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Things you've always wondered about but couldn't be bothered to find out


Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC

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2 hours ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

Sticking with cars. I have never owned or even driven an automatic car but I am thinking about hiring a car in the States next year and most there are automatic. My question is how do you do a hill start in a car without a clutch. Do you have to hold it on the handbrake to stop it rolling back? 

 

Driving an automatic is much easier.  No roll back on hills.  On a level surface when stopped, the vehicle will creep forward unless you keep your foot on the brake.  Some people knock it into neutral when stopped at lights to save some wear on the clutch, but I don't bother. 

 

Never use your left foot, ever.

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All roads lead to Gorgie
3 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

Driving an automatic is much easier.  No roll back on hills.  On a level surface when stopped, the vehicle will creep forward unless you keep your foot on the brake.  Some people knock it into neutral when stopped at lights to save some wear on the clutch, but I don't bother. 

 

Never use your left foot, ever.

Thanks. Sounds easier than I thought. 

 

Never using my left foot should be easy as I never used it on a football pitch.

Then again some say I have two left feet so it could get confusing ☺️

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A Boy Named Crow

How long can you keep an opened bottle of Coke before it goes bad? I know it’ll go flat very quickly, but I prefer flat Coke, so that’s not a problem. I just want to know after how many days/weeks/months/years will it turn deadly?

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1 hour ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

How long can you keep an opened bottle of Coke before it goes bad? I know it’ll go flat very quickly, but I prefer flat Coke, so that’s not a problem. I just want to know after how many days/weeks/months/years will it turn deadly?

Probably never.

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A Boy Named Crow
3 hours ago, hughesie27 said:

Probably never.

I’d say that’s probably true, but I want to know for certain. There’s a half bottle of Coke Zero in the fridge. It’ll be tantalisingly cold and flat by now (weeks, maybe upwards of a month after opening). I want to drink it safe in the knowledge that it won’t give me the Rick Whitters!

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25 minutes ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

I’d say that’s probably true, but I want to know for certain. There’s a half bottle of Coke Zero in the fridge. It’ll be tantalisingly cold and flat by now (weeks, maybe upwards of a month after opening). I want to drink it safe in the knowledge that it won’t give me the Rick Whitters!

I wouldn’t TBH.  Stuff like that can go off, even in the fridge.  I wouldn’t touch it after a few days.  Certainly not a few weeks.

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I P Knightley
On 25/10/2018 at 15:55, Lemongrab said:

The Chinese food thread got me wondering this.  I've heard people say that the Chinese food served here is different from the actual food eaten in China, and the food here is modified to suit the Western palate.   When you see Chinese people eating in a Chinese restaurants here, are they eating stuff from the menu the same as you or I might order, or are they cooked something which might be more to their liking?

I was in central China last week and was fed 'banquet' meals where you don't order specifically but they bring you dish after dish after dish to the table and put them on the lazy susan. I must have had about 25 dishes to choose from over three meals. I don't think there was one of them that would have been on the menu in my local Golden Dragon.

 

Noodles seems to be a breakfast thing. Rice was only served towards the end of the meal. Lots more fish than is on offer in restaurants here. Meat on the bone but in little chunks - very fiddly with the chopsticks; there wasn't much spitting out of the bones, instead picking them out gracefully (by everyone except me).

 

There was one dish that looked a bit familiar with squid and vegetables in a sort of oyster sauce. However, I've never had it in the UK with liver included in the recipe.

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As I get older I find women my own age attractive, I find early 20 somethings less so the older I get, will I eventually only be attracted to OAP's???

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35 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

As I get older I find women my own age attractive, I find early 20 somethings less so the older I get, will I eventually only be attracted to OAP's???

 

Yes :( 

 

Edit: The attraction will be their ability to make a guid pot of soup or a belting steak pie.

Edited by graygo
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Think I might’ve asked this before but canni mind. If I were to trap a few Spanish pigeons and bring them back to Scotland and release them, would they be able to communicate with Scottish pigeons?

 

Watched a programme the other night about reintroducing eagles to parts of the highlands. The programme said that the eagles had successfully integrated into highland life (they’d been released there over ten years ago)...but they were originally Norwegian eagles. Do they evolve into Scottish eagles...and if they were released in Norway, would they struggle to adapt, even though they came from Norwegian stock in the first place?

 

shite questions I know...but I’m intrigued ?

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1 hour ago, Mr Sifter said:

Think I might’ve asked this before but canni mind. If I were to trap a few Spanish pigeons and bring them back to Scotland and release them, would they be able to communicate with Scottish pigeons?

