tomgwyther

"tomgwyther: Could you share where you found that brain image? I like the concept and I think there's a lot that could be done with that." The brain image was from a quick google search for 'Brain MRI' It's probably copyright, so would be able to be used as-is. Glad you liked the idea. I've always found such things as The golden ratio, pi, phi, prime numbers very enigmatic and fascinating; the way they permeate so many different disciplines. The logo I submitted was literally just a five minute sketch. Feel free to tweek it or play around with the idea. It would be nice to have multiple inputs for the new logo.

A common difference I see between the US and the UK; is that in the US criminal activity you've mentioned, the crime has a motive, i.e. stealing money/possessions, or gang violence where the attacker knows the victim and has an issue with them. Where I live in the UK, the violence is similar to that reported in Newport, Wales. Just a few hours ago, someone in my local pub wanted to start a fight with me, for no other reason than just to start a fight me. An all too common scenario in Britain. I've also been in confrontaiton for reasons such as: Not having the right time Raising my eyebrows Not looking at someone Looking at someone Wearing a suit The list goes on... Unmotivated attacks, rapes and murders are quite common where I live I've walked the streets of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles many times late at night and always feel totally safe. mainly because I don't look like a tourist but also because I know any would-be perpetrator will likely have a motive.

I'm not sure if i'd trust a home-made plywood raft against a tsunami. For one thing, it would probably get battered, flipped over and tossed around in the water along with you and your family, who would have the added problem of fighting off an unwieldy wooden raft whilst thrashng around in the water. Maybe a self inflating life raft, like you see on the side of ships. they're about the size of an oil drum when packaged. Another risk which might present itself is that, what washes in from the ocean, can also wash back out again. You might find yourself a few miles off-shore in your boat/raft/dingy. A young student at my local college was caught in the boxing day Asian tsunami, her parents died but she survived by seeking refuge in a tree. Maybe a tall sturdy pole (Like a cell-phone mast) with a seat on top. you could keep some food, a few beers and maybe some gentlemen's literature up there in case of emergency.

Good idea. Although you'd have to weigh up the cost of a 'roof-raft' against the likelihood of a tsunami hitting your house. maybe a sealed, self-righting boat like this one.

How about this? Just a quick sketch, the golden sections dimensions aren't exactly right. The idea being that this ratio is present through science, mathematics, art, nature and is both complex and simple; finite and infinite. It's naturally pleasing to the eye whilst being structural and rigid. Plus it fits in aesthetically with the shape of the human brain. just a thought

The question "How did you become and atheist?" Or "How did you conclude that atheism was the way to go?" Are somewhat meaningless to me. Atheism is the default position; nothing added. The word itself means, not really theist. if you could ask a new born baby what religion he or she is, not only could they not answer, they wouldn't understand the question as there would be no concept of religion or belief system. I'm reluctant to even call myself an atheist. Not because I'm embarrassed or ashamed of it, but more because I don't feel the need to have a special word ascribed to something which barely enters my thoughts at all. I don't believe in the Greek or Roman gods, yet I don't call myself an 'Aposidonist' or 'Azeusist' The closest approximation as to why I do not believe in a theology or religion is that my cognitive immune system was fully functioning before anyone could get to me. I remember clearly sitting in assembly in primary school - aged about five or six - listening to stories about evil snakes, parting red seas, walls of Jerrico, water into wine... and thinking "This is a load of rubbish, I just don't think this is true."

"There is a theory which states that... 'If ever we discover how the universe works and what exactly it is for, the it will be instantaneously replaced by something even more mysterious and baffling.' There is another theory which states that this has already happened." Douglas Adams

Funky little machine, me thinks. Police in the U.K have already started using it, although they did get a telling off by the civil aviation authority as the police force didn't have the relevant licence. more here... http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23397459-flying-saucer-police-spy-camera-takes-to-the-skies.do

I thought all automatic gear boxes would always let you put it into neutral with the engine running; as the transmission is disengaged. They have a mechanism to stop you putting it into park or reverse whilst moving forward. I had a Hyundai Accent which had a similar problem. The engine management system would just open the taps for no reason and rev the engine to maximum. I'd either push the clutch, to disengage the engine, or slip it in to neutral (With or without clutch) Failing that, take the key out of the ignition and kill the engine.

