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

[WWGD]

My social graces:
Me: " How are you, Andrew ?"
Him " I'm not Andrew, I'm John"
Me: " Then stop looking like an Andrew!"

 

[fresh_42]

My social graces:
Me: " How are you, Andrew ?"
Him " I'm not Andrew, I'm John"
Me: " Then stop looking like an Andrew!"

I also use a trick. On the phone, that guarantees me that it's me who leads the dialogue.

When I pick up the phone I firmly say "Shalom!" That a) prevents me from getting recorded something like "yes", or my name, such that they could fake my agreement to any obscure contracts, b) tells my Muslim fellow citizens that they obviously got the wrong number without having to explain anything, and c) stuns callers for the unexpected greeting that they loose their prepared roadbook and it's me who asks not them. And it is a political statement.

Only once, I have had an old lady with a Jewish name on the phone who dialed the wrong number. That was a bit of a pity since I did not mean to confuse her.

 

[malawi_glenn]

b) tells my Muslim fellow citizens that they obviously got the wrong number without having to explain anything

Because?

 

[fresh_42]

Because?

Because chances are 100:1 that a Muslim dialed a wrong number in contrast to a Jew. Then I almost certainly have a communication problem. I introduced "Shalom" (some years ago) after the following dialogue:

(I picked up the phone with my name.)
"As-salamu alaykum."
"Entschuldigung, ich verstehe Sie nicht."
(something hard to understand in a strange accent)
"Könnten Sie sich bitte der deutschen Sprache befleißigen?"
(something hard to understand in a strange accent, this time only louder)
This went on for a while and the caller finally closed the dialogue with
"A******!"
And no, it was not as-salamu alaykum. It was a curse that is identical in German and English.

That was the first time I decided to shock them with a "Shalom!" instead. And it is a statement against the anti-semitism in our Muslim community here. It works.

P.S: My number is pretty old and meanwhile at least 3 digits too short. That means I have a 1,000 times increased risk of wrong calls.

 

[malawi_glenn]

But not all muslims are anti-semitic. Sure, answering with "Shalom" should reduce the probability that the dialoge continues.

 

[fresh_42]

But not all muslims are anti-semitic. Sure, answering with "Shalom" should reduce the probability that the dialoge continues.

This is usually a matter of education whether they are anti-semitic or not. Well, in that case, we won't have a problem communicating anyway. But (my estimation) 90% are, since they identify Jews with Israel, and they are definitely not pro Israel. I consider my cultural heritage to be christian-jewish (e.g. Hausdorff). "Shalom" is a statement to express this opinion, plus it means exactly the same as as-salamu alaykum.

 

[WWGD]

A recent merger : "Eye of the Tiger" , with Metallica's "Eye of the Beholder":
Soon to be released : " Eye of the Beholden Tiger ".

Brings back the issue of the merger between Oxford and Cambridge :

Oxbridge or Cambford ?

 

[Orodruin]

Soon to be released : " Eye of the Beholden Tiger ".

That tiger is clearly not crouching enough next to the hidden dragon.

 

[Rive]

When I pick up the phone I firmly say "Shalom!" ... stuns callers for the unexpected greeting that they loose their prepared roadbook and it's me who asks not them.

I knew a guy who (for a period) replied every incoming call with 'Pathology!' on a kind of similar basis

 

[Tom.G]

Many years ago I knew a woman that answered with (laughing)
"Speak, Baby... It's Your Dime."

Then there was a guy that, using a guttural voice, used
"Joe's Poolroom, Q-Ball speaking."

I generally use "Hello, this is Tom." That was started mainly to save the time taken by "May I speak with Tom, please?", and responding with either "Speaking" or a deadpan "You are."

Using the "You are" response would sometimes take longer, the caller had to stop and process that!

 

[fresh_42]

Many years ago I knew a woman that answered with (laughing)
"Speak, Baby... It's Your Dime."

Reminds me of that girl who had "Just the two of us" on her answering machine ... until her gynecologist tried to reach her ...

 

[WWGD]

GaH!
I lost track of a query that maps together logins users and roles. When I move a database around, data moves, but not so with security. And I lost track of the system views I used for the tables.

 

[atyy]

Two more for my list of triple syllable phrases:
The Waikiki kiss
The Lolo Lovers ( Lolo is weed in Hawaian)

Happy Birthday, Singapore, Independence from Malaysia in Aug 9, 1965. Isn't @atyy Singaporean?

Just saw this now. Thanks!

 

[WWGD]

Iron Maiden To rename it's song " Two Minutes to Midnight" into "11:58 p.m". I think they should leave it as is.

 

[dlgoff]

I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.

 

[Borg]

In June, my wife and I were in Norfolk, VA and visited the Chrysler Museum and their Glass Studio across the street. We just happened to be there at the right time to see a one hour demonstration. It was pretty interesting.

 

[strangerep]

I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.

Have you ever actually tried it? The force required from one's breath is surprisingly high. I could barely inflate the glass bulb at all.

In Sydney, there's a tourist trappy area called "The Rocks" with a fascinating store called Argyle Glass. I remember watching their master glassworkers creating intricate ornaments, such as dragons, unicorns, cute pussycats, kangaroos, koalas, a harley motorbike, and many other things. They made it all look so easy.

 

[WWGD]

I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.

Iirc, the answer is blowing in the wind. Not sure why its there.

 

[dlgoff]

Have you ever actually tried it?

No, but I could tell from my university's glass blower, it wasn't easy.

 

[Bystander]

No, but I could tell from my university's glass blower, it wasn't easy.

There are different glasses for different applications; some are more viscous than others, some get "tired" or get "the goody" cooked out of them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing

 

[Bystander]

Have you ever actually tried it?

Got almost as far as ring seals, http://www.ilpi.com/glassblowing/tutorial_ringseal.html , never successful with them. There's a lot more to the viscosity and bubble blowing...how does the wall thickness NOT get into a "runaway" failure mode? It can't be just the cooling of the thinner wall... Took the glassblowing for fun in grad school and am just now thinking about the physical chemistry involved.

 

[Rive]

Here, the head of meteorology services just got fired. They predicted high (70-80%) chance for storms/rains for the time of some state event (fireworks and stuff), which then so got cancelled.
Unfortunately (?) at that place, at that time there was no storm.

Do Not Ask.
Feeling sick

 

[WWGD]

Kind of annoying how some of these sites overdo the whole big-picture approach. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big-picture guy. But sometimes I just need a definition, ad when I do a search, I have to go through sites that first put you through a overview, the provide motivation. WITHOUT/BEFORE giving the actual definition. Just happened recently with "Explained/Unexplained variation.

 

[WWGD]

no more i of the tiger, now it's the tger.

 

[BillTre]

Someone made this on Instructables:

 

[pinball1970]

Someone made this on Instructables:

View attachment 313254

A little bit tremors too? I loved that film

 

[BillTre]

Tremors is up there with ghostbusters when it comes to making fun of scary movies.

 

[pinball1970]

Tremors is up there with ghostbusters when it comes to making fun of scary movies.

Brits think yanks have too many guns, generally. However..this is one of the best movie scenes ever.

 

[fresh_42]

A little bit tremors too? I loved that film

I liked its German title: In the land of the rocket worms!

 

[BillTre]

The cast was also outstanding.