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

[Ibix]

Um... no thanks.

The link turns out to take you to an LP called Leprosy by a band called Death (Amazon's top choice for death leprosy, I gather) and a lot of textbooks about leprosy and its history.

 

[fresh_42]

Um... no thanks.

The link turns out to take you to an LP called Leprosy by a band called Death (Amazon's top choice for death leprosy, I gather) and a lot of textbooks about leprosy and its history.

Wait, before you buy. I will first order some calls on pharma stocks.

 

[WWGD]

I remember a while back someone asking if they could buy " Loosies/Lucys" from me; could not make out what they were. I wondered if Lucy was short for LSD ( " Lucy in the sky with diamonds"), but I think it was loosies, as in loose cigarettes.

 

[WWGD]

View attachment 286770
Um... no thanks.

The link turns out to take you to an LP called Leprosy by a band called Death (Amazon's top choice for death leprosy, I gather) and a lot of textbooks about leprosy and its history.

As useful as :

 

[WWGD]

Kind of strange calculator in my phone. It prrsents all partial results when multiplying as I enter the numbers. Example: 120x130 will first show a 120, as 120x1, then will show 1560 as 120x13, then finally the full result 15600.

 

[Keith_McClary]

Kind of strange calculator in my phone. It prrsents all partial results when multiplying as I enter the numbers. Example: 120x130 will first show a 120, as 120x1, then will show 1560 as 120x13, then finally the full result 15600.

Those microchips are always showing off.

 

[Tom.G]

View attachment 286770
Um... no thanks.

The link turns out to take you to an LP called Leprosy by a band called Death (Amazon's top choice for death leprosy, I gather) and a lot of textbooks about leprosy and its history.

I think your device is ill.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=palemoon&q=leprosy&ia=web

 

[Ibix]

I think your device is ill.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=palemoon&q=leprosy&ia=web

Adding or removing the "t=palemoon" parameter (which seems to identify your browser - I'm in Firefox) makes the difference. That's... interesting.

 

[WWGD]

What are the t,q, ia and palemoon about? Search parameters?

 

[Ibix]

They're HTTP GET parameters - essentially variables and values that are passed to the search engine that generates the page. The ? signifies the beginning of parameters and the & delimits them.

The q parameter here is obviously the search term. The t parameter is apparently the originating browser (I didn't know of the Palemoon browser, but now I do, and I know that Tom.G uses it, which is why you should be a little careful posting URLs because they can leak information - nothing serious in this case, but still). I can't immediately guess what the ia parameter is.

 

[WWGD]

They're HTTP GET parameters - essentially variables and values that are passed to the search engine that generates the page. The ? signifies the beginning of parameters and the & delimits them.

The q parameter here is obviously the search term. The t parameter is apparently the originating browser (I didn't know of the Palemoon browser, but now I do, and I know that Tom.G uses it, which is why you should be a little careful posting URLs because they can leak information - nothing serious in this case, but still). I can't immediately guess what the ia parameter is.

Thanks. Were the parameters entered by Tom or generated by Palemoon engine ?

 

[Ibix]

Thanks. Were the parameters entered by Tom or generated by Palemoon engine ?

They come from the HTML/Javascript in the previous page. It's one way of passing parameters from things like text boxes, and the Javascript apparently added a browser string and whatever the ia parameter is.

It's useful because you can go straight to the DuckDuckGo results page by entering the URL https://duckduckgo.com/?q=whatever (or generating that string in some application), but it means URLs get very lengthy. There are other ways of doing things if you want to avoid that.

 

[fresh_42]

The q parameter here is obviously the search term. The t parameter is apparently the originating browser (I didn't know of the Palemoon browser, but now I do, and I know that Tom.G uses it, which is why you should be a little careful posting URLs because they can leak information - nothing serious in this case, but still). I can't immediately guess what the ia parameter is.

I first recognized it when I linked amazon books.

Before edit:
https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebraic-Groups-Graduate-Mathematics/dp/0387901086/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=linear+algebraic+groups&qid=1627562832&sr=8-1

After edit:
https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebraic-Groups-Graduate-Mathematics/dp/0387901086/

Same page.

 

[WWGD]

I have heard of people who have bought old , unused planes or buses, removed everything in the inside and turned it into their houses. Seems a bus with its windows would be difficult to secure. I can see someone having their homes robbed but not stolen.