Not that many. A few brief brushes with fame. e.g. T'Pau, (Of 'china in your hands' fame) 10CC, ('I don't like cricket, I love it') I ate their sandwiches Paul Schaffer, (From the late show) Jammed in NY bar Mike Stern, (As above) Andy whitmore, was my producer for a while, he produced eternal and Peter Andre Bill Cosby (Did a promo with my band on the Cosby show set with Tony Bennet, the singer. Bobby Wellins (Jazz saxophonist of 'under milk wood fame' was my tutor for a while. Vagabond, The Darkness, Oasis, and a few others before they were famous. I was stage manager and sound engineer in South Tahoe, Nevada for a western convention, so worked with [what remaining] actors, directors etc from the TV show Bonanza. Mostly U.K acts. I love an opportunity for a few shameless name-drops

Yep, I work with (And have worked with) a lot of bands in one capacity or another.

I play Piano/keyboard, saxophone, professionally as well as being a producer and sound engineer. I also run events/conventions in Europe and USA. I dabble a bit into guitar, bass and drums (As I work with them regularly) When I'm not doing that; I'm on SFN. Anything specific you're after, I'll be happy to help.

Having C02 as the primary gas in the half empty bottle does keep the beverage more fizzy. (As in a beer keg) But you have a point in that the Co2 in the bottle must come from the beverage itself in this case. I would always advocate the squeezy bottle approach (Also, Adam hart Davis advocated this approach in a presentation about gas and pressure.) "If in doubt, try it out" I'm off to the shops to get some 1/2 litre bottles of coke. I shall be posting the results shortly.

Oops. your absolutely right Sisyphus, I suspected I'd made a mistake soon after I wrote it. i have forthwith slapped my wrist.

If they're anything like the guitar I was working with this evening, they don't! Anyway, here goes. #1. Standing waves or standing frequencies are the natural wavelength of a given object. More usually associated with the room or chamber you are in. e.g. middle C is at about 260,000hz, it's wavelength is about 1m. so a chamber whose length is a multiple of 1m will resonate better @ middle C. Something taken into consideration when building an acoustic guitar, wind instrument or designing a concert hall for example. (You can find the standing frequency of your bathroom by humming a variety of pitches. one pitch will sound louder than others.) #2 The frequency of the note is effected most notable by the length of the string. by pushing down on a particular fret; the string is shortened producing a higher frequency. The tension and gauge (Width) of the string also play a role. if you place your finger on the 12th fret, the strings length is halved, and the frequency is doubled. This increases exponentially. e.g. 1hz 2hz 4hz 8hz 16hz 32hz 64hz 128hz 256hz 512hz 1024hz & 2056hz all produce a note, each one octave apart. the notes between these octaves are ratios between them. see here for Pythagorean ratios #3 By (I think) measuring the difference in the magnetic field around the pick-up. The pick-up is a coil of wire, as the string moves, the field changes, generating an oscillating electrical current. #4 The output level of the guitar is controlled via a variable resistor on the guitar itself. a 'volume pot' The weak signal travels down the guitar lead to a power amplifier where the amperage is increased, then sent to a loud speaker. There are many Wiki articles on this sort of thing if you need more detail

There are several 'markers' which the father and child must share in order to show that he really is the father of the child. If two or more markers do not match i.e are in different places on the graph, then that excludes the possibility that they are the father. If all markers match, that doesn't necessarily mean that he is the father, as some people may share similar genetic information with people who are not related to them, but it is unlikely. Are you thinking of having your child's DNA tested against yours? I went through the same thing five years ago with my 'daughter' It turned out I was not her biological father, her mother had been unfaithful. A very tough time as I remember.

It would have to pass some pretty vigorous testing before it could be sold to the public. Both the drug and the food admins would have to give it the OK. I'd be willing to bet that if it were sold in bars, people would buy it. Especially the late night, night club, binge drinking establishments. the doorman could give each customer an antidote pill as they leave.

Pretty much, just a thought experiment about walking around - an albeit large - 90 degrees turn.

Depends on the wine really, and how much air you can suck from the bottle. A good Rioja or Chianti wont last more than a day IMO. a cheaper wine will last longer. white wine lasts longer still, maybe a week. Again, I'm not sure of the exact science behind this, I just know that it works. As for the fizzy drink, I do know that the Co2 is dissolved into the liquid. You can take a sealed container, half fill it with still water and half with Co2 gas. shake it vigorously and you'll end up with very slightly fizzy water. the more pressure there is, the more fizz it will have. here's a video I found explaining how the carbonation process works. the system used is very similar to the system I worked with for many years as a bar manager http://science.discovery.com/videos/deconstructed-how-soda-fountains-work.html

here's a frog having the same experience but without the dragon boat and urinal cakes. http://www.ru.nl/hfml/research/levitation/diamagnetic/ They also did it with a strawberry.

