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For the queries you think of that you think are too daft to ask your partner or mates for fear of the piss taking. It's a safe space here.
Please try to provide an answer as well as posting your own pondering.
Do guide dogs get a proper holiday? An annual period of not being a guide dog, not just going away with their owner.
I love the idea that they might and now am all tied up with wondering what budget vs all inclusive might look like. I can’t see buffets working very well with dogs, even well behaved guide dogs. Activities clubs are easy: sticks in the morning, balls in the afternoon, maybe a muddy puddle on Tuesday mornings and rolling in something dead on Friday nights.
My question: why does so much AI art look like the cover of a Yes album, and why is the airbrush the art medium of the future?
How long will it be before AI develops a translation device so we can understand and talk to animals?
I think I already know what our cat is calling us,just want it confirmed 😆 🤣
Does Conservative HQ have a duck pond and what’s security like around it?
They're that backwards it's probably a ducking pond. I bet it has a stool with Angela Rayner's name on it.
I'm pretty sure guide dogs actually do get holidays. They have supply hounds to cover for them.
Not sure about the buffet though.
Guide Dogs get plenty of time when they're just being dogs - basically when the harness comes off, they aren't working. It takes time to build the partnership with the owner so you can't just swap one out for a spare, but if the owner were say to go away without the dog then there are fosterers who would look after the dog and effectively give it a holiday.
As for the poo, they are trained to effectively poo on command and then there are "procedures" where the owner can find and pick up the poo. And in guide dog land it's called "spending"
Guide dog buffets would be a terrible idea, they are Labradors after all and labs are well known for being the hungriest animals in the world! A friends lab managed to often a 18kg bag of dog food and ate until he was sick, he then ate the sick 🙂
My question, do you think pets get annoyed when we go out to work for the day or enjoy a day of relaxing on the sofa?
How long will it be before AI develops a translation device so we can understand and talk to animals?
There was something on radio 4 on Monday about teaching it to understand dogs barking.
No mention of whether they were demanding time off or just chatting.
Guide dog buffets would be a terrible idea, they are Labradors after all and labs are well known for being the hungriest animals in the world
They're a mix of labs, golden retriever, German Shepherd or even cockerpoo, often cross bred. And they should(*) also be trained to only eat when they're told - imagine being led down the pavement by something that was distracted by every dropped scrap of food, and the owner needs to be fairly confident (*) that they can leave some food out on the kitchen worktop and not have it scoffed by the hound.
(* but ATEOTD they're still dogs)
Away from the subject of Guide Dogs...
Is Rick Deckard a Replicant?
My son has just watched Blade Runner and thinks that he isn't. I think he is.
Are sugarsnap peas and baby leaf spinach just young versions of the big ones, or a separate variety?
Is Rick Deckard a Replicant?
My son has just watched Blade Runner and thinks that he isn’t. I think he is.
Of course he is, how else does Gant know he dreams of unicorns?
Is Rick Deckard a Replicant?
It doesn't matter. The story works if he's human or a replicant
Of course he is, how else does Gant know he dreams of unicorns?
That was my logic!
In an interview Ford said he wasn't and Scott said he was, but didn't know it.
Do guide dogs get a proper holiday?
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No. It's a dog's life.
Are sugarsnap peas
Mange tout Rodney, Mange tout (sort of)
Suger-snap peas are a varietal I think, not sure about baby leaf spinach though.
What actually is Kool Aid and why do people keep getting told to keep taking it?
Kool aid is an American cordial mix that Ken Kesey and co. dosed acid in.
Read Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. Good read.
'They really drank the Kool Aid' comes from the Jonestown massacre, full explanation here;
(warning, it's deeply horrifying and sad)
Why can I barely hear or see the programme on telly but the adverts or programme makers ident are at 78db and in electromegavision colour?
Of course he is, how else does Gant know he dreams of unicorns?
It's an interesting one is this, because the unicorn dream was excised in the theatrical release but restored for the Director's Cut. In the original, Rear Admiral Adama's origami is merely his calling card, "I was here." In the DC it's much more loaded, it implies that he could have retired Deckard but chose not to.
