"Roadtrip" Tales Of Mere Existence


I've always thought about that last point. What else are people doing right now in this very city? You always see people working, or you pass them on the street. You might even say a friendly rhetorical greeting to them in passing.

But each and every one of them have a life of their own. No less important than your own life. Kinda mind blowing when you really think about it.

See the rest of “In a City This Size”»

So the latest results from the Kepler Telescope puts the estimate of earth-like planets in our Milky Way Galaxy at 100 million. Turns out earth-sized planets are quite common in the galaxy. That isn't to say they are all in the goldilocks zone, but out of 100 million I'm willing to bet there are a couple million planets that are.

So where does that put the possibility of life as we know it forming on other planets? It happened here. Chances seem pretty good that it could happen on a few others out of the millions of planets out there. And that's just life as we know it. There could be other forms of life that can exist outside the habitable zone. At this point there is no evidence that there's other life out there, but it seems infeasible that Earth is that special.

Just something to think about.

Am I saying I believe in aliens over God? Well... yes. Frankly, there's more evidence for aliens. However, I do not believe they have ever visited us, or even know of our existence. Much the same way we don't know about them. The "aliens" may only be algae on some otherwise barren planet.

See the rest of “Kepler Findings”»

That ultimate chart post sent me off on a thought tangent about the discipline metric.

I see how inefficient it is to pay for health insurance. I would rather instead put that money into a personal savings account, not only would I have enough money for health care, but I'd be earning interest¹ on it. I'd have the discipline to only use that account for health care, too. That's why it wouldn't work for most people. Most people do not have the discipline to have a chunk of money and not use it on frivolous crap they can't afford.

Health insurance sucks anyway. You have to pay the deductible first before they cover anything, then they only cover a percentage after that.

I'm a lot like Scrooge when it comes to money. I could have millions in the bank and still be a penny-pinching bastard. I'm the type that will die with millions in the bank, never having enjoyed life, and no one to name as an heir to my fortune².

"Waiter, more bread."
"That'll cost you extra, sir."
"… No more bread."

^1: Although in current times interest rates are nearly 0%, so the amount I'd earn is negligible.
^2: Seeing as I'm unemployed and living with my parents, this is a theoretical fortune.

See the rest of “Stat: Discipline”»

Here's how much I'm into football.

Before I started yesterday's Caturday post, I did a Google search to make sure the Super Bowl was football. I thought it was, but I've never paid enough attention to it to be sure.

Without performing another search, I couldn't tell you all the teams are even in the Super Bowl. I only know the Saints because it's being made out as a historical event that they made it this far. I think the Saints are form New Orleans, but I'm not sure.

I don't even know enough about the Super Bowl to know if it's just the top 2 teams that play in it, or if it's a tournament of more than 2 teams. I don't even know where it's happening.

I don't even know any of the rules of football.

Why am I so ignorant about football (and sports in general)? Because frankly, I just don't give a damn. I never have.

See the rest of “Frankly, I don't Give a Damn”»

I don't know why I didn't post this photo earlier. I bent this paperclip a few months ago and took this picture.

Oh, what one can do with a little boredom.

See the rest of “Paperclip Marf”»

Just a quick little javascript thing I wrote... I can do such wondrous things when I'm bored.

Click the rock to turn it over!Requires Javascript to be enabled. Nothing will happen otherwise.

Yup. That's my pet rock, if you can call it such a thing. If you really care, here's the full size photo of the Please Turn Me Over side, and the full size photo of the That Feels Good side.

Protip: Turn the rock over to the "Feels Good" side and wait 10 seconds.

See the rest of “The Uncomfortable Rock”»

One door leads to safety, the other leads to certain death. Once a door is opened the other becomes locked; so you have to go through the one you choose. There are 2 people standing in front of you. You know that one always tells the truth, and one always lies, but you don't know which person is which. Both people know which door leads to safety and which one to certain death. You are allowed to ask only one of them one question. What is your question?

The riddle is old enough and has been around long enough that you probably remember the answer from the last time you saw it. Of course, the "correct" answer is "If I asked the other person, which door would they say leads to safety?"

There is a flaw in that answer. The idea is if you're talking to the liar, he knows the other one would tell you the correct door, so the liar tells you the wrong door. If you're talking to the truth teller, he knows the other guy would lie, so the truth teller also tells you the wrong door. So you take the opposite door, no matter which person you asked.

Here's the major flaw in the logic of that solution: let's say the liar replies "I don't know." Clearly he is lying, because he does in fact know. If you ask your question of the truth teller, he'd also have to truthfully tell you that the other guy would answer "I don't know." Well, you're screwed now...

There is no way with one single question to determine which door leads to safety if they don't answer like you expected. It comes down to 50/50 whether you ask a question or not.

Don't you just hate it when you over-think a riddle?

See the rest of “Flaw With an Old Riddle”»

I took a walk last night and I happened to see this quote on a random white van.

Theater is a light in a world so dark it casts a shadow on the sun.

- Random White Van

That sent my idle mind on a mission to logically tear apart the quote if taken literally.

No matter how low the albedo¹ of Earth may become, it will never cast a visible shadow on the sun for several reasons.

1. The sun is the main light source in the solar system. It would be like being in a room lit by a single light bulb, and expecting your hand to cast a shadow on the light bulb. It isn't going to happen, no matter how dark your hand may be.
2. The albedo of an object has nothing to do with the shadow it casts anyway.
3. Let's say that theater is some brilliant light source (I know, humor me here). Theater itself is on Earth, so the light from theater would be radiating out from Earth. Going back to the light bulb analogy, there would now be two lit light bulbs in the room (again, these are the only light sources in the room), would you expect them to cast shadows on each other? (No, they wouldn't.)

Ok, so maybe this light and dark thing isn't about actual light or reflectivity. Let's say this light and dark thing is a more emotional thing, as I suspect was the true meaning of the quote. What does the sun or shadows have to do with it, then?

I know, I know... It's just a quote, just roll with it... But damnit, my idle mind has to do something when I'm out on a walk!

^1:Yay, now I get to have a little side-note about albedo not being the same as libido, just like Drek did.

See the rest of “An Idle Mind and a Quote on Theater”»