Can PF Random Thoughts be Split to Help with Server Load?

[OmCheeto]

I just went totally PF on one of my FB friends posts. After an hour of disproving his hogwash, he was so upset, he deleted the entire thread. Take that disinformation spreader! Bwah hahahahaha!

 

[Caveat]

I consider myself superior to all humansjust some random thought of mine for the day, have a good one

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I consider myself superior to all humans


just some random thought of mine for the day, have a good one

But do you consider yourself non-human or merely recursively inconsistent (in that you can't be superior to yourself)?

 

[Caveat]

But do you consider yourself non-human or merely recursively inconsistent (in that you can't be superior to yourself)?

I am an bot, sir

lol @ me being a mere mortal human

have a good day

 

[Mandelbroth]

But do you consider yourself non-human or merely recursively inconsistent (in that you can't be superior to yourself)?

It's only a partial order on the set of human beings, though.

 

[zoobyshoe]

There's a new show on the Travel Channel called America Declassified. It's very interesting because they pretend to cater to conspiracy theorists, that is: they start by hyping a given conspiracy theory as if they might buy into it, but then upon investigation, they always determine there's nothing to it.

Anyway, apparently there's a conspiracy theory to the effect that recycling centers don't recycle anything, they just gather it and secretly transport it to landfills in the dead of night. So, they sent one of their investigators to a recycling center to eyeball what was actually going on. He determined that they do actually separate stuff by material, paper, plastic, steel, aluminum, glass, and bundle it up in tight bales. Then it's sold to other plants where the actual recycling into raw, fresh product takes place. (Mind you, he didn't actually follow any of it to any of those secondary plants.)

Anyway, the thing that got me is that they told him none of the paper is recycled in this country. It is sold, and shipped to, China, for some reason, and recycled there. That's somehow more cost effective than recycling it here.

Aluminum, they told him, was the cash cow of the recycling business. They don't really make any money off anything else, and the whole operation is actually carried by the aluminum.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Epistlogenic memory? :

I was walking down the street a couple blocks from my place when I hear a guy calling my name, "Mr.Shoe! Mr. Shoe!" I look and see it's a mailman. He say's, "I've got a package for you, too big for the mailbox. Are you going to be home in about an hour?"

It was weird, because he can't have glimpsed me more than two or three times when I happened to be arriving or leaving just when he dropped the mail off. Somehow, though, he had correctly fastened my face to my name and address in his memory. It made me wonder if he has everyone on his route similarly memorized.

I've long known that baristas quickly develop caffeinogenic memories, but I didn't realize mailmen might have their version.

 

[AlephZero]

Anyway, the thing that got me is that they told him none of the paper is recycled in this country. It is sold, and shipped to, China, for some reason, and recycled there. That's somehow more cost effective than recycling it here.

The transportation costs are probably effectively zero. if there are a fleet of container ships bringing everything from cheap clothing to all of Apple's manufacturing in one direction across the Pacific, you might as well fill them up with something on the return journey.

And the recycled paper probably makes the fancy packaging for the the next batch of iPods.

This reminds me of a Christmas horror story from the 1970s. Selling stuff to Eastern Europe could be problematic because of the lack of convertible currency, so there was often an element of barter involved. One time, we traded some jet engines for an appropriate quantity of "forestry products". That seemed OK, considering the amount of wood the UK imported from the Baltic region anyway.

The "forestry products" that arrived included about a hundred tons (literally) of Christmas cards. With the greetings printed in Romanian.

Still, I guess the factory manger who was awarded the supreme something or other of the Soviet wherever, for meeting his Christmas card output targets in the five year plan, was happy

 

[zoobyshoe]

The transportation costs are probably effectively zero. if there are a fleet of container ships bringing everything from cheap clothing to all of Apple's manufacturing in one direction across the Pacific, you might as well fill them up with something on the return journey.

Maybe, but it seems they'd be burning more diesel loaded with tons of paper than empty.

This reminds me of a Christmas horror story from the 1970s. Selling stuff to Eastern Europe could be problematic because of the lack of convertible currency, so there was often an element of barter involved. One time, we traded some jet engines for an appropriate quantity of "forestry products". That seemed OK, considering the amount of wood the UK imported from the Baltic region anyway.

The "forestry products" that arrived included about a hundred tons (literally) of Christmas cards. With the greetings printed in Romanian.

Still, I guess the factory manger who was awarded the supreme something or other of the Soviet wherever, for meeting his Christmas card output targets in the five year plan, was happy

I could use a jet engine. Where do I send the Christmas card?

