Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Manifest Despair posted:

I'm about to enter my junior year in college but I'm losing motivation. Where do I find more motivation?

A soup kitchen, a McDonald's kitchen, the dole office etc.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2011 04:34

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 08:33

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Farecoal posted:

Why was there a big backlash against Disco in the early 1980s?

Homophobia, racism, exaggerated masculinity: disco was markedly gay and feminine, and with black roots; and when it exploded in popularity, the reaction of white America was entirely predictable. The argument that it was somehow similarly motivated to the anti hair-metal backlash has a bit of truth to it, since hair metal was supposedly killed by, like, Nirvana? Maybe Metallica? In any case, bands that resembled the popular hair metal bands musically a lot, but projected a more traditionally masculine and acceptable public image.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2012 21:06

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

dee eight posted:

A couple pages back, and it's been answered, but here's my take on it:

Because it was loving crap, but everyone was really high all through the 70s and didn't notice how much goat penis it sucked until then.

Actually, disco is objectively the best music.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2012 04:49

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Nighthand posted:

Magazines are showing up at my house. At first it was Maxim, but now Outdoor is showing up as well. They have my name and address on them. I've never signed up for a magazine and, to my knowledge, haven't signed up for anything that would have bundled a magazine along with it.

Why would I be getting what appears to be a year subscription to multiple magazines free? They would try to bill me before they sent any issues if they were trying to get my money, right?

I'm just confused as to why magazines are showing up that I have no interest in, and worried that they're going to try to charge me for something I never ordered or wanted.

Have you subscribed to any other magazines from the same publisher? If so, some telemarketing slave was left one sale short a higher provision grade, and signed you up for some free sampler offer to get that extra $10, without bothering with the formality of calling you.

# ¿ May 11, 2012 20:59

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

FCKGW posted:

That's a fascinating question. I'd guess
The streak would be much shorter because you eventually run out of money and go broke.

One that pops up I to my head is that it took Amazon.com 6 years to reach profitability, so your looking at 24 losing quarters.

How long after the AOL/Time Warner merger did they return to profitability? Aren't a few cell phone companies on a 6 year losing stream since the iPhone as well?

Nokia's electronics department ran at a loss for 15 years initially. I recall Samsung having a similar experience.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2013 03:24

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Hoops posted:

Have any countries in Europe actually defaulted on their sovereign debt? Officially, even with a bailout, "defaulted"? A million news articles refer to a Greek default but they always seem to be speaking of its hypothetical impact.

Russia defaulted in 1998. Albania and some of the former Yugoslav states did in the '90s too, I think, and there's loads of examples the further back you go. In the latest crisis, not yet.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 03:48

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Namarrgon posted:

'Cousin' is probably derived from 'kinsman' in the first place.

It's an obvious French loan. Something like "with sister", going back to Latin.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2013 20:00

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

dokmo posted:

A small percentage of NBA draft picks come from professional teams in Europe. These players usually have to get out of their Euro contracts before they can play in the NBA, but have to do so out of their own pockets since the NBA disallows teams to buy out players from other leagues.

Doesn't this apply to the NHL too? Like, I'd imagine there's players who KHL teams would pay more than NHL teams.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2013 16:06

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Lawnie posted:

Yeah but the khl is a shithole and a bad league so 99% of the best players in the world are in the NHL. Don't listen to anyone who tells you the khl is on par with the NHL, talent wise. It's a joke.

Yeah I know, but they've got money, so it's at least some kind of a competitive element.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2013 15:52

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

During the golden years of jazz basically anyone who was anyone was also a heroin addict. Coltraner, Parker, Davis, Rollins etc. That scene was pretty loving decadent.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2014 22:54

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

bad-yeti posted:

poo poo, that is awesome, thanks, how on earth do you do a reverse search? Is this some kind of witchcraft that I don't know about?

On Chrome you right click an image and select "Search Google for this image".

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 14:18

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

The essence of Republicanism (Am.) is hating culture and society, so you'll probably have to keep looking.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2014 13:36

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Baron Bifford posted:

The US currently has an embargo on Cuba, which forbids American firms from doing business there. Does this embargo apply to other countries as well? Why would Cuba be suffering if it can still trade with the rest of the world?

Find a map. Look at it.

