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

[dlgoff]

Had another stroke yesterday. Note to self "If you're going to have a stroke, don't do it where you can fall on a roaring-hot wood stove." The whole right side of my body is bruised, scraped and sore and I lost a pretty large patch of skin on my right arm (burned off).

Crap!

 

[turbo]

Crap!

Yep. Not my best day in recent months. I am really lame and sore, and it's hard to get around the house. When I "came to" I was lying on the floor bleeding next to a hot wood stove. Duke and Lola were no help. During my last stroke, I collapsed on the back lawn, and Duke went back to the house to alert my wife. She came down to the back lawn and helped me get on my feet and get me back to the house. I'm so glad that I didn't collapse in the raspberry/blackberry patch.

 

[collinsmark]

I don't mean to nag, Turbo, but I really think you should go to the hospital immediately following a stroke. Timely, stroke treatment trumps pretty-much any other possible malady that might otherwise keep you from the hospital.

 

[turbo]

I don't mean to nag, Turbo, but I really think you should go to the hospital immediately following a stroke. Timely, stroke treatment trumps pretty-much any other possible malady that might otherwise keep you from the hospital.

Thanks for the advice. I don't know if I could survive a trip with an ambulance crew and a hospital visit. My reactions to fragrances (even in laundry detergents) can be severe, and they don't resolve for several days. Not fun.

 

[collinsmark]

The silver lining (if there is one in this case), medical professionals know the time-constraints of stroke treatments too, so if you show symptoms of a stroke, you'll be rushed to the front of the line.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Thanks for the advice. I don't know if I could survive a trip with an ambulance crew and a hospital visit. My reactions to fragrances (even in laundry detergents) can be severe, and they don't resolve for several days. Not fun.

Why are you calling these episodes "strokes", by the way? Since you don't go to the doctor, how do you know they're not, say, syncope or drop seizures?

 

[turbo]

Why are you calling these episodes "strokes", by the way? Since you don't go to the doctor, how do you know they're not, say, syncope or drop seizures?

I don't know. The first happened many years ago, and it took me 3-4 days to learn to walk again (if you can call shuffling along on a flat floor "walking". I lost the sensation of balance and joint position in my left leg and sensation of temperature in my right. The German-born neurologist (now working with US troops) had me scanned and she showed my how "lucky" I was that the stroke had not exhibited elsewhere in the brain-stem, since the loss of function could have been much worse.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I don't know. The first happened many years ago, and it took me 3-4 days to learn to walk again (if you can call shuffling along on a flat floor "walking". I lost the sensation of balance and joint position in my left leg and sensation of temperature in my right. The German-born neurologist (now working with US troops) had me scanned and she showed my how "lucky" I was that the stroke had not exhibited elsewhere in the brain-stem, since the loss of function could have been much worse.

So, you did go to a doctor back when the first one happened, and she's the one who called it a stroke.

 

[drizzle]

Sorry to hear about that, turbo. What did the doctor say?

 

[turbo]

Sorry to hear about that, turbo. What did the doctor say?

I dare not see a doctor, since neither they or their staff have a clue about being "fragrance free" as they all claim. Those people all come to work in clothing saturated with fragrances from laundry detergents and fabric softeners and pretend that If they did not apply anything from a bottle called "perfume" or "cologne" that they are fragrance-free. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

People with MCS are pretty much screwed. Nobody understands it and only family and close friends can accommodate it, if they can be bothered to try.

 

[Enigman]

Need magnets...Beware all speakers, hard drives, motors...I come. Or I could make an electromagnet and magnetize some coins...what's the curie temperature for stainless steal? google...google... google... scroogle. 623K-673K.
Ah well, Neanderthallic approach is more fun anyways...track, scavenge and hit (hard).

 

[turbo]

My dogs are on facebook because my wife's friend put them there.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Need magnets...Beware all speakers, hard drives, motors...I come. Or I could make an electromagnet and magnetize some coins...what's the curie temperature for stainless steal? google...google... google... scroogle. 623K-673K.
Ah well, Neanderthallic approach is more fun anyways...track, scavenge and hit (hard).

You can't permanently magnetize stainless unless it's first hardened, and not all stainless can be hardened. It has to have the right other elements in it to be harden-able. I bet you're talking a special alloy for that. (The curie temp is not important in magnetizing anything. That's important when you want to de-magnetize a permanent magnet.)

Regardless, old speakers are a great source for ceramic ferrite magnets. Those are much stronger than hardened steel magnets. Strongest of all, of course, are rare Earth magnets, such as found in hard drives. You can also buy them in myriad configurations online. ebay has a huge selection. The larger they are, though, the more expensive.

