Today I Learned

[gmax137]

I thought brownies were the usual food of choice for that...

I had a friend who used it in spaghetti sauce. Marhinara.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
Whatever AI you consulted has apparently slipped some pot into its cookies

Google apparently has its own AI now.

 

[gmax137]

maybe It learned that by reading PF?

 

[fresh_42]

ChatGPT suggested 0.5 mm grain size and the result was 14.36 km.

 

[pinball1970]

This is a big one.

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-japan...actor.html?utm_source=webpush&utm_medium=push

 

[Swamp Thing]

TIL that the Ket people of Siberia use panes of sheet ice in the windows of their traditional winter tents.

 

[Mayhem]

This is a big one.

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-japan...actor.html?utm_source=webpush&utm_medium=push

I wonder how the fuel for fusion will be generated long-term. Can it be generated by feeding back some of the net-energy?

 

[pinball1970]

I wonder how the fuel for fusion will be generated long-term. Can it be generated by feeding back some of the net-energy?

Some of the physics and engineering guys have discussed this

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...t-fusion-energy-coming-soon-dec-2022.1048101/

adding this link also https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/major-nuclear-fusion-milestone-ignition-achieved.1006180/

 

[PeterDonis]

I wonder how the fuel for fusion will be generated long-term. Can it be generated by feeding back some of the net-energy?

Deuterium can be mined from seawater; long term I would expect fusion to use D-D instead of D-T.

Less long term if tritium is needed for D-T fusion, it can be obtained by putting a lithium blanket around the reactor. (Lithium Deuteride can also be used as fuel.)

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L.
Two articles this week on ancient human made structures.

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-closer-menga-dolmen-greatest-feats.html

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-oldest-fortresses-world.html (today)

From above fortress article “This discovery challenges the traditional view that permanent settlements, accompanied by defensive structures, only emerged with farming societies, thus disproving the notion that agriculture and animal husbandry were prerequisites for societal complexity.”

Gobekli Tepe is mentioned in the fortress article.

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology...-no-more/00000181-3ded-d207-a795-7ded6a9c0000

 

[DaveC426913]

TIL these bamboo water fountains are called "Deer scares".

And they serve a purpose. To scare deer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishi-odoshi

(This is significant to me because there was one of these set up in an indoor garden in my local mall when I was growing up and I was fascinated by it.)

 

[BillTre]

 

[Swamp Thing]

I have been playing with the online Software Defined Radios (SDRs) called KiwiSDR.

But today I learned that you can demodulate weather FAX stations within the same web page using the "extensions" button in the receiver controls.

The following link will open up a KiwiSDR receiver in Germany and also set it up to receive weather faxes from the German Weather Service on 13880 KHz.

http://s4wmv4hovyls5ebz.myfritz.net:8075/?f=13880.54&z=10&ext=fax,align:1,auto:1,stop:1

Frequencies and schedules of Wx FAX stations worldwide:
https://www.weather.gov/media/marine/rfax.pdfAnother receiver in the USA, tuned for FAXes from Point Reyes Station, CA.
198.40.45.23:8073/?f=12784.1/1100,2550usb&z=10&ext=fax,align:1,auto:1,stop:1

Sample FAX image from the German service :

Point Reyes Stn, CA :

And a greyscale cloud image (these need some adjustment of the receiver frequency for optimum brightness):

 

[BillTre]

New lego stuff (biological version).

Where's the black hole lego kit?

 

[BillTre]

 

[Swamp Thing]

View attachment 337382

".... .... .... ...."

"Live in the moment? Right, gotcha.... ....... OK, one moment lived in. Anything else?"

 

[DaveC426913]

"I gotta make lifestyle changes, eh doc? No problem. For how long?"

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L.

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-fermi-gamma-ray-space-telescope-mission.html

There is a video in the link but I will post that here too

 

[kyphysics]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-in-three-gen-zers-has-stolen-from-self-checkout-poll-shows/
https://apnews.com/article/selfcheckout-theft-labor-walmart-target-1a8a6da0291651815557316964d7f8f9
Nearly 1/3 of Gen-Zers have stolen using self-checkout kiosks.