 

[AlephZero]

Maybe, but it seems they'd be burning more diesel loaded with tons of paper than empty.

Apart from the manouvering at the ends of the voyage, the fuel burn doesn't depend on the mass of the ship, only how fast it's going and how deep in the water it is.

But you don't want to be bobbing around like a cork across a thousand miles of open water, so if there was no cargo you would be carrying more water ballast to compensate.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Apart from the manouvering at the ends of the voyage, the fuel burn doesn't depend on the mass of the ship, only how fast it's going and how deep in the water it is.

But you don't want to be bobbing around like a cork across a thousand miles of open water, so if there was no cargo you would be carrying more water ballast to compensate.

This makes sense. I can't imagine paper is in such short supply in China that they'd pay much for our leftovers. They still have to go to the expense of breaking it down and remaking it, after all.

I'm kind of ticked we don't do it here. It just means more trees bite the dust.

 

[Borek]

This makes sense. I can't imagine paper is in such short supply in China that they'd pay much for our leftovers. They still have to go to the expense of breaking it down and remaking it, after all.

Could be they are reading it all to spy on you.

 

[AlephZero]

There's another engineering issue here. Most container ships carry a lot of containers on deck as well as in the holds. Empty containers on deck can get blown or washed overboard in rough weather, and they can float for a long time as a hazard to shipping before they eventually fill with water and sink.

This was one of the many things that killed of the "FastShip Atlantic" project (intended to run a fleet of container ships from the USA to Europe sailing at about 40 knots, and with new systems for fast loading and unloading). We did some work on the propulsion system (basically, water-jets powered by modified jet engines) but figuring out what to do if a floating container went under the ship and got stuck in the water intake was a tough problem to solve!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Could be they are reading it all to spy on you.

It would be one way to take the pulse of the US, yes.

There's another engineering issue here. Most container ships carry a lot of containers on deck as well as in the holds. Empty containers on deck can get blown or washed overboard in rough weather, and they can float for a long time as a hazard to shipping before they eventually fill with water and sink.

This was one of the many things that killed of the "FastShip Atlantic" project (intended to run a fleet of container ships from the USA to Europe sailing at about 40 knots, and with new systems for fast loading and unloading). We did some work on the propulsion system (basically, water-jets powered by modified jet engines) but figuring out what to do if a floating container went under the ship and got stuck in the water intake was a tough problem to solve!

Now I see why you know something about shipping.

 

[Borek]

So, the world finally came to an end.

At least for Harold Camping.

 

[zoobyshoe]

So, the world finally came to an end.

At least for Harold Camping.

You're saying he passed away?

 

[turbo]

You're saying he passed away?

Camping has passed from this mortal coil.

 

[AlephZero]

Camping has passed from this mortal coil.

Don't worry, folks. There'll be another show starting real soon now...

"Amazingly, when I go back and look at some of these things in the Bible, I have to conclude that he was largely correct," retired transit engineer Robert Fitzpatrick, 62, said when reached by telephone on Tuesday at his Staten Island home in New York City.

(from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/17/us-usa-doomsday-prophet-idUSBRE9BG16320131217)

 

[drizzle]

Oh the wind! It brings tears to my eyes.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Don't worry, folks. There'll be another show starting real soon now...



(from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/17/us-usa-doomsday-prophet-idUSBRE9BG16320131217)

Holy hindsight bias batman!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Don't worry, folks. There'll be another show starting real soon now...

It's like the Mandan rain dance, which was 100% effective. The reason being, once they started the dance they refused to stop till it rained.

If they keep refreshing their prediction, eventually it will be right. Could take a while, though.

 

[OmCheeto]

Oh the wind! It brings tears to my eyes.

Tears for Fears.

That's the band.

 

[AlephZero]

It's like the Mandan rain dance, which was 100% effective.

Just like this UK joke (apologies if it's actually an international joke)...

On UK commuter trains, the people who get on at the most distant stations (where there are still empty seats available!) tend to sit in the exact same seats every day. There was this guy who every day read a page of his newspaper, then carefully tore it into 1-inch squares and dropped them out of the open window one at a time.

After watching this for a couple of years, one of the other commuters finally asked him why.

"It's to stop wild elephants attacking the train".
"But there are no wild elephants in Surrey".
"Yes, it's a very effective deterrent, isn't it?"

 

[drizzle]

I think I took the pill twice...

 

[Evo]

When did gold members become gold again? Last time I looked they had been changed to "Patrons". I like "Gold' better.

