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criticizing the History Channel's focus on sensational topics like time travel conspiracies instead of real historical content.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.
  • #5,161
I imagine acoustic guitars are worn quite high, still (when playing while standing, that is). Don't quote me on that, though.
 
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  • #5,162
Dorian's going to Disney World! :olduhh:

DisneyWorld.png
 
  • #5,163
These tropical storms are no fun :/ I remember trying to escape a typhoon or some tropical twister thing called Yasi in Australia when it was about to hit Queensland. I had some few hours to get as far south as I could.
 
  • #5,164
nuuskur said:
I imagine acoustic guitars are worn quite high, still (when playing while standing, that is). Don't quote me on that, though.
2 out of 3 are electric:
 
  • #5,165
nuuskur said:
[...] Yasi in Australia [...]
In the southern hemisphere they're called "cyclones" (they rotate the opposite way to the hurricanes of the northern hemisphere).

Yeah,"Yasi" was seriously bad. "Debbie" (a few years later) was also pretty bad, and further south -- the Whitsunday Island area was badly smashed. Some resorts are only now (3 yrs later) accepting guests again.
 
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  • #5,166
nuuskur said:
I imagine acoustic guitars are worn quite high, still (when playing while standing, that is). Don't quote me on that, though.
Oops, too late; I quoted you :cool:.
fresh_42 said:
2 out of 3 are electric:


While the math seems correct, comparing the height of the Hermits to that Gibson guitar, makes position uncertain.
 
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  • #5,167
fresh_42 said:
Just tuned in the evening news. Little Climate Gretel is arriving in NYC and they cover it like the moon landing. Ridiculous.

Modern times are characterized by a shortening of the path from good intent to total madness.
 
  • #5,168
strangerep said:
In the southern hemisphere they're called "cyclones" (they rotate the opposite way to the hurricanes of the northern hemisphere).

Yeah,"Yasi" was seriously bad. "Debbie" (a few years later) was also pretty bad, and further south -- the Whitsunday Island area was badly smashed. Some resorts are only now (3 yrs later) accepting guests again.
I massively underestimated the power of such a storm (Yasi was my maiden voyage, so to speak). Hell, the effects of it were felt even across the continent in WA (the kind of effects I was used to, so nothing special). I thought to myself, ok there's going to be some wind and rain. There was.. a lot more than I thought.

The messed up part about Yasi is that only like a month or two before, QLD was hit with massive rainfall. I have no idea how the aussies persevere through all that: storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, red kangaroos, flies.
 
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  • #5,169
nuuskur said:
I have no idea how the aussies persevere through all that: storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, red kangaroos, flies.
No, we don't have volcanoes, and very few earthquakes.

Long droughts are a slow death, then ridiculous floods in the same areas show us how stupid we are in failing to invest in better dams and water management.

Bushfires can be truly terrifying, however. Flames leaping 100's of ft into the sky, moving faster than you can run. Sometimes even pyro-tornadoes (a moving, whirling, tower of flame). Some years ago, the bushland south of Sydney suffered this devastation. There was news footage of 3 of these tall fire tornadoes wafting across the land. It's an image I'll never forget.

Red kanagroos? I kinda like them, even though the males can be big and dangerous if you don't treat them with respect. Where I live, the kangaroos are of the "eastern grey/brown" variety -- somewhat smaller and usually placid unless cornered or threatened. There is often a small mob of them grazing within metres of my back door. Sometimes as many as 16, not counting joeys in pouches. They're really cute, but quite timid.

Flies? Not everywhere. Most of the population lives near the coasts, where flies are more of a moderate pest rather than plague. In QLD, where I now live, many homes have "Florida" screening on their verandahs or balconies, which makes a huge difference.

All in all, I'm quite happy to live in a coastal area of QLD.
 
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  • #5,170
We have only a group of red-necked wallabies. At least we had them for 4 winters. From 5 on they count as introduced. Don't know whether they made it.
 
  • #5,171
Someone asked for the definition of 'scarcity'.

A city where everyone has a scar?
 
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  • #5,172
WWGD said:
Someone asked for the definition of 'scarcity'.
They didn't have it because it's hard to come by.
 
  • #5,173
Continuing on from the very first response to this thread. What are your thoughts on the show that validates children's believes that they see and talk to ghosts?

I haven't watched it yet, mainly due to shows like this make me want to throw something at my TV. To me this seems criminal, between the parents raising their children to believe in such nonsense as well as these shows profiting a psychological issue in children makes me kind of angry.
 
  • #5,174
My late wife was an angry person; tiny in stature but towering in rage. Perhaps her diet affected her mood. She only ate vegan, only on Wednesdays. She only ate orange foods on Wednesdays: oranges, carrots, persimmons, pork rinds. As a Theravada Buddhist she expected reincarnation in spirit form. I keep a spirit house for her on the front porch in case she visits. Actually, a bird house but very nice. The spirit (bird) house also has a tiny front porch. Do you think the tiny spirit house on my front porch has a tinier spirit house on its front porch?

Her albino Siamese cat "Blackie" was also very angry, when she was awake. Blackie also ate vegan, or possibly vegetarian. Blackie only ate animals who only ate seeds and such. Actually, Blackie would eat anything that fit in her mouth. Like most albino Siamese cats Blackie was deaf. Albino rats could sneak up behind her and scare the vegetarian remains right out of her.

[Edit: You caught me: pork rinds are not vegan. Sorry. Blackie was deaf, though.]
 
