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Questions that you always wanted to ask but were afraid to ask (Page 15)
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ShortcutToMoncton
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Dec 16, 2021, 06:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
I used to be Facebook friends with Jawbone but he unfriended me at some point. Must have been sick of dog and car pictures.
Naw, that guy is just a well-known asshole




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subego
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Dec 16, 2021, 08:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
Mom threw a bit of a fit and sent me links to the Bible Answer Man when I said I wanted to be cremated, because now my body can't rise again when Jesus comes back.
I’m not really religious, and picked cremation, but there’s that little voice in the back of my head which wonders if that’s the right move.

Sort of a version of “go to the light when you die” versus “don’t go to the light when you die… it’s a trick”.
     
dav
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Dec 17, 2021, 10:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I’m not really religious, and picked cremation, but there’s that little voice in the back of my head which wonders if that’s the right move.
I choose to be cremated, but I think it's a balance between what's best for the living and the environment.
To be embalmed in a tomb with a headstone may be comforting for the living as they have a memorial to pilgrimage to, but not the best for the environment. To be thrown in a chipper and sprayed across a field may be good for the environment, but not so appealing to the living. Cremation gives you a memorial (urn) or you can choose a special location to spread the ashes, and it's probably a little better for the environment. Spiritually, I don't believe it matters.
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subego
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Dec 17, 2021, 11:08 AM
 
I’ve instructed my ashes should get tossed in the Gulf of Mexico off Key West, so at least whoever does it gets a decent vacation out of the deal.
     
Laminar
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Dec 17, 2021, 12:09 PM
 
Does your will allocate funds for the transfer of the ashes?
     
subego
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Dec 17, 2021, 12:28 PM
 
You know, I don’t think it does. I should change that.
     
ghporter
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Dec 19, 2021, 11:21 AM
 
At the moment, my wife and I are “up in the air” about whether to have our ashes tossed into the Atlantic from Key West, or into the Pacific from Seattle/Juneau/Skagway. But our arrangements DO cover that.

Making “those” arrangements was full of asking questions that were not at all comfortable. But having someone knowledgeable about the process and options to ask made it a whole lot easier.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego
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Dec 19, 2021, 05:09 PM
 
I wish I understood why, but I much prefer the Atlantic to the Pacific.
     
ghporter
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Dec 21, 2021, 06:36 PM
 
I got to ride an actual PT boat out of Key West and into the Atlantic. It was the boat they used in PT109 and McHale's Navy. The TV folks converted the boat to diesel engines; the original engines were Packard 3A-2500 aircraft engines that took 100 octane aviation gas. Supercharged, intercooled, dual-magnetoed, these engines could push the boat up to 50kts. And the hull design was super: no wake. None. Riding on that boat was a thrill.

On the other hand - and other coast - my wife and I took a cruise out of Seattle to the Alaska Inside Passage. It was a whole different experience from any of our sea trips, before or after. We went as far north as Skagway, stopped in Juneau, and cruised up the outer part of the Tracy Arm Fjord. Breathtaking views, SO MUCH SKY, and (in June) sunset at around 10PM local just made the whole trip magical.

So we love Key West, but we also love the Northwest Pacific Coast. Thus we don't yet know which side of the continent we want our ashes to settle on.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego
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Dec 21, 2021, 06:42 PM
 
I’ve had a much narrower view of the Pacific. Never been farther north than Santa Barbra.
     
subego
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Dec 27, 2021, 10:21 AM
 
Tapioca or no tapioca?
     
Thorzdad
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Dec 27, 2021, 10:40 AM
 
You mean in general? I like tapioca pudding. Homemade. Not the gelatinous premade stuff.
     
subego
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Dec 27, 2021, 10:44 AM
 
I’m thinking more in cases where it’s optional. Like a smoothie.

The pudding weirds me out. Don’t really like pudding in general for whatever reason.
     
subego
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Feb 12, 2022, 08:29 PM
 
My dad says he’s basically hit the wall in terms of Netflix and Prime content. What streaming services should I sign him up for? Hulu and?

He doesn’t really watch series, and he loves his TiVo, so AppleTV is sorta out.

I don’t watch TV at all, so I’m a bit lost at sea.

He has HBO. Should he get HBO Max or whatever it’s called?
     
