Fun Facts

Fun fact:
A person weighing 200 lbs of pure muscle weighs exactly the same as a 200 lbs person of pure fat! Strange, but true. (now if I can convince my personal trainer, my job will be done)

Mayhem8 and everyone, think outside the box. To start, colliding with aircraft, cars on highways and etc. Used by terrorists foreign and domestic.
I can think of one use for Drones and I will not post it here that could kill 100,000 to 300,000 people or more.

Fun Fact:

In 2012 the predatory open-access"International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology" received a submission from two scientists at New York University in response to their endless spamming.

The landmark paper, entitled "Get Me Off Your Fucking Mailing List" was accepted after a thorough peer review process. One (anonymous) peer reviewer called the paper "excellent". All they had to do was pay $150 and the paper would be published.

He self-published the paper instead, which you can freely read yourself. It's not hard - just google the title and a link to the pdf comes up on Standford's website. It includes great passages such as "Get me off your fucking mailing list" and "Get me off your fucking mailing list". Only a couple of diagrams are included though, however, they both show the same thing - that they should get them off their fucking mailing list.

Fun Fact:

For the first time on record (reliable records go back to 1887) Los Angeles did not record a single day in February which reached 70 degrees.

What's so dangerous about them?

There must be a Federal Law outlawing Drones nationwide A S A P. My previous post. Drones are very dangerous.

One of my daughter's lives in DC and they already use drones to deliver stuff there.

Question on home page MSN. "Would you use a home delivery service that utilizes drones?" 71% say NO. For your information, any property you own, you own to the center of the earth and AS HIGH ABOVE THE PROPERTY THAT IS USABLE. IF YOU CAN BUILD ANOTHER WORLD TRADE CENTER 1776 FEET HIGH THEN THE DRONES MUST FLY ABOVE THE 1776 FEET, OR THEY ARE "TRESPASSING" ON YOUR PROPERTY. DRONES ARE A DANGER TO ALL OF US.

Fun Fact at the end.

If you've seen the movie "The Imitation Game" you'd learn about Alan Turing's invention of the "Bombe Machine", an early computer which could deduce the machine settings for a Nazi Enigma machine.

We've often heard complaints that the branches of the military don't share enough information and often duplicate (or triplicate) efforts. This situation was not any better during WW2.

Fun Fact: Both the Navy and the Army had their own projects to break the Enigma codes. There was so little communication about this that neither even knew the other was doing it, and both developed their own solutions to it. The solutions were not the same as the British one, or the same as each other, although the Navy one was closer to that of the British Bombe in strategy and design.

Over a million a year in pension?!? I am totally in the wrong line of work

There are 11 public employees in California who make over $1 million a year in pension benefits.

All but one are LA Fire or Police.

Fun Fact:

There are now more $100 bills in circulation than $1 bills, and $100 bills represent 77% of all US currency in circulation. More than 70% of them are outside of the United States, where the bill is widely used for trade, both formal and informal.

This article probably overstated his role, but...

It was in Berlin where Bowie recorded his 1977 album, "Heroes," a song about two lovers, one from East Berlin and one from the West. Living with punk legend Iggy Pop in the city's Schöneberg neighborhood, Bowie could walk outside his door and see the tyranny and death that came with living in the heart of the Cold War. The song's lyrics were so descriptive of the city's plight, it became one of Berlin's anthems.

A decade after recording "Heroes," Bowie returned to Berlin as part of the Concert for Berlin, a three-day festival held near the Reichstag, the seat of West Germany's parliament. Nearby was the Brandenburg Gate and, running through it, the notorious Berlin Wall. The music, forbidden in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) rang out loudly in the West, and wafted over the wall.

Thousands of East Berliners began to crowd the area near the gate, trying to get an earful as East German guards fought them back, dragging them away from the area and arresting the unruly. If they couldn't listen near the wall, they could listen over the airwaves. The radio station Radio in the American Sector broadcast the concert in its entirety throughout the city, with the blessings of the artists and recording labels.

