The h Bar

4:00 AM

It's nice getting there that early. If I leave from 7-10am, my drive is 40 minutes instead of 20 and since I refuse to pay almost $1000/year to park on campus, parking is out in the ghetto where people are robbed/shot pretty regularly

dmckee

@ChrisWhite Every time I wonder if someone will ever do an adequate update of Schwartzchild, I'm reminded of Pompey's quandary on what to do with Ceasar's field notes from Gaul: a rewrite could only hurt the text

tpg2114

But getting there at 5-5:30, the drive is 20 minutes, I can park 1000 feet from my office without paying

Kyle Kanos

I forget about crime sometimes, despite my being the victim of auto theft

tpg2114

I put in 2 hours of work before Starbucks opens on campus and I can take a coffee break

dmckee

Pompey ended up just publishing them as he received them, which may have added to Ceasar's popularity and led to his own troubles years later.

tpg2114

4:01 AM

When the weather isn't so cold, I can ride my bike starting at 4:30-5 and get there, shower, and still be working at a reasonable time

Kyle Kanos

I work 8:30a - 5:00p. I'm usually up before 7 for breakfast with the family at 7:30

dmckee

My department head is willing to accommodate my night-owl tendencies, so I don't usually teach before 11.

tpg2114

I have no ties to anybody so I don't need to worry about that. I'm a complete and total night person though

dmckee

The cost is that when she can't fill a night section with an adjunct I get tapped for it.

Kyle Kanos

How late do the night sections go?

dmckee

4:04 AM

18:00--21:20

Which is preposterous.

Kyle Kanos

That's rather long. Once a week course?

dmckee

Even with two breaks along the way no one is functional by the end.

Me included.

Yeah. One lecture, one lab each week.

tpg2114

@dmckee I took a 3 credit hour pre-law class as an elective, taught by lawyers from a local giant law firm. Monday night, 9pm-12am

dmckee

Many of our students drive in 50 miles or more for these classes, so multiple meetings a week is out.

Kyle Kanos

@tpg2114 That sounds fun

tpg2114

4:06 AM

I actually really enjoyed it. It's not like I was busy/sleeping during that time anyway

And I would have gone to law school, but I didn't want to be a lawyer...

dmckee

@tpg2114 My mom had graduated from law school before she realized that crucial fact.

tpg2114

I would love to go to law school. Learn to think that way, learn how it all works, etc.. But I have no desire to practice it.

And definitely no desire to pay $100,000 for the opportunity to learn how to think a little differently

@dmckee What did she end up doing?

dmckee

@tpg2114 Worked in the real estate title business for a while, mostly management with only a little lawyering.

tpg2114

And I can't pass judgement, I have a feeling when/if I ever get out of grad school I will never want to work in this field again

dmckee

Then Dad's raises started to add up and she stopped working.

Well, actually, she sometime did some light consulting for a friend from law school who couldn't afford a partner but occasionally needed to be two places at once.

tpg2114

4:10 AM

I would actually practice law as a DA, but the money is so terrible that I wouldn't really be able to pay off the debt to get to that point. I personally like learning law more from a "how to write law/policy" standpoint than how to practice it

dmckee

And it's useful to be able to say "I have the family lawyer give you a call..."

tpg2114

I did the student government thing as an undergrad and I loved running parliamentary meetings, writing bylaws and policies, etc

Kyle Kanos

One of my cousins is a lawyer (sadly, his name is Kevin, not Vinnie)

tpg2114

@dmckee That would be really handy

dmckee

It shouldn't work, but it does.

I generally trot it out when I think they are trying to intimidate me.

The idea of having the tables turned leads to a change in tone.

tpg2114

4:12 AM

Except I spent 3 months arguing with the "family lawyer" about something she said was not correct no matter how many different ways I presented it to her. We eventually ended up paying a non-family lawyer who said I was right and took care of things immediately

@dmckee I need to be in a position in life where if somebody asks me something I may not want to do, I can just say "I'll get back to you after I consult my lawyer"

"I'd love to accept this job offer but I'll have to let my lawyer review this contract."

