Random Thoughts 7

[WWGD]

Somehow I received an email notifying me of Clint Eastwood's birthday (94) . Sure, I'll tell Jeeves to drop me by his mansion promply at 8 p.m. But not after 10. I must know my limitations.

 

[Borg]

Do you feel lucky?

 

[ergospherical]

Just took an absolutely abysmal fluids exam. Looking forward to starting as a McDonalds cashier come summer time.

 

[WWGD]

Do you feel lucky?

Well, do you, punk?

 

[WWGD]

Turing award given based on proof that P=BPP.
P=NP had been solved by a brilliant guy who concluded the two were equal for N=1 or P=0.

 

[WWGD]

Just took an absolutely abysmal fluids exam. Looking forward to starting as a McDonalds cashier come summer time.

British term for a urine test?

 

[ergospherical]

British term for a urine test?

Might have scored higher in one of those...

 

[WWGD]

" Half of me wants to be an Engineer, half a Physicist and the last half a Mathematician."

Well, we know which one you should discard.

 

[WWGD]

Hope Tyson doesn't get his lights punched out by Jake Paul.

 

[BillTre]

Lightening going backwards (up) from a plane's wings. Is that St. Elmo's fire?

 

[jack action]

• At 18, they ask for 5-year experience;
• At 50, you are too old to work;
• At 62, you are too young to retire.

 

[Astronuc]

From decay to dazzling, Ford restores grandeur to Detroit train station that once symbolized decline​

https://apnews.com/article/michigan...ord-mobility-49c55d18ee0b377fa54c70f389168639

The hulking, scavenger-ravaged structure that ominously shadowed the city’s Corktown neighborhood is now home to Ford Motor Co. and the centerpiece of a sprawling 30-acre (12-hectare) mobility innovation district.

The building’s first tenant, Google’s Code Next Detroit computer science education program, is expected to move in by late June. Grand opening ceremonies include an outdoor concert on Thursday, with tours for the public starting Friday.

“The train station ... it is perhaps the most powerful story in Michigan of the power of historic renovation,” Detroit Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Sandy Baruah said. “To turn something that was blight into something that is hugely attractive and is an anchor as opposed to a deficit is huge.”

The restoration effort — part of the automaker’s more than $900 million project to create a place where new transportation and mobility ideas are nurtured and developed — was just as massive as the size of the more than century-old, 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) building.

A significant project - as it was in the beginning in In numbers:

__ More than 3,100 workers spent about 1.7 million hours of labor on the station and its surrounding public spaces

__ 29,000 Gustavino tiles were restored in its Grand Hall

__ 8.6 million miles (13.8 million kilometers) of new grout was laid across the 21,000-square-foot (1,951 square-meter) ceiling

__ 8 million bricks, 23,000 square feet (2,138 square meters) of marble flooring and 90,000 square feet (8,361 square meters) of decorative plaster were restored or replicated

__ 3.5 million gallons (13.2 million liters) of water was pumped from the basement

__ Installation of 300 miles (482 kilometers) of electrical cable and wiring and 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) of plumbing

Michigan Central Railroad started purchasing land around 1908 in Corktown, the city’s oldest neighborhood, for the new train station, according to HistoricDetroit.org. The depot opened in late 1913. But as traveling by train gave way to commuter air travel and as more Americans chose to use the nation’s interstates, the numbers of people coming through Michigan Central steadily dropped.

The last train pulled out in 1988 and for years after the building fell into disrepair, neglect and abandonment

6 years ago - Vacant for decades, Detroit’s train station may get new life
https://apnews.com/general-news-8ecf0661667348b7ad7263b83f4882a1

The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Railroad

The Michigan Central was one of the few Michigan railroads with a direct line into Chicago, meaning it did not have to operate cross-lake ferries, as did virtually all other railroads operating in Michigan, such as the Pere Marquette, Pennsylvania, Grand Trunk, and Ann Arbor Railroads. Michigan Central was part owner of the ferry service operated to the Upper Peninsula as well as cross-river ferry service to Ontario, but these routes did not exist to circumvent Chicago.