# ¿ Jan 1, 2015 16:06

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Emily A. Stanton posted:

I just found out somebody used my credit card to buy tickets to a football game in Europe somewhere. $750 worth of tickets. I'm going to be calling my credit card tomorrow (as they are closed for New Years). What other precautions do I need to be taking now? I rarely use my card online, and the last place I used it was Ticketmaster.

It's funny that my bank didn't call me for that transaction.

Not an answer of any sort, but wouldn't those tickets be a terrible thing to buy with stolen credit card info? Reserved seats, they'll have to pick them up or have them mailed somewhere, and scalping them seems a bit laborous too.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2015 17:34

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

terre packet posted:

Any ideas on a better way to differentiate my salt & sugar bowls than my ghetto-rear end labels? Preferably something on the bowls themselves in case of a lid mix-up.

Use brown sugar.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2015 15:07

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

A digital copy of the work, that is created when you download it, is not "stolen", because what you will possess never existed before, wasn't anyone's to bestow, and no one lost anything actual. It's a different set of rights that's at stake. I'd rather compare it to trespassing or something.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 15:37

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

alnilam posted:

Cool, thanks!

I think it would be cool, but just be mentally prepared to have skeptical goons come down on you.
Most people will (hopefully) do so respectfully like "I don't believe in that stuff but i'm genuinely curious about this"... but with something as "mystic" as tarot reading, it's only a matter of time before someone gets all cantankerous and says "how does it feel to be CONNING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR MONEY GRAHHH" and then it becomes a dogpile.

Does the question become less legitimate if you write it in all caps?

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 22:32

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Schweinhund posted:

and if all your life decisions have to be informed by being an alternative hipster douchebag.

What the hell are you talking about

# ¿ Apr 4, 2015 12:22

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

gradenko_2000 posted:

What do streetcars do better than, say, buses, as a form of public transportation?

Depending on the source of the electricity they use, they can be way way greener.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2015 21:29

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Popcorn posted:

What does it feel like to crave a cigarette?

Is it like craving food, like chocolate, or coffee?

Or like the need to relieve a physical urge, like taking a leak, or sitting down after a long walk, or stopping to catch your breath when you're exercising?

What is it you specifically crave? The taste? The sensation of inhaling smoke? Something more abstract?

What's it like?

In a routine everyday context it's the feeling/thought that what you should do right now, more than anything, is smoke a cigarette. And if you're experiencing any stress or discomfort, you can't escape the idea that a cigarette would make you feel better (even if that often isn't true). It mostly relates to routines, "empty moments" and the like. If you could keep yourself occupied & stress-free, you'd suffer few cravings if at all.

Smoking while drinking, after a meal etc. is a bit different, because then the cig is usually genuinely enjoyable, and it's more simply hedonistic - you don't need the craving to enjoy a cig while drunk.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2015 16:32

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Lawnie posted:

A previous poster may have mentioned something about how being a smoker is nearly constantly on your mind. In my experience there's almost always a nagging feeling that I need to go do something, and it only gets worse and more oppressive the longer I go without a cigarette or some other engaging distraction. It's a nearly constant feeling that you need to find some way to get outside to have a smoke sometime in the next hour, which can get very distracting, and troublesome when you really don't have that opportunity.

It's funny, I've quit smoking at work lately, and it seems that I've usually spent so much time and mental effort on, like, preparing to have a cig, that even if I've exchanged smoking for drinking insane amounts of tea and practising the mandoline (I work from home), I've still got So Much more done.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2015 17:01

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

If what is meant by "quality of life" is climate, food, pace of life, surroundings that offer both stimuli and relaxation, convenience, friendly people, cost of living, and then you also discount living in a major city, then I don't know if you're gonna get a better deal than the countryside surrounding some major Southern European city.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2015 16:55

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Blurred posted:

An odd request, but I'm looking for trivia questions that look very difficult on the face of it, but which actually have deceptively simple answers. An example would be:

As the son of Joan of Kent and Edward Duke of Aquataine, who served as the Prince of Chester for the first two years of the reign of King Richard II? King Richard II

Can be absolutely any topic. Any suggestions?

The etymology of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outerbridge_Crossing Outerbridge bridge in New York.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 12:31

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

HMS Boromir posted:

Like how most people nowadays will never see a vinyl record

Uhh okay

# ¿ Dec 20, 2015 16:47

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

I just meant that if you are ever in a city you're likely to walk past a record store or see records at a flea market or see a DJ or whatever. People do know what records are. Sure, not that many people actually own and play them.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 01:06

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

FCKGW posted:

Someone why buys lovely vinyl records when a cheaper, more convenient and better sounding medium exist.