I like the snowman too.

 

[Borek]

Each time I see the red hat of the snowman at the top bar I think it is a facebook notification.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Despite becoming an expectant father, losing my own father, being president of the math club, doing research and presenting a paper to the local chapter of MAA, 5 classes, 3 of them math, one of them Analysis, I think I did pretty well.

 

[Evo]

Despite becoming an expectant father, losing my own father, being president of the math club, doing research and presenting a paper to the local chapter of MAA, 5 classes, 3 of them math, one of them Analysis, I think I did pretty well.

Well done!

 

[dkotschessaa]

Well done!

Thank you! To quote discovery channel... I SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE!

 

[Evo]

Stupid or honest?

I recently bought a new coffeemaker. The one I had was one of the first Mr coffees ever made that a roommate of Evo child's was throwing away. My coffeemaker had mysteriously "vanished" during my move a couple of weeks earlier. It was finally Mr Coffee's time to go to the coffee maker graveyard.

I bought the new one on sale and a couple of weeks later the thermostat went out. I called customer service and they agreed to just ship me a new one for free. Well, today I got TWO new ones. I knew they had no record because nothing was sent to me on it.

I called them and they had no record of sending me the second one, so I agreed to send it back.

Now I am afraid that the one I choose to keep will be defective, because that's how my life is.

So, was I stupid or honest to advise them they sent too many machines or just stupidly honest?

I do stuff like this all of the time, I found a wad of cash at a Walmart in the change dispenser when they had those automated checkouts, and turned it into customer service. The woman looked at me like I was nuts. She asked me who it belonged to. I said I didn't know. She asked me what to do with it, she didn't seem to want to be bothered with writing it up. I told her if no one claimed it, then maybe she could keep it, that lit her eyes up. I guess I know where that money went as soon as I walked out. Oh well, at least I didn't keep it.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Stupid or honest?

I recently bought a new coffeemaker. The one I had was one of the first Mr coffees ever made that a roommate of Evo child's was throwing away. My coffeemaker had mysteriously "vanished" during my move a couple of weeks earlier. It was finally Mr Coffee's time to go to the coffee maker graveyard.

I bought the new one on sale and a couple of weeks later the thermostat went out. I called customer service and they agreed to just ship me a new one for free. Well, today I got TWO new ones. I knew they had no record because nothing was sent to me on it.

I called them and they had no record of sending me the second one, so I agreed to send it back.

Now I am afraid that the one I choose to keep will be defective, because that's how my life is.

So, was I stupid or honest to advise them they sent too many machines or just stupidly honest?

I do stuff like this all of the time, I found a wad of cash at a Walmart in the change dispenser when they had those automated checkouts, and turned it into customer service. The woman looked at me like I was nuts. She asked me who it belonged to. I said I didn't know. She asked me what to do with it, she didn't seem to want to be bothered with writing it up. I told her if no one claimed it, then maybe she could keep it, that lit her eyes up. I guess I know where that money went as soon as I walked out. Oh well, at least I didn't keep it.

Evo - it's good, admirable, and wonderful. I hope the coffeemaker you kept works ok.

 

[JorisL]

That's a very nice and rare thing you did. Kudos

I only wish my coffee maker didn't break this morning :(
Normally 6 rather large cups a day. Today only 1 small cup.

And so I'm already running behind on my schedule for studying. Coffee is the thing that mentally commits me to my books.

On the upside, it's still under warranty.

 

[lisab]

I get this, when I click on that link:





ps. Should I make LisaB "earn" her $200,000,000?

It might sound like an indecent proposal to others, but to me, it would be; "Tell me why Platinum is less reactive than Nickel, and then you can have your bloody money...".

I switched from Chemistry to Physics before taking Inorganic Chem! But I'll take a stab at it .

 

[dlgoff]

... today I got TWO new ones
...
Now I am afraid that the one I choose to keep will be defective, because that's how my life is.

So, was I stupid or honest to advise them they sent too many machines or just stupidly honest?

Honesty is the the best policy but I'm thinking that whoever put the second one in the shipment thought of it as "spare parts" OR they know about your life's problems. But I wouldn't call it stupid; maybe too quick on the draw.

 

[Evo]

Honesty is the the best policy but I'm thinking that whoever put the second one in the shipment thought of it as "spare parts" OR they know about your life's problems. But I wouldn't call it stupid; maybe too quick on the draw.

I'm thinking that one works and the other is defective, one of the boxes was open, the tape had been sliced open all around. I think it's a cruel joke for complaining.

