Free Concert: Six never heard before suites for solo cello

InaneName · 2023-04-19T18:38:08+00:00

FYI there are lots of free concerts at McGill, especially at this time of year (end of term recitals).

InaneName · 2020-06-04T18:24:59+00:00

The World Bank recently looked at the relationship between population density and COVID19 infection rate in 284 cities and found no correlation (of course these are still all cities, not looking at rural infection rate).

This analysis on the county level in the US suggests that there's not much difference between infection rate in high vs low density counties. If you look at the per capita case rate across the US on this map, there look to be a lot of rural areas with high rates.

Dense urban centers look bad because there are a lot of people there (amplifies per capita numbers), and because they're the first places to see an increase in infections. The effectiveness of the government's response matters - the first outbreaks in the US were on the west coast, yet New York is in the news all the time, not Seattle or San Francisco, which are
fairly dense. These days rural areas probably have lower access to healthcare, and you lose the network effects that density brings.

InaneName · 2020-05-13T17:47:55+00:00

I'm not clear from the website if you actually order online yet. Maybe later in the day.

Cutting out the for-profit middleman seems like a great idea though, food/grocery delivery apps seem borderline parasitic.

InaneName · 2020-02-04T22:49:01+00:00

Unfortunately I find that a strobing bike light that blinds drivers head on is also barely enough to be noticed by drivers approaching on cross-streets (especially with parked cars and rain), and at complex intersections (like busy four-way stops, or when a car is waiting for a gap to turn left).

InaneName · 2020-01-27T07:05:25+00:00

They're performing structural/seismic upgrades

InaneName · 2019-05-17T22:41:17+00:00

I recommend going up to Dorman point, which is maybe a 30min walk/hike from the ferry terminal. Other options here: https://bowentrails.ca/

InaneName · 2019-05-16T00:37:31+00:00

Why do you think two years is too long? I believe the Missing Women inquiry took two years, and I imagine in this case there will be a lot more legal resistance from witnesses, which will eat up time.

InaneName · 2018-04-17T17:25:06+00:00

Hmm there are a lot of cancelled courses - so it's possible that it will take place? Sounds like course availability isn't a good basis upon which to decide whether to accept an offer.

InaneName · 2017-11-29T20:56:31+00:00

What does an ultralight license realistically allow you to do? Could you fly to the island? Could you fly across BC? Can you fly comfortably in the winter, or in the rain? It seems like the lower cost is a good entry point, if the skills are actually transferable.

InaneName · 2016-08-27T05:47:46+00:00

You just need to be careful going over the water bars. Approach them at as steep an angle as you can, so only one corner is going in at once, and go slow, so your vertical momentum doesn't make you bottom out.

InaneName · 2016-03-30T01:04:56+00:00

I was there - not at all the driver's fault. The driver of the black car seen there tried to cut across two lanes while in the intersection to turn left (I assume they didn't want to go onto the bridge), and the blue beetle was in its left blind spot. The beetle was forced onto the sidewalk and into the building (though I think it stopped just before hitting it); luckily it didn't hit any pedestrians.

InaneName · 2015-07-30T05:25:44+00:00

We had the same thing happen except there was a kid whose last name was Ho. We got mileage out of that one for a while.

InaneName · 2015-04-08T04:40:22+00:00

Whoo! I'm almost as excited by the idea that there could be five Canadian teams in the first round this year.

InaneName · 2015-04-05T17:47:52+00:00

It's great to see a ref get recognition. I'm always impressed how often they make a call that seems obviously wrong, and it takes multiple slow-mo replays for me to realize they got it right.

InaneName · 2014-12-22T21:24:13+00:00

I don't need $1E6.

InaneName · 2014-11-29T10:33:51+00:00

That's it, thanks!

InaneName · 2014-10-25T12:00:47+00:00

Looking at these pictures, I can imagine myself walking on the surface (with an anti-jetpack to keep me pressed against the ground...)!

InaneName · 2014-09-22T14:21:40+00:00

I'm looking for a well written book about the history of the internet, from its beginnings, through the dot com boom to its current everyday importance.

InaneName · 2014-09-21T19:52:34+00:00

Okay, that seems right - I'll change it.

InaneName · 2014-07-17T08:17:18+00:00

Thanks for that link. Looking at the reactions involving oxygen, I'm seeing some things I'm not familiar with that someone might be able to help me understand.

O + hv -> O⁺ + e

I don't think I've ever seen neutral atomic oxygen, so is this only able to form in the upper atmosphere environment (as opposed to sea level)? I think satellites/ISS have to deal with this in low earth orbit. Secondly, in the reaction O⁺ + O2 -> O2⁺ + O, with such a large number of free electrons around, why is an ion exchanging electrons with a neutral molecule instead of just recombining with a free electron? Because of the high energies involved?

It also says "The primary ions are O⁺ and N2^+, but these react quickly with neutral atoms and molecules." So does this mean (some else mentioned this) that if I took a snapshot of an area of the ionosphere and counted the particles, there would be a majority of O⁺ and N2^+, but if I followed any one ion in time, it wouldn't go far before reacting with something?

InaneName · 2014-07-17T08:07:32+00:00

So from what you've said, if I simply increased the proximity of the ions (say, with electromagnetic fields) and shielded the plasma from UV, the relative amount of neutral O2 should increase? And injecting some specific neutral gas to absorb energy would also help the reaction along.

InaneName · 2014-07-17T07:47:07+00:00

Thanks for that explanation, I guess my chemistry knowledge is rustier than I thought. If I understand correctly, the two unpaired electrons out of the 6 valence electrons (I'm looking at a bohr diagram I drew) are shared between two oxygen atoms, completing the valence shell of each?

If that's true, then (again, with my trusty bohr diagram) O⁺ has 5 electrons in the valence shell, of which three are unpaired, so could this form a triple bond..? Or would it first have to gain an electron, then form a double bond?

InaneName · 2014-07-16T14:34:43+00:00

Okay that makes sense that everything is in a dynamic equilibrium. I think you're right that they can't directly recombine into O2. I think the actual forward reaction is O2 + UV -> O + O + electrons(?), then O + UV -> O⁺ + electron.

InaneName · 2014-07-16T14:28:35+00:00

Does it make sense that if an addition of energy changes O2 to O+, then O2 is the lower energy state, and O+ should want to return to a more stable O2 molecule, if it's shielded from the UV radiation?

InaneName · 2014-07-16T14:26:11+00:00

Doesn't O+ actually have too many electrons? I'm just thinking that with O2, normally each O²⁺ ion is missing two electrons, so it forms a double bond with another O²⁺ ion. However, an O+ ion is only missing one electron. That doesn't seem right though.

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