what I have learned today.

[Mr Larrington]

Today I are learning that Tony Sirico, who played Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in “The Sopranos”, died back in July.  Which has me wondering whether the name was widely applied to Paul Manafort or whether it was just something concocted by spesh in the TЯump thread downstairs.

[spesh]

Today I are learning that Tony Sirico, who played Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in “The Sopranos”, died back in July.  Which has me wondering whether the name was widely applied to Paul Manafort or whether it was just something concocted by spesh in the TЯump thread downstairs.

I most likely Lobachevsky'd it from the interwebs.  Anyway, LMGTFY...

<tappity tappity>

Looks like it originated in September 2018 when it became known to the world via the Mueller probe that Manafort had used the term "Bada bing bada boom" in an email.

Quoth the Daily Dot, September 14 2018:

In a charging document released by authorities, it goes into detail about Manafort’s work for Viktor Yanukovych in 2012, who was running against Yulia Tymoshenko for president of Ukraine.

The document shows that he tried to spread stories in the United States that would have accused a “senior Cabinet official” of being anti-Semitic for supporting Tymoshenko.

The document says he worked with an unnamed Israeli official to spread the story and wanted to have “Obama Jews” put “pressure” on the administration to support Yanukovych. As part of the work, according to the document, Manafort wrote to “Person D1” as he worked to disseminate the story for media outlets in the United States.

“I have someone pushing it on the NY Post,” he wrote. “Bada bing bada boom.”

Naturally, Manafort’s use of “bada bing bada boom” was spotted by people online.
...

    He actually wrote “Bada bing bada boom.” #Sopranos https://t.co/dX2ETM837B
    — Bruce Rheins (@BruceRheins)
    September 14, 2018

...

Matt Ford@fordm·Sep 14, 2018
This is quite a paragraph from Mueller's latest superseding indictment of Paul Manafort.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnD1fg2XoAA-ipk?format=jpg

Bill C.@only_a_bill
Replying to @fordm
"Bada bing bada boom"?

Damn, Paul Manafort REALLY wanted to be Paulie Walnuts, didn't he? Guess he got his wish...
3:08 PM · Sep 14, 2018

ETA - I did find a couple of usages of "Paulie Walnuts" for Manafort that were older, but I think September was when it entered into popular usage.

[Mr Larrington]

It was in the thread downstairs as early as June 2017

[spesh]

It was in the thread downstairs as early as June 2017

Interesting...

<goes off to have a look>

Found it (eventually): https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10502.msg2179400#msg2179400 (P&OBI group membership required to access?)

My notes from then only seem to be drafts for posts in here, so Cthulhu knows who the source was.  <shrugs>

[PeteB99]

Seems you're not allowed to take right hand drive cars into Saudi Arabia.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63667078

[Mr Larrington]

Wikinaccurate haz a map!

[Ham]

That article says India drive on the left, clearly not written by someone who has visited the country.

[Mr Larrington]

There are not a few countries where folks drive anywhere there's space

[Cudzoziemiec]

Indonesia is anomalous in having left hand road traffic but right hand rail traffic.

[orienteer]

Indonesia is anomalous in having left hand road traffic but right hand rail traffic.

France is the opposite!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Indonesia is anomalous in having left hand road traffic but right hand rail traffic.

France is the opposite!

But that's not really an anomaly, it applies to eg Spain, Portugal, probably a dozen other countries which took their rail layouts from Britain but (now at least) drive on the right.

[Tim Hall]

Indonesia is anomalous in having left hand road traffic but right hand rail traffic.

France is the opposite!

But that's not really an anomaly, it applies to eg Spain, Portugal, probably a dozen other countries which took their rail layouts from Britain but (now at least) drive on the right.

Spain has a non standard gauge. A Spanish colleague explained it thus.:"Teem, it ees to prevent invasions." (I think their high speed stuff is standard gauge).

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've heard it explained as the influence of Brunel's broad gauge but less extreme. I think it's basically the same 5 foot 6 they use in India but adjusted slightly to make sense in 19th century Spanish units.

[Mrs Pingu]

There is a company that sells nursing bras that is called Hotmilk.
 

[T42]

James Lovelock microwaved frozen mice.

[Mr Larrington]

James Lovelock microwaved frozen mice.

Everybody needs a hobby.

[Efrogwr]

James Lovelock microwaved frozen mice.

If i remember correctly, that was the reason for the invention of the poptyping.

[Kim]

The impressive thing is that animals that small still work after you thaw them out.

[Efrogwr]

... after having frozen them in the first place.

Is it the freezing or the thawing that causes tissue damage?

[T42]

I'd say neither, but rather the speed with which you can do both.  You have to get through the anomalous expansion phase before the cells pop, and you can only do that if the animal is small enough for all of it to be processed at once.

[Slave To The Viking]

James Lovelock microwaved frozen mice.

I believe it was hamsters. Unless I've also just learned that he microwaved frozen mice.

[T42]

James Lovelock microwaved frozen mice.

I believe it was hamsters. Unless I've also just learned that he microwaved frozen mice.

You're right, it was hamsters.  Shorter tails.

[Mr Larrington]

Today I are learning – thank to the half-Finnish Mr von Brandenburg – that it’s Independence Day in Finland.

[Tim Hall]

Today I are learning – thank to the half-Finnish Mr von Brandenburg – that it’s Independence Day in Finland.

Ah. That would explain the blue and white flag being flown by the village flag officer.

[PeteB99]

That at 19:56 UTC last night 85.92% of the earths population was in darkness

Probably*

* Some of the data is old and depends on your definition of darkness.
   oh and artificial light doesn't count

https://www.timeanddate.com/news/astronomy/moment-of-global-darkness