Random Thoughts Part 5: Time to Split Again

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The discussion revolves around various topics, including a dream about a person named Borek, reflections on the book "The Martian," and the complexities of educational systems in the US and UK. Participants share insights on the long and short scales of numbers, particularly regarding the term "billion," and discuss the differences in high school and college education between the two countries. The conversation also touches on personal anecdotes, such as perfecting a Kung Pao sauce recipe and experiences with local disturbances. Overall, the thread showcases a blend of light-hearted personal stories and deeper discussions on education and cultural differences.
  • #1,591
Boy, that was nostaligic. Zoooooom, right back to the 1980s. I loved the 1980s. I wish you all could have been there.
 
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  • #1,592
collinsmark said:
Yes, and the leap year in 2000 was one of the special ones (one of the "divisible by 400" ones of the Gregorian calendar). :smile:

I had to look up a reference to that (I was almost ready to write another computer program to figure this out, but I'm satisfied with the reference). Here's the reference:
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/FridaytheThirteenth.html

Likelihood that the 13th will land on a given day of the week (over any 400 year period -- the Gregorian calendar is periodic in this respect):

Sunday: 14.31%
Monday: 14.27%
Tuesday: 14.27%
Wednesday: 14.31%
Thursday: 14.25%
Friday: 14.33%
Saturday: 14.25%

[Edit: If you are wondering what I mean by this 400 year "period", I mean that if you take any 400 year chunk of the Gregorian calendar, you will find that the months and days of the week line up exactly as the previous and/or the next 400 year chunk, assuming that the Gregorian calendar is still in place. For example, you can bet with 100% mathematical certainty that the year 2416 (i.e., 2016+400) will be a leap year and Feb 29th will be a Monday. Also, Feb. 29th will be a Monday in the years 2816, 3216, 3616, 2016 + 400n (where n is a natural number), etc.]

So that is an excess of Fridays of from 2/1000 's to 8/1000's , which is Strange, unless you make some sort of adjustments, since otherwise, every time one
has a Friday, a Saturday would follow.
 
  • #1,593
WWGD said:
So that is an excess of Fridays of from 2/1000 's to 8/1000's , which is Strange, unless you make some sort of adjustments, since otherwise, every time one
has a Friday, a Saturday would follow.
But different lengths of months and leaps shift the days, since we only measure at the 13th.
 
  • #1,594
Leap Day will be over in less than 15 minutes.
 
  • #1,595
Sophia said:
Could it be area on the border near Czech Šumava national park? There are mountains like Alteklause and Resbachklause (this is most certainly wrong spelling. I think I never saw those names written down, it is just my memory of words I heard 5 years ago). They are famous because they leave the nature to evolve without any intervention. They didn't try to "save it" after natural disaster and now it can be used by scientists to observe uninterrupted natural mechanisms. It's very beautiful indeed.
There are hundreds of trees fallen down after strong winds and damaged by insects but below them, many young trees are growing and you can already see a promise of a healthy future forest. Meanwhile, the old rotten trees serve as a habitat for various kinds of animals and plants and they also create the right microclimate for the young ones.
It's evolution in real time.
How's that, how do you make that character Š in the keyboard? And how do you pronounce Czech? There are two consonants there together and I don't know how to deal with that. It, it confuses me. :oldconfused:

Sadly I don't know :frown:. I wasn't given much details other than it was awesome. I was told it was really cold, but come on, it's Germany
NEkgYwsl.jpg
. I'm used to a hot climate so by my standards all of Germany is cold (Source). 76°F and that's cold already for me. Obviously, because I'm used to a hot atmosphere, no matter the place I visit in Germany I'm going to feel it cold. So I cannot find it by temperature either. :sorry:

Anyway the one you are telling me sounds cool as well. :smile:
WWGD said:
Das astonishinigde Wald?
What? o_O That astonishing Wald? What is Wald? A Wall? Ah, Google Translate told me. But I still don't get your question. It was awesome, that I was told.
 
