Daily Question Thread - February 2023 - (GTKY)

[ttuckerman]

4 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

Not since he did that movie with Bill Murry.

[kitchen_wolf]

On 2/1/2023 at 10:51 AM, TGP said:

Q: Feb 1st:

There is a holiday incoming —this is your 13-day warning— have you made any preparations for it?

 

That's about when I need to do The Ancient One's semi-monthly B12 shot.  I put it through the port on her daily Lactated Ringer's infusion, so she doesn't really notice.

 

 

Spoiler

Still judges me for it, though.

 

[TGP]

1 hour ago, Glitterwolf said:

No, and being Dutch I don't get why you put your trust in a rodent🙃

Someone looked it up while Anne was streaming this morning. It has to do with

 

Dachstag

 

This may be (or have been) more of a Southern Germany thing than a Holland thing. Dachs = badger. Dachshund = Badgerhound. But somehow the humble groundhog was substituted for badgers. 

[ManvsMini]

5 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

Nope. I was already at work, and never saw my own shadow. Dark when I got to work, dark when I left.

[malefactus]

6 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

I never have seen Phil in action for some reason or other...like I forgot it was Ground Hogs Day.

[Thoramel]

6 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

Nope.

 

[Inarah]

6 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

No, not really a thing here.  We already know that it will snow until the end of March or the middle of April. 

 

 

 

[strawhat]

6 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

The whistlepig lies.  Plus he's only right about 40% of the time.  More evidence of lying.

 

Rumor has it, that the reason he stays in his burrow is because he's either not hungry or not interested in chasing female varmints around the forest.

 

1 hour ago, TGP said:

Someone looked it up while Anne was streaming this morning. It has to do with

 

Dachstag

 

This may be (or have been) more of a Southern Germany thing than a Holland thing. Dachs = badger. Dachshund = Badgerhound. But somehow the humble groundhog was substituted for badgers. 

 

Groundhog is significantly less dangerous than a badger.  

[ejala]

No to Phil. Checked for the groundhogs around the prisons on the way into town Tuesday. None were silly enough to be out in the snow. Always liked counting them and the VA golf course's chipmunks on the way to school. Chipmunks are too small and fast to see well with older eyes, or when driving, but I can usually catch glimpses of the woodchucks when they're out. There's a burrow at each electric pole from the edge of the VA hospital, through the prisons, and into the next field. 

[Great Khan Artist]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:51 AM, TGP said:

Q: Feb 1st:

There is a holiday incoming —this is your 13-day warning— have you made any preparations for it?

 

Yes! I am playing LotR wargames with a new friend. I'm bringing RivendElves. They have twins that you can take as heroes, and they have the rule that if one dies, the other goes berserk. It's Valentine's Day and my army heroes are Romeo and Juliette!

10 hours ago, Corsair said:

Quizzle for 2 February 2023 [Groundhog Day USA]

Did you watch Punxatawny Phil today?

 

We have Balzac Billy, an idea cooked up by the garden centre on the highway. They have a pancake breakfast. I don't like pancakes, and they don't like me. 

[TGP]

<< Haz a sad regarding pancakes >>

<< Ponders next question >>
 

 

[TGP]

Question: Feb 3rd:

Dodos. The Bird. Do you think SCIENCE should try reviving them from their DNA? Good idea? Mad idea?

[chaosscorpion]

8 minutes ago, TGP said:

Question: Feb 3rd:

Dodos. The Bird. Do you think SCIENCE should try reviving them from their DNA? Good idea? Mad idea?

Interesting.  But should we?  There have been articles of doing wooly mammoth as well.   

[WhiteWulfe]

26 minutes ago, TGP said:

Question: Feb 3rd:

Dodos. The Bird. Do you think SCIENCE should try reviving them from their DNA? Good idea? Mad idea?

I dunno.  I can see the scientific merit, but at the same time it very easily opens the doors to massive amounts of goldfish destroying the environment.  Wait, that's already happening in Alberta, I wish I was kidding. 

 

For me, it's more a case of I consider it a bad idea.  For the why, I'll just point out Jurassic Park, or even better, what if we get something wrong and boy are they clever idiots... 

[Thoramel]

40 minutes ago, TGP said:

Question: Feb 3rd:

Dodos. The Bird. Do you think SCIENCE should try reviving them from their DNA? Good idea? Mad idea?

 

No, because "science" is just a systematic way of studying the world through observations, hypotheses, and testing. And for some reason it always annoys the crap out of me when folks say science like it is a physical thing. And there's my mean scientist rant over for the day.

 

Now do I think biologists in the field of de-extinction (weird word, but it's a thing) should try and generate a new species that resembles an extinct one from processes like genome editing or cloning? Heck yes! I'm pretty certain the Dodo is extinct as a result of human activity, either hunting or through the introduction of invasive species to their native habitat. So kind of our fault they're gone in the first place. And I'm one of those people who thinks if something's your fault, it's also your responsibility. Also, We are currently in the midst of a major extinction event with something like 15% to 40% of all species of animal and plant either extinct or on the brink of extinction in the last hundred years or so (which is way above the background extinction rate). If we make it as a species and manage to get our crap together and stop or slow this catastrophe, then it would be nice to know that the field of de-extinction has moved forward enough that we can undo some of this in the future. So I say yes, bring everything back we possibly can, the Dodo, Passenger Pigeon, Small Solomon's Seal, Robber Frogs, etc... I want it all back and I want the processes behind that developed and refined to the point where we can bring as much back as possible.

 

Admittedly, I may be a little biased on this one. Part of my job is trying to protect habitat where known endangered species exist so I take it a little personally when something goes extinct on my watch.