Random Thread

[Ryusenshi]

One day, I went to a sporting goods store to get a pair of running shoes. I was wandering around, when I saw a locked shelf selling ammunition. I thought "well, in case there's a zombie apocalypse, I'll know I should come here". Then I thought "wait, what? A zombie apocalypse, really??".

This is interesting: a zombie apocalypse is really, really unlikely. It's totally remote from everyday experience. Then why do firearms bring such an fantastical scenario to my mind? Why not hunting, or war, or anything that could conceivably happen in real life? Because, as ridiculous as they are, zombies are the only circumstance where I'd actually need a firearm.

Then it dawned on me: in my subconscious, guns are a fantasy weapon. I only encounter them in movies and fiction, so to me, they're about as real as Excalibur. Well, I've seen law enforcers who carried a gun... but I've never seen them use it in person, so it might as well be a part of their uniform. In the past, I've spent a few hours geeking out on the Internet Movie Firearms Database... but then again, I did the same thing for D&D weapons. I know someone who's part of a shooting club... but then again, I know someone who's part of a medieval fencing club.

[Pabappa]

That makes sense. I live in a rural area and hunting is common here but I've only seen a hunter twice in over twenty years of hiking. And I have to assume that most of them are hunting small game since despite deer being plentiful here I've only seen a deer once in my entire life and that was on a road rather than in the woods.

I wouldnt say my brain thinks of guns as fantasy weapons, but Im not really part of the world in which they are used in day to day life.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

Oddly enough, I see deer very frequently, especially at night.

[Travis B.]

I have seen deer on quite a few occasions here, along with turkeys, not to mention ducks and geese (mind you I live on a lake; the deer I have seen outside my work, along with the turkeys, and I have also seen deer on my way home from work).

[Torco]

tbh it still amazes me that some people live alongside deer, bears and such macrofauna. I once saw a skunk.

[Linguoboy]

tbh it still amazes me that some people live alongside deer, bears and such macrofauna. I once saw a skunk.

*looks up from polycule of 30-50 feral hogs*

[Rounin Ryuuji]

tbh it still amazes me that some people live alongside deer, bears and such macrofauna. I once saw a skunk.

I live on the outskirts of a (not small) city in a forested area. Deer are the only large animals at all common, but there is some black bear population in the mountains further west (I've never seen one outside a zoo before, however). Grey squirrels are a perpetual annoyance if you have fruit trees (I don't now, but the house where I lived as a child did), opossums sometimes mess with your rubbish. Probably the most dangerous animal I've ever encountered in the wild is a cottonmouth. We looked at each-other briefly, but they aren't aggressive (I was also on a hiking trail when I saw it, but the area around the lake where I was walking is actually, I think, mostly inside city limits). I'm often surprised by people who have never seen wild animals, I suppose I've always tended to take them for granted. I was astonished, for example, by the lack of noisy frogs in upstate New York.

[bradrn]

I know I don’t participate in this thread all that often, but as an Aussie I feel obliged to contribute something, because wild animals are everywhere in Sydney. This is especially so in forested areas, which in Sydney is just about everywhere outside the city centre. (A map makes this obvious, especially when you get rid of the labels.) The small animals in particular — birds, spiders, skinks and insects — are practically omnipresent, seemingly both inside and outside the house. The larger snakes and lizards, as well as wallabies, are more difficult to find, but you can see them if you know where to look: I saw a red-bellied black snake the other day, and a huge lizard — a lace monitor, I think — just a couple of days after. As for the larger animals, we don’t really have too many of them here, apart from kangaroos and emus. I’ve never heard of either being seen here, but you can see kangaroos readily in just about any rural area outside Sydney.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

Compared to what I hear of Australia, my little (actually, they're fairly large, by my standards; most other snakes in the area are small and non-venomous) cottonmouth is a kitten.

[Vijay]

Oddly enough, I see deer very frequently, especially at night.

In Austin, I also saw deer frequently when I was on the road.

[Travis B.]