  • #1,596
Psinter said:
How's that, how do you make that character Š in the keyboard? And how do you pronounce Czech? There are two consonants there together and I don't know how to deal with that. It, it confuses me. :oldconfused:

Sadly I don't know :frown:. I wasn't given much details other than it was awesome. I was told it was really cold, but come on, it's Germany
NEkgYwsl.jpg
. I'm used to a hot climate so by my standards all of Germany is cold (Source). 76°F and that's cold already for me. Obviously, because I'm used to a hot atmosphere, no matter the place I visit in Germany I'm going to feel it cold. So I cannot find it by temperature either. :sorry:

Anyway the one you are telling me sounds cool as well. [emoji2]

What? o_O That astonishing Wald? What is Wald? A Wall? Ah, Google Translate told me. But I still don't get your question. It was awesome, that I was told.
Wow I couldn't stand hot climate! If it's above 30C (Google says that's 86F) I'm dying :-p but believe me you would want to visit Germany in the summer because the difference between +25C and - 10C (14F) is quite big. You would feel the difference, trust me lol
What's the average temperature in your area? How much does it change throughout the year?
You asked about character Š. I use a keyboard that has these special characters so I just press the corresponding key. It's pronounced like English sh, the first sound in "show".
the pronunciation of Czech is similar to English word "check"
 
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  • #1,597
Sophia said:
Wow I couldn't stand hot climate! If it's above 30C (Google says that's 86F) I'm dying :-p but believe me you would want to visit Germany in the summer because the difference between +25C and - 10C (14F) is quite big. You would feel the difference, trust me lol
Don't worry, we are all used to our respective temperatures. Once in an apartment I couldn't control the air conditioner because the infra red receiver was broken (it wasn't me who broke it) and the AC turned on automatically every day at 6 PM. It dropped temperature to 20C (or so said the display) and it was really torturous for me. I forgot my thick blanket at home and I could only sleep like 3 hours or less every night. It was terrible. Almost two months went like that and it drove me really crazy. It was hurting me so much that there was a point when I couldn't resist it anymore and I cried that night :cry:. My spirit broke and while shivering at the 20C temperature and in the midst of crying I was saying to myself: "It's so cold :cry:. Why does this happen to me?" :cry: I cried very hurtfully.
Sophia said:
What's the average temperature in your area? How much does it change throughout the year?
Meh, it's the same the whole freaking year. 90F is the average. Sometimes on the 86F-90F range and a lot of days go at 92F without changes throughout the day. Only at night it drops below 92F outside, but houses stay like that for hours and sometimes they get hotter (like 94F) as the walls push all the heat they accumulated during the day into the houses. Except for summer when it changes from hot to infernal... Volcanic infernal I'd say :oldlaugh:. It's only getting hotter as the years go by and that's a fact. I've never seen snow and I will never see it here. There's no such thing as winter, spring or whatever at my place. That's why I don't need spring to see flowers, I can see them the whole year long (in the nice forest). I think we only have two seasons: normal (hot) and summer (volcanic infernal) :oldlaugh:. Somewhat like this:

funny-hot-Arizona-people-fire-SpongeBob.jpg


(But my place is not a desert.)
But I do still want to go to Germany, even if it's cold. :smile:

Sophia said:
You asked about character Š. I use a keyboard that has these special characters so I just press the corresponding key. It's pronounced like English sh, the first sound in "show".
the pronunciation of Czech is similar to English word "check"
Oh, I see. Thanks for the lesson. :smile:
 
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  • #1,598
Psinter said:
Don't worry, we are all used to our respective temperatures. Once in an apartment I couldn't control the air conditioner because the infra red receiver was broken (it wasn't me who broke it) and the AC turned on automatically every day at 6 PM. It dropped temperature to 20C (or so said the display) and it was really torturous for me. I forgot my thick blanket at home and I could only sleep like 3 hours or less every night. It was terrible. Almost two months went like that and it drove me really crazy. It was hurting me so much that there was a point when I couldn't resist it anymore and I cried that night :cry:. My spirit broke and while shivering at the 20C temperature and in the midst of crying I was saying to myself: "It's so cold :cry:. Why does this happen to me?" :cry: I cried very hurtfully.

