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.
  • #951
Sophia said:
as that phrase could mean anything depending on context.
There is nothing like bad syntax to mess up good context.
 
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  • #952
Silicon Waffle said:
Talking about "subconscious", could someone offer me some examples to clarify what "to reignite something at one's subconscious level" means ? Why is it subconscious not conscious though ?
Reflexes reignite (or trigger) your body movements at a subconscious level. When you get hit many times you sort of develop this sense of 'something is coming' and you move sort of unconsciously. Not completely unconsciously, but somewhat.

This is very true and it happens to a lot of people. When I trained, a friend was once bugging me and asking me to fight him to which I kept telling him no. I was looking at my notebook when he threw a punch at me which got blocked without me being conscious that he was directing his fist at my face. I did not even realize what I did until he said: "Whoa! You just stopped my fist without looking!" To which I replied: "I don't know, it's probably reflexes."

But then it was worse, because he was so impressed that he bugged me even more to fight him (-.-). I cannot be sure, but I think he wasn't going to hit me anyway, I don't think he had the intent to harm me, but I still responded without being conscious of it. It happens often with people directing things at my head or face.

At other times, at night when there are lot's of insects flying, some of the insects who fly do it very fast. Sometimes they create a shadow that triggers my fighting stance and I dodge something that isn't even going to hit me (because it's just a shadow). But their fast moving shadows trigger that response from me. I can't help it. Then I'm like: "I hope no one saw me, I probably look really stupid dodging a shadow that probably only I saw because of my position."

So there you have it: Reflexes for protection. Somewhat subconsciously. It's not conscious because you are not fully aware of it happening. You just do it.
 
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  • #953
Sophia said:
We would need to see the original text to see the context.
Subconscious usually refers to things that Freud wrote about.
.
True, but it has recently been studied scientifically, using, e.g., recent research on the brain. There is a nice book out by L. Mlodinow , titled precisely " Subconscious"
 
  • #954
WWGD said:
True, but it has recently been studied scientifically, using, e.g., recent research on the brain. There is a nice book out by L. Mlodinow , titled precisely " Subconscious"

Thanks, will add it to my wishlist :)
 
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  • #955
Sophia said:
...
To reignite means to catch fire again. So I understand that something causes certain emotions or reactions in you, but you don't know why you feel or act in such a way...
I heard it on a TV documentary show. :DD
 
  • #956
  • #957
Psinter said:
I am waiting for another @zoobyshoe story. :nb) :biggrin:
I also find he has not been so active as he used to during these days. Maybe he is celebrating Lunar New Year with his family (I still prefer Lunar to Chinese but the latter seems to be more commonly used even to Northern American people, which is really a sad thing to me o0))
 
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  • #958
Silicon Waffle said:
I also find he has not been so active as he used to during these days. Maybe he is celebrating Lunar New Year with his family (I still prefer Lunar to Chinese but the latter seems to be more commonly used even to Northern American people, which is really a sad thing to me o0))
From now on, I will only use the term Lunar. It never came to my mind that other Asian nations celebrate it too (like, I knew it but never thought about it much o_O) so calling it only Chinese is insufficient :)
 
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  • #959
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  • #960
zoobyyyyyyyyyyy! Hi. :biggrin:

Silicon Waffle said:
Maybe he is celebrating Lunar New Year with his family (I still prefer Lunar to Chinese but the latter seems to be more commonly used even to Northern American people, which is really a sad thing to me o0))
Oh, Lunar. I wasn't aware of that name. I've always wanted to play this game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong#Old_Hong_Kong_mahjong

800px-Lanzhou-019.JPG

Source
 
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  • #961
Me too, it looks funny. I'd like to learn how to play it. :biggrin:
 
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  • #962
Psinter said:
zoobyyyyyyyyyyy! Hi.
Hello. I am preoccupied trying to organize things a bit better in real life here. I've been reading posts, though.
 
  • #963
zoobyshoe said:
Hello. I am preoccupied trying to organize things a bit better in real life here. I've been reading posts, though.
Hihi. It's okay. :smile:
 
  • #964
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  • #965
Was walking with my dog and thinking about lunar/solar/other holidays. And I remembered that actually we have a holiday connected to the lunar calendar this week as well. It's tomorrow and is called Ash Wednesday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday
It's 40 days before Easter which is first Sunday after full moon after spring equinox. Sounds kinda complicated if put like this :D

i-dont-always-give-up-things-for-lent-but-when-i-do-itll-probabl.jpg
 
  • #966
WWGD said:
IOW , there are triggers to your behavior that you (meaning people in general) may not be aware of, but someone else may notice. This may happen with advertisers, marketers, politicians, people in general.
Every single supermarket is arranged that way.
 
