xkcd

by **cypherspace** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:58 pm UTC

Today I learned that getting up early is overrated.

by **Wanderingcowboy** » Tue May 27, 2008 2:00 pm UTC

Today while browsing the xkcd fora I learned that "Tuesday" is named for the Norse god "Tyr". Crazy place, huh?
(Thanks Bandersnatch!)

by **btilly** » Tue May 27, 2008 2:22 pm UTC

Fearbears?! wrote:
Friday: I learned that I could make good pancakes with eggbeaters instead of eggs, and they would have less cholesterol.

... I am going to assume that we have very different definitions of 'eggbeaters'.

Eggbeaters is the brand name of a fake egg that is made from egg whites by adding various minerals to make them taste more like egg. They are usable as an egg substitute in any place where you'd beat eggs, hence the name.

the_bandersnatch wrote:Today I learned that today (Tuesday) is named after the ancient Norse god Týr, who was one of the foremost gods of their pantheon before being somewhat relegated to the sidelines by Odin, Thor and the rest. The legends about him losing his hand to the wolf Fenrir also seem to be the basis for Tolkien's story of Beren and him losing his hand to Sauron in wolf-form.

Ah yes, the Norse god of War. If you know any Romance languages you'll realize that their name for Tuesday is based on Mars, which is the Roman version of the same god. The parallel goes for the other days of the week. For instance in French lundi = Luna's day, mardi = Mars' day, mercredi = Mercury's day, jeudi = Jupiter's day, vendredi = Venus' day. In English that's monday = Moon's day, tuesday = Tyr's day, wednesday = Wotan (aka Odin)'s day, thursday = Thor's day, friday = Frey/Freya's day. I have no idea why the parallel does not hold for the weekend, but it doesn't.

If this leads you to conclude that Odin started off as a variation of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, you would be right. For some reason this surprises a lot of people.

by **the_bandersnatch** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:20 pm UTC

Wanderingcowboy wrote:Today while browsing the xkcd fora I learned that "Tuesday" is named for the Norse god "Tyr". Crazy place, huh?

You're welcome! It's good to learn [/bob hoskins voice]

btilly wrote:If this leads you to conclude that Odin started off as a variation of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, you would be right. For some reason this surprises a lot of people.

I didn't know that. Learning all round today!

by **cypherspace** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:25 pm UTC

btilly wrote:
Fearbears?! wrote:
Friday: I learned that I could make good pancakes with eggbeaters instead of eggs, and they would have less cholesterol.

... I am going to assume that we have very different definitions of 'eggbeaters'.

Eggbeaters is the brand name of a fake egg that is made from egg whites by adding various minerals to make them taste more like egg. They are usable as an egg substitute in any place where you'd beat eggs, hence the name.

It's a fake egg that's made from eggs?! You learn something new every day...

Today I learned that you can make fake eggs from real eggs. I did not learn the point of this exercise, though.

by **cyberia** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:00 pm UTC

I learned that it takes far longer to get to Oakleigh than I expected.

I also learned that it's worth waiting all night for that one moment where you really connect with someone.

by **btilly** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:22 pm UTC

cypherspace wrote:
btilly wrote:
Fearbears?! wrote:
Friday: I learned that I could make good pancakes with eggbeaters instead of eggs, and they would have less cholesterol.

... I am going to assume that we have very different definitions of 'eggbeaters'.

Eggbeaters is the brand name of a fake egg that is made from egg whites by adding various minerals to make them taste more like egg. They are usable as an egg substitute in any place where you'd beat eggs, hence the name.
It's a fake egg that's made from eggs?! You learn something new every day...

Today I learned that you can make fake eggs from real eggs. I did not learn the point of this exercise, though.

The point would be that the fake eggs have no cholesterol. The value of that will become apparent if you ever have people living in your household with heart problems...

by **hipp5** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:33 pm UTC

They're not really *fake* eggs. They're generally the egg whites with some other stuff added.

by **btilly** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:54 pm UTC

hipp5 wrote:They're not really *fake* eggs. They're generally the egg whites with some other stuff added.

