Random randomness

[stessier]

Got some new cheap polarized sunglasses. They came with this little credit card thing that has a pic on it. If you look at it with the glasses on you see little cars in the pic. no glasses no cars. Supposed to show they are polarized. Well looking at my monitor with them on I see so much less on it too. Its weird. Its a filtering effect. Almost see nothing at certain angles.

LCD monitors have film in them that columnates the light and many have a polarizer as well.

[Jaymann]

I know there's going to be a technical explanation for this, but I'm going to complain about it anyway. How is it that my credit card/digital wallet purchase can be processed in seconds, but for an error to be refunded "it could take 5-10 business days"?? The account credit is always instant of course.

Because breathers get involved? They get breaks, lunch breaks, HR presentations, sensitivity training, vacations, holidays and sick time, you know. And after all that they need to thoughtfully deliberate on the merits of your claim, and determine if there was any malfeasance. You're lucky it doesn't take a month.

Oh, and they get to keep your money while they hem and haw. Multiply that by a few billion transactions...

[Max Peck]

The one time in recent memory where I needed to request a refund (from Amazon, for a shipment that was either delivered to the wrong address or stolen), I was told that it would take 3-5 business days but the credit was made to my account by the close of business on the same day that I contacted customer service. Just because they're allowed to take that long doesn't mean that they will actually do so.

[Daehawk]

Its in the 40s outside today and no wind but it feels icy. It feels much colder than lately when it was in the 30s to near 20. Brrrr.

[hitbyambulance]

Got some new cheap polarized sunglasses. They came with this little credit card thing that has a pic on it. If you look at it with the glasses on you see little cars in the pic. no glasses no cars. Supposed to show they are polarized. Well looking at my monitor with them on I see so much less on it too. Its weird. Its a filtering effect. Almost see nothing at certain angles.

try looking at the surface of a lake on a sunny day with them on, and then rotate your view 90 degrees. it's kinda trippy

[Holman]

I was on the exercise bike today, and after about 30 minutes I stood up on the pedals to readjust myself and realized that I had *no* feeling whatsoever in my groinal region. It was almost a minute before I got any sense there back. It was creepy: I actually pinched the skin pretty hard and felt absolutely nothing.

All is OK now, but I have to imagine this can't be healthy.

The seat is pretty well padded, and in fact I was wearing padded biking shorts too. I never have this problem on a real bike. I guess I should... sit on a cushion or something?

[wonderpug]

I guess I should... sit on a cushion or something?

Definitely. Sitting straight on the pole is just asking for trouble.

[disarm]

I guess I should... sit on a cushion or something?

Definitely. Sitting straight on the pole is just asking for trouble.

A cushion won't help because this really doesn't have much to do with padding. You need to adjust your riding position so that you're not putting all your weight so far forward on your perineum. Even when leaning forward on the handlebars, you should still be putting your weight primarily on your butt. Right now, it sounds like you're leaning too far forward and compressing the nerves under your man parts. The best place to start is by raising your handlebars.

[Paingod]

You need to adjust your riding position so that you're not putting all your weight so far forward on your perineum. Even when leaning forward on the handlebars, you should still be putting your weight primarily on your butt. Right now, it sounds like you're leaning too far forward and compressing the nerves under your man parts. The best place to start is by raising your handlebars.

My bike has a nice seat that's split down the middle, so my pelvic bones rest on the back padding, but the softer nerve centers in the middle don't get crushed. It's a good seat that's saved me from having a numb groin on long rides. Similar to this but a different brand.

[Holman]

I guess I should... sit on a cushion or something?

Definitely. Sitting straight on the pole is just asking for trouble.

A cushion won't help because this really doesn't have much to do with padding. You need to adjust your riding position so that you're not putting all your weight so far forward on your perineum. Even when leaning forward on the handlebars, you should still be putting your weight primarily on your butt. Right now, it sounds like you're leaning too far forward and compressing the nerves under your man parts. The best place to start is by raising your handlebars.

There's something about this exercise bike.

I can go for hour+ rides on my street bike and never have this problem, but the indoor bike has a shape that pulls me forward. I have the seat at the correct height for my legs and the handlebars as high as they can go, but I still have trouble seating correctly.

I'll work on it.

[Isgrimnur]

Spoiler:

You can cook a chicken by slapping it at 3725.95 mph, an impossible task by any human means.
If you do succeed however, you will not only cook the chicken but also decimate its entire structure, causing a violent explosion.

This is a simulation of the slap using FEA.

[Holman]

Doesn't that dry it out, though?

[wonderpug]

Doesn't that dry it out, though?

That's why you slap some sauce on it after cooking.

[Holman]

Doesn't that dry it out, though?

That's why you slap some sauce on it after cooking.

Doesn't that vaporize the sauce, though?

