The Odd Question Thread Thread?

[calgarygeologist]

Does anyone know where in Calgary I could buy some "Timbit" style boxes? I need about 20 of the smaller style boxes. I normally would check the Wholesale Club but it is out of the for me and I don't feel like making a special trip to out there to see if they have those kinda boxes.

[Swift]

Earlier this week, my I watched some of the Darts World Championships on TV over a few days. Hadn't watched darts in years and years.

Today, there was a video related to the championships recommended to me on Youtube. I've never watched a darts video on youtube or browsed a darts website ever. My only interaction with darts in the last 10 years was watching for a few hours on TV.

My dumb question... can youtube recommendations be based on what you've watched on TV? Both TV and internet are through Telus.

[TheScorpion]

My dumb question... can youtube recommendations be based on what you've watched on TV? Both TV and internet are through Telus.

They certainly cannot, unless your TV is hooked up to Google in some fashion.

YouTube is weird. It recommends things it thinks you "might" be interested in, and it will go to any length to gauge your interests. If you've ever Googled anyone remotely related to darts, or if you've ever watched anything vaguely sports-related on YouTube, it's very possible that a Darts video could show up.

Also, if the video was "Trending" -- getting a lot of views over a short period of time -- it can be recommended for you without you showing direct interest. It's only recommended for you because it's been proven that lots of other people have interest in it. This frequently happens to me as well.

[Jimmy Stang]

Here's an odd question: Should I be concerned about a shipment of shampoo and liquid soap arriving at my house today, with nobody there to take it inside? What is the freezing point of shampoo and soap? Are the bottles shipped with enough space to allow for expansion?

Of course, it was supposed to arrive on a different day when it could be taken inside more promptly.

[Fuzz]

I had some show up and sit out all day in the cold, but I can't remember how cold it was. It ended up separating a bit, with a layer of cloudy white stuff on the top. Never did reconstitute properly. It was a clear-ish liquid soap.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

Earlier this week, my I watched some of the Darts World Championships on TV over a few days. Hadn't watched darts in years and years.

Today, there was a video related to the championships recommended to me on Youtube. I've never watched a darts video on youtube or browsed a darts website ever. My only interaction with darts in the last 10 years was watching for a few hours on TV.

My dumb question... can youtube recommendations be based on what you've watched on TV? Both TV and internet are through Telus.

Yes, they can. All your information is collected into a user profile. Depending on the service and how you have them configured, your browsing habits, your spending habits, your viewing habits, etc. can all drive recommendations across various platforms. If you're an Android user, you've sold your soul to the devil. I could tell you stories about data access used to catch people suspected of criminal activity that would curdle your milk.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by New Era

Yes, they can. All your information is collected into a user profile. Depending on the service and how you have them configured, your browsing habits, your spending habits, your viewing habits, etc. can all drive recommendations across various platforms. If you're an Android user, you've sold your soul to the devil. I could tell you stories about data access used to catch people suspected of criminal activity that would curdle your milk.

But according to most Android fanbois, I thought Apple was the devil!?

[Fuzz]

Joke's on them! I have no soul!

[OMG!WTF!]

I saw a cougar today on the gravel road that goes from the southern closure gates at highway 40 to Coleman. He was running along the middle of the basically abandoned road and when I caught up in my car, he turned to the side and jumped the snow bank and into the trees. The freaky thing is I swear to god it was black. I know for sure it was a big kitty. It left big kitty tracks. And I'm totally sure it had a shiny back coat. I followed it for a while before he jumped the bank so I know it was big....wolf size I thought at first. But then seemed even bigger when it turned to the side. My question is, wtf is it? Google says I'm crazy. I'm not. I Googled that too.

[Fuzz]

Probably a coyote.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Probably a coyote.

I expected it to be a coyote but 100% sure it was a cat. Zero doubt. It also jumped about fourteen feet from the road up and over a snow bank to its first landing spot in fresh snow. Then about another ten feet to the next track. Then gone.

[Fuzz]

Years ago my friend was riding up the Smith Dorian road from Canmore and he saw a cougar jump off the bank, bounce once on the road and disappear over the bank. They can move amazingly fast, so ya, no doubt it was a cougar. Maybe you found the mystical black one? Or it was rolling in a coal pile before you came across it?

[OMG!WTF!]

Yep. Mystical black one for sure. The Gato Negro of wine lore. Wish I had a dash cam.

[McG]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I saw a cougar today on the gravel road that goes from the southern closure gates at highway 40 to Coleman. He was running along the middle of the basically abandoned road and when I caught up in my car, he turned to the side and jumped the snow bank and into the trees. The freaky thing is I swear to god it was black. I know for sure it was a big kitty. It left big kitty tracks. And I'm totally sure it had a shiny back coat. I followed it for a while before he jumped the bank so I know it was big....wolf size I thought at first. But then seemed even bigger when it turned to the side. My question is, wtf is it? Google says I'm crazy. I'm not. I Googled that too.

are you sure that the effects of the party have worn off...I mean are you sure that the effects of the party on your friend have worn off?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I saw a cougar today on the gravel road that goes from the southern closure gates at highway 40 to Coleman. He was running along the middle of the basically abandoned road and when I caught up in my car, he turned to the side and jumped the snow bank and into the trees. The freaky thing is I swear to god it was black. I know for sure it was a big kitty. It left big kitty tracks. And I'm totally sure it had a shiny back coat. I followed it for a while before he jumped the bank so I know it was big....wolf size I thought at first. But then seemed even bigger when it turned to the side. My question is, wtf is it? Google says I'm crazy. I'm not. I Googled that too.

[troutman]

THE TRUTH ABOUT BLACK PUMAS - SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION REGARDING MELANISTIC COUGARS

http://karlshuker.blogspot.ca/2012/0...eparating.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther

There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars (pumas). Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or shot in the wild and none has ever been bred. Unconfirmed sightings, known as the "North American black panther", are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the memetic exaggeration of size. Black panthers in the American Southeast feature prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to symbolize Death.

[OMG!WTF!]

Can I still walk on Chain Lake or am I going to wind up like the sad fox picture?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

Can I still walk on Chain Lake or am I going to wind up like the sad fox picture?

Yes, if it is frozen to a significant thickness to support you.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Does anyone know if there is a history behind the naming convention such as Boaty Mcboatface?

The earliest I can recall is Phony McRingring from the Simpsons, but I feel like that probably isn't the origin of that type of joke, just the first I'd heard of it.

I can't find anything about it. I'm not even sure what to search for.

[keratosis]

There was an online thing last year to name a scientific ship in Britain I think last year. Boaty Mcboatface won.
They ended up naming it something else.