Q&A: Questions and Answers

[Ether-Equinox]

The fact that I still have 2 hands and 5 "complete fingers" makes it hard for me to play a certain arcade game (Jubeat), does anyone out there know how to grow and/or elongate fingers? Besides surgery and/or implanting (serious question, no joke o.O )

[Confused Cat]

Why did Bob Ross often (but not always) use male pronouns for trees, clouds, mountains and other things?

I spent decades training my brain not to use "he" for a tree*, and then I watch "The joy of painting", and suddenly it's "let's decide where the tree lives... he lives riiiiight here!" 

 

Is that just a thing you can do when you feel like it, no big deal? Or does it sound weird/funny to native English speakers?

... Does it mean the tree is like a person to Bob Ross? He did mention talking to trees... (But why would they all be male?)

 

 

* For those who don't know - in German (and many other languages), objects and animals have a grammatical gender that has no biological meaning at all. Trees are male, clouds are female, houses are neuter, lakes are male, the sun is female, the moon is male, dogs are male, cats are female, horses are neuter... And when you're learning English from German, it can take some effort not to translate the pronouns 1:1.

 

[Aqub]

@Confused Cat People don't generally give gender pronouns to inanimate objects in English. It sounds a little odd when you do, but it's not unheard of if you're being silly and want to act like something is alive. Bob Ross was just a bit of a quirky guy that liked to personify trees, I guess.  

[Confused Cat]

 

16 hours ago, Aqub said:

if you're being silly and want to act like something is alive

 

Thanks for answering! This is an explanation I can live with. 

*goes off to watch more Bob Ross*

[Princess Kiara]

Just bought myself two pairs of OTC cosmetic contacts and I was super pumped to get them. Now I've read about the risks and am bummed, but I still want to use them, seeing as I've used non prescription Circle Natural lenses off and on for months with no issues. Has anyone had any issues using non prescription contacts? Is there a way I could get an ophthalmologist to check them out and make sure they're safe for my eyes and still use them? The prescription kind are so stale and boring, you can't even tell when you're wearing them cus your eyes look exactly the same even with the "colored" ones...

[Infinis]

Have you tried opaque contacts? If your eyes are dark the only way to get them to look a different color is with opaque, not translucent, colors. 

 

Just because you haven't had visible damage or problems with them doesn't mean you aren't, or that you won't in the future. And if you're going to try and get an eye doc to check them anyway, just get a contacts prescription while you're there instead. You should get a prescription for them even if you don't need them for vision correction. Contacts are a medical device regardless of vision correction needs.

 

If you use them anyway just make sure that if you start getting a problem with your eyes that you see a doctor immediately. Same goes for prescription ones.

[Princess Kiara]

My eyes are gray-green, but none of the prescription ones seem to show except those crazy ones and I don't like them 😕 I'll definitely keep an ophthalmologist's number handy!

[Aqub]

When I was really little we went to a new years eve party and played this board game/party game about songs. There were two teams and a card would be drawn with a category of songs on it, such as "cartoon theme songs" or "songs about traveling." Whichever team could sing more songs from the category would get the point. Does this sound familiar to anyone and can you please tell me what the game is called so I can buy it and have a party like that some day! 

[Fuzzbucket]

I'll look - but it sounds as though you could make your own - all you'd need is some category cards.

[Tiira]

One thing I've always wondered... is it true that people don't really eat rye bread outside Scandinavia? Or are you even familiar with it at all? Here in Finland it's a thing, we've made it for ages and people refer to it as dark bread whereas basically everything else and especially breads made of wheat, whether wholegrain or not, can be called white bread. I don't think I've seen any rye breads when travelling abroad but I'm not sure if I'd remember and besides, I've only ever visited a few European countries.

[Aqub]

I'm from the U.S. and my family eats rye bread all the time. It's sold in stores with the other kinds of bread, both with and without seeds, and pumpernickel rye too which is the really dark colored bread. That's a funny rumor though? 

 

But... One time when I was in grade school, I was eating a peanut butter sandwich on pumpernickel bread, and one of the lunch ladies was absolutely perplexed by the idea of dark colored bread and thought my parents let me take a sandwich made of brownies to school.  (That can probably be attributed to the fact that I live in a really small, sheltered town and not so much that Americans in general don't know about rye bread though.)

