Today I Learned

[jtbell]

Today I learned that when the stock market neither rises steadily (bull market) nor falls steadily (bear market), but instead sort of hops around like it's been doing for the last several months, it's called a bunny market.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

TIL (yesterday actually) that the U.S. Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1964 created an adjunct to the federal court system to provide Public Defenders for people accused of federal crimes at no cost for defendants who were unable to pay attorney fees. I had previously thought that public defenders in state courts preceded this happening with respect to federal courts, but the CJA made public defenders a required service to indigent defendants in both state and federal courts.

 

[epenguin]

well i thought he was English...because of his rival with Newton and at the time many scientists were probably only aware of only scientists in their countries

or am i mistaken

for example, was Newton's Principia only known in UK or throughout all of continental Europe when it was released

You are very mistaken to think scientists were aware of only scientists in their own countries.

 

[epenguin]

Did you know LaGrange was Italian?

I know why you say that and what you think you mean. However it is IMO opinable or definitional. It is probably safest to call him Piedmontese. There was no Italian state in his time, and I will leave it to others whether there was an Italian nation, and to fight with the French over whether he belonged to it. The Royal Court, and I believe official and legal language to quite an extent, and that of culture was French, his father, a state official was French. I have always not known but suspected that his famous Torinese Academy publications were in French, and as far as I have been able to look just now it looks like they were: https://books.google.it/books/about/Miscellanea_taurinensia.html?id=tdEAAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y

I am fairly sure that his work in the Berlin Academy, certainly Méchanique Analytique would have been published in French, and that German was not used as scientific language at the time.

I read that he said that if he had been born rich he would have been an idler, not a mathematician. Sometimes you can't do exactly what you want and you have to settle for the nearest thing.

 

[Sophia]

Yesterday I learned that cold shower causes a massive release of endorphins in me :-)
So I decided to try cold showers to increase my immunity and while it was awful at first and I squeeked and thought I'd get a heart attack (not really, exaggerating) I felt amazing afterwards! I guess my brain was happy that I survived such a torture :-) I had good mood all evening and slept well (the shower was about 3 hours before sleep)

 

[CynicusRex]

Yesterday I learned that cold shower causes a massive release of endorphins in me :-)
So I decided to try cold showers to increase my immunity and while it was awful at first and I squeeked and thought I'd get a heart attack (not really, exaggerating) I felt amazing afterwards! I guess my brain was happy that I survived such a torture :-) I had good mood all evening and slept well (the shower was about 3 hours before sleep)

I started doing that also some days ago. Works like magic if I avoid the top of my head. I prefer not having a brainfreeze :)

Anyway, TIL The Khan Academy has a CHO: a Chief Happiness Officer!

If I would have the opportunity to choose a company to work for it would definitely be either Khan Academy, SpaceX or Tesla.
Khan Academy: Chief Happiness Officer
SpaceX, Tesla: No-a$$hole policy

I think that's the way to the future. A road paved by nice people.

 

[jim hardy]

I think that's the way to the future. A road paved by nice people.

+++++

You'd probably enjoy Loren Eiseley's writings.

“The need is not really for more brains, the need is now for a gentler, a more tolerant people than those who won for us against the ice, the tiger and the bear. The hand that hefted the ax, out of some old blind allegiance to the past fondles the machine gun as lovingly. It is a habit man will have to break to survive, but the roots go very deep.”
― Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey: An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of Man and Nature


“Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects around him. He suffers from a nostalgia for which there is no remedy upon Earth except as it is to be found in the enlightenment of the spirit--some ability to have a perceptive rather than an exploitive relationship with his fellow creatures.”
― Loren Eiseley

 

[nsaspook]

I learn something new on this day every year.

 

[Ibix]

I learn something new on this day every year.

I want one of them "hold" buttons...

 

[Psinter]

Today I learned that the Tetris Theme Music comes actually from a Russian Folk song called Korobeiniki. Check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korobeiniki

 

[Drakkith]

Today I learned, once again, that physics is hard. That knowledge must sometimes be wrangled from its range and beat against ones head until it stays.

 

[Borg]

TIL that the Godfather trophy is awarded after 2500 days and not 7 years (2556 or 2557 days depending on leap years).

 

[mfb]

1036 days to go!

The 4-year trophy is 1200 days, significantly shorter than 4*365+1=1461.

The 5 years of the Einstein award seem to be quite precise (+-1 day depending on leap years).

 

[ShayanJ]

Today I learned I'm a GodFather!

P.S.
I doubt I can call that learning!

 

[OmCheeto]

TIL that agent Smith wasn't just being metaphorical, but we really are viruses.
At least, in part.

How Viruses Infiltrated Our DNA and Supercharged Our Immune System [The Atlantic]
March 3, 2016

Hundreds of millions of years ago, prehistoric viruses inserted their genes into the genomes of our ancestors. They found their way into eggs or sperm, and then into embryos. As they passed down from one generation to the next, they picked up mutations that disabled their ability to infect new cells. Eventually, they became permanent fixtures of our genomes, as much a part of our DNA as our own genes.

