Random Thoughts 7

[Astronuc]

Railroad safety!

Railroads for the most part are private property, and walking on the right of way or across the tracks in any location other than a public grade crossing is trespassing. In most cases, railroads have been in place for more than 100 years, and in some cases more than 160 years or more.

Being on the tracks around freight cars, or trying to cross between or under freight cars is very dangerous.

Anyone who lives near a railroad track should know and be aware of the potential danger.

Remote operation of locomotives and trains is a separate issue that railroads and regulators must address.

https://news.yahoo.com/news/100-ton-locomotive-no-one-120614174.html
(Contains some gruesome descriptions of injuries and fatalities).

 

[WWGD]

Why does PF automatically log me out when I access through my phone?

 

[jack action]

Why does PF automatically log me out when I access through my phone?

You have to check "Stay logged in" when signing in. Otherwise, you get logged out automatically when the browser is closed.

 

[WWGD]

You have to check "Stay logged in" when signing in. Otherwise, you get logged out automatically when the browser is closed.

View attachment 346126​

Yes, thanks, thing is the second I enter the first w in my handle, I'm logged in and sent to a page such as this one. Let me see how I can get back into the login page after that.

 

[Ibix]

Yes, thanks, thing is the second I enter the first w in my handle, I'm logged in and sent to a page such as this one. Let me see how I can get back into the login page after that.

Tick the box first?

 

[WWGD]

Tick the box first?

Yes, my bad, I wasn't seeing it. Nor thinking :(. My bad, thanks all.

 

[jack action]

How much does one liter of water weigh? 9.81 N (Admit it: you were thinking 1 kg!)

Spoiler: Fun fact!

But one US pint of water weighs one pound!

 

[DrGreg]

How much does one liter of water weigh? 9.81 N (Admit it: you were thinking 1 kg!)

Spoiler: Fun fact!

But one US pint of water weighs one pound!

For what it's worth, when metrication was being introduced in the UK, many decades ago, we were told

A litre of water's​

A pint and three quarters​

and

Two and a quarter pounds of jam​

Weigh about a kilogram​

 

[jack action]

​

Calling yourself non-binary categorizes everyone into binary or non-binary, creating a binary system that makes you binary again.

 

[WWGD]

​

Calling yourself non-binary categorizes everyone into binary or non-binary, creating a binary system that makes you binary again.

I personally go by the pronouns Eggman/Walrus/Koo Koo Kachoo.

 

[Astronuc]

A railroad worker figured out how to send thousands of gallons of drinking water by rail from Mississippi to the Navajo Nation to alleviate the water crisis
https://news.yahoo.com/news/railroad-worker-figured-send-thousands-102702532.html

 

[WWGD]

A railroad worker figured out how to send thousands of gallons of drinking water by rail from Mississippi to the Navajo Nation to alleviate the water crisis
https://news.yahoo.com/news/railroad-worker-figured-send-thousands-102702532.html

I always wondered if a nationwide system of canals to transport water would be feasible.

 

[Astronuc]

I always wondered if a nationwide system of canals to transport water would be feasible.

More likely pipes, since there are a lot of hills and some mountain chains to cross. Canals only work with level grade, or downhill, one-way.

Otherwise, tank cars, which is how some crude oil is moved, are feasible.

I've wondered about those areas that flood frequently, e.g., those areas in the Midwest, that have been occasionally inundated, e.g., along the Platter River, or the Missouri and Mississippi watersheds. If they could push water westward to western Colorado, and the Colorado River basin.

 

[difalcojr]

I've wondered about that too. Excess water in one area, aridity in another. Transfer it from the areas that flood all the time. Divert it.
Canals, pipes, tunnels, even pumping stations for elevation changes, whatever is needed. They do all that in California where needed.
If they can pump oil in pipes everywhere, they can surely pump water.

 

[BillTre]

I've wondered about those areas that flood frequently, e.g., those areas in the Midwest, that have been occasionally inundated, e.g., along the Platter River, or the Missouri and Mississippi watersheds. If they could push water westward to western Colorado, and the Colorado River basin.

Flood waters would have to be decontaminated to be potable.
Floods can pick-up industrial wastes and (literally) crap.
Floods would also be an intermittent supply, so not too dependable and probably not from a dependable site.