[stessier]

That's why you always brine it first.

[Holman]

That's why you always brine plasma it first.

[Daehawk]

"I have all the money I'll ever need, if I die by 4:00." Henny Youngman.

[Hrdina]

I don't often read the stuff in my spam folder, but this one was entertaining. It sounded almost like a press release from the DPRK or something.

Some interesting quotes:

Meanwhile, after due scrutiny and verification, I confirmed that you have fulfilled all the necessary obligations that will enable the release of your payment to you, but yet your payment was not released to you due to one flimsy excuses or the other from the Bank officials in charge of your payment, because they had the intention of diverting your funds to their private accounts in order to satisfy their selfish interest.

You are however lucky that we the management of the US Federal Reserve Bank detected their evil plans and therefore call for the submission of your payment file to us so we can personally handle the payment assignment to ensure that you receive your funds accordingly.

[Blackhawk]

I was just cleaning out the closet and came across my old Pentax K1000 (purchased in 1989.) I took photography classes with it in both high school and college, but haven't touched it in decades. It seems to be in working order, but I have no idea where I'd even find film for it these days. And honestly, I'm not a pro. There's nothing I'd do with it if I had film that I couldn't do with my phone. Admittedly, I seriously miss the manual settings (F-stop, aperture, focus), but I'd never use it.

Anyway, inside the bag I found a spent roll of 35mm ISO 400 film, 24 exposures. I have no idea what's on it, or if I just wound it up to take it out before I stored the camera. So, do I pay this shipping and processing to have it sent off to a site that still develops it, risking that it's just a roll of blank film? It's not like I have access to a darkroom (or that I'd remember the process after 30 years.)

[Jaymann]

I don't often read the stuff in my spam folder, but this one was entertaining. It sounded almost like a press release from the DPRK or something.

Some interesting quotes:

Meanwhile, after due scrutiny and verification, I confirmed that you have fulfilled all the necessary obligations that will enable the release of your payment to you, but yet your payment was not released to you due to one flimsy excuses or the other from the Bank officials in charge of your payment, because they had the intention of diverting your funds to their private accounts in order to satisfy their selfish interest.

You are however lucky that we the management of the US Federal Reserve Bank detected their evil plans and therefore call for the submission of your payment file to us so we can personally handle the payment assignment to ensure that you receive your funds accordingly.

My favorite part, and their rationale for the theft: in order to satisfy their selfish interest

[Daehawk]

Walgreens. $15 for 24 exposures. I remember in the 90s the cost was like $5.

CVS too.

Actually we always used Eckards. But its gone now.

[Unagi]

Spoiler:

You can cook a chicken by slapping it at 3725.95 mph, an impossible task by any human means.
If you do succeed however, you will not only cook the chicken but also decimate its entire structure, causing a violent explosion.

This is a simulation of the slap using FEA.

Who slaps a chicken, breast side down !?

[Daehawk]

Well that would be a butt slap. What are you, some kinda titty slapper?

[Daehawk]

David Hasselhoff Is Auctioning Off His Personal KITT Car From Knight Rider


One of the Iconic ‘A-Team’ Vans Is Heading to Auction


Dont care for the two tone paint on the van. Yes its typical of the 1980s but the show van was black with trim not two tone with trim.

[stessier]

Spoiler:

You can cook a chicken by slapping it at 3725.95 mph, an impossible task by any human means.
If you do succeed however, you will not only cook the chicken but also decimate its entire structure, causing a violent explosion.

This is a simulation of the slap using FEA.

Who slaps a chicken, breast side down !?

That's how it starts, then you flip it over half way through the cooking time.

[Blackhawk]

David Hasselhoff Is Auctioning Off His Personal KITT Car From Knight Rider


One of the Iconic ‘A-Team’ Vans Is Heading to Auction


Dont care for the two tone paint on the van. Yes its typical of the 1980s but the show van was black with trim not two tone with trim.

No sir! I'm afraid that the TV version was black and silver two tone. I didn't believe it when I heard it, either. It was hard to see in the show due to the limitations of TVs back then, the a fact that it was always moving, and that it was so shiny, but if you watch carefully, you can see it.

This clip, for instance. Especially at the end:

[Unagi]

Spoiler:

You can cook a chicken by slapping it at 3725.95 mph, an impossible task by any human means.
If you do succeed however, you will not only cook the chicken but also decimate its entire structure, causing a violent explosion.

This is a simulation of the slap using FEA.

Who slaps a chicken, breast side down !?

That's how it starts, then you flip it over half way through the cooking time.

That’s a clap.

[Daehawk]

[Max Peck]

The A-Team Van

The black and metallic grey GMC Vandura van used by the A-Team, with its characteristic red stripe, black and red turbine mag wheels, and rooftop spoiler, has become an enduring pop culture icon. One of the original six vans used for the show is displayed in the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, northern England. The GMC Vandura used on the A-Team movie was also on display at the 2010 New York International Auto Show.

