Thing I wonder...

#1 -- Nerd physics stuff

A buddy at work was leaving the office at the same time as me, so we walked together to the parking lot. There was a slight drizzle and he mentioned that if we walked faster we'd just get more wet. I laughed and agreed, then we parted ways to our cars. But my mental gears had just begun, and the following wonderment went through my head...

Well, would I get wetter in the rain if I walked faster? Yes, I guess when you speed up in your car more water hits the windshield, and you have to turn the wiper speed up. So yes, I'd get wetter. Horizontal velocity increases the number of drops that hit you.

But that's only wetter per second, not necessarily wetter from point A to point B. If I walked really slowly I wouldn't get wet as quickly, but I'd be in the rain a lot longer. Overall I'd probably be more wet when I got to my car. So would it be best for me to sprint to my car? I'd get quite a bit of rain on me in just a few seconds, but then it'd be over.

Hmmm... it depends on the rate of rainfall, I guess, because there's also the potential for evaporation off my clothes. If I sprint, there's no time for droplets to hit me and then dry. If I walk, I get more total drops on me but some of them will be dry by the time I reach my car...

But really, who sprints in a drizzle anyway? I don't want to be that guy. I'll just walk.

I'm betting he wasn't having the same internal monologue.

#2 -- Driving stuff

I've only owned two automobiles in the past 12 years: a Honda Accord and a Dodge Intrepid. Both apparently are stealth models, with engines and tires that make absolutely zero noise. Because no pedestrian ever, ever seems to notice when I'm driving on the street and they walk right in front of me. Sometimes they just stand there, inches in front of my hood with their backs turned. Can they not hear me? Stealth models. My cars are awesome.

Another thing I wonder is about drivers in general. I would say that the vast majority of us spend the vast majority of our time driving on roads we're already familiar with. Think about it. Isn't most of your driving time taken up with areas that you know pretty well? So why is that everywhere I go, all the drivers seem like they don't have a freaking clue where they're going or what they're doing? They can't tell which lanes are turn-only lanes, which lanes close ahead (even after the third warning sign), and which lane has had a big pothole for six months. Don't act like you've never seen it before and then swerve into my lane to avoid the pothole. We both know you drive this route everyday. I wonder if they're all new to Houston, or just idiots?

#3 -- Radio stuff

I'm aware that there are certain words that can't be uttered on the main radio stations. George Carlin's "filthy words" monologue sums up the list pretty well.

I wonder why ZZ Top gets a free pass? Three times in the past month I've heard their classic song "Legs" on the radio. Not always on the same station. It's an undeniably romantic ballad, evidenced by the phrase "She's got hair down to her fanny" in the first verse. Gets me all teary.

Anyway, the last line of the song includes the words "Oh I want her, shit I've got to have her." Intense words, no doubt. I feel where they're coming from. But why does that always avoid an edit on the radio? It's always played loud and clear.

I wonder if the censors don't realize what ZZ Top is saying? It's pretty easy to understand. I looked up the lyrics online and about half the websites list the line as "said I've got to have her." Dummies. Listen to the song again.

I'm not a fan of censorship in general and am certainly not a prude when it comes to language. I'm not offended by the S-bomb. I just can't figure out why it gets through the radio censors on this one song, but no others.

And that's the kind of stuff I wondered about this week.