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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses various random thoughts and observations, touching on topics such as media programming, personal anecdotes, language use, and mathematical curiosities. The scope includes informal commentary, humor, and reflections on everyday experiences.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration with the quality of documentaries on channels like the History Channel and National Geographic, suggesting a decline in factual programming.
  • There is a humorous anecdote about discovering a polythene bag obstructing a kitchen extractor fan, leading to a discussion about the clarity of installation manuals.
  • Participants share thoughts on the nature of prime numbers, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 and its implications for mathematical proofs.
  • There are reflections on language use and the reactions to grammatical errors made by native speakers, with some participants sharing their personal responses to such situations.
  • One participant humorously suggests that if 2 were not considered prime, it would complicate the understanding of prime factors in even numbers.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion contains multiple competing views, particularly regarding the status of the number 2 as a prime and the quality of media programming. No consensus is reached on these topics.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of skepticism and humor, with some comments reflecting personal experiences and subjective opinions rather than objective analysis.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in informal discussions about media, language, and mathematics may find this thread engaging.

  • #10,381
Borg said:
On to better things!
You just jinxed yourself.
 
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  • #10,382
Bystander said:
You just jinxed yourself.
I'm not superstitious. 🤞
 
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  • #10,383
Tom.G said:
Sounds like the Corporate definition of "Hell-p!" :wink:
Sounds like BOFH runs the helpdesk:
http://bofh.bjash.com/
 
  • #10,384
" A smoking section at a restaurant is the same as a peeing section at a pool"
 
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  • #10,385
Everything here is covered with a fairly thick layer of ice. I don't think winter is ever going to end here in Kansas.
 
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  • #10,386
Borg said:
I saw a commercial for a new movie and had to laugh - Cocaine Bear. It's about a bear that finds a bunch of cocaine dumped from an airplane. They need to do a mashup with the Project Grizzly movie. :oldtongue:

Maybe this should go in the "Today I Learned" thread, but apparently the movie is actually based on a true story. -- I know. A true story !?!

‘Cocaine Bear,’ a drug smuggler and the very real story behind it all.
imrs.php

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/02/24/cocaine-bear-story-andrew-thornton/


(The article is from the Washington Post, so there's a paywall. So here's a Wikipedia article with no paywall:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine_Bear_(bear))
 
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  • #10,387
1677339356360.png
 
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  • #10,388
Great idea!

_nc_ohc=LlDKakFl8ekAX-UzSfy&_nc_ht=scontent-frt3-2.jpg
 
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  • #10,389
Manchester United just won a cup, it has been a while. I am very happy.
 
  • #10,390
Screenshot 2023-03-04 at 8.57.13 AM.png
 
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  • #10,391
I just found out that Nickelodeon broadcasts on Ukrainian here on free tv, voice-over. Not a bad idea, given that in Germany alone are more than 200,000 Ukrainian kids in our schools. Imagine that number, then add Poland and other countries. It is an unbelievable human tragedy this monster has brought across Europe.
 
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  • #10,392
Second time tonight my basic knowledge of physics literally saved my ***.
 
  • #10,393
Spring starts in just over two weeks, but it's 46°F here.
 
  • #10,394
fresh_42 said:
Second time tonight my basic knowledge of physics literally saved my ***.
FYI, "butt" has two t's. :wink:
 
  • #10,395
Where can I buy Orange Vanilla Coke? It's not anywhere, despite being a huge release after commercials like this one a few years ago:


It was my favorite Coke drink too. It cannot be found anymore in any major store.
 
  • #10,396
berkeman said:
FYI, "butt" has two t's. :wink:
That was not the word it felt like.

The first time it was one-sided aquaplaning at 112 mph and thank Newton's first law (and I thought of it) I survived without a crash. However, sitting in basically a sled at that speed definitely didn't feel like "butt".
And yesterday I had forgotten oil on the stove. As soon as I moved it, oxygen added to the smoldering fire beneath the coal that was once supposed to be noodles for my soup. If you roast them, they remain smaller and crispy, but one shouldn't forget the pan. And rightly the moment I wanted to deal with my fire - now in the sink - physics knowledge again kicked in and I did withstand my impetus to extinguish it with water. Again, not a "butt" situation.
 
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  • #10,397
link---https://www.pinterest.com/pin/434456695272656523/
Does anyone know what this type of interior wall is called?
 
  • #10,398
kyphysics said:
link---https://www.pinterest.com/pin/434456695272656523/
Does anyone know what this type of interior wall is called?
A design fad from the 1970's that really didn't age well.
 
  • #10,399
I was looking up predatory publishing sites and came across this
A series of papers were removed from a geoscience section of Springer, they slipped under peer review and were later deemed to be nonsensical.
https://retractionwatch.com/2021/11...tracted 44,determining that they were rubbish.
I thought of the ChatGPT technology while reading a couple of the abstracts.
Either that or a bunch of PhD students being having fun and being mischeivous.
A full list of the papers https://retractionwatch.com/wp-cont...rabian-Journal-of-Geosciences-retractions.pdf
An example below.
Monitoring of mountain ecological environment based on Bayesian estimation and testing of motor memory function in mice



Abstract


In this paper, the Bayesian estimation method is used to estimate the coefficients of wavelet transform to reconstruct the desired signal and reduce the noise.

Using SNR and RMS error as noise reduction estimation indexes, we compare Bayesian estimation algorithm and global threshold algorithm,

which improves the shortcomings of threshold algorithm and adaptive threshold algorithm.

According to Bayesian estimation, according to the geological vulnerability characteristics of the mountain ecological environment,

the geological change and its promotion mechanism of the mountain environment are selected.

The paper analyzes the influence of LUCC remote sensing monitoring and dynamic changes, such as rainfall erosion and topography,

and the influence of individual natural management factors and analyzes the propulsion effect of nearby residential areas.
 
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  • #10,400
Just tried to work out what a sign saying TUO YAW was supposed to be. Finally realised that it was meant to be viewed from the other side of the window it was stuck on...
 
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  • #10,401
Ibix said:
Just tried to work out what a sign saying TUO YAW was supposed to be. Finally realised that it was meant to be viewed from the other side of the window it was stuck on...
That just reminded me of ...

1678448718667.png
 
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  • #10,402
DrGreg said:
That just reminded me of ...

View attachment 323429
I don't remember noticing that. The commitment of that show to deadpan weirdness never ceases to amaze me.

Coffee?
 
  • #10,403
Fun to hear "Be Careful" right_after_ you've had an accident.
 
  • #10,404
Ibix said:
I don't remember noticing that. The commitment of that show to deadpan weirdness never ceases to amaze me.

Coffee?
Here's some just bizarre weirdness:
https://www.beesbeesbeesbees.com/
no idea what the site's about.
 
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  • #10,405
OMD released a single in the UK 1979 called "Electricity" and there is a line in it.

"... nuclear and HEP"

A reference to high energy physics in a pop song! EDIT: Stranger things! Just as I posed this someone on YouTube asked me what HEP was! From a video called "Stranger things at CERN" One of those silly conspiracy sites. Anyway that's what I call spooky action at a distance!
 
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  • #10,406
  • #10,408
Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 8.10.07 AM.png
 
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  • #10,409
Happy pi(e) day to all. I went with Apple today.
 
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  • #10,410
BillTre said:
...
... Guess we can take it as a hint that the photo is not all white :wink:
 
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