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  • #2274

    Here’s a somewhat somber article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lost_inventions

    Incomplete as it doesn’t mention the Antikythera mechanism and probably others but an interesting read all the same.

    #2279
    DeVaultSetter
    Keymaster

      If Omega Mart is the future of shopping, Vegas here we come:

      Occasionally get themed jars through donations over here, haven’t come across anything quite like the Amazon set yet. And the deadly nightshade jar is first choice for the safe and secure storage of extremely valuable comestibles in deterring sneaky light fingered kitchen visitors. 🙂

      Interesting collection of oddities, funny, no recollection of anyone resurrecting or rebranding Mithridate for pandemic sufferers. 😛

      Over here we have bitumen bandits, tar comes at a premium, thus such temptations – along with dreams of driveway makeovers- ultimately end up in the tar pit. 🙁

      Some of the southern states, particularly Louisiana and Alabama raise alligators for their meat and eggs, plying them with “vegan” fare consisting of soy bean based pellets or similar. If it is available your way, might be inspiration for some snappy recipes. 🙂

      #2289

      They have a few other locations around the country as well, each with a completely different theme! Looks like they poopooed a Florida location at some point so, sadly, I’m not sure I’ll be able to experience them any time soon. Looks like a blast, though. 🙂

      Also a good way to have your spices go missing if a wicked witch visits for the day. 😛

      I strongly disagree with the article about space travel being a lost invention. The plans are in the filing cabinets and the infrastructure still stands at Cape Canaveral (it’s been repurposed for private launches). It’s more out of a lack of motivation than anything.

      We have the exact same thing!

      Yep, alligator is definitely available here but only in the small local grocers. Quite tasty! Granted, I haven’t had it in a while. Used to have gator tail pretty often at eateries when I was a kid but it’s mostly been taken off the menus now. Still can find the main meat at the grocer, though, so I may need to get some soon 🙂

      #2303

      Saw a hazmat employee picking up lunch in the McDonald’s drive-thru today. Didn’t think to get a picture but seeing the truck there gave me a chuckle

      https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/04/us-government-auctions-5-34-petaflop-cheyenne-supercomputer/

      Anyone need a supercomputer? Doubt it’ll run Crysis, though, since the GPUs usually aren’t designed with visuals in mind. Of course, it’d be handy for multiversal mapping and the like.

      #2309
      DeVaultSetter
      Keymaster

        A hazmat truck parked outside any fine dining establishment may impact on the comfort of patrons and ease of staff!
        That thing is more than ten tonnes – the Frontier is hundreds of times more powerful, only around 30 times heavier. No bids from here either. 😛
        Have you been to the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex? Presumably the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility is situated a respectable distance from the restaurants.
        Interesting layout though:
        Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility layout

        #2320

        A nuclear bunker themed eatery could be fun in a somewhat morbid way. The menu could have things such as Glow In The Dark (a mixed drink), Bug Burgers (hamburgers crafted to look like roaches), and the like. 😛

        A few years back, I suggested that the world’s supercomputers be tuned to either SETI@Home (now defunct) or Folding@Home to help with more practical matters. Hopefully whoever gets that thing takes that recommendation to heart!

        Of course, moving it and running it will likely be a lot higher than the winning bid. 😛

        Yep, been there! Been close to twenty years and need to go back (silly transportation) but it’s definitely worth a periodic trip. Yeah, the building is set quite a ways back. The thinking being that if something goes boom, it’ll be easier to contain the fallout. Rocket fuel isn’t exactly the most stable of substances 😛

        They used to let you take a looksie in the building but they may have locked it down with everything that’s gone on in the world over the last couple of decades. There’s an old myth that it has its own weather system but it’s really just fog that seeps in.

        Wait, sorry. I’m thinking of the Vehicle Assembly Building which looks similar to the image you linked. I honestly don’t remember the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at all. May not have been on the tour.

        Krypton Storage Building. So that’s where Superman lives! 😀

        #2346

        The Harley Quinn Annual made a good point regarding calzones: in essence, they’re just folded pizzas. However, many places put their own spin on them turning them into a sort of hand pie instead of a turnover. In which case, are calzo es still technically pizza turnovers? Even more importantly, will such a distinction cause an extinction level event when the riots start?

        When that happens, I expect Florida to have one of the largest populations when most life is extinguished on the planet due to the Great Calzone Event Horizon on account of our roaches alone due to our swampy environment. 😛

        #2381
        DeVaultSetter
        Keymaster

          A good idea might have been a sister site, STI@Home, the search for terrestrial intelligence. At this moment, as well as other moments past and present, Computational Biology looks to be beyond mine, curiously the timeline chart of the Genome project ends abruptly at 2003.
          Krypton? Sure to contain a wormhole teleporter to the planet itself, it’s not too far away. 😛
          Pizza turnover, or just a pizza lump:

          When the moon hits your rump like a big pizza lump, that’s amore.