Thorzdad
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Feb 12, 2022, 09:17 PM
 
In what way has he hit the wall? Seen everything or just can’t find anything? It can be pretty damned frustrating finding stuff. The algorithms quickly pigeonhole you and feed you the same shit. I go to friends’ homes and their Netflix listings are way different than what I get. You have to arbitrarily search for something unusual to start seeing new (to you) stuff.

Hulu’s probably the obvious next choice, I guess. They’re doing more original stuff, but it’s still a whole lot of network series.

Disney+ is kind of nice. Star Wars, MCU, and, of course, boatloads of animation.

Peacock has been great for the olympics. I get it free through comcast, though. Not sure I’d pay for it.
     
subego
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Feb 12, 2022, 10:32 PM
 
That he’s seen everything. However, right now he’s limited to the TiVo client, which I doubt is giving him the best search tools. I’ll definitely look into that.

My dad loves sci-fi but can’t stand fantasy, so Star Wars and superhero stuff isn’t his bag. Even Star Trek is a little too soft for him, though he was rapt as teenager watching it in prime time.

He also seems to have limited interest in serials, which mightily cuts down his options.

To put it another way, everything that’s huge right now he doesn’t like.
     
reader50
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Feb 12, 2022, 11:26 PM
 
So he only likes standalone hard sci-fi movies? Not a lot of those on any network. Have you tried introducing him to The Expanse? That's about as hard SF as they get. If he bites, problem solved for at least a month.
     
subego
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Feb 12, 2022, 11:35 PM
 
How hard?

No FTL?
     
reader50
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Feb 13, 2022, 12:01 AM
 
You haven't watched? That limits what I can say.

Space battles involve inertia, and railguns. No beam weapons as of S4, which is as far as I've watched. Ships have to flip-and-burn at the halfway point of journeys, so they usually approach destinations tail-first, decelerating. Near as I can tell, the only tech assumption made at the beginning is that we invent an extraordinarily efficient reaction drive. As mass-efficient as an ion drive, but at high thrust levels. Gravity comes from ships accelerating continuously, or by centrifical rotation (stations usually).

Power for the engine comes from inertial-confined fusion reactors. Accelerating at high Gs carries a cost for the crew inside. As do hits on the outside of the ships.

From what I can see, none of our future tech is actually impossible. Even that engine - it's efficiency is super-high, but not impossible. Laws of physics appear to be applied well.

Be warned it's an ensemble cast, and it takes awhile for individual story lines to start crossing. He should give it at least 4 episodes before forming an opinion. Or giving up.
     
subego
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Feb 13, 2022, 12:10 AM
 
Ooooh… I’m impressed.
     
subego
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Feb 13, 2022, 12:18 AM
 
Just out of curiosity, what do they use to fuel the reactor, and what do they use as a reaction mass?

Please let ice be involved.
     
reader50
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Feb 13, 2022, 01:07 AM
 
The characters generally don't explain tech for our benefit. After all, it's everyday for them. So the tech mostly exists in the background. Note: computers do not speak aloud. The AI revolution has come and gone, and cost lots of jobs. People don't like AI. So computers respond to voice commands, but are programmed to never speak. So even the computers don't explain tech details. Display screens sometimes show details though.

Inertial fusion is ultimately hydrogen pellets. Not sure of the details. I'd guess water for reaction mass, but don't recall it ever being specified.

edit - it wasn't until season 4 that I realized they were using inertial confinement. Though I'd seen pulsing on engineering displays before that. They assume the audience is intelligent.
( Last edited by reader50; Feb 13, 2022 at 02:18 AM. )
     
subego
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Feb 13, 2022, 01:47 PM
 
Thanks!

I pitched him on it yesterday. He was intrigued, but the prospective commitment is a hurdle.
     
subego
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Feb 13, 2022, 02:27 PM
 
Totally different question. When did we universally decide “savory” was a taste? I just learned of this a week ago.

I also learned that apparently MSG is to savory as quinine is to bitter, or citric acid is to sour.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 13, 2022, 05:14 PM
 
As opposed to just the specific herb? Hasn’t it always been? Sweet and savoury?
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subego
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Feb 13, 2022, 05:20 PM
 
I had always been taught the tastes, as in what taste buds can detect, were sweet, salt, bitter, and sour. I had never heard anyone include savory until this week.
     