Meh, it's the same the whole freaking year. 90F is the average. Sometimes on the 86F-90F range and a lot of days go at 92F without changes throughout the day. Only at night it drops below 92F outside, but houses stay like that for hours and sometimes they get hotter (like 94F) as the walls push all the heat they accumulated during the day into the houses. Except for summer when it changes from hot to infernal... Volcanic infernal I'd say :oldlaugh:. It's only getting hotter as the years go by and that's a fact. I've never seen snow and I will never see it here. There's no such thing as winter, spring or whatever at my place. That's why I don't need spring to see flowers, I can see them the whole year long (in the nice forest). I think we only have two seasons: normal (hot) and summer (volcanic infernal) :oldlaugh:. Somewhat like this:

funny-hot-Arizona-people-fire-SpongeBob.jpg


(But my place is not a desert.)
But I do still want to go to Germany, even if it's cold. [emoji2]Oh, I see. Thanks for the lesson. [emoji2]
Wow that's incredibly hot for me! I am used to sleeping at 18-20C at night. If it gets above 25 I can't sleep at all!
You're right, everyone is used to the temperature they live at.
Your area must be beautiful with all the flowers and trees and I imagine you've got many species of birds and butterflies.
But I would visit you (I'm joking of course) only for a short while otherwise I would be cooked alive.
 
  • #1,599
Sophia said:
Your area must be beautiful with all the flowers and trees and I imagine you've got many species of birds and butterflies.
Little birds yes, there are a lot. They are quite the colorful bunch :blushing:. They are chirping outside as I write this. They stand in the windows and eat the insects that die or get stuck there at night. I've seen them too stealing the insects that spiders have in their webs. And if the spider is small and tries to do something (more like it doesn't escape on time) they eat the spider too :DD. The smaller and more colorful ones eat small seeds and sugar from flowers (that sugar has a name, but I forgot how it is called... you know, the thing bees drink from flowers). And they fly very fast. Butterflies only deep in the forest. I used to see a lot of them when I was a kid, but they sort of disappeared. They appeared to have decided they don't like humans and secluded themselves deep in the forest. :-p Far from humans. But I can still find them.
Sophia said:
But I would visit you (I'm joking of course) only for a short while otherwise I would be cooked alive.
Haha! Probably.
Sophia said:
Wow that's incredibly hot for me! I am used to sleeping at 18-20C at night. If it gets above 25 I can't sleep at all!
Wow, it's awesome that you can sleep at 20C! Do you really not feel cold? :bugeye:
 
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  • #1,600
Psinter said:
Little birds yes, there are a lot. They are quite the colorful bunch :blushing:. They are chirping outside as I write this. They stand in the windows and eat the insects that die or get stuck there at night. I've seen them too stealing the insects that spiders have in their webs. And if the spider is small and tries to do something (more like it doesn't escape on time) they eat the spider too :DD. The smaller and more colorful ones eat small seeds and sugar from flowers (that sugar has a name, but I forgot how it is called... you know, the thing bees drink from flowers). And they fly very fast. Butterflies only deep in the forest. I used to see a lot of them when I was a kid, but they sort of disappeared. They appeared to have decided they don't like humans and secluded themselves deep in the forest. :-p Far from humans. But I can still find them.

Haha! Probably.

