Random randomness

[Daehawk]

I have known this ever since I studied the Enterprise blueprints as a kid. And it still feels weird.

In most views the bridge is only as big around as the dome bubble. Nothing says that that blip on the outside back in the turbolift. I choose to believe the lift is inside the area right around the dome bubble and that nub on the back is some kind of pylon used for support from the neck or is a aft computer core area for Spock's station.Unlike a modern elevator the turbolift does not require mechanical machinery above it.

[Blackhawk]

It's canonical. The official manuals and blueprints show that it is, indeed, canted at an angle. It was actually caused by the fact that the sections of the outside of the bridge set were separate. They could have rearranged them any way they liked. They originally tried it with the turbolift directly in the rear, but it was a pain to arrange the shots whenever they needed another character to walk onto the bridge (the usual shot would have the new arrival obscured by the captain's toupee), so they switched it with the one next to it.

[Holman]

Yeah, the Franz Joseph blueprints make it clear that the back circle is the turbolift and that the bridge "front" is off-center.

Someone pointed this out in a thread about Texas recently, but for a few years in the late 1970s, the wargame publisher "Amarillo Design Bureau" owned the rights to the ship designs of the Star Trek universe (or at least those associated with TOS and the animated series). They didn't have rights to the stories or characters, but these were briefly in rights limbo, so there was a period when the entire Starfleet universe existed *only* as a hex-based wargame.

[Daehawk]

Maybe to the world but not to me ever. I cant accept them traveling sideways . Its like that Lamborghini that has the driver sit facing the center more. its just WRONG.

[Holman]

Maybe to the world but not to me ever. I cant accept them traveling sideways . Its like that Lamborghini that has the driver sit facing the center more. its just WRONG.

Apollo astronauts re-entered the atmosphere and landed ass-first.

[Rumpy]

I have known this ever since I studied the Enterprise blueprints as a kid. And it still feels weird.

Of course, the real reason was in the way it was laid out at the studio. They've had to lay it out in such a way that it all fit together, and I think that's why it was technically off-center. A few years ago, I visited the studio set replica in Ticonderoga NY, the one that was built by James Crawley and his fanfilm team, and what I found amazing was just how accurate the set was, down to the last detail, replicating the layout the way was on the Desilu Lot. So yeah, you go down the corridor, and when you come out, the orientation kind of throws you off, because it doesn't quite feel right. Btw, I did sit in the Captain's Chair. Cool feeling I recommend that set tour to anyone.

[Daehawk]

Maybe to the world but not to me ever. I cant accept them traveling sideways . Its like that Lamborghini that has the driver sit facing the center more. its just WRONG.

Apollo astronauts re-entered the atmosphere and landed ass-first.

Now you're just pullin my leg. Im pretty sure they were in a capsule.

[Sudy]

Actually, the first astronauts had to do a lot of things with their asses. Operate the landing gear. Perform differential calculus. Often while simultaneously carrying out a completely different complex task with their hands. Hell, Neil Armstrong planted the flag on the moon using his ass.

[Blackhawk]

Today's job: Make Christmas happen. I've been baking for about eight hours, and still have more to do. While the batches bake I've been wrapping presents. My back will take days to recover.

[Holman]

Thanks! We can download those cookies, right?

I just received my mom's annual box of homemade fudge and pralines. She sends so much that, even though we're a five-person household, we have to distribute portions out to the neighbors so that we don't die of it.

[Blackhawk]

Sure. Just click 'Accept All Cookies.' Some browser addons may prevent you from receiving cookies.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I congratulate you for your efforts Blackhawk, but those appear to be the wrong type of cookies for the occasion. Here's the correct recipe for Christmas cookies when you're ready to try again.

[Blackhawk]

I've been making these cookies for Christmas for almost 40 years now. I learned the recipe from my grandmother who was making it for decades before that. I'm pretty sure I made the right cookies.

[Z-Corn]

I've been making these cookies for Christmas for almost 40 years now. I learned the recipe from my grandmother who was making it for decades before that. I'm pretty sure I made the right cookies.

So uh, those have some sour cream in them?

[Blackhawk]

They're Christmas cookies, not taco cookies!

[Anonymous Bosch]

I've been making these cookies for Christmas for almost 40 years now. I learned the recipe from my grandmother who was making it for decades before that. I'm pretty sure I made the right cookies.

Is mincemeat one of the ingredients? Otherwise I again applaud your efforts, but they're still the wrong type of cookies for the occasion. I have a British accent y'see, so I'm something of an authority on matters such as this or sinister Imperial Star Wars shenanigans.

