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You already know what they're gonna say
  • My wife is from Italy, so I printed out a topo of the valley where she grew up. It took me a long time to figure out how to change to the European projection in the software I was using, and I didn't write down how I did it; unfortunately I'm not sure I can figure out it again! There's a digital elevation TIFF of the whole EU available online, even Czechia! If you want to make it a project, I can point you in the right direction and give you some pointers on converting to a obj file to print. I found a couple websites that went through the process, but I didn't find their directions very complete and had to figure a lot out myself.

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  • My daughter just showed me a picture that had the words "Jay AF" written on it. I know what "AF" means, but what's the "Jay" mean? She went to a cirque du solil show and wrote it on a pic of some shirtless guys twirling around.

    Any help from someone more hip than myself?

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    I figured this article might find interest here | Star Trek Opinion
  • I'm so happy to see someone else hate Discovery and love lower decks and SNW. I have no idea why people like Discovery, so many plot holes in my opinion, I hate it.

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    In 250 million years, a single supercontinent will form, wiping out nearly all mammals: Modeling study
  • I'm a bit doubtful of the animation they show in the article. There are active continental rift zones in East Africa and Asia, at lake Baikal, which doesn't show any movement during the animation. The San Andreas fault isn't shown having any movement in the animation either. Additionally, Europe and Africa are currently moving away from North and South America, but change direction in the animation so the four continents come together without explanation of data suggesting the direction reversal.

    It seems like this is a "what if?" sort of thought experiment as opposed to based on actual data. I mean, even current direction of plates could change tomorrow in an unpredictable way, so there's no knowing either way.

    Not that it really matters in any case.

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    What are you Reading? (August 2023)
  • Yes, for me the whole free navy plot line could have been way more concise; seemed like it dragged on for much too long. There is a similar show down, or whatever the right word is, in wheel of time.

    Regarding the ending, I think I've been so upset with endings of other stories so many times that my standard is "satisfied" or "not satisfied"; I would say I'm satisfied with the expanse. I liked the ending, but it didn't spark joy in me.

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    What are you Reading? (August 2023)
  • I finished shortly after I posted. I'm satisfied with how they ended it; it was a strong finish. I'm reading the faded sun trilogy now; it's pretty good so far.

    Good luck on the wheel of time! I finished that a little less than a year ago. There are some GREAT books, but there are a couple that are stinkers. The fourth book, shadow rising, is so so so good. It's slows down I think in books six and seven, or maybe seven and eight, then the last few pickup again. Have fun, it will be a journey!

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  • Translation:

    You are the potato;

    Renowned today;

    A slight foreign accent;

    From the American empire;

    You, oh oh oh you;

    You are not an animal;

    You don't eat meat;

    Niether bread nor eggs;

    You get nutrients from only soil;

    You oh oh oh you;

    You the potato;

    If I talk to you your voice responds to me strangely with a foreign accent:

    MY NAME IS POTATO!

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    This on buildings with plants
  • I like neighborhoods and cities with mid or low rise housing. I spent a lot of time in Turin, Italy (I'm American) and most that city (and other European cities) have mid rise apartments. They're in the 6 to 8 story range a lot of times, but still no high rises. It makes for a great walkable city. The street I lived on in Turin was this huge wide boulevard that probably could have accommodated six to eight lanes of traffic with a turn lane in the middle. Instead there was a two-lane road in the middle with turn lanes, followed by streetcar rails further out, then a line of gorgeous trees, then parking for local businesses, then a side street to access the local parking and finally a nice wide sidewalk in front of the shops and apartments.

    It's a great looking city for anyone who happens to be in Northwest Italy!

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    This on buildings with plants
  • Thanks for the vids. I'm not sure "water is good for concrete, or doesn't care" is accurate. In a controlled environment that may be true, however with corrosion from polluted rain (the lime in concrete is dissolved with acid rain), expansion and contraction (especially with freeze thaw cycles), and biological processes that may be encouraged to grow in damp conditions, water is pretty bad for concrete; these are examples of what I've encountered that caused degrading concrete structures.

    That said, I was thinking about it more and things like dams and drilled t shaft concrete piles are obviously exposed to constant water. I'm wondering if what I experienced has to do more with exposure to aerobic and temperature fluctuating environments as opposed to drilled shafts and dams which would be more isolated from those conditions I described above.

    Even if water itself isn't the primary mode of failure, I guess my point still remains regarding the vegetation of "green"buildings; roots and what not definitely will start to degrade concrete.

    Thanks for the comment, it gave me some points to think about.

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  • I have worked in building maintenance and repair. One thing that is extremely hazardous to a concrete building is too much water. I have seen many concrete planters that crack and result in water leaks for lower levels. Standing water in concrete structures is a huge no no. I do not have a lot of experience in engineering on this matter, but whenever I see a solar punk sky scraper with vegetation on its exterior, I think "cool, but maintenance and inspection must be horrible! Repairs must cost a fortune when those roots and moisture degree the concrete."

    What engineering controls does one need to create a durable structure while exposed to constant moisture needed for vegetation, and the vegetation itself? I know there are green sky scrapers with gardens all over. What is the maintenance of those structures? Do they hold up\last as long as bare concrete structures?

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    Chat GPT
  • I thought "chat" with a hard "t" in French meant "piss", cat is pronounced "cha". I was told this by a French speaker when I was talking about a "chat noir" poster, using a hard "t" and they said "you're sayong black piss! The "t" is silent for cat".

    Can anyone confirm? I feel this is important for this post, "chat gpt" could mean "piss, I farted"

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  • Does anyone have any experiences with these services like gollum Network? Is it safe? Does it earn you a net monetary gain compared to your electric bill? I have a pretty nice desktop that sits around for most of the day, just wondering what else I can do with it while I'm at work.

    Please note, I'm asking specifically for people who have actually done this and what their experiences were, good and bad. I understand I'm not going to make tons of (or possibly any) money or start a business.

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    Even though organized religions suck and deserve the hate, this is why I'm atheist.

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    I'm only seeing one out of every five images posted. The screen shot is the main page with thumb nails, but even when I go into the post it's blank. Anyone else having this issue?

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