Stream of Stuff

[geckzilla]

Maybe some of you have the same problem I have. I have been wanting to share some things but not having a topic to put them in and yet they are unworthy of their own topics. Like, last night I had a dream that an office building at the top of a hill had a telescope on top of it but it was the worst design because the entire building rotated and leaned over at night when the telescope operated. Strange.

And this hot ball of nickel behaves exactly as one might expect when placed on a block of ice but somehow still manages to entertain me.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Beyond]

ha-ha-ha-ha, that's funny I don't know if the noise is the ice complaining the ball is too hot, or if the ball is complaining the ice is too cold and it's freezing it's tootsies off.

[neufer]

Maybe some of you have the same problem I have. I have been wanting to share some things but not having a topic to put them in and yet they are unworthy of their own topics. Like, last night I had a dream that an office building at the top of a hill had a telescope on top of it but it was the worst design because the entire building rotated and leaned over at night when the telescope operated. Strange.

What would Sigmund Freud say

Oh....I know:

“I no longer believe that… the actor from Stratford was the author of the works that have been ascribed to him. Since reading Shakespeare Identified by J. Thomas Looney, I am almost convinced that the assumed name conceals the personality of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford… The man of Stratford seems to have nothing at all to justify his claim, whereas Oxford has almost everything.”

- Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

[emc]

The hot metal ball being plunged into a block of ice makes a good metaphor for the movie “Ball of Fire” wherein a feisty hot dancer becomes involved with a cold stark professor resulting in transformation. BTW – Alfred Newman wrote the music... thought that was interesting too.

[emc]

Maybe some of you have the same problem I have. I have been wanting to share some things but not having a topic to put them in and yet they are unworthy of their own topics. Like, last night I had a dream that an office building at the top of a hill had a telescope on top of it but it was the worst design because the entire building rotated and leaned over at night when the telescope operated. Strange.

What would Sigmund Freud say

I think it depends on Freud's state of mind... which was not always centered on intimate contact.

[neufer]

The hot metal ball being plunged into a block of ice makes a good metaphor for the movie “Ball of Fire” wherein a feisty hot dancer becomes involved with a cold stark professor resulting in transformation. BTW – Alfred Newman wrote the music... thought that was interesting too.

[i][color=#0000FF]The legacy of Alfred Newman and his influence on the language of music for the cinema is practically unmatched by anyone in Hollywood history. As an executive, he was hard but fair. As a mentor to his staff he was revered. The orchestras under his baton delighted in his abilities as a conductor. The music he himself composed, often under extreme emotional duress, is among the most gorgeous ever written. Not big in physical stature, he was a giant in character, a titan in of the world he loved and dominated. He was a true musical force, and one that cannot in any sense be replaced.[/color][/i]

---

<<Alfred Newman (March 17, 1901 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music, and was also the head of a family of major Hollywood film composers, among them his brothers Emil and Lionel, his sons David and Thomas, and his nephew Randy.

The eldest of ten children, Newman was born in New Haven, Connecticut . A musical prodigy, he began studying piano at the age of five with Sigismund Stojowski, and walked a ten-mile round trip every day to practice on a neighbour's piano. He was able to supplement his poor family's income by playing in theaters and restaurants. He traveled the vaudeville circuit with performer Grace LaRue, billed as "The Marvelous Boy Pianist".

In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over 200 films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest musicians ever to work in film. Newman won nine Academy Awards, more than any other composer in Oscar history, and second only to Walt Disney for the most wins by an individual. He was nominated a total of 45 times, making him the third-most nominated person in Academy Awards history behind Disney and John Williams.>>

Art (replacing him would be senseless) Neuendorffer

[geckzilla]

What would Sigmund Freud say

Oh....I know:

“ . . . Shakespeare . . . ”

- Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

I'm having a hard time seeing the relationship.

[Beyond]

Ok, time to get back on the stick by watching a Lord Howe Island stick insect 'stream' itself out of it's birthing chamber. (6 minutes)
http://grist.org/list/giant-awesome-tre ... stribution

[neufer]

I'm having a hard time seeing the relationship.

One's a Freud, the other's a fraud.

[geckzilla]

Ok, time to get back on the stick by watching a Lord Howe Island stick insect 'stream' itself out of it's birthing chamber. (6 minutes)
http://grist.org/list/giant-awesome-tre ... stribution

How much bug can you fit into one egg? It seems difficult to get much strength from those legs with the exoskeleton still soft.

[Beyond]

How to halve an apple with just your hands.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Beyond]

How to make a flubber egg.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[geckzilla]

Pat and I tried that apple thing but I think the apple was too small to get the sides of our thumbs wedged into the top.