Didn't I already say that at viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22911&start=40#p684208? And they're fake in the sense that they aren't whole eggs, but you can use them instead of whole eggs.

by **hipp5** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:29 pm UTC

btilly wrote:
hipp5 wrote:They're not really *fake* eggs. They're generally the egg whites with some other stuff added.

Didn't I already say that at viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22911&start=40#p684208? And they're fake in the sense that they aren't whole eggs, but you can use them instead of whole eggs.

Meh. So you did.

by **cypherspace** » Tue May 27, 2008 6:58 pm UTC

Today I learnt the point of using fake eggs made from real eggs.

by **DaMullet** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:11 pm UTC

That I am a poor judge of:
a) distance
b) character
c) fault in traffic accidents.

by **btilly** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:13 pm UTC

DaMullet wrote:That I am a poor judge of:
a) distance
b) character
c) fault in traffic accidents.

Sounds expensive.

by **nsmjohn** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:29 pm UTC

Last night I learned that my roommate is capable of losing contact with everyone and get completely lost, while driving in California, for 24 hours.

Roommate left at 8pm Sunday and was supposed to rendezvous with one of our friends somewhere in the mountains at like midnight. I get a call around noon Monday from our friend asking me if I had heard from him or the two guys he was with; I hadn't. He had waited at the rendezvous until 4am but never saw him. Sometime around 10pm Monday night, after the parents had been notified (who then notified the Sheriff's deparment up there), my roommate and the two friends he was with were found with the car completely lost on some back road in the hills. I am giving him so much shit when he gets home tonight; he has been up there before.

by **Ramses IV** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:28 pm UTC

nsmjohn wrote:Last night I learned that my roommate is capable of losing contact with everyone and get completely lost, while driving in California, for 24 hours.

Roommate left at 8pm Sunday and was supposed to rendezvous with one of our friends somewhere in the mountains at like midnight. I get a call around noon Monday from our friend asking me if I had heard from him or the two guys he was with; I hadn't. He had waited at the rendezvous until 4am but never saw him. Sometime around 10pm Monday night, after the parents had been notified (who then notified the Sheriff's deparment up there), my roommate and the two friends he was with were found with the car completely lost on some back road in the hills. I am giving him so much shit when he gets home tonight; he has been up there before.

hehehe that's pretty funny.

Today I learned that my aunt's borther died of cancer on Sunday. I didn't even know he was sick! And I talked frequently with my aunt just recently too...

by **nsmjohn** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:50 pm UTC

Ramses IV wrote:
nsmjohn wrote:....

hehehe that's pretty funny.

Yeah, but unfortunately it was only funny after I found out he was ok.

Today I learned that I probably shouldn't drink coffee at 9pm when I plan on going to sleep at around midnight. Doesn't make for good sleep.

by **Pirate.Bondage** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:42 pm UTC

Today I learned what the GT stood for in "Mustang GT" [the car I want], and the R/T in "Dodge Charger R/T".

by **Cornelius** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:43 pm UTC

I should buy Godhand, Okami, and No More Heroes.

by **z4lis** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:01 am UTC

Lots of books look good but suck.

by **Punkrock Cowboy** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:36 am UTC

Today I learned that making a straight cut with no bevel using an oxy-acetylene torch requires three distinct variables to come together: pre-heat, speed, and torch tip distance from metal. And when one's off your whole cut is fucked and you have to do it all over again.

Yesterday I learned the subtle diffrences between nihilism and athiesm. Well, maybe they're not so subtle, but I couldn't honestly make an intelligent arguement about the differences before.

by **lazarus89** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:02 am UTC

Today I learned that sending a $250 million pool trade to the [clearing corporation] and not waiting for an acknowledgement costs $38,000 in overnight parking fees.

by **curious and questioning** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:16 am UTC

Today I learned how straightening irons work.
Coincidentally, my straightening iron may need some time with a screwdriver before it works again. If it works again.

by **Sprocket** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:13 am UTC

Today I learned then when I punch the wall in my room, it gets cracked, and Skippy worries about my sanity. I also learned that if you go out in a down pour without a bra guys in mail trucks will stare at you.

Punkrock Cowboy wrote:Yesterday I learned the subtle diffrences between nihilism and athiesm. Well, maybe they're not so subtle, but I couldn't honestly make an intelligent arguement about the differences before.