 

[Enigman]

You can't permanently magnetize stainless unless it's first hardened, and not all stainless can be hardened. It has to have the right other elements in it to be harden-able. I bet you're talking a special alloy for that. (The curie temp is not important in magnetizing anything. That's important when you want to de-magnetize a permanent magnet.)

The curie temp should 'loosen' out all moments and after that cooling in a magnetic field should theoretically* give better aligned domains/moments/squiggly arrows/whatever than just using an electromagnet. The coin is of Ferritic stainless steel (about 20% chromium very less nickel) and which (the coins) to my experience does indeed magnetize.
*well, probably...

 

[HeLiXe]

I'm going to get a copy of Quantum Mechanics For Idiots...or is it Dummies? Been out of school for a little bit and can't even remember how to integrate a classical wave function -_- That exam on the third day of class made me feel like even more of an idiot. so sad.

 

[WannabeNewton]

That exam on the third day of class made me feel like even more of an idiot. so sad.

What kind of class has an exam on the third day? We must protest with flaming pitchforks and badly crafted picket signs a la !

Anyways if it makes you feel better, in one of my electrodynamics exams I forgot that the area element on the unit sphere has a $\sin \theta$ in it so I fudged up the entire problem

 

[Evo]

I'm going to get a copy of Quantum Mechanics For Idiots...or is it Dummies? Been out of school for a little bit and can't even remember how to integrate a classical wave function -_- That exam on the third day of class made me feel like even more of an idiot. so sad.

Evo Child's teacher in her first astronomy class gave them an end of semester test the second day. Apparently he was a a jerk like that the first couple of weeks until half the class withdrew. Then he became an awesome teacher with a much smaller class. He said he always did that on purpose to weed out students that weren't serious.

 

[lisab]

Evo Child's teacher in her first astronomy class gave them an end of semester test the second day. Apparently he was a a jerk like that the first couple of weeks until half the class withdrew. Then he became an awesome teacher with a much smaller class. He said he always did that on purpose to weed out students that weren't serious.

So he realizes he gets paid the same whether there are 40 students in his class or 20, and thinks, well why not?

I can't decide if he's evil, brilliant, or brillevil.

 

[Evo]

So he realizes he gets paid the same whether there are 40 students in his class or 20, and thinks, well why not?

I can't decide if he's evil, brilliant, or brillevil.

At first I hated him because Evo child was so devastated that she didn't know most of the answers, then he finally admitted she wasn't supposed to. She almost quit because she figured that she was supposed to know this stuff, then she found out that everyone failed. He turned out to be the best teacher ever, but apparently he only wants to teach those that are driven to learn and excel. Of course he could be scaring away kids that might really do well, but are insecure. Ok, I am mad again.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The curie temp should 'loosen' out all moments and after that cooling in a magnetic field should theoretically* give better aligned domains/moments/squiggly arrows/whatever than just using an electromagnet.

They don't really need loosening. They'll realign in a strong enough external field.

The way they magnetize permanent magnets in industry is to place them in a coil and energize the coil very briefly with a high current discharge from a bank of capacitors. Simple ones, like refrigerator magnets, they stack them and run them on conveyer belts into the coil, zapping them at the proper time. The belt never stops. Specially shaped magnets need a special electromagnet with dedicated pole pieces, and may have to be magnetized one at a time.

That's only half the story, though. The other half is how well the material holds the magnetism. That's a matter of how hard you can make the material. The softer it is, the easier it is to knock the domains out of alignment. Pure, soft iron basically loses all magnetism as soon as you remove the external field (That's what you want for the core of an electromagnet, or for a motor).Ceramic ferrite magnets, on the other end of the gradient, won't show any degradation for a couple hundred years (they reckon in the book I read). I don't know about rare earth, but I'd bet it's at least as long.

Anyway, if you heat your coins you'll have to quench them fast or they'll not be hard. Heating a coin to cherry red ought to be doable with a common propane torch.

 

[Borek]

When you think you have seen it all.

dangerousminds.net/comments/japanese_fart_scrolls

 

[Ibix]

Spike Milligan's autobiography mentions similar competitions in barracks during World War 2. Lit matches sometimes added to the 'fun'.

 

[WannabeNewton]

When you think you have seen it all.

dangerousminds.net/comments/japanese_fart_scrolls

LOL Japan never fails to amuse.

 

[dlgoff]

When you think you have seen it all.

dangerousminds.net/comments/japanese_fart_scrolls

I just sent the link to my friend who can clear any room.

 

[DennisN]

When you think you have seen it all.

dangerousminds.net/comments/japanese_fart_scrolls

 

[Enigman]

Dark times for an Holmesian. The canon seems to be corroding faster than ever and anyone writing about a cold reader seems to be gunning for the name.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Dark times for an Holmesian. The canon seems to be corroding faster than ever and anyone writing about a cold reader seems to be gunning for the name.

