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

[DennisN]

You can get very small different coloured strip LEDs that are pretty cheap on E-bay

Thanks for the idea! That sounds interesting, particularly if they are flatter than the small diodes I was thinking of using and/or of I can split the strips to fit them to the individual viewports. I will check it out!

A Red LED where the engine/lithium crystal is obviously.

I'm actually not a Trekkie (but I am a big fan of science fiction) so I have to look that up .

Please take some images when you have finished it. Suspend it from the ceiling turn the lights down/off and switch her on.

I will . But it will probably take quite some time finishing it, partly since it will be the first time I use airbrush, and I expect to fail here and there.

It’s great to know this is what educated, qualified, professional grown men do in their spare time!

The last couple of years I've been getting fond of building models, but I'm actually more fond of painting them, since I find it very relaxing. I've also got a whole bunch of Star Wars models (ships) which I will remove the previous paint from (they were painted by hand by me) and airbrush them instead.

 

[pinball1970]

I've also got a whole bunch of Star Wars models (ships) which I will remove the previous paint from (they were painted by hand by me) and airbrush them instead.

I was never into star wars, I went to see at the cinema when it came out and got quite bored half way through!
I am still not sure If I have finished a full star wars film, probably not (ill probably get banned from PF for this comment)

Star trek (60s version) though absolutely loved and it terrified me too as a kid, that and Dr Who (John Pertwee – Tom Baker)
The music is great, really jazzy chords.

I will check your images when you put them up, happy modelling!

 

[DennisN]

Suspend it from the ceiling turn the lights down/off and switch her on.

By the way, here is the same model built by another person, where he has fitted in lights. It seems he used "cold" white LEDs instead of warm white, while I am thinking of using only warm white or perhaps a mix of warm white and cold white, I don't know. But I think the "rotating" LEDs (or whatever it is) on the thrusters on his ship look very good. I wonder how he did that*. Maybe I should contact him and ask.

Enterprise NCC1701 REVELL 1:600 - lighting up
And here's another very nicely lit model:

1/2256 IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER Model - CVS 1401 AVENGER
Length: about 72 cm / 28 inch
Illumination: about 1600-1700 fibre optics
Building time: about 9 month
* Edit: On a second thought, my guess it is a circuit with multiple LEDs (maybe RGB LEDs) which is controlled by a digital circuit which changes the lights continuously.

 

[WWGD]

My friend keeps asking me for financial advise. I guess if you know Math, some science, you should know finance. Thing is I have done some research and any useful advice I could give requires me to have way too deep and personal knowledge of her finances, something I am uncomfortable with. But she insists, as if any useful advice could cover every/any conceivable financial situation. Sigh.

 

[Borg]

My friend keeps asking me for financial advise. I guess if you know Math, some science, you should know finance. Thing is I have done some research and any useful advice I could give requires me to have way too deep and personal knowledge of her finances, something I am uncomfortable with. But she insists, as if any useful advice could cover every/any conceivable financial situation. Sigh.

You can generalize your advice so that she is at least aware of things that should be considered. Clearing up simple misconceptions can help a lot. For example, I have known people who think that they can't afford to contribute to their 401K. They don't get the impacts of pre-tax vs. taxed money. They often think that contributing $100 will reduce their paycheck by $100 - which is clearly wrong. I have also seen a complete lack of understanding of the long-term tax benefits of 401Ks such that when the money is withdrawn, a person's income is typically lower - which means that they will pay less tax on the money when they eventually withdraw it. Add that to the added growth of the money that would have initially been given as taxes and you end up with an awesome return on your money.

 

[WWGD]

You can generalize your advice so that she is at least aware of things that should be considered. Clearing up simple misconceptions can help a lot. For example, I have known people who think that they can't afford to contribute to their 401K. They don't get the impacts of pre-tax vs. taxed money. They often think that contributing $100 will reduce their paycheck by $100 - which is clearly wrong. I have also seen a complete lack of understanding of the long-term tax benefits of 401Ks such that when the money is withdrawn, a person's income is typically lower - which means that they will pay less tax on the money when they eventually withdraw it. Add that to the added growth of the money that would have initially been given as taxes and you end up with an awesome return on your money.

