Today I Learned

[OmCheeto]

Sometimes I think that sounds lovely. I'm not sure how long I'd make it in practice though.

-Dave K

Current temperature in Saalfelden, Austria: 34°F
Current temperature in Tampa, Florida: 78°F

Crawl into your refrigerator, and see how long you last.

ps.
Current temperature inside my refrigerator: 37.4°F
Current temperature outside my house: 36°F (wind consistent at around 38 mph. Sorry, but I don't know the equation for wind chill, off the top of my head.)
Nominal OmCheeto refrigerator temperature: 32.5°F (we're doing refrigerator experiments)

 

[fresh_42]

Sometimes I think that sounds lovely. I'm not sure how long I'd make it in practice though.

-Dave K

The last one made it a year. Priest and therapist. He returned to Vienna.

Btw.: deadline is 2/20

 

[dkotschessaa]

Current temperature in Saalfelden, Austria: 34°F
Current temperature in Tampa, Florida: 78°F

Crawl into your refrigerator, and see how long you last.

Only because my wife would find me!

 

[mfb]

The "mission" is just from April to October/November. Temperature should be fine.
Not sure how you get water and food there.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL (finally after almost two years of making errors and correcting my errors) the technically correct form of the matter term in Friedmann's equation.

It all started with

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-does-a-particles-kinetic-energy-vary-with-a-t.811627/ .​

It is well known that this form is wrong for sufficiently small values of a for which matter particles become relativistic. For that case, matter particles behave gravitationally approximately like photons, so the term would be approximately

(1) Ω_M a^-4 .​

The form that is correct for the full range of values for a is:

(2) Ω_M a^-3 × √[ 1 + Q² × (a^-2 - 1) ]​

where Q = v/c, where v is the average speed of the particles for a=1. It should be clear that for very small values of a, Q will become close to 1, and (2) will be approximated by (1).

I plan to start a new thread soon to hopefully get someone here at PF to check my math, and to discuss some implications.

 

[BillTre]

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/trump-administration-blacks-out-animal-welfare-information?utm_campaign=news_daily_2017-02-06&et_rid=33537079&et_cid=1147411:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a statement that it revoked public access to the reports “based on our commitment to being transparent … and maintaining the privacy rights of individuals.”

... Inspection reports contain little, if any, personal information about individuals.

 

[Enanimate]

Today i learned that infinite data compression is possible

 

[fresh_42]

Today i learned that infinite data compression is possible

... or as I call it: the WOM.

 

[Enanimate]

... or as I call it: the WOM.

It's actually really simple

 

[jim hardy]

... or as I call it: the WOM.

years before Microsoft achieved it with software,
http://www4.vmi.edu/faculty/squirejc/Research/IC_Datasheets/digital_cmos/Write Only Memory.pdf

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

I have learned something important from the discussion about the Doomsday Clock. I learned that I think more clearly and communicate better when I avoid satire, sarcasm, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and figures of speech in general. I must also avoid humor, because I am not very good at it, and people usually take me seriously even when I am trying to be funny. I need to clear my thinking of the many literary techniques I learned in high school, and from the bad influence of comedy in TV and movies.

From now on my rule is to say what I mean as clearly as I can, knowing that even then, I could fail to make my meaning clear to some. Also, I will avoid Utopian scenarios.

For example, in an earlier post I came up with a purely fanciful scenario about Germany developing a "green weapon" that could immediately neutralize all nuclear weapons. I hope people realized it was a sort of "modest proposal" inspired by Swift. But if they did not, I blame myself.

In an earlier scenario, I suggested the USA and Russia team up to force global nuclear disarmament. Even if this is technically possible, it is politically Utopian.

"Nothing unreal exists" (First rule of Vulcan metaphysics.)

 

[dkotschessaa]

I have learned something important from the discussion about the Doomsday Clock. I learned that I think more clearly and communicate better when I avoid satire, sarcasm, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and figures of speech in general. I must also avoid humor, because I am not very good at it, and people usually take me seriously even when I am trying to be funny. I need to clear my thinking of the many literary techniques I learned in high school, and from the bad influence of comedy in TV and movies.

I've found this helpful for online argumentation, when I can get myself to comply...https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/28/daniel-dennett-rapoport-rules-criticism/

 

[Buzz Bloom]

"Nothing unreal exists" (First rule of Vulcan metaphysics.)

Hi @David Reeves:

You may like the book I am currently reading and enjoying greatly.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.​

Here is an abbreviated quote from pp 113-116.