Could you translate into Japanese, please. And illustrate all wind passed, if you would.

 

[Enigman]

Someone already did: http://io9.com/5940011/japans-getting-a-manga-adaptation-of-sherlock
E: Plenty of wind too...

 

[zoobyshoe]

Someone already did: http://io9.com/5940011/japans-getting-a-manga-adaptation-of-sherlock
E: Plenty of wind too...

Like any reasonable individual anywhere, you've been eagerly awaiting the day the BBC officially sanctions an anime rendition of Martin Freeman's mug.

Great line.

 

[collinsmark]

At first I hated him because Evo child was so devastated that she didn't know most of the answers, then he finally admitted she wasn't supposed to. She almost quit because she figured that she was supposed to know this stuff, then she found out that everyone failed. He turned out to be the best teacher ever, but apparently he only wants to teach those that are driven to learn and excel. Of course he could be scaring away kids that might really do well, but are insecure. Ok, I am mad again.

If it was any other subject besides astronomy, I might have different words than this: He might have actually had the intention of doing the students a favor -- particularly those who dropped the class.

There are many colleges and universities in my town, and on several occasions I've met students who just enrolled in an upcoming, university level, astronomy class. Being very interested in the subject myself, I would typically get excited and mention something about math. And they would invariably look at me dumfounded, "what? Astronomy involves math?"

Mathematics seeps its way into astronomy all different angles. Even in an introductory course there are still lots of algebra and arithmetic, from creating/studying formulae for a calendar, to calculating planetary orbits, to determining the age of the universe, to even looking at some common nuclear reactions. Can you imagine determining -- objectively -- that some celestial bodies (like the planets) elliptically orbit other celestial bodies (like the sun), based solely on observational data of the bodies' observed positions in the Earth's sky (i.e. repeating Kepler's findings)? 'Lots of math in that one.

But alas, a huge portion of students think -- at the time that they enroll in the class -- that astronomy is little more than recognizing the constellations and looking at pretty pictures through a telescope.

Giving students a heads-up on what the class is really about let's them make the choice of whether they want to drop the class while they have the chance, rather than finding out later and failing after it's too late.

 

[Mandelbroth]

I've developed a habit of mixing up astronomy and astrology. Not that there's much difference to me. They both seem to simply divine things from thin air.

I arrived at a grand, climactic epiphany today. Dating is like evaluating contour integrals over $\mathbb{C}$. It's complex, and you end up following a winding path to, more often than not, end up right back where you started. And, in the end, you're only left with the painful residues of your love and adoration for another.

...It's been a pretty awful day.

 

[Enigman]

Ah, schadenfreude...

 

[Borek]

And they would invariably look at me dumfounded, "what? Astronomy involves math?"

I am guilty of ridiculing my Mom when she told me "chemistry requires math". She didn't know anything about chemistry, she was an EE. I wasn't even 15 at the time. I remember it to this day

 

[Ibix]

Dating is like evaluating contour integrals over $\mathbb{C}$.

Except that it's racist to exclude all Poles when dating.

Sorry it's not going well.

 

[lisab]

Ah, schadenfreude...

Such an awesome word.

“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a mutt*. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”
― James Nicoll


*The original quote has been altered. Go google if you're curious.

 

[HeLiXe]

What kind of class has an exam on the third day? We must protest with flaming pitchforks and badly crafted picket signs a la !

Anyways if it makes you feel better, in one of my electrodynamics exams I forgot that the area element on the unit sphere has a $\sin \theta$ in it so I fudged up the entire problem

awwww *hugs wbn* I could never feel better about you making a mistake--you are my relativistic perfection, my physicist in a shining lab coat, my big bright star sitting in space-time curvature :)...my Rigel

I'm with you on the flaming pitchfork bit...I was like who does this?

Evo Child's teacher in her first astronomy class gave them an end of semester test the second day. Apparently he was a a jerk like that the first couple of weeks until half the class withdrew. Then he became an awesome teacher with a much smaller class. He said he always did that on purpose to weed out students that weren't serious.

Yes I think this prof is like that too. It just sucks because the exam is 20% of my grade and I am not clearly grasping everything yet.

brillevil.

this is really so great

 

[Nilessteve]

Is the universe trying to figure itself out?

Here's a big question that keeps popping into my mind every so often.
Humans keep trying to figure out how the universe works.
Yet there is no denying that we are a part of the universe.

So by implication, the universe itself is devoting some of itself to figure itself out.
And most humans are doing the same thing, trying to figure themselves out to some degree.