 

[Keith_McClary]

I have heard of people who have bought old , unused planes or buses, removed everything in the inside and turned it into their houses. Seems a bus with its windows would be difficult to secure. I can see someone having their homes robbed but not stolen.

Probably all their other possessions are also repurposed items.

 

[WWGD]

Probably all their other possessions are also repurposed items.

Could be. Some claimed to be able to live on $5,000 / year ( after paying for the plane/bus).

 

[Klystron]

I have heard of people who have bought old , unused planes or buses, removed everything in the inside and turned it into their houses. Seems a bus with its windows would be difficult to secure. I can see someone having their homes robbed but not stolen.

Being unused sounds new to me.

Tom Wolfe wrote a journal/novel called "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about writer Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters crossing the US and living in a repurposed school bus styled "Further". I saw the bus at a party in La Honda as a kid and met Neil Cassidy, the bus driver with the 4 lb. sledge hammer. He was planning on driving the bus north to Oregon and installing it on Kesey's ranch to live in as his home.

 

[WWGD]

Being unused sounds new to me.

Tom Wolfe wrote a journal/novel called "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about writer Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters crossing the US and living in a repurposed school bus styled "Further". I saw the bus at a party in La Honda as a kid and met Neil Cassidy, the bus driver with the 4 lb. sledge hammer. He was planning on driving the bus north to Oregon and installing it on Kesey's ranch to live in as his home.

My bad, should be used planes/buses.

 

[WWGD]

I first recognized it when I linked amazon books.

Before edit:
https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebraic-Groups-Graduate-Mathematics/dp/0387901086/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=linear+algebraic+groups&qid=1627562832&sr=8-1

After edit:
https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebraic-Groups-Graduate-Mathematics/dp/0387901086/

Same page.

I have heard google taylors its searches/search results individually, depending on previous searches it has stored. Can this be gleamed from the search string (or otherwise)?

 

[WWGD]

Wow, just said hi to someone I had not seen in around 2 years, a casual acquaintance and got the coldest reply. Oh, yes, [name], remember we talked about x? Mhuh. Wow, what's the deal with the delta variant? Think we'll need another jab? Mhuh. Guess that's a bye bye, so long farewell.

 

[Klystron]

Wow, just said hi to someone I had not seen in around 2 years, a casual acquaintance and got the coldest reply. Oh, yes, [name], remember we talked about x? Mhuh. Wow, what's the deal with the delta variant? Think we'll need another jab? Mhuh. Guess that's a bye bye, so long farewell.

Were you wearing a mask?

 

[WWGD]

Being unused sounds new to me.

Tom Wolfe wrote a journal/novel called "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about writer Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters crossing the US and living in a repurposed school bus styled "Further". I saw the bus at a party in La Honda as a kid and met Neil Cassidy, the bus driver with the 4 lb. sledge hammer. He was planning on driving the bus north to Oregon and installing it on Kesey's ranch to live in as his home.

And I guess they ended up in the " Cuckoo's Nest"?

 

[Tom.G]

Adding or removing the "t=palemoon" parameter (which seems to identify your browser - I'm in Firefox) makes the difference. That's... interesting.

The browser used was "mypal" which is a fork of a later version of Firefox than I normally use... normally use except when it doesn't recognize the 'New-and-Improved' features on some web pages.

The only reason I switched to 'mypal' for that search was easy access to duckduckgo.com, which was the pre-installed default search engine.

I generally sanitize any URLs I post and that one was deemed safe. By contrast the URL generated by Google is 313 characters long, which I strip down to 41 characters as shown here.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=leprosy

I have heard google taylors its searches/search results individually, depending on previous searches it has stored. Can this be gleamed from the search string (or otherwise)?

Yup. When I clear my Google cookies I got more inclusive responses. Most noticeable was search results showing up from Google Scholar. (scholar.google.com)

Apparently there are some things we mere mortals are not supposed to notice/worry about.

Try this experiment:
on www.Google.com, search for the word: Apparently
then switch to scholar.google.com and search

Cheers,
Tom

 

[WWGD]

Seems

Were you wearing a mask?

No, and neither was he. Nor anyone else around. But, hey, no one's died of being snubbed

 

[Ibix]

But, hey, no one's died of being snubbed

But the consequences can be pretty devastating nonetheless.