Sadly, I want to learn way more things in life than time permits

Kyle Kanos

You need a Time-Turner

tpg2114

I actually question my decision to get a PhD. I feel like I would prefer much more breadth in knowledge than depth. But I also like the depth of things I've learned in grad school

Almost like I should get a masters in a dozen fields

Kyle Kanos

My sister in law once asked me what I'd do if I won the mega-millions lottery (not that I play), I said I'd stay a student and get a MS/PhD in few other fields

So I totally understand that idea

tpg2114

(all kinds of Office Space reference popped into my head)

But yeah, I would keep learning new things

Kyle Kanos

"I'd do nothing"

tpg2114

4:20 AM

I can't imagine ever "retiring" in any real sense

I might leave a career. But it would be to start something new and different.

I'd definitely ride and race my bike a lot more though

It would be nice to have the freedom to say "I can do this later" and go do something else

Kyle Kanos

I'd probably buy a few more guns, since they're so easy to get here. Learn how to shoot more properly

tpg2114

Which is actually why I think manual labor jobs are really attractive. You check in to work, you can see your progress, and if you didn't finish something it's okay. It's there tomorrow when you check back in. You can't bring the fence home with you to finish

Work is at work and outside of that, you can do and think what you want

But things like engineering, or physics, or science in general (and law for that matter) -- you can't just turn off your brain. Ideas will come, thoughts will happen. Work follows you everywhere

dmckee

@KyleKanos If you are willing to wait for the para-mutual games to get high enough, and only buy then they can be winning bets. Mostly on the strength of the middle tier prizes rather than the big one.

But I'm behind by about $10 over the years at this point, because it a modest chance of slightly larger win scenario.

infinitesimal

in Engineering, 11 mins ago, by Sam Weston

@hazzey As the saying goes, mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

tpg2114

@dmckee Or if you are patient enough to ride out the blackjack tables at a casino

Kyle Kanos

4:26 AM

@dmckee My dad participated in that. I think the group won something like $5,000 (among ~15 people)

dmckee

@tpg2114 I can makes about 10% per hour against a two deck shoe. BUt you can't play for real money against that few cards.

And you need a big stake to do it seriously, which I don't want to risk.

tpg2114

@dmckee True, but it's a much more consistent (and in some ways, entertaining) way to go

I'll gladly walk into a casino with $200 and make $10-$15/hr at a table

And be somewhat entertained while doing it

Kyle Kanos

I'm not very good at blackjack

tpg2114

@KyleKanos Forget card counting. There's just some tables to memorize and you'll do well

infinitesimal

That's why they're open 24 hours waiting for you ;-)

Kyle Kanos

4:28 AM

I've seen them

tpg2114

I also usually have great success at Omaha hi-lo

Mostly because I chase the low hand all the time

Kyle Kanos

I did fairly well at Omaha-Hi/Lo online

But no clue how that translates to the real world

tpg2114

It really depends. I don't bother trying to read other people. I just play the odds

And I always take money off the table as I go so I know I'm playing with profit after the first hour or so

dmckee

Lot more optimists out there than statisticians.

tpg2114

And then I don't care so much so it's hard to read me. I could lose $100 in "profit" and not care one bit

I like games like hi-lo and 7 card stud or draw though. It's a much more technical and challenging game

infinitesimal

4:31 AM

What about greed?

dmckee

Greed is good, but money is better.

tpg2114

But blackjack is more like the 9-5 job. It's not all that exciting, it's pretty rote, but if you are moderately okay at following the statistics then you'll make money

dmckee

And if you're going to be a teacher, marry someone in the for-profit sector.

tpg2114

@infinitesimal I don't gamble to make money. I gamble for entertainment. Greed isn't a factor

I could be playing for pennies. It's still fun.

Kyle Kanos

I gamble $1.00 bets on stupid things

Mostly football related statistics

tpg2114

4:32 AM

Which is not to say I gamble often. I may do it once every other year or so

infinitesimal

icic

Kyle Kanos

Like will the NY Giants break 0.500

tpg2114

@KyleKanos National anthem over 2 minutes? :)

infinitesimal

:D

Kyle Kanos

Nah, not that silly stuff. Real game statistics

Usually season-long things too

tpg2114

4:33 AM

You should have put down $10 on the 4-2 score

Kyle Kanos

Will Geno Smith throw more INTs vs TDs in the season

dmckee

So you're not the three safetys super bowl person then?

