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

[fresh_42]

So, can you at least suggest a cheap brothel in the Oxbridge/Cambford area?

Third hit of a Google search.

 

[ergospherical]

so very naïve of me to think there was a chance of getting a useful suggestion on here

 

[fresh_42]

so very naïve of me to think there was a chance of getting a useful suggestion on here

I once was at a seminar in Basingstoke. We were a colorful little group: a British Pakistani, who tried to be more British than the British themselves, a Portuguese, Germans, and some others I don't remember. We exchanged our cultural experiences that have been very different. The Portuguese told about a little waterfall in a stone quarry where they used to take a bath as kids, something the Pakistani couldn't imagine. The Germans wondered about the many empty greens in town without anybody even stepping on them, not talking about sunbathing or pick-nicking.

I'm saying this because there seem to be many taboos that could be broken by just doing what the continentals normally do.

 

[kyphysics]

So...some person hit and run my parked car the other day. There is a HUGE bump/crater in my left bumper side.

Feels like the vehicle hit it pretty hard and was sturdy (like a truck or Volvo)...I ONLY went to three locations that day. All three were in good parts of town and in the wealthiest part of the city.

No note was left on my car. ...What goes through such a person's mind who does this? Seriously. You hit someone's car and you don't have the decency to leave a note and risk getting caught by police? Is it really worth it? Is the x-$ hit to your insurance REALLY worth possibly getting caught (by cameras) and going to jail/prison and ruining your life? Makes no sense.

*end rant*

 

[WWGD]

so very naïve of me to think there was a chance of getting a useful suggestion on here

How about a walk by the river ( must be one around) on a moonlit night ( check out for upcoming ones), bringing a picnic basket with good but not-so-expensive items?

 

[WWGD]

Interesting map :

 

[WWGD]

In latest news, Chris Rock's distant relatives, the ' Paper' and ' Scissors ' families are considering suing Will Smith.

 

[skyshrimp]

I drink 4 to 6 cans of Tropical Blast sugar free soda a day. It's one of Aldi's own brands (UK). When it's ice cold, it's so refreshing.

 

[WWGD]

I drink 4 to 6 cans of Tropical Blast sugar free soda a day. It's one of Aldi's own brands (UK). When it's ice cold, it's so refreshing.

View attachment 299555

Some people mock me, but I say the same about Diet Pepsi. Cheap, easily available and refreshing when cold. It works for me.

 

[Klystron]

Always the next fad but I really dig fruit flavored seltzer waters with zero other additives. Drinking an icy cold Polar cranberry/lime seltzer as I type (one fingered).

 

[Isopod]

I drink 4 to 6 cans of Tropical Blast sugar free soda a day. It's one of Aldi's own brands (UK). When it's ice cold, it's so refreshing.

I'm currently drinking vodka & coke, very happily. Absolute Vodka, nothing fancy. Rarely ever drink alone, but tonights the night. My favourite brand of vodka has got to be CÎROC (a French brand) or Finlandia (Finnish brand) though. I used to be able to drink the super-cheap knock-off brands from Lidls like Rachmaninoff (which is clearly a home brand take on Smirnoff) but once you taste anything better, it becomes almost impossible to stomach the cheap stuff.

The best vodka I ever tried was when an old neighbour shared some of their homemade plum vodka (very potent but incredibly tasty!), it tasted very fruity and nothing like any type of vodka I'd ever tried before. People always equate Vodka = Russia, but there's a huge cultural diversity of it across Europe that has very little (if nothing at all) to do with Russia.

 

[WWGD]

Interesting fashion combination: Sweat pants, high heels, an undershirt and gold chains. Not GQ, but "Laundry Day" fashion. Not that I am GQ myself, far from it.

 

[kyphysics]

I drink 4 to 6 cans of Tropical Blast sugar free soda a day. It's one of Aldi's own brands (UK). When it's ice cold, it's so refreshing.

View attachment 299555

I love Aldi.

Going to have to try some next time I go.

 

[kyphysics]

Interesting fashion combination: Sweat pants, high heels, an undershirt and gold chains. Not GQ, but "Laundry Day" fashion. Not that I am GQ myself, far from it.

Where did you see this?

Sounds like a rapper outfit.

 

[Astronuc]

Misinformation, an interesting article on grid.news

What we can learn from people who take the Flat Earth theory seriously​

“Flat Earth enables people to cast out all previous information that they didn’t want to believe and rebuild the world from scratch.”

https://www.grid.news/story/misinfo...ple-who-take-the-flat-earth-theory-seriously/

KW: Flat Earth is so outlandish and so wrong on its face, that, unlike some other conspiracy theories, it doesn’t have as much of a kernel of truth in the objective sense. But I think there’s an emotional truth to Flat Earth. People come to it when they feel like the world is very broadly wrong. They feel as if the explanations they’ve been given just don’t align in any sense with the universe that they inhabit.

I remember hearing one woman speak at a conference and she said that, prior to finding Flat Earth, she felt very unnerved by the scale of the universe and the small position that humans, and herself as an individual, played in the scientific model of the universe that we’ve been presented with. Flat Earth made her feel a lot more secure [and] helped her make sense of her place in the world.

G: That almost speaks to a theological or religious motivation. Did you find that there was overlap between this belief system and religious beliefs?

