What did we learn from Groundhog Day?

Well, Groundhog Day has come and gone, and what do we know?  According to Wikipedia, someone actually tracks this from various festivals, and 9 of the 21 groundhogs tracked predicted 6 more weeks of winter.   The most famous one, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  Also, to get scientific, the National Climatic Data Center reportedly has stated that groundhogs’ overall prediction accuracy is around 39 percent.  That doesn’t seem very good.   Although, I wonder how accurate most weathermen are…

But all this is a moot point anyway.  The official first day of Spring is almost 7 weeks after Groundhog Day.  And besides that, the whole thing seems backwards.   If he doesn’t seem his shadow, it means winter will soon end.   But here it was all cloudy and cold, looking and feeling very much like winter.  A sunny day would seem more like spring is on the way.  But what do I know?  I’m no groundhog (though I have been known to do some weather prognosticating from time to time).

Did you know Groundhog Day originally involved badgers or bears?  Today it seems widely accepted to use groundhogs, but that is changing in some parts:

In Alaska, February 2 is observed as Marmot Day rather than Groundhog Day because few groundhogs exist in the state. The holiday was created by a bill passed by the Alaska Legislature in 2009 and signed by then-Governor Sarah Palin that year.

Okay, the tradition is silly enough in premise.   I understand getting together to party and eat, but do people really take this seriously?  Apparently so, if the Alaska Legislature is going to waste the time creating and voting on a bill about it.  But I don’t know why…

On a more random note, in the video game Animal Crossing (the GameCube version), the mayor announces on February 2nd that it’s the day “the groundhog fairy comes around to give groundhogs to all the good little boys and girls”.   That’s random…

caption contest, Ronald McDonald in burned-out store

It’s definitely time for another caption contest.   This week’s picture features Ronald McDonald in a burned-out McDonald’s restaurant.  I really don’t know what happened here, and it doesn’t matter — we get to make up the context.   So think of funny stories / situations / jokes / puns / commentary / etc. that could go with this photo.

(To see the other caption contests, click on the “Say What?” category in the sidebar.)

Forklift Truck Simulator

There are some unusual video games that get made every year.  Most of the time, I understand — even if the game seems weird to me, at least the developers are using some creativity and trying something new.  There needs to be more chance-taking in game publishing.

But I heard of a game that just blows my mind when I consider how generic it sounds.  It’s called Forklift Truck Simulator.  Below is a screenshot from the game, showing how action-packed this game will be.

Uhh… Maybe there’s something I’m missing.  Let’s examine some of the press release about it:

Get behind the controls of a forklift truck in this highly detailed original simulator.

Your aim is to master the demanding range of tasks facing a forklift truck driver in every day scenarios. Load and unload Lorries and train carriages within a given time schedule or store goods in huge warehouses! …

To make the experience a bit more realistic you begin in a training mode to learn your controls and achieve your license in order to continue to the missions. There is also a “free play” mode which allows you to drive freely and choose where to go and what to do with the goods.

Robert Stallibrass of Excalibur Publishing says: “We are delighted to add Forklift Truck to our range of Simulators. The developers at Astragon have a great sense of detail and have worked hard to make this experience as realistic as possible.”

Again I say, uhh…  I hope there’s a LOT I’m missing, for the sake of the people who put money into this project.  The concept of “as realistic as possible” doesn’t seem like a selling point for me.  I usually play video games so I can do things I can’t normally do in real life.  (Granted, I don’t find myself driving forklifts on a regular basis, but that’s not high on my list of priorities.)  If these forklifts don’t have weapons or power-ups, it doesn’t sound too fun.

The only hope I see for this game is the “free play” mode.  If it allows you to get creative and/or go on a destructive rampage, there could be some fun involved.  But if it’s “realistic” and restricted to work-life experiences, I can’t see it being worthwhile — unless you plan to become a professional forklift driver, but still, real life experience would be a lot better.

But to each their own…

surprised by a toilet

How many times have you ever been surprised by a toilet?  And of those times, how many were something neat?

Mango-Man told us he saw a once-in-a-lifetime sight recently.  He was driving home for lunch, and a toilet fell out the back of someone’s truck.  Try to picture that!  He said it shattered and went everywhere.  Too bad he didn’t get to capture it on video.  That’s something you don’t see every day…