It doesn’t matter. The story works if he’s human or a replicant
See also, Total Recall. The story pans out perfectly both as presented and as if the rest of the film following the visit to Recall was the imprinted memory he bought.
Ah, what he said. ☝
Having just toasted some for lunch, I was going to ask "why do bagels have holes?" Then I thought, I have the Internets. As it turns out, there's a quite interesting history.
https://www.mashed.com/151894/the-real-reason-there-are-holes-in-the-middle-of-bagels/
Some doughnuts have holes, and some have jam. Why has no one thought to put jam in bagels?
Is Rick Deckard a Replicant?
Old red eyes is back...
Some doughnuts have holes, and some have jam. Why has no one thought to put jam in bagels?
Because the two are a completely separate entity and perfect in their own right. If I want something jammy I will buy a doughnut. If I want something really really tasty to put my cream cheese and smoked salmon in, I'll buy a bagel.
If that comes across as slightly grouchy, just consider asking why no one thought to toast a doughnut and fill it with mustard, pastrami and dill pickle
I blame the sort of deviants who put sprinkles on the culinary perfection that is ice cream. Flogging's too good for them etc.
Wibble.
Does a modern automatic (i drive a Skoda 1.5L DSG Auto) wear out the clutch quicker or slower than a manual car of the same model? does driver/driving style make a difference either way?
if anyone wants to give their guide dog a day off, i'd be willing to walk them round the shops etc. (the person, not the dog, dog should be down the pub on its day off)
I bet it has a stool with Angela Rayner’s name on it.
I’d shit in thier pond as well!
Politics aside, this deserves more attention 🤣
It’s a powder, not a cordial.
A powdered cordial, yes
'Horse, with a round fundament, why does he emit a square excrement?'
At Swim Two Birds
A powdered cordial, yes
Are you sure about that? Ten seconds with Google doesn't bear it out.
Coincidentally, I do know the etymology of 'cordial' (it popped up on an episode of The Allusionist I listened to yesterday). It relates to 'of the heart,' similar to cardiac, and stems from quack remedies in the days of medicine being based on the four humours.
Can my dog understand a French dog, or do they bark in a different language?
I would imagine that barks are global 😉
#animalswithoutborders 🙃
Whys orange jam called marmalade
Can my dog understand a French dog, or do they bark in a different language?
They bark in a different language. A bark in French is "wuah wuah" rather than "woof woof."
Whys orange jam called marmalade
It's broadly a corruption of words for "quince jam."
Quite how, when or why orange supplanted quince, I have no idea. What even is a quince?
Wikipedia:
The Portuguese original word marmelada means made of 'quince'.
Unlike jam, a large quantity of water is added to the fruit in a marmalade, the extra liquid being set by the high pectin content of the fruit. In this respect it is like a jelly, but whereas the fruit pulp and peel are strained out of jelly to give it its characteristic clarity, it is retained in a marmalade.
What even is a quince?
Looks like a fat yellow pear, tastes (I understand, never tried) very sour like a crabapple.
Yeah, I just looked it up (Wikipedia again). I can't say as it sounds appetising, even with mince and a runcible spoon.
I can’t say as it sounds appetising, even with mince and a runcible spoon.
That's cos you're not an owl or a pus.... wait a minute.
🐈
Can my dog understand a French dog, or do they bark in a different language?
Yes. Animals from different places do sound different (there is research showing the birds and cows have 'accents') but a lot of the dog's communication is non-verbal, scents and body language. Similar to how humans can communicate with someone from elsewhere by facial expression and gesture I guess, and probably how we did it before language. A dog's communication doesn't respect national boundaries like a human's does.
You can understand if a British dog is happy, sad, pleased, angry, whatever and you can tell the same for a a French one. Other dogs will be getting a lot of nuance we aren't picking up of course.
Why might an Aussie magpie peck you on the head but an English one is better behaved?
Why might an Aussie magpie peck you on the head but an English one is better behaved?
Everything in Australia is trying to kill you all the time.
English animals can still be bastards but at least they mostly respect the class system.
Why it is called spork? Why isn't is Foon?
Also some sporks have a serrated knife element to them, why aren't they spoonknifefork or spoknork or forknifoon?