It was absorbed into the New York Central System, which subsequently merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the ill-fated PennCentral, which went bankrupt, with freight operations becoming Conrail, while the intercity passenger service was taken by Amtrak, and commuter services teken over by local, regional or state authorities.

Today, Norfolk Southern owns most trackage not abandoned in the early 1980s. Lake State Railway now operates the remnants former Detroit-Mackinaw City line from Bay City to Gaylord, which is partially owned by the state of Michigan. What remained of CASO was mostly abandoned by Canadian National in 2011, after seeing little to no traffic for years. Amtrak owns the Detroit line from Porter, Indiana, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, while the state of Michigan owns the line from there to Dearborn, Michigan. This line is a projected "high speed" line; a portion of the line was converted to 110 MPH operation in early 2012 with further upgrades planned. Amtrak operates three Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac trains each way per day, under the old banner Wolverine. The Port Huron train (the Blue Water) also uses this line as far east as Battle Creek, Michigan. Both Kalamazoo and Niles have retained their old Michigan Central Stations; the Niles station is occasionally portrayed in film. Also the Dowagiac station is used by Amtrak which was built by M.C.R.R.

 

[Astronuc]

Traders who scooped up Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shares at a massive $620,000 discount during glitch will have their deals canceled by the NYSE​

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/traders-scooped-warren-buffett-berkshire-105754520.html

I heard about this yesterday, when someone on the radio commented on Warren Buffett stock down 99%. I immediately thought that can't be right. It wasn't, except for a reporting glitch.

On June 3, a data glitch led the global conglomerate's stock price to fall to $185 a share, having previously closed at over $620,000. The drop meant a more than 99% discount on the Warren Buffett-led company.

This means a trader who snapped up just $925 worth of the stock at the rock-bottom price would now see their investment worth over $3 million today.

While it hasn't been confirmed how many people purchased the Class A stock during the technical error—which lasted for around an hour and a half—the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has swiftly undone their trades.

In an update posted at 9 p.m. last night, NYSE said it would "bust" all the "erroneous" trades of Berkshire Hathaway stock at or below $603,718.30 a share.

 

[WWGD]

From decay to dazzling, Ford restores grandeur to Detroit train station that once symbolized decline​

https://apnews.com/article/michigan...ord-mobility-49c55d18ee0b377fa54c70f389168639





A significant project - as it was in the beginning in In numbers:




6 years ago - Vacant for decades, Detroit’s train station may get new life
https://apnews.com/general-news-8ecf0661667348b7ad7263b83f4882a1

The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Railroad



It was absorbed into the New York Central System, which subsequently merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the ill-fated PennCentral, which went bankrupt, with freight operations becoming Conrail, while the intercity passenger service was taken by Amtrak, and commuter services teken over by local, regional or state authorities.

Sounda like the whole Monopoly board being restored.

 

[Borg]

Fun with airlines. My wife wanted to take a girls' trip to visit her friend. All day, the price was stable until we went to book it and then it more than doubled. We cleared cookies, changed browsers, etc. to no avail. It wasn't until she selected a different destination and then came back to her original one that the price finally returned to its previous price.

 

[Tom.G]

Which website/airline?
(would really like to avoid them!)

 

[Borg]

Which website/airline?
(would really like to avoid them!)

It was United but I think that it was just a glitch. Their web site has actually improved a lot over the last few years. Also, this travel is occurring within the next two weeks which is when a lot of airlines tend to increase their prices (last minute travel is expensive). Fortunately, the price returned to normal and we were able to book it. This morning the price is back up again (from my work computer) so we probably snagged it just in time.

From what I've seen, it's pretty common in the industry to try to scare people into making a purchase before it "goes up in price again". Whenever I book any travel or hotel rooms, I make sure that I have one option open and then try the same search from another browser that has had its cookies cleared. Patience usually wins the day but this particular incident was a little tougher to overcome.

 

[fresh_42]

How do they do this?