Compared to what I hear of Australia, my little (actually, they're fairly large, by my standards; most other snakes in the area are small and non-venomous) cottonmouth is a kitten.

Remember - everything in Australia is trying to kill you.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

Compared to what I hear of Australia, my little (actually, they're fairly large, by my standards; most other snakes in the area are small and non-venomous) cottonmouth is a kitten.

Remember - everything in Australia is trying to kill you.

This is the impression I have.

[bradrn]

Compared to what I hear of Australia, my little (actually, they're fairly large, by my standards; most other snakes in the area are small and non-venomous) cottonmouth is a kitten.

Remember - everything in Australia is trying to kill you.

I can’t really disagree with this statement. Hmm, let’s see:

• Birds — not really trying to kill you as such, but magpies have been known to seriously injure people by swooping at their faces while riding a bike. (Um, that is, the person is riding the bike, not the magpie.) Noisy miners are also known for swooping, though mostly at birds bigger than themselves, as well as my cat when she gets too close. Of more concern is how some birds try to steal your food — and do so in seriously smart ways. There were rumours floating around in my high school of cockatoos who’d learned how to undo zips on backpacks, and I can believe it given what I’ve seen of them. The most dangerous birds are emus and especially cassowaries, with their nasty habit of kicking people to death, though at least you don’t get those ones in Sydney.
• Spiders — I should note that you get spider-identification charts around here in which spiders are classified from ‘low-risk’ to ‘deadly’. Though you don’t even want the low-risk ones to bite you. In general, I’m fine with spiders, as long as they ignore me and stay outside. If they don’t do those, they will get squashed. (Even the cute little ones which seem to have taken up running across my bed at night.)
• Insects — mostly harmless. A possible exception is cicadas, which shriek together at jet engine volume. (They’ve measured it. I don’t know of anyone who’s gone deaf from it yet, but it certainly feels deafening enough if you go outside.) No-one likes cockroaches, of course, which tend to be transported decently outside when they show themselves. And there’s a whole bestiary of weird grasshopper things which seem to be out in force this summer. As with the cockroaches, they get transported outside when they come in the house, though I’ve never heard of them hurting someone.
• Lizards — the little skinks you find so often in gardens are harmless. But the bigger lizards — mostly water dragons and goannas — can have nasty bites. Thankfully, they look menacing enough that I’ve never heard of anyone stupid enough to try come close (and they tend to be pretty skittish anyway).
• Snakes — dangerous, avoid if at all possible. If not, just wait until they slither away.
• Mammals — possums and koalas are, possibly surprisingly, both cute and pretty harmless. Echidnas are too, except for their sharp spines. Platypuses are cute and not harmless. (Wikipedia: ‘the venom is not lethal to humans, but the pain is so excruciating that the victim may be incapacitated.’) Wallabies are fine. Kangaroos are best compared to rabbits, specifically the Killer Rabbit, in that they eat grass, hop around, and have been known to attack people when they get too close. Beware of the drop bears.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

So, what is it with pickles and tea?

[Travis B.]

So, what is it with pickles and tea?

We traditionally offer them to new users.

[Rounin Ryuuji]

So, what is it with pickles and tea?

We traditionally offer them to new users.

But why? Is there a story behind this?

[Torco]

like galatea
though author is forgotten
the myth does endure

[Rounin Ryuuji]

If such must be,
If that is so,
I am still me
And want to know.

[bradrn]

If such must be,
If that is so,
I am still me
And want to know.

On your behalf, I went spelunking into the backup of the old board in an attempt to find the origin. The nearest I got was this statement from gach when asked:

I have a vague recollection that it started between my joining [i.e. 2003] and 2005, but I can't say any more accurately than that since I've never been that interested in internet memes.

So the answer appears to have been lost in the mists of time, unless we can find someone who can remember the details of the ZBB in 2004.

[Pabappa]

all I can add is that the pickles and the tea were originally separate. the meme, such as it is, was the combination of the two greetings into one.