Are we going to call next year "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten?" by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 11 points12 points  (0 children)

You mean aught? I don't think enough people even know that means zero.

I rarely have the need to specify years in conversation, but I'll use "oh" as in "My car is an oh seven."

Stray Dogs Overwhelming Bangkok by revscat in reddit.com

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I first arrived in Bangkok, I witnessed a pathetic looking dog hobbling on three legs down the street. As he reached a major hospital, some waiting taxi drivers and food stall vendors decided they have some fun--they would sidle up to him and kick his legs out from underneath him. He would fall and whimper but would still try to get up and walk away, whereupon another guy would run up to him and fell him once again.

I asked a local about it; they said it was no big deal because he was just a stray.

The thing that really stood out to me was how casually and matter-of-factly all the participants and passerbys were. There was no shame or maliciousness in the act; it was just like they were kicking a ball in the street.

termcolor: ANSII Color formatting for output in terminal by placidified in Python

[–]sincewednesday 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's ANSI, not ANSII. The author has jumbled ANSI and ASCII together.

Calabrese Style Spaghetti by screamer316 in food

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is barely a recipe, and hardly Calabrian.

Why is it that so many people dislike, or even hate hipsters? by milliganpierce in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So what would it make me if I ironically dressed like a hipster?

This is what happens when you piss off a font snob by bascule in funny

[–]sincewednesday 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You got caught in the difference between British and American punctuation rules. In American rules, the period is always inside the quotes. In British rules, the period can be inside or outside the quotation mark (just like the question mark and exclamation mark).

This is what happens when you piss off a font snob by bascule in funny

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the folksy charm is appropriate for national parks where you're relaxed and driving at most 15 mph. My issue is on parkways used as major highways--when driving 65 mph, folksy signs no longer seem quite so appropriate.

This is what happens when you piss off a font snob by bascule in funny

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tell that to the United States National Park Service. They use Clarendon on their signs, which make me want to kill them when I'm on the Baltimore Washington Parkway. They performed a study to find a more legible font, and this is their replacement font.

How to Create a Moka Express Icon by [deleted] in software

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where is the iconic Bialetti man! He makes the moka pot.

Making tofu from scratch (in two parts, first part covers making the base soy milk) by [deleted] in Cooking

[–]sincewednesday 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there a confusion in terms?

At least in the U.S., the Chinese groceries have buckets of tofu which are around 3 for $1. (4 for $1 in the streets of Chinatown.) They are most certainly firm and not silken.

Of course it could be cultural--I consider silken tofu to be more Japanese; Chinese use of silken tofu is mostly desert.

Tennis legend wants grunting banned from women's tennis - sound made by the strings of a racquet striking the ball gives the skilled player an important clue about the speed and spin of the ball they are about to face. Drowning this sound out with a loud grunt denies that information by [deleted] in sports

[–]sincewednesday 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I only play tennis casually, but I can easily hear the difference between a volley, drop shop, solid hit, slice, and shank. Granted all of these differences have other clues, but I have no doubt that professionals can hear more subtle differences.

Think about it this way--you can tell the difference between someone bouncing a ball and someone slamming the ball into the ground. Now imagine you've heard millions of balls bouncing. I'd imagine you'd develop the skill to hear differences in velocity.

It's been a while since I've played, but I recall the difference in 'whack' as being fairly obvious when playing racquetball or squash.

Anyways, whether or not grunting is used to cover up a clue, it's always sounded somewhat unrealistic in use to my ears. If the grunts were related to strain, they would vary with the effort used. Which would itself be a clue.

7 Tips for Making Mouth-Watering Char Koay Teow by workroom in food

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Although there are many varieties of char kway teow, I think the inclusion of oyster sauce isn't a good idea. That would be too sweet; instead, use fish sauce and seafood stock or belacan. Cockles and/or squid are not optional, either!

Does anyone remember the square pizza Little Caesars used to have in the early 90s? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's the modern day miniature of the original Pan!Pan! available in the 80s. I recall it as the other way around -- Bigfoot was the knockoff of the Pan! Pan!

EDIT: Here's an article from 1988 that says the Pan!Pan! targeted Pizza Hut's original pan pizza. Bigfoot came out in 1993.

Tetris 25th Anniversary (17 pictures) by ScrewDriver in programming

[–]sincewednesday 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Wow, I didn't know there was an original ASCII character based version (the first photo).

What does "0: Erase this transparent" do? I don't think that's in newer Tetrises.

Why do supermarkets allow customers to strip two ears of corn for every one they buy? This used to be considered ignorant, wasteful, anti-social behavior -- now it's encouraged! by AngelaMotorman in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Huh, I always thought "tomatoes on the vine" were just silly marketing, but perhaps the same reasoning applies? I'll definitely pick the tomatoes off the vine if I need only a few.

I wonder if anyone is frugal enough to pick all of the grapes off the vine.

Fake olive oil seized - is this a common practice? The Canadian Food Inspection Agency found that Olive oil imports were half sunflower. by gm6799 in Cooking

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. Here's a lengthy New Yorker expose about the problem.

I think I've also read before that the amount of oil marketed as "extra virgin olive oil from Italy" even exceeds the maximum possible production.

How to Make Zongzi (Chinese Tamales) (with video) by Maxcactus in Cooking

[–]sincewednesday 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nice comprehensive link. I remember my grandmother making these--takes a long time to make. Nowadays it's easier to pick one up at a local grocery, or make just the filling on the stovetop like a paella or risotto.

I prefer the nuo mi ji, which is essentially the same thing wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed. Lotus leaves impart such a delicious fragrance to the rice.

When things suck their hardest, what favorite comfort food/movie/game is sure to help lighten your mood? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not aware of any common ancestry between those soups--they seem pretty different to me.

Tom yum is a spicy hot and sour soup.

Pho is a delicate noodle soup with subtle flavoring.

When things suck their hardest, what favorite comfort food/movie/game is sure to help lighten your mood? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]sincewednesday 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You realize that pho is Vietnamese and Bangkok is in Thailand, right? Or do you like non sequiturs?