?Otd

What do you think about secret ballots?

(I’m intentionally making the question rather open-ended, although the inspiration for it is somewhat specific.)

As asked last night by my wife…

Why are some food items used as terms of endearment, while others are not?

Pumpkin? Yes. Potato? No.
Honey? Yes. Syrup? No.
Etc.

All laptops have a built-in UPS, and in fact one that generally can last at least a couple hours.

Why don’t all desktops have a built-in UPS? It wouldn’t have to be any bigger than the one that would be in a laptop. Usually, for the same cost a desktop gives you more features than a laptop, and it’s just silly in this day and age for a power failure to take out unsaved work on a computer.

Is it possible for a human being to pass a Turing test?

Some background for those unfamiliar but might find this interesting anyway: The basic timing system in Magic is that when a player has “priority”, they can choose to (a) take an action, or (b) pass. If both players pass in a row, then (a) if there’s something on the stack (waiting to resolve), the top item on the stack resolves and active player get priority again, or (b) if there’s nothing on the stack, the current phase or step ends and the game moves on to the next phase. Usually, this formal description of timing is shortcutted quickly by the players, and most actual players wouldn’t be able to describe the details of how this timing system works.

What happens if you cash a check for zero dollars? For an amount including a fraction of a cent? How about for a negative amount?

Why are “mail fraud” and “wire fraud” different charges? Why isn’t there just “fraud”, regardless of the medium used for it? Likewise, why is “vehicular homicide” different from plain “homicide” or “manslaughter”? Does the medium used really change the severity or importance of a crime? Aren’t there already degrees of crimes (such as the difference between 1st degree murder and manslaughter)? Why would the medium used change the act that was committed?

What is science?

New video card or new computer?

There are a lot of electronic money transactions nowadays. My “paycheck” gets electronically transferred from my employer’s bank account to my bank account, from where it is electronically transferred to merchants I do business with.

My question is, is there traditional cash (in the form of dollar bills) somewhere that is associated with all this electronic money? Or is there some currency in circulation that just begins and stays electronic?