What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

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The discussion revolves around frustrations with current documentary programming, particularly criticizing the History Channel's focus on sensational topics like time travel conspiracies instead of real historical content. Participants express disappointment over National Geographic's sale to Fox, fearing a decline in quality programming. The conversation shifts to lighter topics, including humorous anecdotes about everyday life, such as a malfunctioning kitchen fan discovered to be blocked by installation instructions. There are also discussions about the challenges of understanding various dialects in Belgium, the complexities of language, and personal experiences with weather and housing in California. Members share their thoughts on food, including a peculiar dish of zucchini pancakes served with strawberry yogurt, and delve into mathematical concepts related to sandwich cutting and the properties of numbers. The thread captures a blend of serious commentary and lighthearted banter, reflecting a diverse range of interests and perspectives among participants.
  • #6,301
Star Trek.
 
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  • #6,302
I don't think @fresh_42 is going to like the approximation clock very much...

1592596542037.png
 
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  • #6,303
Love the limit of large 8.

We had a reverse clock at university - its hands and numbers went anti-clockwise. It was a perfectly good clock, but incredibly easy to misread. Exclamations of "****! I'm late for lectures! No... wait... never mind" were very common at about ten to two...
 
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  • #6,304
Incidentally, what's the ##\chi## such that ##\cos\chi\approx 1##? I tried googling "chi constant", but it turns out to be a deceased woman in California.
 
  • #6,305
Ibix said:
Incidentally, what's the ##\chi## such that ##\cos\chi\approx 1##? I tried googling "chi constant", but it turns out to be a deceased woman in California.

I think ##\chi## is just an arbitrary variable and it's using ##\cos{\chi} \approx 1 - \frac{1}{2}\chi^2 + \dots##
 
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  • #6,306
etotheipi said:
I think ##\chi## is just an arbitrary variable and it's using ##\cos{\chi} \approx 1 - \frac{1}{2}\chi^2 + \dots##
Surely it should be ##\cos(\epsilon)## then, no? Since ##\epsilon## is usually used to mean a small number.
 
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  • #6,307
Ibix said:
Surely it should be ##\cos(\epsilon)## then, no? Since ##\epsilon## is usually used to mean a small number.

Probably... though I have the suspicion whoever made this doesn't care much for convention :wink:
 
  • #6,308
And what's ##\varphi##? I was assuming the Golden Ratio, but that's about 1.6, so ##\varphi^3\approx 4##.

I do need a new clock, but I don't think I'll buy this one...
 
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  • #6,309
Ibix said:
And what's ##\varphi##? I was assuming the Golden Ratio, but that's about 1.6, so ##\varphi^3\approx 4##.

I do need a new clock, but I don't think I'll buy this one...
This one looks better:
1592599025728.jpeg
 
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  • #6,310
Ibix said:
And what's ##\varphi##? I was assuming the Golden Ratio, but that's about 1.6, so ##\varphi^3\approx 4##.

I do need a new clock, but I don't think I'll buy this one...

You're being too logical 😁

Embrace the chaos: ##\varphi \approx 2 \implies \varphi^3 \approx 8##
 
  • #6,311
Russell's paradox solved with Covid: If you don't shave yourself no one else will shave you. All barbershops are closed.
 
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  • #6,312
WWGD said:
Russell's paradox solved with Covid: If you don't shave yourself no one else will shave you. All barbershops are closed.

1592603272308.png
 
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  • #6,313
My ke yboard has kind of screwed up and three keys produce no output. I am thinking of may be creating a macro instead of just cutting and pasting the prolem keys in.
 
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  • #6,314
WWGD said:
My ke yboard has kind of screwed up and three keys produce no output. I am thinking of may be creating a macro instead of just cutting and pasting the prolem keys in.
I did this as I lost my 1 and my e.
 
  • #6,315
fresh_42 said:
I did this as I lost my 1 and my e.
...leaving you only ##\pi## and 0 to work with?
 
  • #6,316
Ibix said:
...leaving you only ##\pi## and 0 to work with?
Since I found AutoHotKey I don't bother anything. But I slowly run out of free keys. Maybe the Windows key will work beside Alt and Ctrl. Would be the first time this stupid thing is actually good for something, but I haven't figured out yet how to address it in the script.

Best of all: I eliminated Shift Lock!
 
  • #6,317
There is also , in Windows, an on-screen keyboard, a virtual keyboard that will pop up on your screen. You can access it by entering 'osk' on the search box.
 
  • #6,318
WWGD said:
There is also , in Windows, an on-screen keyboard, a virtual keyboard that will pop up on your screen. You can access it by entering 'osk' on the search box.
...unless o, s, or k is one of the broken keys.
 
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  • #6,319
Ibix said:
...unless o, s, or k is one of the broken keys.
Good point. I think 'O' may be enough, maybe 'k'. I think you can use an external one .
 
  • #6,320
Ibix said:
...unless o, s, or k is one of the broken keys.
You can find the On Screen Keyboard with a mouse (or track-pad or touchscreen). On Windows 10 it's on the Start Menu under "Windows Ease of Access".

And once you've found it, you can pin it (i.e. make a shortcut) somewhere more convenient.
 
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  • #6,321
I can attest that it's definitely Monday. o0)
 
  • #6,322
1592835221418.png
 
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  • #6,323


 
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  • #6,324
I can't find my files after the Indian festival "Dalit" . Coincidence?
 
