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

[Astronuc]

Climber dies day after celebrating making it to top of Himalayan peak​

https://www.yahoo.com/news/climber-dies-day-celebrating-making-101959014.html

A Greek climber died Tuesday on Nepal's rugged Mount Dhaulagiri, expedition organizers said, in the first recorded fatality of this year's busy Himalayan spring climbing season.
. . .

The 59-year-old had fallen ill while descending, mountain guide Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks told AFP.

"He died at an altitude of 7,400 meters. We are speaking with his family," Sherpa said.

A message Tuesday on his official Instagram account said that he died "after a huge physical and mental effort and lack of additional oxygen."

Dhaulagiri's 8,170-metre (26,800-foot) peak was first scaled in 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian team and has since been climbed by hundreds of people. The air pressure at that altitude is about 34.7 kPa, or about 34.7% of atmospheric pressure sea level.

 

[WWGD]

Climber dies day after celebrating making it to top of Himalayan peak​

https://www.yahoo.com/news/climber-dies-day-celebrating-making-101959014.html
Dhaulagiri's 8,170-metre (26,800-foot) peak was first scaled in 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian team and has since been climbed by hundreds of people. The air pressure at that altitude is about 34.7 kPa, or about 34.7% of atmospheric pressure sea level.

I hear of several corpses spread throughout the mountain.

 

[berkeman]

Climber dies day after celebrating making it to top of Himalayan peak​

https://www.yahoo.com/news/climber-dies-day-celebrating-making-101959014.html

A message Tuesday on his official Instagram account said that he died "after a huge physical and mental effort and lack of additional oxygen."

Sykaris was an experienced climber who had summited five other mountains higher than 8,000 meters, including the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, according to his website.

I wonder if they will do an autopsy. It would be good to know what he died of, since he was so experienced. It almost sounds like a delayed HACE, but you would think that he would have had symptoms of that at the summit, not just on the way down...

Edit/Add -- Although the article did say this, which implies the problems started pretty much around the summit...

"He died at an altitude of 7,400 meters. We are speaking with his family," Sherpa said.

 

[Astronuc]

Edit/Add -- Although the article did say this, which implies the problems started pretty much around the summit...

Air pressure is ~38.8 kPa at 7400 m. He was probably in distress at the summit. Perhaps the excitement/adrenaline kept him going. It does sound like HACE, or high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), it's theorized that vessels in the lungs constrict, causing increased pressure. This causes fluid to leak from the blood vessels to the lung tissues and eventually into the air sacs.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-edema/multimedia/img-20097483
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_pulmonary_edema
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_cerebral_edema

 

[berkeman]

The thing about HAPE is that you can hear it, at least if you know what to listen for. HACE is silent, although if your vitals are monitored, you may see the trending signs of Cushing's Triad with HACE...

 

[Astronuc]

The thing about HAPE is that you can hear it, at least if you know what to listen for. HACE is silent, although if your vitals are monitored, you may see the trending signs of Cushing's Triad with HACE...

On the other hand, he was at 8170 m at summit and 7400 m when he expired. With the lower air density, and possibly wind, maybe those around him didn't hear him until he collapsed. The snow would also deaden any noise. I've been up at 4600+ m (Colorado), in a driving wind, and it was not possible to hear the person next to me. We basically ran toward the summit then dropped to the ground to catch our breath, then get up again and run until out of breath, and repeat. That was 48 years ago.

 

[dlgoff]

One reason I'm beginning to dislike Kansas, The wind has been blowing very hard for days now. Right now:
Wind S. 28mph
Wind Gust 30mph
From: https://www.localconditions.com/weather-perry-kansas/66073/
Edit: I just heard on the TV that Kansas City is getting 50 mph gust.

 

[WWGD]

One reason I'm beginning to dislike Kansas, The wind has been blowing very hard for days now. Right now:
Wind S. 28mph
Wind Gust 30mph
From: https://www.localconditions.com/weather-perry-kansas/66073/
Edit: I just heard on the TV that Kansas City is getting 50 mph gust.

And it brings about...Dust in the Wind. All it is Dust in the Wind.

 

[dlgoff]

And it brings about...Dust in the Wind.

Indeed. I actually knew an old lady when I was just a kid (8-10 years old) who lived in the western part of the state back then.

 

[dlgoff]

All it is Dust in the Wind.

I actually knew Robby Steinhardt.

​

see PF post: https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...suring-things-etc.755959/page-13#post-6196375

 

[berkeman]

I actually knew Robby Steinhardt.

Thank you Don. That was a very enjoyable music video

I found it interesting that the drummer was playing his drum set with his hands instead of his drumsticks, to accent the violin and lead guitar and the initial vocals. I never knew that about this song by them.

 

[dlgoff]

the violin

Robby learned to play the violin at the University of Kansas. His dad was a music professor. I played in a small country band for a while and Robby would sometimes attend and set in the back with me and my drums.

 

[WWGD]

I actually knew Robby Steinhardt.

​

see PF post: https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...suring-things-etc.755959/page-13#post-6196375

I try to stay away from alcohol, guns if I know the song will play while I'm around. Ditto for much of Nirvana 's music. Specially in Winter.
But do carry on with the topic, son. There will be peace. Or, if I'm eating my salad, peas. Peace.