I wrote $e^{i\pi}+1=0$ somewhere on the internet, but behind what is publically visual in an unreleased WordPress document, and on my computer in a corresponding tex-file. Then I got this FB ad:

How do they know?

 

[gmax137]

​

Calling yourself non-binary categorizes everyone into binary or non-binary, creating a binary system that makes you binary again.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/collection-of-lame-jokes.25301/post-6930480

Spoiler: Fun fact!

But one US pint of water weighs one pound!

Yeah, not really. More like 1.04 pounds per (US) gallon. I don't know where that "a pint's a pound, the world around" thing comes from. google, google... I think 16 imperial fluid ounces of water weigh 1 pound. But an imperial pint is 20 imp fl oz, which would weigh 1.25 pounds. Maybe one of you older Brits (I won't name names) can comment.

 

[collinsmark]

[...] More like 1.04 pounds per (US) gallon. I don't know where that "a pint's a pound, the world around" thing comes from. google, google... I think 16 imperial fluid ounces of water weigh 1 pound. But an imperial pint is 20 imp fl oz, which would weigh 1.25 pounds. Maybe one of you older Brits (I won't name names) can comment.

Guinness drinkers will confirm that 1 pint (as in an imperial pint) is 20 fluid ounces.

But outside the subject of beer, a pint is 16 fluid ounces, and a pound is 16 ounces.

 

[gmax137]

1 pint (as in an imperial pint) is 20 fluid ounces.

But outside the subject of beer, a pint is 16 fluid ounces, and a pound is 16 ounces.

Confusing... so imperial pints are used only for beer?

 

[collinsmark]

Confusing... so imperial pints are used only for beer?

In my practical, present-day experience, beer is the only thing where 20 oz is sometimes considered a "pint."

And not all beers at that -- only certain beers; Guinness, Smithwicks, maybe Boddingtons are some of the 20 oz examples. If I were to order a pint of Budweiser, it's understood to be 16 oz.

 

[DrGreg]

In the UK, beer and milk is sold by the (imperial) pint (= 20 fl oz), but all other liquids are sold by the litre. We never had a 16 fl oz pint.

 

[collinsmark]

In the UK, beer and milk is sold by the (imperial) pint (= 20 fl oz), but all other liquids are sold by the litre. We never had a 16 fl oz pint.

Agreed; all this may depend on geography/location.

In the US, most draught beer (i.e., beer out of the tap) is served in these 16 fl. oz pint glasses that look like this:

But there are exceptions, as previous noted, that are served in 20 fl. oz "imperial pint" glasses such as this pint of Guinness:

 

[gmax137]

I wish the beers here in the US were 20 oz lol. Often the so called "pints" are closer to 12 oz. The glass is 16 ounces to the rim; they're typically served as shown in @collinsmark 's photo, really only 12 oz of beer.

For outdoor keggers we use red solo cups but that's another thread.

 

[collinsmark]

I wish the beers here in the US were 20 oz lol. Often the so called "pints" are closer to 12 oz. The glass is 16 ounces to the rim; they're typically served as shown in @collinsmark 's photo, really only 12 oz of beer.

The only pubs/bars I frequent have two sets of glasses: the 20 fl. oz "imperial" pints for Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks, Bass, maybe Boddingtons, etc.; and the 16 fl. oz glasses for everything else (including Budweiser, Coors, Miller, any local microbrews, most anything else you can think of).

If a newbie bartender accidentally serves a Guinness in a 16 fl. oz glass it is generally considered a travesty and a crime against humanity. Riots may ensue.

 

[fresh_42]

You are talking funny.

Please read point number 12. And ignore number 10, except you are British.

 

[jack action]

Yeah, not really. More like 1.04 pounds per (US) gallon. I don't know where that "a pint's a pound, the world around" thing comes from. google, google... I think 16 imperial fluid ounces of water weigh 1 pound. But an imperial pint is 20 imp fl oz, which would weigh 1.25 pounds. Maybe one of you older Brits (I won't name names) can comment.

