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

[Astronuc]

Storm Noa brought strong winds and gigantic swells to Cape Cornwall in southern England.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/powerful-atlantic-storm-whips-colossal-225805213.html

The waves looks like those off the coast at Nazaré, Portugal.

 

[Astronuc]

I loved watching Anthony Bourdain visit interesting places, discussing food and culture, and visiting with friends.

From 11 June 2018 - 'Drink a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out': 22 of Anthony Bourdain’s wisest quotes about travel
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/anthony-bourdains-wisest-quotes-about-travel/

Re: How not to do Paris​

“Nothing unexpected or wonderful is likely to happen if you have an itinerary in Paris filled with the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.”

Well, I did a seminar in Paris many years ago, and it happened to be at the Palais Royal hotel, where I was staying, across the street from the Louvre. I didn't have the Louvre or Eiffel Tower in an itinerary, but they were just there. The Louvre tickets were too pricey, so I didn't visit, and I believe there was a waiting list. I strolled by the Pyramid with a colleague. We walked over to the Pont du Carrousel, and while standing there, a very attractive woman walked up and started chatting with me. I didn't speak French, except for a few phrases, so my colleague who spoke French translated for us. She was interested in the River Seine and was curious which way it flowed to the sea. So, I explained it comes from the east and flows to the west, but it flows in a winding way.

In another time and place, I was sitting with my father outside the main train station in Brussels, when a very attractive woman approached me and asked directions. I apologized that I didn't speak French (again only a few phrases), and I asked her if she spoke English, which she didn't. She smiled and went on her way. I was pondering the fact that she walked directly to me rather than many others who were between us or nearby. My dad and I were waiting for a bus to the airport, so I was not in a position visit with the woman (plus the language barrier).

 

[dlgoff]

Another Kansas storm is just now getting to my area:

 

[fresh_42]

I was looking up a recipe for pancake dough. Not so much for the ingredients but for the quantities. I was prepared for the horrible, horrible, completely crazy American recipe units. I surely hate them, and it is nuts. But anyway, I was prepared for "cups".

Next step. It shouldn't be too complicated nowadays to find a website for translating cups to metric. Here is what I found:

Why can't you go metric like any sane person in the world? Don't be afraid, it doesn't come with bare breasts or in rainbows!

 

[gmax137]

The important thing is the ratio. So, translate the ingredient amounts (given in the recipe) into your preferred units and go from there. This approach will give you trouble when it comes to "eggs." But that is to be expected, since "egg" is not a standardized unit, even in metric land . The amount of liquid always depends on how dry your flour is, today's humidity, and your altitude. Finally, some like thick batter while others like thin. Grandma should have shown you what it looks like when it is right.

 

[BillTre]

My sister has a condo in Washington DC she is putting up for sale.
It is by Dupont Circle and near the National Zoo.

Part of her description is:
"... and you can hear the lions at the zoo roar at feeding time!"

 

[fresh_42]

The important thing is the ratio.

That's possible for theorists, but I fail at $\sqrt{2}$ many eggs. The eggs : flour ratio was the main reason I looked it up. Too many eggs and it becomes a German pancake, too much flour and it tastes like a wallpaper.

 

[gmax137]

Too many eggs and it becomes a German pancake, too much flour and it tastes like a wallpaper.

Even Grandma didn't get it right the first time.

 

[fresh_42]

Even Grandma didn't get it right the first time.

Yes, but I'm competing against the industrial mixture which is pretty good - and relatively expensive. And I want a second option.

 

[fresh_42]

CNN titled a story: "The migrants' way to America!"

That's embarrassing ("fremdschämen"). And it makes me angry since it reveals so much about the attitude of US citizens.

 

[Rive]

Grandma should have shown you what it looks like when it is right.

... There are those 'grandma style' old cookbooks in most household: browned edges, many (likely high nutrient ) stains on every page, half pages are notes, the others are also about leaving the binding....

... if you ever tried to actually cook anything from them, you'll notice that those differences about national cooking units are just the most minor inconveniences: during that 50-100 years what these books stretch across not just the preferred units changed every twenty years, but the ingredients themselves and their naming too

... actually, I suspect that many 'new' recipes born through trying to making sense to those old recipes again

 

[Swamp Thing]

When you export a WhatsApp chat to, say a folder on your Google Drive, you get a text file plus a lot of media files.

It would have been an easy job for the developers to create an HTML file instead, with IMG tags that would populate all the images into the right places. That would have been such a superior user experience.

 

[fresh_42]

I'm following the chess world championship - and Crucible, of course - and learned a new English word today: 'Zwischenzug'. Funny.

 

[Astronuc]

Six days ago marked the sixty-year anniversary of the loss of the SSN-593 Thresher.

 

[gmax137]

Six days ago marked the sixty-year anniversary of the loss of the SSN-593 Thresher.

