Random Thoughts 7

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Discussion Overview

This thread features a collection of random thoughts and reflections from participants, touching on various topics including nostalgia for a community member, humorous musings about language and technology, reactions to cultural events, and personal anecdotes. The scope includes informal commentary, light-hearted debates, and references to popular media.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express nostalgia for a community member named Evo, with inquiries about her well-being.
  • Humorous reflections on the limitations of AI, particularly regarding the classic tongue twister about woodchucks.
  • Discussion around the cultural impact of the sitcom "Friends," with varying opinions on its characters and humor.
  • References to the founding of Turkey and its implications for secularism, with some light-hearted commentary on food choices.
  • Comments on Neil DeGrasse Tyson's approach to teaching critical thinking, with mixed reactions to his style and audience engagement.
  • Observations about customer service experiences, highlighting a common frustration among participants.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a light-hearted tone but express differing opinions on various topics, including the humor of "Friends," the effectiveness of Neil DeGrasse Tyson's videos, and cultural sensitivities regarding secularism. No consensus is reached on these matters.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions reference specific cultural events or media, which may carry different meanings or implications for different participants. The humor and sentiments expressed are subjective and may not resonate universally.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in informal discussions about popular culture, community dynamics, and light-hearted debates may find this thread engaging.

  • #1,651
Just made it up "May the 'Best Day of your Life' know no upper bound"

Based on the song by that name.
 
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  • #1,652
Screenshot 2025-08-14 at 10.35.50 AM.webp
 
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  • #1,653
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  • #1,654
I just asked ChatGPT to tell me which countries have populations that are closest to Mordor.

It gave me a detailed top 5 and seemed to be enjoying itself :oldlaugh:

It can be brutally honest if you phrase questions correctly.
 
  • #1,655
BillTre said:
Wonder what the leftmost guy would look next to Yao. Better not to have them next to each other; Yao may accidentally step on him.
 
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  • #1,656
BillTre said:
They call "The Rock"'s son, "Prudential": A piece of the rock(Rock).
 
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  • #1,657
Wow, almost even scary when you ask a followup to a 9 year old online question and you get an answer some 30 seconds afterwards.
 
  • #1,658
Weird to see my phone notification song used in a movie.
 
  • #1,659
My next vacation can't start soon enough.
 
  • #1,660
Interesting chart:
Screenshot_20250825_115035_YouTube.webp
 
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  • #1,661
I'm on vacation and my wife invited her widowed friend to join us. So here I am walking around a beach resort getting strange looks like I have two wives. The look that we got from one woman at dinner was too funny.

I've decided to just own it. 😆
 
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  • #1,662
Borg said:
I'm on vacation and my wife invited her widowed friend to join us. So here I am walking around a beach resort getting strange looks like I have two wives. The look that we got from one woman at dinner was too funny.

I've decided to just own it. 😆
Maybe could've tried vacationing in Utah. They go more by " Eight is Enough". Or so I hear.
 
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  • #1,663
I'm guessing that the woman at dinner drew the same conclusion about our arrangement.
 
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  • #1,664
Borg said:
I'm on vacation and my wife invited her widowed friend to join us. So here I am walking around a beach resort getting strange looks like I have two wives. The look that we got from one woman at dinner was too funny.

I've decided to just own it. 😆
Pictures would have been interesting. :cool:
 
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  • #1,665
Borg said:
I'm on vacation and my wife invited her widowed friend to join us. So here I am walking around a beach resort getting strange looks like I have two wives. The look that we got from one woman at dinner was too funny.

I've decided to just own it. 😆
A few years ago I actually took two women out for dinner. It was certainly a new kind of social challenge!

I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
 
  • #1,666
The other day I caught Smerconish (CNN political show) invoking Ockham's Razor; incorrectly of course.

"The obvious answer is almost always correct"

Now how much should I trust his interpretation of current events? Egad!!!!
 
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  • #1,667
Ivan Seeking said:
The other day I caught Smerconish (CNN political show) invoking Ockham's Razor; incorrectly of course.

"The obvious answer is almost always correct"

Now how much should I trust his interpretation of current events? Egad!!!!
You're not likely to find someone who gets everything right. He may have also failed while trying to simplify a point. Now, if you catch them making 3-4 mistakes in a short time that's a clearer indication of ineptitude.
 
  • #1,668
WWGD said:
You're not likely to find someone who gets everything right. He may have also failed while trying to simplify a point. Now, if you catch them making 3-4 mistakes in a short time that's a clearer indication of ineptitude.
My take is he is intellectually sloppy and doesn't do his homework. I often watch him because there isn't much else interesting to watch at 6 AM on Saturday mornings. And lately he has been annoying me. But this degree of sloppiness shocked me. I expected better than that.
 
  • #1,669
Ivan Seeking said:
My take is he is intellectually sloppy and doesn't do his homework. I often watch him because there isn't much else interesting to watch at 6 AM on Saturday mornings. And lately he has been annoying me. But this degree of sloppiness shocked me. I expected better than that.
Ok. I haven't owned a TV for a while. What annoys me is people in YT who drop by videos and comment on how they don't like a song, sport, etc? Just don't watch it then.
 
  • #1,670
Final exam in Astronomy administered by Carl Sagan.
 
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  • #1,671
Being old, I did a search yesterday, on how likely I am to get a hip fracture.
Today, I looked at the growth of the S&P 500 Index fund.

The equation today, looked spookily familiar.

Upon confirmation, it reminded me of the old Pirates vs 'something or other' not-a-correlation.

That is all.

1756672120255.webp



ps. References available on request.
 
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  • #1,672
1756681868635.webp
 
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  • #1,673
Fun Fact: Many years ago, my uncle ran the service department at a very large GM dealership in Los Angeles. This place was huge! They had a service center dedicated to servicing large busses. And many of these busses were the personal busses of celebrities who used them for travel; mainly movie stars and musicians. Since he ran the department, my uncle could check out a bus for some bogus reason and take them for a personal road trip. No one knew the difference. He was the boss.

One year my uncle, his wife and daughter, my ex and I, and I think my sister all took Willy Nelson's bus on a 1000-mile road test for a week to visit other family members. Because of my work on mobile CAT scanners and MRI, which were on large busses and tractor trailers, I was licensed to drive a bus. So was my uncle. So off we went. It was very nice inside a heck of a way to travel.

Guess what we found in a tray under one of the beds.

1756683687119.webp

1756683250657.webp
 
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  • #1,674
hcqAfVpT5ZFQV4eb9&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dus1-1.webp
 
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  • #1,675
fresh_42 said:
And if by some miracle it remains intact, it will circumnavigate the galaxy in 400-450 million years.

More likely it will merge with an alien probe, become a lifeform, and return to earth looking for its creator.
 
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  • #1,676
What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in the third or fourth year of graduate school...

It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see my physics students don't understand it... That is because I don't understand it.

Nobody does.

Richard P. Feynman, QED, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
 
  • #1,677
Ivan Seeking said:
[...] merge with an alien probe, become a lifeform, and return to earth looking for its creator.

We'll have to wait for the launch of Voyager 6 first. (Voyager 1 doesn't make the cut.)
 
  • #1,678
Doh! It happened again.

Was trying again to figure out the probability of me breaking my hip, when an intermediary graph reminded me of solar panel output graphs from my younger years.

linear-ish, then whoa!, then linear-ish again.

I'm blaming this on Martin Gardner. That bastard got me REALLY going.

1756851607156.webp
 
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  • #1,679
Name that show! (Hint: Does not have the word "Happy" in the title.)

1756925041909.webp
 
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  • #1,680
Attn: NFL recruiters:
 

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