What was really weird was the Fed Ex guy, he was giving me the third degree "are you supposed to get two?" "why did you get two?" "let me see that first box again", "I should just take this one back". I actually had to insist that he give me both boxes.

I told him hell no you aren't taking one without any documentation, I might be stupid, but I'm not dumb.

 

[dlgoff]

I'm thinking that one works and the other is defective, one of the boxes was open, the tape had been sliced open all around. I think it's a cruel joke for complaining.

What was really weird was the Fed Ex guy, he was giving me the third degree "are you supposed to get two?" "why did you get two?" "let me see that first box again", "I should just take this one back".

I told him hell no you aren't taking one without any documentation, I might be stupid, but I'm not dumb.

Dang. I have a Fed Ex delivery friend and he told me that he was trained to not interfere. "If you suspect there may be illegal drugs in a package, deliver it unless you actually see the contents coming out of the package. I'm surprised by your guys questions. Now's the time to be making a telephone call.

 

[zoobyshoe]

So, was I stupid or honest to advise them they sent too many machines or just stupidly honest?

I do stuff like this all of the time, I found a wad of cash at a Walmart in the change dispenser when they had those automated checkouts, and turned it into customer service. The woman looked at me like I was nuts. She asked me who it belonged to. I said I didn't know. She asked me what to do with it, she didn't seem to want to be bothered with writing it up. I told her if no one claimed it, then maybe she could keep it, that lit her eyes up. I guess I know where that money went as soon as I walked out. Oh well, at least I didn't keep it.

There was a feature article in the paper here quite a few years back that told the story of two people who had found large sums of cash and did the right thing, bringing it to the police. In both cases the person who lost it came forward and claimed it. THEN, though, both of the honest people went on to acquire an even greater windfall, one won the lottery and the other got a big inheritance they weren't expecting. They both felt that their honesty had been rewarded by a just universe where tabs are kept, sort of thing.

However, this guy I know at a cafe told me two opposite stories where people who had found things lost by rich people and returned them were both generously, generously, I say, dripping with sarcasm, offered a $5.00 reward for their trouble. One guy returned an expensive set of golf clubs, the other a wallet with several hundred dollars in cash in it.

The reason he mentioned these incidents was in response to my having found a wallet in the parking lot there. It had about $300 in cash in it, credit cards, etc. and a driver's license. I was about 100% sure the woman would be back very soon looking for it, so I set it on my table and waited. She arrived in about ten minutes and I walked over and gave it to her. She eyeballed me with severe suspicion, checked the contents, then muttered, "thanks," and walked agitatedly away.

I sort of understood. When you lose something as important as a wallet you are filled with dread, paranoia, suspicion. She couldn't quite shed that all of a sudden just because the wallet was rescued, and she probably wondered if I hadn't picked her pocket for some devious reason.

Anyway, sometimes honesty is rewarded and sometimes you get kicked for it. I don't know what to tell you.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Each time I see the red hat of the snowman at the top bar I think it is a facebook notification.

I've clicked on it 5 times now, trying to get my message.

 

[Evo]

Dang. I have a Fed Ex delivery friend and he told me that he was trained to not interfere. "If you suspect there may be illegal drugs in a package, deliver it unless you actually see the contents coming out of the package. I'm surprised by your guys questions. Now's the time to be making a telephone call.

I wouldn't let him take it because although I assumed (correctly) that they had no record of sending it to me, that returning it with no information would have resulted in confusion. And if it was on record and it was just returned to the warehouse, no telling what would have happened. As it was, they didn't know what to do when I called to report it, since they had no record of sending it, it didn't exist and they didn't know how to take it back. I suggested that it was meant to be, it was my lucky day, it's the Christmas season, but they said no, they'd take it back, although they had no idea how to put it back into inventory, they had never had anyone report an extra shipment before. They did give me a coupon for $30 of coffee for my honesty.

 

[Evo]

The reason he mentioned these incidents was in response to my having found a wallet in the parking lot there. It had about $300 in cash in it, credit cards, etc. and a driver's license. I was about 100% sure the woman would be back very soon looking for it, so I set it on my table and waited. She arrived in about ten minutes and I walked over and gave it to her. She eyeballed me with severe suspicion, checked the contents, then muttered, "thanks," and walked agitatedly away.

I sort of understood. When you lose something as important as a wallet you are filled with dread, paranoia, suspicion. She couldn't quite shed that all of a sudden just because the wallet was rescued, and she probably wondered if I hadn't picked her pocket for some devious reason.