  • #6,325
A not quite serious quiz:
  1. Which number should be considered the beginning of mathematics?
    0
  2. Which real number is the most important for nature?
    e
  3. Which prime is the most mysterious?
    137
  4. Which angle is the most important to mankind?
    104.45°
Who gets the vector correct?
 
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  • #6,326
1) square root of 2
2) pi
3) e
4) the right angle

Who gets the vector correct? A tensor.
 
  • #6,327
jedishrfu said:
1) square root of 2
2) pi
3) e
4) the right angle

Who gets the vector correct? A tensor.
0(4) :biggrin:
 
  • #6,328
Indian festival 'Dalit' renamed 'Ctrl+ Alt+ Dalit' in Indian Tech sector.
 
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  • #6,329
I suspect though this bit of Indian humor is racist against Dalits.
 
  • #6,330
jedishrfu said:
I suspect though this bit of Indian humor is racist against Dalits.
I don't even know what Dalits are. Would be nice if non-Westerners mock some Western names that mean different things in their countries. I think many in the West mock themselves but I unserstand the current social , political climate has everyone on edge in this regard. Still, I don't see how I am mocking neither them nor their culture with my post.
 
  • #6,331
Dalits are the untouchable class in India. They are discriminated against at all levels of society.
 
  • #6,332
jedishrfu said:
Dalits are the untouchable class in India. They are discriminated against at all levels of society.
I understand, and I don't condone it, but I don't think I was making light of that fact nor mocking them. Still, if it is better for PF, maybe better to delete it. Should I( Staff can then delete the followup posts)?
 
  • #6,333
I wasn’t suggesting that I just wanted to point it out that sometimes jokes sound funnier to people when they have a bad hidden meaning.

I remember as a kid the polish jokes that were often made which conveniently forgot about the Polish efforts to break Enigma during WW2 that gave the British the foundation they needed to carry on the task.
 
  • #6,334
jedishrfu said:
I wasn’t suggesting that I just wanted to point it out that sometimes jokes sound funnier to people when they have a bad hidden meaning.

I remember as a kid the polish jokes that were often made which conveniently forgot about the Polish efforts to break Enigma during WW2 that gave the British the foundation they needed to carry on the task.
Agreed. I have trouble in particular with "Dumb Polish" jokes, not just for the obvious reasons but because Poles have a long and distinguished record of academic accomplishment.
 
  • #6,335
My friend and I once did a Relativistic polish parody for our modern physics class. It was the barn pole paradox where he was the pole since he was Polish. I can’t remember the details but everyone laughed.
 
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  • #6,336
jedishrfu said:
My friend and I once did a Relativistic polish parody for our modern physics class. It was the barn pole paradox where he was the pole since he was Polish. I can’t remember the details but everyone laughed.
I only avoid Poles when doing Contour Integrals ( Math Joke).
 
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  • #6,337
Strange new world.

I read in the online version of an English newspaper and the ads at the bottom of the page were all in German.
 
  • #6,338
Likely because the browser knew where you were located hence the German ads.
 
  • #6,339
jedishrfu said:
Likely because the browser knew where you were located hence the German ads.
Sure, but the browser doesn't pay the ads. I wondered about the complexity of the contracts. I am already used to the fact that some companies would like to solve my tax problems as an American living in Europe.
 
  • #6,340
You want strange? A while back I went to this place for the 1st time, paid with credit and I was sent a receipt to my email account, when I had never told them my email.
 
  • #6,341
fresh_42 said:
Strange new world.

I read in the online version of an English newspaper and the ads at the bottom of the page were all in German.
The ads on many websites are often supplied by some third party such as Google who decide what ads to show you based on all the information they have collected about you. Google (or whoever) pays the website owner for the rights to show ads on the websites.

As I understand, even Physics Forums uses this system for logged-out users.
 
  • #6,343
That was hilarious. I always love the dead-pan humor of answering literally and some folks don't get it.

On the Mentalist TV show, there was an exchange like that where a suspect threatens Cho, the investagting officer during an interview by saying "I can make one phone, you career is toast" and Cho's response was "Thats impressive, the best I can get with one call is a pizza."

 
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  • #6,344
How ironic and self-referential:

When I do a search for a solution to :
PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR,
I get the message:

PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR
Maybe I should eat a Snickers bar : " Not going anywhere for a while.."

I imagine some network outgoing permissions may have randomly changed though never got the same message before. I want to talk to the (Network) Manager!
 
  • #6,345
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  • #6,346
WWGD said:
How ironic and self-referential:

When I do a search for a solution to :
PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR,
I get the message:

PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR
Maybe I should eat a Snickers bar : " Not going anywhere for a while.."

I imagine some network outgoing permissions may have randomly changed though never got the same message before. I want to talk to the (Network) Manager!
Is the solution on page 404?
 
  • #6,347
DrGreg said:
Is the solution on page 404?
Moved to infiniteloop.com

For more fun, the Windows search box is not allowing text input and suggested solutions ( some
sites don't produce the above error ) are not working.
 
  • #6,348
WWGD said:
Wow, I hope you don't consider me a Karen or even the male version of a Karen, whatever that may be. And a Douchebaggette can be read in more than one way, both pretty repugnant.
No, I thought of you as the cool guy responding.

And the male version tends to become a Ken.
 
  • #6,349
They didn't like it at the travel site when I asked for explanations for a review including the statement " The maid was amazing" . May want to change the phrasing.
 
  • #6,350
Ken is more associated with Barbie. Perhaps Barney is better.
 

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