Wow, it's awesome that you can sleep at 20C! Do you really not feel cold? :bugeye:
You have a gift of observation. Have you thought of using it for something creative or as a part of your job? I think you are very good at spotting details and describing things and you should definitely use that for some project!
Colourful birds must be so charming. We only have grey, brown or black ones. Only some have colourful tummies but not many. I'm afraid that butterflies are becoming extinct. Here too. My dad told me that there were many butterflies when he was little, they would chase and collect them but there are only a few nowadays. They don't like climate change and pesticides :-((( the same as bees! This troubles me a lot but I don't want to think about it because I will be upset. Sometimes I wake up at night and think about extinction of species and animal abuse and I get so upset and can't fall asleep again. And I know there's no way I can help them. I do my best to avoid all depressing news, documentaries and articles about this topic in order to forget about that.
No, 20 degrees is a very pleasant temperature for sleeping. In my area, most people consider it an ideal temperature. Not too hot , not too cold. There were winters when we had MINUS 20C (-4F) outside. Now that was cold :-) of course, there are central heating and insulated buildings to keep PLUS 20-25C inside during the day and we lower the heating a little bit for the night :-)
Random fact : extreme temperature changes are the reason why our roads are in a horrible condition. Well, in Germany and Austria they have similar weather yet their roads are perfect. Our politicians are better magicians. They are great at letting money disappear :-p

What temperature do you consider very hot in your area?
 
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  • #1,601
'Trivia night at the pub tonight. We were in first place at the half time, in part because of a question about Australian marsupials.

I'm all about wombats. :woot:

Anybody who's ever met me will attest to my rambling about wombat this, and wombat that.

Unfortunately the second half of trivia was scant of wombat related questions. :frown:
 
  • #1,602
Sophia said:
Wow I couldn't stand hot climate! If it's above 30C (Google says that's 86F) I'm dying :-p but believe me you would want to visit Germany in the summer because the difference between +25C and - 10C (14F) is quite big. You would feel the difference, trust me lol
What's the average temperature in your area? How much does it change throughout the year?
You asked about character Š. I use a keyboard that has these special characters so I just press the corresponding key. It's pronounced like English sh, the first sound in "show".
the pronunciation of Czech is similar to English word "check"
Czech please! Slovak even better.
 
  • #1,603
WWGD said:
Czech please! Slovak even better.
Yessss beer!
 
  • #1,604
WWGD said:
So that is an excess of Fridays of from 2/1000 's to 8/1000's , which is Strange, unless you make some sort of adjustments, since otherwise, every time one
has a Friday, a Saturday would follow.
The point is not just Fridays, but Friday the 13ths. The calendar is deterministic. (You don't need to divide by 1000, assuming the Gregorian calendar.; any block of 400 years will do.)
 
  • #1,605
collinsmark said:
Unfortunately the second half of trivia was scant of wombat related questions. :frown:
The only time my group did well in a pub quiz was because the sports round was all about curling. None of us knew a thing about curling, but neither did anyone else...
 
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  • #1,606
Sophia said:
You have a gift of observation. Have you thought of using it for something creative or as a part of your job? I think you are very good at spotting details and describing things and you should definitely use that for some project!
Thanks. Perhaps I should try to find a way to use it, although I don't think there is much to describe when programming.
Sophia said:
Colourful birds must be so charming. We only have grey, brown or black ones. Only some have colourful tummies but not many.
Oh, I like brown ones. I bet the ones that are colorful at your place must be really beautiful and cute :blushing:.
Sophia said:
I'm afraid that butterflies are becoming extinct. Here too. My dad told me that there were many butterflies when he was little, they would chase and collect them but there are only a few nowadays. They don't like climate change and pesticides :-((( the same as bees!
Oh yes, pesticides are a murdercide for butterflies.
Sophia said:
This troubles me a lot but I don't want to think about it because I will be upset. Sometimes I wake up at night and think about extinction of species and animal abuse and I get so upset and can't fall asleep again. And I know there's no way I can help them. I do my best to avoid all depressing news, documentaries and articles about this topic in order to forget about that.
:frown: Me too, that's why in addition to the topic you are talking I also detest topics of politics and news, since they are covered with manure. I read about politics, but in an academic approach. Books and academic articles, not in the news.
manure - solid waste material from animals
Yup, pretty much describes what comes out of their mouth.
Sophia said:
No, 20 degrees is a very pleasant temperature for sleeping. In my area, most people consider it an ideal temperature. Not too hot , not too cold. There were winters when we had MINUS 20C (-4F) outside. Now that was cold :-) of course, there are central heating and insulated buildings to keep PLUS 20-25C inside during the day and we lower the heating a little bit for the night :-)
20 degrees pleasant? Okay, if I go to your place I must remember to bring my thick blanket and one with cute bunnies to sleep :biggrin:. Otherwise you will probably find me curled in a corner crying because I feel cold :sorry:. I will visit you with this cosplay: :biggrin:
2015-New-Halloween-Winter-Jacket-Adult-Men-s-Game-of-Thrones-Cosplay-Costume-Jon-Snow-Cosplay.jpg
You think I will look strange if I go to your place with these outfits?
Sophia said:
Random fact : extreme temperature changes are the reason why our roads are in a horrible condition. Well, in Germany and Austria they have similar weather yet their roads are perfect. Our politicians are better magicians. They are great at letting money disappear :-p
Randmom fact: extreme idiotic politicians and corrupt civil engineers are the reason our roads are in horrible conditions. 3 million USD for a road and only 1 million is used. Can someone tell me what happened with the other 2 million? Nope, nobody knows anything.

