John Cuthber
-
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by John Cuthber
-
-
16 hours ago, toucana said: Today I learned that the word TARE found on railway wagons and shipping containers comes from an Arabic word طَرْح ṭarḥ meaning “deduction” or “that which is removed”. The word refers to the unladen weight of a cargo van, vessel or container, and its use in English dates back to the reign of King Henry VII at the end of the 15th century.
A TARE weight is subtracted from the value recorded on a weighbridge to calculate the actual weight of the cargo for customs or shipping charges.
The photo is of a “Cavell Van” a type of railway parcel van, so named because it was famously used to transport the body of nurse Edith Cavell from Belgium back to Britain in 1919.
https://kesr.org.uk/the-cavell-van/
TIL
You carry just 1 dead body, and that's all you get remembered for. -
"It's interesting to group silicon with both germanium and titanium."
Chemically, they probably have more in common with each other than with carbon or lead.
I wait for Iupac, having decreed in favour of sulfur, to set their sights on "fosforus".
While we are at it, "helium should be "helion" or something, because it's not a metal. -
-
5 hours ago, dimreepr said: 5 hours ago, John Cuthber said: It's possible that Andrew can't tell right from wrong.
Indeed, but should we just let him choose bc he is entitled to do so?
I didn't suggest that we should.
I was pointing out that, while it's possible, it seems very unlikely.
The OP's question was "could-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-be-on-the-autistic-spectrum?".
Well, he could be.
But I doubt it.
And if he were , that wouldn't be a "get out of jail free" card. -
It's possible that Andrew can't tell right from wrong.
But, if that's the case, how come he was allowed to fly military helicopters?
How did he serve as an ambassador?
Seriously, we all know autistic people- and some of us are in that group.
In what universe would you employ us for our diplomatic skills?
On the other hand, who would be surprised that "Randy Andy's" exploits would get him into trouble?
Yes, he counted some pretty evil people as friends.
Unfortunately, people typically form friendships with people who they have lots in common with.
And he's a rich guy with no responsibilities and nobody to say no to him.
That gives him a lot in common with a whole bunch of dictators and "nice" dictators are in short supply. -
Mr President; someone has suggested a name for the new Ballroom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangery -
-
On 3/19/2017 at 11:04 PM, CharonY said: Possible and rather typical for what effectively is fusion food (but less pretentious). Incidentally, food is for me one of the best arguments for immigration.
I must have been busy 9 years ago so I missed the opportunity to post this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaGdwfykYGY -
Could someone do me a favour please?
Tell Trump that North Sea oil has pretty much run out, so there's no point in invading the UK.
Thanks.
(on behalf of about 70 million of us)
And , now for the science part...16 hours ago, swansont said: the oil companies are less than thrilled with this. Heavy crude (and with contaminants like sulphur, so it’s “sour”) is more expensive to refine. It’s used for diesel, not gasoline, but having more on the market just drives prices down.
When North sea oil came on stream, Venezuelan oil actually became more valuable.
As you say, Venezuelan crude is heavy.
On the other hand, North Sea crude is much lighter.
By blending them, the oil companies could use the mixture in their refineries that were designed for use on Arabian oil which is intermediate between the two. -
Edited by John Cuthber
2 hours ago, Externet said: Nobody can ruin Venezuela more than it already is and has been for decades.
If I remember well, around 1968, petroleum was discovered there. That is 45 years x 360 days = 16200 days x 1 million barrels per day exported petroleum x dollars per barrel = the calculator just crapped.
Where that country used such huuuge amount of wealth when they have no toilet paper to wipe their butts ? The same typical reason; their politicians ransacking all the time. It is not the removed president; it is all of them since ~1970.
Let the justice decide if jailing their master is right or wrong. If the reason is drug trafficking, let it be.
It's clear that Venezuela has been gravely mismanaged for decades.
And now, they will get "run" by a man who managed to bankrupt six casinos and thinks you can drop drug prices by 800%.
I guess the good news is that the people are used to being shafted.
It's also fair to say that, if Trump's claims about drugs are honest, the USA will no longer have a drug problem.
Is anyone taking bets on that ? -
-
-
23 hours ago, TheVat said: The writer is advancing the opinion that overuse of a slang or diminutive form of a word can debase proper usage. We all pushed back and pointed out how the word cello had long ago become accepted, and the usage should be seen as a normal part of the evolution of language. The same with pianoforte becoming piano a couple centuries ago.
