Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

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The discussion revolves around a variety of topics, beginning with the reopening of a thread on the Physics Forums. Participants express relief at the continuation of the conversation and share light-hearted banter about past threads. There are inquiries about quoting from previous threads and discussions about job opportunities for friends. The conversation shifts to humorous takes on mathematics, particularly the concept of "Killing vector fields," which one participant humorously critiques as dangerous. Participants also share personal anecdotes, including experiences with power outages and thoughts on teaching at university. The tone remains casual and playful, with discussions about the challenges of winter, the joys of friendship, and even a few jokes about life experiences. The thread captures a blend of humor, personal stories, and light philosophical musings, all while maintaining a sense of community among the forum members.
  • #1,021
I thought the signs "SLOW CHILDREN" just meant there was a special needs/special ed school for children nearby.
 
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  • #1,022
"An apothem is the smallest radial distance in a regular polygon."

"An apothem is altho a north American marthupial"
 
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  • #1,023
My husband has been overwhelmed at work, so I took today off work so I can catch up on farm chores.

Farm life, in a nutshell: everything that should move (hinges, valves, etc.) does not move. Everything that should not move (fence posts, anchor bolts, etc.) will not be still.

I remembered Borek's advice from many years ago. WD-40 to the rescue! Unfortunately, duct tape does not work on fence posts, though.
 
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  • #1,024
lisab said:
I remembered Borek's advice from many years ago. WD-40 to the rescue! Unfortunately, duct tape does not work on fence posts, though.
WD-40 is great. Catholic priests have holy water, engineers have WD-40.
 
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  • #1,025
Farm life in a nutshell: everything is wet even if it's dry.
 
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  • #1,026
WWGD said:
I thought the signs "SLOW CHILDREN" just meant there was a special needs/special ed school for children nearby.
This sign is posted next to my school. I wonder why ?!
 
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  • #1,027
Phil Plait just retweeted this:

Let's compare...

I've decided that I like Twitter.
 
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  • #1,028
OmCheeto said:
Phil Plait just retweeted this:

Let's compare...

I've decided that I like Twitter.
There's no comparison, unless one really wants to compare something with nothing.
 
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  • #1,029
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  • #1,030
Porsches are awesome. I have a Porsche designed car:

blackishreddishbeatle_zpsca117715.jpg
 
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  • #1,031
  • #1,032
Borg said:
I've got an appointment with some mandatory fun. :oldlove:
Nice! That is sure to be weird and great!
 
  • #1,033
Best argument against suit and tie?
No one has _ever_ said " Let me change myself into something more comfortable" and then went on to wear a suit-and-tie.
 
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  • #1,034
WWGD said:
Best argument against suit and tie?
No one has _ever_ said " Let me change myself into something more comfortable" and then went on to wear a suit-and-tie.
Well, I actually always felt more comfortable in more formal clothes, I never wore t-shirts or jeans, I found jeans very uncomfortable, so I guess I would be an exception. I do not own a single pair of jeans and no t-shirts or other casual clothes except sweats.
 
  • #1,035
Evo said:
Well, I actually always felt more comfortable in more formal clothes, I never wore t-shirts or jeans, I found jeans very uncomfortable, so I guess I would be an exception. I do not own a single pair of jeans and no t-shirts or other casual clothes except sweats.

Maybe because jeans are not made to suit different body types? It took me many years to find ones that fit me well. Maybe the same is the case for more formal clothes, though I think it my be pretty expensive to have formal clothes taylor made to fit one's body , more so than having jeans be taylor-made.I think so; I am not much into fashion.
 
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  • #1,036
WWGD said:
Maybe because jeans are not made to suit different body types? It took me many years to find ones that fit me well. Maybe the same is the case for more formal clothes, though I think it my be pretty expensive to have formal clothes taylor made to fit one's body , more so than having jeans be taylor-made.I think so; I am not much into fashion.
Well suits are supposed to be tailored to fit your body, that's why suits aren't finished when you buy them. Ok, I guess really cheap suits can be purchased finished off of a rack, but iI have never seen any, they are always tailored to your body. For men, that is, women aren't so lucky.
 
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  • #1,037
An engineer and a mathematician become roommates. One night, the engineer wakes up, goes to the kitchen, and sees a fire in the kitchen. He finds the fire extinguisher, extinguishes the fire, and goes back to sleep.

The next night the mathematician wakes up, goes to the kitchen, and sees a fire. He looks at the fire extinguisher, he is convinced that the solution exists, and goes back to sleep.
 
