What I Learned This Week - 8/22/14

1.  482 days until Star Wars Episode VII is in theaters.
2. The DEA has Dungeons and Dragons themed mission patches.
3. Endurance cycling/running races that give you a temporary tattoo of the race map with elevation profiles and aid station locations to put on your forearm is pure genius. Another thing added to the “why didn’t I think of that?” list.
4. "Crossfit" is not working out with a large wooden crucifix strapped to your back.
5. Telling me bad Star Wars jokes like, "Your mama's so Fett, a Sarlac would choke on her", will make me like you. Putting that joke on a t-shirt makes you my hero.
6. My responses to requests with, "No sweat, Boba Fett" this week have resulted in a lot fewer laughs and more confused looks than expected.
7. According to my youngest, "YOLO" stands for "You Obviously Love Oreos".
8. US geologists published a finding that California's extreme drought will lead to a wave of earthquakes due to the severe draining of underground aquifers creating new unstable conditions. As always, the word “unprecedented” was used in describing the severity. Scary.
9. I have yet to figure out of fellow cyclists that compliment my white handlebar tape are sincerely envious or mocking me. Since they make the statement while passing me on high grade, I’m thinking it’s a dig.
10. The IRS may not consider some of the ALS ice challenge donations tax deductible due to the fact that the donation may have been made under duress.
11. It is estimated that over 30 million gallons of water have been used for the ALS ice bucket challenge - or roughly the annual water usage for 275 households of four people.
12. Even though the history of Star Wars is very complex and there’s an encyclopedia website just for it (wookieepedia), Yoda’s species was never named.
13. According to a coworker, if Samsung has store like Microsoft or Apple, their workers would be called, "Guardians of the Galaxies".
14. I don't know who would win the race between the Flash, Speedy Gonzalez, the Road Runner, Dash Parr, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
15. The BrightSource Energy project in California’s Mojave desert is reflecting focused beams of light to generate energy. Unfortunately, bugs are attracted to the light, birds to the bugs and approximately one bird every two minutes passes through the energy beam and is scorched. Wildlife officials estimate 28,000 birds could literally go down in flames in the next year. KFC has no comment.
16. It’s only a good start to a day when you actually catch yourself putting toothpaste on your razor….rather than later.
17. Local breweries that allow dogs have become one of my favorite hangouts.
18. Always try the sampler platter first.
19. The meteor that flashed across the screen in the movie "Jaws" was real.