 

[WWGD]

Seems

The browser used was "mypal" which is a fork of a later version of Firefox than I normally use... normally use except when it doesn't recognize the 'New-and-Improved' features on some web pages.

The only reason I switched to 'mypal' for that search was easy access to duckduckgo.com, which was the pre-installed default search engine.

I generally sanitize any URLs I post and that one was deemed safe. By contrast the URL generated by Google is 313 characters long, which I strip down to 41 characters as shown here.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=leprosyYup. When I clear my Google cookies I got more inclusive responses. Most noticeable was search results showing up from Google Scholar. (scholar.google.com)

Apparently there are some things we mere mortals are not supposed to notice/worry about.

Try this experiment:
on www.Google.com, search for the word: Apparently
then switch to scholar.google.com and search

Cheers,
Tom

Thanks. I got the proof without even requiring the search. Google was offering suggestions of articles relating to music I heard on you tube today. I guess I can paraphrase : if you can't tell what the product is, you _ are_ the product.
Seems incredibly naive when I hear people say " I like Google, it's free", not realizing the price they pay.

 

[WWGD]

The browser used was "mypal" which is a fork of a later version of Firefox than I normally use... normally use except when it doesn't recognize the 'New-and-Improved' features on some web pages.

The only reason I switched to 'mypal' for that search was easy access to duckduckgo.com, which was the pre-installed default search engine.

I generally sanitize any URLs I post and that one was deemed safe. By contrast the URL generated by Google is 313 characters long, which I strip down to 41 characters as shown here.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=leprosyYup. When I clear my Google cookies I got more inclusive responses. Most noticeable was search results showing up from Google Scholar. (scholar.google.com)

Apparently there are some things we mere mortals are not supposed to notice/worry about.Try this experiment:
on www.Google.com, search for the word: Apparently
then switch to scholar.google.com and search

Cheers,
Tom

Google shares some blame, I believe, for today's political radicalization by keeping people in a bubble because of the way searches are tailored. It ends up reinforcing previous views and not allowing other views/ideas that may contradict it. I too, use Duckduckgo.

 

[WWGD]

But the consequences can be pretty devastating nonetheless.

Thanks, I am not a hip guy ; heard of black adder but not familiar with it. I guess I am just an ordinary guy , but don't go painting in the louvre on Sunday. Just realize the strange line in the song: " I come from London town " and then" Sunday I go painting in the louvre". ( Queen's " Lazying on a Sunday afternoon"). If I remember the lyrics correctly.

 

[WWGD]

Google shares some blame, I believe, for today's political radicalization by keeping people in a bubble because of the way searches are tailored. It ends up reinforcing previous views and not allowing other views/ideas that may contradict it. I too, use Duckduckgo.

I've heard this is part of why China censors the internet. It wants to prevent individual citizens from each going through its own rabbit hole/little world. It tries to synchronize and " uniformize" the content Chinese citizens are exposed to so that they do not end up being in their own respective bubbles, creating social division.

 

[WWGD]

Almost fell for it. A refund from (supposedly) Norton, asking to give them remote access (through a team viewer-like software) and then ultimately asking to access my bank account. How about just writing me a check? Well, they supposedly don't write checks any more since Covid. How naive of me.

 

[WWGD]

The browser used was "mypal" which is a fork of a later version of Firefox than I normally use... normally use except when it doesn't recognize the 'New-and-Improved' features on some web pages.

The only reason I switched to 'mypal' for that search was easy access to duckduckgo.com, which was the pre-installed default search engine.

I generally sanitize any URLs I post and that one was deemed safe. By contrast the URL generated by Google is 313 characters long, which I strip down to 41 characters as shown here.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=leprosyYup. When I clear my Google cookies I got more inclusive responses. Most noticeable was search results showing up from Google Scholar. (scholar.google.com)

Apparently there are some things we mere mortals are not supposed to notice/worry about.

