TIL: Today I Learned... (Join in!)

[LadyTevar]

TIL that 4-H clubs have actual Training Classes to teach people how to be a competition judge, and have a very stingent set of Rubics by which competitions are judged.
Something that the SCA needs to learn, imho.

(link for those who might not know what 4H clubs are, as I think they're USA-centric?)

[EnterpriseSovereign]

OG Lara Croft didn't look THAT bad. But then my baseline is the 8 bit era...

She looked like she was smuggling a pair of traffic cones in her bodysuit.

[Lord Revan]

OG Lara Croft didn't look THAT bad. But then my baseline is the 8 bit era...

She looked like she was smuggling a pair of traffic cones in her bodysuit.

more like a single traffic barrier, at least in Tomb raider, in later games they might given her breast more separation, but that's the 1990s 3D when you have very limited polygon count, the guys didn't look much better either.

[Crazedwraith]

TIL that before he played pretty much the definitive Hercule Poirot, David Suchet played Inspector Japp to Peter Ustinov's Poirot. In a very Steptoe/Tony Hancock accent which is jarring if you only know him as Poirot.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

OG Lara Croft didn't look THAT bad. But then my baseline is the 8 bit era...

She looked like she was smuggling a pair of traffic cones in her bodysuit.

more like a single traffic barrier, at least in Tomb raider, in later games they might given her breast more separation, but that's the 1990s 3D when you have very limited polygon count, the guys didn't look much better either.

I never played the original, just saw the screenshots. Even the box art wasn't much better, where it looked like she was lugging around a pair of cannonballs stuffed up her shirt I was a late starter with the franchise, only getting into it for Legend/Anniversary/Underworld era. Anniversary included the original design as one of the skins as a gimmick, see how primitive it looked by comparison I think that was when Lara's design peaked. I can't believe it's been 6 years since the last Tomb Raider title!

[Lord Revan]

Yeah I played the PC version of the original when it came out, I even remember all the talk of "nude Lara" code back in the day, seems silly in hindsight considering how primitive the model was and the things about age ratings we know now.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Closest to nude she ever gets in the main game is the evening dress in Legend and the "swimsuits" in Croft Manor, though they're actually bikinis That was also the first game in the franchise where they gave her boob bounce!

[Broomstick]

My nephew had the code to make Lara nude. My sister caught him running the game with it. We pointed out to her that that was a perfectly normal thing for a teenage boy to do.

[bilateralrope]

Yeah I played the PC version of the original when it came out, I even remember all the talk of "nude Lara" code back in the day, seems silly in hindsight considering how primitive the model was and the things about age ratings we know now.

I thought that was a mod for the game, not something put in by the developers.

[Lord Revan]

Yeah I played the PC version of the original when it came out, I even remember all the talk of "nude Lara" code back in the day, seems silly in hindsight considering how primitive the model was and the things about age ratings we know now.

I thought that was a mod for the game, not something put in by the developers.

There's plenty of mods doing that, but the rumor was that the devs included that code in the game rather people not affiliated with the devs doing those in their own time.

the 90s were a different times.

[Zaune]

TIL my nephew got in trouble at school for buying a bunch of cheap water pistols (the kind that come in multipacks from the corner shop) and reselling them at a significant markup to the other kids.

That one will go far.

[LadyTevar]

If I'm going to cook bacon in the oven, with brown sugar topping, KEEP A BETTER EYE ON IT it burns faster than you THINK!

Some of it was a bit blackened, but it tasted good

[His Divine Shadow]

TIL that this is one of the candidates for Finlands eurovision entry, Windows95Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaIxsEPoS28

[LadyTevar]

Yesterday I learned --

I do NOT need to shovel the whole 5-slot parking lot in front of the Ansted Library. No one told me this. I attempted it, in 3 10min bouts, going inside to warm up (because I also DID NOT KNOW IT WAS 15F OUTSIDE AT THAT POINT).

So... 3rd time out there, I've gotten MAYBE TWO SLOTS open and the walkway. My heartbeat is far too loud in my ears. I can't feel my fingers. I can't feel my toes. I am panting hard and feeling like I can't catch a deep breath.
Inside I go, and soon as I'm inside shedding my coat I realize I'm DRENCHED IN SWEAT. Like a Fever-broke DRENCHED. And I still have a too-loud heartbeat and still panting for breath, unable to catch it.

