite so tough. Keep in mind, this is a 70 yo, high-school math teacher, Vietnam War veteran, no children, never married:

Yes, I've set things into flames in the microwave before. :thepain: You know what else can burn things to charcoal? A toaster oven...well, a convection oven. Yups. I was baking a tray of taco shells and had forgotten about it. Became charcoal....black, crisp piles that emitted such black smoke that the entire inside of of the oven was covered a thick black layer of it. I was lucky that I didn't burn my place down. :greenface

I love babies.

I used to volunteer at children's hospital, and I spelled parents too, but not with infants. Man, that looks like a prime assignment.

Today I learned that a "lightly loaded" Boeing 777 is quicker than a lot of 'sports' cars.

0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds!

FYI - A 777-200 (the lightest (!) version) weighs 297,000 lbs - empty.

Today I learned that I am politically impartial.

It was budget day and I slept through most of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech and that of the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition.

Are you sure you haven't just learned not to get excited about shit you can't do anything about?

You know Bruce, you might just have a point there.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Today I learned that if you eat Swiss cheese then drink orange juice the resulting taste is reminiscent of vomit :(

Kinda like cinnamon rolls and beer.:greenface

NEVER eat anything sweet with beer. EVER.

How to solve a x^2 + b x + c = 0 for x.

And not to invest in the Beer Ice Cream float truck.

Ew, what a horrible thought

(do I need to clarify that refers to the ruined beer and not the math?)

You might do

Actualy dark beer and dark chocolate to gather are GOOD !!

I was at Red Robin the other day, and my sister asked for a beer float. The guy said you mean root beer float? She said no, she wants a beer float. Nope, we don't have that. I looked at the drinks menu later and found out they have beer shake. It's beer with ice cream, shake style. I don't care for beer itself that much so the idea is rather appealing to me. I will try that the next time I go there. :D

I was given some chocolates filled with guinness stout.

They were good.

WRONG! Smokey Bones Hot Bag O' Donuts and draft beer are really yummy together. Really yummy. I tried it on the advice of a friend, and then the bartender at the Bones, during my Homer Simpson years (i.e. right after my divorce.)

It's unreal how well they go together. See?:

:donut: :beer:

Sugar and salt coated Beer Nuts.

Beer nuts are a dollar fifty and deer nuts are under a buck.

:)

Carol told that joke on The Walking Dead. ;)

It's an oldie, but a goodie.

And pirate corn is a buck an ear

you guys are making me feel nauseous.

Last night I learned that sloths only poop once a week.

I read that sloth thing this morning. Maybe you posted it.

;)

It's a BBC article

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26734289

You'd only poop once a week if you had to climb all the way to the ground, unless it was raining, to do it.