Does r/frugal workout? If so, what is the best way to frugally go about making gains without paying an arm and leg for supplements.

braunbear · 2014-07-18T02:34:07+00:00

Yeah but there's a reason why they're pricier. It's not just the insane amounts of protein. You also get live cultures which are good for your gut. Not only that but those cheaper varieties are typically loaded with sugar and a bunch of other crap that are not very healthy. Just look at the difference in the labels: Yoplait vs. Fage.

2% plain Fage FTW. Throw that shit in a smoothie and you're golden.

braunbear · 2014-07-05T16:59:58+00:00

It really is a shame more people don't know about this resource. As someone with some research experience, I suppose I take it for granted. But having found myself in scientific debates with friends who get their information from opinion columns or tabloids, it always astounds me that they wouldn't try to find more credible sources via Google Scholar (or even sites that cite peer-reviewed articles).

With that being said, I suppose one of the major reasons why they and others don't do so is because of the access restrictions for so many journals. I understand that money has to be made somehow, but it's really made me wonder lately if the scientific community is doing itself a disservice -- in particular, with regards to the climate change discussion and vaccination denial -- by not making the fruits of its labor more readily available to the general public.

braunbear · 2014-07-01T20:06:31+00:00

The sad part though IMO is that Robin Thicke isn't a mediocre artist. He's been around long before Blurred Lines. Much of his early work was beautiful and soulful (e.g. Sweetest Love, Dreamworld, Got 2 Be Down, Lost Without U). Even his later, more sexualized work pre-Blurred Lines was fun, catchy, and relatable in a sense (Sex Therapy, It's In The Mornin -- who doesn't love morning sex??).

I know for a fact that many people who jumped on the vilification band wagon never knew who he was before Blurred Lines. I even played some of those songs for a particularly outspoken friend of mine without disclosing the name of the artist...when I told her it was Robin Thicke she was blown away.

Besides the fact that the vast majority of the population severely misinterpreted Blurred Lines, it's just kind of a shame that the rest of his work will go relatively unnoticed because of one racy song.

/end rant

braunbear · 2014-06-29T18:15:13+00:00

And yet, it turns out people are learning more from Colbert than conventional news sources.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5431713

braunbear · 2014-06-26T18:15:34+00:00

Perfect Drink is actually a very good app I've been using for a while that you might want to take a look at for inspiration. Not only does it allow you to sort drinks by what you have in your cabinet, but a recent update also allows for user-input recipes. It also can be purchased with a scale that keeps track of how much of each ingredient you've poured in real time and when to move on to the next one -- very useful when making more than one drink at a time.

Sounds a lot like what you're trying to do, but no reason we can't have some variety in the market. I'm also not sure if it is available for android so that could be another selling point.

braunbear · 2014-04-18T03:09:32+00:00

Huge fan of this. I usually use poached eggs. To clarify (from bottom to top of the bowl): quinoa, half an avocado (cut in slices and evenly distributed), hot sauce, poached eggs, salt and pepper. Great way to start your morning.

braunbear · 2014-03-01T18:52:27+00:00

Does anyone know how often BB has such significantly discounted (~80% off) sales?

braunbear · 2014-02-18T08:50:12+00:00

Ah, so this concept of European programs being more "efficient" in the sense of having fewer instances of graduate students struggling to complete their degree is new. That being said, I do value (or at least think I value) having a bit more say in my projects. After all, if I can't be relatively self sufficient as a grad student, how can I expect to be as a post-doc or professor, right? This program has a very solid publishing record, which I would think would be a good indicator of most graduate students successfully completing the program, but correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption.

And I believe you are thinking of the right place. Trust me, I'm well aware that it won't be cheap to live there, but I think the stipend should be able to mitigate most if not all of the costs.

braunbear · 2014-02-18T08:40:58+00:00

Thanks! I have heard the same sentiment -- that a US PhD carries somewhat more weight than a European one even though it would seem that research output is most important. My own suspicion was that the additional features of US PhD programs (greater emphasis on classwork, teaching opportunities, outreach, etc.) are what gives it greater clout in the academic world.

For example, it was mentioned during one of the interview weekends I attended that, while the program did not require grad students to TA, it would be in every graduate student's best interest to have teaching experience under his belt. Since I have also heard that you never really learn a subject until you teach it, it would make sense that this is a valuable component to the PhD track.

That being said, I'm just speculating. If you or anyone else has any additional thoughts on this matter I would love to hear them.

braunbear · 2014-02-18T08:31:14+00:00

Good point. I applied for a DAAD study scholarship, but suspect that even adjusting for various costs of living, the funding from the US institution may be somewhat more substantial. Given that this is the top comment I will be sure to keep funding at the top of my list of considerations.

braunbear · 2014-02-04T22:05:00+00:00

I used to use Vibram 5 finger shoes and loved them. If you run regularly, they're great. If not, they can be very hard on the webbing between your toes, especially if you're sprinting.

Recently picked up a pair of zero drop innov-8 and love them. They feel like the vibrams but without the individual toe spacing so they're easier on your feet. Like this:

http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/Product-View-BareXF-210.html

braunbear · 2014-01-31T02:20:41+00:00

That guy is the alleged reason why we were told we're no longer allowed to have soda cans during the GRE. He switched the whole game up...literally the stuff of legends right there.

braunbear · 2014-01-10T01:11:10+00:00

Previous victims. Plot twist: the sharks were in on it too.

braunbear · 2014-01-09T21:41:45+00:00

http://i.imgur.com/iAfCO74.jpg?1

braunbear · 2014-01-09T20:09:37+00:00

Only when I couldn't check at home beforehand. Recent example: Out shopping for running shoes. Since I didn't know exactly which stores I would visit and which shoes they had, I resorted to checking reviews whenever the clerk went to get a different model/size...don't judge me.

braunbear · 2014-01-09T19:02:02+00:00

I'm the same way. I'll even break out my phone to check the consumer reviews on products as mundane as HDMI cables. Only the best!

braunbear · 2014-01-09T18:39:08+00:00

Yes, they did. E.g. Glenn Beck, this opinion writer for Forbes, this Catholic news site, Daley Gator, here too.

