Mildly interesting

[Renauda]

@jon-nyc said in Mildly interesting:

I had no idea. And I’ve even been there.

Polar route does make a big difference. During the 90’s we ran weekly drilling, workover and service crew change charter flights out of Calgary and over the Pole into Surgut in Western Siberia. Flight time was 10.5 hours direct. The normal scheduled route was Calgary - Frankfurt - Moscow - Surgut which at minimum totalled 22 hours flight time excluding stopovers and (inevitable) flight delays between Moscow and Surgut or Nizhnevartovsk.

[George K]

[Copper]

I bought one of these today. The old one was about 20 years old, very old for a lawn tractor.

Now they come with a hose attachment that blows water on the blades to clean out the blade housing. I had never seen that before, a great idea.

[jon-nyc]

I don’t think I knew this.

Seems odd. He seems like the most anodyne president we’ve had in my lifetime. Maybe anger at the Nixon pardon?

[jon-nyc]

[jon-nyc]

[taiwan_girl]

@jon-nyc Didnt the president of one of the railroads just get fired for having a affair?

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in Mildly interesting:

@jon-nyc Didnt the president of one of the railroads just get fired for having a affair?

For having an affair with a subordinate/employee

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/11/business/norfolk-southern-ceo-fired/index.html

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was fired for cause by the railroad’s board for “engaging in a consensual relationship with the company’s chief legal officer,” who was also terminated, the railroad announced Wednesday evening.

A statement from the company on Wednesday said that Shaw had been dismissed “for cause,” which could prevent him from collecting the kind of exit package that CEOs often receive when shown the door.

The company originally disclosed that Shaw was the subject of an investigation on Sunday.

Shaw had been CEO of one of the nation’s four largest freight railroads for just over two years. But it had been a turbulent tenure that included contentious labor negotiations that nearly resulted in an economy-crippling strike, a major derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released tank cars full of toxic materials into a small Ohio town, sparking health concerns and complaints about continuing symptoms by some residents, and a proxy fight with an activist shareholder group who wanted Shaw replaced.

[Mik]

The custom of "telling the bees" is a charming and ancient tradition where beekeepers inform their bees about significant events in their lives, such as deaths, births, marriages, and other major occurrences. This practice is believed to have its roots in Celtic mythology, where bees were seen as messengers between the human world and the spirit world. The presence of a bee after a death was thought to signify the soul leaving the body. The tradition became particularly prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries in Western Europe and the United States.

To tell the bees, the head of the household or the "goodwife" would approach the hives, gently knock to get the bees' attention, and then softly murmur the news in a solemn tone. This ritual was believed to keep the bees informed and prevent them from leaving the hive or dying. The custom underscores the deep connection and respect that people historically had for bees, viewing them as integral members of the household and community.

[Mik]

[Mik]

Tasmania has some interesting place names.

[Mik]

Sodium Citrate is the secret ingredient to make any cheese into smooth, creamy nacho cheese sauce. Coincidentally, Sodium Citrate's chemical formula is Na₃C₆H₅O₇.

[taiwan_girl]

Because of the goofiness of the English language, there are very few "spelling bees" in other countries in their native language.

(For example, Bhasa Indonesian - every letter is pronounced and every letter always has the same sound)

[mark]

@Copper said in Mildly interesting:

I bought one of these today. The old one was about 20 years old, very old for a lawn tractor.

Now they come with a hose attachment that blows water on the blades to clean out the blade housing. I had never seen that before, a great idea.

Don't use that unless you want your deck to rust faster than it should.

[Mik]

That’s a whole lot easier than turning a tractor on its side. Good idea.

[Copper]

@mark said in Mildly interesting:

Don't use that unless you want your deck to rust faster than it should.

I will probably not use it too much, since it takes a little work to get it going.

I mentioned it to a few guys who have this device, and said, good idea, but after a few uses you'll get lazy.

[Mik]

If it’s a mulcher you shouldn’t get much up there.

[Axtremus]

[Axtremus]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/style/pussy-bow-blouse-tie-neck.html

Never seen the terminology before, but apparent there is such a thing as a "pussy-bow blouse", and it makes sense.

[Jolly]

Link to video