Early examples of the van had a red GMC logo on the front grille, and an additional GMC logo on the rear left door. Early in the second season, these logos were blacked out, although GMC continued to supply vans and receive a credit on the closing credits of each episode.

It is a common error that the van is said to be all-black, whereas in fact the section above the red stripe is metallic gray; this error was even continued on most toy models of the van. The angle of the rear spoiler can also be seen to vary on different examples of the van within the series. Additionally, some versions of the van have a sunroof, whereas others, typically those used for stunts (and including the one displayed in the aforementioned Cars of the Stars Motor Museum) do not. This led to continuity errors in some episodes, such as in the third season's "The Bells Of St. Mary's", in a scene where (the double of) Face jumps from a building onto the roof of the van. There is clearly no sunroof. Moments later, in an interior studio shot, Face climbs in through the sunroof. Also, in many stunts where the van would surely be totaled, other makes have been used, such as a black Ford Econoline with red hubcaps painted to simulate the original red turbine mag wheels.

A number of devices were seen in the back of the van in different episodes, including a mini printing press ("Pros and Cons"), an audio surveillance recording device ("A Small And Deadly War"), and Hannibal's disguise kits in various episodes.

[Holman]

I hate to think that someone spent more than thirty seconds fretting over continuity errors in The A-Team, but I guess that's what the internet is really for.

[Hrdina]

David Hasselhoff Is Auctioning Off His Personal KITT Car From Knight Rider


One of the Iconic ‘A-Team’ Vans Is Heading to Auction


Dont care for the two tone paint on the van. Yes its typical of the 1980s but the show van was black with trim not two tone with trim.

No sir! I'm afraid that the TV version was black and silver two tone. I didn't believe it when I heard it, either. It was hard to see in the show due to the limitations of TVs back then, the a fact that it was always moving, and that it was so shiny, but if you watch carefully, you can see it.

This clip, for instance. Especially at the end:

...or at about 5:40 from this clip:

[Daehawk]

I miss those shows and those days.

[Z-Corn]

I hate to think that someone spent more than thirty seconds fretting over continuity errors in The A-Team, but I guess that's what the internet is really for.

Shut up Murdock!

[Daehawk]

Rumor is that Save A Lot...the biggest discount generic food store in my town....has been sold. Also rumor is it sold to a place called Harry's. They have bought up a lot of convenience stores in town..old 7/11s and such. Not a fan though not been much. All I really know about Harry's is we had fun poking fun at their name...Harry Food Store. So not sure what will happen now when the final switch over happens. IF all this is true.

Just another nail in my fuck you world coffin. Its the one we always shopped at for the last 30+ years. I still go.

[dbt1949]

Denmark debuts new children's TV show about a man with a huge and uncontrollable penis

Real headlines on Yahoo right now.

[$iljanus]

Denmark debuts new children's TV show about a man with a huge and uncontrollable penis

Real headlines on Yahoo right now.

Ummm, I’ll take your word for it since I don’t think I’ll be doing a search for “children’s show huge uncontrollable penis”...

[dbt1949]

Another story about it is on CNN and AlJazeera.

[Blackhawk]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/europe/d ... index.html

Um...

Spoiler:

[Paingod]

I don't keep in touch with my extended family much. I more or less wrote them off when I moved out of my mother's house at age 17. I think I've seen a couple of them a handful of times in the last 25 years, and not in a "good to see you" capacity. Family gatherings were always tense affairs, sometimes ending in bitter arguments and even once a non-humorous food fight. These are not people I wanted in my life.

I've been vaguely aware, through my mother, that there have been some serious health issues with them lately. Yesterday she let me know 2021 was going to be a bad year.

One aunt is literally hours from death as I type this, dying of pneumonia. Another may not last the month and is in hospice. A third has been told she has maybe 6 months to live by her doctors (she's destroyed her body with alcohol). My mother is about to lose all three of her older sisters in one year. She'll be left with just her younger brother, who she's not on speaking terms with due to his political inclinations.

I'm not sure what to do with this. I feel like I'm supposed to be more broken up over this news than I am. I feel badly for her, but these people are all complete strangers to me and I would have no intention of attending funerals for them even if COVID wasn't an issue. Hearing that they're likely to die in short order has had no impact on me at all, or at least nothing greater than hearing about anyone else who might die.

What are the normal social standards around dealing with the death of family members you have no connection to?

[dbt1949]

I have no idea of the status of my extended family. I don't even remember their names. I'm talking cousins here mostly because my aunts and uncles are all dead....probably.
Generally speaking I wish them all well but really don't care one way or the other.