The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread IV

[TheGreenGoblin]

I don’t think I’ve got the capacitance to take any more electricity input...

You mean that is as Farad as you will go?

[Capetonian]

You mean that is as Farad as you will go? =))

Watt? Maybe you should stop resisting and buzz off ohm in your Hertz rental car.

[Undried Plum]

James Clerk Maxwell is one of my few heroes.

His five equations are a group of beauty.



Together, they describe Life; the Universe; and almost Everything else.

Not quite everything, tantalisingly.

The sixth equation is still to play for.

E = mc² was a good kick at the ball, but there may be a seventh and mebbe an eighth equation to come.

[Pontius Navigator]

Llondel, amazing isn't it. We kept the last pup we bred. She had a slight kink in her tail and was floppy after birth. The vet wanted to put her down. We persisted with our own physio and she recovered to full health. We then bought in a second dog so that fitted in perfectly. One of her kennel mates became available as her new owner could not cope.

She was bigger than the other two and a dominant bitch in her own right. There was an uneasy truce. Smaller old bitch expected priority. One day there was mayhem. I finished up with a lacerated finger. It was quite funny. Young bitch was distraught that she had bitten the hand that fed her. Never had any problems after that.

All the time senior dog over 70 years have exerted their dominance.

[TheGreenGoblin]

James Clerk Maxwell is one of my few heroes.

His five equations are a group of beauty.



Together, they describe Life; the Universe; and almost Everything else.

Not quite everything, tantalisingly.

The sixth equation is still to play for.

Brought to pure quantum perfection by Paul Dirac's...

Dirac's_commemorative_marker.jpg (36.1 KiB) Viewed 350 times

[Undried Plum]

Quantum physics does my nut in.

I'm sure that Newton and Maxwell and Einstein would sympathise.

Even the great explainer, Feynman, had difficulty in explaining such weirdness.

[Undried Plum]

Dirac is another of my heroes.

Here he is, in good form:

>>>>
I cannot understand why we idle discussing religion. If we are honest—and scientists have to be—we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality.

The very idea of God is a product of the human imagination. It is quite understandable why primitive people, who were so much more exposed to the overpowering forces of nature than we are today, should have personified these forces in fear and trembling. But nowadays, when we understand so many natural processes, we have no need for such solutions.

I can't for the life of me see how the postulate of an Almighty God helps us in any way.

What I do see is that this assumption leads to such unproductive questions as why God allows so much misery and injustice, the exploitation of the poor by the rich and all the other horrors He might have prevented.

If religion is still being taught, it is by no means because its ideas still convince us, but simply because some of us want to keep the lower classes quiet. Quiet people are much easier to govern than clamorous and dissatisfied ones. They are also much easier to exploit.

Religion is a kind of opium that allows a nation to lull itself into wishful dreams and so forget the injustices that are being perpetrated against the people. Hence the close alliance between those two great political forces, the State and the Church. Both need the illusion that a kindly God rewards—in heaven if not on earth—all those who have not risen up against injustice, who have done their duty quietly and uncomplainingly.

That is precisely why the honest assertion that God is a mere product of the human imagination is branded as the worst of all mortal sins.
<<<<

[Boac]

I note your 'Hedging Of Your Bets' by capitalising

[Woody]

Squeezyjet have finally got round to cancelling our flights to Lanzarote, just before I was due to pay the balance of the money, so all I’m owed is the deposit that was paid in January, which they will payback whenever, been working on the assumption that it was going to be cancelled so booked a week in the Lakes which was heavily discounted, just need some decent weather

[Wodrick]

Morning all,
Same blue, has reached 29c now.

Supplies and chemicals needed I'll go after the Market has gone.

Pond has gone green overnight, bugger. 30c seems to trigger it if I am not careful.

all for now

[Ex-Ascot]

Good morning folks. UP please do not mention Quantum Physics before I have had my first scotch of the day. Never understood it and thank goodness the Royal Air Force bailed me out of my Uni course and gave me a driving job instead of a thinking one.