The "aqueduct" in California goes through open canals as well as pumping stations and pipes over mountains. By the time it gets to LA it is very hard from the chemicals it picks up in the cement aqueduct.

 

[difalcojr]

Unlike that sweet drinking water going down a natural river channel, that LA gets, by draining pretty completely the Owens Valley supply, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Didn't know that about the cement canals and hard water.

Lots of problems, for sure, but I think the Army Corps of Engineers could probably do the job if that was their mission. Maybe water diverted closer to its source would be cleaner water too.

 

[Tom.G]

For a bit more info, and some references, about the California Aqueduct, see:
https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/6875543

Cheers,
Tom

 

[WWGD]

Ouch! ChatGpt just told me $2\pi -\pi$ is Rational, as part of a construction *. Then, after I pointed it out, it " corrected it " by telling me $2\sqrt 2 -\sqrt 2$ is Rational.

* Vitali set on $\mathbb R -\mathbb Q$ in case anyone is interested.

 

[fresh_42]

Ouch! ChatGpt just told me $2\pi -\pi$ is Rational, as part of a construction *. Then, after I pointed it out, it " corrected it " by telling me $2\sqrt 2 -\sqrt 2$ is Rational.

* Vitali set on $\mathbb R -\mathbb Q$ in case anyone is interested.

Almost 100 years later, and lesson still not learned!

 

[WWGD]

Almost 100 years later, and lesson still not learned!

We're still in our cage of Freedom, I guess Herr Lang would say.

 

[WWGD]

Somehow I received an email notifying me of Clint Eastwood's birthday (94) . Sure, I'll tell Jeeves to drop me by his mansion promply at 8 p.m. But not after 10. I must know my limitations.

 

[Borg]

Do you feel lucky?

 

[ergospherical]

Just took an absolutely abysmal fluids exam. Looking forward to starting as a McDonalds cashier come summer time.

 

[WWGD]

Do you feel lucky?

Well, do you, punk?

 

[WWGD]

Turing award given based on proof that P=BPP.
P=NP had been solved by a brilliant guy who concluded the two were equal for N=1 or P=0.

 

[WWGD]

Just took an absolutely abysmal fluids exam. Looking forward to starting as a McDonalds cashier come summer time.

British term for a urine test?

 

[ergospherical]

British term for a urine test?

Might have scored higher in one of those...

 

[WWGD]

" Half of me wants to be an Engineer, half a Physicist and the last half a Mathematician."

Well, we know which one you should discard.

 

[WWGD]

Hope Tyson doesn't get his lights punched out by Jake Paul.

 

[BillTre]

Lightening going backwards (up) from a plane's wings. Is that St. Elmo's fire?

 

[jack action]

• At 18, they ask for 5-year experience;
• At 50, you are too old to work;
• At 62, you are too young to retire.

 

[Astronuc]

From decay to dazzling, Ford restores grandeur to Detroit train station that once symbolized decline​

https://apnews.com/article/michigan...ord-mobility-49c55d18ee0b377fa54c70f389168639

The hulking, scavenger-ravaged structure that ominously shadowed the city’s Corktown neighborhood is now home to Ford Motor Co. and the centerpiece of a sprawling 30-acre (12-hectare) mobility innovation district.

The building’s first tenant, Google’s Code Next Detroit computer science education program, is expected to move in by late June. Grand opening ceremonies include an outdoor concert on Thursday, with tours for the public starting Friday.

“The train station ... it is perhaps the most powerful story in Michigan of the power of historic renovation,” Detroit Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Sandy Baruah said. “To turn something that was blight into something that is hugely attractive and is an anchor as opposed to a deficit is huge.”

The restoration effort — part of the automaker’s more than $900 million project to create a place where new transportation and mobility ideas are nurtured and developed — was just as massive as the size of the more than century-old, 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) building.

A significant project - as it was in the beginning in In numbers:

__ More than 3,100 workers spent about 1.7 million hours of labor on the station and its surrounding public spaces

__ 29,000 Gustavino tiles were restored in its Grand Hall

__ 8.6 million miles (13.8 million kilometers) of new grout was laid across the 21,000-square-foot (1,951 square-meter) ceiling

__ 8 million bricks, 23,000 square feet (2,138 square meters) of marble flooring and 90,000 square feet (8,361 square meters) of decorative plaster were restored or replicated

__ 3.5 million gallons (13.2 million liters) of water was pumped from the basement

__ Installation of 300 miles (482 kilometers) of electrical cable and wiring and 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) of plumbing

Michigan Central Railroad started purchasing land around 1908 in Corktown, the city’s oldest neighborhood, for the new train station, according to HistoricDetroit.org. The depot opened in late 1913. But as traveling by train gave way to commuter air travel and as more Americans chose to use the nation’s interstates, the numbers of people coming through Michigan Central steadily dropped.