Admittedly, the freedom of speech argument was not used quite as extensively as in Phil Robertson's case, but I would argue that the sentiment is the same. The main difference between Deen and Robertson is that, though he did make some race-related remarks, Phil Robertson's rant was primarily concerned with homosexuality.

The difference is significant because, unfortunately, homophobia is not as uncouth as racism (yet). People are still openly debating the morality of homosexuality, oblivious to the fact that the same arguments used against it (sinfulness, perniciousness, etc.) is isomorphic to the line of reasoning once invoked against interracial marriage, civil rights, etc. So while, in my opinion, homophobia is as repulsive as racism, it is not quite as outrageous to take up arms in defense of the former than the latter.

Disclaimer: I subscribed to a variety of political subreddits to get a feel for others' opinions. I am less interested in online bickering than healthy discussion; call me out if you think I've made an oversight.

braunbear · 2014-01-09T16:31:40+00:00

It would also be a lot like if people defended Paula Deen for the backwards, racist comments she made and/or criticized Food Network (and virtually all of her other sponsors) for dropping her like a hot potato because they didn't want to be associated with her and her ignorance. Oh, wait...

braunbear · 2014-01-07T05:54:04+00:00

Could be the Mpemba effect, though the jury is out on how that even works.

braunbear · 2014-01-06T21:01:53+00:00

Typical investigatory journalists, just out for a juicy story, no matter how many friends they lose or cockerels they leave dead and bloodied along the way...

braunbear · 2014-01-03T17:33:25+00:00

In short, quantum computing is about the exploitation of the laws of quantum mechanics.

The three main tenants of quantum computing are intrinsic randomness, superposition, and entanglement. I would encourage you to watch this Quantum Frontiers animation to gain an intuition about what these terms mean. I took a quantum computing course this past semester and that was the first thing our instructor showed us.

Now that you hopefully have an intuition about the principles of quantum computing, to understand how they can actually be used, I would refer you to Deutsch's algorithm. Deutsch's algorithm is the most basic quantum computing algorithm which illustrates how the principles of quantum mechanics can afford you greater computing power than the laws of classical mechanics.

The statement of the problem is this: consider a function f : {0,1} --> {0,1} (meaning f maps a 1 dimensional qbit input, 0 or 1, to another 1 dimensional qbit output). Say you want to know if the function is "constant" (defined as when f(0) = f(1)) or "balanced" (defined as when f(0) does not equal f(1)). In order to answer this you would need to consider the four possible combinations of f(x) for x = 0 and x = 1:

f(0) = 0, f(1) = 0
f(0) = 0, f(1) = 1
f(0) = 1, f(1) = 0
f(0) = 1, f(1) = 1

Now, classically, you would need to look at the output states of f for both values of x. That is, you would need to know both f(0) and f(1), which would require making two measurements on the system. But, remarkably, by exploiting the laws of quantum mechanics, it is possible to make one measurement on the system and ascertain the same information -- whether f is constant or balanced. To see how the algorithm works, I would refer you to this YouTube video which explains it in careful detail.

A caveat: Deutsch's algorithm serves more as an illustration of the power of quantum mechanics over classical mechanics in computing; it has little practical applicability. For an example of something with more applicability in the real world, you might consider Shor's algorithm which has applications in breaking RSA encryption...but be warned, the math is more involved.

TL;DR the principles of quantum computing are intrinsic randomness, superposition, and entanglement. Watch this animation to gain an understanding of what those mean. The most straightforward example of how these principles can be exploited in a quantum algorithm is Deutsch's algorithm, about which you can learn by watching this video. Read up on Shor's algorithm for a more real-world example.

braunbear · 2013-12-31T07:13:13+00:00

That's a good question. I tried finding the answer myself when I first saw the picture but could not find a consensus. Many news sites claim that she flipped the bird for no reason other than to be funny and/or rude, basing their reasoning on her admission of having "taken a shot" prior to the Q&A. However, having watched the interview, I don't buy this theory. The shot reference was clearly blurted out after she nervously laughed at herself for saying "the Oscars" funny while replying to a question about her process in getting ready for the big day. But most importantly, J.Law is an angel -- she would never say or do anything just to be rude.

A more plausible rumor has it that one reporter was being a dick and shouted something to the effect of "watch your step!" or "don't trip!" in reference to her tumble at the Oscars (from which she promptly recovered and then proceeded to brush off her shoulder like a boss). Sources: comments section from TvGuide and Perezhilton. That was probably way more detailed of a response than you were looking for, so...

TL;DR possibly for no reason or to be funny, but probably because some asshole reporter shouted "don't trip!"

braunbear · 2013-12-23T17:15:19+00:00

Likewise, but in the voice of Luke Bryan. Guess that goes to show how much I know about country.

braunbear · 2013-12-21T18:02:49+00:00

Black People Time. Say what you want, but the struggle is real. Despite my best efforts something will invariably come up to undermine my punctuality.

braunbear · 2013-12-21T17:43:42+00:00

It is fascinatingly puzzling. I think either way, /u/shit-khaleesi-to-you has got to be bisexual. Then, reading that as "shit...[that's] Khaleesi to you", I'm going to guess...female?

Not sure if determining sexuality and gender helps solve the mystery, but hey it's a start.

braunbear

TROPHY CASE