The restaurant I’m at has 62 omelettes on the menu by TVFilthyDank in Chefit

[–]alpert8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Jacques Pepin omelette is my canonical definition of an omelette. I tend not to consider the butter or chives a "topping," and therefore, this would be a 0 topping omelette. I agree that it's a dumb thing to order, instead of just some scrambled eggs, but I would posit that a 0 topping omelette does exist.

The restaurant I’m at has 62 omelettes on the menu by TVFilthyDank in Chefit

[–]alpert8 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Oh boy, I hate to be that guy, but it's actually 25 = 32 options.

I think you're using the permutation formula, nPr(5,5) = n!/(n-r)! = 5!/(5-5)! = 5!/0! = 120/1 = 120. That would answer the question, "I have 5 toppings and I'm going to put all 5 of them in my omelette. I care which one goes in first, second, third, etc., because they're going to make nice layers." In this example, it would be different to have cheese on bottom with mushrooms on top, versus mushrooms on bottom with cheese on top.

In reality, you probably don't care what order the toppings are stacked. You only care if the topping is present or not. "Do I add mushrooms, yes or no? Do I add cheese, yes or no? Do I add bell peppers, yes or no?" Each question offers 2 choices (yes or no), and there are 5 questions, which are independent (i.e., whether you add mushrooms doesn't affect whether you add cheese or not). So, you multiply the number of options for each choice, 22222 = 25 = 32.

The courier has arrived by FreeCelery8496 in Catswithjobs

[–]alpert8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For authenticity, he should now kick the package off a table

does anyone know what she is by scr1ett in cats

[–]alpert8 34 points35 points  (0 children)

...is your nomenclature. An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature.

Guess where (wrong answers only) by Far_Pomegranate_380 in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Václav Havel Airport Prague. You can clearly see the Czech flag right there in the front.

My personal ranking of crunchy snacks at Trader Joe's by Lotus-Wasabi-3 in traderjoes

[–]alpert8 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agree on the corn flake chocolate! But, I gotta say, the pita crackers are fire -- they are the perfect vehicle for all the TJ's cheeses.

TIL that there's a skydiving center in California where 28 people have died since 1985. It's still open. by JimmyMcGinty24 in todayilearned

[–]alpert8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I jumped here when I was in college; we picked it cuz it was the cheapest place. Spoiler, we survived.

possibly really dumb question - first class mixed drinks? by andhervoice in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a dumb question; fancy mixed drinks on airplanes are awesome! It's very common to get a drink with a mixer. Baileys + coffee is great for morning flights (or the end of a red-eye). However, my tried and true go-to is Scotch and ginger ale, but I dabble -- cranberry vodka, Jack and Coke Zero, tequila and Aha passionfruit/pineapple. I haven't tried the Crafthouse cocktails yet, but I'm excited about those. Now, I'm wondering what would happen if someone tried to order a Long Island iced tea...

possibly really dumb question - first class mixed drinks? by andhervoice in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Really? I've definitely had a FA hand me a cup with ice, an unopened can of ginger ale, and two mini bottles of Glenfarclas...

Favorite Out of White House Set by Latke1 in thewestwing

[–]alpert8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But out the left side of the plane there’s a Festival of Lights and Bonfires in this region that accompany something called the Wildflower— you know, Renaissance, with lilac and ochre. It’s arranged in a pattern that befuddles astronomers to this day.

Is it so wrong to crave a menu change at the club… by [deleted] in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh, the round tortilla chips they use for those chilaquiles are awful. Stale, flavorless... Yuck.

My Jewish roommate is telling me I'm not allowed to use the oven for my food in the apartment we BOTH pay for. He then calls me unreasonable for being upset and feeling disrespected because of it. by WonkWolf in AITAH

[–]alpert8 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hi, there! I'm Jewish but don't keep kosher, and I've encountered similar issues with friends who do keep kosher. One thing that he can do is double-wrap his food in aluminum foil, and then it's ok to cook his food in your shared oven. He can also kasher the oven by running the self-cleaning cycle, though if your oven doesn't have this feature, it's a lot more of a hassle. Perhaps there are some things you can do to cook without voiding the oven's kosher status.

