Persistent, Niggling Questions

[catalina_marina]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

Okay, the O's are the dots. Both of the imaginary Braille letters are two dots with a third below it to the left. The difference is that the first has the triangle at the top of the grid, and the second has the triangle at the bottom of the grid. Therefore, different symbols. A blind person would have no idea which is which without knowing where the top of the line is.

Okay, my bad. In that case I have nothing to add to KJ's reasoning.

Have you checked that these things actually exist though? I'm pretty sure not all possible symbols are actually used...

[Nate the Great]

It was simply an example to bring up my niggling question. Strictly speaking, the purpose was simply to get these things off our chests, not try to answer them, so I suppose it's time to move on to something else.

Why do we still broadcast radio on FM and AM on different scales? Don't we have enough stations on one or the other to say "we're only going to broadcast in FM from now on, no more AM?" We'd probably have to build in a transition period so all the AM guys could swap over, but still...

Why do we (in the USA, at least) HAVE to swap over to digital tuners in a few years? Couldn't they just duplicate the broadcast stations in HD on cable channels?

How come some restaurant actually got the rights to use "Kentucky" in their name, thus forcing KFC to go by initials? Seems pretty wonky, it's the name of an entire STATE, after all.

How is George Lucas going to pull off transforming the Star Wars saga into HD, much less 3D? All I can think of is using the existing voice tracks to dub over photorealistic CG characters a la Final Fantasy (only better... )

Along similar lines, what's so wrong with Han shooting first? He's a mercenary (of sorts) for hire, right? Discretion the better part of valor and all that. In that situation I'd have shot first.

[catalina_marina]

But I like trying to answer them!

They still broadcast on AM?

I don't know. Cheaper, maybe? (I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, by the way.)

I don't see why anybody would not have that right. Though you'll have to explain to me why this forces KFC to go by initials. Was the full name already taken or something?

[Nate the Great]

I'm confused by the whole KFC thing, actually. Their Wikipedia page doesn't mention it. You'll probably have to look for the answer on one of the urban legend pages. PM for links if you want to look for yourself.

Yeah, they still broadcast in AM. "Radio Disney AM 1440, Golden Valley, Minneapolis, St. Paul."

[catalina_marina]

Well if they still use it, there's probably a reason. I never turn my radio to AM, and I'm not even sure there's nothing there, but most of it is FM here, anyway. They do have some trouble with other countries, near the borders, by the way. They change frequency there, because of those nasty foreign channels.

[PointyHairedJedi]

As to why the US government might want to switch off analogue radio signals (which I wasn't aware they wanted to do), it'd be for the same reason they want to switch off analogue TV signals - digital signals as I understand it require less bandwidth per channel, and they are sent at different frequencies than analogue signals, meaning that the government could then flog off the resulting frequencies for fabulous sums of money, probably to mobile telephone network companies for wireless internet and such.

[Chancellor Valium]

Are you sure it isn't a Jesuit plot? They're all the rage these days.

[Nate the Great]

I meant analog TV. I'm not sure that they could just "turn off" analog radio. I mean, even if the major stations go HD, anybody with a moderate amount of money could turn themselves into a radio station, right? Less than public access TV, anyway.

[AKAArzosah]

AM radio has greater range, I've noticed. But FM has better sound quality. That's how it is here anyway, and it's why it's mostly news/sports on AM and music on FM.

Of course that could just be how many towers are available to boost the respective signals, or something. I have no idea HOW it works.

[Nate the Great]

Don't tell me that there's actually LOGIC behind the private sector's actions.

[catalina_marina]

Private sector? What's this?

Actually, I'm not sure you're even allowed to make your own radio station, here. It might jam the other stations to much. You'd probably need a special permit.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

I meant analog TV.

Ah, well, that makes much more sense.

In the UK it's incredibly hard to set up a new radio station, precisely because there are only a limited number of frequencies available, and the oppertunity to bid for them comes up very very rarely indeed.

[Nate the Great]

Well, I'd imagine that any "real" radio station is able to put out a signal that would drown out any amateur ham operator.

[Chancellor Valium]

Why would radio stations be interested in asphyxiating pig-vets?

[Nate the Great]

Oh, you've unraveled the stitches in my side again. Shame on you.

[Nate the Great]

A few more cathartic questions:

How did it happen (whether God or evolution) that a bee can't sting without dying?

Why do so many people hate dandelions?

Why do people still make lutefisk? The logic for why it was invented no longer applies. For that matter, why do fruitcake lovers persist in believing that fruitcake haters can be converted?

In these days of skin cancer and ozone depletion, what's up with using mirrors to focus MORE sunshine on you?

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

Well, I'd imagine that any "real" radio station is able to put out a signal that would drown out any amateur ham operator.

Close to a transmitter, perhaps, but further away it would cause serious interference problems.

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

In these days of skin cancer and ozone depletion, what's up with using mirrors to focus MORE sunshine on you?

Perhaps they wish to contend for the Darwin Awards? It's a pretty feeble way to go about it though.

[Nate the Great]

Naw, no Darwin contention there. It has to demonstrate an astonishing lack of judgment, remember?

[KillerGodMan]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

Why order meat rare? Issues of taste preference aside, don't the customers care about their health, and don't the restaurants get worried about food poisoning lawsuits?

Sorry, but as a restaurant worker, I simply MUST answer it

*clears throat*

Escherichia coli (E. Coli) strain 0157:H7, one of the deadliest forms of E. Coli, (and causes of food poisoning outbreaks) is found predominatly in the intestines of bovines, where it is harmless, when humans eat it, however, that's a different story

Beef processing plants are great places for 0157 to spread, because the beef is all processed together, regardless of whether or not a bovine was affected by it. The meat is flash frozen, preserving it for some unsuspecting human to eat it.

This happens, almost only, in ground beef.

Most beef cuts are just big slabs o' meat, with little to no openings for E. Coli to spread further into the meat, so it can only be found on the surface, so really, all it takes is a quick sear to kill any organisms, E. Coli or otherwise

This isn't the case with ground beef, because there are so many pockets for bacterium to hide in, so unless it's cooked well done, there is always a chance of death by E. Coli. This is part of what happened in 1993, when Jack in the Box ran into trouble with E. Coli in their burgers (which were cooked medium rare) It's also why you have to sign a waiver at The WORKS (greatest burger place ever!) if you order you burger anything less then 'completely cooked'

That's why

...wow, my glasses got bigger and nerdier looking...

Why do I continue to keep cats, even though I'm allergic to them?

Why did I completely forget the questions I had in my head whilst answering Nate?

[Nate the Great]

So you argue that rare burgers are much more dangerous than rare steaks. I guess I never thought about it from that angle before.