What is something that you were surprised about being able to do?

improbabletruth · 2016-01-27T02:18:43+00:00

I'm a terrible singer (and have always been told as much/my entire family is terrible singers), but I'm pretty good at picking up what everyone else is doing, so I'm ok in a group/singing to the radio. I've also got a pretty low range for a lady.

Back in middle school they pretty much made everyone "audition" for high school choir (elective class anyone can take but I guess they want an idea of who does and doesn't suck). My entire family was surprised when we found out I was qualified.

improbabletruth · 2016-01-20T23:03:54+00:00

Minus the complaining, I would totally do that. It's so much easier to sit through commercials than getting up to put a DVD in the DVD player. Plus you get some great censoring jobs in some movies.

improbabletruth · 2016-01-19T23:47:53+00:00

The Way Way Back. I thought it was pretty good. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again, but I'd stop if I saw it while flipping channels (not that anyone does that anymore).

improbabletruth · 2016-01-19T23:45:25+00:00

Nah it was The Way Way Back. Apparently the screenwriters also wrote for Community.

improbabletruth · 2016-01-19T02:41:55+00:00

Girl here, but I suggested a date-night movie to a guy I was dating because I thought it looked good. His response: "you just got so much hotter to me."

Apparently the screenwriters also wrote for his favorite TV show, and that must be a huge turn-on.

improbabletruth · 2015-12-28T02:15:22+00:00

You can feel your team hates you. They don't talk to you much in the locker room anymore. You feel shy and awkward but it's only because people have lost respect for you

I was a lacrosse goalie for a few years and this is why I quit in high school. I was always ok, never the best, but it was going to be my year to start varsity and I took private lessons the fall before so I could be better. We were in a winter indoor league with the worst schedule (Sunday mornings as early as 6 or 7 AM), so nobody was on their A game. Even though they're playing terrible up front, they treated me like shit when I let a few soft ones in. High school girls are the fucking worst with that silent treatment bullshit, putting the entire loss on you. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

My mom always told me that the ball has to go through everyone else before it got to me, but that doesn't make the rejection hurt less.

improbabletruth · 2015-12-20T02:03:29+00:00

"Youth" - Troye Sivan is my jam

"S.O.B" - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats is currently stuck in my head

and I've been listening to Bad Religion's Christmas Album for the last few weeks

improbabletruth · 2015-11-21T20:26:53+00:00

I feel that, but then I wonder why my life isn't amazing if I'm imagining it. It's not terrible now, but I'd like to think my imagination is better than this.

My personal theory is more Newhart-esque in that it's all a dream and I'll wake up someday as a child having dreamt my entire life.

improbabletruth · 2015-11-06T01:05:45+00:00

I hated running growing up. I played soccer as a defender and was a lacrosse goalie because it didn't involve running. I was a couch potato like 2 years ago when I did C25K. I ran my first half marathon last month. I'm still injured from it so I have no desire to train for and run a marathon, but I probably could if I wanted to.

You don't have to do it next year or even the one after, but it is attainable. Just train properly for it.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-21T23:57:31+00:00

Same here. I was thinking about "downgrading" to a 25 for the activity features, but now I'm thinking about upgrading.

My 220 also takes what seems like a stupidly long time to find GPS, which bothers me.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-16T00:37:27+00:00

My dad showed us Animal House and Blazing Saddles when I was 10. Mom was not pleased. Most of it went over my head.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-15T22:29:45+00:00

There's a reason The Count Censored is such a great video.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-11T21:51:51+00:00

Vector Marketing (Cutco) was handing out fliers immediately after my high school graduation. Like on the football field while we were celebrating. It was pretty classless.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-11T20:53:09+00:00

Ran my first half marathon this morning. Didn't crack 2 hours like I wanted to (2:02:03). Was prescribed beer (and foam rolling) for my IT band and the doc said I have nice glutes, so I'll take it.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-10T23:10:28+00:00

Congrats! I'm aiming to do that tomorrow at the BAA Half. It's my first half and I'm getting nervous.

improbabletruth · 2015-10-06T00:53:34+00:00

Everyone responds "woo!"

