Tired ramblings

[madbaker]

I only got about five hours' sleep last night, so if this post seems more random than usual, that's my excuse.

Short reunions yesterday:

I visited maestrateresa briefly. Good to see her, and good that she's on the road to recovery. Granted, it's a bumpy, rocky, potholed road, but still. I also stopped in the store where Bonefinder works. There was something there I needed, but it was also a convenient excuse to say hello as I hadn't seen him most of this year... he's doing reasonably well, if quite busy with his martial arts. He's looking forward to returning to the GSP next year. (So am I.)

I forgot to put the malfunctioning computer in the car this AM. Since I'm supposed to meet my volunteer tech-support guy at lunch to hand it off for inspection, this is annoying.

What good is the pinky finger? Other than serving as a ring repository for lounge lizards. Why can't we have a second opposable thumb on that side? That would be useful.

I tried out a French-press commuter mug for the first time today. It worked reasonably well, and certainly held the heat much better than the cheap plastic mugs I generally use. I haven't cleaned it yet, which may be a deciding factor whether it gets used again.
That sentence structure looks remarkably tortured but I can't be bothered to fix it.

Current Book: Tim Powers & James Blaylock, The Devils in the Details

Comments

Picking Nits. Grooming -- like a chimp?

[fionnbharro.livejournal.com]

The Pinky finger *Is* opposable. It's just not (usually) stubby like a thumb.

The thing that makes the human hand different from most other primates isn't the opposable thumb -- it's the opposable pinky.

If you look at the way a gorilla or a chimp hold a stick or other tool handle in their fist, the structure of their hand forces them to hold it perpendicular to their forearm -- it makes a 'T' shape.

With an opposable *pinky* (i.e., we can touch the base of the thumb with the pinky), humans can rotate the grasp in such a way that a stick can lie alongside and parallel to the forearm -- extending reach and multiplying force/strength through the increased length (it's a longer fulcrum thingy).

Always happy to be annoying!
-Fionn

Re: Picking Nits.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I sit corrected then. I want a second thumb on the other side of my hand to replace my less-useful pinky finger.

Better?