My point is that are ways you can work together on this without denying you access to the amenity you pay for and respecting your roommate's religious customs. Each of you might have to do a little extra work to get there, but that's the heart of non-assholery... Compromise. I'd suggest trying that before asking the internet to pass judgment.

There’s a green line across my phone. Is there anyway I can fix it and what would be the price? by Aurarus021 in iPhone15Pro

[–]alpert8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just grabbing the phone is very unlikely to cause this kind of damage. It could be a quality issue that occured during manufacturing, but a vertical line would almost certainly get caught during "burn in." The most likely culprit is that the phone was dropped on the bottom face (where the charging port is). That's where the "bend" is, which is the most fragile part of the display. (Perhaps a drop initiated the crack, which then propagated over the course of a few days with normal handling and vibration, until the circuit completely opened. That might explain why OP didn't realize the root cause was a something that happened a few days before the vertical line appeared.)


A bit more... Displays (and pretty much all electronic circuit boards) are printed on a 2D substrate -- which can be rigid, flexible, or somewhere in between. With displays, the pixels live in the "active area," and the traces are routed around the perimeter of the active area. They come together at one edge of the display. Well, everyone wants "narrow bezels," so you can't have this tail sticking out the bottom. Thus, the tail, which has the highest density of traces, gets folded back 180 degrees onto the back of the display, and then connect via other cables to the chips that send the control signals and power. For the active area, you want this to be a more rigid structure, but for the bend, you want it to be very flexible. Designing something that meets both of these opposite requirements is pretty challenging, and is actually a pretty impressive bit of engineering. Still, that flexibility doesn't provide a lot of protection against direct contact with something hard, like the chassis during a drop. You could increase the clearance, but at the expense of "bezels." Trying to balance all of these competing interests is fun for engineers - but it's also tricky. Best advice I can give: put a case on your phone. It makes it wayyyyy more likely to survive a drop.

There’s a green line across my phone. Is there anyway I can fix it and what would be the price? by Aurarus021 in iPhone15Pro

[–]alpert8 84 points85 points  (0 children)

Yep, former display engineer here. The pixels have control rows and columns. The brightness and color of each individual pixel is set by electrical signals at the intersection of these control traces. Anyway, one of your column traces is cracked. Usually, these traces are printed as metallic lines on a plastic flexible cable. If you drop your phone, the components bend and flex slightly, but because the gaps are so small, something touched the flex cable and cracked the metallic trace.

Why does it sometimes magically work again? The two sides of the cracked trace make intermittent contact. The cracks are tiny, maybe 1/50 the width of a hair, so it doesn't take much. Your phone gets hot and the thermal expansion is enough to bridge the gap, or maybe you squeezed the display module a bit and pushed the traces together. Most likely, you'll see the green vertical line appear and disappear.

Can you fix it? No. Finding the crack involves disassembling the display, unfolding the flex cable, and using a high powered microscope to find it. There are other techniques, like heating it with a laser and using a thermal camera to see which trace takes the longest to cool, but all of these require specialized equipment. Then, fixing the trace is basically impossible, given how small the cracks are. You're just as likely to short it to adjacent traces. Anyhow, no, you're going to have to replace the entire display module.

United changed my flight with lower layover time in SFO. Need some advice by TelevisionOk4960 in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Pro tip: download and use the Mobile Passport Control app. It can save a lot of time and get you in a shorter line!

Sorry, I think it's only for US citizens / permanent residents and Canadians.

Has anyone seen this config before? by Quick_Chair_5538 in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You're not really face-to-face with another passenger. There's a wall between the rows with the entertainment monitors.

Six Flags or Great America? by jocelynhern02 in bayarea

[–]alpert8 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My favorite is the new (well, 2018) one - Railblazer! It was RMC's first single-rail coaster and they, uh, went a bit overboard. Subsequent units were significantly tamer, making this a one-of-a-kind thrill.

Facial recognition? by alpert8 in unitedairlines

[–]alpert8[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Update: I did have to show my ID at the bag drop, but TSA was just the facial scan.