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Category Archives: ponderings

Bar fights can be useful teaching tools

Does that seem confusing?  I think it could be true.  Here, take a look at this.  It describes WWI in terms of a bar fight.  My friend sent it to me.

And here is the resultant conversation about it.

[12:38:57] Me: Germany will render it incapable of such action anymore.

[12:39:12] SSRASWBG-AE: Yes.

[12:39:14] SSRASWBG-AE: hahaha

[12:39:49] Me: Um…this is a hilarious bar fight…

[12:39:51] SSRASWBG-AE: I’m so amused by it.

[12:39:59] Me: Of course, it ended up being a world war which probably is not as amusing…

[12:40:04] SSRASWBG-AE: Right.

[12:40:08] Me: I think countries need to fight things out as bar fights more often.

[12:40:10] SSRASWBG-AE: But the depiction…

[12:40:13] SSRASWBG-AE: Maybe.

[12:40:20] SSRASWBG-AE: Russia suffered a personality change.

[12:40:21] Me: With an old timey narrator covering the whole story.

[12:40:21] SSRASWBG-AE: haha

[12:41:10] Me: Yeah, Russia isn’t a very good fighter…

[12:41:12] Me: At least in bars.

[12:41:19] SSRASWBG-AE: Neither is America, apparently.

[12:41:21] SSRASWBG-AE: Or Italy.

[12:42:11] Me: Well, you don’t really know. America might just be too prissy to get involved.

[12:42:28] Me: But also has bad sportsmanship.

[12:42:32] SSRASWBG-AE: haha

[12:43:00] Me: Actually, I’m pretty sure America was too prissy to get involved…

[12:43:18] Me: America has manicured nails, you see.

[12:43:19] SSRASWBG-AE: America was grooming in the mirror until it saw Germany losing?

[12:44:25] Me: I think so.

[12:44:35] Me: Also waxing his mustache.

[12:44:46] SSRASWBG-AE: Yes.

[12:45:03] Me: And making sure his suit was not wrinkled and fitting well.

[12:45:10] SSRASWBG-AE: haha

[12:45:15] SSRASWBG-AE: With his monocle.

[12:45:22] Me: I think America probably decided to go hit Germany with the barstool when the mirror shattered.

[12:45:28] SSRASWBG-AE: Probably.

[12:45:32] Me: It makes it hard to preen.

[12:45:34] SSRASWBG-AE: Maybe Germany fell into the mirror and broke it.

[12:45:39] SSRASWBG-AE: And America got mad.

[12:45:41] Me: Um…this probably needs to be a post.

Plasma TVs

Let’s talk about plasma TVs.  Or rather, let’s talk about plasma and then apply what we know about plasma to TVs.

plas·ma

noun \ˈplaz-mə\

: the watery part of blood that contains blood cells
: a substance that is similar to a gas but that can carry electricity

Think about that for a moment.  Plasma refers to the watery part of blood.

Aside, I am considered a universal donor for plasma because I have blood type AB+ (the fact that I am Rh+ doesn’t really matter with plasma donation actually, if you’re AB- you’re also considered a universal donor for plasma).  End aside.

Plasma can also refer to one of the four fundamental states of matter (the other three being solid, liquid, and gas).  The first three states of matter are easy enough to comprehend, we encounter these states regularly in our daily lives.  Want ice in your water?  Hey, that’s two states right there!  Burned by the steam when you foolishly decided to pry apart your pressure cooker?  There’s another state of matter!  Also, that was incredibly stupid.  There’s a release valve on your pressure cooker for a reason.  Learn to use it.

That fourth state of matter, plasma, is also crucial to our day to day living.  You might know it as the sun.  The sun consists mainly of plasma, i.e. this superheated gas wherein the molecules ionize.  So while plasma might be somewhat similar to the gaseous state, it has the extra fun times of responding to a magnetic field where it might do interesting stuff.

Now that we know a little about plasma, let’s think about plasma TVs.

Plamsa TVs are called such for a reason, right?  Surely they have something to do with plasma.  What if plasma TVs have to do with bodily fluids?  What if the Red Cross isn’t collecting your plasma for cancer and burn patients or even for vampires who (that?) are on diets but instead for the manufacture of plasma TVs?  Wouldn’t that be interesting?  And if you have a plasma TV, wouldn’t it be interesting to know that when you decide to get rid of it, you’d have to label it as medical waste?

Or what if plasma TVs involved energies like what are found on the sun?  Think about the power draw your plasma TV needs.  Maybe those dead pixels you see are really sun spots.  What if you get plasma arches?  That would be really interesting.  It’s 3D television!  Huzzah!

But actually, I looked up plasma TVs and here’s the definition…

: a type of visual display for computers, televisions, etc., that uses plasma with electrical charges between two sheets of glass and that produces pictures that are very clear and bright

So I only mentioned the sun early as an example of where you’d find plasma, the fourth state of matter.  But actually, you don’t need to look so far off.  Your average neon lights and even fluorescent lights are examples of plasma.  They work because whatever gas is trapped in the tube is ionized which then gives off a glow.  Gas.  Ionized.  Plasma.

Plasma TVs are made up of thousands of these tiny, tiny fluorescent bulbs.  It’s interesting…just not as interesting as a blood plasma TV.

Now…how about plasma rifles…?