The Random Thread Of Randomosity

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Happy Daylight Savings Time!

Until November!

[Al-x]

74F in Manhattan right now. To think about 2 weeks ago this time, the city was deep in a snowstorm

——-

Quick question: I am looking at pics in the picture thread I posted all the time and it’s all blank to me. Any of you see anything?

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Al-x.
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Al-x.

[Al-x]

Beware the idea of March

 

Oscars tonight. Should be nice…

 

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by Al-x.

Al-x wrote:

Beware the idea of March

It is a pretty terrifying idea.

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njerry, Todd

A is next to S so…

——–

This Friday at 10:46AM (Eastern time in NYC) will be the first minute of Spring.

Pity no one has calculated exactly how much daylight and darkness there is on the Equinox but I digress…

[Sean Robinson]

https://www.timeanddate.com/

Bunch of good information on there.

Sunrise and sunset (specific to each city), plus you can find stuff like “sunrise isn’t the halfway point, it’s the first dot you see the sun” and then “but you’re not actually seeing the sun the first minute or so, you’re seeing it’s reflection bouncing off the atmosphere”.

Play around with it.

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/usa/new-york

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

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Al-x

I looked at old photos today in the nursing home that one of the residents showed me. It was a nice moment but I was stunned by how strong and healthy people looked back in the day. I think the pictures were from the 40s or early 50s.

 

It was like they had a healthy glow over them. Today so many people look pudgy and unhealthy.

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Todd

I woke up today thinking about pipe cleaners (no, I don’t know why and I think it’s probably not even worth investigating). It took me years to realise they’re for cleaning tobacco pipes. Whenever they were used for crafts on Blue Peter or Smart or whatever, I assumed they were for cleaning pipe pipes, you know plumbing, which was confusing, because they’re far too small. I think I only made the smoking pipe connection while watching Bargain Hunt, where someone was showing off some pipes.

Anyway, what this led to me think about is how strange it is that an ancillary product that existed solely to service something else has ended up with an entire other life and purpose (as a staple of fair naff kids crafting items) while the main product is practically extinct. I’ve been trying to think of other examples of that, but am coming up blank. Anyone got any?

Martin Smith wrote:

Anyone got any?

Not exactly the same, but there are some pharmaceuticals that were developed for one purpose but became popular for a completely different purpose, such as minoxidol aka Rogaine (originally intended to treat high blood pressure and peptic ulcers, now used to treat baldness in men and women) and semaglutide aka Ozempic, Wegovy, etc (originally an anti-diabetic medication now used as a long-term weight-loss/weight management drug). Then there’s LSD, originally developed to treat psychiatric disorders including depression and ADHD…

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Martin Smith

Tongue depressors and popsicle sticks become craft supplies

Todd wrote:

Tongue depressors and popsicle sticks become craft supplies

Right, but people still have lollies. And tongues.

Kleenex was originally developed as a filter paper for WWI-era gas masks, I think.

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Martin Smith

Totally cheated here…

Play-Doh (Wallpaper Cleaner): Originally created in the 1930s by Cleo McVicker to remove soot from wallpaper. When vinyl wallpaper made this unnecessary, it was repurposed as children’s modeling clay in the 1950s.

WD-40 (Nuclear Missile Lubricant): Stands for “Water Displacement, 40th attempt.” It was created in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company specifically to protect the outer skins of nuclear missiles from corrosion, not for household maintenance.

Super Glue (Gun Sights): Dr. Harry Coover was trying to create clear plastic gun sights during World War II when he invented cyanoacrylate. It was initially dismissed for being too sticky before it was repurposed as a fast-acting adhesive.

Bubble Wrap (Wallpaper): In 1957, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes sealed two shower curtains together, creating a pattern of air bubbles. They tried to sell it as fashionable wallpaper before realizing its potential for shipping protection.

Slinky (Ship Instruments): Engineer Richard James was trying to develop a system of springs to stabilize and support sensitive instruments on ships in 1943. When he dropped one and saw it “walk,” he realized it was a toy.

Vaseline (Drilling Machine Scum): Chemist Robert Chesebrough noticed a “gloppy scum” that accumulated on petroleum drills in the mid-1800s. He discovered that workers used it to heal cuts and burns, so he rebranded it as Petroleum Jelly.

Kotex (Wartime Bandages): During World War I, Kimberly-Clark developed “Cellucotton,” a material far more absorbent than cotton, to be used as surgical bandages. After the war, the company repurposed the leftover material into the first sanitary napkins.
Post-it Note Adhesive (Super-Strong Glue): Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was trying to develop a high-strength adhesive. He instead created a “low-tack,” reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive that later found its purpose on sticky notes.

