Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[OmCheeto]

Twitter can be fun, sometimes:

Feb 21
Ran into OPAG chair Candy Hansen at airport. We were chatting & person next to us commented that we were speaking entirely in acronyms
I replied that we are NASA scientists and she said "Oh? Do they make you speak in acronyms?".
Yes. Yes they do. Lol.

------------------------------
Sarah Hörst
Assistant Prof of Planetary Science @JohnsHopkins, Titan evangelist, pomeranian wrangler. Prone to #sciencedancing. Loves socks. Stridently anti-breakfast.
Baltimore, MD, USA

OPAG: Outer Planets Assessment Group, NASA?

 

[Borek]

Do you recall what they were designed for?

I am referring to specialized centrifuges for honey extraction.

Interestingly, this doesn't confirm what I remember:

http://chestofbooks.com/animals/bees/History/Invention-Of-The-Honey-Extractor-Continued.html

As a kid I used to go for vacations to district of Mazury, which - before the WWII - was part of Germany. I remember such a centrifuge in one of the neighbors houses. I remember cast iron parts with a date clearly visible, but perhaps I am mixing it with date stamped on some other device? Even if so, the centrifuge must have been made before WWII. In the houses around there were plenty of such things, and they were old. After the war farming technology was in many respects put back in time, it was many years before Polish industry was able to supply such devices, and their parts were no longer cast.

 

[Borg]

Twitter can be fun, sometimes:

And educational.
http://41.media.tumblr.com/82cf22f8ef1e89862df4f874b1e22e23/tumblr_nk95e3EFiq1qewacoo1_500.png

 

[zoobyshoe]

I am referring to specialized centrifuges for honey extraction.

Interestingly, this doesn't confirm what I remember:

http://chestofbooks.com/animals/bees/History/Invention-Of-The-Honey-Extractor-Continued.html

As a kid I used to go for vacations to district of Mazury, which - before the WWII - was part of Germany. I remember such a centrifuge in one of the neighbors houses. I remember cast iron parts with a date clearly visible, but perhaps I am mixing it with date stamped on some other device? Even if so, the centrifuge must have been made before WWII. In the houses around there were plenty of such things, and they were old. After the war farming technology was in many respects put back in time, it was many years before Polish industry was able to supply such devices, and their parts were no longer cast.

Your link points out there was a lot of honey extraction related activity in Germany as far back as 1868:

"Langstroth, among other Americans, at once recognized its value and soon had made a machine for his own use. He, apparently, first learned of the discovery through German sources, since his announcement in theAmerican Bee Journalin April, 1868, tells of 'a plan devised in Germany for emptying the honey from the comb, without injuring the comb. ' He gave a picture of his machine and an enthusiastic report of the success of the new equipment."

Later in the article another inventor, Cowan, mentions a Silesian inventor, Buhne-Lauben, showing that around 1888 some Americans are still looking to German inventors, observing what they're up to.

"In the same magazine (August 16, 1888), Mr. Cowan tells of his success with this first outfit, but explains that it was safe to extract only old combs because of damage to new combs through breakage. He then described a similar machine invented by M. Buhne-Lauben, of Schleisen. When Cowan invented reversible baskets the radial principle was dormant for many a long year."

So, from that, it's completely plausible to me some embodiment of the honey extractor was being manufactured in Germany between 1900 and 1920. In fact, it would be more surprising to find it wasn't, given the acceleration in invention/mass production at that time. Your memory is probably accurate.

 

[WWGD]

An unusual experience: I was watching MTV and they were showing...music videos?!? Seems like most of their programming nowadays is anything but: sitcoms, general contests, etc. Maybe they should rebrand.

 

[WWGD]

Interesting, windows 8.1 just warned me about the dangers of opening Outlook...which is owned by microsoft. And my spellcheck somehow knows that microsoft is capitalized, but does not do so for caracas warsaw , i.e. if I click right after righting microsoft , my computer corrects by capitalizing the m.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Interesting, windows 8.1 just warned me about the dangers of opening Outlook...which is owned by microsoft.

Apparently outlook used to be a way in for bad stuff, and still can be if you climb into lion cages at the zoo:
http://www.howtogeek.com/171993/macros-explained-why-microsoft-office-files-can-be-dangerous/

 

[JorisL]

As a programmer/developer you have to assume the end user is an absolute idiot.
In a course where we had to design an application to control several pieces of lab equipment (oscilloscope, source etc.)
First we had to make it work.

The next step was making it "student proof" as the supervisor called it.
Apparently students are great at breaking that kind of applications. I heard of one particular case where a student would do random stuff for a while and inevitably would break it. When asked how he did it, he never knew.
He could repeat it however which meant you had to watch very close what he did.

Long story short, once in a blue moon that warning might help such an idiot to avoid infection of his computer.

 

[zoobyshoe]

As a programmer/developer you have to assume the end user is an absolute idiot.

In my case this would be a good assumption. However, the vague warning it could be dangerous to open Outlook is not an idiot-friendly warning. It's just confusing: "What the hell is this? Microsoft is warning against it's own software?"

There is a definite "Curse of Knowledge" cognitive bias on the part of people who design Windows:
Curse of Knowledge: When better-informed people find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed people.