[owlice]

I used to be able to halve an apple like that, but that was years ago and I can't do it anymore.

[neufer]

I used to be able to halve an apple like that, but that was years ago and I can't do it anymore.

I used to have an apple like that.

It was "a goodly apple rotten at the heArt."
- ANTONIO, The Merchant of Venice Act 1, Scene 3

[bystander]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Ask an Astronomy Brain Parasite
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Spitzer | IRrelevant Astronomy | 2013 July 16

[geckzilla]

That video was really weird, but in a good way. Not like the uncomfortable weird from Dawkins's meme music video.

What's really weird in a bad way to me is the reasoning many people seem to use for not driving drunk. They avoid it because they don't want a DUI or to have their license suspended. The idea that driving drunk is bad because they might accidentally hurt someone, including themselves or that they might destroy their car, destroy someone else's car or property, or even kill someone takes a back seat (pardon the pun). These reasons seem distant and unconnected from the primary deterrent of losing one's right to drive legally. I'm not even sure empathy plays part of the thought process at all. How many people do you suppose would drive drunk if there was no legal deterrent? If you only got in trouble for actually being in an accident while drunk, would people drive drunk even more often than they already do? I think the sad answer is yes.

[owlice]

The Dawkin's video was weird; hope he got paid tons to make it, and even if he did, I'd say it wasn't enough for how I would characterize it (which I can't say here because this is a family-friendly site).

But I watched it to see what the connection to not driving drunk was, so I was even more confused while watching it.

geckzilla, I think people think of the DUI thing because that doesn't seem distant to them, whereas killing someone does. It is easier to imagine not being able to drive and/or having to pay a fine than killing themselves or someone else is (unless they have been personally touched by that tragedy).

[geckzilla]

The only connection was the different ways things seem weird to me. I should probably stop abusing that word so much. Then again, this is the Stream of Stuff thread so don't expect there to be a lot of connections. Art's the one to go to for those.

I'm still confused about how the idea of killing someone with a car could seem distant to someone. I think about how easy it is to kill someone or be killed in one nearly every time I'm driving or being a passenger by imaging lots of little what-ifs the whole time. I can't say I've ever been personally touched by any kind of severe accident like that but it seems way too likely that one day it might happen even without alcohol impairment compounding the matter. Cars are literally speeding death machines one level short of a firearm because they aren't designed specifically to cause death and anguish even though they are still really good at it.

[Beyond]

One level short of a firearm, eh? Cars ought to get a bang out of that one

[bystander]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[geckzilla]

Ok, I kinda laughed when Neil popped up on his imaginary sci-fi stage, there. He probably is the best candidate to try to fill Sagan's shoes but for some reason this trailer seems kind of goofy compared to the original Cosmos. Neil is always getting very emotional about how we stopped sending people to the Moon and beyond. Maybe he can shake some of it out in his new TV show. And he lost a lot of weight!

Trailer music is by John Murphy. I recognized it instantly from the Sunshine and 28 Days Later soundtracks.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[geckzilla]

If that gecko-inspired dry adhesive can stick repeatedly to human skin, I think it could be used to completely redesign headphones. Instead of having an annoying bar that goes uncomfortably over the top of your head you could reduce the weight of the entire thing by having the two ear pieces stick to that clear patch of skin in front of your ears or possibly circumaurally. I know it sounds like it's not that big of a difference but if you wear headphones all the time you know how annoying it is to have them smashing your ears to hold them in place. I know earbuds are available but I don't like the feeling of something in my ear canal and I also like a bit of air between the speaker and the ear so that other sounds from the environment can get through. Earbuds also don't allow for a microphone boom to be attached. Anyway, that's my invention.

[stephen63]

If that gecko-inspired dry adhesive can stick repeatedly to human skin, I think it could be used to completely redesign headphones. Instead of having an annoying bar that goes uncomfortably over the top of your head you could reduce the weight of the entire thing by having the two ear pieces stick to that clear patch of skin in front of your ears or possibly circumaurally. I know it sounds like it's not that big of a difference but if you wear headphones all the time you know how annoying it is to have them smashing your ears to hold them in place. I know earbuds are available but I don't like the feeling of something in my ear canal and I also like a bit of air between the speaker and the ear so that other sounds from the environment can get through. Earbuds also don't allow for a microphone boom to be attached. Anyway, that's my invention.

Good idea! Call it the Sticky Headset. A similar concept:
Sticky Sandals

[geckzilla]

Hmm, could that possibly make sandals even more dangerous than they already are? I'm curious to know just how sticky a Van der Waals force tape could get. If it's not quite sticky enough, it could get annoying.