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.
  • #9,976
pinball1970 said:
How do you cheat at chess?
By using computers.
pinball1970 said:
In a tournament?
Yes, in an online tournament. And he admitted it afterward.

And ever since, Magnus refuses to believe any of his statements and to play against him.
 
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  • #9,977
fresh_42 said:
By using computers.

Yes, in an online tournament. And he admitted it afterward.

And ever since, Magnus refuses to believe any of his statements and to play against him.
Ah ok. Thanks
 
  • #9,978
Here's a cool t-shirt I found on line:
Screen Shot 2022-09-27 at 12.07.51 PM.png
 
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  • #9,979
pinball1970 said:
How do you cheat at chess? In a tournament?
Someone outside, with a computer, sending messages to the player via WiFi-enabled anal beads that can vibrate Morse code. :oldlaugh:

Seriously -- that sort of nonsense has been circulating on the (anti-)social chess media for some time now.

In the past, there was "Toilet Gate" -- a player would make waaaay too many trips to the loo, and consult their smartphones. That loophole was closed off sometime ago when all such electronic devices were banned from the playing hall. Even being caught with one, although not being used, brings immediate game forfeiture and expulsion from the tournament.

Magnus had not lost in the previous 50-something tournament games. He is head-and-shoulders dominant over his nearest peers at the moment. But no one suggests that he might getting a little extra help... :oldfrown:

Moreover, a reasonable person could argue that the help Magnus gets from "Team Magnus" (paid grandmasters) to analyze reams of different opening lines, and give him their summaries, is itself unfair.

pinball1970 said:
Bobby Fischer was a little pedantic from memory.
... and gradually progressed down the road to paranoid madness as he aged. I reckon Magnus is headed down that same road.

Show me a serious chess player and I'll show you a (budding or actual) nutcase.
(I should know -- I used to be a tournament chess player.)
 
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  • #9,980
strangerep said:
In the past, there was "Toilet Gate" -- a player would make waaaay too many trips to the loo, and consult their smartphones. That loophole was closed off sometime ago when all such electronic devices were banned from the playing hall. Even being caught with one, although not being used, brings immediate game forfeiture and expulsion from the tournament.

Magnus had not lost in the previous 50-something tournament games. He is head-and-shoulders dominant over his nearest peers at the moment. But no one suggests that he might getting a little extra help... :oldfrown:

Moreover, a reasonable person could argue that the help Magnus gets from "Team Magnus" (paid grandmasters) to analyze reams of different opening lines, and give him their summaries, is itself unfair.
Smart phones yes.

They did not have that problem in Karpov verses Kasparov days when I used to follow it occasionally.

Probably a lot going on behind the scenes but it seemed more gentlemanly then.
 
  • #9,982
pinball1970 said:
Probably a lot going on behind the scenes but it seemed more gentlemanly then.
It varies, depending on the people. Spassky was known as a good natured "bon vivant". There's a story about how, during a tournament early in their careers, Spassky knocked on Fischer's hotel room door and invited him out on the town with a bunch of other Russian grandmasters.

Then there's the case of Mikhail Tal (very heavy smoker/drinker) who fell so dreadfully ill during a tournament in Curacao that he had to be hospitalized. None of the other Russian grandmasters in the tournament visited him in hospital, and Tal was deeply hurt. His only visitor among the tournament participants was... Bobby Fischer. There's an old photo somewhere on the Internet with Fischer playing a casual chess game with Tal at his hospital bed. I still smile when I see it.

In contrast, Capablanca and Alekhine absolutely hated each other so much they would not even share a taxi from their hotel to the playing venue during their world championship match.

Further back, Paul Morphy's supremely gentlemanly conduct is legendary.
 
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  • #9,983
Raspberry Pi computers are really hard to find these days due to ongoing chip shortages and industrial demand for the Pis. I found rpilocator.com recently and was able to score one yesterday!
:partytime:
 
  • #9,984
No joke: They found the reason behind the clogged pipes
20220930_020751.jpg
 
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  • #9,985
I remembered the add " Not going anywhere for a while?" , when someone ask me to give them " Different examples of the empty set".
 
  • #9,986
The X-15's highest speed, 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h; 2,021 m/s), was achieved on 3 October 1967, when William J. Knight flew at Mach 6.7 at an altitude of 102,100 feet (31.120 km), or 19.34 miles. This set the official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a crewed, powered aircraft, which remains unbroken. Ref: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15

I guess the Space Shuttle doesn't count as a powered aircraft (ostensibly) it's not under power when flying through the atmosphere, but instead falling/gliding. On the way up, it's more like a rocket or ballistic missile. But then again, the X-15 was a rocket plane. It also glided home from altitude.
 
  • #9,987
Journalist Jack Thomas dies at 83 - He wrote: "I just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07...nly-have-months-live-this-is-what-i-want-say/

Atop the list of things I’ll miss are the smiles and hugs every morning from my beautiful wife, Geraldine, the greatest blessing of my life. I hate the notion of an eternity without hearing laughter from my three children. And what about my 40 rose bushes? Who will nurture them? I cannot imagine an afterlife without the red of my America roses or the aroma of my yellow Julia Childs.