The Mac OS, by contrast, seems to have actually been tested and improved by exposure to idiots.

 

[WWGD]

As a programmer/developer you have to assume the end user is an absolute idiot.
In a course where we had to design an application to control several pieces of lab equipment (oscilloscope, source etc.)
First we had to make it work.

The next step was making it "student proof" as the supervisor called it.
Apparently students are great at breaking that kind of applications. I heard of one particular case where a student would do random stuff for a while and inevitably would break it. When asked how he did it, he never knew.
He could repeat it however which meant you had to watch very close what he did.

Long story short, once in a blue moon that warning might help such an idiot to avoid infection of his computer.

Now could I "break" into Outlook? I have an account , what would "break it" mean?

 

[JorisL]

zooby, I agree with the problem of vague errors.
Also as far as I know, Mac OS is tested/foolproofed better.WWGD
Well I guess the unsafe part means downloading malware in this case.
I used the other part as an anecdote to drive home the point that users are to be protected against themselves.

However, phishing mails could pose a "breaking into" risk for example.

 

[Lisa!]

 

[Silicon Waffle]

They fought to show the audience their gratitude and eagerness, not to be meant as tree climbers for better observation.

 

[zoki85]

Referring to the Mythbusters should be forbidden in threads on these forums

 

[Ibix]

I agree. Report your post at once!

 

[lisab]

Referring to the Mythbusters should be forbidden in threads on these forums

I remember years ago we had a big discussion about the merits of that program. I don't remember coming to any consensus (do we ever?). But several people agreed that while it doesn't live up to a "professional science" standard, it at least attempts to demonstrate a basic application of the scientific method.

 

[Astronuc]

Antarctica 'Penguin Post Office' Job Attracts Record Number of Applicants
https://gma.yahoo.com/antarctica-penguin-post-office-job-attracts-record-number-194402318--abc-news-travel.html

Well, they're either looking for adventure, or really desparate.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Watching Scott & Bailey on KPBS. It's the most realistic police drama I've ever seen. Which makes it a little sad and boring at times.

 

[DennisN]

I've seen some really good stuff (in my opinion) lately:
The movie "The Imitation Game", trailer:


and the TV series "True Detective", which I also liked a lot.


And, oh, "Selma" was very good too, in my opinion.

 

[Borg]

This one was fun in a quirky way.

 

[Astronuc]

New York Couple to Turn a Combined 212 Years Old - He will turn 108 on Saturday and she is 104. They've been married 82 years.
https://gma.yahoo.com/york-couple-turn-combined-212-years-old-200716518--abc-news-topstories.html

 

[Silicon Waffle]

It usually takes some time (days or even weeks) for me to realize what the starter of a particular thread really means. I am scientifically slow.

 

[WWGD]

Maybe it is a sad comment on my life at this point, but I noticed that if I find a TV lineup I really enjoy, my mood
is significantly better than if I don't . Maybe I should invest in a DVD recorder.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

Maybe it is a sad comment on my life at this point, but I noticed that if I find a TV lineup I really enjoy, my mood
is significantly better than if I don't . Maybe I should invest in a DVD recorder.

You are right. I really respect those who understand the values of life they're enjoying at the moment. Some I have met clearly have high levels of knowledge, critical thinking skills and very good common senses. .
Cheers!

 

[zoobyshoe]

This thingy is cool. Waterbird Aquaskipper. I am impressed how fast it can go.

 

[Psinter]

I tried to heat the Subway sandwich I stored in the refrigerator yesterday for today because I was too busy to cook and... Let's just say it didn't end up very well.

It was like magic. In less than 2 minutes it was like that. I didn't even notice. My friends were like: "Did you tried to heat it with a blowtorch? LOL!" And laughing all over the place.

I quoted:

I used the cataclysmic super heating of Ethane and Propane!

 

[Astronuc]

Well done! Well - may be not done well, but rather overdone.

 

[Ibix]

What kind of sandwich was it? Ham and thermite...?

 

[Psinter]

What kind of sandwich was it? Ham and thermite...?

LOL!

I bought a new one and killed that which was killing me: Hunger.

 

[jim hardy]

looks like a carbon footprint.

 

[Astronuc]

Car Thief Throws a Brick at Mercedes, Mercedes Throws it Back
https://autos.yahoo.com/news/car-thief-throws-brick-mercedes-throws-back-180050064.html

Now, that's justice - a la physics!

 

[Silicon Waffle]

Hilarious! It serves him right.

 

[Astronuc]

Spiff up your resumes!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-buffett-hints-successor-50-milestone-211411318.html

Washington (AFP) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett hinted Saturday he had found a successor to replace him as he reflected on 50 years in charge of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate in an annual letter to shareholders.

 

[nuuskur]

HAHAHA @ well done :D :D Laughing so hard that I get tears in my eyes - pun appreciated :)On a more random note:

What is the English word for $\partial D$ - I don't mean the partial differential, it means something else too. The general word for supremum and infimum - extremum? Indicating the boundaries of the domain, whether it is open or closed.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

I don't know the other name for ∂D
But BOUND Theories={Sup, Inf, Max, Min}