The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[blue2000]

Sorry to hear about your friend's DD.

Here are some technical details - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia . In short, Fibromyalgia is muscle pain and stiffness, especially in certain 'pressure points' in the body. Depending on how severe it is, you can be in minor pain and have a relatively normal life or you can be in severe pain and require medication and disability accommodations. You can also get depression and other awful things along with it.

[Mental Magpie]

A conversation I just had with the Eagle didn't make any sense to me while he kept insisting he was right.  I didn't bothering asking him to explain it to me for a number of reasons, but mainly because he has a habit of being completely obtuse and insisting he is being very clear.  Usually, I got look up what it is, understand it that way, then try to interpret what he said to figure out if that's what he really meant.  Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

A quick search didn't reveal for what I was looking, so I thought I'd ask here.  Could someone please explain to me how storms work?

I told the Eagle to look out the northwest corner of our house because the sky was very dark.  He mentioned that storms head southeast and that this one had already passed us.     I said, "But you're looking out the northwest corner of our house!  If it was past us, it would be in the southeast corner of our house."  "Right," says he, "but the sky isn't dark in the northwest corner."     "Did you not just look out that window?!"  Then he got that look on his face like I just wasn't understanding and was being an idiot.  "Yes, but there was clear sky behind that*, so it has passed us."      I don't get it!

*He showed me with his hands, so if we were looking at the northwest sky from left to right it would go clear, dark, clear (we're in this clear part).  How on Earth is the storm past us if it is still northwest of our house?

[WillyNilly]

Storms in my area don't head south east, thats for darn sure!  In NYC and on Long Island often storms head north - which is why the south of [geographical] Long Island, like Coney Island and the Rockaways got hit hard by Hurricane Sandy but northern coastal neighborhoods like Flushing were barely affected by floods. Often storms for us start out at sea (to the east) and move in and up (from the south to the north). Although certainly we do also get storms from the west as well. I really think there are too many factors (humidity, temperature, etc) to make a blanket statement about the direction of every storm.

[Outdoor Girl]

The direction a storm is coming from is dependent on the prevailing winds and on the winds at the present moment.  It is possible to have two storm cells, separated by a calm spot, almost like the eye of a hurricane.  So it is definitely possible that one storm passed and another is on its way.

Where you are, your storms are probably mostly from the west, drifting a bit south or north, or you could even have pop up storms from thermals due to the mountains.

[MrsJWine]

I have no idea what he was talking about. Maybe it has something to do (in his head) with cyclonic rotation, and he got it confused? Storms in the northern hemisphere rotate counter-clockwise, but they can travel as a whole in any direction. They tend to come from one particular direction, depending on where you are, but it's not an unbreakable rule.

[mmswm]

Assuming you're in North America:

Thunderstorms that develop over land or the Pacific ocean move with  the jet stream.  In general, that means from the northwest to the southeast, however, the jet stream doesn't move in a straight line.  It often curves so that it's moving from the southwest to the northeast over parts of the continent.  Storms that develop over the Atlantic Ocean generally move from the southeast to the northwest, but again, the atmospheric currents over the ocean can bounce them around a little bit. 

If you're not in North America, the same principles hold true for whatever the major atmospheric currents are present over your area.  This is not my area of expertise, so I don't know about the atmospheric currents anywhere but North America (the continent I live on) and the Atlantic Ocean (I grew up in Miami...hurricanes are a major issue).

[LazyDaisy]

This may be a confusion of language --

I wonder if he (or you) is confusing "wind direction" and the direction in which a storm moves. (I've tried to write that more clearly several time but it's so difficult for me to put into words that make any sense.) Wind direction is reported by the direction from which it originates. For example, a northerly wind blows from the north to the south. I wonder if he has in his mind that the wind direction for storms is southeast, which means the wind blows from the southeast toward the northeast, but saying the storms "head" southeast.