Today, these ‘endogenous retroviruses’ or ERVs make up 8 percent of our genome. They are genetic fossils—remnants of our viral ancestors, and records of epidemics past.
...

Wait, what's this

For example, syncytin, a gene that’s essential for creating the placenta, came from a virus; in the words of Carl Zimmer, “If not for a virus, none of us would ever be born.”

Does that mean without that virus, we would have been hatched from eggs?
What the hell is a placenta?
Oh my god, don't google that. Yuck!

hmmmm...
http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_animals_without_a_placenta_develop

Animals that do not develop in a placenta will develop outside of the uterus rather than in. Kangaroos and Koalas use pouches to develop their young.​

I guess we wouldn't necessarily be hatched, but our mothers would have pouches.

Anyways, that's what I learned today.

 

[rootone]

My GF asked me to trim her hair fringe which is not difficult and I have done it before.
She thought I did about right, but her dad found out and said that guys should not be cutting woman's hair.
What?, not even when if it's requested by the woman?
Never mind, just ventin'

 

[Kevin McHugh]

Today, as I was reading Greiner's QED about Green's functions as propagators, I learned that I'm a dumba$$. I envy those who are brilliant enough to derive this stuff.

 

[jim hardy]

My GF asked me to trim her hair fringe which is not difficult and I have done it before.
She thought I did about right, but her dad found out and said that guys should not be cutting woman's hair.
What?, not even when if it's requested by the woman?

Ever seen "Fiddler on the Roof" ? Dads are sensitive about daughters. It's nature's way...

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

Today I learned I have a mandatory exam today and I only learned about it from my friends and classmates and I received no letter or email about.

I also learned that planting seeds on public property is illegal.

 

[Sophia]

Today I learned I have a mandatory exam today and I only learned about it from my friends and classmates and I received no letter or email about.

I also learned that planting seeds on public property is illegal.

That must have been stressful. How did you in the test? I'm sure you had many correct answers even without studying before!

And what's the story behind planting seeds in the public? Are you one of those green extremists who plant trees and flowers in public spaces at night? :-)

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

How did you in the test?

I think did great (except maybe that question on proteins)! Thanks for asking!

And what's the story behind planting seeds in the public? Are you one of those green extremists who plant trees and flowers in public spaces at night? :-)

Hehe . . . that was out of curiosity. I looked into planting because of this thread that I created:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/methods-for-preventing-erosion.864247/
I’m not a “green extremist”, although I can be extreme at times and do love the color green

 

[Astronuc]

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-impossible-just-happened-in-texas-2015-9
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/rec...-ercot-prices-into-negative-territory/405606/

Negative pricing again in the news.

What do Texas and California have in common? 'Negative power' caused by renewables glut
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20160405-what-do-texas-and-california-have-in-common-negative-power-caused-by-renewables-glut.ece

 

[1oldman2]

Today, I learned that I still have a lot of learning to do.

 

[Borg]

Today, I learned that I still have a lot of learning to do.

I learn that every day.

 

[jim hardy]

Wow ! from Astro's link...

www.utilitydive.com/news/record-wind-generation-pushes-ercot-prices-into-negative-territory/405606/
Wind farms in the state set a new record of almost 11,500 MW on Sunday night, besting a previous record set in February.

This time of year when use is low ... i wonder what fraction of their total load that was?? In the middle of a warm night...

Another thought from that site

http://app.assetdl.com/landingpage/energy-storage-into-virtual-power-plant/?utm_campaign=UDL
Municipal utilities have become the early adopters of turning distributed energy storage into a virtual power plant. Their successful pilot programs are beginning to reshape the way the utility industry operates. It’s only the beginning, as more utility companies start to take notice of the benefits of distributed energy storage.

Download Utility Dive’s playbook and learn how:

• Your company can develop micro-grids and a virtual power plant
• Falling battery prices are giving way to more customer-sited storage opportunities
• Distributed energy storage is helping transform utilities into an environmentally-friendly industry

Decentralize generation ? Customer sited storage ? Makes me realize what a fossil i have become ..
i am... the sum total of my experience ? Which is, a generator weighs at least 400 tons...

In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer

 

[OmCheeto]

Wow ! from Astro's link...This time of year when use is low ... i wonder what fraction of their total load that was?? In the middle of a warm night...

Another thought from that siteDecentralize generation ? Customer sited storage ? Makes me realize what a fossil i have become ..
i am... the sum total of my experience ? Which is, a generator weighs at least 400 tons...