Kyle Kanos

Nah

If I play a single game, it's straight Winner-Loser

No cares on scores and the over/under

infinitesimal

Point spread is sorta fun.

Kyle Kanos

Can be fun for some

tpg2114

4:36 AM

I don't pay any attention to any sports Vegas puts betting lines on really

The UK runs a bunch of betting lines on things I would care about. But I don't really want to deal with violating international laws

Well, international gambling laws. I don't mind breaking some others

Kyle Kanos

I wonder how accurate the Vegas bettors are

Rather, line makers

tpg2114

I have no idea... that's outside of my domain

infinitesimal

They don't have to be accurate. They make their money on the juice

The losers pay the winners minus the juice.

Kyle Kanos

Yeah, but if they're fairly consistently wrong, you can start taking the opposite...

infinitesimal

Everybody thinks they have a system :-)

tpg2114

4:43 AM

I don't know that it matters though. I bet the roulette wheel and craps table pays for the losses on all other games and betting lines a casino might have.

I wonder how much subjectivity is in their decisions. Do people make the choices, or is it like insurance claims adjustors who have ridiculous tables of 10th order cross correlations of every metric imaginable

infinitesimal

Feynman played craps.

tpg2114

It's far more "fair" than roulette

At least assuming the dice are balanced. Way more possibilities to skew things in the house favor on a roulette wheel

Kyle Kanos

I don't know how to play craps

I know there is dice involved, that's it

tpg2114

But my assumption (maybe naive) is that gaming is fair in the US. And by fair, I mean free of complete corruption in manipulating the outcome. I know it's unfair in the bets paid. Betting on a number get you like 1:34.5 or something rather than the 1:38 that the odds would say you should get

But I don't think there is widespread manipulation of the results in the sense the person operating the wheel sees your bet and alters the outcome so it doesn't land

Kyle Kanos

At legal casinos, that's probably the case...

tpg2114

4:48 AM

Mostly because casinos don't need to do that. They can make a ton of money just on people having no self control

infinitesimal

And greed.

tpg2114

@KyleKanos Since I don't really gamble because I "need" to, I wouldn't participate in illegal gambling

Not because I'm morally opposed to it or anything. It's more just not knowing or trusting the rules are fair/enforced is not fun for me

infinitesimal

Never forget greed.

It is a basic instinct for a gambler.

tpg2114

One (not me) could argue it's a basic instinct for humanity

Kyle Kanos

We all want more

infinitesimal

4:52 AM

Indeed, it fuels competition.

tpg2114

But greed is defined by excess, not really "more"

Kyle Kanos

Isn't greed defined by wanting more?

infinitesimal

Good question.

Kyle Kanos

Hmm, actually it seems it's defined by wanting: (from Google): intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.

tpg2114

One could argue that wanting a 3 bedroom house for your family rather than 2 bedrooms is a functional desire and therefore not greedy. But wanting a 30 bedroom house for your family is in excess of what is practically needed

Kyle Kanos

4:54 AM

They make 30 bed-room houses?

tpg2114

Which is of course subjective. Because there are parts/people in the world who would love a piece of sheet metal to make a lean-to for their family and consider that enough

@KyleKanos So I totally picked that number at random

But google says:

telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/7768200/…

Kyle Kanos

Yeah, I suppose the "in excess to what you have" modifier is probably appropriate for greed

tpg2114

"Biggest house in America" just happens to be exactly 30 bedrooms

Kyle Kanos

Nice

infinitesimal

:O

Kyle Kanos

4:55 AM

I robbed Versaille in my teens

tpg2114

@KyleKanos Unattended pen on a desk somewhere?

Kyle Kanos

Cobblestone

tpg2114

That's far more impressive

When I ran track in high school, we used to collect the hurdle heads from every school/invitational we attended. We carried a wrench around to disassemble it. And then walked rather stiff-legged with a hurdle head in our pants

There's 20 of them in my mom's basement...