 

Watched a programme the other night about reintroducing eagles to parts of the highlands. The programme said that the eagles had successfully integrated into highland life (they’d been released there over ten years ago)...but they were originally Norwegian eagles. Do they evolve into Scottish eagles...and if they were released in Norway, would they struggle to adapt, even though they came from Norwegian stock in the first place?

 

shite questions I know...but I’m intrigued ?

 

I would think that the main challenge facing birds and other animals being imported from elsewhere would be in establishing their own territories.  I doubt if communicating with local birds would be an issue.

 

But they have to carve out a territory large enough to sustain themselves and their offspring, otherwise they will die out.

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4 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

Think I might’ve asked this before but canni mind. If I were to trap a few Spanish pigeons and bring them back to Scotland and release them, would they be able to communicate with Scottish pigeons?

 

Watched a programme the other night about reintroducing eagles to parts of the highlands. The programme said that the eagles had successfully integrated into highland life (they’d been released there over ten years ago)...but they were originally Norwegian eagles. Do they evolve into Scottish eagles...and if they were released in Norway, would they struggle to adapt, even though they came from Norwegian stock in the first place?

 

shite questions I know...but I’m intrigued ?

If it's not too much of a problem, could you possibly reverse that and take a few Scottish pigeons to Spain?  Feel free to take as many as you want.

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Joey J J Jr Shabadoo
13 hours ago, Mr Sifter said:

Think I might’ve asked this before but canni mind. If I were to trap a few Spanish pigeons and bring them back to Scotland and release them, would they be able to communicate with Scottish pigeons?

 

Watched a programme the other night about reintroducing eagles to parts of the highlands. The programme said that the eagles had successfully integrated into highland life (they’d been released there over ten years ago)...but they were originally Norwegian eagles. Do they evolve into Scottish eagles...and if they were released in Norway, would they struggle to adapt, even though they came from Norwegian stock in the first place?

 

shite questions I know...but I’m intrigued ?

They'll  communicate in pigeon English. 

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A Boy Named Crow
On 19/10/2013 at 14:46, Brandt said:

Why do the Australians call the English (Scottish?) Poms when it was actually Australia that was built by Poms?

 

While we're there. How can a whole country's population in such a short time end up all speaking with the same, completely different accent to what the original Brits had?

 

And why is the alphabet in the order that it is?

 

Do animals have blood types?

 

Why dont people fight on top of trains anymore?

 

On the accent thing, the Aussies I reckon have an accent that is actually quite like that of  people from East London. Given loads of Londoners were probably shipped over to the penal colonies, my utterly untested theory is it came from them.

Edited by A Boy Named Crow
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13 minutes ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

 

On the accent thing, the Aussies I reckon have an accent that is actually quite like that of  people from East London. Given loads of Londoners were probably shipped over to the penal colonies, my utterly untested theory is it came from them.

 

You're right, in terms of linguistics cockney and Australian are linked according to a lot of experts.

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In the middle of some roads you can sometimes find a white painted square about 30cm x 30cm or so. Then another one about 2-300 mtrs further along the same road. 

 

What is?

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6 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

In the middle of some roads you can sometimes find a white painted square about 30cm x 30cm or so. Then another one about 2-300 mtrs further along the same road. 

 

What is?

Don’t know that but I remember reading about some guy that when he was doing his national service had to paint stones around the parade ground white.  While doing it he spilt the paint.  Panicking and not knowing what else to do he painted it into a neat square.

Nothing was ever said.

Many years later he went back to his old HQ and there was his neat square painted at the edge of the parade ground - it was repainted every year and no one ever asked why.  

Army mentality!

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Just now, FWJ said:

Don’t know that but I remember reading about some guy that when he was doing his national service had to paint stones around the parade ground white.  While doing it he spilt the paint.  Panicking and not knowing what else to do he painted it into a neat square.

Nothing was ever said.

Many years later he went back to his old HQ and there was his neat square painted at the edge of the parade ground - it was repainted every year and no one ever asked why.  

Army mentality!

:lol:

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30 minutes ago, FWJ said:

Don’t know that but I remember reading about some guy that when he was doing his national service had to paint stones around the parade ground white.  While doing it he spilt the paint.  Panicking and not knowing what else to do he painted it into a neat square.

Nothing was ever said.

Many years later he went back to his old HQ and there was his neat square painted at the edge of the parade ground - it was repainted every year and no one ever asked why.  

Army mentality!

 

As an ex-army man, that doesn't surprise me one bit.

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55 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

In the middle of some roads you can sometimes find a white painted square about 30cm x 30cm or so. Then another one about 2-300 mtrs further along the same road. 

