Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[molson]

I finished the first Game of Thrones book. Can I watch the first season of the HBO show spoiler-free, and should I?

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by molson

I finished the first Game of Thrones book. Can I watch the first season of the HBO show spoiler-free, and should I?

Go for it. I did it in the reverse order, watched first read second, which I think was enjoyable since I could focus on details in the books knowing what the plot was.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Go for it. I did it in the reverse order, watched first read second, which I think was enjoyable since I could focus on details in the books knowing what the plot was.

I agree.

It seems that when you read the book first and then watch the movie, you get mad whenever there's the slightest deviation from the book.

When I watch the movie first I can just it based on its merits alone and not have to compare to anything. Then when you read the book it's like getting the "true" story.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by molson

I finished the first Game of Thrones book. Can I watch the first season of the HBO show spoiler-free, and should I?

I definitely recommend waiting to start the show. Some plotlines are condensed in the show, and so seeing what is coming really pulls the rug out of a lot of the fun of the books. I would read the first three books, as they combine to be a really masterful ride, then start watching the show. I think you'll enjoy both much more that way.

[JonInMiddleGA]

RT from @wyethwire:
What do you call a pollster with a bad turnout model?
A telemarketer.


(This comes in the wake of Jack Kingston (R-GA) appearing to lose the GOP primary runoff for Senate in spite of internal polling that showed his lead around double digits. He used the same pollster as Eric Cantor)

[Matthean]

Oh, Ohio.

Atheists smart, Christians dumb? | On Air Videos | Fox News

[path12]

I have to either stop clicking on every thread or start coming here a lot less often. Not sure which.

[britrock88]

Stop clicking on every thread.

[Matthean]

I don't think I have ever clicked on every thread.

[cartman]

The wigfecta of wigclicking?

[Draft Dodger]

geez, I think I barely click on 10%?

[RainMaker]

Why do raspberries go bad so fast? Seems I buy a pint and they are moldy in 2 days.

[cartman]

A bent pushrod doesn't help a lawnmower engine run very well.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's fun when you learn a new bit of slang from another language/dialect.

It can be even more fun when you convert it to a local equivalent & see whether it's a keeper.

[JediKooter]

Tillamook cheddar cheese slices are like love and kittens and video games all in one. They taste that good.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by panerd

So I was driving behind a truck hauling rocks today and noticed the sign we have all probably seen a million times... STAY BACK 300 feet, not responsible for damages. It got me thinking if this is a private company how the hell do they get away with that? Can I just put a sign on my car that says not responsible for damages if I cause a wreck? Does this actually stand up in court or is it just a way to get you not tailgate them?

I had a similar arugement with PENNDOT when one of their snow plows destroyed my mailbox this winter. They said that they are not responsible for what the snow does to my mailbox, and then proceeded to talk to me like I was an idiot that didn't understand that since wet snow is more dense it carries more momentum and such. I told him I understood the physics of the matter (I am an enginner) and told him that the solution to the problem was simple, have the truck actually drive slower and obey the speed limit.

Then I couldnt resist and made another smart ass comment about how I am glad to know that I can have a website and put all kinds of disclaimers on it saying what I am and am not responsible for and it's ok by law.

End result, the trucks now drive slower on my road.

[Logan]

Sea salt seems to have gained a ton in popularity in recent years. I've heard it's better for you than regular salt (not sure if true). In the past, I preferred it more because it used to be coarser than old school salt, and I liked the extra texture. Now it seems like so many more items are being sold as "made with sea salt" but, generally speaking, the salt on these products seem to be less coarse and more like regular salt. Without the added texture, I can tell no difference.

Have I just completely adapted to the finer nature of sea salt? Or are we being sold a bill of goods here and we're just getting table salt sold as sea salt in our favorite products?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Logan

Sea salt seems to have gained a ton in popularity in recent years. I've heard it's better for you than regular salt (not sure if true). In the past, I preferred it more because it used to be coarser than old school salt, and I liked the extra texture. Now it seems like so many more items are being sold as "made with sea salt" but, generally speaking, the salt on these products seem to be less coarse and more like regular salt. Without the added texture, I can tell no difference.

Have I just completely adapted to the finer nature of sea salt? Or are we being sold a bill of goods here and we're just getting table salt sold as sea salt in our favorite products?

I think it's a little bit of both....like there's sea salt that is being sold as a replacement for table salt, and that stuff is pretty much the exact same texture as regular old table salt. It might be a mix, or maybe it's just ground finer. Dubious food labeling is also a great American corporate pastime, and who knows what the standards are for using a 'sea salt' label are....I can't imagine they're too strict "Oh! This salt was certainly in the sea...at one time.". Ditto for products claiming to be 'made with' sea salt. Ostensibly it should taste a little milder, but also more minerally, but you probably lose most of that distinction when you grind/process it all to hell, and toss it in with a bunch of other preservatives/powders/whatever, let alone if you were to mix it with regular ol' table salt.

You can certainly still get coarse sea salt on its own, you just have to make sure it's marked as 'coarse' these days, whereas in the past you'd just assume that all sea salt was coarse.

The "real" stuff, Fleur de sel, is artisanal, certified salt, scraped by hand from the sea. That stuff has a certified standard and is serious business, and as such will always be of consistent quality and texture (it's flakes, rather than grains/pebbles).

[Logan]

I'm glad someone else can appreciate the struggle.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'm glad someone else can appreciate the struggle.

