# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1414 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1415 --- ## [Laptop battery charging strangeness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-battery-charging-strangeness/945188)
**Author:** [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-battery-charging-strangeness/945188 "2021-06-29T20:35:33Z")
Last week I bought a 14-in HP laptop at CostCo and have been using it a few hours a day since then. Following the directions I plugged it before turning it on the first time. Sure enough, the battery was down and the C… --- ## [Jacob Zuma, ex-President of South Africa, sentenced to prison for contempt of court](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jacob-zuma-ex-president-of-south-africa-sentenced-to-prison-for-contempt-of-court/945276)
**Author:** [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jacob-zuma-ex-president-of-south-africa-sentenced-to-prison-for-contempt-of-court/945276 "2021-06-29T20:33:12Z")
We’ve discussed Zuma a couple of times before on this board. Finally it seem he is getting some small measure of the justice he deserves. He was summoned to testify at a judicial commission of inquiry into corruption … --- ## [Slightly high cholesterol and food intake](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-high-cholesterol-and-food-intake/945205)
**Author:** [@Stego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stego)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-high-cholesterol-and-food-intake/945205 "2021-06-29T20:32:11Z")
(to mods: not asking for medical advice, but about the science of food intake and how it affects cholesterol level in the blood) Today I was told by my GP that my latest blood work shows a slightly high (not sure about … --- ## [Favorite Wines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-wines/926009)
**Author:** [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-wines/926009 "2021-06-29T20:05:57Z")
Ive been discovering wine these last few years. I wonder which of these Dopers enjoy and I thought I’d play around with the poll feature. If I did this correctly, you can pick six. By the way my big discovery was Cins… --- ## [Deists/theists: why ONE god?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deists-theists-why-one-god/944122)
**Author:** [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deists-theists-why-one-god/944122 "2021-06-29T20:00:06Z")
I’m an atheist, so I’m not coming at this from the same direction that others might. It seems to me, if I felt the universe was too complicated to have formed without a creator, then it’s also too complex to have been f… --- ## [Columnar Basalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columnar-basalt/945191 "2021-06-29T19:25:23Z")
The most famous example of columnar basalt – close-packed hexagonal columns of hardened Lava in a beautiful geometrical arrangement that suggests that some built them – is Giant’s Causeway in ciounty Antrim in Ireland. I… --- ## [Are HDMI switchers good? Do they maintain the quality of the original port?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hdmi-switchers-good-do-they-maintain-the-quality-of-the-original-port/944953)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-hdmi-switchers-good-do-they-maintain-the-quality-of-the-original-port/944953 "2021-06-29T19:01:45Z")
My TV has 3 HDMI plugs, but one is now finicky and produces some image distortion. The other two appear to be fine for now. Instead of getting a new TV, I thought about buying a switcher that will simply expand one of m… --- ## [Sonny Bono - High School Anti-Pot Film 1968](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonny-bono-high-school-anti-pot-film-1968/10266)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonny-bono-high-school-anti-pot-film-1968/10266 "2021-06-29T18:52:47Z")
Now, I am probably dating myself by asking, but does anyone around here remember an anti-marijuana film starring Sonny Bono? The film was in circulation around 1968 and was typical of the high school hysteria stuff of th… --- ## [Family and DNA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-and-dna/945088)
**Author:** [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-and-dna/945088 "2021-06-29T18:19:22Z")
I have never really studied genetics. I don’t have the right terminology for this. Apologies in advance. First, I do know that all humans have the vast majority of their DNA in common. I assume there’s some term that… --- ## [Liberty Mutual commercials, is LiMu the Emu a puppet, CGI, or a real bird?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144 "2021-06-29T17:48:16Z")
poll Liberty Mutual Commercials have a 70’s vibe with bright yellow and other colors. Think Baretta and Fred the cockatoo (cute and funny). The commercials also channels Starsky and Hutch. Whoever dreamed up the charact… --- ## [OldOakTree Banned](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldoaktree-banned/945208)
