They can change their shapes and sizes --
very easily!

30+ years later I can still sing the song. Thanks for the links!
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 8:11 PM on July 26, 2008

Dear Mr Postroad

do you know how much longer the Murkin "not like living in India" lifestyle can continue? Are you sure that your three kids will each live 25 miles from work and commute (alone!) in their cars?
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:21 PM on July 19, 2008

One problem with the "new technologies will solve all our problems" viewpoint is that you need tech to make new tech. Think about the clean-rooms and ultra-pure materials required to make electronics -- even as recently as fifty years ago we coudn't have done it.

What kind of future can you imagine without the microchip (or equivalent)?
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 10:34 AM on July 7, 2008

... but sometimes hauling [a tripod] around is not practical.

You don't have to take a full-size tripod: take a look at the table-top tripods. Set it up on a wall or rock or even the ground. I favour the Manfrotto/Bogen, it's very compact but can hold an SLR with a moderately long lens.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:43 PM on July 4, 2008

I've always believed that the numbers in yellow are an advisory to motorcyclists: for maximum enjoyment multiply by two and add 10.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 11:08 AM on June 21, 2008

Note that foot no. 6 is the only one that was mechanically disarticulated. Clearly the first five feet were decoys, to make the mounties think this sort of thing happens all the time.

everichon: tetigisti, eh, what?
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:49 PM on June 18, 2008

quin: why is posting a review of your work environment akin to picking locks and rifling through co-workers' desks?
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:52 PM on June 16, 2008

You can get rid of the language issue -- say it's a hundred years past the catastrophe (end of oil or whatever) and the carefully hoarded pre-apocalypse machines are gone. Voila, you're back in medieval Europe!
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 9:53 AM on June 11, 2008

Relieved to hear that the sons did not decide to never have children (I hope it's true). Of course genes are not the end-all -- I firmly believe that any healthy baby can become a decent human being if raised well. But Hitler was not some sort of uniquely uber-ultra-evil monster either, I'm sure people of much deeper intrinsic evilness walk amongst us (they still go into politics) -- he just happened to be in a time and place where he could carry out his evilness to its fullest extent.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 11:00 AM on June 6, 2008

The Cavendish may be loved all over the New World, but not elsewhere! My grandfather had a plantation in South India on which he grew -- among other things -- bananas and plantains. There is just no comparison beween the pale imitation you get in supermarkets here with those magical fruits, especially the variety known locally as nenthrangai (romanicization approximate, and I don't know its western name), a large fruit with orange flesh. Yum!!!
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:14 PM on June 2, 2008

The videos are truncated -- is that thanks to youtube's limits? (Nasty shock to have the music suddenly end when it was building towards the climax.)
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 9:18 AM on May 16, 2008

Holy cow, people in California's Central Valley (and most of Imperial Valley) are "open to experience" people?

(For non-Californians: those are both very conservative agricultural areas.)
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:59 PM on May 6, 2008

I find it interesting that aquatic predators are considered somewhat harmless and there are people who want to swim with them as they're being fed. However you don't see a lot of people walking up to a tiger with a freshly killed goat so they can observe the magnificent beast in its natural habitat doing what it does best.

That said, I applaud every person who does something that everyone else considers stupid, and maybe gets killed in the process. Without those fools... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:23 PM on April 29, 2008

Dem squiggles say that Nelson testifies that there is no god but God, and that Mohammed is his prophet. (Doesn't seem quite correct, though -- some of those vowel marks look fishy. Also, you wouldn't usually say "I testify that X", but simply "X".)
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 3:02 PM on April 25, 2008

zsazsa: Unfortunately Fuji's peel-apart instant film doesn't work the same way. I use Polaroid Type 59 to make image transfers: instead of waiting the full development time you peel early and slap the mess on watercolour paper. The dyes from the negative migrate to the paper for a wonderful look.

I've never been able to use Fuji peel-apart for transfers, it doesn't transfer well.