  • #967
Sophia said:
Was walking with my dog and thinking about lunar/solar/other holidays. And I remembered that actually we have a holiday connected to the lunar calendar this week as well. It's tomorrow and is called Ash Wednesday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday
It's 40 days before Easter which is first Sunday after full moon after spring equinox. Sounds kinda complicated if put like this :D
How surprising for me to learn that Slovakian people also use the Lunar one!
Awesome!
i-dont-always-give-up-things-for-lent-but-when-i-do-itll-probabl.jpg

:biggrin: I see. It is just extraordinarily normal.
 
  • #968
Silicon Waffle said:
How surprising for me to learn that Slovakian people also use the Lunar one!
Awesome!

:biggrin: I see. It is just extraordinarily normal.

Actually, this is almost universal Christian tradition. It has roots in Jewish customs.
 
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  • #969
Sophia said:
Actually, this is almost universal Christian tradition. It has roots in Jewish customs.
Not to forget the big party to the december solstice all of us celtic, germanic and slavic tribes used to celebrate for centuries!
 
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  • #970
Silicon Waffle said:
(I still prefer Lunar to Chinese but the latter seems to be more commonly used even to Northern American people, which is really a sad thing to me o0))
For what it's worth, I know many people from all over Asia: Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, etc. (and of course, China too). And they all call it "Chinese New Year." So I don't think it's a big deal (even among peoples of non-Chinese, Asian countries who celebrate the holiday).
 
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  • #971
Sophia said:
Was walking with my dog and thinking about lunar/solar/other holidays. And I remembered that actually we have a holiday connected to the lunar calendar this week as well. It's tomorrow and is called Ash Wednesday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday
It's 40 days before Easter which is first Sunday after full moon after spring equinox. Sounds kinda complicated if put like this :D
And don't forget Mardi Gras/Carnival, by extension. That's today, by the way. Happy Mardi Gras! :partytime:
 
  • #972
collinsmark said:
And don't forget Mardi Gras/Carnival, by extension. That's today, by the way. Happy Mardi Gras! :partytime:
:partytime::DD
 
  • #973
Silicon Waffle said:
I also find he has not been so active as he used to during these days. Maybe he is celebrating Lunar New Year with his family (I still prefer Lunar to Chinese but the latter seems to be more commonly used even to Northern American people, which is really a sad thing to me o0))
? Chinese calendar is a Lunar calendar. New year starts at the first new moon after something , not sure what.
 
  • #974
WWGD said:
? Chinese calendar is a Lunar calendar. New year starts at the first new moon after something , not sure what.
2nd new moon after December solstice!
 
  • #975
Australia trying to impose additional taxes on fresh fruit & vegetables.. on top of existing GST.. Greatttt
 
  • #976
collinsmark said:
And don't forget Mardi Gras/Carnival, by extension. That's today, by the way. Happy Mardi Gras! :partytime:
This reminds me of the great triple conjunction of 2008

Happy Super Fat Tuesday

It appears we didn't mention that it was also Chinese New Year. A quadruple conjunction!

hmmm...

2008
Feb 5 Super Tuesday (Special presidential election day in the USA. Being political, there's no rational logic behind the date. :biggrin:)
Feb 5 Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
Feb 3 Super Bowl Sunday (Special sporting event in the USA. Currently held on 1st Sunday of February)
Feb 7 Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat)

2012
Mar _6 Super Tuesday
Feb 21 Fat Tuesday
Feb _5 Super Bowl Sunday
Jan 23 Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon)

2016
Mar 1 Super Tuesday
Feb 9 Fat Tuesday
Feb 7 Super Bowl Sunday
Feb 8 Chinese New Year (Year of the Monkey)
 
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  • #977
fresh_42 said:
2nd new moon after December solstice!
Is there some special meaning attached to this second new moon?
 
  • #978
WWGD said:
For some strange reason, I have been misspelling words I had never misspelled, like fare instead of fair, etc
A sign of getting old WWGD, I have also started spelling phonetically and I used to win spelling bees.
 
  • #979
Evo said:
A sign of getting old WWGD, I have also started spelling phonetically and I used to win spelling bees.
I don't know, I just started a new job and have a business on the side, together with full time school. That may be a better explanation: I am exhausted.
 
  • #980
WWGD said:
I don't know, I just started a new job and have a business on the side, together with full time school. That may be a better explanation: I am exhausted.
Denial, the first sign of old age...
 
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  • #981
Evo said:
Denial, the first sign of old age...
When I start approaching 50, I will worry about it.
 
  • #982
WWGD said:
When I start approaching 50, I will worry about it.
Dementia will have set in by then, so you won't worry. :oldtongue:
 
  • #983
Evo said:
Dementia will have set in by then, so you won't worry. :oldtongue:
It's already set in and comfortable at it :).
 
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  • #984
My HP has been threatening to install updates for around a month now, but has never done anything about it.
 
  • #985
WWGD said:
When I start approaching 50, I will worry about it
You mean you can reverse the aging process? Oh, boy!
 
