Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[WWGD]

Today I overheard a coffee shop owner telling someone about a customer she has who buys a small coffee and puts 14 packets of sugar in it.

At least the customer actually puts the sugar in the coffee. There is a trend in here that old ladies take 10s of packets of equal or sugar from coffee shops, just put them in their purses. And often, from the way they dress, they seem like they are wealthy, no need to steal.

 

[jim hardy]

At least the customer actually puts the sugar in the coffee. There is a trend in here that old ladies take 10s of packets of equal or sugar from coffee shops, just put them in their purses. And often, from the way they dress, they seem like they are wealthy, no need to steal.

That's an interesting quirk of nature. We seem to have a streak of scavenger in our makeup ,
Sam Walton recognized it "Pile the shelves high and sell that stuff"
the abundance seems to trigger something akin to a feeding frenzy.

 

[zoobyshoe]

That's an interesting quirk of nature. We seem to have a streak of scavenger in our makeup ,
Sam Walton recognized it "Pile the shelves high and sell that stuff"
the abundance seems to trigger something akin to a feeding frenzy.

Surely this goes back to out hunter-gatherer days when it was either feast or famine. Fall feast always heralded Winter famine and you survived by hoarding as much of the Fall abundance as possible.

 

[zoobyshoe]

At least the customer actually puts the sugar in the coffee.

But all that sugar wafts through the air via the coffee steam and in ten minutes everyone in the place is suffering from second-hand diabetes.

 

[Astronuc]

I like this guy.

The pope’s favorite American Catholic troublemakers: Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton
https://popevisit2015.yahoo.com/post/129806673004/the-popes-favorite-american-catholic

I read Merton about 40 years ago. I thought he was well known.

 

[Astronuc]

Science News

A new camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second.
http://magazine.good.is/articles/super-fast-camera-works-at-light-speedConnecticut high school student Olivia Hallisey recently won the grand prize in the 16-18 category at the 2015 Google Science Fair. Her project — developing a quick, easy, and accurate test for Ebola — won the judges' hearts for its potential to make a big change in the world. Might work for Lyme disease too.
http://www.upworthy.com/this-teen-j...fe-saving-new-way-to-diagnose-deadly-diseases

Congratulations, Ms Hallisey! Well, done!

 

[Borg]

Today I overheard a coffee shop owner telling someone about a customer she has who buys a small coffee and puts 14 packets of sugar in it.

Caffeine and massive amounts of sugar? Maybe they are trying to wean themselves off Coke.

 

[HomogenousCow]

You know, relative to other sites, PF has surprisingly few crackpots. Websites like Quora and Reddit are completely flooded with crackpots whenever a science question is asked. You'll routinely find dozens of perpetual motion proponents and many more people who are simply spitting out nonsense.

 

[Astronuc]

Muslim Boy's Message for Ben Carson: 'I Will Become the 1st Muslim President'
https://gma.yahoo.com/muslim-boys-message-ben-carson-become-1st-muslim-205324369--abc-news-topstories.html#

Shukri Abukar states, "And you will see that when I become president, I will respect people of all faiths, all colors and all religions."

The young man is quite serious and ambitious.

 

[WWGD]

You know, relative to other sites, PF has surprisingly few crackpots. Websites like Quora and Reddit are completely flooded with crackpots whenever a science question is asked. You'll routinely find dozens of perpetual motion proponents and many more people who are simply spitting out nonsense.

Agreed. Let's thank the moderators.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Caffeine and massive amounts of sugar? Maybe they are trying to wean themselves off Coke.

All I can say is anyone who needs more than 12 packs of sugar in a small coffee has something wrong with them.

 

[OmCheeto]

Muslim Boy's Message for Ben Carson: 'I Will Become the 1st Muslim President'
https://gma.yahoo.com/muslim-boys-message-ben-carson-become-1st-muslim-205324369--abc-news-topstories.html#

Shukri Abukar states, "And you will see that when I become president, I will respect people of all faiths, all colors and all religions."

The young man is quite serious and ambitious.

OMG! Is there a thread devoted to Carson's comment yet?

U.S. Rep. Carson: Linking Faith With Fitness For Office Is 'Asinine' [NPR]
Renee Montagne talks with Rep. Andre Carson[no relation], D-Ind., one of two Muslim members of Congress, about recent comments by Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump about Muslims.

MONTAGNE: [Ben] Carson also told The Hill newspaper that sharia or Islamic law is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, that Muslims believe religion is part of, quote, "what you do as a public official," and that some Muslims believe it is it is acceptable to, quote, "lie to achieve their goals."

Perhaps Ben Carson is not familiar with a meme older than the internet:

​

Ben Carson's file [Politifact]

True                             0
Mostly True                      0
Half True                  (25%) 2
Mostly False               (13%) 1
False                      (50%) 4
Pants on Fire              (13%) 1

hmmm... Is Ben Carson a closet Muslim?

 

[Borg]

I just wish his political campaign would stop calling me every day. I can't wait until he drops from the race.

 

[WWGD]

I just wish his political campaign would stop calling me every day. I can't wait until he drops from the race.