[Mental Magpie]

This may be a confusion of language --

I wonder if he (or you) is confusing "wind direction" and the direction in which a storm moves. (I've tried to write that more clearly several time but it's so difficult for me to put into words that make any sense.) Wind direction is reported by the direction from which it originates. For example, a northerly wind blows from the north to the south. I wonder if he has in his mind that the wind direction for storms is southeast, which means the wind blows from the southeast toward the northeast, but saying the storms "head" southeast.

Hmmm, possibly, though he seemed very adamant that the storm was past us because he could see clear sky behind the dark sky.

FWIW, the winds are raging here now and it is thundering; I've seen a few flashes of lightning but not much. 

[LazyDaisy]

Well then I guess that proves you were correct all along. Is he still trying to argue that the storm has passed you? 

[Mental Magpie]

Well then I guess that proves you were correct all along. Is he still trying to argue that the storm has passed you? 

LOL luckily not...the rain has started, too.  Usually I can tell if he is deliberately not discussing the issue, but right now I'm not sure if that's the case or he really just doesn't care.

[Mental Magpie]

Apparently, what the Eagle meant was that we weren't going to get the brunt of it, that only the edge of the storm would catch us.  I believe him when he says that's what he meant, because now his explanation of seeing clear sky behind the dark sky makes sense.  On the other hand, the entire time I was trying to explain to him how that didn't make any sense that the storm was past us, he didn't think to tell me that he was talking about something completely different.  It never dawned on him that the reason I didn't understand what he meant was because nothing had actually passed us. 

[kherbert05]

Inspired by the never shopping there again thread and asked out of curiousity not seeking medical advise


Has anyone else had their tonsils disappear?


When I was 10 - 11 years old sis had a series of really bad  strep throats. Our pediatrician and Mom were talking about having her tonsils out. Pediatrician was very cautious and generally didn't want a kid to have an operation unless medically required.


So one day Mom took Sis in for a strep test and me because my allergies were not letting me sleep - either I was choking or ripping my skin open. He and Mom were had been talking about getting sis's tonsils out. Then he examined me and asked "Who butchered this child?" and grabbed my file. My tonsils were basically gone. Since then I have been asked by a couple of doctor "who the hell did such a poor job taking out your tonsils.


Thing is Mom and at least one maternal cousin (our moms are sisters) had the same thing happen. All three of us are asthmatic/highly allergic to things and doctors have speculated that maybe a combination of steroids and our wacked out immune systems that attacks the wrong things resulted in our bodies absorbing out tonsils.

[Iris]

Can I piggy back on kherbert05's question with a related one? (Actually I already am so I guess that question is answered  )

Do environmental factors affect the incidence of tonsillitis? I lived for three years in a town where tonsillitis was MUCH more common that I have experienced elsewhere. I'm certain that it wasn't just a misdiagnosing doctor for many reasons, one of which being my own symptoms (and I've never had tonsillitis at any other time in my life, but twice in this town), but there are many more.

I've always wondered if it could be environmental conditions. My own particular suspect was the water supply, which was a unique water supply exclusively used by this town, but that's based on nothing but its uniqueness.

[mbbored]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

[Luci]

Can I piggy back on kherbert05's question with a related one? (Actually I already am so I guess that question is answered  )

Do environmental factors affect the incidence of tonsillitis? I lived for three years in a town where tonsillitis was MUCH more common that I have experienced elsewhere. I'm certain that it wasn't just a misdiagnosing doctor for many reasons, one of which being my own symptoms (and I've never had tonsillitis at any other time in my life, but twice in this town), but there are many more.

I've always wondered if it could be environmental conditions. My own particular suspect was the water supply, which was a unique water supply exclusively used by this town, but that's based on nothing but its uniqueness.

Two anecdotal comments on this.

My brother had allergies but never had tonsillitis. I would get it 3 times a year, sometimes more. I never had a cold that didn't go into it.

My friend, several states away and years later, had 4 children. Only one of them was prone to the disease.

kherberto5, my husband at 69 has been a lifelong asthmatic and his tonsils are healthy and intact. He did not take steroids regularly for it, however. I don't know what he used, but it was nonsteroidal inhalers.