Today I learned playwright Tom Stoppard (Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) is, according to Steven Spielberg, "pretty much responsible for every line of dialogue" in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
What have you learned today?
- Thread starter hanselthecaretaker
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Today I learned that League of Legends has an Esports group called the "North American Challengers League".
NACL. As in, the chemical composition of table salt.
I wish my clothes fit me as well as that name does anything related to LoL.
NACL. As in, the chemical composition of table salt.
I wish my clothes fit me as well as that name does anything related to LoL.
Took a while -
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www.sciencedaily.com
I netted the only woman in the world who doesn't like roses, so when I saw these illuminating tulips (her actual favorite flower,) I figured I was a shoo-in for Best Spontaneous Gift of he Year.
What I got nearly a MONTH later was this:
Not even a full dozen, vase not included, and instead of a gentle ambient glow at the base, it's a massive battery back requiring 3 AA batteries. I showed her the first picture as proof my intentions were good, but she got a decent laugh out of it anyway. Most "it's the thought that counts" gift I've ever bought in my life, this "made in China" bundle of shit.
What I got nearly a MONTH later was this:
Not even a full dozen, vase not included, and instead of a gentle ambient glow at the base, it's a massive battery back requiring 3 AA batteries. I showed her the first picture as proof my intentions were good, but she got a decent laugh out of it anyway. Most "it's the thought that counts" gift I've ever bought in my life, this "made in China" bundle of shit.
If you could turn back time, if you could find a way....
There has been multiple earth quakes in the US's western seaboard. My GIS professor thinks it's nuclear weapon's testing. I was of course panicking thinking my assignment was wrong as there was too much input lag between various parts of my dashboard.
I recently learned that Czechoslovakia no longer exists and is actually now (meaning +30 years ago) two separate countries, Czechia and Slovakia. That distinction has existed since the "Velvet Divorce" in 1993 where the two countries split apart. I'd like to blame the American educational system, but this feels like something I should have learned incidentally in over 30 years since it happened. In fact, it was while watching tennis and trying to identify the flags of the myriad players from Czechia and Slovakia that I learned the two countries made up the only country I recognized which the entire world hasn't recognized in nearly 3/4ths of my lifetime. 
Sorta there with you, in that I have that "Hang on, what are the names now?" moment when thinking of places beginning with Czec, and am unlikely to think of the right answer the first go.I recently learned that Czechoslovakia no longer exists and is actually now (meaning +30 years ago) two separate countries, Czechia and Slovakia. That distinction has existed since the "Velvet Divorce" in 1993 where the two countries split apart. I'd like to blame the American educational system, but this feels like something I should have learned incidentally in over 30 years since it happened. In fact, it was while watching tennis and trying to identify the flags of the myriad players from Czechia and Slovakia that I learned the two countries made up the only country I recognized which the entire world hasn't recognized in nearly 3/4ths of my lifetime.
(On a related note, it annoys me that we call Deutschland Germany. After all the times it's changed names, why can't we call it what the locals do?)
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I learned the Spanish word ojalá, which means "hope so" and I've been thoughtlessly using my whole life, is borrowed directly from the Arabic Inshallah - literally "God willing".
Been watching tennis for a few years now, and have questioned the unintuitive scoring system the whole time. It's 0, 15, 30, and 40 which is effectively 0, 1, 2, and 3 points with a 4th to win a game in a set (must beat your opponent by 2, so basically as many points as needed beyond 40 (the 3rd point) to win by 2.) Well, I finally looked it up, and today I learned that its origins are in medieval France where matches were scored by a clock face: 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and what was 45 minutes became 40 to allow for tie breaks in the final 20 minutes of an hour. I still think the sport should have evolved into something more sensical since the clock face is basically a vestigial relic, but far be it from me, a relatively new tennis fan, to assert what makes sense to me (and most, if I'm being honest) on a sport with hundreds of years of history to its credit.
Oh, I also learned that what looks like foot/distance indicators under each set on the score board, e.g.: a 4-6 set might indicate 62' on the scoreboard, is actually the minutes the set took, so in that example the set of 10 individual games took 62 minutes.
Basically tennis is a sport stuck so far up its own ass, only the hardest of core can intuit it without Google, but once you know, you know, so I guess... play on?
Oh, I also learned that what looks like foot/distance indicators under each set on the score board, e.g.: a 4-6 set might indicate 62' on the scoreboard, is actually the minutes the set took, so in that example the set of 10 individual games took 62 minutes.
Basically tennis is a sport stuck so far up its own ass, only the hardest of core can intuit it without Google, but once you know, you know, so I guess... play on?
