The Little Mysteries of the Universe...

[MikeW]

Let's admit it, one of the world's greatest mysteries is where does that single sock go when you know you put two in the washing machine.

Well, of course everyone knows about the black holes that show up inside washers and dryers; that's a common phenomena.

[Bhp91126]

Well, I've seen plenty of 'show off' body builders in the locker room, so I don't think that's it. Besides, it's this way even before I've started working out, like when I'm changing in to my gym gear from my street clothes.

Well, there's off course growers and showers. Those show offs are probably all showers, lucky bastards.

[MikeW]

OK...I have a mystery that has been bothering me for I think seven years now. It bothers me because I don't have a clue to unravel it...

Yeah, that is a peculiar one.

Berkeley is a weird place, which, of course, is one of the reasons I ended up here. The four of five blocks of Telegraph Ave., just below the UC Campus is sort of like the "Height Ashbury" of the East Bay. One layer is the student population which is always dense, although about a quarter of that population during the summer months. It's a continuously rotating "crop" of young people that ebbs and flows with the season. Then there are the actual RESIDENTS of Berkeley, which is basically a big small town with a strong, way-left-of-center, inter-racial and multi-cultural ambiance. Then you throw in "the street people" (not to be confused with the street vendors who sell stuff along "The Ave."). Even *that* has layers to it. There are the young kids; either runaways or simply off on their own. A lot of them seem to be stuck in some sort of time warp. They LOOK like hippies (more or less), smoke dope and hang out on the street panhandling. Then there are the "weirdos". Like this one guy who's been gone for a long, long time, but when he was around, EVERYONE knew him. I have no idea what his name was but we all called him "Orange." He was tall, slender, 20-something, pale skin, with a crop of very curly, naturally 'orange' hair. A true "carrot top". He always wore white pants, white T shirt, white socks and white sneakers. You'd always find him right where Telegraph dead ends at the campus, at the entrance to Sproul Plaza, which is THE primary pedestrian entrance to campus. THOUSANDS of people walk through that area every day. So he'd show up with this box full of paper cups in each of which was a few inches of dirt, out of which grew an orange tree seedling. He didn't talk. He didn't say anything. He wasn't selling them, he'd just hand them out to anyone who'd take one. When he'd handed out the couple dozen or so he had, he'd leave for the day, then be back the next day doing the same thing. This went on for years.

Everyone also knew "Rick Starr" a street performer who sang old show tunes VERY BADLY. OMFG, he was so totally tone deaf.



Then there was "The Naked Guy," Andrew Martinez, a UC student who started going to classes naked. His motto being, "Hey, man, it's just a dick."



When authorities tried to stop this behavior, he championed it as a form of "free speech," sparking "nude-in" protests...









So, although different from your guy in the particulars, there's a whole class of similar oddities that have inhabited my town over the years. The three mentioned are just off the top of my head.

[East]

Yeah, that is a peculiar one.

Berkeley is a weird place, which, of course, is one of the reasons I ended up here. The four of five blocks of Telegraph Ave., just below the UC Campus is sort of like the "Height Ashbury" of the East Bay. One layer is the student population which is always dense, although about a quarter of that population during the summer months. It's a continuously rotating "crop" of young people that ebbs and flows with the season. Then there are the actual RESIDENTS of Berkeley, which is basically a big small town with a strong, way-left-of-center, inter-racial and multi-cultural ambiance. Then you throw in "the street people" (not to be confused with the street vendors who sell stuff along "The Ave."). Even *that* has layers to it. There are the young kids; either runaways or simply off on their own. A lot of them seem to be stuck in some sort of time warp. They LOOK like hippies (more or less), smoke dope and hang out on the street panhandling. Then there are the "weirdos". Like this one guy who's been gone for a long, long time, but when he was around, EVERYONE knew him. I have no idea what his name was but we all called him "Orange." He was tall, slender, 20-something, pale skin, with a crop of very curly, naturally 'orange' hair. A true "carrot top". He always wore white pants, white T shirt, white socks and white sneakers. You'd always find him right where Telegraph dead ends at the campus, at the entrance to Sproul Plaza, which is THE primary pedestrian entrance to campus. THOUSANDS of people walk through that area every day. So he'd show up with this box full of paper cups in each of which was a few inches of dirt, out of which grew an orange tree seedling. He didn't talk. He didn't say anything. He wasn't selling them, he'd just hand them out to anyone who'd take one. When he'd handed out the couple dozen or so he had, he'd leave for the day, then be back the next day doing the same thing. This went on for years.

Everyone also knew "Rick Starr" a street performer who sang old show tunes VERY BADLY. OMFG, he was so totally tone deaf.



Then there was "The Naked Guy," Andrew Martinez, a UC student who started going to classes naked. His motto being, "Hey, man, it's just a dick."



When authorities tried to stop this behavior, he championed it as a form of "free speech," sparking "nude-in" protests...









So, although different from your guy in the particulars, there's a whole class of similar oddities that have inhabited my town over the years. The three mentioned are just off the top of my head.

OH man..God Bless those people....there aren't enough of them....

When I first went to Berkeley..I was freshman in HS...and it was a three day trip because I was in the MUN (Model United Nations) ...we re-created the United Nations twice a year.....and when everyone else hung out in groups or in the hotel...I snuck off to see the people in Berkeley...they were so...ALIVE....and interesting...and I couldn't wait to be among them one day....

In Angels in America..."Heaven" was in San Francisco...but I think it is REALLY in Berkeley.....but close enough I suppose LOL...maybe they just forgot to show us the Berkeley section in the movie :biggrin: ....

I LOVE ODD PEOPLE!!!! ...and rebels ...and people who break the rules that need to be broken.

I am in love with Orange Tree guy already...just reading about him....

Like Mr Sexy Andrew Martinez said..."Hey man...It's just a dick"...and he is right...

[matty7]

if the ice trays are on top of each other ...could it be the air molecules trapped in the water on the bottom try cannot escape thus freezing in cube - when you try to push them out the air trapped is basically a gap and will collapse in when pushed out breaking the cube - no idea why there are nude pictures in the thread though --- I better read the rest Mike I guess

[LJay]

It boggles my mind how my brother's girlfriend will only eat fast food.

Are you trying to say that your brother ejaculates quickly?

[mrex]

lol ...............

[LJay]

Can you imagine how much that guy saves on laundry soap and wear and tear on his clothes?

Mike, I'll bet the ice cube thing has something to do with a different rate of freezing between the two trays. And that may have to do with air currents and the possibility that your freezer has cooling coils in the shelf so that the two trays have different means of freezing.

[MikeW]

Can you imagine how much that guy saves on laundry soap and wear and tear on his clothes?

Mike, I'll bet the ice cube thing has something to do with a different rate of freezing between the two trays. And that may have to do with air currents and the possibility that your freezer has cooling coils in the shelf so that the two trays have different means of freezing.

No, nothing so fancy. It's just a wire shelf in the middle of the freezer.

[CarGuy65]

Hi Mike, I too have wondered about the ice tray mystery. One possible answer I came up with is that the top tray is exposed and it freezes before the bottom one. That means the bottom tray will freeze more thoroughly since it has extreme cold on top of it and less air circulation. Hope I explained that right! I will ask my other half tonight. I am sure he will have the answer. He is a freekin genius and has never failed with an answer to my questions! Or he may just bullshit his way through it!
As for the junk thing.... happens to me too even when I get out of a hot shower but in my work clothes they get all dangly and annoying always shifting around.