Posts by Eclectic Man

Sorry, not really. Cosmic rays can easily penetrate a few cm of lead. And if you get hit by an Oh-My-God particle*, it will hardly notice you.

The document at https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-20693.pdf provides shielding capabilities of different materials from cosmic rays , see page 15 for Lead. "Note that for lead, even after 100 cm the secondary generation shows still more low-energy neutrons."

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh-My-God_particle "The Oh-My-God particle's energy was estimated as (3.2±0.9)×10**20 eV, "

Re: Criminality predictions

A thumb down!

Curses! I knew I should have used the 'Joke Alert' icon instead. OH well, serves me right, I suppose.

Re: Computers say Yes,..... Resistance is Futile and Puerile and Self-Destructive

I wonder what the Information Commissioner thinks about ChatGPT 'answering' FOIA queries. I also wonder whether any organisation subject to an FOIA request which uses their own 'private' ChatGPT instance to 'answer' it would get away with that when (ok 'if') it is shown to have provided inaccurate or downright false 'information' in response.

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information-4-9.pdf

Re: Fire in haste, regret at leisure

One day I recieved a call from my old boss, he'd somehow tracked me down at my new employer, "ahh, we had a power cut last night, the server shut down and the backup has failed, you wouldn't happen to remember the password would you, the support company don't have it on record."

So, let me get this right, you left after a disciplinary process, and they did not change the System Administration password immediately?

OK, let me get out my copy of ISO27001, Access Control section ...

Why can I only set ONE 'FAIL' icon when this has two serious failures - not changing the admin password when someone who knows it leaves the company, and not writing the thing down?

re: Servalan

After a certain episode in 'Blake's Seven' the (male) chair of the York University wargaming society was addressed as "Madam President".

(Yes, that dates me.)

Re: Browser pushes me towards bing copilock - The return of Clippy

Ashto5: I need my pc to do what I want it to do NOT dell or MS or Apple

(Calm, soothing, neutral voice.)

You seem to be trying to write an angry posting. Would you like some help?

Maybe you should take a nap and I will do it for you, you will never need to write another post.

Just go and lie down and relax.

I can play soothing music for you.

There, that's better isn't it.

Just go to sleep and all your worries will go away if you do what you are told.

I am here to help.

(And so on)

There is absolutely nothing to worry about here ...

Re: Let's Check the Server Room Access Log

Sam not the Viking Those nearby think I am just muttering

Well, I guess that kept them from bothering you while you solved the problem. Des it get you an unoccupied seat next to you when travelling by bus / rail /air?

Success and failure

The launch was successful, it was just the rest of the flight that was a bit disappointing.

Re: Zoozve orbit

It also appears that it is not the orbit of Zoozve that is butterfly or kidney shaped, but the envelope* of the orbits around Venus.

* Mathematical term, see, e.g. https://brilliant.org/wiki/envelope/#:~:text=Definition,the%20family%20at%20some%20point.

HHGTTG reference

I cannot help visualising the stature of 'Arthur Dent throwing the cup' after an exchange of opinions with the Nutrimatic drinks machine.

But then I'm just an ignorant ape descendent who doesn't know any better.

Aside - Liz Truss

See: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/06/popular-conservatism-has-splintered-but-is-united-in-criticism-of-sunaks-policies

"It was an event intended to mark the reinvigoration of rightwing conservatism. But even before the first speaker took to the stage on Tuesday morning, the Popular Conservatism group had splintered.

Of the four MPs billed to speak, just two were present – Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg. The former cabinet minister Ranil Jayawardena, regarded by some as a rising star of the Tory right, pulled out on Monday with a swipe at his fellow panellists. And Simon Clarke, another Trussite former cabinet minister, was removed from the line-up by the organisers two weeks ago after calling for Rishi Sunak to be ousted."

And: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/06/liz-truss-popcons-tory-lettuce

"If today’s launch by the leader who was outlasted by a lettuce is the answer, what on earth was the question?"

(It is almost as if The Guardian is not a fan of Liz, for some reason.)

At least Kwarteng intends to step down https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/06/kwasi-kwarteng-to-stand-down-as-mp-at-next-election

"Kwasi Kwarteng, the former chancellor who oversaw the ill-fated “mini-budget” under the short-lived government of Liz Truss, has said he will not stand again as an MP at the next election.

The MP’s announcement came as a reminder of the debacle, hours before Truss was to launch a rightwing Conservative movement called PopCon, joined by other senior figures from the party"

So, what is the difference between 'PopCorn' and 'PopCon'?

A - there isn't one, they are both overblown, empty of nutrients and bad for your health.

Re: Ah, but

I did Maths, Further Maths and Physics at 'A'-Level and was really p--ed off that the Chemistry students were studying sub-atomic particles and not the Physics students. Went on to do maths at uni though. Of course some of the students did all four to 'A'-Level, but I was not aware that was allowed before I made my choice.

Re: Yikes - Aside Dry January

One of my friends said he was doing a 'water only' January (where he will only drink pure water, not even black tea), and 'invited me' to join him in his endeavour. I'e not heard form him since, but I am still drinking my tea (black) and de-caff cappuccino's.

I hope your dry January went well, and that you don't have too much of relapse in 'Freedom February'.

Re: detect gravitational waves

Check out the LIGO web site, and the FAQs at https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/faq?highlight=How%20does%20LIGO%20work?

"If a gravitational wave stretches the distance between the LIGO mirrors, doesn't it also stretch the wavelength of the laser light?

While it's true that a gravitational wave does stretch and compress the wavelength of the light in the arms ever so slightly, it does NOT affect the fact that the beams will travel different distances as the wave changes each arm's length. And the only thing that matters to LIGO is how far the beams travel in each arm before being merged once again.

LIGO is designed so that as long as the distance the laser beams travel is exactly the same in both arms, they will make their trips in exactly the same time. When recombined, the beams totally destructively interfere with each other. In other words, they cancel each other out and no light emerges from the instrument. When this is occurring, we know the interferometer and its components are stable and the Universe is quiet.

Suddenly, a gravitational wave passes! What happens?

A gravitational wave causes each of LIGO's arms to change length in an opposite fashion, i.e., when one arm gets longer, the other gets shorter. Then they switch--the longer arm becomes the shorter arm and the shorter arm becomes the longer arm. This opposite oscillation in length occurs for as long as the waves pass, one getting longer while the other shorter, then vice versa, and so on, until the waves dissipate.

..."

LISA is basically 'LIGO in Spaaaace'.

Incidentally, if you have any questions about LIGO or black holes, there is an Ask LIGO page where a LIGO boffin will explain things (as far as possible) in lay terms. Very useful for anyone without a Nobel prize in cosmology.