The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XLI

[Lexicus]

Citation ?

Well, naturally, I stole the joke.
Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell's character: "I was on Qaaludes, I don't even remember Oslo. But I remember Boston...and that victory was as sweet as the cream pie for which the city is named."

 

[Takhisis]

^Wow. Between that, Austin Powers, Stranger than Fiction, and the Lego movie, I seem to be surrounded by Will Ferrell today.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Well, naturally, I stole the joke.
Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell's character: "I was on Qaaludes, I don't even remember Oslo. But I remember Boston...and that victory was as sweet as the cream pie for which the city is named."

A perfect citation!

 

[Gori the Grey]

Do the cells of trees grow all the better by virtue of trees swaying in the wind? Since that's what they do all day, it would seem odd if nature didn't put that to some evolutionary advantage.

 

[Lexicus]

Do the cells of trees grow all the better by virtue of trees swaying in the wind? Since that's what they do all day, it would seem odd if nature didn't put that to some evolutionary advantage.

Are you asking if the tree makes some use of the wind energy? To my knowledge, no.

 

[Takhisis]

Do the cells of trees grow all the better by virtue of trees swaying in the wind? Since that's what they do all day, it would seem odd if nature didn't put that to some evolutionary advantage.

It's more that, if they didn't have the capacity to bend (from our POV, sway) trees would simply snap in half and that would result in hampered growth. That's the evolutionary advantage.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Are you asking if the tree makes some use of the wind energy? To my knowledge, no.

That swaying stimulates cell growth.

Yeah, Tak, of course: that they can sway is useful to them. But I wondered if they made any direct use of swaying.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Do the cells of trees grow all the better by virtue of trees swaying in the wind? Since that's what they do all day, it would seem odd if nature didn't put that to some evolutionary advantage.

A long while back I read a report about forests that said that the trees on the edges were stouter and stronger than the ones in the middle because of the winds they endured that were not present further in.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You have to have wind at some level for plants to grow correctly. When they try to grow them on space stations, they learned they have to include stir-fans to stimulate them or they grow no reinforcing fibers and die you so much as look at them sideways.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Interesting, and confirms my hunch.

 

[GinandTonic]

A long while back I read a report about forests that said that the trees on the edges were stouter and stronger than the ones in the middle because of the winds they endured that were not present further in.

In the middle of the forest there would not only be less wind but more competition for light. When an old tree falls it's a race between the saplings for that spot in the canopy.

 

[Samson]

With slave labour used to make cloths even in Leicester, UK, and 20% of the worlds cotton coming from Xinjiang, is it actually possible to buy ethical clothing these days?

The beeb have a page about it, the actionable information they give is not much:

"If you really want to be confident of the traceability of the cotton in your jeans, you have to look for Soil Association organic cotton or Fairtrade," advises Clare Lissaman from Common Objective (CO), a sustainable fashion sourcing platform.​

 

[The_J]

Into which thread should I pluck this into: https://twitter.com/SuezDiggerGuy ?
(we don't have a funny-twitter-accounts thread, as it seems)

 

[Samson]

Into which thread should I pluck this into: https://twitter.com/SuezDiggerGuy ?
(we don't have a funny-twitter-accounts thread, as it seems)

To go tangential, literally 2 minutes before you posted this I posted that we should have a suez thread.

 

[Arakhor]

Why is the title fine when viewing the topic, but the kerning is broken when viewing it from the OT subforum as a whole?

The answer is too many hyphens. I have now fixed the issue.

 

[The_J]

So... this year, I need to get a new identity document, since my ID card is running out. I can get either a passport or an ID card.
ID card, pro: Cheaper, and if done until July 31st, I also don't need to give my finger prints. Format also handy, fits in your wallet.
Con: Can only go to a few countries outside of Europe/Schengen
Passport, pro: Can go just everywhere
Con: Costs more, doesn't fit in my wallet, and need to give finger prints.
I actually don't plan to go anywhere relevant outside of Europe, since I haven't been to half of the countries here. And I'm strongly opposed to giving my finger prints. So I'm leaning to not getting a passport right now, but then... you never know ...

 

[Cutlass]

So... this year, I need to get a new identity document, since my ID card is running out. I can get either a passport or an ID card.
ID card, pro: Cheaper, and if done until July 31st, I also don't need to give my finger prints. Format also handy, fits in your wallet.
Con: Can only go to a few countries outside of Europe/Schengen
Passport, pro: Can go just everywhere
Con: Costs more, doesn't fit in my wallet, and need to give finger prints.
I actually don't plan to go anywhere relevant outside of Europe, since I haven't been to half of the countries here. And I'm strongly opposed to giving my finger prints. So I'm leaning to not getting a passport right now, but then... you never know ...

Get both.

 

[Samez]

I would also get both. The Passport can be helpfull If you ever loose your ID ( or If you should ever get it stolen with your purse) or you are required to travel outside the EU (e.g. business trips).
If you are concerned regarding the fingerprints: Well most of the modern smartphones will scan your fingerprints to unlock anyway (they might even do so if the feature ist deactivated)

 

[The_J]

Getting both is pretty pointless, wouldn't need my ID card then at all.
Travelling outside of Europe for work is pretty unlikely. We only have collaboration partners within the EU (...well...also Wales) at the moment, and I don't think with the move to online conferences it's very likely that I'll get to go to one in the US or Eastern Asia.
My phone doesn't have a finger print scanner, I've set all privacy settings to Terminator level, and I'm still trying to make a point.

I think I'll get just an ID card again.
Guess I should make an appointment at the consulate soon, else I'll not manage before July 31.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I'd just get the ID personally if you have no plans to travel outside EU/Schengen. If you later decide to travel, just take care of it at that time.