So... uh... the first patrons in Ansted Library yesterday were 3 EMTS and a Paramedic.
It took them nearly 20min to get there, and I STILL COULD NOT CATCH MY BREATH. (heartbeat had calmed down, fingers were warm, feet still cold)
My vitals were on the low side, but not out of normal range. The Paramedic wanted me to come to the ER and get a full checkup, but I didn't go. I needed to keep the library open (yeah yeah, dumb me but have you SEEN the cost of an ambulance in the US?)

In another hour I was Fine. Got yelled at by my boss for trying to do so much work. Stayed the full 6hr shift, went home. Had another 4 patrons in that time.
HAVE NOT TOLD MOM ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I DON"T WANT HER FUSSING AT ME.

[Batman]

Having seen the cost of an ambulance 'in Germany' I can only shudder to think what it'd be in the US.

We actually still have snow! Was up to 2 inches when I was out shopping, Mom claims it's up to 8 inches on her end. Could be, hasn't stopped snowing since, plus she's a few metres higher than me. Mom's cat is thoroughly spooked. said to keep snowing all night so we might have some serious snow by tomorrow.

[Broomstick]

Having seen the cost of an ambulance 'in Germany' I can only shudder to think what it'd be in the US.

As of 2023 in my area a short ambulance ride under 10 km is $3500 USD.

Although you can, if you call the billing department and are able to pay upfront, argue that down by 40% to $2100 USD.

Insurance "credited" me $250 to my out-of-pocket deductible maximum, otherwise not covered as no ambulance service in my county is "in network" for any health insurance company. I'll just point out that I did not reach that maximum despite hospitalization for surgery and dealing with cancer, which is also notoriously expensive although I came close.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

TIL that some car parks have ANPR and charge you if your ticket runs out before you leave, and do so two weeks later. So I won't be using that shopping centre ever again.

[LadyTevar]

TIL the Profit Sharing Plan that I am still signed up for from the rafting company had a "problem".
The Recordkeeper for the Sharing Plan "May have fraudulently moved amounts between the plans" and "we previously identified a recordkeeping error that involved a single transaction for $48000 on Dec 1 2020. The amount was added back to our account March 1 2021."

In short, there's now an investigation involving the Dept of Labor and "the courts", and they're saying they'll "make up the losses" if any are found.

Right now, all my money in the Profit Share is "un-vested", whatever that means. It's not that much, only a little over $500. I think I'll wait for the investigation to be over before asking about Vested vs Unvested.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

TIL that "trickeration" is a word, thanks to ITV's coverage of the this year's Super Bowl LVIII

[LadyTevar]

TIL (ok yesterday)
5 trips up and down stairs will do the same to my heart rate as shoveling snow.

But I couldn't take all the Young Adult and Juvie books up at once to shelf.

[muse]

TIL when bestiality isn't bestiality. Also legal in 3 or 4 US states IIRC.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I learned that the day after Valentine's day is actually a great time to be on dating apps. TIL that for some reason the desktop version of Bumble got me 3 matches in a row when normally I'm lucky if I get one

[Raw Shark]

I learned that the day after Valentine's day is actually a great time to be on dating apps. TIL that for some reason the desktop version of Bumble got me 3 matches in a row when normally I'm lucky if I get one

Yeah, everything specifically for singles turns into a meat market around February 14th. It's great if "not insecure about being single" is low on your list of priorities in a potential date and/or hookup.

[LadyTevar]

TIL if I get a text message while driving, chances are I will forget to check them when I get home.
And miss my boss asking me to work a 10hr shift tomorrow because a lady's husband has the flu. Good thing (?) I ran into her at the Walmart, and she told me what the message was about.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

TIL how to get powerline ethernet adaptors to talk to one another, I'm sure I've found the one that was faulty that forced me to use wireless for years. Comparing speeds, the wireless is a lot faster which is great for streaming, however because it also has an inherent latency it's bad for gaming. So now I have to learn how to tell the computer which connection to use for what.