Random Thought Thread

We haven't been above freezing for days now and I love it.

 

GOD I KNOW.

We are actually above freezing now. Cold snap ended today. Nice while it lasted, though.

 

We’re up to 7.5 today (after 4-5 days of temps as low as -4) and that suits me perfectly for the time of year. I love the crispness of sub-zero temperatures but it can get a little much when working outdoors.

 

I’ve never really understood why people talk about income on an annual basis. I mean I know it’s the standard system for nearly all financial matters but when people talk about a pay rise rise of £XXX and how it will equate to an extra £XXXX a year, it means nothing to me. No one is paid annually, so just tell me how much more it is per week / per month. At least that way I can easily get my head around how much better off I‘ll actually be. Yes, I could just divide the annual figure by 12, but then I have to do maths.

 

At my work I saw a street name called Abells Holler Log Lane. That is totally real. I spent some time giggling and imagining a guy who has a secret log he likes to yell into, and some people catch him and go, "We're gonna name a street after it!" and he's all like, "Please don't!" and they're all, "It's too laaaaate!"

Dang it, @OurJud, learn some maths.

 

I understand it, but it really depends on what sort of worker you are. Hourly people tend to think in hourly wages and have to do the math to work out their annual earnings (hint: assuming you get paid vacation, 52 weeks is 2080 hours if you're a full-timer). Salaried workers tend to think in terms of annual pay and may work more (or fewer) than 40 hours a week but get the same paycheck no matter what, so their "hourly" is a guesstimate. My primary job is semi-salaried, which means that my contract specifies how much I get per month regardless of whether I teach for 21 days, 20 days, or no days during our semester breaks. Some US teachers don't get paid during their summer breaks, some get paid 12 months a year but a smaller increment each month. My pay is based on my classroom hours, prep time is my own problem, so my hourly (30 weeks a year, 21 classroom hours per week, wildly varying prep hours per week, XXX,000 yen per month) is pretty much incalculable. At my part-time jobs it's simpler, paid per classroom hour on a zero-hour contract.

 

It’s not that I don’t understand pay on an annual basis, but like I said no one is paid annually so what good is knowing your pay rise will result in, for example, an extra £1,500 a year? Nearly all our bills and outgoings are taken monthly, so it makes far more sense to me, to know my pay rise will result in an extra £125 per month, because that’s when I get paid.

 

i've discovered a physiological quirk, thanks to facebook

Spoiler: finger

so there was this picture of this lady's hand with all fingers splayed except for the ring finger that was curled down. the caption said "bet you cant do this".
challenge accepted.
i tried it, and couldnt do it. i could not keep all fingers splayed and bend the ring finger. so i used my other hand to bend the finger down, and it locked. couldnt unbend it. it was freaky! almost like that "game" your friends played on you when the crossed your legs and then had you try to stand up. only way my finger would unclock is if i made a fist and opened my hand again.

 

Could you link the photo? I want to try this.

 

couldnt find the original facebook post, but here is my attempt

Spoiler: for size

first attempt to bend the ring finger without help.


second attempt where i bent it with help


now its stuck

 

I can do it no problem. I can also curl my tongue.

 

You, sir, are a mutant

 

Mutant and Proud!!

 

it may just be me, then. because when i curl my toes, the last 2 toes dont curl on one foot

 

my only claim to mutant fame is my family.
my mom can lick her nose and blow "smoke" (i kid you not, she does this thing where she hold her breath for a long time and then lets it out really slow, and you can see the vapor like a puff of smoke...shes not a smoker or a vaper, fyi), and my grandpa could wiggle his ears and crack walnuts in the palm of his hand

 

Those are very important grandfatherly skills.

 

indeed. who needs a nut cracker when you have grandpa

 

I can crack my knuckles. Maybe if I ever become a grandpa I'll be able to crack my nuts, but not sure I'd care to try...

 

In the messroom at work there’s an article pinned up detailing the five highest earning company directors from around the area. The guy on top earns an average of £58,000.... PER WEEK!!!!

 

That’s quite the party trick!

 

I can’t do many of these things but this one is the easiest thing in the world!

#pieceofpiss #easypeasy

 

I actually asked her about it after i posted this.
She laughed and said she was surprised i remembered (she hasnt done it since i was a kid). A friend of hers taught her to do it when she was a teenager and she just got really good at it, so apparently it was a thing. She said you basically just build up air and then force the air from your lungs all at once.
Simple.

 

But air doesn’t show as ‘smoke’ otherwise we’d all breathe like dragons. I reckon she’s pulling your leg.