Groundhog day. Hope that the Squiffy Pussy III refit will finish this week. Bit of a hold up on the upholstery front, can't get the foam. Our chap was going to do a round trip of 600 kms to Francistown to get it. Told him not to be so stupid. Plus he would need a travel permit. Some stupid Injun is involved in the supply chain and keeps saying tomorrow.

A good TRABB. RiS may correct me but tomorrow in Greek is 'avrio' (αύριο). The day after tomorrow is 'metavrio' (μεθαύριο). However strictly speaking this means any bloody day after tomorrow up to years ahead. If the Greek ambulance service says that they will arrive μεθαύριο you may as well start crawling.

Hope Mrs Boing is doing OK.

Odd that Wodders it is usually rain that turns ours green not temperature.

[Wodrick]

Odd that Wodders it is usually rain that turns ours green not temperature.

It's just on the turn, last rain was the end of May don't expect any now 'till End of September although world weather being what it is ..............

[Ibbie]

Supplies gathering was a bit slow this morning. Quite a few Fups about and a lot of fFrogs causing chaos dressed strangely and looking stupid.

[Ex-Ascot]

Some idiot NRs have come down to the lagoon in a 2 wheel drive. Of course you can get down through the deep sand but you can't get back up hill. W@nkers. They have got a km of deep sand to get back up. Next thing will be a request to help. Well both our cars are U/S and the donkey is sick. They wouldn't thank us anyway. They seem to be out now. Two more idiots who will not try that again. Most of the weekend fishermen with boats on trailers do not try it anymore. There is one section just by our gate where you really have to keep moving or you get stuck. Odd that our car occasionally breaks down there and they have to stop. Apparently I have a reputation in town. One considers this an honour. No they are stuck again.

[reddo]

Pinky - hoping you're feeling better with the refurbed hip.
Boing - Hope Mrs B is not suffering too much with the busted ribs.

I've forgotten who mentioned @MrAndrewCotter and his dogs Olive and Mabel. He's done a few videos. They're available on Youtube. All excellent.

Airlining survived. Tour survived as well. Went to Iceland (not the frozen goods store) and we were tested for CV19 upon arrival. Managed to get a couple days there so did some exploring. What a beautiful little island. Hitched a ride home in the company vehicle. That was very pleasant.

[llondel]

>>>>
I cannot understand why we idle discussing religion. If we are honest—and scientists have to be—we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality.
<<<<

The problem lies in the fact that you can't disprove the existence of one or more gods. We could all be living in a huge computer simulation and can't prove it one way or the other. The Earth could have been created six thousand years ago by a craftsman who took the time to put dinosaur bones where they could be found, with enough hints to suggest they were millions of years old. An entity with the power to create our environment could easily manage that, even if he didn't leave his signature on a fjord.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

                                              Arthur C. Clarke

[om15]

I have a haircut booked for 1700 hrs on July 6th with a lady called Debbie. I have to wear a face mask and have my temperature taken on arrival. Apparently the hairdressers are not allowed to talk to you, what a result.
Had a ride down to West Bay this morning, everything is on lockdown along the coast, nothing open and the loos are shut.
Allotment peas for tea.

[G-CPTN]

We could all be living in a huge computer simulation and can't prove it one way or the other.

All 'Life' occurs in a Petri dish administered by God (or Gods).

A belief first reached by me at university in the 1960s.

[barkingmad]

Woody, re "so booked a week in the Lakes which was heavily discounted, just need some decent weather..".

I presume you refer to the English Lake District, which of course gives the game away. Lots of lovely lakes crammed into a relatively compact area which need refilling, so they get frequently replenished.

I hope for your sakes the prevailing winds for your stay are easterly, then you can benefit from the generosity of Mr Foehn and enjoy the sunlight and the views. Otherwise...

[PHXPhlyer]

Moderate drinking may improve cognitive health for older adults, study says
By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

I've just got to redefine moderate!

Drink this daily and you may live longer
resveratrol red wine chocolate Alzheimers study orig_00002602.jpg
Could red wine help slow Alzheimer's?
palcohol powdered alcohol cohen orig_00001228.jpg
What is Palcohol?

(CNN)If you enjoy a daily cocktail or some wine with dinner, you'll want to raise your glass to this: A new study found low to moderate drinking may improve cognitive function for White middle-aged or older adults.

Low to moderate drinking was defined as less than eight drinks per week for women and less than 15 drinks per week (day)for men.
The findings support prior research which found that, generally, one standard drink a day for women and two a day for men -- which is the US guidance -- appears to offer some cognitive benefits.
A standard alcoholic drink in the US is defined as 14 grams or milliliters of alcohol. That measurement varies around the world; for example, a standard drink is 8 grams in the UK and 10 grams in Australia. In Australia the guidelines suggest no more than 10 standard drinks a week.
"There is now a lot of observational evidence showing that light to moderate alcohol drinking is associated with better cognitive function and a lower risk of dementia compared with alcohol abstaining," said senior principal research scientist Kaarin Anstey, a director of the NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration in Australia, who was not involved in the study.
However, a major global study released last year found that no amount of liquor, wine or beer is safe for your overall health. It found that alcohol was the leading risk factor for disease and premature death in men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide in 2016, accounting for nearly one in 10 deaths.
Drinking under the age of 15, a growing problem in the US and other countries, was not included in the global analysis.
No amount of alcohol is good for your overall health, global study says
No amount of alcohol is good for your overall health, global study says
"What we know for sure is that drinking too much alcohol definitely harms the brain in a major way. What is less clear is whether or not low to moderate intake may be protective in certain people, or if total abstinence is the most sound advice," said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, founder of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center.
"Based on conflicting studies, I don't think at this time we can know for sure whether none versus low to moderate consumption is best in each individual person," said Isaacson, who was not involved in either study.
Not protective for African Americans
The new study, published Monday in JAMA, analyzed data on nearly 20,000 participants from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of Americans on a variety of health issues.
Study participants, who were predominately white, female and a mean age of 62, were given cognitive tests starting in 1996 through 2008, and were surveyed every other year for approximately nine years.
What too much alcohol can do to your health
What too much alcohol can do to your health
When compared with those who said they never drank, low to moderate drinking was associated with significantly higher cognition scores for mental status, word recall and vocabulary over time, as well as with lower rates of decline in each of those areas.
Interestingly, the new study did not find the cognitive benefit held true for African Americans.
"Few studies have evaluated whether the effects are similar in different racial or ethnic groups," Anstey said. "This [finding] raises the possibility that ethnic groups vary in their vulnerability to the cognitive effects of alcohol."
"This may make sense due to higher likelihood of medical comorbities like diabetes in Blacks," said Isaacson.
However, Anstey cautioned, there are founding factors to consider before defaulting to any conclusions that drinking varies by race.
"Patterns of alcohol drinking are associated with socio-economic status and other cultural factors," she said. "It is very difficult to disentangle the biological from social mechanisms at play here."
In the end, this new study doesn't change what most doctors already recommend, experts say.
Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter
Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.

"In my clinical practice, I look at the totality of evidence and then individualize recommendations for the person being cared for," Isaacson said.
For women, a general maximum target is about four to six drinks per week in his Alzheimer's prevention clinic, he said. In men that would be 10 to 12 servings per week.
"But this is not a 'one size fits all' choice," Isaacson added. "These decisions should be tailored based on body weight, for example, and also modified based on whether the person has a history of alcohol or substance abuse.
"Further, it's not just about 'what and how much' alcohol, it's also important to consider 'when and how' the alcohol is consumed, Isaacson said.
For example, having a glass of wine with an early dinner is "more sensible than two glasses late at night on an empty stomach close to bedtime," he said.
Wake up, people: You&#39;re fooling yourself about sleep, study says
Wake up, people: You're fooling yourself about sleep, study says
"Alcohol before bed has the tendency to lead to poorer overall quality sleep, which also impacts dementia risk," he added.
"I believe for those who drink alcohol, they should follow the national guidelines as a guide to the maximum level of safe drinking," said Anstey, adding that this would not apply to anyone with a health condition that calls for alcohol abstinence.
And if you aren't a drinker, don't start, she said.
"Alcohol consumption, for example, increases the risk of some cancers. If one doesn't drink, then we would not recommend taking up alcohol drinking."

PP