conjunctions

[MediumRare]

Too bad we can't rate post quality. That would make a more interesting graph.

I can't graph it, but one high quality post that really sticks in my memory is this one.

G

[MediumRare]

it was right after the forum was spammed by those gaming idiots.

I missed that (just got the aftermath). It must have been a "fun" situation.

well, i've already put my newfound mod powers to good use a few times.
i edited those llllllllllllllooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg URLs.
they really piss me off, forcing me to scroll horizontally.
so i replace them by something like:
[url=http://www.cdrlabs.com]annoyingly long URL @ meritline - edited by dodecahedron.
please don't do that again. use BBCode[/url]

LOL That's exactly what I'd do in a case like that.

G
(first use of one of the new emoticons)

[dodecahedron]

LOL that's good, yeah i should add Mr. to this "annoying URL" text

[CowboySlim]

VI can't graph it, but one high quality post that really sticks in my memory is this one.

Hey, that was one of mine. That was when I was much newer and Hox didn't realize that I am not one to be trifled with.

Slim

[JamieW]

Oh my but that was a good one. It is good to know I am not the only source of wayward topics. I love the way hox was bowing out even in that one. What an f*$&ing tool he is.

[dolphinius_rex]

you know, if people keep arguing with Hoxland, he's going to start posting more, and I'm going to have a harder time surpassing him in number of posts made....

I'm on a deadline here people, common! (j/k)

[CowboySlim]

D_rex,

Remember, it's the quality factor that matters. Unfortunately, it's only total posts, including the trash, that it is possible to statisticize.

Slim

[dolphinius_rex]

D_rex,

Remember, it's the quality factor that matters. Unfortunately, it's only total posts, including the trash, that it is possible to statisticize.

Slim

Of course my good man I'm simply trying to lighten the atmosphere and return this topic to somewhere near the vicinity of where it started.

[aviationwiz]

Now that I look at it, I've almost caught up with eliminator

[MediumRare]

Out of curiosity, have you noticed any similar types of posting trends in me?

I did find something special about your postings- Have a look at this list of the top 5 post counts on a single day:

39 cfitz (6 Mar 2003)
36 dodecahedron (16 Nov 2003)
30 CDRecorder (30 Sep 2003)
29 dolphinius_rex (21 May 2004)
29 Kennyshin (20 May 2004)

(A day starts/ends anywhere between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m Central European Time for this purpose.)

Your personal high was on Friday, just after my conjunction prognosis, and your second highest day (22 posts) was yesterday. But I guess you are taking the advice in this post and this post seriously.

G

[dolphinius_rex]

hehe, well I won't try to deny the increase in post numbers

But I think in general you will not find too many superfulous posts by me. I am trying to keep up quality even though I'm posting a lot more. Actually, to be honest, I could be saying a lot more then I am on a lot of things, but I've been glorifying too many rumours as it is! My info is always strongest when it has to do with the corporate end of this industry, since that where most of my first hand info is.

On that note, expect a major price drop on media in one week.... well, ok, no one will see it until distributors actually purchase the media at the new low prices... but there will be a big drop in media prices coming around June 1st at the manufacturer level. It should make a lot of Taiwanese media competitive to Chinese and Hongkong made media!

[dolphinius_rex]

I think you need a new graph now MediumRare

[MediumRare]

I think you need a new graph now MediumRare

Yeah, I saw that you made the top 10 about 8 hours and 15 posts ago.

You've no doubt heard of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The standard formulation is that the product of uncertainties in postion and momentum (or 2 other canonically conjugate variables) is a constant (Planck's constant).

Applied to Forum posts it might read "The product of uncertainty in post counts and posting rates in a constant". In physics, this means that the very act of observing a state will disturb it. Transfer this to the forum, and you'll see that some people are affected by observations of post counts, especially if a "goal" is at hand.

My projections were based on mean posting rates for ca. 1 month, so short term effects are discounted. Using a shorter base line is more susceptible to short term trends (e.g. heavy school work should dampen post rates as it apparently did for Awiz, a new toy demands sharing the joy with others).

I won't say any more and I won't update the graphs (for a while).

G

[dodecahedron]

You've no doubt heard of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The standard formulation is that the product of uncertainties in postion and momentum (or 2 other canonically conjugate variables) is a constant (Planck's constant).

isn't it greater or equal to Plank's constant?
delta x times delta p >= hbar ?

[dolphinius_rex]

No worries, I didn't really expect a new graph, I was just being boastful

[MediumRare]

Now that I look at it, I've almost caught up with eliminator

It happened sometime today...

You've no doubt heard of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The standard formulation is that the product of uncertainties in postion and momentum (or 2 other canonically conjugate variables) is a constant (Planck's constant).

isn't it greater or equal to Plank's constant?
delta x times delta p >= hbar ?

You're right, of course. Uncertainties are usually lower limits- but it was late in the evening after a long week. I think my main point came across, though (I didn't want to get into commutators or other technical details).

