@Jolenealaska @Stephie boop

@Stephie i see you! cease thy lurking and come forth

none of that "i'm on a vital business call" nonsense!

Just a second

I for one support your lurking

no one likes a lurking mod

other than quislings

@LSchoon I am just stalking your profile

what do you play music-wise?

Mostly clarinet, but I dabble in percussion

Although everything's been put on hold due to covid

@ElendilTheTall Does first feeding a bat pup and then driving count?

@Stephie no

obviously fictional excuses are not allowed

who 'drives'?

really?

@LSchoon professionally or just as a hobby?

@ElendilTheTall Just a hobby. The "physicist" bit is professional

what kind of physics?

@ElendilTheTall Meet Bruce.

a Fledermaus!

German literalism strikes again

@ElendilTheTall Theoretical/computational many-body quantum physics (or condensed matter, depending on who you ask). I went into some detail on here a while ago

that's detailed enough for me :D

@ElendilTheTall What exactly is a "fleder"?

Flying

i think

Usually I can understand Germen through translating it to Dutch, but the Dutch word makes as little sense to me

@LSchoon flutter

flutter, there we go

a flutter-mouse

Stereotypically accurate.

it looks like a mouse, it flutters

why make a new word for it?

Efficiency is everything!

:P

so what are the latest happenings in the world of theoretical many-body quantum physics?

any scandals?

i have read at least 3 or 4 chapters of a couple of Brian Green and Michio Kaku books, so I'm more or less an expert

Hahaha that made me chuckle

I'm not aware of any recent scandals but I've been hunkered down writing my thesis so have also not been paying a lot of attention

I'm sure the field is a hot bed of intrigue and debauchery

There was a bit of a kerfuffle 2 years ago when some people claimed they had found superconductivity in gold, but the data seemed falsified

ha

everyone knows that's impossible

what were they, chemists?!

I don't remember how it played out in the end

But if you'll excuse me, I have a a vital business call to attend

of course

So are you still hunkering down in Scotland, @ElendilTheTall

yes indeed

shops and pubs are now open

ie non-essential shops

With mandatory mask usage?

but I don't need anything non-essential, and as you know few things appeal less to me than pubs so...

@Stephie from the 10th

which is also when more than two households can mix

Ah. And before that everyone is free to cough around ad libitum?

Although I am shocked how few get the absolute basics of mask usage. No, it won’t work if you expose your nose. No, it doesn’t mean you should snuggle up in the checkout line...

IKR

still, at least I have yet to see America-like levels of stupidity

did you see that sheriff in Oregon who said "don't be a sheep, don't wear a mask, you take the risk into your own hands"

What’s he going to do - shoot the virus?

great sheriff. That does that mean I can speed too? It's my risk after all. Don't want to be one of those sheep that follows laws!

Considering how the legal system is based on precedence, you probably could.

At least in his hometown.

interesting thing about Scottish law

it doesn't operate on precedent

unlike English law

English law is based on Common Law, ie Anglo Saxon law

Scottish law is based on Roman law

Oh?

there are three verdicts in Scots Law

guilty, not guilty, and not proven

there is much less emphasis on precedent

Boris made the absurd assertion the other day that there is no border between Scotland and England

erm

think you'll find there is

our First Minister (whose stock has gone up considerably during COVID due to the fact that she is apparently, uniquely among her peers, competent) gave a good comeback

"There's obviously a border because there's a geographic limit to my powers. I wonder what Mr Johnson would think if I started telling the people of Newcastle what to do"

very possibly

the Conservatives (a minority in Scotland but basically the only opposition to the SNP) have constantly made the whole thing political

FM: "I just want to keep as many people as possible alive in Scotland"

Tories: "THIS WOMAN IS THE DEVIL!"

The BBC don't help

i have instituted a boycott

they are no better than RT