Entries in "Other"
History Channel gets an "F" in Chemistry
So there I was, surfing the net & eating dinner, with the TV on in the background. Oddly enough, I haven't bought or built a DVR yet, so I often have something like Discovery or the History channel on while waiting for the shows I really want (South Park, Futurama, Mythbusters--the usual intellectual fare).
Imagine my surprise when the background babble--the "Modern Marvels" eposide on "Metal"--started talking about how metals commonly form "alloys", and in fact are generally found in the form of "alloys" with oxygen. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHH! Oxides are not alloys, you morons! They are compounds, which are very, very different things.
This compound/alloy confusion went on for the whole opening segment. Is it just me, or have standards for "edutainment" gotten entirely too low these days?
[The whole compound/alloy thing had me so rattled that I almost missed when they started talking about the wonderful alloy that is "bronze" while displaying a whole pile of what were clearly brass objects on screen]
Continue reading "History Channel gets an "F" in Chemistry"
This Week on "Stupid Plumber Tricks"...
...we have the bozo who added a toilet in the basement of my originally one-bathroom house.
It apparently hadn't occurred to him that putting the new toilet on the same shut-off valve as the main bathroom upstairs is a Bad Idea(tm). After all, if a plumbing problem (say, a disintegrated bathtub/shower valve) necessitated shutting off the main bathroom for an extended period, you wouldn't need the other toilet either. Would you? Uhhh...lemme think about that one for a minute...
More "Entertainment" from Tower City passers-by
Well, thanks to a bit of St. Paddy's day fun, I've just gotten my closest-ever view of something like a bar brawl (except without the alcohol present--though heaven only knows how much had been consumed earlier today); I'm sitting in the food court typing up blog entries near the Japanese fast food joint, when a couple of "kids" (can't tell if they're high schoolers or college age...I must be getting old) start yelling at each other, then escalating to shoving, hitting--WHOA, that was close--a body just went over the wall behind me, took out the table & chair. Mall security actually got to do their jobs, as a small horde of them descended to pat down the offenders, and deliver what looked like a Very Stern Talking-To.
Good thing I'm using the old beater laptop; I'd hate to see what would happen if a football player landed on the new one.