I have a hoard of Type 59 which alas I can no longer find anywhere.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:15 PM on March 13, 2008

JackFlash, you do not seem to understand momentum. You say,

Both linear and angular momentum are conserved when a rotating object is released. If you are standing on a rotating merry-go-round and release a ball, the ball flies off in a straight line tangent to the circle.

If your merry-go-round were at rest in space and not attached to this very massive object (a planet) you can bet the merry-go-round will recoil in the opposite direction, and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:19 PM on March 11, 2008

What an excellent story! Put a smile on my face.

But all the people suggesting that he send the rim back in to the factory to get a new one -- crazy! Why the hell would you give up a wheel with a story, ridden in a big-name stage race by a big-name pro with serious US name recognition for something you can buy from any ol' bike store? (People pay ridiculous amounts of money for stuff like "ball used in world series".) If it were me I'd frame that wheel with a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:32 PM on February 28, 2008

kscottz, you seem to be suggesting that until we understand everything about a part of the body we should not attempt to treat it. But consider how medicine began: trial and error over centuries. At best you can say that psych treatment today is in its infancy and primitive.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 9:51 AM on February 26, 2008

It's an interesting paper, but this is a typical statement:


4.1 Fundamental randomness as a myth

... Of course, if the usual form of QM is really the ultimate truth, then it is true that nature is fundamentally random. But who says that the usual form of QM really is the ultimate truth? A priori, one cannot exclude the existence of some hidden variables (not described by the usual form of QM) that provide a deterministic cause for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 3:45 PM on February 25, 2008

Yes, XMLicious, that's exactly what I was thinking of.

I'm sure that this guy is not a nutter; all I'm saying is that I've spent many happy hours in bars talking to physics grad students and post-docs as they ranted about Bohr and the Copenhagen Interpretation, going over the same sorts of things in this paper.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 4:24 PM on February 25, 2008

That should be "going over the same sorts of things as in this paper."
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 4:25 PM on February 25, 2008

DRAM basically stores the bit as a charge on a tiny capacitor. And -- like all capacitors-- they leak, so periodically the system needs to refresh the charge on the cells. (Hence "dynamic" RAM.) This leak depends (like just about everything) on temperature -- the colder, the slower. It's really cool that they managed to take advantage of that!

SRAM is likely to be much harder, because the information is usually stored as a current in a certain part of the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 11:59 AM on February 21, 2008

"I'm sure there are lots of methods of interrogation that are 'not torture,' but which are also not contained in the Army Field Manual."

For instance?

For things like torture "enhanced interrogation techniques" the only sane way is to define very clearly and explicitly what the torturer interrogator is allowed to do. You simply can't leave something like that to the "judgment" of a semi-trained... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 4:06 PM on February 20, 2008

It's true that the laws of thermodynamics are "only" statistical laws, and there is a non-zero probability of violating a statistical law. However, we're dealing with systems that have >1020 particles, and the violation of this statistical law is only a theoretical possibility.

But don't get distracted, perpetual motion machines are forbidden by the Law of Conservation of Mass-Energy. (It deserves all the emphasis.) That's a truly... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:34 PM on February 10, 2008

An addendum to my previous post for the philosophers: if you believe that our universe is comprehensible and can be described by mathematics, conservation of mass-energy is a law and violation means our understanding of the universe is fundamentally wrong.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:39 PM on February 10, 2008

It's not a measurement issue, but a philosophical one: do you believe that the laws of the universe today are the same as the laws tomorrow? Does the value of e -- the fundamental charge -- or h or c or k or... change with time?
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:09 PM on February 10, 2008

A friend used to live in Cairns (Queensland) and often went snorkeling in The Great Barrier Reef. He said the best protection against box jellies is pantyhose (sheer nylons). You can get get stung and it still hurts beyond anything imaginable, but apparently not as much poison is delivered and you'll live.

(Of course I have no way of knowing if this is just an example of Aussies pulling the foreigner's leg.)
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:49 PM on February 10, 2008

I'm no fan of football, but man! NFL Films is amazing, beautiful and heroic rolled into one, all on that wonderful film -- makes you see why people love the game. If I remember right, it was one guy who wanted to film the games, and the NFL gave him no support; he did it anyway.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 9:28 AM on February 4, 2008

I legitimately am curious about why ice is largely exclusive to American restaurants, though, ...