The last train pulled out in 1988 and for years after the building fell into disrepair, neglect and abandonment

6 years ago - Vacant for decades, Detroit’s train station may get new life
https://apnews.com/general-news-8ecf0661667348b7ad7263b83f4882a1

The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Railroad

The Michigan Central was one of the few Michigan railroads with a direct line into Chicago, meaning it did not have to operate cross-lake ferries, as did virtually all other railroads operating in Michigan, such as the Pere Marquette, Pennsylvania, Grand Trunk, and Ann Arbor Railroads. Michigan Central was part owner of the ferry service operated to the Upper Peninsula as well as cross-river ferry service to Ontario, but these routes did not exist to circumvent Chicago.

It was absorbed into the New York Central System, which subsequently merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the ill-fated PennCentral, which went bankrupt, with freight operations becoming Conrail, while the intercity passenger service was taken by Amtrak, and commuter services teken over by local, regional or state authorities.

Today, Norfolk Southern owns most trackage not abandoned in the early 1980s. Lake State Railway now operates the remnants former Detroit-Mackinaw City line from Bay City to Gaylord, which is partially owned by the state of Michigan. What remained of CASO was mostly abandoned by Canadian National in 2011, after seeing little to no traffic for years. Amtrak owns the Detroit line from Porter, Indiana, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, while the state of Michigan owns the line from there to Dearborn, Michigan. This line is a projected "high speed" line; a portion of the line was converted to 110 MPH operation in early 2012 with further upgrades planned. Amtrak operates three Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac trains each way per day, under the old banner Wolverine. The Port Huron train (the Blue Water) also uses this line as far east as Battle Creek, Michigan. Both Kalamazoo and Niles have retained their old Michigan Central Stations; the Niles station is occasionally portrayed in film. Also the Dowagiac station is used by Amtrak which was built by M.C.R.R.

 

[Astronuc]

Traders who scooped up Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shares at a massive $620,000 discount during glitch will have their deals canceled by the NYSE​

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/traders-scooped-warren-buffett-berkshire-105754520.html

I heard about this yesterday, when someone on the radio commented on Warren Buffett stock down 99%. I immediately thought that can't be right. It wasn't, except for a reporting glitch.

On June 3, a data glitch led the global conglomerate's stock price to fall to $185 a share, having previously closed at over $620,000. The drop meant a more than 99% discount on the Warren Buffett-led company.

This means a trader who snapped up just $925 worth of the stock at the rock-bottom price would now see their investment worth over $3 million today.

While it hasn't been confirmed how many people purchased the Class A stock during the technical error—which lasted for around an hour and a half—the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has swiftly undone their trades.

In an update posted at 9 p.m. last night, NYSE said it would "bust" all the "erroneous" trades of Berkshire Hathaway stock at or below $603,718.30 a share.

 

[WWGD]

From decay to dazzling, Ford restores grandeur to Detroit train station that once symbolized decline​

https://apnews.com/article/michigan...ord-mobility-49c55d18ee0b377fa54c70f389168639





A significant project - as it was in the beginning in In numbers:




6 years ago - Vacant for decades, Detroit’s train station may get new life
https://apnews.com/general-news-8ecf0661667348b7ad7263b83f4882a1

The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Railroad



It was absorbed into the New York Central System, which subsequently merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the ill-fated PennCentral, which went bankrupt, with freight operations becoming Conrail, while the intercity passenger service was taken by Amtrak, and commuter services teken over by local, regional or state authorities.

Sounda like the whole Monopoly board being restored.

 

[Borg]

Fun with airlines. My wife wanted to take a girls' trip to visit her friend. All day, the price was stable until we went to book it and then it more than doubled. We cleared cookies, changed browsers, etc. to no avail. It wasn't until she selected a different destination and then came back to her original one that the price finally returned to its previous price.