Kyle Kanos

Yeah, the stone was loose near a corner of the building (outside, of course), so my friend and I sat down and wiggled at it.

tpg2114

Cobblestones are pretty cool. I like them

infinitesimal

5:03 AM

So the the filthy rich are greedy by definition.

tpg2114

@infinitesimal Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the person. I've actually discovered that rich people are rich because they are cheap

Not really because they are greedy

It turns out that many really rich people hate spending money

Kyle Kanos

The Wall Street type aren't all in it for the money, there's loads who do it for the game

tpg2114

We were trying to raise money for our womens cycling team. We wanted to buy a car, total of $10,000. We were talking to people who make tens of millions of dollars a year (CEO's of major companies -- like Coca Cola, Home Depot, etc). They wouldn't give a dime. Not a single penny.

Most of them probably serve a bottle of wine at dinner that nobody likes which could have bought our car 2 times

infinitesimal

Well being cheap is an excessive want to hang on to what you have, no?

Kyle Kanos

I just read in Liars Poker how one guy had 4 suits (all polyester, it was early 1980's) and after making $2 million for 4 straight years, bought 5 boats so that he could say he had more boats than suits

tpg2114

5:08 AM

@infinitesimal Maybe, but also maybe not. If I have a billion dollars in the bank but live in a small, 1 bedroom apartment and drive a 15 year old car and don't spend more than a college student would, am I greedy?

Kyle Kanos

Anyways, it's too late for me to stay up now, so I'm going to crash now

tpg2114

Or do I just not put much value on money? Or not put much value on possessions? Or trips? Or food?

There's a big difference between actively seeking something out because you have a compelling urge to possess more of it than you need (greedy) and having a lot of something because you make little/no use of it

At least to me there's a difference.

Maybe not to others, it's a very philosophical question

infinitesimal

Yes, we all have our own philosophies about the value we put on money :-)

tpg2114

In many ways, it's just a piece of paper. And gold is just a hunk of metal

Things only have value because society places a value on them, for whatever reasons or motivations.

Just like laws are only words on a piece of paper until somebody has the will and capacity to enforce them

I love all the people who buy gold because it's the only "trustworthy" currency. They feel all paper money by governments is not to be trusted and is fake. But honestly, a hunk of gold doesn't do most people any good anyway. Why should I care if I have a bar of gold? What could I possibly do with it?

Instead, if I ever felt my currency was going to fail, I would just buy a ton of bottled water

I mean, people need water. You can use it. It has meaning, it has value.

Brick 'o gold? Pretty much as useless as paper money, but harder to forge since we still haven't really figured out how to "print" new gold

User Anonymous

5:26 AM

@ChrisWhite I hope this isn't a joke. Seriously, legally?

Or is CIA going to raid me as soon as I hit download pdf ?

tpg2114

@UserAnonymous Not specific to that particular post but relevant:

archive.org/about/faqs.php#284

They make no claims about the legality of things posted

@UserAnonymous That said, the CIA wouldn't care. The FBI may come after you though ;)

infinitesimal

:D

user54412

5:44 AM

@UserAnonymous "Because of the government support received, the original editions contain notices on their copyright pages stating that the books were to be available royalty-free after five years."

user54412

I can't vouch for the legal nuances of particular editions/sources, but I can tell you that Waves in particular went out of print for a long time, so the version my undergrad institution gave me was one they just printed from a scanned copy.

user54412

And the whole idea of that taxpayer-funded series was enhancing public physics knowledge in the US.

tpg2114

I'm going to have to download the statistical physics one

@ChrisWhite Have you ever watched the National Committee for Fluid (something... mechanics? dynamics?) videos from MIT?

It was mechanics.

web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html

user54412

@tpg2114 possibly seen some of them

tpg2114

They are really good. The associated film notes are great

I wonder if it's possible to phrase a resource-recommendation question to give a list of all public domain manuscripts/lectures

user54412

5:50 AM

Ah, I've definitely seen the low Re one

tpg2114

I love the example with the dye in glycol inside the double cylinder

user54412

yeah, I really want to do that demonstration myself

tpg2114

I've wanted to do it since I first saw it

It really looks fake

tpg2114

Offensive chat flags appeared

And Shog and I showed up in the room, nobody else

On the one hand, I guess I'm in great company.