Is there some cosmic function at work in both instances that is staring us in the face, yet is so ubiquitous that we miss what should be readily apparent?

Any work being done on a similar principal that anyone is aware of?

 

[Borek]

This is so deeply "philosophical" it would get you instantly banned if posted in any other thread. At the same time I am not convinced it is random enough for this one.

The only related principals I am aware of are forum Mentors. You risk their wrath. Please read the forum rules.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I am devoting part of myself to producing insulin, because my pancreas does so.

But mostly I don't care.

 

[OmCheeto]

This is so deeply "philosophical" it would get you instantly banned if posted in any other thread. At the same time I am not convinced it is random enough for this one.

The only related principals I am aware of are forum Mentors. You risk their wrath. Please read the forum rules.

It sounds like a rehashed, fluffed up version of what Carl Sagan once said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaj407ofjNE​

 

[Enigman]

I love my headphones. It is wonderful how people leave you alone when you are wearing them...doesn't matter if it's playing or not.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I love my headphones. It is wonderful how people leave you alone when you are wearing them...doesn't matter if it's playing or not.

I love going right up and talking to people who are wearing headphones, which makes them have to remove the headphones to listen to me.



-Dave K

 

[Enigman]

I love going right up and talking to people who are wearing headphones, which makes them have to remove the headphones to listen to me.



-Dave K

I don't listen to people with or without my headphones. Wearing headphones just decreases the frequency of the times I need to block someone out mentally.

P.S. Though there was that time when I was listening to the final few seconds of moonlight sonata and someone took my headphones off...I punched the guy, solar plexus, hard. He didn't talk after that.

 

[Nilessteve]

Thanks for the warning Borek

I did read them and thought maybe I might get a notice or an infraction.
And thanks for the memory jog OmCheeto, I was a big fan of Carl and the series.

Maybe that's where the seed was planted, and the weed just won't die in my subconscious.

I know professional physicists tend not to dwell on "unanswerable" questions, but when I found this forum, I thought who better to pose the question to.

And dkotschessaa your comment seems to imply yet another example of said function at work.
I am not implying the Universe is consciously trying to figure itself out.

Yet life itself seems to constantly be trying to figure things out and adapt, and learn and grow.
It just seems for it to be so widespread, there might be an underlying principle.

Sorry If I picked the wrong forum. I'm just an ordinary layperson, who has been fascinated by science and the cosmos, and thought I'd reach out and see why it seems most scientists tend to think that humans and human behavior are somehow separate from the universe at large. So I posted an example to illustrate that idea.

Again apologies to those who think these thoughts are outside the realm of this forum. There are so few places you can talk about such things seriously.

Lately really excited on how life uses quantum effects. What an exciting field that should grow into!

 

[Evo]

I did read them and thought maybe I might get a notice or an infraction.
And thanks for the memory jog OmCheeto, I was a big fan of Carl and the series.

Maybe that's where the seed was planted, and the weed just won't die in my subconscious.

I know professional physicists tend not to dwell on "unanswerable" questions, but when I found this forum, I thought who better to pose the question to.

And dkotschessaa your comment seems to imply yet another example of said function at work.
I am not implying the Universe is consciously trying to figure itself out.

Yet life itself seems to constantly be trying to figure things out and adapt, and learn and grow.
It just seems for it to be so widespread, there might be an underlying principle.

Sorry If I picked the wrong forum. I'm just an ordinary layperson, who has been fascinated by science and the cosmos, and thought I'd reach out and see why it seems most scientists tend to think that humans and human behavior are somehow separate from the universe at large. So I posted an example to illustrate that idea.

Again apologies to those who think these thoughts are outside the realm of this forum. There are so few places you can talk about such things seriously.

Lately really excited on how life uses quantum effects. What an exciting field that should grow into!

Now that you know this is not what this thread is for, let's not continue to discuss it.

 

[Enigman]

Siesta time.

 

[Mandelbroth]

Siesta time.

I think you mean "Es el tiempo para fiesta."

 

[Ibix]

Preschooler Zeno's Paradox: If, every time you are handed a glass of milk, you drink exactly half of what remains, will you ever grow up into a big strong boy?

 

[lisab]

Preschooler Zeno's Paradox: If, every time you are handed a glass of milk, you drink exactly half of what remains, will you ever grow up into a big strong boy?

An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second one orders half a beer. The third one orders a quarter of a beer.

The bartender gets frustrated, and pours two glasses of beer. He yells, "You all ain't the only ones who know their limits!"

 

[collinsmark]

Though there was that time when I was listening to the final few seconds of moonlight sonata and someone took my headphones off...I punched the guy, solar plexus, hard. He didn't talk after that.

Oh, my.

I'm trying to picture the situation in my head.