Three main factors prevent people from realising that the order organizing their lives exists only in their imagination.
a. The imagined order is embedded in the material world.
. . .
b. The imagined order shapes our desires.
. . .
c: The imagined order is inter-subjective.
. . .​

From my perspective the book makes very clear that a great deal of what almost everyone believes exists is unreal. Of course his meaning for "real" and exists" may differ somewhat from yours.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

Today I also learned that I really need to remember to edit my posts on PF in the text editor, before I publish them, so I don't need to edit after the post has been published.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned (from a PBS documentary) that up to 20% of squirrels steal their nuts from other squirrels instead of foraging for them. They watch a nut being buried, then dig it up when they think the burier is gone. But if the burier catches them in the act... now I know why they chase each other so often!

 

[EnumaElish]

years before Microsoft achieved it with software,
http://www4.vmi.edu/faculty/squirejc/Research/IC_Datasheets/digital_cmos/Write Only Memory.pdf
View attachment 112839

WOM was "invented" as a spoof: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/W/write-only-memory.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-only_memory_(joke)

http://www.sigwom.com/?page_id=17

But WOM has real applications: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-only_memory_(engineering)

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned (from a PBS documentary) that up to 20% of squirrels steal their nuts from other squirrels instead of foraging for them. They watch a nut being buried, then dig it up when they think the burier is gone. But if the burier catches them in the act... now I know why they chase each other so often!

I wonder if they learned to lie as well, as crows or chimps do, to fool the others.

 

[nsaspook]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

I hate turning left, especially on certain Florida roads. I always wondered if they could make a "no left turns" option on a GPS.

Because two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Why UPS trucks never turn left.

Hi nsaspook:

Over the many years I have been driving I have had a few accidents, and almost all of them have involved either me of another car making a left turn.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[jtbell]

I hate turning left, especially on certain Florida roads. [...] three rights make a left.

Try using that trick to turn left from Las Olas Blvd. onto Route A1A in Fort Lauderdale.

Of course, here you don't have to deal with opposing traffic, except for pedestrians.

 

[EnumaElish]

... or as I call it: the WOM.

Apparently as of today there's a 26-day backlog on WOM drives as multiple items have been ordered for each federal agency.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today I learned what the lyrics to "Waltzing Matilda" mean.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned about NASA's Space Poop Challenge:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/tech/nasa-space-poop-challenge-winner-announced-trnd/index.html

https://herox.com/SpacePoop

Apparently the winning idea is to put a little airlock in the space suit's crotch.

 

[NascentOxygen]

TIL of an attractant more alluring to mosquitoes than is carbon dioxide, and that's Limburger Cheese. Mosquitoes like it so much that it will even divert them from nearby human targets. http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-extremely-gross-reason-why-limburger-cheese-attract-1678436752

Apparently this pungent cheese reminds mozzies of plump, sweaty, exposed human feet—an ideal source for the blood they are seeking. (Well, the females are, anyway.)

Limburger inherits its characteristic foot odour from the bacteria residing between the toes of monks who during their cheese-making process traditionally pressed it with their feet.

I note that the connection between Limburger cheese and mosquitoes has been previously mentioned on PF.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

TIL that the "traditional" gift in the UK (according to someone trying to sell them, I guess) for 23rd Wedding Anniversary is silver plate. Perhaps I'll find it easier to remember the date next year, when it's musical instruments.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that the "traditional" gift in the UK (according to someone trying to sell them, I guess) for 23rd Wedding Anniversary is silver plate. Perhaps I'll find it easier to remember the date next year, when it's musical instruments.

How about a western concert flute made of silver

 

[Jonathan Scott]

How about a western concert flute made of silver

Already have a silver-plated flute, thanks (Trevor James TJ 10x) otherwise that might have done for 23rd and 24th combined.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Today I learned the... Canadian Donut Law?

I was working on some documentation for a Point of Sale device and there was an option to "enable Canadian Donut Law." The only resource that actually helped was the register documentation. Apparently there is something in Canada where certain prepared food items are taxable unless you buy a certain amount. So buying one donut to satisfy your sweet tooth is taxable, but buying a dozen to... feed your family? Nope, no tax for you brother.

I think this is perhaps a name that is used to cover a more broad law, but I don't know what it would be called.

-Dave K

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned the... Canadian Donut Law?

I was working on some documentation for a Point of Sale device and there was an option to "enable Canadian Donut Law." The only resource that actually helped was the register documentation. Apparently there is something in Canada where certain prepared food items are taxable unless you buy a certain amount. So buying one donut to satisfy your sweet tooth is taxable, but buying a dozen to... feed your family? Nope, no tax for you brother.

I think this is perhaps a name that is used to cover a more broad law, but I don't know what it would be called.

-Dave K

Does this tax add to VAT or does it replace it?