          Will Chaise Longues ever become fashionable again, or are they considered just too Freudian? 😛
          The local EB Games store finally folded, it’s clear the advent of fast internet here has made online game purchases much more convenient, if packaged physical media is now out of favour, seems their trading cards will probably end up the same way. 🙁
          A favourite local coffee shop has also closed permanently due to many factors including competition, autumn is the best time for it as custom is not slated to improve during winter. 🙁
          Do recall reading Hitch Your Wagon to a Star, at school – what do you make of it? Here, it’s the sense many of the world’s billionaires do in actual fact fit the mould of “the man with one dollar”. 🙂

          #2404

          Yeah, work continues today on it but they called it “complete” twenty years ago. I remember my grandfather sent off a sample as part of the project. How can it be complete if they’re still analyzing it?

          Sounds like something out of The Raven. 😛 I like calzones. Around here, they tend to fill it with a fluffy cheese making it taste very light. Haven’t had one in years, though. Should probably change that at some point. We only have a few places nearby that do them though so they’re a little bit hard to get

          I use my couch as a chaise. I tend to curl up in it cat-like for some reason when I’m not on the beanbag chairs. 😛

          Personally, I switched to digital games a few years back to help reduce waste. Not always an option if you have poor connectivity, though. There will always be a market for physical games but it’ll probably become smaller over time.

          Always sad to see stores close, though. I bought quite a few things at EB over here before GameStop bought them. If they’re going to do a fire sale, go nuts! That’s how I got my neon open sign from Blockbuster.

          Oh, no. 🙁

          Coffee shops are great places to relax and get things done. Very sad to see 🙁

          I have a question!

          Small ladies, possessing subtile bellies, knew heroes

          Is it supposed to be “subtile” or “subtle”? Looks like the meaning is the same. A reduction over time, perhaps? There are a few words like that.

          Will need to think about the poem some 🙂

          #2414
          DeVaultSetter
          Keymaster

            Got a wood fired oven, never made a pizza in it yet. Hmmm, that could change. 🙂

            Ooh, you have a neon sign? Don’t have Blockbuster over here so a sign like this might look out of place. 😛

            The following would be a worthy addition to a shopfront – (residence anyone?) or nearby a portal to interplanetary travel – even if it adds a little to light pollution.
            Bright Planet

            Wiktionary has subtile derived from the Latin, an early use of the word can be found in the English translation of The Praise of Folie (subtile docteurs) top of page 60.

            While on poems, The Fires of God presents in a more epic vein if you will, and hopefully less obtuse.
            The preference here has always been limericks though. 😛

            #2429

            Yep, you should make a pizza in it!

            I do have a pizza stone but have never used it for pizza. I’ve only ever used it for bread 😛

            Yep! The branch said everything must go so I took them at their word and got the sign 😀 Awesome! These days, most places are using LED imitation lights. I don’t think they look as cool and they lack the sound of the plasma! I always found the plasma buzz to be rather soothing

            Ooh, that would be a great fit for a space themed mini-golf course. And let’s not forget about Pizza Planet!

            https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/pixar/images/d/d3/Pizza_Planet2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20220618232310

            Not haikus? 🙁 They’re pretty succinct and hit the spot!

            #2491

            Really dislike Summer. The heat and humidity really make it difficult to sleep and do things during the day. Even at 0500, it’s still close to 80°F outside. 🙁

            #2519
            DeVaultSetter
            Keymaster

              Have they changed the scaling for Pizza Planet, the only one available here is the original, which, as you know has a rather strong resemblance to the one at Tomorrowland.
              Don’t have the A/C on every day then? Over here on hot summer days, it gets tuned on from around 2pm to 6pm, really does make a difference in the evening.
              The Soga trollies purchased a couple of years back (MS Teams has the saga of the transaction) are doing fine, however the screws do loosen from usage, so having to tighten them all up again is an unexpected ordeal.
              David Wengrow was on a replayed chat show the other day outlining The Dawn of Everything, very engaging, and a book worth reading.
              It’s about time these scam camps have to be brought to account, hard to believe some folks get to be so rotten in their dealings with others.

              #2521

              Sorry! Looks like that image was removed for whatever reason. Here’s a new one!

              Yeah, the A/C is set to turn on at 80F. The humidity is so bad, though, that it’s still very high outside even at 72F. It’s horrible!

