Recent content by rolerbe

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    ZapperZ's Great Outdoors Photo Contest

    The pole is probably irrelevant by now.
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    Movies for hardcore sci-fi geeks

    Saw it. Liked it.
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    What are some of your favorite science-fiction novels?

    Aha! Tracked it down. Only off by one order of magnitude. The book is "Camelot 30K" by Robert L. Forward. Interesting premise, well-done aliens, good read.
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    What can I make with a toaster I no longer need? (project)

    There are several projects out there for converting toaster ovens into surface mount solder reflow ovens for electronics PCB construction.
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    High School Can IQ Determine Success in the Math Olympiad?

    One trouble with IQ tests is bias based on localized societal norms and consensus expectations made about common background information. Now an interesting question (to me at least) is what would an IQ test for E.T's look like? And which is 'smarter' dog or cat?
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    Why Does MIT Offer Both PhD and D.Sc Degrees in Mathematics?

    Don't know why they have two degree labels, perhaps historical? I do know that MIT does not give out honorary degrees.
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    Lower their blood pressure by releasing their Sniglets

    "Cartuning" -- jockeying your car slightly forward at a stop, trying to improve radio reception.
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    High School Can IQ Determine Success in the Math Olympiad?

    In real life, it turns out not to matter so much if you are the smartest person in the room or not (regardless of whether that can or cannot effectively be measured by a test). Even if you are, you won't and don't have all the insights or ideas that get generated by the collective group -- not...
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    What Makes Star Trek Continues So Awesome?

    Just watched an episode. Actually didn't suck! I agree they've nailed the feel of TOS.
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    What are some of your favorite science-fiction novels?

    For William Gibson, I thought Mona Lisa Overdrive was even better than Neuromancer. Ender's Game by Card of course. Hit it out of the park with that one, but much of his other stuff is drek. Want to recommend a book I thought was called "Camelot 3K", which I though was by Charles Sheffield...
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    What are some of your favorite science-fiction novels?

    Plug for almost anything by Roger Zelazny. He rides a fine line between SF and fantasy, but always makes the fantasy seem plausible. Unlike many of the hard SF writers (which I love), his prose is a thing of beauty. Try: This Immortal to start, or any of his short story collections (where he...
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    What is the most overused word in the field of Science?

    Yes, but it's only a phase. :devil:
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    News Supreme Court upholds health care reform

    and you can self-insure, which is not a provision in the health-care law.
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    If I only knew then what I know now

    Definition: "Happiness" (n) an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults. -- Thomas Szasz