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  • #5,175
Klystron said:
My late wife was an angry person; tiny in stature but towering in rage. Perhaps her diet affected her mood. She only ate vegan, only on Wednesdays. She only ate orange foods on Wednesdays: oranges, carrots, persimmons, pork rinds. As a Theravada Buddhist she expected reincarnation in spirit form. I keep a spirit house for her on the front porch in case she visits. Actually a bird house but very nice. The spirit (bird) house also has a tiny front porch. Do you think the tiny spirit house on my front porch has a tiny spirit house on its front porch?

Her albino Siamese cat "Blackie" was also very angry, when she was awake. Blackie also ate vegan, or possibly vegetarian. Blackie only ate animals who only ate seeds and such. Actually, Blackie would eat anything that fit in her mouth. Like most albino Siamese cats Blackie was deaf. Albino rats could sneak up behind her and scare the vegetarian remains right out of her.
World feels like a better place to me after a bacon cheeseburger, or any reasonably-good meat. I just don't feel full-enough after most vegan-vegetarian meals.
 
  • #5,176
I had a 12 inch subway with italian bmt, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo. God it was delicious!
 
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  • #5,177
nuuskur said:
I had a 12 inch subway with italian bmt, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo. God it was delicious!
They now have a brisket sub, I will try it one of these days.
 
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  • #5,178
I do seem to get a lot of vegans tell me about it, even when not related to the topic of conversation.
 
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  • #5,179
WWGD said:
World feels like a better place to me after a bacon cheeseburger, or any reasonably-good meat. I just don't feel full-enough after most vegan-vegetarian meals.
Seriously, my late wife was Cordon Bleu -- a blue ribbon chef having owned several successful restaurants. True to the Master Chef stereotype her bad temper eventually destroyed employee relationships. Roast meats were her Kryptonite. She rarely ate the meat. Like her countrymen she loved the coagulated juices and fats beneath the roast.

I warned her about excess cholesterol but Thais do not always distinguish between "R" and "L" spoken sounds. She probably thought I was talking about building another colocation site and would nod her head; reply, "Yes, Honey."; and fall asleep with Blackie in her lap licking grease off her fingers.

She called everyone "Honey" and everyone called her Honey, as I was the only American who could pronounce her name correctly. Ironically, the English translation of her name is "Iris".
 
  • #5,180
WWGD said:
I do seem to get a lot of vegans tell me about it, even when not related to the topic of conversation.
Sir: What time is it? YES, I AM VEGAN! Er..., it's 2:15.
 
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  • #5,181
Just listened to this song in my YouTube "Path" : " I just want to fly" by Sugar Ray ( Sugar A?) . Don't get how someone is so passionate about finding a fly. Fly -fishing? Ok, dude, just catch a fly and you're done.
 
  • #5,182
Maybe the song has been recorded in winter.
 
  • #5,183
I never understood "I want to fly like a beagle...".
OK a flying dog sounds cool, but is he going to flap his ears?
 
  • #5,184
WWGD said:
Just listened to this song in my YouTube "Path" : " I just want to fly" by Sugar Ray ( Sugar A?) . Don't get how someone is so passionate about finding a fly. Fly -fishing? Ok, dude, just catch a fly and you're done.

Decades ago when I worked in Nigeria, there was a joke among expats in Nigeria that goes:
When an expa first arrives in Africa and finds a fly in his drink, he becomes incensed and yells "Waiter, there is a fly in my drink!" and demands a new drink.
After a couple of months in the country, when he finds a fly in his drink, he just picks it out and drinks the drink.
After a bit longer in the country, if receives a drink with no fly he become incensed and shouts "Waiter, where is my fly!"

Hence: the song "I just want to fly"
 
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  • #5,185
HankDorsett said:
Continuing on from the very first response to this thread. What are your thoughts on the show that validates children's believes that they see and talk to ghosts?

I haven't watched it yet, mainly due to shows like this make me want to throw something at my TV. To me this seems criminal, between the parents raising their children to believe in such nonsense as well as these shows profiting a psychological issue in children makes me kind of angry.
Umm,... and what about every religion/cult that's been doing something similar for thousands of years in order to control and fleece a gullible population... ?
 
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  • #5,186
Klystron said:
I never understood "I want to fly like a beagle...".
Really? You've never heard of snoopy vs the red baron? (Try googling it.) :oldbiggrin:
 
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  • #5,187
strangerep said:
Really? You've never heard of snoopy vs the red baron? (Try googling it.) :oldbiggrin:
 
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  • #5,188
strangerep said:
Really? You've never heard of snoopy vs the red baron? (Try googling it.) :oldbiggrin:
No need for Google!

"Many men died tryin' to end the spree,
Of the bloody Red Baron of Ger-man-y..."

"Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more,
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score."

"Many men died tryin' to end the spree,
Of the bloody Red Baron of Ger-man-y..."

"In the nick of time a Hero arose,
A funny little dog with a big black nose..."

Now I get it!
"Fly like a beagle, to the Sea,
Fly like a beagle, let old Snoopy carry me..." dah-do-dah-du-du...
 
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  • #5,189
Inner Voice/Outer Voice Part 2:

Me: I ask this woman: Do you know where the bathroom is?

A: What do you think I look like?

Me You don't want to know . Oops.
 
  • #5,190
Do you know these people who wait 5 minutes in front of the counter and when it's their turn they start to discuss and debate what to order? At McDonald's?

I turned and left. If I accept to wait I go for some real food.
 

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