Kevlar (Tire Reinforcement): Stephanie Kwolek was trying to develop a lightweight material to reinforce tires, but her experiments led to the creation of the ultra-strong fiber used in bulletproof vests.
Micro-encapsulated Ink (Ribbonless Typewriter Paper): A paper company created this to eliminate the need for typewriter ribbons, but it was a failure. It smeared when handled, but its technology was later adapted for other purposes.

Gunpowder (Immortality Medicine): Originally developed by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century who were trying to create an elixir of immortality, it was later discovered to be explosive.

Sean Robinson wrote:

Originally developed by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century who were trying to create an elixir of immortality, it was later discovered to be explosive.

The one thing they didn’t want it to cause!

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Sean Robinson, Todd

The pope is a very bad tweeter. Lots of woolly language that says nothing and hardly makes sense.

 

The people who reply to his tweets are often completely nuts though. Amusingly nuts or dangerously nuts.

Ads are totally fucking insane. I got an ad on twitter asking me to invest in the South Chinese power grid and I just got an ad on youtube for real estate in Monaco, specifically a 5 million euro apartment…

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Todd

[Al-x]

Mexican Coke glass bottles are more frequent in the area. Cool.

What else is cool is that NYC will be in the 70s this weekend. Nice change to go outside.

Ayelet and Margarita…

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by Al-x.

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njerry

The cane sugar in Mexican coke is broken down by the acid in the coke into the same molecules that are in high fructose corn syrup. There may be some difference in taste, but that is not because of the sugar. And for health it is just the same stuff.

My current avatar is an enso, a hand drawn circle which is a symbol in Zen Buddhism.

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njerry, Todd

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njerry

Ok. That puzzle: A room of 100 people with 99 of them left handed and one right handed. That’s  99/100 or 99% left handed in the room. Now… if 50 left handed left the room that would leave 1 right handed and 49 left handed. 49/50 comes out to 98% left handed.

So 50 left handed have to leave the room.

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Todd, njerry

I made the bike ride to the town where I was born, 12 km away, last weekend. I stopped doing that a while ago, because of physical aches and pains, so I was a bit afraid that it would be hard to do, but it went very well. The weather was perfect for a bike ride.

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Dave, Todd, njerry

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

I made the bike ride to the town where I was born, 12 km away, last weekend. I stopped doing that a while ago, because of physical aches and pains, so I was a bit afraid that it would be hard to do, but it went very well. The weather was perfect for a bike ride.

That’s great, Arjan!! I hope you keep doing it; exercise and a change of scenery are a wonderful, physically and mentally healthy combination!

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Dave, Todd, Arjan Dirkse

Yes I am looking for other places to ride my bike. Leiden is a bit further, it’s 17 km but it’s a nice city

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Christian, Todd

Still quite cool here but the US is getting really hot. 36 degrees on the East Coast. Stay cool guys.

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Todd

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Still quite cool here but the US is getting really hot. 36 degrees on the East Coast. Stay cool guys.

I don’t know about 36, but we currently have 31 in the NYC area and I’m loving it!!

njerry wrote:

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Still quite cool here but the US is getting really hot. 36 degrees on the East Coast. Stay cool guys.

I don’t know about 36, but we currently have 31 in the NYC area and I’m loving it!!

I saw 36 in Philly.

 

31 is alright, but if it get above that, I’m done for.

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njerry

Celsius

It’s still hot in NYC today no matter how you put it. 🤣

——-

TIL: In 1998, when Toy Story 2 was in production, 90% of the files were accidentally completely erased, meaning the film would have to be scrapped. However, an animator Galyn Susman, took the hard drives home to work on while she was on maternity leave. Because she had backups of the files, the film was saved and released to rave reviews. However, in 2023, Pixar (under Disney’s ownership) laid her off in one of their sweeping waves, despite her saving the film (and likely the company) all those years ago.

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Todd

njerry wrote:

Martin Smith wrote:

Anyone got any?

Not exactly the same, but there are some pharmaceuticals that were developed for one purpose but became popular for a completely different purpose, such as minoxidol aka Rogaine (originally intended to treat high blood pressure and peptic ulcers, now used to treat baldness in men and women) and semaglutide aka Ozempic, Wegovy, etc (originally an anti-diabetic medication now used as a long-term weight-loss/weight management drug). Then there’s LSD, originally developed to treat psychiatric disorders including depression and ADHD…

MDMA/Ecstasy was, like LSD, also developed as a medicine. There are videos of it being tested on pensioners, I think for dementia treatment.