Thanks, @Astronuc that's a good video. The loss of the submarine is one of the first memories I have of seeing news on TV (my parent's small flickering black & white set). I remember the report (Cronkite? Huntley-Brinkley?) saying the sub was "a city block long" and asking my father what that meant.

 

[WWGD]

I was looking up a recipe for pancake dough. Not so much for the ingredients but for the quantities. I was prepared for the horrible, horrible, completely crazy American recipe units. I surely hate them, and it is nuts. But anyway, I was prepared for "cups".

Next step. It shouldn't be too complicated nowadays to find a website for translating cups to metric. Here is what I found:

View attachment 324933

Why can't you go metric like any sane person in the world? Don't be afraid, it doesn't come with bare breasts or in rainbows!

They forgot to include a Whisper of Cinnamon and a pinch of honey. ;)

 

[WWGD]

I thought a YT video on sounds of the rainforest would help me sleep, relax. Instead, I feel like peeing every 10 minutes.

 

[fresh_42]

I thought a YT video on sounds of the rainforest would help me sleep, relax. Instead, I feel like peeing every 10 minutes.

Try techno. Or Kylie's "I can't get you out of my mind" on an endless loop. I prefer techno, the less melody the better, just the beats. It is like counting sheep but letting count someone else. I have an app on my phone that let me choose among a dozen of channels and has a programmable "fall asleep" countdown mode.

 

[Astronuc]

Seven years of walking over 28000 miles.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...tom-turcich-seven-year-search-meaning-of-life

The article states, "38 countries and crossed every continent except Australia," but I'm sure the author meant Antartica; surely Turcich didn't walk across Antartica.

Another article shows that he walked across Australia, but no walks in Antarctica.
https://www.njpen.com/haddon-twp-man-to-depart-on-world-walk/

 

[WWGD]

Try techno. Or Kylie's "I can't get you out of my mind" on an endless loop. I prefer techno, the less melody the better, just the beats. It is like counting sheep but letting count someone else. I have an app on my phone that let me choose among a dozen of channels and has a programmable "fall asleep" countdown mode.

You use an app for a nap?

 

[fresh_42]

You use an app for a nap?

Yep.

More than one:
- Rock radio (multiple channels)
- electronic music (multiple channels)
- audios that read me the news (multiple channels)
- audios that read me Wikipedia articles
- audios that read me astronomical data
- and a classical music channel

 

[WWGD]

Wow, several companies have emailed me, asking me to fill a survey for them. After I've ignored them, I received very aggressive emails almost demanding I take the survey asap. No, I replied. Pay me, and I'll take it, unless you're a non-profit. The nerve, as if I owed them anything.

 

[dlgoff]

Dang. In a tornado watch until 11:00 pm. Glad I have a storm shelter.

 

[berkeman]

Dang. In a tornado watch until 11:00 pm. Glad I have a storm shelter.

Yikes, stay safe! Do you have some sort of Doppler wind alarm device or something that lets you know when to dive into the shelter?

 

[dlgoff]

Yikes, stay safe! Do you have some sort of Doppler wind alarm device or something that lets you know when to dive into the shelter?

I have a weather radio here in the house. The town, a mile or so away, has a tornado siren that can be heard inside my house.

 

[Astronuc]

Man, 109, who still drives his car every day has simple tips for long life​

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-109-still-drives-car-203838450.html

At 109 years old, Vincent Dransfield still zips around town in his car every day, buying lunch, running errands and shopping for groceries.

He lives independently in his own house in Little Falls, New Jersey, where he has resided since 1945.

The centenarian requires no help navigating between the home’s main floor, his bedroom upstairs and the basement where he does his laundry, his family says.
. . .

 

[Grelbr42]

Dang. In a tornado watch until 11:00 pm. Glad I have a storm shelter.

Just remember, the shelter does you no good unless you are in it at the important time. Maybe it's possible to hook up a WiFi repeater in there so you can be safe and still surf the net.

Heh heh. Recalling working on the safety report of a nuclear reactor. It got to the part about traffic accidents on the nearby driving surfaces, parking lot, delivery area, etc. The entire analysis consisted of: See the section about flying gas trucks due to tornadoes. Since the station was qualified to survive the impact of a flying gas truck it was considered qualified against any credible traffic accidents.

 

[berkeman]

Since the station was qualified to survive the impact of a flying gas truck it was considered qualified against any credible traffic accidents.

Was it qualified to survive the BLEVE from the gas truck catching fire and burning for a bit (then exploding)?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_liquid_expanding_vapor_explosion

 

[fresh_42]

Some emigrants to English are just funny.

I learned "Zwischenzug" from following the current chess world championship, and now I have found: "Trockenbeerenauslese". Forget about Kindergarten. There are apparently much funnier words. Even one with an "ö", and no, it's not Motörhead. It's "trögerite", "ö" inclusive.

 

[dlgoff]

I just drove down my drive to the mailbox and there was a Box Turtle crossing the drive. I stopped and moved it off the road so other autos wouldn't run over it. They are considered endangered species around here.