Incidentally, that the constant h-bar (h/2*pi) crops up throughout quantum mechanics (more so than h) is a historic fluke- namely that Planck used frequency and not angular velocity in his revolutionary formula: is equivalent to ).

G
(who used a too large font for the formulas )

[MediumRare]

There are several conjuctions due shortly (other than "and", "or", "but" etc ).

First and foremost is the coming superior conjunction of Venus with the sun, also known as a "transit of Venus" (no, this has nothing to do with bus rides for beauty queens ).

This rare event occurs when the Sun, Venus and Earth lie directly in line and (usually) comes in pairs 8 years apart. It's due this year on 8 June- the last one was 121.5 years ago, and after 2012, you have to wait 105.5 years for the next one- so go out and see it!!!

The full course of the transit is visible in Euope and most of Asia and Africa (and of course in the land of the midnight sun). Korea, Japan and Australia see the first part prior to sunset. The final stages can be seen after sunrise in North America east of the Rockies. There's a good article in the May 2004 issue of Scientific American or vist http://www.transitofvenus.org.

If there's an observatory or Astronomy society near you, check with them- I'm sure they'll have some activities going.

G

This starts in about 25 min. If you can see the sun, grab your eclipse glasses or head to your local observatory!!!

G

[MediumRare]

Well it's over. Did anyone else see it? We had fantastic weather here (for a change)- sunny, clear skies, no wind and warm. I'll try and get some pictures up tomorrow.

G

[MediumRare]

OK, I'll post a couple of pictures to show what this was all about. I realize that it's a bit different than most topics here (although Spaz did post something about the sun a while ago, with a wonderfully rambling contribution by Tolyngee), but it's something that interests me. I like to share enthusiasm.



This is my telescope, which I used to watch the transit of Venus. It's a small refractor (80 mm), but ideal for solar projection. I rigged up the screen the evening before the big event (main component: a tomtao paste can epoxied to an aluminum plate). You can see the image of the sun on the screen. We set up at a busy intersection in Frankfurt at 7 a.m. and followed the first phase there (ca. 1.5 hours). Interesting to watch all the people hurry by. Some did ask "can you see anything yet?" and had a look. Interestingly, just about all drivers waiting at the lights stared our way, and most pedestrians just looked through us.

Later I visited a friend who was also watching and set up the 'scope again in his yard. He took the picture and a few more of the projected image of the sun.



This picture is taken about a minute before 3rd contact at 13:02 MEST. The "black hole" is Venus, just before it starts to leave the line of sight of the sun. If you look carefully, you can see a couple of sun spots to the right of Venus, about 1/3 of the way across. They're not very big- during active solar phases, some sun spots (or clusters) show as large as Venus here!

G

[dodecahedron]

yep, i did see it, pics posted in a website of some company selling scientific equipment. the pics were updated every minute or so.

[dolphinius_rex]

Hey MediumRare, any chance we can get some new posting graphs on conjunctions again? I'm curious where things are stacking up now, roughly 10 months later

[MediumRare]

Hey MediumRare, any chance we can get some new posting graphs on conjunctions again? I'm curious where things are stacking up now, roughly 10 months later

I'll see what I can do- may take a couple of days. Problems:
- It's too late for the traditional "Ides of March" post (even in the Julian calendar).
- It's Tuesday.
- My DSL line finally came through after over 5 months of waiting and I have to set up the hardware tonight.

G

[dolphinius_rex]

Hey MediumRare, any chance we can get some new posting graphs on conjunctions again? I'm curious where things are stacking up now, roughly 10 months later

I'll see what I can do- may take a couple of days. Problems:
- It's too late for the traditional "Ides of March" post (even in the Julian calendar).
- It's Tuesday.
- My DSL line finally came through after over 5 months of waiting and I have to set up the hardware tonight.

G

No worries, and no rush

I'm sure we all appreciate your efforts in adding a little extra "grooviness" to the forum!

[MediumRare]

Be warned cfitz... in 15 years, I'll be catching up!!

I've been watching for this one for the last couple of years and have been gathering various bits of information for a trend. Now it's imminent (and a fair bit sooner than D_R figured). You don't need rocket science (or thermodynamics ) to see that this will happen today or tomorrow (delta of 9 posts as of this writing).

And all the lovely graphs I've been planning will be too late and superfluous. The Ides of March are too late and the "Ides of January" are already gone and I don't have the time to an appropriate discourse. Maybe I'll get arounf to a "post mortem" this weekend.

The earth shakes and continues to revolve around the sun.

G

[dolphinius_rex]

Hey MediumRare!

I'd be lying if I claimed I hadn't been paying attention to that myself

A lot has changed between then and now... for instance, I spend MUCH more time on CDRlabs while at work!

I also have more interesting things to post about on a more regular basis... and I've started eyeing Dodecahedron as my next target too