Me too! I didn't grow up in this country, and I find the ice culture baffling. I regard it as a nuisance and only good externally, e.g. on hills (for skiing). It just takes up room in the cup and hurts the teeth. My partner (native Californian) is the opposite: she can't stand winter or snow, but would munch on ice all day.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:22 PM on January 31, 2008

A thought that just came to me: the "think of the children!!!" crowd loves to talk about motorcycles and tiered licensing. Why is it that no one talks about tiered licensing for high-powered cars? (If this kid had been a motorcycle nut he'd only have killed one of his friends.) Maybe just horsepower limits for young male drivers. Hell, maybe just real driving school if you want to drive high-powered cars, any age or sex.

I think that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 4:39 PM on January 29, 2008

Mitrovarr, yes, I know how much a pilot's license costs; I'm an instrument-rated pilot. Driving should require a hell of a lot more commitment than it takes. It should not be considered a right.

krinklyfig: it's not just the dual instruction that's missing, or just the ground school; it's the attitude. Every instructor I've ever flown with has always had a similar attitude: this is serious business and will kill you, so it's not enought to just pass... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 6:10 PM on January 29, 2008

"Shitty" neighbourhood? I protest!

A few years ago my regular bar was "Pow!", on the corner of 6th and Mission, and many of my friends lived within a block. I spent a lot of time in the neighbourhood, most of it late at night. Of course the area is low income and daily occupancy hotels so you see a lot of street people etc.; a lot of drug and alcohol use, panhandling.... You needed to keep your wits about you, but I never felt... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 2:21 PM on January 28, 2008

Man, that Ramanujan was something special. (Also read about the number 1729.)
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 3:22 PM on December 4, 2007

Cogneuro: Keith Devlin makes a compelling argument in The Math Gene that the quality in our brain that lets us do math is the same as that which lets us use and create language. Math ability is universal; "math phobia" is an attribute of this society.

It's an excellent book, I can't recommend it too highly.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 8:45 PM on December 3, 2007

Is it time to change the national anthem yet? Somehow "the land of the free and the home of the brave" just doesn't fit any more.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 5:46 PM on November 8, 2007

"This is a Persian restaurant. We have Persian food. No falafel."

Indeed. Iran is a large country and the cuisine is quite varied. Persians are not Arabs, and Persian food is closer to north Indian (mughlai) food. Which is not surprising because the mughals came to India through Persia and Afghanistan.

I guess the next time I get falafel for lunch I'd better leave my annotated almanac behind since I'm obviously one of them furriners.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:35 PM on November 7, 2007

UbuRoivas: there are some committed physicians' groups like Jan Swasthya Sahyog that are working to not just bring healthcare to the poor, but also to train them in procedures like drawing blood. They work in Bihar/Chhatisgarh, one of the poorest and most depressed parts of India.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 6:02 PM on November 6, 2007

Disclaimer: my opinions are only about cycling in the US and maybe Canada; I don't know traffic patterns elsewhere well enough to comment.

Physically separated bike lanes suck. There are two main reasons: the first is that they become "recreational trails" full of small children, dogs, jugglers on tricycles, ... -- no place for a vehicle travelling at 25 mph regardless of how light and insignificant they (bicycles) look. The second is that to be useful bike... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:34 PM on November 5, 2007

Having been the victim of similar accidents (although happily no serious injuries in my case) this really pisses me off. The story about the accident follows the usual pattern:

Police said both motor vehicles had passed the cyclist at the top of the hill. As the garbage truck approached the green light at North Greeley Avenue, it slowed down and started to take a sharp right turn. The cyclist, who had gained speed from the descent, was headed straight when the truck... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:51 PM on November 5, 2007