On the other, I guess it means only me and one person paid to hang out on SE are actually paying attention. And I'm not paid. :/

tpg2114

Pretty sure I've watching all of those movies

Multiple times

user54412

5:56 AM

They remind me of The Mechanical Universe in style

tpg2114

Things I want to build when I have money/time (and a big back yard): 1) Cloud chamber. 2) Rotating dye cylinder deal. 3) Shock tube (sounds super fancy, but really it's just a big PVC pipe, a vacuum pump, and a pointy stick). 4) supersonic wind tunnel (again, just a compressor and some pretty simple metal wedges)

Haven't seen that series

user54412

my HS physics teacher showed us a number of episodes

tpg2114

I remember a NASA video with von Braun talking about space stations

We watched that in HS physics

user54412

the guy behind the Mechanical Universe was actually my prof first term freshman year, teaching in the same lecture hall, so that was cool too

tpg2114

I made a joke about NASA on Facebook not long ago and it didn't go over well... I guess people in aerospace (and the general public) have a pretty high opinion of NASA

user54412

6:01 AM

Astronomers have this awkward relation with NASA -- on the one hand they provide the best data, since they control all space-based telescopes; on the other, their primary mission is space exploration rather than astronomy, and the two share the same budget as far as the public is concerned

tpg2114

I said something vague, like "I bet a lot of NASA scientists just lost their retirement money"

And somebody asked why so I just replied with a link (not this exact one, but a similar story):

newsweek.com/…

Which then lead to a really heated argument

user54412

hmm, apparently a touchy subject for them

tpg2114

Well, I guess not a lot of people know much about NASA's origins

And were unaware of Operation Paperclip

We (aerospace engineers) put NASA, and particularly von Braun, on such a pedestal... heroes and geniuses.... and nobody learns that WVB oversaw a concentration camp

And the only reason we got to the moon was because we gave war criminals a way out and erased their crimes in exchange for their work and knowledge.

Anyway, that joke didn't go over very well at all. Everybody was shocked that I took a negative view to NASA

infinitesimal

One giant step for mankind

tpg2114

I mean, it's pretty obvious that the US didn't take the war crimes all that seriously. One of our most popular TV shows post-war was a comedy about life in a Nazi POW camp

user54412

6:08 AM

@tpg2114 btw I agree on 1 and 2, though I'd personally replace 3 and 4 with a telescope

user54412

I'd definitely want to fashion the mirror(s) myself. I might given in and buy the eyepiece though.

tpg2114

@ChrisWhite I guess 5) would be a dobson telescope

I remember the first time I looked through a telescope at Jupiter and saw the moons

It was one of the most humbling experiences ever.

This tiny dot in the sky became something real, something so vast and so far away that anything I had experienced was insignificant in comparison

user54412

I think it would be awesome to teach a freshman/sophomore physics class, complete with demos. If I ever found myself in that position, I would make sure to trek the class out to a dark location at least one night for observing.

user54412

a little bit of awe and humility to balance out all the equations

tpg2114

And I think 6) would be some kind of mechanical computer... It would be awesome to have my entire backyard filled with mechanical things that can only handle the amount of text data displayed on half of my smartphone screen

infinitesimal

6:17 AM

Yep, it puts 30 bedroom Madisons in perspective :-)

tpg2114

There is something seriously -- religious? that's probably not the right word -- about looking through a telescope and seeing entire worlds

user54412

Intel can have its 22 nm architecture; you'll use 22 cm

tpg2114

Points of light become planets with moons, all of which bigger than anything we can imagine

@ChrisWhite I'd have to worry about birds making a nest instead of quantum tunneling. I greatly prefer my classical birds.

Although tunneling birds would be really cool to see too

I should head to bed... it's getting late

I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow some time

infinitesimal

6:34 AM

Later pal

Sabre Tooth

6:48 AM

@DanielSank cut it out

Arafat

9:23 AM

►

Danu

10:24 AM

Hi guys

Neuneck

hi

@Danu where are you doing your phd?

infinitesimal

Welcome back!