Viagra was first tested on middle aged miners in the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil for helping high blood pressure and angina, when they started reporting an interesting side effect they changed tack on its use.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67417111

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lorcan_nagle, Todd

Also on the medication front, Milfepristone and Misoprostol were developed to induce stomach cramps and are better known as the so-called abortion pills now.

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Todd

Arjan, you’ll be happy to know that we hit 35 Celsius today!! That’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is crazy for mid-May!!

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Arjan Dirkse, Todd

njerry wrote:

Arjan, you’ll be happy to know that we hit 35 Celsius today!! That’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is crazy for mid-May!!

 

We’ve had sort of a mini autumn here the last two weeks with temperatures barely above 10 degrees. But now it’s going to get hot here too. The coming days around 26 degrees which is very pleasant.

garjones wrote:

MDMA/Ecstasy was, like LSD, also developed as a medicine. There are videos of it being tested on pensioners, I think for dementia treatment.

Viagra was first tested on middle aged miners in the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil for helping high blood pressure and angina, when they started reporting an interesting side effect they changed tack on its use.

Same with heroin, of course.

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Todd

I’ve been helping to clear out my parents’ lofts (yes, weirdly there are two for the one house) recently, and floorboard the main one. Amongst the various forgotten junk up there was a bag with a few PC mags from 98/99. Three PC Formats (the boring mag that would have articles about how to use Internet Explorer etc) and two PC Zones (the games mag, which Charlie Brooker used to write for).

I had a quick look on ebay and surprisingly they have some value, the Zones certainly (and slightly less surprisingly), so I put them up for a speculative £10 each or best offer, fully expecting to a) get haggled down on the Formats at least and b) take a while to sell them, if at all.

But no, been less than two days and three have already sold, at full price. And more Formats than Zones. One of the Formats is even going to the Netherlands. Baffling.

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Todd

Monday could see 34 degrees in London! That’s crazy…In May.

 

Honestly it’s quite clear to me by now that climate change is real. I mean doubting scientists and the media is one thing, but if you look at these temperatures you’re experiencing right now and still deny it’s happening, you’re gaslighting yourself. Unfortunately some people close to me have fallen into this.

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Todd

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Honestly it’s quite clear to me by now that climate change is real. I mean doubting scientists and the media is one thing, but if you look at these temperatures you’re experiencing right now and still deny it’s happening, you’re gaslighting yourself. Unfortunately some people close to me have fallen into this.

Wow, really? You know some actual climate change deniers?

I didn’t think that was a big thing in the Netherlands.

Christian wrote:

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Honestly it’s quite clear to me by now that climate change is real. I mean doubting scientists and the media is one thing, but if you look at these temperatures you’re experiencing right now and still deny it’s happening, you’re gaslighting yourself. Unfortunately some people close to me have fallen into this.

Wow, really? You know some actual climate change deniers?

I didn’t think that was a big thing in the Netherlands.

Yep.

 

I’ve said for a while that I can’t be 100 % sure it was happening, but I never outright thought it wasn’t happening. But some people close to me have said it was certainly exaggerated, if it was happening at all. It’s sad (not going to say who said it because I don’t want them to be mocked but you can guess)

Chatgpt said in the Netherlands about 22 % think it is exaggerated. So not that much but still a substantial number.

In the Support the Carries thread, Gar talked about potentially shutting down The Carrier due to cost and maintenance issues and looking for a free alternative. (The thread is locked so only mods can post.)

I have no issue with this course of action. Lorcan mentioned that we already have a setup on Discord (The Loveland Arms). There are so few of us left, I don’t see the sense in throwing money away when there are perfectly servicable free options that already exist. The Loveland Arms on Discord is already set up. We wouldn’t have to start from scratch.

Like I said there are not many former Millarworlders left. Even before Mark sold to Netflix and MW was shut down for good, there was already a decline in membership. While The Carrier has been a welcome home, the end of MW scattered so many in different directions but not here. Some will return on occasion, but it’s not the same, nor will it in all probablity ever be again.

I appreciate everything Gar has done, but it may be time to end this era.

The First Age, Millarworld, ended.

The Second Age, The Carrier, appears to be drawing to a close.

The Third Age, The Loveland Arms, just may be the future for us.

One thing I don’t want to do is lose contact with y’all. I am connected with some on other social media platforms, but there is a commeraderie, energy, and history I want to keep going in some form.