Thorzdad
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Feb 14, 2022, 12:45 AM
 
     
subego
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Feb 14, 2022, 03:07 AM
 
Interestingly, a word I had heard long before. There’s a restaurant here named Umami, but I had no idea what it meant until this week.
     
subego
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Mar 7, 2022, 03:28 PM
 
Never driven a motorcycle.

Am I correct the throttle is a twisty thing on the handlebar?

Do you get into a situation where the proper throttle requires awkward wrist bending?

How is that dealt with? Do you just let go of the throttle and then grab it again anticipating how much twist you need to impart?


As an aside, what made me think of this was that Happy Days episode where the Fonz discovers the motorcycle that was alleged to be used in a purse snatching had the throttle on the same side as the purse was snatched, thus showing the accused was innocent.
     
Laminar
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Mar 7, 2022, 05:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Am I correct the throttle is a twisty thing on the handlebar?
Yep, right side as standard, but some older bikes, and especially British bikes initially used a throttle on the left side, as was the case with the Fonz's '49 Triumph.

Do you get into a situation where the proper throttle requires awkward wrist bending?
Yes. It varies bike to bike - the amount of throttle twist required to go from closed to fully open depends on the geometry of the throttle grip and actuator at the carbs/throttle bodies. Some will go wide open in 1/4 turn, some take more than that. The shorter the throw, the twitchier the throttle becomes - good for fast response, bad for precise modulation.

How is that dealt with? Do you just let go of the throttle and then grab it again anticipating how much twist you need to impart?
Basically yes. Knowing you're about to go full throttle, you rotate your wrist upward and essentially "wind up," then grab the grip and rip it all the way down. You can also kind of "walk" your hand around the throttle, maintaining its current level but repositioning your hand in either direction to put it in a better position for what you want to do.
     
subego
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Mar 7, 2022, 05:17 PM
 
Awesome! Thank you!

Another question. How does an “engine brake” feel on a motorcycle relative to a car? Do they decelerate faster or slower?
     
Laminar
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Mar 8, 2022, 08:30 AM
 
Again it depends on the bike. But as the vast majority of bikes are manual transmissions with no mushy torque converter in the way, they're already going to be a bit spicier. Engine braking force is also increased in more highly-strung engines with higher compression running at higher revs, which describes a lot of motorcycles. Some bikes come with a Slipper Clutch, which is designed to reduce the severity of the engine braking force. It's possible to lock up the rear tire on a bike with engine braking alone, which can get hairy. I have a video somewhere of me doing it on an old CB550, I should see if I can dig that out.

edit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccFFMPPyz8

On each downshift before I pull back into the driveway you can hear the tire chirp due to engine braking. Proper rev-matching would help that, but at this point I'd only been riding bikes for a few months and hadn't figured that out yet.
( Last edited by Laminar; Mar 8, 2022 at 08:47 AM. )
     
subego
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Mar 8, 2022, 02:25 PM
 
Interesting! Thank you!

I’m even one step further removed because I don’t know how to drive a manual. Unlike motorcycles, I’ve tried it a few times, but I definitely don’t know how.
     
subego
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Sep 13, 2022, 02:51 PM
 
Alexa elected to tell me she can set a reminder so I don’t forget to do something during this “busy time of year”.

Is mid-September a notable busy time of year?
     
Thorzdad
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Sep 13, 2022, 03:25 PM
 
It’s just marketing language. It’s Amazon trying to position Alexa in your mind as a helpful assistant.
     
subego
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Sep 13, 2022, 03:36 PM
 
For whatever reason, when Alexa says dumb shit that makes no sense it puts in my mind she’s the opposite of a helpful assistant.

Instead of asking me if I want her to do stuff, I’d rather she’d put that effort into figuring out what a dew point is. At the very least give me a “don’t point, it’s not polite”.
     
reader50
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Sep 13, 2022, 05:01 PM
 
September is traditionally when the school year starts, so parents will find it busy. However, most schools now start in late August. And some use year-around tracks, so individual kids may start their school year in any quarter.
     
subego
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Sep 13, 2022, 05:10 PM
 
That was my one thought, which brings up another example of Alexa’s artificially stupidity.