Danu

I'm European, so graduate $\neq$ PhD @Neuneck

Oh, you're in Germany too, I see.

I'm doing my Master's now @ LMU/TUM (I'm in the theoretical & mathematical physics program)

Neuneck

Yah, I somehow consider "graduate" to be post-master studies :P

ahh nice, a colleague of mine was in that programme

Danu

Ah, cool. Are you working in the Hamburg DESY string group?

Neuneck

10:35 AM

Well, it's rather particle cosmology that directly string theory

But there's a number of connections, of course

Danu

Neat

I'm interested in possibly getting into cosmology-related theory

but for now, I don't really know enough to decide what to do. I've only just finished the first semester here @ TMP

Neuneck

Yeah, also you can change fields after the master

Danu

That's also true. For now, I'm just trying to take as many (interesting) courses as possible.

Neuneck

For my master I did particle pheno - but the realized I'd rather work on my own ideas then just implement other people's formulas

Danu

I feel I might be slowly becoming a bit more of a mathematician then I thought. I've been getting really interested in geometry & algebra

Neuneck

10:40 AM

I did not get a good math education at my university and had to learn a lot at the beginning of my phd, so even for a physicists that's good things - and in any case, mathematicians are needed, too :D

Danu

Yeah. I don't think I could be a pure mathematician anyway, but the geometry should be useful

not sure why algebra interests me though

it just feels sorta magic

Neuneck

Algebra appears a lot in theoretical physics, too

Danu

really basic rules

yet so powerful

Neuneck

Starting from Lie algebras in gauge theories, to generalizations thereof in string theory, then there is the algebra of spacetime (super)symmetries and even non-cummutative geometry

a firm grip of algebra helps on all of those

JamalS

11:08 AM

^ And then there are more generalizations and extensions in conformal field theory

e.g. vertex operator algebras (VOAs)

Well, actually, those are used in string theory, but they are central to monstrous moonshine as well.

Danu

yeah it's nice

mathematics and its usefulness

Neuneck

not being a string theorist I wasn't aware, but nice!

Is one of you aware of a generalization of the Goldberger-Wise mechanism (inspirehep.net/record/504196) to compact higher dimensional orbifolds, specifically T2 orbifolds?

Looking through 1k citations starts to get reaaally boring

JamalS

Oh, the paper is by Mark Wise!!!!

He's a great lecturer, always hilarious. He gives out money to students who answer his questions.

Danu

Neat

@Neuneck You looking at all papers that cite it?

JamalS

I'll have a look at that paper you linked, it looks interesting

Neuneck

11:18 AM

yes, unfortunately most physicists are really lazy regarding tagging or meaningful title-writing

That's one of the less appealing sides of research - literature research :(

JamalS

Springer's LaTeX search helps sometimes

If you know exactly what you're looking for

Unfortunately some people change notation

Neuneck

Well that's the point - one might call it "torus" or "t2" or "t^2" or "t_2" or no mention of torus at all

only way to make sure I don't miss anything is to look at everything

but thanks for the tip, I'll check out that search engine

I'll be back after lunch

Jimdalf the Grey

4:55 PM

@ACuriousMind I can't believe ACuriousJim is winning

ACuriousMind

@JimdalftheGrey I am awaiting your next name with pleasure

Jimdalf the Grey

how did you do it?

ACuriousMind

Bribery, of course.

Also, black magic

Jimdalf the Grey

of course, I should have guessed you used magnets

ACuriousMind

(That's magnets for you

Jimdalf the Grey

4:58 PM

JamalS suggested I get a new profile pic

That could be added to the election, name and optionally a pic

But I gotta say, I'm rather attached to my current image

thoughts?

ACuriousMind

I'd suggest being my side-kick, but my profile picture is already a side-kick

And I don't suppose you want to be this:

Jimdalf the Grey

The Sultan of Jimistan is nobody's sidekick

ACuriousMind

Jiminion

:)

Jimdalf the Grey

@ACuriousMind Yeah, can't say that really fits my established persona

ACuriousMind

5:02 PM

@JimdalftheGrey Why? He's about as much of a cynical bastard as you are ;)

Jimdalf the Grey

woah now, cynical?

