Random Thoughts 7

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The discussion in the "Random Thoughts 7" thread begins with a user expressing a desire to have the first civilian post. Participants reminisce about a missing member, Evo, and share their hopes for her well-being. The conversation shifts to humorous musings about chatbots and the origins of the term "robot," followed by reflections on pop culture, including reactions to Matthew Perry's passing. There are also light-hearted anecdotes about close encounters with deer while driving and observations on the challenges of transitioning from undergraduate to graduate studies. Overall, the thread captures a mix of nostalgia, humor, and personal experiences.
  • #241
WWGD said:
With Whistler's mother?
I would have said with pikas, but the pun with their German name ('whistle bunnies') got lost in translation.
 
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  • #242
fresh_42 said:
I would have said with pikas, but the pun with their German name ('whistle bunnies') got lost in translation.
As long as their bicycle shops don't catch on fire...
 
  • #243
Wonder if PF would be interested in obscure math/science/STEM jokes.
I heard one from a Statistician friend, who had to explain it to me:

" He's as phony as a 6x6 Greco-Latin square",
An impossible experimental design. I suspect even many Statisticians won't get it. I'm halfway one and didn't get it.
 
  • #244
Screenshot 2024-01-12 at 6.25.49 PM.png
 
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  • #245
  • #246
4 degrees F here with lows forecast to be -19 degrees F for the next couple nights. I' so looking forward to summer.
 
  • #247
dlgoff said:
4 degrees F here with lows forecast to be -19 degrees F for the next couple nights. I' so looking forward to summer.
When you(us) will be complaining it's too hot.
 
  • #248
WWGD said:
When you(us) will be complaining it's too hot.
I don't think I'll ever complain about it being too hot again.
 
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  • #249
WWGD said:
Wonder if PF would be interested in obscure math/science/STEM jokes.
I heard one from a Statistician friend, who had to explain it to me:

" He's as phony as a 6x6 Greco-Latin square",
An impossible experimental design. I suspect even many Statisticians won't get it. I'm halfway one and didn't get it.
Guess that's a no? I have a Cadlag , but I can't afford the gasoline!
 
  • #250
Working from home today and watching a teenager trying to get ready to move his car that he abandoned diagonally in the snow last night. No gloves or shovel and attempting to clear the snow with his tennis shoes. Our neighbor finally loaned him a shovel. Can't wait to see how he attempts to apply physics when he gets in the car and tries to climb the same hill that he couldn't climb last night.
 
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  • #251
Ha, I like Brits. There was a story about this British prof that had an emergency and had to be absent for a couple of weeks, and had chosen a grad student to sub in for him. The graduate sub in sat in the last class before the prof left , asked several questions. The prof, feigning outrage, told him: " Ah, if you know so much, why don't _you_ teach the class?" The student replied " Okay", stood up, picked up the chalk and continued teaching the class, and went on to teach for the ensuing weeks.
 
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  • #252
Just what is it with these people who call you, you miss the call but call them back in 25 seconds and they're yet not available?
 
  • #253
Thought for today:
When looping through records and performing a count of something in those records, incrementing the count by zero doesn't work. :rolleyes:
 
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  • #254
The first snowfall of the season is Mother Nature's version of a pop physics exam.

No passing grade for you.
Jan_2024_Failed_Physics_Exam.jpg
 
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  • #255
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Buffet

Bear with me, it'll take me a while to land this plane.

I was in Cuba at a resort last week, at the dinner buffet. This is a big week for French Canadians; the resort was full of them.

An obviously drunk guy stumbled his way into the buffet - by way of over the railing, onto my wife's unoccupied chair and into the sitting area. This really got my shorts in a knot, but he moved on.

He stumbled over to a table where a guy and three girls were eating, and leaned waaaay over to blather some drunken thing in their faces. It looked from where I was sitting like he was propostioning one of the girls, whom I assume he had met earlier and had just caught up with.

The waiter came by and had words with him about his unorthodox entrance, and he stumbled away.

All that is preamble to The Funny Thing.

A half hour later, as I was leaving, I passed their table and I couldn't resist stopping to express my concern. I asked "Did you know that guy? Was he bothering you?"

The four of them looked at me blankly and spoke to each other in French. , I tried to clarify, enunciating: "Er - that guy that came to your table before - he was drunk, and he leaned all over you..." - and I did a mock arm-waving, mauling imitation of him. "What was his problem?"

And as one, all four of them nodded enthusiastically, saying "Yes, yes!" and jumped up, pushing their chairs back to do ... what??

My expression of alarm and hand-waving and backing away must have clued them in that they had misunderstood me. They sat back down and eventually we found some common language to communicate our meaning. Yes, they knew him. Yes, he might have been a bit drunk. Etc.

We parted ways.

But to this day, I cannot help but wonder - what did they think I was saying that caused them to jump up as one and .. I don't know - dance with me? Follow me somewhere? Start a five-way?

I cannot imagine any scenario that would elicit such a reaction.
 
  • #256
DaveC426913 said:
Bear with me, it'll take me a while to land this plane.
If there's a bear with you, I'm impressed you can land it at all!
 
  • #257
Ibix said:
If there's a bear with you, I'm impressed you can land it at all!
:wink: I verified the correct homophone.
 
  • #258
That little word "why" is pretty strange.

If you ask 'why' in physics, it will lead you further and further into the rabbit hole. But in mathematics, 'why' is the only way out of the rabbit hole.
 
  • #259
Ironically enough, Google is effective, helpful, mostly for those who know what they're looking for. It's just needed to filter from within the often 1,000,000+ search results.
 
  • #260
I might have ended up in the wrong room and slept there by mistake while I was really drunk. Sorry...
 
  • #261
Khi Choy Xichdu said:
I might have ended up in the wrong room and slept there by mistake while I was really drunk. Sorry...
You, Harold and Kumar too.
 
  • #262
Got my new Swiss Knife. Took it out to test it before going up in the elevator. Ended up with 4 wallets on me.
 
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  • #263
WWGD said:
You, Harold and Kumar too.
Well, when I was leaving, I was dead certain that it was my room. I had a couple of solid reasons to back up my claim. But now, it turns out someone changed the address and room number. It's really strange because this "room" has apparently been around long before I even knew about it. I feel completely lost in this space.
 
  • #264
Music stopped to be good when they gave up the concept of cadences.
 
  • #265
I'd like to see a restaurant with wings on its menu and below wings having 'Silly Love Songs"
 
  • #266
WWGD said:
I'd like to see a restaurant with wings on its menu and below wings having 'Silly Love Songs"
Send KFC an email.
 
  • #267
Don't know if this was a joke, but I heard they would not consider knighting Amazon's Jeff Bezos, because it would sound like a beer.

Sir Bezos ~ Cer Vezas = beers.
 
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  • #268
In a span of, let's say, two years, our lives are not filled with an overwhelming number of events. Therefore, if a robot were to undergo training X times, accurately imitating our actions, emotions, and overall essence within that timeframe, it could eventually transform into an entity that closely resembles our own being.
 
  • #270
Khi Choy Xichdu said:
In a span of, let's say, two years, our lives are not filled with an overwhelming number of events. Therefore, if a robot were to undergo training X times, accurately imitating our actions, emotions, and overall essence within that timeframe, it could eventually transform into an entity that closely resembles our own being.
I've heard of this idea used in teleportation experiments, to reassemble the person.
 
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