riddler

The people doing that study have obviously never done a threesome. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Dan-O loved to jump. He put passion into teaching, and I think he was one of the better AFF ground-school teachers (better than myself, at least) at Mile Hi. I don't think you'll find anyone who has anything negative to say about his enthusiasm and optimism. He always had a friendly smile and kind words for other jumpers. I'll always remember doing coaching with him, and teaching ground school with him. He was looking forward to getting his AFFI rating. I'm not happy about what happened, but he died doing what he loved the most. Blue skies, brother Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Eels are extraordinarily durable and have been able to survive in brackish water for very long periods. I have no doubt that one could survive a few days or maybe even weeks in fresh water, but I don't think the original article claimed that it came from the lake - it may have been dragged by a raccoon out of someone's fish tank. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Dogs' noses are quite sensitive, with many nerve endings. Biting a dog on the nose is a good way to hurt them and make them pay attention if they are attacking. Another good way is to stick your finger up their anus True stuff. My mom was a mail carrier for 30 years, and she had dog attack training every year. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Depends on who you listen to. On Judaism it was Gabriel that spoke through the burning bush to Moses. He (or she) was impersonating God's voice, I guess. I do that sometimes with my co-workers, call them on the phone with a fake voice that sounds kinda like the boss - "I need you to come in and work this weekend", or "just wanted to tell you I've always had the hots for you." Gabriel was hampered a bit by the fact that there were no telephones, so he had to hide behind a dried sage. The fire was just a pre-modern ring-tone. Word is that God was PO'd at first, but forgave Gabriel when he realized the burning bush was a pretty good tele-com strategy, and had plans to roll out an initial cell at Mount Horeb. But then AT&T was spawned from Hell, started a competing "Goat-singing-messenger" (GSM) service, and the burning bushes couldn't compete. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I'll go with Moray or other eel - dried up, flattened a bit, chewed on considerably. No idea how it could be there - maybe an aquarium pet that got dumped into a lake by someone that didn't know any different? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

BTW, I've found this is a great way to get rid of the coins you get from overseas. You know, the funny change that banks don't exchange back to your own currency? Works best if you don't give it to them, but drop it in their cups. If they hold out their hands, you can usually distract them with fast-talk long enough to make a getaway before they see what you've given them. Panhandlers are a REAL problem in downtown Denver. I've been physically threatened by a few and cornered inside stores. Maybe it's because I give them foreign change Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

From what I know, the look of the food has more to do with other factors, such as packaging and shipping methods. In the case of many fruits and vegetables, like apples, melons, grapefruit, peaches, oranges, rutabagas, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes, the conventional ones are waxed to replace the natural wax coating that is damaged by washing at the factory. Many organic farms refuse to wax their fruits and veggies, and so when you see them a week later in the store, they won't have the same new shine that the waxed ones do. The organic food standards distinguish between artificial fertilizer and natural fertilizer. And for good reason. The effect of artificial fertilizer on humans is not understood, but there is a definite environmental impact. Farms can lose sustainability over time from the use of artificial fertilizer. Yes, I do. If a farmer has been using pesticides their entire lives because that's what their fathers did, and their fathers used pesticides their entire lives because chemical companies promised larger yields (which apparently didn't happen), then they are going to be reluctant to change those practices. That's human nature - we've always been doing it this way, we don't want to risk change, and we can't commit to doing something better. Not many farmers can risk an entire year's crop to try changing that practice. But this is one of the few times that consumers can make a difference with informed choices. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Most people I talk to are already aware that pesticides applied to our food sources equate to health risks. For instance, pesticides are linked to Parkinson's disease and cancer. How much good has come from the use of pesticides? Although pesticides are used for a variety of reasons, such as mosquito control, the largest use by far is still for preventing crop loss from insects. But are pesticides effective in preventing crop loss? According to David Pimentel, the answer is no, at least on a large scale. Here is a summary of some of his findings: - Although the use of synthetic pesticides has increased 33-fold since 1942, more of the U.S. food supply is lost to pests today (an estimated 37%) than in the 1940s (31%). Losses attributed to insects almost doubled (from 7% to 13%) despite a 10-fold increase in the use of synthetic insecticides. - The estimated environmental, health, and social costs of pesticide use in the United States range from $4 to $10 billion per year. The International Food Policy Research Institute puts the estimate much higher, at $100-200 billion per year, or $5-10 in damages for every dollar spent on pesticides. Things you can do if you're tired of being poisoned for no apparent reason: - Check food labels on produce that you buy. If the sticker number on your fruits and veggies starts with a 9, then it is classified as organic (but organic classifications vary, so be aware). If it starts with a 4 or 3, then it is classified as conventional, which means pesticides may have been applied (safe to say in most cases that they have been considering the volume of usage). If it starts with an 8, then it is genetically engineered (it's pretty rare to find this on any produce anymore - no one wants to admit to it). - Talk to the grocer. You see them stocking the fruits and veggies - spend a minute or two and tell them about how you refuse to buy the conventional produce. Ask them if they know where the food came from, and if they trust the grower. - If you're really passionate, write your politicians. You can bet the people that make pesticides are talking to them as well. You may not be able to put as much money in their pockets, but if they hear at least one contrary opinion, they may think twice. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Lol. Gotta concur. Also, my research indicates sex is better with redheads, both in quantity and quality. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Something about speed stars has always reminded me of a Demolition Derby. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not quite. Whereas wolf is a direct ancestor of today's common dog, Homo-Erectus is not a direct ancestor of Homo-Sapiens. Homo-Erectus is a cousin - it was a species that died out (or more likely were eradicated by competitors) without evolving. Human ancestory. But Orangatans are cousins too. Once again - different species. Fire. Not a human discovery. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