Are you sure we don't live in the same place? :oldlaugh: What you tell me about your place sounds pretty much like the same place of mine. :nb)
Sophia said:
What temperature do you consider very hot in your area?
Very hot? 96F (35.5C) inside a home. 94F (34.4C) inside a home is hot, but it is bearable. 96F outside in the open is bearable. And 110F outside during the day I consider very hot. When I have to walk at those temperatures (110F) you see me looking for shelter on the shadows trees make of the road. But in the city trees are scarce and it's a pain to find a spot with shadow. The sun literally burns you alive. And as years go by I feel the sun rays getting hotter. As if the Ozone layer is not longer protecting me from the sun rays. :confused: I told my friends: "Goddammit! What's wrong with the sun this year?! :oldmad: It's literally burning my skin. This didn't happened when we were kids. It's as if it is getting hotter as the years go by." and jokingly told them: "Dude, if you go outside now you will die roasted." :oldlaugh:

EDIT: I and other girls at uni use an umbrella when walking outside. This sun has been lately too overpowered to handle.
 
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  • #1,607
Ibix said:
The only time my group did well in a pub quiz was because the sports round was all about curling. None of us knew a thing about curling, but neither did anyone else...
I love curling. "Chess on ice."
 
  • #1,608
Psinter said:
Thanks. Perhaps I should try to find a way to use it, although I don't think there is much to describe when programming.
Write documentation. Decently written description of what a program does is extremely rare.
 
  • #1,609
collinsmark said:
I love curling. "Chess on ice."
You can join my team next time, then...
 
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  • #1,610
In the clutter on my desk I just found a neatly cut equilateral triangle, made of thin cardboard, about an inch and a half on a side.

I completely can't remember why I made it. But I have the sense it was about 6 months ago, and that I made it on the way to testing or demonstrating something I read on the internet, and I think there is another one somewhere. The project was spur-of-the moment, didn't last more than ten minutes, and evaporated from my mind once I turned my attention to something else.
 
  • #1,611
Ibix said:
Write documentation. Decently written description of what a program does is extremely rare.
I know, right. :biggrin: It is very rare.
zoobyshoe said:
In the clutter on my desk I just found a neatly cut equilateral triangle, made of thin cardboard, about an inch and a half on a side.
I checked on the clutter of my desk and found a dragon... A key-ring dragon. A working-knife, a gyroscope, transistors, glue, and whatnot. :biggrin:

EDIT: I found 1 dollar! :partytime: Yay, I'm not poor anymore!
 
  • #1,613
Sophia said:
Yessss beer!
Pilsen!?
 
  • #1,614
zoobyshoe said:
In the clutter on my desk I just found a...

I just found even more clutter.
 
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  • #1,615
collinsmark said:
The point is not just Fridays, but Friday the 13ths. The calendar is deterministic. (You don't need to divide by 1000, assuming the Gregorian calendar.; any block of 400 years will do.)
Yes, I obviously did not think it thru well. Maybe if we had uniform months; 13 months, 28 days each, and an extra day , maybe to go wild or something, proportions would remain constant.
 
