Humor
Random Noise #17 : They Sure Fooled Me!
Well, they sure fooled me!
I like to think that I know a thing or two about science and engineering. Quite apart from that, I have read enough court transcripts to know when someone is telling porkies1. Or so I thought.
I was utterly convinced that the U.S.A. had really landed men on the moon. Everything seemed to fit. I recently wrote an article about the parallax problem. From any place on Earth at a given time and date, the moon is in a different part of the sky. So: to convince everyone on Earth that a live feed…
This applies to many facets of life, including scientific experimentation: "Things are getting worse faster than I can lower my standards."
Sadly, this is probably accurate for a good number of us...
As is this...
For the physicists among us:
And the geologists:
And the microbiologists:
And for the high-schooler in all of us:
Thanks to Toothpaste for Dinner.
You have to admire her candor.
* Photo courtesy of me, taken in parking lot at sushi place where I went for lunch.
Hank |
A short while ago, the wife saw me working feverishly on yet another project, this one involving clothes, and came to investigate. Why? Well, she's pretty agreeable about work done outside or in the garage and mostly tolerant about things I do in my den - unlike most men, for example, she lets me watch all the sports I want, as long she is in Asia on business and I keep it on mute.
But she turns into a Wizard Of Oz-style tornado of rage if I get near our kitchen granite countertops with a drill bit and maintains an irrational skepticism about other internal projects regardless…
Just a quick and humorous post for you.
I recently watched a program about human combustion on the Discovery Channel. On it there was a man who was attempting to prove that it was a real natural phenomenon.
However, his explanation left much to be desired. His theory was rather comical.
OK here we go. Human combustion is caused by a particle that is not known to science called a pyrotron. At which point I found it harder and harder to believe what this man was saying. If scientists can go about making up stuff because they can’t come up with an explanation – that’s the best job in the…
Hank |
Our offices are in a building in sunny Folsom, California, a town made most famous when Johnny Cash had a concert at the nearby prison (*). It's one of those full service places where they have the phones and the furniture and a kitchen in the middle. It's obviously more expensive than a regular office lease but the riverboat gambler in me doesn't like long-term leases and I am convinced I could work from my house if my wife didn't say things like, "You can't work from the house."
On Thursday I was walking toward the kitchen to get my 11th coffee of the day when I passed two…
When I say 'stop eating chocolate or you may die' it is in theory, as there have been no recorded cases that I could find, so generally you need not worry. Thus, if you are sure you’re human you should be fine.
You may be surprised to hear that chocolate actually contains a poison – Theobromine (C7H8N4O2). Theobromine is the main alkaloid found in chocolate and is a relative of caffeine.
Though theobromine is not as powerful as caffeine in its effects. Yet, its effects do mimic that of caffeine in that it acts like a stimulant as it increases heart rate. There has also been a study…
antunes |
I recently got back the referee's comments on my mad scientist speech, submitted to the Journal for Villains (JV).
Abstract
Ha ha!1 They2 said3 it couldn't[could not] be done!4
1colloquial 2who? specify, cite previous work 3'wrote' [list citations] 4'accomplished'? give budget and timeframe exceeded
But I[Antunes et al] proved[presented possible proof that] all of them wrong!5
5cite which theory…
It’s 40 years this week since the Apollo astronauts landed on the moon. Analysis of the tapes shows that Neil Armstrong did say “small step for a man” – and not “small step for man” – though he said the “a” quickly and radio static obscured it.
As my small contribution to the space program, I’ll confirm that this can happen.
Evidence comes from a ski trip in Utah. After a day on the slopes, my sister’s family and mine repaired to a barbecue joint in downtown Park City. A waiter pushed three tables together to accommodate our group of nine.
As we enjoyed our meal, my niece Lara, then 18 years…