When the pressure is 1 atm, just like a liter of water has a mass of 1 kg at 4°C (more precisely 0.99997 kg), a US pint of water weighs 1 pound (59.8442 lbf/ft³) at 99.6 °C. (source)

 

[fresh_42]

When the pressure is 1 atm, just like a liter of water has a mass of 1 kg at 4°C (more precisely 0.99997 kg), a US pint of water weighs 1 pound (59.8442 lbf/ft³) at 99.6 °C. (source)

I'm relieved they figured this out with water and not beer.

 

[Astronuc]

https://news.yahoo.com/news/finance/video/space-janitor-astroscale-enjoys-stellar-065018394.html

Space janitor Astroscale "aims to develop an orbital gripper that can catch old satellites and other garbage, and then nudge them back towards Earth to burn up in the atmosphere." The see an opportunity in cleaning up the mess of "growing cloud of junk, made up of dead satellites and the like."

 

[Klystron]

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/collection-of-lame-jokes.25301/post-6930480


Yeah, not really. More like 1.04 pounds per (US) gallon. I don't know where that "a pint's a pound, the world around" thing comes from. ...

Popular science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein reiterated that expression while writing a series of novels aimed at teens. In "Have Spacesuit -- Will Travel", principle character named Clifford ("Kip") Russell uses "pint a pound, the world around"as a mnemonic. Given paucity of tools except for pint ration cans, Kip uses an empty pint can to estimate time required to fill an underground prison by blocking a water outflow, using a pint can and counting seconds to measure flow rate.

Kip calculates quite often, to fill the empty hours during long voyages and while imprisoned. Kip's dad, a retired mathematician, encourages Kip to study mathematics, also Latin and Spanish. These skills help Clifford when discussing the nature of reality with a 4C.E. Roman centurion in yet a different prison in another galaxy. This children's novel brought the word adiabatic to my attention while discussing spacesuit designs.

Heinlein novels still have a market in US.

 

[gmax137]

"Have Spacesuit -- Will Travel"

That's one of Heinlein's books I never read.

 

[Klystron]

That's one of Heinlein's books I never read.

Part of a series roughly twelve books including "Citizen of the Galaxy" and "Starship Trooper", the latter spawning a raft of films. An educated 1960s living space included a much thumbed copy of Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".

Heinlein was a guest commentator during televised Apollo 11 landing broadcasts due to popularity of his first novel "Rocketship Galileo" imagining a team of teen rocket enthusiasts led by a nuclear physicist as lunar pioneers, and successful screenplay "Destination Moon".

 

[fresh_42]

Does anybody remember Catweazle? The Germans made a movie (watching).

 

[DrGreg]

Does anybody remember Catweazle? The Germans made a movie (watching).

Certainly! A British children's TV show that I believe was also sold to other countries. Never saw the German film, though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catweazle

 

[fresh_42]

Certainly! A British children's TV show that I believe was also sold to other countries. Never saw the German film, though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catweazle

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catweazle_(Film)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286070/reference/

 

[WWGD]

How do they know?
That was the question asked by this lady when looking at a map of the Mall, the part that read " You are Here ".

 

[WWGD]

So this guy, his name is Joel, he emphasizes the last vowel, "El". Awkward moment when I asked him if he was one of the Superman-related characters.

 

[fresh_42]

So this guy, his name is Joel, he emphasizes the last vowel, "El". Awkward moment when I asked him if he was one of the Superman-related characters.

That took a moment.

 

[fresh_42]

Bad language and offensive words are hard to translate. Their severity gets lost or added, depending on the case. So can someone describe to me how severe it is if someone calls someone else a **** (a four-letter word beginning with a "j")? Is it jovial, an insult in any case, an everyday word, how severe is it?

 

[WWGD]

Bad language and offensive words are hard to translate. Their severity gets lost or added, depending on the case. So can someone describe to me how severe it is if someone calls someone else a **** (a four-letter word beginning with a "j")? Is it jovial, an insult in any case, an everyday word, how severe is it?

I'd place it at around 4 out of 10 for severity. @fresh_42 : You could say it safely within 90%+ of the population.

 

[Tom.G]

I'd place it at around 4 out of 10 for severity. @fresh_42 : You could say it safely within 90%+ of the population.