Tell them you're Muslim.

 

[Borg]

Tell them you're Muslim.

Maybe I should tell them I'm a muslim with an electronic clock. However, I don't live in Texas to enjoy the full benifit of that resulting show.

 

[JorisL]

We're lucky here we have these street vendors that will sell you a plate of chicken or lamb over rice for a reasonable amount, for a pretty low price. Aren't you based in Amsterdam? I am pretty sure they may have some similar over there.

Leuven, Belgium. But I literally had 0.73 euros.
About 5 short. The ATM would take me too far away (20mins at least and I was lazy).

 

[WWGD]

Leuven, Belgium. But I literally had 0.73 euros.
About 5 short. The ATM would take me too far away (20mins at least and I was lazy).

Ah, the eternal fight between hunger and laziness. Most of the time laziness has won in my case. Would love to drop by Belgium, heard food is great over there.

 

[HomogenousCow]

Is there some evolutionary explanation for why pain can reach incapacitating levels? Wouldn't it be beneficial to survival if pain levels were capped at some point, and thus would not affect one's will or ability to function?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Is there some evolutionary explanation for why pain can reach incapacitating levels? Wouldn't it be beneficial to survival if pain levels were capped at some point, and thus would not affect one's will or ability to function?

I suppose the benefit that caused this to be selected is that greater pain results in faster pull away from the stimulus resulting in less injury. Of course that logic breaks down when you can't get away from the stimulus. We need a mutation where, in that circumstance, a person could dial the pain down.

However, there's the real danger people would start taking that option in all cases they felt pain, and allow themselves to get irreparably injured as a matter of course.

 

[WWGD]

I suppose the benefit that caused this to be selected is that greater pain results in faster pull away from the stimulus resulting in less injury. Of course that logic breaks down when you can't get away from the stimulus. We need a mutation where, in that circumstance, a person could dial the pain down.

However, there's the real danger people would start taking that option in all cases they felt pain, and allow themselves to get irreparably injured as a matter of course.

Doesn't numbness to pain set in after a while?

 

[WWGD]

I saw something I may never see again: a woman that was around 6' 10'' , which is at least 7 deviations from the mean, which is around 5' 3''. (Assuming height is normally-distributed , with deviation around 2), could not even find tables to calculate P(Z<=7), i.e., probability of having of a value less than or equal to 7 deviations above the mean is 1 ( of course, rounding off, but I don't have specialized equipment to do more accurate computations).

 

[Bystander]

Doesn't numbness to pain set in after a while?

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=bullet+ant+sting
According to some of the links, bullet ant stings will focus your attention four up to 24 hours.

 

[WWGD]

Part of the problem is that there are infinitely-many possible situations one can run into, and it is difficult to have
a mechanism that is optimal with respect to any situation.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I saw something I may never see again: a woman that was around 6' 10'' , which is at least 7 deviations from the mean, which is around 5' 3''. (Assuming height is normally-distributed , with deviation around 2), could not even find tables to calculate P(Z<=7), i.e., probability of having of a value less than or equal to 7 deviations above the mean is 1 ( of course, rounding off, but I don't have specialized equipment to do more accurate computations).

I saw an authentic giant woman once. Well over seven feet. She towered over a guy I knew to be 6'2". It was crazy to see him have to look up so far to meet her eyes.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Doesn't numbness to pain set in after a while?

No. I've had toothaches for days.

 

[WWGD]

I saw an authentic giant woman once. Well over seven feet. She towered over a guy I knew to be 6'2". It was crazy to see him have to look up so far to meet her eyes.

Maybe the one I saw was the world's shortest giant ( she was court-ordered to wear special
warning lights in her head , to avoid low-flying planes ;) ). Not entirely a joke, I think there are actual technical guidelines/cutoff points for what both a dwarf and a giant are. So one may be ( one of the) world's tallest dwarfs or shortest giants.

 

[WWGD]

Still have no sound in my PC, neither out nor in. I bought some drivers online for $20 hoping that would do it -- no luck there -- after checking just -about everything to have some sound.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Still have no sound in my PC, neither out nor in. I bought some drivers online for $20 hoping that would do it -- no luck there -- after checking just -about everything to have some sound.

That's an odd problem. I've never heard of anyone having the sound on their PC go out.

Edit: do headphones work?

 

[HomogenousCow]

Still have no sound in my PC, neither out nor in. I bought some drivers online for $20 hoping that would do it -- no luck there -- after checking just -about everything to have some sound.

You bought drivers? Just download the ones your manufacturer provides.

Well back on topic, I smashed my toe the other day and couldn't function for most of the day due to the pain. Nothing was broken and it was just bruised. It's a good thing I live in 2015 AD and not 1000 BC or else I'd be lunch for some animal.

 

[zoobyshoe]

You bought drivers? Just download the ones your manufacturer provides.

Well back on topic, I smashed my toe the other day and couldn't function for most of the day due to the pain. Nothing was broken and it was just bruised. It's a good thing I live in 2015 AD and not 1000 BC or else I'd be lunch for some animal.

Did you try an aspirin or ibuprofen?