Try this experiment:
on www.Google.com, search for the word: Apparently
then switch to scholar.google.com and search

Cheers,
Tom

Wow, here's the string output for the google of "Apparently", after removing the prefix

/search?q=Apparently&sxsrf=ALeKk02CoE9mGfr7tGG0AFVh_smvN2tSAg%3A1627669926409&source=hp&ei=pkUEYeXnFavp_QaFy7LYAg&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYQRTtpYVSuZtkC-XdEqZUJfa87svlUKq&oq=Apparently&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCwguEIAEELEDEJMCMggILhCABBCxAzILCAAQgAQQsQMQgwEyBQgAEIAEMggIABCABBCxAzIICAAQgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEOgUIABCRAjoICC4QsQMQgwE6CwguEIAEEMcBEKMCOggIABCxAxCDAToOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQowI6CAgAEIAEEMkDOgUIABCSAzoOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQrwE6CwgAELEDEIMBEMkDUKQiWNZSYPN2aABwAHgAgAG6A4gBghCSAQkwLjcuMS4xLjGYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjl0pb-tovyAhWrdN8KHYWlDCsQ4dUDCAk&uact=5

Here's the string for a DuckDuckgo search:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Apparently&t=newext&atb=v258-1&ia=definition

How would one sanitize the google string?

 

[fresh_42]

How would one sanitize the google string?

https://www.google.com/search?q=apparently

 

[WWGD]

In case anyone is interested, here are the search strings for a google search , before and after clearing my search history:

Before:
/search?q=Apparently&sxsrf=ALeKk02CoE9mGfr7tGG0AFVh_smvN2tSAg%3A1627669926409&source=hp&ei=pkUEYeXnFavp_QaFy7LYAg&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYQRTtpYVSuZtkC-XdEqZUJfa87svlUKq&oq=Apparently&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCwguEIAEELEDEJMCMggILhCABBCxAzILCAAQgAQQsQMQgwEyBQgAEIAEMggIABCABBCxAzIICAAQgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEOgUIABCRAjoICC4QsQMQgwE6CwguEIAEEMcBEKMCOggIABCxAxCDAToOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQowI6CAgAEIAEEMkDOgUIABCSAzoOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQrwE6CwgAELEDEIMBEMkDUKQiWNZSYPN2aABwAHgAgAG6A4gBghCSAQkwLjcuMS4xLjGYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjl0pb-tovyAhWrdN8KHYWlDCsQ4dUDCAk&uact=5
After:
/search?q=Apparently&sxsrf=ALeKk029xtkY2TCauztbIBAnELyQR6698g%3A1627671305023&source=hp&ei=CEsEYfiqO6S6gge1o7OIAQ&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYQRZGZnkYnCMoQyJOQYbDeB6_GWgL42N&oq=Apparently&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgjECcyBQgAEJECMgUIABCRAjIFCAAQkQIyCAguEIAEELEDMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIFCAAQgAQyCAgAEIAEELEDMggIABCABBCxAzIFCAAQgAQ6BwgjEOoCECc6DggAEOoCELQCENkCEOUCOggILhCxAxCDAToLCC4QgAQQxwEQowI6CAgAELEDEIMBOgoILhDHARCjAhBDOgQIABBDOgcIABCxAxBDOg0ILhCxAxDHARCjAhBDOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjoECC4QQzoHCC4QsQMQQzoKCC4QxwEQrwEQQzoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQrwE6CAgAELEDEJECUN0QWN8lYJI3aAFwAHgAgAGgAogB-w2SAQUxLjUuNJgBAKABAbABCg&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwj4zsaPvIvyAhUkneAKHbXRDBEQ4dUDCAk&uact=5

 

[WWGD]

https://www.google.com/search?q=apparently

Is there a general method? Is this dhtml ( Dynamic Html)?

 

[fresh_42]

Is there a general method? Is this dhtml ( Dynamic Html)?

The question mark is the delimiter. Everything right of it is extra information. We had to keep the search item in your example, of course, so the right hand side couldn't be deleted entirely.

There are two major events where I "sanitize the addresses". I love that verb! If I capture image addresses to repost them and on amazon. The image addresses are usually a lot shorter if taken from the original website instead of from a google search result. And amazon is a problem in itself. I never know when they switch me to "German" without being asked, of course. It was easier when I was young: ".com" was English, ".de" was German. Those designer idiots nowadays think that they must think for me, and often automatically re-direct me if they analyzed my IP. I call this the BGS (Bill Gates syndrome). What might be convenient for morons, is a pita to me. I think the more we use computers, the dumber we become. AI? We don't need AI. Those machines already make decisions for us! Back to amazon. The amazon URL keeps an entire little search history in it. One has to cut it at the question mark since the article number as part of an identifier is the last entry on the left of it.