It’s not like I hide the fact I don’t have children from Alexa.

Even if I did, at 1:30 on a Tuesday I’m the opposite of busy because the little shits aren’t in my hair. Way to kill my wine buzz, Alexa.
     
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Sep 14, 2022, 12:36 PM
 
Alexa, please shuttle my kid back and forth from the high school for me, kthxbye
     
Thorzdad
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Sep 14, 2022, 01:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by andi*pandi View Post
Alexa, please shuttle my kid back and forth from the high school for me, kthxbye
~ Calling...That guy in the old van with “Help me find my lost puppy” on the side...
     
subego
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Sep 14, 2022, 01:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by andi*pandi View Post
Alexa, please shuttle my kid back and forth from the high school for me, kthxbye
No school bus?
     
andi*pandi
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Sep 14, 2022, 02:27 PM
 
School lets out early on wednesdays for... reasons, but there are still later afterschool activities to schlep back there for.
     
subego
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Sep 14, 2022, 02:56 PM
 
My high school had a schedule where any given period was only 4 days a week.

There were two periods after lunch, so that meant we got to leave early two days a week.

Friday was one of those days, and my senior year I made that last one a free period so I got to split at noon.
     
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Sep 19, 2022, 08:42 PM
 
When did extremely brief cocktail dresses and "I charge by the hour" heels become "business dress" for women? Seriously.

I saw it in more than one kind of situation, more often than not a skilled nursing facility (nursing home). Where I had the experience of interacting with the firm's business office, the marketers were women who (supposedly) were quite attractive, and they would universally wear what seemed perfect clothes for a "girls night in Vegas". Or for making a bunch of cash on the side (or back, or knees, or whatever).

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
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Sep 20, 2022, 07:18 AM
 
Careful, don’t get cancelled now.

If you hadn’t noticed, the younger set is wearing a lot less clothing these days in general. Something something about everyone’s ability to maintain professionalism and do your job whilst horny af.

Wait till you see the new military uniforms…hoooooboy
     
Laminar
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Sep 20, 2022, 09:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
When did extremely brief cocktail dresses and "I charge by the hour" heels become "business dress" for women? Seriously.

I saw it in more than one kind of situation, more often than not a skilled nursing facility (nursing home). Where I had the experience of interacting with the firm's business office, the marketers were women who (supposedly) were quite attractive, and they would universally wear what seemed perfect clothes for a "girls night in Vegas". Or for making a bunch of cash on the side (or back, or knees, or whatever).
Your insistence on repeatedly calling women prostitutes because they're dressed in a way they feel comfortable probably deserves some introspection. They're comfortable, they're happy, what business is it of yours? I guess at least you're being blatant about it instead of dog-whistling about "professionalism" or "acceptable workplace wear."
     
subego
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Sep 20, 2022, 12:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
comfortable
comfortable
Yeah, umm… try on some 8” heels and get back to me.
     
Laminar
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Sep 20, 2022, 01:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Yeah, umm… try on some 8” heels and get back to me.
"Comfortable" meaning, "they're okay with the decisions that they've made for themselves." Also, not having seen the shoes in question, I'm going to assume they're far less scandalous than Glenn's interpretation.

My BIL also likes to complain about how "girls these days" all dress like "total skanks" because some of them occasionally show some midriff. Let them do what they want, it's not up to them to please your delicate sensibilities.
     
subego
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Sep 20, 2022, 01:39 PM
 
I understood. I just found it amusing we were talking about being comfortable wearing something that’s really, really not. Bonus points for what “comfortable shoes” implies.

Should either Glenn or your BIL want to hire me as their attorney, I would tell the court my clients poorly phrased their disapproval of the pressure society puts on women to cater to the male gaze.
     
Laminar
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Sep 20, 2022, 04:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I understood. I just found it amusing we were talking about being comfortable wearing something that’s really, really not. Bonus points for what “comfortable shoes” implies.

Should either Glenn or your BIL want to hire me as their attorney, I would tell the court my clients poorly phrased their disapproval of the pressure society puts on women to cater to the male gaze.
And the obvious response is that at no point have either of them expressed any concern for society's puritanical roots or ingrained misogyny, though they have shown patterns of supporting and benefiting from existing power structures.
     
 
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