 

[WWGD]

So the latest generation is called Z. What generation comes next, given there's no Z? Is that an omen?

 

[WWGD]

So the latest generation is called Z. What generation comes next, given there's no Z? Is that an omen?

Mistake: given there's no letter in the alphabet after Z.

 

[kyphysics]

So, here's a question:

What does it mean to "carry a balance on your credit card"?

When I read the news and it shows statistics that say something like:

"x-% of Americans carry a balance on their credit cards..." Is that saying they use their credit cards and don't fully pay off the balance when due (thus accruing interest payments) or that they simply used them and had a balance at SOME POINT, but maybe or maybe did not pay it off fully?

 

[berkeman]

Is that saying they use their credit cards and don't fully pay off the balance when due (thus accruing interest payments)

Yes. The amount of the balance may change a bit from month-to-month depending on how much the cardholder can pay each month and how much they purchase, but it means that they have a habit of not paying the whole thing off each month. It's a bit of a trap when you get in too much debt with the card where it's not possible to pay it all off in any month.

 

[kyphysics]

Yes. The amount of the balance may change a bit from month-to-month depending on how much the cardholder can pay each month and how much they purchase, but it means that they have a habit of not paying the whole thing off each month. It's a bit of a trap when you get in too much debt with the card where it's not possible to pay it all off in any month.

Thanks. That makes sense. Always wondered about what it meant, b/c the way it's worded, it could have meant one of two things: just using + paying off entirely...or using and NOT being able to pay off entirely.

With that in mind, here is an interesting stat:

Most Americans have some credit card debt. A recent GOBankingRates survey found that 30% of Americans have between $1,001 and $5,000 in credit card debt, 15% have $5,001 or more in credit card debt and about 6% have more than $10,000 in credit card debt. Although 6% may seem like a small amount, that means that based on the survey results, 14 million Americans have over $10,000 of credit card debt.

https://www.yahoo.com/video/jaw-dropping-stats-state-credit-130022967.html

 

[berkeman]

BTW, I believe that paying off your credit card every month fully does not help your "credit score" as much as letting a small/medium balance build up over a couple months and then paying it off and doing that again [reference needed]. It kind of makes sense, but I never researched it much.

Also, once I was finally able to get rid of a lingering (small) debt on my credit card, I made it a goal to always pay off my cards. That was decades ago.

 

[kyphysics]

BTW, I believe that paying off your credit card every month fully does not help your "credit score" as much as letting a small/medium balance build up over a couple months and then paying it off and doing that again [reference needed]. It kind of makes sense, but I never researched it much.

Also, once I was finally able to get rid of a lingering (small) debt on my credit card, I made it a goal to always pay off my cards. That was decades ago.

This is a good debate question.

The FIRST thing my banker told me when getting a credit card at Wells Fargo was that it'd help me build my credit score in this way. . .But, I've read headlines saying it's a myth. Never looked into much either.

 

[ergospherical]

I withhold - there’s few moment in life which feel as good as when a girl asks you to open a jar of pickles for her. In those few seconds, you’re freaking 1974-era Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

[berkeman]

you’re freaking 1974-era Arnold Schwarzenegger

And always keep the "breaking the jar's vacuum seal" tricks in your back pocket. Important manly tutoring going on here...

 

[WWGD]

Arnold mentioned that when playing "Omlette": To be or not to be.

 

[WWGD]

So I turn my Android phone on, access the web. 5 minutes later I have 99 tabs opened , not one by myself.

 

[WWGD]

Ok, an hour after hearing it, I translated "Buffalo, Buffalo at work" to "Buffer Overflow". Life makes ( a bit
) more sense now.

 

[russ_watters]

BTW, I believe that paying off your credit card every month fully does not help your "credit score" as much as letting a small/medium balance build up over a couple months and then paying it off and doing that again [reference needed]. It kind of makes sense, but I never researched it much.

Google tells me that's a common/persistent myth:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/credit-score-does-carrying-a-balance-help

...helps the credit card companies profit though.

 

[kyphysics]

Is "superficially charming" a redundant saying?

I was under the impression all charm is by nature just an outward aesthetic and thus "superficial." Why do some people qualify the word charm with "superficial," as that would seem obvious. Or, is there such a thing as being "genuinely" charming?

*wonders*

 

[WWGD]

Is "superficially charming" a redundant saying?

I was under the impression all charm is by nature just an outward aesthetic and thus "superficial." Why do some people qualify the word charm with "superficial," as that would seem obvious. Or, is there such a thing as being "genuinely" charming?

*wonders*

I'd say charm is an " emergent property", made out of other " subproperties" combined in the right way. Sort of like the " wetness" of water. Or, a better analogy, in the area of psychology, like charisma.

 

[WWGD]

I'd say charm is an " emergent property", made out of other " subproperties" combined in the right way. Sort of like the " wetness" of water. Or, a better analogy, in the area of psychology, like charisma.

Sort of brainstorming, not a finished idea ( obviously , still half-baked).

 

[kyphysics]

I'd say charm is an " emergent property", made out of other " subproperties" combined in the right way. Sort of like the " wetness" of water. Or, a better analogy, in the area of psychology, like charisma.

Sort of brainstorming, not a finished idea ( obviously , still half-baked).

Yeah, keep going...very interesting!