A foon is a different utensil. A spork is more spoony whilst a foon is more forky. It's a bit like yellow-green vs green-yellow in Crayola crayons.
I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.
This has not happened, it'll be alright tomorrow night won't it?
What kind of medicine do they put in medicine balls?
Does your brain record noise whilst you are asleep. Then wake you up and Replay the noise so you can hear it and decide if it's something important?
I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.
This has not happened, it’ll be alright tomorrow night won’t it?
It'll be fine IMHO, especially if defrosted and left in the fridge. Smell and visual check will confirm.
Those moles that dig out on the edge/verge of busy A roads.
Never seen a dead one,so I wonder if they sense danger and reverse at speed.
When Julius Caesar (he of the rather calorific salads) crossed the Rubicon river did he go, "shit lads, we've only gone and crossed the Rubicon now!" ??
Why are most motorway junctions signposted at 1 mile, then ½ mile, but near Bristol as you approach the M32 on M4 westbound, it’s signposted at 2/3 mile?
Why are most motorway junctions signposted at 1 mile, then ½ mile, but near Bristol as you approach the M32 on M4 westbound, it’s signposted at 2/3 mile?
Because it's twinned with the Bannockburn M9 junction which is marked in 1, 1/2 and 1/3 of a mile...
Exactly how fast is 'the speed of 1000 gazelles'?
Why it is called spork? Why isn’t is Foon?
A spork is the tines of a fork and the bowl of the spoon combined. A foon is just the handle and of a of a fork combined with and the handle of a spoon. Not very useful really, unless you have two, then you can use them as chopsticks.
Why do we call all shapes of eating irons 'cutlery' when only knives cut. Should't the the forks and spoons be called 'stablery' and 'scooplery'?
Why do we call all shapes of eating irons ‘cutlery’ when only knives cut.
Because we originally only used knives, and they were made by a culter. The stuff culters made was called cutlery. When forks became popular, the same people started making them so it was still cutlery. In America they don't call it that, just silverware - even if it's plastic or wooden.
Why do we call all shapes of eating irons ‘cutlery’ when only knives cut.
This is why 'diggers' works so much better.
How long will it be before AI develops a translation device so we can understand and talk to animals?
I've given AI art generators quite simple instructions to which they've achieved nothing but catastrophic failure so I won't be trusting them to reliably aid our communication with animals.
It would be a game of chinese whispers between us, AI, and animals. What could possibly go wrong?
I had a spork made from a particular metal. It was sold as a typhoon.
Does your brain record noise whilst you are asleep. Then wake you up and Replay the noise so you can hear it and decide if it’s something important?
No my brain is neither a sound recorder nor audio player.
I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.
This has not happened, it’ll be alright tomorrow night won’t it?
No, it'll still be dead.
relapsed_mandalorian
Exactly how fast is ‘the speed of 1000 gazelles’
as fast as the slowest gazelke
why is a phone keypad different layout to a calculator?
What's another name for a Thesaurus?
What’s another name for a Thesaurus?
LMGTFY. Okay the answer is:
Wordfinder, synonym finder.
Peak usage of the term Wordfinder was between 1980 and 2000.
The 'is Dekard a replicant' quandary I always chose to be unanswered, neither yes nor no. Blade Runner 2049 gives a fairly definitive answer though, no?
In the old Yellow Pages advert, why didn't J.R. Hartley have a copy of his own book?
If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?
If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?
My brother has found this out. Twice. On two continents.
The answer is that really helpful council workers nearby look after your bike and return it to you a few days later.
Australian Magpies (Artamids) are totally different family of birds to European Magpies (Corvids), although they are both black and white and a simliar size.
If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?
The crew from the ambulance station took it back to their base from where I collected its twisted form a few days later. Which was very nice of them.
I still think they were a bit quick to cut through the strap of my camelback rather than just undo the buckle though!
When councils replace playgrounds, how do they dispose of the old equipment? Does the installation contractor just bin it all?
Peak usage of the term Wordfinder was between 1980 and 2000.
The junior wordfinders are all pretty easygoing but the Wordfinder General isn't to be messed with...
Why is there a d in fridge but not in refrigerator?