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

In summary, the conversation consists of various discussions about documentaries, the acquisition of National Geographic by Fox, a funny manual translation, cutting sandwiches, a question about the proof of the infinitude of primes, and a realization about the similarity between PF and PDG symbols. The conversation also touches on multitasking and the uniqueness of the number two as a prime number.
  • #9,836
Batman function:
20220814_143123.jpg
 
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Physics news on Phys.org
  • #9,837
Screen Shot 2022-08-14 at 10.20.12 AM.png
 
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  • #9,838
I suspect Superman's opposition to Krypto currency may be biased .
 
  • #9,840
The above referenced article is very hard to read due to the character font in use. Doing a copy-and-paste of the text into your favorite editor makes it readable, and interesting.
 
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  • #9,841
My social graces:
Me: " How are you, Andrew ?"
Him " I'm not Andrew, I'm John"
Me: " Then stop looking like an Andrew!"
 
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  • #9,842
WWGD said:
My social graces:
Me: " How are you, Andrew ?"
Him " I'm not Andrew, I'm John"
Me: " Then stop looking like an Andrew!"
I also use a trick. On the phone, that guarantees me that it's me who leads the dialogue.

When I pick up the phone I firmly say "Shalom!" That a) prevents me from getting recorded something like "yes", or my name, such that they could fake my agreement to any obscure contracts, b) tells my Muslim fellow citizens that they obviously got the wrong number without having to explain anything, and c) stuns callers for the unexpected greeting that they loose their prepared roadbook and it's me who asks not them. And it is a political statement.

Only once, I have had an old lady with a Jewish name on the phone who dialed the wrong number. That was a bit of a pity since I did not mean to confuse her.
 
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  • #9,843
fresh_42 said:
b) tells my Muslim fellow citizens that they obviously got the wrong number without having to explain anything
Because?
 
  • #9,844
malawi_glenn said:
Because?
Because chances are 100:1 that a Muslim dialed a wrong number in contrast to a Jew. Then I almost certainly have a communication problem. I introduced "Shalom" (some years ago) after the following dialogue:

(I picked up the phone with my name.)
"As-salamu alaykum."
"Entschuldigung, ich verstehe Sie nicht."
(something hard to understand in a strange accent)
"Könnten Sie sich bitte der deutschen Sprache befleißigen?"
(something hard to understand in a strange accent, this time only louder)
This went on for a while and the caller finally closed the dialogue with
"A******!"
And no, it was not as-salamu alaykum. It was a curse that is identical in German and English.

That was the first time I decided to shock them with a "Shalom!" instead. And it is a statement against the anti-semitism in our Muslim community here. It works.

P.S: My number is pretty old and meanwhile at least 3 digits too short. That means I have a 1,000 times increased risk of wrong calls.
 
  • #9,845
But not all muslims are anti-semitic. Sure, answering with "Shalom" should reduce the probability that the dialoge continues.
 
  • #9,846
malawi_glenn said:
But not all muslims are anti-semitic. Sure, answering with "Shalom" should reduce the probability that the dialoge continues.
This is usually a matter of education whether they are anti-semitic or not. Well, in that case, we won't have a problem communicating anyway. But (my estimation) 90% are, since they identify Jews with Israel, and they are definitely not pro Israel. I consider my cultural heritage to be christian-jewish (e.g. Hausdorff). "Shalom" is a statement to express this opinion, plus it means exactly the same as as-salamu alaykum.
 
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  • #9,847
A recent merger : "Eye of the Tiger" , with Metallica's "Eye of the Beholder":
Soon to be released : " Eye of the Beholden Tiger ".

Brings back the issue of the merger between Oxford and Cambridge :

Oxbridge or Cambford ?
 
  • #9,848
WWGD said:
Soon to be released : " Eye of the Beholden Tiger ".
That tiger is clearly not crouching enough next to the hidden dragon.
 
  • #9,849
fresh_42 said:
When I pick up the phone I firmly say "Shalom!" ... stuns callers for the unexpected greeting that they loose their prepared roadbook and it's me who asks not them.
I knew a guy who (for a period) replied every incoming call with 'Pathology!' on a kind of similar basis😇
 
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  • #9,850
Many years ago I knew a woman that answered with (laughing)
"Speak, Baby... It's Your Dime."

Then there was a guy that, using a guttural voice, used
"Joe's Poolroom, Q-Ball speaking."

