Things you don't need to know…

Originally Posted by pibbur who
pibbur who won't reveal his level, but claims to pronounce "vi" correctly.

Isn't Vi a name from a Baldur's Gate game ?
Or was that a user of RPGDot ?

I just can't remember anymore …

Vi Dominae is a character in Wizardry 7 and 8.

pibbur who for once did remember.

Yes, I recall her now from Wizardry 8.

This guy has proven that you can beat the Plants vs Zombies campaign without ever using any sun producing plants:



Which I agree makes it a much more tactical and difficult challenge, and even more fun as a result. This can only work if you buy the Pool Cleaners as soon as they're available to buy though as this restriction puts a huge amount of reliance into your Lawnmowers and Pool Cleaners.

I hate RIP threads. Especially when it's about a humble person who'd never make a spectacle out of it, like in this case. So I'll post it here, where noone ever looks any more.

RIP hobo with a shotgun. I'll miss you, honestly.

Apparingly there was corporate welfare going on, according to an article : Bureaucracy bows before mighty airplaine companies : https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/b…7-max-faa.html
Source : https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meld…g-4481094.html


A face is 5 Dollars worth : https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/29/8…ata-collection

If you suddenly get locked out of Great Britain, here's why : https://euobserver.com/justice/141919

So we ordered in pizza last night, and it came with a little pot of dip, which didn't get opened, and was forgotten about on the table. It's apparently fermented in the heat, and just exploded with a loud pop, splattering itself all over. Scared the crap out of me.

Originally Posted by Ripper
…. Scared the crap out of me.

Especially if you consider that all those splats contain LOTS OF germs. Admittedly they're probably not very virulent. Probably. Muahahaha!!!!!

pibbur whose humanity is to some degree destroyed by his medical background, in the sense that thihgs like exploding germs don't bother him very much.

PS. About exploding things. Here's a tip. If you ever want to make a roux (strange word) for thickening sauce by shaking flour and water, it's a good idea to use cold water. Shaking hot water and flour tends to go BOOOM! I know. From experience. My family is still laughing. DS.

The dog has attended to the matter on the floor, and the table has been cleansed. The dog, who has been known to pull things out of the drain, appears to be largely impervious to germs.

Originally Posted by Ripper
The dog has attended to the matter on the floor, and the table has been cleansed. The dog, who has been known to pull things out of the drain, appears to be largely impervious to germs.

It's good that most germs have very specific tastes when it comes to selection of hosts.

There is life in space. At the moment we almost 100% know for sure. On the moon.

According to my sources (a Norwegian newspaper, I haven't bother checking elseweyr, but here's the link: https://www.bt.no/nyheter/utenriks/i…nen?spid_rel=2), an Israeli spacecraft named "Beresheet" unintentionally crashlanded on the moon in april. For some reason several thousand tardigrades (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade)) were passengers.

Now these little fellows (0.5 mm) are quite tough:

1. Crashlanding? Piece of cake.
2. Near vacuum? We can handle that.
3. Surface temperature as low as -170C? Who cares?
4. No water, no food? No problem.

They just curl up and go into hibernation. And survive for at least 30 years. Until there's water again.

So yes, it's very likely that there are tardigrades there now. Unfortunately, liquid water on the surfacen is very unlikely, and therefore it is very unlikely that they will ever start kicking again. And so it's very likely that they will eventually die.

But for the next 30 years or so, there is life on the moon.

pibbur who has read what he wants about this and therefore can speak categorically.

Yes, apparently it was some sort of "ark" project, where they're trying to distribute the sum of human knowledge to various locations in the solar system, for reference purposes when we've finished destroying ourselves.

https://mymodernmet.com/sony-wearable-air-conditioner/

If you’re someone who suffers in the heat of summer, you’ll be intrigued by a new offering from Sony. The Reon Pocket is a personal air conditioner that will keep you cool whether you’re on a crowded train or watching a ball game under the scorching sun. The portable, wearable device was developed as part of Sony’s startup acceleration program and was just funded on the company’s crowdfunding website.

Two years of development went into the Reon Pocket, which can also be used as a heater. After surveying businessmen in Tokyo about their needs and how they’d like to be cooler while wearing suits, Sony created the discrete model. It works by using thermoelectric cooling and is said to be able to lower the wearer’s body temperature by 23 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). On the other end of the spectrum, users can warm up by about 14 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius).

Reon Pocket is intended to be used in tandem with a special undershirt that has a pocket at the base of the neck. The Bluetooth device, which weighs about 3 ounces (85 grams), connects to an app which allows for easy regulation of the temperature. The personal air conditioner works with both Android and iOS and charges via a standard USB-c. With 90 minutes of battery life, the device works long enough to keep wearers fresh and comfortable in many situations.

The market distribution is planned sometimes next year (slightly before Tokyo Olympics) and by all means I'm buying this at any price no questions asked!

Hmm - I would have thought that lowering the user's body temperature by 13c would have a tendency to make them rather dead. You'd need a good chunk of energy too, so bring plenty of batteries for the death-by-hypothermia device.

They are probably exaggerating. But it would be nice if it were able to get your body temp down with 1°C. It is only the top that is being covered by a cooling T-shirt after all.

Originally Posted by Eye
They are probably exaggerating. But it would be nice if it were able to get your body temp down with 1°C. It is only the top that is being covered by a cooling T-shirt after all.

It could be quite dangerous to lower your body temperature by even 1°C. The body can only function in a very narrow temperature range of a couple of degrees, which it works frantically to maintain. Outside of that, it gets into serious trouble very quickly.

I suspect what they really mean is that it makes the wearer feel like it's up to 13°C cooler than the ambient temperature, but I'd take that with a large pinch of salt, too.

+/- 1C could make you uncomfortable, but usually it won't be dangerous. Normal temperature variations in your body lies in that range. But an increase in your core temperature by 8C would definitely kill you. Lowering it by 13 would cause you to first appear very dead, and then be very dead.

I would think they're talking about skin temperature.

pibbur who prefers the temperature on the outside below 20C, and on the inside around 36-37.

PS. With body temperatures below 30 normal signs of life may be very difficult to detect clinically. Pulse almost undetectable, same with respiration. Therefore one should not be too hasty declaring cold people dead, DS.

I was thinking that the body temperature drop of one degree could be significant if one happened to already be at the bottom of the normal range.

Yes, I could imagine it blowing a bit of cool air down the back of your neck, and making a patch of skin quite chilly. I'd be curious where all the transferred heat is supposed to go - blown out of a little chimney at the top, I suppose. They mention it as a "personal air conditioner" for people on crowded train carriages. That gets another "hmmm".

In the time of writing (August 15, 19:30 CET), and seen from Norway: Today's Wikipedia featured article is about an Australian.

pibbur who didn't know about this one until now.

Originally Posted by pibbur who
t the timne of writing (August 15, 19:30 CET), and seen from Norway: Today's Wikipedia featured article is about an Australian.

pibbur who didn't know about this one until now.

Who was it? I’m not seeing it here