**Author:** [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldoaktree-banned/945208 "2021-06-29T17:03:35Z")
This bums me out. I’m guessing he was a sock and not a troll because all of his posts I read were well behaved. I’d like to see the SDMB adopt a less-permanent form of punishment with a chance to eventually return. --- ## [Does the backstory affect how you feel about a song?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849)
**Author:** [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849 "2021-06-29T15:47:30Z")
Has knowing the backstory of a song ever changed the way you felt about it? The song I’m thinking about is “Come Dancing” by the Kinks. It’s an upbeat yet nostalgic number about the singer’s memories of his older sister… --- ## [Does this car have to stop, or just yield?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-car-have-to-stop-or-just-yield/945087)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-car-have-to-stop-or-just-yield/945087 "2021-06-29T13:54:51Z")
This intersection is a four-way stop. On one corner, the pavement is painted with a white triangle as seen in the image below. This seems to be a simulation of a raised “island” sometimes found at lighted intersections t… --- ## [3D-Curl Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-curl-logic/945192)
**Author:** [@Someonewastaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Someonewastaken)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-curl-logic/945192 "2021-06-29T13:42:05Z")
I recently learned about curl and I was wondering what the reasoning is in taking nabla cross the vector-valued function. --- ## [How is genocide defined, with an emphasis on cultural genocide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-genocide-defined-with-an-emphasis-on-cultural-genocide/944198)
**Author:** [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Replies:** 322\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-genocide-defined-with-an-emphasis-on-cultural-genocide/944198 "2021-06-29T13:37:42Z")
I created this in the Pit because genocide denial is a hot button issue. In a thread in ATMB, DrDeth posts that in another thread, there was no genocide denial because there was no genocide. What Exit?, in a Pit thre… --- ## [I'm a biologist. I think evolution theory is only half right. What do you think of my Theory of Everything?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-biologist-i-think-evolution-theory-is-only-half-right-what-do-you-think-of-my-theory-of-everything/944927)
**Author:** [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-biologist-i-think-evolution-theory-is-only-half-right-what-do-you-think-of-my-theory-of-everything/944927 "2021-06-29T12:44:05Z")
No, I’m not a creationist, and neither are you, I know. But I do think that “survival of the fittest” and sexual selection only play a part in how life exists. How anything exists, really. I propose the same mechanism a… --- ## [Is this announcement some "Freeman of the Land" or "Sovereign Citizen" thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-announcement-some-freeman-of-the-land-or-sovereign-citizen-thing/944838)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-announcement-some-freeman-of-the-land-or-sovereign-citizen-thing/944838 "2021-06-29T10:56:52Z")
This was in the Montreal Gazette in the “Legal Notices” section today. I know that I should attempt to summarize this but I honestly don’t know how I can as it is just so bizarre and drawn out. As the topic title asks, i… --- ## [Unpopular Positive Movie Opinion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpopular-positive-movie-opinion/838082)
**Author:** [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Replies:** 132\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unpopular-positive-movie-opinion/838082 "2021-06-29T10:50:06Z")
Based on a recent XKCD Comic. Name a movie that: You genuinely really like (not ironically). Post 2000 Has less than 50% on Rotten Tomatoes One of mine is easy since I just rewatched it again: Justice League. I genu… --- ## [New addition to United's fleet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-addition-to-uniteds-fleet/945138)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-addition-to-uniteds-fleet/945138 "2021-06-29T06:13:33Z")
United Airlines has ordered more than a dozen supersonic aircraft from a company called “Boom”, with an option up to 40, to take to the skies in about 8 years. Boom’s coldfusiony-sounding claims paint their product as “n… --- ## [Instagram acting glitchy after hack](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instagram-acting-glitchy-after-hack/945224)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instagram-acting-glitchy-after-hack/945224 "2021-06-29T06:08:11Z")
Someone hacked into my Instagram a while ago and changed my email, etc. also saved several hundred posts to my “Saved” folder. I’ve gotten back into my account and changed the email and password, but now, despite the ch… --- ## [Disaster insurance for governments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disaster-insurance-for-governments/945063)