KW: Very much so. Flat Earth doesn’t necessarily [purport] to be a religious belief. You can adopt it purely as an alt-geographical model. But most people that I speak to in Flat Earth are quite religious, and it’s always been that way. Samuel Rowbotham, the theory’s inventor, used a lot of biblical tools in his writing, saying that the globe model conflicted with a round Earth. A lot of modern Flat Earthers will use the theory to get into other alternative Christian beliefs. A lot of them are creationists.

I’ve also had people tell me their personal dreams for what happens when everyone wakes up. Someone told me that he thought that he would be very famous because he was one of the only people who believed in Flat Earth and was preaching that from the beginning. And I don’t think it’s just Flat Earthers who hold that belief. If you look at, say, QAnon believers, they will often talk about how they will be revered and respected among their family members when the truth comes out and they’re shown not to be fools, but actually the only enlightened people.

I sense that folks who feel inadequate and/or that the world is out of control (or their lives are out of control, because of others) are inclined to believe such fantasy, and are also susceptible to manipulation.

 

[nuuskur]

the theory’s inventor, used a lot of biblical tools in his writing, saying that the globe model conflicted with a round Earth

..the hell? These two models should be compatible purely semantically, even Freudian slip?

More excerpts.

But I think there’s an emotional truth to Flat Earth. People come to it when they feel like the world is very broadly wrong. They feel as if the explanations they’ve been given just don’t align in any sense with the universe that they inhabit.

How does one conclude a set of explanations doesn't align with the universe, if they know little about the universe to begin with? Do they believe they know how the universe ought to work in the first place? And, God forbid, what if their conjecture is false ...??!

 

[Astronuc]

Do they believe they know how the universe ought to work in the first place?

Probably, they suffer from unrequited grandiosity (or delusions of grandeur), i.e., they are the center of the universe and it should revolve around them, or at least everyone around them should revere them somehow.

I'm sure the universe is overwhelming to contemplate, and they are not the center of attention, and their lives have turned out less than they expected. It's no surprise that some are also Q-Anon, anti-vaxxer and/or anti-mask, because they know better than everyone else who doesn't share their beliefs.

 

[nuuskur]

Is there a hint of narcissism in such behaviour or is that too mean?

 

[WWGD]

Interesting concept of ' Taxon' , which is a unit in classification schemes used , in Biology and other settings.

 

[skyshrimp]

I've have no idea how to build a nuclear bunker. I guess I'll start by digging with a shovel.

 

[WWGD]

Where did you see this?

Sounds like a rapper outfit.

I think it may have been MTV . I was watching TV while getting take out.

 

[kyphysics]

I've noticed frozen fries suck.

Fresh french fries simply taste entirely different. They are more moist. They don't have this "frozen preserved" taste to them...like a chemical that is not natural and makes them taste gross sometimes.

There is just something else to fresh fries too ...but I cannot identify it...maybe the oil? ...but, for whatever reason, I can never get the same taste or anything close to fresh fries when buying frozen.

 

[ergospherical]

 

[Hamiltonian]

@ergospherical Heartache is a b*tch. I wish I could do something to take the pain away, but I can’t. I’m sorry you have to experience this, all I will say is time heals all wounds.

 

[berkeman]

I've noticed frozen fries suck.

Fresh french fries simply taste entirely different. They are more moist. They don't have this "frozen preserved" taste to them...like a chemical that is not natural and makes them taste gross sometimes.

There is just something else to fresh fries too ...but I cannot identify it...maybe the oil? ...but, for whatever reason, I can never get the same taste or anything close to fresh fries when buying frozen.

How are you cooking them? Try using an air fryer instead -- they come out just like at a restaurant.

 

[ergospherical]

@ergospherical Heartache is a b*tch. I wish I could do something to take the pain away, but I can’t. I’m sorry you have to experience this, all I will say is time heals all wounds.

Thanks. :)
I would say that everything happens for a reason - but as it happens, quantum theory is not deterministic.

 

[Klystron]

Presume you jest.

I've have no idea how to build a nuclear bunker. I guess I'll start by digging with a shovel.

If you enjoy reading science fiction, several Cold War era novels describe building air raid bomb shelters including calculating supplies per occupant. Robert Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold" comes to mind. The first part describes a bomb shelter based on one he designed and built in Colorado.

Heinlein's non-fiction describes an old played out silver mine that he converted to a bomb shelter.

The US uses the term 'preppers' to refer to survivalists intent on preparing for future emergencies. Google these terms as you wish. Some preppers may match @Astronuc 's flat earthers (see above).

 

[Astronuc]

My daughter called yesterday and calmly told my wife and I that there was a shooting near where she was working, but not to worry, it was not nearby. She didn't want us to hear it on the news and then worry. We were more or less OK, as long as the police were on the scene and had apprehended suspects.

Later, she revealed that a security camera had caught some of the suspects passing by the door/entrance of her workplace. Apparently, there was a gang incident. I don't yet know the details.

 

[berkeman]

Glad your family is safe, Astro. Sounds like a close call.

 

[Astronuc]

Glad your family is safe, Astro. Sounds like a close call.

We have been fortunate.

I was recently wishing, Happy Birthday, to someone I've known from about 55 years ago from the neighbor where I was a kid in elementary school. I was reading some posts and came across one that referenced the murder of her son-in-law's brother, who was found shot dead in a car in his neighborhood. Police apparently have not made an arrest, i.e., the perpetrator remains at large, since the incident on Jan 1 this year.