  • #1,616
WWGD said:
Pilsen!?
Not bad, although I prefer other brands which are probably not known internationally. Non - pasteurised, unfiltered. The best beer I ever tasted was in one mini brewery in a certain monastery. Unfortunately, it is so small that they don't sell it in mainstream supermarkets :-/
 
  • #1,617
Psinter said:
Thanks. Perhaps I should try to find a way to use it, although I don't think there is much to describe when programming.

Oh, I like brown ones. I bet the ones that are colorful at your place must be really beautiful and cute :blushing:.

Oh yes, pesticides are a murdercide for butterflies.

:frown: Me too, that's why in addition to the topic you are talking I also detest topics of politics and news, since they are covered with manure. I read about politics, but in an academic approach. Books and academic articles, not in the news.

Yup, pretty much describes what comes out of their mouth.

20 degrees pleasant? Okay, if I go to your place I must remember to bring my thick blanket and one with cute bunnies to sleep [emoji3]. Otherwise you will probably find me curled in a corner crying because I feel cold :sorry:. I will visit you with this cosplay: [emoji3]
2015-New-Halloween-Winter-Jacket-Adult-Men-s-Game-of-Thrones-Cosplay-Costume-Jon-Snow-Cosplay.jpg
You think I will look strange if I go to your place with these outfits?

Randmom fact: extreme idiotic politicians and corrupt civil engineers are the reason our roads are in horrible conditions. 3 million USD for a road and only 1 million is used. Can someone tell me what happened with the other 2 million? Nope, nobody knows anything.

Are you sure we don't live in the same place? :oldlaugh: What you tell me about your place sounds pretty much like the same place of mine. :nb)

Very hot? 96F (35.5C) inside a home. 94F (34.4C) inside a home is hot, but it is bearable. 96F outside in the open is bearable. And 110F outside during the day I consider very hot. When I have to walk at those temperatures (110F) you see me looking for shelter on the shadows trees make of the road. But in the city trees are scarce and it's a pain to find a spot with shadow. The sun literally burns you alive. And as years go by I feel the sun rays getting hotter. As if the Ozone layer is not longer protecting me from the sun rays. :confused: I told my friends: "Goddammit! What's wrong with the sun this year?! :oldmad: It's literally burning my skin. This didn't happened when we were kids. It's as if it is getting hotter as the years go by." and jokingly told them: "Dude, if you go outside now you will die roasted." :oldlaugh:

EDIT: I and other girls at uni use an umbrella when walking outside. This sun has been lately too overpowered to handle.
I believe that heat must be especially intense in a city with few trees! The concrete gets hot easily and doesn't cool down much at night. That is surely an evidence of global climate change. We will be forced to cope with it very soon...

Sure, such an outfit would be appropriate indeed :-) no need to bring your own blanket, I'll lend you mine so that you don't have to pay for the luggage :-) we've got plenty of them.
@Silicon Waffle will come too, and we will build a snowman that will look like Einstein. I know a place where they sell crazy wigs.
After that I'll make you my favourite tea from thyme, sage and mint. It smells lovely and is very good in cold weather.
 
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  • #1,618
Sophia said:
@Silicon Waffle will come too, and we will build a snowman that will look like Einstein. I know a place where they sell crazy wigs.
:DD
Fact: I've never seen snow :sorry:. I want to see one day and play on it.
Sophia said:
After that I'll make you my favourite tea from thyme, sage and mint. It smells lovely and is very good in cold weather.
Oh I like tea. :biggrin:

EDIT:
Reminds me of The Hobbit (The Movie):
Dori: Excuse me, Mr. Gandalf.
Gandalf: Yes?
Dori: May I tempt you with a cup of chamomile?
 
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  • #1,619
Do you want to see something REALLY scary? :smile:

 
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  • #1,620
DiracPool said:
Do you want to see something REALLY scary? :smile:


Thank you. I'm not sleeping tonight. Why did I even had to see it.
 
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