**Author:** [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disaster-insurance-for-governments/945063 "2021-06-29T05:30:29Z")
The condo building collapse in Florida made me wonder about something. Individuals can get insurance for just about anything, if they’re willing to pay for it. Standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will cover dama… --- ## [How to memorize complex names](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-memorize-complex-names/945132)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-memorize-complex-names/945132 "2021-06-29T04:52:19Z")
When I was a kid, I had a Resource teacher named Ms. Schimmelpfennig. I liked her a lot, so I took it upon myself to memorize how to spell her name, and to say it out loud on occasion. I can’t remember when I memorized… --- ## [Retirement Income](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retirement-income/944429)
**Author:** [@oldoaktree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldoaktree)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retirement-income/944429 "2021-06-29T04:00:33Z")
A rule of thumb is 80% of your current income to maintain your current lifestyle. Some people say no you need 100%, due to higher medical expenses. I’m guessing there are a fair amount of old farts on the SDMB, what h… --- ## [Posting a link to a research project](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-link-to-a-research-project/945129)
**Author:** [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-a-link-to-a-research-project/945129 "2021-06-29T03:10:08Z")
Thelma Lou has a thread about breast cancer. I have commented on it. I would like to post a link in that thread to a web site that is recruiting volunteers for a breast cancer study to find the safest and most effectiv… --- ## [Your Bulwer-Lytton entries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-bulwer-lytton-entries/945012)
**Author:** [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-bulwer-lytton-entries/945012 "2021-06-29T01:27:22Z")
I’m guessing that more than a few Dopers have tried their hands at the Bulwer-Lytton contest. The only downside is that after you create a wonderfully terrible sentence, it disappears forever unless you actually win. So … --- ## [Favorite Safety Training](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-safety-training/944979)
**Author:** [@leswax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leswax)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-safety-training/944979 "2021-06-29T01:23:32Z")
I’ve been to many places that required safety training. Usually I’d watch the video made in the 80’s and then go about my day. I have a standout favorite. At an American ceramics manufacturer, the training focused on sa… --- ## [It's our Constitutional Right to be Jerks to teh Gays - Fulton v. City of Philadelphia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-our-constitutional-right-to-be-jerks-to-teh-gays-fulton-v-city-of-philadelphia/924786)
**Author:** [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-our-constitutional-right-to-be-jerks-to-teh-gays-fulton-v-city-of-philadelphia/924786 "2021-06-29T00:31:03Z")
The Supreme Court, including the newest member Amy Coney Barrett, heard oral arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia today. It’s a complicated case, but at its most basic, the question is whether the City of Philadel… --- ## [My 16 hour emergency room nightmare](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652)
**Author:** [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-16-hour-emergency-room-nightmare/944652 "2021-06-28T22:51:38Z")
I’ve only been to the ER twice (as a patient). A few years ago I fell and broke my arm. It was on Mother’s Day and when I got to the ER around 3 p.m., I was the only one there and I was done in two hours. (I asked why it… --- ## [Is there any gaming laptop that actually cools well?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gaming-laptop-that-actually-cools-well/942120)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gaming-laptop-that-actually-cools-well/942120 "2021-06-28T22:11:37Z")
Every gamer laptop I’ve researched - Eluctronik Max 17, Acer Predator Helios, Razor Blade 15, etc. has had a multitude of complaints about dangerously high heating in the CPU. Is there any gamer laptop that actually does… --- ## [In the MCU, what is a god?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-mcu-what-is-a-god/944634)
**Author:** [@LauderdaleFort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauderdaleFort)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-mcu-what-is-a-god/944634 "2021-06-28T21:40:16Z")
I haven’t read a comic since “The death of Superman”, I only watched the first Thor movie and don’t really care much about the superhero genre. Still, I watched the first Loki episode and then I thought “he’s a god, how… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1413) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1415)