Re: Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history

by Bluebottle Thu Oct 23, 2014 6:36 pm

Haha. That leads straight into this. Very Happy

“Current theories on the creation of the Universe state that, if it were created at all and didn't just start, as it were, unofficially, it came to being between ten and twenty thousand million years ago. By the same token the earth itself is generally supposed to be about four and a half thousand million years old.

These dates are incorrect.

Medieval Jewish scholars put the date of the Creation at 3760BC. Greek Orthodox theologians put Creation as far back as 5508BC.

These suggestions are also incorrect.

Archbishop James Usher (1580-1656) published Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti in 1654, which suggested that the Heaven and the Earth were created in 4004BC. One of his aides took the calculation further, and was able to announce triumphantly that the Earth was created on Sunday the 21st of October, 4004BC, at exactly 9.00 a.m., because God liked to get work done early in the morning while he was feeling fresh.

This too was incorrect. By almost a quarter of an hour.

The whole business with the fossilized dinosaur skeletons was a joke the paleontologists haven't seen yet.”

― Terry Pratchett

by azriel Thu Oct 23, 2014 6:49 pm

" it has been imagined as anything from a T. rex-type predator grasping at prey with its claws, to a giant, sloth-like climber, using its arms to dangle from trees".
It would need a pretty darn big tree for that doozy to swing from !

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:08 pm

Proof as if it were needed that Eru invented buckie first before all else. And then thought of making other stuff about 4am. Nod

Blessed be the buckie! drunken

by Eldorion Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:03 am

Is it just me or does the Dino render up there not have hoofed feet as the article describes?

by halfwise Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:36 am

bungobaggins wrote:

Holy Shit, how did I miss this? Shocked

And how does she do it?? Shocked

by halfwise Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:26 am

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/outposts/post/waterfall-blown-upstream-powerful-winds/

by Eldorion Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:24 am

Damn.

Can't imagine trying to walk in that kind of wind.

by David H Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:54 am

Nice image! I couldn't see that they stated the wind speed though.

Most winters we get a few good southerly storm systems that will give us sustained winds of 70 mph with gusts over 100 mph. They run parallel to our 10 miles of sand beach, which is a perfect place to run. I discovered years ago that with a 100 mph tailwind you can run close to 40 mph, taking bounding leaps of almost 20 ft at a stride. It's quite a rush! :carrot:

(of course getting back to where you started is a challenge. You can't really walk against such a wind. You have to lean more than 45 degrees forward to keep from being blown backward, and every time you lift a foot the wind tries to spin you off balance. It's better just to lay down and crawl. Or better yet, convince a friend to drive down and meet you at the other end of the beach. Nod

)

by Eldorion Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:04 am

I really want to be able to run at 40 mph now. Neutral

by azriel Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:31 pm

I like the idea of 20ft leaping ! Very Happy

by azriel Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:00 am

by Pettytyrant101 Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:16 pm

I like that!

by azriel Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:26 pm

Simple idea but clever Very Happy

by halfwise Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:49 pm

I wonder if the scene can be changed around the trunk so that it works from any angle? Makes my head hurt thinking about it.

by David H Sat Oct 25, 2014 2:47 pm

halfwise wrote:I wonder if the scene can be changed around the trunk so that it works from any angle? Makes my head hurt thinking about it.

No it can't. Think about the shape of the ellipses at the top and bottom of the "cut", the projection onto the trunk would have to rap around 180 degrees around the trunk with zero thickness at the outer edges. You could do one on each side, but each would only work from one specific angle.

If it were possible to generate an image that worked for viewers from all angles, invisibility would become practical. Imagine a box that had LCD covering on all sides and could generate the image of what was on the opposite side.What's on the opposite side is entirely dependent on the position of the observer, so again this would work from two positions 180 degrees apart from eachother, though in the case of the box there's no wrap-around factor, so you could do one from each of the six sides of the cube if you wanted, but no more.

Or so it seems to me before I've had my coffee......

by Eldorion Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:25 pm

That makes sense to me, Dave, but I haven't been up for that long either. Razz

Really neat photo, though! Very Happy

by chris63 Fri Oct 31, 2014 1:50 pm

by Pettytyrant101 Fri Oct 31, 2014 2:01 pm

Yup, wow!

by azriel Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:49 pm

Very wow ! Shocked

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:34 pm

European starlings do a rather startling thing at this time of year. Its called murmurations. And it has to be seen to be believed.
There are two major things science doesnt know about the behavior a) why they do it b why no other birds do it.
And I dont know the answer to B but Im going for the answer to A being 'art'.

Watch full screen and in HD if possible.

by halfwise Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:41 pm

Well, they're obviously having fun. Which makes b) the bigger mystery to me.

Maybe starlings are more social than other birds? You see bits of this in all bird flocks, but it looks like a constant trade-off between which birds are leaders and followers is what causes these wave like patterns.

by azriel Thu Nov 06, 2014 5:53 pm

I love this type of thing, Nature given us something to be in awe of. And to remind us, we are not the only thing on the planet with a brain. There's aplace for everything if balanced properly. We do need science but we need the natural world also. For me, Id rather be on a cliffside watching the world than in an office. Very Happy

by azriel Sat Nov 08, 2014 7:14 pm

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Sandpic1_zpsf77807ce

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Sandpic2_zps0d6cddcd

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Sandpic3_zps1f8ae34c

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Snowpic2_zps26233237

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Snowpic1_zps784ca874

Oddities, curiousities and strangness in history - Page 35 Snowpic3_zpse3ab917f

Sand and Ice sculptures.

by Mrs Figg Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:55 pm

wow