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Sean Robinson, lorcan_nagle, njerry, Ben, Martin Smith

Todd wrote:

Like I said there are not many former Millarworlders left.

“Why are so few of us left healthy, active, and without personality disorders?”

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Todd, lorcan_nagle, Ben

I have my reservations about Discord (the age verification stuff, the push for Nitro) but it is functional and has been a decent enough fallback for the other former-message-board-community I’m part of. It’ll be a shame to see the Carrier go, one of the last of a dying breed of old style forums, but I get that it makes sense financially. There is always proboards as a free alternative option though…

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Todd, lorcan_nagle, Ben

Yeah, I think Discord will work. Age verification is likely not a problem for our use of it. Its attempts to flog its Nitro sub can be ignored.

Also get the sense it’s perhaps more demanding behind-the-scenes in keeping this thing running than we know, so moving to Discord reduces the load on Gar.

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Dave, Todd, lorcan_nagle, njerry

Todd wrote:

The First Age, Millarworld, ended.

 

You’re forgetting the Authority forum! That was the first phase.

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Sean Robinson, njerry, Todd, Al-x, Ben

[lorcan_nagle]

Discord’s big problem is that it’s not as germane to long-form discussion.  You can’t really write essays there and the kind of hybrid of live posting and permanent posts means it can be hard to follow if there’s a lot of discussion or if people are posting quickly

(but counterpoint:  Live watch of Eurovision with voice chat next year?)

• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by lorcan_nagle.

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Todd, Ben, Martin Smith

[Martin Smith]

You’re assuming the boycott will be over by next year?

Edit: The other concern with Discord is its push to AI, such as adding hidden scraper bots to servers without users knowledge or permission. Currently that can be mitigated but the owner of Discord seems like he’s drunk the AI kool-aid.

Also there’s an issue that we wouldn’t have full control on moderation/banning. I’ve seen stories of people having their full Discord accounts limited or banned due to decisions taken  not by that community or its users/mods but Discord’s (including an AI moderation system scanning posts and DMs), especially for political content.

• This reply was modified 1 week, 3 days ago by Martin Smith.

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Todd, Ben

Ben wrote:

Yeah, I think Discord will work. Age verification is likely not a problem for our use of it. Its attempts to flog its Nitro sub can be ignored.

Also get the sense it’s perhaps more demanding behind-the-scenes in keeping this thing running than we know, so moving to Discord reduces the load on Gar.

Honestly it’s not really an overhead or great effort on my part. It took a fair degree of work to set it up over a few weeks but it runs itself now.

It just costs money and originally we got money in. $115 a month on Patreon which meant I signed a 3 year deal at first which has dwindled to closer to $15. If we got to $35 as hosting costs have dropped I could probably cover it all but it does seem a little pointless when we have free options and it has been the case for a long time. Only Christian of current users actually pays the Patreon. The rest is people who just forgot to cancel.

I know part of that is my fault too for being AWOL but facts are facts.

Long term that isn’t going to work as Johnny and Don will find a defunct sub they need to cancel at some juncture.

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Todd, Ben

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Todd wrote:

The First Age, Millarworld, ended.

 

You’re forgetting the Authority forum! That was the first phase.

That was The Before Time!

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Ben

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Todd wrote:

The First Age, Millarworld, ended.

 

You’re forgetting the Authority forum! That was the first phase.

Ah, the Authority forum: it was part of the WildStorm subforum on the DC Comics interactive site. Mark Millar was just one of the WildStorm creators who regularly posted there, along with Doselle Young (who wrote The Establishment), Micah Ian Wright (who wrote StormWatch: Team Achilles until a scandal caused DC/WS to cancel the series before the final issue was published) and others. Back when Henry Blanco and Miqque Loveland were still among us…

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Todd, Ben

Doe wrote the Monarchy, The Establishment was Ian Edgington

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Christian, njerry, Todd

Todd wrote:

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

Todd wrote:

The First Age, Millarworld, ended.

 

You’re forgetting the Authority forum! That was the first phase.

That was The Before Time!

You mean the 1900s?

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Todd

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Doe wrote the Monarchy, The Establishment was Ian Edgington

You’re right, of course.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

[Arjan Dirkse]

aarg wrong thread

• This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by Arjan Dirkse.

Todd wrote:

That was The Before Time!

It was certainly before my time, so I agree.

garjones wrote:

Only Christian of current users actually pays the Patreon.

Fuck yeah! Me for the win!

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Todd