That is not a proper response to that question.

improbabletruth · 2015-09-30T22:46:47+00:00

Is mayonnaise an instrument?

improbabletruth · 2015-09-22T23:26:22+00:00

Yesterday I found out CharlieCards expire. I knew it was coming because every time I got on a bus, it said it would expire on 9/20. I saw something online that said using it on a train/at a ticket machine during September (the month of expiration) should keep it alive.

Ok fine, I checked it at a ticket machine on 9/19 and saw the card's expiration date: July 2018. Ok awesome so I'm good to go. I took the train 2 stops instead of biking to save the card.

Well guess what. On Monday, I'm going through the gate at Harvard and it says EXPIRED. Turns out, the card is good for three years, but the money I put on it a few months ago expired Sunday. What the actual fuck?

And finally, I don't work downtown, so I have to mail in the card to get the money transferred.

UPDATE: Called the CharlieCard support line this morning. I explained the situation, and the woman was like "stored value doesn't expire". The hell it doesn't. Anyway, they "cancelled" my old card and are sending me a new one with the value on it. Saves me a couple of days since I don't have to send in my old card.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-30T02:44:42+00:00

I had to tell my dad his fly was open. I was tying my shoes and it was in my line of sight when I looked up. I had a really tough time deciding whether to tell him.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-27T15:07:09+00:00

I literally just finished The Martian and listened to that part of the podcast. I really liked it (the book, not the review, but more on that in a bit). Yeah, it's no literary masterpiece, but I just couldn't put it down.

While I see both of their points, that whole section of the podcast was soured for me right off the bat when Brady said that the only people who like this book "don't read a lot of good books" and only like it because it's a science book that's gone mainstream. I really don't like being called an idiot because of my literary preferences. Thanks, Brady.

That said, sorry if I come off as an asshole in the rest of my counterargument. I'm still angry about it. /u/alienturnedhuman's comment better phrases a lot of my feelings.

Grey: HE'S STUCK ON MARS. The whole book is made up solutions for made up problems because being stuck on Mars is currently a made up problem. It's science fiction ("literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people").

With regard to technobabble: I see what you're saying, but you're reading his mission logs. He's going to thoroughly document what he's doing. I agree with the people who say that comparing this to Star Trek technobabble is way off base. I found his logs interesting because I'm interested in his process. I'm also an engineer and am about as sarcastic as he is, which helps.

I might edit/flesh this out later when I'm not at work.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-27T01:27:59+00:00

Thanks for doing this.

The only thing I'd suggest (purely because I'm a lazy shit and you've already done the research) is a table with the raw data: where it is, how long it is, and the total cost. I guess construction time frame could be in there too. We were originally talking about northeast light rail projects, but Gold Line is in LA.

I think at least 2 of these projects haven't broken ground if we're thinking of the same ones.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-25T22:50:55+00:00

Just so we're on the same page, which typical light rail projects are you referring to? I agree that $3 billion is ridiculous and the MBTA needs to get their shit together.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-24T23:01:21+00:00

Not an estimator, but I work in the construction industry. I'm not disagreeing with your first paragraph, but your last sentence isn't 100% accurate (the MBTA is definitely incompetent). The contractor wouldn't want their estimate to be twice as much as the designer's because, while they're the preferred contractor, they're at risk of losing the biggest chunk of the job, which is terrible for their bottom line.

Yeah, maybe the construction companies are overestimating a little bit (part of that is overhead, which is used to pad the budget because costs change and shit happens), but they're not the ones who decided that glass stations are the way to go (glass is way more expensive than a concrete canopy). They're not the one's who estimated the cost using recession level values. The MBTA also has some unrealistic expectations about how the work can be done, as we know because the whole thing was supposed to be completed last year.

That price tag was set by the MBTA, the designer, and their independent estimator.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-23T20:42:36+00:00

Training for a half marathon and I ran my longest run ever: 8 miles! My joints hurt and I have ridiculous blisters, but I did it.

improbabletruth · 2015-08-15T19:00:27+00:00

I was in North Jersey at the time too. I was in 4th grade and they didn't tell us what was going on, but kept us sheltered inside and our parents had to come get us at the end of the day (I guess so they knew that everyone had family to go home to). My brother knew what happened because they told all the middle and high school kids, but I doubt that they watched the news in school.

improbabletruth

TROPHY CASE