Thanks , this is more about investing some extra cash she has. She asks, e.g., what bank has the highest interest rates. I tell her that is a dead starter, she won't get much beyond a hundredth percent. I know nothing about investing.

 

[WWGD]

She has a son in his 20s living at home rent-free. I told her to ask him to pay rent. The son is a good kid but has the Gaul to be telling me I need to tough it out, etc. I have been biting my tongue for a while...

 

[Borg]

Thanks , this is more about investing some extra cash she has. She asks, e.g., what bank has the highest interest rates. I tell her that is a dead starter, she won't get much beyond a hundredth percent. I know nothing about investing.

While it's true that banks don't have decent interest rates, that doesn't mean that you can't get them elsewhere. For example, Charles Schwab offers an SWVVX investment that is basically an interest account with no real risk. It has account minimums and technically pays a dividend (not interest) but it pays better than the bank. They also offer a bank account with smaller fees and limits than regular banks. Start a new thread if you want to get into more details on investing and I'm sure you'll get more ideas.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I find it hard to believe how much the quality of cheap stuff has declined recently here. Even though I'm always sceptical about buying cheap stuff, I often fail to anticipate quite how bad it can be.

Today I bought two 12 inch desk fans and a 16 inch pedestal fan (from Argos in the UK) to prepare for the summer, as our old fans are getting unreliable and making more noise and getting hotter than they used to. What I did not expect is that the three speeds on the new fans are approximately 90% full speed, 95% full speed and full speed, as the pitch of the sound is less than a semitone (6%) apart for those settings. None of them is particularly quiet, and certainly not suitable for use in a bedroom or for example when listening to the TV. One of the new desk fans doesn't even start on speed 1 or 2, but merely hums unless it is first started on speed 3, but once it gets going all of its speeds are faster than speed 3 on the other fan!

In comparison, the old fans, which were also cheap and bought many years ago, are whisper-quiet and gentle on speed 1, more powerful but still fairly quiet on speed 2, and much more powerful on speed 3, which is many times faster than speed 1, not just around 10%.

The packaging was also quite surprising, as each desk fan came with a tiny nut and bolt loose separately in the cardboard box in which they came. It took me a while to find one of the nuts, which had worked its way under a flap and nearly fallen out.

 

[WWGD]

I find it hard to believe how much the quality of cheap stuff has declined recently here. Even though I'm always sceptical about buying cheap stuff, I often fail to anticipate quite how bad it can be.

Today I bought two 12 inch desk fans and a 16 inch pedestal fan (from Argos in the UK) to prepare for the summer, as our old fans are getting unreliable and making more noise and getting hotter than they used to. What I did not expect is that the three speeds on the new fans are approximately 90% full speed, 95% full speed and full speed, as the pitch of the sound is less than a semitone (6%) apart for those settings. None of them is particularly quiet, and certainly not suitable for use in a bedroom or for example when listening to the TV. One of the new desk fans doesn't even start on speed 1 or 2, but merely hums unless it is first started on speed 3, but once it gets going all of its speeds are faster than speed 3 on the other fan!

In comparison, the old fans, which were also cheap and bought many years ago, are whisper-quiet and gentle on speed 1, more powerful but still fairly quiet on speed 2, and much more powerful on speed 3, which is many times faster than speed 1, not just around 10%.

The packaging was also quite surprising, as each desk fan came with a tiny nut and bolt loose separately in the cardboard box in which they came. It took me a while to find one of the nuts, which had worked its way under a flap and nearly fallen out.

Yes, it is a crapshoot. I have gotten really good deals from thrift shops but a few really bad ones. Bought some shoes for $20 that have lasted me some three years, among other good deals. Overall good deals but also bought something that fell appart right away.