We told each of the three children individually. John Patrick put his face in his hands, racked with sobs. After hanging up the telephone, Jennifer doubled over and wept until her dog, Rosie, approached to lick away the tears but not the melancholy. Faith explained over the telephone that, if I could see her, she was weeping and wondering how she could get along without her dad. Now, she is on the Internet every day, snorkeling for new research, new strategies, new medications. My wife cries every morning, then rolls up her sleeves and handles all doctor appointments and medication. Without her . . . I cannot imagine.
 
  • #9,988


Surprisingly motivating words from Jeff Bezos (I often find his way of thinking shrewd vs. inspirational, but this surprised me).

His comments on how we should think about gifts vs. choices were fantastic (something I always knew, but needed to be reminded of).
 
  • #9,989
https://magazine.atavist.com/alone-at-the-edge-of-the-world-susie-goodall-sailing-golden-globe-race/

In July 2015, Goodall, then 25, was teaching in Iceland when one of her crewmates mentioned that a rerun of the Golden Globe was in the works. When her boat came ashore, she used a computer in her tiny hotel to look up the details. And there it was: The race was set to launch in 2018, the 50th anniversary of the original voyage. Don McIntyre, a decorated Australian adventurer who’d grown up idolizing Robin Knox-Johnston, was masterminding the event. On the edge of 60, McIntyre knew that if he didn’t re-create his hero’s journey now, he never would. And if he wanted to do it, he figured a few others might, too.

Boats would be limited to the same class as the intrepid Suhaili, between 32 and 36 feet. Sailors would have to navigate with paper charts and sextant, catch rain for water, handwrite their logs, and communicate by radio. No outside assistance would be allowed: no physical contact with anyone else, no help with repairs, no supply deliveries. The specifications couldn’t have been more different than those of the only other solo, nonstop, round-the-world race on offer, the Vendée Globe. That event, which took place every four years, was high-tech, high-speed, and high-cost; the boats alone were worth $300,000 to $5 million. But the new Golden Globe seemed more about the journey than the competition. Goodall downloaded the application and sent in the $3,000 entry deposit.

Fascinating story.
GGR 2018 - https://goldengloberace.com/edition/2018/
https://goldengloberace.com/the-race/
GGR 2022 - https://goldengloberace.com/edition/2022/ - one month into race, which started 4 Sep.
 
  • #9,990
This showed up in the neighborhood recently.
Looks pretty bad, but it may still be driveable (tires are in good shape).
Looks like it was impacted on the front right.

IMG_0497.jpg


Notice the expandable foam all over the place, including holding the pine cone where the right headlight should be, sealing windows.
 
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  • #9,991
BillTre said:
This showed up in the neighborhood recently.
Looks pretty bad, but it may still be driveable (tires are in good shape).
Looks like it was impacted on the front right.

View attachment 315097

Notice the expandable foam all over the place, including holding the pine cone where the right headlight should be, sealing windows.
At least no signs of mangled bikes below the fender.
 
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  • #9,992
Reminds me of The Lady in the Van.
1665017419527.png
 
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  • #9,993
  • #9,994
Anyone else been reading up on Bell trying to understand what the hell he did?
Aimed at the non physics guys really.
 
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  • #9,995
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  • #9,996
pinball1970 said:
Anyway else been reading up on Bell trying to understand what the hell he did?
Aimed at the non physics guys really.
 
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  • #9,997
WWGD said:
.
Just wanted to have the 10,000 post.
 
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  • #9,998
WWGD said:
Just wanted to have the 10,000 post.
But I got the palindromic one. 😁
 
  • #9,999
I'm back in :).
 
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  • #10,001
This can go on forever …
 
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  • #10,002
So, now I've got the 10k post and both @WWGD and @Orodruin have different palindromic posts. Who keeps editing this thread!?
 
  • #10,003
Well, I could use my super powers ...
 
  • #10,004
When I was a kid, the sun was a nice little star

sonne.jpg


And now? What does education do to innocent kids?

46PJLXCiJJcB8HZwLygdJT-1200-80.jpg.webp


The sun is an ugly, dangerous monster waiting to kill!
 
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  • #10,005
new exhibit in Ohio's Geological Museum : "Cleveland Rocks"
 
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  • #10,006
fresh_42 said:
When I was a kid, the sun was a nice little star

View attachment 315401

And now? What does education do to innocent kids?

46PJLXCiJJcB8HZwLygdJT-1200-80.jpg.webp


The sun is an ugly, dangerous monster waiting to kill!
Looks like some of the cheeseballs I often eat.
 
  • #10,008
  • #10,009
Astronuc said:
Bloomberg asks, "What Does an Office Mean?"
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-10-04/the-unsung-art-of-office-design

I like the view in the first picture! A view from an office in The National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, which was designed in the 1960s by I. M. Pei.
I love that one also. That would be an ideal office for me. My cube at work faces a freight elevator. It's usually not too busy but they always seem to have to roll trash cans around on the corregated metal floor whenever I'm having a meeting. :oldeyes:
 

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