Eventually, the crowd broke into a full-on chant of, "the wall must fall!" and "Gorby, get us out!" When the concert ended on the third night, the East German police beat back the crowd with billy clubs. Even though Bowie headlined the second night, it's believed his performance attracted more East Berliners to the wall the next night. It was the overreaction from the East Berlin police that turned so many residents against the regime. It completely changed the mood of the city, which would only be divided for two years longer before frustrations overwhelmed the wall.

Bowie played Berlin again in 1989, after the wall fell and the city was united. His last show in Berlin was in 2004. When Bowie died in 2016, the German government officially thanked him for bringing the wall down and unifying a divided Germany.

I found this interesting. Reported in the Washington Times.

More than 92,000 federal employees make salaries that match or exceed the governors of the states where they work.

Some are in traditional high-pay occupations such as doctors (and presumably lawyers). But the total also includes 18 painters, 22 welders and 25 pipefitters.

More than 1,000 clerical workers in Alabama make at least $120,000, or about the same salary as Gov. Kay Ivey. In Ohio, 333 Ohio “transportation” workers, most of them air traffic controllers, make in the ballpark of Gov. Mike DeWine’s nearly $149,000 salary.

And in Maryland, 359 clerical employees, 66 accountants, 57 information-technology workers and 100 vocational trainers or school instructors who also cleared $170,000 or more a year, according to the Congressional Research Service, which compiled the data for lawmakers.

re: trolling

So yeah I did jump to that conclusion, which probably isn't fair.

Do me a favor though, and don't conclude that anything related to veg's is some sort of dig at rabbit, mmk? :)

Alright...

"I never once implied that people were infected on the ship and immediately showed symptoms. You jumped to that conclusion all by yourself. "

You are correct. That is completely my mistake. I took your post to mean that you were describing a ship full of healthy people that were ravaged by a flu virus and truthfully, you didn't say that or even say anything that should readily be interpreted as that. I'm sorry to freak out on you like that about that.

Lol trolling VA? Really? I assume you think my post was aimed at you? Not one bit. Relax.

The LS cruisers in this particular carnival cruise have a private Facebook page. Most on said page (including us) are feeling ill. They actually started a poll and a few threads on the subject of illness because it’s so prevalent.

Many went to their regular doctor after returning home, were tested and treated. About half of those that went to the doc tested positive for flu A, many had gotten the flu shot. The other have various bronchial or sinus issues and one case of pneumonia. I guess they could be lying but I don’t see a motive.

I don’t believe either Scamp or I have the flu btw. Mine is bronchial, Scamp has a bad cold...possibly the norovirus you mentioned.

I never once implied that people were infected on the ship and immediately showed symptoms. You jumped to that conclusion all by yourself. In fact, if you had simply asked, I would have been happy to clarify that many people that went to the doctor said their doc felt they were infected before the cruise, which makes sense since there were several meet and greets before the cruise where “bugs” could have been passed around and would mesh with the 1-4 day incubation...although if infected on the first couple of days of a 5 day cruise the incubation period would also work. I didn't feel sick until the 4th day but was still well enough to enjoy myself.

Oh, yeah, another conclusion you jumped to was that all these people were sick ON the cruise when, once again if you asked, I could have clarified that most felt ill after leaving the ship, not on it.

Not all 1500 people are on the Facebook page but, like many studies, I consider the sampling of people that ARE on the FB page an indicator as to the larger ship populace. After all, cruise ships really are just floating Petri dishes

So calm your jets VA. Don’t let me bother you so much. I really was just stating something I found interesting.

~rabbit~

(consider your trolling successful)

I'd be interested to know how this data is available to you, and just a few days after a cruise ends. Did the WHO or the cruise line publish the data?

I also find it interesting because the most common cause of cruise ship pandemics is a norovirus, which spreads quickly and causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Since the incubation time for the flu is typically 1-4 days, it's pretty amazing how it could have ravaged a ship in just 5, causing everyone to feel run-down. coughing and sneezing. The ship's medical staff must have been enormous to have the capacity to see so many sick people and conduct influenza assays on them all.