I generally use "Hello, this is Tom." That was started mainly to save the time taken by "May I speak with Tom, please?", and responding with either "Speaking" or a deadpan "You are."

Using the "You are" response would sometimes take longer, the caller had to stop and process that! :oldlaugh:
 
  • #9,851
Tom.G said:
Many years ago I knew a woman that answered with (laughing)
"Speak, Baby... It's Your Dime."
Reminds me of that girl who had "Just the two of us" on her answering machine ... until her gynecologist tried to reach her ...
 
  • #9,852
GaH!
I lost track of a query that maps together logins users and roles. When I move a database around, data moves, but not so with security. And I lost track of the system views I used for the tables.
 
  • #9,853
WWGD said:
Two more for my list of triple syllable phrases:
The Waikiki kiss
The Lolo Lovers ( Lolo is weed in Hawaian)

Happy Birthday, Singapore, Independence from Malaysia in Aug 9, 1965. Isn't @atyy Singaporean?
Just saw this now. Thanks!
 
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  • #9,854
Iron Maiden To rename it's song " Two Minutes to Midnight" into "11:58 p.m". I think they should leave it as is.
 
  • #9,855
I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.
 
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  • #9,856
In June, my wife and I were in Norfolk, VA and visited the Chrysler Museum and their Glass Studio across the street. We just happened to be there at the right time to see a one hour demonstration. It was pretty interesting.

GlassBlowing.jpg
 
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  • #9,857
dlgoff said:
I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.
Have you ever actually tried it? The force required from one's breath is surprisingly high. I could barely inflate the glass bulb at all. :oldfrown:

In Sydney, there's a tourist trappy area called "The Rocks" with a fascinating store called Argyle Glass. I remember watching their master glassworkers creating intricate ornaments, such as dragons, unicorns, cute pussycats, kangaroos, koalas, a harley motorbike, and many other things. They made it all look so easy. :wideeyed:
 
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  • #9,858
dlgoff said:
I was watching a PBS television program about glass blowing and it reminded me of the glass blower at my university's chemistry department back in the 1960's and 1970's. Amazing work.
Iirc, the answer is blowing in the wind. Not sure why its there.
 
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  • #9,859
strangerep said:
Have you ever actually tried it?
No, but I could tell from my university's glass blower, it wasn't easy.
 
  • #9,860
dlgoff said:
No, but I could tell from my university's glass blower, it wasn't easy.
There are different glasses for different applications; some are more viscous than others, some get "tired" or get "the goody" cooked out of them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing
 
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  • #9,861
strangerep said:
Have you ever actually tried it?
Got almost as far as ring seals, http://www.ilpi.com/glassblowing/tutorial_ringseal.html , never successful with them. There's a lot more to the viscosity and bubble blowing...how does the wall thickness NOT get into a "runaway" failure mode? It can't be just the cooling of the thinner wall... Took the glassblowing for fun in grad school and am just now thinking about the physical chemistry involved.
 
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  • #9,862
Here, the head of meteorology services just got fired. They predicted high (70-80%) chance for storms/rains for the time of some state event (fireworks and stuff), which then so got cancelled.
Unfortunately (?) at that place, at that time there was no storm.

Do Not Ask.
Feeling sick 😨
 
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  • #9,863
Kind of annoying how some of these sites overdo the whole big-picture approach. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big-picture guy. But sometimes I just need a definition, ad when I do a search, I have to go through sites that first put you through a overview, the provide motivation. WITHOUT/BEFORE giving the actual definition. Just happened recently with "Explained/Unexplained variation.
 
  • #9,864
no more i of the tiger, now it's the tger.
 
  • #9,865
Someone made this on Instructables:

Screen Shot 2022-08-25 at 7.59.54 AM.png
 
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  • #9,866
BillTre said:
Someone made this on Instructables:

View attachment 313254
A little bit tremors too? I loved that film
 
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  • #9,867
Tremors is up there with ghostbusters when it comes to making fun of scary movies.
 
  • #9,868
BillTre said:
Tremors is up there with ghostbusters when it comes to making fun of scary movies.
Brits think yanks have too many guns, generally. However..this is one of the best movie scenes ever.

 
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  • #9,869
pinball1970 said:
A little bit tremors too? I loved that film
I liked its German title: In the land of the rocket worms!
 
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  • #9,870
The cast was also outstanding.
 
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