 

[WWGD]

First iced coffee drink of the year for me. My ceremony to mark the end of winter.

 

[WWGD]

Sad thing of winter ending is the end of heavy, rich meals. They keep you warm in winter but knock you down when weather is warmer.

 

[fresh_42]

Sad thing of winter ending is the end of heavy, rich meals. They keep you warm in winter but knock you down when weather is warmer.

Yeah, I even started to eat salad!

Strange thing this English language. I have been taught that what we usually write in one word is written in two (or more) in English. But this spell checker knows better and frequently forces me to remove blanks. Couldn't you make a final call? And then there are these nasty words which are the same, but have a different meaning. How mean is that?

 

[WWGD]

Yeah, I even started to eat salad!

Strange thing this English language. I have been taught that what we usually write in one word is written in two (or more) in English. But this spell checker knows better and frequently forces me to remove blanks. Couldn't you make a final call? And then there are these nasty words which are the same, but have a different meaning. How mean is that?

It's revenge for the 47-letter words in German : Goterdamerungesheidterwursterarbeiter...

 

[fresh_42]

It's revenge for the 47-letter words in German : Goterdamerungesheidterwursterarbeiter...

C'mon! What difference does it make whether you write football stadium or footballstadium? You did it with foot and ball but excluded the arena.

 

[WWGD]

C'mon! What difference does it make whether you write football stadium or footballstadium? You did it with foot and ball but excluded the arena.

Just pulling your leg Freshmeistergedangefahrenmeistershaft

 

[WWGD]

The real revenge is that use of feet is not allowed in...foot ball.

 

[fresh_42]

The real revenge is that use of feet is not allowed in...foot ball.

You know that it's not true!
And the real revenge is, that same words have different meanings:

eventuell = possibly
eventually = finally

actuell = currently
actual = real

respective = in other words
respectively = according to the order

and eventually possibly some more which I actually currently do not remember, resp. will say am too lazy to figure out.

 

[WWGD]

You know that it's not true!
And the real revenge is, that same words have different meanings:

eventuell = possibly
eventually = finally

actuell = currently
actual = real

respective = in other words
respectively = according to the order

and eventually possibly some more which I actually currently do not remember, resp. will say am too lazy to figure out.

Word meaning is discontinuous. A small change by a letter leads to a large change in meaning.

 

[WWGD]

But you also have words like gefahrt that have a different meaning in English...

 

[fresh_42]

Word meaning is discontinuous. A small change by a letter leads to a large change in meaning.

That's another issue. English is an extremely bad error correcting code. So often you can change or drop a single letter and arrive at a still valid word with no or a complete different meaning. I see this more often than you, if my spell checker doesn't alert me although I had a typo.

 

[WWGD]

True, but relatively straightforward and simple in other ways.

 

[fresh_42]

True, but relatively straightforward and simple in other ways.

Simple, yes. Straightforward, no. Not with this pronunciation. <The rest had to be canceled as a political joke.>

I just recognized that the number of taboos is constantly increasing ... All started with pc, then came gender, and now you can't even make political jokes anymore without offending someone. That is not a good thing!

 

[WWGD]

Simple, yes. Straightforward, no. Not with this pronunciation. <The rest had to be canceled as a political joke.>

I just recognized that the number of taboos is constantly increasing ... All started with pc, then came gender, and now you can't even make political jokes anymore without offending someone. That is not a good thing!

I agree, it has gone too far to the point of muzzling speech and being counterproductive.

 

[fresh_42]

Notre Dame is burning.

 

[WWGD]

Maybe Votre Dame, not mine.

 

[WWGD]

Ah, my bad, just da it on the news. Hope Quasi is not hurt. Hope not much damage.

 

[fresh_42]

Oui notre, pas votre!

Some things are symmetric.

 

[WWGD]

Mais bien sure.

 

[Ibix]

Notre Dame is burning.

That looks like it'll take a while to fix. Ironic if it does turn out to be related to the restoration works.