bobthecow

is Justin Hileman

Thanks Flickr!
Lest anyone attempt to use these knots in real life:

That “sheet bend” depicted is actually a just square knot with two ends crossed. The “sheet bend double” is really called a “double sheet bend”.

Two of the knots have the standing end on the wrong side of the knot: The “square knot” is a liar’s knot, and the “tiller’s hitch” is nothing at all. If you pull on either of them, they will come untied.

The “figure eight double” should be called a “double figure eight”. This knot is used to join two ropes so it is tied with the ropes end-to-end, not parallel.

Also of interest: The “bowline” depicted is a left-handed knot. It works just as well as the right-handed variant, but it looked strange to me until I tied one of my own to compare it to.

Yeah. I’m a nerd :)
The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for the space of forty years, supposing a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to ten additional years to a man’s life.
— Philip Doddridge, who overestimates my baseline waking hour by at least two hours. So apparently I’m missing out on twenty additional years.
… The rules do matter - it’s just that obeying them doesn’t. … The stickler-advocated rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation slow the speed of change and allow the language to remain united. They’re as important to the continued strength of English as the internet’s power to coin new usages.
David Mitchell, on innovation in language (article via Tara Hunt)
My room has one of these!
Waxy monkey frog!
It’s much easier to look for a lost key under the light, than to look for the key where you actually lost it, because it’s dark over there.
Rafi Sela, on how to fix airport security.
Vacation.
Is it Christmas?
You naysayers mock my MacBook Air, but would your MacBook Pro fit in the pocket in front of seat 1B?
first snow.

photo by @reneejustrenee.
I have no idea who Mr. Androulakakis is, but I’m locking the door in case he decides he wants his room back in the middle of the night.
Just in case.