Random Thoughts Part 5: Time to Split Again

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Discussion Overview

The thread features a variety of informal discussions, including personal anecdotes, reflections on dreams, cultural comparisons regarding education systems, and thoughts on numerical scales. Participants share their experiences and opinions on topics ranging from literature and dreams to educational standards in the US and UK.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share personal dreams involving a community member, Borek, and discuss interpretations of these dreams.
  • There is a discussion about the differences between the long and short scales of numerical values, particularly regarding the term "billion" and its usage in different cultures.
  • Participants express differing views on the quality of higher education in the US compared to the UK, with some asserting that American high school courses can be equivalent to university-level courses.
  • One participant mentions their experience with Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the US, arguing against the notion that American education is "dumbed down."
  • Another participant shares their experience with the discomfort of playing guitar after a long break, tying it into a creative project related to fish.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on educational standards, with no clear consensus on whether American education is comparable to British education. The discussion on numerical scales also reveals differing interpretations and understandings among participants.

Contextual Notes

Some statements regarding educational comparisons may depend on personal experiences and regional differences in curriculum. The discussion on numerical scales highlights potential confusion stemming from varying definitions and terminologies used in different countries.

  • #1,501
My wife and I once went to an exhibition of Lord of the Rings costumes and props. My favourite was a little gimmick - a green screen booth with a pair of benches at different scales, a pair of marks to look at, and a pair of cameras at different distances. The end result is that we have a pair of photos of us sat in Gandalf's cart, one of us hobbit sized and the other wizard sized, smiling at each other and driving through the Shire.
 
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Physics news on Phys.org
  • #1,502
Chief Executive Officer of the Digit Hoops
 
  • #1,503
I envy the people who go crazy with these sport events like March Madness. All they need for a party is a TV and some chips.
 
  • #1,504
zoobyshoe said:
You don't understand. I made my own superior version of those movies in my head when I read the books as a young teenager. They can't be topped, and they would be ruined by having to view an inferior version.

You, on the other hand, won't be able to film your own in-head version now, if you read the books, because you've been corrupted by exposure to a pre-existing set of movies.
You don't know that! You don't know me! I can picture it if I try! :sorry: I can picture it if I try. :cry:

I'm just kidding, can't argue with that. :-p
Ibix said:
My wife and I once went to an exhibition of Lord of the Rings costumes and props. My favourite was a little gimmick - a green screen booth with a pair of benches at different scales, a pair of marks to look at, and a pair of cameras at different distances. The end result is that we have a pair of photos of us sat in Gandalf's cart, one of us hobbit sized and the other wizard sized, smiling at each other and driving through the Shire.
That must have been awesome! :woot:
 
  • #1,505
Magnate of the Round Phalanges Ornimentations
 
  • #1,506
zoobyshoe said:
Magnate of the Round Phalanges Ornimentations
 
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  • #1,507
zoobyshoe said:
Magnate of the Round Phalanges Ornimentations
Enunciate the caret of the bivalvic disjunction in its full ellipsis.
 
  • #1,508
WWGD said:
Enunciate the caret of the bivalvic disjunction in its full ellipsis.
Sorry, that should be :
Elucidate the caret of the bivalvic disjunction in its full ellipsis.
 
  • #1,509
WWGD said:
Enunciate the caret of the bivalvic disjunction in its full ellipsis.
I'm having a really hard time looking at the dictionary every time you write something. :confused: :biggrin:

You have two flavors for ice cream to choose: vanilla or chocolate. Which one do you choose? No need to answer. Obviously the chocolate one with chocolate toppings in a chocolate cone waffle and chocolate fudge. That's not even a question.
 
  • #1,510
Psinter said:
I'm having a really hard time looking at the dictionary every time you write something. :confused: :biggrin:

You have two flavors for ice cream to choose: vanilla or chocolate. Which one do you choose? No need to answer. Obviously the chocolate one with chocolate toppings in a chocolate cone waffle and chocolate fudge. That's not even a question.
Sorry, this comment needed to use bizarre words. Will try to keep it simpler otherwise, or link to an explanation.
 
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  • #1,511
WWGD said:
Sorry, this comment needed to use bizarre words. Will try to keep it simpler otherwise, or link to an explanation.
Thanks. :smile:

Bizarre sounds alright. But right now I'm in the mood for a pizzarre! :pizza:
 
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  • #1,513
Speaking of the Lord of the Rings movies and The Hobbit movies (not to be confused with the books), I've always been somewhat of a fascinated observer of the then, up and coming New Zealand film industry.

In my recollection, films and television series made in New Zealand became big with American audiences back with Hercules and, of course, Zena, Warrior Princess.
latest?cb=20100710184059.jpg

(Image source: http://hercules-xena.wikia.com/wiki/Xena)

Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings movies and The Hobbit movies, was of course much younger at that time, but he was still in the thick of this budding film industry with such movies as Bad Taste.

Bad_taste_poster.jpg

(Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bad_taste_poster.jpg)

Oh, how I adore such movies. They bring back such good memories.

And they became quite good at that certain sort of mystique. One movie that comes to mind is Black Sheep, a story about zombie (or at least zombie-like) sheep:
51GSPWjiBfL.jpg

(Image source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TJ6PB0/?tag=pfamazon01-20)

Eventually, as we now know, the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies established the New Zealand film industries as very capable. They came a long way from lower-budget TV drama and knee-slapping horror to high-budget, world-wide block-busters.