[Kraken]

There can be only rum balls.

Christmas cookies used to make me happy when my mom would mail me a shoebox full of my childhood assortment every year. Then one year she sent a box of Meijer's cookies. Her Alzheimer's had progressed to where she couldn't handle making them anymore. Now Christmas cookies make me sad.

Rum balls would help, though.

[Blackhawk]

Is mincemeat one of the ingredients? Otherwise I again applaud your efforts, but they're still the wrong type of cookies for the occasion. I have a British accent y'see, so I'm something of an authority on matters such as this or sinister Imperial Star Wars shenanigans.

Don't tell me 'bout cookies, biscuit boy!

[Daehawk]

My step grandma used to always make rum balls. Something I always looked forward to. That and playing poker with my step grandpa. He would keep my money too

[stessier]

Sure. Just click 'Accept All Cookies.' Some browser addons may prevent you from receiving cookies.

[Paingod]

So uh, those have some sour cream in them?

Reminds me of a time when one of my aunts - a famously horrible cook - once picked up the wrong container in the kitched while she was cooking and made cinnamon meatballs for a family event. It was all kinds of wrong.

[Sudy]

When exactly did I lose the ability to accurately locate my mouth with a fork or spoon? I swear I didn't have this problem as a kid. It's made severely worse by having a beard or moustache, even trimmed. I feel like I'm playing a shady carnival game. I bought a new pack of undershirts a few weeks ago, and I think four of the five are already stained. (Yes, I usually eat in my undershirt. I'm working from home and have no personal standards.)

[Paingod]

Yes, I usually eat in my undershirt. I'm working from home and have no personal standards.

Nothing stopping you from tucking a $2 towel from Wal-Mart into the neck of your shirt before you tuck in, then.

I might sound like I'm poking fun, but my 65 year old mother does something similar. She's famous in the family for missing her mouth and dropping food on herself.

[Isgrimnur]

STELLA!

[Hrdina]

So uh, those have some sour cream in them?

Reminds me of a time when one of my aunts - a famously horrible cook - once picked up the wrong container in the kitched while she was cooking and made cinnamon meatballs for a family event. It was all kinds of wrong.

Anyone who likes Cincinnati chili might find those appealing.

[Skinypupy]

So uh, those have some sour cream in them?

Reminds me of a time when one of my aunts - a famously horrible cook - once picked up the wrong container in the kitched while she was cooking and made cinnamon meatballs for a family event. It was all kinds of wrong.

My grandma once served us spaghetti with sauce that was utterly horrid. Wife and I were trying to be nice and choke it down, but it was truly awful.

We found out afterwards that she ran out of tomato sauce and had substituted enchilada sauce instead figuring it was "close enough".

[Isgrimnur]

So uh, those have some sour cream in them?

Reminds me of a time when one of my aunts - a famously horrible cook - once picked up the wrong container in the kitched while she was cooking and made cinnamon meatballs for a family event. It was all kinds of wrong.

Anyone who likes Cincinnati chili might find those appealing.

[Brian]

When I was in the Navy, the spaghetti served aboard my ship was routinely terrible. Basically it was noodles with marinara that was little more than red water and a few pathetic bits of meat.

The exception was one night when, somehow by some miracle, the sauce was thick, flavorful, just a hint of spicy, and was a rare Navy meal that I actually enjoyed.

I felt compelled, for the only time in my service, to leave a note in the mess deck's suggestion box commending them on a delicious meal and to please, continue to make the spaghetti the same way from that point forward.

Satisfied, I returned to the berth for my division only to find everybody complaining about how terrible the spaghetti was that night. I was dumbfounded.

Needless to say, it was never served that way again.

[Paingod]

[Z-Corn]

They're Christmas cookies, not taco cookies!

No, for real, those look like my great-grandma's sour cream cookies. Except hers had a pecan squished into the top.

They are delightful!

[Blackhawk]

They're Christmas cookies, not taco cookies!

No, for real, those look like my great-grandma's sour cream cookies. Except hers had a pecan squished into the top.

They are delightful!

Ah, no. These are sugar cookies. Flour, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, eggs, "oleo" (ie - margarine), oil, cream of tartar, baking soda, chilled overnight, rolled into balls, then smooshed with a glass dipped in more sugar. That flattens them and gives them a top coating of sugar that crisps when they bake. They're not chewy at all. They're dry, but not nasty powdery dry. They sort of dissolve in your mouth when you eat them, almost like crunchy cotton candy would.

