Forty

Today I learned how to throw a frisbee, like...underhand? Backhand? I dunno. The opposite of how you normally do it. And I'm not very good at it but at least I know how to do it and can make it work.

I'm not as bad at throwing the frisbee as I thought I was. I can usually make it go to the person I want it to (TODD!). I did break a nail though.......

Thirty nine

Grumble grumble...unsatisfactory learnings on the etymology of "high-falutin." In short, nobody's sure. Is unsatisfactory learnings really learnings at all? I say yes.

Thirty eight

Ok, this may or may not be the thing I was meaning to blog about a few hours ago. I got excited about something and then forgot all about it. Anyway: bananas. Did you know they are seedless, and sterile? A new plant can only be produced from cuttings of another plant. Don't worry, though. They're not going anywhere.

Thirty seven

Today I learned about how UPC bar codes work. Basically, the first half of the number indicates the manufacturer and is assigned by the UPC overlords, while the second half of the number indicates the specific product and is assigned by the manufacturer, who also has to keep track and make sure that they never use the same number twice, etc. The final digit is a "check number" that you can figure out by like adding and multiplying all the other numbers in a certain way (see the link for details); the computer does this calculation and compares with the check number to make sure the item got scanned correctly. Cool, huh?

As for the bar code itself, each number is represented by a combination of four black lines and white spaces of varying thickness (from one to four units wide). The link will give you the specifics if you feel like impressing the opposite sex by decoding bar codes for them.

I guess that's pretty much it, even though this was not actually what I set out to learn today. I just wanted to know how scanners actually read bar codes, and not necessarily about UPC codes specifically; like, the ones we use at the library, for example. How does that red light read those little lines? Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting follow-up, loyal reader(s).

Thirty five, Thirty six

Saturday:

Bill did a little 'splaining to me about gravity, rubber mats, and balls (fun site there, by the way). As part of the honors program at college, you could take these special classes that were just, like, a bunch of smart people sitting around talking about smart people stuff (I don't know, I never ended up taking one), and there was one once called Time. I really wanted to take it and simultaneously knew that it would kick my ass so hard. My brain gets all pissy with me when I try to make it think about things like Time and Gravity (not to mention being all "Well, what kind of rubber mat? Is it like a yoga mat, or one of those sheets for people who wet the bed, or what?").

Sunday:

Today I learned that the cable company is CHARGING ME $2.10 every month for the stupid Channel Guide Magazine that I throw away. I want to stab the cable company in the neck. They have been nothing but asses to me since I moved in here. Damn.

Thirty four

Today I learned the rules to a game called "Eat Poop You Cat." Basically you take a piece of paper, and the first person writes a sentence on it...then, the next person takes the paper and draws a picture that represents the sentence. Then the sentence gets covered up and you pass it on to the third person, so the third person just sees the picture, and they have to write a sentence that is a caption for the picture...cover up the picture and repeat as needed. It's basically like a game of telephone but with pictures and sentences alternating. In the end you get to look at the whole mess and see how everybody interpreted everything. It sounds like it could be pretty fun...and also extremely dirty, if I know my friends.

I learn about games a lot. I like games.

Thirty two, Thirty three

Grr, I'm tired. Sometimes I really wish I didn't have this blog.

Wednesday:

I learned that recycling is a waste. Apparently it is not efficient, creates a lot of pollution, costs a lot of money, etc. Also, our landfills are not running out of room and we won't be in trouble with landfills for many years. This is based on a paragraph off the back of Penn and Teller's Bullshit, but hey, I trust them. That's kind of a bummer because I'm usually pretty good about recycling stuff. Good to know I was wasting my time!

Today:

The term Frisbee comes from the Frisbie baking company that used to sell pies in pie tins that would later be thrown around for fun, mostly by college students. When Wham-O "invented" the Frisbee years later, they decided to go with that name for their product. More at Wikipedia under Frisbee.