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  • #1,038
Evo said:
Well suits are supposed to be tailored to fit your body, that's why suits aren't finished when you buy them. Ok, I guess really cheap suits can be purchased finished off of a rack, but iI have never seen any, they are always tailored to your body. For men, that is, women aren't so lucky.
I bought a couple of prefabs from the men's wearhouse ( there house), a buy one get one free deal. It may also be a matter of having the $$ necessary to have the tailor-made suits. I don't use them often, if ever; I bought them just-in-case.

I wonder if it is fair to say that a woman's body may,on average, be more complicated, in a sense , than a man's body, making adjustments for women's clothes more difficult than those for men's clothes.
 
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  • #1,039
Abtinnn said:
An engineer and a mathematician become roommates. One night, the engineer wakes up, goes to the kitchen, and sees a fire in the kitchen. He finds the fire extinguisher, extinguishes the fire, and goes back to sleep.

The next night the mathematician wakes up, goes to the kitchen, and sees a fire. He looks at the fire extinguisher, he is convinced that the solution exists, and goes back to sleep.
I don't get it. Does this mean mathematicians have a reputation of not writing up and publishing?
 
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  • #1,040
WWGD said:
I bought a couple of prefabs from the men's wearhouse ( there house), a buy one get one free deal. It may also be a matter of having the $$ necessary to have the tailor-made suits. I don't use them often, if ever; I bought them just-in-case.

I wonder if it is fair to say that a woman's body may,on average, be more complicated, in a sense , than a man's body, making adjustments for women's clothes more difficult than those for men's clothes.
Yeah, back then they didn't have Men's Warehouse, so a cheap suit would start around $200, but it was tailored for free and you wore it every day. I was one of the first women at my company to start wearing pant suits, I was in data and it kind of went with the "woman in a man's job" thing.
 
  • #1,041
zoobyshoe said:
I don't get it. Does this mean mathematicians have a reputation of not writing up and publishing?
I don't get it either.
 
  • #1,042
Evo said:
Yeah, back then they didn't have Men's Warehouse, so a cheap suit would start around $200, but it was tailored for free and you wore it every day. I was one of the first women at my company to start wearing pant suits, I was in data and it kind of went with the "woman in a man's job" thing.
Good thing it does not happen the other way round, I wouldn't like wearing a skirt --I am not Scottish, for one-- nor a dress. And I guess you set the tone for Hillary and her famous pantsuits in congress. I think society is not ready to accept men wearing dresses nor skirts yet. I remember this guy in college walking around wearing a skirt to make this point; I thought, out of all possible , fruitful points to make on the foibles of society, this guy chose a ridiculous point to make; what a waste of a protest.
 
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  • #1,043
QUOTE="Evo, post: 5059171, member: 5155"]I don't get it either.[/QUOTE]
I think it refers to the perception that engineers look for solutions, i.e., are goal-oriented, while mathematicians( non-applied ones) live in a world of ideas and are only interested in understanding the structural/theoretical forms/ideas, not their application.
 
  • #1,044
WWGD said:
It may also be a matter of having the $$ necessary to have the tailor-made suits.
Money is necessary, of course... but one absolutely needs to be a ... lol
 
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  • #1,045
WWGD said:
I think it refers to the perception that engineers look for solutions, i.e., are goal-oriented, while mathematicians( non-applied ones) live in a world of ideas and are only interested in understanding the structural/theoretical forms/ideas, not their application.
This makes sense, and, in principle, the joke conveys that perception of mathematicians, but it somehow the joke simultaneously fails to be funny. Possibly because it portrays that abstruse mathematical mindset as ultimately tragic?
 
  • #1,046
Better Call Saul:

Man, what a great episode tonight!
 
  • #1,047
WWGD said:
Best argument against suit and tie?
No one has _ever_ said " Let me change myself into something more comfortable" and then went on to wear a suit-and-tie.
deed16aacf34d7e2e63546368a5455139df754b006fa24efc56886f68b469866.jpg
[*]
 
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  • #1,048
When I'm happy, I will sleep a little longer. : ))
 
  • #1,049
zoobyshoe said:
I don't get it. Does this mean mathematicians have a reputation of not writing up and publishing?

well I'd say it means mathematicians don't really care about the solution as long as it exists. They don't solve the problem, they just make sure it has a solution. It's not true in all cases of course.
 
  • #1,050
It's odd. I lack the complete perspective of a mathematician, but from what I have seen, it's the mathematician that cares about the completeness of a proof, it merely existing is not enough.

You guys don't have to mention the joke about the burning hotel room and engineer, physicist and mathematician dealing with the fire :D
 

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