[Scuzz]

Actually, the first astronauts had to do a lot of things with their asses. Operate the landing gear. Perform differential calculus. Often while simultaneously carrying out a completely different complex task with their hands. Hell, Neil Armstrong planted the flag on the moon using his ass.

I always wondered where they had it stored on the ship until they put it up.

[Jaymann]

Actually, the first astronauts had to do a lot of things with their asses. Operate the landing gear. Perform differential calculus. Often while simultaneously carrying out a completely different complex task with their hands. Hell, Neil Armstrong planted the flag on the moon using his ass.

I always wondered where they had it stored on the ship until they put it up.

In the prop trunk.
[/duck]

[Daehawk]

When I was a kid houses had heated ceilings and AC vents in the floors. My families always used the heated ceilings because they said it was cheaper to heat that way than use the central heating and air. In the summer though they'd use that central air.

But looking back the placement of these makes no sense. We all know heat rises and cold sinks. You'd think heating would be in the floors to keep your feet warm and allow the warmth to rise to fill the room. And the AC vents should be in the ceiling so the cool air drifts down the fill the room.

My only guess as to why they are reversed is I suppose its tougher to run ac venting in the attic or ceiling and if you put heating in the flooring then you gotta contend with nailing through it or something. Still it seems opposite world.

[Holman]

When I was a kid houses had heated ceilings and AC vents in the floors. My families always used the heated ceilings because they said it was cheaper to heat that way than use the central heating and air. In the summer though they'd use that central air.

But looking back the placement of these makes no sense. We all know heat rises and cold sinks. You'd think heating would be in the floors to keep your feet warm and allow the warmth to rise to fill the room. And the AC vents should be in the ceiling so the cool air drifts down the fill the room.

My only guess as to why they are reversed is I suppose its tougher to run ac venting in the attic or ceiling and if you put heating in the flooring then you gotta contend with nailing through it or something. Still it seems opposite world.

Most forced-air units use the same ducts and vents for heat and cold. I've never seen a forced-air house that had different vents for each.

I've seen houses where the first-floor vents were in the ceiling and the second-floor vents were in the floor, but that's because the ducts feeding both went up the wall and then through the layer between the two levels.

[Isgrimnur]

ars technica

Broadband and TV providers will finally be required to stop charging "rental" fees for equipment that customers own themselves, thanks to a new US law that takes effect on Sunday.

The bogus fees were outlawed by the Television Viewer Protection Act (TVPA), which was approved by Congress and signed by President Trump in December 2019. The law was originally scheduled to take effect on June 20, but Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission leeway to delay enforcement by six months if the FCC "finds that good cause exists for such an additional extension."

The FCC in April granted the six-month delay to ISPs, claiming that providers needed more time to comply because of the coronavirus pandemic. That decision delayed implementation of the new requirements until December 20, 2020. [ -Isg]

The change is good news for customers of Frontier Communications, which has insisted on charging $10 rental fees to customers who use their own routers. As we wrote in July 2019, Frontier claimed it charges the fee to cover higher support costs for customers who use their own equipment. But Frontier said at the same time that it "cannot support or repair non-Frontier equipment," contradicting its own justification for charging the fee.
...
The companies may not charge rental or lease fees in cases when "the provider has not provided the equipment to the consumer; or the consumer has returned the equipment to the provider."
...
The law also includes a right to transparency that requires TV providers to inform customers of the total monthly charges, including all company-imposed fees and a good-faith estimate of all government-imposed fees and taxes, before they enter into a contract. This notice must specify the amount of promotional discounts and when those discounts will expire. The law also gives customers a 24-hour period in which they can cancel new TV service without penalty.

[dbt1949]

I hope this applies to DISH network too.

[Rumpy]

When I was a kid houses had heated ceilings and AC vents in the floors

I've honestly never heard of heated ceilings beyond commercial buildings. In the last 10 years or so, it's been trending towards heated floors in my region and further north for newly built houses, and by that, I mean heated pipes running through the floorboards.

[Blackhawk]

I've made enough coffee to get through two and a half hours of senate deliberations, Nascar, and HR Pufnstuf rolled into one.

Spoiler:

Yep, I'm watching The Phantom Menace. I've decided to watch all of the Star Wars films in chronological order, and that's the beginning. I may need to add some brandy for this coffee.

[Kraken]

Truly random randomness.

https://theuselessweb.com/