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Tennis is for me, is like golf. It is on the list of sports that I really love to play, but can't stand to watch. And they are also both on the list of sports that I played a decent amount... but never had any real skill with. Hmm, that's similar to my "skill" as a musician. Ouch, competent but untalented.Been watching tennis for a few years now, and have questioned the unintuitive scoring system the whole time. It's 0, 15, 30, and 40 which is effectively 1, 2, 3, and 4 points with a 5th to win a game in a set (must beat your opponent by 2, so basically as many points as needed beyond 40 (the 4th point) to win by 2.) Well, I finally looked it up, and today I learned that its origins are in medieval France where matches were scored by a clock face: 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and what was 45 minutes became 40 to allow for tie breaks in the final 20 minutes of an hour. I still think the sport should have evolved into something more sensical since the clock face is basically a vestigial relic, but far be it from me, a relatively new tennis fan, to assert what makes sense to me (and most, if I'm being honest) on a sport with hundreds of years of history to its credit.
Oh, I also learned that what looks like foot/distance indicators under each set on the score board, e.g.: a 4-6 set might indicate 62' on the scoreboard, is actually the minutes the set took, so in that example the set of 10 individual games took 61 minutes.
Basically tennis is a sport stuck so far up its own ass, only the hardest of core can intuit it without Google, but once you know, you know, so I guess... play on?
Anyway; Tennis. And humility and embarrassment. I grew up near a tiny little town, who's city park had a pair of tennis courts. Even though no one in town played tennis. So, because they were always empty, my buddy Adam and I decided to take up the sport. So I am basically self taught, never coached, but thought after a few years that I was getting kind of good. So, I'm dating a girl who lives relatively nearby, but goes to school in the city's school district as opposed to my town's school. And she asks if I want to go out on a "tennis date." And I'm thinking, "I'm good enough that I can keep it close and probably not stomp her and make her feel bad."
Then the tennis started. I couldn't return her full serve, and if she faulted, I could barely keep up with second serve. And if I could even manage to get into a volley, she could dictate the entire thing. Keeping me running back and forth while she could generally just stand in the one spot my return (that I barely managed to get to) would go. She stomped my ass. Turns out... I was dating a girl who got to the high school city league tennis finals. So beware; anyone who asks you out on a "tennis date" might be looking to humiliate you.
If you'd have asked me, I dunno, 20 years ago, my sentiments would have been the same, though I've never played tennis, and my golf skills are essentially nonexistent, though I will never turn down the opportunity to go to the driving range and look like a jackass. But as for watching tennis, I've learned that if you understand what is happening beyond two (or four) people hitting a ball back and forth for hours at a time, it's really intense. I've learned to watch how each player tries to dictate the pacing and positioning; I see the skill at play and not just what I thought was power to get the ball past an opponent. On top of that, following some of the more popular players, the drama is second to none. To watch the meltdown as one player goes down a set and can feel the match slipping away, e.g.: rackets getting slammed around, coaches getting cussed out. Just yesterday, I watch Anastasia Potopova fighting with her boyfriend and coach (two separate people) live on camera because she was so frustrated when the momentum she thought she was building against Marta Kostyuk slipped away in a flurry of unforced errors.
That is hilarious! But also really cool, in a sadistic kinda way. Did she know you played tennis and wanted to test your skills, or did she not know, and wanted to show you what she could do?
I had a similar experience. Years ago, when I was enjoying a severance package that gave me 2.5 months off with full pay and benefits (basically a paid vacation,) I started frequenting a bar near my apartment. I was shooting a lot of pool, and flirting with a bar tender who worked there. One night, she finally asked me out, but wanted to go to another bar, y'know, not the one she worked at. We did, and she challenged me to a game of pool since she noticed I played all the time. I puffed my chest out, craned my neck to gain another inch or two of height over her, and accepted her challenge. She didn't completely smoke me, but I DEFINITELY lost, and I was trying my best after a turn or two when I realized she didn't need me to take it easy. What's worse, is I noticed she played left-handed; everything else she did right-handed. I asked after my ass-whooping, and she said her grandfather taught her to play when she was a kid, and HE was left-handed, so she just happened to learn to play pool left-handed. Not only was she better than me, she was better with her non-dominant hand.
Today I learned that Andy Serkis, voice and mo-cap actor for Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings films, stylized the character after his cat. He was preparing to audition for the part when his cat walked in the room and started yakking up a hairball. The retching motion and sound of the cat became the signature traits of Serkis' iconic Gollum. The only thing my cat's disgusting habits inspire me to do is swear at him while I fetch a rag and carpet stain remover.
I read something last week about how “the big one” on the west coast could happen sooner than we think too. Ugh.
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