  • #986
Uuuuuuuu, my stomach pains. :frown: :cry:
WWGD said:
? Chinese calendar is a Lunar calendar. New year starts at the first new moon after something , not sure what.

fresh_42 said:
2nd new moon after December solstice!
Is there any way to predict the day of when there will be a new moon?
 
  • #987
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  • #988
There are two meteorological warnings for today - wind and rain and 100% cloudiness. That means only a few customers today. But I've got a chocolate, coffee and Norwegian detective book. I'm happy :-)
 
  • #989
The Moon plays an essential role in the origin of life on Earth too.
 
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  • #990
Argh contractions suck, luckily a lot of zeroes.

Although it doesn't help when the expression is
$$M_{ad}M^{be}M^{cf}f^d_{bc}f^a_{ef} + 2 M^{cd}f^a_{bc}f^b_{ad}$$
 
  • #991
WWGD said:
Is there some special meaning attached to this second new moon?
I've only found the following:
The chinese calendar is NOT a lunar calendar, it is a lunisolar calendar, a to the sun coupled version of a pure lunar calendar in order to keep it closer to the seasons. The chinese new year is also a celebration of spring. (The festivities traditionally last 15 days ... ending with a lantern festival). There are constellations where it meets the 3rd new moon (2033) because they need to fill in leap (moon)month. The second new moon is the one before the equinox in spring.
 
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  • #992
fresh_42 said:
I've only found the following:
The chinese calendar is NOT a lunar calendar, it is a lunisolar calendar, a to the sun coupled version of a pure lunar calendar in order to keep it closer to the seasons. The chinese new year is also a celebration of spring. (The festivities traditionally last 15 days ... ending with a lantern festival). There are constellations where it meets the 3rd new moon (2033) because they need to fill in leap (moon)month. The second new moon is the one before the equinox in spring.
chinese calendar is very accurate , just saýing =) esp useful to predict tides for those deep sea fishing lover..there's 2 April moon in a leap year.
 
  • #993
Silicon Waffle said:
Could it be intestinal worms ? o0)
No. I ate too much junk food. Now I can't eat anything because it's so painful. :cry: I've been reduced the pathetic state of ingesting only shakes made with water. :frown:
Sophia said:
That means only a few customers today.
Customers, where? A shop?
WIN said:
for those deep sea fishing lover
I've never fished in open sea. My uncle told me the waves are way more aggressive than in the bay and unlike in the bay where it is relatively calm, in open sea there are always waves. :biggrin: I want to go to open sea one day.
 
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  • #994
WIN said:
chinese calendar is very accurate , just saýing =) esp useful to predict tides for those deep sea fishing lover..there's 2 April moon in a leap year.
There's another mystery I cannot solve:
It is generally considered rude to ask a woman how old she is. But it's not asking for her zodiac.
So if asking for her chinese zodiac you usually can calculate her age. Is that rude?
 
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  • #995
fresh_42 said:
There's another mystery I cannot solve:
It is generally considered rude to ask a woman how old she is. But it's not asking for her zodiac.
So if asking for her chinese zodiac you usually can calculate her age. Is that rude?

good one =) well they nvr thought of that i guess
 
  • #996
Psinter said:
I've been reduced the pathetic state of ingesting only shakes made with water. :frown:

Customers, where? A shop?

.

You wrote "shakes" but I read "snakes" and I was like whaaaaaat?!
Yes, it's good to drink shakes. Even those from turnip or sauerkraut water are better than snakes. :D

Yes, I work in a family shop. That kind where you know all your customers, some of them by their nicknames, and chat with them.
 
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  • #997
Psinter said:
No. I ate too much junk food. Now I can't eat anything because it's so painful. :cry: I've been reduced the pathetic state of ingesting only shakes made with water. :frown:

Customers, where? A shop?

I've never fished in open sea. My uncle told me the waves are way more aggressive than in the bay and unlike in the bay where it is relatively calm, in open sea there are always waves. :biggrin: I want to go to open sea one day.

How about some powerful fiber to clean yourself up internally?
 
  • #998
WWGD said:
How about some powerful fiber to clean yourself up internally?
Funny, the German word for fever is 'Fieber' which makes a lot more sense for an internal clean up. I had to make the detour on bundles to get away from that thought, which left me with the next difficulty: too thin!
 
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  • #999
Sophia said:
Yes, I work in a family shop. That kind where you know all your customers, some of them by their nicknames, and chat with them.
That must be awesome! I wish I worked at a family shop, but no one has a shop in my family.
WWGD said:
How about some powerful fiber to clean yourself up internally?
No thanks. Fiber makes me go to the bathroom. :confused:
 
  • #1,000
How can buying your own products (I produce them then some of my affiliates or subsidiaries buy them) be against the laws ? I don't quire remember much but this used to be the case of a Japanese businessman over a decade ago.
I wasn't into business much until lately. I wish I had asked more questions to people who knew this well about business stuff.
 

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