What are you talking about - didn't you know they came to Denver just a few months ago? Tull; one of my favorite rock bands. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I love the taste of cheese. I hate the fact that I'm addicted to it. No joke. Cheese is addictive. Casomorphin. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

There's a growing movement in the environmental agenda called True Cost Economics which incorporates the environmental, health and societal impact of production. Although it has the ring of Chinese Economic Reform, it is interesting to see all the cost factors associated with the after-market. Edit - but I guess the thread is really diverging. The point wasn't to talk about whether eating meat is good or bad. I don't think anyone has the right to tell anyone else how to eat, and I'm not about to. The point was to ask the question: If the US government feels that it is better for it's citizens to eat certain portions of different foods, why are it's financial policies so skewed toward one or two specific industries? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

AT&T sucks ass. And I have three phones with them, so I can say that with some authority They gave me a free blackberry when the lawsuit was threatening to shut blackberry down - how could I say no? I also have two iPhones, and you only get one choice (unless you want to try to hack them, but who has time?). When I tried to port my home phone number to them, it took four weeks and 10 phone calls. They also lie. Adverts saying "fewest dropped calls". I've had T-mobile, Verizon, Qwest, and I'll testify that I hardly ever had a dropped call with any of them. AT&T drops calls from all of my phones a couple times per week. What do they think - by spending millions on advertising, that we'll believe the opposite of what we experience? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Something about his books really make them stick in my head - maybe it's just that the ideas are so original. Songs of Distant Earth was a pretty good novel, although Clarke angered a lot of Sci-Fi fans by stating both in the forward and the novel itself that extra-terrestrial life does not exist. His rationale is that if E.T. did exist, we would have discovered them by now. In the article linked in the first post states that geo-synch orbits are called Clarke Orbits. Maybe some people do, but I worked in astronautics for some years, and helped launch near-earth, polar and geo-sync orbits, and I never once heard the latter called a Clarke Orbit. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

\ A previous poster had the theory that they sell the burgers in the US at a loss to bring people in, while at the same time marking up the fries and drinks. But this is the same company - just in a different country. Why don't they use the same marketing? Maybe a better explanation is that Europe doesn't subsidize ingredients made in the US. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

***You're pretty out of touch with the current state of the United States food production system if you think there's much of a chance that the average vegetable you buy in your grocery store was grown a few miles from you.*** Well, I'm not an expert in this area for sure, but no I don't think the average vegetable is grown close to the consumers. I do actually talk to the grocers that stock the fruits and veggies - the one two days ago was telling me about his grandchildren and what color they painted the baby room

I agree. The government should subsidize food for it's people. It worked for the Romans, and it works today. But I gotta wonder, since they spend 250 times more on meat and dairy than on veggies, if they spent the money on vegetables instead, how much more food could we make available for the people? 100 times more? At least. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That was interesting - I was replying to your text about the bread in the Big Mac making up for the meat, and the message completely changed. First time I've seen that on a reply. Anyway, the new reply is also interesting, so I'll respond to that instead. I'm not convinced that the cost of a salad is entirely market-driven. Buy the ingredients for a salad from the grocery store, and you won't find an astronomical price difference from buying a salad from a store or restaurant. Sure, there's a markup, and it may be 100% (or only 50%) increase, but the cost of the ingrediants are also high. It would still be $4-$5 for ingrediants, vs the $1 Big Mac. Why is the cost of vegetables, which take far less time, far fewer resources and maybe even grown just a few miles away from you significantly higher than something that has parts manufactured in eight different cities (meat, cheese, bread, oil, salt, et al), shipped by truck halfway across the country, cooked by teenagers and advertised to death? Who really pays for your Bic Mac? It's likely that taxpayers put more money into it than you did. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ever wonder why a decent salad costs $6-$8, when you can get a Bic Mac for $1? See the attached pic. The pyramid on the right shows the FDA recommendations for a balanced diet (grains and veggies taking up most of the pyramid, while proteins and sugars make up the top part). The pyramid on the left shows government subsidies for agriculture from 1995 to 2005. The US government gave most of it's cash subsidies to meat and dairy (73.8%), and vegetables got a measly 0.37% of the funds. So now you know. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Looking forward to this movie. I have the animated cartoon on DVD (side 2 of the Grinch, with Boris Karloff). Also, check out the bookstores - they have a really great pop-up Horton book on the shelves. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not. The DJs on the music channels are allowed to promote things themselves. Saying that XM is commercial free is like saying if you watch static long enough, you can see a picture in it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've heard people say this before. Montana's statistics look amazing because he was part of Bill Walsh's west coast offense for such a long time, and before defenses figured out how to defend against it. The west coast offense favored short passing plays, with the highest percentage of success, which makes the QB look like a superstar. It's really too hard to say who is/was the best quarterback - I don't even think that statement can be qualified in any way, shape or form. Of course, growing up in Denver, I though John Elway was the best QB. Mike Shannahan was a student of Walsh's west coast offense and became the head coach of the Denver Broncos (who won two Superbowls with it), but Holmgren won one with Green Bay using it as well. So Elway's statistics looked pretty good, just like Montana and Favre because of the west coast offense. I don't think any quarterback was better at come-from-behind victories as Elway (which says something about the rest of his team ), few had a stronger arm or could escape the pocket as well. But all the good QBs had things they were great at - it's probably best to say they were all talented, and there was no single best QB. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD