The Lounge

Hi there, This thread is similar to one that's been posted already in that I have a website, and am currently looking to fill it with content. The goal behind the site is to allow people to share the knowledge they've gained through their experiences with the world. Most of them are a couple sentences long, and they describe some phenomenon, fallacy, misconception, etymology, or otherwise rare, interesting piece of knowledge. Here's an example from the site: So, I'd like you to post any of yours here. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. If you're having trouble thinking of good examples, just try to think of something that would blow someo…

Any general advice for giving a short scientific/mathematical talk at a conference/meeting etc? I have a 20min talk coming up next week and I have decided to use a mix of Beamer and chalk board. Any words based on experiences welcome. Any good or bad personal experiences giving or listening to a talk? Cheers

Ok, if you're like me, you're inside all day. And with the cost of living skyrocketing, it's becomming harder and more expensive to cool your home in the summer. I have come up with a simple (so simple you'll say "why didn't I think of that") and easy way to remedy this for your room if it's small enough and you have a few dollars to spare. All you need to do is take an aquarium pump and some aquarium tubing from a pet store or big conglomerate store (walmart), and a 6-volt battery if you get the kind that uses batteries like I am. Get a deep bowl, a flower vase works well. Fill the vase with water, and add a tray of ice cubes, just guess, the more ice you use the…

Aren’t banks supposed to check every penny that comes in and comes out ? Yesterday afternoon I went to my bank ( I have been client of it for 13 years ) and I withdrew £ 200. I received 10 notes of £20.Then I took 5 of these notes and I added pocket small change in order to pay my Visa debt ( £ 104 ) in the same bank and then I kept the remaining 5 notes. During the night I went to the mall to buy food. The amount was £ 63.75 and I gave 4 notes of £20 to the cashier. She found out that one of the notes was false and I had to replace it ! I really feel outraged! It is the first time in my entire life that a bank gave me false money ! Since my knowledge on …

Last fall the house next to mine changed hands so now I have new neighbors. They have no children and I would guess they are in their late twenties. They have a cat. This cat has decided that my fenced (7ft tall cedar) back yard, particularly my raised vegetable garden makes a great latrine. So now my back yard is constantly fouled with cat crap. By the way cats do not always burry the crap. I find it on my grass, on top of the dirt, and partially buried. My understanding, confirmed by my local health department, that I shouldn't eat vegetables from a garden where cats crap, so I guess it is flowers this year. For those of you that do not know, cat…

For those interested in music, this is a refreshing perspective. Otherwise, it will probably bore you. For some reason, this almost made me cry. I'm not a fraction of the musician this guy is, but I aspire to be as he writes here: http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/s/940/Bio.aspx?sid=940&gid=1&pgid=1241 An excerpt:

Moderators, I hope you will let this run for a short while here since many of my post are here. Thanks I received a PM from a new member (I will not name) and he said: --------- "Hello, I find you avatar to be annoying. It bothers me. It makes me sick. Could you change it for something really positive, please? I need positive emotions, not irritation. Thanks." --------- I do not want to make anyone sick or annoyed. I thought it was funny and now I am just used to it and my post are easy to find. Is it time to step on the ant?

if you keep scratiching an itch would that mean you have some sort of skin iritation

Anyone?

Hey - has anybody else heard of this? is it for real? Belarusian military develops faster-than-light communications 7 Apr, 05:33 PM Military scientists have held a seminar at the Belarusian Military Academy on the defensive uses of torsion waves including the possibility of sending military information faster than the speed of light, the http://www.mosnews.com reports, citing the Belarusian Defense Ministry press service. Attendees discussed the theoretical application of torsion waves, as well as results of experimentation in that field and the possibility of creating a torsion field generator.

http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-candles-in-the-dark/sam-harris-1 In the video, Sam Harris makes the argument that science can be utilized to determine right from wrong, to determine modes of thought that will be a maximum for human flourishing. Do you think that science will someday be able to determine the best moral codes for human societies?

I must admit that I find that people use these words interchangeably and I am not trying to be pedantic but I just wondered when people get confused about the words: "loose" and "lose"? This is not the same as the words "practice" and "practise" which are pronounced in the same way. Any other examples where folks get a bit "discombobulated?" Oh hell! I'm competing with a Thread about sex...I guess I'll just return to the "Pedantic Review"

Allergists (also called spammers) are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of swollen wallets. They treat people with conditions such as gullibility, naivete, rube syndrome, sniffles, and stupidity. manhattan allergist are specialize in treating just these certain types of conditions, such as inflated bank accounts, or they may specialize in treating people in certain age groups, such as geriatric allergists, who rip off old people. As more is misunderstood about immune system disorders, allergists scam a broader range of conditions caused by playing on a patient's fears.

New contest, First Person to Lock this Topic Wins!!!!

Ok I was just wondering if Muhammad Ali (G.O.A.T) ever fought Rocky Marciano (The Brockton Blockbuster), both at their peaks, who would have come out victorious? Muhammad Ali Career: Total fights 61 Wins 56 Wins by KO 37 Losses 5 Draws 0 No contests 0 (Source: Wikipedia) Rocky Marciano Career: Total fights 49 Wins 49 Wins by KO 43 Losses 0 Draws 0 No contests 0 (Source: Wikipedia) I personally think that Ali would have owned Marciano, He was fast, he was ring intellegent and he would have psyched out marciano before he had even entered the ring with…

The kids don't seem to realize that a 35 hrs work-week, 12 weeks of holiday, zero responsibility and a large group of friends as colleagues isn't really bad... in fact: it's pretty good. Anyway, my best part of the day was to hide in a very quiet corner of the library of a neighboring company where a friend works. I was certainly not going to be disturbed by emails/colleagues and also wouldn't be distracted by any other entertainment. I went through a mountain of boring (but important, work-related) papers. Walked back into my office at 16:00. I did work in 1 afternoon what would have taken me more than an entire day normally. It's so great when you can finish the b…

I was just wondering that why doctor's work is known as "practice"?

SOURCED:http://www.reason.com/news/show/127676.html Are all of these reasons probable? Which of these choices would be more of a threat? And of course, could any other threats be added to this list that could cause an end to Humanity?

http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm Read the arguments. Made me laugh....

I brokes my glasses recently and I want to buy a new pair. I have the prescription and everything...everything except the PD which I believe the optician didn't mention in my prescription maybe because he thought I might buy specs from him. Ha, but I got them made anyway as the standard PD is 63mm something, but now that i broke the glasses I want to get my exact PD? I was wondering if you can get it from an optician without having to take the eye test and can we get it for free. Anyone have had similar experience? I live in the Uk so will be interested to hear from usesr from there please. thanks. ChemSiddiqui.

Hi guys and gals:-) So I recently started dating a very nice Chemist. I'm 26 and he's 42. Very smart and successful. I've never dated this type of guy before. I usually end up with the egotistical, controlling, manipulative "salesman" type. I'm excited but apprehensive. I know he would do anything to make me happy but will I be happy? I'm used to a very fast paced lifestyle. I can't say it's served me, but I'm goin 100mph most of the time. It's so new to me I'm not quite sure what to do:confused: Does that make any sense? Anyway I was hoping to get some ideas and some stories from other professional scientists regarding relationships. How did you meet you…

I'm sure everyone's heard enough about pirates, and this latest standoff sure resembles a Hollywood movie script. The selfless captain that offers himself as hostage for the safety of his crew. He later attempts his own escape, only to be recaptured. Out of fuel, running out of food. Nothing but threats of murder keeping them from being blown up. Some may not know this, but apparently pirates are a status of enemy set apart from mere criminal activity, and even terrorism - they are an "enemy of mankind", dating back to 18th century maritime law - hostis humani generis. And there's some interesting historical reasoning behind that concept - one major component b…

Okay, so I was riding into town with my girlfriend this morning before sunrise. We were out at her parents house for the weekend having the holiday dinner and whatnot. Anyway, on the ride in, she's listening to one of those early morning radio shows... You know, with the uber-hip pop culture connect social butterfly tweaters. They had all kinds of jocular banter, some sound effects, a few canned jokes... You know the type. Honestly... I think it may have been the longest 2 hours of my life. I swear, I think I lost several IQ points just on that short drive. It was challenging for me. So, I asked her if she'd mind if I changed the station to NPR so I co…

Yes, some of you may know me as the hyperactive little n00b who posted that thing about the magnet-propelled motor without doing any research. And when I do my research, I will post a revised thread about it. I sincerely don't know why I did: in doing that, I broke the rules of the scientific method: hypothesis, experiment, prove hypothesis wrong/right. And now, something besides apologizing for spamming: I need help. I have... kicked my ambition down a notch. Yes, I know... That helicopter thing was really stupid. I need s'more schoolin' 'fore I do that, homey! Right now, I'm starting small: I have a chassis for one of those things that you attach to a bike, for carry…

Hey everyone, I wanted to share some thought I had about the 2 of arguable the most famous novels(or fantasy fiction) written in English literature. The Lord of the Rings (J.J.R.Tokein) and Harry potter (J.K.Rowling) and to organise a poll for the readers favourite novel. There are some of the things I couldnt help but notice in harry potter which are very similar to LOTR; 1. The Dark Lord; sauron and voldermort were destroyed a long time ago and are seen coming back in their respective novel . The idea is very similar. 2.Chosen One; Harry Potter is the chosen one in harry potter and frodo is chosen one as a ring-bearer in lotr. again the idea is ver…