 

What is?

I'm pretty sure there are always 2of these squares a certain distance apart. This is for the police to be able to gauge someone's speed based solely on the time taken between the squares.

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3 hours ago, superjack said:

I'm pretty sure there are always 2of these squares a certain distance apart. This is for the police to be able to gauge someone's speed based solely on the time taken between the squares.

That sounds feasible. 

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When you drive southbound on the Dalkeith bypass there is a large industrial looking building with a tall thin chimney and which has only recently been built. Think you go right past it on the railway line from Tweedbank to Waverley. What is this? It's an absolute monstrosity.

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15 hours ago, Jambos_1874 said:

When you drive southbound on the Dalkeith bypass there is a large industrial looking building with a tall thin chimney and which has only recently been built. Think you go right past it on the railway line from Tweedbank to Waverley. What is this? It's an absolute monstrosity.

 

Do you mean the Chimney at the waste recycling plant at millerhill? 75m high to release cleaned gasses into the atmosphere 

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A Boy Named Crow

Why don’t we run everywhere?

How much time is wasted by people walking? You’re going to the shops, to work, to the pub etc, you’ll typically walk. Picking up stuff from the supermarket you’ll walk around the aisles...but what if we ran everywhere? We’d get there quicker, almost certainly be fitter!

it just seems like we’re missing a trick here!

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8 minutes ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

Why don’t we run everywhere?

How much time is wasted by people walking? You’re going to the shops, to work, to the pub etc, you’ll typically walk. Picking up stuff from the supermarket you’ll walk around the aisles...but what if we ran everywhere? We’d get there quicker, almost certainly be fitter!

it just seems like we’re missing a trick here!

Why would you want to be in such a hurry?

I'm the slowest walker I know, I like to feel relaxed, take in and appreciate what's going on around me, smell the roses and enjoy the journey. I'm not interested in getting there quicker, I'd rather start earlier and chill my way there. Drives the wife mental.

 

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A Boy Named Crow
47 minutes ago, Smithee said:

Why would you want to be in such a hurry?

I'm the slowest walker I know, I like to feel relaxed, take in and appreciate what's going on around me, smell the roses and enjoy the journey. I'm not interested in getting there quicker, I'd rather start earlier and chill my way there. Drives the wife mental.

 

Efficiency, being able to get more of the stuff you want to do into your day. I appreciate a good stroll from time to time, but not when I’ve got somewhere to be!

 

it just seems weird to me that as a society we’ve developed a norm that basically involves a less effective way of getting from A to B. Running would just make more sense, but if you do it you’re out of step with everyone else. 

Edited by A Boy Named Crow
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15 minutes ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

Efficiency, being able to get more of the stuff you want to do into your day. I appreciate a good stroll from time to time, but not when I’ve got somewhere to be!

 

it just seems weird to me that as a society we’ve developed a norm that basically involves a less effective way of getting from A to B. Running would just make more sense, but if you do it you’re out of step with everyone else. 

 

Dare to be different!

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57 minutes ago, Smithee said:

Why would you want to be in such a hurry?

I'm the slowest walker I know, I like to feel relaxed, take in and appreciate what's going on around me, smell the roses and enjoy the journey. I'm not interested in getting there quicker, I'd rather start earlier and chill my way there. Drives the wife mental.

 

 

Wicked child!

 

Can't stand slow walkers, other peoples day has to come to a borderline stand-still just so chief-mourners-in-practice can piss out.

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A Boy Named Crow

 

9 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

Dare to be different!

It’s not that easy though. Crowds of slow walkers get in the way, then you become the arsehole for trying to push through them. Like I said, it just seems odd that we’ve chosen to hold ourselves back like this.

Edited by A Boy Named Crow
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Just now, A Boy Named Crow said:

 

It’s not that easy though. Crowds of slow walkers get in the way, then you become the arsehole for trying to push through them. Like I said, it just seems odd that we’ve chosen to hold ourselves back like this.

 

Have you thought about setting up your own community?

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A Boy Named Crow
Just now, redjambo said:

 

Have you thought about setting up your own community?

Ha, funnily enough,  I have...and as soon as I can find an available island, with a pleasant climate, I’ll be vetting likely citizens.

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Just now, A Boy Named Crow said:

Ha, funnily enough,  I have...and as soon as I can find an available island, with a pleasant climate, I’ll be vetting likely citizens.

 

Sounds like  a plan! Will you be interviewing the candidates while you run alongside them?

 

Also, will walking be allowed and, if so, under what circumstances?