What cruise line is this? I'd be interested to know more. These are incredible rates of disease transmission for what must have been a very unusually virulent and rapid-onsetting influenza strain. The CDC should be notified. Given the rate of transmission you are describing most of the country should be infected within 1-2 weeks.

The CDC requests that cruise ships report any cases of flu exceeding 1.38 cases per 1,000 traveler days, the threshold for reporting is 11 cases. What you have described (80% of 1,500 getting sick = 1,200, 50% of those being confirmed Influenza-A = 600 cases) is far above such a threshold and thus this incredible incident will probably be the subject of a massive CDC investigation.

I can’t say it’s a “fun fact” but I find it interesting.

About 79-80% of the ~1500 LS cruisers on the ship we cruised on are sick (including us- not unexpected)

About 50% of those have gone to the Doctor and tested positive for Flu A.

Most of the people that have been diagnosed with the flu had gotten a flu shot.

I know of ~5 people I’m friends with on Facebook that previously had gotten he flu despite having gotten the shot this year. Some get the flu almost every year despite getting a flu shot.

~rabbit~

Fun Facts: AC/DC's singer Bon Scott actually brought his eventual replacement to the band's attention. Angus Young recalled Bon telling him:

"There's this guy up there screaming at the top of his lungs and then the next thing you know he hits the deck. He's on the floor, rolling around and screaming. I thought it was great, and then to top it off – you couldn't get a better encore – they came in and wheeled the guy off!'"

Johnson was diagnosed with appendicitis that night.

Karl Benz, inventor of the modern automobile, had to receive written permission from the Grand Ducal authorities to operate his car on public roads in 1888 after residents complained about the noise and smell of his Motorwagen.

This constituted the first ever driver's license.

Well this is interesting....

"Florida Man" has become a popular internet meme as a result of the purportedly rather high number of oddball activities which make the news. However, the New York Times states that this is a result of a confluence of factors.

1. Florida is the third largest state by population; hence, there's a higher probability that some of those people will be very strange (or get themselves into strange situations).

1. Florida is a bizarre mix of cultures of transplants from other states and countries (see our "10 States of Florida" map), so it's hard to find a central defining characterization of the state's culture other than simply "weird."

1. The Government in the Sunshine Act of 1909.

I've not heard of this last one. What is it?

Since 1909, Florida has had a proud tradition that all government business is public business and therefore should be available to the public. That means all records, including photos and videos, produced by a public agency are easily accessible with a few narrow and obvious exceptions. Public officials are also required to open all of their meetings — even unofficial ones — to the public.

It's the reason why Miami-Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez had to file a public notice to talk to his own son, City of Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, earlier this month because the two planned to discuss public transit issues. It's why former Gov. Charlie Crist had to invite a journalist to his 2008 wedding. On a more serious note, these are the laws that allow journalists and concerned citizens to uncover examples of corruption, conflicts of interest, and abuse.

When a painfully blunt job listing for a reporter listed by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune went viral in 2011, it stated "for those unaware of Florida’s reputation, it’s arguably the best news state in the country and not just because of the great public records laws."

Say a journalist elsewhere gets a tip that a man in a dog costume was caught making love to a Hello Kitty doll in a mall bathroom. Here in Florida, we could just call the police and say something like, "Heard there was an arrest at the mall yesterday. Can we get the report?" For journalists in many other states, it's not that easy. They might not be able to get the arrest report or must wait a while before police release it. They might be able to get some information, but without other evidence, they really don't have much for a story — and digging further might take more time than it's worth.

----

Mind you, until I moved to Florida, I'd never seen a woman jump up on the hood of a car stopped at a red light and begin masturbating for everyone at the intersection. But that was "Florida woman". She needs another explanation.

Or by being 83.

"died of complications from diabetes"

possibly caused from the donuts?

Michael Vale...the longtime sleepy-eyed mascot "Fred the Baker" for donut chain Dunkin' Donuts...died of complications from diabetes at age 83.

Sometimes the punchlines just write themselves.

~Scamp