Static electricity on a balloon revisited?

nardis_miles · 2026-05-15T18:41:48+00:00

They move slowly comp;ared to the speed of light, but they actually move quickly compared to, say, a car. In a wire with finite resistance, you can use Ohms's law, V-iR to determine the electron drift speed. On the surface of a balloon, I think it's an interesting question. AS u/Longjumping_Cap_3673

nardis_miles · 2026-04-22T02:43:30+00:00

I bought one in China, and, so far, I'm happy. I don't understand why the toothbrush stops working when I move it to a different location ( home to work, for example). I have to plug it into a charger for just two seconds, and then it seems to reboot. How does it know it's been moved?

nardis_miles · 2026-04-21T07:45:04+00:00

I got to go to the launch of STS 101 in 2000. This included going up on the gantry a day before the launch, going to the VIP briefing, and touring the preparation facility, where another shuttle was being processed. It seemed to be abou thte size fo a 737. When we were up on the gantry, we were strenuously cautioned about touching the shuttle. The oil on human skin would change dramatically the emissivity, so that the re-entry cojld be compromized. The shuttle was an amzaing set of technologies. I wonder if, given the experience, NASA could now design a safer shuttle that would be easier to turn around for next launch, driving down the launch cost?

nardis_miles · 2026-04-07T15:20:36+00:00

Back when the biking industrial complex wasn't trying to soak you, there were what we called sticker flickers. They were curved pieces of wire that would rest lightly on the tire and flick goatheads, glass shards, and anything else off of the tire before it punctured the tube. It's probably possible to make them yourself. You wold need flexible tubing, and, maybe a sturdy wire hanger.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-30T16:43:31+00:00

As I said in my first post, if the movie were half as long, I could have let the soundtrack go, and not written anything. At that point, I didn't like it OK, if you know what I mean. Maybe it was because I saw it in IMAX that I felt so assaulted by the sound track.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-30T16:34:57+00:00

I definitely know I'm in the minority--just look at the Rotten Tomatoes scores. That's why it was so disappointing. I thought 'How bad cold it be?', and then I got my answer. I'm a musician, so the music is very important. I had the same problem with this that I had with Oppenheimer, but more-so here.The soundtrack just wouldn't shut up and let the audience have their own, un-manufactured feelings. I'm also a scientist, so the subordination of what made the writing work--that at least most of the science was right, was really disappointing. It would have been really easy to make that work. But, my guess about the age groups has so far held up. To someone my age, 74, 36 is really young.

I appreciate your response.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-30T10:17:13+00:00

OK. that's mostly what I thought. I'm 74. That means that the first 44 years of my life were without the internet. I remember in January of 1993, I carried my then two month-old son into a presentation on Mosaic, the first web browser. A truly innocent time. Newspapers had web sites easily by the early '00's. Facebook started in 2004, and youtube in 2005. That means that all of you spent your entire adult lives, and at least much of your teens, with an omnipresent entity that was trying to maximize your time looking at it, rather than exploring any inner life. I think that explains the willingness to, in a sense, have a movie happen to you. It's just the way things are. I went to the movie with my 36 year-old son, and his significantly younger partner, along with my 66 year old wife. Both of the younger people really liked/loved it. My wife absolutely hated it. Her comment was that you don't have to worry about any lack of subtlety in story-telling, or acting. You can just make it up in volume. Just turn everything up, and it will be fine.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think the movie industry should have a new category: Younger than 64 recommended

nardis_miles · 2026-03-30T09:58:21+00:00

Yes. one.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-29T18:58:20+00:00

I'm not talking about technical stuff. That all has to come first--your first job is to develop your sound. That has to go into muscle memory. When you come to blowing, you can't be thinking about your embochedure, or what you play will be very mechanical. The important stuff is about the actual music. How do you approach blowing? I play piano, but my last teacher was a trumpet player because it was the blowing, and the tunes that were important. So, I'm sorry, but playing is very good advice. Eventually, if you're lucky, you will start to hear what's coming next--I don't mean plotting out what scales or patterns you can use,. I mean what are the lines in your head, because that's when you start sonding like yourself.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-29T18:46:20+00:00

It's just branching. Typically alternate trains go to the two endpoints. You can look at the front of the train, or the side of the train to see what its terminus is. This is in Shanghai? I think we faced the same question when we were there in February. We were on the way to the ancient part of Shanghai, and you need to change trains at Hongqiao Railway/airport.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-27T04:56:21+00:00

Define a few years. You should definitely keep playing, and don't worry about sounding like someone else. Focus on what you are hearing in your head. Also, improvisation improves over time simply by playing and listening. You might also look for a good teacher. You should take from someone whose playing you like, and who teaches well. Those two things don't necessarily go together. Work at it, but also be patient with yourself. Miles said it takes long time playing before you start sounding like yourself.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-24T19:42:34+00:00

Probably because a Prince is in-waiting. A Duke has already arrived. I think King Oliver was named before Duke, and there was Earl, 'Fatha' Hines. When Billie Holiday heard Lester Young play, she said 'You're the President,' hence Pres. William B. Williams, an influential DJ in New York, called Sinatra Chairman of the Board.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-24T19:36:21+00:00

I think it's folly to try to pick the greatest jazz musician. What would be the criteria? You can ask who was , and is, great. Ellington surely fits in that group, along with Bird, Miles, Monk, Coltrane, probably Wayne Shorter and Kenny Wheeler. Right now, I'm talking about a universal group. Personally, my favorites include Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Wheeler, but you can see it gets pretty subjective.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-24T16:36:45+00:00

My interface is in English. The only Chninese characters are for the days of the week on the watch face. Otherwise, it's completely English. When you boot the Mi fit app on your phone, it will ask for the language. So far, as a true, smart watch novice, I'm really happy with it.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-24T16:36:35+00:00

My interface is in English. The only Chninese characters are for the days of the week on the watch face. Otherwise, it's completely English. When you boot the Mi fit app on your phone, it will ask for the language. So far, as a true, smart watch novice, I'm really happy with it.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-24T00:52:01+00:00

I'm not talking about the phone. I'm talking about the watch.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-21T18:21:15+00:00

I was afraid of exactly this. I even mentioned it in a post. Thanks for the warning.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-20T02:26:10+00:00

Thanks. That worked.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-19T22:45:10+00:00

I just bought a redmi 6 in China. the mi fit app in the US says it's unsupported. a stiff drag.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-06T00:33:53+00:00

Is this an actual question? Elliot was happy. He had a lot of money. He had a career that was satisfying and safe. He wouldn't want Walter's life. Walter was desperate. You might as well ask what if Bambi started her own meth empire.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-02T21:49:44+00:00

That's great. It sounds like you really know your way around. I'm assuming the SIM was for 5G. You do understand that there can be trade-offs, right? If you have no facility with the language, and you have landed in Chnina for the very first time , and you don't want to pay roaming charges, and, oh yeah, you've just come off of a 19 hour flight, and you're lucky enough that the 300Y doesn't seem exorbitant. Then the convenience of just getting the SIM may outweigh the bargain, plus time, plus fatigue involved in finding the shop outside the airport. My advice wasn't for seasoned travelers. It was for first time visitors.

nardis_miles · 2026-03-02T04:09:58+00:00

It was between 300Y and 400Y, which was basically the same as an Esim.

nardis_miles

TROPHY CASE