ACuriousMind

@JimdalftheGrey Note that I did not specify how much of a cynical bastard either of you are

Jimdalf the Grey

I always thought of myself as slightly snarky, a bit sardonic, but mostly wry

I'm a wry bastard

And, by popular opinion, I am also a curious bastard

or at least, ACuriousJim

ACuriousMind

Yeah, well, I'm a floating skull, so what do I know about good profile pics?

Just take a picture of some puzzled-looking Jim to accompany the ACuriousJim name

Jimdalf the Grey

Heck, I'm a mathematical construct. I'm no more creative than a floating skull

Qmechanic

5:14 PM

0

Q: Visualizing motion in centre of mass frame

I came across this problem in a textbook of mine. A block of mass $m$ is connected to another block mass $M$ by a massless spring. The blocks are placed on a smooth horizontal plane. Initially, the blocks are at rest and the spring is unstretched. A constant force $F$ acts on the block of mas...

Off-topic?

ACuriousMind

@Qmechanic Uh, yes.

At least, I'd have cast a close vote on it if I'd seen it before the bounty

Qmechanic

@ACuriousMind : OK, I removed the bounty.

user54412

@JamalS How did you know that?

user54412

Gravitational Lensing by Spinning Black Holes in Astrophysics, and in the Movie Interstellar

2

user54412

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory montage of images of the Sun after 5 years of data

ACuriousMind

6:03 PM

@Jimdalf: Does Emilio Pisanty's comment linking to this MO faq imply that you are, essentially, not wearing pants?

(And neither am I, for that matter)

Jimdalf the Grey

Jim is my real name. It's just not the real name that people outside the internet call me

I mean, they could if they wanted to, but they just don't

So I'm at least wearing underpants

Kyle Kanos

@ChrisWhite That is beautiful

@JimdalftheGrey James?

Or is it a <something> James <something else> kind of deal

Jimdalf the Grey

@KyleKanos Naturally Jim is short for James, but that isn't what they call me

@KyleKanos Yes, that one

Kyle Kanos

A lot of people in the US South go by middle names

Jimdalf the Grey

I go by middle name on the internet and first name in person

ACuriousMind

6:10 PM

@JimdalftheGrey Them calling you "Hey, you, get out of my house!" doesn't count :P

Jimdalf the Grey

@ACuriousMind But I hear it so much it's pretty much how everyone identifies me

Kyle Kanos

One of my ex-girlfriend's dad's name was Jason, but he went by Jay. He said it was a business trick because his nametag would say Jason and people he didn't know (or do business) would call him Jason while everyone he knew (or did business with) would be confused for a moment

Jimdalf the Grey

I'd also accept Jimothy

Kyle Kanos

Jimothy is an interesting one

Jimdalf the Grey

Possibly better than ACuriousJim?

ACuriousMind

6:15 PM

@JimdalftheGrey Nothing is better than that

Kyle Kanos

Enough to put it as an answer (with a funny reference)

Jimdalf the Grey

@KyleKanos the exact reference I was thinking of

Sofia

@ACuriousMind isn't it enough that you are a skeleton? You also have things to shout? First a vampire (which at least had a sweet smile), but now a shouting skeleton? At least close the skeleton's mouth. (I am joking, don't feel offended)

ACuriousMind

@Sofia You must have noticed that I am quite vocal, so the open mouth is fitting, I think ;)

Jimdalf the Grey

@Sofia Also, it's a skull. Without jaw muscles he couldn't close the mouth even if he wanted to

ACuriousMind

6:25 PM

I have (almost) no mouth and I must scream.

Sofia

@ACuriousMind the vampire had a childish smile. In the end I liked the face beneath the painting.

ACuriousMind

@Sofia The vampire was actually me, so thanks ;)

Sofia

@ACuriousMind He, he, he! I know that it was you. It couldn't be a mask. It was too much human.

Danu

6:57 PM

You decided to switch away from the real-life pic after all @ACuriousMind?

ACuriousMind

@Danu Yeah, I returned to RPG characters

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