              Great! Yeah, I need to do that with my lamps. As I use them, the screws holding the shafts together and the one holding the shade down come loose so I periodically need to tighten them up. Had one time when the whole thing came apart on me, it was so loose 😛

              Will definitely add it to the reading list! 🙂

              Over here, we also have instances where prisoners are sometimes exploited to run scams using their phone time. Always disheartens me 🙁

              On Bob Marley said

              Found these yesterday: https://www.boxlunch.com/product/disney-the-nightmare-before-christmas-sallys-storage-jars—boxlunch-exclusive/13341930.html

              Would look quite nice in the kitchen! 🙂

              The jars came! They’re much bigger than expected!

              #2523

              Trying to do some research on plasma confinement for some ideas bouncing around the dusty processor and Wikipedia’s article leaves a little to be desired: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_confinement

              It just links to the different types instead of providing a general overview. The overview would be really helpful so I had a better handle on what I’m reading in the linked articles

              The DoE does a slightly better job: https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsplasma-confinement

              #2554

              I’ve always wondered why hardware manufacturers stylize components that you’re never going to see. Motherboards have color designs, video cards have similar, and some processors even have art etched on them. This was also before transparent cases became more common.

              In other news: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/24/marge-simpson-seen-on-3500-year-old-egyptian-coffin.html/amp

              And in other other news: wine, anyone?

              #2569

              Started reading up on tokamaks today (need to finish the article another day as it’s a lot to take in) and they’re pretty interesting. In essence, they’re giant magnets with an injection component so that different substances can be added for regulation, depending on what the operator wants to do. In addition, they use a layer of expensive heavy metals for the primary structure with an additional layer of sacrificial light metals to keep the plasma contained while keeping the heavy metals from leaching into the plasma and stopping the reaction. The magnetic flux is additionally controlled by the shape of the containment structure, adjusting the overall reaction sustainability.

              #2584

              Been meaning to ask this for quite some time but better late than never!

              I have some worn out socks that are a mixture of synthetic and natural material. Can these be recycled at all or do they just need to be thrown out? I know that, with a uniform material make, there are outfits that will break them down and reuse the resources but having a mixture may make it more trouble than it’s worth for the centers

              #2591
              DeVaultSetter
              Keymaster

                Congrats on the jars. Do the lids screw in – it’s not easy to tell. Might want a tight fit in case that frogs breath takes over the pantry. 😛
                Confining plasmas magnetically might be the best shot, especially if dealing with dusty plasmas, which can exist at quite cool temperatures.

                Nick Evanson knows all about benchmarks, too, did he once dream of microchip designs incorporating Mad Onions – characterized in branding by pungent smelling rings forming round and squeezing the processor cores, thus introducing “Silicon Doodles” to the next level! 😛
                Marge appears to be a figure of veneration, and also of some power, as upon the closing of the lid, she will protect the resting body below, (if it happens to be Homer, it’ll be from further taps on the head with the soup ladle) 😛
                The Stellarator looks rather pretty, certainly a thing for fusion power, although there are problems:

                In a production design, the magnets would need to be protected from the 14.1 MeV neutrons being produced by the fusion reactions.

                Really depends on what the local recycling center uses, sounds like if there is no rayon/nylon/polyester and the like they could biodegrade in soil given 10-15 years or so. Over here, worn items are generally given the toss though.

                Right now burning well perfumed, though not quite intoxicating Sensing Spirit incense sticks. Rather strange they are not included in his shop list, but somewhere else, so obviously some arrangement was made re permissions. Very soothing. 🙂
                Edit: Our perennial favourite the Atlas Obscura lists this gem of a basket, if it ever has to be relocated, there’ll be a special type of giant crane required for the pick-up. 😛

                #2603

                No screw on top. Supposedly, there’s a locking peg in them but I haven’t managed to get the peg working. May have something to do with how the gaskets are aligned. Will need to take a good look at them 🙂

                Going to use them for spices! 😀

                They are making some progress with inertial containment but I haven’t gotten there yet

                If it’s Homer, then there’s probably booze around! 😛

                Yeah, it’s a completely different design! Much more pleasing to the eyes in the lab! Haven’t read much on them yet but I’ll get there!

                Looks like TerraCycle has something but they don’t specify if it’s for natural, synthetic, or both. Probably need to reach out to them about that 🙂

                What kind of holder do you use? Have had some trouble finding one I like locally. We do have a couple shops that may have them but they’re a little difficult to access without proper transportation so I may need to order them.

                That’s going to be a heck of a picnic! The ants will be most pleased! 😀

                Just came across this: https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0358653037?ref=dlx_deals_dg_dcl_0358653037_mw_sl14_72

                Absolutely stunning!

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