There was a documentary on radio 4 a few years back where someone is developing such a substance. I found this about it Alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and hangovers in development An alcohol substitute that mimics its pleasant buzz without leading to drunkenness and hangovers is being developed by scientists.The new substance could have the added bonus of being "switched off" instantaneously with a pill, to allow drinkers to drive home or return to work. The synthetic alcohol, being developed from chemicals related to Valium, works like alcohol on nerves in the brain that provide a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation. But unlike alcohol its does not affect other parts of the brain that control mood swings and lead to addiction. It is also much easier to flush out of the body. Finally because it is much more focused in its effects, it can also be switched off with an antidote, leaving the drinker immediately sober. The new alcohol is being developed by a team at Imperial College London, led by Professor David Nutt, Britain's top drugs expert who was recently sacked as a government adviser for his comments about cannabis and ecstasy. I seem to remember, they experimented on the radio presenter with it. He got steadily more drunk, and described the effect as almost identical to the effects of alcohol. his motor control and balance weren't affected as much as with alcohol. Then they gave him the antidote, after a few second he felt his head clear and snapped back to normality, which he described as a very strange experience.

yes, if you're next to a massive object. e.g if you walked from the north pole to the equator.

Admins: can we keep this thread somewhere? Its just priceless! I've read it several times and its still hilarious. pieces like: "cannot look with out changing what he is inteligently and cooly looking at ..same as when he looks at a woman" I don't know if Heisenburg was feeling 'cool' like the Fonze from happy days when he gave us the uncertainty principle, but I know when I look at my girlfriend or any woman for that matter, I can tell both where she is and how fast she's moving. "he eventualy looses his cool and is frustrated" I didn't know that physicists loosing their cool was such a problem at the Atlas experiment. "so he is 'randy" if particle accelerators make you randy; I suggest psychoanalysis. you need flowers to motivate her I'm guessing you're single at this point, flowers are generally considered more of a romantic gesture than a motivational aid. "and this is the same with quantum theory" Wave function collapse due to well placed lilly and carnation bouquet? "if you want to talk to this inteligents then you will need to seduce her" Seduce a home P.C? that potentially dangerous and a bit weird. "man is the ultimate authority" Statistics show that around 50% of people disagree with this statement.

As far as I'm aware, the pressure stays about the same. if anything it increases. you can squeeze the air out, put the lid on, then shake the bottle so as it fizzes up and returns to its original shape. Leave it for a few days and it'll still be fizzy drink inside. I don't know the exact science behind why exactly it goes flat, I just know that if you have either pure Co2 or a mix of Co2 and nitrogen as the only gas in the container, your drink will stay fizzy. Squeezing the 'atmospheric gas' - as it were - out of the bottle means the Co2 wont evaporate into it. Any gas which does bubble out of the drink will only reinforce the necessary layer of Co2 in the bottle, and puff the bottle out a bit. it must have something to do with removing the oxygen.

I recently emailed this poem to a significant other Love is like a lump of gold, Hard to get, and hard to hold. Of all the girls I've ever met, You're the one I can't forget. I do believe that God above, Created you for me to love. He chose you from all the rest, Because he knew I would love you best. Forgetting how pragmatic, scientific and atheist both she and I are, I got this back. Thank you for the plagiarized poem it is very lovely although I detect a hint of cynicism. Not least because you said God sent me and we both know God if he exists at all is too busy playing Pac Man in another dimension. So to avoid anyone one else making the same mistake, I have re-written the poem for her and my fellow SFN users convenience. Human emotional attachment can be likened to the characteristics of element #79 'AU' in that obtaining said element is not easy and retention of it also requires effort Out of the many female homosapiens I have encountered, you physical and mental persona, occupies an above average quantity of nuero-synaptic interactions in my pre frontal lobe. A tacit understanding of reasonable assumption in either a deistic or theistic figure, either intelligent or otherwise remains a false dichotomy in that evidence of absence or presence are unprovable. For the purpose of this poem, whether by design or default aims to assert that your existence has an intrinsic function to increase the number of nuero-synaptic connections in my cerebral cortex and produce certain neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine and oxytosin which affect the synaptic cleft in that they stimulate the relevant receptors to produce a subjective pleasurable effect. The afore mentioned deistic/theistic idea can also be used to understand the statistical improbability - but not impossibility - of our having encountered one another. you are unique but statistically you fall within a 'bell curve' of probability. Based on this, it is reasonable to assume that my neurotransmitter levels and synaptic activity may be greater than that of a larger statistically significant group.