Today I Learned (TIL)

Wally said:

There are people that haven’t seen White Christmas.

You can find them by saying "mutual,  I'm sure" upon being introduced. 

Doing some googling and found that my plan for my new beater truck was literally the stock size wheel/tire package. Great, that means it won't look like I'm some dumb kid that couldn't afford a Cummins. I plan on using wheels off of a newer truck because from what I found they are really easy to find because Dodge used minor variations of the same 5 spoke 17x8 steel wheel as an option on all their half tons from like 2003 up to...well they're still using this wheel it seems. 

My miata is too low to get in the front yard without breaking the air dam.

I also learned that i was not as close to ready to tune the duster as i thought. 

TIL that Falken all-seasons are nightmarishly bad.  Over four rural-surbaban houses' worth of distance to slow down from 30mph to walking speed on slush, ABS pounding the whole way.

TIL that while the 235/40-18 Falkens are stretched on teh R's 18x8 wheels, the 225/45-18 Cooper winter tires I just installed are square, not stretched in the least.  I had been expecting a fight to mount them.

TIL that the ovotestis exists in some sharks, and that it can produce both viable eggs and sperm.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19425120.2017.1383326

Yes, lots of invertebrates do similar stuff, but this is the first time I've heard of a single organ, and it is in a vertebrate species

(ducks and runs away as wrenches are thrown at him for putting biology into a car-based thread)

In reply to JoeyM :

That mean they can go berk themselves?

In reply to JoeyM :

Hey, nothing wrong with biology! 

Stampie said:

In reply to JoeyM :

That mean they can go berk themselves?

Good question.  My guess is no, simply because sharks have internal fertilization.  The male shark's claspers (think penis, but they have two) tend to get kind of stiff as they calcify with age.  I suspect that they are too rigid  to bend around to their cloaca.  

JoeyM said:

cloaca.  

Now that’s a word I haven’t heard in 40 years.  

TIL I haven’t changed my avatar since I joins the forums. New one is of the current race car and no one will recognize me now. 

Today I learned about Tamahagane, and how it's made. Yep.... My next set of chef's knives is going to hurt the bank account.

In reply to Mr. Lee :

Why would you want that, except for the cool factor?  Tamahagane is a process engineered to make crappy iron worthwhile.

TIL that the gangster movie from Home Alone wasn't a real movie but was actually made just for Home Alone. 

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/12/home-alone-gangster-movie

In reply to JoeyM :

TIL I'm glad I'm not a shark.

In reply to Spoolpigeon :

I still haven't changed mine either, can't think of anything good.

TIL Waffle House is open on Christmas...

TIL, once again, what Christmas really means.

TIL I learned how much I can spend in revamping the trailer to my new sailboat. That is a deep rabbit hole I could very easily fall down

That Vermont drivers suck.   Today, as I got off 89 into Burlington south.  There is a two lane turn onto a two lane road.  I was on the left along side a Subaru.   Then the driver decide to move into my lane which I occupied.  No contact was made.

So farther down the road, I was in the right lane getting by slow traffic when another SUV shot out of an intersection across the left lane into the right land. I managed to squeeze to to the right and brake hard to avoid hitting him.  

Then a little farther on there was a car stuck in the snow bank blocking half the lane.

Fun times.   At least the rest of the trip was uneventful, as long as you don't count blowing snow.

Today i learned that a 2010 impala doesnt have a 12 volt switched lead going into the radio from the factory. I have no idea how it turned itself on and off with tbe key other than witchcraft. 

I also learned that the 60 dollar touchscreen ebay head unit that i got for Chistmas sounds pretty good in the company impala. 

Lastly i learned that i have nothing that can clean up a 100k aluminum oil pan enough to weld. 

Dusterbd13 said:

Today i learned that a 2010 impala doesnt have a 12 volt switched lead going into the radio from the factory. I have no idea how it turned itself on and off with tbe key other than witchcraft.

CAN signal from the body control module.  That way the BCM can do neat things like keep the radio and other accessories alive after you turn the key off but before you open the door.  It can also selectively kill the radio and other unimportant accessories as a load shedding measure in case your alternator fails.  Help get you an additional few miles down the road before the battery is drained.

The radio is also necessary in a lot of GMs for setting/resetting driver options and maintenance reminders, and it is also where the door chime comes from.  No separate chimes anymore, when you open a door or drive with your seatbelt unbuckled, the BCM sends a signal to the radio and the radio beeps at you in Dolby surround sound.

The BCM gets switched ignition power, but it isn't necessary for it to function.  The BCM is one of the few things you can communicate with using a scantool with the key in the off position.

TIL that when you think nobody is looking, your boss will walk out and catch you doing snow donuts in the parking lot behind work.

Oops LOL

stanger_missle said:

TIL that when you think nobody is looking, your boss will walk out and catch you doing snow donuts in the parking lot behind work.

Oops LOL

But was it worth it?

Knurled. said:

In reply to Mr. Lee :

Why would you want that, except for the cool factor?  Tamahagane is a process engineered to make crappy iron worthwhile.

Cool Factor about nails it. I learned of the knife makers using the same process used for traditional samurai blades, making chef knives with the same process. Pretty cool in my book. 

TIL I really missed having a running 8 foot bed truck around.