Cap'n Refsmmat

No. I'll just sic my walrus on him.

I thought I'd offer some choice in the matter.

I believe the poll is fairer now.

Next time it happens, can you copy and paste some (not all) of the code here?

Please don't post this more than once.

Done. I'll add a "Get an SFN Blog" link there and some text for explanation.

Well, SFN came about in 2002...

I'd have to work on that. I have the means of getting the data together, it's just that I have no system that can display it. I'll hack something together. ...and, done. http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/bloglist.php Have fun.

I think drochaid's point is that any programmer will want more information than you have given. For example, I can write programs, but I only have skill in web-based applications (like the one you are using right now), not desktop programs. You could at least explain if your program will be some sort of web app, a desktop software, or some other possible product.

A few months ago someone requested that we install some sort of system to help people with LaTeX by providing a handy way of inserting LaTeX symbols into posts. It's here now. Simply reply to a thread (don't use Quick Reply) and click the icon (don't try it with the WYSIWYG editor, though -- it may not work). You should see a box on the right of the screen showing all the LaTeX symbols you can insert into your posts. It'll even insert the [math] tag automatically. Hope this helps everyone.

I blogged about this phenomenon (at a lower level) earlier. Critical thinking might be important for massive scientific progress and that sort of thing, but it's also important on the "why isn't my air conditioner working?" sort of level too. It's the skill that allows me to figure out computer problems so quickly. It's also the skill most people lack.

You've got an msubstance term on both sides, so you can't really solve for it.

-270.3C = 2.7K, so that's about the same thing.

He's trying to solve the equation [math]C\% = \frac{ m_{\mbox{substance}} } { m_{\mbox{substance}} + m_{\mbox{solvent}} } \times 100[/math] for msubstance. All it takes is some fancy algebra, or an equation solver on a decent calculator.

Newton's law of universal gravitation says that [math]F_g = G \frac{m_1 \times m_2}{r^2}[/math] Or, in other words, the force of gravity an object experiences is equal to the gravitational constant (G) times the masses of the two objects over the distance between the two, squared. [imath]F = ma[/imath] still applies for objects experiencing gravity, but as the mass of the object increases, so does the gravitational force (as in the first equation above), so its acceleration remains constant. Kepler's Law relates the orbital period of something to the radius of the orbit, and ignores mass. It states that [math]\frac{T_1^2}{r_1^3} = \frac{T_2^2}{r_2^3}[/math] which means that the orbital period (T) squared of an object orbiting something over the orbital radius cubed is equal to the same expression for another object orbiting the same planet/whatever.

That doesn't relate to Kepler's law. That's more of a universal gravitation thing. Essentially, you're right. If the mass of the object increases, the gravitational force it experiences increases, but its inertia increases at the same time.

Lesson 4: The Product Rule From this point forward, all you have left to learn is more sophisticated ways of finding derivatives. The first is called the Product Rule. Let's say I give you this equation: [math]f(x) = (x - 2)(x + 4)[/math] and I ask you for its derivative. You've got two choices: plug it in to the big limit in Lesson 3, or try to use our easy rule. The first choice would be a pain, and the rule just doesn't work -- this isn't a function of the form axn. You might also expand the equation out, but that gets to be a pain with more complicated functions. In steps the Product Rule. The Product Rule takes effect when you have two "chunks" multiplied with each other in the equation. In this case, our "chunks" are (x - 2) and (x + 4). Let's give each chunk a name to make things easier: [math]u = (x - 2)[/math] [math]v = (x + 4)[/math] The product rule says the derivative of [imath](x - 2)(x + 4)[/imath], otherwise known as [imath]u \cdot v[/imath], is equal to [imath]\frac{d}{dx}u \cdot v + \frac{d}{dx}v \cdot u[/imath]. So to find the derivative of f(x), we'd do this: [math]\frac{d}{dx} (x-2)(x+4) = \frac{d}{dx} (u \cdot v) = \frac{d}{dx}u \cdot v + \frac{d}{dx}v \cdot u[/math] and then find the derivatives of the parts: [math]\frac{d}{dx}u \cdot v + \frac{d}{dx}v \cdot u = \frac{d}{dx}(x-2) \cdot (x + 4) + \frac{d}{dx}(x+4) \cdot (x - 2)[/math] And since we can find the derivative of things like (x - 2): [math]1 \cdot (x + 4) + 1 \cdot (x - 2) = (x + 4) + (x - 2) = 2x + 2[/math] Remember, if you need help understanding any of this, you can just ask in our calculus forum.

I just installed a WordPress statistics plugin. Go to Plugins in your admin panel and enable FireStats, then head over to Dashboard->FireStats and you'll be able to see your numbers. (It only starts tracking when you turn it on, so you'll probably have 0 when you first look.) As long as you don't get them here.

Blood isn't what helps you control your body, it's your nervous system. And I can't really find a source for the idea that poor circulation causes nightmares.

I'll see if I can dig up a good blog statistics plugin.

I dig, but only because I was planting some yews out back. What's the plot? What grand scheme?

Where? If it's happened in the last day or so, I'd like to know about it so I can try to fix it.

500 errors (or any error from 500-599) indicate that there was an error on the server that kept it from sending the page you wanted.

I presume the y-axis on that graph represents deviations from some average in degrees Celsius? I really don't think you can look at a graph like that and draw conclusions about warming. Without any averaging you can't tell if a given year is any warmer than the other, on average.

Anybody experiencing those 500 errors on their blogs now?