Nihilism is when you don't hold anything sacred and believe life is a big ball oh chaotic fuck all. Atheism is just where you don't believe in a higher power. You may still believe that there are reasons to have morals and such.

by **nyeguy** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:01 am UTC

Today I learned that scrabble is really hard to play when you have a Q, X, Y, J, B, M, and T, and there are no vowels you can play on both sides of.

by **Quixotess** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:23 am UTC

nyeguy wrote:Today I learned that scrabble is really hard to play when you have a Q, X, Y, J, B, M, and T, and there are no vowels you can play on both sides of.

Off the top of my head: ox, be, my, qi, ye, ax, bye, um. That's at least one for every vowel, just for you.

Today I learned that my friend Travis makes the world's best troll/gatekeeper/sinister old man impression. Not sure what you'd call it, it involved a lot of growling.

by **Cornelius** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:25 am UTC

I'm easily distraRABBIT Gee Willikers RABBIT

EDIT: no, seriously, I was doing my homework, and I went off on like eight random tangents, involving a flashlight, a fan connected to audio out, a click on/click off switch, and Linux apps.

by **Yuri2356** » Wed May 28, 2008 5:04 am UTC

Quixotess wrote:Today I learned that my friend Travis makes the world's best troll/gatekeeper/sinister old man impression. Not sure what you'd call it, it involved a lot of growling.

Torgo?

by **Quixotess** » Wed May 28, 2008 5:19 am UTC

I hadn't heard of Torgo until now. From what I see on Wikipedia, not quite. Less quavery, more...roary.

by **'; DROP DATABASE;--** » Wed May 28, 2008 5:20 am UTC

Today:
-A footlong sub isn't much more expensive than the 9" I usually get.
-The bus stops at the stop near work at 9:45 too.
-I can be a lot more pissed off without losing my temper than I ever would have thought (and indeed, a lot more than in the past).

Yesterday:
-A local pizza place is open until 2AM, and has decent prices on pop.
-It's possible to make Miis with fake cat ears, ones that look like Jesus/Hitler/etc, even ones with cars, letters, and penises for faces, with clever arrangement of the available facial features.

by **cyberia** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:18 am UTC

Today I learned that it is totally worth skipping work to hang out with friends in the city and spray silly-string at everything that moves.

by **Mmmm, Pi** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:42 am UTC

Today I learnt that I actually know more of the chemistry course then I thought I did. The fact that depending on what questions you chose you didn't actually have to do much organic chemistry really really helped.

by **stuck** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:20 pm UTC

I learnt that s234(e) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) doesn't make a lot of sense.

by **BattleMoose** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:06 pm UTC

Today I learnt that regardless of situations, things can always get worse, alot worse. And the weather was already inclement.

by **nsmjohn** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:18 pm UTC

Yesterday I learned that our best programmer is moving to a different agency.

Today I learned that two of my coworkers are planning on taking a job at another agency ASAP. We just lost our division chief, acting division chief, and direct supervisor (next in line to become acting division chief) in the past 5 months.

by **dracharys** » Wed May 28, 2008 5:08 pm UTC

Today I learned that there's a tree behind my house, it's not even a small one!

by **Durinthal** » Wed May 28, 2008 5:48 pm UTC

Today I learned the beginnings of PHP.

by **kriel** » Wed May 28, 2008 6:36 pm UTC

Today I learned...

... The value of self-motivation, among other things. Also, how much one little thing can make a whole avalanche of not-things happening. (... You get to put that in english.)

by **btilly** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:03 pm UTC

Today? That I know yet another person who was sexually abused.

Yesterday? That an old friend landed an apartment and is separating from his wife. (The separation is not a surprise, it has been coming for a decade. But I thought he wasn't going to be physically leaving for another couple of months.)

This is more drama than I am used to.

by **Bisyss** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:07 pm UTC

Today I learned that Foreign Insults Are The Best. (NWS)

"A thousand dicks in your religion!"

by **The Hyphenator** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:29 pm UTC

Today I learned that organizing your computer only makes it mad and stop working. I just wasted my afternoon.

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