Entropone: you don't have to be a racer (or elite cyclist) to hit 25 mph. If you ride a bike regularly for any length of time -- as in, for instance, you commute on your bike -- you will have absolutely no problem hitting 25 mph on any slight downhill or with a slight tailwind. In fact with no wind hitting 25 on a flat road is no problem. It's weekend cyclists who have trouble. (Unfortunately for cyclists all the legislators who make the silly laws are weekend cyclists. As... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:00 PM on November 5, 2007

fandango_matt: I believe this proves my case that bike lanes do not make things safer for the cyclist. If Oregon law says autos must turn right across the bike lane (without moving into it), then it violates the basic tenet of road safety and predictability, that before turning right (or left) you must move into the extreme rightmost (leftmost) position on the road. Turning right from other than the rightmost travel lane is just asking for trouble.

I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:17 PM on November 5, 2007

damn dirty ape, why the snark? I may be long-winded, but I only write from personal experience. I'm now on my fifth decade on this planet, and I've owned a car/truck for only 6 of those years. I've been a bicycle commuter in three US states (Arizona, Idaho, and California): in cities (San Francisco), suburbs (Silicon Valley) and western small towns (Arizona and Idaho). I've never ridden in Critical Mass (nice strawman, by the way).

All the times that I've been hit by... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 5:04 PM on November 5, 2007

The excellent Menand piece in The New Yorker mentioned earlier: Drive, He Wrote.
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 10:49 AM on October 18, 2007

The article is not so much about the aviator's view of flight, but the civilians' -- passengers and bystanders. Flying is presented as voodoo and unbelievable; cf. the thing about the airplane falling from the sky if all the passengers stopped believing. That's completely alien to the aviator's view.

As a kid I remember reading those R. L. Stevenson books, like Kidnapped and Treasure Island. For me those... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 3:37 PM on October 4, 2007

Slightly off-topic: anyone here know anything more about Haeberli's panoramic compositing process?

Haeberli is this cool graphics guy who used to be at SGI. He has an excellent computer graphics site called Grafica Obscura. One of the projects on that site is Automatic Panoramic Image Merging. I've been looking for more information on that process for years, but no source code is available -- I believe you can get executables for an ancient version of Irix, but nothing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 5:13 PM on October 2, 2007

I believe that Haeberli's approach is more than the run-of-the-mill panoramic compositors (and I've looked at most of them). This is how Haeberli describes it:

If you've every tried to make a panorama from a series of photographs, you may have noticed that it's very hard to make the pictures overlap perfectly. This is due to the fact that the film plane gets tilted as the camera is pointed in different directions. Unfortunately, it's not enough to translate,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 1:55 PM on October 3, 2007

No love for the IP-address map? Certainly re-purposing hardware to do something new is really cool, but that map is cool too!

Simple introduction to FPGAs: first, all digital electronics -- your computer and MP3 player, but also your microwave oven and your DVD player -- is built from gates. These are just boolean functions: AND, OR, NOT, NAND, ...

An FPGA is a gate array -- a very large array of gates, usually all of one... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 5:05 PM on September 4, 2007

And how many born-again christianists are making breakthroughs in science in the West?

This is silly. People who go on to higher education in science are not really likely to be religious. If you want to look at "The Islamic World", notice how many of those OIC countries are really poor. There is no way to separate the economic issue from the religious.

Also, would you accept a Nobel Prize in physics as proof that muslims do science?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 6:23 PM on August 7, 2007

...it seems about half of scientists are in fact religious...

Your link talks about "having a religious affiliation" as the criterion. I think there's a big difference between being religious and having a religious affiliation. I know many people who will say that they are christian, but god (or any other supernatural deity) never enters their life; they do not pray or go to church.

It's been my experience (caution:... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 12:43 PM on August 8, 2007

Once you get to a certain size, rock isn't hard enough to resist gravity, so the moon is not egg-shaped. Like all spinning bodies it is spherical with an equatorial bulge from centrifugal force.

The moon faces us because its period of rotation on its axis is the same as its period of revolution in its orbit around the earth. This happens because of tides. On the earth, the moon's gravitation causes there to be two bulges, one where the moon is directly overhead and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by phliar at 3:03 PM on August 7, 2007