Edited October 1, 2019 by Aqub

[Sesshomaru]

^ I live in California, and eat rye bread all the time. Can confirm that most Americans know what rye is, and have been eating it for a very long time. I'm betting the start of the rumor can be attributed to the fact that many Americans are not known to be very cultured or, er, intelligent. It's an unfortunate stereotype, but I understand why Europeans might think that.

 

I'm Scandinavian by blood. My taste for rye was inevitable.

[Tiira]

Wow, that's interesting! All my life I've been lied to. Although I don't actually think the rumour has to do with stereotypes related to Americans. Many Finns living in other European countries or, say, Australia, complain about the issue and even ask their relatives to bring them some rye bread when visiting or hoard it themselves whenever they come here. The traditional Finnish rye bread is made with sourdough instead of yeast and doesn't contain any other grains than rye, and it takes at least two days to prepare. It looks like this or this. (Even the Finnish Wikipedia seems to be full of claims that rye bread in general is a purely Finnish thing!) Most of the commercial brands of today mix in some wheat and add yeast, too, but of course it doesn't taste the same.

 

I'd love to try pumpernickel bread some time... wonder if it has German origins, like the cookie.

[cvthedral]

Hey do you guys wet your hands and then get the soap and then wash your hands or do you just get the soap and then wash your hands.

(I'm always worried that when someone sees me wet my hands first they think that's all I'm going to do and not get the soap)

[RealWilliamShakespeare]

2 hours ago, cvthedral said:

Hey do you guys wet your hands and then get the soap and then wash your hands or do you just get the soap and then wash your hands.

(I'm always worried that when someone sees me wet my hands first they think that's all I'm going to do and not get the soap)

 

Personally I'm usually in a rush so I don't wet my hands before rubbing the soap in, but whenever I do, I kinda feel cleaner? I feel like soap lathers better when your hands are wet first but idk how true that is!

[Fuzzbucket]

If you have ever taken classes in handwashing (I used to work in the health service) you will have been told to wet first and then soap,. Your instincts are spot on, Grey !

[Aqub]

@cvthedral I always wet my hands before putting the soap on, too. I don't think anyone would think it was weird that you do that.  Grey's right, the soap does lather much better that way. 

[Fuzzbucket]

Your hands also get much cleaner and you don't get your skin drying out from the mean and vicious soap hitting it undiluted.

[orrrangeee]

Serious question: Do you guys preheat the oven?? I was never taught to bake so I always just assumed it was an optional step that only occurred when making complicated desserts. I usually just stick it in and let it cook as it goes. I seriously thought this was normal until my boyfriend moved in and told me it wasn't??

[Fuzzbucket]

Absolutely do, yes. You can likely get away with not doing so for baked potatoes, casseroles, meats and stuff - though the slow warming you'd get might encourage bacteria  in meats and fish - but for cakes and breads it's really important that the oven is at the right heat before you put  them in. Otherwise they won't rise properly, will heat unevenly and all sorts.

Quote

Preheating an oven is especially important with baking when you use yeast, baking soda and baking powder as leavenings – which react to heat.Food also cooks faster in a preheated oven – you've got the right temperature from the get-go and your dish can start cooking immediately and properly.

 

 

Quote

Most vegetables, meats and casseroles don't actually need a preheated oven. In general, those recipes that have a long, slow cooking time, such as a roast, will not require a preheated oven, but those recipes that have a quicker cooking time and higher oven temperature generally need a preheated oven

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by Fuzzbucket

[orrrangeee]

On 10/11/2019 at 7:44 PM, Fuzzbucket said:

Absolutely do, yes. You can likely get away with not doing so for baked potatoes, casseroles, meats and stuff - though the slow warming you'd get might encourage bacteria  in meats and fish - but for cakes and breads it's really important that the oven is at the right heat before you put  them in. Otherwise they won't rise properly, will heat unevenly and all sorts.

 

 

I might have to give it a try. Maybe my baking will turn out less horrible.

[WerewolfNight]

Serious Question:

 

Do you guys like rats?

[Fuzzbucket]

Pet ones are probably ok. The kind that get into my home and chew the food and any clothes they can find , and also steal the food we put out for the birds and make tunnels under our trees, not so much.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Fuzzbucket

[orrrangeee]

On 10/22/2019 at 7:09 AM, WerewolfNight said:

Serious Question:

 

Do you guys like rats?

Hmmm, the tails are a tad off-putting up close, but in terms of pets, I'm a sucker for anything small and furry!

[Aqub]

What Fuzz said, I think they make cute pets, but the wild rats are a much different story. Our barn had an infestation of them when I was younger and they freaked me out.