Now when I see Spartacus, while not wholly New Zealand in its production (it's more of a hybrid American + New Zealand thing with actors speaking in some sort of odd, pseudo-Shakespearean dialect), I cannot miss the unmistakable New Zealand film industry influence on it. It's definitely worth checking out.
SPS3_04.jpg

(Image source: http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/photos)

On a more serious note, if I want a good chuckle about serious matters, I tend to catch some New Zealand Parliament.
http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/
Some of those house members have as good of sense of humor as they do dedication to serious issues. I think elected officials in other countries could find it useful to follow their lead in that respect.
(I think it was @StevieTNZ that got me hooked on that.)
 
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  • #1,514
collinsmark said:
On a more serious note, if I want a good chuckle about serious matters, I tend to catch some New Zealand Parliament.
http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/
Some of those house members have as good of sense of humor as they do dedication to serious issues. I think elected officials in other countries could find it useful to follow their lead in that respect.
(I think it was @StevieTNZ that got me hooked on that.)
I don't understand what they are talking about, but they do seem like funny people. :smile:
 
  • #1,515
Psinter said:
I don't understand what they are talking about, but they do seem like funny people. :smile:

Here's one from MP Maurice Williamson back in 2013 that made lots of rounds on the Internet.


Most days are not nearly that funny and eloquent. But still, most times I watch I'll catch a good zinger or two within ten to twenty minutes or so. It might be about something as mundane as a project delay due to substandard concrete formula that might have otherwise potentially, maybe, caused a risk of a minor landslide, and hearing, "Well I'll tell you about a landslide last September 20th!" (referring to the then most recent elections, September 20th, 2014). Every once in awhile there's a zinger or two like that.
 
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  • #1,516
collinsmark said:
Here's one from MP Maurice Williamson back in 2013 that made lots of rounds on the Internet.


Most days are not nearly that funny and eloquent. But still, most times I watch I'll catch a good zinger or two within ten to twenty minutes or so. It might be about something as mundane as a project delay due to substandard concrete formula that might have otherwise potentially, maybe, caused a risk of a minor landslide, and hearing, "Well I'll tell you about a landslide last September 20th!" (referring to the then most recent elections, September 20th, 2014). Every once in awhile there's a zinger or two like that.

Hehehe. I like it. :smile:
___________________________________________________________

A random thought: That awkward moment when Super Markets at my place try to sell you 5 oranges for $5 USD when I can buy 100 fresh oranges for $5 USD from street sellers and at most $15 USD depending on the town you are. If you know where to find them of course. Usually old people know where to find them. (Old people appear to know each other)

Just don't buy them if you can't consume them all, it will be a pity to waste them just because you were greedy and couldn't consume them.
 
  • #1,517
  • #1,518
WWGD said:
... if it is not fully under sea
In which case Sate will be made from octopus with lemongrass of its garden under the sea.
 
  • #1,519
fresh_42 said:
In which case Sate will be made from octopus with lemongrass of its garden under the sea.
And that is the optimistic view...
 
  • #1,520
zoobyshoe said:
Here's a more ancient version of the same:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism

Thanks, unfortunately there is no sound in my computer, hasn't been in a long time. I just remembered the link I posted.
 
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  • #1,521
WWGD said:
Thanks, unfortunately there is no sound in my computer, hasn't been in a long time. I just remembered the link I posted.
:nb) please add sounds to it.
 
  • #1,522
Silicon Waffle said:
:nb) please add sounds to it.
It's windows system, just no way of making sound come out, after checking all possibilities.
 
  • #1,523
I know there is an automatic censorship here that deletes some especially unpleasant words. (At least as far as I remember, since I once lost a word which wasn't a bad word in my context but on itself. I have forgotten the word and context as well. I just found it funny.)

Now: Why aren't the real bad, mean and evil curse words forbidden? Words like:
Bohemian, simultaneous, duality, FLT, SUSY, new, virtual, fluctuation, locality, event horizon
 
  • #1,524
Belgium, man.
 
  • #1,525
WWGD said:
It's windows system, just no way of making sound come out, after checking all possibilities.
Oh no...
Watch this @ 12:12. His advice is try blowing on it!

 
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  • #1,526
WWGD said:
Thanks, unfortunately there is no sound in my computer, hasn't been in a long time. I just remembered the link I posted.
If you're really interested in watching a video (not that you would be really interested in watching the one I posted, but some hypothetical one) can't you watch it on your phone?
 
  • #1,527
zoobyshoe said:
If you're really interested in watching a video (not that you would be really interested in watching the one I posted, but some hypothetical one) can't you watch it on your phone?
I have a $10 dumb phone, unfortunately; will have to wait for a bonus at work to scale up.
 
  • #1,528
WWGD said:
I have a $10 dumb phone, unfortunately; will have to wait for a bonus at work to scale up.
Hehe. I beat you: I got my phone on sale for $5. Normally they're $15.99, but I guess they weren't moving even at that price.
 
  • #1,529
zoobyshoe said:
Hehe. I beat you: I got my phone on sale for $5. Normally they're $15.99, but I guess they weren't moving even at that price.
I'll be checking out for a $4.99 phone on the flea markets...
 
  • #1,530
WWGD said:
I have a $10 dumb phone, unfortunately; will have to wait for a bonus at work to scale up.

zoobyshoe said:
Hehe. I beat you: I got my phone on sale for $5. Normally they're $15.99, but I guess they weren't moving even at that price.

WWGD said:
I'll be checking out for a $4.99 phone on the flea markets...

Halleluja! I'm not the only person on the planet who thinks a phone has to receive and make phone-calls - fullstop.
 

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