Here in the USA, calling someone a 'Jerk' generally implies that the accused lacks in both rational thinking and knowledge.

The most likely reactions are: raised voices, the accused leaves the situation and avoids you in the future, or somewhat strenuous physical contact occurs.

The accusation is generally serious enough that even after apoligizing, the two of you are not likely to have a serious conversation.

A somewhat 'softer' wording would be "Don't act like a jerk." That, at least, doesn't directly impugn their personality.

Accusing someone of actually being a Jerk, I would rate a 6 or 7 out of 10 for severity.

That's my take anyhow.

[edit] follow-up post at: https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/7095320 [/edit]

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Mayhem]

Starting to grow fond of Excel. It feels incredinly productive to see a spreadsheet grow with your data.

What have I become?

 

[gmax137]

Starting to grow fond of Excel. It feels incredinly productive to see a spreadsheet grow with your data.

What have I become?

I didn't like Excel when I first started using it (being a LOTUS123 man myself). But after awhile, yes, yes, it is an amazing tool.

I once checked a co-workers analysis results. He spent a couple weeks writing a PERL script to do the calculations; I spent two days writing an Excel sheet that gave identical results. He was shocked.

 

[fresh_42]

I didn't like Excel when I first started using it (being a LOTUS123 man myself). But after awhile, yes, yes, it is an amazing tool.

I once checked a co-workers analysis results. He spent a couple weeks writing a PERL script to do the calculations; I spent two days writing an Excel sheet that gave identical results. He was shocked.

I always felt like it takes two days to get the result, but two weeks to make it fancy (diagrams of various types, scroll-down menus, and other filters, coloring, sizing, and other formatting, hiding columns and rows, and things like that). Probably a matter of training.

 

[Astronuc]

'Spy mania': Why is Russia accusing its own physicists of treason?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/spy-mania-why-russia-accusing-234523979.html

Scientists are still expected to publish internationally and collaborate with foreign colleagues, "meanwhile, the FSB thinks contact with foreign scientists and writing for foreign journals is a betrayal of the Motherland", they say.

The ITAM scientists feel the same. "We just don't understand how to continue doing our job," their open letter said.

"What we are rewarded for today… tomorrow becomes the reason for criminal prosecution."

They warn that scientists are afraid to engage in some areas of research, while talented young employees are leaving science.

 

[fresh_42]

'Spy mania': Why is Russia accusing its own physicists of treason?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/spy-mania-why-russia-accusing-234523979.html

We should not point our fingers at Russia! This is too cheap these days. I do not want to excuse it, but maybe we (the west) have our own problems which we should deal with first:

Following the severe earthquake in Abruzzo, a court sentenced seven seismologists to years in prison.

https://www.fr.de/panorama/experten-urteil-ueberrascht-11358728.html

Not sure whether they finally had to go to prison, but the court rule existed.

So, yes, it is ridiculous to read that about the FSB. And about Italy.

 

[Borg]

Not sure whether they finally had to go to prison, but the court rule existed.

Mostly thrown out - https://www.science.org/content/art...fficial-cleared-manslaughter-earthquake-trial

That hugely controversial trial resulted in convictions and 6-year jail sentences for all seven scientists, but six of those convictions were overturned on appeal and then definitively quashed by Italy's supreme court last November. Only De Bernardinis had his conviction confirmed, albeit with a lesser 2-year sentence, which will remain suspended.

 

[fresh_42]

Mostly thrown out - https://www.science.org/content/art...fficial-cleared-manslaughter-earthquake-trial

Yes, but the sentiment is similar: politics clashes with science. I do not want to justify Russian politics, au contraire, however, considering the war crimes Russia commits day by day, this seems to be a minor issue to me. It is not very surprising that every attempt to justify what cannot be justified, or to pretend normality where there isn't, results in logical contradictions. We know since Galileo that authorities and science don't match. An autocracy is an autocracy, clerical or secular.

 

[Borg]

I was only answering the question that I quoted. Not going to get into the politics here.