Yes, but "So improper wording rules by accepting the wrong slang." doesn't seem to parse in English.
Did you not see the irony? -
-
On 2/20/2025 at 2:17 PM, Externet said: Good morning mister president.
What is your vision for Gaza and Greenland belonging to the U.S. ? Are them to become others Puerto Rico or assets to trade for else ? In four years when you be replaced by your successor; what reversals will you hate the most ? By the way, is Puerto Rico on your sight ?
Apparently the "Trump said he "talked to the president of Puerto Rico"" story is false but the
Trump's remarks to the 2017 Values Voters Summit, at which he misspoke, saying he had met with the "President of the Virgin Islands".
story is true... -
On 9/25/2025 at 4:16 AM, Linkey said: As far as I can see, if we compare USA with Europe, the latter looks like USSR: it has more equality, but less freedom. The laws control everything in Europe; for example, cucumbers for sale must be of a strictly defined shape.
Comparing things to an institution which has not existed for about a third of a century is... odd.
On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor.
I own a 3 necked flask.
It's just a bit of glass, but it is banned in Texas.
You can sell any cucumber you like in Europe, provided that it's fit to eat, or clearly marked as not being so.
You seem to have fundamentally failed to grasp the difference between US and UK (and, to an extent, the rest of Europe's) law.
Americans often point out that the UK has no "bill of rights".
That is true.
We don't need one.
We effectively have a "bill or wrongs".
We have a long list of laws which tell you what you are forbidden to do (and owning a gun is not on that list, no matter what Faux news told you)
Anything which is not forbidden is permitted by default.
Part of the reason that many UK houses are relatively small is that they are old.
Another is that they are not made of cardboard. -
-
-
This is a 3 page thread that should have been 2 posts.
On 8/12/2025 at 12:50 AM, MJ kihara said: My question is simple can michelson-morley type experiment be able to detect a particle with an energy of 1×10−64 J or a stream of such particles @ 1×10−64 J⋅Hz−1
Discuss....My intake is NO.
On 8/12/2025 at 2:01 AM, swansont said: They’d be massless (or some new particle with a vanishingly small mass)
So, what is the wavelength of such a photon?
hc/E is around 2 x 10^38 m
A LY is 10^16 m, so 2 x 10^22 LY
To get destructive interference you need a path length difference of half a wavelength. Seeing as this is much, much longer than the size of the visible universe, I’m guessing no. Plus the time it would take to run the experiment.
The contrast you get with a reasonable size interferometer would be vanishingly small
Not sure of your units. J/Hz? Did you mean J/s?
Why don't we all stop here, and pretend that it was?
The question (in spite of a typo) was fully answered in the first reply. -
-
I never studied ant anatomy, or really studied that of humans.
But I know that we can burp, and I don't see why ants would not be able to do so.
Exploding ants seems unlikely.
However, if they eat a significant amount of sodium bicarbonate, that will throw their electrolyte balance out of kilter.
Also, in many countries, compounding your own unlicensed insecticides is illegal. -
-
I'm not sure there's a useful definition of "Okay" which includes the situation in the USA.
I note with some amusement that Trump is "only" a US citizen by birthright.
It would be perfectly possible to legally remove his citizenship under the laws he's planning to introduce.
Seems fair.
Maybe deport him to an El Salvadoran jail? -
This map indicates in green, the states where it is forbidden to deprive a person of statehood if that person is a child.
And it shows an uncivilised country in purple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#/media/File:Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child.svg
"Wave if you're human"
in Computer Science
It gather AI (specifically chat GPT) fails a test that... isn't thought of as difficult. (See pic)
But it's the confidence that worries me.
As for "scheming" and "deception", all AI's seem to do it all the time.
If I tell you that your neighbour has a black cat I might be right or wrong.
And I might be wrong, because I'm honestly mistaken.
But, given the nature of this interaction, not only do I know nothing about the (hypothetical) cat, I should recognise that I know nothing about it.
So, for me to make a statement about it, with the implication that I have some knowledge of the cat, is a lie.
I'm effectively dishonestly claiming to know about the cat.
And that is still a lie, even if your neighbour actually has a black cat.
And AI tells that sort of lie all the time.