Self-checkout lanes are getting trimmed due to increased theft, but cannot be entirely done away with, due to their popularity and shortage of labor.

I'm better understanding why my self-checkout lanes are sooooooo long lately (while cashier lanes are shorter and constantly inviting people over) and why security/staff hawk the self-checkout lanes.

 

[berkeman]

Nearly 1/3 of Gen-Zers have stolen using self-checkout kiosks.

Ah, that explains this news story from yesterday:

One Third of Gen-Zers Received Coal This Christmas

 

[gmax137]

Nearly 1/3 of Gen-Zers have stolen using self-checkout kiosks.

that's the Employee Discount

 

[Hornbein]

TIL that the Ket people of Siberia use panes of sheet ice in the windows of their traditional winter tents.

But what did the Ket use for bras?

 

[Swamp Thing]

But what did the Ket use for bras?

Did you know that Schroedinger came up with his own version of the ket, but it never caught on. He expected it to become famous as Schroedinger's ket, and he never got over the disappointment over its non-adoption.

 

[collinsmark]

Ah, that explains this news story from yesterday:

One Third of Gen-Zers Received Coal This Christmas

(Source: https://explosm.net/comics/arson#comic )

[Oops. 'Thought this was the jokes thread when posting. I may have misposted.]

 

[Tom.G]

[Oops. 'Thought this was the jokes when posting. I may have misposted.]

SURE you did!

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L New technique dating bricks using magnetic alignment with the earths magnetic field!

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-technology-archaeological-biblical.html

 

[symbolipoint]

T.I.L., or it was really about three days ago;
How to use a image viewer to resize or crop an image. The trouble is I will probably forget how and later will need to relearn this all over again.

 

[pinball1970]

T.I.L., or it was really about three days ago;
How to use a image viewer to resize or crop an image. The trouble is I will probably forget how and later will need to relearn this all over again.

You can always screenshot, paste in word then, select, format, crop.

 

[symbolipoint]

@pinball1970, about response post #5663 --
I was practicing video editing, ????????? making the goals a little different from what your posted video shows. Yet, the posted video is interesting and could be helpful in the future, OR to other readers now.

(excuse the wildcards)

 

[pinball1970]

@pinball1970, about response post #5663 --
I was practicing video editing, ????????? making the goals a little different from what your posted video shows. Yet, the posted video is interesting and could be helpful in the future, OR to other readers now.

(excuse the wildcards)

Apologies! Video is a whole different ball game!

 

[symbolipoint]

Apologies! Video is a whole different ball game!

Not a problem. No Apology Needed!

 

[pinball1970]

@pinball1970, about response post #5663 --
I was practicing video editing, ????????? making the goals a little different from what your posted video shows. Yet, the posted video is interesting and could be helpful in the future, OR to other readers now.

(excuse the wildcards)

In my defense you said image not video sir.

 

[symbolipoint]

In my defense you said image not video sir.

Okay still not a problem. We can put still-images into videos. Two-or-three days ago I Learned to ...., and it was something upon manipulating something about an still-image; which I soon included into a video edit. Video editors allow (or at least the ones I am aware of) to put both still-images and video recordings into the video project being built.

 

[BillTre]

TIL that field pansies in France are evolving to more frequently self-fertilize rather than relying on bees to be pollinated by non-self plants.
NY Times story
Research story
This gets them pollinated in a world with fewer pollinating bees, but will result in a loss of genetic diversity.
Their flowers are getting smaller and they are making less nectar (both bee attractants).
Losing genetic diversity can make them more likely to go extinct.

Morning glories seem to be responding in a different way. They are making larger more ostentatious flowers to better attract the bees the are still around, but in smaller numbers.

 

[DaveC426913]

use a image viewer to resize or crop an image.

I was practicing video editing, ?

If I'm being honest, I didn't know you were even talking about digital images...