Random Thoughts 7

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion titled "Random Thoughts 7" features a variety of topics, including nostalgia for a missing member named Evo, humorous musings about chatbots, and reflections on popular culture, particularly the TV show "Friends." Participants express their thoughts on the recent passing of actor Matthew Perry and share personal anecdotes, such as near-misses with deer while driving. The conversation also touches on the significance of the term "robot" and its etymology, as well as the challenges of transitioning from undergraduate to graduate studies.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of chatbot functionality and natural language processing.
  • Familiarity with popular culture references, particularly TV shows like "Friends."
  • Knowledge of basic driving safety and wildlife interactions.
  • Awareness of the significance of the term "robot" in historical and linguistic contexts.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the capabilities of ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs).
  • Research the cultural impact of "Friends" and its characters on modern media.
  • Investigate wildlife safety measures for drivers in rural areas.
  • Study the etymology of technological terms and their evolution over time.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for casual forum users, pop culture enthusiasts, and individuals interested in the intersection of technology and language. It also serves as a resource for those reflecting on societal changes and personal experiences related to driving and wildlife.

  • #481
Bystander said:
Did/Should we have PSA , a la TIL? Just got an interesting item on Outlook that I should notify them if I wanted to be removed from notification lists, terse to point of unintelligibility; sh*t-canned immediately if not sooner, but ... something a bit off about it ... AI-Frankenstein-phish-sockpuppet-troll hybrid.
I've been asked to provide my email to unregister. Hmm. But, then again, I've had HR who've told me they found my CV interesting, to send them a copy of it as an attachment.
 
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Physics news on Phys.org
  • #482
Just noticed: the aggressive beggars of the underpasses never tries their luck with the bible-thumpers of the underpasses. :doh:
 
  • #483
Today, while working on a word document, MS auto-generated Alt-Text when I inserted an image. I'll have to go figure out where that setting is and turn it off.
 
  • #484
Just did it again. Forgot to use a private window for checking a sudden interest (proved to be useless as the digging went on) on youtube, and now the starting page is wrecked with random trash, with barely anything left from the type of content I'm actually interested in :doh:

Usually takes weeks to recover 😰
 
  • #485
Wonder if there's an actual connection with Physics from this British band " Dead or Alive". Specially re their hit " You Spin me right round".' Dead or Alive' , re Schrödinger, then ' Spin' . Just a coincidence? Did a bit of reading on it, couldn't confirm nor deny.
 
  • #486
WWGD said:
Talking about Outlook, there's too, the charming fact that emails randomly decide to render , display, in odd ways. For one, font size magically increasing up to 15, without the option of lowering it. Other features are disabled, so I can't slide the screen up nor down, sideways, so I cant read most of the message. Ive read that main issue is Outlook doesnt use a fixed set of protocols for rendering messages. Ends up turning emails into like a sort of image file cut to half the screen . Somehow it seemed like a good idea to open an account in the mid-2000's.
Just FYI, desktop Outlook does not have any of those problems, so they KNOW how to get it right but it's probably a Windows vs Android thing.
 
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  • #487
change-the-future.jpg
 
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  • #488
Granted some scientists should improve their knowledge of the Humanities. But the converse is true as well.
 
  • #489
phinds said:
Just FYI, desktop Outlook does not have any of those problems, so they KNOW how to get it right but it's probably a Windows vs Android thing.
Any chance you, anyone, knows how to prevent a website from opening a new tab for every thing one does? I've looked it up but found no worksble solutions for my Samsung Android.
 
  • #490
WWGD said:
Any chance you, anyone, knows how to prevent a website from opening a new tab for every thing one does? I've looked it up but found no worksble solutions for my Samsung Android.
If you have a URL for the site you want to open, just paste that URL in the address bar of an existing tab that you are OK with overwriting. Or, you can open in a new WINDOW instead of a new tab.
 
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  • #491
I am getting a large number of phone calls from "Name Unavailable" lately. Both at home and also at work now. I'm sure that it's just Microsoft calling to tell me that I've got a virus on my computer that they can fix remotely. :oldeyes:
 
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  • #492
Let's see when I finally absorb that hitting on the X, won't close a tab, dialog box from...X.
 
  • #493
Borg said:
I am getting a large number of phone calls from "Name Unavailable" lately. Both at home and also at work now. I'm sure that it's just Microsoft calling to tell me that I've got a virus on my computer that they can fix remotely. :oldeyes:
An opportunity to be creative if you fail to avoid them. I stuttered at a rate of around a word per minute when I failed to filter one.
 
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  • #494
To avoid the confusion of any 'measurement by vote' you just better not have more than one of these kind of ... devices...
IMG_20240411_124453.jpg
 
  • #495
WWGD said:
Wonder if there's an actual connection with Physics from this British band " Dead or Alive". Specially re their hit " You Spin me right round".' Dead or Alive' , re Schrödinger, then ' Spin' . Just a coincidence? Did a bit of reading on it, couldn't confirm nor deny.
I think it just means this person has a big effect on the other. That's the way i read it.
 
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  • #496
pinball1970 said:
I think it just means this person has a big effect on the other. That's the way i read it.
Thank you, I agree, but I thought also about the name " Dead or Alive", which I thought may be referring to Schrödinger's Cat.
 
  • #497
WWGD said:
Thank you, I agree, but I thought also about the name " Dead or Alive", which I thought may be referring to Schrödinger's Cat.
A quick google - They went through a few name changes before settling on Dead or Alive, it could be a reference to physics but my bet is it is based part of the saying, "wanted dead or alive."
That seems the simpler explanation.
Not my sort of music as a rule but I actually like that one.
 