TIL that my 50 watt solar panels weigh 5.94 kg (13 lb, = 0.0065 tons)

ps. My cousin is in town, and on Monday we went to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, where I read that the SR-71 airplane had more horsepower than the Queen Mary. I found that somewhat astonishing, as I could see that the airplane only seated two people, and I assumed the Queen Mary was some cruise ship that carried thousands of people.

So I looked it up today, and discovered that there were 4 Queen Marys, and had to figure out which one they were talking about:

HMS Queen Mary, a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy launched in 1912 and sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916

703 feet long battlecruiser
75,000 hp​

TS Queen Mary, a Clyde Steamer launched in 1933, now retired and stored in Tilbury Docks, London, UK

252.5 feet long
351 hp
(I've seen jetskis with that rated horsepower!)​

RMS Queen Mary, a Cunard Line ocean liner launched in 1934, now retired as a hotel in Long Beach, California, USA

965-1019.4 feet long
160,000 hp​

RMS Queen Mary 2, a Cunard ocean liner that entered service in 2003

1132 feet long
90,100 + 67,000 = 157,100 hp​

SR-71

2 seater airplane
160,000 hp​

Anyways, I found that all kind of funny.

pps. We all got together at my brothers house last night, and my brother was in the USAF, and said he was at Langley AFB, and found out that SR71 pilot and whatever that other guy did, spent 4 hours getting ready for flight, as they had to don astronaut type suits, and sit in a vacuum chamber, to make sure said suits didn't leak, so they wouldn't die while flying around.

ppps. The Spruce Goose was much smaller than I expected. But beings that it was made out of plywood, I was most impressed that it didn't disintegrate when Howard flew it.

 

[jamalkoiyess]

Today i learned that we killed the planet entirely with pollution and that everything that is pretty is too expensive

 

[jim hardy]

RMS Queen Mary, a Cunard Line ocean liner launched in 1934, now retired as a hotel in Long Beach, California, USA
965-1019.4 feet long
160,000 hp

i had good fortune to tour the other Queen, Elizabeth , at Ft Lauderdale in 1969

One of my most memorable days .

Sadly this beauty wound up as a rusting hulk somewhere in Japan.

SpruceGoose is on my Bucket list.

 

[OmCheeto]

Today i learned that we killed the planet entirely

That doesn't make sense.
If the planet were killed "entirely", then you wouldn't have been able to say that.

with pollution

hmmm...

and that everything that is pretty is too expensive

Not my flowers!
Nor my trees.
I planted neither.

ps. TIL that my Lebanese friend doesn't show up on my Facebook feed. That kind of upset me, as he is one of the most delightful people I know on this planet.

 

[Sophia]

Top 10 Mispronounced Words

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Today i learned that we killed the planet entirely with pollution and that everything that is pretty is too expensive

Hi jaM:

I think that what you learned today was a look into the future a few years or so.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[Astronuc]

Negative pricing again in the news.

What do Texas and California have in common? 'Negative power' caused by renewables glut
http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20160405-what-do-texas-and-california-have-in-common-negative-power-caused-by-renewables-glut.ece

and adding to woes in California

Officials: Porter Ranch gas leak could cause blackouts this summer!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-porter-ranch-gas-leak-200957219.html

Talk about putting too many eggs in one basket.And coming down the road - The world is about to have a good old-fashioned glut on its hands, courtesy of China's problematic economy.

China's crude steel, aluminum, shipbuilding, chemicals, cement, refinery products, flat glass, and paper will all have to be unloaded on the world, whether the world needs them or not. (Mostly not.)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-just-started-unloading-biggest-191110971.html

 

[Planobilly]

Today I learned a few new acronyms...
BTW IMHO FWIW IRL acronyms R A PITB causing FUD...lol
My predilection is to proselytize, promote, advocate, champion, peddle, preach, endorse, and recommend the use of real words to prevent ambiguity.

CU @ *$ M8

PB

 

[Pepper Mint]

Foliage I think can be pronounced as /foiledz/ particularly when you speak fast, I pronounce it as /foli-eidz/ though. Just like Practically may probably, many times, be sounded like /practikly/ - /e/ sound after /k/ is skipped.
I don't know about Bruschetta, Quinoa and Mauve. The rest I make no mistake to pronounce sounds like silly mistakes made just by carelessness (e.g an extra /e/ sound is added to /mischeveous/, or ask becomes ax) and bad habit loop.

 

[Sophia]

Foliage I think can be pronounced as /foiledz/ particularly when you speak fast, I pronounce it as /foli-eidz/ though. Just like Practically may probably, many times, be sounded like /practikly/ - /e/ sound after /k/ is skipped.
I don't know about Bruschetta, Quinoa and Mauve. The rest I make no mistake to pronounce sounds like silly mistakes made just by carelessness (e.g an extra /e/ sound is added to /mischeveous/, or ask becomes ax) and bad habit loop.

I got all wrong except nuclear, espresso, jalapeno and ask. I never thought that it could be pronounced as ax :)
Never heard word "mauve" before.