Anyway, sometimes honesty is rewarded and sometimes you get kicked for it. I don't know what to tell you.

How odd. I've always been honest and never got a thing. But I always think of all of the times honest people found my ex-husband's wallet (he was constantly losing everything).

 

[dlgoff]

I suggested that it was meant to be, it was my lucky day, it's the Christmas season, but they said no, they'd take it back, although they had no idea how to put it back into inventory, they had never had anyone report an extra shipment before. They did give me a coupon for $30 of coffee for my honesty.

That should just about cover the restocking fee invoice you'll be getting. You don't really think the coupon indicates how your life has been IS going to change do you?

 

[Borg]

Has anyone lost their car keys? I found some near my house last night.

 

[OmCheeto]

The last 20 random thoughts remind me of my life.

Evo, the second coffee maker was a marketing trick.

The kids at Papa Murphys once accidentally gave me an extra can of anchovies for my pizza. I ended up leaving them 5, 10, & once a $20 tip for the next several months. I buy pizzas from them almost every week.

Seven years ago I lost my wallet in the river. While looking for it 3 months later, a man came up and asked me if my name was OmCheeto. I said yes, and he said that his daughter had found my wallet. There was no money missing, so I gave her the $100 reward.

That same year, I helped save a woman from drowning, and helped rescue about $2000 out of the $3000 she had in her purse. She tried to give me a several hundred dollar reward. I said no, and told her the story of my lost wallet. Her friend insisted I take something, as the rescuee was "voodoo level" superstitious. I said $40 was adequate. The next day, I found a $400 pair of sunglasses sitting on the beach.

Just this Tuesday, an acquaintance ran out of money at the video poker machine, so I handed him a $20 bill, with no strings attached. He won $650, and gave me half.

I think I'll buy myself a Carhartt Jacket for xmas.

 

[dkotschessaa]

There was a feature article in the paper here quite a few years back that told the story of two people who had found large sums of cash and did the right thing, bringing it to the police. In both cases the person who lost it came forward and claimed it. THEN, though, both of the honest people went on to acquire an even greater windfall, one won the lottery and the other got a big inheritance they weren't expecting. They both felt that their honesty had been rewarded by a just universe where tabs are kept, sort of thing.

However, this guy I know at a cafe told me two opposite stories where people who had found things lost by rich people and returned them were both generously, generously, I say, dripping with sarcasm, offered a $5.00 reward for their trouble. One guy returned an expensive set of golf clubs, the other a wallet with several hundred dollars in cash in it.

The reason he mentioned these incidents was in response to my having found a wallet in the parking lot there. It had about $300 in cash in it, credit cards, etc. and a driver's license. I was about 100% sure the woman would be back very soon looking for it, so I set it on my table and waited. She arrived in about ten minutes and I walked over and gave it to her. She eyeballed me with severe suspicion, checked the contents, then muttered, "thanks," and walked agitatedly away.

I sort of understood. When you lose something as important as a wallet you are filled with dread, paranoia, suspicion. She couldn't quite shed that all of a sudden just because the wallet was rescued, and she probably wondered if I hadn't picked her pocket for some devious reason.

Anyway, sometimes honesty is rewarded and sometimes you get kicked for it. I don't know what to tell you.

I do. If you don't mind me using this sort of terminology, creating good "karma" is not about a one to one correspondence between "good deed done" and "deed rewarded." It's about cultivating particular qualities - honesty, generosity, etc. by doing certain things over and over. The "reward" is in both the positive states of mind that result from cultivating these qualities and the lack of agitation/remorse that would come from acting differently.

Anyway that is far from random.

-Dave K

 

[Enigman]

Sarcasm comes from a word that means 'tearing flesh'...how nice.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Sarcasm comes from a word that means 'tearing flesh'...how nice.

Oh REALLY... That's SOOO interesting. I'm SO glad I know THAT fact now...

 

[Enigman]

That's heart rending.

 

[dkotschessaa]

That's heart rending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziH9St7ajuw

This has been making me LOL for years now.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The "reward" is in both the positive states of mind that result from cultivating these qualities and the lack of agitation/remorse that would come from acting differently.

Sounds good, but my personal experience when I returned that woman's wallet was to be left feeling agitated when I realized she suspected me of having engineered it's disappearance somehow. Before that I was all chuffed because I felt like I was going to make someone's day, that it would be cool to see her relief and joy when she got it back. Instead, I got kicked. But like I said, I can sort of understand where her head was at.

 

[Enigman]

Borrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddd...time for that coffee...