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14 minutes ago, peter_hmfc said:

 

Wicked child!

 

Can't stand slow walkers, other peoples day has to come to a borderline stand-still just so chief-mourners-in-practice can piss out.

Bollocks, I'm not changing how I go about my life just because you're in a hurry. I don't need to hurry up, everyone else needs to calm down!

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A Boy Named Crow
Just now, redjambo said:

 

Sounds like  a plan! Will you be interviewing the candidates while you run alongside them?

 

Also, will walking be allowed and, if so, under what circumstances?

I think an interview situation would be more suited to sitting, or perhaps standing. However, I will be assessing how they get to the interview, slow walkers will be thanked for their time and sent on their way.

 

There will always be a place for recreational walking, taking in the scenery etc, but utility maximising running will be actively encouraged.

 

 

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1 minute ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

I think an interview situation would be more suited to sitting, or perhaps standing. However, I will be assessing how they get to the interview, slow walkers will be thanked for their time and sent on their way.

 

There will always be a place for recreational walking, taking in the scenery etc, but utility maximising running will be actively encouraged.

 

 

 

How about folk with young kids, folk carrying heavy objects or cups of coffee, ill, injured or disabled people, folk wearing impractical clothes for running, heavily pregnant women, etc...?

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A Boy Named Crow
1 minute ago, redjambo said:

 

How about folk with young kids, folk carrying heavy objects or cups of coffee, ill, injured or disabled people, folk wearing impractical clothes for running, heavily pregnant women, etc...?

 

If the young kids are old enough, they will be running too. Any adult accompanying a young child will be allowed to slow their pace to accomodate the child.  All the others on your list could not be reasonably expected to run...with the exception of those not wearing impractical  clothing - such folly is clearly their own fault, why would they not dress appropriately?

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Just now, A Boy Named Crow said:

 

If the young kids are old enough, they will be running too. Any adult accompanying a young child will be allowed to slow their pace to accomodate the child.  All the others on your list could not be reasonably expected to run...with the exception of those not wearing impractical  clothing - such folly is clearly their own fault, why would they not dress appropriately?

 

Imagine you're a judge going between court buildings. Running is a nice way to get all sweaty - you would then have to sit your next case with sweat dripping from your armpits. Lovely.

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A Boy Named Crow
5 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

Imagine you're a judge going between court buildings. Running is a nice way to get all sweaty - you would then have to sit your next case with sweat dripping from your armpits. Lovely.

I suspect we’d adapt. As fitness levels improved (due to all the running) we’d be able to handle the exertion without turning into a sweaty mess. Clearly there’d be an adjustment period, but a price worth paying  I reckon!

Edited by A Boy Named Crow
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Just now, A Boy Named Crow said:

I suspect we’d adapt. As fitness levels improved (due to all the running) we’d be able to handle the exertion without turning into a sweaty mess. Clearly there’d be an adjustment period, but a price worth paying  I reckon!

 

So, last question I promise (I think), but how would you police this. If some reprobate is merely walking when they should by all rights be running, what are you going to do about it? Expulsion? A special "Walking Court" set up to administer fines?

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A Boy Named Crow
1 minute ago, redjambo said:

 

So, last question I promise (I think), but how would you police this. If some reprobate is merely walking when they should by all rights be running, what are you going to do about it? Expulsion? A special "Walking Court" set up to administer fines?

Ultimately this could be my undoing. I’m not really a very authoritarian type of guy. I suspect I’d set out the rules, but then be quite lax in actually enforcing them. This, i fear, would make me appear weak to some in  the community. There will be those who see this perceived weakness as an opportunity to grab power. I’m not sure I’m ready to be run out of my own community, or strung up in a coup, I might just leave it for now. 

 

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2 minutes ago, A Boy Named Crow said:

Ultimately this could be my undoing. I’m not really a very authoritarian type of guy. I suspect I’d set out the rules, but then be quite lax in actually enforcing them. This, i fear, would make me appear weak to some in  the community. There will be those who see this perceived weakness as an opportunity to grab power. I’m not sure I’m ready to be run out of my own community, or strung up in a coup, I might just leave it for now. 

 

 

Well, it would be better than being walked out of your own community. ;)

 

Don't put off your dreams. The fact that it might go pear-shaped is just a risk you have to run.

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A Boy Named Crow
1 minute ago, redjambo said:

 

Well, it would be better than being walked out of your own community. ;)

 

Don't put off your dreams. The fact that it might go pear-shaped is just a risk you have to run.

Some of my family are ex military, I’ll run it by them, see if they can walk me through the security options.

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