Cassettes don't sound better than records.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 17:36

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

stubblyhead posted:

8-tracks do though

They're not cheaper jesus christ.... What the gently caress is wrong with you cockgobbling newfag hipsters....

# ¿ Dec 21, 2015 17:45

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Boy am I glad I don't live in these guys weird dystopias

# ¿ Dec 22, 2015 00:29

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

fishmech posted:

Weird how you treat "all media from music to books is easier and cheaper to get than ever before" as "dystopia".

I don't like driving and I don't think Amazon is the same thing as a record store, used book store or a flea market.

# ¿ Dec 22, 2015 00:56

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Capt. Morgan posted:

Referrals from emails

http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/190741/email-remains-a-popular-way-to-share-news-but-for-how-long/

Interesting scale.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2015 00:07

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

OctoberBlues posted:

I have a small question about the league table for the English Premier League

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/league-table.html

I understand the team with the most points at the end of the season wins and there are no playoffs. And the bottom three teams are relegated. But why are teams 2-4 highlighted in medium blue and team 5 highlighted in light blue? Is there some other thing that happens at the end of the season to teams in those spots?

Teams # 1-4 qualify to the Champions League, and #5 to the Europa League.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2016 21:01

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

hooah posted:

I've read all sorts of good things about Mad Max Fury Road, so I figure I'll watch it at some point. Which of the previous movies, if any, should I watch first?

1 & 2, but Fury Road is entirely independent of them.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2016 16:05

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Mak0rz posted:

It's why entire localization teams are required and have to bend over backwards to get a comedic media to work at all in other languages/regions (the Phoenix Wright series of videogames comes to mind).

Uhhhh?

Greetings,
a translator & subtitler

# ¿ Jan 15, 2016 22:16

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

There's many worse jobs. I sit in my bedroom all day and translate American trash TV.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2016 00:49

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

You do get a script, but whether it's of any use varies. (There's people somewhere in the world, probably like India or The Philippines, where they do transcripts of all this unscripted poo poo TV, that has to be a much worse job.) But you go off the video, yes.

Nowadays basically everyone does themselves everything that you see on the screen, that is, you sync the text to the video, taking into account reading speed and such. If you go back like 10+ years the whole process was a lot more complicated cos of the arcane technology they had to use, so there was like different people to do edit the subtitles and save them on, idk, diskettes. But today there's not much technical expertise to it, the programs were use are barely more complicated than Microsoft Word. The real catch is that you never know whether tomorrow's work day is gonna all about hot rods or brain surgery.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2016 01:08

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Gobbeldygook posted:

They also pay goons to make transcripts of lovely reality TV for people like you.

Oh yeah, makes sense. Freelancers, Indians, same difference.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2016 01:19

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

kedo posted:

Pro tip: your digestive system is gentle enough that small pieces of glass or other sharp objects will pass through without hurting you. I mean, don't eat a three inch glass shard, but microscopic flecks from a crack in a bottle won't harm you at all.

Did Oz lie to me? loving hell

# ¿ Jan 24, 2016 02:19

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Why is it stupid, or more stupid than pretend spaceships and pretend fistfights on a computer?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2016 19:47

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Jewel Repetition posted:

How do you pronounce the r in Heimdallr? Or in any other norse words that end with an r immediately following a consonant, like Nidhoggr or Volundr.

There's nothing weird to it, liquid consonants like /r/ or /l/ have similar properties to vowels, so they can be syllabic and thus take positions that look weird to English speakers (see here for a famous example). The Old Norse r was probably the trilled Spanish /r/, but any rhotic is pronounceable in those positions. You can try saying it with a schwa between the consonant and the /r/ and then gradually reducing the schwa. Or, if it helps, you can compare it to English words like "little" or "even" that can similarly end in a syllabic consonant (/ˈlɪtl̩/, /ˈivn̩/).

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 12:36

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 08:33

Ras Het: May 23, 2007; when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child - but now I am a man.

Jewel Repetition posted:

So Nidhoggr is pronounced about the same as Nidhogger?

Nith-hogger, but yeah, close enough afaict.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2016 22:11

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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