Loves me some salt! I have similar issues with usage of the term "cracked pepper" to sell products with year-long shelf lives. I'm sure that pepper certainly was cracked at one time......many,many months/years ago.

It reminds me of the FDA's process for labeling something as "whole grain", where you can still process the hell out of the grain, beat it to hell, and separate it into a million tiny pieces, but as long as you eventually put all the parts back together in the same bag it magically becomes a whole grain again!

[sabotai]

Mayo Clinic says not much difference nutritionally, and that sea salt can come in various levels of coarseness.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...t/faq-20058512

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Mayo Clinic says not much difference nutritionally, and that sea salt can come in various levels of coarseness.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...t/faq-20058512

Interesting. I tend to forget about the nutritional worries/issues with salt (specifically the addition or lack of iodine), as I'm somewhat of a rarity these days, in that I'm "lucky" enough to have low blood pressure rather than high, so my doc is always telling me to eat more salt.

[stevew]

I usually use kosher salt in stuff.

[QuikSand]

weird by-product of trendy salts and healthy diet trends is more people developing iodine deficiencies

most of us get most of our iodine from iodized table salt, it seems

i'm taking kelp supplements occasionally

[stevew]

Perhaps just me-

Flipping thru stations and you stop. The music is familiar sounding but you don't recognize the song. Sometimes you know quickly but sometimes it takes a second song. Then you start hearing certain lyrics and realize you've been #jesusrocked

[JonInMiddleGA]

Interesting isolate snapshot of Facebook usage perhaps, as I try to help round up people for our 30 year HS reunion (class of 1984).

Of the 124 of us still living (5 deceased), we've reached 66 through FB + 2 outside of FB. 56 more still to go, only 3 or 4 of those at most appear to be on FB.

So the FB rate is just over half. That's actually a little lower than I would have guessed for adults age 48 (+/- a year)

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by stevew

Perhaps just me-

Flipping thru stations and you stop. The music is familiar sounding but you don't recognize the song. Sometimes you know quickly but sometimes it takes a second song. Then you start hearing certain lyrics and realize you've been #jesusrocked

Contemporary Christian music makes me sad at times. Worship music more so. We have one of our bands at church would best be described as Mumford and Sons do worship music, and it is not even remotely shied away from that fact.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I fuss about work quite a bit but I usually leave it pretty vague for public consumption. Today however ...

if there's an overall less competent group of people that what Sinclair Broadcasting has assembled at TV stations across the country then I hope I don't live to see it. My experience with them has been that 90% of their sales force couldn't find their backside with a map & a GPS. And their management is even worse. It's as though they make a concerted effort to hire criminally stupid and chronically lazy people.

[lungs]

Why do people that pull into my farm selling (likely) stolen tools from the back of their pickup truck always come from the South?

They certainly don't help my already deep prejudices against the South.

[RainMaker]

lungs, I have a farming question. Why when I buy standard milk from the grocery store it's got like a 2-3 week shelf life but when I buy an organic brand it's got like a 2 month shelf life? I would think it would be the other way around.

[stevew]

UltraPasturized vs normal pasteurized I'd assume.

[lungs]

Steve is right, here is an article that answers your question:
Link

[Dutch]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Glitter License Plate Frame - Black-- - NFLShop.com

My license plate frame is fading so I was looking for a new one...and something in the description of this particular frame left me a bit puzzled.

Description

•Approximately 12” x 6”
•Laser-cut graphics
•Made in the USA
•Made of metal and acrylic
•Officially licensed NFL product
•Ready to hang
•Two screw holes (not included)

hmmm...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Dutch

hmmm...

Yeah, that's a head scratcher if you look at it the right way

[stevew]

So it doesn't include screws?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by stevew

So it doesn't include screws?

I'll give you another chance to re-read it.

[JediKooter]

I wish they would list everything else that wasn't included.

[Matthean]

So DC flinched and backed out of going head to head against Marvel.

'Batman V Superman' Release Date Moves To March 25, 2016

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I'll give you another chance to re-read it.

I still don't understand

[Dutch]

The way I read it, it included two holes for screws...which weren't included.

[korme]

Originally Posted by stevew

I still don't understand

Properly, it should read "Two Screw Holes (Screws Not Included)"

As it stands, it suggests that the holes for the screws are not included.

[stevew]

Was so psyched to drop some Crocodile Dundee in Los Angele knowledge in my in class presentation today but was denied due to time constraints. That movie is a flaming pile and Paul Hogan is a colossal jerk. He tried to steal writing credit from ESPN's Matthew Berry.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by korme

Properly, it should read "Two Screw Holes (Screws Not Included)"

As it stands, it suggests that the holes for the screws are not included.

Thanks, I was beginning to think there was something tangible called a "screw hole" that you could buy in a store.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by korme

Properly, it should read "Two Screw Holes (Screws Not Included)"

As it stands, it suggests that the holes for the screws are not included.

OK...that's what I thought

[cartman]

Jon is all for clean alternative power now.

Butt batteries: Scientists store energy in used cigarette filters - Yahoo News

[stevew]

He just switched to pall mall unfiltered just to avoid helping

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by stevew

He just switched to pall mall unfiltered just to avoid helping

Those things are hard to find.

[stevew]

Yeah, should have used Lucky Strikes instead.

[lungs]

Just rip that filter off.

[terpkristin]

I came to this website at this time today because I had meant to go to my bank's website...but both sites URL's start with "o" and I just clicked the first site it matched with. Not that I wasn't going to come here later, but I really was trying to get to my bank's site.

/tk