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  • #498
pinball1970 said:
A quick google - They went through a few name changes before settling on Dead or Alive, it could be a reference to physics but my bet is it is based part of the saying, "wanted dead or alive."
That seems the simpler explanation.
Not my sort of music as a rule but I actually like that one.
Makes sense. And, yes, me too, I liked it, but not their music overall. It somehow popped into my YouTube feed.
 
  • #499
I've been using a web site for years that lets me select and display various news feeds. Today, my Chrome browser suddenly alerted me that the website is dangerous and initially blocked me from it. It eventually allowed me to access it but it now has a prominent red "Dangerous" label on the URL. Of course there's no way to turn it off even though the 'dangerous' content is probably scripted links that I personally added to some of the links. :oldeyes:
 
  • #500

Bridge Collapses After Just 10 Years Because Designers Were Too Focused On Looks​

https://news.yahoo.com/bridge-collapses-just-10-years-134500502.html
“The investigation has shown that inadequate caution was exercised in the planning, design, inspection and approval of Tretten Bridge, with respect to the risk factors linked to its unconventional design,” the report said.

What’s more, the reports found that the bridge should have undergone strengthening and support work in 2016 that could have saved it from collapse. This came after the Perkolo Bridge fell into a river when a heavy goods vehicle attempted to cross.

Similarities were spotted between the designs of the two bridges, which the New Civil Engineer called “inherent vulnerabilities in its design.”

One additional factor that could have weakened the design of the Tretten Bridge even further came as a result of the time frame in which it was constructed. During the bridge’s design and build process, Norway was transitioning from its own, older building regulations to new European rules governing bridge design.
 
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  • #502
Reminds me of those news reports where I thought I heard the word " moron" so often.

It turns out they were using the phrase " More on", e.g., " More on this after commercials ".
 
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  • #503
My day today:
Spend months writing a software library for the company.
Share the code with others in the company.
Someone doesn't read the docs but instead creates their own, bastardized version because they couldn't figure out what they didn't read and didn't bother to ask questions.
Person then shares their code with others in the company.
Start getting emails about how the bastardized, undocumented version works.
Scream silently...
 
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  • #504
Borg said:
My day today:
Spend months writing a software library for the company.
Share the code with others in the company.
Someone doesn't read the docs but instead creates their own, bastardized version because they couldn't figure out what they didn't read and didn't bother to ask questions.
Person then shares their code with others in the company.
Start getting emails about how the bastardized, undocumented version works.
Scream silently...
No good deed/job performance goes un-punished.
 
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  • #505
Borg said:
My day today:
Spend months writing a software library for the company.
Share the code with others in the company.
Someone doesn't read the docs but instead creates their own, bastardized version because they couldn't figure out what they didn't read and didn't bother to ask questions.
Person then shares their code with others in the company.
Start getting emails about how the bastardized, undocumented version works.
Scream silently...
Send all emails to the one above said persons supervisor.
 
  • #506
Tom.G said:
Send all emails to the one above said persons supervisor.
I have been working on putting out the fires on that one. I'm hopeful that I've stopped it but there's really nothing stopping others from doing the same in the future.
 
  • #507
Wow, I was impressed by someone using " grafitto" as a singular form of " Graffitti".
 
  • #508
phinds said:
Just FYI, desktop Outlook does not have any of those problems, so they KNOW how to get it right but it's probably a Windows vs Android thing.
Excellent, thanks, that worked out perfectly. I opened up Outlook in Chrome, and no rendering issues whatsoever. It likely saved me a few hours I would need to figure out how to modify rendering settings back in Firefox.
 
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  • #509
Borg said:
I've been using a web site for years that lets me select and display various news feeds. Today, my Chrome browser suddenly alerted me that the website is dangerous and initially blocked me from it. It eventually allowed me to access it but it now has a prominent red "Dangerous" label on the URL. Of course there's no way to turn it off even though the 'dangerous' content is probably scripted links that I personally added to some of the links. :oldeyes:
The alert had the opportunity to reply that the site wasn't dangerous and supply comments. I did avail myself of that and stated that it was primarily RSS feeds that I created. I just noticed today that it isn't marked as dangerous anymore. Interesting.
 
  • #510
I gave a recommendation last week to a supplier.
This was verbally communicated to a colleague, who then sent an e-mail to the supplier did not follow the instruction.
So, this time I suggested my colleague contact them via mail again and state, “as per my previous instruction you need to…”

Only this time instead of using the one key word regarding what they were supposed to do, I used that word plus three other similar words thesaurus style.

My attempt at humour, which was not picked up.
My colleague did as I suggested, to the letter. She wrote down exactly what I said, sent it on and CCd me.

It did not read so well, snarky in fact. I will see what they come back with.

Not the worst lost in translation at work.
Reminded me of my lab days late 90s, we had a new admin about 40, older than me so I thought was wiser/ clued up in technical communications, that was her job after all.

We had some feedback on a development from an important customer via this new admin, the customer wanted adjustments that were not viable, the attempt to adjust would have created a lot of effort for little return.

I must have been busy between the lab and office, tetchy when she forwarded the request to me via e-mail, I replied to her something along the lines of, “look, I don’t have time, just tell them it’s the best we can do, if we try what they say it could end costing significantly more and they wont even be able to tell.”

So….making a mail of what I said tactfully and passing that on would have been the smart thing to do.
She opted for simply forwarding my mail wholesale back to the customer, no edits.
 

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