Miscellany

[erimir]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I found Tim Brewer and Martin's Facebook profiles and am kind of surprised that they are exactly how they present themselves on as they appear to their friends and family. o.O

I always kind of thought they were kidding...

Not the case for Mark Dreher. He's even more of an asshole on Facebook.

[ceptimus]

Interesting BBC article.

BBC News - Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes

[SR71]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I found Tim Brewer and Martin's Facebook profiles and am kind of surprised that they are exactly how they present themselves on as they appear to their friends and family. o.O

I always kind of thought they were kidding...

I thought it was Tim Brewer serious, Martin playing along as the straight man...

freaky.

[viscousmemories]

I just noticed that the top 4 flicks Bill Murray is "known for" on IMDB were all released ~10 years apart. That's pretty neat.

Ghostbusters (1984)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

[LadyShea]

As part of my New Years resolution I am cleaning out some kitchen cabinets. I found 20 matching small glasses...like juice or on-the-rocks size. When and why I acquired them is a total mystery. 12 would be too many wtf am I doing with 20? Well 19 as of 5 minutes ago

[LadyShea]

There are two things really haunting me about those glasses

1. Since glasses are generally sold in multiples of four, I either bought 5 sets of 4 or 3 sets of eight and some got broked. I should have a memory corresponding to that, because it would be weird

2. It is likely these survived the purging for cross country movement. Meaning I decided I needed them, wrapped and packed them, then paid for them to get brought here

[ceptimus]

There was a time in the UK when they used to give away glasses at petrol (gas) stations whenever you filled up with fuel. I ended up with far too many of the damn things but I didn't want to throw 'good' glasses away - and I couldn't really give them away because everyone else had the same problem - so I ended up with cupboards stacked full of them.

It's been quite a few years ago now, and I've managed to break a fair few (it helps if you're not particularly careful with them) but I still have rather more than I really need.

[lisarea]

Is there a chance that your husband or even someone else put them there, or do you do 100% of domestic stuff like that? I could see, if they were nice glasses and on huge sale or something, just getting them and putting them into storage for when you need them.

I have spare glasses with CB radio related phrases on them, in case of emergencies involving that sort of thing. Not remembering them would be weird, though.

I demand a thorough investigation!

[LadyShea]

Hubby might have gotten them, but again I would have a memory of him bringing home 20 glasses. He wouldn't put them into the cabinets at all.

He says he remembers us getting a "case" of them somehow.

Anyway, I am giving my mom half a dozen or so. Oh and guess what else? She went through her cabinets and gave me a 3 bowl mixing set because I needed a second small Pyrex bowl and she didn't want to break up the set, and it turns out it is like a collector's dream set and a single bowl on eBay is worth 80.00! Then she brought over hot dip in a pretty opalescent casserole, and as I was washing it I thought I might steal it. I looked it up and that company stopped manufacturing in 1933...another collectible.

[ChuckF]

Hey, what kind of houseplant is this? I don't know for plants.

PLANT BIOGRAPHY: I moved during my second year of law school and the previous tenant left this plant in the apartment. When I moved in it hadn't had any water for at least a month or so, and had lost most of its leaves. I watered it, kind of hoping it was too far gone, but it came back, so now it's a permanent fixture. That was almost five years ago. I have re-potted it a couple of times and it seems pleased grow into a bigger pot every time. It loses a few leaves when the days get shorter. It doesn't flower. It's not an especially pretty plant, but it's a survivor and I feel obligated to it.



ETA: if you look in the bottom right corner you will see our fucking ingrate orchid.

[LadyShea]

That doesn't look like a normal houseplant. It's like a bush or ornamental tree. That's weird.

[ChuckF]

It's you. You don't look like a normal houseplant.

[BrotherMan]

[lisarea]

Stay where you are, Chuck. The police are on their way.

[ChuckF]

I'm eating it as fast as I can.

[livius drusus]

[The Lone Ranger]

The plant is an evergreen, I'm guessing? From the growth form and the leaves it sure as heck looks like a member of the genus Rhododendron -- not something that's usually potted and grown indoors.

If it is a Rhododendron, then it'll most-likely prefer acidic soil. What you really need, to identify it, is to see the flowers.

I'm assuming that the plant has never flowered? If it's a Rhododendron, that is likely because it hasn't received enough direct sun. Many Rhododendron species need at least some exposure to direct sun before they'll flower. If the plant spends most or all of its time in the shade, it has a somewhat spindly growth form -- rather like your plant, actually.

Letting it grow outdoors during the warmer months -- somewhere where it gets some direct sun for part of the day -- might encourage it to flower.

[ChuckF]

Thank you! If it's a rhododendron, would it be happier just living outdoors in the ground come the springtime? That would also free up some window real estate...

[The Lone Ranger]

Probably. It looks like it could be Rhododendron catawbiense, which is commonly grown (outdoors) as an ornamental. The species is native to the mountainous areas of the southeastern U.S.

I'd try putting it outdoors in the Spring, and letting it stay outdoors all the time. If it's okay with that, then put some mulch over the soil in the Fall, just to help protect the roots. Assuming it is R. catawbiense, the leaves will curl up in sub-freezing temperatures, but remain nice and green throughout the Winter.

Anyway, if it looks like it can tolerate the Winter temperatures, then I'd go ahead and plant it the next Spring. Rhododendrons do best in somewhat acidic soils, and if memory serves, they like some shade during the course of the day, but will do best if they get full sun for part of the day.

[lisarea]

Hey. So.

Where does the dancing banana come from?

Holy cats, there are a bunch of them. This one, I think:

I was trying to read some weird stuff about things I didn't understand about like British pop culture and things or whatever, and one of the articles, at the bottom, next to the Ghostery message about blocking comments, had the dancing banana next to it.

So I was just, "Eh, whatever. This does not affect my life!" all breezy like, but I lied. I LIED TO MYSELF! The worst kind of lie! Because here I am, a few hours out, after all the tabs are closed, fully resigned to not understanding that weird thing with the British pop culture, and I am still thinking about that dancing banana.

Who showed me that, and why? Was it on the main site? Did Ghostery put it there? Did it somehow leak out of the comment system?

[Crumb]

You've been haxxored.

[Ensign Steve]

IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!

[Crumb]

It's egg salad time!

[BrotherMan]

[curses]

I found a new project for Chuck that doesn't involve staplers.
Cheap DIY Microscope Sees Individual Atoms | Hackaday